Childhood and Development Years (English Medium)

New Syllabus
Childhood
and
Development
Years
As per Latest Syllabus of H.P. University Shimla
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar

M.A., M.Ed., Ph.D.
S Samar Publications
THIS BOOK, OR ANY PART THEREOF, MAY NOT BE
REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT THE WRITTEN
PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR.
First Edition : Sept., 2016
Price : 410/-
Published by :
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PREFACE
It is matter of great pleasure for me while bringing

Childhood and Development Years for the students of
B.Ed. Paper Ist according to Himachal Pradesh University,
Shimla as per new Syllabus. It is complete book the
whole syllabus of this course.
In this book, I have given different types of questions

Long answer type questions, Short answer type
questions. Every topic has carefully planned.
I am thankful to S Samar Publication for his effort

to provide the book with nice get up. With a great sense
of gratitude, I express my thanks to Gourav Sharma and
his team members Mr. Anil, Mr. Rakesh Rana (Sonu) and
Mr. Vinod for their inspiration, co-operation, guidance
which timely helped me. I have remember them for their
very kindly going through the present book and making
very valuable suggestions during the work.
Any suggestion for the improvement of book from

the Teachers and Students will be highly appreciated.
-Author
SYLLABUS
Paper - I
Childhood and Development Years
Marks: 100 (80 + 20)
UNIT 1: Child Development
 Educational Psychology : Meaning, Nature, Scope and Role
of Educational Psychology in Teaching-Learning Process.
 Concept of Growth, Maturation and Development.
 Principles of Growth and Development.
 Heredity and Environment : Concept, Importance of Heredity
and Environment in Child’s Development.
Unit 2: Managing Individual Differences
 Individual Differences : Meaning, Dimensions (Cognitive
Abilities, Interest, aptitude, Creativity, Personality, Emotions,
Values, Attitudes, Study Habits, Psycho-motor Skills, Self-
concept and Gender.)
 Causes of Individual Differences (Race, Sex, Heredity,
Social, Economic Status, Culture, Rural-Urban Home,
Language Spoken and Language of Instruction).
 Characteristics, Identification and Remedial Measures for
diverse learners (Creative, Slow, Gifted Learners,
Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities.)
 Role of Teacher to minimize Individual Differences.
Unit 3: Social, Emotional and Moral Development
 Social Development : Meaning, Stages and Factors affect-
ing Social Development, Characteristics of Social
Development during Childhood and Adolescence.
 Emotional Development : Meaning, Factors affecting Emo-
tional Development, Characteristics of Emotional Devel-
opment during Childhood and Adolescence.
 Moral Development : Meaning, Stages (Kohlberg), Factors
affecting Moral Development, Characteristics of Moral
 Childhood and Adolescence : Meaning, Characteristics,
Developmental Task of Adolescents, Problems of Adoles-
cence Period.
UNIT 4: Cognitive and Personality Development
 Cognitive Development : Meaning, Factors affecting
Cognitive Development, Characteristics of Cognitive
 Theories of Cognitive Development (Piaget and Bruner).
 Personality Development : Meaning, Factors affecting
Personality, Development all Stages of Personality( Views
of Sigmund Freud and Allport)
 Adjustment : Meaning, Types and Factors affecting
Adjustment, Symptoms of Maladjustment and Role of the
Teacher.
Contents
Chapter—1
Educational Psychology : Meaning, Nature, Scope and
Role of Educational Psychology in Teaching
Learning Process 1-56
1.1. Meaning and Definitions of Psychology 4-5
1.2. Scope of Psychology 5-7
1.3. Basic Psychology Processes 7-9
1.4. Various Branches and Fields of Psychology 9-12
1.5. Meaning and Definitions of Educational Psychology 13-16
1.6. Historical Development of Educational Psychology 16-19
1.7. Nature of Educational Psychology 20-25
1.8. Aims and Objectives of Educational Psychology 25-27
1.9. Scope of Educational Psychology 27-31
1.10. Difference Between Educational Psychology and
General Psychology 31-32
1.11. Limitations of Educational Psychology 32-34
1.12. Areas of Educational Psychology 34-36
1.13. Importance of Educational Psychology 36-37
1.14. Significance of Educational Psychology to Teachers 37-43
1.15. Educational Psychology in Present 43-48
1.16. Role of Educational Psychology in Teaching
Learning Process 48-55
Chapter—2
Concept of Growth, Maturation and Development &
Principle of Growth and Development 57-96
2.1. Meaning of Growth 58-60
2.2. Meaning of Maturation 60-65
2.3. Meaning of Development 65-70
2.4. Importance of Assessing Growth and Development70-72
2.5. Differences Between Growth and Development 72-75
2.6. Stages of Growth and Development 75-76
2.7. Various Aspects of Growth and Development 76-77
2.8. Characteristics of each stage of Human Growth
and Development and Educational Implications 77-80
2.9. Development tasks at Various Stages 80-84
2.10. Essential Principles of Growth and Development 84-91
2.11. Factors Influencing Growth and Development 91-95
Chapter—3
Heredity and Environment : Meaning and Importance
97-128
3.1. Heredity 98-109
3.2. Environment 110-114
3.3. Importance of Heredity and Environment 114-123
3.4. Educational Implications of Heredity and
Environment 123-127
Chapter—4
Individual Differences : Meaning, Types,
Causes and Dimensions 129-192
4.1. Individual Differences : The Concept 130-133
4.2. Meaning and Nature of Individual Differences 133-135
4.3. The Significance of Individual Differences in
Education 135-137
4.4. Areas of Individual Differences 137-142
4.5. Measurement of Individual Differences 142
4.6. Personality as a Individual Difference 143-144
4.7. Dimensions of Individual Differences 144-185
4.7.1. Cognitive 144-146
4.7.2. Self Concept 146-147
4.7.3. Values 147-148
4.7.4. Interests 148-151
4.7.5. Attitude 152-153
4.7.6. Aptitude 153-155
4.7.7. Creativity 155-161
4.7.8. Personality 161-170
4.7.9. Motor Development 170-174
4.7.10. Emotions 175-177
4.7.11. Study Habits 177-181
4.7.12. Gender Issues 181-185
4.8. Educational Implications of Individual Differences
185-186
4.9. Causes of Individual Differences 186-188
4.10. Curriculum and Individual Differences 188-192
Chapter—5
Diverse Learners : Identification, Characteristics,
Problems, Remidal Measures & Role of Teacher in
Minimizing Individual Differences 193-236
5.1. Creative Children 193-200
5.2. Slow Learner 200-213
5.3. Gifted Children 214-224
5.4. Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities 224-230
5.5. How would a Teacher, among Individual Differences and
Teach in a large classroom 230-235
Chapter—6
Social Development : Meaning, Stages and
Characteristics of Social Development During
Childhood and Adolescence 237-260
6.1. Concept of Social Development 237-241
6.1.1. Meaning of Social Growth 238-239
6.1.2. Socialization, Individualization and their
Relationship 239
6.1.3. Levels of Social Maturity 240-241
6.2. Age span for the stages of Psychosocial
Development 242-248
6.3. Characteristics of Social Development During
all Stages 248-253
6.4. Theories Related to Social Development 253-256
6.5. Factors Affecting the Social Development
of the Child 256-258
6.6. Role of the School in the Social Development
of the Child 258
6.7. Teacher’s role in the Social Development
of the Child 258-259
Chapter—7
Emotional Development : Meaning, Functions and
Characteristics 261-292
7.1. Meaning and Concept of Emotion and
Emotional Development 261-269
7.1.1. Children’s Emotional Development 264
7.1.2. Developing Emotional Skills 265-266
7.1.3. Every child is Different 266
7.1.4. How Children’s Sense of Self Influences
their Emotions 266-267
7.1.5. Key points for Supporting Children’s Emotional
Development 267-268
7.1.6. Emotional Reactions of an Individual at the
Earlier Stage of his Development 268-269
7.2. Emotional Development during Infancy,
Childhood, Adolescence and Adulthood 269-272
7.3. Factors Affecting Emotional Development 272-273
7.4. Understanding a Child’s Emotional Behaviour 273-278
7.4.1. Anger 273-274
7.4.1.1 Factors that Contribute to arousal of anger 274-275
7.4.1.2. Accumulation of Annoyances 275-276
7.4.1.3. Displacement of Anger 276-277
7.4.1.4. Values of Anger 277
7.4.1.5. Methods of dealing with Anger 277-278
7.4.2. Fear 279
7.4.2.1. Fears of Different Age Levels 280-281
7.4.2.2 Fear and Anxiety 281
7.4.2.3. Factors Contributing to Fear 281-282
7.4.2.4. Expressions of Fear 282
7.4.2.5. Values of Fear 283
7.4.2.6. Dealing with Fear 284-285
7.4.2.7. Fear as a Problem in Education 285
7.4.3. Affection 285-288
7.4.3.1. Affection between the teacher and pupil 286
7.4.3.2. Lack of Affection by Parents 287
7.4.3.3. Lack of Affection and Consequences 287-288
7.4.3.4. Consequences of Lack of Affection in Schools 288
7.5. Chief characteristics of Emotions During
Childhood and Adolescence 289
7.6. Role of School and Teacher in Emotional
Development 290-292
Chapter—8
Moral Development: Concept, Sages, Factors and
Characteristics
8.1. Meaning and Concept of Moral Development 293-295
8.2. Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development 295-306
8.3. Factors affecting Moral Development 306-310
8.4. Characteristics of Moral Developments 310-312
8.5. Role of teacher in Moral Development 312-313
Chapter—9
Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence : Meaning,
Characteristics and Development Task 315-356
9.1. Concept of Infancy 315-318
9.1.1 Characteristics of Infancy 315-318
9.2. Concept of Childhood 318-325
9.3. Concept of Adolescence 325-355
9.3.1. Characteristics of Indian Adolescents 327-331
9.3.2. Special Characteristics of Adolescents 331-342
9.3.3. Development Tasks 342-352
9.3.4. Problems of Adolescents 352-355
Chapter—10
Cognitive Development : Meaning, Factors,
Characteristics and Theories 357-396
10.1. Concept of Cognitive Development 357-388
10.2. Characteristics of Cognitive Development during
Different Stages 359-361
10.3. Factors affecting Cognitive Development 361-368
10.4. Cognitive Development in Adolescence 368-371
10.5. The brain and Cognitive Development 371-376
10.6. General Cognitive Development pattern 376-379
10.7. Piaget’s thoery of Cognitive Development 380-390
10.8. Activities for the stage of Cognitive
Development 390-394
10.9. Theory of Jerome S. Bruner 394-395
Chapter—11
Personality : Meaning, Factors and
Theories 397-464
11.1. Concept of Personality 397-433
11.1.1. Meaning and Definitions of Personality 399-402
11.1.2. Personality Development 402-403
11.1.3. Factors affecting Personality Development 404-416
11.1.4. The types of Personality 416-421
11.1.5. Heredity and Personality 421-424
11.1.6. Stages of Personality Development 424-429
11.1.7. Personality and Culture 429-433
11.2. Various Methods of Personality Measurement 433-444
11.3. Assessment of Personality 444-445
11.4. The School and Personality Development 445-446
11.5. Theories of Personality 446-463
11.5.1. Gordon Allport : A Dispositional Theory
of Personality 446-456
11.5.2. Psychoanalytic Theory of
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) 456-463
Chapter—12
Adjustment and Maladjustment : Meaning,
Factors & Symptoms and Role of Teacher 465-508
12.1. Concept of Adjustment 465-479
12.1.1. Factor Affecting Adjustment 467-479
12.2.1. Symptoms of Maladjustment 481-482
12.2.2. Causes of Teacher Maladjustment 482-484
12.3. What we mean by Adjustment and
Maladjustments 484-487
12.4. Sublimation and Repression Primitive Drive 487-490
12.5. Role of Teacher in Process of Adjustment 490-495
12.6. Causes of Maladjustment 495-499
12.7. Social Adjustment 499-501
12.8. Social and Interpersonal Relationship 502-503
12.9. Group Dynamics and Teacher’s Role 503-505
12.10. Suggestions for better Adjustment of Teachers 505-506
12.11. Impact of Teacher’s Personality and Adjustment
on Children 506-507
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY :
1 MEANING, NATURE, SCOPE

AND ROLE OF EDUCATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY IN TEACHING
LEARNING PROCESS
Psychology is the scientific study of mental functions and

behaviours. It’s an approach to understand people and their thoughts
and their behaviours. Having its roots in philosophy since its found-
ing, it has emerged as an academic and scientific discipline which
offers various benefits to the humankind. Both, in terms of the
services that are offered and the remuneration that is received, the
study of psychology aids psychologists greatly while helping them
work in several area of the society and dealing with the problems.
Psychology signifies the scientific study of the human mind
and mental states and of human and animal behaviour. It seeks to
predict and control the behaviours while finding out the causes
through observation and reasoning process. The sole purpose of
psychology is to know and understand why people behave the
way they do. The domain of psychology has, in course of time,
emerged as one of the important disciplines while widening its
scopes and being applicable to different fields of human endeav-
ors, such as employment, industries, education, personality devel-
opment and being one of its popular branches, to the treatment of
mental and emotional problems.
1.1. MEANING AND DEFINITIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY
In simple words psychology is a systematic and scientific
study of mental processes, experiences and behaviours - both overt
and covert. The word ‘psychology’ has its origin in two Greek
words ‘psyche’ and ‘logos’. The word ‘psyche’ in Greek language
refers to ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’ and the word ‘logos’ refers to ‘discourse’
or ‘study’. During earlier times it was considered as a discipline
which deals with the study of soul. In India the study of such ques-
tions was the main concern during Vedic and Upanishadic period.
Various aspects of mental processes were analyzed. Subsequently
1
2 CHILDHOOD AND DEVELOPMENT YEARS
the schools of Yoga, Samkhya, Vedant, Nyaya, Buddhism and

Jainism provided detailed accounts of mind, mental processes and
methods to control mind. In modern period it started at Calcutta
University in 1916 with establishment of the Department of Psy-
chology.
In the western world, the formal beginning of psychology as
an independent discipline goes back to 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt
established the first experimental laboratory at the University of
Leipzig, in Germany. Since then the growth of psychology has
covered a long journey. Today it is one of the very popular sub-
jects among social sciences. It studies all the shades of experi-
ences, mental processes and behaviours. A comprehensive analy-
sis of all these aspects provides a scientific understanding of hu-
man nature.
Psychology has recently emerged out as a separate subject of
study. Prior to this it was considered as a part of philosophy. A
Few Year ago, the answer to this question would have been that
psychology is a part of philosophy which studies the human mind
and mental process. But now this conception has changed and
psychology is considered as a separate subject science. Now
Psychology emerged out as a positive science.
In the sixteenth century, psychology was considered as ‘the
science of soul’. This definition was rejected by the different
psychologists as soul was considered as very ambiguous wordand
There was a great controversy about the nature of soul, its location
in the body etc. Therefore, ‘science of soul’ definition was rejected
The Psychologists called it ‘the science of mind’. But difficulty
regarding the meaning of mind still persisted. It was very doubtful
if mind as such can be studied. The mind implies a certain
continuity, unity and personality which remain lacking in insane
or in dream states or even at times in animals. Some psychologists
called psychology as the ‘Science of Consciousness’. This definition
was rejected because there are three levels of consciousness—Focus
of Consciousness, Fringe of Consciousness and Unconsciousness.
In this definition, only one level was taken into consideration by
the Psychologists.
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY : MEANING, NATURE, SCOPE... 3
DEFINITIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY
In the present time, the answer to the question, ‘What is
Psychology ?’ is being given in a different day by different
psychologists.
1. C. Woodworth Says—‘‘Psychology is the science of the
activities of individual in relation to the environment.’’ In the words
of E.
2. In the words of E. Watson’s—‘‘Psychology is the positive
science of behaviour.’’ These definitions contain some truth but
are not fully correct. For example, in Watson’s definition, we must
add the study of animal as well as human behaviour and the
behaviour of the normal as well as the abnormal human beings.
3. A comprehensive definition was get from, Charies
E. Skinner, ‘‘Psychology deals with responses to any and every
kind of situation that life presents. By responses or behaviour is
meant all forms of processes, adjustments, activities and experiences
of the organism.’’
4. According to another definition—‘‘Psychology is the study
of the behaviour of the individual resulting from his adjustment to
the environment.’’ The individual in this definition refers to both
human and sub-human living animal. The behaviour is studied
from the time of conception to death. In brief, we can say that
psychology studies the behaviour of all living animals at all stages
of their development.
The American Psychological Association (APA) says that
psychology a scholarly discipline, a science and a profession.
Psychology is a scholarly discipline because it help us to attempts
to explain principles and theories of behaviour. As a science it
collects, analyzes and interprets data so that the behaviour of an
organism can be understood easily. It is a proportion as a
psychologist applies his knowledge, skills and techniques for
helping the individuals which are suffering from personal or social
problems.
Besides this psychology is an art also. It is an art because it
involves exceptional insight and skills of a psychologist at the
personal level for understanding complex components of behaviour.

A Psychologist may have the knowledge of principles, theories
and techniques of psychology. Psychologists requires artistic
abilities to put this knowledge to skilled use.
Psychology as the Study of Soul—The word psychology is
derived from two Greek words : The word ‘‘Psyche’ means soul
and the word ‘Logos’ means science. So psychology is considered
as the Science of Soul. Democritus (about 400 B.C.), Plato (427-
347 B.C.) and Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)—three great philosophers
interpreted psychology as the science of mind. They believed that
the soul was an entity and it controlled all mental activities. Soul
was not separated from body. Its abode was in the human heart.
Since soul could not be defined properly, this concept of psychology
was rejected by the modern Psychologists.
Psychology as the Science of Mind—Many Scholars like
Descartes (1596-1650 A.D.), Kant (1724-1804 A.D.) admired
pshchology as the Science of Mind. But, the concept of mind had
different connotations. Accordingly, this meaning of psychology
was also rejected by the Modern Psychologists.
Psychology as the Science of Consciousness—The scholars
like William Wundt (1832-1920 A.D.) and William James (1892-
1910), admired psychology as the Science of Consciousness. They
held that the mind constituted only conscious experience. Freud
(1856-1939) criticised the emphasis on consciousness and stressed
that unconsious aspect consists of 9/10th of one’s mind. This
definition of psychology was rejected by the following reasons :
1. The vision of his concept was narrow minded.
2. It does not include all the aspects of the subconsious and
unconscious aspects.
3. It is subjective and unscientific.
4. It does not help in the detailed study of children, old people
and insane people.
Psychology as the Science of Behaviour—J.B. Watson (1878-
1958) defined psychology as ‘‘The Science of Behaviour’’. This
definition found wide acceptability as is evident from the views of
the following psychologists are :
According to Crow and Crow, ‘‘Psychology is the study of

human behaviour and human relationships.’’
Koffika, Kurnt observes, ‘‘Psychology is the scientific study
of behaviour of living creatures in their contact with the outside
word.’’
McDougall, William states, ‘‘Psychology is the science which
aims to give us better understanding and control of behaviour of
the organism as a whole.’’
Woodworth, R.S. (1869-1962) says, ‘‘Psychology undertakes
to make a scientific study of the individual considered as a unit as
he really is in his dealings with other individuals and with the word.’’
He further observes, ‘‘Any manifestation of life is activity and
behaviour is a collective name for all such manifestation.’’
Woodworth concludes the discussion with these remarks, ‘‘First
psychology lost its soul. Then it lost its mind. Then it lost its
consciousness. It still has behaviour of a sort.’’
Skinner explains, ‘‘By response or behaviour is meant all
forms of processes, adjustments, activities and experience of the
organism.’’ James Drever thinks that ‘‘behaviour is the total
response which man of animal makes. Behaviour is both mental as
well as physical’’.
Behaviour includes ‘cognitive’ activities like thinking,
reasoning and imaging, ‘affective’ activities like feeling happy,
angry and sad and also ‘motor’ activities like dancing, swimming
and walking.
1.2. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY
From the definition of psychology now it might be clear to
you that psychology addresses a variety of issues related to mental
and behavioural functioning of an individual. Such a study helps
us to develop a basic understanding about human nature and fa-
cilitates us to deal with a number of personal and social problems.
The study of human beings starts with the functioning of bio-
logical systems especially the nervous system. Under central ner-
vous system psychology studies the functions of various parts of
brain which regulate our feelings, emotions and thinking. Within
autonomic nervous system the role of hormones and neurotrans-

mitters in determining our behaviour is important. In addition psy-
chology studies as to how a given sociocultural environment inter-
acts with innate biological, intellectual and social attributes of the
child and facilitates healthy development of the child.
As a living organism you encounter a lot of sensory input
every moment. Our task is not only to process that information but
to store and retrieve it when it is required to be used. Attention and
perception help to process information. Memory helps us to regis-
ter, retain and retrieve information and thinking provides us the
ability to manipulate and improve the stored information. Within
psychology, all these are studied under the domain of higher men-
tal processes or cognition.
Thus psychology as a discipline has a vast scope. It not only
studies human beings across the life span but also tries to explore
mental processes and potentials in order to facilitate achieving a
better quality of life.
The following points highlight the scope of Psychology—
1. Mental Processes— Psychology as the study of mental
processes tries to investigate the activities happening in the brain
which are primarily non physiological in nature. These mental
processes include perception, learning, remembering and thinking.
These are internal mental activities which are not directly observed
but inferred from the behavioural activities of the person. For
example, we can say that somebody is thinking if he or she displays
certain activities related to finding solution to a mathematical
problem assigned to him or her. All the mental processes like
sensation, perception, attention, thinking, reasoning, learning,
memory, imagination fall within the scope of psychology. As Prof.
Stout remarked, ‘‘All the mental processes which occur in the life
of man fall in the scope of psychology.’’ We can observe various
mental processes directly by looking inside our own minds. Mental
Process is a important part of Psychology.
2. Expression and Behaviour—The range of behaviours
studied in psychology is very broad. It includes simple reflexes
(e.g. eye blinking), common response patterns such as talking to
friends, verbal reports about feelings and internal states and complex
behaviours such as handling computers, playing piano and
addressing a crowd. These behaviours are either observed directly
through naked eyes or are measured through instruments. They
are generally exhibited verbally or nonverbally (e.g. facial
expression) when an individual reacts to a stimulus in a given
situation. Thus in psychology the main unit of investigation is the
individual human being and his or her experiences, mental
processes and behaviours. The expression and behaviour of
ourselves and other people indicate the mental processes constitute
the subject-matter of psychology. We judge that a man with a bright
smiling face is likely to be happy. All the three forms of behaviour
or activities are included in the scope of psychology—
(i) Cognitive behaviour—In this part we include cognitive or
mental activities. These are related to sensation, perception,
awareness, thinking, learning, attention, memory, imagination etc
It is vital part of one’s mental cognitive behaviour.
(ii) Affective behaviour—Under affective behaviour we
include affective activities. Affective aspects of behaviour or
activities are feelings, emotions and sentiments.
(iii) Conative behaviour—Conative behaviour implies
conative activities like walking, playing, running, jumping all the
physical activities etc.
3. Study of Experience—Psychologists study a variety of
human experiences which are mainly personal or private in nature.
They may range from experiences of dream, conscious experi-
ences at different stages of life and experiences when the con-
sciousness is altered through meditation or use of psychedelic drugs.
The study of such experiences helps the psychologist to under-
stand the personal world of the individual.
1.3. BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES
In Education Psychology various physiological processes and
bodily changes are studied. Various mental processes are accom-
panied by physiological changes and bodily activities. For example
emotions are accompanied by physiological changes i.e., when
we are under the spell of emotions changes in heart beat, pulse
rate, blood pressure, digestive system and hyperactivity of glands

and nervous system take place. Every emotional experience in-
volves various physiological changes. We must study these physi-
ological changes and physiological processes.
While studying behaviour it is one of the most important
tasks for psychologists to understand the processes which collec-
tively influence a particular behaviour. These psychological pro-
cesses are
1. Sensation—It refers to our awareness about various stimuli
which we encounter in different modalities such as vision, hear-
ing, touch and taste.
2. Attention—During attention we selectively focus on a par-
ticular stimulus among many stimuli available to us. For instance
while listening to a lecture in the classroom we attend to the words
pronounced by the teacher and try to ignore the other stimuli present
in the classroom, such as noise made by the fan.
3. Perception—In the case of perception we process infor-
mation and make out the meaning of the stimuli available to us.
For example, wo look at a pan and recognize it as an object used
for writing.
4. Learning—It helps us acquiring new knowledge and skills
through experience and practice. The acquired knowledge and skills
further bring a relative change in our behaviour and facilitate our
adjustment in varied settings. For example, we learn language, riding
a bicycle and applying mathematical skills to solve various prob-
lems. .
5. Memory—The information we process and learn is regis-
tered and stored in the memory system. Memory also helps us to
easily retrieve the stored information when it is required for use.
For example, writing the answers in the examination after studying
for the paper.
6. Thinking—In the case of thinking we use our stored knowl-
edge to solve various tasks. We logically establish the relation-
ships among various objects in our mind and take rational decision
for a given problem. We also evaluate different events of the envi-
ronment and accordingly form an opinion.
1.4. VARIOUS BRANCHES AND FIELDS OF

PSYCHOLOGY
The entire study and scope of psychology has been divided
many branches and fields and they are :
(1) Normal and Abnormal Psychology—
(i) Normal Psychology—In Normal psychology we studies
the behaviour and mental processes of normal human beings. This
part deals with the behaviour and mental processes of normal
individuals.
(ii) Abnormal Psychology—This branch of psychology tries
to describe, assess, predict and control those categories of
behaviours which are considered as unusual and non-normative. It
also deals with various categories of psychological disorders which
affect the mental health of the individual. It assesses abnormality
in the individual through standardized psycho-diagnostic tools and
suggests problem specific treatment. Abnormal psychology studies
the behaviour of abnormal persons suffering from various mental
diseases. This part studies causes, nature and preventive measures
of abnormal behaviour such as hysteria, loss of memory, phobia,
psycho-neurosis, psychosis and phenomena of split personalities.
In this part Attempts are made to cure abnormal behaviour by
psychological methods.
(2) Human Psychology and Animal Psychology—
(i) Human Psychology—In this part of Psychology we studies
the behaviour of human beings only. Some of the branches of
Human Psychology (Developmental Psychology) are as under :
(a) Child Psychology—It studies physical, motor, intellectual,

emotional, social, moral and aesthetic development of the child. It
studies the various behaviour aspects of the personality also.
(b) Adolescent Psychology—In this part psychology studies
the behaviour and personality patterns of adolescents. Adolescents
are those persons who are in the age of 12 or 13 to 19 years. This
is a Important part of Child’s Development.
(c) Adult Psychology—Adult psychology studies the
behaviour of adult human beings whose mental level is higher thier
behaviour is more mature than children.
(ii) Animal Psychology—In this part we studies various
behaviour of animals. Sometimes it is called Comparative
Psychology because it also compares human psychology and
animal psychology. Animal psychology is useful for understanding
the human behaviour.
(3) Individual Psychology and Social Psychology—
(i) Individual Psychology (Differential Psychology)—
Individual psychology is also known as Differential Psychology.
It studies the facts of variations existing among different individuals.
Individuals are different in many aspects as physique, intelligence,
attitudes, achievements, aptitudes, interests, economic status,
education, race, culture, sex and family background. No two
individuals are same have certain differents.
(ii) Social Psychology (Group Psychology)—Social
psychology studies the behaviour of an individual in relation to his
social situations. It deals with various types of group phenomena
such as public opinion, crowd, mob, propaganda, attitudes and
beliefs inter-group interrace and international conflicts and tensions.
Thus social psychology studies individual as a member of social
group. It deals with sense certain behaviours of an human about
his Social Studies.
(4) Pure Psychology and Applied Psychology—
(i) Pure Psychology (General Psychology)—When any kind
of science is studied for the advancement of knowledge, we call it
a pure science. But when its study is done with a view to find out
applications of new knowledge for practical human purposes or
social utility we call it applied study.
Hence pure psychology studies the various mental processes

and behaviour of human beings and animals. It discover
fundamental laws and principles underlying their functioning.
(ii) Applied Psychology—Applied psychology applies the
general principles of psychology in real life situations. following
are the some of the branches of Applied Psychology :
(a) Industrial Psychology—Industrial psychology we studies
industrial problems with regard to selection,l training, placement
and efficiency of workers. With the help of Industrial Psychology
we can improve.
(b) Criminal Psychology (Legal Psychology)—It studies the
behaviour of criminals and its legal implications. In this part are
the efficiency of workers
(c) Military Psychology—It deals with war and other military
problems.
(d) Clinical Psychology—Clinical psychology is primarily
concerned with diagnosis and treatment of various psychological
disorders. A clinical psychologist is trained in psychotherapeutic
techniques which are used to treat people suffering from
psychological disorders. They are employed in hospitals and clinics
dealing with mental health problems. The counseling psychologist
deals with mild problems pertaining to adjustment in social and
emotional life, and provides specialized services to deal with marital
problems, stress oriented problems and career choice. Clinical
psychology is concerned with the cure of various types of
abnormalities, psychosis, and neurosis etc. One of the pioneers in
this field was Sigmund Freud. Four main techniques developed by
Freud and his followers for curing mental patients are : (1) Dream
analysis (2) Hypnosis, (3) Word association and (4) Free talking.
(e) Educational Psychology—This field of psychology is
mainly concerned with academic performance. It studies the role
of various factors which influence learning processes in classroom
setting. It focuses on assessing the aptitude, skills and intellectual
potential of the students and evaluating their performance. An
educational psychologist also helps students to overcome learning
difficulties. Educational psychology deals with the various Learner
and the learning process in different learning situation. Educational

psychology helps the teacher to understand his pupils, to understand
his problem with his own job, to understand the social relationships
and to improve his method of teaching.
During its journey of more than a hundred years, psychol-
ogy as a field of enquiry has grown in many directions. In contem-
porary times a number of specialized fields with focused area of
application have developed. The emergence of different fields in
psychology indicates the importance and relevance of these areas
in our daily life. In this section we will briefly learn about some of
these fields.
(f) Environmental Psychology—This field is concerned with
the study of interaction between physical environment and human
behaviour. It studies the impact of noise, heat, humidity, pollution
and crowding on human performance. It also focuses on the im-
pact of physical environment on psychological health of individu-
als.
(g) Health Psychology—This field focuses on the impact of
various psychological factors (e.g. stress) on the onset progress
and treatment of illness. It also deals with various life style dis-
eases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, cancer and
diabetes.
(h) Organizational Psychology—This field is concerned with
application of psychological principles and models to study the
selection and performance of employees in organizational settings.
It also studies the concepts of leadership, motivation, job satisfac-
tion and performance appraisal.
(i) Developmental Psychology—This field is concerned with
the study of various physical and psychological factors which in-
fluence the systematic changes which the individual experiences
across the different stages of life.
Emerging Fields—In addition to the fields mentioned above
a number of new areas have emerged. Some of these fields are
sports psychology, military psychology, aviation psychology, fo-
rensic psychology, peace psychology, neuropsychology, political
psychology, feminist psychology and positive psychology.
1.5. MEANING AND DEFINITIONS OF EDUCATIONAL

PSYCHOLOGY
Educational psychology has developed through several
periods of time which differ from each other. The roots of educa-
tional psychology are emerged from the era of ancient Greek phi-
losophers and develop through times to become a more interesting
field in Education. Through the changes of educational psychol-
ogy, several theories and approaches emerged and studied differ-
ent issues that have relationships with education as well as psy-
chology. Each one of these approaches and theories has a different
point of view on the teaching-learning process.
Educational psychology is that branch of psychology in which
the findings of psychology are applied in the field of education. It
is the scientific study of human behaviour in educational setting.
According to Charles. E. Skinner, “Educational psychology
deals with the behaviour of human beings in educational situa-
tions”.
Thus educational psychology is a behavioural science with
two main references– human behaviour and education.
In the words of E.A. Peel, “Educational Psychology is the
science of Education”.
Education by all means is an attempt to mould and shape the
behaviour of the pupil. It aims to produce desirable changes in him
for the all-round development of his personality.
The essential knowledge and skill to do this job satisfactorily
is supplied by Educational Psychology. In the words of E.A. Peel,
“Educational psychology helps the teacher to understand the de-
velopment of his pupils, the range and limits of their capacities, the
processes by which they learn and their social relationships.”
In this way, the work of the Educational Psychologists re-
sembles with that of an Engineer, who is a technical expert. The
Engineer supplies all the knowledge and skill essential for the ac-
complishment of the job satisfactorily… for example, construction
of a bridge.
In the same way Educational Psychologists, who is a techni-

cal expert in the field of Education, supplies all the information,
principles and techniques essential for understanding the behaviour
of the pupil in response to educational environment and desired
modification of his behaviour to bring an all-round development
of his personality.
In this way, it is quite reasonable to call Educational Psychol-
ogy as a science and technology of Education.
Thus, Educational Psychology concerned primarily with un-
derstanding the processes of teaching and learning that take place
within formal environments and developing ways of improving
those methods. It covers important topics like learning theories;
teaching methods; motivation; cognitive, emotional and moral de-
velopment and parent-child relationships etc.
In short, it is the scientific discipline that addresses the ques-
tions: “Why do some students learn more than others?” and “What
can be done to improve that learning?”
Educational psychology is the applied branch of psychology
in educational field. It applies various Psychological principles and
practices in the various situations of education, It helps to modify
the behaviour of the learners in an education environment so that
they amicably adjust themselves with the society with the optimum
satisfaction and security.
Here some definitions are given below to clarify the meaning
of educational psychology in its various facts.
1. According to ‘The Encyclopaedia of Educational
Research’. ‘‘Educational psychology is the study of the learner
and the learning-teaching process in its various branches directed
towards helping the child come to terms with society with a
maximum of security and satisfaction.’’
2. Anderson has observed, ‘‘While general psychology is a
pure science, educational psychology is its application in the field
of education with the aim of socialising an individual and modifying
his behaviour.’’
3. Prof. E.D. Peel regards educational psychology as the

‘‘Science of Education.’’
Judd considers educational psychology as ‘‘the science which
explains the changes that take place in the individualy as they pass
through the various stages of development.’’
4. Skinner explains the meaning of educational psychology
as, ‘‘Educational psychology is that branch of psychology which
deals with teaching and learning.’’ He further observes,
‘‘Educational psychology covers the entire range and behaviour
of the personality related to education.’’
5. In the views of Crow and Crow, ‘‘Educational psychology
describes and explains the learning experiences of an individual
from birth through old age.’’
6. Stephen regards educational psychology as ‘‘the systematic
study of the educational growth and development of a child.’’
7. In the words of Trow, ‘‘Educational psychology is the study
of psychological aspects of educational situations.’’
8. Water B. Kolesnik writes, ‘‘Educational psychology is
the study of those facts and principles of psychology which help to
explain and improve the process of education.’’
9. David P. Anasuble defines eductional psychology in these
words, ‘‘Educational psychology is the special branch of
psychology concerned with the nature, conditions, outcomes and
evaluation of school learning and retention.’’
These definitions would indicate that the definition given by
‘The Encyclopaedia of Educational Research’ provides the true
meaning of educational psychology. Other definitions, put
emphasis on the study of the learner but do not emphatically state
the ultimate aim of studying. A mere study of the behaviour of the
learner is not enough unless it is related to the modification of the
behaviour towards desired ends.
From this we concluded that educational psychology is applied
branch of psychology which studies the various experiences and
behaviours of the learners in educational environment which is
mainly provided by the teacher for the purpose of bringing about
desired changes. Therefore, educational psychology becomes a
psychology of teaching and learning. Teaching and learning are

the main processes of education and the learner is a key figure in
the process.
1.6. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
The field of educational psychology has a long and presti-
gious history; it started with the ancient Greek philosophers like
Plato and Aristotle. Now, educational psychology is developed to
discuss the best methods and strategies of teaching and other is-
sues concerning the learning process such as the relationship be-
tween a student and a teacher and the nature of learning.
In the Sixteenth-century, the Spanish philosopher Juan Luis
Vives emphasized on the need of adapting teaching methods ac-
cording to the students’ levels and needs. Additionally, He also
believed that the use of self-comparison assessment methods is
better than competition, to evaluate the students’ work.
We may consider the beginning of Educational Psychology
since 1880 even though we find its refrence in ancient Greek
philosophers’ teachings. For example, Democritus who lives in
500 B.C., has not only written on the education but has also
described how the family affect the child. He has written that the
self-discipline of the parents is very useful in educating the children.
Plato and Aristotle have also give extensive theories relating
education and endeavoured to relate it with the psychology of their
times. In seventeenth century Descartes and Locke have helped in
the increase of knowledge of psychology through their high level
thinking. In the beginning of the 19th century, Pestalozzi told how
education and psychology are related to each other. He admired
education as a process of drawing out from within a person. In the
middle of the 19th century Herbart’s new thinking gave a new
shape to education on the basis of his psychology. But we consider
1880 as related to the beginning of educational psychology because
in this year Galton published his early experiments on
Associationism. Hall also published his early investigations in which
he made a study of child mind through Questionnaire technique.
In 1855, Ebbinghause published his investigations on memory.
James published, in 1890, his book Principles of Psychology. The

views propagated by him brought a revoluation in the educational
field.
In 1890’s Alfred Binet of France began the work that was to
determine the thinking about intelligence and educability in the
twentieth century. In 1905 Binet-Simon scale was discovered. In
1918 Henry Giddard translated it into English in 1908 schools. In
1918 Terman extended and modified the Binet’s call. Simon scale
(the Standford-Biner), with subsequent revisions.
In the beginning of the twentieth century there emerged
Edward Lee Thorndike, who is generally acknowledged as the first
man who night appropriately deserve the lable ‘Educational
Psychologist’. Thomdike proposed a utilitarian theory of learning
through formation of connections between stimuli and responses.
This theory is referred to as ‘connectionism’ as it proposes that
desirable connections are rewarded and undesirable connections
punished.
John Dewey was an American thinker who discovered the
‘progressive education movement’ and produced ideas that
effectively became embedded in psychological thinking and
teaching in professioanl education and that continued to influence
the conduct of education in the second half of the twentieth century.
The period between the World War I and World War II is
marked by three additional influences at work on the character of
educational psychology : psycho-analysis, gestalt psychology and
development in mental measurement. Psycho-analysis has
dominated the thinking of the educational psychologists till now in
the twentieth century. This school of thought was developed by
Freud. Gestalt psychology laid emphasis on the education of the
whole child. Vigorous testing programmes developed after World
War I which continued well into the later half of the twentienth
century.
Origins of Educational Psychology in the India—The
development of educational psychology in India followed by a
different trend. The ancient thinker marked educational Psychology
for understanding of their own behaviour and its relationship with
the material world. In This search they got the knowledge of the
human personality, its development and the processes of its

upliftment to the spiritual heights. The process may definitely be
termed as education while the knowledge of the human personality
can be branded none else but psychology. Thus the beginning of
educational psychology in India is characterized by a philosophical
search of the ultimate reality.
The psychological meaning of educational psychology in the
Indian content was viewed as ‘moksha’. The cravings for sex, lust,
wealth, riches were viewed as the goals of ‘Kama’ and ‘Arth’. The
sublimation of these cravings was sought through the goal of
‘Dharma’. In the education of man all these psychological aspects
were emphasized. The life span of a person was divided into four
‘Ashrams’. The first Known as ‘Brahmcharya’ emphasis was on
celibacy, learning, preparation for life to come. The second that is
‘Grihastha’ the goals of ‘Arth’ and ‘Kama’ within the frame-work
of the norms of the society based on the ‘Dharma’ were put forward.
The third Ashram was that of ‘Vanprastha’ when the person had to
serve the society. These three Ashrams prepared him for the final
phase of life that was ‘Samnyas’, when he was to renounce the
world and prepare himself for death and ‘Moksha’. This was the
main part of Indian living Society.
The early Indian thinkers maily concentrated on the human
behaviour. According to them the qualities of ‘Satva’, ‘Rajas’ and
‘Tamas’ by their predominance produced different types of
behaviour. On the basis of the predominance of anyone in one
particular person the distinction between the personality types was
made. The ‘Sattvic’ person was one who was virtuous and adopted
right conduct. The ‘Tamsic’ was governed by lower passions. They
mainly emphasized for the spiritual doing.
Present Status of Educational Psychology—Educational
Psychology is a main part of our education system represents one
of the oldest psycholgoical disciplines. It comprises the
psychological notions connected with education. It originated
approximately 100 years ago, which corresponds to the origin of
experimental psychology itself (Wundt’s Pschological Institute,
Leipzig, 1879). Since then it has undergone various influences
concerning its subject matter, aims and content.
In the very beginning, the educational psychology as general

psychology (or simple psychology) to the theory and practice of
education and upbringing.
in the second half of the last century when psychology as a
science separated from philosophy. The rise of an independent
scientific discipline is attributable to the experimental method. The
experimental psychology often investigated issues that were directly
or indirectly connected with educational problems. The experimental
psychologists also sought the co-operation of the educators to find
out if the results obtained in the experiments were verifiable,
modifiable and acceptable, i.e. if they helped to improve teaching
practice. The result from experimental psychology drew the attention
of educators to psychology and their interest stimulated the origin
of that branch of psychology directed towards assisting the sciences
of education. This psychology came to be called ‘educational
psychology.’
Educational Psychology has made rapid progress since
1950’s. The number of researches in the various areas connected
with educational psychology are increasing at good speed. We may
mention four general categories which represents most of the topics
of Educational Psychology are being presently used in India and
abroad. These are : (i) Learning, which is the most important topic
in the field, (ii) Readiness for learning, which includes interests,
aptitudes and motivation; (iii) Mental health and social adjustment
which focus on the non-cognitive purpose of the school and
correlates of intellectual learning and (iv) Measurement and
evaluation and the various techniques for assessing the educational
growth of learners, diagnosing their problems and clarifying the
criteria to be used in an evaluation of the school. Presently the area
of educational psychology gained great importance due to the major
scientific development in the form of computers and the
communication satellites. Hence much work in this direction is
also going on. The major concern now is to utilize the modern
technological developments in increasing the education. So this is
very important part of our education system.
1.7. NATURE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

In this chapter we have described that psychology is a science
which related all the aspects of human-behaviour. It is concerned
with the reasons of human behaviour and with those principles
which may predict a behaviour and bring modification in it.
Education is mainly, a social process. The main aim of its is to
modify behaviour. In this sense both education and Psychology
are similar. Educational psychology the fusion of psychology and
education we got to main branch of psychology which known as
Educational Psychology. Educational psychology is the study of
human-behaviour as it is infleuced by the social processses.
Educational Psychology also studies those processes which provide
an understanding of the way in which the modifications are brought
in the behaviour.
Educational Psychology give a social to education. It deals
with the various problems in the education of the children.
Educational Psychology has it primary concern with a view-point,
with the organisation of information and with a group of techniques
and activities for a sound education. It is an area of experiment,
not a collection of specific subject-matter. Through this subject the
contents, techniques and ways of functioning of psychology are
applied in the solution of the problems of the class-room.
It is important to know behaviour that educational psychology
is not, merely general psychology applied to educational problems.
It has its own applied theory. This theory is as basic as the theory
underlying the discipline of psychology. But it is not so general as
the psychological theory and has direct relevance to the problems
of education.
Duric Ladislav says, ‘‘Educational Psychology itself is a
specialized, theoretical, trans-disciplinary science, that has no direct
contribution to make to educational practice. Its contribution is
mediated through the educational sciences and it therefore represents
one of the basic disciplines making up the educational sciences.’’
Its nature is scientific as it has been accepted that it is a Sci-
ence of Education. We can summarize the nature of Educational
Psychology in these ways:
1. Educational Psychology is a science—(Science is a branch

of study concerned with observation of facts and establishment of
verifiable general laws. Science employs certain objective meth-
ods for the collection of data. It has its objectives of understand-
ing, explaining, predicting and control of facts.) Like any other
science, educational psychology has also developed objective
methods of collection of data. It also aims at understanding, pre-
dicting and controlling human behaviour.
2. Educational Psychology is a natural science—An educa-
tional psychologist conducts his investigations, gathers his data
and reaches his conclusions in exactly the same manner as physi-
cist or the biologist.
3. Educational psychology is a social science—Like the so-
ciologist, anthropologist, economist or political scientist, the edu-
cational psychologist studies human beings and their sociability.
4. Educational psychology is a positive science—Normative
science like Logic or Ethics deals with facts as they ought to be. A
positive science deals with facts as they are or as they operate.
Educational psychology studies the child’s behaviour as it is, not,
as it ought to be. So it is a positive science.
5. Educational psychology is an applied science—It is the
application of psychological principles in the field of education.
By applying the principles and techniques of psychology, it tries
to study the behaviour and experiences of the pupils. As a branch
of psychology it is parallel to any other applied psychology. For
example, educational psychology draws heavily facts from such
areas as developmental psychology, clinical psychology, abnor-
mal psychology and social psychology.
6. Educational psychology is a developing or growing sci-
ence—It is concerned with new and ever new researches. As re-
search findings accumulate, educational psychologists get better
insight into the child’s nature and behaviour.
W.A. Kelly (1941) listed the nature of Educational Psychol-
ogy as follows:
(i) To give a knowledge of the nature of the child.
To give understanding of the nature, aims and purposes
of education.
(ii) To give understanding of the scientific methods and
procedures which have been used in arriving at the facts
and principles of educational psychology.
(iii) To present the principles and techniques of learning and
teaching.
( iv) To give training in methods of measuring abilities and
achievement in school subjects.
(v) To give a knowledge of the growth and development
of children.
(vi) To assist in the better adjustment of children and to help
them to prevent maladjustment.
(vii) To study the educational significance and control of
emotions.
(viii) To give an understanding of the principles and tech-
niques of correct training.
Thus, educational psychology is an applied, positive, social,
specific and practical science. While general science deals with
behaviour of the individuals in various spheres, educational psy-
chology studies the behaviour of the individual in educational
sphere only.
These all the main points which highlight the nature of
educational psychology—
1. Positive Science—Educational psychology is a positive
science and not a normaive science.
2. Behavioural Science—It is a science of behaviour of the
learner and the learning process in the learning situation.
3. Applied Science—Eductional psychology is one of the
applied brances of psychology. It is the application of psychological
principles to the field of education. It plays a Important Role in
Education System.
4. Practical Science—Educational psychology is utilitarian
and practical in nature. The teacher makes use of the knowledge of
educational psychology at every step. We can improve education
system with the help of Education Psychology.
5. Experimental Science—Educational psychology is an
experimental science. It makes use of the experimenal method
(scientific method) it emphasises research for truth. It studies the
various features of behaviour and laws governing them. It uses the

method of scientific enquiry and scientific research. Experimental
method is developed and most reliable, valid and accurate method
of studying learner’s behaviour. It provides a procedure for testing
and verifying the validity of our hypothesis and predictions. It
consists of objective observation of actions performed under pre-
arranged, rigid and controlled conditions. On the basis of these
observations certain conclusions are drawn. Various educational
problems relating to teaching, learning process, exceptional
children, discipline and school management have been and are
being understood by method. Thus educational psychology is an
experimental science of human behaviour.
6. Educational Science—Educational psychology is an
educational science. It is a science of education which studies the
behaviour of the learner in educational situations. In words of Peel,
‘‘Educational psychology is the science of education.’’
7. Social Science—Educational psychology is a social science.
Educational Psychology studies the learner its results are applicable
to all the learners or atleast to a group of learners in social situations.
Thus educational psychology has social values also.
8. Specific Science—Educational psychology studies all the
important parts of learner behaviour these facts and principles of
behaviour which are of specific significance and utility for the
process of learning and teaching.
9. Developing Science—The educational psychology is a
developing science and the researches in this field. New facts about
the learner and the learning process in the learning situations are
coming to the forefront on account of researches in this field.
10. Exactness—Educational psychology is not as exact as
laws of physical and natural sciences as human nature is not same.
It mainly work on the human nature.
11. Academic discipline—G. Lester Anderson is of the view

that educational psychology is an academic discipline. These mainly
points have been suggested about educational psychology as an
academic discipline :
(i) Human Behaviour—Educational psychology is focussed
upon the learner’s behaviour.
(ii) Body of facts—Educational psychology is a body of facts
or information that are collected from observation, experimentation
and investigation.
(iii) Principles—Results of educational psychology can be
summarised or generalised into principles or theories.
(iv) Methodology—Educational psychology has developed
a methodology by which investigations are made, information is
discovered, hypothesis and theories are tested.
(v) Solution of educational problems—The methodology is
useful in arriving at the solution of educational problems. Education
Psychology deals with all education problems.
(vi) Substance—The information, the knowledge, the
principles, the methodology, constituting the substance of
educational psychology, provide a base for educational theory or
practice.
12. Scientific Approach—Educational pshchology uses
scientific approach. Educational psychology is a science and the
nature of educational psychology is scientific because of these
reasons :
(i) Scientific Method—Educational psychology uses the
scientific method for solving the problems.
(ii) Factual—Educational psychology is empirical and factual.
Its conclusions are objective.
(iii) Universality—Principles of educational psychology are
universal. For example, learning is influenced by individual, task
and method deals factors, has been found to have universal validity.
(iv) Validity—Principles of educational psychology are valid

in all conditions. These principles have achieved complete validity
through continuous experiments and reverification in different parts
of the world, under varying conditions.
(v) Cause and effect relationship—Educational psychology
studies cause and effect relationship.
(vi) Prediction—After establishing cause and effect
relationship, educational psychology can predict the behaviour and
development of the learner. Prediction can be made about learner’s
future in education and in professional life by analysing his
intelligence, aptitudes, interests and talents.
Thus, we find that educational psychology is a science as it
has all the essential elements of science like scientific method,
factuality, universality, validity, discovery of cause and effect
relationship and prediction.
Nature of Educational Psychology according to
Encyclopaedia of Educational Research—
The Encyclopaedia of Educational Research has defined the
nature of educational psychology in these words, ‘‘Educational
psychology is concerned with the human factor in learning. It is a
field in which concepts derived from experimental work in
psychological laboratories are applied to education. It is also a field
in which experimentation is carried out to test the applicability of
such concepts to education.’’
Nature of Educational Psychology according to David
Anasuble—David Anasuble says that the nature of educational
psychology in these words, ‘‘Educational psychology is the special
branch of psychology which is concerned with the nature,
conditions, outcomes and evaluation of school learning and
retention.’’
1.8. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY
The aims and objectives of educational psychology may be
defined as ‘‘the development of wholesome personality’’ and
‘‘continuous growth’’ through :
(i) ‘‘increasing ability for intelligent self-direction in the

changing social order’’ and
(ii) ‘‘increasing ability for discriminative social functioning’’.
The aim of educational psychology is to help the teacher in
understanding the human nature. This knowledge of the human
nature lead to the growth of the children. Educational Psychology
help in the directing of the learning activities. The children, by
getting proper guidance, will be able to adapt themselves to the
social environment and will be able to discharge their social
responsibilities. Educational Psychology, aims at the harmonious
growth and rightful conduct of the children.
Educational Psychology providing facts to the teacher and
generalization in his task of helping the child to develop the
harmonious personality. The specific aims and objectives of
educational psychology are :
(1) To develop proper attitudes in the teacher about the
educational problems. In Educational Psychology the teacher learns
the proper method of imparting instructions. He gets knowledge as
to what extent learning can be acquired by the children or the extent
to which the social behaviour can be improved or personality
adjusted.
(2) Educational Psychology assist the teacher to set-up
appropriate educational situations so that changes in the behaviour
of the children are to be brought out towards desirable goals. The
teacher, who has a knowledge of the desirable behaviour which is
required of a child, will take up such teaching matter to teach and
adopt such teaching procedures which will bring out the changes
in his behaviour towards such ends.
(3) Educational Psychology help the teachers in treating their
pupils with sympathy understanding and to study their behaviour
objectively. A teacher, who is impartial and sympathetic is the best
person who can analyse the behaviour of the child.
(4) Educational Psychology help the teacher in organizing
the material to be taught to the child. The teacher organizes the
subject-matter properly by having an insight into the children’s
mental make-up.
(5) It helps the teacher in his realization that the social

relationship are of most importance in the process of education.
The teacher by organizing proper activities promotes among his
children the social sense. He aids and co-operates in the student’s
participation in group activities.
(6) It helps the teacher in understanding his own job.
Educational Psychology provides an insight into the problems
which the teacher has to face in his profession. It develops a
scientific attitude of problem-solving pertaining to the problems of
education faced by him.
(7) It provide with such information and techniques to the
teacher that he can analyse his own and others’ behaviour. This
analysis plays a important role for his adjustment of personality.
He can also help and assist others in their growth and adjustment
of personality.
(8) To help the teacher in providing proper guidance
programmes by having an understanding of the individual
differences of the children.
(9) To guide the administrators in the organization and
administration of the educational institutions and to provide a
scientific basis for the supervision of instruction.
(10) To provide methods of measruing and evaluating the
achievement of the pupils objectively and to make assessment of
the native intelligence of the children.
(11) To furnish him with the proper methods of teaching the
subject matter to the child. The various teaching procedures are
put in practice in teaching the child and those which are found
psychologically sound are recommended for his use.
There are many other aims and objectives of educational
psychology which are not of such a great importance as the above.
In any book of educational psychology it is generally the endeavour
of the author to present the facts and generalizations of psychology
in such a manner that its major as well as minor objectives are realized.
1.9. SCOPE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
The scope of educational psychology is ever-growing due to
constantly researches in this field. The following factors will indi-
cate the scope of educational psychology—
1. The Learner—The subject-matter of educational psychol-

ogy is knitted around the learner. Therefore, the need of knowing
the learner and the techniques of knowing him well. The topics
include – the innate abilities and capacities of the individuals, indi-
vidual differences and their measurements, the overt, covert, con-
scious as well as unconscious behaviour of the learner, the charac-
teristics of his growth and development and each stage beginning
from childhood to adulthood.
2. The Learning Experiences—Educational Psychology
helps in deciding what learning experiences are desirable, at what
stage of the growth and development of the learner, so that these
experiences can be acquired with a greater ease and satisfaction.
3. Learning process—After knowing the learner and decid-
ing what learning experiences are to be provided, Educational Psy-
chology moves on to the laws, principles and theories of learning.
Other items in the learning process are remembering and forget-
ting, perceiving, concept formation, thinking and reasoning, prob-
lem solving, transfer of learning, ways and means of effective learn-
ing etc.
4. Learning Situation or Environment—Here we deal with
the environmental factors and learning situations which come mid-
way between the learner and the teacher. Topics like classroom
climate and group dynamics, techniques and aids that facilitate
learning and evaluation, techniques and practices, guidance and
counselling etc. For the smooth functioning of the teaching-learn-
ing process.
5. The Teacher—The teacher is a potent force is any scheme
of teaching and learning process. It discusses the role of the teacher.
It emphasizes the need of ‘knowing thyself’for a teacher to play
his role properly in the process of education. His conflicts, motiva-
tion. Anxiety, adjustment, level of aspiration etc. It throws light on
the essential personality traits, interests, aptitudes, the characteris-
tics of effective teaching etc so as to inspire him for becoming a
successful teacher.
Though the entire scope of Educational Psychology is included
in the above mentioned five key-factors, it may be further expanded
by adding the following:
6. It studies Human Behaviour in educational situations. Psy-

chology is the study of behaviour and education deals with the
modification of behaviour; hence, educational psychology pervades
the whole field of education.
7. It studies the Growth and Development of the child. How
a child passes through the various stages of growth and what are
the characteristics of each stage are included in the study of educa-
tional psychology.
8. To what extent Heredity and Environment contribute to-
wards the growth of the individual and how this knowledge can be
made use of for bringing about the optimum development of the
child; form a salient feature of the scope of educational psychol-
ogy.
9. Educational psychology deals with the Nature and Devel-
opment of the Personality of an individual. In fact, education has
been defined as the all-round development of the personality of an
individual; personality development also implies a well-adjusted
personality.
10. It studies Individual Difference—Every individual dif-
fers from every other individual. It is one of the fundamental facts
of human nature which have been brought to light by educational
psychology. This one fact has revolutionalised the concept and
process of education.
11. It studies the nature Intelligence and its Measurement.
This is of utmost importance for a teacher.
12. It Provides Guidance and Counselling—Education is noth-
ing but providing guidance to the growing child.
We can conclude by saying that Educational Psychology is
narrower in scope than general psychology. While general psy-
chology deals with the behaviour of the individual in a general
way, educational psychology in concerned with the behaviour of
the learner in an educational setting.
Different authors have given different definitions of
educational psychology. Hence nothing definite can be said about
the scope of educational psychology. Moreover, educational
psychology is a growing science with indefinite regions and
unexposed concepts. Many reseraches are still taking place in the
field of educational psychology and it is just possible that many
new concepts, laws and principles of educational psychology may

be derived. It means the scope, areas, problems, fields or boundaries
of educational psychology are ‘‘uncertain and changing’’. The
following areas, fields or problems can be included in the scope of
educational psychology—
I. Behaviour—Educational psychology studies the various
aspects of studied behaviour of the learner in learning situations. It
studies the psychological behaviour of the learner. Psychological
basis of behaviour are instincts, emotions, sentiments, suggestions,
sympathy, imitation and play etc. Physiological basis of behaviour
are nervous system and gands etc. Educational psychology studies
all these psychological and physiological basis of behaviour.
2. Individual Differences—Educational psychology process
mainly clearly with individual differences and suggests ways means
to provide education to all types of pupils. No two individuals are
same. Individuals differ physically and psychologically. Individual
differences are caused due to differences in capabilities,
potentialities and propensities, abilities and intelligence, attitudes
and aptitudes, interests and sentiments, temperaments and traits,
age and sex etc. It must be noted that individual differences are
mainly caused by heredity and environment. Hence, educational
psychology studies all these areas. So Individually difference in
the important part of education.
3. Development Stages—Educational psychology studies the
nature of growth and development and general characteristics of
physical, mental, emotional and social development at the various
stages i.e., at the stage of infancy, late childhood and adolescence.
4. Learner’s Study—Learner is axis of educational
psychology. It enquires how various modifications can be brought
about in the behaviour of the learner, how and when do physical,
social, emotional and language development occur in learners and
how do various instincts make their appearance.
5. Learning—Educational psychology studies nature and
process of learning, laws and methods of learning as well as factors
of learning. Interest, attention, motivation, memory, habits and
transfer of training play very important role in learning. Hence, all
these topics are included in the scope of educational psychology.
6. Personality and Intelligence—Educational psychology

studies human nature, development and assessment of personality
and intelligence. Adjustment problems with special reference to
gifted, backward, handicapped, problem and delinquent children
are also studied in educational psychology.
7. Measurement and Evaluation—Measurement and
evaluation is another important factors of educational psychology.
It gives new techniques and tests for measuring intelligence,
personality, aptitudes, interests and achievements etc. Educational
statistics plays a important role in measurement and evaluation.
8. Guidance and Counselling—It is only after successfully
study of educational psychology that a teacher can discharge his
duties successfully. The teacher has to guide the students at every
stage. Rousseau was of the opinion that a child is like a book whose
every page has to be studied by the teacher. The impact of the
saying is that the teacher should, give educational and psychological
guidance and counselling of the pupils.
9. Group dynamics and Group Behaviour—Educational
psychology studies group dynamics and group behaviour in
teaching-learning process. It studies importance and effect of group
on the individual. It also considers how an individual can modify
the group life. It emphasises the role of groups in the education of
children. It is on this basis that now in the school, the formation of
healthy groups and providing of a healthy environment is considered
most desirable and essential.
10. Research—Educational psychology also deals with the
latest techniques of experimentation and research. We can control,
direct and predict the behaviour of students on the basis of research
studies in classroom teaching. The teacher can take up action
research which he can easily carry for his personal satisfaction and
immediate solution for his difficulties.
1.10. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EDUCATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY AND GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
Nature and scope of educational psychology can also defined
in the light of difference between Educational Psychology and
General Psychology. To a man in the street, educational psychology
is the application of general rules and principles of general
psychology to education. But this is a narrow concept. These are

the following points which showing the difference between
Educational Psychology and General Psychology :
1. Application and Experimentation—Educational
psychology is not merely the application of general rules to
education but it applies the rules and principles of general
psychology, whereas general psychology deals with general rules
and principles.
2. Educational versus general environment—Educational
psychology is deals with the activities of the child in relation to
educational environment, whereas general psychology studies the
general activities of the child in relation to environment.
3. Academic versus professional outlook—The main there
of educational psychologist is that of professional type, whereas
the outlook of general psychologist is that of academic type.
4. Nature versus changes—The Educational psychology
mainly deals with the changes in the nature of the child, whereas
general psychology deals with the nature of the child.
5. Implications—Educational psychology mainly deals with
the implications of the principles formed by general psychology,
whereas general psychology is a body. Which provide general rules.
6. Human beings versus animals—Educational psychology
deals with the human beings, whereas general psychology deals
with the human beings as well as animals.
7. Emphasis—In educational psychology, emphasis is on
learning process and factors. In general psychology, other aspects
of behaviour are also emphasised.
1.11. LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
A teacher cannot become a good behaviour psychologist. For
becoming an effective teacher he needs proper attitude, interest,
aptitude, practice and experience. Educational Psychology provides
him simply with some information. The effectiveness will depend
on teacher experience and approach towards educational problems.
One important limitation of educational psychology is that a simple
knowledge of it does not automatically lead to efficiency in reaching.
Other limitation of educational psychology emerges from its
scientific nature. Through a scientific study the facts come, but it

cannot lead to ultimate decisions. For example, science has enabled
man to produce atomic power but it has failed to answer regarding
the ways in which it is to be used. A decision regarding the use of
this power has to come from social sciences and the considerations
of human welfare. Educational Psychology gives us these
knowledge of the facts. How these are to be used in the teaching-
learning process ?—For it the help of human science and philosophy
is needed.
The third limitation of educational psychology is due to its
nature. The educational psychology has the appearance as a science
but it is different from other science. So its facts are difficult to be
put in a systematic and coherent form as can be easily done in the
case of other sciences.
In Physics or Chemistry or any other natural science the groups
of fact are woven in Laws, Principles or Generalizations. A Scientist
has simply to remember these laws or principles and he becomes
capable of solving the most intricate problems of his science. But
a Psychlogist has to extract the facts relevant to his specific problem
from an amorphous mass of facts. Not only this, he has to learn the
application of these facts in specific environment or situation and
then only he may have some success in solving his problem. So
this is not a natural science in which the laws are learned.
An example may be given. An engineer has to construct a
building. He will study the various principles governing the
construction of the building and this study may enable him to erect
the building. He will gain insight through his study of the principles
about what should be the depth of the foundation ? What mixture
of cement and sand will give solid structure ? Where can the steel
be used with advantage ? Now take the case of a teacher who has
to build the character. He cannot create programme of character
building on any principles or laws. For character-building he will
have to survey the studies regarding heredity, environment. habits,
etc., and then have to decide what steps he can take to build the
character of his student in the typical situation in which he is.
We can, emphasize three limitations of educational
psychology These are—
(1) The application of educational psychology can be made

in limited manner keeping in view of the nature of teaching. The
nature of teaching, the experience, interest, attitude, etc. are essential
for a teacher as the knowledge of psychology; (2) The educational
psychology is limited to the extent that the testing of facts or search
of new facts are only helpful in arriving at a decision. They do not
lead automatically to ultimate decisions or judgements; (3) The
educational psychology is bound by the boundaries of psychology.
1.12. AREAS OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
In words of Lindgren there are three focal areas in education
that concern educational psychologists and teachers—the learner,
the learning process and the learning situation.
THE LEARNER
The learner plays the most important role in educational
process. There can be no teaching without a learner. By the learner
we mean the pupils who individually or in a group comprise the
class-room group. The teaching learning process depends on the
personalities, developmental stages and psycho-social problems
of the students. For effective teaching a knowledge of these and
many other qualities and potentialities of the learner are needed.
With all these the educational psychology keeps its deepest concern.
So learner is most important part of teaching learning process.
THE LEARNING PROCESS
According to Lindgren the learning process is ‘‘the process
by which people acquire changes in their behaviour, improve
performance, reorganize their thinking or discover new ways of
behaving and new concepts and information.’’ Whatever people
do when they learn may be described as the learning process. This
process may be directly observable as while the pupils learn writing,
computing, talking etc. or may be indirectly observable as in
thinking, remembering. The concern of the educational
psychologists is with the way in which the learning process taken
place. They learnt to find out as to what happens when an individual
learns, why he learns, what teachers want him to learn and what
teachers do not want him to learn.
THE LEARNING SITUATION

This process tells about to the environment in which the learner
finds himself and in which the learning process takes place. The
teacher’s behaviour, the class-room setting, the emotional climate
of the school and the interest the community takes in the school
affairs may all form the part of the learning situation. In fact all
those situational factors and personal factors around which learning
takes place are main parts of the learning situation. Now in certain
situation learning is facilitated as when the teachers have positive
attitude, the class-rooms are well-ventilated and seats are
comfortable, while in others learning is inhibited as when the teacher
is very harsh, the community is unsympathetic and school
surroundings are shabby. The educational psychologist is interested
in finding out in which situations learning is facilitated and in which
it is inhibited and why and also how good learning situation can be
created ? These are the learning situations which affect the process
of teaching and learning.
GAINS IN THE STUDY OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

FOR THE PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS
Rivlin says there are five gains which a prospective teacher
should get from the study of educational psychology These are—
(1) The study of educational psychology should develop the
student’s interest in people, both children and adults and help him
to understand them.
(2) The study of educational psychology should effect on the
attitudes, behaviour and psychological understanding of students.
Here Rivlin says that the teacher who studies educational
psychology should learn to see his pupil as personalities as well as
learners. The teacher should develop an insight into the application
of educational psychology to the problems of teachers.
(3) The study of educational psychology should enable the
students to use knowledge that is derived from research studies in
this field and that knowledge helps to explain the ways in which
learning occurs.
(4) The study of educational psychology should improve the
effeciveness of the prospective teacher’s ability to learn.
(5) The study of educational psychology should foster the
student’s appreciation and understanding of research on education.
1.13. IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Educational psychology, is very useful to all sections of society
engaged in pursuing different dimensions of education at all levels
of education, i.e., formal, non-formal and informal.
Educational psychology has a great importance to parents,
teachers, guidance workers, career masters and psychoanalysts etc.
According to W.A. Kelly, educational psychology is helpful
in the following ways :
1. It provide knowledge about the nature of the child.

2. It gives understanding of the nature, aims and purposes of
education.
3. It gives understanding of the scientific methods and
procedures which have been used in forming principles of
educational psychology.
4. It presents the principles and techniques of learning and
teaching.
5. It gives training in methods of measuring abilities and
achievement in school subjects.
6. It provides a knowledge of the growth and development of
children.
7. It is useful in the better adjustment of children and helps to
prevent maladjustment.
8. It helps to understand the significance and control of
emotions.
9. It gives an understanding of the principles and techinques
of correct training.
1.14. SIGNIFICANCE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
TO TEACHERS
The teacher is like a gardener. The gardener needs whole the
knowledge of the plant life. The teacher also needs the full
knowledge of the learner. It is the duty of the gardener to ensure
that all the plants grow and yeild good flowers and fruits and he
can do so when he is had a good knowledge of all the details about
them. The objective of the teacher is to ensure that all the learners
under his care develop into happy and healthy personalities and he
can do so only when he knows how the learners develop and
behave. This knowledge is provided to the teacher by educational
psychology. So it has great importance for teachers also.
The work of the teacher may also be compared to an artist

who must know his material throughly if he wants to produce a
fine piece of art. What will happen to the artist if he starts his work
without understanding the kind of material he has to work with.
The teacher as an artist, is not only required the knowledge of the
subject-matter but also the knowledge child’s nature and the
techinques of changing his behaviour according objectives.
The work of the teacher assume all the more significance and
needs more delicacy and expertness than that of the gardener and
the artist as here, human beings are involved.
R.A. Davis is ‘Applicability and Applications of Psychology
with Particular Reference to Classroom Learning’ has described
the significance of educational Psychology as, ‘‘Psychology has
made a distinct contribution to education through its analysis of
pupil potentialities and differences as revealed by means of various
types of psychological tests. It has also contributed directly to the
knowledge of pupil growth and maturation during the school
years.’’
G.M. Blair in ‘The Psychological Interpretation of Teaching’
has pointed out the importance of educational psychology to the
teacher in these words, ‘‘Modern teacher, if he is to succeed with
his work should be a specialist who understands children, how
they grow, develop, learn and adjust. He should be diagnostician,
who can discover special difficulties of children and at the same
time possesses the requisite skill for carrying forward the necessary
remedial work. He should also be performing importance
educational and vocational guidance functions. No person untrained
in the methods of psychology can possibly fulfill the obligations
and tasks which are the responsibilities of the teacher.’’
The functions are Educational psychology :
1. Acquainting with the knowledge and significance of

individual differences—In this words two persons are not exactly
alike. There are individual differences. Pupils always differ in their
level of intelligence, aptitudes, likes and diskiles. Different minds
are to be trained by the teacher. There are gifted, backward, retarded,
talented and handicapped children. All of them should not be treated
in the same manner. Knowledge of educational psychology helps
the teacher to know individual differences of children.
2. Helping in knowing, evolving and using methods of
teaching—Educational psychology has innented many secrets
about mental forces. Recent researches made in the field give us
valuable suggestions for better methods of teaching, for making
desirable habits and eradicating anti-social tendencies. Educational
psychology tells us about significant play and recreation for the
children. The play-way and project methods the work of learning
into an interesting play.
3. Creating a scientific attitude among the teachers—The
knowledge of psychology can make the teacher more scientific in
his educational practices and consequently he will be more
methodical in his work. So this process is very vital for the teachers.
4. Bringing out a dynamic and progressive change in the
outlook and attitude of the teacher towards his pupils—The
knowledge of psychology can change the outlook and attitude of
the teacher towards children by understanding them adequately.
5. Helping the teacher in his own personal development—
The study of educational psychology can help the teacher to
understand himself. He will realise his own merits and weaknessess
and make attempts to overcome his weakness. So it is helpful to
develop the personaly of teacher.
6. Helping to know nervous system—The entire education

depends on the function of the brain and nervious system. It
becomes essential for a teacher to study the nervous system which
controls human behaviour. He must have the knowledge of sensory
organs which are the gateways of knowledge. With the help of
educational psychology. The teacher can make his teaching
effective.
7. Providing knowledge of John and Latin (Knowledge of
the learner and the subject matter)—Sir John Adams described
in his book ‘New Teaching’. The verbs of teaching govern two
accusatives, one of the person and another of the thing as, ‘the
master taught John Latin’.’’ He says that there are two definite
subjects—John, the student and Latin the subject which are governed
by the verb taught.’’ Now the teacher must understand both John
as well as Latin if he wants to make ‘teaching’ effective. Educational
psychology helps him in understanding ‘John’. He may be a great
scholar of Latin but he will not succeed in teaching Latin to John if
he has no knowledge of the mental set up of John. Acquisition of
knowledge is now no more the main object of education but it is
still very important in the process of educational. Acquisition of
knowledge is also a sort of modification in the behaviour of the
child. For this purpose the educator will have to consider the mental
process of the child and not only the quality of knowledge which
he is going to put into the living mind. So this process is very
significant in teaching learning process.
8. Realising the significance of play—Play is natural tendency
having great educational potentials. Knowledge of educational
psychology helps the teacher to provide for a variety of activities
for children.
9. Enabling the teacher to understand the significance of

measurement—Educational psychology has made many strides
in this respect quite recently. It gives us many reliable tests and
instruments of mental measurement. These are proving to be
extremely useful in the field of education. We can quite easily
measure mental level of the students, basic intelligence,
temperamental attitudes and special inclinations of children and
base educational programmes on these findings. These
measurements that all the children differ and every child is a unique
being. The teacher can know that children with I.Q. below 90
cannot do well in medical, engineering, administrative or other
similar vocations. But he knows that such young ones are not
doomed if they cannot do well in intellectual callings. He can easily
explore some other fields where such children can also flourish.
So it is helpful to teacher to understand the helps of written.
10. Guiding the teacher in the realisation of the aims of
education—The main aim of education is the harmonious and all-
round development of the student. Development comes from within
and the inner potentialities must.
11. Preparing good textbooks and other instructional
material—The knowledge of psychology provides guidance to
the textbook writers to prepare textbooks. Keeping in view the
needs of various catergories of students.
12. Developing human relations—A knowledge of
educational psychology is helpful in understanding the nature of
different sections with whom the teachers come to know.
13. Assisting the teacher in the character development of
the learner—Educational psychology plays a vital role for
formation and development of character. The teacher comes to
know the methods he should adopt in inculcating suitable character
traits and moral principles among the children.
14. Helping the teacher in guidance and counselling—

Students need various types of guidance and counselling. The
knowledge of educational psychology can render very useful
service.
15. Undertaking research in education—Educational
psychology helps the educators and the classroom teachers in
conducting research on subjects with which they are primarily
concerned.
16. Understanding the specific needs of the learners—A
knowledge of educational psychology enables the teacher to prepare
programmes for the gifted as well as the backward students with
the help of the education psychology. Teacher can understand the
specific needs.
17. Enabling is the Teacher to understand the need for
productive activities—A great stress in being laid these days on
work experience and socially useful productive work. Educational
psychology provide a plateform the teacher to know how various
activities in these filds can be used for the fulfilment of the basic
needs of children.
18. Providing guidance to Parents—The knowledge of
educational psychology to parents goes a long way in making them
understand the need for providing suitable environment to their
children.
19. Increasing career guidance competency—Educational
psychology is helpful to the teachers in giving career guidance to
students.
20. Providing knowledge of the process of learning—
Teaching and learning go side by side. All education process tells
depends upon the learning of new responses and the capacity of a
human child to learn new responses. Educational psychology tells
us the nature of learning theories and types of learning for different

age levels and situations. So the, knowledge of educational
psychology become essential for a teacher.
21. Preparing suitable Curriculum—Education Psychology
helps in Curriculum preparation for different age groups.
1.15. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN PRESENT
What is educational psychology ? The view generally accepted
is that educational psychology (the discipline concerned with
teaching and learning process; applies the methods and theories of
psychology and has its own as well) is a distinct with its own
theories, research methods, problems and techinques. Educational
psychologists continue there research on learning and teaching and
at the same time, work to improve educational practices (pintrich,
2000). In order to understand as much as possible about learning
and teaching, educational psychologists examine what happens
when someone (a teacher or parent or computer) teaches something
(mathematics or weaving or dancing) to someone else (student, or
co-worker or team) in some setting (classroom or theater or gym).
So educational psychologists study child and adolescent
development; learning and motivation—including how people learn
different academic subjects such as reading or mathematics; social
and cultural influences on learning; teaching and teachers; and
assessment, including testing.
All this research, are the findings of educational psychologists
really that helpful for teachers ? After all, most teaching is just
common sense, isn’t it ? Certainly not. Whatever appears as obvious
is basically the result of meticulous research done by teachers and
researches.
You may have thought that educational psychologists spend
their time discovering the obvious. When a principle is stated in
simple terms, it can sound simplistic. A similar phenomenon takes

place when we see a gifted dancer or athlete perform; the well-
trained performer makes it look easy. But we see only the results
of the training, not all the work that went into mastering the individual
movements and bear in mind that any research finding—or its
opposite—may sound like common sense. The issue is not what
sounds sensible, but what is demonstrated when the principle is
put to the test in research—our next topic (Gage, 1991).
Using Research to Understand and Improve Learning
Quickly, list all the different research methods you can name.
Educational psychologists design and conduct many different
kinds of research studies. Some of these are ‘‘descriptive,’’ that is,
their purpose is simply to describe events in a particular class or
several classes.
The Role of Time in Research—The role of research is very
important. Many things that psychologists want to study, such a
cognitive development, happen over several months or years.
Ideally, researchers would study the development by observing
their subjects over many years as changes occur. These are called
longitudinal studies.
Correlation Studies—The results of descriptive studies
include reports of correlations. We will take a minute to examine
this concept, because you will encounter many correlations in the
(without any definite pattern; following no rule) means each
participant has an equal chance of being in any group.
In these groups, the experiementers change some aspects of
the situations to see if this change or ‘‘treatment’’ has an expected
effect. The results in each group are then compared. Usually,
statistical tests are conducted. When differences are described as
statistically significant (not likely to be a chance occurence), it
means that they probably did not happen simply by chance. For
example, if you see p < .05 in a study, it shows that the result
reported could happen by chance less than 5 times out of 100, and
p < .01 means less than 1 time in 100. Various studies will examine
attempt to identify cause-and-effect relationships by asking
questions such as this: If teachers ignore students who are out of
their seats without permission and praise students who are working
hard at their desks (cause), will students spend more time working
at their desks (effect) ? This actually is a field experiement because
it took place in a real classroom setting and not a laboratory.
Single-subject Experimental Designs—The main purpose of
single-subject experiemental studies (systematic interventions to
study effects with one person, often by applying and then
withdrawing a treatment) is to check the effects of a therapy or
teaching method or other intervention. One common approach is
to observe the individual for a define period (A) and assess the
behaviour of interest; try an intervention (B) and note down the
results; then remove the intervention and go back to baseline
conditions (A); and finally reinstate the intervention (B). This form
of single-subject design is called an ABAB experiment. For
example, a teacher might record how much time students are out
of their seats without permission during a weeklong baseline period
(A) and then try ignorming those who are out of their seats, but
praising those who are seated and record how many are wandering
out of their seats for the week (B). Next, the teacher returns to
baseline conditions (A) and records results, then reinstates the praise-
and-ignore strategy (B) (Landrun and Kauffman, 2006). Year ago,
when this very intervention was tested, the praise-and-ignore
strategy proved effective in increasing the time students spent in
their seats. So this is an important part of experiments.
Descriptive Studies—These are studies collect detailed

information about specific situations, often using observation,
surveys, interviews, recording or a combination of these methods.
Reports of descriptive studies often include survey results, interview
responses, samples of actual classroom dialogue or audio and video
records of class activities. One descriptive approach, class
ethnography a descriptive approach to research that focuses on
life within a group and tries to understand the meaning of events to
the people involved, is borrowed from anthropology. Ethnograpic
methods involve studying the naturally occuring events in the life
of a group and trying to understand the meaning of these events to
the people involved. In some descriptive studies, the researcher
uses participant observation (a method for conducting descriptive
reasearch in which the researcher becomes a participant in the
situation in order to better understand life in that group) and works
within the class or school to understand the actions from the
perspectives of the teacher and the students. Researchers also
employ case studies (intensive study of one person or one situation).
A case study investigates in depth how a teacher plans courses, for
example, or how a student tries to learn specific material.
Microgenetic Studies—The purpose of microgenetic (detailed
observation and analysis of changes in a cognitive process as the
process unfolds over a several-day or several-week period of time)
research is to intensively study cognitive processes related to
change—as the change is actually happening. For example,
researchers might analyze how children learn a particular strategy
for adding two-digit numbers over the course of several weeks.
The microgenetic approach has three main characteristics :
(1) researchers observe the entire period of the change—from when
it starts to the time it is relatively stable; (2) many observations are
made, often using videotape recordings, interviews and

transcriptions of the exact words of the individuals being studies ;
(3) the behaviour that is observed is ‘‘put under a microscope,’’
that is, examined moment by moment or trail by trail. The purpose
of this study is to explain the mechanisms of change.
These study are informative, but time-consuming, expensive,
and not always practical—keeping up with participants over years
as they grew up and move can be impossible. As a consequence,
must research is cross-sectional, focusing on groups of children at
different ages. A correlation (statistical descriptions of how closely
two variables are related) is a number that indicates both the strength
and the direction of a relationship between two events or
measurements. Correlations range from 1.00 to — 1.00. The closer
the correlation is to either 1.00 or —1.00, the stronger the
relationship. For example, the correlation between height and
weight is about. 70 (a strong relationship); the correlation between
height and number of languages spoken is about .00 (no
relationship at all).
The sign of the correlation tells about the direction of the
relationship. A positive correlation (a relationship between two
variables in which the two increase or decrease together. Example :
calorie intake and weight gain) indicates that the two factors increase
or decrease together. As one gets larger, so does the other. Height
and weight are positively correlated because greater height tends
to be associated with greater weight. This is the important part of
their process. A negative correlation (a relationship between two
variables in a which a high value on one is associated with a law
value on the other. Example : hight and distance from top of head
to the ceiling) means that increases in one factor related to decrease
the other, for example, the less you pay for a theater ticket, the
farther you are from the stage. It is important to note that correlations
do not prove cause and effect. Hight and weight are correlated—
taller people tend to weight more than shorter people. But gaining
weight obviously does not cause you to grow taller. Knowing a
person’s weight simply allows you to make a general prediction
about that person’s height. Educational psychologists identify
correlations so they can make predictions about important events
in the classroom.
Experimental Studies—This is the second type of research—
experiementation (research method in which variables are
menipulated and the effects recorded)—allows educational
psychologists to go beyond predictions and actually study cause
and effect. Instead of just observing and describing an existing
situation, the investigators introduce changes and note the results.
First, a number of comparable groups of participants are created.
In psychological reaserch, the term participants (also called
subjects—people or animals studied) generally refers to the people
being studied—such as teachers or eighth graders. One common
way to make sure that groups of participants are essentially the
same is to assign each person to a group using a random procedure.
In the study various experiments are done to improving study
relationship.
1.16. ROLE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN
TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS
Educational Psychology and Teacher
Educational psychology helps a teacher in so many ways for
carrying out his various responsibilites. It can be briefly summarized
as belief —
1. To know the learner—Unless the teacher has some
knowledge of the child, he cannot go ahead with his task.
Educational Psychology equips the teacher for understanding the

child in the following different ways —
(1) His level of aspiration
(2) His conscious and unconscious behaviour.
(3) His motivational behaviour.
(4) His interests, attitudes, aptitudes and the other acquired
or innate capacities and abilities etc.
(5) The stage of development linked with his social,
emotional, intellectual, physical and aesthetic needs.
(6) The aspect of his group behaviour.
(7) The conflicts, desires and other aspects of his mental
health.
2. To select organise the subject-matter or learning
experiences—After knowing the child, when the stage is ready for
educating the child, the following questions come in the way—
What type of learning experiences or learning materials are to
be provided to the children.
How should we organise the materials or learning experiences ?
These types of questions, which belong to the area of
curriculum construction, one needs the knowledge of the
characteristics of the learners at each stage of his development, the
nature and laws of learning etc. which come under the domain of
Educational Psychology.
3. To suggest art and techniques of learning and teaching—
After deciding about the learner and the learning material the next
problem ‘how to teach’ is also solved with the help of Educational
Psychology. Educational psychology explains the whole process
of learning and suggest the means for effective and enduring
learning. It reveals how to maintain interest in the learning process.
In this way it acquaints the teacher with the way of making the
pupils learn and thus gives birth to the suitable methodology of

teaching. It also suggests that not a single method or technique is
suitable for all kinds of learners in all circumstances. A teacher
should select a proper device or method according to the learning
situations he facts. In this step teaching uses various techniques for
the learner.
4. To arrange learning situations—Between the learner and
the teacher in the educational process are the learning situations.
Much depends upon the appropriateness of this midway element.
The knowledge of Educational Psychology equips the teacher for
taking care of the desirable learning situations or environment—
where we should have individual learning so self-study and where
the group learning or project work is suggested by Educational
Psychology. The knowledge of group dynamics and group
behaviour gives the necessary art for teaching or learning in the
group. In other words, the study of the impact of the learning
environment (including equipment facilities and aid material etc.)
on the teaching learning process equips the teacher for taking care
of the appropriate learning situations or environment.
5. To know the mechanism of heredity and environment—
The knowledge of the role played by heredity and environment in
the process of growth and development of the child, is very
important for the teacher. He can weight their relative importance
and take a balanced decision for his work. It also a important part
of teaching learning process.
6. Helping in maintaining discipline—Knowledge of
Educational Psychology helps the teacher to have a discipline as it
acquaints him with the nature of child, his strength and weakness,
his interests and apptitudes etc. on one hand and with art and
techniques of teaching and learning on the other hand. Moreover,
his knowledge of the needs, drives, fatigue and motivational aspects

of the learner and above all the knowledge of the behaviour pattern
and personality characteristics of the children—all help him in the
process of maintaining proper discipline with the help of education
Psychology the teacher can making discipline.
7. Rendering Guidance Services—The knowledge of
Educational Psychology helps the teacher in give guidance services
to the pupils. He is the person who can know the child better, even
more even more then their parents. With the knowledge of
Educational Psychology at his command, he is in touch with the
methods of behavioural assessment and appraisal. He can better
diagnose the abilities, interests and aptitudes of his pupils and
consequently have an idea of the direction and speed of their
development. In this way, with the help of Educational Psychology,
the teacher can show the right direction to his pupils for their total
development.
8. Helpful in evaluation and assessment—While proceeding
in the course of teaching-learning process, the need for evaluation
is felt. After giving learning experiences to the child the behavioural
changes occured in him are required to be examined and also in
the beginning the potentialities are to be known. In Educational
Psychology, as applied behavioural science, evaluation,
measurement and appraisal find its place which make the teacher
well-equipped in the task of evaluation with proper professional
skill with the help of Education Psychology to teacher can assess
their pupils properly.
9. Solving class-room problems—There are many problems
like backwardsness, bullying, cheating in the class-room situations
which are to be faced by a teacher. Educational Psychology helps
the teacher on this front also. The study of the characteristics of the
problem children, the dynamics of the group, behavioural

characteristics and adjustment etc. equipped the teacher to solved
the actual class-room problems.
10. Knowing about himself—Knowledge of Educational
Psychology helps the teacher to know about himself. His own
behaviour personality characteristics, likes and dislikes, motivation,
anxiety, conflicts, adjustment etc. are all revealed to him. All this
knowledge helps him in growing as a successful teacher.
By mentioning the these areas we cannot just say that it is all
for which the knowledge of Educational Psychology is needed by
a teacher. Teacher’s needs and problems are too many and have so
many aspects. Educational Psychology being a science and
Technology of Education, helps the teacher in all the phases of
teaching and learning whether informal and formal, curricular or
co-curricular. It does not only equip him for the classroom
instruction but also for the other duties assigned to him like—
construction of time-table, organisation of co-curricular activities,
to seek parental co-operational etc. Educational Psychology is very
Important for teacher.
As he moves further, the need of Educational Psychology
also accompanies him. He needs it as an administrator, research
personnel or an expert in the matter of educational reforms etc.
Educational Psychology and the Learner—The knowledge
of Educational psychology is helpful for the teacher in his teaching
and performing other activities. The learners are equally benefitted
through the knowledgle and skills provided by it for attaining
properly the desired learning objectives. The help rendered as such
to the learner by eductional psychology can be briefly mentioned :
1. Educational psychology may help them to understand their
abilities and capacities. Such knowledge and understanding may
further help them to have proper assessment of their learning

potential.
2. The knowledge of facts and principles related to learning
and motivation may help them to motivated and carry out the process
of earning for the desired learning useualls.
3. The knowledge regarding the process of attention, factors
affecting attention and the things causing distraction etc. may help
them to be quite attentive and alert in the learning process.
4. How does one’s adjustment towards self and the
environment help in the proper attainment of the learning goals,
the knowledge of such mechanism that may help the learners not
only in proper realization of the desired learning objectives in their
student’s life but also equip them with the ability and capacity of
seeking harmony and adjustment in their future life.
5. The knowledge regarding group behaviour and group
dynamics may help them to mould and shape their behaviour
according to the needs and requirements of classroom corporate
learning and instructional environment.
6. As a science of behaviour, psychology has the capacity to
develop required competencies in understanding other’s behaviour
and seeking adjustment to the changing needs and environment.
7. Should be done by the learners in educational situations
can better known through the study of educational psychology
and as a result they may have better control and adequate adjustment
with regard to the attainment of learning objectives in the available
teaching learning situations.
Knowledge of educational psychology may play an vital role
in helping the learners to aehtene their learning goals for the proper
realization of the teaching-learning objectives. In all the teaching
activities performed by the teacher and learning activities performed
by the learners in a class-room situation, the facts and principle

related to educational psychology may help a lot in improving the
processes and products of teaching learning. Infact you may observe
a consumer product and consumer type relationship betweeen the
subject educational psychology and teaching learning.
The impact of heredity and environment on the process and
product of learning, may help the learners to save themselves for
falling vicitms to an evil propaganda of giving undue importance
to hereditary influences. It can help the children belonging to lower
castes, scheduled tribes, backward areas and sons and daughters
of mentally handicapped, unpriviledged, illiterate and otherwise
deprived parents for not being haunted with the iedas and felling
of disappointment, despair and frustrations on account of their poor
hereditary stock and adverse environment situations. They may
learn that it is their hard work and form determination that is
responsible for the desired fruits in any teaching-learning process.
For better results in teaching-learning process are always the
out comes of taking advantages of the available resources and
learning situations, therefore, they must try to grasp the best
opportunities available to them for their learning and not waste
their time and energy in otherwise useless activities determinental
to their progress.
There are many useful topics containing valueable learning
material in the subject educational psychology like psychology of
learning, memory and forgetting, transfer of learning and teaching
etc. that may provide them sufficient knowledge and skills for
improving their attemps in teaching and utilising the product of
learning in the desired ways.
Habits makes a man by shaping his behaviour and personality
in a specified direction. However, bad habits affect one’s
development and progress. Knowledge of educational psychology

in this respect may provide better lessons and skills for the
modification of the behaviour in the desired direction by suggesting
the ways and mean of picking up good habits and getting rid of
bad habits.
The process of teaching and learning, through its many ways
and means is always directed to seek and all round proper growth
and development of the personality. What is this all round growth
and development and how does the growth and development in
one or the other aspects like physical, mental, social, emotional,
moral etc. influence the related growth and development in the
other, the knowledge of such aspects may help the learners and
teacher to direct their attention and attempts for the better realization
of their major objective.
In this way, we may observe a close bond and relationship
between this applied aspect of psychology and teaching learning
process carried out in the educational environment for helping the
younger generation to reach the ultimate heights.
EXERCISE
Essay Type Questions
1. What is the meaning of Psychology ? Mention its scope
in detail.
2. Describe the various basic Psychological processes.
3. What are the various branches of Psychology. Write in
detail.
4. Describe the Historical Development of Education
Psychology.
5. What do you know about the nature of Education
Psychology.
6. What the difference between Educational Psychology and

General Psychology.
7. Write down the various objectives of Educational
Psychology. How it is important in Teaching Learning
Process.
8. What are the different areas of Education Psychology.
Short Answer Type Questions
1. Write the importance of Education Psychology in brief.
2. Write two definitions of Psychology.
3. What do you mean by Learning Situation ?
4. What is the significance of Education Psychology ?
5. What is the importance of Psychology in Teaching
Learning Process ?
CONCEPT OF GROWTH,
2 MATURATION AND
DEVELOPMENT & PRINCIPLE OF
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
‘Growth’ and ‘Development’ are often used as synonymous

terms. But, in fact, growth is different from development. Growth
means an increase in size, height, weight, length etc. which can be
measured. Development, on the other hand, implies change in
shape, form or structure resulting in improved working or in
functioning. Improved functioning implies certain qualitative
changes leading to maturity. Growth and Development are the
important characteristics of a living organism. Development
involves a series of progressive, orderly and meaningful changes
leading to the goals of maturity. Normally Growth contributes to
Development. In reality though ‘Growth and Development’ are
different, but they are inseparable. Generally process of Growth
and Development goes on simultaneously.
All Human beings change throughout their lives. As they pass
various stages of their lives, their physical capabilities grow as they
reach adulthood and decay as they reach old age. The rate at which
the changes take place vary from individual to individual. A child
born into the world is storehouse of potential or things he can do.
The way these potentials are nurtured depends on his environment.
These changes in him have been broadly described as ‘‘growth
and development’’. Growth refers to an overall increase in the body
dimensions of an individual. Thus from birth to adulthood a steady
increase in height, weight and internal organs of an individual can
be designated as growth of an individual.
Development refers to the progressive change in the social,
emotional and psychological capabilities of an individual. We can
say that, an individual is developing when he gradually learns to
interact well with others and socialize, handles his emotions in a
better way in adverse situations etc. Development takes place as a
result of individual’s interactions with his environment and changes
that he brings about in himself to adjust well in it.
57
It is very important for the teachers and parents to understand

the patterns of human development. Understanding principles
growth and development helps parents and teachers to know what
they should expect of a child of a certain age and how to help the
child according to his age ? As human beings grow and develop,
they pass through phases of childhood, adolescence, adulthood
and maturity. On the basis of study of these phases there are certain
standards of heights, weight, emotional maturity, social skills etc.
that have been laid down.
Parents and teachers should have knowledge of these phases.
This will help them to ensure that they are not expecting too much
or too less of a child of certain age. At this time they will be in a
position to help in the child’s proper development if they find the
child lagging in some skills. They would be able to understand the
emotional and behavioural changes taking place in the child and
help the child in facing anxieties that occur due to these changes.
So the knowledge of growth and development in very essential.
2.1. MEANING OF GROWTH
Growth is the progressive increase in the size of a child or
parts of a child. Development is progressive acquisition of various
skills (abilities) such as head support, speaking, learning, expressing
the feelings and relating with other people. Growth and development
go together but at different rates.
Growth can be defined as an of increase in bodily dimensions
i.e. height and weight and it is confined to quantitative changes.
So, growth means increase in size, height and weight. It implies
growth of heart, brain, muscles and body. It can easily observed
and measured.
The following points highlight the meaning of growth from
psychological point of view :
1. Interinsic Process—Growth is an intrinsic process. Arnold
Gessel Says, ‘‘Growth is the function of the organism rather than
of the environment. The environment furnishes the soil and the
surroundings for the manifestation of development, but these
manifestations come from inherent inner organism and an interinsic
physiology of development. Growth is a process to intricate and so
CONCEPT OF GROWTH, MATURATION AND DEVELOPMENT... 59
sensitive that there must be powerful stabilizing factors, intrinsic

balance of the total pattern and direction of the growth trend.’’
2. Intrinsic Changes—Growth define the intrinsic changes
in the human body i.e., the enlargement of muscles, elongation of
skelton and increase in the general size of internal body parts and
internal organ systems.
3. Extrinsic Changes—In psychology, the term ‘growth’ is
used in a purely physical, it generally refers to an increase in size,
length, height and weight.
4. Aspect of development—Growth is simply (an aspect) Trees
grows refers to qualitatives changes of development. Development
has both quantitative as well as qualitative aspect. The quatitative
aspects of development is known as growth.
5. Measurable—Growth can be measured. It can be observed,
quanitified and measured.
6. Dependent upon various factors—Growth is unifying
concept. It is depend on the interaction of many factors like the
education, environment, glandular secretions and health etc.
7. Not continuous—Growth is not a continous at life long
process. It starts with conception and continues upto some particular
stage. It stops when the person attains maturity. So it is not
continuous process.
WHAT IS MATURATION IN PSYCHOLOGY?
In psychology, maturation is the process of development in
which an individual matures or reaches full functionality. Originally,
maturation examined only biological forces, such as the aging
process, involved in a child’s changes in behavior. Maturation
theories evolved to include cognitive development as a result of
biological maturation and environmental experiences. Modern
concepts of maturation theorize that it is the process of learning to
cope and to react in emotionally appropriate ways.
Along with growth and learning, maturation is one of three
processes that play a central role in a person’s development.
Maturation does not necessarily happen along with aging or physical
growth, but is a part of growth and development.
The concept of maturation was pioneered by Arnold Gesell

in the 1940s. He emphasized nature’s role in human development.
In developmental psychology, the concept of maturation was
advanced by Jean Piaget. For him, simply growing up played a
crucial role in children’s increasing capacity to understand their
world, posing that children cannot undertake certain tasks until
they are psychologically mature enough. Today, cognitive theories
of development do not adopt a strictly biological perspective.
Instead, maturation relates to the interplay between genetics and
socio-environmental influences. Also, maturation is no longer seen
as being limited to childhood.
2.2. MEANING OF MATURATION
Maturation is growth which takes place regularly in an
individual without special condition of stimulation, such as, training
and practice. For example, at a particular age, all the children
learn to work or to do some other activity. They show such growth
even when their environmental conditions differ within a wide
range. Learning, on the other hand, is a change in behaviour which
depends on the stimuli provided by the environment. This child
learns according to the experience he gets and the environment in
which he is placed. It involves training and practice.
Learning and maturation are closely interrelated. Sometimes
it becomes difficult to say definitely as to which of the behavioural
changes are the result of learning and which are the consequences
of maturation.
Maturation, in fact, is a natural process. It is the growth which
takes place in the individual. The changes on account of maturation
are the results of unfolding and ripening of inherited traits. They
are relatively independent of activity, experience and practice. M.L.
Biggie and M.P. Hunt says : ‘‘Maturation is development process
within which a person from time to time manifests different traits,
the ‘blue prints’ for which have been carried in his cells from the
time of his conception.’’ This maturation involves changes that are
associated with normal growth.
1. Gesell’s View—Maturation is the ‘‘net sum of the gene
effects operating in a self-limited life cycle.’’
2. Boring, Longfeld and Weld Says—‘‘Maturation means

growth and development that is necessary either before any
unlearned behaviour can occur or before the learning of any
particular behaviour can take place.’’
3. In the words of Gates and Jesild,‘‘Maturation is growth
that proceeds regularly within a wide range of environmental
conditions or that takes place without special conditions of
stimulation, such as training and practice.’’
4. Garry and Kingsley says—‘‘Maturation is the process
where by behaviour is modified as a result of growth and
development of physical structures.’’
5. Sister Barhara Geoghegam—In her book‘‘Developmental
Psychology’’ Sister Barbara says that maturation refers to ‘‘the
attainment, the fullness of development of function.’’
In the light of above definitions we can say that maturation is
essentially a process of modification from within, an innate ripening
or development of the capacities of the organism.
Meaning of maturation can be illustrated by stating the
characteristics of maturation. These are some characteristics of
maturation.
Characteristics of Maturation—
1. Sum of gene effects—Maturation is the sum of gene effects
operating in a self-limiting life cycle. It is purely based on heredity.
It is the process of describing underlying potential capacity of an
individual.
2. Automatic Process —Maturation is an automatic process
of somatic, physiological and mental differentiation and integration.
3. Growth and Development—Maturation means the growth
and development that is necessary either before any unlearned
behaviour can occur or before the learning of any particular
behaviour can take place. It involves both structural and functional
changes or performance. It helps an individual with structual change
to reach at the stage of functional readiness.
4. Completion of growth—Maturation is a stage of completion
of growth and consolidating of mental, social and emotional
development.
5. Modification from within—Maturation is essentially a

process of modification from within and innate ripening and
development of capacities of the organism.
6. Condition of learning—Maturation is an essential condition
of learning. It is the basis of learning and learning is the only source
that makes human development complete.
7. Factors of Maturation—Maturity has been considered as
the process of learning. There are three factors underlying the
process of learning :
(i) Acquisition—Acquisition is helpful in modifying the
behaviour. It is the acquisition which determines the meaning, nature
and scope of learning. It makes the learner mentally prepared to learn.
(ii) Retention—Without retention, the learner fails to express
the acquired trait.
(iii) Recall—It is only potential recall through which we form
opinion about the maturity and learning behaviour of the learner.
8. Essential for Learning Skill—Maturity is a essential
learning skill. Maturity is essential for physical and mental training.
Physical and mental maturity is essential to get proficiency in any
work. As maturity is an automatic process, there is no need of
external arousing objects or stimulus.
9. Maturity and Physical Fitness—The development of
mature learning behaviour also depends on physical fitness of the
learner. Acquisition, retention and recall perform their functions
successfully only when body apparatus is capable in making the
development of these factors properly. Physical deficiency or illness
obstructs the learning process of the child. Till the body apparatus
is not stout or muscles are not strong enough, expected modification
in behaviour of the child is not possible. maturity has been named
as physical fitness.
10. Training before maturity is unless—Training imparted
before maturity is unless to learn any activity. Physical maturity is
as important as mental maturity. Hence, before imparting training
to the child, it is the foremost duty of the parents and the teachers
to see that the child is fully matured or not, from the point of view
of his physical and mental maturity. Disobedience of the norm will
result into disappointment. Maturation and learning have been
considered as two different aspects of the same process.
S. Alexandra says, ‘‘Maturation is essentially a process of

modification from ‘within’, an ‘innate’ or development of the
organism and growth in structure and function that occurs by reason
of forces inherent in the organisms itself.’’
Maturation and Learning—
Maturation and learning are not separate and they are the major
causes of development. Rather they are closely inter-related, the
one aiding or retarding the other. Maturation, which depends upon
hereditary endowment, provides the raw material for learning and
determines the more general patterns are sequences of individual’s
behaviour. But without practice, development would not take place
through maturation alone. It is wrong to presume that maturation is
limited to the pre-natal and learning to the post-natal periods of
individual’s life.
There are certain phylogenetic functions which are common
to the race, e.g., crawling, creeping, sitting, walking etc. They are
mostly due to maturation and less due to learning. There are other
ontogenetic functions which are due to the individual only e.g.,
swimming, cycling etc. they are mostly due to learning and less
due to maturation.
The upcoming facts emerge from our present knowledge of
the interrelationship of maturation and learning :
1. Individual differences in attitudes, interest, ambitions and
personality patterns are not due to maturation alone but due to
maturation and learning. If development is the result of maturation
alone, there would not have been individual personalities.
2. Maturation sets limits beyond which development cannot
progress even with the most favourable learning methods and the
strongest motivation on the part of the learner. The point has been
stressed by Cattell and others when they say, ‘‘All learning and
adjustment is limited by inherent properties of the organism.’’
3. Inter-relationship between maturation and learning
establishes a ‘‘time-table’’ for learning. The individual cannot learn
until he is ready Developmental readiness provides the ‘‘teachable
moment’’ when the tast should be learned. In words of Scott, ‘‘Any
attempt to teach a child or animal to too early a period of
development may result in his learning bad habits or simply in his
learning ‘‘not to learn’’ either of which results may greatly handicap
him in later life.’’ Trying to teach a child to read, for example,
before his spontaneous vocalisations have developed will often
dampen his interest in reading. Similarly forced toilet training often
results in enuresis. Many under achievers in schools and colleges
are the products of forced learning on the part of every zealous
parents.
Difference between Maturation and Learning—
Maturation
1. Based on heredity—Maturation is primarily based on
heredity.
2. Automatic process—Maturation is automatic process for
behavioural change. The changes occurs automatic in maturation.
3. Age-limit—There is age-limit for the process of maturation.
4. Related to structure—Maturation is related to the structure
and potential capacity.
5. No need for practice—Practice is not required for
behavioural change.
6. No effect of motivation—Motivation has no effect on
maturation.
7. Racial differences—Maturation is influenced by racial
differences.
8. All situations—Both suitable and unsuitable type of
situations are used.
Learning
1. Based on environment—Learning is primarily based on
environment. The environment plays a important role in learning.
2. Planned process—Learning is planned process for the
modification of behaviour. It is purely planned process.
3. No age-limit—There is no age limit for learning. Learning
is a life long process.
4. Related to experiences—Learning is related to activities
and experiences.
5. Need for practice—Practice is essential for behavioural
change.
6. Essentiality of motivation—Motivation is essential for
learning.
7. Psychological differences—Learning is affected by
psychological differences.
8. Conducive situations—Only conducive or suitable

situations are used.
Educational Implications—A development process is human
life span from birth to death. It has been divided into many phases
or stages. On the basis of different skills and characteristics that
human show at different skills and characteristics that human show
at different ages. Each stage has its own challenges. Knowledge of
these characteristics and challenges is very useful. It helps in finding
better ways to face the challenges by improving skills possessed at
each stage.
Maturation and learning helps the parents or the teacher to
know what and when to begin training. The knowledge of the role
played by maturation suggests that if the child is not old or mature
enough to profit by teaching, it has little value for him and mere
time and effort on the part of the teacher is wasted. Thus if learning
precedes maturation, there is more wastage of time and energy.
Learning should begin when the child is ready to learn.
2.3. MEANING OF DEVELOPMENT
Development is a complex process in comparison to the
process of growth. The results of development are quite complex
and difficult as far as their actual assessment and measurement are
concerned. Development refers to those effects upon the person’s
cognitive emotional system which strengthen or enlarge one or
more of them, increase their number or interrelate them in some
different way. In brief development is confined to qualitative
changes in organism at the time.
Development is the progressive process of various skills
(abilities) such as head support, speaking, learning, expressing the
fellings and relating with other people. It is said that each child
follows a different path in growth and development that is carried
on from the beginning of life of conception what child has inherited
from both parents. If a child is genetically determined to be clever,
then development will be more rapid. Unfortunately, may things
may change the genetically determined path of growth and
development. These things may include, for example, infections,
lack of care, psychological trauma, bad education and malnutrition,
etc.
The normal infant who is protected from infections develops

quickly, particularly during the first 3 months. It is very important
to know the age ranges when most children acquire certain skills.
The various skills the baby and a young child learn are called
milestones. In monitoring development, we notice at what age the
child achieves various milestones, such as smiling at the mother,
sitting without support, grasping objects with his/her hands,
standing, walking and talking. You should record at what age the
child has achieved the various milestones.
Still, it is important to remember that every child develops at
his/her own rate or pace. Some walk early, others late. The
individual child’s development rate often differs widely from the
average but it may still be quite normal. The individual child’s
development is normal if the rate of development is constant and
the developmental pattern is within the normal range.
Definitions—
Hurlock says, ‘‘Development can be defined as a progressive
series of changes in an orderly coherent pattern towards the goal
of maturity.’’
In the words Stevenson, ‘‘Development is concerned with
the study of changes in behaviour through the life span.’’
According to Libert, Poulos and Marmor : ‘‘Development
refers to a process of change in growth and capability over time, as
function of both maturation and interaction with the environment.’’
Development can be defined as emergence and expansion of
the individual to provide greater facility in functioning such as
development of motor ability. It is achieved through growth.
Factors Promoting Development
The various factors that promote development include good
nutrition, emotional support, play and language training. We shall
discuss each of them in detail, starting with good nutrition.
Good Nutrition—Good nutrition is important for normal
growth and development. Unlike most other organs in the body,
the brain is not fully developed at birth. Good nutrition in the first
6 months of life is important. Malnutrition in this period may restrict
the growth of the brain. As a result of imparied brain growth, the
child may suffer for the rest of life if the child does not get enough
good food. A malnourished child is often tried, apathetic and not

interested in learning new things that will promote normal
development. So good Nutrition is very important for Infants.
Emotional Support—The first 5 years of life are critical for
the foundation of the skills which are developed in the following
periods of the child’s life. A new born starts his life with no
knowledge and learns a great deal during his/her first year of life.
It is very important to realize that a child is a growing and
developing human being right from birth. He ought to be treated
very carefully, with love and respect, so that he can develop
normally. He needs full emotional support. There are eight basic
need for a healthy emotional development of a child.
These are—
Love—Love and concern is very important in Child Life. Love

and concern are first hunger of a child. A child needs to feel loved
continously. A child who does not feel loved will not develop
properly and will not learn as quickly as other children. Instead, he
becomes sad and lonely and no longer interested in what goes on
around him.
Security—Safety comes first. A child needs to feel safe. He
can only feel safe if his parents show that they love him and take
good care of him. He must know that his parents will look after
him and help him, that they will feed him when he is hungry, play
with him, and keep him happy and comfortable. The love and
security a child gets from the mother and family helps him to
develop a sense of trust for the people, initially the family members
and later people outside the family.
Acceptance as an individual—A child enjoys being accepted
as an individual. A child needs to know that his mother and family
love him for what he is. They should not compare him with other
children and tell him that he is slow to do this or that, or that he is
not as good as some other child. They should respect him as an
individual with his own likes and dislikes. They realize he is unique,
as all children are unique.
Self-respect (self-esteem)—Children should feel that they are
of great value. They are precious. They should be able to do things
by themselves, they can achieve success and their success will be
recognized. Anything suggesting that a child is inferior is very
disturbing to the child.
Achievements—A sense of satisfaction and achievement
motivates a child to do something innovative and explores his
potentials. The child should feel the need of achieve. The parents
should not do anything that the children can do themselves. They
should be given freedom to do everything.
Recognition—A child enjoys recognition by his or her parents.
A child should know that his parents are happy and pleased when
he has learned to do something new. Parents should help a child to
do things and encourage him to make achievements. They should
also teach the child because they love him and show that they are
proud of him. This helps the young child to feel secure and to learn
more easily. All the positive effects of the child should be
recognized and reinforced. Recognition plays a vital role in
Development.
Independence—Independence is a necessary thing for
development. Independence is a necessary. A child should know
as to how to make decision. As the child grows he needs to be
allowed to decide more and more things for himself and learn how
to be independent. The parents must not unnecessarily limit the
child’s independence and exploration by overprotection and over
anxiety.
Authority—A child needs his parent’s authority mixed with

affection. The parents train the child to learn to obey the rules of
the home, the neighbourhood, the school and the society. The rules
indicate what the child may do and what he may not do. What the
child may not do is clearly and firmly disproved and discouraged.
The discouragement is achieved by permitting consequences of
undesired behaviour. The child thus learns to accept the restrictions
that are there in life.
Play—Play is an important factor the development of a child.
Play is an irreplaceable source of information, stimulation for the
brain, stimulation for the muscles and a lot of fun. All these are
necessary for physical, mental and social development. All children
like to play. If a young child does not play, he may be ill. Encourage
playing, even if it may be noisy sometimes. Expensive toys are not
necessary for play. Young children will improvise toys from
common objects such as paper (but not plastic bags), sticks and
stones. The parents should make sure that the child does not injure
him/herself with any of the toys. For example, parents should ensure
that a toy is not too small, as a child can easily choke on small
objects.
To help a child play and learn properly :
 Plenty of room so that he can move about and discover
things for him/herself.
 He should be encouraged to do things he wants or enjoys.
 Several kinds of toys so he can practice different skills. Blocks
of wood can be used for stacking, a ball for throwing,
containers of water or sand for filling and pouring.
 Encouragement and interest from the adults. It is fun to play
together.
Different kinds of play which helps a child to develop
properly.
Physical Play—This exercises the body’s large muscles and
keeps the child healthy and strong. Physical plays include : running,
jumping, climbing and swimming, play cricket etc.
Manipulative lay—This is a play in which the child uses the
hands and the eyes. It teaches such things as the size, consistency,
texture, shape and color of objects. Things for manipulative play
include : sand, earth and water. Children enjoy playing with all
these things.
Creative Play—Painting, paper cutting, sewing, using

crayons, threading beads and shells, clay modelling and building
with bricks or blocks of wood are all activities that help children to
use their hands and eyes together to make things which were not
there before.
Imitative Play—Imitative play helps the child to acquire the
skills of being a person. Through imitating the sound, the child
acquires speech. Imitating everything, the child acquires many skills :
dressing, feeding, washing etc.
Imaginatigve Play—In this kind of play the child can dress
up and pretend to be an adult whom he knows, or pretend to be a
driver driving a car. Children can even pretend that they are animals.
This sort of play is important because it allows young children can
get rid of a lot of feelings of anger, anxiety and fear.
2.4. IMPORTANCE OF ASSESSING GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT
The assessment of growth and development is very useful in
finding out the health and nutrition of a child. Continuous normal
growth and development indicate a good state of health and nutrition
of a child. Abnormal growth or growth failure is a symptom of
disease. Hence, measurement of growth is an essential component
of the physical examination.
Growth and development is one of the essential subject of
psychology. It is essential for every teacher and parents know the
fundamentals of growth and development. Good, effective teaching
and guidance depend on the study of growth and development.
Effective learning takes place when learning situations are arranged
in accordance with the growth and development.
At birth, the child is helpless. Gradually he develops and
becomes independent. A teacher before preparing the curriculum
must have a basis idea of the anticipated changes of the behaviour
undergoing at various stages.
The following points further illustrate the meaning of
development—
1. Organisational Process—Frank observes that growth may
be looked upon as the cellular (of the cells) multiplication and
development as an organisation of all the parts which grow and
differentiation have produced. As stated earlier, growth refers to

changes in the particular aspects of the body and development
implies the organisation as a whole. So development is a
organisational process.
2. Continuous—Development is a continuous and life long
process. It continues throughout life. It starts with the birth of the
child and ends with the death of the individual. It covers the whole
life span of the individual. Growth stops when maturity is attained.
3. Changes in Body and Behaviour—Development refers to
various changes in parts of the body and behaviour as a whole. On
the other hand, growth refers to changes in particular aspect of
body and behaviour.
4. Quantitative as well as Qualitative Changes—
Development implies quantitative as well as qualitative changes. If
refers to changes in structure, from or shape as well as improvement
in functioning. Development is related to path quantitative and
aualitative changes.
5. Wider and Comprehensive—Development is a wide and
comprehensive term. It includes growth. Growth is one of the major
part of development. Development can be physical as well as
intellectual (mental or cognitive), emotional, social, moral and
spiritual. Development in its quantitative aspect is known as growth.
Development is term and grwoth is short term.
6. Improvement in Behaviour—Development signifies
improvement in behaviour i.e., physical, intellectual, emotional,
social or moral behaviour (including character). It promotes
efficiency. Development has been defined as a progressive series
of changes in an or derey coperent pattern throughout life.
7. Related to growth—Development is closely related to
growth. In fact, both growth and development are inter-related.
Generally, they go hand in hand. Growth without development is
meaningless. For example, when body grows in structure, it also
develops in fuctions. But this is not always true. Child may grow
fat, but this may not be accompained by any functional imporvement
or development. Some times development is possible without
significant growth. Some individuals do not grow in size or height
but they develop intelligence, stamina and ability to adjust in various
situations. Intellectual and social development may continous even

after the growth in general has stopped.
8. Integrated Process—Development in an integrated process
which causes the human being to acquire physiological and
psychological capacities and capabilities. It is a complex process
of integrating many structure and functions. It is considered in terms
of individual as a whole in relationship with growth, capability,
maturation, experiences with others and interaction with the
environment. According, to Hurlock, development is an integrated
process as it implies : (i) changes in size, (ii) changes in proportion,
(iii) disappearance of old features and acquisition of new features.
9. Product of heredity and environment—Development is
the joint product of heredity and environment. What the child
receives from the heredity (including from his parents) and what
he shares with his environment conjointly shape his personality.
10. Subject to assessment—Development can be observed
and assessed by nothing changes in the shape as they occur and in
the mode of behaviour as their maturation is completed. Qualitative
changes are subject of assessment and not the subject of
measurement because direct measurement of qualitative changes
is not possible. On the other hand, growth can be measured.
2.5. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT
Growth and development is one of the important studies for
the teachers and parents. Growth is different from development.
But both are correlated and one is dependant on other. We can say
that growth is a part of development, which is limited in physical
changes.
Growth is physical changes whereas development is overall
development of the organism. The main differences between both are-
(1) Growth is change of physical aspects of the organism.
Development is overall changes and progressive changes of the
organism.
(2) Growth is cellular but development is organizational.
(3) Growth is the change in shape, form, structure, size of the
body. Development is structural change and functional progress
of the body.
(4) Growth stops at maturation but development continues till

death of the organism.
(5) Development also includes growth. Growth is a part of
development.
(6) Growth and development go side by side.
(7) Growth and development is the joint product of heredity
and environment.
(8) Growth is quantitative and development is qualitative in
nature.
(9) Growth can be measured accurately but development is
subjective interpretation of one’s change.
Both growth and development are interrelated aspects of
psychology. There are some basic differences as per their structure
but it is difficult to separate them. They have some basic similarities
also. In study of educational psychology study of their differences
and similarities have equal importance for a teacher.
Difference between growth and development may be
described in following table—
These two term have different meanings that can be put in the
way given below :
Growth Development
1. The term growth is purely 1. Development implies overall
on physical sense. It refers to changes in shape, form or
an increase in size, length, structure resulting in improved
height and weight. Changes in working or functioning. It
the quantivative aspects come indicates the changes in the
into the domain of growth. quality or character rather than
in quantitative aspects.
2. Growth is a part of 2. Development is a wider term.
developmental process. In It refers to overall changes in the
strict other, development in its individual. Growth is one of its
quantitative aspect is termed as parts.
growth.
Growth Development
3. Growth may be referred to 3. Development describes the
describe the changes which changes in the organism as a
take place in particular aspects whole and does not list the
of the body and behaviour of changes in parts.
an organism.
4. Growth does not continue 4. Development is a continous
throughout life. It stops when process. It goes from womb to
maturity has been attained. tomb. It does not end with the
attainment of maturity. The
changes, however small they
may be, continue throughout
the life span of an individual.
5. The changes produced by 5. Development, as said earlier,
growth can be measureable. implies improvement in
They may be quantified and functioning and behaviour and
are observable in nature. hence brings qualitative
changes which are difficult to
be measured directly. They are
assessed through keen
observation in behavioural
situations.
6. Growth may or may not 6. Development is also possible
bring development. A child without growth as we see in the
may grow (in terms of weight) cases of some children that they
by becoming fat but this do not gain in terms of height,
growth may not bring any weight or size but they do
functional improvement experience functional
(qualitative change) or improvement or development
development. in physical, social, emotional or
intellectual aspects.
In detail, both growth and development show differentiation.

But in wider sense both terms are used to denote the changes in
organism’s physical as well as functional behaviour. These changes
which cover phytical, emotional, intellectual and social aspects of
a human life are roughly divided into four major classes by Mrs.
Hurlock
(i) Changes in size
(ii) Changes in proportion
(iii) Disappearance of old features
(iv) Acquisition of new features.
All these types of changes have qualitative as well as
quantitative aspects. Growth and development go hand in hand.
And it is in this sense, that the two terms are to be used
collectively. Both, taken together, explain the total changes—
functional as well as constitutional changes—In the body and
behaviour of the individual with the lapse of time after the
conception. In this text.
2.6. STAGES OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Human organism life starts from a fertilized ovum in the womb
of the mother. Not only before birth, but also after birth for many
years the child is a helpless organism untill or unless he is helped
by the continuous process of growth and development and attains
maturity. When one attains maturity. one ceases to be called an
adolescent and is labelled as an adult member of the society. He is
supposed to play an responsible role in the society. Before being
called an adolescent, he is named as a child or an infant etc. All of
these names—infant, child, adolescent and adult etc. are linked
with various stages of growth and development through which the
child passes from birth to death.
There are certain common developmental or practical
characteristics belonging to each stage. The human organism show
peculiar quantitative and qualitative changes in his body and
behaviour with the help of which we can say at what particular age
and individual belongs to which definite stage of his life.
If we also include the pre-birth period, the life span of a human
organism can be divided, conveniently, into the these stages—
Nature of the Stage Period and approximate age

1. Pre-natal (pre-birth) stage From conception to birth.
2. Stage of Infancy From birth to two years.
3. Childhood stage From 3rd to 12 years or in strict
sense up to the on-set of
puberty.
4. Adolescent stage From the on-set of puberty to
the age of maturity (generally
from 13 to 19 years).
5. Adulthood From 20 years and beyond or
in strict sense from the age of
attaining maturity till death.
We do not claim the absolute regidity in the above
classification in terms of either the division of life span into above
mentioned stages or the duration of period mentioned against them.
There are certainly great individual differences and so we should
not imagine that every child will necessarily have each stage
according to the period indicated above.
From the angle of school education, the first and the last stage
serve no useful purpose. Therefore, in this text we will confine our
attention to the remaining three stages of development. For
discussing these stages of development, let us first think of the
various aspects of growth and development at each stage.
2.7. VARIOUS ASPECTS OF GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT
If we use the term growth and development synonymously,
the major aspects or areas, in which a human child goes ahead for
his complete development, can be named as follows :—
(a) Physical Development
(b) Motor Development
(c) Mental or Cognitive Development
(d) Social Development
(e) Moral Development
(f) Emotional Development
(g) Language Development
Let us see what we understand by these diferent aspects of

development.
(a) Physical Development—The physical development of the
individual includes the development of his internal as well as
external organs.
(b) Motor Development—It is concerned with the
development of essential gross motor skills and fine motor skills
for enabling and individual to be capable of doing motor movements
and activities in tune with the ages and stages of his development.
(c) Mental or Cognitive of Development—It includes the
development of congnitive faculties and intellectual powers like
the powers of reasoning and thinking, imagination, concentration,
creativity, sensation, perception, memory, association,
discrimination and generalization etc.
(d) Social Development—Initially the child is selfish and
antisocial. Gradually he is developed into a social being by learning
to behave according to the rules and norms of his society and makes
adjustment to it.
(e) Moral Development—Moral or character development
includes the evolution of moral sense and development of character.
The individual develops his ethical and moral codes.
(f) Emotional Development—Under this aspect, starting with
the basic instinct, the evolution of various emotions takes place
and also the emotional behaviour is developed to the point of
emotional maturity.
(g) Language Development—It includes the learning of the
language for communications and the development of various skills
and abilities for the effective use of langauge.
2.8. CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH STAGE OF HUMAN
GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATIONAL
IMPLICATIONS
Strictly speaking, there is no sharp line of demarcation between
the duration of one stage of growth and development and another
stage. Nevertheless, each stage has certain specific characteristics
which must be kept in view whild teaching or bringing up children.
I. Infancy (from Birth to 2 years)
Characteristics—The period is marked by rapid physical
growth.
Importance—Modern researches have established that the
period of infancy is the foundation on which the future development
of the child depends.
Highlighting the importance of the period of infancy of the
child, Ruth Strang of Columbia Universitry remarked ‘‘During the
first two years of his life he lays the foundation for his future.’’ Dr.
F. Goodenough, a prominent child psychologist is of the view, that
‘‘One-half of an individual’s mental structure has been attained by
the age of three years.’’
Educational Implications—
1. The environment in the family should be of affection and
love. The child should have the feelings that everybody in the
familty loves him.
2. Freedom should be given to the child in his movements.
II. Early Childhood (from 2 to 6 years)
Characteristics—This is the most important and
impressionistic period of child’s life. He learns his first lesson of
citizenship in the home and the school. He develops the instinct of
curiosity. He love make-believe plays.
This period of a child’s life is a great educational significance.
It has been correctly held by Watson that ‘‘the scope and intesity
of learning during this period exceeds that of any other period of
development.’’ The following points should be kept in view both
by parents and teachers while planning the education of the child
at this stage.
1. Provision of Healthy Environment.
2. Rational Treatment.
3. Satisfaction of Curiosity.
4. Learning by Doing.
5. Dynamic Methods of Teaching.
Education may be imparted to children with the use of the
Montessori Method and the Kindergarten. Method which are based
on sound psychological principles required for this stage.
These methods provide opportunities for the child to develop
his five senses as well.
Play-way spirit should permeate all learning activities.
III. Later Childhood (from 6 to 12 years)

Characteristics—Bodily proportions change. Generally body
are considered superior in games requiring physical strength while
girls are considered superior to boys on the use of fine muscles
and in acquiring skills like drawing, painting, sewing etc. According
to Watson, ‘‘A derivative of anger, annoyance becomes more
prominent in later childhood. There is rapid intellectual
advancement.’’
This stage is known as the formative age of the child. He
develops his basic outlook, values and ideas. We, as parents,
teachers and social workers have an important role to play.
The school authorities have a special responsibility towards
the development of the child.
Following points should be kept in view whild dealing with
children :
1. Child’s individuality should be respected.
2. It should be kept in mind that each child is unique.
3. Co-curricular activities should be organised.
4. Group competitions may be arranged.
5. Games should be regularly organised.
6. Creative talent should be developed.
Adolescence (from 13 to 18 years)
Chief Characteristics—(i) There is an outburst of various
aspects of development; (ii) It is the period of opposite pattern;
(iii) It is the period of preparation for living well in society; (iv) The
period is marked by far-reaching sex changes.
Educational Implications—(i) Compulsory physical exercises
and games; (ii) Monthly helath check-up; (iii) Provision of good
library; (iv) Organisation of clubs; (v) Guidance services; (vi)
Rational approach by the teacher; (vii) Meeting fears of inadequacy;
(viii) No discrimination; (iv) Excursions and educational tours; (x)
Sex education.
Significance of the knowledge of the Growth and
Development Process to the Teachers
A knowledge of development patterns at each stage is essential
for psychological, partical and scientific reasons. Proper
acquaintance with the pattern of human development would enable

the teacher to know to a considerable extent at what age what
behavioural changes occur and when these patterns are usually
replaced by more mature patterns. This is important as too much is
expected from students and if they do not show such results, they
develop a feeling of inadequacy. A knowledge of development
pattern enables the teachers to adjust the teaching-learning process
according to the needs and interests of the students. The teachers
come to know when students need special guidance.
Deviation from normal behaviour becomes a cause of anxiety
for the teachers.
2.9. DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS AT VARIOUS STAGES
Developmental tasks are those essential skills and appropriate
behaviour patterns at various stages during the life span which the
society expects its members to master.
R.H. Havighurst has defined a development task in these
words : ‘‘A development task is a task which arises at or about a
certain period in the life of the individual, successful achievement
of which leads to his happiness and to success with later tasks,
while failure leads to unhappiness and difficulty with later tasks.’’
Development tasks are based on the aspiration and needs of the
society. B.L. Neugarten has explained that ‘‘Every society is age-
graded and every society has a system of social expections regarding
age appropriate behaviour. The individual passes through a socially
regulated cycle from birth to death as inexorably as he passes
through the biological cycle; and there exists a socially prescribed
time-table for the rendering of major life events. Although the norms
vary somewhat from one socio-economic, ethnic or religious group
to another, for any social group it can easily be demostrated that
norms and actual occurrences are closely related.’’
Characteristics of Developmental Tasks—
(i) Every society or culture has certain norms.
(ii) Every society or culture expects its members to follow
these norms.
(iii) These norms are in terms of certain essential skills.
(iv) Mastery over these skills leads to happiness and failure

leads to unhappiness.
(v) Skills are related to age groups.
(vi) Norms vary somewhat from one socio-economic group
to another.
Purpose of Developmental Tasks—According to Elizabeth
B. Hurlock, developmental tasks serve the following three
purposes—
First, they are guidelines to enable the individual to know
what society expects from him at a given age.
Second, developmental tasks motivate the individual to do
certain things what the social group expects him to do, during his
life.
Third, developmental taks serve to show the individual what
lies ahead and what he will be expected to do when he reaches the
next stage of development in the life span.
Hazards Related to Developmental Tasks. These are as
under—
1. Inappropriate Expectation—physical or psychological
limitations of the individual.
2. Bypassing a developmental stage. Each stage must be lived
through.
3. Lack of opportunity to learn the developmental task.
4. Lack of guidance.
5. Lack of motivation.
6. Poor health.
7. A low intellectual level.
Factors Promoting Developmental Tasks
1. Provision of opportunities to learn to develop the
developmental tasks.
2. Adequate guidance in acquiring the developmental tasks.
3. Developing motivation.
4. Good health.
5. Appropriate level of intelligence.
6. Creativity.
Developmental Tasks at Various Stages
I. Birth to 6 years
1. Learning to walk.
2. Learning to take solid food.

3. Learning to talk.
4. Learning to control the elimination of body wastes.
5. Learning sex difference.
6. Achieving physiological stability.
7. Forming simple concepts of social and physical reality.
8. Learning to relate oneself emotionally to parents, siblings
and other people.
9. Learning to distinguish right and wrong developing a
conscience.
II. 6 to 12 years
1. Learning physical skills, ordinary games.
2. Building wholesome attitudes towards oneself as a
growing organism.
3. Learning to get along with age-mates.
4. Learning appropriate sex role, i.e., masculine or feminine
role.
5. Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing and
calculating.
6. Developing concepts necessary for everyday living.
7. Developing conscience, morality and values.
8. Achieving personal independence.
9. Developing attitudes towards social groups and
institutions.
III. Adolescence (12 to 20 years)
1. Accepting one’s physique.
2. Accepting a masculine or feminine role.
3. Gaining emotional independence from parents and other
adults.
4. Establishing new relations with age-mates of both sexes.
5. Achieving assurance of economic independence.
6. Selecting and preparing for a vocation.
7. Developing necessary concepts for civic competence.
8. Developing intellectual skills.
9. Developing socially acceptable behaviour.
10. Preparing for marriage and family life.
11. Developing harmonious moral and scientific values.
Guidelines for Parents and Teachers Relating to

Developmental Tasks—For planning and implementing suitable
programmes for the all-around development of children, following
guidelines may be taken into consideration :
1. Each stage in the development of an individual has
developmental tasks peculiar to it and these must be taken
note of.
2. No two children are alike in all respects. Hence individual
needs must be attended to.
3. Observation of children leads to better understanding
on the part of parents and teachers.
4. Children need an environment which promotes initiative
and trust.
5. When parents and teachers speaks clearly, use
appropriate words and adopt a proper style and manners,
children are likely to do the same.
6. Consistency, firmness, love and patience on the part of
parents and teachers will go a long way in the whole
development of children.
7. Children learn through doing and playing. Various types
of activities should be provided to them.
8. Children learn through concrete objects in the beginning.
9. Children need encouragement to develop at their own
pace.
10. Children need a close, loving and sensitive relationships
with the adults who are charged with the responsibility
of looking after them.
11. The feeling of being wanted and loved in the children is
vital to the inner development of the child.
12. Children need a sense of security which should be
provided by parents and teachers.
13. Anger and violence are damaging to the inner
development of the child.
14. Healthy relationships established in the earlier stages of
life help to set the pattern of future development.
15. Each child needs attention and a neglected child in the
home or in the class loses interest in work and play.
16. ‘Doing’ helps in the development of mental, physical

and social skills.
17. Children are creative and they need assistance and
guidance to develop their creativity.
18. Singing songs and learning rhymes, drawing pictures
and reading stories help the child’s mind to grow at the
pre-primary, primary and middle stages.
19. For proper development, all children need adequate
praise and recognition for their work.
20. Children are curious to learn and respond with interest
to new things.
21. Children learn through repetition; of course excessive
reptetion tends to kill interests.
2.10. ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES OF GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT
Growth and development is one of the important subject of
psychology. It is essential for every teacher and parents know the
fundamentals of growth and development. Good, effective teaching
and guidance depend on the study of growth and development.
Effective learning takes place when learning situations are arranged
in accordance with the growth and development.
At birth, the child is helpless. Gradually he develops and
becomes independent. A teacher before preparing the curriculum
must have a basis idea of the anticipated changes of the behavior
undergoing at various stages.
1. Development follows a pattern—The process of
development is not haphazard but gradual and regular. We will
find a particular pattern or sequence of development. In the cephalo-
caudal sequence i.e. development proceeds from head to toe and
proximo-distal sequence in this pattern direction of development
proceeds from centre to periphen.
2. Growth is continuous and gradual—Growth always brings
about certain change in the organism. But these changes do not
take place suddenly. It is a continous process. All the parts of body
continue to grow gradually until they reach their maximum through
infancy early childhood, late childhood.
3. Growth proceeds more rapidly during early years—The

rate of growth is not uniform. The child grows more rapidly during
early years and slowly during the later years. Growth during early
years is so rapid that it is easily noticeable and growth becomes
slow at the later stages.
4. Development proceeds from general to specific—The child
first shows general responses as a whole. Then gradually he gives
specific response to specific stimuli. The child moves his whole
hand to indicate certain thing instead of one finger. In the emotional
aspect he responds through only general response like crying &
smile to denote, hunger, pain & Joy and the baby produces general
babbling sounds, before he can speak words.
5. Development is a product of heredity and environment
Heredity and environment have considerable impact on the growth
and development of the child. The child is born with some
genetically endowments and develops by interacting with his
environment. Neither heredity nor environment is the sole factor
responsible for the development of a child. Nutrition, home climate
and school environment regulate social, emotional and intellectual
development while child inherits physical stature and different traits
from his parents.
6. Most of the traits are correlated—The physical and the
mental development of the child are mostly correlated to each other.
A child who has a good physical health is also above average in
intelligence. A child whose intelligence is above average is also so
in health size, sociability, attitudes and aptitudes. But this may not
be always true.
7. Growth is not uniform—Different parts of body grow at
different rates. All parts of body can never grow at the same rate.
At birth, head is one fourth of the body in length. Later other parts
of body grow very fast till it reaches maturation.
8. Development is predictable—In many cases it is possible
to predict the type of probable development a child will follow,
because the rate of development follows a Pattern. As it is possible
to predict intelligence of a person with the help of an intelligence
test given in earlier years. ‘X’-rays of the bones of different parts
of the body will tell approximately what will be the ultimate size.
General Principles of Growth and Development—

We may now describe a few broad principles which explain
the over-all growth process in the individuals. They are being given
here simply because it is felt that a knowledge of them will help in
understanding the growth better. It may be stated that these
principles are not the last words regarding growth and development.
They are simply certain generalizations which help a teacher to
understand the direction, the characteristics and the growth rate of
the development of the children. These principles are commonly
enumerated as given below :
1. The Principles of Development Direction—In a human
child the head reaches adult size first, the legs last. The internal
organs like heart reach fully capacity to function before the
extremities do. Thus, we may say that growth in physical structure
and in functioning tends to proceed along head to food and centre
to periphery gradients. In embryo and foetus this principle is found
operative very clearly. In childhood also its operation may be
noticed.
Some of the major directions of development are also follows —
(i) Cephalocudal and Proximal-Distal—Humans develop
from the head to feet and form the centre of the body towards the
extermities. The head develops first, then the trunk, then the arms
and legs, then the hands and feet. Large muscles develop before
the small once.
(ii) Structure Precedes Functions—Children cannot use their
bodies until the body is capable of being used. Muscles must be
ready before they can be taught to perform specific functions.
(iii) Differentiation—Development proceeds from the general
to the specific. It moves in the direction of reduced confusion,
increased precision of responses and find discrimination.
(iv) Concerete to Abstract—Mental growth proceeds from
an ability to think about things that are physically present to an
ability to visualize things that are not there, to conceptualize and to
understand cause and effect.
(v) Egocentrism to Perspectivism—A very young child is
only concerned with itself and sees events as related only to his or
her needs. As he grows he begins to see the things from other’s
point of view and then from the perspective of abstract behaviour.
We have discussed this point in some detail in the chapter on

‘Cognitive Development’ where we have described Kohlberg’s
Stages of Moral Development.
(vi) Outer Control to Inner Control—Young children are
dependent on others for their values and principles. As they grow
they develop their own values system, their own conscience, their
own set of inner controls.
2. The Principle of Continuity—The physical growth is a
continuous onward going process. It never stops and is not
reversible. Some expections may, however, be found in those cases
where the child suffers from disease or malnutrition. But the rate of
bodily growth is not the same at all stage. From birth to 2 years and
from 11 to 15 years it is very rapid while from 3 to 10 years it
occurs at slow pace.
3. The Principle of Developmental Sequence—In general,
‘‘the steps of physical growth follow one another in a somewhat
uniform and predictable order.’’ It has been seen that all children
lose certain baby teeth first, certain other last. All children reach
puberty before they are fully grown up physically. It may be
remembered that the same time-table of growth may not be followed
by all the children but the sequence of their development is almost
predictable. There may be some expections also. Some children
have several perfectly formed teeth at birth.
4. The Principles of Maturation or Readiness—Each child
must reach a certain level of development before he can perform
certain tasks. His skeletal-muscular-neurological development of
a particular level is essential if he is to accomplish a particular type
of work associated with such development. For example, you cannot
expect a child of six months to control his excretory function.
Howsoever hard you may are, he will not learn to control his bladder
or walk or run. If by strong motivation, a child develops a strong
desire to learn a new task for which his physical development is
inadequate, it may be possible that such development, within certain
limits, may appear early. But it will be wrong to expect too much
from a child who is immature for a particular task. It may create
mental disturbances in him.
5. The Principle of Individual Growth Patterns—It may be

seen that the development direction and sequence are almost the
same for all children, but each child follows his own time schedule
of growth. One child may learn a task earlier than the other. The
stages of development are divided into various age periods on the
basis of marjority of children reaching a particular age. For example,
adolescence is suggested as beginning at the age of 12 years which
means that a majority of children will attain adolescence at this
period. But it must be clearly understood that it is not necessary
that all the children at 12 years will enter into adolescence. There
are individual differences between different children. Some attain
puberty at a much earlier age than others and also there are some
who do not attain puberty at a much later age. The rate of growth
in all its aspect is not the same with all individuals.
The knowledge of the above principles will help the teacher
to organize the activities of the children in accordance with their
level of maturity. For example, a physical education instructor who
has understood the priniciples of readiness will not ask the children
to play certain games and to do certain exercise for which they are
not ready because of lack of their physical development.
The various stages which we are discussing below are on the
basis of a board classification. If we refer to a particular type of
growth in infancy or childhood or adolescence, it does not mean
that all the children who are at that particular stage will have to
conform to that growth.
Educational Significance—Education is not only a process
and a product of growing; it means growing. Teachers and parents
must know what children are capable of, what children are capable
of, and what potentialities they possess. By knowing this, they can
provide congenial environment, which are conducive to the
maximum growth of children. Besides the teacher and parents must
be helpful, sympathetic and encouraging to the students.
Bearing in mind the individual variations in growth, the school
programmes must be adjusted accordingly. Good physical growth,
through the provision of play, games and sports is conducive to
effective intellectual development. On the other hand, malnutrition
retards development. Therefore, teachers and parents help in
cultivating among pupils habits of balanced eating. Because of

‘individual differences’ diversified development of specific talents,
abilities and interests and varied co-curricular activities must be
introduced in school curriculum.
Moreover, teachers and parents should not demand of pupils
what is beyond their stage of growth.
All human beings change throughout their lives. The pattern
of changes and the stage they pass through as they grow and
develop are also the same. The rate of change in them is different
and is determined by factors like heredity, the environment they
are brought up in etc. It is continuous Process
The individual changes can be classified as physical, social,
emotional and psychological. Growth of an individual denotes the
physical changes ike the changes in size, shape, function and his
body posture etc. Development is the emotional, social and
psychological progress that takes place in an individual.
An individual passes through the stages of childhood,
adolescence, adulthood and old age, he grows and develops
simultaneously at his own. For a teacher, it is very important to
understand the concept and principles of growth and development
of human beings. This facilitates him or her in handling the pupils
of different age-groups in a better way.
In this chapter we will study the concept, principles and stages
of growth and development and explain how teachers can help
their pupil’s during the adolescence age.
Educational Implications of the Principles of Growth and
Development
A knowledge of principles of growth and development will
enlighten the parents and teachers on the potentialities of their
children. They should, therefore, provide suitable opportunities for
the maximum development of their children. For planning and
implementing suitable programmes for the all-round development
of children, following guidelines may be taken into consideration :
1. Human Relations—Children need close, loving and
sensitive relationships with the adult who are charged with the
responsibility of looking after them. The feeling of being wanted
and loved in the children is vital to their inner development. Children

need a sense of security which should be provided by parents and
teachers. Anger and violence are damaging to the inner development
of the children. Healthy relationships established in the earlier stages
of life help to set the pattern of future development.
2 Need for Paying Attention to Individual Differences of
the Learners—The parents and teachers should keep in view that
there are individual variations in the rates of growth and every
child develops in a unique way. Hence they should pay individual
attention to every child. It stipulates the provision of diversified
courses and provision of all activities according to needs and
interests of various stages of growth.
3. Need for Developing Motivation—Teachers should
organize teaching learning programmes, procedures and practices
according to the maturational levels of children.
4. Consistency and Firmness—Consistency, firmness, love
and patience on the part of parents and teachers will go a long way
in the wholesome development of children.
5. Need for a Pragmatic Outlook—Every stage of growth
has its possibilities and limitations. Teachers and parents should
not place undue demands on the child. Such demands lead to mental
tension for the child.
6. Creativity Aspect—Children are creative and they need
assistance and guidance to develop their creativity.
7. Individual Attention—Each child needs attention and a
neglected child in the home or in the class loses interest in work
and play.
8. Different Modes of Teaching-Learning—Singing songs
and learning rhymes, drawing pictures and reading stories help the
child’s mind to grow at the pre-primary, primary and middle stages.
9. Recognition Aspect—For proper development, all children
need adequate praise and recognition for their work.
10. Statisfaction of Curiosity—Children are curious to learn
and respond with interest to new things.
11. Reasonable Repetition—Children learn through repetition;

of course excessive repetition tends to kill interest.
12. Need-Satisfaction at Each Stage—Each stage in the
development of an individual has developmental needs peculiar to
it and these must be taken note of.
13. Observation—Observation of children leads to better
understanding on the part of parents and teachers.
14. Clarity—When parents and teachers speak clearly, use
appropriate words and adopt a proper style and manner, children
are likely to do the same.
15. Healthy Environment—Children need an environment
which promotes initiative and trust.
16. Need for Correlation—Teachers should keep in mind
that children develop on the principle of interrelatedness of
development growth. It is, therefore, necessary for them to search
for the principle of correlation.
17. Influence of Heredity and Environment—Parents and
teachers should keep in view that it is difficult to change the heredity
of the child but environment can be modified.
18. Emphasis on Doing—‘Doing’ helps in the development
of mental, physical and social skills.
2.11. FACTORS INFLUENCING GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT
Each child’s path or pattern of growth and development is
determined by genetic and environmental factors. The genetic
factors determine the potential and limitations of growth and
development. If favourable, the environmental factors, such as
adequate nutrition, facilitate the achievement of the genetic potential
of growth and development. Unfavourable factors, acting singly
or in combination, slow or stop growth and development. Some of
the unfavourable factors are malnutrition, infections, congenital
malformations, hormonal disturbances, disability, lack of emotional
support, lack of play, and lack of language training. To promote

optimum growth, these environmental factors can be removed or
minimized. Once they are removed, there follows a period of catch
up growth. During this period the growth rate is greater than normal.
This growth rate continues until the previous growth pattern is
reached. Then the growth rate is reduced to the normal rate
determined by the individual’s genetic factors. A child genetically
determined to be tall grows slightly more rapidly than a child
genetically determined to be short. Similarly, a child genetically
determined to be clever develops their intellect more rapidly than a
child genetically determined to be less intelligent.
Both internal and external factors play an important role in
influencing growth and development of the individual.
A. Internal Factors
(a) Hereditary and Biological Factors—Heredity plays an
important role in growth and development of the individual.
Hereditary factors are those that reside in the child from the moment
of conception. Heredity lies at the roots of all the possibilities of
development but environment being a means to the actualization
of these possibilities. Some of the hereditary factors which influence
various aspects of development are :—
(i) Physique—The height, weight, complexion, color of eyes,
physical structure and defects like deafness, dumbness and blindness
may develop a feeling of inferiority in an individual if other persons
tease him. Biologically, physically weak or internally disturbed
children suffer from illness and disease. They have to face mental
problems in social environment and are more likely to suffer from
maladjustment. On the other hand, a child who has good health,
strength and energy generally develops emotionally balanced
attitude towards life.
(ii) Intelligence—It is the ability to adjust, learn and make
right decision at the right time. Intelligent persons are likely to
have reasonable control over their emotions and they can make
better adjustment at home. School and society than those persons

who are less intelligent.
(iii) Sex Differences—Boys are generally more assertive and
tough minded. They generally show interst in machinery and outdoor
activities. But girls are intersted in less vigorous games. They are
strong in other aspects such as tolerance, sympathy, kindness, sense
of honor, sacrifice, cheerfulness and various other social qualities
Girls attain maturity earlier than boys.
(iv) Nervous System—Persons’s intellectual ability, motor
ability, physical strength and ability to adjust depend on the structure
and functioning of nervous system. Any injury to nervous system
will have negative effect in the development of the person. Nervous
system limits one’s learning capacity.
(b) Emotional Maturity—Emotional maturity positively
influences physical, intellectual, emotional and social development
and various types of adjustments. Lack of emotional maturity has
adverse effect on physical, intellectual, emotional, social and moral
development. If one can’t exercise a reasonable control over his
emotions, he is sure to suffer in terms of his growth and
development.
(c) Socialization—It is a process in which person learns to
behave according to social standards and make social adjustments.
Socialization significantly influences various aspects of growth and
development.
B. External Factors
The factors lying outside the individual in his environment
are said to be the external factors for influencing his growth and
development. They begin their role of influencing one’s growth
and development just after one’s conception in the womb of his
mother. They may include the following :
(a) Environment available in the womb of the mother
What is avaiable to the child for his care and nourishment in
the womb of the mother from the time of the conception till birth is
quite important from the angle of one’s growth and development.
A few mentionable things or factors associated with this period

may be cited as below :—
 The physical and mental health of the mother during
pregnancy.
 Single child or multiple children getting nourishment in the
womb.
 The quality and quantity of nutrition received by the embryo
within the womb of the mother.
 Whether or not the embryo has been subjected to harmful
radiation or rays etc. ?
 Normal and abnormal delivery.
 Any damage or accident to the child in the womb.
(b) Environment available after birth
What one gets from the differnt conditions and forces of one’s
environment after his birth influence his growth and development
in so many ways. These conditions and environmental forces may
be described as below :—
(i) Accidents and Incidents of life—The growth and
development of an individual is greatly influenced by the good
and bad incidents and accidents which one happens to meet in his
life time. Sometimes a small injury or incident may change the
entire development course of the individual. For example, if
nervious system gets a set back it will affect the mental development
of the child and in turn it will affect his development in other
dimensions—social, emotional, moral and physical.
(ii) The Quality of physical environment, medical care and
nourishment—One’s growth and development is greatly influenced
by the quality of physical environment, medical care and
nourishment available to him for his living and working. It may
demand open space, balanced diet, good living and working
conditions, proper timely medical care etc. One will achieve the
heights of his growth and development to the tune of the proper
availability of these things.
(iii) The Quality of the facilities and opportunities provided

by the social and cultural forces—What one gets from his social
and cultural environment and forces from the growth and
development of his potentials influences the entire course of his
development. In true sense, one develops and becomes what is
permitted and desired by these social and cultural forces. A few of
such conditions and forces are point out below :—
 Parental and family are received by the child.
 Economic and social status of the parents and the family.
 The quality of the neighbourhood and surrounding
environment.
 The quality of the schooling received by the child.
 The quality of peer group relationships and company of
the child.
 The quality of the treatment made available to the child
and child’s family on account of their caste, religion,
domicile or citizenship.
 The quality of the educational and vocational facilities
and opportunity available to the children.
 The quality of the government, laws and organisation of
the society to which the child belongs.
 The quality of the power and status enjoyed by the country
to which the child belongs.
EXERCISE
1. What is Maturation ? Discuss the effect of Maturation on
growth and Development.
2. What do you mean by Maturation ? Describe the detailed
Study of education of Maturation.
3. What is the meaning of growth and describe its features.
4. Describe the factors which promote the development.
5. Describe the various stages of Growth and Development ?

1. Difference between the Growth and Development.
2. Development in Adolescence and clearify its features.
3. Discuss the Educational Importance of Growth and
Development.
4. Define the factor affecting growth and development.
HEREDITY AND
3 ENVIRONMENT :
MEANING AND
IMPORTANCE
Man’s behaviour is influenced by two forces: heredity and

environment. The biological or psychological characteristics which
are transmitted by the parents to their off-springs are known by the
name of heredity. Heredity is, in other words, a biological process
of transmission of certain traits of behaviour of the parents to their
children, by means of the fertilized egg. Heredity traits are innate;
they are present at birth.
The human individual is the progeny of two parent cells that
come together when a male sperm fertilizes a female egg. In the
nuclei of these parent cells are certain hair like substances called
‘chromosomes’. The chromosomes contain chemical substances
called genes. These basic substances, chromosomes and genes
determine characteristics of the individual and this is what
constitutes heredity.
The essential characteristics inherited by all human beings
are physical structure, reflexes, innate drives, intelligence and
temperament. There are some biologists who claim that the
difference in the traits or qualities of individuals or groups are due
to the difference in their heredity. They are duly supported by some
psychologists and sociologists in their assertion, that like begets
like.
But there are others who explain that the variations of human
beings and the societies are due to differences in environment.
Thus a great controversy has been going on since long about the
relative importance of heredity and environment in determining
the behaviour of individuals and groups.
Though arguments have been advanced by the supporters of
both heredity and environment, no exact conclusions with regard
to the relative importance of the two factors have been drawn, nor
is it possible either to determine the relative values of both.
97
Modern biology has long insisted that we are what our parents
and grandparents have made us, that heredity counts far more than
social opportunity. Not only it is impossible for a man to change
his skin, but he cannot change his outlook, his mode of thinking or
behaviour because these too are hereditary. Others, on the other
hand, belittle the importance of heredity.
3.1. HEREDITY
It has been explained above that in the germ-cell of the parents
there are definite quantities which unite the determine the traits of
the offspring. The quantities determine whether the child will be
tall or short, black or white, will have grey, black and blue eyes.
Numerous experiments take us to the view that in the fertilized
ovum, there are present twenty-three pairs of chromosomes, one
half of which are given by the father and the other half by the
mother. These chromosomes are now considered responsible for
heredity characterstics.
In every chromosome, there are very small particles which
are to be found in linear fashion and they are known as genes.
These genes numbering 40 to over 100 in each chromosome, are
the real determiners of heredity. By this we mean that every gene
carries matter or structure which is essential for the development
of any trait or behaviour of the individual. In the inheritance of the
individual, there are present such traits which pass on from one
generation to the other through a gene or a pair of genes or a group
of genes. At the time of conception, the genes in the chromosome
of the sperm, pair with the genes of ovum and determine the potential
characteristics and qualities of the offspring. The result of the union
of the genes is called heredity. This mechanism can be clearly
understood by observing the following diagrams :
Fig.A. Outline diagram of egg and sperm.

HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT: MEANING AND IMPORTANCE 99
Fig.B. Detailed diagram of egg and sperm, containing 23

chromosomes each.
Fig.C. Detailed diagram of chromosomes, containing minute

protienogenous particle called gene.
Fig. D. Fusion of egg and sperm. Tail of sperm left outside,

whereas head is used.
Biological Heredity—The origin of every human life can be
traced to a single cell, called zygote. When a sperm unites with an
ovum, zygote is produced. The discharge of ovum take place, first,
in the fullopain tube and then in the womb. There it is fertilized by
the sperm. The genes, which are the carriers of distinctive traits,
are always present, both in the sperm and the ovum.
The action of genes is a controversial issue. Even the existence
of anything like genes is questioned by the biologists. But a good
number of observations have shown the presence of some sort of
determiners in the ‘human life producing cell’ which determine
even before birth the individual’s certain traits. It does not mean
that a child must always be exactly like his father or mother.
Actually, we often obvserve that the children do not inherit some
of the most distinguishing traits of their parents. Why is it so ? The
answer according to one view, lies in the fact that they are not the
parents alone who create genes or traits. The responsibility of
reproduction and inheritance of traits lies with nature. The traits do
not depend only on the parents of the child. Characteristics appear
in the offspring which are not manifested by the parents but are
possessed by the grand-parents and even great-grand-parents. To
understand the various views pertaining to the way in which heredity
takes shape and before making a survey of experimental evidence
available about heredity, let us first understand the mechanism of

heredity.
Fertilization—The fusion of chromosomes (23 from mother
and 23 from father) is in the form of chemical combination. This
combination is the chemical determiner of the heredity traits of the
individual.
The egg and the sperm contain only 23 chromosomes rather
than the typical 46. In the female ovaries where eggs are produced
and in the male tests where sperm cells are made, cells with 46
chromosomes each divide into two cells that have only 23. This
process is called reductive cell division. During his devision, the
46 chromosomes of the dividing cell line up in 23 pairs. One
member of each pair goes to each resulting cell. However, for each
individual pair it is a matter of pure chance as to which member of
the pair goes to which of the two cells. It is because of this random
division that millions of different combinations of chromosomes
are possible. Hence, no two individuals are found to be similar.
There is much experimental envidence to prove that physical
traits, like the colour of the eyes, the skin, the types of blood, colour-
blindness or tallness or dwarfness, are inherited. It is still a matter
of speculation whether mental traits are also inherited or not. We
will discuss the problem of mental heredity later.
We may note that this mechanism furnishes as explanation of
dissimilarities between the parents and their children. The men and
the women, who are great intellectuals, may carry a variety of genes
which are responsible for intelligence. They may carry the genes
of dullness as for brilliance. But the intelligence of their children
will aepend on the quality of genes which predominate at the time
of conception. Thus, it is possible that great intellectuals may
produce dullards or the children of handsome parents may be ugly.
Recent Findings in the Mechanism of Heredity
Chromosomes carry a ‘code script’. This code script directs
the development of the organism from the time of conception to
the maturity state. In fact, it largely governs the biological
functioning of the organism thorughout its life.
Prior to 1953, biologists thought that a gene is highly complex

protein molecule. Rencetly this theory has completely changes. It
has now been discovered that the chemical carrier of hereditary
traits is not protein but a chemical known as Deoxyrobonucleic
acid (DNA). It is centred in nuclei of cell. Another chemical
Ribonucleic acid (RNA), which is near replica of DNA, moves out
of cell nuclei into the cells’ cytoplasm or outer layers. In this way,
RNA transmits the coded hereditary information of DNA to other
tissues.
Even though DNA determines the characteristics of the entire
cell body, it never leaves the nucleus to spread its influence. Another
chemical residing in the nucleus carries a message from the DNA
inside to the protein-producing are outside DNA. This is RNA which
is manufactured by DNA. RNA performs two functions : (i) It carries
the message from the DNA instructing what protein is to be
manufactured, and (ii) picking up the needed ingredients for the
protein and carrying it to cytoplasm. It may be noticed that the
message given by DNA to RNA is inherited. Therefore the
production of protein and the basic functioning of the body also
depends on genetic transmission.
Chromosones contain mainly the molecules of DNA. DNA
using its ‘partner chemical’ RNA can reproduce itself identically
whenever its environment contains the necessary raw-materials.
There is another function of DNA besides this duplication of the
chromosomal genes. This function is that : when a foreign substance
is introduced into a cell it triggers the cells DNA to produce precisely
the enzyme needed to convert the substance to chemical which
cells can use to develop and multiply.
From the above discoveries it is now clear that the basic
function of genes can be turned on or off. They can perform tasks
other than merely transmitting hereditary characteristics. Now the
researches in this direction are continuing, but whatever has come
to light has revolutionized our whole concept of heredity and the
nature of life itself.
A second major discovery has been that DNA molecules in a

chromosome do not usally work independently of one another.
Their functioning is interrelated, i.e., the functioning of one affects
the functioning of others. It is now realized that it should best be
thought as function of a region of a chromosome rather than as a
specific particle.
We have described above that chromosomes in body cells
are in matched pairs. Apparently genes also occur in matched pairs,
one of each pair being associated with one chromosome. Its mate
is associated with the matched chromosome.
Genotype and Phenotype
The Biolgists put the problem of nurture and nature in the
following form : They say that the pattern of genes of an organism
is referred to as organism genotype. This is its internal chromosomal
structure. The genotype governs what an organism can become in
a given environment. It also determines the hereditary characteristics
which an organism can transmit to its offspring.
The external appearance of an organism is called its phenotype.
The phenotypes may be product of the organism genotypic and
environmental influences. It may, thus, happen that phenotypes
may vary considerably even when genotype remain the same. The
children of an Asian in the United States, if reared in that country,
tend to be larger than the parents and their grand-children larger
still. Here a change in phonetype has taken place but not in genotype.
It may be due to better nourishment in U.S.A., that the children
grown larger. Thus, without any change in hereditary potential,
the physical changes do appear. This brings us to nature-nature
issue. It was discussed very exhaustively in the past, but recently,
scientists have stopped debating it because they fell that there are
no adequate means of ascertaining the facts and so why indulge in
debate.
Theories of Mechanism of Heredity
Modern studies in the mechanism of heredity have been carried
on principally in three directions. Biologically, they are known
as—
(1) Cytology or microscopical examination of germ cells done

by Weismann, Wilson and Morgan; (2) Statistical consideration of
data having a bearing on heredity or biometry—the chief investigator
in this direction is Francis Galton and (3) Experimental breeding of
the animals done by Mendel’s, even though now the latest
researches in heredity have left these theories very much in the
back-waters.
Galton’s Law—Galton made a statistical study of the
transmission of various traits from generation to generation. He
based his generalizations on the data, which he obtained pertaining
to stature and other qualities in man and to coat-colour in Basset
hounds. He has described his law : ‘‘The two parents between them
contributed on the average one-half of each inherited faculty; each
of grand parent contributing one-quater of it; the four great grand-
parents one-eight, or each of great great grand parent one sixteenth
1 1 1 1
and so on; the sum of the series    ... is equal to 1 or
2 4 8 16
the total inheritance of the organism.’’ Thus, characteristics are not
only transmitted by the parents but the grand-parents and other
ancestors are also contributors to it. The contributions of the grand-
parents and the great-grand-parents etc., go on diminishing in a
definte ration.
Mendelism—For finding a solution of the phenomenon of
similarity and variations, we come to Mendelism. Mendel was an
Austrian monk who had carried out an extensive series of
experiments on garden peas. These experiments were later extended
to animals, like mice, rats, rabbits, etc. Recently, much
experimentation was carried on, on Drosophila—the fruit-fly—
which breeds very quickly and which shows a variety of traits.
Mendel emphasized that in the question of heredity; the
A+B
individual characters are to be dealt with single. He discarded the
2
theory that when A and B meet, they give rise to , i.e., the
traits of A and B are summed up and half of them (half from A and
half from B) make up the traits of the new individual. He came to
the conclusion on the basis of his experiements that the traits in the
new individual may be the dominant or the recessive traits in parents.
By this we mean to say that if tallness is a dominant trait in a parent
of the child, he may also have a recessive trait of shortness. Now,
in offspring it may so happen that the dominant as well as the
recessive traits are transmitted. This statement will be further clarified
by taking into consideration the experiments which Mendel
conducted with garden peas.
Mendel took two types of peas—one tall (TT) and the other
short (SS). They were sown and cross-fertilized. To understand
Mendelism, let us take tallness as the dominant trait and shortness
as the recessive one. Dominant characteristic is that which is not
weakened by cross fertilization. Recessive is that which imposes

but recedes in the presence of the dominant. Should the dominant
be not present, the recessive which lies dormant shows. The result
of cross-fertilization may be understood by looking at the chart.
It may be seen that when tall and short peas are cross-fertilized
taking tallness as the dominant trait, the result was tall peas having
a recessive trait of shortness. That this trait is possessed by the peas
is clearly shown by self-fertilizing TS with TS and Mendel got the
tall and short peas in the ratio of 3 : 1—the pure tall being one,
impure all two and the pure short one. Again, when pure talls were
self-fertilized, they produced pure talls and so also by the self-
fertilization of pure shorts there resulted pure short ones. But by
the self-fertilization of impure talls each one gave rise to pure talls,
impure talls and pure shorts. The tall and the short were again in
the ratio of 3 : 1. It is, thus, clear that the recessive trait lies dormant
in the offspring in the absence of the dominant, the chances of
which are one in four; it comes to the forefront and becomes
predominant.
To make Mendelism more clear, let us take an example from
the animals also. It has been noted that if a grey mouse is crossed
with a white mouse, the offsprings are all grey. Thus, it is found
that the trait of being grey is dominant while that of being white is
recessive. When the grey hybreds were inbred, it was found that
their offsprings were grey and white in the proportion of three to
one. If now these whites were inberd, they produced white only in
all the subsequent generations. But grey, on inbreeding, produced
two kinds of hybreds one-third of them produced only grey, while
two-thirds produced both greys and whites.
Mendel explained the reasons of this variation on the
hypothesis of ‘the segregation of pure gametes’. He supposed that
the generative cells of the first hybred generation were of two kinds,
either pure dominants or pure recessives. They are not the mixture
of both. It is also to be noted that both kinds are produced in
approximately equal number. Now, if a new individual is produced
by the union of a male with a female cell, we see that a male
dominant gamete with a female dominant gamete would give a
pure dominant ; a male recessive and female recessive, an impure
dominant; and a male recessive with a female dominant, an impure

dominant, thus, the chance of a pure dominant appearing would
be one in four; that a pure recessive, one in four; while that of an
impure dominant would be one in two.
Dissimilarities as Explained by the Mechanism of Heredity
The genes are always active in pairs. Out of these, one gene is
from the mother and the other from the father. Each pair of genes
is indicator of some special characteristics. At times, both the genes
in a pair are similar although they are received from two separate
persons—the mother and the father. In a such condition, they are
determiners of definite characteristics. For example, if both the genes
are of grey eyes, then the child will have grey eyes. But in most of
the cases, both the genes are dissimilar. In such a situation, one
gene is dominant and another one is recessive. The dominant gene
determines the characteristic, while they recessive remains as such.
For example, if one gene is of grey eyes and another of black,
then, if the gene for black eye is dominant, the child will have
black eyes.
Sex Determination—The sex determination is dependent on
chromosomes. A pair of chromosomes is exclusively active in the
determination of sex. Every woman has a pair of X chromosomes
for this purpose. In every man, there is a pair of aX and aY
chromosomes. The Y chromosome is very small. When the
fertilization takes place and from the sperm and the ovum a pair of
only X chromosomes combine, a female child is born. If the pair is
that of aX and aY chromosomes a male child is born. This shows
that in the sex determination the chromosomes of man are important.
Transmission of Acquired Traits
Before we proceed further, let us discuss one very important
controversy which has a very great influence on the educational
theory and practice. The controversy is : Whether the acquired
characteristics can be transmitted or not ? Recently, there is an
attempt to prove that acquired habits are in some degree
transmissible. The experiments of McDougall may be cited to show
this McDougall conducted experiments with pure-bred white rats.
He placed them in a tank of water from which they could escape to
a platform by either of the two gangways. One or the other of
gangways was always brightly illumiated from behind and in using

it the rate suffered an electric shock through its feet. So it had to
take the dark gangway. McDougall found that initially the rats made
on an average about 165 errors. receiving, therefore, the same
number of shocks before learning to go by dark route. McDougall
continued this experiment with the progeny of the rats and he found
that the twenty-third generation committed only 25 errors on an
average. This experiment established the contention that the acquired
traits can be transmitted.
Laws of Heredity—On the basis of the above discussion, the
following general laws of heredity can be distinguished :
(1) Like begets like, (2) Variation and (3) Regression.
(1) Like begets Like—This principle states that the children
have a tendency to be like their parents—like father, like son. the
children of bright parents tend to be bright and those of dull, tend
to be dull. In the same way, handsome parents tend to have
handsome children and ugly parents tend to have ugly ones.
But this law is not universally true. It has exceptions.
Sometimes, we see that white parents have black children or bright
parents have less bright children. Such occurrences can be explain
by the second law of inheritance, known as ‘Law of variation’.
(2) Variation—The children are not exactly like their parents.
They have differences of features, etc. The law of variation explains
the causes of these differences in the children of the same family.
It is due to the fact the germ-cells of the parents have genes which
unite in various ways ; and each combination produces a different
quality of offspring. That is there will be as many variations as
there are possible combinations of genes. We sometimes find that
the same parents have children who are very different from one
another. It is because of the different combination of genes, the
different combinations will give birth to different types of children,
e.g., one combination would produce a white child, the other a
black one. The way in which variations take place, is explained by
Mendelism, mentioned above.
But, we must remember that though the children of the same

family are different in intellect, etc., yet they show a greater tendency
to be like each other than the children who are not related.
(3) Regression—According to Sorenson, ‘‘The tendency for
the children of very bright parents to be less bright than their parents
and a comparable tendency for the children of very inferior parents
to be less inferior, is called regression.’’
The children of brilliant parents will tend to be of average
intelligence. It is so, because every trait has a regressive tendency
towards the average. We do not mean to suggest that regression
always occurs; but the existence of such a tendency cannot be
denied.
Often it so happens that very talented parents do not give
birth of equally talented children. The reasons for regression may
be cited as follows :
(i) The union of the best traits of the father with the best traits
of the mother produces talented child. Therefore, a talented father
or mother must be the offspring of the best combination of the
determiners in the germ-cells of his or her parents. But such gifted
parents may carry on the determiners of genes which are average.
When they will produce a child, there are many changes that their
average traits combine and a child of average calibre may be the
result. It is usual that the talented children carry on the determiners
which are average or inferior to the combinations which had
produced them.
(ii) If a gifted parent mates with a person who is less gifted
and carries inferior determiners, the resulting offspring may be of
the inferior calibre. The resons is that in such a case that fine
combination, which produced the gifted parents, has not taken
place.
Likewise, the offspring of idiotic parents would be better, if
the germ-cells of the parents are better than the combination from
which they have been developed.
These are laws of hereditary which help in understanding
human characteristics and qualities.
3.2. ENVIRONMENT
The term environment covers many factors. Environment
means that which immediately surrounds on individual but in
psychology the term environment is used to refer to those stimuli
or factors which act upon the individual environment can broadly
be classified into two namely external and internal. The external
environment can further be classified into social and physical. The
social environment includes factors such as religion, family, culture,
customs etc where as the physical environment includes factors
such as water, air, food, shelter etc. The internal environment is
further divided into two intra cellular and the internal environment
is that environment prior to the birth of a child the cytoplasm is
considered as an intra cellular environment the various chemicals
that are present inside the cell are also included under the
environment. The inter cellular environment includes the food
various other substances that are consumed by mother. If the mother
is in the habit of smoking or drinking or taking drugs it has a direct
impact on the growth of the child. Therefore internal environment
is very important in determining the development of the child.
In simple terms environment means the society, the fields of
society and even the whole world. But here, the word environment
is restricted to mean the environment within mother’s womb and
just born, as well as the environment around the individual.
Like heredity, environment also has been found to play a very
important role in determining the behaviour and personality
development of an individual. The environmental influences are
those which act upon the organism at the earlier stages of
development, i.e., before and also after birth.
Environment includes all the extrinsic forces, influences and
conditions which affect the life, nature, behaviour, the growth,
development and maturation of living organism (Douglass and
Holland).
Hence, we can say that environment means all that is found
around the individual. The zygote is surrounded by a jelly like
substance known as ‘cytoplasm’. The cytoplasm is an intracellular
environment which influences the development. Though the life
begins with single cell, in the process of cell division several new
cells are formed and a new internal environment comes into

existence.
As the fetus develops the endocrine glands are formed. The
hormonal secretion by these glands gives rise to another intracellular
environment. Hormones are necessary for normal development,
but defects in hormone secretion like over or under secretion may
lead to congenital deformities.
The growing embryo is surrounded by amniotic fluid in the
uterus which creates another environment. This fluid will provide
the necessary warmth and protection against the dangers due to
organisms and other chemical effects on fetus.
The fetus is also connected to the mother by the umbilical
cord, through which the nourishment is supplied. Sufficient
nourishment is necessary from the mother. Otherwise the child will
suffer from malnutrition. The defects in mother like drug or alcohol
addiction, smoking, malnutrition, diabetes, endocrinal disturbances,
small uterus and such other problems cause many problems in
child.
The psychological state of mother like over excitement,
depression also may cause damaging effect on the child.
After nine months, the child is born and enters a new
environment which is entirely different. A new life begins in a new
environment. This new environment will have a different culture,
ideology, values, etc.
The home atmosphere, parental love and affection, association
with sibling, neighbours, peers, teachers, etc. will create an entirely
different and new atmosphere. This is called social environment.
All the social factors stated above shape the personality of the child.
There is a long standing controversy regarding the importance
of heredity and environment. Supporters of heredity say that the
environment cannot change a dog into a goat. On the other hand,
the environmentalists are of the opinion that for the development
of a plant only seed is not important but also environment like
sunlight, manure, water, etc.
Innumerable studies have been conducted on both sides.
However, the results indicate that heredity and environment are
interdependent forces. Whatever the heredity supplies, the
favourable environment brings it out. Personality characteristics

attained by heredity are shaped by environment.
In the ordinary sense of the term, environment means all that
is found around the individual. Douglas and Holland, in their book,
Educational Psychology, define the term, ‘Environment’ as ‘‘a word
which describes, in the aggregate, all of the extrinsic (external)
forces, influences and conditions, which affect the life, nature,
behaviour and the growth, development and maturation of living
organisms.’’
In-fact, environment constitutes all which is found in the
child’s mental moral and spiritual universe.
INFLUENCE OF THE ENVIRONMENT ON THE GROWTH
OF THE CHILD
The environmental conditions influence the individual’s
physical and psychological growth. For example, those children
who have well-developed thyroid gland also develop rheumatism
when they fail to get iodine in the desirable quantity. Similarly, if a
mother leaves her child in the second half of the first year, he
becomes very sad.
When the child enters the Kindergarten, his behaviour-pattern
has already taken a shape. Now in the school he comes in contact
with other persons and they influence him. He begins to learn the
behaviour to be shown to others. He makes an effort to adopt that
behaviour which is approved by his elders. In this way he is
influenced to a great extent by the people in his environment.
To explain more clearly the influence of environment, we are
describing child-rearing techniques in two different cultures—
Balinese and Sioux Indian.
Bali is an island near Java. The people here are gentle, relaxed
and unaggressive in their social relationships. They have low
intensity of motive for mastery, pre-eminence or competitiveness.
This is due to the training which the Balinese get from their early
childhood. The infants and very small children are traditionally
teased by their parents and by other members of the family and are
stimulated to outbursts of love or anger. When the child becomes
angry or wishes to express love, the adults ignore him. They no
more worry about his tantrums or desire to embrace. This result in

a gradual extinction of the child’s strong emotional responses to
other people, since they are unresponsive to him. In this culture if
a little child wanders away, the parents just ignore him. He is calmly
led back how by any adult or child whosoever finds him. The
Balinese child is taught etiquette very dispassionately. It is a good
etiquatte in Bali to reach for things with the right hand. If an infant
reaches with the left, the mother simply pulls back the offending
hand gently and extends his right hand. In this way, all such learning
experiences teach the Balinese child to accept passively the
demands to other people and of tradition. Since, the child learns to
conform without being raged at and without his own early rages
being acknowledged, he acquires the easy and unaggressive
compliance which marks his culture.
In Sioux, the baby is breast-fed whenever he demands it. His
intermittent nursing is often continued until he is three or four years
old. The effect of this is that Sioux infant rarely cries from helpless
need. The parents believe that such crying would make him fearful
and a poor hunter. But an older infant is Sioux is motivated to
become angry. When a child has a tantrum, the mother is amused
and pleased and encourages him to increase the rage. Sioux belive
that such outbursts of rage would make the child brave and strong.
This type of trainning makes a Sioux aggressive, very hostile to
outsiders and a quarrelsome person.
This the picture of dacoit from Chambal Valley. It is to a great
extent due to the desolate, deserted ravines of Chambal that every
other day a dacoit is born.
According to McCandless, the intellectual development of the
child is greatly impeded if he does not get proper environment.
There are many other studies which also indicate that the
environment greatly influences the intellectual and educational
growth of the individual. Some of the studies may be mentioned as :
(1) Zingg has described thirty such people who have passed
quite a number of years of their early life with the animals or
primitives. Most of them could not be brought to the human
environment till the eight years of age. By this time, there was a
permanent effect of earlier environment upon them. Many of them

had eating habits akin to the animals. Out of the thirty, there were
ten such persons who went on refusing wearing clothes for quite a
long time. Six of them were immune to heat and cold. In adjusting
themselves to human society, different persons took different time.
Out of these thirty, two girls may be specially mentioned.
These girls were lifted by the wolves at quite an early age—when
they were two and eight years of age respectively, they were saved
from the dens of the wolves. The younger sister made an attempt
to adjust herself to the human society but she died within a year.
The other child remained alive till seventeen years of age. She
could hardly learn the habits of eating and dressing till this age.
(2) Freeman, etc. Burks and Barbaras and Skeels, studies point
in this direction when the children were transferred from the bad to
the good environment, they showed a progress in the intelligence.
Many other similar studies on twins have been given in the chapter
on ‘Intellectual Growth’.
3.3. IMPORTANCE OF HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT
Importance’s of Heredity and Environment are given
below—
1. The foregoing discussion reveals that both heredity and
environment have their share in moulding the life and personality
of the individual. But as regards the extent of their influence
opinions differ.
2. Heredity is responsible for all the inborn traits, the instincts,
emotions, I.Q., reflex action and physical traits.
3. Environment is responsible for the growth and development
of the physical, mental and social traits.
4. The two forces heredity and environment are not opposed
to each other, but are complementary like seed and soil, ship and
current, ‘warp and woof, bed and stream etc. Both of these forces
are required for the same purpose. The heredity is the raw material
out of which the object is to be prepared and environment in the
technique and other material for the manufacture.
Environment is nothing but a process under suitable conditions

to change the shape of raw material just as potter does while making
toys of mud. Human behaviour is the product of heredity and
environment. Hence both are equally important. The verdict of T.
Percy Nunn is nothing short of final:
“Circumstances of life are to men what rocks and winds and
currents are to a ship; merely accidents that make their qualities
manifest but have nothing whatever to do with producing them.”
5. Interaction of Environment and Heredity. Human behaviour
is determined by interaction of heredity and environment. The
individuality of person is characterised by some inborn traits
inherited by the person. The task of the environment is to shape
these traits in a proper form, to give opportunities for their
unfoldment and fulfilment, and to help making improvements. Thus
the personality of the individual is a product of heredity and
environment.’
6. Improvement through Environment. Environment can
definitely improve upon the behaviour of a person. Increase the
environmental situation, improve its quality, even though the
heredity remains constant, the behaviour will improve. It was
explained above children brought up in nursery and progressive
schools or in good foster homes showed improvement in their
intellectual calibre after some time. They were better than those
who were brought up in ordinary environment but were initially of
the same heredity.
Two individuals of the same heredity might differ when put
in dissimilar environments. Again two individuals of differing
heredity would probably differ inspite of identical environments.
So we can predict that if we change either factor, the product is
changed. But Algebra alone will not help us in measuring the
quantity of improvement. Detailed investigations are needed for
that but roughly we can made an estimate of the changes in the
behaviour due to change in either of the factors.
Suppose we have got three children of three different grades
of heredity viz. superior, average and low (symbolically put as S,
A and L). Suppose there are three grades of the environment also
(S, A and L). If the child with superior heredity is put in superior
environment, his personality will be highly superior because S x S = S.

If he is put in average environment his personality will be somewhat
superior (S x A = SA). The different combinations are as follows:
(i) Superior heredity and superior environment, S×S = S
(ii) Superior heredity and average environment, S×A = SA
(iii) Average heredity and superior environment, A×S=AS
(iv) Average heredity and average environment, A × A =A
(v) Superior heredity and low environment, S×L = SL
(vi) Low heredity and superior environment, L × S = LS
(vii) Average heredity and low environment, A ×L = AL
(viii) Low heredity and average environment, L×A = LA
(ix) Low heredity and low environment, L×L = L
IMPORTANCE OF HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT IN

CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Importance of Heredity in Child—

1. Everyday experience—It is common every day
observation that the children of bright and intelligent parents tend
to grow bright and intelligent from the very beginning. On the
other hand the history of dull and stupid adults reveals a record of
dullness and stupidity in childhood. We all know of persons who
were dull in childhood and who inspite of every advantage,
educationally and socially, could not rise higher than aeverage man
and woman. We know of children who grow up in the same family
or community, go to the same school, play together and possess
the same opportunities, some learn more rapidly and others very
slowly. Such a difference must be largely the result of heredity or
native difference in endowment.
2. Biographies of great men—Biographies of great men like
Swami Rama Tirtha, Lala Hardaya, Ramanujam, Vivekananda, Sir
Francis Galton, Voltaire, Macaulay, Sir Issac Newton reveal the
fact that they were bright from the very beginning.
3. Experiments on feeble-minded—Various studies revealed

that about 80 percent of feeble-mindedness is inherited.
4. Studies of family histories—Here, throught the examples
of the study of some families we shall prove that the characteristics
of the parents pass on to their children too.
(i) Wedgewood-Darwin-Galton study—Galton studied one
family which is known as Wedgewood-Darwin-Galton Family and
concluded that there were families in which most of men were men
of eminennce and great reputation. They were doctors, scientists,
enginners and great scholars. On the other hand, there were certain
families in which most of the members were feeble-minded,
imbeciles and criminals. This shows that natural endowments,
intelligence and other mental abilities are inherited.
(ii) Karl Person’s study—He extended the studies done by
Galton and found the same results. In one study of a family he
found that for the five successive generations, the members of that
family had place in the ‘Royal Society of England’.
(iii) Juke family study—This study was conducted by
Dugdale. Juke was a shiftless hunter and fisher whose sons married
women of very degenerate family. It was found that most of the
descendents were of low intelligence, criminals, paupers and
prostitutes.
(iv) Kallikak family study—Goddard studies Kallikak family.
According to him Kallikak was a soilder who married two women—
first was feebleminded girl and later he married a girl of good stock.
From the first lady where were 480 descendents and from the second
lady there were 496 descendents. It was found out that from the
first lady none of the descendents rose to the position of high rank
but most of them were feeble-minded, morally low, sexually immoral
and illegitimate etc. But a large number descendents from the second
lady, became distinguishing officials of the state, traders, doctors,
teachers, professors, lawyers etc. holding high status in the society.
(v) Edward family study—Winship studies Edward’s family.

He too, concluded that natural abilities are inherited.
5. Study of twins—There are two types of twins—identical
and fraternal.
(a) Identical twins—Identical twins are those twins which
develop from the same fertilized egg. Identical twins resemble each
other and are always of same sex.
(b) Fraternal twins—Fraternal twins develop from two
different fertilized eggs, do not have same allotment of genes and
are really just brothers and sisters born at same time.
Many studies of twins have been made by Newman, Freeman,
Holzinger, Thorndike, Merriman, Wingfield and Others and it was
found that :
(i) Correlation for identical twins is. 90
(ii) Correlation for fraternal twins is. 75
6. Boold relationship and abilities—With the help of Standford
Binet Intelligence Test, correlation between the various members
of the family was found. The above facts we can conclude that the
close the relationship the higher is the correlation of score on
intelligence. Test correlation goes on decreasing as the distance in
relationship increases. So intelligence depends upon heredity but
the importance of the environment in moulding the life of an
individual has not to be minimised.
Environment plays important role in the development of the
personality of individual.
1. Example of hogo fish—If this fish is incubated in an
abnormal temperature it (offspring) develops one eye instead of
two eyes. It is due to environment.
2. Example of fruit fly—If this fly is hatched in an abnormal
temperature then this fly has a tendency to develop numerous legs
instead of six. This shows the importance of environment.
3. Example of greatmen—Ancestors of Shivaji, Gandhi,
Einstein etc. did not show same talent and achievement because
they lacked favourable environment for its manifestation.
4. (a) Example of civilized and savage nations existing side

by side—The existence of civilized and savage nations prove that
environment makes and individual what he is. Those savage nations
which have come in contact with civilized nations have become
civilized and hence equally advanced.
(b) The Murray Islanders—Who had no words in their
language to count beyond six and refered to large numbers only
vaguely, but after receiving training at the hands of Scots who
occupied the island, developed as good a mathematical ability as
the one possessed by any civilized people. Similarly education of
the Santhals and the untouchable in India is bringing fourth
surprising results.
8. Kellog’s Experiment—Winthrop N. Kellog performed an
intersting experiment of educating ten month old chimpanzee Gua
along with his seven month old son Donald. The chimpanzee was
not treated as a pet but as a child and two infants were given nearly
indentical care as far as possible. Chimpanzee progressed
remarkably well and learnt to eat with a spoon, drink out of a glass
and at the end of experimental period of nine months, she
understood over 50 words or phrases. But Gua could not be made
into a homely child because heredity was limiting him, not in only
personal beauty as judged by human standards but in intelligence
also.
9. Nursery Education—It has been found that children who
are sent to nursery earlier than other children show an increase of 4
to 5 points in their intelligent quotient as compared to children
who do not receive education.
10. Akhtar’s experiments—Akhtar’s experiments to keep
children away from the society and under the care of dumb nurses
show that social environment makes the child a human being worth
the name. Children under experiment remained dumb.
11. Certain other views of Environmentalists—

(i) Views of Helvetius—Helvetius is of the view that if two
persons are kept seperately, then they differ in their capacties. He
also hold that the differences come in men due to difference in
eduation. He also says that heredity plays a negligible part in the
child’s development.
(ii) Views of Herbart—Herbart believed that education is
panacea for all social evils. According to him human improvement
solely depends on education. Character depends on thoughts and
ideas and thoughts are created by education. The education is
dependent on environment. Thus, we can say that environment is
the only helper in the progress of the man.
(iii) View of Hayward—He says that the child is endowed
with some inherited tendencies but they are so flexible like plastic
that they can be moulded almost in any way, according to the
educator’s desires.
(iv) View of Huxley—According to Huxley, the environment
of education is determined by the schools, where the students grow
under the supervision of the teachers. Thus in the development of
the child, environment is very thing.
(v) Views of Locke—Locke believes that the mind of the child
is ‘Tabula Rasa’ i.e., clean state. Environment and education may
mould the mind in any form.
(vi) View of Candolle—Candolle of France studied the lives
of 562 famous men of the distinguished academies of Europe—
the Roya Society of London, the Paris Academy of Science and
the Royal Academy of Berlin. They had become great scholars
because they had secured proper environment.
To sum up, the following conclusions can be drawn regarding
the relative importance of hereditary and environment :
1. Role of both—Heredity and environment both play an
important role in the development of personality. There can be no
simple answer to the question what part heredity plays and what
part is played by environment in the development process. What
we can say is that an individual is the product of heredity and
environment. The richer the heredity the better the scope for
personality development. Similarly richer the environment, better
is the scope for developing an individual into a health human being.
2. Heredity as basis—Heredity does not completely determine
any characteristics or trait but it provides basis or potential for the
development of any personality trait. Traning and experiences in
the environment contribute to the development of traits.
3. Physique and intellect—Heredity influences physique,
motor sensory equipment and level of intelligence. Certain diseases
and temperamental characteristics are also inherited from
forefathers.
4. Heredity sets limit—Bad environment can suppress good
inheritance but good environment is not a substitute for bad
heredity. Heredity sets the limit of the maximum development of a
characteristic which cannot be crossed by providing best
environment. The best environment cannot make an idiot taltented
person. Good training and experiences improve the performance.
5. Intelligence—Intelligence is influenced by the type of
education, occupation of parents, rural-urban living and cultural
environment. Substantial differences in intelligence and other
aspects of personality can be created by providing suitable
environment.
6. Relationship of multiplication—The relationship between
heredity and environment is not that of addition but of
multiplication. The individual is equal to heredity multiplied by
environment rather than heredity plus environment. The individual
can be represented by a rectangle, one side of which represents
heredity and the adjacent side environment. Individual can differ
in heredity or environment or both. Let us consider four individuals
E, F, G and H represented by the four rectangles show below. E

and F have same heredity but different environment, E and G have
same environment, but different heredities. As it is clear that the
area of E is maximum and H minimum. This shows that rich heredity
and rich environment (E) produces a well developed personality,
poor heredity and poor environment (H) produces an ill developed
personality. Rich heredity and poor environment (F) or poor
heredity and rich environment (G) produces a moderately
developed personality. Hence we should not provide same
environment for all. It will not make individuals equal nor it would
reduce individual differences but rather it would increase individual
differences. What we should do is to provide rich and stimulating
environment (not the same or equal) to all so as to give them the
opportunity to develop to the maximum limit set by heredity.
Thus heredity and environment both are significant factors in
the development of personality. If heredity is the base, environment
is the structure, if heredity is the seed, environment is the soil, if
heredity is the soul, environment is the body. As we cannot separate
the soul from the body in living human being or the seed from the
soild so we can not separate the heredity from environment. Thus
heredity and environment are complementary.
Effects of Heredity and Environment on our Personality
Every individual on this earth is different from the other. No
one person is fully like other person. Every person differs from the
other, either physically or psychologically. Even the twins are no
exception to this. They differ in some aspects or other. Particularly
when we look at people from psychological point of view these
differences are quite obvious. In many instances even the children
differ from their parents.
They will have some similarities with some forefathers or
grandparents instead of their parents. What makes these differences
to exist? What are the causes? The answer to these queries can be
traced from two factors, viz., heredity and environment.
The basic sources of personality development are heredity

and environment.
Heredity refers to the genetic inheritance received by every
individual at the time of conception. The origin of every human
life can be traced to a single cell called zygote. It is formed by the
union of sperm and ovum.
The sperm and ovum will contain 23 pairs of chromosomes
out of which one will be sex determining chromosome. Female
will have 23 pairs of XX chromosomes. Male will have 22 pairs of
XX and 2 single, represented as XY. X chromosome from mother
and Y chromosome from father will lead to male offspring, XX
from both parents give rise to female. In each chromosome there
are innumerable genes.
These genes are the real determiners of hereditary
characteristics—which pass on from one generation to the other.
At the time of conception, the genes from chromosomes of both
the father and the mother fuse together and determine the traits of
the offspring to be born.
The physical characteristics such as height, weight, colour of
eye and skin, social and intellectual behaviour are determined by
heredity. Differences in these characteristics are due to the change
in the genes transmitted. Fraternal twins also differ from each other,
because they are born out of different genes. However, we find
more resemblances in identical twins because they are born out of
monozygotic.
3.4. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF HEREDITY
AND ENVIRONMENT
1. Knowledge of laws of heredity—Teacher must know the
laws of heredity. He must study the heredity of the child and then
mould his educational theory and practice. He does much harm
out of ignorance. He cannot guide without proper understanding
of the inborn traits. He punishes a boy unnecessarily, considering
him to be careless, when actually he is natively endowed with weak

mental powers.
2. Knowledge of individual differences—While using the
various methods of teaching, knowledge of heredity and
environment assists the teacher to know the individual differences
among the students and hence he should devise means and methods
of teaching accordingly.
3. Providing guidance—Educational, vocational and
psychological guidance depends upon the knowledge of heredity
and environment. In order to provide guidance to the pupils, teacher
shall have to know the heredity and environment of the child.
4. Conducive home environment—The home environment
should be conducive to proper development of the child. If parents
are confirmed fools, and no improvement is possible in home
environment, the child should be sent to foster home.
5. Suitable environment in the school—Teacher should
provide a suitable environment in the school for all round
development of the child. (i) There must be enriched programme
of various co-curricular activities. (ii) The library facilities must be
adequate. (iii) The teaching and instructional guidance must be
efficient. (iv) The staff must be qualified and trained having control
over the emotions. (v) The equipment must be adequate. (vi) School
should be situated in an open locality with (vii) fresh air and sufficient
sunlight. It should be properly ventilated and away from distracting
sounds.
6. Suitable social environment—Suitable social environment
should be provided, because suitable social environment in the
neighbourhood, in the school and in the society at large is necessary
for harmonious development of personality. Parents, teachers,
educationists and members of the society at large should all try
their best to create suitable social environment.
Heredity and environment are not separable:
The problem of nature versus nurture defines satisfactory
solution. As a matter of fact, it is futile to ask which of the two
factors, heredity or environment, is more important. According to

MacIver, “Every phenomenon of life is the product of both, each
is as necessary to the result as the other, neither can ever be
eliminated and neither can be isolated.” No society is a product of
environment alone for men inherit physical heritage.
The truth of the matter is that there is incessant interaction
between the two. They are inseparable. One man is a law-abiding
citizen, another is a criminal; one a militarist and another pacifist.
It is difficult to indicate any genetic basis for these variations and
in many cases it is almost impossible to assess properly the relative
role of heredity and environment in producing these differences.
Both have been operative to produce every particular situation
since time immemorial. In no case of personality development can
we properly attribute any characteristic to heredity or to environment
alone. A given result is always produced by the interaction of gene
substance and their environment. We should not, therefore, be
interested, in asking about the absolute contribution of either factor
as a whole.
In Altenberg’s words, “Each trait requires both heredity and
environment for its development.” Lumley said, “It is not heredity
or environment, but heredity and environment.” We have no more
justification for denying the importance of heredity than some
eugenists have for denying the importance of environment.
Heredity, no doubt has its influence on the physiological traits
but environment is also the arbiter of our development. What
heredity can do environment can also do. Neither can ever be
eliminated and neither can ever be isolated. Both have been
operative in determining human behaviour. An immigrant group,
no matter what its heredity antecedents, exhibits new characteristics
when transplanted from its native land to the country of its adoption.
Heredity is of no avail if environment is not there to show it
off. For instance, it is the industrial age which has made possible
for men of talent to rise to eminence that otherwise could have

remained in obscurity. A new social situation or a happy chance
may thus give a genius the opportunity to reveal his power but no
amount of favourable conjuncture will turn a person of mediocre
mentality into a genius. David Abrahamson has written that heredity
determines what a person can do and environment what he will do.
The capabilities of man are hereditary, but their manifestation
is the work of the environment. According to Landis and Landis,
“Heredity gives us the capacities to be developed but opportunity
for the development of these capacities must come from the
environment.’’
Heredity gives us our working capital; environment gives us
opportunity to invest it. Heredity explains man the animal,
environment man the human being.” In the words of Biesanz and
Biesanz, “Personality is the organisation of a person’s attitudes,
habits and traits and arises from the interplay of biological, social
and cultural factors.”
The conclusions that we can draw from the above discussion
is that the question, “which is more important, heredity or
environment?” wrongly assumes that environment and heredity
are opposed, so that if one is important the other cannot be. All the
qualities of life are in the heredity, all the evocations of qualities
depend on the environment. In other words, heredity has potentiality
and environment offers it a chance of bringing them out.
It also follows from this principle that the higher the
potentiality, the greater is the demand made on environment. Thus
more subtle differences in environment may have little effect on
those of low potentiality while the same differences may be vastly
significant for those who have higher potentiality.
For instance, a seemingly minor change in a situation, say, a
rebuff, may prove decisive to a sensitive nature while it may not
affect a thick skinned; man. Lastly, the more elastic the life the
more is it at the mercy of environment. That is why environment

affects us most in the earlier years of our life when we are most
impressionable.
We should thus conclude this controversy of nature versus
nurture by accepting the unchallengeable truth that heredity and
environment—the two ultimate determinants of every living being-
are of coequal importance and that none is more potent than the
other.
Before we take into consideration the relative importance of
heredity and environment, let us understand as to what we mean
by heredity. Heredity is considered as the sum total of inborn
individual traits. Biologically it has been defined as ‘‘the sum total
of the traits potentially present in the fertilized ovum.’’ It has been
seen that a cat give birth to a kitten, a dog to a puppy and a human
being to a human being. It is on account of this factor that we say
that the class of dogs will give birth to puppies, or that ‘‘like begets
like’. Still, there we find much variation between different dogs or
cats or human-beings even if they are born to the same parents.
Why this happens has been explained by Galton, Weismann and
some other biologists.
EXERCISE
1. What is the importance of Heredity and Environment for
the teacher? Describe it.
2. What is the Meaning of Heredity? Describe its main
features.
3. Clearify the Heredity and Environment Interaction.
4. Describe the various Laws of Heredity.
5. What is the importance of Heredity and Environment in
Child Development.

1. Write a note on Basic Genetic Principles.
2. Definition of the Heredity.
3. Discuss the role of environment in the child’s development.
4. What is the importance of heredity and environment in
education.
5. Which are the various laws of Heredity ?
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES :
4 MEANING, TYPES, CAUSES
AND DIMENSIONS
It is often said that no two individuals are exact duplicates;

they differ from each other in some way or the other. Hence the
job of the psychologist is to identify and understand this uniqueness
in individuals. Such a similarity or difference between persons
reveals individual differences. It happens in our day-to-day life
when we see people around us. A question comes to mind; how
and why people appear similar or different to each other ? For
example when we think about their physical appearance, we often
ask ourselves why some people have dark or fair complexion, why
some people are tall and some are short, why some are thin and
why some are very fat. When we think about their psychological
characteristics we often come across people who are very talkative
or less talkative, some laugh too much whereas others take much
time even to smile, some are very friendly whereas some prefer to
be alone. The present lesson tries to answer all such queries which
can bother us in our everyday life. In psychology, these are called
individual differences referring to the extent and kind of variations
or similarities among people on some of the important psychological
aspects such as intelligence, personality, interest and aptitude. This
lesson will also help us understand how to assess such similarities
or variations among individuals.
In the Western psychology approach to individual differences,
it is generally assumed that : People vary on a range of psychological
attributes It is possible to measure and study these individual
differences individual differences are useful for explaining and
predicting behaviour and performance We can classify people
psychologically, according to their intelligence and personality
characteristics, for example, with moderates success, however
people are complex and much is still left unexplained. There are
multiple and often conflicting theories and evidence about individual
difference psychology. Early study of individual differences We
129
have come a long way since Franz Gall invented phrenology in the
early 1800s. The science of psychology studies people at three
levels of focus captured by the well known quote: “Every man is
in certain respects (a) like all other men, (b) like some other men,
(c) like no other man” (Murray, H.A. & C. Kluckhohn, 1953).
Individual differences psychology focuses on this second level of
study. It is also sometimes called Differential Psychology because
researchers in this area study the ways in which individual people
differ in their behaviour.
4.1. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES : THE CONCEPT
Usually in a school we find that students studying in the same
class are also very different from one another. These differences
can be on the basis of their physical (height, sex etc.), demographic
(caste, socio economic status) and cognitive behaviour (thinking,
problem-solving creativity etc.) characteristics. Thus, individual
differences are the differences that exist among students due to
their physical, demographic and cognitive behaviour characteristics.
Out of the above mentioned characteristics in cognitive ability of
students have a direct impact of classroom teaching.
Individual differ from each other. One individual is never like
another in each and every respect. Each one has his own
peculiarities which present him as a separate individual from the
others. These individual differences creat a very big problem in
education. In educating children, we now universally believe that
education should be provided to them according to their individual
abilities. Now, the problems before us are : How can ability be
measured and how can education be organized according to
individual differences in ability ? Thus, we are faced with two
problems : the problem of imparting instructions on individualistic
lines and the problem of measurement of abilities. In this chapter,
we will deal with education of individualistic lines and in Part VI
of this book we will deal with measurement.
We wish to emphasize here that each individual has many
similairities and dissimilarities with others. In the previous chapters,
we have concentrated our attention on similarities in the patterns
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES : MEANING, TYPES, CAUSES ..... 131
of growth. We have also described the stage of growth which are

rougnly followed by a normal individual in his growth-pattern. To
understand this typical problem of similarity and dissimilarity, we
are here first summarizing the similarities in growth which are found
in almost all children and then are giving the details of individual
differences.
H.C. Mockown has given a very vivid description of
individual differences, ‘‘In the whole world there are probalby no
two things alike—no two trees, no two leaves, flowers, blades of
grass, rocks, drops, clouds, animals, houses, pianos, books,
baseballs or photographs, even though at first glance they appear
to be identical. Similarly no two human beings are alike, they differ
physically in size, weight, height, colour of eyes and hair, texture
of skin and in a thousand other details as well as in thousands of
details of mental, social and spiritual life’’. Not only this, an
individual reacts to the same situation in different manners at
different times. Mass procedures, no matter how well-intentioned,
fail to accomplish the desired result in educational programes,
unless they are supplemented by adequate attention to the individual
needs of the learner.
Skinner’s view—‘‘Today we think of individual differences
as including any measurable aspect of the total personality.’’ It is
clear from this definition that it comprehends every aspect of human
personality which in some manner is measurable. Individual
differences may be slight, moderate or extreme.
2. Tyler’s view—‘‘Measurable differences have been shown
to exist in physical size and shape, psychological functions, motor
capacities, intelligence, achievement and knowledge, interests,
attitudes and personality traits.’’
It is because of individual differences that we feel the necessity
of educational and vocational guidance for the children. Today,
we have the view that a vocation is to be chosen by an individual
in accordance with his abilities and interests and since each
individual differs from others in his abilities, aptitudes and interests,
the necessity of vocational guidance cannot be undermined.
In individual differences both variability and normality are
found. By variability we mean that if we measure and trait or ability
in any group we will find a difference in the possession of that trait
or ability among the different members of that group or we may

say that members will show variability in that particular trait or
ability. Beside this, in that group it will also be seen that a majority
of individuals are nearer to medium. Only a few individuals will be
found in possession of that trait at the extremes. By normality we
mean this very thing. If a graph of ability in any trait is drawn, it
will take the shape of a normal probability curve or a well-shaped
curve as shown in the figures given earlier in this chapter.
Individual differences are also based on differences in the
growth and development and the learning of individual. Each
individual has a different rate of growth and development and he
also differs from others in this learning ability.
We can pay attention to another characteristics of individual
differences which is that the differences in one area, like
achievement, intelligence, temperament, etc., influence the other
areas as well. This means that if a child is of low intelligence, his
achievement ability will also be proper and so he will also differ
from the others in his achievement level.
Individual differences are also caused by hereditary and
environmental factors. A child comes to this world with certain
traits which determine his individual capabilities and, thus, he
differs from others on account of heredity. Also each child is born
in different environment from the other; therefore whatever traits
he acquires during his life time, are usually different from the others.
EACH PUPIL HAS A DISTINCT PATTERN OF GROWTH
The psychological growth of given child is usually uneven.
He may have accelerated tempo in certain aspects of development,
which may be average in some children and retarted in many others.
This pattern is illustrated in the figure given below. In this figure
the various aspects of growth of child are shown in percentile ranks.
It can be noted that the mental age is at the 50th percentile. This
indicates that he is average in this aspect of development. In motor
development he is highly superior as its percentile rank in 92. Thus,
a child can be average in one aspect of development, superior in

other aspects and below average in certain others.
Profile of the Growth Pattern of One Pupil in Several Areas
of Psychological Growth
A teacher must be careful about this uneven growth of the

children. A child who is above average in mental growth should
not be assumed to be above average in motor skills also. There is
very little correlation between these two types of growth. The pupil
who is poorest in handwriting may be the best in the arithmetic or
in some other subject-matter. Pupils whose competence in arithmetic
is below average may be superior in the language and arts. This
may especially be noticed among the girls.
4.2. MEANING AND NATURE OF INDIVIDUAL
DIFFERENCES
Meaning : Dissimilarity is principle of nature. No two persons
are alike. All the individuals differ from each other in many a
respects. Children born of the same parents and even the-twins are
not alike. This differential psychology is linked with the study of
individual differences. Wundt, Cattel, Kraepelin, Jastrow and Ebbing
Haus are the exponents of differential psychology.
This change is seen in physical forms like in height, weight,
colour, complexion strength etc., difference in intelligence,
achievement, interest, attitude, aptitude, learning habits, motor
abilities, skill. Each man has an intellectual capacity through which
he gains experience and learning.
Every person has the emotions of love, anger, fear and feelings
of pleasure and pain. Every man has the need of independence,
success and need for acceptance.
Broadly individual difference may be classified into two
categories such as inherited traits and acquired traits:
Nature of Individual Differences—It has been observed that
if we collect information about peoples characteristics from a large
sample and examine the pattern of distribution .we find that a large
majority of the people fall in the middle range while a small
proportion lies in extreme categories. For example, most of the
people fall in the category of average height and very few are very
tall or very short. This holds true for many more characteristics
including intelligence and other psychological attributes.
The fact that people are different from each other is a very
common observation. The differences in psychological characteri-
stics are often consistent and form a stable pattern. By consistent,
we mean that people tend to show regularity in their behavior and
their patterns of behaviour do not change very frequently. This
consistency and stability in behaviour is unique to every person.
People develop their unique traits/ characteristics and patterns of
behaviour due to their genetic make up and the environment in
which they are brought up. Once we know these differences
systematically we can utilize the capabilities of people efficiently
for their healthy development. Knowing about the specific
characteristics of a person is necessary in order to extend support
and utilize his or her potential to optimum level.
Individual differences occur due to interaction of genetic and
environmental factors. We inherit certain characteristics from our
parents through genetic codes. The phenotype or the expressed
forms of our characteristics depend on contributions of the socio-
cultural environment. This is the reason why we are not exactly
like our parents and our parents not exactly like our grandparents.
We do share similarities with our parents in respect of many physical

attributes like height, colour of eyes, shape of nose etc. We also
inherit certain cognitive, emotional and other characteristics from
our parents like intellectual competence, love for sport, creativity
etc. However, our own characteristics develop largely by the support
from the environment which we inhabit.
PROVISIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN
SCHOOLS
To provide adequate schooling or learning experience for
every learner according to his individuality is not an easy task.
However following suggestions can be helpful for any teacher.
The first step is to know the abilities, capacities, interests, aptitudes
and other personality traits of individual pupils. For this purpose,
request assessment in the form of intelligence tests, cumulative
record card, interest inventories, attitude scales, aptitude tests and
measures for assessing personality traits shall be carried out. In the
light of results derived from various tests of knowing individual
differences in various potentials, the students in a class can be
divided into homogeneous groups. The curriculum should be as
flexible as possible. It should have the provision for a number of
diversified course. Considering the varying individual differences
adjustment with regard to the adaptation of methods of teaching is
very effective.
4.3. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
IN EDUCATION
The significance of individual differences in education has
long been recognized. The extensive experimental work that has
been undertaken, began by Galton and carried on up to the present
time, has so increased our knowledge concerning individual
differences and has so enhanced their significance to education
that their existence and importance are now a matter of general
acceptance.
Now knowledge of these differences, their amount,

interrelations and causes, is very important and necessary in planning
the education of a particular child. Exact knowledge of just what
differences do exist between individuals and of the causes of these
differences is important.
Education is furthermore concerned with individual
differences resulting from the differing degrees of maturity or growth
and those which previous education and training have caused.
Education can only be made efficient with a minimum of effort,
time and expense by knowledge of which of the differences between
people and the achievements of a given person are due to training
and which are due largely to the degree of maturity.
Exact knowledge, not opinion, along all these lines is essential,
if progress is to be made. Individual differences must be kept in
mind by the teacher if the needs of the individual pupil are to be
met. It should be remembered that physical and emotional
differences must be met, as well as intellectual differences.
The teacher must be familiar with many approaches to adjusting
the learning situation to the individual needs of the pupil. Any
program of instruction must take into consideration the important
facts about differences in individuals and traits.
There exists in any realm of activity a wide range in
endownments of individuals. However, individuals cannot readily
be classified into specific types since the various levels merge
gradually and are not sharply differentiated.
The evidence is clear that the degree to which the individual
possesses different traits also varies. The wide range of capacities,
abilities, needs, and interests in any classroom necessitates a
differentiated approach to instruction at all school levels and in all
areas of learning.
Until the differences among the pupils in a given class are
recognized, instruction cannot be on a sound and systematic basis.
A significant part of the dilemma in modern education has been

brought about by a failure to admit differences by treating all the
pupils alike.
The traditional methods of group teaching have tended to over-
emphasize the similarities and to ignore the difference. To ignore
the fact that people differ in ability, intelligence, interest, social
training, and strength, as well as in age and sex, would be a serious
mistake.
If training is to be shifted to the nature and needs of the
individual, care must be taken to keep the func¬tion of the school
flexible and adaptable. No child in school can realize his educational
growth and development without a carefully planned and
administered adjustment so wide individual differences that exist
among pupils.
4.4. AREAS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
The history of individual differences is quite an old one. The
ancient people used to distinguish between heroes and ordinary
men. But the ideas of individual differences in the present from
came to us when the new type of tests were developed. Through
these tests, light was thrown on individual differences in various
fields. Here we will deal with the major areas in which individual
differences are found.
1. Differences in Intelligence Level—We have discussed
individual differences in intelligence in Chapter 8. In that chapter,
we have exphasized that there are differences in intelligence level
among different individuals. We can classify the individuals from
super-normal (I.Q. above 120) to idiots and imbeciles. (I.Q. from
0—50) on the basis of their intelligence level.
The educational programmes of these students should be
chalked out on the basis of their Intelligence Quotients.
We get such a curve when the children are classified in
accordance with their I.Q. The curve indicates that nearly 68.26%
children in a sample of any class will be average intelligence, 2.15%

nearly of low intelligence and 2.15% nearly of high intelligence.
Often teachers take into considration the average children
while teaching in the class rooms. They neglect the backward and
super-normal. This is not a happy situation. The children who are
thus neglected develop complexes and feellings of failure.
If the I.Q. of all the students in any class is tested, then a
majority of such children will be found whose. I.Q. is 100, there
will be some whose I.Q. is 130 or more and a few will be having an
I.Q. of 80 or less than that. According to Terman, the curve which
will be formed with these data will be bell-shaped.
2. Differences in Physical Development—Children also differ
in their physical development. Some children are tall, some are
short, some are fat and some are lean and thin. Still, if the height of
all the children of the same age in the class is measured, then it will
be only a few students who will be either too tall or too short.
It is the duty of the teachers in organizing the activities for the
children, they should keep in mind their physical development. If
there are few children who are much physically deviated, then they
should be given proper guidance.
3. Differences in Achievement—Through achievement tests
it has been found that children differ in their achievement abilities.
These differences are very much visible in learning mathematics
and in reading.
The difference in achievement is also found among those
children who are at the same level of intelligence. This on account
of the difference in the various factors of intelligence and the
differences in previous experiences or interests.
Since the individuals differ in their achievements, a teacher
should adopt a combination of the class teaching method and
individual method in his teaching. Different children should be
given different types of home assignments and they should be
provided with different activities.
If a child’s achievement is poorer than what ia warranted by

his I.Q., the teacher should try to locate the reason for it. Often he
will find that this lower achievement is on account of lack of interest
or because of emotional causes.
There are also some children who are able to achieve much
more than what is expected from them on the basis of their
intelligence level. These children spend a lot of time in studies and
are able to learn much. They often get motivation for higher
achievement from their parents. Sometimes, these children work
hard at their studies in order to compensate for their deficiency in
some other sphere. Here we can present the example of Sir Issac
Newton worked hard at mathematics because he wanted to
compensate for the deficiency which he felt on being unable to
bear one of his class-fellows who was a bully.
An efficient teacher should see that a child who is working
very hard may not develop an attitude of dissatisfaction for the rest
of his life.
4. Differences in Attitudes—Attitude is a general disposition
towards a group of people or an institution. Individuals differ in
their attitudes towards different people or institutions. Some people
consider the laws of society as good and some feel that they are
bad.
The attitudes towards education is not dependent on intelligence
level. It depends to a great extent on home environment. If the
parents have desirable attitude towards education, then similar
attitudes will develop in their children. In India, the poor farmers
in general do not have a healthy attitude towards education, hence,
their children also remain uninterested towards education. This is
one of the main reason for their illiteracy.
Different children have different attitudes towards authority
also. This attitude the child learns in his early childhood. The
development of his attitude is dependent on home environment.
5. Personality Differences—We have dealt with personality

differences. The differences in personality are depedent on
personality traits. A good teacher should keep these differences in
mind while providing education to the children.
6. Differences in Motor Ability—At every age-level,
differences in motor ability are visible. Some people can perform
mechanical tasks with ease and comfort while others, even though
they are at the same level, feel much difficulty in performing these
tasks.
7. Differences on Account of Sex—Individual differences
are also found in men and woman. Some studies suggest that women
are more delicate while men are more sturdy. But in many areas in
learning, hardly any differences are found in the learning abilities
of boys and girls. Investigations dealing with differences on account
of sex have not yet shown such results which can be called as fully
scientific, hence, it is very difficult to say anything definite regarding
this point.
Intelligence and Sex Differences—The intelligence tests show
that both the sexes have on an average similar I.Qs. But it has also
been seen that the range of differences in both he sexes is different.
This means that in a mixed group there may not be much of a
differences between the average I.Q. of the female and the average
I.Q. of male members. But the range of differences between low,
average and high I.Qs. will be different in both the sexes. It has
also been noticed that on different portions of an I.Q. test there is a
difference between the scores obtained by the boys and girls. For
example, on the part dearling with linguistic ability, the girls score
higher than boys and on the mathematical part boys and score
better.
Achievement and Sex Differences—At elementary level the
girls score higher than boys and achievment test. In this connection
Fifer’s studies are of great significance. Pauly says that the boys
education should begin after six months from the beginning of the
education of girls.
The girls show linguistic abilities earlier than boys and this is
the reason for their scoring higher. The boy’s knowledge of science
is usually more when they enter school and they soon attain
supermacy in Mathematics over the girls.
Carter’s studies show that the teachers give higher marks to
the girls of their own tests as compared to the scores which they
obtain on a standardized test. The boys are awarded less marks
than the girls on the teacher-made tests. According to Sobel the
girls are given higher marks than boys at elementary level. At
secondary level, the lady teachers always give more marks to girl
students. But about male teachers authentic data are not available.
8. Racial and National Differences—Investigations
pertaining to racial and national differences are still incomplete.
Hence, we cannot say anything with full reliability in this
connection. Still, it has been amply seen that differences are found
in various types of abilities among persons belonging to different
nations.
9. Social Differences—Among different people, we find social
differences as well. These differences are visible even when the
child is about a year old. There are some children who are so timid
and shy that as soon as a member of some other family comes to
their homes they hide themselves, while there are other children
who become friendly with strangers without any hesitation.
Individual differences are also visible in understanding facial
expression. Children depict differences of behaviour in their
quarrels. Their quarrels take the form of abusing, beating, biting,
inflicting nail marks, etc.
10. Emotional differences—Individual learners differ in their

emotional reactions to a particular situation. Some are irritable and
aggressive and they get angry very soon. There are others who are
of peaceful nature and not get angry easily. It is true that the emotion
of anger is common to all people but its intenstiy and expression is
different in different people. Differences in emotional expression
from hight to extreme are noticed among individual learners.
Learners are also found to behave differently in different situations.
One child (learner) may be bold and talkactive at home, but may
be found to be very quiet and subdued in the class and in the school.
We also observe that different learners react differently to similar
situations. Two students (learners) are scoled by the teacher for not
doing their home work. One learner takes it in his stride and decides
to be regular with his home work. The other learner cries a lot and
refuses to go to school the next day. At a particular thing a learner
may be so much enraged that he may be prepared for the worst
crime like murder, while another person may only laugh at it.
4.5. MEASUREMENT OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Besides knowing the ways in which a single person differs
from others, it is also important that should be able to measuring
these individual differences. After knowing the capability, aptitudes
interest, the person can make suitable goals in learning and vocation,
which in turn would help him adjust better in the society. One of
the methods used in educational psychology to measure individual
differences is psychological tests. A psychological test is an
objective and standardized measure of a sample behaviour to
compare the behaviour of two or more persons. Observations are
made on a small carefully, chosen sample of an individuals behaviour,
just like any other scientist would test a patient blood by analyzing
one or more samples of it. Psychological tests cover the behaviour
under consideration, for example leadership qualities Personality.
4.6. PERSONALITY AS A INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE

We all use the term personality in day-to-day life. In
psychology personality is thought as a persons unique and relatively
stable behaviour pattern which remains consistent across situations
and over a period of time. The term personality has been defined
in diverse ways. All port in 1937 gave a very popular definition of
personality which is still referred to by scholars. According to him
“personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of
those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustment
to his environment.” Psychologists have approached personality
from different perspectives. Each of these perspectives explains
some aspects of personality. Now let us study in brief about some
of these perspectives : The trait perspective tries to describe
personality in terms of various traits Some times the traits are grouped
into clusters. These clusters are called “types” For instance
introversion and extraversion are two types of personality traits.The
psychodynamic perspective calls attention to the unconscious needs
and conflicts as well as the influence of earlier stages of development
on our lives Sigmund Freud, a noted psychologist, provided the
core concepts for this perspective. The socio-cultural perspective
highlights the importance of the social and cultural environment.
In view of this theory, our personality and behaviour patterns are
acquired through interaction with others and adoption of social
and cultural norms. The humanistic perspective emphasizes the
enormous potential for freedom and growth present in each one of
us. It is a view which is optimistic and emphasizes-on positive
aspects of life ad potentialities. In the field of personality assessment
the major focus is on the study of the nature and intensity of various
characteristics, which are generally reflected through the behaviour
of the individual in a given situation. Personality assessment
measures are classified into three categories. 1. Objective or Self
report measures of personality, 2. Projective or Indirect measures

of personality, 3. Situational measures of personality.
4.7. DIMENSIONS OF INDIVIDUALS DIFFERENCES
4.7.1. COGNITIVE
Cognitive simply means to be able to recognize. Cognitive
development means the development of ability to recognize, recall
or comprehend and understand something. The cognitive abilities
of an individual develop both with age and as a result of interaction
with environment.
Burner has described three phases of cognitive development
enactive (doing), iconic (object models of pictures) and symbolic
(signs and symbols). These are three phases in which any
information or object is internalized or embedded in our memory.
Taking an example, for a child the process of recognizing a mango
involves or model (iconic) and learning the name mangeo
(symbolic).
Piaget’s Concept of Cognitive Development—Piaget’s theory
of cognition is called ‘Genetic Epistemology’. He has explained
that of knowledge acquisition occurs as a result of interaction
between an individual’s heredity and environment.
Underlying Mental Process
According to Piaget knowledge acquisition takes place as a
result of two process :
 Assimilation or absorbing information from environment.
 Accomodation or making room for the incoming
information.
The above two processes help in adaptation. Adaptation simply
means adjustment to a new environment.
Stages of Cognitive Development and Accomplishments
The Table shows the major accomplishments at each Stage of
development :
Methodology of Studying Cognitive Development—Piaget

has developed a ‘Clinical Method’ to study the level of cognitive
developoment of a student. It is one-to-one method where a teacher
vebally puts questions to the students in order to test his/her level
of development of any one aspect of cognitive abilities like
comprehension, reasoning, understanding etc. The studying a
usually conducted with the help of supporting materials.
The level of reasoning of the student is assessed on the basis
of his correct responses or judgements, justification of responses
and his resistance to contersuggestion which show his level of
confidence.
Factors Facilitating Cognitive Development—There are four
factors which facilitate the cognitive development of child. Absense
of any one of these factors can hamper the process of cognitive
development. These are :
1. Internal readiness or development ineer mental abilities to
absorb external information.
2. Environmental experiences or physical interaction and
experiences with things in the environment.
3. Social interactions or interaction with other people which
help one learn concepts like cooperation, competition, relationships,
culture etc.
4. Equilibration is factor that helps in maintenance of balance
during the process of continuous change and interactions.
4.7.2. SELF-CONCEPT
Self-concept is an individual’s perception of himself or herself.
It is the way an individual describes himself in terms of his physical
appearance, goals, feelings, attitude etc. Self-concept is based on
physical and psychological qualities. Usually a perception of one’s
physical appearance is formed much before psychological self-
image.
Self-concept has certain characteristics which are as follows :
1. Self-concept is based on careful observation organization
of information about one’s self.
2. Self-concept is based on physical, social and mental abilities

which form a hierarchy on the basis of how they develop in an
individual overall.
3. Self-concept doesn’t change so easily with time.
Development of Self-Concept—An individual’s self-concept
or perception of one’s self is normally based on what the people
around him think about him. This self-image affects an individual’s
social adjustment skills academic achievement and overall
personality.
A child who is loved by his parents, teacher and peers develops
a positive self-concept and high selfesteem. Such a child is normally
socially well adjusted at school and in his peer groups and is an
academic achieves too.
A child who is constantly scolded by his parents and teachers
tends to develop a negative self-concept and low self-esteem. This
hampers his social skills and academic performance.
Pattern of Development of Self-Concepts—Self-concept
develops in two stages. The primary self-concept of a child develops
as a result of interactions at home and secondary self-concept
develops as a result of interactions outside home.
4.7.3. VALUES
‘‘A value is an orientation towards a class of goals that are
considered important in one’s life.’’ This definition highlights that
different people may have different goals in life to which they attach
a lot of worth of importance. For example, source people value
freedom, independence while others value family relations, good
health etc. values may also include virtues like honesty, cooperation,
obedience etc.
Development of Values—Development of values is both a
natural process and sat times conscious effort. As a child grows up
his experiences in life, the knowledge of things around, the culture
of his family all lead to development of values. Some values develop
as a result of reasoning of the impact of one’s behaviour on others.
Identification with a person whom the child considers his ideal or
role model also helps in adoption of these values.
Values and the School

School is a place where children spend a lot of time during
their formative years. Thus school plays a very important role in
the development of values in children. Schools through their fixed
time table, attendance, rules and regulations, inculcate values like
punctuality, obedience etc. in children. Morning assemblies play
an important role in embedding good virtues like honesty, sense of
responsiblity, moral courage etc. in children.
As the child interacts with his teachers, the personality and
values system of the teachers also influence his values development
process. School curriculum also contains innumerable values which
the child comes across and internalizes when he studies moral
stories, biography of great people etc.
Group activities and peer group interaction help in
development of values like cooperation, friendliness etc.
Some values that are essential for existing in a society and
related to conservation of human life should be taught consciously
to the child.
Through classroom discussions, morning assembiles etc.
norms governing our social behaviour like respecting public
property, following traffic rules etc. should be taught to the child
and destructive and negative behaviours like stealing, destruction
of public property etc. should be condemned.
Individual Differences in Values—There can be individual
difference in value system of students studying in the same school
or class. This could be because of individual differences in
internalization of values. Also it could be because of different family
cultures and values of children these differences could also be
because of difference among children in exposure to mass media
like television, radio etc. through which children learn a lot of virtues
and negative behaviours as well.
4.7.4. INTEREST
‘‘Interest is another powerful dictator in the realm of attetion.’’
It is a well-known fact that different people see different things in
the same scene. A farmer, an artist, a botanist standing on a hill
together and looking down over the landscape actually percieve
different things, because they attend to different aspects of the

situation depending on their interests. Since the problem of securing
the interest of the children so that they may be attentive in the
class, is of fundamental importance to an educational psychologist,
we will discuss this subjective condition in some detail.
Meaning of Interest—‘‘Interest may refer to the motivating,
force that impels us to attend to a person, a thing or an activity, or
it may be the effective experience that have been stimulated by the
activity itself.’’ In other words, ‘‘Interest can be the cause of an
activity and the result of participation in the activity.’’ We may say
that we attend to such objects which interest us.
In Latin, the word ‘interest’ means ‘it matters’, or ‘it concerns’.
Now a thing that interests us is just something that concerns us or
matters to us. It may mean an object outside the person who is
intersted. But he might also use the word ‘interest’ to describe the
experience of the person while he is absorbed in the task. Here
interest is mode of experience of the individual and bears a
subjective meaning. Stout uses this word as a comprehesive term
to denote the affective conative aspect of experience, while Drever
uses the compound word ‘instinct interest’ to denote the
fundamental affective aspect of all experience. Seeing its enduring
condition he says, ‘‘An interest is a disposition in its dynamic
aspect.’’
Thus, fundamental interests of a human-being are the instincts
themselves. In childhood, the individual’s interest are instinctive.
With his mental development, they begin to be acquired and then
it is they that lend the necessary force to his activites. The acquired
interests arise out of sentiments or objects and ideas and then finally
out of the self-regarding sentiment. It is because of this that interests
are considered conative rather than cognitive. They are responsible
for maintaining the activity.
Many of your interests are also governed by our drives,
motives and emotional responses. A man’s interest in preparation
of palatable food may grow from a desire for eating good food.
Similarly, interest in scientific reasearch, mechanics or teaching
may grow in order to satisfy one’s curiosity. The interest of your
people in their appearance, clothes, or activites may be awakened

by a desire to attract members of the opposite sex.
Interest Inventories—In guidance and counselling work the
knowledge of interests of an individual is of very great importance.
Particularly in giving guidance for making the choice of a vocation
interest of the individual provide a vital clue for indicating his choice
of profession or a course of study. When an individual verbalizes
his interest some idea of his aptitude may be gathered. But is must
be remebered that interest is not aptitude. A person may be
interested in medicines but this does not indicate that he has an
aptitude for medical profession. Interest in medicines, may be
incidental to his sickness.
Interest in commonly measured by interest inventories. There
have been developed interest inventories for elementary school
children, secondary school student and adults and college students.
These inventories have a comprehensive list of items about which
the subject gives his response in terms of his interest in them. For
example in Strong’s Vocational Interest Blank there are listed 100
occupations, 38 amusements, 36 school subjects and there are 46
such items which relate to types and peculiarities of people. The
subject give responses in terms of L for Likes D for Dislikes and I
for Indifference. From the responses of the subject his likes or
dislikes are calculated which give indications of their interests.
Nature and Aspects of Interest—Interest is a force within an
individual that attracts him to an object or an activity. There are
two ways of looking at it. Some psychologists explain it as a
motivational force behind selecting one activity or object over
another at one’s own will. Another group of psychologists explains
interests as a feeling of pleasure or excitement resulting from doing
an activity or getting an object.
Interest is affect by emotions. If an activity results in an
unpleasant emotion, an individual tends to lose interest in that activity.
Growth and Development of Interest—Interest in an activity
grows by chance or an observation of ones admiring an activity or
on recommendation of others.
Once are activity captures the interest of an individual this

interest develops further depending on physical and mental
capability of the individual or continuing satisfaction drawn out of
the activity or other related activities that keep the interest ignited.
Identification and Importance of Interest—We can come to
know about the interests only a child by observing the activities he
does, the books he reads or from the questions he asks, if a subject
interests the child he asks questions related to it and discusses it
with his peers. Sometimes we can know about a child’s interest by
asking him about them directly.
The profession that a child will take when he grows up also
depends on his interest. If the child derives pleasure out of reading
material or performing activities related to a subject, he puts more
and more effort in learning about it.
Role of Interest in Adolescent Development—We know that
adolescent is a turbulent period when there is a spurt of growth and
energy in a child. If an adolescent has interest in positive activities
like sports etc. then his energy gets in a positive. This helps in all
round development of physical and mental capabilities.
Individual Differences in Interest
Individual differences in interests can be attributed to a lot of
factors like physical characteristics, socioeconomic background,
age, sex, etc. As a child grows up his interests keep changing.
Infants upto 2 years of age are normally interested in exploring
things around them. Children between 2 to 5 years of age show
interest in toys like cars etc. By the age of six years, we find a lot of
difference in the interests of boys and girls. While boys like physical
activities like sports etc. girls hardly show interests in such activities.
Once the children reach adolescence their interest change
drastically. Due to development of sex organs, their interest in peers
of opposite sex increases. They also show a lot of interest in their
clothes, hairs and their overall self-image.
4.7.5. ATTITUDE
Attitude is an important factor that determines our likes and
dislikes for an object, place or person and influenced by a number
of factors as has been discussed below :
Nature of Attitude—Attiude is set of feelings that influence
an individual’s response, to an object or situation. When attitude
indicates an individual’s liking or disliking for an object, situation
or person, whenever an individual interacts with the environment
his experiences whether good or bad, get embedded his memory.
On the basis of these experiences he forms an opinion about the
situations, object or people he had interacted with. Thus when faced
with similar situations, objects or people in future, a set of feelings
and response tendencies develop in him known as attitude.
Harrison has identified three componments of attitude as
beliefs, emotions and behaviours. Here beliefs are the existing
opining, emotions are feelings generated due to beliefs (like and
dislikes) and a behaviour is the actions that display likes and dislikes.
An individual’s attitude towards an object is influenced by
his parents, teachers, friends, school and society.
Positive and Negative Attitudes—Attitude of an individual
towards an object person a situation can either be positive or
negative.
Positive attitude towards something generates good feelings
in an individual. However, negative attitude generates bad feelings
and leads to avoidance of situation or person who generates such
feelings. Confrontation can lead to generates such feelings.
Confrontation can lead to arguments or conflicts. Negative attitude
towards something based of one’s own experiences or the opinion
of parents, peers, teachers etc. regarding a situation, object or
person.
Acquisition of Attitudes and Attitude Change—Attitude
regarding a situation, object or person is normally formed by an
individual’s interaction with his environment and the experiences
that get embedded in his mind due to such interactions. However,
sometimes an individual’s attitude is also influenced by the
experiences of his peers, parents and teachers.
However, attitude once formed in very difficult to change.

No explanation or rational thinking can change an attitude so easily
when an individual knows that it is wrong.
Facilitating Learning of Attitude—If a person wants to
deliberately learn an attitude regarding an object, situation or person
he needs to first identify that attitude to be acquired. Then he should
use techniques like sharing of his experiences with others and listen
to experiences of others so as to reinforce that attitude.
For a social system like a tribe or nation to function smothly,
it is essential that people have some common attitudes, values and
goals.
Individual Differences in Attitude—We know that every
individual is unique thus two students can have very different
attitude about the same situation, person or object. For example,
the same person X may be liked by one individual A and disliked
by another Y. An individual’s attitude depends on a number of
factors like home environment, maturity levels, exposure to media
etc. for matured individual’s modification of their wrong attitude is
easier as compared to immature individuals.
4.7.6. APTITUDE
Aptitude is an innate, acquired or developed competency to
perform a certain specialized activity. It can be both physical and
mental aptitude. Aptitude refers to the set of abilities required to
know about and learn skills related to an area of performance. For
example, a student has an aptitude for engineering, this means he
has a set of abilities to learn performing in engineering.
Various Components and Sub-components of Aptitude—
1. Intellectual Processes—It is a combination of a number of
cognitive processes that help in recognition of information and
innovation of new ways of performing tasks. The cognitive
processes included in it are memory processess, reasoning, problem-
solving etc.
2. Sensory Component—It is ability related to sensory process
like vision and audition and includes visual sensitivity (e.g. colour
sensitivity) and autdio sensitivity (e.g. pitch discrimination, loudness
discrimination etc.)
3. Psychomotor Component—It refers to the ability related
to movement of body and its parts. This abilities included in this
are strength, impulsion, speed, precision and flexibility. Strength

refers to the strength of body parts like hands, legs etc. Impression
refers to reaction time to light and sound.
Thus, when we say a student has an atheletic aptitude, this
means he has the combination of required intellectual, sensory and
psychomotor abilties required to perform athletic activities.
It is important to note that aptitude and intelligence are two
different concepts. While intelligence refers to mental capabilities
of an individual in general, aptitude is combination of intellectual,
psychomotor and sensory abilities required for performance in a
specific area. Similarly aptitude also differs from academic
achivement. While aptitude denotes abilities, academic achievement
denotes the effect or result of learning of a set of specific subjects.
Do Individuals Differ in Aptitude ?
On observing students in the same class we can find large
differnce in the aptitude of students. We can find one student with
a mechanical aptitude while another having an aptitude for art of
mathematics or music etc. This difference in aptitude can be
identified using an aptitude test designed separately for each area
or skill like mathematics, science, music etc. Such test can help a
student in identifying whether he possesses the set of abilities
required to learn and perform in that particular area for which the
test has been designed.
Instructional Strategy for Handling Individual Differences
The instructional strategy that is most effect for handling the
individual differences is the ‘adaptive instructional system’, where
the instructions are structured or adapted to the existing level if
aptitude of the students. Students with high level of aptitude in a
subject a very ‘unstructured instructional system’ is followed with
minimal guidance from teacher.
However, for students with low level of aptitude a detailed
and structured instructional system is followed with lot of assistance
provided by the teacher. Teacher in these cases gives detailed
explanation of concepts with lot of examples and check the progress
of the students regularly through normal tests and aptitude tests
designed for the subject. If the student is not able to benefit much
from the structured instructional system then an additional
‘compensatory aptitude training’ is given to him that aims at

developing self-reading and learning skills in the student.
4.7.7. CREATIVITY
Creativity is a novel and unexpected way of defining or solving
a problem which leads the observer to ask, ‘‘How did you think of
that ?’’ Creativity can be a part of problem solving, but many
successful solutions do not illustrate creativity. Creativity requires
divergent thinking and usually appears at the define or explore
step in problem solving if it is present. Creativity is defined as
something different from intelligence (Michalko 1998).
Often, creativity is defineed as a parallel construct ot
intelligence. However, it must be distinguished from intelligence.
Thus, creativity is not restricted to cognitive or intellectual
finctioning or behaviour. On the contrary, it is concerned with a
complex mix of motivational conditions, chance factors and even
products, personality factors and environmental conditions.
Meaning and Aspects of Creativity—Creativity is an
objective steered thinking which is curious, novel and suitable.
Large portions of such Creativity thinking come to be important to
the point that they impact the entire human civilisation and are
called as authentic inventiveness. For example, the Mona Lisa, the
hypothesis of relativity, etc are the products of creative thinking.
These did not exist before. In spite of the fact that we can
acknowledge its presence and vitality, it has been a profoundly
troublesome undertaking for the analysts to characterize
inventivenss.
Newell, Shaw and Simon (1963) set forth four useful criteria
of creative thinking :
1. The product of thought has novelty and value for the thinker
or for the culture.
2. The thinking is unconventional in modifying or rejecting
previous ideas.
3. The thinking requires high motivations reflected in
persistence and intensity.
4. The problem solved was initially vague and ill defined, so

as to required reformulation.
According to Sternberg, (2006), there are five commonalities
in the examination of creativity as far and wide as possible. Initially,
Creativity includes feeling that points at preparing plans or items
that are generally novel and in some admiration. Secondly, Creativity
has some area particular and dominion genenral components; i.e.
it needs some particular learning, however there are sure
components of innovativeness that cut crosswise over diverse
realms. Third, inventiveness is measurable, anyhow to some degree.
Fourth, it might be produced and advertised. Fifth, imagination is
not remarkably remunerated in practice, as it should be in principle.
We therefore define creativity as :
‘‘Imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes
that are both original and of value.’’
It is also in a sense an indicative defintion in that it points to
features of creative processes that we want to encourage for
educational purposes. Our starting point is to recognise four
charactersitics of creative processes.
1. They always involve thinking or behaving imaginatively.
2. Overal this imaginative activity is purposeful : that is, it is
directed to achieveing an objective.
3. These processes must generate something original.
4. The outcome must be of value in relation to the objective.
There are two types of creativity :
(i) little-c (or everyday) creativity.
(ii) Big-C (or eminent) Creativity.
Investment and Confluence Theory of Creativity—In the
Investment Theory of Creativity by Sternberg, creativity has six
sources that require confluence : ‘‘intelligence, knowledge, style
of thinking, personality, motivation and learning environmental
contexts.’’ Ultimately, creativity is not about one thing, but about
a system of things.
Intellectual abilties are generally acknowledge to be necessary
but not sufficient for creativity. Intellectual ability consists of three
aspects : the ability to see problems in new ways, the ability to

recognize which ideas are worth pursuing and which are not and
the ability to persuade others that one’s ideas are creative. Synthetic
ability in the absence of the other two abilities results in new ideas
that are not subjected to the scrutiny required to make them work.
Analytic ability used in the absence of the other two abilties results
in powerful critical, but not creative, thinking.
Knowledge—If one has to know, he must learn about it and
if one can’t move beyond where a field is in case he or she doesn’t
know where it is. The other side of the coin is that knowledge
about a field can result in a closed and entrenched perspective of
the person concerned. This may result in a person’s not moving
beyond the way in which he or she has seen problems in the past
(Stenberg, 1989). Thus, one needs to decide to use one’s past
knowledge, but also decide not to let the knowledge become a
hindrance rather than a help.
Thinking styles are related to creativity (Kogan, 1973). With
regard to thinking styles, a legislative style is particularly important
for creativity, that is, a preference for thinking and decision to think
in new ways (Sternberg, 1997c; Zhang & Sternberg, 2006). To be
creative, a person has to like using the kinvesting thinking style
and have preference for thinking in novel ways of his choosing.
We have seen people we have the ability to forge their their own
paths but simply prefer not to. Although they are wired for creative,
they never turn on the juice, On the other hand, there are some
people who want to come up with new ideas-who have the inventing
style preference-but who don’t have the synthetic intellectual
abilities to do effectively.
Personality—Certain personality traits such as self-efficiency,
willingness to grow, risk and overcome obstacles, ability to tolerate
ambiguity, perseverance and courage about convictions are
essential for the creative process to occur.
Motivation—Intrinsic motivation is defined by an individual
who engages in an activity for its own sake and focuses on the
challenge and enjoyment of the work, instead of engaging in the

task because of factgors such as promise of rewards and
punishments, dictates from superiors and competition. High levels
of intrinsic motivation have been shown to increase creative
potential (Collins and Amabile, 1983) and therefore are necessary
in order to produce creative products.
Environment—Finally, Creativity cannot occur without a
supportive and rewarding environment. A supportive environment
completes the creative process by accepting and recognizing
products as creative. Only with support from peers and rewards for
creative production (e.g. recognition, compliments), will an
individual’s creativity continue to flourish. Different cultures
support creativity differentially and may even have different
conceptions of what constitutes creativity (Lubart, 2010) so it is
important to take the environment into account when assessing
creativity.
Confluence—As regards components confluence, creativity
is believed to involve more than a simple sum of person’s level on
each component. One, is knowledge which creativity is not possible,
regardless of the levels on other components. Secondly, is
motivation, third is counteracts a weakness on another component
(e.g., environment). Third, interactions present between intelligence
and motivation, in which high levels on both component could
multiplicatively enhance creativity of the individual.
Aspects of Creativity
According to Guilford (1986), there were many cognitive
abilities that may appear to be essential for creativity. However, he
considered four to be inherently dominant. Torrance (1962, 1972,
1979) and Guilford (1967, 1968, 1986) have both extensively
discussed the creative person’s propensity for fluency, flexibility,
orginality and elaboration. The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking
(TTCT), a test of creativity, originally involved simple tests of
divergent thinking and other problem-solving skills, which were
scored on these scales (aspects of creativity) :
1. Fluency is the ability or ‘‘capability to produce a large

number of ideas per unit in time other things being equal, has a
greater chance of having significant ideas.’’
2. Flexibility is the ease by which individuals can change
from one subject area to another. A flexible person should be able
to progress from ideas that are similar to ideas that are completely
different.
3. Originality is the ability to think and develop tangible and
intangible products incorporating novelty, creativity and
usefullness.
4. Elaboration is the ability to further refine and define the
idea(s). A person who can utilize elaboration is one who can build
upon the idea to refine it and then apply the idea to concern.
5. Abstractness of Titles—It is based on the idea that creativity
requires an abstraction of thought.
6. Resistance to Permature Closure—Genuienly independent
of culture and manage to exhibit tolerant acceptance of behaviour
expected of their society.
Stage of Creativity—Is there any pattern to creative thinking ?
Typically, five stages occur during creative problem solving :
1. Orientation—As a first step, the person do this the problem
and identifies its most important dimensions.
2. Preparation—In the second stage, creative thinkers saturate
themselves with as much information about the problem as possible.
3. Incubation—Most major problems produce a period during
which all attempted solutions will futile. At this point, problem
solving may proceed on a subconscious level: While the problem
seems to have been set aside, it is still ‘‘cooking’’ in the background.
4. Illumination—The stage of incubation is often ended by a
rapid insight or series of insights. These produce the ‘‘Aha!’’
experience, often depicted in cartoons as a lightbulb appearing
over the thinker’s head.
5. Verification—The final step is to test and critically evaluate
the solution obtained during the stage of illumination. If the solution
proves faulty, the thinker reverts to the stage of incubation.
Creativity and Intelligence

Creativity and intelligence are viewed as completely free of
one another. Intelligence shouldn’t impact creativity. Creativity is
seen as a mental operation open to every living soul. It is probably
reliant on area particular information (i.e. the measure of
presentation to and skill in a given field) and think practice.
According to studies of Terman’s (1925), a high IQ shows a
lacking for innovativeness. The majority of these youngsters
attained momentous word related victory inlater life, none of them
hinted at a huge innovatinveness. The majority of the studies
concerning the acquaintanceship between psychometric insights
and imagination yielded just a feeble relationship. Case in point,
Torrance (1977) reported that the average of 178 correspondence
coefficients between IQ and the TTCT was just. 20. Additionally,
element examinations of IQ and innovativeness tests yielded divided
components.
On the other hand, an inventive individual’s IQ has been
shown to be no less than a standard deviation above the mean,
regularly more. Guilford (1967) inferred a theory that an
insignificant level of IQ frequently subjective set to 120, ought to
be vital, however not sufficient for inventiveness. Innovative
accomplishment was thought to be unimaginable beneath this limit.
Guildford additionally suggested that scramble plots of IQ and
innovativeness might as well show a triangular desing with no
information focuses in the low IQ/high inventiveness quadrant.
Later, Hayes (1989) put forward an elective ‘certification
theory’, which questioned natural connections between
inventiveness and brain power. Rather, it expressed that generally
potential outcomes to presentation of recognisable level of
inventiveness, for example occupations in structural engineering
or science, essentially require an elevated amount of formal
instruction. Since scholarly execution is related with IQ, social order
basically prevents inmnovative people from securing low IQ the
opportunity to express their story.
Measurement of Creativity—We have a review by Houtz

and Kurg (1995) on the measurement of creativity. The TTCT was
developed in 1966, Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), a
test of creativity, originally involved simple tests of divergent
thinking and other problem-solving skills, which were scored on
four scales :
1. Fluency— The total number of interpretable, meaningful
and relevant ideas generated in response to the stimulues.
2. Flexibility— The number of different categories of relevant
responses.
3. Originality— The statistical rarity of the responses.
4. Elaboration— The amount of detail in the responses.
Measure Creative Thinking Abilities—
1. Constellation of generalized mental abilities that are
commonly presumed to be brought into play in creative
achievements.
(i) Divergent/productive/inventive thinking, imagination.
It is consists of 3 activities :
(ii) Picture construction.
(iii) Picture completion.
(iv) Lines.
Criticisms against TTCT
Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) has been
criticized mainly on four grounds :
1. Result of these tests may be affected by the response set.
2. Testing under different conditions result in the differences
in performance of the subject.
3. Even results of different raters may differ.
4. These tests have an inadequate structure.
4.7.8. PERSONALITY
The word ‘personality’ has been drived from the Latin word
‘persona’ which means mask worn by an action when he plays a
particular character on the stage. We can define personality as a

‘‘sum total of the external and internal properties of an individual
that make him distinct and unique’’. The external poroperties of
the person can be directly observed and include his dress, speech,
bodily actions habits, expressions etc. The internal properties like
emotions, motives, intentions can be inferred from the pattern on
his responses to various situations and events.
These are the four fundamental qualities of personality—
1. Consistency—It is an important quality of an individual’s
personality. Even though, an individual may not behave in the
same way in every situation, his style of action is unique, similar
and consistent.
2. Development of personality structure—The personality
development of an individual follows the path from simple to
increasingly complex abilities with maturation and environment
interaction and the mental structures of the child develop and he
learns more and more complex activities.
3. Potentiality of change—According to modern
psychologists the personality of an individual can change over time.
4. Integration—It is another important quality of human
personality where all the parts and capabilities work together as a
system.
Approaches to Personality—The following are some of the
approaches to explain what determines an individual’s personality.
Bio-Physical Approaches—The bio-physical approaches of
personality consider the various biological charactersitics of an
individual as the determinants of his/her personality. Thus
personality is explained with reference to built or the embryonic
development or the fluids inside our body (like, bile, blood etc. all
of which are biological or physical characteristics of an individual.
Bio-Social Approaches—According to this approach, an
individual’s personality is formed as a result of interplay between
the biological characteristics and socio-culture environment.
Eye Senck’s Preposition—He explains an individual’s

personality on the basis of these fundamental factors on the basis
of which he formed a quadrant.
Catell’s Proposition—The individual’s personality structure
can be explained by this psychograph :
Psycho-analytical Approaches—Sigmund Freud was a

pioneer in the field of psychoanalytical approach to personality.
He divides human personality into three significant components :
id, ego and super-ego. The ‘id’ acts according to the principles of
pleasure and demands immediate gratification of its needs
regardless of external environment.
‘Ego’ the emerges in order to realistically meet the wishes
and demands of id in accordance with the outside world. Finally
super-ego (conscience) inculcates moral judgement and societal
rules upon ego thus forcing the demands of the ‘id’ to be met not
only realistically, but morally.
Ego tries to resove the conflict between ‘id’ and ‘super ego’
by using defense mechanisms. Personality of an individual is based
on the dynamic interaction of these three components.
Defence mechanisms allow us to change our perception of
event. Freud’s denfence mechanisms mainly work by avoiding
stressful situation or blunting the negative emotions associated with
a situation. Some of Freud’s defence mechanisms are denail,
repression, retionalization, sublimation etc.
Psycho Social Approaches—These approaches have grown
out of psycho-analytical approach. Two popular names with regard
to this theory are Adler and Erikson, Adler’s proposition was that
personality of an individual is based on a conscious struggle to
achieve ‘superiority’ of self-actualization which can be facilitated
by social factor and to overcome ones weaknesses.
Characteristics—Infant totally dependent-mother’s
inconsistency generates suspicion and doubt through the rest of
life.
Toilet training and control and through it asserting
individuality. Success results in autonomy, failure in shame and
doubt about its own abilitites, persisting later.
Urge to possess opposite-sex parent and rival same-sex parent.
Channeling of sexual needs into socially accepted behaviours results
in initiative, failure in guilt, which persist.
Typical primary school years, testing the competence of the
child. Success leads to success; failure to inferiority.
Return of sexual interest, heterosexuality. Concern for future
rules and status, Clarity helps from identity; otherwise confusion
persists and frustrates.
If and when, identity is found, once seeks to ‘‘find’’ someone
else to share intimacies; failure results in isolation.
Reproduction and productive membership of society. Later
complacency set in and stagnation occurs.
Reflecting upon the life lived, integrating even death into that
pattern; failure leads to despair and futility.
Social Learning Approaches—These approaches focus on

environmental factors and an individual; response to them as the
basis of personality development of an individual.
Cooley’s proposition was that personality of an individual is
his/her self-concept developed on the basis of how other people
close to him/her define him.
Skinner’s proposition was that personality development is
based on behaviours modification by external stimuli that reinforce
desired behaviours.
Personological Approaches—These approaches believe that
human personality is developed on the basis of forces with in an
individual.
Roger’ Proposition—According to him human personality
develops in the process of a person trying to actualize, maintain
and enhance his/her self. This is done by using defense mechanism
and automatically when the person’s need for positive regard by
others is fulfilled.
Maslow’s Proposition—Maslow has explained the process
of personality of development of individual with the help of his
need hierarchy theory. According to Maslow human needs can be
organized as a hierarchy. A person moves to the next level of need
only when the need at the lower level in the hierarchy is satisfied
thus human behaviour is guided by the urge to satisfy has needs
and that too in a difficulty order. Maslow classified human needs
into seven categories :
1. Physiological needs or need for food, clothing and shelter.
2. Need for safety or physical and economic security.
3. Need for love and belongings from family, teacher and
peers.
4. Need for self-esteem or self-respect, power, prestige.
5. Need for self-actualization of achievement of personal
goals to fully exploit ones capacity.
6. Need to know about the world, about God, morals.
7. Aesthetic Need : Need to experience of beauty in
everything.
Out of these needs the first four needs are considered as basic
deficiency needs and the last three are considered as meta needs.
Spiritual Approaches—These approaches focus on the
spiritual development of personality with the ultimate aim of ‘self-
realization’. The real self of an individual is the divine or spiritual
self which can be achieved through three model paths :—
Intellectual (jnana yoga), emotional (bhakti yoga) and actional
(karma yaga). Cenkner has identified bhakti yoga in Tagore, karma
yoga in Gandhi and internal yoga in Sri Aurbindo. The life,
prospositions and personality of these three great people reflect on
these approaches followed by them to acheive ‘self-realization’.
Some Concepts of Significance—Below are some new
concepts that have emerged in the personality theory :
1. Achievement motivation—There can be a lot of differences
among individuals. Children who are appreciated for their success
have high degree of achievment motivation. On the other hand
children who are punished for their failures tend to develop a fear
of failure or low achievement motivation.
2. Locus of Control—Individuals can differ in their belief
regarding locus of control. There are ‘Internals’ who believe that
life situations are beyond the control of an individuals are rather
controlled by factor like chance, luck etc. ‘Externals’ believe that
life situations are within the control of a person.
3. Cognitive style—Individuals are refered to as ‘field
independents’ and ‘field dependents’ depending on the degree of
independence they show in their toughts.
4. Sensation seeking—Individuals can be differentiated as high
or low sensation seekers (SS) depending on their preference for
thrill and adventure. High SS are normally adventurous and creative
and dislike a routine. Low SS are simple and quiet and dislike
adventure.
Factors Influencing of Personality—From the child of
conception to death an individual is influenced by a mutiplicity of
factors that influence his growth and development. These factors
can be broadly categorized as (i) heredity or genetic endowment
and (ii) environmental factors.
Heredity—Baller and Charles have stated that when we talk

of genetic endowment it basically means inheriting a tendency to
be like our parents, grandparents and ancestors in terms of our
bodily structure and functioning of various body parts and systems.
Thus when we consider structure, when inherit the tendency to be
have a certain body weight, skeletal structure, skin colour, hair
texture, eye shape, nose shape etc. like are parents and ancestors.
Similarly, we inherit a tendency of our bodily functions like natural
response, sensory efficiency, heart, digestive system etc. acting in
a certain way.
Environmental Factors—Environmental factors start exerting
their influence on the child since the time he/she is the mother’s
womb. Some of the environmental factors that affect the personality
of an individuals are :
Rearing Pattern and Feeding Practices—It refers to
interaction between infant and mother in terms of statisfaction of
child’s biological needs care and affection and regular feeding
develop a sense of security and trust in the child. Similarly, severity
shown by parents in toilet training also affect the child’s personality
adversely.
Parent-Child Interaction—The nature of parent-child
interaction also influences the child’s personality to a great extent.
For example, it has been observed taht if parents are over-protective,
children tend to become submissive and develop a feeling of
insecurity and difficulty in adjustment in different situations.
However, if parents are consistent in maintaining discipline yet
give the child freedom to take responsibility, this helps in making
the child well adjusted and self-reliant.
Also factors like socio-economic status of the family and
nature of family (nuclear or joint) also have an affect on the
upbrining of child and his personality. The gender of child and the
attitude of parents and other family members towards ‘girl’ and
‘boys’ also impact their personality.
Sibling Relations—It has been observed that single child
normally tends to become self-centred and over protected.
However, in a family with more that one child, the kind of
relationship shared by siblings and parent’s attitude has an impact
on their personality. If parents make comparisons or love one child

more that the other, this can develop feelings of inferiority complex,
jealously and insecurity in the neglected child.
Neighbourhood—The neighbourhood gives the child an
exposure to the world beyond the protection of family, though,
normally, families in a neighbourhood have similar culture, yet
they expose the child to different family styles and different kinds
of people.
Peer Group—Peer group plays a very important role in a
child’s life. Peer groups help a child in learning social adjutment
and teacher a child to give up his/her individuality to some extent
to be accepted by the group. In adolescence, peer group helps a
child in overcoming his/her anxieties and worries by sharing them
with other children of same age.
School—School is an institution that aims at inculcating values
like discipline, punctuality in the child and making him/her learn
the skills required to meet the demands of life. Besides the school
curriculum, a child learns a lot of other skills at school through
sports and group activities. A child learns to respect authority and
work according to a schedule. He/she also learns other good habits
like maintaining hygiene etc. School gives the child an opportunity
to learn other language besides mother-tongue and also prepares
him/her for desired vocation.
Mass Media—Mass media through its various medium like
radio, television, newspaper, magazine etc. influences the personality
of a child to a great extent, it gives the child an exposure to cultures
across the world and many other aspects of life.
Impact of Mass Media on Personality—
Mass media influences the personality of an individual to a
great extent through its various forms like films, television,
newspaper and magazines.
Film—Films portray real life situation in a larger then life and
glamorous way. Films, whether commercial or artistic in nature,
provide a package of experience and emotions in a period of round
there hours. Films based on good subjects can be very informative
besides being entertaining. Films can also portray negative emotions
like aggression, anger, jealousy etc.
Television—Television has become an integral part of our

daily life. It provides a completely different experiences from films.
The programmes on television are mostly in a series and keep a
person engrossed in the subject for a longer time as compared to
films. However, at times such continual viewing may actually be
without any message and meaningful learning especially in the
case of daily soaps that are telecasted on most channels now-a-
days. Television can have a negative impact on the studies of
children who may start viewing television during their study time.
The exposure that television commercials have given to children
of the new products in the market has also made them more
demanding and made life more complex.
Radio—Role of radio has got restricted after the invention of
television. However, it plays an important part in social awareness
and entertainment.
Newspaper—The benefit of this mass medium is only
restricted to people who are illiterate. It helps in developing reading
habits in people and gives a closer and sincere picture of reality
than other medium. Newspapers also give exposure to a large
number of subjects and topics besides the daily news to keep the
readers well informed and interested.
Magazine—Magazines as a mass medium are more subject
specific and supply to readers a collection of articles on various
aspects of a particular topic or subject. For example, travel
magazines talk about travel destinations. Similarly there are film
magazines, business magazines etc.
Role of Teacher in Development of Adolescent Personality
Adolescence is a very turbulent phase in child’s life. Its phase
characterized by a growth spurt and muscular and genital
development. These changes make the child conscious of his/her
self image and appearance. The change in them make them appear
like adults and ignite in them a desire to find their own identity and
an urge for sexual gratification. However, problem begins for from
them when they are not given the independence. They demand
from parents and are also denied the sex role because they are too
young. This makes them aggressive and frustrated.
According to Rogers, a well informed teacher can be of great

help for an adolscent in coming out of his/her anxieties and
frustrations. A teacher can serve as a ‘friend, philosopher and guide’
and help the adolescent through these turbulent times smoothly. A
teacher can act as a much needed friend and someone with whom
adolescents can share their true feelings without any inhibitions.
Also teacher can channelize the energy of adolescents into various
activities like sports, hobby clubs so that they can develop a positive
self-image. Also teacher can provide information to adolescents
regarding their bodily changes, sex, career etc. to overcome their
anxieties and worries.
4.7.9. MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
The development of the child as a whole depends to a great
extent on his motor development. By motor development we mean
the development of strength, speed and precision in the use of his
arms and his legs and other body muscles. A child’s emotional
behaviour and his mental development are related to a great extent
to his motor development. The child also learns to adopt himself to
the society through learning proper motor behaviour.
The child is able to satisfy his intellectual curiosity by handling,
exploring the manipulating things. He learns the ways of behaving
with others and co-operating with them by adoping a proper motor
behaviour. The successes and the failures of the child are most
often also dependent on his capabilities in applying his motor
abilities to the particular task.
The motor development is important not only because it has
an important bearning on other types of development of the child
but also on account of its own significance in the life of an individual.
A child may be found to be dificient in higher mental calculations
or higher mental operations, but he may be quite capable in motor
abilities. Such a child may be considered unfit to carry on the jobs
which require higher intelligence, but he may develop into a find
technician or mechanic.
Development of Motor Skill—The motor development of the
child takes place at quite a rapid pace during childhood. When the
child is eighteen months old he can walk. In the second and third
years, he learns to run, climb, jump, balance, dance etc. Whenever

he learns jumping and balancing to any other new feat, he goes on
practising it subsequently and he tries to seek the approval of the
elders.
From time to time, the child learns many new ways of using
his finder muscles more precisely and more accurately. It is observed
that a child of two years of age can build a tower of bricks. The
child of three years is capable of copying a circle of drawing
aschematic ‘man’ usually a large circle with two strokes for leg
and two marks for eyes. The child who is in his fourth year can
copy a square with right-angled corners.
The five-year old child draw a ‘man’ with a body, eyes, arms,
hands and suggestion of neck.
Children are interested in colour, shape, size and volume at
quite an early age. Madame Montessori has taken advantage of
this tendency among the small children in her Montessori method
of teaching. The child who is only two years old enjoys fitting
bricks into a box and putting pegs into holes. At three years of age,
he learns to match colours and shapes and in so doing enjoys the
task to a great extent. At the age of four years, the child is capable
of fitting a simple three or four-piece jig-saw puzzle together. The
five-year old can name the common colours, like yellow, red, blue
and green and is often able to distinguish some numbers and letters.
The motor skill develops in the child from more generalized
to more specialized form of activity. It has also been observed that
from specialized activities they proceed further towards such
activities which require the integration of a number of activities
which they have learnt separately. The child learns to walk, after
mastering it, he learns to. He also learns to catch hold of an object
in his hand. Later on, he learns to catch a ball while running. The
act of catching during running is the integration of two specialized
activities which he has learnt. This performance requires co-
ordination or the various muscles of hand, legs, eyes, etc.
Development of Sense of Balance in School Children—The
students of physical education are very often confronted with the
problems of proper balancing among the children. They have to
remember that the sense of balance does not develop all at once
among the children. It is with age that the children learn a better
balancing of their bodies. An investigation by Cron and Pronko
shows that six years in very crucial age beyong which the sense of
balance develops rapidly. In this investigation about 320 boys and
180 girls of varying ages were tested on their ability to walk along
the edge of a twelve-foot long log which was 2 ft. by a ft. in thickness
and width. It has been raised about 2 inches above the ground. In
the middle part of the beam there was some wobble. Each child
was asked to make three round trips. A scone of 1 for each time the
child walked the whole legnth of beam without falling was given.
In this way the total possible score could be 6 only. The results of
the finding are as follows :
Score
Age Range Boys Girls
4–6 0.1 0.5
6–7 0.9 1.6
7–8 1.6 2.1
8–9 2.5 2.0
9-10 2.8 2.1
10-11 3.0 2.4
11–12 3.8 2.5
These results show that prior to six years of age hardly a few
children could cross the beam without falling but after six years, a
majority of the children were successful in making at least one trip
without falling.
Shirley has made a very detailed study of motor development
during the first two years of life. Her results are summarized here :
From the above discussion and an analysis of the experimental
findings four conclusion come out :
(1) Maturation is a fact.
(2) Maturation influences the rate of learning.
(3) Practice is any activity whose maturation level has not
been reached is not effective.
(4) It is highly important that the maturation level achieved

be taken into consideration in all learning activities.
The physical education teacher should not try to hurry-
up with the balancing exercises. He must note that sense
of balance also follows a course of development which is
dependent on the maturity of the child.
Skills Which Develop the Attitude of Self-Help in the Child—The
child at quite an early age tries to learn the skills which develop in
him the feelings for self-help. For example, every child is fed by
the mother in his early childhood. Slowly the child begins to handle
the utensils used in eating. A time comes when through awakward
movements he reaches a stage when he can eat his own food. After
that he does not want to be fed by any other person but tries to
feed.
This child want to do all the work by himself. But due to the
lack of motor skills he breaks the things and then becomes afraid
of his elders.
The parents usually do not like this, as the child is learning to
handle the utensils done not achieve full muscular coordination all
at once. He often splits the milk or vegetable soup or some such
thing. The parents at this reprimand the child, which is totally a
wrong attitude.
The child, in many other activities, tries to do things by himself.
In the case of the author’s own daughter, who when nearly four
years of age, preferred to comb her hair herself and to wear her
clothes without the help of her mother. But in doing so she often
spoiled everything. The mother did not like this, yet the daughter
was insistent. It is, however, through such activities that motor skills
are developed and the child is able to master them afterwards. Those
parents cause immense harm to their children who do not allow
them freedom to perform those activities in which they are interested
and which develop the attitude to self-help in the children.
Sex Differences in Motor Performance—It has been

observed by Jenkins and others that the average boy surpasses the
average girl in the most test of strength, speed and in many motor
skills. The superiority of the boys in motor performances seems to
be due both to inborn factors and cultural pressures. The boys from
the early childhood participate in outdoor games and activities. In
our cutlture, the girls are not encouraged to do so. From early age,
they are confined to their homes and a girl who participates in
vigorous outdoor life is looked down upon by the society. Physically
also girls are not so capable of participating in robust activities. At
maturity, they have proportionately shorter arms and legs, are
smaller in stature than boys, their trunks are proportionately larger.
The difference in the performance of motor skills between
boys and girls becomes more and more sharp by the advancement
of age. In the case of girls, the performance of motor acts reaches
its maximum at the age of 14, but in the case of boys development
continues up to the age of 17. Girls surpass boy in those complex
activities which do not depend on gross strength. M. McFarlane, in
his study, has found that boys far surpassed girls in operating such
tasks as putting together the pieces of wood which, when assembled,
would make wheel-barrow. Girls, on the other hand, surpassed
boys in putting together pieces of cloth which, when assembled,
made a dress.
Interrelations of Motor Abilities—It is not very correct to
say that if a person is good at one type of motor performance, he
will also be good at other type of motor performance unless there
are certain activities which require similar type of co-ordination of
muscles or strength of muscles. Each individual differs from the
other in the performance of motor skills. Some may show great
excellence in a wide variety of motor performance, while other
may be specialists in only one or the other motor ability. On account
of this fact educational programmes should not be built on a concept
of general motor ability but rather on the concept of motor abilities.
4.7.10. EMOTIONS
Emotional Development—During the preadolescence or
upper primary school level children are in general happy. However,
they do have emotional problems and mood swings. A feelings of
not being accepted as they are by their friends, parents or teachers
makes them emotionally distrubed. Children normally do not have
control over display of their emotions like anger, frustration,
jealously etc. However, they are often unrealistically expected to
suppress their emotions by the adults.
Meaning of Emotions—
1. Etymological Definition—The word emotions is derived
from the Latin word ‘emovere’ which means ‘to stir up’, to ‘agitate’,
‘to excite’. So emotion is a stirred up or disturbed state of mind.
When our feelings become intense and excited they become
emotions.
2. Behaviouristic view—According to behaviouristics school
of thought emotion is general feeling of excitement of whole body.
According to woodworth, ‘‘It is a moved or stirred up state of an
organism. It is disturbed muscular and glandular activity.’’
3. View point of Gates—‘‘Emotions are episodes in which
the individual is moved or excited.’’
4. McDougall’s view—‘‘Emotion is a core of instinct.’’
5. View point of Crow and Crow—‘‘An emotion is an
affective experience that accompanies generalised inner adjustment
and mental and physiological stirred up states in the individual,
and that shows itself in his overt behaviour.’’
From the above definitions we can conclude that emotions
are actually disturbed affective processes which originate in a
psychological situation and which are revealed by marked bodily
changes in the glands and smooth muscles.
Characteristics of Emotions—
1. Subjective—Emotions are subjective. They are the most
personal experience. They are things of the heart. We act according
to our emotions. They are the most individual and they differ from
person to person. They may vary widely even in the same person
on successive occasions with changes in several conditions.
2. Impulse—Emotional experience or reaction involves an
impulse toward some kind of action, some sort of behaviour or
overt response i.e., an impulse to hit, to run or to laugh.
3. Displacement—Sometimes emotions are displaced. If we
are angry and a person comes and insists on doing something against
our will the emotion of anger may soon be transferred on him.
Usually a weak husband transfers his anger form his wife to his
servants.
4 Intelligence, thinking and imagination have got negative
correlation with emotions—When we are under emotional
excitement our intelligence, thinking and imagination are lowered
down. Thus emotional experiences have got negative correlation
with intelligence, thinking and imagination.
5. Physiological changes—Emotions are followed by
physiological changes i.e., when we are under the spell of emotions
many physiological changes occur in us. For example, changes in
the heart beat, changes in pulse rate, changes in blood pressure,
changes in digestive system, changes in hyperactivity of glands
and nervious system take place. Every emotional experience
involves many physical and physiological changes.
6. Wider range—Emotions have wider range i.e., they occur
in young as well as in the old. They occur at all stage of mental
development.
7. Feelings—the core of emotions—The core of an emotional
experience is feelings. Every emotional experience or reaction
involves feeling such as anger, fear or joy. Emotion is accompained
by feelings of pleasantness or unpleasantness. These two primary
feelings give birth to various emotions. Feelings and emotions both
are affective experiences.
8. Have swings—Emotions have swings. One emotion may

give rise to another emotion of a different nature. Disapointment
due to getting low marks in the examination gives rise to anger
towards the examiner. Fear, dejection and anger may operate
simultaneously.
9. Emotions and instincts—Emotions accompany biological
drives or instincts. They mostly occur when any basic need in
thwarted and challanged or when such a need is satisfied.
10. Emotions can be aroused by different stimuli—e.g., fear
can be aroused due to loud noise, dark places, strange objects,
faces and animals etc.
11. Emotional reactions are produced both externally and
internally—An external situation like thunder engenders fear in
the minds of the children. But certain internal changes can also
give rise to emotion.
12. Presence of conative urge—There is always a conative
urge present with every emotional experience. The strength of an
emotion depends on the strength of this urge. For instance, anger
is aroused in a cat or dog when some one interferes with its young
ones. The anger presupposes the existence of tendency to protect
one’s off-spring. The obstruction of a conative urge creates anger,
its furtherance creates joy.
13. Rise abruptly—Emotions rise abruptly but die slowly.
An emotion when once aroused tends to persist and leaves behind
an emotional mood. It is only suddenly that we start feeling an
emotion and it dies graduate. An angry man remains angry for a
long time and expresses his anger on every one whether he is
innocent or guilty. The school teacher annoyed by his wife, may
beat innocent children for no serious fault of theirs.
4.7.11. STUDY HABITS
Study habits means a confirmed way of doing things. It starts
forming at conscious level but becomes automatic due to repetition.
You smoke cigarettes consciously in the beginning but later on

smoking becomes your habit. The habits are important in learning.
If a child has good habits, then they provide motivation. The bad
habits obstruct learning. The habits are learnt by one’s ownself but
after they are learnt, they have a control over behaviour.
The habits depend on two main elements of our nature. They
are : (1) Plasticity and (2) Retentivity. Our mind and nervous system
can be modified, changes can be brought in them. The plasticity
refers to this. These modifications can be retained in us for quite a
long time.
From neurological point of view the formation of a habit means
the building of a path. A nerve current passes again and again
through a series of nerves. Because of this the resistance offered
by the synapse is permantently reduced and after this the nerve
currect passes automatically through the series of nerve fibres. In
this way, the formation of a habit is building of new path in the
nervous system.
There are four characteristics of habit :
(1) This is the simple response.
(2) Once a habit is formed then the response is automatic
which requires no thinking or willing.
(3) The situation involved in a habit is simple.
(4) In the formation of habit the learning is repeated again
and again.
On the basis of the above characteristics Thyne says : ‘‘A
habit may be regarded as an instance of learning in which a
relatively simple response is made automatically and fairly
frequently, to a relatively simple kind of situation.’’
Effects of Habits—There are four main effects of habits :
(1) Habits simplifies movement.
(2) Habit makes the movement more accurate.
(3) Habit dimishes fatigue.

(4) Habit diminishes the conscious attention needed for
action.
Advantages of Habitual Action—
From the point of view of learning, the formation of good
habits is very useful. In the opinion of James the social importance
of habits is described as : ‘‘Habit is enormous flywheel of society,
its most precious conservative agent.’’ It is because of habits that
the traditions and customs of the society find permanence. Besides
these, it is because of its habits that many of the individual actions
are performed without arousing any tension.
Disadvantages of Habitual Action—There are not only many
advantages but also disadvantages involved in habitual actions. It
is because of our habits that we do not like changes. Sometimes
our habits become so powerful that it becomes extremely difficult
to leave them. A drunkard may try as hard as possible to leave
drinking but he may not be able to discard this habit.
According to William James there are four principles of the
formation of habits :
(1) Begin a new habit with as strong and determined initiative
as possible.
(2) Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is
securely rooted in your life.
(3) Seize the first opportunity to act on your resolution.
(4) Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratutious
(free) exercise everyday.
Steps in Habit Formation—The teacher can get the habit
formed by following the steps given as under :
(1) Perception of Good—This is the first step in habit
formation. The teacher must direct the attention of the students
repeatedly towards the immediate and basic goals of the schools.
This step is essential to give an understanding to the pupils as to

what they are going to get by formation of habits.
(2) Right Start—If the start of proper, then there is a directed
and constant effort towards the formation of habit. The teacher
must introduce the new activities and projects with enthusiasm. He
should introduce each unit of teaching in such a way that the child
takes an interest in it. For example, if the teacher needs to develop
a habit of cleanliness he should give a number of exercise for this.
The first step towards the cleanliness will determine the future path
of development.
(3) Consistency of Action—After right start one should not
stop. The task must be repeated. The habit formation is dependent
on two main things : motivation and repetition. Therefore, the
decision to form new habit must be followed by repetition of the
activity. The cleanliness must be practised again and again. There
should be no exception to this.
(4) Adoption of a Positive Programme—Instead of breaking
an old habit one should try to replace it by a new one. The teacher
must not encourage the negative behaviour. It is better to encourage
children to develop a new habit instead of making them feel
ashamed for the present habit.
(5) No Exceptions—The last step in habit formation is that
there should be allowed no exception in practice. Repetition,
continuty and no exception should accompany each other. A single
exception spoils all the effort. It you wish to leave smoking but
allow exception for once then this exception will kill all your
determination.
Four principles can be enumerated for breaking bad habits :
(1) Put as Early as Possible your Determination in Action. As
soon as you decide that this habit is to be broken, the work in that
direction should start immediately. You should not wait for this
that you would try to break this habit when suitable opportunity
comes. The breaking of habit should begin with strong
determination and without any exception the process must be
continued.
(2) Replace the Old Habit by New—It is not only desirable to
curb the old habit but in its place a good new habit must be formed.
(3) Make the Environment about You such as That there are
Fewer Opportunities for repeating the old habit.
(4) Make your Nervous System Your Ally (Friend) Insted of
Your Enemy. Do not allow the old habit to be repeated and repeat
again and again new habit. In this way the old nerve impulses will
become weak and the new ones will become stable.
4.7.12. GENDER ISSUES
Every creation is a unique creation of God. Even two children
born to same parents can be very different in their habits, like and
dislikes. Thus grouping individuals on the basis of their differences
is a very difficult task. This is because within a group there can be
multiplicity of differences among individuals on the basis of their
mental ability, interest, creativity etc. Attempts have been made to
group individuals because studying the characteristics and
differences among group is easier than studying individual
differences. This chapter talks about grouping of individuals on
the basis of gender, caste, age, socio-economic status etc. It also
talks about innate and sciological reasons for differences in
capabilities of boys and girls. It also talks about the instructional
strategies that a teacher should follow to cater to these differences.
The aim of this chapter is to explain the basis on which
individuals are grouped such as gender, caste etc. and the differences
among such groups. It also explains the complex nature of
differences among grouping of individuals on the basis of sex or
gender and how a teacher can adjust his or her classroom
instructions to such gender differences.
Gender Issues—
Each individual is a unique creation of God. We find a lot of
differences among two individuals in terms of their physical and
mental capabilities. The following paragraphs discusses the various
basis and aspects of these differences.
1. Group Differences—Individuals can be grouped together
on different basis such as sex, age, caste, socio-economic status,
personality etc. Grouping of individuals cannot mitigate the
individual differences. However, it makes the task of studying the
differences in characteristics of human a bit easier because then
the comparisons are made at group level and not individual level.
Moreover, such grouping makes the task forming strategies for
such groups, especially for teaching and learning process much
easier. This is because dealing with group differences is easier for
the teacher than dealing with individual differences.
2. Differences in Terms of Sex—Determining the differences
in sexes that is males and females and the reason for such differences
is one topic that has gained attention of most psychologists over
the years. Their researches based on samples have tried to find out
that besides the biological differences, which are beyong ones
control, there are the other differences which have developed
between the two sexes due to external factors. While the general
intelligence of both boys and girls was found to be the same by
such studies, differences were found in certain specific skills or
capabilities. For example, girls of pre-school level were found to
have better vocabulary and sentence formation skills than boys of
the same. Thus, it was found that there were not many diffferences
in the inborn mental ability of boys and girls.
3. Differences in Terms of Age—Differences in age is an
important factor that leads to differences in mental and physical
capabilities of individuals. By studying the same groups of
individuals over a long period of time say (20 to 25 years), we find
that body and mind of the individuals grow in strength and
functioning from infancy of adulthood. From the birth of child to
adulthood, the physical, mental, emotional, social developments

take place simulateously. Exposure to the external environment
increases the memory and experiences of the child. It is believed,
however, that the process of physical and mental growth stop once
a person reaches the age round 20 years. However, reasearch studies
show that our mental abilities have lot of scope of development
and this learning is a lifelong process.
4. Differences in Terms of Caste—Human population all over
the world has been divided into various races. However, when two
races in the same country are studied, it becomes difficult to
distinguish the influence of heredity and the influence of
environment on the individual. There are no psychological tests
available to study such group differences.
5. Differences in Terms of Socio-economic Status—Socio-
economic status of an individual is determined by his family income,
education and occupation. Our society has grouped people into
higher, middle and lower social class depending on these factors.
Research studies have found that there is a correlation between the
economic statuses, parental occupation and intelligence level of
children. Thus the children of poor families with parents in blue
coloured jobs are found to be less intelligent than those belonging
to rich families. Psychologists do not consider heredity to be the
sole reason for such differences. There are two schools of thoughts.
According to one such school of thought, the test which measures
the intelligence level of children only focus on the theoretical learnt
or bookish knowledge and fail to recognize the potential ability of
lower social class children. The second school of thought is that
lower social class children are less intelligent because they are
brought up in culturally deprived ennvironment. When we are born
our brain needs external stimulus to develop. As we grow old new
toys, shapes, games and most importantly parental attention and
encouragement all help in development of our brain. Poor children
are deprived of such external stimulus and attention. It is important
to understand such differences so that policies can be made to help

the lower class children. At school level teachers also should keep
in mind such differences while farming the instructional strategies.
6. Differences in Terms of Personality—Personality refers
to a set of qualities that make one person distinct or different from
another. It is a combination of thoughts, feelings and behaviour
that make a person unique. The differences in the characteristics of
individuals in terms of personality are that some are extrovert while
others are introverts. Similarly some people are aggressive while
others are submissive. Similarly individuals have very different
interest, habits goals etc. Though these characteristics are not related
to the mental abilities of an individual, they do affect the learning
process of the individual.
Nature of Gender Issues—Since ages gender biasness against
girl child is deep rooted in our society and minds of people. Whether
at school or in society, girls child has to face prejudices against
her. It has been found that in schools at times teachers are biased
against girls in their behaviour and dealing. They are not provided
equal opportunities in sports and other activities. In society at large,
the roles perceived for the girl child are also very rigid. Girls are
expected to be efficient in household chores to grow up and become
good wives and mothers. The condition of girls in lower social
class families is even pathetic. Due to low family income, their
education is considered to be of least importance. Research studies
show that boys and girls are born with same general intelligence.
However, such biased behaviour against has deep rooted impact
on their personality, self-image and social status. Our government
has started a number of welfare schemes and programmes for the
development of girl child. At school level too, curriculum and
instructional strategies should focus on mitigating gender biasness
and should provide girl child on opportunity to grow into a
indepedent woman.
Implication for Teachers—At school level, a teacher can do

a lot to reduce if not completely eradicate the gender biasness against
girls. For this, it is important that the teacher herself is broad minded.
Also it is important that teacher should be aware of the fact that
girls and boys have same level of general intelligence. Thus, girls
should be given equal opportunity to participate in curricular and
co curricular activities. Moreover, it is important for the teacher to
understand that the gender biasness has had deep rooted impact on
the personality and self-image of girls. Since ages that were expected
to be submissive and play a secondary role of their husbands. This
has made them shy and introvert by nature. Thus at time they need
more encouragement from teacher than boys to participate in
activities like sports etc. The school curriculum and instructional
strategies should be designed to promote the overall development
of girl child and mitigate gender issues. This will ensure that girls
grow up to become confident self-dependent women with positive
self-image.
This education brings a change in our attitude, behaviour,
appreciations, Personality. It is seen that uneducated persons are
guided by their instinct and emotions where as the educated persons
are guided by their reasoning power.
4.8. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL
DIFFERENCES:
Educational implications of Individual differences are listed
below:
(i) Aims of education, curriculum, method of teaching should
be linked with individual differences considering the different
abilities and traits individual.
(ii) Curriculum should be designed as per the interest, abilities
and needs of different students.
(iii) The teacher has to adopt different types of methods of
teaching considering individual difference related to interest, need,
etc.
(iv) Some co-curricular activities such as Drama, music, literary

activities (Essay & Debate Competition) should be assigned to
children according to their interest.
(v) Teacher uses certain specific teaching aids which will attract
the children towards teaching considering their interest and need.
(vi) Various methods such as playing method, project method,
Montessori method, story telling methods are to be used
considering/discovering how different children respond to a task
or a problem.
(vii) The division of pupils into classes should not be based
only on the mental age or chronological age of children but the
physical, social and emotional maturity should be given due
consideration.
(viii) In case of vocational guidance the counsellor is to plan
the guidance technique keeping in view the needs and requirements
of the students.
4.9. CAUSES OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Some of the main causes of dimensions of differences in
learners (individual differences) are as under :
1. Heredity—One of the most significant and chief causes of
individual differences is heredity. Individuals inherit physical traits
like face with its features, colour of eyes and hair, type of skin,
shape of skull and size of hands, colour blindness, bladness, stub
finger and tendency to certain diseases like cancer and tuberculosis,
mental traits like intelligence, abstract thinking, aptitudes and
prejudices. Now it is an admitted fact that heredity differences result
in the quantity and rate of physical as well as mental development
being different in different individuals.
2. Influence of caste, race and nation—Individuals of
different castes and races exhibit very marked differences. It is
generally seen that son of Kshatriya has a more of courage in him
while the son of a trader has the traits of business. Similarly
individuals (learners) of different nations show differences in respect
of their personality, character and mental abilities. These are the
outcome of their geographical, social and cultural environment.

Many studies have show the existence of differnces between
Americans and Negroes, Chinese and Japanese, English and Indian
Individuals.
3. Economic Condition and Education—Individual
differences are caused by economic condition of the parents and
the education of the children. It is not possible for the children/
leaners of two economic classes of have a similarity and equality.
4. Sex differences—Development of boys and girls exhibits
differences due to difference in sex. The physical development of
the girl takes place a year or two earlier than the boys. Between the
age of 11 and 14, girls are taller and heavier than the boys. After
15, boys start winning the race.
Girls are kind, affectionate, sympathetic and tender while the
boys are brave, hard, choleric, efficient and competent.
5. Environment—Environment signficantly influences
individual differences. Changes in child’s environment are reflected
in the change in his personality. Psychologically speaking, a
person’s environment consists of sum total of stimulation which
he receives from conception until his death. Environment consists
of physical, intellectual, social, moral, political, economic and
cultural forces. All these forces cause individual differences. Modern
psychologists believe that individual differences are caused by both
heredity and environment. Personality is the outcome of mutual
interaction between heredity and environment.
The heredity of an individual is contained in the seed while
environment comprises factors like sunlight, soil, temperature, etc.
and traditions, customs, rites, code of ethics, philosophy, literature,
contacts with other individuals, etc. The parents, the teachers, the
community and the society are expected to play a significant role
in providing rich social environment for the balanced development
of its members.
All human beings need help. There would hardly be any
individual who does not need help. The same is true with all learners.
Of course, the degree of guidance needed differs from learner to
learner in view of individual differences.
6. Age and Intelligence—Physical, intellectual and emotional

development is caused by the growth in age. Many learners differ
because of the differences in intelligence. Learners who are below
the average in intelligence and mental age find much difficulty in
learning and the average intelligent learners can learn quickly.
7. Other causes—Interests, aptitudes, achievements,
sentiments, character, educational and home background lead to
individual differences.
8. Temperament and Emotional Stability—Some learners
are by temperament active and quick, while others are passive and
slow, some humorous and others short tempered. Emotional stability
of the learners is differently affected by physical, mental and
environmental factors. Differences in emotional stability cause
individual differences.
4.10. CURRICULUM AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
In a democratic state, a large number of subject should be
included in the school-curriculum so that education may be provided
to each child according to his interest, need and ability. In a
progressive school, the curriculum is never rigid. It is kept flexible.
Methods of Teaching—The methods of teaching should be
chosen on the basis of individual differences. A gifted child learns
very rapidly; hence, in providing education to him different methods
of teaching should be adopted than the one which is used for the
normal or backward children. The experiences of those children
who come from backward homes are usually narrow and hence,
with them such methods of teaching are to be adopted which may
broaden their outlook.
Education and Development—Education exerns the most
fundamental and the most decisive influence in psychic
development of the individual. But the influence of education are
man’s psyche is not direct. It creats activity among pupils by means
of which their psyche becomes developed. It is to be considered as
the basic task of education. This is also the key role of the teacher
in the educational process.
The relation between education and development is a dialectial

one. For education development of the psyche is a prerequisite
and education is required for progress in development. It is true
that the psychic development of an individual depends on other
factors as well, especially other social factors but there is no doubt
in it that educations is the most important social activity for
intellectual development.
Constructivism : Development in Relation to Teaching and
Learning—Recently there has been put greater emphasis on relating
teaching and learning with development. The learner is now
considered as the central figure in this relationship constructivism
has been propogated by the psychologists who emphasizes the
active role of the learner in building understanding and making
sense of the world. ‘‘Constrictivists believe that knowledge results
from individual construction of reality. For another perspective,
learning occurs through the continual creation of rules and
hypotheses to explain what is observed.’’ Brooks explains that the
need to creates new rules and formulate new hypotheses arises
when student’s present conceptions of reality are not in harmony
with the new observations.
Constructivism emphasizes the linking of new knowledge to
knowledge learners already possess and the application of
understanding to authentic situations. The instructional tools which
are given importance by the constructivists are experience and
interaction between teachers and students and students with each
other. Piaget was construct in his orientation. He emphasized
individual learner’s creation of new knowledge. Lev Vygotsky,
the Russian psychologist (1896-1934) was also constructivist in
his approach.
Constructivism recommend that teachers go beyond lecturing
and ‘telling’ as teaching methods. They should adopt the teaching
methods which involves, ‘‘Structuring reflective discussions of the
meaning and implications of content and providing opportunities
for students to use the content as they engage in inquiry, problem
solving or decision making.’’
Constructivism helps teachers apply Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s

work to classroom learning and development. Teachers in keeping
with the suggestions of constructivists, ‘‘should provide
experiences, guide discussions and assume a ‘supporting role in
assisting student’s attempts at developing understanding.’’ Thus
teaching requires a great deal of expertise. Teachers should be alert
and flexible so that they are able to help the students to make best
use of their thoughts and insights. Teachers should guide the
students learning and help develop both the thinking and the deep
understanding of content.
Meeting Needs of Individual Differences : Teaching
Strategies and Class-room Measures
In view of the individual differences, it is quite clear that the
same curriculum, same methods of teaching and same discipline
and in some cases even the same educational institution will not
serve the individual needs of children. Ideally speaking each student
needs a particular setting and individual instruction with a long of
group interaction. This, however, is not feasible in normal classroom
routine. At the same time individual differences of children must
be catered to. There are nine broad areas, in which a lot of work
could be done to take into consideration individual differences.
These are :
1. Streaming of students, i.e., making ability groups.
2. Curriculum planning, i.e. providing advanced and ordinary
curriculum in different disciplines.
3. Disciplinary treatment.
4. Guidance and counselling.
5. Special schools for the handicapped children.
6. Combining individualised, group and class instruction.
7. Using maxims of teaching and mnemonics.
8. Using team teaching.
9. Taking up projects where possible.
General Guidelines for Meeting Individual Differences—
1. Courses should be selective to meet the needs of individual
students.
2. Opportunities for acquiring manual and mechanical skills

should be provided.
3. A wide range of pupil experiences may be provided in the
school.
4. Remedial instruction should be made available to such
students who need it.
5. Courses should be organised in such a way as bright pupils
can learn at their own speed and slow pupils follow their own speed.
6. Guidance regarding co-curricular activities should be
provided.
7. Counselling should be given to students.
8. Assignments should be adapted to the needs of students.
9. Special care should be taken to accept the under-achieving
child as a unique indivdual. His particular needs should be
immediately attended to.
10 Efforts may be made to re-establish child’s confidence in
himself.
11. The teacher should seek the co-operation of other teachers
and the parents of the under-achievers.
12. In case of deep-rooted emotional problems which lie at
the root of under-achievement, referral may be made to a child
guidance clinic after taking the parents into confidence.
13. Students should be taught to recognise their handicaps
and counselled in methods to overcome or compensate from them.
14 Some programme of parents’ education may be taken up
as many problems of the students result from unsatisfactory home
conditions.
15. School programme should take into account the needs of
those students who are not likely to go to college and those who
would join college.
16. The school programme, administration and management
should be made flexible enough to allow for adjustment to individual
differences.
CONCLUSION
Individual differences are a cornerstone subject area in modern
psychology. In many ways, it is the “classic” psychology that the
general public refers to the psychology of the person – the
psychological differences between people and their similarities.
Plato stated more than 2000 years ago : “No two persons are born
exactly alike; but each differs from the other in natural endowments,
one being suited for one occupation and the other for another.”
Individual difference psychology examines how people are similar
and how they differ in their thinking, feeling and behaviour. No
two people are alike, yet no two people are unlike. So, in the study
of individual differences we strive to understand ways in which
people are psychologically similar and particularly what
psychological characteristics vary between people.
EXERCISE
1. What do you mean by Individual Differences ?
2. What do you mean by the Nature of Individual
Differences ?
3. Describe Personality as a Individual Differences ?
4. Describe the Piaget’s concept of Cognitive Development.
5. What are the Social Approaches. Write their Characteristics.
1. What do you mean by Motor Development ?
2. What is the meaning of Emotions ?
3. What do you know about Social Differences ?
4. Describe the various factors affecting Cognitive
Development.
DIVERSE LEARNERS :
IDENTIFICATION,
5 CHARACTERISTICS, PROBLEMS,
REMIDAL MEASURES & ROLE OF
TEACHER IN MINIMIZING
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE
5.1. CREATIVE CHILDREN

The term ‘Creative children’ refers the casefall on upper extrem
of normal distribution of this trait. Thus they considered exceptional
children. Torrence has identified the following characteristics of
creative children.
1. Independent thinking, 2. Independent judgement, 3.
Courageous in convictions, 4. Intutive (intution is his problem), 5.
Curious about his environment, 6. Becomes per occupied with some
task, 7. Risk taking behaviour or willing to take risk, 8. unwelling
to accept say so a he is not conformist, 9. Visionary or future
orientation or he has the vision for future problems.
Whom shall we call a creative individual children ? Do they
possess some such characteristics which help us in their recognition ?
These are some such questions which are important to a teacher. If
he knows the answer to these he may give special attention towards
the education of creative children. In this way not only he will help
in the development of the creative individual but may also serve
the society and the nation because it is through the creativity of a
creative individual that the nation is enriched technologically and
scientifically.
The identification of creative individual is difficult because
of two reasons. On the one hand the creative individuals are so few
that their rarity of occurrence creates difficulties in their recognition.
The other reason is the reaction of the society. Often a creative
individual’s talent is recognized generations of the society. Often a
creative individual’s talent is recognized generations after his death.
In case it is recognized in his life time then he is given administrative
or supervisory work and thus his creative work stops.
193
According to Taylor a creative individual may have the

following traits :
(1) Intellect—For creative thinkers some cognitive abilities
are essential. In this are included the abilities of memory and
evaluation. Sensitivity, orginality and the ability to reconstruct are
essential. A creative individual should also have the ability to sense
the problems. He must recognize the ambiguity if it is present in
some situation.
(2) Motivational Interest—The creative individual has
curiosity. He has need for high achievement which keeps him
continuously busy in that direction. He remains in search of
challanges. He gives more importance to complex and tolerates
indefiniteness. He remains completely busy in creative work.
(3) Creative Personality—The important individual qualities
in a creative individual are : inpdendent thinking, tendency to take
risks, industriousness and courage. He is more extrovert as
compared to the non-creative individuals.
The qualities which are given above are described by Taylor.
Rogers also describes three internal conditions of creative individual :
(i) Openness in experience which gives no place to infexibility (ii)
ability to evaluate in accordance with one’s need and (iii) ability to
practice and to accept the instable. Barron and Roe consider that a
creative individual’s abilities can be seen in the interaction of
intellect, personality, motivation and the biography of the individual.
It has been established by the psychologists-Thurston (1953)
Torrance (1960) the intelligence and creativity are two distinct
abilities or concepts. The term ‘creativity’ has been explained by
philosopher, sociologists and psychometrician. There are more than
fifty definitions available of the term creativity. Every child is
creative to same extent in this sense. Creativity is most significant
concept for the human development. The creative child is an asset
to the society as well as to nation. The should identify creative
children and should provide them adequate educational identify
creative children and should provide them adequate educational
facilities for the development of their creativity and talents. Here
creative children refer to the upper extrem of normal distribution
of this creativity ability.
DIVERSE LEARNERS : IDENTIFICATION, CHARACTERISTICS .... 195
Meaning and Definition of Creativity—

The meaning and definition of creativity has been discussed
in the following paragraphs—
According Guilford creativity involves divergent thinking with
regard to this trait, while ‘intelligence involves convergent thinking
with reference to number, verbal memory reasoning, perception
and space. The creativity refers to originality, fluency, flexibility
and elaboration. Guilford creative thought means divergent thinking
and uncreative means covergent thinking. Guilford has given 120
mental abilities. Content, process and product, the ‘Struture of
intellect’ involves 24 creative abilities. The intelligent test do not
measure creativity because these tests involve or employ convergent
thinking.
Torrence contribution is significant in this area. He has defined
creativity as follows :
‘‘Creativity is as process of becoming sensitive to problems,
deficiencies, gaps of knowledge, missing elements and so on,
identifying the difficulties, searching for solutions, formulating
hypotheses about the deficiencies, testing and recasting them and
fianlly communicating results’’.
‘‘Creativity is an activity resulting in new products of a deficit
social value.’’
All the new inventions and practices in any field are given or
developed by creative persons. Creativity basically concerns with
the new products or contributions in any discipline or field of study.
Characteristics of Creative Children—
Characteristics of creative children very at different stages of
development and growth.
(1) Early Childhood—Girvin (1933) has identified
characteristics of children of 3 to 7 years age group. The children
of this age group can repeat alone memory images and can
organized several memory images, possess emotional realization
and feeling of appreciation, can write short-stories and essay and
can modify.
(2) Elementary School Years—The creative children of this
stage possess, the following characteristics.
1. Keen interest drawing, 2. Creative writing and expression,
3. Manifestation of creativity in participation of games and sports,
laboratory work, field work and library work. Their creative
behaviours and acts are easily observable. The creativity is
manifested at elementary stage.
(3) High School Year—The purpose of teaching at this stage
is to impart the knowledge of different courses or subjects but the
following characteristics are noticed.
Skill of expression and writing an essay of original nature
effective presentation in the debate and discussion. Expression is
highly logical and unique, investigate some new techinques or
device.
(4) Higer Education or Adults—At higher stage of education,
reflective method of teaching should be employed which is known
creative method of teaching which provides the situation for original
and independent thinking. Teaching is most thoughtful the purpose
of higher education is to develop creativity. The main emphasis on
problem solving activities. Research work, essay writing and
developing probjects, participation in cultural activities and
organization of education programmes. Participation in seminar
conferences and group discussion.
Identification of Creative Children—
The creative children are the asset to the society and for
democracy. There are several methods and techniques which can
used for identifying creative children. The most commonly used
methods are as follows.
1. Observation method, 2. Using test of creativity, 3.
Achievement test and participation in distinct activities.
The observation method is simple and easy method for
identifying creative children. It is widely used method for this
purpose.
The most scientific and objective method is the creativity tests
which have already discussed in the chapter of creativity and
intelligence. The specific areas of creativity-originality, fluency,
flexibility and elaborations are also located becuase general score
of creativity has no pratical utility.
Psychological state underlying creative process—Gorden
and his associates have identified the psychological states of creative
process. They have found the following four psychological states
for developing creativity.
1. Deteachment involvement, 2. Deferment, 3. Speculation

and 4. Autonomy of the objects—
1. Deteachment involvement state refers the mental state of a
person to think beyond the general problem and them shows
involvement and insight into it. For example suppose you would
‘bird’, how you will feel.
2. Deferment state refers to avoidance of the first solution of
the problem and try to think another solution it shows the mental
state of deferment.
3. Speculation state refers to the tentative solution of the
problem or formulation of hypotheses.
4. Autonomy of the object—Refers to the clarity for the
formulated hypotheses and able to develop his own point of view
related to the problem.
Measures of Creativity—
There have recently developed several tests to measure
creativity. Torrance tests battery on creativity measures verbal
creativity through seven activities and figural creativity through
three activities. The person taking the Torrance battery receives a
stimulus (for example, a subject sees a picture of a box and is
asked to describe different ways in which the box could be used).
The ideas listed are scored for fluency (the number), flexibility
(variety) and originality (a statistically low frequency response)
and elaboration.
In general the correlation between tests of creativity and
standarized IQ scores appears to be quite low. Torrance found the
median correlation between intelligence tests and his total battery
of creativity tests as 20. Similary results have been obtained by the
others. They have found a low correlation between standardized
achievement and other types of creativity measures. It has been
concluded on the basis of many investigations that people’s scores
on intelligence tests will not predict their scores on a creativity
measure.
Important tests constructed and standardized abroad are by
Barion (1955), Ghiselin (1956), Herman (1957), Flangen (1957),
Taylor (1958), Getzels and Jackson (1962), Torrance (1962), Clive
Richards and Needham (1963), Flescher (1963), Wallach and Kegan
(1965) and many others.
On creativity tests two group of workers have done a lot of

work. One group worked under the direction of Torrance and
another under the guidance of Guilford. We have describe
Guilford’s structure of intelligence. There we have shown that
Guilford indetified divergent thinking abilities as distinct from
convergent thinking abilities. In Guildford’s model the divergent
thinking abilities are generally considered to be indicative of
creativity. However, it has also been found that some factors under
convergent thinking, cognition and evaluation abilities were also
linked with creativity.
Indian Tests : Some of the tests on creativity developed in
India and by Raina (1968), Paramesh (1971), Baqar Mehdi (1973),
Verma (1973), Majumdar (1973), Goyal (1974), Kaul (1974),
Ramachandra (1975), Niar (1976), Gupta (1979), Kerala University
test of creative thinking etc.
Education for Encouraging Creativity—
Often it has been seen that the expressions of creativity among
school children are punished rather than rewarded. This parents a
serious problem in developing the creative abilities of students in
school settings. Torrance indentified five principles that teachers
should implement in order to reward the creative behaviour of the
students. These principles he presented on the basis of his findings
in one of his studies with the children in third to sixth grades. He
found that the children in these grades can be encouraged to quite
a good extent for creativity. The principles enunciated by Torrance
are as follows :
1. Be respectful of unusal questions.
2. Be respectful of imaginative, creative ideas.
3. Show your pupils that their ideas have value.
4. Occasionally have pupils do something ‘for practice’
wihtout the threat of evaluation.
5. Tie in evaluation with causes and consequences.
6. Encourage the self-initiated learning and evaluate it.
Klausmeier and Ripple in their book mention the following
three principles for encouraging creativity :
1. Expressing oneself by figural, verbal and physical means
is essential for the production of novel forms or ideas.
2. Experiencing in successive creative efforts is associated

with a high-level of creative expression.
3. Thinking and behaving in divergent ways, in addition to
accepting and conforming to some existing standards, are
essential to creativity.
On the basis of the above three principles they offer three
instructional guides. These are described as follows :
1. Encourage Divergent Production in Many Media—The
child should be given opportunities for original expression in many
media—written langauge, oral language, rhythms, music and art.
According to Guilford as stated earlier, Fluency, Originality and
Flexibility in producing ideas and forms are three of the main
divergent production abilities. These abilities develop over a period
of many years. In young children they are manifested in the form
of free expression in spontaneous play, singing, finger-printing
and other activities. In the initial manifestations the quality of the
output and the level of technical skill shown are unimportant. Later
in dance, speech or painting produced by elementary and high
school students, quality and technical skill are somewhat more
important. In the work of an inventor or an engineer, quality and
skill are even more important, without, however, any reduction in
originality or flexibility. In creative work like writing a novel or
coceptualizing a new design for housing or a new theory of human
behaviour the highest quality and skill capable of manking of a
given generation are required. Such creative expressions are
accomplished by only a few adults in a large population.
Keeping all the above in mind we can say that teacher cannot
order creativity. In means that teacher cannot simply tell students
that in a given length of the time they are to ‘create’ something. He
cannot order the class to write a poem within a few minutes.
Therefore, it is essential that the teaching for creativity must follow
a continuing programme. In this programme all teachers should
participate.
2. Reward Creative Efforts—Teaching and rewarding only
one method as correct inhibits creativity in students. The creativity
will occur at that time when the efforts are made by-passing the
traditional methods. Hence, the teacher should reward all such
efforts which are original in nature.
3. Foster’a Creative Personality—A creative individual is

found to be impulsive, sensititve, self-confident, independent and
unconventional. Many a time such an individual is not liked by the
parents and teachers. This fact impedes creativity. It is, therefore,
necessary that the environment of the school is an open one where
a child is able to think otherwise than simply conforming to the
norms of the society. He feels free to express himself and is not
simply governed by what pleases the other persons.
Besides the above three a fourth instructional guide can also
be added.
4. Raise the level of four expectations for creative individual.
It has been recently studied that the teachers expectations do
influence the learning of the students. This phenomenon is described
as self fulfilling prophecy. The teachers how expect good work
from creative individual may be able to get better results.
5.2. SLOW LEARNER
The children who are below average in intelligence follow
the same developmental pattern as their peers with higher IQs, but
they differ in the rate and degree of development. It may by found
that low IQ children possess characteristics typical of average IQ
children who are younger than they are. Hence one characteristics
of slow learners is that they may often appear immature compared
to their agemates. This may result in frustration to them as they
may not be able to do many things which those who are in their
age group but more mature can do. A tendency of self-devaluation
may, therefore, develop in them. They may lack of confidence and
have low self-esteem.
The intellectual characteristics of slow learners may be
tendency to over simplify concepts, the inability to generalize, short
memory and attention span, the inclination to concentrate on only
one aspect of a learning situation, retarted on language development.
1. Schonell’s view—Slow learner ‘‘is one who as compared
with other pupils of the same chronological age shows marked
educational deficiency.
2. Burton Hall’s view—Slow learning in ‘‘general is applied
to cases where their educational attainment falls below the level of
their natural abilities.’’
3. Cyril Burt’s view—A slow learner ‘‘is one who in mid-

school career is unable to do the work for the class next below that
which is normal for his age.’’
4. T.K.A. Menon’s view—In the Indian situations a slow
learner or ‘‘is one who is more than one year older than the average
of his class.’’
The team ‘slow learner’ is frequently used to cover various
groups of children otherwise referred to ‘dull’, ‘retarded’ or
‘educationally subnormal.’ In the present circumstances it is used
more widely to indicate the fairly large group of children whose
learning is slowed down by one or more factors of which limited
ability may be one. The common factor with all pupils seen was
some measure of educational retardation, the common factor with
all pupils seen was some measure of educational retardation, the
contributing factors being manifold e.g., cultural and poverty, family
inadequacies and parental disharmony. Pupils from such homes as
these may well function as ‘slow learner’ even through their
intellectual potential may be considereable higher.
Previously psychologists held that slow learning is directly
related to intellectual ability. But recent studies in his regard revealed
that heredity alone is not responsible for the backwardness of the
child; but environment contributes significantly to the scholastic
achievement of the child. The backward child is a slow learner and
he finds it difficult to keep pace with the normal child in his school
work. Taking only I.Q. into consideration, we cannot call a child
who is a slow learner, mentally retarded. On the whole the only
difference a slow learner and the average child is his slower rate.
Slow learner is not discussed in the standard special education
textbook. In fact, slow learners are not special education students.
Slow learners receive additional supportive services, in the regular
classroom, curricula and learning. Some slow learners are not special
education classroom or because they would otherwise fail in the
regular classroom, even though they do not have special education
needs.
There is no diagnostic or descriptive profile that characterises
the slow learner. Slow learners are described by their specific
academic weakness.
During the last several years there has been increased interest
in the education of slow learners, otherwise known as backward
pupils in schools. These groups as has been said does not come
under special education categorisation, yet because of their incidence
in the classroom there is a need for prevention and treatment of
backwardness whether they are in ordinary schools or in special
education classes. The word’s slow learning children’ is a broad
generic term as stated by Tansley and Guilford, 1971.
1. Identification of Slow Learners—
The defects of children who are blind, deaf or physically
handicapped are readily apparent to the observers. The handicaps
of educationally subnormal and slow learners are not always so
obvious. The are less able than most children to meet the normal
demands of education and life is modern community or society.
Culturally it is relative. In a less advanced society, even they do
not draw attention. They manage will.
The period at which their limitations arise are most obvious is
that of school years. The normal living demands certain intelligence,
capacity for abstract conceptual thinking, intellectual skills,
minimum attainment in reading, writing, simple calculation. A
proportion of students are so limited in their capacity to learn that
they are handicapped to meet the demands of the normal school
learning. Others are learning difficulties and therefore are slow
learners. If teaching is not suitably geared to their slow rate of
progress and are not modified to use the most effective ways of
learning these children fail to achieve success. Hence, there is a
need for special educational measure to ensure for these children
the maximum progress of which they are capable in the traditional
three R’s and in practical, social and personal life. These are quite
apparent in the context of universal education in the closing
educades of the present century and which started in the closing
depable of 19th century. The application of psychology to education
and to the study of child development began to have increasing
influence. Binet’s contribution to mental testing contributed to a
large extent to the realisation of differental treatment for children
as per their ability and needs. But’s forty years of research provided
a foundation of knowledge about the extent of backwardness, its
causes and the board lines of treatment for the slow learning
children.
Slow learning or educationally abnormal children have limited
intellectual development. Many of these children grow up in
circumstances which limit rather than foster the development of
intelligence. Very poor homes rarely provided as good opportunities
for the incidental learning as average or good home do. Skeels and
Day (1939) and Skodak and Skeels (1949) studies showed that
removing children from extermely unfavourable environment to
one which is very much more favourable would seem to result in
quicker mental development during preschool years. Nursery school
experiences accelerate mental growth. Unfavourable school and
home conditions and responsible for decline of intelligence.
There is every possiblity that in a classroom there must be
some slow learners. These children consist of a group with mild
handicaps. They come to school regularly; but they are likely to
become dropouts if their needs are not met. From the psychological
point of view, it would be conductive for these children to be
identified earlier. Then necessary steps can be taken to help them
in their learning. Survey works reveal that it is somehow easier to
identify more severely handicapped children than the mildly
handicapped ones. A teaching expert is easily able to identify and
deviation in classroom behaviour pertaining to learning difficulties
of children. He has primary knowledge about the fact which spells
out clearly that the slow learners require more time and more help
to acquire the skills in comparison with the average children. These
children also rely more on concrete learning rather than abstract
learning. Psychologists and experts use various tools and techniques
to identify slow learners. These are as follow :
(1) Observation Technique—Observation of children’s
behaviour by the teacher as well as experts may help in identifying
slow learners. This observation may be done under simple as well
as controllable conditions. While observing children’s behaviour,
a strict watch can be kept for their reaction to various situations. A
child’s behaviour is not only observed in the classroom, but also
on the playground, home and in the group etc. Observation may
be done by just watching the child’s behaviour directly and by
moving along with the child. It should be kept in mind that for this
technique, the observer should have the capacity for analysing and
interpreting the information has gets from his observation.
Observation technique is conductive for ascertaining the
recreational, occupation and extracurricular interest of children.
(2) Case Study Method—As we know, by this technique, the
history of the child, his family, his early life and home environment
are revealed. Through this method, psychologists also try to study
the learning difficulties, adjustment problems and behavioural
problems of a child. By finding out the casues of such abnormalities
of children, psychologists as well as teaching experts are able to
suggest the best possible remedial measures. Of course, this is a
long drawn process and psychologists undergo a strain in
interviewing such children, their relatives and parents at short or
long intervals.
(3) Medical Examination—Before confirmation, the
developmental history from early childhood should be meticulously
verified by a qialified medical expert or medical practitioner. Under
strict physical and medical examination, the anomalies, disabilities
and handicaps can be highlighted.
(4) Scholastic Tests—Evaluation or deficiencies in school
achievement can be possible through scholastic tests. These tests
can throw light on areas like arithmetic, reading, spelling,
composition, writing, language and comprehension. General and
specific problems of children are singled out by the psychologists
and educationists through scholastic tests and causes of anomalies
can also be evaluated properly.
(5) Personality Test—Through personality tests, attempts can
be make by psychologists to throw light on the emotional
characterstics of children as well as temperamental traits. Evidence
shows that there are certain personality traits which have direct
relationship with specific backwardness. Persistence, sensitiveness,
concentration, emotional stability, assertiveness etc., are some of
these traits. Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT), Rorschach Ink
Blot Test (RTBT), Word Association Test (WAT), Free Association
Test and some psychoanalytical procedures are very much helpful
to the psychologists here. Research analysis by W.P. Alexander

have also revealed that teacher’s assessment of children’s traits for
personality can be every profitable used for diagnostic and
productive purposes.
(6) Intelligence Test—Through the use of any standardised
intelligence tests the intellectual level of children can be assessed.
Both verbal intelligence tests and non-verbal tests can be used for
this purpose. But psychologists prefer individual verbal tests to
group verbal tests. An expert can get a true picture of the mental
capacities of backward children by giving many intelligence tests.
A single test is not sufficient to bring out the full picture of the
mental capacities of a child. Psychologists use more than one
standardized test to ascertain a particular anomaly.
(7) Psychometric and Psychological Tests—For diagnostic
purposes, Psychologists use psychometic tests which are of a
sensory nature. For better appraisal, analysis and evaluation of
specific skills of backward children, these tests are primarily used.
By these tests, psychologists try to discover the exact nature of
errors made by the backward children. Again some other
psychological tests may also be used to assess span of attention,
auditory perception, steadiness, memory and reasonnig powers.
2. Causes of Slow Learners Child—
Educationally subnormal children or slow learning children
were pupils who by reasons of limited ability or other conditions
resulting in educational retardation, required some specialised form
of education, wholly or partly in substitution for the education
normally given in ordinary schools.
These terminolgoies have less stigmatised effect. They are
not based on medical or psychological categorisation but purely
on educational needs. The causes of the educational backwardness
are : school absense, ill health, unfavourable school and home
conditions and emotional barriers to learning. The cause is not so
much of limited ability. Therefore, these children need suitable
arrangements in ordinary school. The forms that special educational
treatment should take will need to vary according to local
circumstances.
The causes of slow learning are many. Some important ones
are discussed below :
(1) Poverty—In a developing country like India, poverty is
considered to be the primary cause of slow learning. Poverty affects
children in two ways—(i) by impairing children’s health and (ii)
by reducing their learning capacity. Again it brings rare
opportunities to acquire general knowledge through enriched
experience. In other words a child from a sophisticated family has
a variety of avenues to explore and he gets plenty of materials to
meet his requirements. He gets educational toys and books which
are conducive to acquire general knowledge to improve his
educational background. On the contrary, a child from an
improverished family does not get enough opportunities to live a
full life. However poverty is not the sole cause of slow learning.
We have to investigate into other causes of gain first hand
knowledge about slow learners.
(2) Intelligence of Family Members—Another potent factors
of learning is the level of intelligence of parents as well as family
members. In indirectly affects the slow learning of children. It is
true that educated and intelligent parents can provide educational
experiences and materials to their children according to their own
intellectual level. But if the parents are not intelligent or
sophisticated, they cannot take positive steps towards the upliftment
of their children. Again, the economic condition of the family also
plays a major role to permit the partents to spend a little amount of
money on the their children regularly. If their purse permits, then
they become interested to purchase for their children some materials
which have educational value. A sophisticated family which is
economically sound can provide better opportunities for their
children. Children coming from affluent families which have high
socio-economic status are not usually slow learners. Research
evidences also confirm this fact.
(3) Emotional Factors—Emotional factors contribute a lot
towards the slow learning of children. Psychologists confirmed this
through their research analysis. When a child comes to the school,
he brings his emotional world with him. Experiments have already
established the fact that tensions and conflicts exercise a negative
effect on learning of the child. So the tensions at home, the
relationships between the siblings and parents themselves have an

adverse effect on the child, not to mention the frustrations, which
he sustains from his family and from the external world. Research
data revaled that in the democratic homes, children get less
frustration then the autocratic home. So, in a way, we can conclude
that children from autocratic homes are usually slow learners.
(4) Personal Factors—Besides all these above factors, there
are some personal factors which are more or less responsible for
slow learning. Personal factors include long illness or long absence
from school and lack of confidence in self. It was found that children
who lack self-confidence are usally slow learners.
Slow learners or backward children may be of three types :
(i) Very backward because of retarded mental development
accompanies by psycho-social deficiences. They need special
educational treatment outside the ordinary school-special school
or special class.
(ii) Ability is not quite limited but have difficulty in learning
than average children-due to school and family or personal factors.
(iii) They can be dealt with in ordinary schools although they
may derive benefits from special classes from limited in intelligence
but have problems in reading and writing where as arithmetic and
other subjects are high. Their cause may range from specific
perceptual difficulties to emotional maladjustments. For them some
from of remedial teaching is required.
The slow learning children have IQ as high as 90s but are
within 75-90 points. Remedial education benefits these children
although in some regular school there are many slow learning
children and hence, a special class from them in sometimes
necessary. The children receive education is special class or school
but move to regular school after backwardness is removed.
There has been growing interest in placing slow learning
children in regular school. But there is a need to allot enthusiastic
and experiences teachers to remedial classes dealing with slow
learners. In addition all teachers during training should have some
instruction in methods of teaching, the early stages of reading and
number and to be made aware of the methods of helping children
who cannot keep up with their age group.
A crucial time for getting to groups with backwardness is the

last year of the primary school and beginning of junior school (upper
primary). Remedial assistance should continue the secondary
school. Because the gap between the average pupil and the slow
learner widening with age.
Hence, the special class for the slow learning children should
have 1:20 TP ratio and a little lower standard curriculum. Usually
in our school system they are placed in section C or a special section
of the same class.
It is not possible to clearly find out who are backward because
of limited potentially for development and those whose emotional
disturbance has retarded development. The latter group can not be
placed in the classes for ESN or slow leaners. Many infant school
arrange for extra attention to be given to these children either by
holding reading groups in the head of teacher’s rooms by running
a small remedial class. Such arrangements can be most valueable
as a first step in the prevention of backwardness. From here one
can know who are to be lead to a drit and the foundations give in
special school would be lost.
Slow learning or backward children do will in lower Primary
School if they follow the infant school approach or if there is a
special class. A proper diagnostic procedure is followed by using
medical examination, psychological evaluation, educational
assessment, social history of family and cultural setting.
3. Problem of Slow Learners Children—
A checklist containing 69 behaviour symptoms arranged under
five problem patterns was primarily aimed at identifying specific
problems of mild retardates who constitute a signficant group of
slow learners. A single problems provides a clue to analyse certain
learning problems of child.
1. Cognitive Learning Problems—(1) The slow learners learn
at a slower rate and they face difficulty in retaining what they have
learned. (2) The slow learners prefer concrete learning to abstract
learning. (3) Transfer of learning becomes impossible for slow
learners. (4) They lack judgement and common sense and they are
highly destructible. (5) They gain from direct teaching and do not
acquire skills incidentally and (6) A slow learning is an

underachiever and has very short span of attention.
2. Languauge or Speech Problems—(1) Verbal expressions
for slow learners are difficult. (2) Oral reading is more difficult
than silent reading. (3) Slow learners face articulation problems.
(4) Proper expression of thoughts becomes difficult for them.
3. Auditory Perceptual Problem—(1) Slow learners face
trouble in writing from dictation. They usually leave common
prefixes and suffixes while writing. (2) Slow learners fail to
understand verbal directions. So they are unable to give proper
reply, when a question is asked. (3) They prefer visually presented
materials to orally presented materials. (4) Identification of different
sounds becomes difficult for them. They also find difficulty in
distinguishing between similar sounding words (e.g.; Tap-Tap-Tap,
Pen-Pin etc.). (5) Slow learners usually given inappropriate answers
to verbal questions. They also fail to learn the art of counting by
memory.
4. Visual Motor Problems—(1) Slow learners are easily
distracted by visual stimuli. They have awkward movements. (2)
They find it difficulty to discriminate between colour, size and shape
relationship and are unable to recall to memory the objects, size
and shape relationship and are unable to recall to memory the
objects that they see. (3) They have a very poor handwriting and
face difficulties in motor work. Very often they complain about
physcial problems. Recognition of common objects becomes a
problems for them. (5) Slow learners prefer part learning to whole
learning and find oral learning tasks easier.
5. Social and Emotional Problems—(1) Slow learners do not
have the stamina to sit in a class for long periods. (2) They are
lovers of solitude and are not gregarious. They fail to make friends
and not at all sociable. (3) Slow learners become aggressive towards
their friends and peers on trivial matters and they are afraid and
self-conscious. They daydream in excess compared to normal
children. (4) Nail-biting is another interesting characteristics of slow
learners. Sometimes they also engage themselves in anti-social
activities. (5) Their mood changes frequently and their achivements
is below expectancy. (6) They prefer not to work in a group and

inappropriate and excessive verbalisation.
4. Education of Slow Learners—
Meaning of Slow Learning Child—In the words of Prof. T.N.
Birkett, ‘‘A slow learning child is one whose capacity for learning
the kind of material which is taught in the ordinary school is limited
by some dificit in intellectual capacity. Limited intelligence,
however, is the chief characteristic of the slow learning child.
Categories of Slow Learners/Classification of Slow Learners
Following are the main categories of slow learners.
1. Children, whose capacity for education or training is limited
by low intelligence, cover a fairly wide I.Q. range from
approximately 40 to 80 or 90. However students whose I.Q. ranges
between 50/55 and 85/90 are capable of benefiting from the kind
of education which is offered within the normal school system.
These may be subdivided into two groups :
(a) The Educable Mentally Retarded (I.Q. range 50 to 70).
(b) The dull Normal (I.Q. range 70 to 85).
2. Students whose I.Q. range is between 35/40 and 50 are
usually termed as Trainable Mentally Retarded. Provision for
education of such children may be made outside the normal school
system.
5. Characteristics of Slow Learners
Sullivan summarises the characteristics of these children as
follows :
1. Short attention and concentration span.
2. Slow reaction time.
3. Limited ability to evaluate materials for relevancy.
4. Limited powers of self-direction.
5. Limited ability to work with abstraction and to generalize.
6. Slowness to form association between words and phrases.
7. Failure to recognise familiar elements in new information.
8. Habits of learning very slowly and forgetting very quickly.
9. Very local point of view.
10. Inability to set up and realize standard of workmanship.
11. Lack of originality and creativeness.
12. Lack of ability to analyse, to do problem solving or think

critically.
13. Lack of ability to use higher mental processes.
6. Measures for the Education of the Slow Learners—
Educational Provisions in Terms of Curriculum, Teaching
Methodologies and Evaluation.
1. Diagnostic Tests—Diagnostic tests should be employed
in working with slow-learning children.
2. Curricula According to Interests—Courses and curricula
should be selected by the students with the help of their counsellors
on the basis of aptitude, interest and need.
3. Vocational Programmes—Vocational programmes should
not be forced upon slow-learners. Such children do not always
have the necessary aptitude to acquire vocational skill.
4. Special Classes—Special classes for slow-learning children
should be organised. However, partial segregation is preferable to
total segregation.
5. Partial Segregation—It has been stated, ‘‘These children
should be included in the two school set-up, regularly participating
in assembly programmes, organised play and other activites enjoyed
by all children.’’ The problems should be clearly explained. Prof.
Udai Shankar has emphasised the need of segregation in these
words, ‘‘If they are kept with normals, they will be pushed back
and the backward will become more backward with children of
their own level. But they will be less conscious of their drawbacks
and they will feel more secure in group of their own type where
there will be more encouragement and appreciation and less
competition.’’
6. Short Assignments—Assignments given to the students
should be broken up into short and simple units. The problems
should be clearly explained.
7. Drill Work—Sufficient drill work should be done.
8. Summaries—Frequent summaries of the important points
of discussion should be used.
9. Praise—Slow-learners should be praised occasionally when
they have done their assignments properly.
10. Proper Evaluation—Good set of tools should be used.
11. Close Supervision—Supervision should be very close.

12. Use of Audio-visual Aids—Auditory and visual aids
facilitate their learning.
13. Opportunities for Creative Expression—Opportunities
for expression of creativeness with their hands for slow-learning
children should be provided.
14. Equality of Opportunity in Recreational Programmes—
The whole programme of recreational activities, athletics, music,
art, dramatics, etc., should be opened to all on an equal basis. Mones
summarizes the advantages which the slow-learners will get as,
‘‘When these pupils are accepted in secondary schools, the school
clubs, the bands, the patrols, the clean-up squads, the down and
ground squads, the cafeteria patrols, athletics teams—are all possible
instrumentalities of their education. If they can find educational
outcome as a means of developing traits, attitudes, purposes and
satisfactions, that will give them a sense of integrated personality.
15 Remedial Teaching—Remedial teachers who meet such
students twice a week should be appointed.
16. Regular Medical Check-up and Follow-up—Such
arrangements must exist in every institution.
7. Suggestions for Slow Learners Children—
Slow learning children can not advance much but their
intellectual limitations, often reinforced by social and cultural ones,
restrict the range of his experience as well as the depth of his
understanding. The child’s activities, in relation to his environment
nourishes his mental growth and language development. Their
experience and knowledge can be increased at the initial stage by
understanding of the natural environment, why and how things
happen exploration, talking and questioning, nature study.
It is said, by Seguin—
1. Teach nothing indoors that can be learned outdoors.
2. Teach nothing with dead things when you can make
observations on living things.
3. Nature should be classroom and the school book in case
of difficulties.
Of course, the metropolis/urban schools may apply these

principles by appropriately having pets and acquarium and by
arranging field trips occasionally.
(1) Non-Promotion—Experimental facts of a group of
psychologists are in favour of non-promotion of slow learners.
These psychologists follow a policy that promotion of slow learners.
These pscychologists follow a policy that permits retention of child
in a class for the second year. But very often, it is found that when
a child is not promoted and retained in the same class, he resorts to
self punitive measures. For this reason, many educationists object
to this idea of non-promotion. Rather, they lay emphasis on remedial
instructions and understanding.
(2) Reinforcement—Slow learners lack the experience of
reinforcement in the home environment. Fear of failure and
disinterest are pertinent in their daily school activities. So adequate
and appropriate measures should be taken to improve their academic
status. When a slight improvement is noticed some motivational
techniques may be used to stimulate. Use of illustration, examples
and aids may also be conducive for creative motivational
atmosphere inside the class. A teaching expert should try to instill
confidence in children and he must also make constant efforts to
remove fear of failure.
(3) Individual Attention—Treatment of slow learners should
be given individual attention. The teaching experts may place
emphasis on recognition of individual differences among students.
They must also respect the individuality of the child through helpful
environment. Again, teaching experts should be very kinds and
sympathetic towards their students. The teachers should allow the
students to proceed at their own rate of learning. One of the best
advantages of this method is that there is no failure since the children
are assessed against their own success. Complete freedom is given
to children to budget their own time to bring out their assignment
forte.
(4) Schedule of Reinforcement—The research studies have
revealed that continues schedule of reinforcement is effective for
slow learners. The positive reinforcement works well for dealing
slow learner in classroom teaching. The teachers should be
sympathetic and helpful to them.
5.3. GIFTED CHILDREN
An individual whose IQ is above 130, is usually known as
gifted individual. It is expected that not over 2 per cent of the school
population will be exceptional to this degree. Among these 2 per
cent there will be a few whose quotients will run as high as 181 or
190/. The children who come in the category of gifted are also
likely to resent problems to the school management and
organization.
1. Meaning and Definition of Gifted Children—
The term ‘giftedness’ has been defined by the psychologists
in various ways. They have stated the term with help of intelligent
quotient, social potentialities or social efficiency and also
statistically. Some of the important definition of ‘giftedness’ have
been stated in the follow paras—
According to W.B. Kolsenik—‘‘The term gifted has been
applied to every child who, in his group, is superior in some ability
which may make him an outstanding contribution to the welfare
and quality living in our society.’’
According to Prem Pasricha—‘‘The gifted child is the one
who exhibits superiority in intelligence or the one who is in
possession of special abilities of high order in the field which are
not necessarily associated with high intelligent quotient.’’
According to Havighurst—‘‘The talented or gifted child is
one who shows constantly remarkable performance or outstanding
behaviour in any worthwhile endeavour.’’
According to Terman and Witty—The gifted children that
Terman and Witty studies is, ‘‘Superior in physical development,
educational achievement, intelligent and social personality.’’
According to Simption and Lucking—‘‘The gifted children
are those whose possess a superior central nervous system
characterized by potential to perform tasks requiring a comparatively
high degree of intellectual obstruction of creative imagination of
both, are called gifted child.’’
According to Lucito—‘‘The gifted are those children whose
potential, intellectual powers and abilities are at such as high
ideantional level in both productive and evaluative thinking that it

can be reasonably assumed that they could by future problem
solvers, innovators and evaluators of the culture if adequate
educational experiences are provied to them.’’
2. Characteristics of Gifted Children—
The following were noted to be the most outstanding
characteristics of the gifted by Terman and Holligworth in their
books :
(i) The heredity of the gifted was superior. They came from
families of higher social and economic status.
(ii) In physical features, etc. the gifted were found to be superior
than were‘control’ groups of similar age, sex and race. They were
larger at birth; they were well behaved at an early age; their general
health was superior; the changes of puberty came earlier.
(iii) Most of them were found to be educationally advanced
beyond the average grade status for their ages. They had genuine
interest in learning and knowledge. Various special talents, as in
music, drawing, art were frequently found.
(iv) They were more interested in abstract than in manual
activities and in difficult than in easy subjects.
(v) In play their interested tended to be non-competitive,
preferred games involing thinking and choose play-mates older
than themselves. They read wisely with more inclination towards
what was called ‘adult’ subject-matter.
(iv) In tests and ratings for various character and personality
traits these able children were definitely superior to the control
group. They were most superior in traits called ‘intellectual’ than
in order of decreasing superiority, the classifications came in the
order as—volitional; emotional, moral, physical and social.
James J. Galiaghar examined a number of definitions and tests
of characteristics and proposals for identifying expectionally
capable learners. He concluded that what such individuals have in
common is the ability to absorb abstract concepts, to organize them
more effectively and to apply them more appropriately than those
who are not so capable.
3. Suggestions for Teaching and Gifted and the Rapid

Learners—
(i) For making the gifted child against to typical school
situations, provision must be made for him to advance at his superior
rate of learning speed. Special class for the gifted child should be
arranged.
(ii) Though the special classes are necessary it is also required
that the gifted young person has opportunities to mingle with young
people less able than himself. As an adult, he will need to adjust to
such persons. Hence, he needs training in this form of adjustment
during his school years.
(iii) They should participate in the out-of-class activities
regardless of their mental status. It can be expected that the gifted
children will be the leaders in such activities. The teacher should,
however, not appoint them as leaders because then it will be resented
by the other pupils.
(iv) The teacher should help the gifted child to have emotional
balance. For this, he should seek co-operation of the parents by the
gifted.
(v) In teaching the gifted children, drill should be reduced to
the minimum or even eliminated.
(vi) For the gifted children, there is no need for artificial
motivation if the subject-matter be really suited to their intelligent
interests. Their interests are quite board and their intellectual
curiousity is always keen.
(vii) To teach the gifted children particularly, able teachers
are required who are themselves of high intelligence, Well-informed,
acquainted with the psychology of the bright and free from prejudice,
jealousy and superstitions.
It may be noted that all rapid learners or gifted do not impress
their teachers. Some pupils with high IQs respond to instruction
easily, given answers that are precisely what teachers want and are
models of good conduct. In terms of Guilford’s description of
intellectual operations which we have explained in chapter ninth
on intelligence, such students might be classified as extremely
competent convergent thinkers. But such children are not very
innovative. They may become successful doctors, engineers,

professors and lawyers but they are not likely to make original
contributions. On the other hand rapid learners who do not respond
to instructions in expected ways might be classified as brilliant
divergent thinkers. In providing instructions to the capable rapid
learners the teachers should keep this aspect in mind.
The following are the other suggestions for teaching the rapid
learners :
1. Explore the possibility of giving accelerated promotions to
the rapid learners. In cosidered accelerated promotions the maturity
of the child in non-intellectual areas should also be taken into
consideration.
2. Provide horizontal or vertical enrichment. Horizontal
enrichment means giving a rapid learner who has finished an
assignment ahead of everyone else more material at the general
level of difficulty. The vertical enrichment involves giving a more
advanced work of the same general type.
3. Encourage rapid learners to take up individual study
projects. You may set up such projects in the form of a learning
contract, For example, if the class is studying Japanese the teacher
may assign a special study project to the rapid learner to study the
Japanese Industries or Japanese family pattern.
4. Stimulate them to make supplementary reading and writing.
5. Foster the development of creative hobbies and interests.
6. If there are willing persons in the area of the interest of the
gifted who can guide and help him try to bring them in contact
with each other, the gifted can learn much from them.
In the end we can cite the view of L.S. Hollingworth about
the education of such children. She says, ‘‘To take their unique
place in civilized societies, it would seem, therefore, that the
intellectually gifted need specially to know the evolution of culture
as it has been and since at eight or nine years of age, they are yet
ready for specialization, what they need to know is the evolution
of culture as it has affected common things’’. Among the common
things are included food, shelter, transportation and the like.
Throught these media, thinking can be stimulated and intellectual
curiosity can be satisfied.
4. Identification of Gifted Children—

The identification gifted children had been discussed in two
aspects—
(1) need of indentification and (2) Basis of identifying gifted
children.
(1) Need of Identification of Gifted Children—Sammual A
Krik has rightly stated that several gifted children remain undevelped
and their potentialities are not properly utilized by the society
because they have not been identified in schools. There is no
provision for them for special education. They are taught along
normal children in schools. The curriculum has been designed
inview of needs of average students. In democracy gifted children
are asset to the nation as well as to society. There is need to identify
such children. Two methods are commonly used—
1. Informal method or observation method is used by teachers
and parents, and
2. Formal or Testing method is used by teachers guides and
councellors. The intelligence tests are employed for this purpose.
(2) Basis of Identifying Gifted Children
The following qualities and behaviours are the basis for
identifying gifted children. A gifted child—
1. Learners rapidly and easily.
2. Uses a lot of common sense and practical knowledge.
3. Thinks clearly and recognized complex relationships and
comprehends meaning easily.
4. Good memory, makes less use of rote drill.
5. Better general knowledge.
6. Good in language.
7. Can read books that are one to two years in advance of
the rest of the class.
8. Performs difficult mantal tasks.
9. Has more curiosity.
10. Possesses wide range of interests.
11. Is keen observer and good vocabulary?
12. Is quicky in reaction and language proficeincy?
13. Use original but unusual methods or ideas.
14. Has high intelligence.

15. Has better concentration and attention.
16. Interest in and liking for books.
(3) Procedure of Identifying Gifted Children
The formal method is most appropriate for identifying such
children. The commonly used procedures are as follows—
1. By administering intelligence tests may be verbal, non-
verbal and performance.
2. By administering, achievement tests scholastic tests.
3. By observing cummulative and academic record.
4. By collecting observations and opinions of teachers,
parents, friends and neighbour.
5. By the participation in co-curricular activities of schools
and social functions.
5. Problems of Gifted Children—
The gifted children have their own problems which are related
to their adjustment in different areas—
1. Problem of adjustment in family
2. Adjustment in school,
3. Adjustment in society
4. Mental adjustment
5. Teaching methods and unsuitable curriculum
6. In case their giftedness is not recognized they may become
preverted intelligent. They may show hostile attitude and
fell themselves as rejected unwanted and isolated. They
may develop inferiority complex and insecurity.
7. It the classroom work is easy for them they may not take
interest, and therefore may feel boredom in class. They
may become truant or may use daydreaming of fantasy
for the work of higher level.
8. If they do not get proper guidance they may develop the
tendency of negativism.
9. If they do not get favourable attitude or love, affection
and sympathy form elders they may join gangs.
10. It these children of not get good friends of their level,
their social development is blocked.
11. If they get over attention of parents and teachers, may

develop boastful and conceited attitude and tendencies.
12. Because of varied interest they find themselves in great
difficulty in choosing right type of school subjects and
vocations in future life.
Causes and factors for the problem of gifted children—The
following may be causes for their problems—
1. Unsuitable curriculum, 2. Objective of teachers and students
criticism, 3. Unintelligent questions of Teachers, 4. Poor library,
5. Poor Quality of teacher, 6. Unintelligent assignment. 7. Poor
socioeconomic status. 8. No provision for activities like-internsive
work in literature, reviewing books, making abstracts, termpapers,
editorial, booklets, folders, writing of stories etc., 9. Carelessness
in establishing goals, 10. Non stimulation or appreciation to
Individual Research or creative work in school and home, 11. No
opportunity to meet eminent persons and 12. Poor methods of
teaching, 13. There is no challenging task for him, 14. There is no
freedom for expression as he is out spoken, 15. Lack of creative
teaching or problems solving in classroom.
6. Educational Provisions for Gifted Children—
It is evident from the above discussion related gifted children
that they possess different mental, social and emotional
characteristics. Therefore, it is essential to have advanced
curriculum, methods of teaching, school problems and qualified
trained teachers. Our present system and programmes of education
is highly structured schedule, basically it has been designed for
normal students. The following may be objectives. Methods
approaches, curriculum and qualities of teachers for gifted children.
Objectives of Education
The following may be objectives in addition to the objectives
formulated for normal children :
1. To further increase the range of their knolwedge, skill and
understanding.
2. To develop an alertness, initiative and creative power.
3. To develop an attitude of critical thinking.
4. To develop power of work independently and independent
thinking.
5. To develop leadership and social efficiency.

6. To accelerate the process of problem solving.
7. To enhance the capacity of adjustment in home, school
and society with normal children.
Approaches of Teaching
Three main approaches which may be used for gifted children—
(1) Acceleration Approach, (2) Enrichment approach and (3) Special
group approach.
(1) Acceleration Approach—It is an old approach for gifted
education. The term ‘acceleration’ refers to the school process of
educational programmes-early entrance into school, skipping entire
grades, doing more work per year (perheps 3 year’s work in two
years or doing advanced work for advanced standing).
(2) Ability Grouping—has type types of classes. (i) Special
classes, and (ii) Special teles coping grades schools. Acceleration
is defined as progress through an educational programme at a faster
rate of a age younger than convention disces.
Evaluation—(1) It is not possible to find out separate time
for these students. (2) This is costly affair (3) Causes wrong
Psychology or impressions on others, or feel jealous
(4) Undermocratic (5) Intellectual aristocracy. Therefore, it is not
psychological method, but open education system can be introduced
for levels to meet the demands of gifted children.
(3) Enrichment Approach—The enrichment of curriculum
must be both qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative enrichment
of curriculum means that gifted children should have greater
opportunity than average children. Quality refers the depth while
quantity enrichment means breadth of the content or work.
1. The programme for gifted child should respresent an
extension of general educational objectives.
2. The educational programmes generate a stimulating
learning environment both in school and outside the school.
3. The programme should place a special emphasis on creative
ability, insight and social responsibilities.
4. The educational programme should promote basic
fundamental skills knowledge, appreciation and creativity etc.
Educational Provisions in Terms of Curriculum, Teaching

Methodologies and Evaluation for the Gifted Children
1. Enrichment Programmes—Enrichment cosists in giving
the gifted child the opportunity to go deeper or to read more
intensively than the average child in his intellectual, social and
artistic experience. Such a programme may be characterized by
(1) Emphasis upon the creative or experimental pursuit; (2)
Emphasis on developing the skill of investigation and learning; (3)
Independent work, stressing initiative and originality; (4) High
standard of accomplishment; (5) Co-operative planning and activity
that provides opportunity for leadership training and experiences
in social adjustment; (6) Individual attention to be given by the
teacher to student; (7) Providing first-hand experiences; (8)
Flexibility of organization and procedure; (9) Extensive reading;
and (10) Concern with community responsiblity.
2. The Triple Track Plan—In this type of learning plan, there
are three tracks or courses :
(a) The first is for the dull child who may cover it in a longer
duration of time.
(b) The second one is for the average child who covers it in
an average period of time.
(c) The third is for the child of superior intelligence. He covers
the entire work in a shorter period of time due to his intelligence,
efforts and initiative.
Such a system has been adopted in many schools in the United
States.
3. Rapid Promotion—Gifted children should be promoted to
the next higher grade as soon as they achieve the target of a
particular grade.
4. Special Schools—In some countries special schools are
organized for gifted children. Some educationists have pointed out
some limitations in organising such schools.
5. Acceleration—Acceleration offers opportunity for a gifted
pupil to move at a pace appropriate to his ability and maturity and
to complete an educational programme in less than the ordinary
amount of time. It involves advancing the gifted child rapidly from
grade to grade in school.
6. Segregation or Ability Grouping—The gifted pupils may

be placed in special groups for the entire or part of the school day.
The purpose of ability grouping is usually to provide for enrichment
of children’s experiences in both depth and breadth and to permit
the children to stimulate one another.
7. Summer programmes—Special cultural and educational
programmes may be organised for gifted children during the
summer season. This approach is being tried in U.S.A. and in a
limited measure in our country as well.
8. Scholarships—Gifted children should be given special
scholarships for pursuing their studies. This will lead the gifted
child in the right direction.
9. Special Visits—Group of gifted children may formally visit
places of historical, industrial, geographical and economic interest.
This would enable them to understand and appreciate important
places of social value also.
10. Contact with Eminent Persons—Gifted children may
show interest in any speical field of activities. Their meetings may
be fixed up with persons of eminence of that particular field.
11. Proper Educational and Vocational and Personal
Guidance and Counselling—The gifted children should receive
proper guidance in all areas of life so that their total development
is of an optimum level.
The role of the counsellor in the promotion of talent can be
very important. The counsellor with his detailed knowledge of each
talented students is in a unique position to formulate a programme
of enrichment for him and to suggest the necessary modifications
in the curricular and co-curricular requirements. Where trained
counsellors are not available, this task will fall on the teachers. It
will, therefore, be necessary to train teachers for this responsibility
through in-service seminars and special courses. It should be
impressed on them that the class-room atmosphere and the attitudes
of teachers is of considerable importance. In a social and
educational set-up like ours where the relationship between the
teachers and the taught is still largely authoritarian, the general
tendency is to suppress any urges and interests that deviate from
the class-room. The first requirement for the promotion of talent,
therefore, is for the teachers to create an atmosphere of free

expression is the class-room and to provide opportunities for
creative work.
We may remember the words of wisdom said by A.N.
Whitehead, ‘‘Any race which does not value trained intelligence is
doomed.’’
5.4. LEARNERS WITH SPECIFIC LEARNING
DISABILITIES
1. Meaning and Definitions of Children with Learning
Disability—Those children who suffer from serious learning
disabilities are known as learning disabled children or children with
learning disability. In this regards, following definitions will help
us in understanding the meaning of Disabled Children.
1. View of the Association of Children with Learning
Disabilities—In 1967, the Association observed, ‘‘Children with
learning disabilities are those children who have central nervous
system dysfunctions which is expressed primarily in impaired
learning efficiency.’’
2. View of the National Advisory Committee of the U.S.A.
for the Handicapped (1969)—The Committee states, ‘‘Specific
learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or in using
language spoken or written, that may manifest itself in a imperfect
ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical
calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual
disabilities, brain injusry, minimal brain dysfuction, dyslexia and
development aphasia. The term does not apply to children who
have learning problems that are primarily the result of visual,
hearing, or motor disabilities, of metal regardation, of emotional
distrubance, or of environmental, cultural or economic
disadvantages.’’
3. View of the Word Federation of Neurology—The
Federation defines the term as ‘‘A disorder mainfested by difficulty
in learning to read despite conventional instructional, adequate
intelligence and social-cultural opportunity. It is dependent upon
fundamental cognitive disabilities which are frequently of
constitutional origin.’’
4. View of Kavale and Forness—They define learning

disabilities as, ‘‘People with learning disabilities do not learn in the
same way or as efficiently as their non-disabled peers. Although
most possess normal intelligence, their academic performance is
significantly behind their classmates. Some how great difficulty in
learning and mathematics, but most find the mastery of reading
and writing to be their most difficult challenge.’’
An Analysis of these definitions would reveal the following
elements: relating to the meaning and concept of the term ‘learning
disability’—
1. Learning disability refers to certain kind of disorder in the
basic psychological process of the learner.
2. The disorder is mainly caused by some intrinsic element
lying within the individual. This element may be central nervious
system dysfunction—Some brain or neurological damange
obstructing learner’s learning ability, specific deficiencies in
information processing or in the ability to learn.
3. Learning disability in general is not the direct result of
extrinsic elements like mental retardation, sensory impairment,
emotional distrubance, cultural differences, lack of educational
opportunities, poverty, etc., though any of these elements may
exercise some influence on learning disability.
4. Learning disability is usually manifested in one or two
cognitive areas like inability to grasp or understand things. Disorder
may be manifested in language related areas like communication,
written or reading language. It may also occur in acquiring
mathematical or social skills.
5. On account of learning disability, a learner always lags
behind in terms of his educational progress in comparison to the
peers of his class and age.
6. Learning disabilities may lead to a distinct gap between
learner’s potential and actual educational performance. Thus the
learner may need special educational service, care and attention
for his adjustment.
2. Characteristics of the Children with Learning Disability
1. A learner with learning disability suffers from serious
learning disorders or problems on account of several
reasons.
2. A learners faces significant difficulty in acquiring and

using language—listening, speaking, reading, writing,
reasoning or mathematical ability or social skills.
3. A learner may exhibit symptoms of hyperactivity and
impulsivity.
4. A learner may suffer from emotional problems.
5. A learner may demostrate signs of anxiety.
6. A learner may become moody.
7. A learner suffers from severely imparied learning hand
or inefficiency which is just as real as crippled hand.
8. A learner dislays a significant gap between his learning
potential and acutal educational achievement.
9. A learner with learning disability may exhibit disorders
of attention, thinking, memory, perception. etc.
10. Such a learner lacks motivation.
11. A learner with learning disability may have normal
intelligence.
12. A learner with learning disability may have a good vision,
sound ears and above all robust body.
13. Such a learner requires special educational services.
3. Educational Implications
1. Methods of Identification of Learning Disabled Children
(a) Standardised diagnostic tests :
(b) Ability tests; and
(c) Achievement test.
2. Educational Provisions for the Learning Disabled
(a) Making provision for special classes;
(b) Making provision for special schools;
(c) Making provision for remedial educational services; and
(d) Improving the existing environmental set-up.
5. Learning Disabilities in Specific Area
A. Languages
1. Problems in reading—accuracy, speed and
compehension.
2. Repeated spelling errors.
3. Using reversal letters when read or written, e.g., was-

saw; quiet-quiet
4. Delayed spoken language.
5. Error in letter naming.
6. Difficulty in learning and remembering printed works.
7. Cramped or illigible handwriting.
8. Lack of awareness of sound in words.
9. Difficulty in finding the correct word when speaking.
B. Disabilities in Mathematics
(i) Difficulty in calculations.
(ii) Difficulty in sequencing of steps.
5. Remedial Measures for some Specific Learning
Deficiencies
1. Remedial Measures for Developing Reading Skills
(i) Phonetic guidance and drill should be used in the
case of learners who cannot pronounce a word,
letter or sound correctly.
(ii) Model reading should be demonstrated to learners
who are handicapped with inadequacy or wrong type
of reading.
(iii) Multi-sensory techniques should be used with learners
who feel difficulty in comprehension. Stories,
discussions and personal experiences may be used.
(iv) Meaning of difficult words should be explained
through concrete materials.
2. Remedial Measures for Removing Handwriting
Disabilities
(i) Using manipulative exercises for strengthening muscles.
The learners should be provided opportunities in writing letters by
manupulative exercises like writing on sands, clay modelling games
and doing chalk-board practice etc.
(ii) Assisting learners to learn proper position and form of
writing, i.e., holding writing instrument—pen or pencil between
thumb and middle finger with index finger applying pressure.
(iii) Helping learners taping alphabet forms to the floor and

asking them to reproduce forms with coloured chalk.
(iv) Helping learners in building appropriate associations
for the shape of letter.
(v) Giving sufficient practice to learners to write in straight
line. Lined paper may be used for this purpose. Graphs can also be
used.
(vi) Advising and providing where needed ink, paper and
pencil of good quality.
(vii) Helping learners to write legibly from the very
beginning.
(viii) Helping learners to maintain proper links and gaps
between the lines and curves of the letter.
(iv) Asking learners to avoid cutting and orverlapping in
their written work.
(3) Remedial Measures for Improving Thinking Reasoning
Ability of Children with Learning Disabilities :
1. Data Collection—Initially, the learners should be asked to
collect data by listening, reading, doing and observing.
2. Analysis of data—The learners should be asked simple
questions on the data and helped to analyse the same, and to find
the similarities and dissimilarities.
3. Classification of data—The learners should be asked to
classify data in groups. Some examples may be given from the
data. They should be asked to find some other ways of classifying
data. Examples should be given for how to discriminate.
4. Integration—The learners should be asked to integrate this
new information and new experience with their existing knowledge
and experience.
Standardised Material for Use with Children Having
Learning Disabilities :
1. Reading Diagnostic Test by Gates Mackillop.
2. Diagnostic Test in Decimal Systems and Percentages by
V.P. Sharma and Shukla.
3. Standford Diagnostic Arithmetic Test by Betty, Madden

and Gardener.
4. Durrell Anaylsis of Reading Difficulty by Durrell.
5. Marianne Frosting Development Test of Visual Perception
of Frosting, Lefever and Whittlesey.
6. Look, Cover, Write Check Method by Margaret Peters.
7. Listening to Children Reading—a book by Helen Arnold.
6. Teaching Strategies to be used in Case of Children with
Learning Disabilities :
1. Educational Services—Educational services should be
provided to learners as early as any disability is detected.
2. Assessment techniques—Assessment techniques including
cumulative records should be used.
3. Individualise education programme—Individualise
Education Programme (IEP) where possible. Integrate children with
learning disabilities into those without learning disabilities.
4. Adaptive approach—Adaptive approach should be used.
The term ‘adaptive approach’ refers to the modification of school
learning environments to respond to learner’s differences and to
enhance the individual’s ability to succeed in learning and such
environments.
5. Multi-sensory approaches—Multi-sensory approaches
should be developed and used with children who feel difficulty in
reading, comprehension. Stories, discussions and personal
experiences should be shared.
6. Concrete materials—Concrete examples and materials
should be used.
7. Model—‘Model what learners are to do’’ rather just telling
them ‘‘what to do’’.
8. Co-teaching—The technique of co-teaching should be
adopted. Co-teaching is the process by which a regular classroom
professional and a special educator or person trained in disabled
learner education team teach.
9. Self-practise—Let children practice or perform a certain

behaviour.
10. Identify tasks—Identify appropriate tasks which learners
can accomplish on their own.
11. Classroom schedule—Create a dependable classroom
schedule.
12. Encourage parents—Encourage parents to vounteer at
school and to read to their children at home.
5.5. HOW WOULD A TEACHER, AMONG INDIVIDUAL
DIFFERENCES AND TEACH IN A LARGE CLASSROOM
(Role of Teacher to minimize Individual Differences.)
In a classroom there are different types of learners. These
need a specific attention and solution in order to make them equal
and happy in learning and improve their competence as well. A
widely known approach used to deal with the needs and interests
of students is learner-centered approach. It places the learner in the
center of the learning process. In this approach, students are active
participant in their learning; they learn at their own pace and use
their own strategies; they are more intrinsically than extrinsically
motivated. But the problem that poses itself is that in the large
number of students teachers have in the classroom with plenty of
individual differences and learning styles. Thus, understanding
learner differences in classrooms and finding ways to appropriately
and efficiently deal with each student is a must for teachers to meet
their needs.
How to teach in classes with mixed abilities and individual
differences
some effective ways for instructors to follow in order to provide
an optimal learning environment for every student.
1. Flexible-differentiated instruction in teaching and learning:
According to Pellegrino (2004) instruction refers to methods
of teaching and the learning process used to help students practice
their skills about the curriculum content and objectives specified

and reach the standards have been arranged Dijkstra defined it as
the communicative interaction between a student and a teacher
and instructional design is a set of rules to design and develop the
verbally and written communicative interaction. It means that
instruction focuses on the interaction methods of both teachers and
students and can be run by a variety of activities, sequences of
tasks and topic orders to be practice.
Giving appropriate instruction in the classroom is necessary
to develop teaching and learning process. From the part of teacher,
teaching may be effective accepted and from part of students,
learning may be more effective process to gain the maximum
progress based on learning objectives because an appropriate
instruction is applied in the classroom. Willis stated that the rapid
progress of students and the high standard of attainment can be
reached by giving the appropriate instruction in learning.
Using the two terms (teaching and learning) shows the
flexibility of teacher roles in the classroom. Teaching may cause
learning. It means learning occurs because of teaching process.
Learning is a feedback to improve teaching. In short, Moore
concludes that learning is the implication of teaching. Teaching,
according to Chambers and Gregory is a complex of activities,
strategies, mechanisms, invitations, stimuli and rhetorical ploys
designed to help students learn and to become better learners. It
can be concluded that teaching is a transmitting process to teach
knowledge and skills to someone by involving teachers activities
and strategies and learning is a conscious and follow up process to
master the knowledge and skill by involving ones styles, motivation,
strategies and other potential energy to learn. Although two closed
terms have a slightly different meaning, it would be a burning issue
of shifting role of teacher from teaching to learning. This issue, as
stated by Stern (1992), is expected to bring great chance in teaching
and learning process by arranging roles of teachers from teacher-
centered instruction to learner-centered instructional though it is

flexible. The flexibility of instruction is dependent on where and
what condition of the classroom, the students group learning, and
individual students in the classroom. Flexibility can be arranged if
teachers have knowledge about the heterogeneity of students in
the classroom.
Flexibility means giving chance for students to practice their
knowledge and skills (learning), but when they find difficulties,
teachers require helping them to overcome their difficulties
(teaching). This flexibility does not mean teachers just give their
students an umber of learning tasks and leave them but they guide
students to get knowledge and skills. Weimer stated that teachers
need to present power balance in the classroom. The power balance,
according to him, means more democratic, teachers? view of
students with owning power to learn and to view education with
many possibilities of different varieties of learning.
In teaching and learning, it is not only enough to use flexible
instruction, but differentiated instruction is also important. The isen
concluded that differentiated instruction offers various learning
instructional choices towards different readiness of students in the
classroom. In differentiated instruction, teachers try to involve
students in their own ways and own potency in learning. It becomes
an effective way for teachers to deliver meaningful instruction.
Consequently, in differentiated instruction, every student is possible
to do the same thing in the same time, but use the same way. Its
instruction is not a set of strategies, but it is a belief of the teacher
to show a proactive way toward diversity of students in the
classroom. Pellegrino (2004) also stated that in applying
differentiated instruction, teachers implement the multi intelligences
that affect students development.
When flexibility of teachers in positioning their own roles
and differentiated instruction they used in the classroom are
combined to facilitate students, it becomes a great potency to reduce
diversity of students in learning. Students also may find happiness

and readiness in learning in their own potency. Flexible and
differentiated instruction would place teacher roles more effective
in delivering the lesson and place student role more flexible in
conducting their learning in their own way.
It is not important to dichotomize between learner-centered
instruction and teacher-centered instruction. If teachers are in the
classroom, they are impossible to only use learner-centered
instruction but also use teacher-centered instruction. The flexibility
of both instructions is dependent on teachers competence to
elaborate classroom circumstance. Lotan concluded that to reduce
the gap in heterogeneous classrooms and to develop equitable
classrooms, teachers need to build equal-status, flexible instruction
among students working together in small learning groups. This
condition invites teachers to understand and to implement
pedagogical instruction with flexible and differentiated instruction
in their own ways based on the range and diversity of students
intellectual competence and try to develop students potency.
Additionally, in order to re-conceive the dichotomy of teacher-
centeredness and student-centeredness, Clarke and Seah adopted
a more integrated and comprehensive approach, by analyzing both
public interactions in the form of whole class discussion and
interpersonal interactions that took place between teacher and
student and between student and student during between-desk-
instruction. Because of the condition, Huang, Rongj in and Frederick
stated that the teacher can still encourage students to actively
generate knowledge through creating proper and integrated
dimensions of variation although the whole class teaching is under
the teachers control. Thus, it seems to suggest that creating certain
dimensions of variation is crucial for effective knowledge generation
in large classrooms. The integration of learner centered and teacher
centered in a classroom is difficult to be avoided to instruct students
well.
From both scholars: Lotan and Weimer, it concluded that the

shift from teacher centered to learner centered does not mean
teachers are rigid but teachers are crucial to see students individual
differentiation to create flexibility to face their students in the
classroom. To be effective in teaching and learning process with
students involvement in their own ways, understanding their
individual differences is a need. Attitudes, motivation and learning
strategies which are individual differences potentially appear among
students in the classroom. Well understanding those individual
differences will possibly more improve the effective teaching and
learning process. Because of understanding the students differences
in learning like age, gender, attitudes, motivation and strategies,
differential treatment could be applied as equality effort for each
student and reduce diversity for them.
In addition to the flexibility of instruction, there are some
strategies that are said to be at every teachers disposal to help the
different kinds of learners to learn. These include :
1. Getting to know students—Nothing undermines
stereotypes or misconceptions quicker than simple knowing
yourstudents. Learn something about their strengths, talents, and
interests and draw upon those in your interactions with them. And
remember, students who feel connected to you work harder.
2. Grouping Students by ability and interest—According to
Salvin grouping students with the same pace of learning together
allows the teacher to direct instruction and target advanced work
to the needs of a small group, rather than attempting to meet the
divergent needs of the entire class simultaneously.
3. Making sure that students know why the material is worth
learning. Students who are engaged and motivated will put more
effort into the course.
4. Creating a classroom where student input about content
and pedagogy is welcomed No doubt you will feel uncomfortable
when students criticize an aspect of your class or your teaching

style. But if you are to reach them effectively you need to encourage
them to reflect critically on their own learning.
5. Varying teachers presentation style—Because students
have diverse learning styles, consider using a variety of instructional
approaches: lectures, discussion, PowerPoint presentations, audio
(including music), video, charts and graphs, simulations and images.
6. Integrating small group learning into your teaching—
Collaborative and team-based learning, including pairs and small
group activities, allow students to learn from their peers.
Conclusion—To sum up, in the classroom, teachers aren’t
simply teaching one students with others different faces; they are
teaching different students, each with distinctive needs and talents,
and different levels of motivation, attention, knowledge, time to
devote to the class and maturity. Understanding learner differences
is a must for teachers to create and implement flexible and
differentiated instruction that would meet the needs of all kinds of
learners.
EXERCISE
1. What is Creativity ? Write down its Characteristics.
2. What do you know about the term ‘Slow Learner’ ? Write
down the causes of Slow Learner ?
3. Give the meaning and definitions of Gifted Children. How
we can identity thhe Gifted Children ?
4. What are the various problems of Gifted Children ?
5. Write down the Characteristics of the Children with Learning
Disabilities.
6. What is the role of teacher to minimize the Individual
Difference ?

1. How you can identify a Creative Child ?
2. Write down two measures of Creativity ?
3. Write down three problems of Slow Learner Children.
4. Write down the characteristics of Gifted Children.
5. How we can identify the Gifted Children ? Write in brief.
6. What are the Specific Learning Disabilities ?
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT :
6 MEANING, STAGES,
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT DURING
CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE
6.1. CONCEPT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Social Development encompasses a commitment to individual
and societal well-being and the opportunity for citizens to deter-
mine their own and their society’s needs and to influence deci-
sions that affect these. Social change incorporates public concerns
in developing social policy and economic initiatives.
Until relatively recently, social development was conceived
in terms of a set of desirable results - higher incomes, longer life
expectancy, lower infant mortality, more and better education etc.
Recently emphasis has shifted from the results to the enabling con-
ditions, strategies and public policies for achieving those results.
But still little attention has been placed on the underlying social
process of development that determines how society formulates,
adopts, initiates and organies; and few attempts have been made to
formulate such a framework.
Social development is defined in the broadest social terms as
an upward directional movement of society from lesser to greater
levels of energy, efficiency, quality, productivity, complexity, com-
prehension, creativity, choice, mastery, enjoyment and accomplish-
ment. Growth and development usually go together, but they are
different phenomena subject to different laws. Growth involves an
expansion of existing types and forms of activities. Development
involves a qualitative enhancement. Social development is driven
by the subconscious aspirations of society for advancement or
progress. Society (and individuals) will seek the progressive ful-
fillment of a prioritized hierarchy of needs.
Social development involves learning the values, knowledge
and skills that enable children to relate to others effectively and to
contribute in positive ways to family, school and the community.
This kind of learning is passed on to children directly by those
237
who care for and teach them, as well as indirectly through social
relationships within the family or with friends, and through
children’s participation in the culture around them. Through their
relationships with others and their growing awareness of
social values and expectations, children build a sense of who they
are and of the social roles available to them.
6.1.1. MEANING OF SOCIAL GROWTH
The Social development of the child is associated with other
features of his growth. The child as he grows up not only develops in
physical, mental, emotional and attitudinal behaviour, but side by side
with this, in his social behaviour also.
This childs mental development is clearly characterized by his
social development. We learn about the earliest signs of intellect in his
behaviour when he mixes with the other members of his family or society.
He uses a language which involves intellectual symbols. The language
is a mode to communicate his thoughts and feelings to others.
Undoubtedly, this is a social process. As the language ability develops
there is growth in his social relations. Similarly, emotional and social
developments are linked. Most of the emotional states of the child have
social significance and many of the social problems create emotional
problems. Sorenson says that ‘‘By social growth and development we
mean the increasing ability to get along well with oneself and others.’’
This implies that as the individual matures there occurs a change in his
tastes, attitudes and behaviour. This change is necessary because on
the basis of it the individual is able to adjust himself properity in his
social environment. For example, a small girl can play with her dolls
without being commented upon. But if she continues playing with dolls
even after she has grown up into a woman, her maturity will be doubted.
Her interests should change with the advancement of her age.
‘‘Social growth occurs on account of social functioning under a
particular set of circumstances’’. As stated above, social growth must
be progressive in nature. From one level of development it should pass
to the next level of development.
Francis F. Powers defines social growth as. ‘‘The progressive
improvement, through directed activity of individual in the comprehension
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT : MEANING, STAGES, CHARACTERISTICS ... 239
of the social heritage and the formation of flexible conduct patterns of

reasonable conformity with this heritage. ’’ Let us discuss as to what is
meant by this definition.
The above definition implies that there should be progessive
improvement. The individual interacting with his environment should be
able to adjust himself continually. The children in their childhood will be
dependent on their parents. When they become nature, this dependence
should give place to self-care and satisifaction of their needs by
themselves. This is what we mean by progressive improvement.
The above definition has another implication also. It is that the
individual must understand the social heritage of his own group. He is to
from such conduct patterns or habits that will bring about his effective
adjustment to this heritage. This means that the individual for his proper
growth has to understand as to what are the norms of his proper growth
has to understand as to what are the norms of his group, what are its
traditions or customs; what are its peculiarties and how it reacts to
many individual aspirations and inspirations. This understanding is in
itself not sufficient unless he adjusts himself to the patterns of his group
by forming proper habits. It may however, be remembered that his
process is quite complex as within the same group there may be many
sub-cultures and he has to conform to all of these if he is to have the
right type of progress.
6.1.2. SOCIALIZATION, INDIVIDUALIZATION AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIP
The individual individuality and socialbility develop side by side.
Individulization and socialization are complementary for the development
of proper personality. The child as he grows up develops social interests.
He begins to mix with other fellows and starts participating in various
social activities. But side by side with this his individuality also progresses.
He learns to assert himself effectively. He does not tolerate criticisms
and develops a regard for his own individuality. Thus, the development of
social tendency in the child also develops his individualization. The child
may love to play with other children. But he will also be every conscious
of his toys which he will not allow others to take away from him.
6.1.3. LEVELS OF SOCIAL MATURITY

It is difficult to define the level of social maturity. There are no
distinct levels of social development. Even the most competent
psychologist finds it difficult to organize the development of socialbility
at different levels. However, we can say that the level of socialization
of a person can be judged by taking into consideration the relation
between his conduct and the normal adjustment for his age and group.
viz., motor, emotional and abstract mental control. To understand this, if
a childs age of socialbility tallies with his chronological age, we should
consider some general trends in the development of socialibility.
The following general trends in stages of social development may
be noted :
1. Awareness of Others—The child begins to show awareness
of others during the first few months of his life. He smiles when an
individual approaches him. His attitude is essentially that of attracting
attention of others and his social responses are especially directed
towards the adults.
2. Mixing in the Social Group —The child is able to take notice
of other children when he is about six months old. But till the middle of
the second year, he does not take part in co-operative plays etc. with
them. The child from two years to five or six years shows from year to
year in increasing amount of social meaning in the form of joint action
or play.
Children, when they enter school are usually highly socialized, but
their group is a narrow one. In the schools, they confront a bigger group.
Out of this select or form a small group in which they give vent to their
social feelings. They may, however, have a passing acquanitace with
the other members of their class or with some other students of their
schools. As they emerge out either as the leaders or the followers of a
leader in a large social grouping, they begin to take more interest in the
activities of the class or the school in either capacity.
Children slowly develop interest in team work and organized group
activities. According to Furfey. ‘‘There is a time in a boy’s life when
team games become more interesting than the individual play.’’ At this
age, the child takes relatively much more interest in the group and wants
to join clubs, etc. Furfey on the basis of his observations mentions that
at 10 years of age most of the children would have reached that stage
where they develop team spirit. But there may also be many boys at
this age level whose interest in the group may not be marked and their
behaviour may still be individualistic.
The child when about 10 years of age participates keenly in
competitive games. He now develops great affinity to the team of which
he is member. He is not so much interested in individualistic performance.
The goal of winning the game by his team is usually the uppermost in
him.
The child need something more than the more love of his mother.
He wants to participate in group games.
3. Change in the Boy-Girl Relationship—Boys and girls
participate actively on equal terms during early childhood. Later on, the
social customs, etc. put barrier on their such participation. They develop
more interest in the companions of their own sex. Much of the group
activity till the adolescence period is in the group which belongs to the
child’s own sex.
At puberty, children again begin to take interest in the other sex.
They seek company of children belonging to the other sex and joint or
mixed groups are formed. It may, however, be noted that in our country
owing to different cultural patterns this mixing of sexes is avoided and
even at the pubescent stage the groups in which a child is found to
participate comprise the members of his own sex. But their interest in
the other sex cannot be denied as much of the talk at this age in the
group is about the other sex. It cannot be denied that this segregation of
sexes in our culture has aroused many complicated problems and it is
often alleged that it is one of the main causes of indiscipline in our
schools and colleges.
6.2. AGE SPAN FOR THE STAGES OF PSYCHO-
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Stage of psycho-social Specific age or period
development
Trust vs. Mistrust Birth to 1½ years
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt 1½ years to 3 years
Initiative vs. Guilt 3 to 6 years
Industry vs. Inferiority 6 to 12 years
Identity vs. Role Confusion Adolescence (12 to 20 years)
Intimacy vs. Isolation Early adulthood (20 to 45 years)
Generativity v. Stagnation Middle adulthood (45 to 65 years)
Ego integraity vs. Despair Later adulthood (65 years
onwards)
Description of Stages (along with Significance and
implications)
Stage I—The period of trust vs. mistrust (Birth to 1½ yeras).
In the first one and a half years of life, the infant is confronted with the
crisis termed trust vs. mistrust. During this period the baby is completely
dependent upon its mother or caretaker for the satisifcation of its needs.
The way it is nourished, handled, protected and kept safe and comfortable
at this stage may provide the baby with a sense of security or insecurity,
a feeling of trust or mistrust in the mother or caretaker and ultimately in
its surroundings. The sense of trust or mistrust with regard to the
environment gained in this way at this stage of development may then
be carried over to the stages of development to follow and consequently
reflected in the developing personality.
In this way it becomes quite essential for the parents and caretakers
to care for the baby in the way he or she feels satisified and gains a
sense of security and feeling of trust in the caretakers.
Stage II : The period of autonomy vs. shame and doubt (1½
to 3 years)—Having gained a primary sense of trust and security with
regard to his environment, in the second and third years of his life, the
child now passes through the second stage of psycho-social development.
With the newly developed motor or physical skills and language ability,
the child now engages in exploring his environment and experimenting
with his strengths and limitations for achieving a sense of autonomy and
independence. The child now needs proper safety measures against

the risks involved in activities like walking, running, pulling and handling
the objects of his environment or in terms of learning undesirable language
but this does not mean that he should be denied a reasonable degree of
freedom to acquire a sense of independence. Within the bounds of safety,
he must be provided adequate opportunities for the acquisition of a
sense of autonomy and knowledge about his limitations.
Children who are denied the opportunitiy to develop a sense of
independence by over protective, harsh or restricitive parents begin to
doubt their ability and ultimately begin to feel embarrassed or ashmaed
in the presence of others. However, the development of the sense of
doubt and shame within reasonable limits is not harmful. A healthy sense
of doubt helps the child to set his own limits and the development of
shame helps him to develop a sense of right and wrong. Therefore, at
this stage of psycho-social development, the child needs to be helped in
striking a balance between the confliciting needs of his social environment
to acquire a sense of autonomy and develop a sense of doubt and shame
for the adequate development of his personality.
Stage III : The period of initiative vs. guilt (3 to 6 years)—
The third stage of psycho-social development between three to six years
of age is characterized by the crisis of initiative versus guilt. Equipped
with the sense of trust and autonomy the child now begins to take initiative
in interacting with his environment. He asks questions about each and
everything, explores his environment ceaselessly and engages in planning
and carrying out activities of various kinds. The extent to which the
inititiaive for carrying out physical and mental exploration is encouraged
or discouraged by the parents and the available social environment,
goes a long way in developing ability in the child to initiate plan and
carry out these activities in later life.
In case the child is discouraged from taking the initiative by his
parents and guardians not having faith in him, or is pulled down by
unhealthy criticism, punishment or rebuke for minor failures, the childs
is sure to develop a sense of guilt leading to hesitation, indecision and
lack of initiative in planning and carrying out his life activities. Although
in case of failure he feels a reasonable amount of guilt for having failing
to take the initiative at the right time or made mistakes in planning and
carrying out his activities, this enables him to learn from his failures.
However, to allow this to develop into a guilty conscience is harmful to

the development of the child personality. Therefore, there is a need to
resolve this crisis of initiative vs. guilt at this stage of pscyo-social
development and it can be properly done if we allow the child to
experiment with his initiative by properly supervising and guiding his
activities and encouraging him to develop a habit of self-evaluation of
the results of his initiative.
Stage IV : Period of industry vs. inferiority (6 to 12 years)
— Generally, by this age children begin to attend to school where they
are made to learn various skills and the teachers as well as the school
enviornment generate pressures on them to work hard in order to perform
well. Parents also now begin to make demands upon the children to
lend their with household duties or in some cases saddle them with
occupational responsibilities. They have also to compete with their peers
in terms of competence or productivity in school and other social situation.
Now, in case the child performs well in school, home or in other social
environments or is admired for his intellectual or motor pursuits he well
be likely to develop a sense of industry filled with a sense of
achievement. Such a child will consequently be motivated to work harder
and achieve more in terms of competency and productivity. On the
other hand, if his performance remains inferior to that of his peers or he
does not satisfy his teachers and parents with his performance, he may
begin to look down upon himself and develop a sense of inferiority.
The teachers and the school environment thus play a very
significant role in helping the child out of the industry versus inferiority
crisis. For the child, the school becomes the place where success and
failure are defined. Therefore, it is the duty of the teachers and school
authorities to structure their classroom and school environment in such
a way as to help the students to maintain a positive attitude and view
themselves as capable and valuable individulas.
Stage V : The period of identity vs. role confusion (12 to 19
years)—This stage, beginning with the advent of puberty, is marked
with the crisis of identity vs. role confusion. Equipped with the sense
of trust, autonomy, initiative and industry, adolescence begin to search
for their own personal identity. The sudden changes in their bodies and
mental functioning and the altered demands of society compel them to
ask questions of themselves like, who am I? What have I become? Am
I the same person I used to be? What am I supposed to do and in which

manner am I to behave?
Erickson asserts that at this stage, the adolescent’s search by
questioning and redefining his own socio-psychological identity
established during earlier stages is definitely linked with (a) his sudden
and rapid bodily changes, and (b) anxiety and pressures related to this
need to make decisions about his future education and career.
Consequently, the adolescent tries to search for his new role and identity.
He experiments with various sexual, occupational and educational roles
to understand who he is and what he can be.
The extent to which an individual is able to develop a sense of
identity will depend upon the degree of success he achieves in resolving
the crisis related to all the previous stages. Failure in resolving the crises
of those periods would be likely, at this stage, to result in role confusion
and consequently the individual will not be able to find himself. He may
then feel completely bewildered, not knowing what to do and how to
behave on his own. He may be unable to make the decision about his
educational on professional career or about making friends. The lack of
self identification and role confusion may also lead to over indentification
with villains and clowns, showing a type of childish and impuslive
behaviour or developing conformity in tast and style and intolerance of
others. On the other hand, if the psycho-social development of the
adolescent results in his achieving a sense of identity, it will result in the
individual of the adolescent results in his achieving a sense of identity. it
will results in the individual developing the required confidence in his
ability to do things, make him properly balanced in terms of emotional
reactions and will place him in harmony with his environment.
Teachers and parents can play a very constrcutive role in helping
adolescents through this identity versus confusion crisis. The adolescents,
craving for identity must be fully recognized and it should be clearly
understood that adolescents want to be identified as adults and must.
Therefore, be treated as such and not as children as many teachers and
parents tend to do. They should never be belittled or humiliated in front
of their peers or anyone else for that matter. They must be assigned
responsibilities independently or collectively and be trusted for their
promises and conduct.
Stage VI : The period of intimacy vs. isolation (20 to 45

years)—This is the sixth stage of psycho-social development and spans
the years of early adulthood. During this stage the individual tends to
develop a sense of intimacy or commitment to a close relationship with
another person.
Throwing light on this aspect Erickson (1950), writes :
Thus the young adult, emerging from the search for and the
insistance on identity, is eager and willing to fuse his identity with that of
others. He is ready for intimacy, that is, the capacity to commit himself
to concrete affiliations and partnerships and to develop the ethical strength
to abide by such commitments even though they may call for significant
sacrificies and compromises.
Thus, during this stage, the individual seeks to form close personal
attachements by merging his identity with that of another person. The
relationships develop into such a close involvement that he tends to risk
even the loss of his ego or image as is evidenced in the harmonious
relationships between husband and wife and intimate friends and in the
ideal relationship between a teacher and his pupil. The ultimate sense
of intimacy is clearly visible in terms of the mutual identity experienced
at the time of simultaneous organs in sexual intercourse with a loved
partner of the opposite sex. Another form of such intimacy is seen in
sacrifices made for one’s close friends or for members of one’s family.
The opposite of intimacy is isolation. When one fails to develop an
adequate sense of intimacy by merging one’s identity with that of another
person or when relations deteriorate for one reason or another, one
tends to develop a sense of isolation – a pulling away from relationships
and breaking off of ties. Alternatives have to be developed for intimate
relationships. It is essential to maintain equilibrium in such cases as the
deviation from or denial of intimate relationships is costly in terms of a
normal and happy life. This does not mean, however, that isolation is
altogether undesirable or harmful. A certain degree of isolation is crucial
to the maintence of ones individuality and the development of one’s
personality in the desired direction, but if it exceeds certain limits, it may
become a serious handicap to the establishment and maintenance of
close ties and may lead to loneliness and self-absorption. The crisis of
intimacy vs. isoloation needs to be resolved by striking a balance
between the two contradictory needs – the need for intimacy and the
need to maintain one’s individuality. The degree to which one succeeds

in resolving this crisis is said to secure one’s adjustment with one’s self
the world one lives in.
Stage VII : The period of creativity vs. stagnation (middle
adulthood – 45 to 65 years)—An individuals life up to this stage is
taken up with trying to establish himself in a professional career. Now,
he needs to satisfty his need for generativity, a concern to establish and
guide the next generation. This is realized through nuturing his own
children, guiding and directing other young people and by engaging in
some kind of creative, productive or fruitful activity that may prove
beneficial to society. Instead of caring only for himself or for those in
his family or friends who are close to him, he participates in the welfare
of the future generation as represented by his own children, pupils,
subordinates and young people in general. This is, in fact, an effort at
extension of one’s self and its merger with self or others in society.
As opposed to the sense of generativity, there is a tendency on the
part of the individual to become egoistic and selfish. This leads to
stagnation and personal impovement. Although it would be quite natural
to pause in one’s life’s work to reflect upon, evaluate and consolidate
one’s achievements and to regroup one’s energies for future productivity,
an excess of this habit may result in self-indulgence and pyschological
invalidism. A balanced adjustment between the extremes of the need fo
generativity and the need for inactivity is thus required so that in the
time of inactivity one may become more energetic and be able to put
renewed efforts into rendering service to society and future generation.
Stage VIII : The period of ego-integrity vs. despair (old
age, about 65 onwards)—This stage of psycho-social development is
associated with later adulthood or old age. Although the precise
commencement of old age cannot be determined because some people
remain physically and mentally active well into their eighties and nineties,
others feel, look and act old even in their fifities, yet biologically speaking,
old age may be said to begin when people cease to reproduce.
During this last stage of psycho-social development one is
confronted with the final crisis of one’s life span, termed ego-integrity
vs. despair. Ego-integrity refers to the integration or culmination of the
successful resolution of all the seven previous crises in the course of
one’s life. The successful resolution of the previous crises provides a
sense of fullfill and satisfaction to one’s ego. When one reflects on

one’s past and feels satisified over what has been done, one is sure to
develop a positive outlook about oneself and the world around. A person
with a developed sense of ego-integrity is at peace with the life he has
lived and has no major regrets over what could have been or for what
should have been done differently. On the other hand, persons who
have not been able to successfully resolve the previous crises of the
development stages are sure to feel differently. They look back on their
lives with despair and feel dissatisfied with the way they have lived
their lives. The thought that they now have no time left for changing the
course of their lives and doing what should have been done, makes
them feel miserable and consequently they are doomed to develop a
deep sense of despair. These people can become despearatley afraid
of death. On the other hand, people who have no regrets for the way
their lives have been lived and who have an admiration or love for their
ego are easily able to accept the inevitablitity of their death and live life
as fully as they call till their last breath.
At the same time, despair is not the absolute negative aspect of
one’s personality. To feel satisified or dissatisfied about one or the other
issue is common and natural. One may regret many mistakes and
deficiencies of ones life, but this should not stretched to the point where
one develops a sense of disaffection with ones ego and begins to hate
oneself and then sink into a state of utter depression. It is, therefore,
essential to strike a balance between the conflicting needs of ego-
integrity and despair and to successfully resolve the final crisis of ones
life resulting in a well-balanced optimistic outlook for oneself and the
outside world in order to live the remaining days of ones life as gracefully
and productivity as possible.
6.3. CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
DURING ALL STAGES
During all these developmental stages, human beings exhibit typical
behavioural characteristics in all dimensions of behaviour and personality
make up which are specific to each step. Let us have a comprehensive
view of these stages along with various characteristics.
1. Characteristics of Social Development—12 to 24 Month
 Less wary of strangers.
 Helps pick up and put away toys.
 Plays alone.
 Enjoys being held and read to.
 Often imitates adult actions in play.
 Enjoys adult attention ; likes to know that an adult is near;
gives hugs and kisses.
 Recognizes self in mirror.
 Enjoys the companionship of other children, but does not play
co-operatively.
 Begins to assert independence; often refuses to cooperate
with daily routines that once were enjoyable; resists getting
dressed, putting on shoes, eating, taking a bath; wants to try
doing things without help.
 May have showntantrums when things go wrong or if overly
tired or frustrated.
 Exceedingly curious about people and surroundings, needs to
be watched carefully to prevent them from getting into unsafe
situations.
2. Characteristics of Social Development 2 years.
 Shows signs of sympathy and caring; comforts and another
child if hurt or frightened; sometimes appears to be overly
affectionate in offering hugs and kisses to children.
 Continues to use physical aggression if frustrated or angry
(for some children, this is more exaggerated than for others);
Physical aggression usually lessens as verbal skills improve.
 Temper tantrums likely to peak during this year; extremely
difficult to reason with during a tantrum.
 Impatient; finds it difficult to wait or take turns.
 Enjoys ‘‘helping’’ with household chores; imitates everyday
activities; may try to toilet train a stuffed animal, feed a doll.
 ‘‘Bossy’’ with parents and caregivers; orders them around,
makes demands, expects immediate compliance from adults.
 Watches and imitiates the play of other children, but seldom
interacts directly, plays near others, often choosing similar
toys and activities (parallel play) ; solitary play is often simple
and repetitive.
 Offers toys to other children, but is usually possessive of
playthings, still tends to hoard toys.
 Making choices is difficult; wants it both ways.
 Often defiant; shouting ‘‘no’’ becomes automatic.
 Ritualistic; wants everything ‘‘just so’’, routines carried out
exactly as before; belongings placed ‘‘where they belong.’’
 States first and last name, gender, siblings’ names and
sometimes own telephone number.
 Answers appropriately when asked what to do if tired, cold,
or hungry. Recites and sings simple songs and rhymes.
3. Characteristics of Social development (three years all)
 Outgoing; friendly; overly enthusiastic at times.
 Moods change rapidly and unpredictably; laughing one minute,
crying the next; may throw trantrums over minor frustrations
(a block structure that will not balance); sulk over being left
out.
 Imaginary playmates or companions are common; holds
conversations and shares strong emotions with this invisible
friend.
 Boasts, exaggerates and ‘‘bends’’ the truth with made-up
stories or claims of boldness; tests the limits with‘‘bathroom’’
talk.
 Cooperates with others; participates in group activities.
 Shows pride in accomplishments; seeks frequent adult
approval.
 Often appears selfish; not always able to take turns or to
understand taking turns under some conditions; tattles on other
children.
 Insists on trying to do things independently, but may get so
frustrated when paper airplane will not fold right.
 Enjoys role-playing and make-believe activities.
 Relies (most of the time) on verbal rather than Physical
aggression; may yell angrily rather than hit to make a point;
threatness: ‘‘You can’t come to my birthday party.’’
4. Characteristics of Social Development 5 years old
 Enjoys and often has one or two focus friendships.
 Plays cooperatively (can lapse), is generous, takes turns, shares
toys.
 Participates in group play and shared activities with other
children; suggests imaginative and elaborate play ideas.
 Shows affection and caring towards others especially those

‘‘below’’ them or in pain.
 Generally subservient to parent or caregiver requests.
 Needs comfort and reassurance from adults but is less open
to comfort.
 Has better self-control over swings of emotions.
 Likes entertaining people and making them laugh.
 Boasts about accomplishments.
 Often has an imaginary friend.
5. Characteristics of Social Development (6 to 12 year)
Considerable charges take place during this period in social
behaviour. The child becomes less of an individualist. He acquires certain
social qualities :
(i) Group play—At about 6 or 7, the child tends to play in small
groups. He seeks playmates and spends most of his time with them.
(ii) Team games : By 11 or 12, he likes to take part in team
games.
(iii) Importance of grou—The group or gang becomes more
and more important during the period.
(iv) Group adjustment—The child learns to adjust himself in a
group. He learns to co-operate with others. He also learns to prefer
group interest to self interest.
(v) Group Loyalities—Group loyalties grow and the child gets
opportunities to obey and command.
(vi) Group leadership : Sometimes, the child may assume the
leadership of the gang or group as well.
(vii) Sex differences—At about 8 to 10, sex differences are
marked. Boys and girls live in separate gangs. Boys usually take interest
in competitive games like football, hockey and kabaddi. The girls show
interest in indoor games ; but when given opportunity, they show interest
in badminton etc. Each gang has special badges and secret pass words.
Boys gangs are usually larger. Rules are followed more strictly in girls
gangs.
(viii) Planning—The child can plan his own activities and organise
his own play. Thus the social qualities of initiative, organisation and co-
ordination develop in him.
(ix) Status consciousness —Children show consciousness of

the socio-economic status of the parents. It results into many prejudices
and differences. A child of low socio-economic status may be seriously
handicapped in his social relationships e.g. he is ashamed of his clothing
and uncertainty of his manners. Parents and teachers should tell the
children at this stage that they should not have these prejudices.
6. Characteristics of Social development during
Adolescence Period : Up to 12 year old
(i) Sex consciouseness—In adolescent stage, the individual
becomes very conscious of his sex. At this stage, boys and girls want to
attract the members of the opposite sex. They want to have friendship
with members of the opposite sex.
(ii) Social consciousness—Social consciousness is developed
in adolescenct at a fast speed. They want to be praised by their parents,
teachers and friends. They know their status in the society. They want
social approval of various modes of behaviour.
(iii) Group loyality—Adolescent boys and girls from their groups
and discuss their problems freely. They become very loyal to their groups.
Here they learn the qualities of sympathy, competition, cooperation,
obedience and leadership. Sometimes parental demands are ignored by
him in face of demands made on him by his group. He often comes in
clash with his elders who do not approve of his group affiliations.
(iv) Social Service—In adolescent stage, ideas of social service
and altruism are formed and cherished. Social service in public gatherings,
fairs and festivals becomes a passion for the adolescent. He does not
mind personal inconvenience in doing such service.
Adolescence is the period of increased social relationships and
contacts. Whereas a child cares very little for the society, an adolescent
develops a good amount of social sense. He ceases to be egocentric,
selfish and unsocial. Now he wants to mould his behaviour according to
the norms of the society.
The social circle of an adolescent is very wide, contrary to
childhood he becomes interested in opposite sex. The friendships are
no longer norminal. He believes in making intimate friendship and
attaches himself closely to a group. Peer group relationship controls the
social behaviour of this age. The child develops a strong sense of loyality
towards group. He wants to be accepted by the group of which he is a

member. The rejection is costly as it creates so many adjustment
problems.
Conclusion—This stage of development plays very important
role in the development of the personality of an individual. In order to
establish an ideal society parents, teachers, psychologists and
educationists will have to build up competent and able children who
should have the qualities like truthfulness, co-operation, industriousness,
self-control, self dependence, obedience and discipline in them. With
such children we can dream of having World Society and Fraternity.
6.4. THEORIES RELATED TO SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
According to Bowlby, an infant’s attachment to a caregiver
serves as the foundation for all future social development. He sug-
gested that attachment is biologicallybased and is intended to en-
sure that infants and children have enough support and protection
to survive until they are able to function independently (Gilovich,
Keltner & Nisbett).
Ainsworth found four distinct categories of attachment: se-
curely attached (about 65%), avoidant-insecurely attached (about
20%), anxious-ambivalently attached (about 10%), and about 5%
whose attachment was categorized as disorganized-disoriented.
According to Ainsworth, the attachment patterns developed in in-
fancy and toddlerhood are fairly stable throughout the lifespan. In
a study of children attending summer camp at age 10, Sroufe,
Egeland, Carlson, and Collins found that securely attached chil-
dren tended to have more friends and better social skills. Likewise,
in a cross-sectional study using self-report data, 15-18- year-olds
with good parental attachment had better social skills and, subse-
quently, better competence in developing friendships and roman-
tic relationships (Engles, Finkenauer, Meeus, & Dekovic).
Ainsworth found that the anxious-ambivalently attached are espe-
cially at-risk for later behavioral problems, including aggressive
conduct. These data suggested it is vital for the one-third of chil-
dren who do not develop a secure attachment as infants be pro-
vided opportunities to repair the original attachment relationship
or construct some form of attachment outside the home, perhaps
through interaction with a teacher or mentor.
Erikson provided another important theory related to social

development; his psychosocial theory of personality development
emphasized the interplay between the social and emotional do-
mains. Erikson highlighted the importance of the person resolving
a series of conflicts where interpersonal relationships play an im-
portant role. In infancy, the conflict is Trust versus Mistrust. Erikson
hypothesized that an infant will develop trust through interaction
with a warm, available, and responsive caregiver or the infant will
develop mistrust through interaction with a negative or unrespon-
sive and unavailable caregiver. Subsequently, it is this develop-
ment of trust in infancy that allows an individual to succeed in the
next stage of toddlerhood called Autonomy versus Shame and
Doubt. In this stage, the toddler is more likely to develop a sense
of his independence and control over his own behaviour and envi-
ronment if she has the base of trust in a caregiver developed in the
first stage. The next two stages, the development of Initiative ver-
sus Guilt and Industry versus Inferiority are especially critical for
educators. Early childhood is quite often the age when children
first begin their involvement in formal education. Children must
learn to integrate their interest in personal exploration and the use
of their imaginations with working with others involved in the same
task. For elementaryaged children, the task of integrating personal
interests and needs with those of others becomes even more com-
plex. They must learn to follow rules and “get things right” while
at the same time learning to take the perspective of others and
work with others in group projects. Failing in either of these stages
leads to children being at-risk for an inability to take action on
their own and/or developing a sense of inferiority,
unproductiveness, and feelings of incompetence in regards to their
peers and their social roles and abilities.
Vygotsky another well-known theorist in the areas of social
development and education, argued that cognitive functions are
connected to the external (or social) world. He viewed the child as
an apprentice guided by adults and more competent peers into the
social world. Vygotsky explained that children learn in a system-
atic and logical way as a result of dialogue and interaction with a
skilled helper within a zone of proximal development (ZPD). The
lower boundary of the ZPD are activities the learner can do on his
or her own without the assistance of a teacher or mentor. Similarly,
the upper limit of the ZPD are those learning outcomes that the
learner could not achieve at this time even with the assistance of a
competent teacher or mentor.
Another of Vygotsky’s concepts for guiding learning is scaf-
folding, by which he meant the process by which the teacher con-
stantly changes the level of assistance given to the learner as the
learning needs change. When engaged in scaffolding a teacher or
coach is involved in every step during the initial stage of instruc-
tion. As the teacher observes the child correctly demonstrating partial
mastery of the skill or task the teacher provides increasingly less
support, with the child eventually demonstrating independent mas-
tery of the task or skill. Both of these constructs are important in
describing how a child becomes socially competent.
Bandura, in his theories of social learning and social cogni-
tion, theorized three categories of influences on developing social
competence: (1) behaviours children and adolescents observe within
their home or culture, (2) cognitive factors such as a student’s own
expectations of success and (3) social factors such as classroom
and school climate. Bandura’s reciprocal determinism model stated
that these three influences are reciprocally related. That is, each
factor influences others equally and changes in one factor will re-
sult in changes in the others. In the classroom, for example, a child’s
beliefs about himself and his competence (self-efficiency) can af-
fect social behaviour which, in turn, will have an impact on the
classroom environment. At the same time, changes in the class-
room that lead to a change in competence will have an impact on
self-efficacy. Many researchers support this reciprocal view of the
construction of a variety of self-views (Harter,).
Bronfenbrenner provided an expanded view regarding the
impact of the environment on human development. His ecological
theory stated that people develop within a series of three environ-
mental systems. At the core of his theory are micro systems, which
include the few environments where the individual spends a large
part of his time. According to Bronfenbrenner, the school and the
classroom represent a significant microsystem of social develop-
ment for children. His theory also emphasized the importance of

the macrosystem, including the factors that are impacting all indi-
viduals such as the movement from the agricultural age to the in-
dustrial age to the information/conceptual age (Huitt, 2007).
Bronfenbrenner also highlights the importance of the mesosystem
which he views as the link between various microsystems (e.g.,
the link between family experiences and school experiences) as
well as the interpreter of the macrosystem to the individual child or
youth. Bronfenbrenner’s work adds support to the importance of
communication and collaboration between the family and school
in a child’s social development.
6.5. FACTORS AFFECTING THE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
OF THE CHILD
1. Influence of Culture on Social Development—A child’s
social behaviour is regulated by the culture of the society in which he
lives. The behaviour patters of one generation, pass on from generation
to generation. Pur Sanskaras shape our outlook and finaly personality.
There are two ways in which the behaviour patterns of culture are
transmitted to the next generation. (a) Directly and formally as in
educational programmes at various stages of education, and (b)
Informally through interactions between parents and their children which
occur in the course of bringing up children. These interactions include
the parents expression of attitudes, beliefs, interests and values, etc.
Some of the informal social development takes place through interactions
with relatives, neighbours, peer groups and teachers and other groups
of the society.
2. Peer groups—The child is introduced to the social world
outside his family, through per groups. The peer groups satisfy various
needs of the children like acceptance, achievement, affection, approval,
belongingness, fame, recognition, expression of thought and opinion etc.
According to A.T. Jershid (1947), peer association is a meaningful
process through which the child changes with his age group into youth
and adulthood.
3. School Programmes—School is another potent agency for
the social development of the child. In the school the child gets an
opportunity of mixing with the large number of students, and thus,
getting varied types of social experiences. In addition to these,

school experiences in the form of various types of school
programmes and activities, opportunities for healthy social com-
munication, guidance from teachers, determine to a large extent
the social skills and attitudes as well as the habits that the child
learns. Schools also teach some of the basic social attitudes and
principles of good conduct. Thus the school programmes help tre-
mendously in the children’s social development.
4. Home Environment—Home is the first socialising agency.
The congenial home environment has a positive and socialising
effect on the child. Thus, the family influence plays a vital role in
the process of social development. A happy, contented and well-
knit family helps in advancing social adjustment of the individual
members.
5. Socio-Economic Status of the Family—The family mem-
bers of high socio-economic status have the opportunity of mov-
ing about in a higher and wider circle of society. They get frequent
occasions to mix with a large number of and different sorts of people.
This naturally helps them in their socialisation.
6. Love and Affection—Love and affection are the basic psy-
chological needs of children. If the child is treated with love and
affection, he feels secure, and thus, develops self- confidence. This
gives him the necessary courage to enter into social relationships
outside the family. If the children get love and affection at home,
they will naturally expect love and affection from others also; this
will develop in them a positive attitude toward life and other people,
which will help them in their social development.
7. Participation in Social Organisations—There are various
types of social organisations. Participation in such organisations
widens the sphere of child’s social contacts and increases his so-
cial understanding. He learns, and imbibes the qualities of leader-
ship, cooperation, and toleration. Self- Centredness is replaced by
social consciousness which is increasingly broadened. This brings
about social development of the child.
8. Community and Neighbourhood—The environment
prevailing in the community has a great influence on the social
development of the child.
9. Mass Media—Agencies like cinema, newspapers, radio and

television, etc., also play a vital role in bringing about social changes in
children.
10. Bodily Structure and Health—A healthy child has more
ability and strength to make himself adjusted in the challenging social
settings. A child with poor health or any physical deformity or defect
develops feelings of inferiority as well as insecurity in social settings.
6.6. ROLE OF THE SCHOOL IN THE SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD
The role of the school has considerably changed in the rapidly
changing civilizations. The traditional role of imparting the basic skills of
the three R’s is now no longer considered to be adequate to meet the
present challenge. The present day school has also to perfrom some of
the functions of the family. It must develops certain desirable moral
attitudes and good social habits among students. It is through co-curricular
and extra-curricular activities that the task of socialisation can be
achieved more successfully. In India today we find that the number of
first generation learners in schools and colleges swelling up. They come
from varied backgrounds. Some of them come from deprived homes. It
is only the sympathetic understanding and sincere desire of the teacher
to act positively in an unprejudical manner that can help in these situations.
Class in the Process of Social Development
Class provides innumerable opportunities to the children to move
and mix with students belonging to different strata of society. This is the
beginning of the socialisation of the child for his future life. Here children
get many chances to mix without any distinction of caste, colour or
creed. The children who are selfish or self-centred learn to adjust their
behaviour in terms of class norms. The teachers are expected to be
vigilant to ensure that the students do not think in terms of untouchability,
caste distinctions and other prejudices.
6.7. TEACHER’S ROLE IN THE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
OF THE CHILD
A teacher’s role in very vital in the social development of the
child. In recent years, the role of the teacher in functional terms has
been gradually decreasing on account of the influence of the electronic
and print media. At the preschool stage and at the elementary stage,
teachers influence on the development of character and personality is

of great significance. There is no doubt that, the role of the teachers in
the social development of the child is still of great significance.
Following are the imporatnt suggestions for the social development
of the child which the teachers should always keep in mind :
1. The teachers should demonstrate democratic outlook.
2. Teachers and parents may encourage the children to mix with
inter-caste rather than intra-caste and inter-regional rather intra-regional
groups.
3. The teachers should respect the personality of children.
4. The mechanism of praise and blame, reward and punishment
should be carefully used to socialise the children.
5. The teacher should not show any discrimination. He must ensure
a safe and healthy social environment in which the children may imbibe
desirable values of freedom, equality, integrity, honesty, patriotism, etc.
6. Community activities like camps, common meals, social service,
etc., should be frequently organised.
7. There should be close co-operation between the teachers and
paretns on matters relating to proper socialisation of the children.
8. Adequate stress may be laid on group activities.
9. Exhibitions on ‘‘Know Our Country’’ may be organised from
time to time.
10. Stroies depicting self-sacrifice made by great men for the
cause of general good may be told to children so that they are motivated
to rise above petty gains and work for the betterment of the humanity.
EXERCISE
1. What do you know about the term of Social Development ?
Write in detail.
2. What are the various levels of Social Maturity ?
3. Write the characteristics of Social Development during
Adolescence.
4. What are the various theories related to Social Develop-

ment ?
5. What is the Role of Teacher in the Social Development of
Child ?
1. Write the relationship of Socialization and Invidividulization ?
2. Write the characteristics of Social Development from 12 to
24 months.
3. Write the factors affecting the Social Development of a
Child.
4. What is the role of School in the Social Development of
Child.
7 EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT :
MEANING, FUNCTIONS AND
CHARACTERISTICS
The word 'emotion' is derived from the Latin word 'emovere' which
means 'to stir up,' to agitate or 'to excite.' So emotion is a stirred up or
disturbed state of mind. When our feeling become intense and excited
they become emotions.
Emotional development pattern plays an important role in the
persons and social development of an individual. An individual with stable
emotional pattern leads a happy, healthy and peaceful life. He is at ease
with himself and his surroundings. On the other hand an individual who
is emotionally disturbed becomes a problem for himself as well as for
others. Continuous emotional disturbance affects the individual's growth
and development. Therefore, the development of emotions is extremely
important for the harmonious development of the personality of an
individual. Emotions influence all the aspects of an individual's personality.
Proper training and education will go a long way to enable the young
people to control their emotions and obtain mental balance and stability.
Emotions are the prime motive forces of thought and conduct and their
control is very important. It has been rightly said, "To keep one's emotions
7.1. MEANING AND CONCEPT OF EMOTION AND
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The term ‘emotion’ denotes a state of being moved, stirred up or
aroused in some way. Emotion involves feelings, impulses and physical
and physiological reactions. These impulses, feelings, physiological
reactions, etc. occur in almost unlimited variety of mixture and gradations.
These feelings, etc. are described in so many words in the English
language that we are not sure what feeling or emotion is to be associated
with what word. Our everyday speech includes a large number of words
that denote emotional states. But even then there are various emotional
experiences which do not get a suitable word for their expression.
What are the Conditions that Arouse Emotions ?
Emotions are aroused by a large number of complex conditions. It
is quite difficult to test specific causes of an emotion or emotions. Yet
261
an attempt is made here to point out some very outstanding causes.

For finding out the causes of emotions it is necessary that an
assessment be made of the "needs, motives, desires and goals that may
be furthered or blocked by the circumstances of everyday life."
Emotions can be aroused by certain obects, things or happening
outside, the individual himself or within himself when the individual's,
body, pride, or self-esteem is likely to be damaged or is damaged such
cases negative emotions, such as fear or anxiety, anger or hostility, or
complex feeling of self-contempt. aroused. In case they emotions are
aroused happenings or circumstances, that enhances the gratification
of a person's needs or the realization of his goal. "The conditions that
provoke emotions change with the individual’s expanding abilities and
interests In early infancy, an emotion is aroused primarily by stimull that
impinge directly upon the child and by conditions that affect his immediate
well-being." As he grows old, the range of his activities also grows
wider and thus, his emotional susceptibilities increase.
It has been said that a person's emotional reaction to a happening
depends both upon the nature of the happening itself and upon his own
inner state The same thing or happening may create joy in one and grief
in another, all depending on the inner state of the individual. A child who
is ready to go out will be in a sorrowful mood if just than it begins to
rain; while another who is tired of heat rushes out and begins to bathe in
rain making great rejoicing. "In countless ways, the question as to
whether something that befalls a child will be an occasion of joy or fear
or anger, depends upon what and how much he has to gain, what he
stands to lose, what he expects of himself and what he thinks others
expect of him."
The other conditions for emotions are the interests and
comprehensions. As the individual's interests change and his abilities
improve, his susceptibility to many emotions, which he has expressed
earlier in his life, decreases. For example, the child in his early life is
jealous of his real brothers and sisters : but as he moves out and his
range of interests increases, there occurs a decrease in his quantum of
such jealousy But it will be wrong to say that emotions decrease with
age. What happens is that old emotional susceptibilities yield place to
new ones.
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT : MEANING, FUNCTIONS AND... 263
The adult is as much affected by emotions as the young child.

Some emotional experiences, like fright that a person suffers when
startled by a loud noise are common to all types of individuals at each
stage of their development. There are other emotional experiences which
are limited in range or scope. They occur when the child has reached a
particular level of maturity. Now let us consider the emotional reactions
at the various levels of child's development.
Emotional development is the emergence of a child’s
experience, expression, understanding and regulation of emotions
from birth through late adolescence. It also comprises how growth
and changes in these processes concerning emotions occur.
Emotional development does not occur in isolation; neural, cognitive
and behavioural development interact with emotional development
and social and cultural influences and context also play a role.
Various emotional development theories are proposed, but there is
general agreement on age-related milestones in emotional
development.
Social and emotional development are strongly linked and
sometimes studied or reported in tandem. Parents and other
caregivers play an important role in emotional development, but
as a child’s world expands, other people in the social context also
play a part in emotional development.
Emotional development refers to a child’s growing ability to
regulate and control emotions and to form secure relationships. It
differs from cognitive development, which readies a child for
school, in that it prepares a child to take on a greater degree of
responsibility for his or her internal state. Growing scientific
evidence shows that a child’s experiences during the early years
play a significant role in emotional development.
A child’s emotional development is important because it
provides a foundation for social development, empathy towards
others and the resolution of conflicts without physical aggression.
Those children who do not develop emotional maturity are at risk
of forming unhealthy attachments, experiencing peer group
rejection and suffering from mental illness. Studies have
demonstrated that the emotional climate at home and the emotional
regulation displayed by parents and caretakers affect a child’s
emotional development.
7.1.1. CHILDREN’S EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Emotional development is a complex task that begins
in infancy and continues into adulthood. The first emotions that
can be recognised in babies include joy, anger, sadness and fear.
Later, as children begin to develop a sense of self, more complex
emotions like shyness, surprise, elation, embarrassment, shame,
guilt, pride and empathy emerge. Primary school children are
still learning to identify emotions, to understand why they happen
and how to manage them appropriately. As children develop, the
things that provoke their emotional responses change, as do the
strategies they use to manage them.
Very young children’s emotions are mainly made up of
physical reactions (eg. heart racing, butterflies in stomach) and
behaviours. As they grow, children develop the ability to recognise
feelings. Their emotions are also increasingly infuenced by their
thinking. They become more aware of their own feelings and better
able to recognise and understand other people’s. Thus, an
emotional reaction of a 10-year-old is likely to be far more complex
than that of a three-year-old. The experience of emotion includes
several components—
 Physical responses (eg. heart rate, breathing, hormone
levels)
 Feelings that children recognise and learn to name
 Thoughts and judgements associated with feelings
 Action signals (eg a desire to approach, escape or right)
Many things influence the ways that children
express emotions, both through words and beha-
viour. These influences include :
 Values and beliefs about appropriate and inappropriate
ways of expressing emotions that children learn from
parents, carers and school staff.
 How effectively children’s emotional needs are usually
met.
 Children’s temperaments.
 Emotional behaviours that children have learned through
observation or experience.
 The extent to which families and children are
under various kinds of stress.
7.1.2. DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL SKILLS

The table below shows the main pathways in emotional skill
Development for children in the preschool to primary

age range. It is important to note that the rate of children’s emotional
development can be quite variable. Some children may show a
high level of emotional skill development while quite young,
whereas others take longer to develop the capacity to manage their
emotions.
7.1.3. EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT
There are a number of reasons why children vary in the way
they express and manage their emotions. These variations may be
due to events that impact on children and families at times, such as
severe or chronic illness, trauma, or difficult social circumstances.
Variations in children’s emotional expression may also be
in?uenced by specific family or cultural values and by differences
in children’s temperaments.
Children learn different ways of expressing emotion based
on what is regarded as normal within their family and culture. Some
families and cultures encourage children to express a range of
emotions while other families encourage children not to display
certain emotions, such as anger or pride. These differences also
influence the ways children learn to regulate their emotions.
Learning to regulate emotions is more difficult for some
children than for others. This may be due to their
particular emotional temperament. Some children feel emotions
intensely and easily. They are more emotionally reactive and ?nd it
harder to calm down. Some of these children react to frustration by
getting angry. They may act impulsively and it hard to control their
emotions. Some children who are emotionally reactive get anxious
more quickly and easily than other children. It is often difficult for
children with anxious temperaments to develop strategies to manage
their fears. They often try to avoid situations that worry them.
7.1.4. HOW CHILDREN’S SENSE OF SELF INFLUENCES
THEIR EMOTIONS
During the primary school years, children’s sense of self is
strongly influenced by the extent to which they see themselves as
performing well, both at school and in other activities. This affects
their emotional development. Knowing that they can be successful
at what they do leads children to feel competent and

confident. When children have few experiences of success,
they often have to cope with disappointment and may come to view
themselves in negative ways. By learning to value their own
strengths and efforts, as well as those of others, children develop
the emotional resilience needed to manage disappointments and
frustrations. Parents and carers can support children’s wellbeing and
emotional development by showing understanding of their feelings
and by offering encouragement and specific praise for children’s
efforts.
7.1.5. KEY POINTS FOR SUPPORTING CHILDREN’S
Providing effective support for children’s emotio-
nal development starts with paying attention to their feelings and
noticing how they manage them. By acknowledging children’s
emotional responses and providing guidance, parents, carers and
school staff can help children understand and accept feelings and
develop effective strategies for managing them.
1. Tune into children’s feelings and emotions—
Some emotions are easily identified, while others are less
obvious. Tuning into children’s emotions involves looking at their
body language, listening to what they are saying and how they are
saying it, and observing their behaviour. This allows you to respond
more effectively to children’s needs and to offer more specific
guidance to help children manage their emotions.
2. Help children recognise and understand emotions—
Taking opportunities to talk with children and teach them about
emotions helps children to become more aware of their own
emotions as well as those of others. Encouraging children to feel
comfortable with their emotions and providing them with practice
in talking about their feelings helps children to further
develop ways to manage their emotions.
3. Set limits on inappropriate expression of emotions—
It is very important for children to understand that it is okay
to have a range of emotions and feelings, but that there are limits
to the ways these should be expressed. While acknowledging
children’s emotions, it is therefore very important to set limits on

aggressive, unsafe or inappropriate behaviours.
4. Be a role model
Children learn about emotions and how to express
them appropriately by watching others–especially parents, carers
and school staff. Showing children the ways you understand and
manage emotions helps children learn from your example. This
includes examples of saying—“Sorry, I lost my temper” (because
no parent is perfect!) and then showing how you might make
amends.
When it comes to child development, feelings matter.
Everyone feels overwhelmed at times but some children can react
more strongly to everyday experiences than others. For this reason,
it can be useful to understandhow temperament affects feelings.
Young children especially need adults to help them in developing
coping skills for managing emotions. A great way to help children
with their emotions is to role-model talking about emotions and
being calm.
This can be especially helpful when supporting children
around fear and worries. Everyone gets scared and children can
get scared for all sorts of reasons. Very young children are often
afraid of imaginary things like monsters hiding under the bed. Older
children usually fear real things that might happen, like being hurt.
All children need reassurance and support so they can learn to cope
with fear and worries on their own.
Older children can also benefit from understanding the
relationship between coping with fears and helpful self-talk. Making
sense of older children’s emotions requires tuning in, reflecting
back to them what you’re noticing and asking open-ended
questions. Helping children to manage feelings builds emotional
self-awareness and can also help children to understand
how thinking affects feelings.
7.1.6. EMOTIONAL REACTIONS OF AN INDIVIDUAL AT
THE EARLIER STAGE OF HIS DEVELOPMENT
If you observe a child within a few days of his birt, you would
notice that the child exhibits a peculiar type of behaviour. He cries and
thrashes his limbs and this you can safely assume as the behaviour that
has an emotional quality. But you must remember that his behaviour
will show lack of differentiation. His reactions will be in the form of
general excitement. They will not show differentiations of feelings, anger,
fear, joy, etc. It is very difficult to classify the reactions of an infant into
these fixed patterns. As a matter of fact, even in adult life it becomes
difficult to classify them into clear-cut pattern, but as the child grows
old, the expressions take more definite shapes and are capable of being
within broad limits.
7.2. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING INFANCY,
CHILDHOOD, ADOLESCENCE AND ADULTHOOD
1. Emotional Expression in Infancy—Goodenough, using the
photographs of a ten month old child, tried to classify the emotions of
children. The result at which he arrived was that adult examiners could
to a very great extent speculate about the conditions that prevailed
when each photographs was taken. On the other hand, in a study by G.
S. Oates in which photographs of an adult depicting various emotional
states were taken, the examiners could judge their types with a
considerable degree of accuracy However, it may be noted that adults'
facial expressions are influenced to a large extent by convention. They
are different with different individuals. Some individuals, though burning
with rage, may show a cynical smile on their face; while others may
show the distortion of face muscles to a, great extent. Still, such
expressions are capable of differentiation while in the case of an infant
this differentiation is not at all possible.
2. Development of Emotionl in Early Childhood—In the first
few months of life, the specific expression that is noticed is the
smiling of the child in response to the sight of the human face. This
expression later on takes the firm of laughter. Gasell has made
certain observations with children and he has come to the conclusion
that at four weeks distinct cries of hunger, anger and pain can be
noted. The quality of these cries most often varies with different
children. A mother can often interpret the cry of her own child, but
will fail to judge the cries of an unfamiliar child. In the first year,
by closely examining the child, you can observe the expressions
that denote fear, delight and affection. with the growth of the child,
there occur differentiations of emotional expression. Side by side
with this there occur co-ordinated movements and these movements

begin to be adapted to the situation that produces a emotional
response. The child, as he grows old, begins to show anger at
something or somebody while previously his expression was not
against something so specific. As the child gains in years, his violent
reactions give place to more subdued emotional expressions. The
child, when he is below one year of age, shows signs of great
anger when his feeding-bottle is snatched from him. His whole
body participates in his emotional expression. He kicks, flushes,
yells and throws his hands and feet wildly. At about the age of
seven or eight, such child depicts his anger in more subdued forms.
There occurs a decline in his crying in response to hurt or in
connection with anger. The factors which contribute to this decline
in open expression of emotion are as follows— (1) The child has
learnt a language and he can express his feelings through symbols.
Hence, he uses these instead of showing violent reactions. (2) He
has learnt through experience that in many cases his problems
cannot be solved by violent demonstrations. Thus, he tries to avoid
them as far as possible. (3) The child has been told again and again
by parents and others that he is not to act like an infant but behave
like a grown up boy. In the school the other children make fun of
him if he behaves in an infantile manner. If he shows fear, he is
ridiculed. Thus, he learns by degrees to hide his feelings to a large
extent. But this hiding of feelings presents great difficulties to an
educator in understanding the child's emotions. It is true that the
child does not publicly express emotions but all the same he
experiences them to a great extent. He is unable to express in words
as his vocabulary is short; and this adds to the difficulties of the
educator in understanding the child.
3. Emotional Development during Late Childhood—This is
period of stability and control. The child now comes to have a control
over his emotions. His emotional behaviour is guided by rational
expression. He gets angry but does not let it be exhibited : he gets
frightened but tries to show courage and bravery : he is still jealous,
may be of his younger brother or his bright classfellows, but does not
cry ; his expression of joy is expressed by a smile and not by a rollicking
laughter ; he expresses his affection very modestly and on limited
occasions. He does not like to be kissed at this stage because he thinks

that there is sex in it. He does not like to be nicknamed because it hurts
his ego. He learns to pretend at this stage.
4. Emotional Development during Adolescence—Emotional
development reaches its maximum during adolescence. It is the period
of heightening of all emotions like anxiety, fear, love, anger etc : Once
again like an infant an individual experiences emotional instability and
intensity during adolescence. The physical growth and development
being maximum, the strength of the boys gives opportunity for maximum
motor activity. Therefore, in matter of emotional expression and
experiences the adolescence provides the highest peak. At no stage the
child is so restless and emotionally perturbed and touchy as in
adolescence. He is too sensitive, inflammable and moody. In the words
of Ross ‘‘the adolescent lives an intensely emotional life, in which we
can see once more the rhythm of positive and negative phases of
behaviour in his constant alternation between intense excitement and
deep depression.’’ That is why the period is often designated as a period
of stresses and strains. In this way, as Ross clarifies, the adolescence
are not consistent in their emotional expressions. Their emotions fluctuate
very frequently and quickly. The current of emotional flow in the
adolescence is too intense. It is very difficult`to put check on the emotions
during the peak of adolescence. In fact, during adolescence emotions
take their roots into sentiments. Self-consciousness, self-respect and
personal pride is too much increased. Group loyalty and sentiments of
love etc. are developed which make an adolescent sentimental and
passionate. What he feels, he feels it very strongly and when he reacts,
he reacts vigorously.
5. Emotional Development in Adulthood—Emotional
development reaches its maturity in adulthood. At this stage, various
emotions such as anger, hatred, discrimination, pleasure etc. can be
distinctly seen in an individual and generally their patterns of expression
can also be recognized. It should be noted that emotional reactions are
influenced by ideas, values, desires and norms of the society.
Manifestation of emotion is relatively refined. When adult is in anger,
he does not immediately give it expression but stores it in his mind to
manifest it after some days when the opportunity presents itself. Factors
like unemployment, undersirable marriage, increase in number of children
can create such emotions as anger, fear, hatred, jealousy etc.
7.3. FACTORS AFFECTING EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Environment—Emotionality is closely related to social
environment of the child. Children from poor social environment are
found to be more maladjusted than those who come from good middle
class homes. Family relationship, the way in which children are handled
by parents and teachers, the excitement that the environment affords,
the personality of the teacher, the methods of teaching, the type of
discipline in the school ; all contribute to emotionality.
2. Poor Health—When the child is in poor health, he is
predisposed to emotionality.
3. Fatigue—When the child becomes tired, he is predisposed to
irritability and temper tantrums. On the contrary, the child shows normal
behaviour if he is given rest.
4. Parental Attitude—Parents' attitude influences emotions.
Children who are over-protected or under-protected by their parents
show aggressiveness and emotional disturbances.
5. Time of Day—Times of day are accompanied by pronounced
emotional disturbances. If the child's routine is disturbed and eating
time is delayed, he may show irritable behaviour.
6. Order of Birth—It has been found that the first born child is
generally more spoiled and more emotional than the second born child.
The eldest and the youngest child learn by experience that they can get
what they want by being emotional.
7. Intelligence—Children possessing above average intelligence
show more emotional stability than the children possessing average
intelligence. Thus intelligence is also connected with emotionality.
Some of the important factors which disturb the emotions
of children in school and at home are—
1. Lack of security.
2. Economic disparities.
3. Faulty methods of teaching.
4. Fearful atmosphere in school.
5. Emotionally unbalanced teacher.
6. Traditional concept of discipline.

7. Poor physical conditions in schools.
8. Disregard of individual differences.
9. Lack of co-curricular activities.
10. Lack of sex education.
11. Faulty examination system.
12. Faulty curriculum.
7.4. UNDERSTANDING A CHILD'S EMOTIONAL
BEHAVIOUR
It is quite difficult to understand the child's emotional behaviours.
More so as his feelings are the results of the happenings around him in
the world. Many times his behaviour which may look illogical at the
surface may seerh to be quite logical from another angle and at being
probed deeply. A child who is enraged or fears at a time when there is
no occasion for fear may be intensely suffering inwardly and his feelings
might just be finding an outlet at the occasion. A teacher may treat that
child very justly, yet the child is afraid of him and blindly refuses to go to
school for the fear of facing the teacher. He may have developed this
tendency on account of some treatment meted out to him by the teacher
which might have appeared very unfair to the child, though from the
teacher's angle it had justification. In such and similar cases, we should
try to learn and appreciate the child's feelings and not judge his conduct
from adult standards.
To understand the child's emotional behaviour let us look to the
most important emotional states which are depicted in his behaviour
and see how they develop in the child. Some of the important emotions
are discussed below.
7.4.1. ANGER
Anger in human-beings is depicted in many forms. It may be in
the form of extreme rage of resentment or at times it may be depicted
in the milder forms of irritation or annoyance. It may be found combined
with the feelings of fear or grief in, jealousy or with feelings or fear in
hatred.
‘‘In early infancy anger is provoked primarily by conditions that
interfere with the childs activities, including restraint of his movements
by other persons and by the thwarting of his desires, such as, delay in
feeding when he is hungry.’’ As the child begins to march towards

maturity there is an increase in the opportunities for anger-stimulation.
Anger is aroused not only by thwartings or interferences but anything
which threatens to interfere with the individual's activities, prestige plan
or desires. He may like to do something but the other persons restrain
him, or he desires something but he is forcibly stopped for achieving it,
or he wants to reach the sweets placed at a height but fails as the
obstruction of height is in his path, or he has a box of chocolates in his
hand but is unable to open its lid. All these arouse anger in him. Anger is
often the weakness of an individual. People may expect more from you
but are incompetent to achieve the desired skills, or you may have high
aspirations but you fail to achieve them; you will naturally be angry.
7.4.1.1. FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE AROUSAL
OF ANGER
Some of the factors that contribute to the arousal of anger in the
children have been discussed above. Some others which are most obvious
are now discussed below—
1. A Child Unable to Meet the Problems of Everyday Life. On
account of the lowering of stamina by illness, fatigue or lack of sleep, a
child is liable to be enraged easily than a robust child who can face his
problems squarely and meet them bravely. A hungry child is also more
susceptible to anger than a well-fed child. You might have often noticed
that you are in a more quarrelsome mood when you are hungry than
when you are well-fed.
2. Real or Imagined Unfairness or Favouritism Shown to the Child
by the Parents or Teacher. A child is highly irritated when he feels that
he is being treated unfairly. In case he finds that his class mates in the
school or his brothers and sisters at home are afforded better treatment,
his irritation increases. It must be remembered that the child is most
annoyed when he feels that he is being neglected in preference to others.
A teacher who believes in favouritism is likely to cause much more
resentment than a teacher who is a strict disciplinarian with all. The
parents who usually distribute large number of toys or sweets inequitably
among their children provide more occasion for anger than those who
have less things to distribute but distribute them equitably.
3. Unnecessary Interferences in the Child's Everyday Affairs.
When a child feels that whatever he is doing he is to be stopped from
doing, he feels annoyed and this mounts up in the form of anger. The
interferences with his accustomed habits also arouse anger in him.
4. Any Adult Technique Which Seems to the Child as an Attack
on Him. Children do not like to be unfavourably compared with others.
Adults sometimes adopt sarcasm, All these are the forms which the
child takes as an attack on himself. Whenever there is an attack on his
self-prestige, he is to feel anger, more so, if he is sensitive.
5. Goodenough found that anger tended to be exhibited more often
by children when there were many adults in the household than when
there were few. This is on account of the fact that the child is exposed
to the demands and restraints from many different adults.
6. Assignment of Tasks beyond his Ability. The child, if he is given
a task which is beyond his ability, feels anger. He is unable to perform
that task efficiently and he develops anger towards the task or the
person who assigned it to him. Sometimes teachers, after assigning a
difficult task, ask him to study for longer periods at his desk or try to get,
his attention to a task for a longer period of time than his attention
warrants. These are all very annoying to the child.
7.4.1.2. ACCUMULATION OF ANNOYANCES
In the day-to-day life annoyances go on accumulating. An outburst
of temper at a slight provocation is not on account of the stimulus provided
at the moment but is often the result of small annoyances which go on
mounting day in and day out. When a child or an adult bursts out without
any serious occasion for it, he does so on account of the hidden wrath.
At such times no effective steps can be taken for counteracting the
rage. They may rather aggravate the effect. You might have noticed
this is the case of persons whom you have tried to pacify when they
were angry at trifles. Instead of being calmed down they burst out
more fiercely. Such cases require deep-rooted treatment rather than
superficial applying of balm. An adolescent may be planning for days
together to go out on Sunday with his friends on a picnic and when on
that day his parents stop him from going he bursts out no matter how
obedient he may have been in the past and may have taken the 'no's' of
his parents without much signs of resentment.
Anger is more or less subjective and in its depiction hidden factors
come into play. You may arouse anger in a child whom you may call
lean or lanky when he is all the time trying to build his personality and is
very sensitive about his muscles, etc. Similarly, a person who believes
much in his self-pride will be angered if a thing is said which goes
against his feelings and so on. In a nutshell, it can be said that in dealing
with anger the conditions within the individual are to be gauged carefully,
completely and honestly.
7.4.1.3. DISPLACEMENT OF ANGER
We cannot understand anger fully unless we recognize that some-
times anger is displaced. By displacement of anger, we mean that it is
directed at something or somebody not immediately or directly responsible
for provoking it. For example, a child may break a toy in case he is
angry with anyone who is his elder. A child who is angry with his teacher,
may show anger towards his over-protective parents at home.
Displacement of anger takes place in cases where the individual is
afraid to express his anger or is hindered from giving vent to his wrath
directly to the normal object of his anger.
In our schools where harsh treatment is meted out to the students,
they may not show their anger there, but as soon as they are at their
homes, they begin to give vent to their feelings of annoyance. Thus, the
good behaviour at either home or school is not a sure sign that the child
is not experiencing anger. It may remain hidden at one place and be
expressed at the other.
Displacement of anger is exhibited quite peculiarly in our daily
behaviour-pattern. An officer has chided his head-clerk. The poor clerk
shows his anger to his wife when he returns home. For the displace-
ment of anger, there must be a ready scapegoat. The wife, to many,
provides the most easy scapegoat on whom all the anger can be
showered very easily. Thus, for showing anger a person who cannot
fight back is required. It is on account of this factor that elder persons
strike children. It is the reason why corporal punishment is popular. A
big person can hit a small with rel ative safety. Displacement of anger
at times takes the shape of wanton cruelty. This is the most undesirable
state of anger. Cruelty is practised and directed against weak and
defenceless creature. A person who is unable to fight bravely for the
grievances which he may have against the world often develops this
tendency. Such a person is in a very unhealthy mental state. He wants
to take revenge for the ills done to him by those against whom he cannot
raise his head, or those who are weak and defenceless. Displacement
of anger also takes place against inanimate objects. For example, a

person who is angry with his wife for the bad cooking of food, throws
away the utensils and breaks the cups. The children, in order to show
their resentment, break the furniture, windowpanes, etc. This sort of
displacement is very much visible these days in our schools and colleges.
As soon as there is some disturbance in the institution, you are sure to
find the school or college property broken.
7.4.1.4. VALUES OF ANGER
There are numerous practical values of anger. A few very impor-
tant ones are to be noticed :
1. A person who is aroused to anger against others or against
himself may improve his ways, overcome his indecision and proceed to
solve a problem in a constructive manner. The person will be able to
take such decisions which he had never been able to take before his
anger was aroused. Sometimes, a cowardly person, when his anger is
aroused, performs some tasks which even the brave cannot perform.
2. Children frequently express thoughts, wishes or criticisms under
the spur of anger that provide valuable insights into their thinking. They
express such thoughts of which the elders may be totally ignorant. At
the moment of anger, these thoughts are blurted out resulting in better
treatment by the elders. You might often have heard such outbursts,
"Mother you are always there to find fault with me rather than others !"
or "Kill me and finish up with me!" This indicate that the child is perhaps
treated in a very harsh manner and the home atmosphere needs a
change.
3. A child who has been over-indulged adopts such practices, that
makes his elders greatly annoyed with him and consequently they are
forced to change their way of dealing with him. When the child frets,
fumes and cries, the parents who are responsible for this behaviour by
over-protecting him and by being over indulgent, realize their mistake in
being over-indulgent.
7.4.1.5. METHODS OF DEALING WITH ANGER
In the preceding paragraphs, we have dealt with the factors con-
tributing to anger and the form anger takes. Some of the methods which
can be used for dealing with anger are now suggested. In dea1ing with
anger the person’s motive, purpose and background are to be understood.
The best way to deal with anger is to minimize provocations that lead to
needless anger. Such restraints which serve no purpose, such

assignments which cannot be solved, such reactions which create
boredom, unnecessary confinements and inconsistent demands, are to
be avoided. It should be kept in mind that taunts, reprimands, etc. should
not be administered till you are sure that they will serve some useful
purpose. When you are sure that an angry child will not stop crying, it is
useless to scold him or to ask him to be quiet. It will rather agravate the
situation.
In dealing with anger it must be remembered that when you are
angry, you create resentment in the person against whom you show
your anger. In case the person is also properly provoked, there devel-
ops a bitter mutual animosity. The best way, therefore, is to put restrain
on one's anger. It is difficult to do so. But the individual in his cooler
moments may think about the reason for his anger and may probably
find out that there is something within him which has caused the anger.
Things can be improved if the person makes an assessment of his faults
in his calmer moments.
The best course for dealing with anger which can be suggested is
that after anger has passed off, the individual is encouraged to ask
himself. ‘‘Why did I get so angry ?’’ Such an enquiry can often teach a
person a great deal about himself. He will learn about his failings and
the next time he will not be enraged so soon.
Teacher can also help children in acquiring skills that will enable
them to cope better with everyday provocations. There are subjects in
which the child cannot show efficiency. If he is ridiculed, he will be
enraged. On the other hand, if the programme is revised and made
consistent with his calibre, it will avoid the provocations for anger.
A teacher can also praise the child for the good work in the subject
in which he is efficient and in this way, may be able to avoid the
provocations which he may have developed on account of bad work in
any other subject. This happens on account of the fact that a person's
resentment over a particular issue often be mitigated or overcome by a
feeling of satisfaction over something else.
In the end it is to be clearly understood that anger is not to be
regarded as a separate entity. It is interwoven with the personality of
the individual and so in dealing with anger, the person's interests. skills,
home situations, etc. are to be taken into consideration.
7.4.2. FEAR
Just like anger, fear also embraces a wide variety of conditions.
It ranges from paralysing terror to mild forebodings and
apprehensions.
Fear is aroused when there are events with which the individual is
unable to cope. His response is that of shrinking or retreating from such
circumstances which entail potential danger and he cannot face them
by showing any other type of response.
Fear may occur in response to a concrete situation for example
the fear on a child at the sight of a big cow ; or to circumstances that
are neither direct nor obvious as in the case with most worries, fore-
bodings and anxieties, In early infancy, any loud sound produces fear or
any other sudden or intense stimulus, such as, a flash of light, etc. arouses
fear.
The fear of an individual is not only dependent on external factors.
As we have seen in the case of anger, so also in fear the person's
response depends upon countless other factors, such as, the conditions
of the organism at the time, surroundings, circumstances, past
associations, the ability to recognize an event potentially dangerous,
circumstances in the individual's life that have disturbed his confidence
in himself, etc. Thus, fear cannot be clearly understood if no inward
peeping into the personality and the surroundings is done.
As the child's activities and interest widen, his range of fear,
likewise, widens. When the child is able to anticipate future events and
is imaginative, he will not only be fearful of the present events but also
he will be afraid of the events that are to occur in the future. He may
imagine fears and dangers in his future life.
The range of the child's fears increases as he develops social
sense. The fear of the approval or the disapproval of elders is created
in him to a great extent. He becomes afraid of failure and humiliation.
At adolescence, adulthood and old age, his fears begin to be' centred
round nerve impulses. At adolescence, fear concerning sex develops.
At maturity, he becomes fearful regarding all those things which might
incapacitate him on the approach of old age.
7.4.2.1. FEARS OF DIFFERENT AGE LEVELS

In infancy, as seen earlier, fears arise in response to sudden or
intense stimuli of any sort. The child's fears occur predominantly in
response to concrete happenings in the immediate environment. During
the pre-school stage, fears are more or less formulated in terms of
imaginary or anticipated dangers. At the elementary school age and
from then onwards, a large proportion of fears concern misfortunes
that never materialize. As the child advances in age, there are some
circumstances which Iose their power to cause fear Noises, unfamiliar
persons, places and situations, etc. lose their power of arousing fear in
an elder child and in their place the feel fear for imaginary dangers
develop in him.
The Dark During childhood, many children acquire fear for dark-
ness. Persons are unable to see in the dark, hence, they are unable to
understand the lurking dangers. So the fear of the dark may be realistic,
but often it is imaginary and unrealistic.
The fear of darkness is often a projection of other fears which
already exist in the child’s mind. The child who is already afraid, will
hear sinister noises in the dark and thus, he will feel more afraid.
The fear of being alone is also coupled with the fear of darkness.
If a child or an adult has any companion in the dark he quite often will
not be afraid. The companionship of even a helpless child or a dag or a
cat dispels fear to a great extent.
Being Left Alone. Another fear which often occurs in the preschool
age children is that of being left alone. It is on account of the child’s
helplessness or his being defenceless that this kind of fear develops. A
mother who threatens the child with abandonment, if he does not obey,
is most often successful in getting him disciplined though the way used
is quite cruel.
Fear of Animals. Children from infancy to early childhood show
fear of animals. In many homes it is a most frequent sight that children
are afraid of dogs or cats. But actually these fears are learnt. A child if
left to himself will not fear animals and even play with snakes, but these
are the adult reactions which he grasps.
Same other fears. The fear of corpses, ghosts and other such
objects begins to develop in early childhood and continues till late childhood
and in some persons it continues throughout life.
As the child grows, the fear of failing in the examination, the fear
of social disapproval, etc. develops.
Irrational Fears. Children show irrational fears from very early
childhood. When they fear a strange person or strange place which
provides no danger to them, their fear is irrational. Similar types of
irrational fears are shown by adolescents and adults. You might have
noticed many grown-ups are afraid of crossing a swollen river even by
bridge though the bridge may be quite strong and there may be no
danger of its falling down.
7.4.2.2. FEAR AND ANXIETY
According to the dictionary meaning, anxiety is a painful uneasi-
ness of mind concerning impending or anticipated ill. Uneasiness in
anxiety differs from the uneasiness involved in fear. In anxiety, the
uneasiness is on account of something within the person himself, while
fear it is on account of the threat of an impending danger. Anaxiety is a
response to hidden and subjective danger. fear of an obvious and objective
danger. The subjective factor leading to anxiety may be conscious.
To many psychologists anxiety involves a projection of some kind
of internal situation into an external object or situation. This may be
called ‘phobia’. For example, the fears of ghosts. corpses and acci-
dents which do not create threatening situations to an individual are
some of the kinds of apprehensions springing from internal causes,
symbolized by an external event.
Anxiety can be got rid of if the individual learns to cope with his
own internal conditions. He should be made to understand himself. His
fears of an irrational nature and his feelings of guilt, etc. are to be
understood by him. Thus for removing anxiety, the individual’s internal
condition must be thoroughly probed into.
7.4.2.3. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO FEAR
There are varying factors contributing to fear. It may be on account
of immediate impending danger, as when a child pursued by a big dog is
afraid and runs for safety ; or it may be due to many circumstances and
experiences which have accumulated, as when a child begins to fear
any dog though it may be very quiet and there is no danger from it to the
child. The child may also not like to go to the place where he has
encountered the dog, or he may also develop fear about its owner, etc.
The author has noticed this in the case of his own daughter. When she
was about three years of age, she was taken for a walk one evening
and on her way she had to cross the railway lines. An engine was
standing 'nearby and as she approached the line it whistled very loudly
and started : she was hurriedly stopped from crossing. Since then she is
always afraid of approaching the railway lines and would cross only
after much persuasion and yet with tears in her eyes.
The child’s susceptibility to fear increases when there is anything
which lowers his self-confidence. For example, illness and fatigue
weaken him and thus, make him more liable to fear. Similarly, all those
demands that overtax his abilities and conditions that threaten his security
make him afraid. If the child is reminded of his failures and is unable to
cope with the competition at home or outside, he develops a feeling of
fear. Also in case the child finds that those upon whom he banks for
protection are fearful, he becomes afraid. For example, if the parents
of the child show their fright in the presence of the child the child also
becomes afraid, not only because there is something to be afraid of but
also because he cannot get proper protection from frightened parents,
sometimes. a child’s fear also originate from hearing exciting details in
stories or looking at horrible picture books, motion pictures, etc. The
child may get a nightmare after seeing a horrible movie or hearing bad
news. This creates fear in him. Such fears are aroused in many children.
But here it must be noticed that though the immediate contributing cause
for such fear is the event seen or heard, yet it is a secondary cause of
fear. A child who is already afraid on account of some other reasons is
likely to be affected adversely by a horrible story, etc. Thus, by only
banning horrible movies, books, etc. the fears of children cannot be
totally eliminated.
7.4.2.4. EXPRESSIONS OF FEAR
Fear can be expressed in a number of ways. The most obvious
are the bodily signs of trembling, crying or trying to run away. But a
person may be extremely frightened, yet he may not show any such
signs. He may appear to be happy or may bear a smile for his pride
while all the time he may be quite afraid. A hostile and rebellious child
also be a frightened child. Sometimes anger is shown for the
concealment of fear and at times good, complaint or conforming
behaviour is a cover for fear.
7.4.2.5. VALUES OF FEAR

Fears are of value also. They provide safeguards against harm.
They prevent a person from entering into foolhardy pursuits. ‘‘Fre-
quently fear promotes prudence and caution and serves as a spur
to endeavour and preparedness for the future.’’ The fear of an
accident may make a person drive with caution. The fear of losing
a job may make the person work with care and do hard labour.
Sometimes, when he feels that his ways of doing things will cause
him harm, he mends his habits and changes his ways. Sometimes,
even imaginary fears serve as an impetus for better and hard work.
A professor dreaming in the night that he is late in his class or his
students have left the class when he began to teach, may develop
in him an attitude of going punctually to the class and being
thoroughly prepared for the lecture.
Sometimes parents wish that their children may be more afraid. A
child who sits precariously on a high wall or a child who walks out of his
home and runs on the street is likely to suffer bodily harm. In such
cases the parents interfere with the child and in most of the homes he is
encouraged to be more afraid.
There are many of us who show fear quite out of proportion to the
danger confronting them. Most of us fear examinations. When they are
drawing nearer, people become nervous, they lose their appetites and
become anxiety-ridden. They have a great fear that they will fail in the
examination. Even among those who have studied thoroughly, this fear
is found in a great measure. There may not be a real danger of their
failure, yet they will show great fear. In the same way, some children
tremble and shudder on the approach of a dog or a cat, while as a
matter of fact, it may have never harmed them. We may say that these
fears also serve a purpose of making us more cautious and careful in
our work.
Fears have many values as-seen above, but their baneful influences
cannot be undermined. When a person is having imaginary fears, he is
more or less suffering on account of certain weaknesses in him. It may
not at all be due to his responses to the actual danger. The individual on
account of such fears shrinks from doing those things which would
have alleviated his sufferings to a great extent.
7.4.2.6. DEALING WITH FEAR
Fears cannot be totally prevented or eliminated. Among children,
often, they are so unpredictable that adults are unable to anticipate
them. They can, however, be dealt with and, in certain degrees, can be
prevented. There is a possibility that as the child grows up he may have
left behind many childhood fears but often they are not eliminated in
this way. Many adults continue to suffer childhood fears.
In preventing fears it must be remembered that fears may arise :
(a) from listening to a harrowing tale or event or witnessing it, or
(b) from various influences in everday life that disturb the individual’s
sense of security and confidence in himself, or (c) due to a variety of
other reasons, such as, suddenness of being presented with a problem
which the individual is unable to solve.
The following measures may be adopted to prevent fears :
(i) The child should be introduced to the new situations gradually.
It is the suddenness which creates fear. When the child is to be given a
new task or introduced to a new activity, the introduction should take
place by degrees.
(ii) Established fears can be overcome by verbal reassurance.
The individual can be given an assurance that there is nothing to be
afraid of.
(iii) A still better method is to ask the individual to examine his
fears and to have a better understanding as to how they originated and
why he is experiencing them. This method cannot be adopted with
children. as is obious and it sometimes also fails in changing the emotional
conflicts in adults.
(iv) The individual, when brought into active grips with the situa-
tion of which he is afraid, gets practical understanding of it and is more
often able to alleviate his fears. The fears of anticipated misfortunes
can be avoided : if the individual is encouraged to take up practical
measures to cope with such misfortunes. If the individual is skilful and
unable to face the situation, there are less chances of his being afraid.
(v) Fears can also be prevented by examples set by others. When
the individual is able to see that the others in meeting a situation are
successful and are not afraid, he also, in the similar circumstances, shall
be able to dispense with fear.
Children’s fears which are of a simple nature can be treated easily

but those fears which have a deep-rooted significance cannot be treated
easily. In such cases, a deep understanding of the child's problems will
be required.
7.4.2.7. FEAR AS A PROBLEM IN EDUCATION
Most of the children's fears are disproportionate to the dangers
they face. The excess of fears retard the personality of the child.
He gets emotional conflicts. Schools, as they are constituted today,
do not in any way consider this problem of fear among the children,
even though it can be said with confidence that many of the fears
among children develop on account of their school life. They put
too much emphasis on literary subjects and passing of examinations.
The result of all this is that the child always suffers from the fear of
not doing well in the examination. It is particularly to be noticed
among those children who are of lower intelligence or whose talent
does not lie in literary pursuits. This is a bad situation.
The schools should really encourage the child to face the situations
squarely and avoid fears. He should be made to have a better under-
standing of himself and he should be given a training which is in line
with his abilities and capabilities so that he may achieve the goals assigned
to him without fear.
7.4.3. AFFECTION
As soon as a child is born, he gets the affection of his mother and
other relatives. This affection which is shown towards him by others
and in turn his affection to them, plays an important role in his emotional
development. The child experiences affection towards various things in
varying degrees as he grows up. He develops affection for his family,
his neighbours, his country and other institutions, etc. with which he is
associated.
The affection which one feels for his offspring is inborn, still it
differs with different individuals. All parents do not show the same
degree of affection to their children. In fact, the affection of parents is
dependent of their own emotional state on the birth of the child. If the
child is born in a family where it is considered an honour to have a child,
or in a family which can well afford the burden of the child, the affection
showered on the child is much more than in those families where the
child is unwanted. If the mother is in bad health at birth, or there are too
many months to be fed, or the parents consider the birth of a child as a

restriction on their freedom, the child will be shown less affection.
Sometimes, the child is neglected on account of the strained relations
between the parents. These are unfortunate situations for the child.
The affection which the child gets from his parents, or teachers or
other persons goes a long way towards his proper development. Showing
of affection does not mean showering of caresses or verbal endearments
only but a whole-harted acceptance of the child as he is. Affection does
not mean loving the child for his beauty or his behaviour or his intelligence,
etc. but loving him for his own sake. Such an affection provides freedom
to the child. He is encouraged to experiment freely and to learn at this
own rate. He has an understanding,that even if he goes wrong, his
parents will not despise him and this will provide him an impetus to
venture Into new things and to explore new situations.
The child who gets genuine affection of his parents is able to
move freely. He is able to develop love towards other people and he
has a freedom to express his emotions openly. Similarly, a truly loving
parent will openly tell a child those things which annoy or irritate him.
Thus, there develops a state of mutual acceptance and there is provided
much room for spontaneity.
7.4.3.1. AFFECTION BETWEEN TEACHER AND PUPIL
There will always develop a love and affection for his pupils in a
genuine teacher. Similarly, the pupils become affectionate to a sincere,
good and well-meaning teacher.
A teacher who is kind and considerate is often liked. Thus, the
teachers are to keep in mind that they can be successful in their work
only when they are able to develop genuine affection for themselves in
their pupils. But this does not mean that they should become
overconcemed with developing affection and take a loveable attitude
towards the mischief of the children. They should also be firm and just.
Children should not be allowed to feel that their guide is a loose
disciplinarian.
The teacher should not try to usurp the place of the parents. Parents
feel jealous of the teacher who is regarded and loved more than
themselves. Such situations are to be avoided. Also he should not have
the favourite system. The children hate a teacher who has favourites
and openly show their hatred.
7.4.3.2. LACK OF AFFFECTION BY PARENTS

Some of the parents do not show proper affection to their chil-
dren; they either reject them totally or, if accept them, accept them for
some of their traits and for their own sake. A child who is neglected as
well as a child who feels that he is not accepted whole-heartedly, develops
many ill tendencies.
The child is considered by some parents as a means of realization
of their own aspirations. They want to compensate for their own failings
by his achievements. They wish that their child should be the foremost
in whatever task he performs. If he teethes he should do it at an early
age. If he is to walk he should be the first one to do so as compared
with other in his age-group. If he read he must surpass all others. The
parents shower more affection on the child who loves up to their
aspirations.
In Indian families, where there is joint family system and many
families live together, parents develop this tenency to a greater extent.
On account of personal jealousies, they wish that their children may
surpass all others in the family. Parents try to have the fulfilment of
their wishes through the achievements of their children. If they have
many children, they will love that child more who is near to their
expectations than the one who does not conform to their aspirations.
7.4.3.3. LACK OF AFFFECTION AND CONSEQUENCES
There are very many bad reactions in the child on account of his
not getting genuine affection from his family. They are :
1. The child from his very childhood is put on the defensive. He
learns that he has to protect himself; his parents will be of no help in
providing him security. He thus, develops many tensions in his relation-
ship with his elders. The do's and dont's imposed upon him by his parents
when he grows up seem to him as the signs of their authoritarian attitude
and he begins to feel annoyed with them.
2. A child who is not loved, develops bad attitude towards his own
worth. He feels that he has to show himself better than others if he is to
command the respect or even the affection of others. He grows up in a
competitive spirit. His attitude in life becomes that of winning and
conquering. He becomes unmindful of the means. His only aim be-
comes to have power and prestige so that he may compensate for his
own weakness which have developed in him on account of non-affec-
tion. This tendency of too much showing off in him affects him in not
giving free play to his abilities and in not trusting his own impulses.
3. The child on account of non-affection may also develop an
attitude of compliance self-affecting. This happens in those chitdren
who do not show aggressive behaviour. Such children become very
meek and develop a tendeliy to please everyone in the world. They feel
very hard hit if they are criticized. Even mild criticism develops in them
an intense anxiety. The above mentioned consequences pertain to parent-
child relationships. Similar types of consequences may follow in any
adult-child relationship. The degree to which the child suffers from these
consequences depends on the degree to which affection is shown to
him. ‘‘These distortions may be temporary and outgrown or they may
leave lasting effects, depending upon such factors as severity, the length
of time to which he is exposed to harmful influences and in part, on his
own inborn resources and resiliency as well.’’
7.4.3.4. CONSEQUENCES OF LACK OF AFFECTION IN
SCHOOLS
The child develops certain bad attitudes if he feels that affection
is not shown to him. This is particularly true with teacher-pupil
relationships. A child who finds that the teacher shows more affection
to other children than to himself, or has favourities, feels himself rejected
and may be prejudiced against the teacher.
A teacher also enhances the feeling of rejection in the child by not
appreciating his work. He may also comment adversely on his dress,
hair style, etc. He may ridicule the child for his failings. These develop
in the child an attitude of being rejected.
The tendency of rejection is also developed as a whole by the
school. In our Indian schools, there is great tendency to give too much
importance to the examinations. The curriculum is mostly heavy to which
many cannot conform. The result is a large number of failures. These
failures enhance the feelings of rejection in the child and he develops a
positive bias towards the school and its tasks. No wonder that most of
the Indian students consider school as a place of rigid confinement, just
like a jail and the teachers are looked upon as jailors.
7.5. CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS OF EMOTIONS DURING

CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE
1. The emotional experiences are associated with some instincts
or biological drives.
2. Emotions, in general, are the product of perception.
3. The core of an emotion is feeling which is essentially linked
with some sort of urge or impulsive act to do. There is only a difference
of degree between feeling and emotion.
4. Every emotional experience involves several physical and
psychological changes in the organism. Some of these changes like the
bulge of the eyes, the flush of the face, the flow of tears, the pulse rate,
etc., are easily observable. There are also internal physiological changes
like circulation of blood, the impact on the digestive system and the
changes in the functioning of some glands, etc.
5. Emotions are frequent.
6. Emotions are expressed in relation to the concrete objects or
situations.
7. Emotions are temporary.
8. Emotional expressions in early childhood are intense irrespective
of the intensity of the stimulus.
9. Small children fail to hide their emotions and express them
indirectly through different activities like crying, nail-biting, thumb-sucking
and speech difficulties.
10. Emotions are prevalent in every living organism.
11. Emotions are present at all stages of development and can be
aroused in young as well as in old.
12. Emotions differ from person to person.
13. Same emotion can be aroused by a number of different stimuli
objects or situations.
14. Emotions rise abruptly but die slowly.
15. Emotions are subject to displacement. The anger aroused on
account of one stimuli gets transferred to other situations. The anger
caused by the rebuking of the officer to his subordinate may be
transferred in beating the children at home.
16. One emotion may give rise to a number of likewise emotions.
7.6. ROLE OF THE SCHOOL AND TEACHER IN THE
1. Equal Treatment Irrespective of Income—Poverty is not
a bad thing in itself but sometimes it happens to be the cause of emotional
disturbance for some pupils in certain situations. At home the poor child
was quite contended and happy in his limited world. But when poor
children come across rich ones in the school, they find colossal differences
between themselves and their rich classmates as regards their clothes,
their modes of life, their meals and pocket allowances etc. Some of
them may develop jealousy, worry and inferiority complex if they cannot
make proper adjustment with hard realities. Sometimes the teachers
aggravate the situation when they happen to be quite partial and do not
treat the poor children at par with the rich ones. Heavy financial demands
may also disturb the poor children emotionally as they are often unable
to meet the same easily.
The school is responsible to the poor students as much as to the
rich ones. Resources of poor students should be studied individually and
effort should be made to meet their monetary needs in connection with
their education. Simple living should be a guiding principle in all the
educational institutions.
2. Dynamic Methods of Teaching—Faulty methods of teaching
do not develop motivation in the children. They make lessons a drudgery.
The children begin to hate the very process of education. There is always
tension in their minds. Learning is no more a joyful activity for them.
The improvement in the methods of teaching can go a long way in
bringing back emotional security for many children. Educational work
can easily be turned into play and then it will be interesting, joyful and at
the same time more instructive.
3. Role of Love in Schools—In most of the traditional schools
teaching is based on fear. Children know that they will be caned if they
are not successful in studies. They get heavy home task which is often
impossible to complete without help and guidance which is not always
available at home. They sleep at night with the 'dreams of canes'. They
wake up in the morning with fear and constant worry. Under such
circumstances emotional tranquillity is hardly possible.
There is a famous saying, ‘‘Love the child and the child will love
you. Hate the child and he will hate you.’’ Love should be the basis of
all work.
4. Balanced Emotional Behaviour of the Teacher—Some

teachers themselves need emotional stability. Emotionally unbalanced
teachers prove contagious for the innocent children. They themselves
become a prey to inferiority complex, persistent worries or over-excited
emotions. They are generally irritable and provocative. For the balanced
emotional development of children, teachers themselves should be
emotionally developed.
5. Due Regard to Individual Differences—All children differ
mentally, emotionally and physically. But we provide little individual
attention to the children in schools. Some of them are backward in
studies, while some of them are very superior. But they are dragged on
the same lines. The backward lag behind still more. This leads to
emotional disturbance.
6. Creative and Democratic Concept of Discipline—
Traditional methods of discipline are faulty. Sometimes schools become
just like jails and some teachers like jailors. Discipline in such a situation
is based on fear. It may serve the purpose superficially but in reality the
things are far from being satisfactory. There should be positive devices
of discipline. Discipline should be creative and constructive. Children
should be made responsible for handling their own affairs as far as it is
possible.
7. Provision of Co-curricular Activities—All the children and
especially adolescents need provision for the expression of their pent-
up emotions and for redirection of their emotional behaviour. In the
absence of such provision, emotional stability is not possible. Various
co-curricular activities organised properly can solve this problem quite
satisfactorily.
8. Provision of Sex Education—During adolescent period, lack
of information about sex causes emotional disturbance. Teacher should
provide necessary information about the sex matters and problems.
There should be no shyness and this work should be done seriously.
9. Continuous Evaluation—The present system of examination
is faulty. Chance factor counts much in this system. It does not measure
the all round development of the child and causes disturbance. Evaluation
should be made continuous and objective.
10. Healthy Physical Conditions in the Schools—Poor physical
conditions in the school bring fatigue and boredom to the children. They
are very soon fed up with the school and its activities. Lack of creational
activities is also responsible for emotional disturbance. The school
authorities should be careful in this respect also.
11. Rich and Varied Curriculum—The curriculum in schools
should relate to the real life of children. Learning in schools should be
related to the modern needs of children.
EXERCISE
1. What do you know about the Emotional Development ?
2. How we can develop Emotional Skill in Children ?
3. What are the Emotional Reactions of an Individual at the
earlier stage of the development ?
4. Which factors affecting the emotional development of a
Child ?
5. Write characteristics of Emotions during Childhood and
Adolescence.
6. What is the Role of a Teacher in Emotional Development ?
1. ‘‘Every Child is Different.’’ Explain it.
2. Write the Emotional Development in Infancy.
3. Write Emotional Development during Adolescence.
4. What is anger ? Write the factors which contribute in arousal
of anger ?
5. What is Fear ?
MORAL DEVELOPMENT:
8 CONCEPT, STAGES, FACTORS
AND CHARACTERISTICS
8.1. MEANING AND CONCEPT OF MORAL

DEVELOPMENT
Moral development is defined as the process by which children
are able to develop attitudes and behaviours toward other
people. Moral development can be both positive and negative,
depending on the type of influences are given to the child. Moral
development is an important aspect to raising children who are
able to function properly in society. While most moral development
is able to come naturally from children watching other people and
adults, it is important that the main adults in a child’s life be able to
set a good moral example for children. Parents should be able to
effectively teach their children what is right and what is wrong,
starting from the time they are born.
An important aspect of moral development is the way that
children interact in social situations. Children may be inclined to
have a more positive moral development when they are shown
how to act instead of being told how to act. Children should be
allowed to have social interactions with other children where they
can exercise what is right and what is wrong. These social
interactions with other children will set the stage for the way they
develop their morals as older children and adults.
Moral development is the process throught which children
develop proper attitudes and behaviours toward other people in
society, based on social and cultural norms, rules and laws.
Meaning of Moral Development : By morality we mean
conformity to the Finally, moral code of the social group. The term
comes from the Latin word ‘mores’, meaning manners, customs
or folkways. To act in a moral way means to act in conformity to
group standards of conduct. Morality also includes a sense in of
293
right or wrong-a behaviour which has to do with the conscience of

the individual. Moral behaviour is learnt. Moral standards vary from
group to group depending upon what has been accepted by the
group as the socially approved behaviour. True morality comes
from within the individual. It is internal in nature and not imposed
by external authority. Immoral behaviour is that behaviour which
is unfavourable to the group.
T. Saraswathi : Along with a more advanced theory of mind
and an understanding of intention, children also are developing a
sense of right and wrong. In this section, we focus on children’s
moral reasoning (the thinking process involved in judgments about
questions of right and wrong), their thinking about right and wrong
and their active construction of moral judgments. Some of the
earliest moral issues in classrooms involve dividing and sharing
materials or distributive justice (beliefs about how to divide
materials or privileges fairly among members of a group; follows a
sequence of development from equality to merit to benevolence)
(Damon, 1994). For young children (ages 5 to 6), fair distribution
is based on equality; thus, teachers often hear, ‘‘Keshawn got more
than I did that's not fair!’’ In the next few years, children come to
recognize that some people should get more based on merit- they
worked harder or performed better. Finally, around age 8, children
are able to take need into account and to reason based on
benevolence; they can understand that some students may get more
time or resources from the teacher because those students have
special needs.
Another area that involves moral development is an
understanding of rules. If you have spent time with young children,
you know that there is a period when you can say, ‘‘Eating in the
living room is not allowed!’’ and get away with it. For young
children, rules simply exist. Piaget (1965) called this the state of
moral realism (stage of development wherein children see rules
as absolute). At this stage, the child of 5 or 6 believes that rules
about conduct or rules about how to play a game are absolute and
MORAL DEVELOPMENT: CONCEPT, STAGES, FACTORS... 295
can't be changed. If a rule is broken, the child believes that the

punishment should be determined by how much damage is done,
not by the intention of the child or by other circumstances. So,
accidentally breaking three cups is worse than intentionally
breaking one, and in the child's eyes, the punishment for the three-
cup offense should be greater.
As children interact with others and see that different people
have different rules, there is a gradual shift to a morality of
cooperation (stage of development wherein children realize that
people make rules and people can change them). Children come to
understand that people make rules and people can change them.
When rules are broken, both the damage done and the intention of
the offender are taken into account.
There are several theories that speculate how and when
morality develops in children. It is generally accepted, however,
that children learn morality from those closest to them and are not
born with a specific set of norms and values. Parents can help build
strong moral values in their children by making sure they feel
important and loved. This motivates a child to act in a way that will
gain approval. Acknowledge and identify your child’s emotions
from an early age to help her learn how to identify these feelings in
others, and learn to empathize as a result. Most importantly, give
praise when your child acts in a positive manner and demonstrate
the kind of moral behavior and values you expect from her.
8.2. KOHLBERG'S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Kohlberg’s research on moral development grew out of
Piaget’s cognitive-developmental approach in his pioneer research
(Kohlberg, 1978, 1981 & 1984), where he proposed a
comprehensive theory of moral development. He studied a group
of boys whose ages ranged from 10 to 16 years where he told his
subjects stories in which moral dilemmas occurred and then asked
them to respond to those stories by telling him how they would
deal with the dilemmas in them. Based on his longitudinal study,
Kohlberg then proposed that moral judgements develops through
a series of six universal, sequential and hierarchical stages of

progressively more differentiated and integrated concepts of justice,
which comprised of three main levels of moral development; the
pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional levels
(Kohlberg, 1981). His theory focused on the “underlying structure
of individual’s moral judgements rather than on the content or
particular decisions that children and adolescents made,” (Smetana,
2003). According to Kohlberg’s theory, moral judgements in middle
and late childhood is structured by preconventional reasoning and
divided into 2 stages which are concerned with obedience,
punishment avoidance and instrumental needs (Smetana, 2003).
In other words, children obey rules to please people in authority
and for the personal pleasure they derive from observing such rules.
In contrast, at the conventional level, both adolescents and adults
conform to certain behaviour on the basis of the law and norms of
society. The law is seen as an instrument for the preservation of
society and cultural heritage. Consequently, the impact of the media
such as television, internet and newspapers can have a deeper
impact on the adolescent’s behaviour. Kohlberg then described a
further developmental level of ‘post-conventional’ or principled
moral judgements, structured by concerns with mutual respect,
contractual arrangement among individual and their rights and
duties, and differentiated concepts of justice and rights (Smetana,
2003). Smetana (2003) notes that “changes in adolescent moral
structures are connected to the emergence of competencies in other
domains, including the development of formal operational thought
and the development of more advanced perspective-taking
abilities.” For example, formal operational logic (or early formal
operations) has been proposed as an essential but not sufficient
condition for the development of principled moral reasoning
(Kohlberg, 1984). For this reason, Kohlberg’s theory and research
gave a rise to empirical and theoretical work on the development
of moral self-understanding and identity.
Lawrence Kohlberg a psychologist belonging to the

University of Harvard, was born in 1927, grew up in Bronxville,
New York. In his later student career, he stayed on at Chicago for
graduate work in psychology, at first thinking he would become a
clinical psychologist. However, he soon became interested in Piaget
and began interviewing children and adolescents on moral issues
as an extension of the Piaget's work on children’s moral reasoning
and development. As a result of his study he got success in putting
forward a theory of the development of moral judgement. The
sample of his study consisted of hundreds of children belonging to
different ages of childhood and adolescence from different family
set ups, cultures and countries.
In his concept of morality and moral judgement it may be
seen that he differs from the popular view that children imbibe the
sense and methods of moral judgement from their parents and elders
by way of learning. According to him as soon as we talk with
children about morality, we find that they have many ways of
making judgements which are not internalized from the outside,
and which do not come in any direct and obvious way from parents,
teachers and even peers (Kohlberg, 1968). Going further he clarified
that internal or cognitive processes like thinking and reasoning
also play a major role in one's moral development, i.e. the way
children make moral judgement depends on their level of intllectual
development as well as on their upbringing and learning
experiences.
For studying the process of moral development in human
beings, Kohlberg first defined moral development as the
development of an individual's sense of justice. For estimating one's
sense of justice' he concentrated on one's views on morality with
the help of a test of moral judgement consisting of a set of moral
dilemmas. For instance, should a man who cannot afford the
medicine his dying wife needs, steal it ? Should a doctor mercy-
kill a fatally ill person suffering terrible pain ? Is it better to save
the life of one important person or a lot of unimportant persons ?
For the purpose of creating interest among the children he

interviewed, he tried to put before them these moral dilemmas in
the form of story or narrative descriptions like below.
TABLE 8.1. KOHLBERG'S THREE LEVELS AND SIX
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Level I. Premoral or Preconventional Morality (Age 4 to
10 years)
Stage 1 : The stage of obedience for avoiding punishment.
Stage 2 : The stage of conforming to obtain rewards and
favours in return
Level II. Conventional morality (Age 10 to 13 years)
Stage 3 : Good Interpersonal relationships (The stage of
maintaining mutual relations and approval of others)
Stage 4 : Maintaining social order (The stage of obedience
for avoiding censure by higher authority or social
systems)
Level III. Posts Conventional Morality involving self
accepted moral principles (Age 13 or not until
middle or later adulthood or never)
Stage 5 : Social contract (Stage of conforming to the
democratically accepted laws and mores of
community welfare)
Stage 6 : Universe ethical principle (Stage of conforming to
the universal ethical principles and the call of one's
conscience)
Let us now briefly discuss these levels and stages of morality.
Level I. Premoral or Preconventional Morality (4-10 years)
At this level, the child begins to make judgements about what
is right or wrong, good or bad. However, the standards by which
he measures the morality are those of others. He is persuaded to
take such judgements either to avoid punishment or to earn rewards.
Development of morality at this level usually follows the following
two stages :
Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation—

In the beginning, the child’s morality is controlled by the fear
of punishment. He tries to obey his'parents an elders purely to avoid
reproof and punishment. Actually the Kohlberg's Stage 1 resembles
the Piaget's first stage (Heteronomous Stage of morality) of moral
reasoning. The child assumes that powerful authorities hand down
a fixed set of rules which he or she must unquestioningly obey. To
the Heinz dilemma, the child typically says that Heinz was wrong
to steal the drug because "It's against the law," or "It's bad to steal,"
as if this were all there were to it. When asked to elaborate, the
child usually responds in terms of the consequences involved,
explaining that stealing is bad "because you'll get punished"
(Kohlberg, 1958).
Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange—
At this stage of the moral development, children begin to
recognize that there is not just one right view that is handed down
by the authorities. Different individuals have different viewpoints.
"Heinz," they might point out, "might think it's right to take the
drug, the druggist would not." Since everything is relative, each
person is free to pursue his or her individual interests. One boy
said that Heinz might steal the drug if he wanted his wife to live,
but that he doesn't have to if he wants to marry someone younger
and better-looking (Kohlberg, 1963, p. 24).
In this way, the second stage of the premoral or
preconventional level, children’s moral judgement is based on self-
interest and considerations of what others can do for them in
exchange or return. Here they value a thing because it has some
practical utility for them. They obey the orders of their parents and
elders and abide by some rules and regulations, because it serves
their interests.
Level II. Conventional Morality (10-13 years)
At this level of moral development also, children's moral
judgement is controlled by the likes and dislikes of others-the
conventions, rules and regulations and the law and order system
maintained within society. Stealing or mercy-killing would thus be
judged wrong because it is considered wrong by society at large
and by the legal system. In this way, the conventional level of

morality may be regarded as the level where the child identifies
with authority. It is characterized by the following two stages :
Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships—
In the early years of the second level of moral development,
the child's moral judgement is based on the desire to obtain approval
of others and avoid being disliked by being declared a good boy
or a good girl. For this purpose he begins to judge the intentions
and likes or dislikes of others and acts accordingly. As conclutded
by Kohlberg, children of this stage of moral development believe
that children should live up to the expectations of the family and
community and behave in "good" ways like a good boy or good
girl. Accordingly as Kohlberg discovered many of his subjects
argued that Heinz was right to steal the drug because "He was a
good man for saving the life of his wife simply because no husband
would have sit back and watched his wife die." As example,
Kohlberg quotes the response given by his subject Don (aged 13
years) as below.
It was really the druggist's fault, he was unfair, trying to
overcharge and letting someone die. Heinz loved his wife and
wanted to save her. I think anyone would. I don't think they would
put him in jail. The judge would look at all sides, and see that the
druggist was charging too much. (Kohlberg, 1963, p. 25)
Kohlberg concluded from such responses of his subjects that
by responding in such a way, they were demonstrating the level of
their conventional morality because it assumes that the attitude
expressed would be shared conventionally by the entire community-
‘‘anyone’’ would be right to do what Heinz did.
In case we try to find similarities and dissimilarities between
the Piaget's theory of moral development and Kohlberg's theory of
moral development, we can fairly analyze that there lies substantial
similarities between Kohlberg’s first three stages and Piaget's two
stages being covered during the entire period of childhood. In both
the developmental theories, we may observe the similar sequence
characterized with a shift from unquestioning obedience to a
relativistic outlook and to a concern for good intention on the part
of wrong doers. The difference lies in the fact where in Kohlberg's

theory these shifts occur in three stages rather than two as
emphasized in Piaget's theory of moral development.
Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order—
According to Kohlberg, stage 3 reasoning works best in two-
person relationships with family members or close friends, where
one can make a real effort to get to know the other's feelings and
needs and try to help. At stage 4, in contrast, the respondent
becomes more broadly concerned with society as a whole. Now
the emphasis is on obeying laws, respecting authority and
performing one’s duties so that the social order is maintained. In
support of his conclusion Kohlberg again cites the responses of his
subjects to the Heinz story. Many of his subjects were found to
utter that they understand that Heinz’s intention or motive was good
but they cannot condon the theft. What would happen if all of us
started breaking the laws whenever we felt we had a good reason ?
The result would be Chaos ; society could not function.
In this way the children reaching the moral stage 4, begin to
take moral decisions from the perspective of the society as a whole.
At this stage children’s moral behaviour and judgements are
governed by conventions as well as the laws and mores of the
social system. The standards of others are now so established that
it becomes a convention to follow them. The children now follow
the rules and regulations of society and take decisions about things
being right or wrong with a view to avoiding censure by the elders,
authorities or the social system.
Level III. Post Conventional Morality involving self-
accepted moral principles (Age 13 and afterwards)
This marks the highest level of attainment of true morality as
the controlling force for making judgements now rests with the
individual himself. He does not value a thing or conform to an idea
merely because of consideration of the views of others, conventions
or the law and order system of the society but because it fits into
the framework of his self-accepted moral principles. However, to
reach this level is not an ordinary thing. One may be able to attain
it in the beginning or middle of his adolescence or it may be
postponed for him till the middle or later adulthood or he may

never attain it in his life time. This highest level of moral
development is also characterized by two separate stages as
described below.
Stage 5. Social Contracts and Individual Rights—
At stage 5 as Kohlberg concludes, individuals begin to ask.
“What makes for a good society ?” They basically believe that a
good society is best conceived as a social contract into which people
freely enter to work toward the benefit for all. They recognize that
all rational people would agree on two points (i) getting certain
basic rights, such as liberty and life, to be protected and (ii) needing
some democratic procedures for changing unfair laws and for
improving society. In support of his conclusion Kohlberg quotes
the responses of his subjects to Heinz dilemma. Many of his
respondents make it clear that they do not generally favour the
breaking of laws ; laws are social contracts that we agree to uphold
until we can change them by democratic means. Nevertheless, his
wife’s right to live is a moral right that must be protected.
In this way, at this stage the individual’s moral judgements
are internalized in such a form that he responds positively to
authority only if he agrees with the principles upon which the
demands of authority are based. The individual at this stage begins
to think in rational terms, valuing the rights of human beings and
the welfare of society. For example, at this stage in reference to the
rights of the human being, the decision about mercy killing may
be left to the individual who is suffering, and if so needed, the
concerned laws may be amended for the welfare of society at large.
Stage 6. Universal Principles—
This stage of moral development is the highest stage or
perfection achieved in terms of moral reasoning and development
of morality. ln propagating his theory of moral development,
Kohlberg believes that there must be a higher stage of moral
development - as just conceived by him through his stage 6 - which
defines the principles by which we get the type of justice as
conceived by the great moral leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and
Martin Luther King. The principle of justice is universal and requires
us to treat the claims of all parties in an impartial way, respecting

the dignity of all people as individuals and humans. According to
Kohlberg, we can reach this stage in case we begin to look at a
situation purely through one another’s eyes. Take the case of Heinz
dilemma, reaching this stage would essentially require that all parties
- the druggist, Heinz and his wife - try to view the things from
other perspectives for seeking justice and fair solution of the
problem. As a result, in the end, they would all agree that the life of
the wife must be saved by sacrificing the narrow interests related
to money or. conventional laws.
In this way at the stage 6 of our moral development the
controlling forces for making moral judgements are highly
internalized. The decisions of the individual are now based upon
his conscience and the belief in universal principles of respect,
justice and equality. He does what he, as an individual thinks right
regardless of legal restrictions or the opinion of others. Thus, at
this stage people act according to the inner voice of their conscience
provide evidence of sharing, helping and defending the victims of
injustice and lead a life that they can without self-condemnation or
feeling of guilt or shame.
From the above discussion of the Kohlberg’s stages of moral
development, it is clear that although children begin to think about
morality in terms of justice or right and wrong at a very early age,
yet they have to wait until adolescence or adulthood for the dawning
of the stage of true morality. Also, it is not essential that all people
pass through the third level of moral development. Most adults are
not able to cross the second level and few can reach stage 5 and
among these there are very few who, being intellectually quite
sound, can think rationally and base their moral judgement purely
on the dictates of their conscience at the risk of life and property.
Critical Evaluation/Problems with Kohlberg's Methods
1. The dilemmas are artificial (i.e. they lack ecological
validity)
Most of the dilemmas are unfamiliar to most people. For
example, it is all very well in the Heinz dilemma asking subjects
whether Heinz should steal the drug to save his wife.
However Kohlberg’s subjects were aged between 10 and 16.

They have never been married and never been placed in a situation
remotely like the one in the story. How should they know whether
Heinz should steal the drug?
2. The sample is biased
According to Gilligan (1977), because Kohlberg's theory was
based on an all-male sample, the stages reflect a male definition of
morality (its androcentric). Men's morality is based on abstract
principles of law and justice, while women's is based on principles
of compassion and care.
Further, the gender bias issue raised by Gilligan is reminded
of the significant gender debate still present in psychology, which
when ignored, can have a large impact on the results obtained
through psychological research.
2. The dilemmas are hypothetical (i.e. they are not real)
In a real situation, what course of action a person takes will
have real consequences and sometimes very unpleasant ones for
themselves. Would subjects reason in the same way if they were
placed in a real situation? We just don't know.
The fact that Kohlberg's theory is heavily dependent on an
individual's response to an artificial dilemma brings question to
the validity of the results obtained through this research. People
may respond very differently to real life situations that they find
themselves in than they do with an artificial dilemma presented to
them in the comfort of a research environment.
3. Poor research design
The way in which Kohlberg carried out his research when
constructing this theory may not have been the best way to test
whether all children follow the same sequence of stage progression.
His research was cross-sectional, meaning that he interviewed
children of different ages to see what level of moral development
they were at.
A better way to see if all children follow the same order throu
the stages would have been to carry out longitudinal research on
the same children.
However, longitudinal research on Kohlberg's theory has since

been carried out by Colby et al. (1983) who tested 58 male
participants of Kohlberg's original study. She tested them 6 times
in the span of 27 years and found support for Kohlberg's original
conclusion that we all pass through the stages of moral development
in the same order.
PROBLEMS WITH KOHLBERG'S THEORY
1. Are there distinct stages of moral development ?
Kohlberg claims that there are distinct stages but the evidence
does not always support this conclusion. For example a person
who justified a decision on the basis of principled reasoning in one
situation (post conventional morality stage 5 or 6) would frequently
fall back on conventional reasoning (stage 3 or 4) with another
story. In practice it seems that reasoning about right and wrong
depends more upon the situation than upon general rules.
What is more individuals do not always progress through
the stages (line not clear) and Rest (1979) found that one in
fourteen actually slipped backwards. The evidence for distinct stages
of moral development looks very weak and some would argue that
behind the theory is a culturally baised belief in the superiority of
American values over those of other cultures and societies.
2. Does moral judgement match moral behaviour :
Kohlberg never claimed that there would be a one to one
correspondence between thinking and acting (what we say and
what we do) but he does suggest that the two are linked. However,
Bee (1994) suggests that we also need to take account of :
(a) Habits that people have developed over time.
(b) Whether people see situations as demanding their
participation.
(c) The costs and benefits of behaving in a particular way.
(d) Competing motive such as peer pressure, self-interest and
so on.
Overall Bee points out that moral behaviour is only a question
of moral reasoning. It is also to do with social factors.
3. Is justice the most fundamental moral principle ?

This is Kohlberg’s view. However, Gilligan (1977) suggests
that the principle of caring for others is equally important.
Furthermore Kohlberg claims that the moral reasoning of males
has been often in advance of that of females.
Girls are often found to be at stage 3 in Kohlberg’s system
(good boy-nice girl orientation) whereas boys are more often found
to be at stage 4 (Law and Order orientation). Gilligan replies:
“The very traits that have traditionally defined the goodness
of women, their care for and sensitivity to the needs of others, are
those that mark them out as deficient in moral development.”
In other words Gilligan is claiming that there is a sex bias in
Kohlberg’s theory. He neglects the feminine voice of compassion,
love and non-violence, which is associated with the socialization
of girls.
Gilligan reached the conclusion that Kohlberg’s theory did
not account for the fact that women approach moral problems from
an ‘ethics of care’, rather than an ‘ethics of justice’ perspective,
which challenges some of the fundamental assumptions of
Kohlberg’s theory.
The Theory of Moral Development is a very interesting subject
that stemmed from Jean Piaget’s theory of moral reasoning.
Developed by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg this theory made
us understand that morality starts from the early childhood years
and can be affected by several factors.
Since education is the responsibility of the parents as well as
of the teachers, we must learn the art of working together; and this
is possible only when each one of us perceives what is true.
8.3. FACTORS AFFECTING MORAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Family—Family plays an important role in a child’s moral
development. His first initiation into the mysteries of the good and
the bad is through his parent’s acceptance or rejection of his various
actions. The actions which are approved by the parents are regarded
as good and those rejected by them are regarded as bad. The truth
remains that the foundations of a child’s moral development are
laid in the family. Ethical and moral virtues like co-operation,
obedience, dis-cipline, truthfulness, sincerity, self-submission,
sympathy, love, honesty, sublimation of instincts, subordination
of self to the larger interest of the society, realising and discharging
responsibility are developed in the fami-ly. Congenial environment
in the 'family is conducive to moral development. Family members
having and immoral background adversely influence moral
development of the child. Studies show that lower class parents
tend to place greater emphasis on conformity to external authority.
The middle class parents emphasize internal regulation of behaviour.
It may be due to the fact that the lower class boys behave more
aggressively and experience less guilt in the process than the middle
class boys.
2. School—The child is influenced by the notions of the good
and the bad as a result of his relationship with his classmates, teachers
and senior students. School is said to be the fountain head of social
and moral virtues. It plays an important role in moral development
of students. Teacher's personality i.e., his social and moral attitudes,
habits, interests, values and beliefs; discipline in the school
maintained through love, affection, sympathy ;personal example
of teacher exercises positive in-fluence in moral development of
students. Co-curricular activities like mass prayer and morning
assembly, social service activities, self-govern-ment, celebration
of birth days of great men provide ample opportunities for the
inculcation of moral qualities like honesty, obedience, truth, justice,
fellow-feeling, love and respect for others. Thus the students get
training in the habits and graces of moral life.
The propriety of his moral behaviour depends to a great extent
on his learning. Children accept many things which they see their
seniors doing in the school. Most of what has been learnt at the
mother’s knee is rejected. The teaching of moral science and a
programme of moral education go a long way in the moral
development of children and adolescents.
3. Neighbourhood—Interests, habits, sentiments and character
of neighbours exert significant influence in moral development of
children. Presence of the houses of drunkards, dacoits, gamblers
and prostitutes negatively influences moral development.
4. Religious institutions—Religious institutions like temples,
Gurudwaras, Church have been regarded as primary social and
moral institutions. Religion is of dominant influence in determining
social and moral attitudes and moral functioning. Thus ethnic or
religious institutions significantly influence moral development of
individuals.
5. Club and Camp Experiences—Club and camp experiences
prove useful in the development of valuable social and moral
qualities like obedience, cheerfulness, politeness, kindness, co-
operation, honesty, and loyalty.
6. Playmates and Friends—Playmates and friends have vital
in-fluence in the moral development of the child. His moral attitudes,
beliefs, interests; sentiments, habits and character are influenced
by playmates and companions.
7. Culture—The general social atmosphere also affects the
moral development of the individual. It is this reason why the moral
behaviour of individuals belonging to cultured societies is markedly
different from that of individuals belonging to uncivilized societies.
The existing cultural environment exerts a powerful influence in
the moral development. Customs, traditions, mores, folkways and
values of the groups i.e., on the, school as well as society
significantly influence moral development.
8. Age—Age is an important factor in forming moral concepts
and moral behaviors. As the individual passes from infancy to
adolescence, he becomes more tolerant towards certain those ideals
which sometimes do not tally with what he thinks to be good.
From unconditional obedience of his seniors in early and late

childhood, the individual becomes critical and defiant in early
adolescence. But in later adolescence he comes to accept many
things which he had earlier rejected.
9. Sex—Sex also plays an important role in moral development
Girls are more seized with the sense of guilt and shame if their
behaviour does not find propriety within the accepted moral code.
They try to be less critical of the moral tone set by their elders. Boys,
on the other hand, are more aggressive than the girls and in most
cases, set their own standards of moral behaviour and try to stick to
them.
Hence moral development is a complex process in which the
action and interaction of an individual and those surrounding him
is of greatly importance.
Moral development is a complex process. It includes the
development of the ability to distinguish right from wrong, to act
according to moral principles and to feel moral emotions. In this
context, learning moral principles is just as relevant as the
development of moral motivation or the ability to make moral
judgments (moral reasoning). The project “Moral Development in
Childhood and Adolescence” deals with those various aspects of
moral development and the different factors which influence it.
The current studies particularly focus on the relevance of social
cognitions as well as contextual and cognitive factors in the
development of moral skills.
During childhood, moral development is characterized by a
two-step process. In the first, early process, children acquire
knowledge about morality. Moral motivation develops in the
following, second step of moral development. It is defined as the
motivation to act according to moral principles, even if they are
contrary to one’s own needs or wishes. However, the step from
moral knowledge to moral motivation is not taken equally by all
children. In fact, children differ in the time they need to take this
step and in the degree of success. Also, the patterns of justification
of moral principles and feelings change over the course of

development. The project “Moral Development in Childhood and
Adolescence” examines which factors matter in these
developmental processes.
8.4. CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL DEVELOPMENTS
Moral development involves learning to know the difference
between right and wrong, which is necessary to make appropriate
decisions in life. Childhood moral development is not genetic, but
develops in stages. The development of morality is based on a
child’s experiences and environment, as well as cognitive, social
and emotional development.
Moral Development at Different Stages :
1. Infancy Stage (Birth to 5 years)—During first two years
of life the child has no conscience, no sense of right or wrong and
no values. Hence no significant moral development takes place
during first two years of life. But the child is not immoral. He is
rather unmoral or non-moral. He does not perform the wrong acts
intentionally. Wrong acts are caused due to ignorance and his
inability to understand what is good or what is bad. As the child
has no conscience during the first two years of life, it is no use
teaching him moral behaviour and moral concepts. Hence parents
must wait until the child develops his conscience and is able to
understand what the society expects.
Before the child enters school, he is expected to distinguish
right from wrong or do’s from do not's in simple situations and to
lay the foundation for the development of conscience. Moral
concepts during this period are specific at first and relate to specific
situations in which they were learned. Piaget is of the view that
since the pre-school child is uncapable of abstract thinking and
generalisation he considers good behaviour in terms of specific
acts, such as obeying the mother or helping the mother and bad
behaviour in terms of not doing what his mother or father wants
him to do.
Kohlberg opines that during this stage conduct is determined

by external factors like approval and disapproval or reward and
punishment. Thus the child's behaviour is oriented towards
obedience and punishment His behaviour is hedonistic in the sense
that he considers acts as right. that satisfy the self and sometimes
his parents. If a particular behaviour brings pleasure, comfort, or
some satisfaction, and at times, if a particular behaviour pleases
his parents, particularly mother, he repeats that be-haviour.
2. Late Childhood Stage (5 to 12 years)—By the time a child
is 6 or 7 years old, his capacity to understand relationship increases.
Thus his concepts of right and wrong in different but related
situations emerge. Consequently he moves from specific response
to a generalised response. By the time a child is 8 years old his
concepts become more generalised. For example he realises that
‘stealing is bad’, rather than 'it is wrong to steal a book' as in early
childhood or infancy stage.
During late childhood stage morality is defined as performing
good acts and maintaining the conventional social order. Morality
is held to be maintaining good relations and oriented towards getting
approval and pleasing and helping others.
During last part a late childhood period, moral behaviour is
oriented towards authority, law, duty and maintaining the status
quo — which is assumed to be a primary value. The moral values
of the child change as he associates with more people and with
people whose values differ from those of his parents.
3. Adolescent Stage—Moral development is an important
aspect of adolescent stage. By the time the individual reaches
adolescence, his moral code is fairly well formed. During the earlier
years when a child does things that the group regards as wrong, it
is often assumed that his parents have not taught him how to behave.
But as the child reaches adolescence, society expects him to behave
in accordance with the mores of the group, because during
adolescence he is better capable of understanding what is right and
what is wrong.
Most adolescents learn to behave in a socially approved
manner. But few others are socially ‘stupid’. They violate the mores
of the group. But the society does not cundone violation of its
mores. Thus such adolescents pay the penalty in the form of social
rejection. During the adolescent period morality is defined as
conforming to common standards–rights or duties.
The adolescent is oriented towards existing rules and standards.
But he no longer wants to accept all that is imposed on him. Rather
he applies his conscience and individual right in accepting moral
behaviour. Adolescents prefer democratic techniques in teaching
and learning moral behaviour. Adolescents who are trained through
autocratic techniques resent those who teach them moral behaviour.
Sometimes parental expectations come in conflict with peer group
standards. The adolescent in his attempts to conform to peer group
standards ignore or revolt against the parent. Such adolescent
reactions are known as adolescent rebellion. Adolescent rebellion
is generally expressed in choice of friends, hours of coming in and
going out of home, leisure time activities, dress and impersonal
relationships with members of the opposite sex. Adolescents who,
are successful as moral beings have a smooth transition to adulthood.
Failure to do so may lead to excessive worries anxieties and
frustration.
4. Community—Community in which the individual moves
is a potent factor in moral development. Community influences on
the child are museums, libraries, cinemas, programmes on radio
and television, other recreational programmes and community
environment at large.
8.5. ROLE OF TEACHER IN MORAL DEVELOPMENT
(EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT)
1. Personal example of teachers—Moral development is a
matter of being caught rather than taught. Everything that a teacher
does in the presence of his pupils contributes directly or indirectly
to their character and moral development.
2. Presenting Moral Ideals—The teacher should present moral
ideals before the students and should explain the methods of
achieving them. He should try to sublimate, modify or reform
various instincts of children. He should help the students in the

development of moral attitudes, habits and sentiments like honesty,
truthfulness, co-operation, obedience, justice and social service etc.
3. Biographies of greatmen—Teacher should encourage
children to read biographies of great men and religious books.
Discussion around moral problems should be arranged. This will
help children to incorporate certain qualities or virtues in their
character and moral development.
4. Celebration of days—Birth days and death anniversaries
of religious leaders and heores, Saints, Gurus, Rishis and Mahatmas
should be celebrated in the school as these are helpful in developing
moral sentiments in the students.
5. Other co-curricular activities—Co-curricular activities
from the backbone of the school. Qualities of character or marality
must be reflected in every activity of the school. Morality can be
developed through activities like mass prayers, morning assemblies,
talks by eminent persons of character and by actually living in the
situations. Games and sports and inter-school competitions are
helpful in developing qualities of character and morality like straight
forwardness, loyalty, fellow feeling, honesty, sincerity and fairness.
CONCLUSION
To conclude we can say that Character and moral education
is necessary because only children with good character and moral
develop-ment can bring improvements in the society. Parents,
teachers, educationists, philosophers, religious leaders and social
reformers should try their best to help the children, adolescents
and other individuals in character and moral development.
EXERCISE
1. What is Moral Development ?
2. Explain the various stages of Moral Development as given
by Kohlberg.
3. Describe Moral Development of different stages of
Development.
4. Discuss the factors that influence Moral Development.

5. What is the role of teacher in Moral Development of
students ?
1. Explain the Moral Development in Childhood.
2. What are the limitations of Kohlberg’s Theory ?
3. Write three characteristics of Moral Development ?
4. Write the Moral Development in Adolescence Stage.
INFANCY, CHILDHOOD AND
9 ADOLESCENCE : MEANING,
CHARACTERISTICS AND
DEVELOPMENT TASK
9.1. CONCEPT OF INFANCY

Age of infancy is marked by an increase of independence on
the part of the baby as he is able to sit, stand and walk at his own
will. The basic foundations of physical, mental and personality
development are laid in this stage. Psychoanalysts too, stress the
importance of infancy. According to Adler infancy prepares the
style of life. It lays down the entire programme for the future life of
the child. Freud is also of the opinion that within 4 or 5 years the
child becomes what he has to grow in the coming life. In short, it
can be said that infancy occupies a very important place in the life
of the child. Hurlock calls it a “dangerous age” refering to a large
number of deaths of children in this period. She labels this age as
an ‘appealing age’ since the helplessness of the child appeals and
pleases many adults particularly the poets and the artists. The
following are the important characteristics of infancy stage—
Late childhood is the intervening period between childhood
and adolescence. This period starts at age of 5 and ends at 12 years
of age. It begins with the entrance to the school and ends with the
onset of puberty.
During this period, many physical, intellectual, emotional and
social changes take place. The environment of the child widens
during this period. This period is made rich by varied experience
of things and persons.
9.1.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF INFANCY
The special features of the developmental trend and behaviour
pattern at this stage (up to 5 years) are as below—
315
Here we will just refer to some of the important aspect of

growth during this period and their educational significance.
1. Intelligence tests have shown that the child is not mentally
mature during his infancy. Thus, in providing him with learning
experience his mental calibre is to be taken into consideration. The
child should not be made to learn those things which are beyond
his comprehension. For example, a child about a year old will not
learn to write legibly in spite of the best efforts of the teacher. On
the other hand, permanent damage may be caused to the child by
insisting too much on his learning a thing for which he has not
reached mental maturity. Valentine suggests that the adults who
use their fingers for reckoning figures may have begun to learn
mental arithmetic at a stage “when their mental apparatus concerned
was sufficiently ripe for such mental operations and the habit of
using the fingers stuck.”
Thus, the formal studies should not begin at an early age. The
teachers have to wait for the age at which the child is capable of
learning. But this waiting should not be overdone. The child should
be provided training in that skill or craft or study for which he is
capable. Valentine says that for a child “for each variety of mental
or manual activity there is a ‘plastic period’ during which it is most
susceptible to training.”
2. The behaviour of a young child is governed directly by
innate urges. These urges clamour for their immediate satisfaction.
The child is mostly motivated in his actions by these urges and the
modification which is being brought in them is only through his
feelings of pleasure and pain.
In providing education to the child these things should be
kept in mind; such activities can be provided to him which satisfy
his urges and needs; adult type for moral behaviour should not be
expected from him; hard and fast rules about his conduct should
not be framed.
INFANCY, CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE : MEANING... 317
3. The child possesses an attitude of dependence. This attitude

may continue throughout his life but in infancy such an attitude is
very clearly exhibited. The child feels that for satisfying needs and
wants he has to look to the elders and, thus, he considers himself
helpless without them. The parents and teachers are advised to
treat the child with sympathy and care so that he may not feel
neglected. On the other hand, they should also try to inculcate the
habit of self-help among these children.
4. Childhood is considered as an age of fantasy. At this period,
the child has an exuberance of imagination. He feels much interested
in fairy tales and fantasies. He weaves stories around his parents or
playmates mostly full of absurdities. The teachers can help the
growth of right conduct in the children by telling them tales which
are about good people. However, Montessori is opposed to the
teaching of fairy tales in childhood.
5. A young child takes much delight in repeating the familiar.
In this way, he tries to give play to his self-assertive tendency. The
child is confronted with various situations. He develops a desire to
be master of the situation. In an endeavour to achieve this goal, he
goes on repeating many of his activities. This is most clearly marked
in play. The author has noticed this in the case of his own daughter,
about four years of age, who goes on playing with her doll for
quite a long time. She will daily dress her doll and put make-up on
the doll’s face and in so doing she may repeat the same things
many times. It may be due to her desire to dress herself without the
help of her mother who does not like to see her dressed awkwardly.
6. It is now a recognized fact that the sex life of an infant is
quite rich. Freud has focussed attention on the sexual development
in infancy. According to him, the early infancy is the age of
autoerotism or self-love. It is the age at which the child’s emotions
begin to be organized in a sentiment around his ownself. Narcissism
is the name which is given to this love of oneself on the basis of a
tale in which Narcissus, a very handsome man, fell in love with his
own body.
The child develops a sentiment round the idea of his

mother;after which a father sentiment is developed; but while the
mother sentiment means love for the mother, in the case of a boy
particularly, the father sentiment is that of hate which means that
he loves his mother but hates his father. On account of this father-
mother-son situation, the Oedipus complex is constituted. Oedipus
was a young man in Greek mythology who killed his own father
and married his own mother.
The dislike for the father may develop on account of his stem
attitude. Since the teachers are parent-substitutes, the male teachers
should be cautious that any attitude of dislike or resentment towards
the father will be automatically transferred to them.
Among girls, the complex is said to take a complementary
form, involving a tendencey to dislike the mother and love the
father. It is called the Electra complex. Electra was a girl in Greek
mythology who for the love of her father, Agamemmon, assisted
her brother Orestes to slay her mother Clytemnestra. However, the
account of this complex given by Freudians is not very convincing.
9.2. CONCEPT OF CHILDHOOD
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence.
In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the
developmental stages of toddlerhood (learning to walk), early
childhood (play age), middle childhood (school age), and
adolescence (puberty through post-puberty). Age Ranges of
Childhood. The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a
varying range of years in human development, depending on
biological, personal, religious, cultural, or national interpretations.
Developmentally and biologically, it refers to the period between
infancy and puberty. In common terms, childhood is considered to
start from birth. Some consider that childhood, as a concept of
play and innocence, ends at adolescence. In the legal systems of
many countries, there is an age of majority at which point childhood
officially ends and a person legally becomes an adult. Globally,
the age of majority ranges anywhere from 15 to 21, with 18 being

the most common.
Later Childhood—
This is the period of consolidation as compared to the period
of infancy and adolescence. We have seen earlier that there is rapid
physical growth up to the age to three, then it slows down but it is
still rapid up to the age of six or seven. After this comes the period
of remarkable stability which continues till adolescence sets in.
The chief characteristics of this period are briefly outlined as
follows—
1. This is a period of physical and mental stability. This period
is also called a period of pseudo-maturity. During this period, the
child has gone through one round of the spiral of development. He
will once again become unstable at adolescence attaining stability
at maturity which will last more or less throughout his life.
2. At the age of 8 years or 9, the visual and auditory sense
development is almost complete. However, discrimination of pitch
continues to improve until about 19 years. In manual dexterity
there is rapid improvement up to the age of 9 years after which
there is slow imporvement. Children in this period are more
interested in making or doing something rather than in acquiring
some skill.
There is a steady rise from the age of 8 years to 12 years in
the rate of memory for words and memory for digits. There is also
a steady rise up to the age of fourteen and half after which it slackens
very much.
According to Burt, the child possesses all the essential mental
mechanism at about the age of 8 years. But since he possesses a
limited vocabulary and his experiences are few, the intellectual
tasks performed by him will not be of the same standard as those
of adults. His thinking will be more about concrete than about the
abstract ones.
3. The child reveals marked interests during this period. But
they are not permanent. They often change with the changes in
environment. By nine or ten years special abilities in which the

child will be particularly gifted, will not mature. There will be
improvement in general abilities up to fourteen years or even more.
Interests in school subjects during this period are often
fluctuating. They change on account of various factors mainly by
the change in the teacher or in the content of the subject-matter.
Often the methods of teaching are responsible for these changes.
4. At this period, there occur great changes in his social
behaviour. The gregarious instinct has ripened at this stage. The
child becomes a member of a band of a gang. But at this stage, the
child usually does not exhibit altruism and self-sacrifice. His
behaviour is largely governed by a sense of social praise or blame.
The chief authority which he recognizes is the authority of the
gang.
5. The constructive and acquisitive impulses also become
prominent at this period. The boys take interest in making things
with tools. The games with mechanics; etc. become popular. The
girls love to make doll’s clothes and take interest in knitting and
sewing. The collecting impulses are quite strong during this period.
6. The children develop great love of exploring and wandering.
According to Burt, at about nine years, wandering and truancy are
very common delinquencies. The children like to wander about.
Whenever they get an opportunity, they run away from the school
and wander about. A wise teacher can utilize this impulse to great
advantage by organizing suitable activities. The boy-scout and girl
guide movements should be made popular among the boys and
girls of this age.
7. In the schools the children at this age create problems
pertaining to obstinacy; defiance or naughtiness. The teachers by
tactful handing can face such situations adequately. They should
be gentle and affectionate, but should not be weak in taking action
against a child who is obstinate or defliant.
8. In Piaget’s investigations with young children about their

ideas of duty and right and wrong, it was observed that up to the
age of seven to eight, the child forms his cocnepts of right and
wrong on the basis of the opinions of those adults whom he respects.
After this age, there comes a period when the child no more obeys
the commands given by the elders but respects the rule itself
generalized and applied in the original way. At about eleven or
twelve, the child develops a new attitude concerning moral
judgements. He begins to take into account the extenuating
circumstances. The child from nine to adolescence believes firmly
in the moral code of the society. He does not question the judgement
of the society. His morals are ruled by public opinion. However, it
must be kept in mind that there are individual differences among
children and so there may be a child of ten years of age who may
show some independence of the judgement rather than a belief in
the conventional morality of the society.
Since the child believes in the moral principles advocated by
the gang, he tells a lie to the teacher for the sake of the gang. Many
teachers have found it quite difficult to arrive at the truth abotu
some mischief which has been committed in the class in his absence.
No student comes forward to tell the truth. They fear the group and
the public opinion. They know that if they speak the truth the group
will not like them and they are liable to be labelled as ‘cowards’ or
‘sissies’. Teachers should be cautious about it and handle the
students with sympathy and affection if they want to reach to the
bottom of the trouble. They should also utilize this tendency among
their pupils in the service of the wider society of the school. Girl-
guiding and boy-scouting will give them a great help in enlisting
the co-operations of the children for the good of the society.
Stage specific Characteristics of Later Childhood
When the child completes his five years and steps into school
going age, this period of childhood starts. It goes upto the on-set of
puberty. During this period significant changes in the sphere of
physical, intellectual, emotional and social aspects take place. The

main characteristics of development during this stage can be named
as follows—
1. Independence—Whereas an infant looks for help in every
sort of work, even if he is able to do it independently, the child at
this stage desires independence. By acquiring experiences and
developing physically, intellectually and socially he tries to adjust
himself in his environment. In fact at this stage he feels more at
home with the world and takes satisfaction by doing his work with
his own efforts. He becomes increasingly independent of his parents
whom he considers merely, convenient persons to provide food
and shelter.
2. Development of Interest and Aptitudes—In childhood the
child’s field of interests widens and he shows special aptitudes,
likings and dislikings towards the things and work. The children of
this age are usually extrovert and are very fond of excursions and
visits. They develop interest in reading various types of books.
Radio, television drama and movies hold a strong appeal for them.
They are interested in everything which is mysterious and romantic.
Wide differences in the interest pattern can be seen among boys
and girls. Boys are interested in the activities requiring fearlessness,
courage and adventures while girls are inclined towards the activities
requiring tenderness, softness and other faminine charateristics.
3. Period of slow and Steady Growth—Where the infancy is
the period of rapid and intensive growth, the stage of childhood is
characterized as the period of slow, steady and uniform growth.
Development rate, although continuous and uniform is very slow
at this stage.
4. Sexual development—With regard to sexual development,
this stage is called ‘latency period’. Sexual energy, generally, at
this stage remains dormant but emerges with great force at the end
of this stage. The sexual behaviour of the children at this stage is
characterized by the development of an attitude of antagonism and
indifference towards the opposite sex. While at the infancy stage
the boys and girls play together, the child at this stage like to play
with the members of their own sex. Due to their varied interests
they gradually develop a general attitude of antagonism towards
the opposite sex. As a result of this antagonistic behaviour the two
sexes naturally draw apart. Even when brought together in family
gatherings, boys and girls of this age are barely civil to one another.
Sex antagonism is more pronounced in boys than in the case of
girls. They do not want anything that resembles a girl. In the case
of girls the attitude of antagonism, generally, takes the form of
indifference. They try to ignore the boys in place of tormenting,
teasing and interfering with their play.
5. Emotional Stability and Control—Childhood in the
emotional aspects is the period of stability and control. Intense
emotional outbursts which usually find their expression in motor
activity and physical form during infancy are rarely repeated at
this stage. The child learns to hide his feelings, he can exercise
control over his emotions and express them in appropriate and
socially approved ways. His emotional behaviour is not guided by
instinctive cause but has an appropriate rational behind it.
6. Realistic attitude—Child at this stage begins to accept and
appreciate the hard realities of life. He, no longer remains in the
own world of make-believe, fantasy and fairy-tales. He is now a
perfect realist in place of imaginative idealist. He begins to take a
close interest in the world of realities and tries to adapt himself in
the real environment.
7. Formation of sentiments and complexes—Infancy is the
age of innocence. The child at this stage is not in the habit of hiding
his feeling and checking his emotions. Therefore, no complexes
are formed at this stage whereas childhood stage gives birth to so
many complexes due to inhibition, repression, etc. At the stage of
infancy, emotional behaviour does not turn itself into a permanent
structure for giving birth to sentiments. But at this stage of childhood
emotional behaviour gets itself structured into sentiments. Various
sentiments like religious, moral, patriotic and aesthetic sentiments
begin to develop at this stage. The formation of such sentiments

leads towards character development.
8. Developing Social Tendency—In contrast to an infant who
is egocentric, the child at this stage, develops social tendencies
and picks up so many social virtues. He likes to play in group and
shares his toys with others. Feelings of mutual cooperation, team
spirit and group loyalties are developed among children of this
stage. This period of childhood is often named as gang-age as the
child of this age is always a member of some group and develops
a very strong sentiment for the group. He is so much loyal to his
group that he sometimes even does not mind the displeasure of his
parents and teachers.
9. Intellectual Development—This stage is the period of
intellectual advancement. The rate of intellectual development is
quite rapid at this stage which resembles the rate of physical growth
at infancy. At this stage the child acquires new experiences and
tries to adapt himself in his environment and prepares himself to
solve the problems. His power of reasoning, thinking, observation,
concentration, perception, imagination etc. are developed. He cannot
very well go with abstract thinking. He develops the concept of length,
time and distance and learns to express himself in various ways.
DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF CHILDHOOD
Early childhood follows the infancy stage and begins with
toddlerhood, reached when the child begins speaking or taking
steps independently. Toddlerhood ends around age three when the
child becomes less dependent on parental assistance for basic needs
and early childhood continues approximately through years seven
or eight. According to the National Association for the Education
of Young Children, early childhood spans the from birth to age
eight.
In most western societies, middle childhood begins at around
age seven or eight, approximating primary school age and ends
around puberty, which typically marks the beginning of

adolescence.
Adolescence is usually determined by the onset of puberty.
However, puberty may also begin in pre adolescents. The end of
adolescence and the beginning of adulthood varies by country.
Even within a single nation-state or ethic group there may be
different conceptions of when an individual is considered to be
(chronologically and legally) mature enough to be entrusted by
society with certain tasks.
MODERN CONCEPTS OF CHILDHOOD
The concept of childhood appears to evolve and change shape
as lifestyles change and adult expectations alter. Some believe that
children should not have any worries and should not have to work;
life should be happy and trouble-free. Childhood is generally a
time of playing, learning, socializing, exploring and worrying in a
world without much adult interference, aside from parents. It is a
time of learning about responsibilities without having to deal with
adult responsibilities.
Childhood is often retrospectively viewed as a time of
innocence. According to this view, children have yet to be negatively
influenced by society and are naive, rather than ignorant. A “loss
of innocence” is a common concept, and is often seen as an integral
part of coming of age. It is usually thought of as an experience or
period in a child’s life that widens their awareness of evil, pain or
the world around them. This theme is demonstrated in the novels
To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies. The fictional character
Peter Pan is the embodiment of a childhood that never ends.
9.3. CONCEPT OF ADOLESCENCE
Adolescence is a period of transition when the individual
changes- physically and psychologically-from a child to an adult.
It is a period when rapid physiological and psychological changes
demand for new social roles to take place. The adolescents, due to
these changes often face a number of crises and dilemmas. It is the

period when the child moves from dependency to autonomy. It
demands significant adjustment to the physical and social changes.
The adolescence period in the Indian social system comes under
Brahmacharya (apprenticeship).This is the first ashram (stage of
life) of development stages. In this stage, the child learns the basic
skills in relation to his future role as a responsible adult. It is a fact
that all living beings pass through specific stages or phases of
development. Erikson believed that each stage of life is marked by
a specific crisis or conflict between competing tendencies. Only if
individuals negotiate each of these hurdles successfully they can
develop in a normal and healthy manner. During this phase
adolescents must integrate various roles into a consistent self-
identity.
Adolescence is the most important period of human life. Poets
have described it as the spring of life of human being and an
important era in the total life span. Adolescence refers to period of
development and adjustment from childhood to adulthood. This
period of life emerges from childhood into adulthood. It is markedly
a period of growing up, during which the child develops into man
or woman. The adolescence age lies between 12 to 18 years. It is
also called puberty age.
Meaning of Adolescence
The word ‘adolescence, comes from the Latin word
‘adolescere’ which means to grow. So the essence of the word
adolescence is growth and it is in this sense that adolescence
represents a period of intensive growth and change in nearly all
aspects of child’s physical, mental, social and emotional life. It is
very crucial period of one’s life.
Definitions of Adolescence
According to Jersild, “Adolescence is that span of years
during which boys and girls move from childhood to adulthood—
mentally, emotional, socially and physically.”
According to Blair, Jones and Simpson, “Adolescence is the

period of life which begins in the (at the end of) childhood and
ends in the (at the beginning) adulthood.”
According to J.N. Bahl, “Adolescence is the process of
growing up physically, socially, psychologically and emotionally.”
Adolescence and Its Changes
Human life completes its journey through various stages and
one of the most vital stages is adolescence. Adolescence is the
period of transition from childhood to adulthood and plays a decisive
role in the formation of prosaically/antisocial adult. All of us
undergo this stage which poses many challenges and is full of
excitement. At the same time it demands adjustment on many fronts.
When we come to this world we are completely dependent upon
others and learn gradually to be independent. In India, the
adolescents do most of the work themselves but the final decision
regarding various domains of life is taken by their parents. For
example, an adolescent wishes to enjoy movies but parents may
force him/her to complete study first. Parents claim that they have
more practical knowledge and experience and tend to treat
adolescents like children.
9.3.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIAN ADOLESCENTS
A.Rapid Physical Growth and Changes—
1. Rapid development of bones and muscles—The bones and
muscles of adolescents develop very rapidly. They reach the final
body type by the end of adolescence.
2. Increase in height and weight—Adolescent’s height
increases rapidly, his weight increases due to increase in bones
and muscles. Girls get more rapidly matured than boys.
3. Change in voice—There is change in voice among the two
sexes. The voice of boy becomes harsh, rough and dry. The girl’s
voice acquires shrillness and becomes sweet and high pitched in
sound.
4. Changes in motor performance—Physical development

leads to increased motor performances both in case of boys and
girls but there are greater differences in motor performance of boys
and girls.
5. Increase in size of genital organs—Adolescence, there is
(i) increased growth of external genital organs in boys (ii) Growth
of testicle earlier than growth of Penis.
6. Changes in bodily proportions—Different parts of body
grow at different rates for e.g., (i) Arms and legs grow longer (ii)
Hands and feet grow bigger (iii) The trunk also grows to its full
length (iv) Facial features also change etc.
7. Breast development and growth of pelvis—(i) Growth of
breasts (ii) Increase in size of pelvis in girls is among the notable
changes that can have a very significant effect on the adolescent
girls conception of her physical self.
8. Hair growth—There is growth of hair in under arms, arms,
legs, limbs, trunk and thighs. Beard and moustaches in case of
boys, hair also grow on the chest in case of boys.
9. Night emissions and menstruation—(i) In case of boys,
seminal glands begin to work, semen is produced and there are
night emissions (discharge of semen during sleep) accompained
by erotic dreams. (ii) The girls begin to menstruate monthly during
in adolescent period. It should be noted that in adolescent period
testicles start functioning in case of boys and ovaries starts
functioning in case of girls.
10. Physiological system—During adolescence internal
physiological systems of the body undergo rapid changes. The
system includes (i) Digestive system (ii) Respiratory system (iii)
Circulatory system (iv) Blood pressure (v) Heart and pulse rate etc.
B. Emotional changes—
1. Variations in emotional moods—Emotional moods of
adolescents vary from elation to depression. One minute the young
adolescent is up on the clouds and the next minute he is in the

depth of despair. He sometimes thinks of committing suicide.
2. Not under control—Emotions of the adolescents are not
under control. He remains tensed and anxious during this period.
He is emotionally unstable.
3. Complexity—Emotional development of an adolescent
becomes complex by the experiences he gets in his environment.
4. Development of inferiority complex—Many adolescents
develop feeling of inferiority complex when they are not provided
proper love, affection and care.
5. Heightening of emotions—Adolescence is a period of
heightened emotionality. Adolescents are emotionally disturbed
due to physical and sexual development. Emotions of adolescents
are on extremes.
6. Day dreaming and fantasy—Almost all adolescents have
high hopes and aspirations for their future life. There are some
adolescents who work hard in their life and follow a realistic
approach to satisfy their hopes and aspirations.
7. Sexual frustration—Adolescents have greater tendency of
having interest in the opposite sex and of developing friendship
with the members of opposite sex.
8. Development of abstract emotions—Generally children
show emotional expression in relation to concrete objects but
adolescents can express their emotional feelings in relation to objects
which are abstract.
9. Increased compassion—Compassionate means fellowship
of feeling. To be compassionate means that a person is able to
enter his own feelings and appreciate the emotional feelings of
others.
10. Realism in emotional experiences—Adolescent enters
the period of reality. He can perceive and appreciate people around
him. He recognizes weakness and strength of one’s character.
C. Intellectual or Mental Characteristics of Adolescence

1. Increase in span of attention—During adolescence period,
the span of attension increases. The adolescent can attend to one
thing for a longer period of time. His power of cencentration
increases.
2. Development of memory—Memory is also developed and
it tends to function more logically.
3. Development of abstract thinking—There is sudden
development of abstract thinking and to deal with abstract ideas.
They try to comprehend and communicate things in abstract terms.
4. Development of generalization—Adolescents have ability
to generalize in abstract terms.
5. Development of understanding—The depth of
understanding develops. Consequently adolescents try to see and
analyze essential relationships in situations.
6. Ability to make decisions—Adolescents develop ability to
make decisions. They learn to distinguish between actual and ideal,
between reasoning and rationalization.
7. Development of problem solving ability—The adolescent
try to solve problems on their own whenever they are confronted
with some problematic situation.
8. Development of intelligence—Adolescence is the period
of maximum growth and intellectual development. Intellectual
powers like logical thinking, abstract reasoning and concentration
are almost developed towards the end of this period.
9. Widening of interest—Interests of young adolescents are
numerous and varied i.e., recreational interest, social interest,
personal interests, vocational interest, sex interests etc.
10. Development of imagination—Adolescents prosesses
excessive imagination. Writers, artists, musicians, poets,
philosophers and inventors are born in this period.
11. Hero worship—Hero worship is very prominent in
adolescent period. An adolescent begins to worship his ideal man
or woman and tries to model himself on him or her. Hero for
adolescents may be a film star, a political or religious leader, a

poet, or an artist etc.
9.3.2. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ADOLESCENTS
(With reference to their needs and problems)
After acquainting ourselves a little with the growth and
development pattern of the adolescent, it is worthwhile to point out
some of the special characteristics of adolescence. Adolescence
often termed as the age of storm and stress, has so many conflicting
situations and problems of adjustment which need a careful study.
Let us think over the origin of such problems and try to analyze the
specific needs and demands of adolescents.
1. Idealism v/s Realism—A typical feature of adolescence
lies in the interest of the adolescent in ideals. He desires to help in
the creation of an ideal society. He is very critical of the existing
circumstances, happenings and thinks of bringing reform. He often
engages himself in asking such questions—Whither is the world
going ? What is the meaning of our life ? What is God ? What is
humanity ? Why are there so many sufferings and inequalities ? In
this way, he tries to place himself on a superior level by searching
some lofty aims and ideals and wants a set of moral principles he
can understand as well as some guiding principles by which he
can operate.
But in this search of idealism he goes away from realism. In
the attempt of touching sky from the ground, he is deprived of the
support, which is available from the ground. In fact, lack of
experience makes him some what unrealistic. He tends to accept
the impossible. When it is not attainable he becomes quite disturbed
and unreasonable. Many of the adolescents turn themselves into
problem youths. Some of them become pessimistic and believe in
destroying whatever comes in way of realising their dreams. Some
turn into withdrawn and daydreamers. They begin to roam in their
own world of imagination, make-believe and fairy-tales and thus
have possiblity to turn into maladjusted personalities.
2. Intensification of Self awareness—Self-consciousness is

too much developed in adolescence. There is a strong desire in an
adolescent that his or her bodily changes should be noticed by the
elders as well as by the members of his own age group. Adolescence
can be described as an age of self-decoration. Boys and girls pay
more attention towards their dresses, make-up, manner of talking,
walking, eating etc. In fact, there is a craving for recognition in
adolescents. Every adolescent desires that he or she should be a
centre of attraction for the opposite sex and his abilities, intelligence,
and capacities should be recognized by the peer group and elders.
Moreover, the adolescents are two much sensitive, touchy and
inflammable. They aim to maintain at any cost their concept of
themselves and whenever possible to enhance their status among
their peers. An attack on their phenomenal self invites strong
reactions and behavioural problems. It makes an adolescent either
aggressive or withdrawn depending upon the circumstances.
3. Intensification of sex-consciousness—Sex-consciousness
becomes to intense at this time. Most of the adolescents problems
are concerned with the sudden functioning of their glands, secretion
of sex hormones and the awakening of the strong sex instinct.
Firstly, menstruation and ejaculation through natural
occurrences at puberty give a shock to most of the adolescents.
Afterwards every adolescent feels a sort of strong sensation in the
sex organs. This makes to motivate him in seeking satisfaction
through masturbation and homosexual relations. In the third stage
of their sexual development the adolescents are attached towards
the opposite sex. Sex sensation combined with curiosity about sex
draws the members of the two opposite sex nearer and nearer. This
nearness is sometimes developed into relationships and intercourse
and creates so many problems and complexes for the future.
These activities create so many worries and complexes in the
minds of the adolescents. They become perturbed and develop a
sense of guilt, in most of such cases they express the opinion that
by acquiring these habits they have ruined their lives and they will
now remain unfit for future sexual life.
4. Perplexity with Regard to Somatic Variation—Every
adolescent has more or less difficult task of adjusting to ‘somatic
variation’ which may occur during or after puberty. As said earlier,
during the period of adolescence maximum physiological changes
take place. These rapid changes create problems for the adolescents
in the following way—
(a) The flow of menstruation creates worries among the girls
and gives birth many fears and anxieties. Similarly, the discharge
of the semen during nocturnal emission among the boys horrifies
them. They become quite perturbed about the loss of fluid. These
particular physiological changes bring so many complex in the
minds of the children. It makes them introvert and secretive.
(b) There are always individual differences among the human
beings and so one cannot deny the possible differences with regard
to bodily development, look and appearance among the
adolescents. The adolescent with his nearly developed body, is
constantly making comparisons between himself and his
contemporaries. Differences are almost certain to cause him some
anxiety, particularly ; they are concerned with height, weight,
fatness, thinness, facial blemishness, largeness or smallness of the
hips and breasts in girls and of the genitals in boys.
For both boys and girls, appearance and bodily condition,
which is not in keeping with what is considered the norm, will
cause some anxiety. Girls want to look feminine and be attractive
to boys. Boys want to look mainly to gain prestige with other boys
and particularly with girls. To be reasonably satisfied with one’s
physical appearance, thus becomes an important task for an
adolescent. He has a need to become accustomed to new bodily
changes. Any deviation from the norms and standard of the peer
group can produce complex in the mind and make him maladjusted.
5. Independence v/s Dependences—The adolescent is on the
boundary line of childhood and adulthood. So, he is typically a
person who needs security, guidance and protection like a child

and independent views, maturity of opinion and self-support like
an adult. He is still immature. His abilities and capacities are still in
the process of growth and development. He depends for the
satisfaction of his so many needs-physical, emotional etc. on his
parents and elders. The emotional instability of his behaviour and
difficulty in coming in terms with the somatic changes makes him
quite restless and often insecure.
He needs security and complete freedom from unnecessary
worries and anxiety at this stage and in the way he is again in the
search of mother’s lap and father’s affection. Also, his intense love
for thrill and adventure, coupled with his uncontrolled emotion,
needs somebody to guide him and to check his unbridled flow of
energy.
On the other hand, as his social circle is widening the tries to
emancipate himself from the care and look after of his parents and
elders. He thinks himself a mature and full-fledged adult. He reacts
strongly when the parents and the elders consider him still a child.
He tries to assert or show that he is now a mature person and not a
child as they think of him. His opinion should now be given
weightage. He has every right to give suggestions and directions
in family matters. He can very well manage his own affairs and the
elders should not interfere unnecessarily. He begins to feel ashamed
and embarrased for the protection and care shown by the parents.
Not only he suffers from the duality in his behaviour, but also
the parents themselves are not decided about the roles of their child
at this age. Sometimes, they expect him behaves as an adult and at
other times, they treat him as a child. Therefore, the poor adolescent
is caught between the role of the child and the adult. He possesses
a strange mixture of the needs for dependence and independence
which creates conflicting situations and problems for him.
6. Peer group relationship—Peer group relationship plays a
substantial role in the life of an adolescent. He goes away from his
parents and elders and spends much of his time with members of
his peer group. He values the ideals of the group and develops a
sense of loyalty towards it. He is now directed by the standard and
norms of his peer group and pays least attention to the desires and
advice of his parents and elders. He is more concerned wants gaining
prestige and recognition in the eyes of his peers. Every child with
at this stage that he should be fully accepted by his peers. Every
child wants at this stage that he should be fully accepted by his
peers. Nothing can be more devastating to adolescent than to be
rejected by his age mates. There is sure to exist a difference in the
opinions, views, liking and disliking of the elders and adolescents.
It is here that the difficulty arises. The adolescents find themselves
the victims of the conflicting demands of social and cultural norms
of adults and their peer group and they often become confused
and perplexed with regard to any decision making.
7. Vocational choice and need of self-support—The
adolescents strong desire is to achieve self-sufficiency and make
himself quite independent like an adult member of the society.
Also the life ahead demands from him that he should prepare himself
for the future vocation which he wants to adopt. Therefore, the
period of adolescence requires from the individuals to take a
decision about their vocations. Vocational decision is an important
one for an adolescent and he often finds himself not quite upto the
mark in making a right choice. Emotional instability, lack of
experience and maturity prove as obstacles in the right choice.
Moreover, his interests, aptitudes and abilities are in the process of
making yet. This uncertainty about the interests and abilities makes
him quite puzzled. Therefore, the adolescents want proper guidance
and advice him regard to their interests, aptitudes and vocational
choice.
If we try to make close analysis of the above cited needs and
problems of the adolescents we can find that the adolescence is
like a crossroad, which provides an opportunity for the adolescents
to choose and proceed in wrong as well as in right direction equally.

It has every chance to turning adolescents into maladjusted
personalities the chief cause of which is the frustration of needs
and conflict of motives. At the adolescent age, there emerges new
physical, social and emotional needs. With regard to physical needs
the adolescent needs to become accustomed to new bodily changes
and desires to have other’s notice that such changes have occured.
In the social aspect he has a strong need for the belongingess
to a peer group. Emotionally, he needs to be loved, accepted and
admired. He needs security, freedom from anxiety and recognition
to self. There is striving for independence from parental control
and a struggle for making the active sexual instincts and urges
satisfied or sublimated within the norms of the society and culture.
SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ADOLESCENTS
(With reference to their aspirations, Attitudes and Self
Concepts)
(a) Special characteristics with regard to their desires and
aspirations
As a living being all of us have our own desires and aspirations
experienced at all ages and stages of our life. There is a significant
deviation in the nature and degree of these desires and aspirations
with respect to the individualities as well as stages and spans of
human life. The desires, wishes and aspirations of an infact child,
adolescent or adult thus will naturally differ not only in its shape,
size but also in terms of the motivation and anxiety felt for their
fulfilment. Let us here think over the type of desires and aspirations
generally felt by our adolescent boys and girls. In a summarized
way. We can list them as below —
(i) To become quite handsome or beautiful or to look more
masculine and feminine in the eyes of others especially the member
of opposite sex.
(ii) Desire and aspiration to love and to be loved by the parents,
family members, teachers, peers and companions.
(iii) Aspiration of becoming a centre of attraction and object

of admiration and praise.
(iv) Aspiration of becoming economically independent.
(v) Aspiration of getting admission into a prized or self
interesting academic and professional course or vocation and
profession.
(vi) Aspiration of getting a good life partner for leading a
happy married life.
(vii) Aspriation of becoming a big personality by having name
and fame in area of ones choice i.e. a political, social, business,
literary, art and culture and sports star.
(viii) Aspiration of devoting time and energy for saving others,
including country, religion and a particular section of the society.
(ix) Aspiration of becoming a leader, reformer or detector for
the eradiction of social evils, inequalities, miseries, corruption and
all that is liked by them.
(x) Aspiration of living the life of the role models of their
likings and choices.
(xi) Aspiration of making their parents, teachers and other
elders to understand their point of views and allow them to lead
their lives in their own ways.
(xii) Aspiration of taking the decision by themselves, leading
others and making others agree to their likings or actions.
(xiii) Aspiration of being accepted by their social groups, peers,
classmates, parents and other members of the society.
(xiv) Desire and aspiration for pleasure and sexual enjoyments.
(b) Special characteristics with regard to the attitudes of
Adolescents
Attitudes are one of the important attirbutes of human
behaviour. In most of the time our behaviour is too much coloured
and affected with the type of attitude positive, negative or indifferent,
we have towards a thing, (ideas, person or object) existing in our
environment. It is equally true with our adolescents. Their attitudes
almost colour and shape their personality and behaviour and make
them behave like true adolescents. Let us here mention some special
characteristics regarding the pattern of attitudes generally exhibited
by our adolescents in their behaviour.
1. Attitude towards religion and Morality—During
adolescents, feelings and emotions can take their roots in the shape
of sentiments. The characters formation, thus may take its proper
shape in adolescents. Thus we may now see a perfectly positive or
negative attitude of the adolescent boys and girls towards the
religion and morality depending up on the learning from their
environment.
2. Attitude regarding independence—Generally all
adolescents have a strong desire and develop an attitude of
independence by asserting their release from the earlier accepted
dependence on the parents and other adults. Any times, they are
seen to be on logger heads with their parents, teachers and elders
simply for demonstrating their strong developed attitude of
independence.
3. Attitude towards their somatic structure and physical
appearance—Adolescents have a big surprise for themselves by
noticing the sudden changes in their physical growth and
development, somatic structure and physical appearance. Generally
they possess an attitude of love and admiration for their physical
appearance and physical makeup. That is why, they spent a lot of
time in their dress up and decoration and enjoy the beauty of their
figures while standing in front of the mirrors. However, in some
cases, they may develop negative attitude and feel dissatisfaction
over their somatic structure and physical appearance simply on
account of the remarks passed by the other or developing inferiority
feelings by comparing their physique and appearance with their
peers and companions.
4. Attitude towards sex—There is sudden awakening of sex
interests and awareness towards opposite sex among the boys and
girls as they approach the adolescence period. The feel a strong
sense of attraction and craving for developing intimacy and even

having physical sexual realationship with the opposite members of
the sex. As a result, they may develop soft feelings and attitude of
love and admiration to the member of opposite sex. In some cases,
however, they may develop a negative attitude on account of their
bitter experiences with the opposite members of the sex or may
learn to behave negatively on account of the improper social
influences.
5. Attitude related to hero worship—Adolescence can be
swifted easily under emotional currents. They love and admire
somebody at its extreme and that is why an attitude of hero worship
can be generally found in the adolescent boys and girls. They have
a role model, a hero or heroine from their own area of interests, to
whom they are two emotionally attached. Such as attitude forces
then to imitate good or bad actions or behaviour of their role model
for moulding and shaping their personality accordingly.
6. Attitude related to idealism—Adolescence is the age of
action. An adolescent boy or girl is a reformist and change seeker
by nature. Accordingly we may see the adolescents to exhibit an
attitude of selfless idealist. They may have this inner urge to serve
others, to help the needy in troubles, to bring a change in the life of
the suffering and deprived ones to work for the removal of
inequalities, tensions, conflicts, corruption, nepotism and other sorry
state of affairs from this earth.
7. Attitude regarding group loyality—Adolescents are very
much faithful to the group to which they belong. Their personal
identity is almost merged with the behaviour of the group. They
try to think, act and feel as the member of their group (generally
the peer group) think, act and feel. They remain almost loyal to
their groups and exhibits such loyalty towards their group in their
attitudes and action. This group loyalty linked attitude, is further
generalized to exhibit loyalty towards one’s family, neighbourhood,
religion, state and country as much so as they are ready to make
any sacrifice for serving the cause of these wider groups.
(c) Special characteristics with regard to self concept of

the adolescents
Concept about the self is termed as one’s self concept. It
reflects the images, the considerations or judgements about one’s
abilities and limitations usually held by the individual not only for
projecting himself to before others but also estimating his self in
his own eyes. It is in this context that the term self-concept has
been defined by the famous psychologist H.J. Eysenck (1971) in
the following words.
“The totality of attitudes, judement and values of an individual
relating to his behaviour, abilities and qualities may be referred to
as his self concept.”
In this way, what one thinks to himself may be referred to his
concept about his self. Like the development of other concepts
about people, idea, objects and places, the formation of self-concept
is also the result of the interaction loaded with past and present
experiences surrounding the self. Such interaction loaded with past
and present experiences may make an adolescent to have a
judgemental value related to his potentialities, his strengths and
weaknesses, personality traits and behaviour pattern etc. Actually
this is his judgement about his self drawn by his own experiences
and interaction with his environment. Therefore, the past of the
adolescents related with his infancy and childhood intermingles
with his present experiences become a deciding factor for a
particular type of self concept. Thereby we may notice significant
differences among the adolescent boys and girls depending upon
their individualities, social and cultural background and varying
experiences. However, adolescents, in general may be found to
exhibit some typical characteristics with regard to their self
concepts. For illustration let us here mention two of these typical
characteristics —
(i) Identity crisis—Adolescents most often struggle in
identifying their selves. With regard to the concept of their self,
they may come across with a crisis known as identity crisis. A
sense of identity is defined as a sense or knowledge of how one’s

own personality traits, values and beliefs fit together in defining
who he is. At a cross road of the childhood dependence and emerging
need of adolescent independence, the adolescent some how get
confused about their identity. They often put such questions to
themselves who am I, what am I capable for doing, what others
actually think of him etc. The all round growth and development
resulting in the enhanced physical and cognitive abilities,
strengthened emotional flow, widened social interests make them
over confident of their strengths and capabilities, but the judgement
of themselves thrust upon by the elders may again force them to
udnerstimate their potentialities. It happens so because in the eyes
of the parents, teachers and elders they are still the growing children
needing their protection and dependence. However, most of the
adolescent successfully come through this identity crises either
through their own struggling or as a result of proper guidance and
counselling on the part of parents, elders and teachers. It utlimately
helps them to develop a proper concept of themselves by getting
rid of the felt identity crises.
(ii) Love for the phenomenon self and development of self
esteem—Adolescent have too much care and love for their
phenomenon self. As a result they have a strong sense and feeling
regarding their self esteem. Actually the consciousness and
awarnesses about their self makes them to have appraisal of their
strength and weakness and this appraisal in turn then may result
into the development of a sense of self-esteem. In case they perceive
their strengths to outweight their strengths they may go down in
terms of their self-esteem. Thus, the identification and views held
by them in terms of their self-concept may be able to help them to
ride on the horse of enthusiasm and fall in the valley of despair in
accordance with the levels of their self esteem.
However whatever may be the level of their self-esteem, every
adolescent tries to defend his phenomenon self and self-respect at
any cost. At this front they show too much sensitivity and may get
annoyed with a simple remark or incidents causing damage to their
self concept, self-regard or self-respect. That is way, the teachers
parents and elders are always advised not to do or say any thing
that may hit the self-respect, self-regard or self-concept of the
adolescents.
9.3.3. DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS
The term “developmental task”, refers to those problems that
individuals typically face at different periods during their life. An
infant or a small child must master the complexities of learning to
walk, learning to talk, and controlling the elimination of waste
products of the body. In middle childhood such skills as learning
to play games and learning to read become of major importance.
So for as adolescents are concerned, the developmental tasks present
the vital.
problems which must be met and solved during the transition
from childhood to adulthood. These problems are not entirely
unique to the adolescent period, but they are ones upon which the
adolescent must work if he eventually expects to achieve a
successful adult role. Developmental Tasks for Adolescents
Havinghurst has listed the following tasks.
 Achieving new and more mature relations with age mates
of both sexes.
 Achieving a masculine or feminine social role.
 Accepting one’s physique and using the body effectively.
 Achieving emotional independence of parents and other
adults.
 Achieving assurance of economic independence.
 Selecting and preparing for an occupation.
 Preparing for marriage and family life.
 Developing intellectual skills and concepts necessary for
civic competence.
 Desiring and achieving socially responsible behaviour.
 Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide

to behaviour.
Adolescence is a long period and many young adolescents
have little motivation to master the developmental tasks for their
age. In the later period, however, they realise that adulthood is
rapidly approaching. This provides them the necessary motivation
to prepare for their new status. As a result, they make greater strides
toward the goal of maturity than they did during early adolescence.
Successful achievement of the developmental tasks for one
period in life leads to success with later tasks, while failure leads
not only to personal unhappiness and disappointment but also to
difficulties with later tasks. Regardless of whether the adolescent
has successfully mastered the developmental tasks of adolescence,
he/she is, in most “advanced” cultures, automatically given the
status of adult when he/she reaches the age of legal maturity. This
is in direct contrast to more simple cultures where young people
must demonstrate adult status to their elders, in “puberty rites,”
privileges, and the responsibilities.
DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS OF ADOLESCENCE
What is Development Task ?
1. Havighurst’s View — In words of R.H. Havighurst (1953),
“A developmental task is a taks which arises at or about a certain
period in the life of the individual, successful achievement of which
leads to his happiness and success with later tasks, while failure
leads to unhappiness and difficulty with later tasks.”
Developmental tasks are based on the aspirations and needs
of the society. Every society is age-graded and every society has a
system of social expectations regarding age-appropriate behaviour.
The individual passes through a socially regulated cycle from birth
to death as inexorbly as he passes through the biological cycle ;
and there exists a socially prescribed time-table for the rendering
of major life events. Although the norms vary somewhat from one
socio-economic, ethnic or religious group to another, for any social
group it can easily be demonstrated that norms and actual

occurences are closely related. In simple words a developmental
task may be explained as —
1. Every society/culture has certain norms.
2. Every society/culture expects its members to follow these
norms.
3. The norms are in terms of essential skills.
4. Mastery over these skills leads to happiness and failure leads
to unhappiness.
5. Skills are related to age-groups.
6. Norms vary somewhat from one socio-economic group to
another.
Havighurst points out that any particular developmental task
becomes appropriate fro an individual when one or more of the
following characteristics have developed —
1. Physical Maturation—There are certain tasks which arise
of physical growth of the child as walking.
2. Learning the tasks— The society expects certain behaviour
from the individual and individual under cultural pressures learns
these tasks as vocational preparation.
3. Personal values, aspirations and psychological competence.
Importance or Advantages of Developmental Tasks—
Develompental tasks change with the socio-economic
development of the country and can be replaced by new
developmental tasks suiting to the needs of the individual and
society. Advantages of developmental tasks are given below —
1. Helpful to the teacher—The concept of developmental
tasks is also very helpful to the teacher to be prepared to avail to
opportunity and preparing appropriate atmosphere to achieve a
developmental task. Educational efforts can be tuned with the
developmental characteristics of the individual. The educational
efforts will not go waste because now they may be organised at the
appropriate moment.
2. Specification of course content—The concept of

developmental task helps in specifying the course content and its
objectives in defnitie terms. They serve as guide lines to the
individual. He can know in advance what the society expects from
him at a given stage. Parents can be guided in teaching their children
certain skills and social competencies which the society expects
from them.
3. Definite goal—The second important purpose which the
concept of developmental task serves is to show the individual
what lies ahead and what will be expected when he reaches the
next stage of development. This develops purposelulness in the
effort of the individual by providing definite goal.
4. Channelisation of emotions—Developmental takss help
in developing and channelising the emotions of adolescents to right
direction.
Some studies have revealed that good achievement on the
one developmental task was found to be associated with good
environment on other tasks at the same age. If the adolescent is to
accomplish the developmental tasks required in his society it is
quite important that he masters his impulsivity to accomplish the
tasks.
List of Developmental Tasks—
(1) Infancy (Early childhood) Period (Birth to 5 years)—
1. Learning to take solid food.
2. Learning to talk.
3. Learning to walk.
4. Learning control the elimination of body wastes.
5. Achieving physiological stability.
6. Learning sex differences.
7. Forming simple concepts of social and physical reality.
8. Learning to relate one self emotionally to parents, siblings
and other people.
9. Learning to distinguish right and wrong and developing a
conscience.
(2) Late Childhood Period—

1. Learning physical skills, games.
2. Learning to get along well with friends, classfellows, age-
mates, parents and teachers.
3. Learning an appropriate sex role i.e., masculine or feminine
role.
4. Developing basic skills in reading, writing and arithmatic.
5. Building wholesome attitudes towards one self as a growing
organism.
6. Developing attitudes towards social groups and institutions.
7. Developing conscience, morality and values.
8. Developing concepts necessary to everyday living.
9. Achieving personal independence.
(3) Adolescence Period—
Havighurst recommended the following developmental tasks
for adolescents if they want to be well adjusted and happy
individuals—
1. Accepting one’s physique.
2. Understanding and accepting male and female role in
society.
3. Establishing mature relations with age-mates of both sexes.
4. Gaining emotional independence from parents and other
adults.
5. Achieving assurance of economic independence.
6. Selecting and preparation for a vocation.
7. Preparation for competitive life.
8. Developing intellectual skills.
9. Developing socially acceptable behaviour.
10. Developing good habits useful for future life.
11. Selective educational activities.
12. Acquisition of useful knowledge.
13. Adopting values to live in society.
14. Cultivation of good language.
15. Fixing choices and preferences.

16. Attaining mastery in some activity.
17. Making goal-oriented life.
18. Story writing.
19. P Developing harmonious physical, social, intellectual,
aesthetic, cultural, moral and scientific values.
Special Problems of Adolescents and Solutions—
Period of adolescence is the most critical period of individual’s
life. The problems of the adjustments of the adolescents are
discussed as under —
1. Adjustment to mental competition—Because of mental
development, the adolescent becomes critical and fault finder. He
wants to broaden his mental horizon by knowing everything he
comes across. To ensure adequate mental development of the
adolescents, curriculum for adolescents should be as broad-based
as possible. Co-curriculum activities should be organized.
2. Problem of adjustment with society—Sometimes
adolescents have to face the problem of adjustments with society.
The adolescents cannot stand the customs, traditions, and rites that
stand on his free will. The demands of the scoiety are too exacting
for him to carry out. The adolescents should be dealt in a
sympathetic way. The importance of social values should be
explained, social responsibilities should be assigned, and
individualities should be respected. Social security to the adolescent
should be assured.
3. Adjustment to emotional disturbances—Emotional
disturbances in the adolescents are due to the rapidly changing
physical structures, abnormal functioning of nervous and glandular
systems and his widening social experiences. The adolescent has
got extreme emotions. What is required to help him in emotional
control ? In dealing with the adolescents we must respect his
individuality. Proper habits and sentiments should be developed in
him. Discussion method should be encouraged.
4. Problem of home adjustment—An adolescent sometimes

cannot adjust himself to the conditions of the home. His home
adjustment problems arise due to the fact that his needs increase
and his parents may not be able to meet all those needs. The teacher
should not dominate the adolescent unnecessarily and should rather
treat him as friend. The child should be given sufficient
opportunities of study and the right to free thinking and independent
outlook.
5. Problem of adjustment with friends—In adolescence
stage, boys and girls need some friends with whom they can confide
their secrets and discuss matter freely. Hence friendships at this
stage have special significance on one hand and problem on the
other.
6. Problem of sex adjustment—In boys, the discharge of
semen during sleep accompained by erotic dreams horrify the
ignorant adolescents. Similarly the flow of blood during
menstruation creates worries among the girls and give birth to fears,
anxieties, and complexes in the mind of adolescents. Parents and
teachers should impart sex education. Scientific terms should be
used while giving relevant information.
7. Adjustment to physical growth—Because of rapid and
unbalanced growth in height, weight and physique the adolescent
feels embarrassment in the group with which he moves. He feels
that he is looking odd in the company of his class fellows and
playmates. The teacher or parents should not address him as ‘camel’
and ‘bull’ etc. and lay emphasison his temporary physical
abnormalities. To provide for the rapid physical growth, the
adolescent should be given sufficient nourishing diet. As adolescent
has excess of physical energy, healthy outlet should be provided
for the same in the forms of games, scouting, social services and
other hobbies.
Implications for Teaching (Education for Adolescents)
As ithas already been pointed out that almost every adolescent
finds difficulty in adjusting with himself, family and society at large.
Most of the adolescents suffer from frustrations, conflicts,

complexes, anxieties and worries. They experience difficulty in
physical, mental, emotional, social and other adjustments. However,
what is needed, is an udnerstanding of the psychology of adolescent
and then do our best to help him in his difficulties. A few concrete
things are suggested below—
1. Appropriate Lectures and Sex Education —
(a) Appropriate lectures on physical growth and development
should be delivered and the scientific explanation of the sudden
growth and various parts of the body should be given.
(b) The school should impart full information to the students
regarding proper balanced diet, personal hygiene, cleanliness,
various diseases and the measures to check these.
(c) Sex education should be given in free, frank, scientific,
judicious and impersonal manner to the adolescents so that they
may not pick up wrong information and come under immoral
influence. Girls should be educated with regards to menstruation
and the boys with regard to the involuntary changes brought in the
genital organs. Nobody is better suited to this job than parents and
teachers. Realistic and straight answers should be given to questions
regarding sex.
2. Discouraging Tight and Sleeveless Dress—Tight and
sleeveless dresses should be discouraged as they excite sex instinct.
3. Sympathetic and Affectionate Attitude—The person gets
perturbed when he look at various physical and psychological
changes that take place in him. Hence, it is the duty of the parents
and the teacher that they should behave in sympathetic and
psychological manner.
4. Physical exercises and activities—Adolescence beig a
period of rapid physical development, physical exercises and
activities like sports and drills, games, dancing, hiking, gymnastics,
wrestling, football, kabaddi, etc. should be introduced in the school
curriculum. According to Stanley Hall-dancing can serve the best
job. He says, “Dancing is one of the best expressions and pure
play and pure motor need of the youth. Perhaps, it is the most
liberal of all forms of motor education.”
5. Democratic atmosphere—There should be demorcratic
atmosphere in the school and chance for leadership training. There
should be provision for various scoieties, clubs and associations in
the school.
6. Respecting individuality—Individualities of adolescents
should be respected and their opinions should be taken by parents
concerning their choice of career or profession and marriage etc.
7. Co-curricular activites—Adolescence is a period of
intellectual development. So there should be co-curricular activities
in the form of debates, declamation contests, conferences, poetical
symposium, literary, art, painting, music and dramatic clubs and
societies, N.C.C., scouting, girl guiding and excursions and trips
to various places of historical, geographical, scientific and cultural
importance.
8. High Moral and Religious Education—
(a) Moral and religious education should be given to
adolescents. This emphasizes the improtance of value of prayer in
morning assemblies and celebrations of brithdays of great saints of
all religions. Parents, teachers, and religious leaders should not
teach or propagate narrow religiousthoughts but spirit of
brotherhood and humanitarianism should be taught, propagated
and cultivated.
(b) The pupils must be helped in the formation and
development of strong moral sentiments and ideals like patriotism,
nationalism, self-sacrifice, honesty, truth beauty and goodness.
9. Tasks of responsibility—Tasks of responsibility should be
given to them. Self-government should be introduced in the school
so that they may accept responsiblity, get some social status and
exercise their own judgment.
10. Co-operation of parents—Co-operation of parents must
be sought. Parents should co-operate with the school and college
staff in helping the adolescents in solving their difficulties. They
should provide good hygienic conditions to the adolescents at home.

Home atmosphere should be free from tensions and worries.
Moreover, the parents should have the knowledge of psychology
of adolescence.
11. Guidance Centres—Guidance centres should be started
so that adolescents may get suitable educational, vocational, and
psychological guidance. There should be well-trained and
experienced guidance workers and counselors. They should help
the adolescents in solving their problems and make personal, social
and psychological adjustments.
12. School centre of community service—School should
become the centre of community service in which the students are
to take an active part in doing community service etc. dignity of
labour should be recognized and social disaprities should be
removed by education.
Need for a special study of adolescence period
The adolescent is neither a child nor an adult. This fact is
often omitted by the teachers and parents. At one moment, they
call him to be too young to take an independent decision and
interfere with his plans off and on and at the other moment, they
look down upon him if he is unable to arrive at a decision which
they expect from him. For example, the parents may not permit the
adolescent to go alone to his friend’s house which is at a distant
place but may send him gladly to purchase vegetables or other
household articles from a far-off market all alone. In making
purchases, if he commits any mistake he is ridiculed for behaving
like a child. This creates many emotional problems for the
adolescent.
There is need for making a special study of this period because
at this period the cases of delinquency are maximum. The child
learns to smoke and to run away from the school. The teachers can
apply corret remedial measures only when they are able to clearly
understand the main characteristics of this period.
At this period sexual urge becomes predominant and hetero-

sexual love develops. The type of sex education which is to be
given and the sexual adustment which is to be facilitated should be
clearly understood by the teachers and parents.
9.3.4 PROBLEMS OF ADOLESCENCE
Most problems of adolescence are due to failure in
understanding the anatomical, morphological and psychological
changes expected during adolescence. Psychologically, adolescence
is such a vulnerable stage that boys / girls of this age are easily
carried away by perceptions generated by
 Misleading and misguiding parents, teachers, friends,
brother/sisters.
 Ignorance of elders.
 Half - informed or ill - informed friends, brothers, sisters.
 Wrongful messages depicted through TV serials,
advertisements, films
 Publications carrying partially or fully false information.
Such perceptions can be anything in the range of studies,
sex, society, married life, career, religion, politics, or any
relevant subject.
Every adolescent boy or girl is prone to such exposures -
which ultimately are retained as perceptions in their minds
to form their behavioural patterns.
The problems of adolescence are classified as
MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS
 morphological / developmental
 psychological
 social
 educational
Some problems are absolutely unimportant and trivial.
They could be easily ignored. But even such problems
cause great concern to adolescent people.
Morphological / Developmental Problems

 over growth of hair or undergrowth of hair
 over weight and underweight
 skin colour problems
 Facial deformities, pimples, etc.
 Limb deformities
 Abnormal growth of genitals and breasts.
Psychological Problems
Ignorance about many basic facts leads to psychological
problems like
 Misconceptions about sexual feelings, sex related issues.
 Misconceptions about child birth, reproduction.
 Misconceptions about coitus, menstrual cycles.
 Fear about sex and sexual issues.
 Guilt feeling about sex related issues.
 Inferiority / Superiority complex about skin colour,
beauty, mental ability and IQ.
 Inexplicable perceptions about dress and fashion codes.
 Wrong and unrealistic ideologies about friendship and
courtship.
 Perceptional or communicational or preconceived
complications about their teachers and parents.
 Attraction towards opposite sex.
 Unrealistic and illogical curiosity about sex and sex related
issues.
 Exceptional vulnerability to suicide psychology.
Social
Anticipated unemployment and insecurity due to
unemployment.
 Unwarranted and inexplicable hatredness towards
brother / sisters, friends.
 Intense closeness with brothers / sisters, friends.
 Unpredictable and volatile relationships with friends.
 Unrealistic social perceptions about violence, love, sex

as influenced by media.
 Unusually vulnerable and volatile relations with relatives.
 Fear / imagination about married life, life partners.
Educational
 Tensions of attending the classes, examinations and tests.
 Low IQ feeling.
 Fear about failure in examination.
 Fear about low score.
 Fear and concern about a future career.
 Misconceptions about teachers.
Due to many problems faced during adolescence, the boys
and girls of the age between 8 - 16 form a separate category by
themselves. Their problems are specific to themselves. Most of the
problems faced by them are perceptional. By timely and effective
guidance - many of their problems could be solved. Some of them
may need medical / psychiatric attention. In India, the parents
influence their behaviour, thoughts and are in position to solve
many problems - if they have positive approach.
Despite all efforts being made by parents, teachers, large
number of adolescents face one or many problems. When the
problem is aggravated, the parents may take them to doctors. But
most of them face minor problems - modifying their behavioural
patterns, personality as a whole. The implications of problems in
adolescence can be moral or social.
Social Implications
Future citizen may have a high IQ due to positive thinking
and reorientation of their mental resources towards positive
personality development.
· A section of future population may turn into disgruntled,

impatient group of people due to grooming of misconceptions about
society, love, law, relations, etc.
· Due to wrong educational policies and ever growing

unemployment problems - a section of population may turn hostile
against the whole society, which breeds and deepens the antisocial
activities and perverted thinking.
· Many of the wrong perception about sex related problems

may lead them to unwanted motherhood, anxiety or illegal
termination of pregnancy.
· Some problems during adolescence are decisive in building

the personalities (positive and negative) - who may or may not
utilize the opportunities open to them during their later life.
·When teachers, parents, brothers/sisters or any close person has
positive dominant personality to effectively guide the adolescent
at right time - they turn out to be very useful section of future
population.
· Imaginary fear, imaginary anxieties and unrealistic

expectations as well as host of strong misconceptions may ultimately
end up with personalities of negative / perverted thoughts.
·In extreme disillusions, tension, wrongful personality and
maladjustments - a section of population may have to be psychiatric
patients. Psychosis of mild nature may remain untreated and
unnoticed. Such people will not do anything useful to the society
or their families.
· Adolescent being influenced by mass media like electronic

media, print media or computer culture - may be guided or
misguided by such exposure. When misguided - they are likely to
develop negative perception about many social values.
· The social implications of adolescent problems are

dependent upon social structure. In a country like India - where
family ties are strong due to emotional, financial, religious
attachments - the gravity of implications are less. But in an
individualistic society like US / Europe - where family ties are
shallow - the gravity of implications can be far more serious.
EXERCISE
1. “Childhood is a unique period of life.” Explain and

discuss the chief characteristics of this period.
2. Point out in detail the developmental characteristics of
the later childhood (6th year to 12 years).
3. Write the various problems of Adolescence.
4. Write the Characteristics of Infancy ?
5. What are the Characteristics of Adolescents ?
6. What do you know of Development tasks of
Adolescence?
1. Write the modern concept of Childhood.

2. What do you know about the term development
task ?
3. What do you mean by Later Childhood?
4. What is peer group relationship .
5. Idealism Vs Realism.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT :
10 MEANING, FACTORS,
CHARACTERISTICS
AND THEORIES
10.1. CONCEPT OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

The term cognitive development refers to the process of growth
and change in intellectual/mental abilities such as thinking, reasoning
and understanding. It includes the acquisition and consolidation of
knowledge. Infants draw on social-emotional, language, motor and
perceptual experiences and abilities for cognitive development.
They are attuned to relationships between features of objects, actions
and the physical environment. But they are particularly attuned to
people. Parents, family members, friends, teachers and caregivers
play a vital role in supporting the cognitive development of infants
by providing the healthy interpersonal or social-emotional context
in which cognitive development unfolds. Caring, responsive adults
provide the base from which infants can fully engage in behaviours
and interactions that promote learning. Such adults also serve as a
prime source of imitation.
Cultural context is important to young children’s cognitive
development. There is substantial variation in how intelligence is
defined within different cultures (Sternberg and Grigorenko). As a
result, different aspects of cognitive functioning or cognitive
performance may be more highly valued in some cultural contexts
than in others. For example, whereas processing speed is an aspect
of intelligence that is highly valued within the predominant Western
conceptualizations of intelligence, “Ugandan villagers associate
intelligence with adjectives such as slow, careful and active”
(Rogoff and Chavajay). Aspects of intelligence that have to do
with social competence appear to be seen as more important than
speed in some non-Western cultural contexts (Sternberg and
357
Grigorenko). Certainly, it is crucial for early childhood professionals

to recognize the role that cultural context plays in defining and
setting the stage for children’s healthy cognitive functioning.
Cognitive development is the construction of thought
processes, including remembering, problem solving, and decision-
making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood.
Cognitive Development contains the very best empirical and
theoretical work on the development of perception, memory,
language, concepts, thinking, problem solving, metacognition,
and social cognition. Criteria for acceptance of articles will be :
significance of the work to issues of current interest, substance of
the argument and clarity of expression.
For purposes of publication in Cognitive Development, moral
and social development will be considered part of cognitive
development when they are related to the development of
knowledge or thought processes.
Cognitive development refers to the development of the ability
to think and reason. Children (6 to 12 years old) develop the ability
to think in concrete ways (concrete operations), such as how to
combine (addition), separate (subtract or divide), order (alphabetize
and sort), and transform (change things such as 5 pennies=1 nickel)
objects and actions. They are called concrete because they are
performed in the presence of the objects and events being thought
about.
Adolescence marks the beginning development of more
complex thinking processes (also called formal logical operations)
including abstract thinking (thinking about possibilities), the ability
to reason from known principles (form own new ideas or questions),
the ability to consider many points of view according to varying
criteria (compare or debate ideas or opinions) and the ability to
think about the process of thinking.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT : MEANING, FACTORS... 359
10.2. CHARACTERISTICS OF COGNITIVE

DEVELOPMENT DURING DIFFERENT STAGES
1. Infancy State—(Birth to 5 years)

1. Development of language—The child at birth can only cry
as an expression of emotion-pleasure or pain. His cries at 6 month’s
age indicate his recognition of some new situation. By the end of
first year he may utter a few words—Aa, Baa, Maa, Paa etc. It is
1
at1 years, language development becomes more rapid. At the
2
age of 2 or 3 years, he learns to speak very short sentences which
are usually in the form of repetition of what the elders have said.
Professor Smith is of the opinion that the child at the age of 1 year
is able to speak 3 words, at the age of 2 he is able to speak 272
words and at the age of 5, he learns 2072 words.
2. Interests—The child in his infancy is interested in only
those things which are in connection with immediate needs such
as hunger and feelding. Slowly his horizon of looking at things
widens. He becomes interested in bright, jingling and moving toys.
3. Fertile Imagination—The period of infancy is a period of
fertile imagination. Day dreaming, fairy tales, fantasy, make-belief
play are important parts in the infancy period of the child. The
child thinks that his imaginary world is real world. In order to satisfy
his instincts and tendencies he roams in the imaginary word. At
this stage it is necessary to give due regard and recognition to the
imagination of the child.
4. Curious Questions—The child becomes curious and puts
such questions as “Why is it ?” “Who has done it ?”
5. Sensory Development—In the first month of the life of the
child sensory development takes place and thus the child learns to
use his senses effectively. The child experiences many types of
sensations like hardness, pleasure, pain, sensation of sound and
smell. He can compare various sensations.
6. Concepts, Percepts and Thoughts—Development of
concepts and percepts begins at this stage. He is able to judge
distances when he runs, walks and climbs. He has very little time
sense. He is able to organise his thoughts and make simple
generalisations though all these are very rudimentary. At the age
of 5, he is capable of reasoning and thinking but his reasoning is
vague and inconsistent.
(2) Late Childhood Period—
Late childhood is the period of intellectual advancement,
where new experiences are acquired and applied and mental horizon
is broadened.
1. Language development—By the time the child is 12, his
vocabularly is sufficiently rich. He can speak sentences fully well.
He beigins to use simple idioms. The favourite topics of discussion
are day to day experiences, sex, girls. etc. He accumulates a large
amount of knowledge and information.
2. Curious questions—The child tries to put curious questions
his elders and parents and ries to get answers from them. These
questions are more definite than he used to put during his infancy.
3. (a) Development of power of thinking—During this period
alongwith curiosity power of observation, reasoning, remembering,
recalling, attention and thinking (including abstract thinking)
develops. If during the infancy the child wants to know what is this ?
—then in the late childhood he tries to know-why is this so ?
childhood he tries to know-why is this so ?
(b) His sensory equipment becomes well developed. His
power of perception becomes keener and more accurate. His vivid
memory gives place to logical thinking and he can generalise on
the basis of his experience.
4. Import of reality into the world of imagination—During
this period the child realises that the world of reality is the real
world for him. He ceases to live in the world of imagination.
5. Development of concepts—Child develops the concept of
time fully. He also develops an idea of length and distance.
6. Development of interests—During this period interests of
the child expand. He likes books about travel, biography, science,
adventure, fairy tales of crime, mystery and romance. Interest in

collection reaches a peak through this period. Radio and movies
hold a strong appeal for him.
(3) Adolescent Period—(11-15 years)
Here the youth begins and the nature of thought undergoes a
change. The complex abstract and mature logic of adult begins to
manifest itself during adolescence with the systematic analysis,
exploration and solution of problems.
During this period, thinking is purely abstract and hypothetical.
Piaget has been most concerned with the capacity to reason with
respect to problems, concepts of geometry, language, space, time,
number, order etc.
During the teenage years young people realise that thoughts
are private and that no one else knows what they are thinking.
They value friendship and sincerity and spend much time trying to
discern real motives. The adult is more sensitive to the discrepancy
between reality and ideals. Teenager has knowledge of the rules
and his knowledge is different from that of small children.
Lastly, during this period (Formal operations), the
crystallisation of personality development takes place. Forming of
social and ideational position is closely linked with the acquisition
of moral values.
At this stage, the individual has reached his intellectual
maturity.
10.3. FACTORS AFFECTING COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
As children enter the later stages of their childhood, many
differing factors can be identified about how they were raised or
just by assessing their attitude, actions and abilities. Some children
are more interested in getting a university degree, while others are
still immature and don’t have any idea of what they want to do
with their lives, still believing that after school is finished they will
not have to be independent. All these issues will be discussed and
verified using numerous studies and tests.
Children that are abandoned by their parents in the early stages

of their lives are already limited from developing as they don’t
even know their real parents and usually the quest to find their
parents takes over from their learning. Children that live in
orphanages may also be restricted from cognitive development, if
they attend school they could experience bullying or being singled
out due to their living arrangement and would associate negative
emotions with school and learning. A recent study analysing the
difference between foster children and orphanage children gave
some very interesting results. It discovered that children in a foster
family were given a “father and mother figure” which therefore
distracts them from the thoughts of who their parents really are. It
also performed a study of the student’s performance at school.
Showing that the foster family children were excelling compared
with the orphanage and the study explained that the foster kids had
“two to one, home teaching”. Meaning both foster parents
contributed to the child’s understanding and learning of the material
presented at school. On the other hand the orphanage supplies
tuition, however it is on a larger scale, with up to 40 children being
tutored simultaneously. This denies the child from one-on-one
learning that foster children and average children receive. One-on-
one learning experiences are almost compulsory for a young child
to be successful in developing cognitively. The findings of this
study thus indicate that childhood experiences do alter cognitive
development.
Even before school and kindergarten, parents or guardians
provide excellent role models to increase learning and
development. Most parents these days will teach their children
basics, like reading, writing, language and counting before they
even commence kindergarten. This gives the child an upper hand
in cognitive development before they enter education and may
find learning easier and more fun. Also it is proven that children
whom are raised in a slightly higher socioeconomic family tend to
develop mentally quicker due to the fact that more consistent
education is given by the parents. Later on in life these children

become the kind of student that likes to take on a challenge, work
through it and master it. However children from a lower
socioeconomic background with less home education may get
frustrated with the task and give up. Some of these children are
from a family which hasn’t worked and the parents have divorced
or abuse has been shown to anyone in the family.
Stories told on television shows such as ‘Today Tonight’ and
‘60 Minutes’ frequently describing a child’s epic battle through his
or her family and school troubles. Some of these troubles include
marriages that haven’t been successful or a parent or loved one
has died from various causes. When parents are fighting they grow
further apart and a divorce may eventually result from it, the
children may believe that it is completely their fault, feeling as if
they have been torn apart and don’t know which party to take
sides on. This is supported by recent studies showing that divorce
rates have increased, more marriages are failing and more children
are thrown on the fence between their parents, undecided which
side to take. This side-tracks children and may consume their
thoughts, so they cannot concentrate in class.
Another area of family trauma that can stunt development is
abuse. If abuse has been shown to a child by either parent or if
schoolyard bullying has occurred; it could have a negative impact
on a child’s cognitive development. Verbal and physical abuse
towards children either at home or school can severely damage a
child mentally. They may become very cautious about new things
and might come across as shy and not wanting to participate in
some of the social activities. They become this way because they
have been traumatised and never want it to happen again; fearing
the experience of being hurt both emotionally and physically.
If the abuse towards children is physical then the brain can
actually be damaged permanently, therefore restricting a child of
achieving a fully developed mind. A study taken in 2005 involved
a test on cognitive skills, to children that have been abused and

those who have not. The results showed a very significant difference
between the two groups. The abused children scored considerably
lower than that comparison group, and it was concluded that the
trauma had affected their ability to learn, retain and use information
taught. They judged this by performing various cognitive tasks
plus taking MRI’s scans at certain ages.
If a child’s cognitive development is slowed or halted in some
cases, their future IQ and abilities most likely will be affected
according to a recent study. This lack of IQ is something that
could’ve easily been prevented and may upset the abused children
for the rest of their lives. In school the children might struggle to
keep up with the set work and potentially get bullied which starts
the cycle all over again. They are traumatised by bullies as well as
falling behind in class due to their learning difficulties and then
retaining that constant fear of being bullied. This viscous cycle
may wear a child down until they are severely depressed and suicide
may be a consideration. The study shows that if the physical abuse
received by the child was prevented, the child would then have a
significant chance of leading a more normal and fulfilling life.
However on the other hand, every high school has its
respective dux student, who receives the highest enter score for his
or her particular year. Sometimes these children are lucky enough
to receive the highest honour of 99.95 and get interviewed on
television shows and news reports. “Who would you like to thank?”
is one of the most common questions asked. The student will
instantaneously reply that they couldn’t have done it without the
love and support of their parents and family. Even from an earlier
age as discussed before, an interactive and educational relationship
between a child and their parents is a great benefit the child in
regards to their development and success in latter years. If children
learn to read, write and count to even just a small extent they have
a head start going into kindergarten and school, because they will
find the content they are learning is similar to what they already
know. Family is a young person’s closest asset to developing

successfully as parents provide all the opportunities for the child to
be educated in the best possible way. They pay for children to
enter school, buy text books and help out with everyday homework
and the like. Also, not only is it just school and education that adds
to a young persons developing mind. Joining sporting teams
encourages children to be social within those teams and to develop
life long friend making skills which are vital for a social, happy life
style. Depending on each respective sport, joining these teams
teaches participants hand eye co-ordination, ball handling skills
and general running and fitness training. It is also proven that
exercise combined with sport and games gives the participant
enjoyment and long term happiness. This will aid in a child’s learning
experience, because they won’t be thinking about the depressing
parts of their lives.
Taking music or singing lessons is another way to increase a
child’s cognitive development. Music lessons teach children new
skills, not only how to play an instrument but how to read sheet
music which is a proven way to increase intelligence in some areas,
including maths. Once again it is the parents that are to be thanked
for all these opportunities as they provide the financial support to
make these various activities possible.
Society is becoming more aware of the factors influencing
children’s mental development and must try to do as many things
as possible to successfully develop every child. Factors such as
unloving family, traumatic experiences, poor living arrangements,
physical and verbal abuse, global transition and little pre-school
family education will all contribute to slowing down the mental
development process. However children possessing a loving family
who provide them with basic education and provide numerous
opportunities will succeed in their general development.
As more and more studies are undertaken, a greater awareness
of the factors impacting on children’s cognitive development is
apparent. Parents and family should eventually change their
parenting techniques to achieve the best for their child. Also

institutional care facilities must be upgraded more and more,
developing children who are happier and more successful in their
education than at present. Hopefully more foster parents will put
themselves forward so every child in the world can have a family
and a home. We must try to eradicate all child abuse and reduce
divorce rates and family break up’s, so that children of future
generations will be successful, happy and well adjusted.
Some Important Factors Affecting Cognitive Development
of Children as below—
(1) Biological factors
(a) Sense organs
Sense organs are important because they receive stimuli from
the environment. Their proper development helps in receiving
correct stimuli and the correct concepts are formed. Defective sense
organs collect defective stimuli and as a result wrong concepts can
be formed and the cognitive development will not be perfect.
(b) Intelligence
It has been seen that cognitive development of intelligent
children is better. Children with low Intelligence Quotient are not
able to receive stimuli from the environment properly, thus their
cognitive development lags behind. Intelligence affects all mental
capacities.
(c) Heredity
Cognitive development is also influenced by the hereditary
traits; one gets from his parents. Their development is similar to
their parents cognitive development.
(d) Maturation
As the child gets matured he gets more interactive with his
environment. For a good cognitive development interaction with
environment is very necessary which the child does with the help
of his mental and motor maturation. They help directly in the
development of cognition.
(2) Environment factors

(a) Learning opportunities
The opportunity a child gets to learn affects the cognitive
development. The more opportunities he gets the better is the
cognition, because he will be able to add to his mental capacities
by learning through these opportunities.
(b) Economic status
Economic state of the family also helps in the development of
cognition. Children from better economic status get more
opportunities and better training and it helps in cognitive
development.
(c) Play
Play is also quite important in developing cognition. Through
play activities, the child interacts with the environment, receives
stimuli and responds to them.
Through this he learns new processes acquire knowledge. He
forms new com Eighteen months-old draws irregular sketch with
crayons when he sees some similar between the sketch and any
object around him.
He immediately understands and image is formed in his mind;
e.g., he sketch a ‘circle’ and mother points out towards ‘mi He is
now able to recognise this shape, child while playing and while
many his toys learns many new experiences, becomes imaginative
and does drama holding a ‘Gada’ and becomes Lord Hanum He
plays school-school. Chess and cards in increasing his mental
abilities.
(d) Various types of stimuli
As child grows, he gets various stimuli from environment
through his senses and perceives their meanings. These stimuli
form concepts and symbols. Parents and other people around the
child could assist him get the right meanings of stimuli. T1
instructions and motivation help in cognitive development of the
child. The child gets these stimuli from his toys and activities like
identifying different colour shapes, smell, and sounds, etc.
(e) Family and society

Family is v important from the point of view of providing the
child hereditary traits, which are the of development family also
providing opportunities to learn, good encourage atmosphere to
the child if the family provides such atmosphere to the child in
which he maximum stimuli from the environment, would be
encouraged to learn and with his environment. His cognitive
development will be good.
The child learns observing and imitating others. He learns
language, habits, by observing family and people around them. If
society provide encouraging atmosphere, facilities gaining
knowledge like good schools, librarian’s healthy recreation facilities,
health facilities etc. to the children, they will develop possibility
and good cognitive capacity. So we see the family and society
both play an important rot in the development of cognition of the
child.
10.4. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE
Cognitive development refers to the development of the ability
to think and reason.
Children (typically 6 to 12 years old) develop the ability to
think in concrete ways (concrete operations), such as how to
combine (addition), separate (subtract or divide), order (alphabetize
and sort), and transform (5 pennies = 1 nickel) objects and actions.
These processes are called concrete because they are performed in
the presence of the objects and events being thought about.
Adolescence marks the beginning development of more
complex thinking processes (also called formal logical operations)
including abstract thinking (thinking about possibilities), the ability
to reason from known principles (form own new ideas or questions),
the ability to consider many points of view according to varying
criteria (compare or debate ideas or opinions) and the ability to
consider the process of thinking.
During adolescence (between 12 and 18 years of age), the

developing teenager acquires the ability to think systematically
about all logical relationships within a problem. The transition from
concrete thinking to formal logical operations occurs overtime.
Every adolescent progresses at varying rates in developing
his/her ability to think in more complex ways. Each adolescent
develops his/her own view of the world. Some adolescents may be
able to apply logical operations to school work long before they
are able to apply them to personal dilemmas.
When emotional issues arise, they often interfere with an
adolescent’s ability to think in more complex ways. The ability to
consider possibilities, as well as facts, may influence decision
making, in either positive or negative ways.
Some common features indicating a progression from more
simple to more complex cognitive development include the
following :
(1) EARLY ADOLESCENCE
During early adolescence, the use of more complex thinking
is focused on personal decision making in school and home
environments, including the following :
 Begins to demonstrate use of formal logical operations in
schoolwork
 Begins to question authority and society standards
 Begins to form and verbalize his / her own thoughts and
views on a variety of topics, usually more related to his /
her own life, such as:
 Which sports are better to play
 Which groups are better to be included in
 What personal appearances are desirable or attractive
 What parental rules should be changed.
(2) MIDDLE ADOLESCENCE
With some experience in using more complex thinking
processes, the focus of middle adolescence often expands to include
more philosophical and futuristic concerns, including these :
 Often questions and analyzes more extensively.

 Often analyzes more extensively.
 Thinks about and begins to form his / her own code of ethics
(i.e., What do I think is right?).
 Thinks about different possibilities and begins to develop
own identity (i.e., Who am I?).
 Thinks about and begins to systematically consider possible
future goals (i.e., What do I want?).
 Thinks about and begins to make his / her own plans.
 Begins to think long term.
 Use of systematic thinking to influence relationships with
others.
LATE ADOLESCENCE
During late adolescence, complex thinking processes are used
to focus on less self-centered concepts as well as personal decision
making, including the following:
 Increased thoughts about more global concepts such as
justice, history and politics
 Develops idealistic views on specific topics or concerns;
debates and develops intolerance of opposing views
 Begins to focus thinking on making career decisions
 Begins to focus thinking on emerging role in adult society
The following suggestions will help to encourage positive
and healthy cognitive development in the adolescent:
 Assist adolescents in obtaining adequate sleep, hydration,
and nutrition.
 Include adolescents in discussions about a variety of topics,
issues, and current events.
 Encourage adolescents to share ideas and thoughts with
adults.
 Encourage adolescents to think independently and develop
their own ideas.
 Assist adolescents in setting their own goals.
 Stimulate adolescents to think about possibilities of the

future.
 Compliment and praise adolescents for well-thought-out
decisions.
 Assist adolescents in re-evaluating poorly made decisions
for themselves.
10.5. THE BRAIN AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
If you have gone through an introductory psychology class,
you must have read about the brain and nervous system. You
probably remember that there are several different areas of the brain
and that certain area are involved in particular functions. For
example, the feathery looking cerebellum coordinates and
orchestrates balance and smooth, skilled movements— from the
graceful gestures of the dancer to the everyday action of eating
without stabbing yourself in the nose with a fork. The cerbellum
may also play a role in higher cognitive functions such as learning.
The hippocampus is critical in recalling new information and recent
experiences, while the amygdala directs emotions. The thalamus is
involved in our ability to learn new information, particularly if it is
verbal. The reticular formation plays a role in attention and arousal,
blocking some messages and sending others on to higher brain
centers for processing.
Some researchers have described the brain as a jungle of layers
and loops, an interconnected and complex organic system
(Edelman). The outer 1/8-inch-thick covering of the cerebrum is
the wrinkled-looking cerebral cortex—the largest area of the brain.
The cerebral cortex allows the greatest human accomplishments,
such as complex problem-solving and language. In humans, this
area of the brain is much larger than it is in lower animals. The
cortex is the last part of the brain to develop, so it is believed to be
more susceptible to environmental influences than other areas of
the brain. The cerbral cortex accounts for about 85% of the brain’s
weight in adulthood and contains the greatest number of neurons
(nerve cells that store and transfer information)—the tiny structures

that store and transmit information. Let’s see how neurons develop.
The Developing Brain — Neurons Neuron cells send out
long arm- and branch-like fibers called axons and dendrites to
connect with other neuron cells and share information by releasing
chemicals that jump across the tiny spaces, called synapses (the
tiny space between neurons—chemical messages are sent across
these gaps), between the fiber ends. Axons transmit information to
muscles, glands, or other neurons; dendrites receive information
and transmit it to the neuron cells themselves.
By the time we are born, we have all the neurons we will ever
have, about 100–200 billion and each neuron has about 2,500
synapses. However, the fibers that reach out from the neurons and
the synapses between the fiber ends increase during the first years
of life, perhaps into adolescence or longer.
By age 2–3, each neuron has around 15,000 synapses;
children at this age have many more synapses than they will have
as adults. In fact, they are oversupplied with the neurons and
synapses that they will need to adapt to their environments. However,
only those neurons that are used will survive, and unused neurons
will be ‘‘pruned.’’ This pruning is necessary and supports cognitive
development. In fact, some developmental disabilities are associated
with a gene defect that interferes with pruning (Cook & Cook).
Two kinds of overproduction and pruning processes take
place. One is called experience expectant because synapses are
overproduced in certain parts of the brain during certain.
Each neuron (nerve cell) includes dendrites that bring in
messages and an axon that sends out messages. This is a single
neuron, but each neuron is in a network with many others.
Developmental periods, awaiting stimulation. For example,
during the first months of life, the brain expects visual and auditory
stimulation. If a normal range of sights and sounds occurs, then
the visual and auditory areas of the brain develop. But children
who are born completely deaf receive no auditory stimulation and,

as a result, the auditory processing area of their brains becomes
devoted to processing visual information. Smiliarly, the visual
processing area of the brain for children blind from birth becomes
devoted to auditory processing (Neville). Experience-expectant
overproduction and pruning processes are responsible for general
development in large areas of the brain and may explain why adults
have difficulty with pronunciations that are not part of their native
language. The neurons and synapses that are not involved in
recognizing native language sounds may have been “pruned.”
Therefore, learning these sounds as an adult requires intense
instruction and practice.
The second kind of synaptic overproduction and pruning is
called experience-dependent. Here, synaptic connections are formed
based on the individual’s experiences. New synapses are formed
in response to neural activity in very localized areas of the brain
when the individual is not successful in processing information.
Again, more synapses are produced than will be kept after “pruning”
Experience-dependent processes are involved in individual
learning, such as mastering unfamiliar sound pronunciations in a
second language you are studying.
Stimulating environments may help in the pruning process in
early life (experience-expectant period) and may support increased
synapse development in adulthood (experience-dependent period)
(Cook & Cook). In fact, animal studies have shown that rats raised
in stimulating (with toys, tasks for learning, other rats, and human
handling) develop and retain 25% more synapses than rats who
are raised with little stimulation. Even though the research with
rats may not apply directly to humans, it is clear that extreme
deprivation can have negative effects on brain development. But
extra stimulation will not necessarily improve development for
young children who are getting adequate or typical amounts (Byrnes
& fox; Kolb & Whishaw). So spending money on expensive toys
or baby education programmes probably provides more stimulation

than is necessary. Pots and pans, blocks and books, sand and water
all provide excellent stimulation—especially if accompanied by
caring conversations with parents or teachers.
Another factor that influences thinking and learning is
myelination (the process by which neural fibers are coated with a
fatty sheath called myelin that makes message transfer more
eficient), or the coating of axon neuron fibers with an insulating
fatty covering shown in Figure 2.1—look back at that figure and
find the myelin. This process is something like coating bare
electrical wires with rubber or plastic. This myelin. coating makes
message transmission faster and more efficient. Myelination
happens quickly in the early years, but continues gradually into
adolescence and is the reason he child’s brain grows rapidly in
size in the first few year of life. The process of myelination is also
responsible for growth in brain size. In fact, by age 5 most children’s
brains weigh about 90% of what they will in adulthood.
The Developing Brain—Cerebral Cortex. Let’s move from
the neuron level to the brain itself. The cerebral cortex develops
more slowly than other parts of the brain and parts of the cortex
mature at different rates. The part of the cortex that controls physical
motor movement matures first, then the areas that control complex
senses such as vision and hearing, and last, the frontal lobe that
controls higher-order thinking processes. The temporal lobes of
the cortex that play major roles in emotions and language do not
develop fully until the high school years and maybe later.
Different areas of the cortex seem to have different functions.
Even though different functions are found in different areas of the
brain, these specialzed functions are quite specific and elementary.
To accomplish more complex functions such as speaking or reading,
the various areas of the cortex must communicate and work
together.
Another aspect of brain functioning that has implications for
cognitive development is lateralization (the specialization of the
two hemispheres (sides) of the brain cortex), or the specialization

of the two hemispheres of the brain. We know that each half of the
brain controls the opposite side of the body. Damage to the right
side of the brain will affect movement of the left side of the body
and vice versa. In addition, certain areas of the brain affect particular
behaviours. For most of us, the left hemisphere of the brain is a
major factor in language processing and the right hemisphere
handles much of the spatial-visual information and emotions
(nonverbal information). For some lefthanded people, the
relationship may be reversed, but for most lefthanders and for
reversed, but for most lefthanders, and for females on average,
there is less hemispheric specialization altogether (Berk, 2005).
The brains of young children show more plasticity (the brain’s
tendency to remain somewhat adaptable or flexible) because they
are not as specialized or lateralized as the brains of older children
and adults. Young children can somewhat overcome damage to
the left side of the brain to allow language development to proceed.
Different areas of the brain take over the functions of the damaged
area. But this compensation is less likely after damage to the left
brain hemispheres of older children and adults.
These differences in performance by the brain’s hemispheres,
however, are more relative than absolute; one hemisphere is just
more efficient than the other in performing certain functions. Nearly
any task, particularly the complex skills and abilities that concern
teachers, requires participation of many different areas of the brain
in constant communication with each other. For example, the right
side of the brain is better at figuring out the meaning of a story, but
the left side is where grammar and syntax are understood, so both
sides of the brain have to work together in reading. “The primary
implication of these findings is that the practice of teaching to
‘different sides of the brain’ is not supported by the neuroscientific
research” (Byrnes & Fox, 1998). Remember, no mental activity is
exclusively the work of a single part of the brain—so there is no
such thing as a “right-brained student” unless that individual has

had the left hemisphere removed, a rare and radical treatment for
some forms of epilepsy.
Many publications for parents and teachers have useful idea
about the brain and education, but beware of suggestions that
oversimplify. As you will see in Chapter 9, the jury still is out on
many of these “brain-based” programmes.
We turn next to examine a theory of cognitive development
offered by a biologist turned psychologist, Jean Piaget.
Cognitive development pattern implies the development of
the mental abilities and capacities which help the learner to adjust
his behaviour to the ever changing enviromental conditions.
According to J.S. Bruner (1964), “Intellectual development is the
capacity to deal with several choices at the same time”.
Cognitive development is not merely acquiring knowledge
and adding to it. Knowledge must be accompanied by
understanding and wisdom otherwise it is barrern.
Cognitive development is inherent in the development of those
basic skills which help us in getting to know the environment. The
formulation of all awareness of the environment rests on the proper
development of the five senses i.e., touch, taste, smell, hearing and
sight. While the senses are the ‘gateways’ to all experiences in the
environment, the child learns form these experiences and develops
an understanding of the world around him with the assistance of
certain skills which are ‘observation’, ‘memory’, ‘classification’,
‘sequential thinking’, ‘reasoning’ and ‘problem solving’. Thus all
these elements help in the development of cognitive behaviour.
10.6. GENERAL COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT PATTERN
The process of cognitive development implies the progressive
changes in the mental process which go on from birth to death.
Mental process is an activity on the part of the organism which is
of a psychological nature or involved in the mind. There are mental
tests to evaluate a specific ability or performance. Cognitive
development includes various aspects, such as, development of

concepts, perception, language, memory, reasoning, thinking,
imagination and intelligence.
Various areas or Aspects of Cognitive or mental
Development Pattern
1. Intelligece and Mental Development—The results of
intelligence tests show that mental or intellectual growth is rapid in
infancy, moderate in childhood and slow in youth.
2. Sensation and Perception Pattern During Various
Stages—Both sensation and perception are considered important
aspects of mental development. The eementary impressions are
gathered by sense organs. Impression take the form of perception
when they are interpreted and some definite meanings are attached
to them.
Through experience, child’s sensations become perceptions
and he is able to give meaning to it. Child’s sensory equipment
becomes mature at the age of five. He shows great interest in seeing,
hearing, touching, smelling and tasting. However, child’s sensations
do not automatically assume meaning. During his early childhood,
the child is more likely to misrepresent things and objects because
of lack of experience. For example, when viewed from a distance,
a train may appear to a child as a toy train. But gradually child’s
perceptions become more and more accurate through right kinds
of experiences. By the time a child enters the school, he has gained
enough experience. Yet he needs assistance and guidance to
improve his ability to perceive by having first hand experiences
and observations of objects, persons and situations around him.
Gradually he develops a proper perception of space, time, form,
movement and distance.
Perception patterns become more organised and refined when
an individual passes through the years to his adolescence, Now
they tend to become more definite, detailed and rich. At this stage
they need not be associated necessarily with objects. They are
beginning to be influenced by his beliefs, ideals, opinions, etc.
3. Concept Formation—Another important aspect of the

child’s mental development is the formation of concept. A concept
is the generalised meaning that is attached to an object or idea. It is
the result of one’s perceptual experiences. It involves both
discrimination and generalisation. Discrimation begins sometimes
after the child tries to generalise his perceptual experiences and he
begins to acquire concepts. Experience is an important factor in
concept formulation. In the early childhood, a child tries to develop
various concepts from the concrete experiences in the form of actual
objects.
Normally, concept formation proceeds from concrete to
abstract, from vague to clear and from inexact to exact, depending
on the type of experiences a child receives. The child has a very
poor concept of time. As stated by Crow and Crow, “Time as such
means little to the young child. He cannot distinguish among ‘to-
day’, ‘tomorrow’, and ‘next week’ except as they represent words
rather than actual duration of time”.
In later years, various experiences provided by reading,
lecturing and movies, etc., help in concept formation.
Generally, concepts may be broadened and developed. They
may even take a new shape. Wrong concepts can be altogether
abandoned.
Gradually as a result of learning and maturation, child’s
concepts become clear, definite and specific.
4. Development of Language—The development of language
contributes to the mental growth and development of the child.
Important aspects of language development are speech, vocabulary
and length of responses, etc.
5. Development of Memory—Memory is also an important
element of mental development. There is little memory at birth but
it gradually increases with maturation and experience. This has
been explained by Hurlock and Schwartz in these words —
“Memory of an impressionistic kind appears in the first half of the

year and instances of the true remembrance appear by the end of
first year. During the first year memory is only aroused by sensory
stimuli. With the learning of speech the child is able to remember
ideationally by the end of the second year. During the first and
second years the memory is stronger for persons and objects than
for situation. In pre-childhood from 3 to 6 years, situations become
significant factors in the child memory. By 3 years the child can
recount the story heard a few days ago and he can also give
information about past experiences”.
A child has a good memory in the earlier stages but this
memory is generally a rote memory. His memorisation is without
reasoning. He seldom uses logic and insight in memorisation. A
child can cram and reproduce the matter easily. The memory tends
to function more logically during later childhood and adolescence.
A selection process of remembering and forgetting begins to
operate. After that memory tends to decrease.
Memory depends upon person to person. It is generaly affected
by health and situation of the child. THe stimuli which are associated
with a kind of memory significantly influence, its remembrances
or forgetting.
6. Creativity—It may be stressed that creativity is the most
single ability which is at the root of human progress. Like many
other activities, it can be developed at a young age.
In a general sense, creativity is the ability to think in novel
ways which result in some new and original solution.
7. Problem Solving—All thinking and reasoning involve
meeting difficulties, facing complex situations and finding out
solutions. An individual is beset with all these since childhood.
Thinking and reasoning powers are used in problem solving and
these begin to grow as early as two and a half or three years of age.
Gradually the ability to reason grows.
10.7. PIAGET’S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Jean Piaget, a Swiss biologist later on turned into a cognitive
and child psychologist, is known well for providing a stage theory
of cognitive development for explaining the development of
thinking in human beings from infancy to adulthood.
So keen was his interest in the study of cognitive and child
psychology that he along with his wife (a former student of his at
the Rousseau Institute) devoted almost all the precious years of
their early married life to studying the cognitive development of
their own three children by making them the subjects of their
laboratory studies. As a result, today his theory of cognitive
development has no parallel in the history of research in the field
of developmental, cognitive and child psychology. For
understanding this theory concerning the stages of cognitive
development, let us first try to understand the major theoretical
premise on which the theory stands.
PLAGET’S WORK ON COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Piaget distinguishes four major stages in cognitive
development. He also identifies many-stages within these major
ones. The four major stages are considered qualitatively distinct
from one another. However, he recognized that the transitions
between them are slow and uneven.
Piaget considers that the child’s particular type of pearning
cannot take place unles he has reached a stage of cognitive abilities
which are necessary for that type of learning. The cognitive abilities
appear at certain stage and until and unles the child has reached
that stage of cognitive development he cannot have real
understanding of the things taught which require these abilities. In
other words it means that the child’s stages of cognitive
development should be associated with our instructional objectives
for the child at his various periods of growth.
Piaget also considered that development depends in large part
on the child’s manipulation of and active interaction with the
environment. He was of the view that knowledge comes from

action.
Before we describe Piaget’s four stages of cognitive
development let us clarify some of the key concepts used in the
building of his theory—
1. Schemes—Piaget called schemes the patterns of behaviour
that children and adults use in dealing with objects in the world.
Schemes can be simple like the pattern of behaviour of a child
when he knows how to grasp an object within reach, or complex
when a senior student learns to solve the intricate mathematical
problems. Schemes may be classified as behavioural or cognitive.
They are behavioural when the action is that of solving problem or
learning of concepts. Babies come to know about what the object
is all about through the use of the schemes they have developed.
The schemes developed may be banging of the object on the stone
and hearing of sound or taste of the object or the movement of the
object when rolled on the ground.
Piaget considers that Organization is the process of forming
schems and schemes are menal patterns or systems that describe
the ways people think about the world. Schemes are building
blocks of thinking.
2. Assimilation—Another concept used by piaget is that of
assimilation. Assimilation occurs when the child uses a scheme on
a new object. The scheme may be such as biting or banging or
rolling. Basically assimilation is a process of incorporating a new
object or event into an existing scheme. It is, however, necessary
that the object or event to be assimilated must fit an existing scheme.
The young infant if given a new object that he has never seen
before but that resembles familiar objects will apply the schemes
of banging, biting, grasping—those which he has already
developed. Thus assimilation involves new information as well as
fitting the input (new object) in the existing schemes (biting,
grasping).
3. Accomodation—It refers to the changing of an existing

scheme to fit new objects. Many a times the existing scheme would
not work as for example if a child is given a glass bottle and
according to old scheme if he bangs it on the floor it will break.
Thus unstead of hearing the sound of ‘thud’ the child will encounter
unexpected consequence. Under this situation the child might
change the scheme.
4. Equilibration—When by the existing scheme the new
situation is not fully handled then, according to Piaget there is
created a state of disequilbrium or an imbalance between what is
understood and what is encountered. In such a case the individual
tries to reduce such imbalances. This he does by focusing his
attention on the stimuli that has caused the disequilbrium and
developing new schemes or adapting old ones until equilibrium is
restored. This process of restoring balance is called equilibration.
Piaget regards that learning depends on this process. The disturbing
of the equilibrium gives the children opportunities to grow and
develop.
According to Piaget people have aninnate need to understand
how the world works and to find order, structure and predictability
in their existence. He calls this need the drive for equilibrium, or a
state of balance.
Equilibration, the act of searching for order, involves testing
one’s understanding against the real world. When learner’s
understanding fit with or explain the events they observe they are
at equilibrium. When they are unable to explain what they see on
the basis of their understanding disequilibrium occurs. This
motivates them to search for better understanding. Thus we may
say that disequilibrium is an energizing force in development.
In teaching disequilibrium may be created and thereby students
are encouraged to seek equilibration. They develop a new
perspective and grow in understanding. The science teachers when
they present startling experiments, the social studies teachers when
they introduce provocative ideas, the geography teachers when

they lead the students towards the exploration of new lands are all
introducing disequilibrium and thus awakening the curiosity of the
pupils leading them to develop new schemes resulting in their better
understanding and new insights.
Let us now examine the four stages of cognitive development
given by Piaget.
Piaget’s four developmental stages
1. The Sensori-Motor Period—(From birth to nearly eighteen
months) — During this period the child creates his own individual
world which is connected with the satisfaction of his physical wants
and its scope lies in the immediate sensation. During the last months
of this phase the child begins to think about his experiences. He
begins to gain some consciousness about objects and specially he
begings to gain some understanding regarding their stability. He
also gets some illumination regarding the causes of events. But on
the whole during this period, he remains confused regarding himself
and his environment.
This is the period when children begin to develop some notion
of object permanence. Babies believe that objects exist only if they
can actually see them.
At this stage babies start comprehending causality.
Understanding of this principles, that events can be caused, sets
the stage for late cognitive development. At this point, the child’s
mental development is equal to that of intelligent animals.
2. The Pre-operational Stage—(From about eighteen months
to about seven years)—The child develops ways of representing
events and objects through symbols, including the verbal symbols
of language. The child’s language development takes place. He
can now think about things that are not immediately present and
he can begin to solve certain types of problems, particularly
problems based on visual items. But he cannot solve problems that
relate to abstract concepts, or items that are not apparent. Hence,
the children’s cognition remains limited by preoperational modes

of understanding.
At this stage, the child still remains egocentric. He now knows
that world does not revolve around him but is still incapable of
stepping himself. He fails to understand anothers point of view. A
per-school girl who closes her eyes and insists that you cannot see
her is a good example of the egocentricity.
3. Concrete-operations Stage—(7 to 11 years) — As they
reach the end of the pre-operational period the children begin to
understand the principle of conservation. Conservation is the ability
to recognize that basic attributes of an object, such as number or
weight, remains the same even when the appearance of the object
is transformed. Piaget observed that in pre-operational child there
is incapability of understanding conservation. It was found that if
two identical containers are shown to the child which hold the water
at the same level the child recognizes that both containers have the
equal amount of water but when the water is poured into a container
of a different shape the child insists that the container in which the
water reaches the higher level not holds more. But this insistence
breaks at the end of pre-operational period or the child starts to
understand that simply because something appears bigger or longer
may not in fact be so. Thus, a control over his perception results.
This is the stage which is called as the stage of concrete-operations.
At this stage, the child is not longer totally egocentric. He
communicates with others, compares others point of view with his
own, recheck his ideas and decides what is right. This, therefore, is
considered a very good stage for co-operation and competition.
Piaget who studied the cognitive development for nearly 50
years and his associate Barbel Inhelder consider cognitive process
as a process of unfolding. But they also believe that in this process
there are levels which can be recognized. This means that though
the process is continuous yet we can recognize some level in
accordance with age range.
4. Stage of Formal Operations — (From 11 or 12 years to

the later age-range) — During this period, the child develops the
ability of thinking and reasoning of the objects and thoughts which
are beyond the immediate world. Now the problems are more
systematically solved and the bases of his action are not trial and
error. It means that he not only learns by committing mistakes and
by correcting them again and again, but he thinks out the problem
and through his reasoning searches its solution. Now his ideas
regarding social justice become clear and he learns to socially
interact in a desirable manner.
The youngsters at this stage can organize information, reason
scienctifically, build hypotheses based on an understanding to
causality and test their hypotheses. But adolescents, although they
have reached the potential of adult thought, remain egocentric in
their own way. They may become logical but they do not necessarily
become realistic. They want the world to take an ideal shape of
their vision and thought. Thus, they becomes dreamy idealist or
radicals. As the adolescents enter into adulthood, their quality of
thought structure no longer changes, but a balance between
assimilation and accommodation is reached. The egocentrism gives
way to equilibrium and idealism is modilied by reality.
The educationists are today paying much attention to the
thoughts of Piaget. Most of the teachers are now in agreement with
him that it is a waste of time to tell those things to the children
which cannot be experienced through their sense-organs.
According to Piaget, the children should be allowed to handle the
objectss and symbols so that they can test their questions and
assumptions truthfully. For cognitive development it is necessary
that the children should work and exchange ideas with their peer
group. When the children gain many direct experiences then only
they are in a position to understand the abstract ideas and concepts.
Piaget does not like the bookish education, the teacher activated
education, the education in big groups and verbal tests for
evaluating as how much has been learnt. His viewpoint is similar

to Maria Montessori’s.
APPLYING PIAGET’S THEORY TO CLASSROOM
(A) Pre-school and Primary Classes
1. Teacher should first of all be thoroughly familiar with
Piaget’s theory so that he may be able to know as to how his students
organize and synthesize ideas.
2. The teacher should try to assess the love and the type of
thinking of each child in his class. Each child may be asked to
perform some of the Piaget’s experments and he must pend most
of his time in listening to each child to explain her or his reaction.
3. Plenty of materials and opportunities to the children must
be provided to learn on their own.
4. Situations are to be arranged in groups so as to facilitate
social interaction and that children learn from each other. In a group
advanced children are to be placed with those who are less mature
in thinking so that the less mature may gain by being with the more
mature ones.
5. Learning experiences are to be organized taking into
consideration the level of thinking attained by an individual or
group.
6. Teachers should keep in mind the possibility that pupils
may be influenced by egocentric speech or thought.
(B) Secondary Classes
1. Teacher should become well aware with the nature of
the concrete operational thninking and formal thoughts so that he
can know when his students are employing either of these or a
combination of them.
2. In order that the teacher may become aware of the type
of thinking being used by individual students he must ask them to
explain how they arrived at solutions to problems in response to
the experimental situations similar to those devised by Piaget.
3. Student must be taught to be more systematic about

solving problems.
4. Be cautious in regards to the class discussions becoming
unrealistically theoretical and hypothetical. In such a situation call
attention to facts and practical difficulties.
5. There is a possibility that younger adolescents may pass
through a period of egocentrism which might lead them to act as if
they are always on the stage and become extremely sensitive about
the reaction of their peers.
Critical Evaluation of Piaget’s Theory
Piaget’s theory on intellectual development has been
questioned and challenged on the following grounds—
1. Piaget’s views on the pattern of intellectual development
are not as uniform and universal as claimed by him. He based his
theory on detailed observations of European children as they grew
up in 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. The subsequent researches in Europe
and outside have demonstrated significant deviations from the
chronological ages linked with different stages of intellectual
developement by Piaget.
2. The piagetian view that thinking proceeds in distinct stages
has also been seriously challenged. It has been found that cognitive
performance at particular ages is usually very inconsistent.
3. Piaget’s claim that children below the age of concrete
operations are incapable of logical thinking and are egocentric has
been refuted by a number of research studies. It has been
established that children are able to both think logically and show
sensitivity and concern for the feelings and viewpoints of others at
very early ages.
4. The claim that a child is unable to perform an intellectual
task like conservation at ages below those specified by Piaget has
also been questioned. A number of studies have shown that it is
possible to train children to carry out not only tasks like conservation
but also very typical complex formal operations at age below thise
specified by piaget.
5. Piaget has linked biological maturation with the
development of cognitive abilities and thus made a certain stage of
maturation necessary for learning the cognitive task related to that
maturation age. He is thus often blamed for being a pure nativist
who gives singular importance to biological maturation for the
intellectual development of the child. However, this criticism is
one-sided, as Piaget belives that maturation works only as the
framework for intellectual development and the necessary material
and means are supplied by one’s physical and social environment.
His stand on this issue may become quite clear through the following
assertion of Inhelder and Piaget (1958).
The maturation of the nervous system can do not more than
determine the totality of possibilities and impossibilities at a given
stage. A particular social environment remains indispensable for
the realization of these possibilities. It follows that their realization
can be accelerated or retarded as a function of cultural and
educational conditions.
If we examine the nature of the criticism levelled against
Piaget’s theory we find that most of it is one-sided. For example, as
is clear from the above quotation, it is not true that Piaget’s theory
does not take the environmental experiences into account. Similary,
we can visualize that, while laying down different stages of
cognitive development, Piaget does not mean that all children
belonging to all cultures essentially pass through these stages in
the chronological periods specified by him. As he gives due
recognition to the forces of biological inheritance, maturation and
environmental experiences in the formation and functioning of one’s
cognitive structure, the possibility in terms of variation in ages for
reaching a particular stage of intellectual development cannot be
ruled out. Consequently, the actual age at which certain types of
mental abilities appear varies from child to child or form culture to

culture. Irrespective of this acknowledgement linked with the
individual differences with regard to intellectual development, the
contribution of Piaget’s theory can never be underrated. Whatever
points we may raise against the universality and validity of his
theory, it would always be remembered that intellectual
development involves stages as specified by Piaget and occurs in
the same order irrespective of the individual and environmental
differences or geographical and cultural barriers.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF PIAGET’S THEORY
Piaget’s theories have had a major impact on the theory and
practice of education. First, the theories focused attention on the
idea of developmentally appropriate education—an education with
environments, curriculum, materials and instruction that are suitable
for students in terms of their physical and cognitive abilities and
their social and emotional needs. In addition, several major
approaches to curriculum and instruction are explicitly based on
Piagetian theory and this theory has been influential in constructivist
models of learning. The main teaching implications drawn from
Piagt as follows —
1. A focus on the process of children’s thinking not just its
products
In addition to checking the correctness of children’s
answers, teachers must understand the processes children use to
get the answer. Appropriate learning experiences build on children’s
current level of cognitive functioning and only then teachers
appreciate children’s methods of arriving at particular conclusions.
2. Recognition of the crucial role of children’s self-initiated,
active involvement in learning activities
In a Piagetian classroom the presentation of ready-made
knowledge is deemphasized and children are encouraged to
discover for themselves through spontaneous interaction with the
environment. Therefore instead of teaching didactically teachers

provide a rich variety of activities that permit children to act directly
on the physical world.
3. A deemphasis on practices aimed at making children adult
like in their thinking
Piaget referred to the question “How can we speed up
development ?” as “the American question.” Among the many
countries he visited, psychologists and educators in the United States
seemed most interested in what techniques could be used to
accelerate children’s progress through the stages. Piagetian-based
educational programs accept his firm belief that premature teaching
could be worse than no teaching at all, because it leads to superficial
acceptance of adult formulas rather than true cognitive
understanding.
4. Acceptance of individual differences in developmental
progress
Piaget’s theory assumes that all children go through the same
developmental sequence but that they do so at different rates.
Therefore teachers must make a special effort to arrange classroom
activities for individuals and small groups of children rather than
for the total class group. In addition, because individual differences
are expected, assessment of children’s educational progress should
be made in terms of each child’s own previous course of
development not in terms of normative standards provided by the
performances of same-age peers.
10.8. ACTIVITIES FOR THE STAGES OF COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT
How can information on the Stages of Cognitive Development
apply to teaching ?
Here are some practical ways to teach children in each of
Piaget’s four stages of Cognitive Development. There are many
practical applications that can be made from this theory. By using
them in teaching, the students can be taught in a way that will help
them be the most effective learners.
Sensorimotor Period — Activities for Infants and Toddlers
The term “sensorimotor” comes from the child’s understanding
of their world largely through their senses for their first 2 years.
This stage is characterized by the lack of language and internal
representation. It forcuses on the reflexes that the child is born
with, such as sucking, reaching and grasping. In this stage of
development the child eventually develops primary circular
reactions, which are activities centered on the child’s body and
repetitious in nature. Eventually, children develop the coordination
of separate activities and the evolution of language. A final
achievement in this stage is recognizing cause-and-effect
relationships.
 Provide a rich stimulating environment.
 Allow the child to play with toys that squeak when squeezed.
(ex—rubber duck) At first when the child squeezes the toy, they
will be surprised by the sound and why it happened. However,
after some time the child will realize that by squeezing the toy he is
the one causing the noise. This gives example of cause-and-effect
relationships— if i squeeze the duck, it will squeak.
 Another example of toy is a rattle; when the baby shakes a
rattle it makes noise.
 Playing peek-a-boo is another good example of a fun activity
for children around this age.
Preoperational Period— Activities for Toddlers and Early
Childhood
This stage is in effect when children are about 2 to 7 years
old. This stage is characterized by the inability to understand all
the properties of classes. Transductive reasoning is also
characteristic of this age groups thinking. Transductive reasoning
involves making inferences from one specific to another based on
faulty logic. Egocentrism and conservation are also characteristic

of this age group. Egocentrism is the inability to take another
persons’ point of view into account. One way to help children
overcome egocentrism is to help them face another person’s
perspective by putting themselves intoothers’ “shoes”.
One way to do this is by playing dress up games and
encouraging the child to take on a character.
 Sometimes children in this age group enjoy playing house.
This is also a good activity because they are playing different roles
that they have observed in their own lives.
 Hands on activities should also be facilitated at this time.
 Encourage children to play with toys that change shape
(ex—playdoh, sand, clay, water) because this will help them move
towards the concept of conservation.
 Children need physical hands on practice with facts and
skills needed for development.
 Use cut-out letters to build words.
 Aviod lessons that are very different from the child’s world
and steer away from using workbooks or paper and pencil activities
very often.
Concrete Operations — Activities for Middle Childhood
In this stage children evolve from prelogical, egocentric
thinkig to a more rule-regulated type of thinking. Some of the rules
of logic include reversibility, identity and compensation. One
activity that a child at this would enjoy is a cooking activity with
their mom or dad.
If you get creative you can incorporate several components
of Piaget’s theories into this activity. Baking in volves
measurements, which would be useful to the concept of
conservation. Measuring cups come in all different shapes so it
would be fun to measure the exact same measurement using different
types of measuring utensils. Also the ingredients could be classified

into different categories such as the dry ingredients and the wet
ingredients and so on. Numbers and seriating come into play with
the distinct steps in the directions. Children around this age group
usually really enjoy helping out in the kitchen, especially if it’s
baking something fun like cookies, so it turns into a great learning
opportunity.
 Give children the chance to manipulate objects and test out
ideas
 Do simple experiments with participation of the students
 Avoid dealing with more than three or four variables at a
time
 Reading selections should have a limited number of
characters
 Experiments should have a limited number of steps
 Students should have practice classifying objects and ideas
on complex levels
 Have students group sentences on a piece of paper
 Use analogies to show the relationship of new material to
already acquired knowledge.
Formal Operations—Activities for Adolescents
This period is characterized by applying their logic directly to real
objects or situations.
At the beginning of this stage —
 Teachers should continue using strategies and materials used
in the conctrate operations stage.
 Use charts and illustrations as well as incorporate new and
moresophidsticated graphs and diagrams.
 Give step by step explanations and materials.
 Students need the opportunity to explore various hypothtical
situations.
 Children in this stage should be encouraged to work in

groups in school to explain and discuss hypothetical topics.
 For example—Discuss social issues in groups and
brainstorn.
 Have them write a short story on a hypothetical topic such
as what life would be like in outer space. This allows the child to
apply their new creative aspect.
 Students should also be encouraged to explain how they
solved a problem.
 Students can work in pairs, one be the listener, while the
other problem solver. The problem solver works the problem out
loud, while the listener checks to see that all steps are followed and
seem logical.
 Teachers can put a few essay questions on a test, which
allows students the opportnity to give more than one final answer.
 Teachers should try to teach broad concepts rather than
just facts.
 Use materials and ideas relevant to the students
 For example if you were teaching about the Civil War, the
class could join in a discussion about other issues which have
divided our country.
 Use lyrics from a popular song to teach poetry.
It is important to note that adolescence may reach formal
operations at different times or in some cases not at all.
10.9. THEORY OF JEROME S. BRUNER
Another psychologist, Bruner, who has made a detailed study
of cognitive processes has also expressed the view which resembles
that of Piaget. According to Bruner the thinking of the child develops
in three stages. He calls them—(1) Enactive (the events are described
through motor activities.) (2) Iconic (the events are described
through the mental images of perceptual area) and (3) Symbolic
(the events are described by such forms of characteristics which

represent the distance and decontrol). In ordinary language we may
call these three levels as those of action, image and word. The
child is first at the level of motor performance and then starts
constructing the images and, in the end, learns the use of words
and his language learning begins. All these three phases are close
to the three periods described by pIaget. In our modern education
the main difficulty is this that education begins with the word or
with the abstract forms of experience. That education will be more
effective for small children which begins with the sensation—motor
period.
As may be evident from above Bruner’s general description
of development parallels Piaget’s description of sensorimotor,
concrete operations and formal operation stages but Bruner differs
from Piaget in his interpretation of the role of language in the
development of though. Piaget theorizes that thought and language
are closely related but are different systems. In Piaget’s view the
thinking of the child is based on a system of inner logic that evolves
as a child organizes and adapts to experiences. In the younger
child the symbols are based on visual images and imitation. In
Bruner’s view thought is internalized language and that syntactical
rules of langugae rather than logic can be used to explain mastery
of conservation and other principles.
EXERCISE
1. Explain the concept of Cognitive Development. Write in
detail.
2. Write the some important factors affecting Cognitive
Development of Childern. Describe briefly.
3. What are the Characteristics of Cognitive Development
during different stages.
4. Write a brief note on Piaget’s theory of Cognitive

Development.
5. Explain the critical evaluation of Piaget’s Theory.
1. Difference between Family and Society ?

2. What do you mean by early Adoloscence.
3. Write the characteristics of Infancy stage.
4. Critically examine the Cognitive Development Theory.
11 PERSONALITY :
MEANING, FACTORS AND
THEORIES
11.1. CONCEPT OF PERSONALITY

The term ‘personality’ is derived from the Latin word ‘persona’
which means a mask. According to K. Young, “Personality is a ….
patterned body of habits, traits, attitudes and ideas of an individual,
as these are organised externally into roles and statuses and as they
relate internally to motivation, goals, and various aspects of
selfhood.” G. W. Allport defined it as “a person’s pattern of habits,
attitudes and traits which determine his adjustment to his
environment.”
According to Robert E. Park and Earnest W. Burgess,
personality is “the sum and organisation of those traits which
determine the role of the individual in the group.” Herbert A. Bloch
defined it as “the characteristic organisation of the individual’s
habits, attitudes, values, emotional characteristics……. which
imparts consistency to the behaviour of the individual.” According
to Arnold W. Green, “personality is the sum of a person’s values
(the objects of his striving, such as ideas, prestige, power and sex)
plus his non-physical traits (his habitual ways of acting and
reacting).” According to Linton, personality embraces the total
“organised aggregate of psychological processes and status
pertaining to the individual.”
Personality, as we understand it, says MacIver, “is all that an
individual is and has experienced so far as this “all” can be
comprehended as unity.” According to Lundberg and others, “The
term personality refers to the habits, attitudes and other social traits
that are characteristic of a given individual’s behaviour.” By
personality Ogburn means “the integration of the socio
397
psychological behaviour of the human being, represented by habits

of action and feeling, attitudes and opinions.” Davis regards
personality “a psychic phenomenon which is neither organic nor
social but an emergent from a combination of the two.”
According to Anderson and Parker, “Personality is the totality
of habits, attitudes and traits that result from socialization and
characterizes us in our relationships with others.” According to
N.L. Munn, “Personality may be defined as the most characteristic
integration of an individual’s structure modes of behaviour,
interests, attitudes, capacities, abilities and aptitudes.” According
to Morton Prince, “Personality is the sum total of all the biological
innate dispositions, impulses tendencies and instincts of the
individual and the acquired disposition and tendencies acquired
by experience.” According to Young, “Personality is the totality of
behaviour of an individual with a given tendency system interacting
with a sequence of situations.”
Lawrence A. Pewin has given a working definition of
personality in these words, “Personality represents those structural
and dynamic properties of an individual or individuals as they
reflect themselves in characteristic responses to situations.”
On the basis of these definitions it may be said there are
two main approaches to the study of personality :
(1) The psychological, and
(2) The sociological.
Although there is also a third approach, the biological
approach, but the biological definition of personality which
comprehends only the bio-physical characteristics of the individual
organism is inadequate. The psychological approach considers
personally as a certain style peculiar to the individual. This style is
determined by the characteristic organisation of mental trends,
complexes, emotions and sentiments.
The psychological approach enables us to understand the
phenomena of personally disorganisation and the role of wishes,
PERSONALITY 399
of mental conflict and of repression and sublimation in the growth

of personality. The sociological approach considers personality in
terms of the status of the individual in the group, in terms of his
own conception of his role in the group of which he is a member.
What others think of us plays a large part in the formation of our
personality.
Thus personality is the sum of the ideas, attitudes and values
of a person which determine his role in society and form an integral
part of his character. Personality is acquired by tie individual as a
result of his participation in group life. As a member of the group
he learns certain behaviour systems and symbolic skills which
determine his ideas, attitudes and social values.
These ideas, attitudes and values which an individual holds,
comprise his personality. The personality of an individual denotes
an adult’s inner construction of the outer world. It is the result of
the interaction processes by which standards of ethical judgment,
belief and conduct are established in social groups and communities.
To sum up we would say that :
(i) Personality is not related to bodily structure alone. It
includes both structure and dynamics.
(ii) Personality is an indivisible unit.
(iii) Personality is neither good nor bad.
(iv) Personality is not a mysterious phenomenon.
(v) Every personality is unique.
(vi) Personality refers to persistent qualities of the individual.
It expresses consistency and regularly.
(vii) Personality is acquired.
(viii) Personality is influenced by social interaction. It is
defined in terms of behaviour.
11.1.1. MEANING AND DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY
The term ‘personality’ is used in a variety of ways. When you say
that “Ram has a good personality”, most often people understand it that
Ram is a well built, healthy and sturdy young man. This view is often
held by those who appear before a selection board. They consider that
if a man is handsome, can express himself and has outwardly charming
manners, he is sure to attain success in the interview test. In this case,
the above-mentioned qualities are considered as traits of good personality.
But this is an erroneous notion. Personality may include these but there
are many more things which are implied in our saying that ‘Ram has a
good personality.’
The word ‘personality’ has been derived from the Latin word
Personae which means ‘to sound through’. This term was used to
describe the voice of an actor speaking through a mask. This term
slowly began to be applied to the actors themselves. About a century
before Christ, this term became common in connection with the actors
participating in plays. By personality it is now generally meant that it is
the organization and integration of a large number of human traits. The
concepts of personality differ widely among different people. Some
people consider that personality is that something with which an individual
is born, which remains unaffected by environmental influences and which
permeates all his actions. The other people regard an individual’s
personality as a person himself. They use the two terms, personality
and person, interchangeably. There are many other views which are
expressed regarding personality and it is because the concept of
personality is so widely different among different people that to give a
concise definition of personality is extremely difficult. However, here
we will try our best to arrive at such definition of personality that may
be acceptable to most of the psychologists.
Definition of Personality
Many attampts have been made to define personality. Some of
them which are more important are being discussed here.
Warren defines Personality “as the entire mental organization of
human being at any stage of his development.” This definition is
erroneous in the sense that the human-being is not made up of sets,
PERSONALITY 401
compartments or ogranizations out of which some are mental and some

are physical. On the contrary, the human-being is a completely integrated
functioning unit or a complete whole. Thus, any definition which separates
the physical from the mental or leads to a dualistic interpretation of the
facts of human existence cannot be acceptable to us.
The definition given by Rexroad explains personality as the balance
between socially approved traits. It is not very correct. On analysis it
will be seen that it leads inevitably to the concept of a personality. This
means that as a man has a body, a head, a nose, similarly he has a
personality. According to this position, personality is considered as a
static balance between two well-known factors. If we reflect on this
position, we will have to recognize that these factors are not stable
commodities and that social approval and disapproval are not such
attributes of an individual who is being analysed which are fixed and
dependent upon him, but they are attached to and dependent upon the
experiences of the person who is analysing the personality. Thus, this
definition is not acceptable to us because it presents a static view of
personality and also because it presents an oversimplified view of it
which leads us towards ambiguity.
The definition given by Dashiell seems to be more adequare.
According to this definition, an individual’s personality is defined as “his
system of reactions and reaction-possibilities in total as viewed by fellow
members of society. It is the sum total of behaviour trends manifested
in his social adjustments.” Thus, the definition describes personality as
a system of reactions and behaviour and takes into consideration not
only the individual but also those who surround him. Hence, we may
take this definition as describing personality correctly to quite an
appreciable extent. It can be said with confidence that human personality
does not exist unless there are other individual to react to the individual
and to whom he may respond.
Another definition arrived at by Gordon Allport (1927) after an
examination of 50 defintions of personality is worth mentioning here.
Allport suggested that “Personality is the dynamic organization with the
individual of those psycho-physcial system that determine his unique

adjustment to his evironment.” This definition emphasizes the adjustive
processes in the development of an individual personality. According to
this definition, an individual’s inherent needs. Urges, or drives serve as
motivation of behaviour toward satisfied goals. If the individual fails to
achieve one or more of these behaviour goals, there may occur a
disorganization of his personality unless a changed mode of action results
in the satisfaction of the need or drive or unless itself is modified or
replaced in such a way that satisfaction is made possible. This is also
quite an adequate definition and explains the personality quite clearly
and correctly.
The definitions which seems to be correct, consider personality as
dynamic and refer to integrated behaviour. They represent an interaction
between inherited potentialities and environmental influences.
11.1.2. PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
A common understanding is to define people’s personality in terms
of how they appear to people around them. Impressive people, both
from the point of view of their looks and from their ability to impress
others are considered to have a good personality, otherwise a poor
personality. Being attractive or unattractive to others is not what
personality is all about. This approach to personality is criticized by
scientists as : (a) It does not have room for various types of behaviours
important for the study of personality, and (b) It has no scope for people
with unique abilities and qualities.
Individuality and consistency of behaviour define that there is
difference in the thoughts, actions and feelings of people in different or
same situations. We are identified in the special and unique way in
which each of us behaves. According to Kluckhohn and Murray, in
certain respects we are like all other persons, in some ways like some
other persons and in some ways unlike any other person existing in the
past, present and future.
PERSONALITY 403
Consistency is an important to define personality. A person has his

own way of reacting to certain situations and that reaction is the same
always. It does not change drastically over time, but the responses of a
person to the world, its situations, remains somewhat same. A person’s
personality determines his responses.
Personality, thus, can be defined as the distinctive and unique ways in
which each individual thinks, acts and feels, which characterize a person’s
response throughout life. It can be said that personality refers to the
permanent qualities or features in the person which influence his consistent
behaviour. These may be qualities common to a group or may be unique to
the individual, but the pattern would differ from person to person.
Thoughts, feelings and actions determining personality have three
features :
(i) To differentiate between individuals, thoughts, feelings and
actions are considered as behavioural components.
(ii) Internal factors are more responsible in influencing a person’s
behaviour than environmental factors.
(iii) There is a certain degree of organization and pattern in a
person’s behaviour.
We can fit together the behaviours of a person and locate a pattern
in it. Allport’s definition of personality as ‘The dynamic organization
within the person of the psycholphysical systems that determine the
unique adjustments to one’s environment’ is in keeping with the fact
that people’s behavioural structure and pattern tends to change over
time, meaning it is not fixed but dynamic. There is an internal personality
of people that determines the way they behave. Allport analysed 50
definition of personality and then put forward the definition given above.
We not make the mistake of confusing personality with character
and temperament. Character refers to the actions of a person based on
his moral and ethical beliefs. Temperament refers to the qualities like
patience, adaptability which a person is born with. Personality includes
these but is not the same as these.
11.1.3. FACTORS AFFECTING PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT
There are many factors which directly or indirectly influence the
growth and development of personality. These are of huge interest to
personality psychologists. Broadly three categories of factors have been
identified :
(i) Biological Factors, (ii) Psychological Factors, and (iii)
Environmental Factors.
These are known as the determinants of Personality and are
discussed as under :
1. Biological Factors
These are the physical determinants based on physique and body
functioning that shape personality. Some of these factors have been
discussed below :
(i) Body Build—Body build determines a person’s capacity to do
something and how he would react to people who have inferior or
superior body structure. We can identify a body build as : (i) Ectomorph
(ii) Endomorph, and (iii) Mesomorph.
Ectomorphs are people who are tall and lean and are considered
superior to bulky, short people because they are more agile and have
greater toleration levels. Mesomorphs and considered superior to both
ectomorphs and endomorphs in speed and tolerance because of their
strong and muscular build.
If the body build of a person enables hints carry out certain tasks
which are socially appreciable and impresses other people, it lifts a
person’s self-esteem. The person develops a positive favourable self-
concept if he can do social tasks better than others, and an unfavourable
negative self-concept if he cannot. Thus, if the physical structure of a
person is such that he can perform socially desirable functions and get
social acceptance, it goes a long way in influencing his own image of
himself.
(ii) Physical Attractiveness—A physically attractive person of
any age is more appealing than an ugly person. According to Brislin and
PERSONALITY 405
Lewis, being with attractive people is very rewarding. An attractive

person generally does not have to face intolerance in people’s attitudes
and people do not judge them harshly. This is why troublesome pretty
children are still not criticized but similar behaviour in less attractive
children may be criticized. More attractive people leave a better
impression and may get promotions sooner even if they are less
hardworking than unattractive people.
(iii) Homestasis—It is important to maintain stability in the body
in terms of normal body temperature, blood sugar levels, blood pressure,
water balance, etc. Instability in any these parameters brings about
disequilibrium and homeostasis disturbance takes place.
If a person’s physical parameters mentioned above are in balance,
we find the person to be relaxed and psychologically stable. He remains
in a good, cheerful mood and behaves in a pleasant, socially agreeable
manner. Disturbed levels of homeostasis results in irritability, indigestion,
sleeplessness and other disturbed behaviour patterns.
Disturbances in homeostasis
It has an indirect impact on the behaviour of the person. Each
person is affected by the attitude and beliefs of certain people who hold
importance in his life. The behaviour of the person depends on how he
reacts to them. Suppose, a person is very tall for his age group because
of excessive hormones in his body and this factor is considered by
others to be a very positive thing, his reaction will also be positive and
his homeostasis will be considered as a positive thing. This disturbance
will affect his personality favourably. On the other hand, if his height is
considered a negative thing by other people which makes him a social
outcast, the person will react negatively and the homeostasis disturbance
will be an unfavourable one.
It has been proved through research that homeostasis or lack of
homeostasis affects a person’s personality development. In several cases,
the mental health of the person is affected. High blood sugar levels,
deficiency in vitamin B complex causes depression and emotional
imbalance. People with high Blood Pressure may become neurotics

(mentally unstable). If there is shortage of oxygen in the body (Anoxia),
caused by Athma or any other reason, the person may become a self-
critic, mentally confused and cause sudden emotional outbursts.
(iv) Physical defects—Alfred theory of organ inferiority was
the first research to indicate the effect physical defects have on
personality, after which several studies have been conducted. A common
physical defect is obesity. A very fat person has poor relationships as he
becomes slow and cannot keep pace with other people. The person
feels inferior and socially outcast because other people tend to make
fun of very fat, obese persons. This is a major reason why obese people
become more disturbed emotionally, because of other people’s criticism
and negative comments, apart from lacking the feeling of self-satisfaction
of being able to perform various tasks effectively.
Health Conditions
A good or a poor health is an important determinant of personality
development. There is sufficient proof of the fact that good health is an
asset when it comes to personality of all people, male or female, young
or old. After an illness or poor health conditions, people still tend to feel
changes in personality even after they have been cured. In the developing
years of a person, if he is affected by some severe illness or disease,
the after effects on personality are visible till much later in life. Many
personality changes in individuals have their source in such childhood
illnesses. (Martin and Vincent).
Diabetic people experience tension and anxiety leading to frustration
in social dealings. Due to this they become aggressive in their behaviour
towards others. In women, any problems in menstrual cycle and
menopasue cause depression and mood swings. That is the reason why
many women are easily irritated, have anger bouts, lack emotional
stability and are unable to adjust in social situations. Hence, they cut
down on social interactions, which causes low self-esteem and affects
their attitudes towards other people.
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2. Psychological Factors
There are many psychological factors which determine personality
development, of which the important ones are discussed here.
Intellectual Determinants
The intellectual development of a person affects his personality.
Intelectual people are able to adjust better in various life situations.
Other people also have a positive judgement of intellectual people which
is base on their intellectual achievements.
Their judgement affects the evaluation and development of
personality. People with a developed intellect can adjust better in personal
and social situations than people with low or average intelligence.
Research again establishes that intellectual men and women have
several desirable qualities like thoughtfulness, creativity, the ability to
see within (introspection), adventurous nature and give importance to
values and social problems. They have greater self-control as they are
mentally strong.
On the other hand, superior intelligence is also the root of various
special problems which affect personality development adversely. Such
people may develop certain negative tendencies like intolerance,
emotional conflicts, habit of staying alone, dominant behaviour self-
sufficiency, critical attitude, etc. Studies also show that mental capacities
also have a bearing on the development of human and moral values.
Emotional Determinants
Emotions are a very important determinant of personality.
Emotional factors have a huge bearing on a person’s personal and social
adjustment. There are many aspects of emotions like dominant emotions,
emotional balance, emotional deprivation, excessive love and affection,
emotional expressions, emotional catharsis and emotional stress which
affect the development of personality directly and indirectly.
Different people are ruled by different predominant emotions in
them. It is seen that some people, by nature are happy and cheerful
people, while some are forever gloomy and fearsome. These emotions
are predominant in them. The happy people will be hopeful even when
feel depressed or fearful even during celebrations or happy moments.
Thus, the ruling emotion in a person determines how he behaves or
feels in different situations. Emotionally balanced people (whose pleasant
emotions are more than the unpleasant ones) are able to adjust well
socially and personally.
If a person experiences too many problems and obstacles in life,
overtime he will develop negative feelings like fear, anger, jealousy, etc.
which will affect his adjustment process throughout life and develop
pathological traits. If emotions like live, happiness and curiousity are not
present in one’s life, it will again affect his adjustments in life.
The influence that the absence of the positive emotions in one’s
life has depends on how long the person the person was deprived of the
emotion, at what age and to what degree. If a child does not get love
and affection, he will be emotionally insecure. Such children grow up to
become rebellious adolescents and adults because of the strained
relationship with their parents or other family members in early childhood.
Excessive Love and Affection
This tends to affect children adversely. Sigmund Freud had
cautioned against over-indulgence in children because of which they
start developing neurotic disorders. These children become problem
creating adults. Children of over protective mothers become immature
adults, depending all the time on others. Being able to express one’s
emotions influences personality. People who are able to express emotions
in a socially acceptable manner impress others and also have a good
image of themselves. Emotional expression helps to feel better physically
and mentally and restore homestasis.
It is necessary to control one’s emotions in social life to leave a
positive impression on others, but excessive repression of emotions could
cause other problems in the individual like lack of interest in people,
mood swings and extreme laziness. It is important to release one’s
suppressed emotions (known as emotional catharsis) sometimes to
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restore mental and physical homeostasis. This makes the individual

develop a realistic perception of himself.
Self-disclosure
For good mental health and a healthy personality, self-disclosure
is important and is considered favourable with people. People who
express their emotional stress in the form of anxiety, frustration, jealousy
and envy adjust better personality and socially. But extreme emotional
stress may force a person to resort to taking drugs or such measures to
find relief from the stress. Some people start eating a lot to fight the
insecurity caused by stress while some may become mentally depressed.
During menstruation many women feel a lot of emotional stress causing
depression. It has been marked by psychologists that those people who
have a high self-esteem are less affected by stress than those people
who have low self-esteem.
Aspiration and Achievements
Aspiration means goals, desire for more than what people have in
their present. It is ego that makes people want to achieve more or have
more than they possess. Those longings or desires of people that have
their roots in their ego influence their behaviour and personality. Some
people get possessed by their desires. This causes adverse effects on
their personality. People may aspire to achieve success, which is a
positive aspiration, have a negative aspiration like wanting to avoid failure,
have realsitic aspirations which are within their reach or unrealistic
aspirations which they cannot achieve. Another category of aspirations
are remote and immediate aspirations. Remote means related to the
remote future while immediate aspirations are related to the near future.
Different aspirations differ in their power of motivation like remote
and unrealistic aspirations have more power than the immediate and
realsitic ones. Negative aspirations are not good motivators while positive
aspirations are.
Having a very high level of aspiration will adversely affect one’s
self-concept. The difference or discrepancy between one’s capacity to
achieve and his level of desire should not be too much. Then the person
is not able to achieve what he desires and his confidence will be shaken.
The person may not take his failure lightly especially when others also
label him a failure. For example, if a student of below average intelligence
wants to become the topper and others also know about it, most probably
he will be disheartened and othes may laugh at him.
It is the other way round also. High levels of aspiration have proved
to be great motivating factors and source of happiness, not always
damaging self-concept. As long as the person remains positive and takes
its sprotingly, high aspiration levels will just be wishful thinking, not causing
any serious harm.
Achievements
Achievements are viewed in comparison with others in an objective
manner or with one’s level of aspiration in a subjective manner. People
may feel that their achievements are a success or a failure, affecting
their self-concept accordingly. If an individual feels happy about what
he has achieved, he will view his achievements as a scucess. As such,
his self-concept will get a positive boost. But if the person feels that his
achievement is a failure, he will not get a positive boost from it. In fact,
he will feel dissatisfied and miserable and feel low about his self. People
who feel that low about his self. People who feel that they are successful
in life feel good about themselves, remain cheerful and have a positive
self-concept.
In addition to developing a positive self-concept, achievements
make a person confident, raises his self-esteem and such a person is
more capable of tackling any problem in life hands-on. The person
becomes confident enough of making good decisions and taking
appropriate action in different situations. He develops a stable behaviour
in different situations. He becomes a more relaxed person while people
who consider themselves a failure are more fidgety and nervous.
Goal Setting
There is ample proof to substantiate the fact that success makes
a person more realistic towards setting future goals in life. He develops
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an understanding of his capacity and does not make unrealistic demands

of himself. Well-adjusted, intelligent people have such a stable behaviour
pattern than those who find adjustment in life difficult.
Successful people are given respect by others, getting prestige
and acceptance by society which enhances their self-concept. But
sometimes very high levels of achievement early in life may become a
demotivating factor for an individual which is more harmful than good
for a person’s personality. He may become sluggish in life, and other
people may develop feelings of jealousy and resentment against the
more successful people in less successful people associated with them.
Failure is a part of achievement. A person who experiences failure
hurts his ego. The self-confidence and self-esteem of a person is
adversely affected. The person develops a notion that he cannot achieve
anything in life. All goals seem out of reach and he starts lacking
motivation. He develops a defeatist attitude. He remains so much in
stress and anxiety that the person may develop psychosomatic illnesses
like asthma, diabetes, etc. The personality of the person is marked by
poor personal and social adjustment and he always feels inadequate.
Failure affects a person adversely as he cannot do what he hoped to
achieve and more so because his peers and colleagues have raced
ahead of him and he has lagged behind. This adversely affects one’s
self-concept.
On the other hand, if a person achieves success early in life, it
tends to give him/her huge satisfaction and the person develops high
self-concept. But too much success to early may be detrimental also
because the person may become too egoistic and develop superiority
complex. These feelings may affect a person’s capacity of personal
and social adjustment.
3. Environmental Factors
Some environmental factors which affect the development of
personality. Four important set of factors are :
Social Acceptance
This is an important factor influencing personality development.
We all live in a social group where we expect approval and appreciation
of the members of the group. When a person’s performance behaviour
and role play is according to group expectations, he gets the approval of
the group members. This is an important criteria for self-evaluation by
an individual and it influences his self-concept to a large extent.
This factor influences people differently based on the improtance
they lay on social acceptance. To some people social acceptance holds
no value. They will not be affected by the comments of people or by the
impression people have of them. People who lay importance on group
and who are liked by the group will have a more friendly and congenial
nature than those who are rejected by the group.
The degree of impact of social acceptance on the behaviour of
the person will depend on two factors : (i) The level of security a person
has about his status in the group and (ii) The importance he gives to
social acceptance. If a person feels secure of his status, he will act
freely and not get influenced by others. Again, if the person attaches a
lot of value to social acceptance, he will always try to act more to the
approval of the members of the group.
High social acceptance makes people more outgoing, flexible,
daring and active than others with moderate social popularity. But such
people, due to their feeling of superiority are not able to build close
relationships with people. They fail to exude the warmth which is required
for building a close personal relationship. The reason why these people
remain aloof is that they have a feeling of superiority.
There are people who face social rejection as well, on the contrary.
These people want social acceptance but people reject them. The person
who faces rejction develops a lot of anger and resentment against the
people who have not shown him acceptance. Such persons also become
depressed, sad and unhappy. If rejection is faced early in life, the children
may become juvenile delinquents (committing a crime before adulthood)
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or crminals later in life. If in early life a child has good social experiences,
as an adult he would be better able to adjust in society and become
healthy social members, otherwise they may become antisocial elements.
Social Deprivation
This factor has a huge impact on personality development. Those
people who do not get the opportunities to experience social contacts
including love and affection are called socially deprived. Such people
become socially isolated and it is highly damaging for the very young
and the old people, influencing their personality adversely. Young children
are not able to develop a healthy and normal personality. They behave
in a socailly unacceptable manner and people do not have favourable
opinion of them.
In case of elderly people social deprivation is a cause of selfish
nature in them. Those people who withdraw willingly are not affected
but those who need social contacts are more affected, their social and
self-judgements become poor, they become very unhappy. People who
remain away from social activities as a matter of choice are happy,
self-contented and well adjusted but those who have to remain aloof
against their wish become very bitter. Social deprivation for a long period
causes unhealthy social attitude and even mental illness.
4. Educational Factors
Educational factors are very important for the development of
personality. Teachers, school, college and how the child’s experiences
are with them, how he regards them, how his attitude is towards school
and college, teachers and fellow students and towards the importance
of studies affect his personality a lot. Students enjoy their time at school
if they have a favourable outlook towards academics and enjoy warm,
cordial relationships with their teachers and peer group. This brings
confidence in them and raises their self-esteem.
The opposite happens if the children do not view education as
rewarding experience. If students are psychologically and physically
ready for education, their attitude will be favourable. The emotional
climate in the institution affects the attitude of the student towards it,
also motivating him or demotivating him. The child’s general emotional
reactions, his classroom behaviour, his self-evaluation and evaluation of
others, all are affected by the environment in the school.
In addition to the above, the student-teacher relationship plays a
major role in influencing the personality of the child. The approach of
the teachers towards the students, the teacher’s principles, the disciplinary
teachniques they use and the teacher’s personality as well as how the
child views it all are major factors. The student’s academic achievement
is influenced in turn, which influences his social and self-evaluation.
Having a warm and friendly relationship with teachers helps students to
become high achievers while if it is hostile, punitive and rejecting, child
will not be able to achieve much. A comfortable relationship will improve
self-confidence and self-esteem.
Family Determinants
At all stages of life, family plays a major role in influencing the
personality of individuals, both directly and indirectly. The different child-
training methods that are used to shape a child’s personality, and how
the members communicate their interest, attitude and values directly
influence personality. If parents show too much strictness, children
become dependent upon external controls and even become impulsive
when they are away from parent’s influence.
Children follow their parents and their personality traits become
similar to their parents through imitation. For example, nervous, anxious
and serious parents also make their chidren nervous and they have
sudden angry outbursts. Those children who live with warm, loving,
intellectual parents become social and wholesome personalities. Such
children develop feelings of affection and goodwill for people outside
the home also.
Emotional climate of home and ordinal position
The emotional climate at home is a very important factor and is
also the cardinal position of the child in the family. Cardinal position
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refers to whether the child is the eldest or youngest or second or third

or fourth child etc. Children in emotionally balanced homes have a calm
approach to personal problems and frustrations and are tolerant and co-
operative with people. If there are too many conflicts and frictions at
home the individual may develop a hositle and rebillious nature.
The eldest children have been seen to be more adjusting and
dependent than the other children. They are more introverted and yield
in to group pressures easily. If they achieve success sooner than their
brothers and sisters, they become selfish and self-centred. They criticize
others in their superiority complex but also feel a continued sense of
insecurity which developed in them when other siblings were born. The
sharing of parental attention and love makes them insecure and they
may have poor personal and social adjustment because of it.
The youngest children display the following traits : dependency,
affilative need, lack of self-confidence, lack of frustration tolerance,
defiance of authority, etc. The youngest children are not as motivated
to achieve a lot as the family does not make too many demands from
them, nor do they get the opportunities that the elder siblings got. The
other children are found to be less family oriented and more drawn
towards the peer group, i.e., friends. Since they are a part of social
group right from childhood, they develop such qualities that are necessary
for personal and social adjustment and making them more popular in
their peer group.
Size of The Family
In large families there are many children, so no child gets too
much of protection, thus, the children to be independent and mature
faster than children of small families. But they may develop certain
traits which are not good for personal and social adjustment. Since
parents have to be strict to control so many children, the children may
become rebellious and resentful. In small families, each child gets proper
attention and guidance, producing self-confidence, self-assurance and
feeling of security because the child does not have to tackle his problems
all alone. Another thing may happen, that the children may be too
competitive for parental attention, so the children may develop a jealous
and envious attitude against the eldest child who tends to get maximum
love and attention of the parents.
We have discussed above three factors that affect the personality
of a person, i.e., physical or biological; psychological and environmental.
But psychologists like J.B. Watson, who is also known as father of
behaviourism have emphasized only on environment as a determinant
of personality development. He opined that he would make a child
anything, a doctor, engineer, whatever, by his upbringing, not his abilities.
However, there is general agreement among most psychologists that
only environment does not influence personality, but there biological
factors set the limit for a child’s capacities and considering this limit
only the personality is shaped further due to the environments and
psychological factors. The following equation explains the development
of personality :
Personality Development = Physical Determinants × Psychological
determinants × Environmental determinants
11.1.4. THE TYPES OF PERSONALITY
An individual’s personality is often labelled in terms of type
description by some psychologists. In such labelling in types of the
personality of an individual an apparently dominant trait is emphasized
as characteristic of the total personality with a disregard of other inherent
qualities of personality. We will discuss some of the more common
types of personality in the following paragraphs.
1. The Four Temperaments—Hippocrates (400 B.C.) and later
Galen (150 A.D.) attempted to classify personality types according to
body humours or dispositions.
The four groupings, according to them, are as follows :
(a) the phlegmatic—those who are slow, weak and unexcitable.
(b) the melancholic—those who are pessimistic.
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(c) the choleric—those who are easily angered.

(d) the sanguine—those who are quick, gay and unstable.
The theory, of course, is no longer acceptable to psychologists.
2. Physical Types—Kretchmer on the basis of his study of the
behaviour of 400 individuals suffering from mental disorders classified
individuals into four groups in terms of their form and structure. They
are :
(a) Athletic—Athletic individuals are muscular and tend to be
responsive to desirable adjustment. They are little concerned with serious
thinking and interested in activity and other people.
(b) Aesthemic—Such individuals are tall and thin who are critical
of others but themselves are quite sensitive to criticism.
(c) Pyknic—Short and stout pyknic type of individual are
easygoing and get alongwith other people.
(d) Dysplastic—Individuals who are of abnormal build and
possess characteristics which grow out of their abnormality.
3. Somatic Types—This classification is given by Sheldon. This
is on the basis of physical characteristics. The classification is done by
Sheldon by making a study of morphology of about 4,000 male individual
by means of photographs of back, front and side views.
(a) Endomorphic—An individual whose body is soft and round
and whose behaviour is dominated by massive digestive viscera, is of
endomorphic type.
(b) Mesomorphic—The mesomorphic type of individuals are
those whose bodies are muscular and bony. They have hard and heavy
physique and thick skin.
(c) Ectomorphic—An individual who tends to be fragile and
because of his great surface areas, is sensitive to exposure to the outer
world, is known as of ectomorphic type.
Sheldon has suggested that the respective somatic types have
different needs and require different treatment if they are to become
socially adjusted. He recommends that the methods of diagnosis,
educational techiques and discipline should be adjusted to the somatic

type of the individual.
There are many other types of classification of the individuals,
such as—4. Endocrine Types 5. Sociological Types and 6. Freudian
Types. We are not describing them but are discussing here another
very important classification of personality types given by Jung.
7. Introvert, Ambivert and Extrovert Types—Jung classified
individuals into two psychological types—introvert and extrovert. To
these two a third type, ambivert, was added later on as all the individuals
could not be fitted in only these two types.
Chief Qualities of an Extrovert—The extrovert is an individual
whose interest turns outward and is directed towards the external world.
The chief qualities of an extrovert may be enumerated as follows :
(1) A strong desire for activity—interested in athletics.
(2) A dominant or ruling attitude—not easily embarrassed.
(3) Cool and passionate, flexible and adaptable.
(4) Attention directed outward—so inner life suffers; with a view
to stifling the demands of his inner life he throws himself into more and
more activity.
(5) Reacts readily to the influences of his environment. Since an
extrovert’s aim in life is to adjust himself to the environment demands,
he fits in to the scheme of things harmoniously. His ideas are the ideas
of most people.
(6) Aggressive, egoistic, unscrupulous.
(7) Knows the qualities that the world admires—so responds
with a ready laugh. Popular with people.
(8) Fluent in speech and friendly in manner.
(9) Free from worries.
(10) Usually conservative.
(11) Neglectful of ailments and personal belongings.
Characteristics of an Introvert—The introvert is an individual
whose interest turns inward' and is directed towards inner life. The
chief characteristics of an introvert may be cited as given ahead :
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(1) A certain lack of activity and reserve. Fond of books and

mazines.
(2) A submissive attitude. Easily embarrassed.
(3) Not cool and passionate. Lacks in flexibility.
(4) Attention directed inward. He reflects a great deal.
(5) Keeps his feelings to himself.
(6) Submissive, self-centred, scrupulous.
(7) Not popular with the mass of mankind.
(8) Better at writing than at speaking and is rather reserved.
(9) Inclined to worry.
(10) Inclined to be radical. He does not so much seek to adapt his
ideas to reality as to mould reality according to his ideas.
(11) Careful of ailments and personal belongings.
Ambiverts—There are hardly a few downright extroverts or
introverts. Most people are a mixture of both and they make a fair
judgement to the demands of life. The majority of individuals exhibit
characteristics of both the introvert and extrovert and are accordingly
classified as ambiverts. An ambivert may display introvert tendencies
in one situation and extrovert tendencies in another situation. For
example, a person may be fluent both in oral and in written expression,
or may be friendly but likes to work alone. Most of us belong to the
ambivert group.
It is truly said that everyone has 'will to power'. But this will is
kept in check by the fear of community or, we may say, by "the will to
community". If the individual achieves harmony between these two
conflicting inter will, his personality is bound to be a good one. If he
does not achieve harmony, his life becomes abnormal.
An extrovert does not act according to the will of the community
His personality is therefore, warped. He develops anti-social
characteristics like cruelty, sadism or drunkenness.
The introvert also lacks in social interest. He fails to meet the
crises resulting from his encounter with problems demanding social
interest and thus, suffers from neurosis.
Some attempts have been made to classify personalities into

types. In the 5th century B. C. the Greek physician Hippocrates
divided human beings into four types : the sanguine, the
melancholic, the choleric, and the phlegmatic. The Swiss
psychoanalyst, Carl Gustac Jung, distinguished between two main
types, the introvert and the extrovert. The introvert is preoccupied
with his own self; the extrovert with things outside self.
In these two types there is a third type—the ambiverts who
are neither the one nor the other but vacillate between the two. The
majority of people are ambiverts. According to Ernest Kretchmer
the German psychiatrist, the extrovert personality is a stout person
while the introvert one is a tall and slender person. The first type of
persons he called “pykrnic” the second type he called “leptosome”
W.I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki distinguished among the
Bohemian, the Philistine and the Creative.
II. Determinants of Personality—
Personality is a result of the combination of four factors, i.e.,
physical environment, heredity, culture and particular experiences.
Here we discuss each factor determining personality separately.
Personality and Environment—
Above we described the influence of physical environment
on culture and pointed out that geographical environment
sometimes determines cultural variability. That the Eskimos have
a culture different from that of the Indians is due to the fact that the
former have a geography different from the latter.
Man comes to form ideas and attitudes according to the
physical environment he lives in.
To the extent that the physical environment determines cultural
development and to the extent, that culture in turn determines
personality, a relationship between personality and environment
becomes clear. Some two thousand years ago, Aristotle claimed
that people living in Northern Europe were owing to a cold climate,
full of spirit but lacking in intelligence and skill. The natives of
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Asia, on the other hand, are intelligent and inventive but lack in
spirit, and are, therefore, slaves.
Montesquieu, in the eighteenth century, claimed that the
bravery of those blessed by a cold climate enables them to maintain
their liberties. Great heat enervates courage while cold causes a
certain vigour of body and mind. At high temperatures, it is said
there is disinclination to work and so civilizations have grown up
where the temperatures have been average near or below the
optimum.
The people of mountains as well as deserts are usually bold,
hard and powerful. Huntington’s discussion of the effects of
physical environment on man’s attitudes and mental make-up is
very exhaustive. However, as told previously, the physical
conditions are more permissive and limiting factors than causative
factors. They set the limits within which personality can develop.
Thus, climate and topography determine to a great extent the
physical and mental traits of a people, but it cannot be said that
they alone determine human behaviour. Most kinds of personality
are found in every kind of culture. The fact remains that civilizations
have appeared in regions of widely different climate and
topography. Christianity knows no climate belts.
Peoples are monogamous in high altitudes and flat lands,
under tropical temperate and arctic conditions. Men’s attitudes and
ideas change even when no conceivable geographic change has
occurred. Proponents of geographic determinism oversimplify the
human personality and so their interpretations are to be accepted
only after close scrutiny.
11.1.5. HEREDITY AND PERSONALITY
Heredity is another factor determining human personality.
Some of the similarities in man’s personality are said to be due to
his common heredity. Every human group inherits the same general
set of biological needs and capacities. These common needs and
capacities explain some of our similarities in personality. Man

originates from the union of male and female germ cells into a
single cell which is formed at the moment of conception.
He tends to resemble his parents in physical appearance and
intelligence. The nervous system, the organic drives and the duchess
glands have a great bearing upon personality. They determine
whether an individual will be vigorous or feeble, energetic or
lethargic, idiot of intelligent, coward or courageous.
A man with a good physical structure and health generally
possess an attractive personality. A man of poor health, pigmy size
and ugly physical features develops inferiority complex. The growth
of his personality is checked. Rejected and hated by the society he
may turn out to be a thief, dacoit or drunkard. It is also probable
that he may become a leader, or a genius like Socrates and Napoleon.
Likewise the nervous system and glandular system may affect the
personality of an individual.
The nervous system affects the intelligence and talent of the
individual. The hormones affect the growth of personality. Too
many or too less of hormones are harmful. Some men are over-
patient, overzealous, overactive and overexcited while others are
lazy, inactive and weak. The reason may be secretion of more
hormones in the first case and less hormones in the latter case. For
a normal personality there should be a balanced secretion of
hormones.
Heredity may affect personality in another way, i.e., indirectly.
If boys in a society prefers slim girls as their companion, such girls
will receive greater attention of the society providing them thereby
more opportunities to develop their personality. According to
Allport, Gordon, W. no feature of personality is devoid of hereditary
influence.
However, heredity does not mould human personality alone
and unaided. “For the present, we can only assume that there are -
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genes for normal personality traits just as there are genes for other
aspects of human make-up and functioning. Where in members of
the same family, in a similar environment, we can see great
differences in personality, we may ascribe these in part at least to
differences in gene contributions.
We can also guess that some of the family similarities in
personality are genetically influenced. But we are still a long way
from identifying specific ‘personality’ genes, gauging their effects
or hazarding predictions as to what the personality of a given child
will be on the basis of what we know about its parents.” However,
according to a news report (Times of India, Jan. 3, 1996) the
scientists have identified a gene which influences impulsiveness,
excitability and extravagance.
In short, heredity can never be considered as charting a fixed
and definite course of anyone’s personality. At the best, what
anyone inherits are the potentialities for a wide range of personalities,
the precise form into which a personality will “jell” being determined
by circumstances. Ogburn and Nimkoff write, “It would be an error
to hold, as’ endocrine enthusiasts do, that the glands determine the
whole personality, include rich things, as one’s opinions, one’s
habits, and one’s skills.” It is possible to over-activate or under-
activate some of these kinds by injecting certain kinds of hormones
and thereby affect human personality. In other words, it may be
said that the available evidence does not support the dogmatic view
that personality is biologically transmitted.
Of course, there are some traits which seem to be more directly
affected by heredity than others. Manual skills, intelligence and
sensory discriminations are some of the abilities which appear more
highly developed in some family lines than others. But other traits
such as one’s beliefs, loyalities, prejudices and manners are for the
most part the result of training and experience.
Heredity only furnishes the materials out of which experience

will mould the personality. Experience determines the way these
materials will be used. An individual may be energetic because of
his heredity, but whether he is active on his own belief or on behalf
of others is a matter of his training.
Whether he exerts himself in making money or in scholarly
activity is also dependent upon his bringing. If personality is a
direct consequence of heredity tendencies or traits then all the sons
and daughters of the same parents brought up in the same
environment should have identical personalities or at least
personalities that are very much alike.
But investigation shows that even at the tender age of three or
four years they show quite distinct personalities. The new born
human being is, to use the phrase of Koenig, Hopper and Gross, a
“candidate for personality.” It is, therefore, clear that an individual’s
heredity alone would not enable us to predict his traits and values.
11.1.6. STAGES OF PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
Stages of development are as follows—1. Oral Stage 2. Anal
Stage 3. Genital (Oedipal) Stage 4. Latency Stage 5. Adolescence
Stage.
Erikson believes that personality continues to be moulded
throughout the entire lifespan from birth to death. This period has
been divided into eight stages by him. Each stage has its
characteristic features marked and affected by emotional crisis,
particular culture of the person and his interaction with the society
of which he is a part.
1. Oral Stage—
This stage expands from zero to one-and-a-half years. During
this period mouth is the sensitive zone of the body and the main
source of joy and pleasure for the child. How the infant is being
cared for by the mother makes the infant trust or mistrusts the world
(represented by mother) around him. If his wants are frequently
PERSONALITY 425
satisfied, he develops trust and believes that the world will take
care of him.
In case of frequent dissatisfaction, mistrust develops leading
the infant to believe that the people around him cannot be believed,
relied on, and that he is going to lose most of what he wants. After
the first six months (sucking period), the remaining one year (biting
period) is fairly difficult for the child and mother because of
eruption of teeth and weaning. If properly handled, infant’s trust
gets reinforced and he develops an in-built and lifelong spring of
optimism and hope.
Persons, who had an unpleasant (abandoned, unloved and
uncared) babyhood, are likely to find parenthood as burdensome
and may express dependent, helpless, abusive behaviour and angry
outbursts i.e., oral character. To such people, caseworker is like
parents, who helps the client to verbalise his anger and distrust and
later provides emotional support and protective services.
The caseworker has to fill the voids (mistrust) created by the
early mother and child relationship. The caseworker presents
himself as a trustworthy person, and, as a by-product of this
relationship the client starts trusting himself and others, around
him.
Care should be taken that the client does not feel deprived at
the hands of the caseworker who presents himself as a mothering
person to the client. It may be made clear that the feeling of trust or
mistrust (task of oral stage) is not totally dependent upon mother-
child relationship during oral stage. It continues to be modified,
reinforced or impoverished according to the experiences of the
client in the subsequent years of life also.
2. Anal Stage—
Towards the end of biting period of oral stage, the child is
able to walk, talk and eat on his own. He can retain or release
something that he has. This is true of bowel and bladder function
also. He can either retain or release his bowel and bladder contents.
Now, the child no more depends upon the mouth zone for
pleasure. He now derives pleasure from bowel and bladder (anal
zone) functioning, which entails anxiety because of toilet training
by parents. Child is taught where to pass urine and where to go for
defecation etc.
In this training of bladder and bowel control, child may
develop autonomy, or shame and doubt. The task of anal is to
develop autonomy. If the parents are supportive without being
overprotective and if the child is allowed to function with some
independence, he gains some confidence in his autonomy probably
by the age of three and prefers love over hate, cooperation over
willfulness, and self-expression over suppression.
Autonomy, thus, overbalances shame and doubt and leads to
development of confidence that he can control his functions and
also, to some extent, the people around him. Contrary to this, the
child may feel angry, foolish and ashamed if parents criticise his
faeces and over-control his bowel and bladder functioning during
the training for toilet. Observations of sanskaras convey acceptance
to the child and help the parents to train them in appropriate manner.
The children (with more mistrust and doubt in their share)
when adults may need help in accepting failures and imperfection
as an inherent part of one’s life. By accepting the client as he is, the
caseworker can reduce his feeling of self-hatred and perfectionism.
Over-demanding adults or those who express temper tantrums when
asked to assume responsibility may need to be helped to control
their impulsive acts.
They should be rewarded when they exhibit controls, and
one should reinforce their autonomy and independence when
exercised. Autonomy and independence are totally different from
impulsive acts as these involve rationality and not emotionality.
3. Genital (Oedipal) Stage—
The task for this period is to develop and strengthen initiative,
failing which the child develops a strong feeling of guilt. This period
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extends from 3rd to 6th years of life, i.e., pre-school period. He is

now capable of initiating activity, both intellectual as well as motor
on his own. How far this initiative is reinforced depends upon how
much physical freedom is given to the child and how far his curiosity
is satisfied. If he is led to feel bad about his behaviour or his interests,
he may grow with a sense of guilt about his self-initiated activities.
Erikson (1950) opines that the child takes first initiative at
home when he/she expresses passionate interest in his/her parent
of opposite sex. The parents ultimately disappoint him/her. They
should try to help the child to identify with the same sex parent,
e.g., the girl should be encouraged to identify with mother and the
son with the father.
In addition to this initiative, the child also attempts to wrest a
place for self in the race of siblings for parents affection. He sees
the difference between what he wants and what he is asked to do.
This culminates into a clear-cut division between the child’s set of
expanded desires and the parental set of restrictions. He gradually
“turns these values (restrictions, i.e.,. don’ts) into self-punishment”.
Slowly and gradually, he extracts more initiative from the
conflict and grows happily if his initiative gets proper and adequate
reinforcement. The caseworker encourages the clients burdened
with guilt feelings to take initiative in family as well as in other
situations, and works with his social environment to strengthen his
capacity to take initiative.
4. Latency Stage—
This stage covers the period from 6 to 11 years, i.e., school
age. The child can reason out rationally and can use the tools that
adults use. The sexual interests and curiosity (common in genital
period) get suppressed till puberty. If encouraged and given
opportunity, he gains confidence in his ability to perform and use
adult materials. This leads to feeling of industry in him.
When unable to use adult materials, he develops inferiority
feelings. Such children may develop problems with peers. They
need to be encouraged to interact with classmates and be less

dependent upon others.
If the child has mastered the task of genital period (initiative
in place of guilt) he will be able to master the tasks of latency
(industry in place of inferiority) also provided he is encouraged to
undertake and helped to execute the responsibilities entrusted to
him.
5. Adolescence Stage—
This period, regarded as a period of turmoil, usually starts at
12-13 years and can extend up to 18-19 years. The adolescents,
during this transitional process from childhood to maturity, behave
something like an adult and sometimes like a child. Parents too
show their ambivalence to accept them in their new role of an adult
in-the-making.
This stage exhibits all the psycho-social characteristics of
earlier period and only towards the end, all these get resolved into
a new set of role (identity) for the adolescent. In order to develop a
personal identity, he becomes fan of some hero, starts following
certain ideologies and tries his luck with opposite sex.
Indecision and confusion are not uncommon in this stage.
Identification with a wrong person shall create problems for him.
The task of this age is to develop identity, i.e., values, strengths,
skills, various roles, limitations, etc., failing which his identity gets
diffused and he fails to know how to behave in different situations.
He needs to be helped to deal with the physiological, emotional
pressures along-with pressures from parents, peers, etc.
Group work is more helpful with problem-adolescents. When
showing confusion about their role, they can be helped to emulate
the group leader or identify with group worker. Parents can handle
adolescents properly if educated adequately about the needs and
problems of this age.
Similarly, tasks for young adulthood, adulthood and old age
are intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation and ego-
PERSONALITY 429
integrity vs. despair. These psycho-analytical concepts are helpful

in understanding behaviour of the individuals. Apart from these,
there are some other tasks described by some other scholars for
each stage which according to them are to be achieved for a normal
human development.
11.1.7. PERSONALITY AND CULTURE
There can be little doubt that culture largely determines the
types of personality that will predominate in the particular group.
According to some thinkers, personality is the subjective aspect of
culture. They regard personality and culture as two sides of the
same coin.
Spiro has observed, ‘The development of personality and the
acquisition of culture are not different processes, but one and the
same learning process.” Personality is an individual aspect of
culture, while culture is a collective aspect of personality.” Each
culture produces its special type or types of personality.
In 1937 the anthropologist Ralph Linton and the
psychoanalyst Abram Kardinar began a series of joint explorations
of the relationship between culture and personality by subjecting
to minute study reports of several primitive societies and one modern
American village. Their studies have demonstrated that each culture
tends to create and is supported by a “basic personality type.” A
given cultural environment sets its participant members off from
other human beings operating under different cultural environments.
According to Frank, ‘Culture is a coercive influence
dominating the individual and moulding his personality by virtue
of the ideas, conceptions and beliefs which had brought to bear on
him through communal life.” The culture provides the raw material
of which the individual makes his life. The traditions, customs,
mores, religion, institutions, moral and social standards of a group
affect the personality of the group members. From the moment of
birth, the child is treated in ways which shape his personality. Every
culture exerts a series of general influences upon the individuals

who grow up under it.
Ogburn as we noted above, divided culture into “material”
and “non-material.” According to him, both material and non-
material culture have a bearing on personality. As for the termer he
provides examples of the influence of plumbing on the formation
of habits and attitudes favourable to cleanliness and the relation of
time-pieces to punctuality. The American Indians who have no
clocks or watches in their culture have little notion of keeping
appointments with any exactness.
According to him, they have no sense of time. The personality
of an American Indian differs from that of a white man in the matter
of punctuality and this is because of differences in their culture.
Similarly, some cultures greedy value cleanliness as witnessed by
the saying: “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” This trait of
cleanliness is greatly encouraged by the technology of plumbing
and other inventions that are found with it.
The Eskimos are dirty because they have to hang a bag of
snow down their backs to melt it in order to get water. A man who
has just to turn on a tap of water will naturally be more clean than
an Eskimo. Cleanliness, therefore, is a matter not of heredity but of
the type of culture. As for the connection between the non-material
culture and personality, language affords an instructive example.
We know that one of the principal differences between man and
animals is that he alone possesses speech.
Language can be learnt only in society. People who cannot
speak exhibit warped personality. Since language is the essential
medium through which the individual obtains his information and
his attitudes, therefore, it is the principal vehicle for the development
of personality. Moreover, speech itself becomes a trait of
personality. The coarse voice of woodcutter can be readily
distinguished from the hushed tones of a man.
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The short, crisp, guttural speech of the German seems to be

part of his personality, as does the fluid, flowing voluble speech of
the Spaniard. Movements of the hands and shoulders in speech are
regarded as part of the very core of the personalities of Italians and
Jews. The Jews use their gestures for emphasis only, while Italians
depend upon them to convey part of the meaning.
Another illustration of the influence of culture on personality
is the relationship of men and women. In the earlier period when
farming was the principal business, women generally had no
occupations outside the home and naturally, therefore, they were
economically dependent upon their fathers or husbands. Obedience
was a natural consequence of such conditions. But today hundreds
of women work outside the homes and earn salaries.
They enjoy equal rights with men and are not so dependent
upon them as they were in the past. Attitude of independence
instead of obedience has today become a trait of women’s
personality. With the growing realisation of the importance of
culture for personality, sociologists have recently made attempts
to identify the factors in particular cultures which give a distinctive
stamp to the individuals within the group. Ruth Benedict analyzed
the cultures of three primitive tribes and found that cultures may
be divided into two major types—The Apollonian and the
Dionysian.
The Apollonian type is characterised by restraint, even
temperances, moderation and co-operativeness, whereas the
Dionysian type is marked by emotionalism, excess, pursuit of
prestige, individualism and competitiveness. The Zuni culture is
classified as Appollonian, while the Kwakiuti and Dobuans as
Dionysian.
The personality of the Hindus in India differs greatly from
that of Englishmen. Why ? The answer is ‘a different Hindu culture’.
The Hindu culture lays emphasis not on material and worldly things,
but on things spiritual and religious. In every Hindu family there is

a religious environment. The mother gets up early in the morning,
takes bath and spends an hour in meditation. When the children
get up, they go and touch the feet of their parents and bow before
the family gods or goddesses. The Hindu child from the very birth
begins to acquire a religious and philosophical personality built on
the “inner life.”
From the various illustrations cited so far it is thus clear that
culture greatly moulds personality. The individual ideas and
behaviour are largely the results of cultural conditioning. There is
a great difference of ideas between the Hindu devotee immersed in
religion and the Russian Communist who thoroughly rejects it.
However, it should not be concluded that culture is a massive
die that shapes all who come under it with an identical pattern. All
the people of a given culture are not of one cast. Personality traits
differ within any culture, some people in any culture are more
aggressive than others, some are more submissive, kind and
competitive. Personality is not totally determined by culture, even
though no personality escapes its influence. It is only one
determinant among others. Ruth Benedict writes, “No
anthropologist with a background of experiences of other cultures
has ever believed that individuals were automatons, mechanically
carrying out the decrees of their civilizations.
No culture yet observed has been able to eradicate the
difference in the temperaments of the persons who compose it. It is
always a give and take affair.” Linton classified cultural influence
into the universals, specialities and alternatives and came to the
conclusion that culture makes for uniformity of personality only
through the universals and since universals are few in number as
compared with specialities and alternatives, the effect of culture is
to make for variety as well as uniformity.
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11.2. VARIOUS METHODS OF PERSONALITY

MEASUREMENT
There are three main methods of measuring personality
characteristic. They are known as : (1) Subjective Method, (2) Objective
Techniques and (3) Projective Techniques.
1. Subjective Method—
In these methods information is obtained from the individual himself
or from his friends and relations.
There are four ways to do this :
(i) Biographical or Self-History
(ii) Individual History
(iii) Interview Technique
(iv) Inventory Technique.
(i) Biography or Self-History—This means the history of the
self. Psychologist who is making an evaluation of the personality of an
individual tells broad heading and asks the individual to write his
personality under them. From the data he arrives at certain conclusions
regarding the personality of the subject are drawn.
There is a difficulty in this method that the individual fails to write
the details of tall the happenings on account of his loss of memory of
some events, experience, etc. Also much of the unconscious desires,
wishes, etc. cannot be appraised by this method. Besides these, the
attitudes, inclinations, etc. of the subject cannot be known by following
this method. This technique can be taken as a supplementary technique
with other techniques. This alone cannot evaluate personality fully.
(ii) Individual History—In this the hereditary and environmental
factors affecting the life of individual are studied. The individual’s mental
make-up is gauged taking into consideration his family history, customs,
traditions, order of birth, etc. This technique is usually used in clinics for
mental patients. The conditions of natal and prenatal period of the child,
the attitude of parents towards him, the history of the individual's sickness,
death in the family are the factors which are taken into consideration.
(iii) Interview Technique—Those factors which find no clarity

by individual history are thoroughly studied by this technique. In this the
psychologist interviews the subject. If he is a good interviewer, he quickly
establishes rapport with the subject, by winning his confidence and putting
him at ease as far as possible. He is able to get the subject’s co-operation
in understanding his problems, assets and liabilities. The information
which the interviewer receives from the subjects helps him to form
some judgement regarding the subject's personal characteristics.
In interviewing, the interviewer must safeguard against premature
judgement. He should not form his notions on the basis of first impressions
which are often misleading, Before finalizing his opinion, he must give
the subject a good chance to reveal himself. Interview is very useful
but is quite expensive. The great defect in this technique is that it is fully
subjective and hence unreliable.
(iv) Inventory Technique—In this technique, a questionnaire or
inventory is drawn and the individual is asked to fill it up. Various types
of questionnaires, inventories, tests etc. are drawn which vary in their
scope and form. These questionnaires are given to those subjects whose
personalities are to be tested.
In the questionnaire there is generally a list of questions to be
answered in writing or by checking ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. They are obtained in
such a manner that the intended information can be prepared. One of
the earliest personality tests is ‘Woodworth Pycho-neurotic Inventory’.
It includes 116 questions covering many phases of an individual's
reactions to himself, to other people and to his experiences. The questions
included in the various personality inventories are of the following type:
Do you quarrel with your family members ?—Yes, No.
Do you often lie awake in the night ?—Yes, No.
Do you worry ?—Often, sometimes, seldom.
Are you satisfied with your matrimonial alliance ?—Fully, partly,
not all.
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The subject is asked to mark the answer which is more nearly

correct.
Questionnaires have been framed to test various personality traits,
for example, trouble, ascendancy, sociability and introversion and
extroversion. The nature and range of a person’s interests can also be
determined by means of a questionnaire containing many items covering
a large variety of likes and dislikes. It has thus, great use in vocational
guidance. This device has also a use in measuring attitudes on such
matters as religion, economics, conservatism or rationalism etc.
This method is quite useful and the questionnaires, etc. also have
high reliability but their validity is low. By high reliability, we mean that
on subsequent test forms the same or similar reply is given. This is
found in some forms of questionnaires. Such questionnaires, however,
do not always get the truth from the individual. The individual often
distorts the facts and hence they are considered of low validity. We as
yet do not possess any adequate means to test the reliability and validity
of the information obtained by means of a questionnaire.
What We Mean by Validity and Reliability ? We have already
reterred to above as to what we, mean by validity and reliability.
An instrument of measurement is said to be valid when the
information obtained is truthful.
An instrument of measurement is reliable, if the information obtained
is consistent in subsequent measurement of the same, parallel or similar
type of tests.
This means that a technique like questionnaire will be known as
valid if it measure truthfully the trait for which it is designed. For example,
if the inventory or questionnaire is prepared to measure whether a person
is self-centred, worried or anxious and in case it measures it truthfully,
i.e., the individual’s amount of worry is measured correctly, the
questionnaire or inventory will be known as valid. A reliable instrument
means that a reply given to a questionnaire on the occasion is consistent
with a reply to a similar or parallel questionnaire on another occasion.
For example, a person says on one occasion that he is often a worried

and given the same reply to a twisted question on the next occasion,
then his replies will be considered reliable and the instrument of
measurement will be said to have reliability.
Defect in Subjective Techniques—Subjective techniques suffer
from many defects. The chief among them are these :
(i) They Are Subjectives, i.e., Dependent on the person whose
personality is being tested and who may distort the facts.
(ii) They Are Uhreliable, i.e., The individuals are usually not
consistent in their replies. They say one thing at one time when the test
is given and the other at another moment if the test is repeated. entities
that.
(iii) They Have Little Validity, i.e., The information obtained
with their help is not always truthful. The individual distort the facts in
their replies and give that response which is considered socially
acceptable. For example, a few only will admit that they have suffered
from homo-sexual tendencies at any time in their life.
(iv) They only Tell of the Conscious Mind—These techniques
inquire nothing about the unconscious mind of an individual which is
9/10th part of the individual’s mind and has the greatest influence on the
personality of an individual.
2. Objective Techniques—
Objective techniques are dependent on the external behaviour of
the individual. They are not based on the individual’s narration. They
are scientific and possess objectivity.
Among the objective techniques, we can place : (i) controlled
observation ; (ii) appraisal of personal qualities or characteristic behaviour
of one person with another through the use of rating scales or aneedotal
accounts of behaviour witnessed; (iii) physiological changes as
personality indicators; and (iv) study of personality through verbal
behaviour. Not all of these methods can be said to be fully objectives;
for example rating scales are more often referred to as the subjective
PERSONALITY 437
methods of appraisal but with proper caution, we are placing them among
the objective tests of measurement.
Let us now discuss these tests one by one :
(i) Controlled Observation—This technique can be utilized in
the psychological laboratory. In this the subject’s behaviour is observed
by a trained psychologist under given conditions, in the laboratory. In
the second chapter of this book, where we have discussed the ‘Methods
of Psychology’, we have dealt with observation in detail. The student is
advised to look to that again at this stage.
The method cannot said to be fully reliable as there as difficulties
regarding : (i) the length of the period of observation, (ii) the number of
such periods of observation. (iii) the extent to which the observer has a
clear idea of the particular personality traits that he is observing (iv) the
number of extraneous factors present in the situation and (v) the fact
that the observation is limited to the functioning of the traits in a specific
situations.
(ii) Rating Scales—They are not very truly the objective methods
of personality measurement. They are to be better placed with the
questionnaires, inventories etc. The rating scales is a technique designed
to make estimates of personality characteristics a little less subjectively
and little more accurately than the usual methods of estimating and
judging personality subjectively.
The rating scale may be used to test personality characteristics.
At present, the tendency has been to use a wide variety of personality
traits in on scale. But if the scale is to be kept reliable and usable, a
restriction should be put on the number of characteristics that can be
included in it.
In its simplest form, the rating scale consists ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers
to questions, such as, ‘‘Do you consider him to be mean ?’’
‘‘Is he loved by his friends ?’’ Many business firms etc. use this
form of rating scale. But in most schools, colleges, etc. these scales are
constructed in such a manner that the rater may evaluate the particular
trait possessed by an individual on a scale marked with degrees of the

possession of that trait.
An estimate can be expressed as a percentage, the most cheerful
person imaginable being called 100 per cent cheerful, the average person
50 per cent, the low extreme 0 percent. Ratings of most personality
traits are done on a scale which possesses from 5 to 10 steps. This
means that a scale which divides a particular trait in 5 steps, from 0 to
5, or ten steps, from 0 to 10, is used to test that personality trait. In a
scale consisting of 5 steps, 0 and 5 are used for extreme cases, 1 and 4
for makedly high or low individuals, 2 for just below average and 3 for
just above average in a designed trait.
An example of such a scale is give below :
Excellent—Above Average—Below Average—Poor.
(Put tour rating in this square)
Exceedingly honest—fairly honest—honest
at time—dishonest—completely dishonest
Another type of rating scale which is useful and convenient is the
graphic rating scale. The rater checks along a line, which is supposed to
represent degrees in the trait from one extreme to another. Sometimes,
the line is divided into units and the rating may be assisted by descriptive
phrases placed along the line. An example of one unit in a graphic scale
used to rate workers in given below :
At the middle of the line will be the individual who is average in
that trait which is being measured. In actual measurement of the traits
by rating scale many types of errors are committed. One such error is
the generosity error. This means that the rathers are liable to put their
acquintance on the more desirable side of the average. In this respect,
some raters may be more generous than others. But this error can be
corrected by statistical means provided the same rater rates a large
number of individuals.
A second error which can also be committed is known as that ‘halo
effect’. If an individual creates a favourable impression by excellence in
one trait, one is more inclined to rate his near the top is every other trait
PERSONALITY 439
without further discrimination. Similarly, if the subject has created a bad

impression at one time the rather finds it quite difficult to shake off that
impression, when he is rating him in various other traits.
The advantages of using such scales are also many. First of all,
through a rating scale, the intermediate degrees of a trait can be better
expressed. Secondly, judgements of two or more raters can be pooled
and averaged. If the rating is to be done by a single rater only, there is
every possibility that the results may be affected by raters will often be
in different directions and, thus, will neutralize each other. In this way, a
fairly unbiased average rating can be obtained. Apart from neutralizing
prejudice another advantage of having different raters is that they
observe the subject in different situations and get different impressions
of him. In the final rating, all these are combined and so a better and
more correct picture of a particular trait of the individual is obtained.
The ‘validity’ of these methods cannot be easily checked. The
observer’s own bias, prejudice, etc. will have influence, on the final
rating. The observer will like to gauge others personality traits on the
basis of his own personality. However, if there are many observers and
other independent judgements are pooled together, the conclusion drawn
may have enough validity.
The reliability of ratings can be checked by seeing how closely
different observers working independently agree in rating the same
individual. Fairly good reliability can be obtained if the rating scales can
be carefully prepared and the raters employed are well-trained and
have sufficient acquaintance with the persons judged.
(iii) Psychological Changes of Personality Indicators :
Through the help of psychological changes it is possible to study some
personality characteristics. The personality factors that has been
specially studied from the physiological angle is emotion. In making a
study of emotion its chief physiological indicators have been studied.
They are heart beat, blood volume, blood pressure, breathing changes,
psycho-galvanic reflex and metabolic changes.
(iv) Study of Personality through Verbal Behaviour—In

studying personality through the spoken or verbal behaviour of an
individual, it is assumed that his behaviour may be taken as an indication
of basic personality traits. In a number of personality tests, the use of
verbal behaviour is made. Some of the important ones are the association
tests, projective tests, question and answer tests, attitude scales and
tests of knowledge and judgment of social and ethical values.
Association tests have many varieties. Free association tests are
those in which the subject is started on a train of thinking aloud and
continues till he cannot go further. This is used by psycho-analysts in
finding out complexes.
In another type of association test, the subject is given a stimulus
word and he responds orally with whatever word come into his head.
This test is used to find out thee emotional difficulties of a subject.
Association tests have been used as indicators of emotional complexes,
as a means of detecting lie and guilt and as an aid in diagnosing mental
illness.
3. Projective Techniques—
The third type of techniques which are used to measure personality
are the projective techniques. One of the main defects in the subjective
and objective techniques is that they do not clearly study the unconscious
mind of the individual. Every individual possesses urges, wishes, desires,
aptitudes and emotions. Thus, to evaluate the personality without taking
into consideration these unconscious motives and urges will give only
one-sided picture of the personality. All the methods which we have
discussed until now except possibly that of free and controlled association,
fail to probe into the unconscious. For this, new techniques are required
which may study the unconscious as well. The projective technique is
the most suitable technique for this purpose.
What Projection Means ?
Psycho-analysis consider projection as defence mechanism which
means that it is an activity in which the individual transfers his repressed
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desires and tendencies, which fail to get an outlet through their natural
course, to some other external objects. It is just like this : a head clerk
who is rebuked by hid officer, rebukes the clerk under him and the clerk
gives vent to his feeling in chiding his wife: or a teacher who has a
nagging wife and is henpecked, gives vent to his repressed feelings by
beating the students in his class.
In a neurotic person, the projection of his feelings, desires, wishes,
etc. takes him away from reality. Such a person paints the other persons
in the light of his own notions.
The main concept on which projective techniques are based is
that no two persons view the external world from the same viewpoint.
The difference in their viewpoints is on account of their individual
personality. Thus, in projective techniques, the individual is asked to
project his wishes and feelings tc some external object. The way in
which this projection takes place in an individual gives an understanding
of the personality of that individual.
In these techniques the individual is asked to write a story, or to
attach meanings to ink-blots, etc. In this way, his inner-self is brought
out by way of the projection of his ideas to story or ink-blots. These
techniques are successful in those cases where no restraints are imposed
on the individual.
The following are the characteristics of various projective
techniques :
(i) The object for stimulus is taken to be vague and unorganized.
The individual is asked to give a meaning to it. In doing so, his individuality
is expressed which is interpreted by the psychologist on the basis of
standards or norms set earlier.
(ii) In projective methods, the psychological truth is considered
much superior to the reality. The true life history of the individual is not
so important as his thoughts, aims, conflicts etc.
(iii) These techniques may be misused because the experimenter,
may also project his feelings, ideas, etc, which will be detrimental to the
psychological knowledge. In such cases, the assessment of personality

will not be dependent on the data objectively taken but on the nations of
the experimenter. Thus, wrong views are likely to be formed.
The main projective techniques are :
1. Rorschach Test.
2. Thematic Apperception Test.
3. Play Technique.
4. Word Association Test.
5. Picture Association Test.
6. Dramatic Production Test.
Let us discuss them one by one.
Rorschach Test—This test has been designed by Hermann
Rorschah. When an ink-blot is thrown on a piece of white paper and
the paper is folded, pressed and then opened after some time, the resulting
figure is as given below. Such figure is designated as ink-blot.
In Rorschach test; ten blots are used : some of these being plain
black or white and some in colours which range from dark-brown to
red or blue. They also become more and more complex as one proceeds
from first towards the tenth blot. These blots are such that in them most
people see something.
The standard set of blots is shown to the subject, one blot at a
time; and he tells what he sees. He may see one thing after another in
the same blot. His responses are scored so as to answer such questions
as these :
How often does he see human figures, how often animals, plants
landscape, etc.?
Does he see the figure as a whole or hasten on details ?
How original or unusual are his imaginings ?
From the various scores taken together, the Rorschach tester draws
many surprising deductions, Seeing the blots as whole indicates abstract
and synthetic ability, which response to details indicated a preference
for the concrete. Similarly, seeing mostly animals denotes stereotyped
limitation of thought. Seeing good, clear-cut forms, indicates good control.
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When all the indications are combined, the examiner may judge the
personality of the individual clearly and to a great extent correctly.
The validity of this technique is checked by sizing up the subject’s
personality entirely from the Rorschach results and then by comparing
the findings with what is known of the individual from the other sources.
In some clinical cases, this check has come out in favour of the method.
This reliability of the test is tested by repeating the test between
six and twelve months. It has been seen that on an average 25 or 30
responses are similar after a year. This and the repetition after five
years when all the responses are forgotten indicates that Rorschach
test is reliable.
The Thematic Apperception Test. In this test, a series of pictures
are shown to the subject and he is asked to make up a story. He is
asked to. weave the story pointing out some of such things as what
events have led up to present occurrence ; what does the character in
the picture thinking and feeling; and what the outcome will be. The
interpretation of the stories thus produced, no doubt, depends on the
raters and hence is subjective. This technique, although not a true
measurement, is still very helpful in providing information about an
individual’s personality which be difficult to obtain by more direct methods.
The other projective techniques mentioned above are not so
important as to need description.
SOME OF THE IMPORTANT PERSONALITY TESTS
The following are some of the important personality tests :
1. The Woodworth Psycho-neurotic Inventory consists of over
a hundred questions which subject answers either in ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
2. The Pressey Cross Out Tests are a series of tests designed
for the measurement of emotional characteristics. In these, the subject
is required to cross out words that refer to unpleasant things, to things
that he considers wrong, to things which worry him, etc.
3. Laird, Marston and Heidreder constructed introvert and
extrovert tests.
4. Allport and Allport constructed a test that was supposed to

measure what they called ascendancy and submission and which may
be valuable in the measurement of this one feature of leadership.
5. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—This test
consists of 550 statements each on a separate card. The subject reads
each statement and tries to decide whether it applies to himself or not.
The subject’s responses can form the basis of a profile indicating his
tendencies towards various psychiatric categories such as hysteria,
schizophrenia, etc.
6. Allport Study of Values—It yields a profile for the individual
indicating the relative values he ascribes to the theoretical economic,
aesthetic, social, political or religious areas.
11.3. ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY
The measurement and assessment of personality is a very old
problem. For centuries, men tried to evaluate the personality and
character of themselves as well as of others. Fortune-telling was one
of the means which they adopted and which is still widely prevalent in
every culture and every community. Phrenology, physiognomy,
graphology, palmistry, etc. are the means which are being adopted since
a long past for character reading and character prediction.
The psychologist today has no faith in these methods nor in
astrology. He is developing many new methods of evaluating and
assessing personality traits. Some of the important methods we will
discuss here.
The measurement for personality in a scientific manner is quite a
difficult task. It is, however, to be noted that a trait cannot be measured
as length, or temperature, as in science because if is neither static nor
fixed, not a quantity. According to Jones, measurement cannot be applied
to the methods of evaluating personality because : “(1) there is nothing
approximating a zero point for reference; (2) there is no equality of
units, (3) there is no agreement on the basic terms used and (4) there
are no satisfactory measuring instruments.”
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Measurement is one kind of description. When we measure we

describe, but the description is Aways in terms of some standard of
comparison and usually in numerical terms : that is, “the description is in
terms of degree of more of less.” When we measure we measure
always some part of the whole, near the total object. For example, the
measurement of a table provide us with only a part of the information
about the table. Even on measuring the table in many ways—its length,
width thickness, height, hardness, weight, smoothness and so on almost
indefinitely, we will not be able to get a complete measurement of the
table. Similarly, in the measurement of personality which is indefinitely
a more complexit thing, we will never be able to get a full measurement
of it. No single measurement can be sufficient to give a complete picture
of it.
11.4. THE SCHOOL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
The school influences the child to a very great extent. The children
pass much of their time in the schools and hence it can be said with
confidence that the schools play a very large part in the formation of
the personality of the children who study in them.
Let us consider the various phases of the school life of a child
which affect his personality :
1. The friendships and acquaintances which are made among the
children themselves do influence the personality of the children to a
great extent.
2. The type of curriculum in the schools affects the habitual
responses of children. “All of us would be distinctly different individuals
if we had never learnt to read, write and do figure work. We have a
multiplicity of interests which would be impossible in dominantly illiterate
social organization.”
3. The stereotyped and similar curriculum for all types of children
develops in them seriously disturbing habits. It is, therefore, desirable
that the curriculum should be flexible and in keeping with the individual
child's needs, interests and aptitude, if proper development of his
personality is sought. Otherwise, many children who are normal may

develop the habits of wastefulness, idleness and indifference because
they are to work on a curriculum which is meant for an average or
mediocre child and similarly, the sub-normal child may develop inferiority
complex and may seek his compensation in the form of anti-social
responses.
4. The system of examination develops the habits of work which
are quite unwanted. The child fears the examination and thus develops
many emotional problems. A reform in this system is extremely necessary.
5. Teaching methods which neglect group processes and minimize
pupil interactions are not desirable. In a democracy each individual has
a part to play that is significant to others. Human beings develop by
virtue of their association with one another. In teaching this aspect should
not be neglected. Better impact on the personality of the pupils will.
11.5. THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
11.5.1. GORDON ALLPORT : A DISPOSITIONAL THEORY

OF PERSONALITY
Allport highlighted the basic principle of behaviour as its continuous
flow. His major theory deals with motivation that makes a person go. A
person's activity has both a variable portion and a constant portion. For
Ailport, the constant portion is trait and the variable portion is functional
autonomy. Both of them have motivation power. Whatever it may be—
traits or functional autonomy, however he talks about dynamics of
personality.
DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY
Allport defines personality as the dynamic organisation in the
individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his adjustment
to the environment he is in.
Dynamic organization refers to some kind of central organisation
in the individual that holds the components of personality together and
links them to each other.
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Psychophysical systems means that an individual is a real

phenomenon constituted of mind and body elements combined into a
personality unity. The person is not just a hypothetical construct formed
by the observer.
Allport definition of personality shows the uniqueness of each
individual. Behaviour and thought means the doings of the person
concerned. Personality is reflected virtually in all human actions which
are observable.
Allport also differentiate character and temperament. Character
refers to some code of behaviour. An individual or his acts are assessed
as per his character. We say he is having a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ character.
Temperament means dispositions of a person. It is closely linked to
biological or physiological determinants. Heredity has a role in
temperament.
CONCEPT OF TRAIT AND PERSONAL DISPOSITIONS
According to Allport, trait is a neuro-psychic structure of a person
with the capacity to render many stimuli functionally equivalent and to
start and guide equivalent forms of adaptive and expressive behaviour.
A trait is a pre-disposition to do in the similar manner in various
situations. If an individual is shy, he will remain quiet and reserved in
different situations —whether it is in the class room or at the cafeteria.
Traits are psychological entities that make many responses and
many a stimuli functionally equivalent. In terms of the trait, many stimuli
may evoke the same response, or many responses have the same
functional meaning.
In his article entitled, “Traits Revisited”, Allport proposes the
following eight basic characteristics of trait :
(i) Traits have more than nominal existence. Everyone has
personality traits - certain ‘generalized action tendencies’ such as
aggressiveness, honesty, etc. These features are real and exist inside
the person.
(ii) Traits are more generalised than habits. Traits are different
from habits. Habits are more specific tendencies and less generalized,
while traits are relatively permanent and general features of a person’s
behaviour. If a child brushes his teeth twice daily, it is a habit. If the
child learns to wash and iron clothes, brush the hair and clean the room
which he has learned over a period of time are not necessarily habits.
All these if taken together may form the trait of personal cleanliness.
(iii) Traits are dynamic or determinative in behaviour. Traits direct
and guide the actions of an individual. They motivate people to behave
in certain manner which is conducive to expressing the traits. For
example, if a person with high sociable trait would not just sit and wait
to attend parties, but he will actively seeks out parties so that he can be
sociable.
(iv) Existence of traits may be established empirically. We may
not see traits directly. However, we can verify their existence. For
example, traits of a person can be verified from his repeated responses.
(v) Traits are only relatively independent of other traits. Traits
overlap. One trait cannot be separated from the other. A person will
have overlapping traits.
(vi) Traits are not synonymous with moral or social judgement.
Traits can be unethical also such as loyalty, greed, etc.
(vii) Traits may be viewed in the personality that contains them or
their distribution in the population. The trait of shyness is unique for the
person as it influences a person’s life, while as the trait can be studied in
a population.
(viii) Acts or even habits which are not consistent cannot be called
traits.
TYPES OF TRAITS
According to Allport, traits may be categorized into a three-fold
as per the degree to which they pervade and influence behaviour.
(i) Cardinal Trait—Traits which are extremely pervasive and can
be traced to its influence are cardinal traits. For example, when we
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refer to someone as being a Ghandhian, the cardinal trait of ‘nonviolent’

is inferred.
(ii) Central Trait—Tendencies which people often express, which
others can readily observe are referred to as Central traits. These are
less pervasive but quite generalised disposition of people. Central traits
are also called the building blocks of personality. For an example, a
person can be sociable, outgoing, etc.
(iii) Secondary Trait—These are dispositions which are less
generalised, less conspicuous, less relevant and less consistent as
compared to other two categories of traits. For example, food
preferences of an individual come under secondary trait. If we know a
person intimately then we can discern his secondary traits.
Common Traits versus Individual Traits
Allport also differentiated common traits and individual traits.
Common traits are also called dimensional or nomothetic traits. These
are generalized disposition to which most people in a culture can be
compared. For example, value, social attitude, anxiety and the like are
generalized disposition and the majority of people within the particular
culture could be measurably compared with one another on the basis of
these traits.
Individual traits are peculiar to an individual. It cannot be compared
with others among individual are referred to as individual traits. These
traits are called as personal dispositions or morphological traits. They
work in unique ways in each category of India accurately pin-points the
personality structure of any given individual, that is the organised focus
of his life. The true personality surfaces only when the individual traits
are studied. These traits can be found in a person’s case history, diary,
letters and other such documents.
THE PROPIUM : DEVELOPMENT OF SELFHOOD
Allport states that opportunistic functioning refers to the tendency
to satisfy biological survival needs. Opportunistic functioning are
biological, reactive and past-oriented.
According to Allport, opportunistic functioning was relatively

unimportant for understanding most behaviour since most behaviours
of people is motivated by something very different. With the help of
different aspect, each individual expresses his self. Allport called this as
propriate functioning which motivates the functioning of a person. Allport
believed that most of what people do in their life depends on who the
persons are and what are their individual qualities. Proactive, future-
oriented and psychological are the characteristics of propriate functioning.
Propriate is derived from the word ‘proprium’, which means the
self. After reviewing many definitions for self, Allport felt that to be
more scientific, it would be necessary to dispense with the common
word self and substitute something else. The word proprium was
considered a good substitute, but it could not substitute self which was
used to represents the unique features that motivate the behaviour of
an individual.
Propriate functioning is doing things in keeping with what a person
really is. For understanding this term, we can think of the last time we
wanted to do something or become something because we really felt
like doing or becoming that something that would be expressive of the
things about ourselves that we believe to be most important.
The Proprium Defined
Allport defines proprium from two basic view points:
phenomenological and functional.
In phenomenological view point, the self is considered on the basis
of experiences. Allport stated self is composed of all the aspects of a
person experiencing. The self is also the central part of a person.
According to Allport, the self has seven functions :
(1) Sense of body
(2) Self-identity
(3) Self-esteem
(4) Self-extension
(5) Self-image
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(6) Rational coping

(7) Propriate striving
The propriate functions of personality as per their sequential
appearance in the developing individual are given below:
ASPECTS OF PERSONALITY
1. Sense of bodily self—In the first year of life the infant
becomes aware about bodily sensations coming from muscles,
tendons and joints, etc. These sensations are recurrent and form
the bodily self.
2. Sense of Identity—In the second stage, the sense of identity
is strengthened despite changes taking place. This aspects of proprium
evolves through language, the child recognises himself as a distinct and
constant point of reference. He learns his name, clothing, toys, etc.
3. Sense of self-esteem—In the third year of life, the person
feels pride in his achievements. Self-esteem depends on the child’s
success in mastering tasks and his urge to explore and manipulate the
environment.
4. Sense of self-extension—During 4 to 6 years of age, the
child realises his physical bodies and self comes to include relevant
aspects of the social and physical environment. The child understands
the meaning of “mine”.
5. Self-Image—Around 5 or 6 years, the child realizes what is
expected of him by significant others. He begins to differentiate between
the ‘good me’ and the bad me'. His aspirations begins to shows the
goals and expectations of significant others.
6. Sense of self as rational caper Between 6 and 12 years of age,
the child realises his rational capacity to find solutions to problems and
thereby cope effectively with reality demands. Reflective and formal
thinking appears in the child.
7. Propriate striving—The adolescent has a unified sense of
self and planning for long-term goals. Allport felt that the core problem
of a person in this period is the selection of career and other life goals.
Propriate striving includes pursuing long range goals, having a sense of

directedness and intentionality in striving for defined objectives, imparting
to life a sense of purpose etc. A unified sense of selfhood is required for
realization of propriate striving. Thus, it happens only in adulthood.
FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY
Functional autonomy of motives
Allport believed that to understand the present of an individual,
looking too much into his past is not required. In the concept of functional
autonomy, that the motives for a certain behaviour of a person at present
are independent of their origins. For example, a person might have wanted
to become a doctor. Today, his motive is different. The person is now a
businessman after he open a hospital. If we take another example, a
person might have developed a taste for burger and as of today he has
a taste for burger and that is what the person is now and that matters.
Functional autonomy provides the base for a theory of motivation.
Adult motives thus are not related to past motives. The behaviour of an
adult is independent of whatever reasons that might have initially caused
him to involve in that behaviour.
According to Allport, functionally autonomous motives cause much
of adult behaviour. For example, a young student first carried out a field
study because it was required in college, because his parents wanted it,
or because it comes easily. After he started working, he got absorbed in
the topic. The student’s original motives is no more there in his present
motive.
Types of Functional Autonomy
According to Allport, there are two types of functional autonomy:
(i) Preservative functional autonomy, and (ii) Propriate functional
autonomy.
Preservative functional autonomy is the feedback mechanisms in
the nervous system which are ruled by simple neurological principles.
Oyer time these mechanisms become neurologically self-maintaining
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and keep the organism on track. For example, eating and going to bed
at the same time every day. These are repetitious activities.
Propriate functional autonomy is an individual’s acquired interests,
values, attitudes and intentions. This is the main system of motivation
and imparts consistency to the individual for a congruent self image and
a higher level of maturity and growth. People may not get the reward to
continue their efforts. It thus stands for the individual's striving for values
and goals and his sense of responsibility.
THE MATURE PERSONALITY
Allport stated that a person reaching maturity is a continuous and
lifelong process of becoming. A mature person’s behaviour is motivated
by conscious processes and thus functionally autonomous. Unconscious
motives stemming from childhood experiences dominate the behaviour
of immature persons. According to Allport, psychologically mature adult
has the following six attributes :
(1) A widely extended sense of self.
(2) A capacity for warm social interactions.
(3) Shows emotional security and self-acceptance.
(4) Shows realistic perception, skill and assignments.
(5) Shows self insight and humour.
(6) A unifying philosophy of life.
These attributes have been discussed in details :
(1) A mature person possesses a widely extended sense of self.
He actively takes part in family, work hobbies, political and religious
issues and social relationships.
(2) A mature person has ability for warm social interactions.
Intimacy and compassion are two types of interpersonal warmth.
Intimacy is seen in a person's deep love for family and close friends.
Compassion is seen in a person's ability to bear differences between
the self and others. It helps the person to show respect and appreciation
for the human condition and develop a sense of kinship with others.
(3) A mature person shows emotional security and self-acceptance.

A mature person possesses a positive image of himself. He is able to
bear irritating events and their drawbacks without getting inwardly
hostile. He is also able to deal with his emotions such as anger, guilt and
depression and do not interfere with the well-being of others.
(4) A mature person shows realistic perception, skills and
assignments. A mature person discerns things as they are and not as he
wishes them to be. They are realistic. They do not distort reality as per
their needs. Mature people have appropriate skills for their work. They
set aside personal desires and impulses while doing their tasks. A mature
person shows self-insight and humour. A mature person knows his
strengths and weaknesses. He uses humour as an important aspect in
self insight since it prevents unnecessary self glorification.
(5) A mature person possesses a unifying philosophy of life. He
looks at things with a clear, consistent and systematic way. Such a
person will have a dominant goal which makes his life meaningful. A set
of deeply held values serves as a unifying foundation of his life. A unifying
philosophy of life provides a kind of overriding value orientation that
gives meaning and significance to everything he does.
APPLICATION : THE STUDY OF VALUES
A mature person’s unifying philosophy life is based on values —
the basic convictions about what is of real significance in life. Allport
believed values govern a person’s efforts to find order and meaning in
life. He thus identified and measured basic value dimensions. He helped
to develop a personality test, The Study of Values. Allport’s model is
based on the theory of Eduard Spranger.
Spranger in his book, Types of Men, suggested six major value
types. All people have these values in varying degrees. Allport believed
the unity of people's lives is built around them.
Allport described these values as deep level traits. He described
them as :
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(i) The Theoretical

(ii) The Economic
(iii) The Aesthetic
(iv) The Social
(v) The Political
(vi) The Religious.
(i) The Theoretical—Such individual tries to find out the truth.
He is a rational and critical and has an empirical approach to life. He is
also highly intellectual and tends to pursue a career in subjects like
science or philosophy.
(ii) The Economic—Such individual puts highest value on
whatever is useful or pragmatic. These people are highly ‘practical’
and interested in making money.
(iii) The Aesthetic—These people give priority to form and
harmony. They look at things from the point of view of fitness, grace
and symmetry,
(iv) The Social—They give priority to love of people. They take
the theoretical, economic, aesthetic attitudes as cold and inhuman.
(v) The Political—They give priority to power. They aim for
personal power, influence and publicity.
(vi) The Religious—These people understand the world as a
unified whole. They seek unity and higher meaning in the universe.
On the basis of these values, Allport evaluates individual
differences by means of the Study of Values scale. The test has been
standardized with college students. It has 45 questions and takes 20
minutes to complete. People score differently on the six values.
In the case of business students, they score less on the aesthetic
value and theology students score poorly on the religious value.
Educational Implications of the Trait Theory : Evaluation
of Allport’s Theory of personality
Criticism—Pervin (1964) has criticised the trait theory on the
ground of division of traits into cardinal, central and secondary which
he considers to be somewhat confusing. This theory, therefore, is not of
much help in understanding the development of the personality of the

individual.
Again when behaviour is broken down to traits, we have no way
of knowing how they are actually expressed in life.
Thirdly, a change in environment may alter the expression of a
trait, in a provocative environment one may demonstrate an altogether
different trait.
Use of Trait Theory—The trait theory suggests appropriate
methods of development of personality. It indicates the direction of the
development of traits so that personality is developed in an integrated
manner.
The Secondary Education Commission (1952-53) appointed by
the Government of India took into consideration the various traits to be
developed in the students. It laid stress on the development of seven
traits and their measurement.
11.5.2. PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF SIGMUND
FREUD (1856-1939)
Brief Life Sketch of Freud
Sigmund Freud was born in 1856 in Czechoslovakia. He beloved
to Jewish parents. On account of financial difficulties, the family moved
to Vienna in Austria. Freud was very brilliant at school. Rejecting the
business career to which his father belonged, he joined the Medical
School at the University of Vienna in 1873. He worked as a medical
practioner for some years. He took a course in Psychiatry and became
interested in the relationship between physical disease and mental
complexes. Thereafter he joined as a lecturer at the Vienna University.
Later on, Freud went to Paris and explored the dynamics of hysteria.
Then he worked on the study of Conscious and unconscious elements
of mind.
In 1896, Freud first used the term ‘Psychoanalysis’. In 1890 he
published his book entitled “The Interpretation of Dreams”. In the
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following year he brought out another book “The Psycho-Pathology

of Everyday Life”. He drew several renowned physicions like Carl
Jung, Alfred Adler, Otta Rank. His disciples also made a valuable
contribution to ‘Psychoanalysis’.
Basis of Freud’s Psycho-analytic Theory
The theory of psychoanalysis is dynamic and is based on the
assumption that personality and personality development are determined
by conflicts and events that are largely unconscious in nature and which
can be understood only by its indepth study.
Freud’s assumption was that since so much of the person’s
personality operates at the unconscious level, the individual can bring to
the surface of the consciousness only when engaged to adopt the method
of Free Association. He also considered dream analysis as an important
technique to explore the contents of the unconscious.
Freud’s Anatomy of Personality : ‘Id’, ‘Ego’ and ‘Super Ego’
Freud’s anatomy of personality is built around the concept of id,
ego and super ego. Each of these aspects of personality is related to
the other two. Personality is a three-tier system of Id, Ego and Super
ego.
‘Id’. The Id is totally unconscious. Ego is partly conscious and
Super Ego is totally conscious. The Id is the primary aspect of
personality. Freud believed that Id is a mass of blind instincts. It has no
logical organization. Indeed contradictory impulses may exist in it side
by side. Id is amoral. It possesses no sense of values. It cannot distinguish
between good and evil. It is dominated by the pleasure principle. The Id
processes are unconscious Id is best characterised as the conative
unconscious aspect of personality.
The Id consists of everything that is inherited psychologically. It is
instinctive in nature. It is also the reservoir of psychic energy. It provides
all the power for the operation of Ego and Super Ego. Id operates
through the pleasure principle. It commands two processes known as

reflex action and primary process. Reflex actions are inborn and
automatic processes like blinking and sneezing. They reduce the tension
caused on account of the non-gratification of the needs. It is a matter of
common knowledge that the new born baby demands gratification or
satisfaction of his needs (hunger warmth and elimination, etc.). For the
satisfaction of the needs, the primary process attempts to discharge the
tension. It is wish-fulfillment. The example of it is a dream. It is clear
that the primary process is not able to fulfill the need. A hungry person
cannot eat the image of the food or the food in the dream. Hence a
secondary process starts developing. When this occurs, the Ego, second
tier of personality starts taking place. The Ego fulfills the need. Ego
also operates with the energy derived from the Id but it is part conscious.
Its main work is to find ways and means for satisfaction of the needs of
Ego. Since the Ego takes into consideration the pressures of reality, its
actions are guided by what is called the Principle of Reality.
‘Super Ego’. The third tier of personality development in the
individual is what is called Super Ego. It is the moral arm of the
personality. It represents the sense of right and wrong, good and bad
for the society. It represents the ideal as compared with the real of the
Ego. In a general way the Super Ego is thought to be the social
development of the personality. The Ego is regarded as the psychological
component of the personality while Id is regarded as the biological
component.
Conflicts can occur between the components or the three tiers of
the personality. This results in anxiety. For preventing the painful feeling
of anxiety, the Ego adopts a number of unconscious psychological
strategies which are called the defence mechanisms. Among the
important defence mechanisms are: (i) Repression (ii) Suppression (iii)
Reaction (iv) Rationalisation and (v) Identification.
PERSONALITY 459
Reflex Action
Meaning of reflex Action
A reflex action is an immediate involuntary response to a stimulus.
It occurs below the level of consciousness. It occurs very fast. It takes
a fraction of a second.
Explaining the relationship between Ego and Id, Freud once said,
“Imagine that the relationship between the Ego and the Id is similar to
the relationship between a horse (Id) and its rider (Ego). While the rider
usually determines the direction of the horse, there are those times
when it is the horse who leads the rider.” Freud also believed that the
autonomy of individual personality is built around the three unified and
inter-connecting systems namely Id-ego and super ego. (See figures)
Consciousness—Consciousness gives expression to a very limited
portion of human activity. It can be compared to an iceberg in which
1/10th part is visible and 9th/10th part is submerged in the water. The
nature of the iceberg is to be judged more in terms of its portion under
the water rather than above it. The unconscious is more powerful than
the conscious. Unconscious consists of all repressed wishes and
forbidden experiences. The repressed material, sometimes, appears at
conscious level in a disguised form as in dreams and slips of the tongue
(sex for six), etc.
Stages of Development : Infantile Sexuality and ‘Libido’
‘Libido’ is that part of the ‘Id’ structure that seeks its gratification
from purely sexual activity. Sexual gratification is like other gratifications
and should be considered a normal need of an individual. Freud considered
it as the total striving of an organism. Freud stressed that libido was
always present in the orgnaism, even in the infant. Every child is born
with an organically determined sexual excitability. Libido can be
stimulated through the following zones.
Oral Zone—From birth to 2 years. At this stage, the infant gets

pleasure from sucking the lips.
Anal Zone—From 2 to 3 years. The child derives much pleasure
through anal expulsion or anal manipulation.
Genital Zone or Phallic Stage—From 3 to 5 years, the child
derives gratification by touching his genitals.
Latency Stage—From the age of six till about thirteen, there is
the latency stage where there is avoidance of sexuality on account of
the pressures of society.
Fixation Stage—During this period of adolescence, homosexual
and heterosexual interests develop.
Freud found that most of his patients suffered on account of sex
repression, i.e., non-gratification of sex. Sublimation of sexual desires
helps in the development of an integrated personality.
Evaluation of Freud’s Theory
Freud’s theory has received mixed reaction. On the one hand,
there is A. Inkeles (1963) who observes that his “theory is a tremendous
factor in the growth of psychology of personality” and on the other
hand, there is McDougall who writes, “that the theory of strict
determination developed by Freud leaves no scope for creativity and
volition on the part of human beings. The theory was taught a generation
ago by men of science and philosophers with dogmatic confidence. In
modern days the theory has been discredited on the basis of recent
scientific investigations.”
Freud's theory of personality is very helpful to understand
personality and its development. According to Jacobs (1961), “to Freud
goes the distinction and merit of having opened to observation dark
abysses of human mind hardly suspected before him.” Another
psychologist Inkeles has observed, “His theory, has a scope, a unity and
a coherence which is unmatched in psychology.” Freud's theory of
PERSONALITY 461
personality is a comprehensive theory and includes almost all aspects

of personality and its complexities. It is a holistic approach to understand
personality. It lays more stress on the functioning of the individual as a
whole. It gives more freedom to the individual to respond the form of
free association. It recognises the importance of the unconscious
motivation in the development of behaviour patterns. The theory
emphasises the importance of early childhood experiences.
According to G. Gorer (1968), Freud’s theory gives inadequate
attention to the role of environment in the development of personality.
Freud’s experiences are based on the data collected from patients without
any verification from other sources. Freud never quantified his findings.
Freud’s theory is based on the concept of instincts which has been
discarded now. Freud’s concepts of repression and libido have been
used differently in different situations and thus there is a confusion
regarding the precise meaning of these terms. Freud has laid undue
emphasis on sex in the personality development.
Educational Implications (Merits) of Freud’s Psycho-
analytical Theory of Personality—
Freud’s theory of personality has revolutionised theory and practice
of psychology and education. It has greatly influenced many social
sciences as regards their approach to human behaviour. Important
educational implications of this theory are given below :
1. Importance of childhood experiences—The theory has
recognised the importance of childhood experiences in the development
of personality. Freud believes that the childhood period lays the foundation
of personality because childhood period is the most important period
and it is during this period that maximum physical, intellectual, emotional
and social development takes place. Hence it is the task of teachers
and educationists to provide maximum opportunities for healthy physical,
intellectual, emotional and social development.
2. Importance of unconscious motivation—The theory

recognises the importance of unconscious motivation in the development
of behaviour patterns. The teacher should keep in mind the unconscious
mind alongwith pre-conscious and conscious mind.
3. Widening the aim of education—Freud’s theory is a
comprehensive theory of human behaviour which includes all aspects
of personality and its complexities. Thus the theory has widened the
aim of education i.e., the development of wholesome personality.
4. Broad-based curriculum—It is a holistic approach to
understand human personality. It gives more emphasis on functioning
of the individual as a whole. It keeps the whole personality in view.
Hence curriculum should be broad-based so that whole personality may
be developed. Curriculum should meet the needs of the children and the
society. A large number of curricular activities should be included in the
curriculum so that all aspects of personality—physical, intellectual,
emotional, aesthetic, social and moral—may be developed.
5. Methods of teaching—Methods of teaching should be
moulded according to personality patterns and needs of the pupils.
6. Importance of guidance—The theory recognises the
importance of guidance to improve parent-child relationship, teacher-
taught relationship and other social relationships. Psychoanalysis has
given impetus to such movements as ‘Child Guidance’, ‘Mental Hygiene’
and ‘Paidocentricism’, reveal something about himself by the role he
chooses, by the conception he has of this role as shown by the way he
enacts it, and through the feelings he entertains with regard to other
roles or characters as revealed by the way in which he rejects them or
treats them, when he plays his own part.
7. Picture Frustration Study—The picture-frustration study by
Rosenweig is a well known technique of this type. Now it has been
adopted in India by Dr. Uday Pareek. It consists of 24 cartoons like
drawings depicting every day situations of frustration or stress involving
PERSONALITY 463
individuals, one of whom is usually shown as frustrating the other. The

subject is asked to write or say in the blank caption box, above the head
of the frustrated individual, the first association that comes into his mind
as appropriate. Then associations reveal areas of conflict, anxieties and
stress in the life of the individual.
Limitations of Projective Techniques :
1. Shortage—
There is shortage of standardised tests.
2. Subjective—
They are subjective.
3. Time consuming—
They are time consuming both in administration and scoring.
They need experts and trained persons which are generally not
available.
4. Not practicable—
They probably cannot be used in school situations.
5. Lack Reliability and Validity—
They do not have a very high reliability and validity, particularly
when applied to children.
EXERCISE

1. Discuss nature of personality with special reference to
meaning, characteristics and dimensions of personality.
2. What is the types of personality ? Explain.
3. What are the different stages of Personality Development ?
4. Give a brief account of the various methods of assessing
personality.
5. Explain the role of family or school in the development
of personality.
6. What are the objective techniques for assising the
personality.

1. Write the meaning of Personality.
2. What are the various factors of Personality Development.
Write in brief.
3. What are the Emotional Determinants of Personality ?
4. How we can Assess Personality ?
5. Write the various tests of Personality ?
6. What are the traits ?
7. Evaluate the Freud’s Theory of Personality.
ADJUSTMENT AND
12 MALADJUSTMENT : MEANING,
FACTOR, SYMPTOM AND ROLE
OF TEACHER
Every individual has different types of needs and goals which

he always attempts to attain. But due to some external or internal
factors it is not possible for him to achieve these goals all the time.
In such cases some times people may suffer from frustration. In
such a situation an individual may react in different ways. He may
attack physically the source of frustration to reduce his mental ten-
sion or he may destroy the object of frustration. He may use differ-
ent mechanisms to beat his frustration and adjust himself to protect
his ego. Thus adjustment mechanism is a device used to achieve
an indirect satisfaction of a need in order to reduce his or her own
tension. This mechanism is used by different individuals in their
own ways. The types and frequency of the mechanism differ from
individual to individual in his own ways. The types and frequency
of the mechanism differ from individual to individual. As for ex-
ample, suppose a student wanted to become a doctor, but he could
not manage a seat for the course. In that case he may become
frustrated as he could not be able to meet his need. In such case he
may behave in the different ways.
12.1. CONCEPT OF ADJUSTMENT
We know that the learning process in influenced by the
adjustment of an individual to his environment. If a student is well
adjusted in his family, peer group and school, he is bound to be
cheerful and an attractive learner. Maladjustment on the other hand
leads to frustration, and adversely affects the learning process. This
chapter highlights the various aspects of adjustment and
maladjustment and its educational implications.
465
View of Gates; Jersild and Others—Adjustment is a

continual process by which a person varies his behaviour to produce
a more harmonious relationship between himself and his
environment. The direction of his effort may be towards modifying
his own behaviour and attitudes or towards changing the
environment or both.
Ajustment is the outcome of the individual’s attempt to deal
with stress and meet his efforts to maintain harmonious relationships
with the environment.
Vonhaller Geuner’s view—“We can think of adjustment as
psychological survival in much the same way as biologists use the
term adaptation to describe physiological survival.”
Traxler’s view—‘‘The most desirable state of adjustment is
one in which the individual is perfectly happy and satisfied with all
aspects of his life.’’
Since the time of birth, an individual is involved in two
activities, namely, satiation or satisfaction of his needs and
adjustment to his environment. Adjustment basically means the
modification of behaviour to meet the demands of the social
environment imposed on an individual.
There are two ways which the psychologists look at
adjustment-adjustment as an achievement and adjustment as a
process.
Adjustment as an Achievement—This viewpoint focuses on
the quality of efficiency of adjustment. Psychologists have evolved
four criteria to judge how well an individual is adjusted to his
environment or circumstances. These are physical health,
psychological comfort, work efficiency and social acceptance. A
positive response on these fronts shows that the individual is well
adjusted in his environment.
Adjustment as a Process—This viewpoint emphasizes the
process by which an individual adjusts to his external environment.
Piaget has given the concepts of ‘assimilation’ and
‘accommodation’.
ADJUSTMENT AND MALADJUSTMENT : MEANING, FACTOR... 467
While talking of adjustment, it is essential to understand that

adjusting to the environment requires the satiation of the social
and psychological needs of a person. Otherwise, he cannot mantain
equilibrium between his inner self his environment.
Characteristics of a well adjusted Person—The
characteristics normally exhibited by a well adjusted person are
being cheerful, tension-free, emotionally balanced and showing
maturity and independence in decision-making. Awell adjusted
person is also friendly and cordial towards others and understands
others viewpoints.
Elements in Adjustment—The various pre-requisites of
healthy adjustment are the needs of the individuals which should
be satisfied and that too without any obstacles. There should be
strong motivation and feasible geographical conditions to realize
the needs. Here, weare talking about biological, psychological and
social needs.
12.1.1. FACTOR AFFECTING ADJUSTMENT
There are various types of adjustments shown by the different
individuals or the same individual at different times. These
adjustment techniques very widely in the effectiveness with which
they reduce the tension aroused by conflict situations. A few
important methods of personality adjustments which are significant
in reducing tension are discussed below :
Direct methods of tension Reduction and Availing
Personality Adjustments
Direct methods of tension reduction are those methods in
which the individual consciously makes an effort to reduce the
tension. They are rational in nature.
(i) Destroying or Removing the Barrier—“The most direct
response to a goal that is blocked is an attempt to destroy or to
remove the barrier.” This is adopted many times by an individual.
For example, an individual who is being stopped from participating
in a football game on account of a rival directly attacks the rival

and makes him withdraw his claims for a place in the team.
(ii) Seeking Another Path—When the individual fails to
remove the barrier he is likely to seek another path to the goal. For
example, the footballer, when he is unable to liquidate his rival by
direct attack, tries to show his supremacy in the game and thus to
win a place in the team or he may seek the help of his friends to
sponsor his cause.
(iii) Substitution of Other Goals—“If attempts to reach the
original goal jail, the person may consider another suitable goal.”
Now, substitute goal reduces the tension, it compensates for that
particular need which has been thwarted by the original goal. For
example, if you play cards instead of playing tennis on an evening
when it begins to rain at the time of your going out, the substitute
goal of playing cards will reduce the tension if your playing tennis
is only for the diversion of your activity but it will not reduce it if
you are going out to practice in order to become a tennis star.
In our life situations we often substitute goals. For example, a
student who wishes to be a professor in college substitutes this
goal with that of being a teacher in high school if he is unable to
get a placement in any college or is unqualified for the post of a
professor.
The goals may be fully substituted or partially substituted as
in the case of a cricket player who wishes to be a start bastsman but
contends himself with only the purchase of different types of bats
for making strokes. Sometimes, the partial substitution of goal
enhances the tension instead of educing it. The individual who has
a good bat but cannot make the strokes may brood over his failure
and may enhance his tension. It must be remebered here that only
goals related to the need in question have substitute value. Thus,
apparent goals, such as, purchase of new dress on the failure in
examination will not be or much help in the reduction of tension.
(iv) Analysis and Decision—The fourth direct method of
tension reduction is analysis and decision. When a person is
confronted with two or more equally desirable but contradictory

goals there are relatively few alternatives for behaviour. He may
renounce one of the goals, he may renounce both goals or he may
try to work out compromise between them.
The individual in such cases follows the method of problem
solving in arriving at the decision or talks it over with a friend thus
verbalizing and bringing out in the open various aspects of the
problem and consequently is able to decide which goal to accept.
However, to arrive at a decision in such a case is very difficult.
For example, if a man is offered two equally good jobs with equal
future prospects in both it is difficult for him to come to a correct
choice. The literature is full of such stories where the chance of
taking descision was offfered and the individual choosing the one
regretted throughout his life that he had not chosen the other. One
of my own friends who after passing High School examination
offered Commerce course instead of science regrets his decision
till today even though he is very well employed. However, the
choice of one goal rather than abandoning both is better in tension
reduction.
If there are two goals which have moral implications, moral
conflicts occur in the mind. In case the choice is made for some
goal which is not in keeping with ethical ideas or accepted in the
society the tension either the individual has undeveloped
conscience or has found means to rationalize his behaviour.
Sometimes, individual instead of renouncing one goal and
accepting the other obtains a solution arriving at a compromise
between these two. This is also helpful in tension reduction. For
example, a young man who is poor and has no money to study
further but has a will to study in college may obtain a compromise
by joining the college taking up tuitions for earning his fees.
Indirect Methods of tension Reduction and Personality
Adjustments—
Indirect methods of tension reduction and often known as
defense mechanism. They are typically unconscious and are
concerned with the immediate removal of distress. These methods

may or may not serve to improve the long-term adjustment. It may
be possible that these mechanism may reduce the tension at the
present moment but may complicate the problem so much as to
make a long term adjustment more difficult to achieve.
“Indirect methods are primarily meant for avoiding or reducing
anxiety, pain and distress brought about by thwarted needs or
humiliations.” In some instances, they may serve to prevent an
action which would result in distress, in others to restore the feeling
of scurity or adequacy.
Here we will discuss some of the important mechanism which
have great significance in the adjustment process of the individual.
(1) Sublimation—The concept of sublimation owes its origin
to freud.
Sublimation has its use in resolive conflicts. “If an individual’s
conduct has met with interference, it may be possible to learn the
resulting conflict by guiding him into a substitute form of activity.”
This process is called sublimation. For example, a person will show
good emotional adjustment if he can convert his primitive love or
his drives into socially approved behaviour. “When activities are
raised from lower to higher levels of integration and when there is
harmony in the process, the resulting behaviour is referred to as
sublimated activity.”
In sublimation the impulsive or emotional energy is turned
towards such artificial path which are socially acceptable. It s
considered as the best method of educating the innate drives and
emotions. In this process, the inner urges are redirected to the good
of the society. It brings a change in their display. Innate urges are
allowed to seek their satisfaction in hose ways which are keeping
with the soical ways.
Freud has utilized sublimation in the case of sex instinct. In
games, sports and active outdoor life, the instinctive energy released
by this intinct is utilized. Its sublimation can be affected by turning
towards the love of poetry and literature. Similarly, other sintincts
can be sublimated.
In education, the sublimation of inner urges is one of the much

sought after purpose. Man is superior to an animal only because he
can sublimate his urges while an animal cannot do so. In sublimation,
control is put over the naural flow of drives, needs or impulses.
The person develops insight and rationality and thus sublimates
his urges towards higher ends.
It may be noticed here that sublimation can occur upto a
certain limit only. Complete sublimation of our innate urges is not
possible. If these are forced to be sublimated beyond a particular
limit they burst forth in undesirable channels. It may have been
seen by all of us that a person held in high regard by us possesses
certain weaknesses of character. When we learn about them we are
shocked. But it must be remembered by all of us that these
weaknesses are on account of the fact that his lower urges are not
all completely sublimated and it is well night impossible to sublimate
them fully. Whenever his control is weakened over his lower urges
they burst forth. The author has come across with many literary
giants and other respected persons who speak, talk and joke in the
most vulgar manner when they are in the company of their trusted
friends or in a company where such things are not only tolerated
but are considered gifted.
(2) Withdrawal—The behaviour of an “individual who retreats
from participation in life experiences exemplifies the mechanism
of withdrawing.” Most individual are timid in at least one life
situation, especially if they are not prepared to meet it adequately.
The withdrawing attitude is a maladjustment only when its use
interferes with social effectiveness. Shy and timid persons are not
usually disturbing to others. As they are not active competitors
with their fellows, their real maladjustment often go unnoticed. If
the individual develops the habit of retreat from active participation
in life situations, he is too easily frustrated and the functioning of
this adjustment mechanism is unwholesome for his personality
development.
“The timid and withdrawing child casuses no annoyance in
the classroom and is, therefore, the delight of his teacher, but the
same child may latter become a problem to psychiatrist or the mental

hygienist.’’ The shy child scarcely has normal development. He
possesses too many fears and is unable to share his difficulties
with another person because he lacks the courage to discuss them
with any one.
The withdrawing behaviour is depicted in Regression and Day-
dreaming :
(a) Regression—Regression is a type of withdrawal. “This is
basically a method of responding to a baffling life problem by a
reversion to an earlier mode of reaction. “Regression in its extreme
form is depicted in the case of some mental patients who regress
from adulthood to infant behaviour and unable to wash, dress or
feed themselves.
The examples of regressions are many. The classical example
mentioned by Gates is that of Chaucey. His mother wanted to have
a daughter in his place but compensated her wish by nourishing
chaucey as a girl. The boy, when he attained adulthood, was unable
to adjust himself in the boy’s world. He was not attracted towards
girls. This resulted in painful and continuous conflict in the which
he tried to resolve by being a medical student and an actor in turn
but could not be successful and spent most of his time sitting around
his mother’s house.
This type of adjustment behaviour may show itself in the life
of a child who is two or three or four years of age. If the attention
that is given to him is being given now to his new born brother or
sister, he may show resentment for this transference of attention by
becoming helpless in the performance of many customary activities,
such as feeding himself, or peforming his toilet etc.
“Regression serves the individual by permitting him either to
escape from the necessity of having to solve baffling life problems
or to attempt their solution by means which were appropriate in
ealier stage of development.” Those persons who are able to master
their daily problems do not have occasion to resort to the use of
this mechanism. Habits that have been successful in the past are
resorted to only when individuals face new and trying situations in

the meeting of which they experience either actual or feared
frustration. Thus, in regression, difficult adjustment problems are
solved in an immature manner.
From the point of view of mental health and personality
growth, regression in harmful if it is utilized to solve complex
adjustment problems but in case of those individuals who
occasionally indulge in childish houseplay or who retire for a while
to a protected environment, this form of adjustment is not harmful—
rather it has a positive advantage by giving him some strength to
continue the battle with his problems.
(b) Day-dreaming—At some time or other, most of the
normal people indulge in phantasy and imaginatively foretaste the
fruits of their struggle. This is day-dreaming. The individual who
has not been successful in his life may seek in the work of
imagination those successes which he has failed to achieve in reality.
In case the individual is able to derive sufficient pleasure from the
imagined successes, he may cease even to try to adjust to the
situations in which he has previously been striving but failing.
In day-dreaming, problems are solved in imagination and
escape from reality is made possible. It is easy to retire from the
factual world where problems must be solved in terms of reality, to
an imaginary world, where imaginary successes are easy to achieve.
Day-dreaming and Adjustment Problems—In day-dreaming
as well as in many other varieties of maladjustment, a circular action
takes place which tends to aggravate rather than to alleviate day-
dream, the greater demands are made upon his for adjustment to
the real problems with which he is confronted; and as the demands
for adjustments become unbearable, the individual is driven all the
more to avoid facing reality and to take refuge in the world of
imagination.
Day-dreaming of Children—There are three types of day-
dreams common among children. They are : (i) the conquering
hero type (ii) the suffering hero type and (iii) the foster-child type.
In the conquering hero type, the child dreams himself as hero

in the battle, a great signer, great orator, indulging in marvellous
exploits on horseback, in automobiles, in aeroplanes and even
sputniks. He dreams himself a man of great prowess conquering
all those individuals who have teased him in real life or strife.
In the suffering type, the child imagines himself as suffering
untold misery. He derives pleasure in being vanquished rather than
in conquering, in being cruelly and unjustly treated. The boy
imagines himself to suffering from untold miseries and dreams
himself as martyr who is respected by his elders and superiors on
account of his sufferings, etc.
In the foster-child fantasy the child because of his annoyance
with his parents dreams that he or she is not their son or daughter.
He dreams that his real parents are extremely wealthy and prominent
people and he has been adopted by his present parents in infancy.
“This fantasy not only yields a flattering enhancement of his self
esteem but enables him to account for the abuse at the hands of his
foster-parents.”
Value of Day-dreaming—Day dreaming is sometimes of value
to the child or the adolescent. Mental wandering in itself is not
harmful but what is detrimental is the habits of taking more or less
flights into fantasy when real problems of life are presented and
one has failed to solve them properly.
Day-dreaming helps in achieving tension reduction and in
case the habits of fantastic imagination have not become fixed in
the mind of the child, maladjustments do not occur. There is usually
a feeling of satisfaction in wandering in fantasy. While indulging
in fantasy, the individual usually imagines about pieasant events,
the imagining of unpleasant events is only an exception.
There are many day-dreams which serve constructive and
adjustive purposes. The individual may arrive at successful
accomplishment if he persists in pursuing his thinking along creative
lines. Thus, this form of organized imaginative thinking is desirable.
It should not be completely discouraged. However, every individual
must be made to realize that he has to keep his mental activity

under control so that he may be in a position to concentrate on
issue at hand.
(3) Identification—“The attempt of individual to identify
himself with another successful individual in a desirable situation
is referred to as identification.” This is a defence mechanism. It
reduces personal tension through the achievements of other persons
in whom the individual is keenly interested. For example, a girl
may be commonly found to identify herself with her mother and a
boy to identify himself with his father. By thus identifying himself,
the child feels a certain protection in acting in the way his admired
person acts.
The mechanism of identification is present in all persons and
is a normal form of adjustment. The foundation of character
development is laid in identification. Individuals consciously seek
to identify themselves with people or situations that serve as ideals
to them.
“Many times identification serves the purpose of alleviating a
feeling of inferiority by increasing person’s feeling of worth or
importance.” The author remembers his travel in a crowded train
in an ‘Attendant’ compartment in pre-independence era. Two
bearers, one of an English Captain and other of an Indian District
Magistrate, were also travelling in that compartment. The bearer of
the English Captain was throughout assuming such an attitude of
superiority as if he himself was an English Captain who considered
the natives as very low persons. The bearer of the Indian District
Magistrate was also assuming airs but was feeling inferiority in the
presence of the Englishman’s bearer. These two persons (both
Indians) had identified themselves with their masters. The bearer
of the District Magistrate was posing superiority to all the others in
the compartment but had to assume an inferior position in the
presence of the Englishman’s bearer. This situation in the
compartment was a characteristic situation in the official circles of
pre-independence days. An Indian, at howsoever high post he might
be, was considered inferior to an Englishman.
The above example clearly shows that identification with the

powerful person tends to increase the feeling of power though
temporarily, of the individual. However, the models selected by
the bearers in the above example are undesirable. The bearer of
the Englishman was treating the people of his own country with
such a contempt that one cannot resist saying that some serious
damage had been done to his personality which made him hate his
own kith and kin. This identification is useful to the extent. It
alleviates a painful feeling of inferiority but if it results in socially
obnoxious behaviour its effects are undesirable. Also, it is highly
undesirable if through its use the person loses his total individuality
in that of his hero and begins to consider himself capable of
achieving what his hero can achieve.
(4) Rationalization—“Rationalization include those thinking
processes by which the individual deceives himself through the
concealment of the real base of his through.” Whatever ideas or
beliefs the individual has he tries to justify them by putting forward
some such reasons which are not real but other than those which
have actually motivated him.
All of us take recourse to rationalization at one time or the
other. When we return to kick the stone or mound of earth that
caused us to stumble, when we blame the condition of the pitch for
our defeat in a game of cricket, when we place the blame for our
failure on bad luck, we are attempting to rationalize our lack o
success than our own ineffectualness.
“A common rationalization mechanism is the ‘sour grapes’
attitude.” If a person fails in examination, he may declare that he
does not wish to pass in it. He may say that his aim from the very
beginning was to fail in the examination so that he may enjoy college
life for a year more, or he may say that he wanted to fail this year
so that he may pass with flying colours the next year. It is on account
of this attitude that we often fail to get from young people the
straightforward reasons for their misdeeds.
(5) Repression—“Repression is the deliberate thrusting aside

of he present desires or natural drives for emotional expression
because of social inhibition.” We forget the unpleasant incidents
or avoid any situation associate with painful memory or avoid laces
and people associated with unpleasant experiences. This we do
because we repress all those tendencies which give us unpleasant
feeling. This repression may be defined as the unconscious process
by which impulses or ideas which would be painful if we were
aware of them are excluded from consciousness and direct motor
expression. Usually, repression is not at all a good mechanism of
adjustment because this mechanism affords little opportunity for
the reduction of emotional tensions.
It is considered that behaviour based on innate urges, etc. is
antisocial and immoral. It is necessary that such behaviour is
modified. The society does not like the behaviour which is fully
based on lower urges. As a matter of fact, the very existence of the
society would be in peril if its members are solely governed by
biological needs. For the fear of the society the individual represses
his urges. But this is not a right approach towards the resolution of
his conflicts. The defects in this method are as follows :
(i) On account of repression, the energy associated with innate
drives is turned towards the unconscious. There it lies buried. It is
not allowed to enter conscious mind. It remains confined in the
unconscious. It is, however, clear that when there will be an excess
of energy it will try to burst out. As we can check the water of a
flowing river by putting a dam over it, similarly, we can check the
flow of energy by putting restrictions over it; but in case the dam is
weak and a great amount of water has accumulated which exerts
great force on the dam it may be broken and the water may burst
forth. When this will happen, the water will be released with a
great force and will destroy whatever comes in its way. Energy
associated with inner drives will burst forth if repressions put over
it are superfluous and the energy accumulated is great. The result
of this bursting will be that the individual will revolt against the
established norms and the laws of the society. The person will lose
his mental equilibrium. Thus, too much repression should always
be avoided.
(ii) In case the repressed tendencies are not allowed to burst
forth, they change the complexion and try to come to the conscious
mind in a different disguise. The individual satisfies his natural
urges but does so in a secretive manner. He becomes outwardly a
very good, reliable and well-behaved man but internally he is full
of conceit. The urges find their satisfaction in immoral and anti-
social acts. But this is done by dodging the society and in such a
manner than no one suspects the individual as indulging in evil
activities. Thus, repression does not serve any useful purpose.
(iii) There is another bad result of repression. It is that
development of the individual stops totally. If physiological energy
neither finds an outlet nor brusts forth it is repressed totally in the
mind. Thus results in making a man completely useless. His faculties
remain undeveloped. It is just like compressing the individual by
some mechanism to such an extent that he remains a dwarf
throughout his life. The example of an old Chinese custom may be
given here. Those Chinese women were considered beautiful who
had small feat. Thus, the girls from their childhood were to wear
iron shoes. The result was that their feet could not grow and they
were unable to walk properly throughout their life. The repression
of instincts in the mind similarly dwarfs the mind. It remains like
the feet of ancient Chinese women who could not utilize nature's
gift fully to their advantage. Similarly, the individual whose natural
tendencies have all been curbed fails to take advantage of his human
existence. Thus, the effect of repression is always extremely
dangerous and teachers and parents should be very careful about
using it as a method of tension reduction.
It may, however, be noticed here that repressicn cannot be
totally avoided. The child should not be given complete freedom
to give full display to his biological needs. For example, if sex is
given free play it will produce chaos and confusion in the society.
Therefore, there is a neccesity of putting some sort of control over

the drives. This control should be superimposed over the individual
but should come from his own self.
Repression should be dependent on an understanding of its
desirability. An individual who checks his innate energy after fully
understanding the ill-effects of complete freedom, can do immense
good to the society. Thus, the teachers are to ensure that the children
realize the importance of repression. Such situations are to be
created where the child can develop self-control. Repression should
be self-imposed and should be put after providing opportunities to
the child for their display.
Freudian Theory of the Unconscious and the Examination of
Some Serious Manifestation of Repression. The unconscious forms
the 9/10th our mind while the remaining 1/10th is our conscious
mind. Freudian psychologists consider that consciousness is merely
the surface of our mentality, the real subject of study being the
hidden depths of the unconscious.
Freud compares the unconscious to a large ante-chamber
adjoining which is a smaller reception-room. In ante-room are
crowding all sorts of mental excitations eager to get into the
reception-chamber when they may succeed in attracting the eye of
consciousness, the presiding deity of the preconscious system. But
guarding the door between the two rooms in the censor, a sort of
Cerberus whose-function is to examine all applications for admission
of preconscious and refuse all those that do not meet with his
approval. These excitations that are forced to
12.2. CONCEPT OF MALADJUSTMENT
Maladjustment is a process whereby an individual is not able
to satisfy his biological, social and psychological needs. This makes
a person dissatisfied and he is not able to maintain a balance between
his inner needs and exrternal demands of the society.
These are some of the symptoms or characteristics that can
help in identification of a maladjusted student in a class :
· Withdrawn and Timid : Unable to face difficult real life

situations.
· Shy and Self-conscious : Having low self-esteem, thus
being an introvert. At times having an inferiority complex.
· Fearful : Aftraid of dogs, darkness, being alone in a room.
· Anxious : Tense and worried about the future.
· Delusions : An irrational belief resulting in maladjustment.
· Exyremely Aggressive : Being highly energetic or
dominating.
· High Aspirations : Having expectations higher than
abilities, thus resulting in maladjustment.
· Emotionally Disturbed : Weeping, quarreling etc.
· Isolation : Not mixing with other students and family
members.
· Sensitivity : Getting hurt easily on being teased or sarcastic
remarks passed by others.
· Temper Tantrums : Being bad tempered.
CAUSES OF MALADJUSTMENT IN STUDENTS
The following are some of the family and school related causes
that result in maladjustment :
1. Family : Family is the centre of a child’s life. Thus, there
can be various factors in the family that may cause maladjustment
in a child.
(a) Social Causes : The problems in the family like fights
among parents or broken homes due to death or divorce of parents
can make children insecure and maladjustment, if parents are not
able to provide basic necessities to the children or if they are not
able to give enough time and attention to their children.
(b) Economic Causes : Low socio-economic background has
been seen as a cause of maladjustment because parents are not
able to meet the growing needs of children, leading to frustration
among children.
(c) Psychological Causes : The behaviour of parents can also
be a cause of maladjustment in children. Over-strict, abusive
prejudiced behaviour of parents can develop frustration and lack

of self-confidence in children.
2. Personal : Children with any kind of playsical, mental and
visual handicaps are also at times and to be maladjusted. This is
because they are not able to accept their disabilities and the fact
that they cannot do certain activities that their peers do. This leads
to an inferirity complex.
3. School Related Causes : If children do not find the activities
at school to be interesting or if the curriculum is too easy or too
easy difficult for the children according to their abilities, this also
causes maladjustment.
4. Teacher Related Causes : If teachers handling the child
are over-strict, biased or abusive or their teaching method is boring
and uninteresting, this can also cause maladjusted behaviour in
children.
5. Peer Group related Causes : Peer group plays a very
important role in a child’s life especially in adolescence. If a child
is not so popular in the peer group because he has no exceptional
qualities like god looks, athletic abilities, money, academic
excellence, etc. This can cause frustration and inferiority complex
in the child, thus resulting in maladjustment.
12.2.1. SYMPTOMS OF MALADJUSTMENT
(1) Nervousness in the child is exhibited by habitual biting
and wetting of lips, nail, biting, stammering, blushing, turning pale,
constant restlessness, body rocking, nervous finger movements,
frequent urination.
(2) The maladjusted child shows undue anxiety over mistakes,
marked distress over failures, absent-mindedness, day-dreaming;
he refuses to accept any recognition or reward, evades responsibil-
ity, withdraws from anything that looks new or difficult : he has
lack of concentration, is unusually sensitive to all annoyances is
suitable to work when distracted and has emotional tone in argu-
ment and feel hurt when others disagree; he makes frequent efforts
to gain attention of the teacher. Such are the emotional over-reac-

tions and deviations.
(3) The child, having emotional disorders, is unable to work
alone, and rely on his own judgment; he is suffering from com-
plexes; he is unusually self-conscious or over-critical of others,
either too docile or too suggestive; such are his characteristic traits
exhibiting his emotional in stability.
(4) The child who cannot adjust himself in the school envi-
ronment shows exhibitionistic behaviour. He tends to tease, push
and shove other pupils; he wants to be too funny or over-con-
spicuous; he is either found bluffing, or refusing to accept any lack
of personal knowledge; he agrees markedly with whatever the
teacher says or does and shows exaggerated courtesy.
(5) The maladjusted child has behaviour disorders which are
generally seen in his antisocial behaviour. He is cruel to others,
bullies them, uses obscene language, shows undue interest in sex,
tells offensive stories, dislikes school work, resents authority, re-
acts badly to discipline, runs away from the class and shows com-
plete lack of interest in school work suddenly. He has psychoso-
matic disturbances also. When he is emotionally distressed, he be-
gins to vomit or develops constipation and diarrhea or tends to
overeat and shows other feeling disturbances.
12.2.2. CAUSES OF TEACHERS MALADJUSTMENT
Teachers are in the most strategic position to facilitate a
balanced personality development and a more adequate adjustment
of the learner. The effectiveness of teachers in the personality
development and adjustment of students essentially depends up
on teachers on personality.
The teacher’s own adjustment not only contributes to better
adjustment of pupils but is essential for his own efficiency and
happiness. A maladjusted teacher not only destroys his own pro-
fessional life but also ruins his or her student’s life. There are many
factors which contribute for the mal adjustment of teachers. Some

of the important causes of maladjustment are discussed below
(1) Lack of professional attitude and spirit—Most of the
teachers in our schools accepted teaching as a profession not be-
cause of their interest in teaching but because they failed to secure
other jobs. Such teachers naturally lack professional attitude and
spirit.
(2) Work load—The duties and responsibilities of a teacher
are always very high and an average teacher is always under stress.
The constant stress creates emotional tension and anxiety that im-
pair the mental health of the teacher.
(3) Insecurity of service—Services in privately managed
schools are generally insecure. The teachers in such schools live
up on the mercy of the management of that school. There is a
constant fear of going out of that service. This creates anxiety and
fear in the minds of the teacher.
(4) Poor salary and low status—In the present social set up
of India teachers are poorly paid when compared to their less quali-
fied compartments in other professions. Added to this in our soci-
ety teachers are not getting enough respect and recognition. This
may leads to the demotion of self concept of the teacher which
ultimately results in maladjustment.
(5) Lack of recreational facilities—Teachers seldom gets the
time for recreation or rest. Lack of recreational activities in schools
and teachers inaptitude in participate in them make their profes-
sional life dull and unnteresting.
(6) Low of physical health—Teacher’s bodily health is not
satisfactory. Low income and lack of recreational facilities are the
reasons for this. Low physical health is an important factor for low
mental health.
(7) Maltreatment of management—Most private schools in
our country are managed by the persons of particular cast, religion
or creed. Consequently it becomes difficult for a teacher from a
different cast to adjust. Most often he or she may get step motherly
treatment from the managements. This causes worry and mental
stress in the mind of a teacher.
(8) High moral expectations—Teachers are often expected
to behave like an ideal exemplary by the society. But this is not
possible because of the high complexities of fast-moving society
and it is natural that evils of society may affect his personality
naturally in course of time. The failure to rise up to the expecta-
tions of the society creates frustration and conflicts in the mind of
the teacher which results in maladjustment.
(9) Unhealthy inter-personal relation ship among teachers—
Inter-personal conflict and tensions among teachers is at peak due
to the increasing number of professional organizations and teacher
politics. Harmony, co-operation, love, unity spirit, good-will of the
institution etc has vanished from the teacher’s room.
(10) Lack of facilities—Poor school plant, ill-equipped class-
rooms, faulty time schedule, lack of library and laboratory, short-
age of teaching aids etc creates unnecessary stress and strain in
teachers.
12.3. WHAT WE MEAN BY ADJUSTMENTS AND
MALADJUSTMENTS
In studying the adjustment problems of an individual, who
have to take recourse to his total personality have used to term
wholesome personality or whole personality. Now before we give
a meaning to the adjustment or maladjustment of personality, let us
clearly understand as to what we mean by total personality.
An individual’s activity in a life situation never involves a
single mode of operation unaccompanied or uninfluenced by any
other type of mental operation. The individual function as a unit—
thinking, feeling, striving, simultaneously making use of any being
influenced by a varieties of abilities and characteristics, both physical
and mental both learned and unlearned, which consititute his total
personality.
Now, in an earlier chapter we have discussed how the

personality of an individual develops form childhood to adulthod
and what are the chief influences which affect the growth of
personality. We have takes place. But it must be kept in mind that
from in fancy to old age, each individual inevitably experiences
frequent thwarting, failure and disappointments while seeking to
saisfy his needs, impulses and desires. These create conflicts in his
mind. An individual has many desires. Some of them are in harmony
with reality. Some are such as are incapable of being attained. Here
the individual is faced with the harmonization of them with reality.
If he is able to do so he gets well the adjusted to life situations. If he
fails to do so mental confilcts develop. Many individuals have a
desire to attain great wealth or to become extremely poplular or
famous but hardly a few of them attain these. Those of them who
take their failures realistically, become satisfied with what they have
attained and face the world squarely, can be said to be the well-
adjusted individuals, but those who are always brooding over their
failures or who adopt abnormal means to satisfy their desire for
power or wealth by becoming too arrogant or day-dreamers, etc,
are the persons who have a maladjusted personality.
All of us have several desires which are in conflict with each
other, either because the desired goals are themselves contradictory
or because all cannot be desired at the same time. A child may be
hungry at meal time, yet may wish to continue his outdoor play. A
student may desire to see a cinema show and to study for
examination at the same time. Similar other contradictory desires
to spend and to save, to take chances and to be secure, are
experienced by most of us.
The conflict situations which are faced squarely and in social
approved manner, reduce the emotional tension. Those situations
which are not met life this may be dealt with in two ways : (i)
Ineffective method—the individual may do anything, still the
conflict is not resolved and tensions not reduced and (ii)
understorable method—the individual reacts in such a manner that
he apparently resolves the conflict and at least temporarily reduces

the emotional tension, yet his behaviour may not be socially
acceptable.
The majority of individuals acquire more or less effective
techniques for dealing with most conflict situations, but there are a
small proportion of individuals who adopt as their characteristic
mode of response ineffective or definitely undersirable behaviour.
Those who fail to resolve the conflicts adequately are maladjusted
individuals. Physical factors, such as, glandular imbalance, chronic
disease or physical or mental handicaps are often responsible for
maladjustment and so also bad environmental influences affect very
adversely the individual’s personality. It is also to be noted that a
very large number of maladjustments are rather directly attributable
to unfortunate learning experiences.
The manifestation of personality maladjustment may occur in
the form of aggressive behaviour, withdrawing behaviour or nervous
habits, such as, bullying, stealing, truancy, disobedience, defiance,
intolerance, destructiveness and temper trantrums. Examples of
withdrawing behaviour are shyness, fearfulness, day-dreaming,
unsocialbility and secretiveness. Ties, nail-biting, fidgeting, thumb-
sucking and neurosis are varieties of nervous habits.
We cannot diagnose a serious personality maladjustment on
the observance of any single symptom. Our diagnosis has to be
based on a number of symptoms. In diagnosing personality
maladjustments we have also to remember that same symptoms
may have very different causes in various individuals or even in
the same individual at different times. If we find in an individuals
in an individual extremely aggressive or withdrawing behaviour
or large number of nervour habits then we will only take them as
the existence of maladjustment and not necessarily the cause of
these maladjustments. Another point in making a diagnosis of
maladjustment is to be very carefully noted. It is that the symptoms,
such as occasional day-dreams, rationalization, defences and over-
compensations, are common even in those individuals who are
quite normal. Only when these tendencies become exaggerated

and habitual, the individual’s mental equilibrium is seriously
threatened.
We have said that maladjustments are the results of the failiure
of an individual to adjust himself properly by the removal of
conflicts and the reduction of tensions. Let us now see the methods
which one individual adopts to resolve conflicts, reduce tensions
and be happily adjusted. We will also throw light on as to when
these methods faild to provide adjustment to the individual.
12.4. SUBLIMATION AND REPRESSION
PRIMITIVE DRIVE
A schematic illustration of rejected drive which defines
sublimation.
A schematic illustration of a drive and a counterpsychological
force which prevents the satisfaction of drive. The counter force
defines repression. Remain in the unconscious are; therefore
repressed. But if they disguise themselves suitably, they may escape
the vigilance of the censor and gain an entrence into the
preconscious. Thus, the Freudian unconscious is a part of mind
full of ideas that cannot be admitted to consciousness on their own
merits.
On the basis of the above theory, we can say that the repressed
desires, wishes, memories, etc. go to the unconscious and stay there.
As censor disallows them to enter into consciousness they change
their form and assuming an air of innocence reveal themselves in
abnormal behaviour. Thus, repression results in the maladjustment
of personality. Excessive repression results in many forms of
abnormal behaviour, some examples of which are given below :
(a) Incessant Washing of the Hands—Some people indulge
in incessant washing of the hands. They go on washing their hands
again and again and never consider them as clean. Probably, this
sort of washing is substitute for their repressed memories that would
bring with their coming to consciousness unbearable shame and

guilt. A classical example of this is found in Shakespeare’s Macbeth
in the character of Lady Macbeth.
(b) Dreams—The repressed wishes, etc. come in disguised
forms in our dreams. Various interpretations to the various forms
of symbolization in dreams are given by Freud, Jung, etc.
(c) Somnambulism—It is also a manifestation of repression.
It is a dream in action and is always a sign of mental conflict. In it
the repressed elements have their chance of determining experience
and action. Thus, a sleep-walker does all those things which he
will like to avoid in waking life. It is also on account of this that he
remembers nothing when he wakes up.
(d) Some Other Manifestations of Repression—are found in
little tricks and mannerism which cannot be justified by reason and
which are usually mere symbols for something else. Examples are :
(i) Stammering—In some cases, stammering occurs on
account of repressed fear.
(ii) Left-handedness—In some children, this may also be a
sign of hostility towards the father or may be an expression of the
child’s desire to be different.
(iii) Morbid Fear of open Spaces or Sharp Knives, etc. Some
individuals show an abnormal fear of closed spaces. Others will
hesitate to sleep in the open. Still other are fearful of some sharp-
edged knife or scissors, etc. Through psycho-analysis, the reason
for their fears has been found in their repression of some event or
happening which had been quite unpleasant to them during early
childhood or later in their life.
(iv) The Freudian school says that slips, accidents and
omissions do not really take place by chance, but are rather
manifestations of conflicts in the unconscious. Accidents frequently
happen when we are taking greatest care. It is repressed complex
which causes us to drop an article or make a blot on the paper on
account of the unconscious rebellion against the autocracy of the
teacher.
(v) Active Forgetting—We forget to write important letters

or forget dates, etc. The things we forget in this way are those of
which the remembrance would be unpleasant or would lead to
unpleasant feelings.
(vi) Unreasonable Zeal in Any One Direction—When an
individual shows an excessive and unreasonable zeal in any one
direction it may be on account of repression. Such zeal is a defence-
mechanism and reaction formation. For example, excessive prudery
may indicate a morbid, repressed interest in sexual matters.
(e) Value of Repression—The above manifestations of
repression clearly show how harmful this mode of adjustment is. It
is true that by repression, the individual may avoid painful conflict
and maintain his behaviour on a level which will be morally,
ethically or socially approved. But its disadvantages are too
overwhelming. The two important ones may be mentioned. They
are : (i) the individual’s problem may not really be solved and that
a partial solution may discourage him from seeking a satisfactory
final solution and (i) adverse personal or social reactions may be
formal which may make adequate adjustment in terms of normal
life goals much more difficult.
(f) Projection—“In the use of this mechanism, the individual
either attempts to place the blame for his own failure upon the
desirable, behaviour of another person or the latter’s unwillingness
to co-operate with him, or he tends to call attention to the
shortcomings of another in order to divert attention from his own
undesirable behaviour, motives or traits.”
In projection, an individual places the blame for his own
failures upon the shoulders of others or upon unfavourable factors
in his environment. To this extent it resembles rationalization. The
individual who is late in coming to college excuses himself by
saying that the bus was running slow or was late. The fact may be
that he inight have started late for the college from his home. A
player making a false stroke, projects his deficiency to something
wrong with the racket.
Projection is mechanism which helps the individual to achieve

a superficial peace of mind. In case the mechanism is not used
very much and does not lead to action on the projection, there is
little harm in it. If, however, it becomes a fixed habit and action is
based on it, it may do serious harm. It then results in personality
maladjustment and definite mental disorder.
(g) Reversal Formation : Reversal formation is the process
of developing in the personality conscious attitudes and interests
which are the opposite of certain partially repressed wishes or trends.
Its function is to aid repression in avoiding conflict. The example
of this can be found in a young mother who does not want to have
a baby but on the birth of one to her she becomes overcautious
about his health. Thus, the overcare of the child is the reversal of
her desire to see that she has no child or reversal of her hatred of
the child.
In the adjustment of an individual, reversal formation is of
value if it is not exaggerated but if an excessive use of it is made, it
is positively harmful.
12.5. ROLE OF TEACHER IN PROCESS OF ADJUSTMENT
(ROLE OF TEACHER IN MINIMISING MALADJUSTMENT
OF PUPILS)
Serious as well asgave cases of maladjustments require
systematic and prolonged treatment by the experts. Extremely
nervous and psythotic cases (children with diseases like
neurasthenia, hyteria Schizophrenia, paranoid, manic depression,
involutional melancholia) are not the responsibilityof teachers. But
it has been observed that in the case of majority of children the
maladjustment is mild and can be removed by showing human
sympathy and understanding. Cases of minor maladjustments like
irregular, negligent, disobedient, quarrelsome and truant children
can be successfully treated to a large extent by the teachers. For
this purpose we can take the following steps :
1. Observation of special problems—The teacher should
observe special problems of his children in the class, and give
special attention where it is called for. He should watch out for

early signs of maladjustment. He should look out for children who
are aggressive, anxious, lonely, lethargic, disobedient and truant.
The teacher can help to.prevent maladjustment deilling with the
problems of children as soon as they arise.
2. Good Relationship—The teacher should maintain good
relationship with the pupils. Authoritative attitude of the teacher is
not helpful for children’s adjustment. Autocractic, indifferent,
unsympathetic and unfair teacher becomes a source of fear, anxicty
and frusatration for children. Hence the teacher should combine
firmness with friendliness. Studies have shown that a teacher who
is friendly, helpful, cheerful, fair and tolerant is liked most by
children.
3. Building Morale—The teacher should help to build up the
morale of children. He should organise various activities for children
in a manner that most children gain a sense of achievement and
success, and build up confidence. The teacher should try to remove
possible causes of irritation associated with too much difficulty
level of the task, rigid discipline, or sense of neglect and
unwontedness.
4. Developing interests—The teacher should help children
to develop and acquire more objective interests and hobbits. He
should encourage their participation in various co-curricular
activities like games and social and cultural life of the school. He
should motivate them to express themselves in a creative way
through music, painting, poetry or any other form.
5. Planning the role of competition—The teacher should
carefully plan the role of competition in school life. Too much
competition spoils the mental health of the child. It causes much
stress and strain which many chirdren cannot face and are likely to
break down. They may suffer from tension and frustration. Some
of the children are slow in their work. They need to be given more
time and effort for their progress. If they are given their own time,
they do achieve satisfactorily.
6. Individual differences—To help the dull children it is

advisable to reduce the level of expectation for these children and
give them work better suited to their needs and abilities. A change
in the curriculum or reduction of courses will help them. To help
the gifted children special classes may be arranged. If it is not
possible we should enrich the curriculum and to provide the child
various opportunities for displaying his superiority and developing
his talent.
7. Contacting parents—If difficulties of the child persist, it
is desired to contact parents and seek their co-operation in improving
the behaviour of the child. If necessary, the teacher should enlighten
parents by increasing their understanding of educational and
psychological processes. This helps to build their faith in education
and their appreciation and sympathy for what the teachers arc trying
to do for the child.
8. Child guidance clinics—In the case of deep rooted
problems the teacher should refer such cases to child-guidance
clinics, which are manned by psychologists, psychiatrists, social
workers and such other specialists.The treatment requires collecting
information about the earlier and present back ground of the child,
nature of emotional and psychological problems and evaluation of
abilities, interests and other potentialities.
The Teacher’s Impact on pupil’s Personality—We are ending
this chapter with the assertion that the teacher’s impact on pupil’s
personality development is tremendous and so it is essential that
our schools should have mentally healthy teachers. Education is a
human process. In this process the most important influence is that
of the teacher.
In the studies by Flanders, Glidwell and others Lewin and
Schmuch and Van Egmond, along with many others it has been
clearly confirmed that the personality of tiie teacher is a powerful
factor in the learning habits and personality development of pupils.
Investigation by Roisenthal and Jacobson have indicated that even
the way teachers viewed elementary pupils in terms of expectancies

made measurable differences in the rate and direction of pupil
growth. Sliberman studied four teacher attitude-attachment, concern
indifference and rejection-he found that not only are children aware
of the teacher’s attitude towards them but their actions are coloured
by how they see teachers dealing with their peers.
In a study of thirty-years old persons who had been studied
as infants, children and adolescents, Mac Farlane found it surprising
that many of the thirty-year olds remembered all of their teaches
and many recalled teachers who were especially important to them
as the ones who simultaneously respected their feelings, excited
their interests and elicited a maximum performance from them. He
advises that with all the variety in the pupils the teachers should
have to reach all the pupils. If he cannot do this he should not take
up the teaching profession. In brief, we can say that teachers who
are competent and emotionally mature make the total school
atmosphere full of pleasurable learning experiences for the pupils.
On the other hand, the incompetent and maladjusted teacher spoils
the school atmosphere.
It is also necessary that the teachers develop a family like
atmosphere in the schools. In an article by Nicholas Kristof on
“Inside Japan’s Schools”, it was emphasized that the family like
relationship between teacher and students in Japanese schools have
resulted in much successful education of Japanese children. The
Japanese educational system creates a tight sense of family for
most students. Quoting an American teacher mathew Low, the
author writes in her words “I’ve never seen any system that is so
family oriented where teachers and students are together as one”.
Teacher Affectiveness—According to Eggen and Kauchak
(1994)1 “teacher effectiveness is defined as the set or teacher
behaviours that is associated with high (compared to less effective
teaching) student achievement.”
An effective teacher must possess essential teaching skills.

By essential teaching skills we mean the minimum levels of teaching
ability needed to promote student learning.
The essential teaching skills are identified as follows :
(i) Attitudes—The teachers must have positive attitudes towards
their students. For example, a positive attitude is that the teacher has
faith in that all students can learn and that it is the teacher’s
responsibility that he tries his best to ensure that all reach to their
maximum potential. Good (1983) used the term active teaching to
describe this position and the behaviours associated with it.
(ii) Organization—The teachers must be organized in their
work. Two types of organizations are considered important in
teaching-Managerial and Conceptual. “Managerial organization
includes the set of teacher behaviours that increases instructional
time and minimizes disruptions.”
“Conceptual organization results in ideas being presented to
students in a clear, logical fashion.”
(iii) Communication—There is a strong link between
communication and student achievement. Effective communication
also leads to student satisfaction and instruction.
(iv) Focus—The teachers must have the skill to focus on the
lesson being taught or on the task being performed.
Focus on the lesson attracts and holds students attention
throughout the learning activity.
(v) Feedback—It is considered as the “information about
current behaviour that can be used to improve future performance”
(Brophy and Good, (1986). It is a great help in improving learning.
Feedback enables the students to check the accuracy of their
background knowledge and create additional associations leading
to more meaningful learning.
(vi) Review and Closure—Review summarizes previous work
and prepares a lunch between what has been learned and what is
coming. It emphasises important points. It may be done at any
point during the learning activity.
Closure occurs at the end of a lesson. In it the topic is

summarized, structured and completed.
(vii) Questioning—The skill in questioning “can stimulate
thought, help students from relationships, reinforce basic skills,
promote success, involve shy or reticent student, recapture the
attention of someone who has drifted off, and enhance self-esteem.”
We do not have any data regarding the number of mentally
maladjusted teachers in Indian schools. However, it can be said
that their number may be sufficient.
When a teacher behaves very awkwardly in the class it is
definite that his mental health is under great stress.
The factors which have great influence on the mental health
of teachers are these : (i) inadequate salaries, (ii) no interest in
work, (iii) no security of tenure, (iv) autocratic management, (v)
autocratict-supervision, (vi) bad family conditions and (vii) too
many restrictions on their activities.
Proper counselling may help the teachers to overcome their
problems. The students perform much better if they are encouraged
towards the achievements of success being told that “they can
achieve it”.
The teacher effectiveness can be determined by finding out
whether he possesses essential skills of positives attitude,
organization in his behaviour, communication focussing on task in
hand, feedback, review, closure and questioning.
12.6. CAUSES OF MALADJUSTMENT
Maladjustment is a complex problem of human behaviour. It
is very difficult to find out the appropriate cause. Home, School
and Society play an important role in causing maladjustment among
the students. Freud, Adler Jung etc. described different factors for
maladjustment. Some of those factors are given below:
Causes of Maladjustment : There are many causes of maladjust-
ment. These can be categorized as :
a. Personal
b. Social
c. School factors.
A. Personal—
Physique—If a child is very weak, ugly and possesses sen-
sory handicap he may suffer from different types of handicap which
may cause maladjustment.
Poverty—Poverty is also an important factor which develops
maladjustment among children. The main cause behind it is that in
a poor home, the parents cannot fulfill the legitimate needs of heir
children. Frustration owing to the non-fulfillment of the needs ac-
tually lead to maladjustment behavior.
Personal Inadequacy—A nervous sense of inadequacy is a
cause for mal-adjustment. Suppose a student is not so brilliant, but
his parents are very ambitious and set high goals for them. This
may lead him to frustration and as a result he may develop prob-
lems of maladjustment.
Parental Attitude—If a child is rejected by their parents from
an early childhood the child may develop the feeling of insecurity,
helplessness and loneliness. Rejection and lack of affection may
lead to maladjustment behavior.
Emotional Shock—Children who experience emotional
shocks, such as death, accident, riots, flood etc may manifest signs
of maadjustment in their behavior.
Prolonged sickness and injury—Prolonged sickness may
cause maladjustment among children. Broken home : The
children who come from broken homes (broken by death of par-
ents, divorce and separation, physical or mental handicap) etc. may
lead to maladjustment among children.
Social Factors—
Religious Belief—In this era of modernization, adolescents
often get confused about the traditional religious beliefs for which
they do not find any rational basis and as a result suffer from a lack
of positive attitude and get frustrated.
Mobility of Parents: Children whose parents move from one place
to another very frequently face different types of problems. This
may lead to maladjustment on the part of the children who suffer
from a feeling of insecurity.
Employment insecurity—Uncertain about proper employ-

ment opportunities after getting higher degrees is another impor-
tant factor for causing maladjustment among the students.
B. School—
School conditions also play a vital role in the lack of adjust-
ment of children. Some of the factors in the connection are :
Inadequate curriculum—Our present curriculum is not meet-
ing the psychological, social as well as the physical needs of our
children at different stages. These rather create frustration in our
children as a result of which the children find themselves malad-
justed in their real life situations.
Lack of proper recreational facilities—Children who are
not getting scope for extra curricular activities like play, library,
debates discussion etc may suffer from maladjustment problem.
Improper classroom climate: If there is no good relationship be-
tween students and teacher, as well as among the peers, the stu-
dents may suffer from emotional problems, which in turn lead to
maladjustment.
Inadequate training of teacher’s for balancing the mental
health and hygiene—The teacher’s are not properly trained in Edu-
cational Psychology and mental hygiene; they face tremendous
problems in handling the children. They cannot properly deal with
the problems of their students. This result in the problems of mal-
adjustment for the students.
Maladjustment is the inability by individuals, family, groups,
community or society to be in sync with other individuals, family,
group, community or society on differences and conflict with socio-
political and economic reasons or ideologies.
The Maladjusted Person—Mental illness, emotional insta-
bility, mental disorders, emotional disorders, personality disorders,
behaviour disorders, psychological disorders-all these terms de-
note one and the same thing.
They are interchangeably used to describe what we call mal-
adjustment. They denote conditions of tension and nervousness
and the characteristic features of maladjustment and deviations in

feelings, acting and thinking. The more serious the disorder, the
more radical are the disturbances until a point is reached when the
individual becomes almost incapable of adjusting to life.
The Adjusted Person—Most people have to face frustrations
conflicts and such situations as may cause concern, anxiety and
nervousness at times. They are able to overcome their troubles and
adjust themselves to such situations. But there are people who can-
not overcome their troubles and cannot compromise with them.
They develop behaviour disorders in the form of exaggerated, per-
sistent reactions which tend to incapacitate them and distort their
feelings and behaviour. They are maladjusted persons. They cre-
ate another world in which they can live more comfortably and
with real life situations they are in gross disharmony.
Two distinct types of persons have been described above-the nor-
mal and the maladjusted. But it must be remembered that the dis-
tinction between the adjusted and the maladjusted is very subtle.
The line between the two is very thin, for no person is completely
adjusted. He is adjusted to a degree. A normal person may be emo-
tionally hyperactive at times and he may be so depressed that he
can hardly live with himself.
He may at times regress to childish behaviour and still be a
normal man. A well-adjusted person maintains a favourable orien-
tation towards reality. “His life is like a ship riding the waves. He
may be swayed this way or that by wind or weather but he always
returns to an even keel.
This even keel is his fundamental balance in life that enables
him to withstand the thousands of disturbing stimuli which assail
him and still keep his bearings and continue to move towards the
goals he has set for himself.”
The maladjusted child may either show nervousness or may
exhibit emotional over-reactions and deviations or may be emo-
tionally immature. His behaviour may be exhibitionistic or antiso-
cial. He may be suffering from psychosomatic disturbances.
Many of the symptoms which are being detailed below may

appear in normal children but whenever a combination of these
symptoms appears frequently and consistently we should suspect
maladjustment.
12.7. SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT
Social adjustment refers to getting along with the members of
the society in the best possible manner. It refers to the process of
coping with the standards and values of new places and people
that one comes across so as to maintain peace and harmony.
(1) Nature of Social Adjustment—
Social adjustment is a psychological process. An individual
comes across and exists in various organizations simultaneously.
For example, a student lives in a home, in school and in the society
simultaneously. Thus he has to meet the norms and demands of
each of these organizations so that he can be socially well adjusted
in each of them. However, it is not an easy process. This is because
each individual is unique. At times the values of an individual may
conflict with that of the social environment. In such a case, lot of
adjustments have to be made by the individual and he may even
face problems related to them. Thus social adjustment is a
complicated process.
(2) Perception and Social Adjustment—
Social adjustment is the process of adjustment with the people
whom we come across in our social environment. However, our
behaviour and adjustments with them are guided by our perception
or thinking about their personality, likes, dislikes etc. Thus to adjust
well with others we need to have proper knowledge and perception
about them. Our behaviour towards others is also influenced by
the presence of a third person.
(3) Impression Formation and Social Adjustment—
Impression formation is the process by which we convert facts
that we come across about others into more concrete thought in
our mind. This understanding of others helps us in adjusting with

them.
Other Processes in Social Adjustment
The various other processes used for social adjustment are :
(i) Stress and Adaptation—When we face a lot of challenges
from the external environment in the process of adapting to it, this
causes a lot of stress and anxiety. This in turn produces defence
responses like repression and at times aggression to deal with the
stress.
(ii) Social Influence—It is a process whereby intervention of
a person or a group of persons brings about a change in another
person. This intervention can range from mere presence to
commanding authority. Here the person who intervenes is called
‘agent’ and the one who is influenced is called ‘focal person (FC)’.
The phenomena that bring about change are called as ‘promoters
of social adjustment’. The above table talks about these five
concepts :
Social Facilitation—It refers to a situation where the changes
occur in the person due to presence of others who do a positive
evaluation of their work or performance. For example, a trained
musician's performance becomes better when he performs for an
audience who evaluate his performance positively.
Imitation—It involves changes brought about in an
individual's (FP) as a result of copying other's behaviour.
Compliance to Others—It refers to changes that the FP brings
in himself to adjust with the way of living of people around him.
The rules here are not explicitly laid down by the group members.
Conformity to Norms—It is a situation where a person
modifies his behaviour to follow the rules and norms of a group of
which he is a part. These rules are explicitly laid down after being
agreed upon by all the members of the group for smooth functioning
of the group.
Obedience—It refers to the FP changes his behaviour to

adhere to the commands of a person who hold a position of authority
or a higher rank in the hierarchy of an organization.
SOCIAL MATURITY
A person who knows what to do in life and strives to achieve
it is considered to be socially matured. To become socially mature,
a child needs to be in the company of people who are socially
mature who can become his role models.
The Nature of Social Maturity
Following are sonic of the factors that influence maturity of a
student:
Concept of Dependence-independence—A socially matured
student knows the situations where he needs to take independent
decisions and those where aid or help of others is required.
Self-control—When too many restrictions are imposed on
students they are bound to be rebellions. However mature student
exercises self-control and tries to meet the expectations of his adults.
Stress—Stress has become a part and parcel of our lives now-
a-days. Even students face a lot of stressful situations at school and
home. But to develop into mature individuals, they need to learn
how to cope with the stress using all their abilities.
Social Maturation—A socially mature person is aware of the
roles that he or she is expected to play in the society and play these
roles gracefully and to the best of their abilities.
Ability to size-up a Social Situation—A socially matured
individual is able to understand the social situation and modify his
behaviour to meet the needs of the situation.
Social Adjustment and Social Maturity
These two concepts are interrelated. Social adjustment depends
to some extent on social maturity. When a person is socially mature
he knows the expectations that the society has from him. He is able
to handle the adverse situations and cope with the stress and
anxieties arising out of them. All this helps in the process of social
adjustments or adjusting to the norms of the society and other social
organizations in which all individual exists.
12.8. SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AND
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
The two concepts ‘Social Adjustment’ and ‘Interpersonal
Relationship’ are inter-related. We know that social adjustment is
the process of adjusting with different kinds of people that we meet
in the society and other social organizations like school. However,
how well we adjust with these people depends on the kind of
relationship we share with them.
It has been observed that normally we share good interpersonal
relationship with people who are physically close to us or whom
we meet very often. This is because, we prefer to have pleasant
interactions with them. People with similar attitudes also share good
relationship. However the quality of relationship depends on the
behaviour of both the interacting parties. It has been further found
that we are socially well adjusted with people with whom we share
good interpersonal relations. On the other hand, poor relations lead
to problems in adjustments. Thus, we can say that perfect
adjustments are the outcome of the process if building good
interpersonal relations.
It is important to understand that in order to foster good
relations among members of a group, there should be equality in
status and credit given for a task to all members.
Adjustment in School
School and teacher play a very important role in a student’s
life. The primary role of school is to teach those skills to the student
that helps him in handling the real life problems and situations
successfully. This is done by teachers at school who play an
important role in shaping young children into matured and confident
individuals and ensure all round development of their students. It
is the responsibility of teachers to ensure that their students grow
up and become socially well adjusted and responsible individuals.
The following are the various school related factors which
affect the adjustment of student in school :
(i) Proper Training to Teachers—Teachers should be trained

in child psychology so as to ensure that they can help their students
in adjustment at school.
(ii) Adequate Curriculum—School curriculum should also
help in developing social skills in children which can facilitate better
adjustment.
(iii) Adequate Recreational Facilities—Recreational activities
like sports, drama, dance, holiday trips help in adjustment at school
because such activities capture the interest of students and
channelize their energy in positive way.
(iv) Classroom Climate—Classroom climate should be
affectionate and friendly and the relations among teacher-student
and Student-Student should be warm.
(v) Proper Relationship between Administration—There
should be good relations among principal, teachers, school
management and office staff so that the environment at school is
peaceful and harmonious.
(vi) Evaluation System at School—The evaluation system at
school should be objective and unbiased. Numerical marking should
be replaced by grades. Students should be promoted on the basis
of their strengths rather than failing them on the basis of this weak
area.
Besides the factors discussed above some other measures that
can help in adjustment of students at school are :
* Teacher’s attitude should be unbiased attitude irrespective
of the academic performance and socio-economic status of students.
* Student committees related to various areas like hygiene,
cleanliness, discipline etc. should be formed at school.
* Sex and moral education should be part of school curriculum.
* Guidance and counselling services should be provided to
maladjusted students by trained counsellors.
12.9. GROUP DYNAMICS AND TEACHER’S ROLE
Group Dynamics—It refers to the changes observed in an
individual’s behaviour as a result of his continuous interactions
with other members of a group of which he is, a part.
Processes and Group Dynamics

Group—We know that no human being can live in isolation.
Students at school also form groups on the basis of their likes,
dislikes etc. Thus a group can be defined as two or more persons
involved in continuous interaction with one another. A group is
normally formed on give and takes relationships. Students interact
in groups in class, play in group etc. Social interactions among the
members of the groups help in social and intellectual development
of the students.
Need to Study Group Dynamics—A teacher needs to study
the group dynamics and how students interact in a group. This is
because teacher deals with groups of students almost all the time in
school. His/her interaction with students on one-to-one basis is
limited.
The interactions among students in the group have a direct
impact on their social and emotional development which in turn
affects the learning process. Thus a teacher should try and improve
relations among groups to ensure proper mental health of its
members.
A sound knowledge of group dynamics facilitates the teacher in
providing guidance to a student who is not able to adjust in a group.
Knowledge of group dynamics of adolescents can be very
useful for the teachers. He/she can ensure that the relations among
the groups are healthy. Such groups can help in providing stability
to adolescents who are going through a turbulent phase in their life
and ensure proper social and intellectual development of
adolescents.
Group Relationship in the Class
The following are pattern of relationships among students in
class—
* Stars—Most popular are liked students
* Isolates—Most disliked students
* Mutual Pairs—Pairs of students who like each other.
* Chains—It is a chain of students where A likes B, B likes
C and so on.
At school, students interact in groups most of the time whether

in class or on the playground. Thus it is important for the teacher to
ensure that students in groups share good relationship with one
another. Teachers now-a-days have to act as facilitators and friends
than as authoritarians in order to promote learning.
The following steps taken by the teachers can help in group
formation and improve relationship among members of group :
Teacher's Behaviour—Teachers need to act as role models
for students. They need to be friendly and unbiased.
Discussion—Teacher should organise group discussion on
various issues related to school and students life. This helps in
healthy interactions among students and also improves the
classroom climate.
Effective Communication—Teacher should be approachable
so that students can share their problems with the teachers. Students
should be encouraged to share their emotions and clarify
misunderstandings to ensure cohesiveness among students.
Counselling—Counselling by experts who are called by
teachers to intervene in situations beyond teachers scope can help
in problem-solving and improve the group relations.
Tours and Visits—Group activities like tours, camping etc.
give the students an opportunity to know each other and thus
improve the group relations.
12.10. SUGESSTIONS FOR BETTER ADJUSTMENT OF
TEACHERS
The following programs will help to improve the mental health
of teachers :
1. Equitable work load—The present workload should be
reduced by appointing more teachers or by pooling divisions where
ever possible. Besides other duties should be divides equally among
all the members of the staff.
2. Security service—Rules and regulations should be modi-
fied to ensure the job security of the teachers. Necessary steps should
be adopted to make sure those teachers getting descent payments

from their institutions. This will enhance confidence level of the
teacher.
3. Ensure democratic school environment—Democratic op-
eration of the school, open channel for communication between
teachers and administrators, discussion rather than dictation of
policies, absence of casticism, favoritism and groupism team-spirit
and good will among teachers and by assigning equal responsibili-
ties to all. Improving teacher- teacher relations- inter-personal re-
lations among teachers should be improved by providing better
environment for developing team-spirit and good will among teach-
ers.
4. Opportunities for professional growth—Teachers should
be frequently equipped with in-service programs to refresh their
knowledge and modify their skills. It enables them to understand
the new teaching methods and strategies available.
5. Arranging, seminars, workshops and conferences—By
arranging, seminars, workshops and conferences teachers from dif-
ferent schools get mingled each one will get new experiences that
is shared by other one and it will help them in their profession.
12.11. IMPACT OF TEACHERS PERSONALITY AND
ADJUSTMENT ON CHILDREN
A teacher’s personality has a great bearing on the personality
development of the students. It is stated that books can teach, only
personality can educate. Various researches prove that emotional
stability of the teachers affects the learners. The impact of teacher’s
personality development and adjustment on the wholesome per-
sonality development and adjustment of the pupils is discussed
below :
Impact of teacher’s character and personality—Character
and the personality of the students cannot be developed if the
teacher who is the model to be followed lacks character and per-

sonality. Aim of education to mould the behaviour of the learner to
a preplanned well accepted manner. Such modification of behav-
ior can be found in ones healthy attitudes, good habits, standard
values etc. the development of ones healthy attitudes, good habits,
standard values etc depend up on the nature of experience one is
exposed to. In schools teachers personality remains vital experi-
ence for the students to examine and imitate. The effectiveness of
teachers in the personality development and character formation
depends up on teacher’s own personality and character. Through
continues identification and introjection’s child consciously acquires
and learns the habits attitudes, personality and character from the
teachers.
Impact of teacher’s adjustment—Teachers who are compe-
tent and emotionally mature make the total school atmosphere full
of learning experience for the students. On the other hand incom-
petent and maladjusted teachers spoil the school atmosphere. Un-
satisfied frustrated teachers cannot make students happy and well
adjusted in the school. Teacher should be mentally alert and stable
to develop alertness and stability in students. Teacher’s behaviour
will reflect the student’s behaviour.
Impact of teacher’s mental Health—A mentally health and
well adjusted teacher plays a vital role in promoting mental health
of students. Only if the teacher is free from worries, anxieties, and
tensions then only he can impart the function of promoting mental
heath and mental hygiene. Thus in order to develop sound mental
health in student’s teacher himself should pose sound mental health.
Impact of teacher’s Temperament—The general stability of
the teacher is of utmost importance in balance and controlled emo-
tional development of the students. Any slight mental imbalance
or temperamental instability of the teacher will reflected in the
student’s behaviour.
EXERCISE
1. Explain the adjustment. What is the criteria for good
Adjustment ?
2. What are the various types of Adjustment ?
3. Write the factors which affect the Adjustment.
4. What is the importance of a teacher in Social Adjustment ?
5. What is the nature of Social Adjustment?
6. Explain the suggestions of better Adjustment.
1. What do you mean by a Adjustment ?

2. Write the importance of school in Social Adjustment.
3. Write the causes of maladjustment.
4. What are the indirect methods of Personality Adjustments ?
5. What you mean by Social Maturity ?

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New Syllabus

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar

First Edition : Sept., 2016

It is matter of great pleasure for me while bringing

In this book, I have given different types of questions

I am thankful to S Samar Publication for his effort

Any suggestion for the improvement of book from

1 MEANING, NATURE, SCOPE

Psychology is the scientific study of mental functions and

the schools of Yoga, Samkhya, Vedant, Nyaya, Buddhism and

personal level for understanding complex components of behaviour.

According to Crow and Crow, ‘‘Psychology is the study of

autonomic nervous system the role of hormones and neurotrans-

rate, blood pressure, digestive system and hyperactivity of glands

1.4. VARIOUS BRANCHES AND FIELDS OF

(a) Child Psychology—It studies physical, motor, intellectual,

Hence pure psychology studies the various mental processes

and the learning process in different learning situation. Educational

1.5. MEANING AND DEFINITIONS OF EDUCATIONAL

In the same way Educational Psychologists, who is a techni-

3. Prof. E.D. Peel regards educational psychology as the

psychology of teaching and learning. Teaching and learning are

James published, in 1890, his book Principles of Psychology. The

human personality, its development and the processes of its

In the very beginning, the educational psychology as general

1.7. NATURE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

1. Educational Psychology is a science—(Science is a branch

various features of behaviour and laws governing them. It uses the

11. Academic discipline—G. Lester Anderson is of the view

(iv) Validity—Principles of educational psychology are valid

(i) ‘‘increasing ability for intelligent self-direction in the

(5) It helps the teacher in his realization that the social

1. The Learner—The subject-matter of educational psychol-

6. It studies Human Behaviour in educational situations. Psy-

new concepts, laws and principles of educational psychology may

6. Personality and Intelligence—Educational psychology

psychology to education. But this is a narrow concept. These are

scientific nature. Through a scientific study the facts come, but it

(1) The application of educational psychology can be made

THE LEARNING SITUATION

GAINS IN THE STUDY OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

1. It provide knowledge about the nature of the child.

The work of the teacher may also be compared to an artist

1. Acquainting with the knowledge and significance of

6. Helping to know nervous system—The entire education

9. Enabling the teacher to understand the significance of

14. Helping the teacher in guidance and counselling—

us the nature of learning theories and types of learning for different

simple terms, it can sound simplistic. A similar phenomenon takes

Descriptive Studies—These are studies collect detailed

made, often using videotape recordings, interviews and

Educational Psychology equips the teacher for understanding the

pupils learn and thus gives birth to the suitable methodology of

his knowledge of the needs, drives, fatigue and motivational aspects

problem children, the dynamics of the group, behavioural

further help them to have proper assessment of their learning

by the learners in a class-room situation, the facts and principle

development and progress. Knowledge of educational psychology

6. What the difference between Educational Psychology and