Chapter 6: Memory - Psychology Secondary Course PDF

MODULE - II Memory Basic Psychological Processes 6 Notes MEMORY If you are aske...

MODULE - II Memory Basic Psychological Processes 6 Notes MEMORY If you are asked to tell the name of your favourite actor, actress or singer, it won’t take more than a second to come out with the answer. In the same way we all remember our childhood friends, interesting incidents relating to them, our family members, relatives and so many other things. Have you ever wondered how we remember all these things, and do not forget them over long periods? All this is possible because of memory. The human memory has immense potential. You must be knowing that before the Vedas were scripted, the oral tradition existed which means that the immense wealth of knowledge was passed on from one generation to another by the oral tradition. This was totally dependent on our memory. Memory is crucial in our life because it helps building bridges in the flow of experiences and allows us to have a sense of continuity. In this lesson we will study about this dynamic system which we call memory. OBJECTIVES After studying this lesson, you will be able to: explain the nature of memory; differentiate between the stages of memory; describe forgetting; and list some strategies for enhancing memory. 6.1 MEMORY AND FORGETTING Psychologists consider memory and learning to be different processes, though both are closely related. While, learning refers to the acquisition of new behaviours through experience, memory refers to the process of storing the outcomes of learning in the form of information that can be retrieved when required. In this lesson you will learn 54 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE  Memory MODULE - II Basic Psychological about memory and forgetting. You can very easily understand the significance of Processes memory by visualizing a situation about a person who has lost his memory. He will lose his identity and cannot connect various experiences, events, and people. Such a person will lead a miserable life. This happens in brain damaged people or in old age when people develop some kind of memory loss, as in Alzheimer’s disease. Memory refers to the set of processes involved in storing information. This specific Notes process is termed as retention. Memory can be defined as a perceptually active mental system that receives, encodes, modifies, and retrieves information. We can not directly observe the process of memory. It can be studied indirectly by measuring retention. Three basic methods of measuring retention are : Recall, Recognition, and Relearning. Let us briefly discuss these methods. Measuring Retention: Recognition, Recall and Relearning When you are not able to remember someone’s name but you know that you have seen his/her face before, this is the process of recognition. In this process you are checking the stimulus (face) with your memory content to find a match. In the same manner when one tries to remember a name without a face in front, it is called recall. Recall is a process of using a general stimulus and finding the information about it from memory. When you are given a question in an exam you use the process of recall. When you answer multiple choice items, you are asked to match the information with the provided pieces of information. You have to identify and match it with the information which is already stored in your memory. Recognition is easier than recall. Relearning is the method of learning the material another time. It usually takes less time than original learning. 6.2 STAGES OF MEMORY Psychologists have discovered that memory is not a single or unitary system. It has more than one distinct system. In other words, there are more than one type of memory. According to the most acceptable model of memory, there are three major systems of memory : Sensory Memory; Short-Term Memory (STM), and Long-Term Memory (LTM). Information moves successively through these three systems if attention is given to the material. If attention (focused awareness) is not given, information does not move further into the system. Rehearsal loop Sensory Sensory STM LTM input memory (first stage) (Second stage) Rehearsal loop Forget Forget Fig. 6.1: Stages of Memory PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 55 MODULE - II Memory Basic Psychological Processes Sensory Memory : Hold any object about 12 inches in front of you. Look at it steadily for a while. Close your eyes and notice how long the clear image of that object lasts. A clear visual image of any object will last in sensory memory for about half a second after the stimulus is removed. Sensory memory holds representations of sensory input for very brief periods of time, depending upon the modality involved. There are different sensory registers for each of the senses. Notes Short-Term Memory (STM) : Look up for a moment and note what attracts your visual attention. Try to identify the sounds and sensations that you are experiencing now. What have you identified is the content of short-term memory or STM. It holds relatively small amounts of information for brief periods of time, usually 30 seconds or less. This is the memory system we use when we look up the phone number and dial it. If we are connected on the first instance the telephone number is forgotten. However, if we get the line engaged for some time, we keep on dialing the number and through repeated dialing rehearsal of the telephone number we push it to the long-term memory (LTM) storage. However, it has been found that short-term storage is more than a passive “holding area” (e.g. holding a telephone number). On the contrary, it involves active processing of information. This finding has led psychologists to use the term working memory. It means that something active goes on during the short-term memory. Attempt Activity 1 to understand the working of STM. Activity 1 Working of Short Term Memory (STM) Read out aloud the following sequence of numbers to a friend and ask him/her to immediately write in the order the numbers that were spoken out aloud. After each set read the next set of numbers and so on. Note that the series begins with three digits and increases by one digit each time. 4 2 8 1 4 6 3 5 7 4 9 2 6 0 8 1 3 5 1 8 4 7 9 2 6 3 5 0 1 7 4 2 9 2 7 3 9 6 8 1 4 5 How many digits can your friend recall? Probably, your friend will recall up to 7 (± 2) digits. STM has a limited capacity to hold information. In general it holds about 5 to 9 units (the “magic number” 7 ± 2) of information at one go. If the number of units goes higher, new information displaces or writes over the existing units. Thus in the example given earlier it is easy to remember a telephone number consisting of 7 to 9 56 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE  Memory MODULE - II Basic Psychological digits. If more information is added we lose at least part of the phone number. Processes However, this limitation in capacity can be effectively expanded by a process known as chunking i.e. several units of meaningful information are packed into one chunk. For example the number 194720021941 (12 digits) can easily he remembered if the 12 digits are chunked into three units 1947, 2002, 1941, all referring to calendar years. Long – Term Memory (LTM) : It refers to the memory system for the retention of Notes large amounts of information for long periods of time. It is the memory system that permits us to remember events that happened many years ago, yesterday, last year, and so on. It is the long-term memory that allows us to remember factual information making it possible for us to learn different subjects, appear for examinations and communicate with others. It brings continuity and meaning to our life. When we pay attention to a piece of information and engage in active rehearsal the material is stored in the long-term memory (LTM). Information in the sensory memory enters short-term memory when it becomes the focus of our attention. If we do not pay attention to the incoming sensory information, the material fades and quickly disappears. We tend to pay attention to certain information and not to the other. Paying attention to certain aspects of our world is what we call. “selective attention”. The information from STM is often rehearsed by us. This rehearsal helps the transfer of that information from STM to LTM. Activity 2 How Long Term Memory (LTM) works. Ask the same friend, without looking at the written digits, to recall the four-digit number (1462). Even if you were to prompt your friend by saying that the number starts with ‘1’, it is highly doubtful that your friend will be able to recall even these four - digits. Do you know as to why this happens? Because there was no rehearsal and therefore the four-digit number was not stored in the LTM. Table 6.1: Nature of three systems of memory Characteristics Sensory Memory Short-term Memory Long-term Memory Duration Iconic about ½ sec 20 seconds Life time Echoic about 2 sec Capacity Large 7±2 Unlimited Forgetting Trace decay Decay, interference Interference, Decay and displacement Lack of Cues Encoding Sensory (visual) Phonological or Semantic and (auditory) visual-semantic sensory Retrieval Parallel search Serial exhaustive Parallel distributed search search PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 57 MODULE - II Memory Basic Psychological Processes INTEXT QUESTIONS 6.1 1. What is recall? _______________________________________________________________ Notes 2. List the different stages of memory. _______________________________________________________________ 6.3 TYPES OF MEMORY In recent years psychologists have conceptualized memory into four types as given below: Semantic : This deals with knowledge, meaning and generalized experiences. What ever we remember from books and information about world events and meanings of words are included in it. Episodic : It refers to the experiences which are personal to an individual. You do so many things in a day. They are your unique experiences. Memory of such experiences is accessible by you only. They are part of your episodic memory. Procedural : This deals with memory for actions or ways of doing certain things or performing certain activities. Meta Memory : It is memory for your memory. We not only remember things but also remember that we can remember. People may be good or poor in understanding their own memories. 6.4 FORGETTING It is a common experience that sometimes we are unable to remember information that we need at a particular time. We find that on some occasions this lets us down as we are unable to remember the information that we require desperately. During examinations we are unable to remember or retrieve what we had learned. This is what we call forgetting. Why does this occur? Many explanations have been offered to explain this kind of loss. Let us briefly consider some theories to explain the causes of forgetting. (i) Decay : Some psychologists think that it is due to gradual fading of memory traces or decay that happens with lapse of time. This does not explain why certain memories fade forever while others seem to be well preserved. Passing of time cannot, therefore, be considered as the main cause of forgetting. You can see that in Table 6.1 58 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE  Memory MODULE - II Basic Psychological (ii) Interference : A more useful explanation is found in the view called interference Processes theory. It argues that memories are lost because of what happens to them during the period when we retain them. Thus inhibition or interference by subsequently learned material becomes the major cause of forgetting. There are two types of such interference – Retroactive interference and Proactive interference. Retroactive interference (acting back wards) occurs, when the current information interferes with what has been retained earlier. For example, you learn Punjabi Notes language on Monday and Bengali on Tuesday. During a Punjabi test taken on Wednesday interference is expected from the learning of Bengali words. Forgetting may also occur due to (acting forwards) proactive interference. This is a situation in which earlier information in the memory interferes with the current information. Suppose you have been driving a scooter with gears. Now, you have a new scooter which has no gears (automatic drive). You will tend to change the gears in the new scooter and this habit can persist for long. Proactive interference thus explains one’s inability to acquire new knowledge or habit because of the powerful interference from old habits. (iii) Level of Processing : While learning some material we may attend to it in detail and process at a deeper level or neglect it and attend at a surface level. This may be a cause of forgetting. Activity 3 Effect of Delay and Interference on STM. Ask a friend to remember a sequence of three consonant letters, such as, FJQ, while counting backwards from a given number, such as 462. After the three consonant letters have been said and your friend has counted backwards for about 15-20 seconds, ask him/her to recall the three consonant letters, that is, FJQ. Does your friend will find it difficult because the counting task prevents him/her from rehearsing the letters and allows the memory trace to decay. Now give more three consonant letters (WCT, QRB) and ask the friend to count backwards (743, 947). You are likely to note that now your friend has greater difficulty in remembering the letters! Yes, this is due to proactive inhibition. 6.5 STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING MEMORY How good is your memory? We all would like to improve our memories so that we can retain more facts and information. This is possible with little effort and almost anyone can improve his or her memory. Here are some tips to enhance one’s memory. 1. Deep Processing : If you want to learn something and wish to enter information into long-term memory, you have to think about it. You need to consider its meaning and examine its relationship to information you already have. Careful planning, considering the meaning of information, and relating it to existing knowledge is helpful in learning it and remembering it later. The retention of material is dependent directly upon the depth at which it has been processed. Deeper level in terms of meaning is very important. Second, the depth of PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 59 MODULE - II Memory Basic Psychological Processes processing also refers to the rehearsal of material to be remembered. Greater the rehearsal, more the chances of recalling the material later. 2. Attending carefully : If you want to learn something well and ensure its retention in long-term memory you have to put in conscious effort to attend to it carefully. 3. Minimize interference : You have learned that interference is a major cause of forgetting and you should try to reduce it as much as possible. In general, the Notes more similar the materials to be learned, the more likely they will produce interference. Thus, you should arrange your studies so that you don’t study similar subjects one right after the other. For example, if you have to study two languages, study them on different days. 4. Distributed practice : While learning some material it is beneficial to learn it using distributed practice in which there is a gap between trials. Take rest after a period of study. If the chapter is lengthy, divide it into two or three parts and learn a part in one go. After mastering one part then go to the second and so on. Do not try to cram all the information you want to memorize at once. 5. Using memory aids : People use various cues, indicators and signs to connect events. This often facilitates remembering. You can use visual imagery to remember objects and places. For example, if you visit a new place, you can remember the location by remembering several associated objects and places. You may remember the place to be close to a cinema hall, in front of a signal post and so on. 6. Shorthand codes : You can develop your own shorthand codes to memorize long list of items. You can use the first letter of each word or item and construct a unique “word”. For example, to remember the seven constituents of light we use VIBGYOR; where V stands for Violet, I for Indigo, B for Blue, G for Green, Y for Yellow, O for Orange and R for Red. During the school days. We used to forget the order of Mughal emperors in history subject. We developed a shorthand code : BHAJSA” where B stands for Babar, H for Humayun, A for Akbar, J for Jahangir, S for Shahjahan and A for Aurangzeb. It helped remembering the names in order. You can use the tips in Figure 6.2 to help you memorize your course material Fig. 6.2: Tips to memorize course material 60 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE  Memory MODULE - II Basic Psychological 6.6 REPRESSION : FORGETTING PAINFUL EVENTS Processes The events and experiences that are threatening or painful are eliminated from our consciousness. This is called repression. Freud believed that the repressed memories are pushed into hidden recesses of the unconscious mind. Such repressed memories may cause many psychological problems for the individual. Amnesia refers to a loss of memory due to illness, injury, drug abuse or other causes. Notes INTEXT QUESTIONS 6.2 1. Make a list of the major types of memory. _______________________________________________________________ 2. State any two causes of forgetting. _______________________________________________________________ WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT Memory refers to the set of processes involved in storing information and the specific process is termed as retention. Three basic methods of measuring retention are : Recall, Recognition, and Relearning. Sensory memory holds representations of sensory input for brief periods of time, depending upon the modality involved. Short – term memory or STM holds relatively small amounts of information for brief periods of time, usually 30 seconds or less. Long – Term Memory is a memory system for the retention of large amount of information for long periods of time. Forgetting is loss of memory or failure to recall. It is caused by several factors including decay, level of processing and depression. Memory can be enhanced with the help of mnemonic stragegies TERMINAL QUESTIONS 1. Describe briefly the three stage model of memory. PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 61 MODULE - II Memory Basic Psychological Processes 2. Describe the properties of short term memory. 3. List the main causes of forgetting. ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS Notes 6.1 1. Recall is a process of using a general stimulus and finding the information that is in the memory. 2. Sensory memory, short term memory, long term memory 6.2 1. Semantic, Episodic, Procedural and Meta memory. 2. Decay, Interference, Level of processing Hints for Terminal Questions 1. Refer to section 6.2 2. Refer to section 6.2 3. Refer to section 6.4 62 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Thinking and Problem Solving MODULE - II Basic Psychological Processes 7 Notes THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING Have you ever thought about how you have acquired knowledge about all that you know today? It may instantly come to your mind that your teachers have taught you about this, your parents made you learn all these things, or you read about all these in books. In all these situations you have learnt something to build your knowledge base. Thus the process of knowing or of acquiring knowledge is called cognition. The process of acquiring knowledge is facilitated by cognitive processes such as attention, thinking, remembering, and reasoning. These cognitive processes are controlled and regulated by higher center of the brain, the cerebral cortex. The cognitive processes are very much specific to human beings and are guided by concepts, facts, propositions, rules, and memories. All these cognitive activities are governed by thinking. Hence, in this chapter you will learn about what is thinking, stages of problem solving, stages of creative thinking, and processes involved in making decisions. OBJECTIVES After studying this lesson, you will be able to: understand the nature of thinking; describe various stages of problem solving; explain creativity and its role in life; and explain the process of decision making. 7.1 THE NATURE OF THINKING Thinking is perhaps one aspect of our mental activity which continues even when we are asleep. The difference between what is thinking and what is not thinking is just our awareness about the particular thinking process. Hence thinking is a complex mental process which involves manipulation of information. Such information is PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 63 MODULE - II Thinking and Problem Solving Basic Psychological Processes collected through our senses (such as vision, hearing, smelling etc) from the environment, as well as the information which is stored in our memory because of our encounter with many events and situations in the past. Thinking is a constructive process in the sense that it helps us to form a new representation of any object or event by transforming available information. It involves a number of mental activities, such as inferring, abstracting, reasoning, imagining, judging, problem solving, and Notes creative thinking. Such activities take place in our mind and can be inferred from our behaviours. Thinking is usually initiated by a problem and goes through a sequence of steps such as judging, abstracting, inferring, reasoning, imagining, and remembering. These steps are often directed towards solution of the problem. The example given below will help you to understand this in a better way. In order to reach your new school on time suppose you are trying to find out the shortest route from your home to your new school. Your choice will be guided by many factors such as condition of the road, the density of traffic during your school time, safety while walking on the road etc. Finally you take a decision about the best possible shortest route after considering all these factors. Thus, a simple problem like this also requires thinking. The solution to this problem emerges after processing information that is available to us from the environment and our past experience. Thinking relies on a variety of mental structures such as concepts and reasoning. We will briefly learn about these mental structures. Concepts: Concepts are one of the key elements of thinking. Concepts represent objects, activities, ideas, or living organisms. They also represent properties (such as “sour” or “brave”), abstractions (such as “anger” or “fear”), and relations (such as “smaller than” or “more intelligent than”). Concepts are mental structures which allow us to organize knowledge in systematic ways. We cannot observe them directly, but we can infer them from behaviour. We as human beings have the capacity to abstract the essential characteristics of objects, events or whatever we perceive. For example, when we see a Potato we categorize it as ‘vegetable’, and when we see a towel we categorize it as ‘cloth’. Whenever we encounter a new stimulus we tend to treat it as a member of a familiar or remembered category and take the same action toward it and give it the same label. Reasoning: Reasoning is also one of the key aspects of thinking. It is a process that involves inference. Reasoning is used in logical thinking and problem solving. It is goal directed, and the conclusions or judgments are drawn from a set of facts. In reasoning, information from the environment and the stored information in the mind are used following certain rules. There are two types of reasoning: deductive and inductive. In deductive reasoning we try to deduce or draw conclusion from a set of initial assertions or premises; where as in inductive reasoning we start from available evidence to generate a conclusion about the likelihood of something. Most cases of scientific reasoning are inductive in nature. Scientists and even lay people consider a number of instances and try to determine what general rule covers them all. For 64 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Thinking and Problem Solving MODULE - II Basic Psychological example, the person is a priest, because he is wearing plain cloth, prays and eats Processes simple food. INTEXT QUESTIONS 7.1 Notes 1. What is thinking? _______________________________________________________________ 2. What are the different mental components of thinking? _______________________________________________________________ 7.2 PROBLEM SOLVING Problem solving is part and parcel of our daily life. Every day we solve a number of problems ranging from simple to complex. Some problems take little time where as some take much time to solve. We look for alternative solutions if do not get the right kind of resources to solve the problem in hand. In the case of solving any type of problem our thinking becomes directed and focused and we try to use all the resources, both internal (mind) and external (support and help of others) to arrive at the right and appropriate decision. For example if you want to score good marks in an exam, you study hard, take the help of teachers, friends, and parents and finally you score good marks. Thus problem solving is directed thinking focused towards dealing with a specific problem. This thinking has three elements: the problem, the goal, and the steps to reach the goal. There are two methods which are used prominently in problem solving. These are- “Means-end-analysis” and “Algorithms”. In the case of Means-end-analysis a specific step-by-step procedure is followed for solving certain types of problems. In the case of ‘heuristics’ the individual is free to go for any kind of possible rules or ideas to reach the solution. It is also called rule of thumb. Problem Solving and Mental Set: Sometimes we use a particular strategy/technique to solve a problem but we may or may not succeed in our effort to solve the problem. This creates a set to approach future problems that are incountered by a person. The set continues even if the problem is different. Despite this, we use the same strategy/ technique when ever we come across the same problem and again fail to reach the solution. Such phenomenon in problem solving is called mental set. A mental set is a tendency on the part of an individual to respond to a new problem in the same manner that he or she has used earlier to solve a problem. Previous success with a particular rule produces a kind of mental rigidity/fixedness/set, which hinders the process of generating new ideas to solve a new problem. A mental set inhibits or affects the quality of our mental activities. However, in solving our real life problems we often rely on past learning and experience with similar or related problems. PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 65 MODULE - II Thinking and Problem Solving Basic Psychological Processes In Activity 1 You may not be able to solve the problem, because of the mental set that one has to keep the lines within the grid of nine dots. By going outside the boundaries, you will succeed. Notes INTEXT QUESTIONS 7.2 1. Define problem solving. Discuss the two types of problem solving. _______________________________________________________________ 2. Discuss the role of mental set in problem solving. _______________________________________________________________ 7.3 CREATIVITY AND ITS ROLE IN LIFE Do you know whatever you see around you, the things which you use for work in everyday life, the transport you use for commuting from one place to another etc are all the products of human thinking? Creativity is a particular kind of thinking which involves reaching out to the solution of a problem in a unique and novel way which was nonexistent earlier. Creativity is the mother of all inventions and discoveries in the world. Unlike routine solutions to the problems, creative solutions are novel, original, and unique, that others have not thought of before. The creative solutions or productions are sudden or spontaneous and are the outcome of a lot of work and preparation already done consciously and unconsciously. The sudden appearance of new ideas is called insight. The creative thinker can be any more such as an artist, musician, writer, scientist or sports person. Stages of Creative Thinking: Graham Wallas , one of the leading psychologists of early twentieth century stated that there are five stages of creative thinking. These are Preparation, incubation, illumination, evaluation, and revision. We briefly discuss these five steps of creative thinking in the subsequent section. 1. Preparation: This is the first stage in which the thinker formulates the problem and collects facts and materials necessary for the solution. He/she finds that the problem cannot be solved after days, weeks, or months of concentrated effort. Unable to solve the problem the thinker deliberately or involuntarily turns away from the problem, initiating stage two i.e. incubation. At this stage of problem solving, it is important to overcome negative consequences of mental set and any kind of mental set or bias. 2. Incubation: This is a stage of no solution and involves a number of emotional and cognitive complexities. However, the negative effects of mental set, functional fixedness, and other ideas that interfere with the solution tend to fade. Perhaps, fatigue and too much of concern with the problem also mount up during this 66 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Thinking and Problem Solving MODULE - II Basic Psychological period. Further, the unconscious thought processes involved in creative thinking Processes are at work during this stage. 3. Illumination: In this stage a potential solution to the problem seems to be realized as if from nowhere. It is about having the insight about the possible solution. Illumination occurs with its “aha” experience when a sudden idea or solution appears into consciousness. Notes 4. Evaluation: In this stage the obtained solution is verified or tested to see if it works. Frequently, the insight may turn out to be unsatisfactory, and may need some modification in the strategy of approaching the problem. 5. Revision: Revision is required in the case a solution which is not satisfactory. It has been found that creative people are generally talented (e.g. artists, musicians, mathematicians etc.), and have specific abilities. Creative people have been found to have some specific personality characteristics such as they are independent in their judgments, self-assertive, dominant, impulsive, prefer complexity, etc. INTEXT QUESTIONS 7.3 1. What is creativity? What are the possible characteristics of a creative person? _______________________________________________________________ 2. Discuss in brief the stages of creative thinking. _______________________________________________________________ 7.4 DECISION MAKING We make several decisions in our day-to-day life, such as decisions pertaining to our personal life, social life, education, career etc. When we take a decision which gives us success where as our faulty decisions do not yield the desired result. Decision making is also related with another term ‘judgment’. Let us discuss these two aspects of thinking separately. Decision Making: Decision- making is a kind of problem solving in which we select an appropriate alternative out of a number of alternatives available to us. For example, you have the option to choose between History and Psychology courses in your eleventh grade. You attend classes in both the subjects to decide upon the course to choose. Suppose you find that the contents of psychology are relevant, interesting and new and the teacher is intelligent, friendly, knowledgeable, and having good verbal ability; all qualities that you value in a teacher. So, on the basis of judgment about the subject and qualities of the teacher you decide to choose the psychology course. PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 67 MODULE - II Thinking and Problem Solving Basic Psychological Processes Judgment: Judgment is a process of forming opinions, arriving at conclusions, and making critical evaluations about objects, events and people on the basis of available information. The process of judgment is often automatic and spontaneous. It does not require any prompting. Some judgmental choices are habitual like need for going for a morning walk before getting ready. Judgments involve evaluating information about the world (objects, events, persons, etc.), while decisions require making Notes choices. INTEXT QUESTIONS 7.4 1. What is the difference between decision making and judgment? Discuss in brief. _______________________________________________________________ WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT The process of knowing or acquiring knowledge is called cognition. The process of acquiring knowledge is facilitated by processes such as attention, thinking, remembering, and reasoning. These cognitive processes are controlled and regulated by higher center of the brain, the cerebral cortex. Thinking is a complex mental process which involves manipulation of information. Such information is collect through our senses (such as vision, hearing, smelling etc) from the environment, or is based on information which is stored in our memory because of our encounter with many events and situations in the past. Thinking is a constructive process in the sense that it helps us to form a new representation of any object or event by transforming available information. It involves a number of mental activities, such as inferring, abstracting, reasoning, imagining, judging, problem solving, and creative thinking. Concepts are one of the key elements of thinking. Concepts are mental structures which allow us to organize knowledge in systematic ways. We cannot observe them directly, but we can infer them from behaviour. Reasoning is another key aspects of thinking. It is a process that involves inference. Reasoning is used in logical thinking and problem solving. It is goal directed, and the conclusions or judgments are drawn from a set of facts. There are two types of reasoning: deductive and inductive. In deductive reasoning we try to deduce or draw conclusion from a set of initial assertions or premises; where as in inductive reasoning we start from available evidence to generate a conclusion about the likelihood of something. 68 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Thinking and Problem Solving MODULE - II Basic Psychological Problem solving is directed thinking focused towards dealing with a specific Processes problem. It has three elements: the problem, the goal, and the steps to reach the goal. A mental set is a tendency on the part of an individual to respond to a new problem in the same manner that he or she has used earlier to solve a problem. Previous success with a particular rule produces a kind of mental rigidity/ fixedness/set, which hinders the process of generating new ideas to solve a new Notes problem. Creativity is a particular kind of thinking which involves reaching out to the solution of a problem in a unique and novel way which was nonexistent earlier. Creativity is the mother of all inventions and discoveries in the world. Creative solutions are novel, original, and unique that others have not thought of before. There are five stages of creative thinking. These are Preparation, incubation, illumination, evaluation, and revision. Decision- making is a kind of problem solving in which we select an appropriate alternative out of a number of alternatives available to us. Judgment is a process of forming opinions, arriving at conclusion, and making critical evaluations about objects, events and people on the basis of available information. TERMINAL QUESTIONS 1. Give any 2 examples each for (a) Concepts (b) Reasoning (c) Problem solving. 2. Identify any 5 creative persons who are famous in India. 3. Explain the concept of decision-making and its importance in daily life. ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS 7.1 1. Complex mental process involving manipulation of information. 2. Concepts and reasoning 7.2 1. Directed thinking focussed towards dealing with a specific problem Means-and - analysis and Algorithms 2. Mental set inhibits the quality of mental activities. 7.3 1. Thinking which involves reaching out to solutions in a uniqe and novel way PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 69 MODULE - II Thinking and Problem Solving Basic Psychological which was nonexistent earlier. Creative persons can be self-assestive, dominant, Processes impulsive, may prefer complexity etc. 2. Preparation, incubation, illumination, evaluation revision. 7.4 1. Decision making is a kind of problem solving. Judgement is a process of forming Notes opinions, arriving at conclusions and making critical evaluations. Hints for Terminal Questions 1. Refer to section 7.1 & 7.2 2. Refer to section 7.3 3. Refer to section 7.4 70 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Motivation and Emotion MODULE - II Basic Psychological Processes 8 Notes MOTIVATION AND EMOTION Have you noticed how each one of us is busy in one or the other activities? We try our best to achieve certain goals; and, if some difficulty comes in the way we feel frustrated. These statements show that our daily life is influenced by our needs such as hunger, thirst, achievement, affiliation etc. Not only that, we also feel happy, sad, angry or violent. The former aspects refer to motivation and the latter refer to different types of emotions. This lesson explains the relevance of motivation and emotions in human life. Motivation helps in answering the question: why do people seek to do certain things?. This helps us understand why people differ in terms of their behaviour. Emotions play an equally important role in everything we do, affecting our relationships with others and health. Both concepts are important because they help us understand the reasons for the various activities we indulge in and help determine the unique personality of each person. OBJECTIVES After studying this lesson, you will be able to: define the concepts of motives and needs; understand goal directed behaviour; describe the different aspects of emotions; and explain the role of emotions in organizing behaviour. 8.1 NATURE OF MOTIVATION Have you wondered as to – ‘Why does your father/mother go to work everyday?’ ‘Why do you study for long hours?’ ‘Why do you like to play with your friends?’ or ‘Why does your mother stay up the whole night and care for you when you are feeling unwell?’ Each of these questions has an answer as there is a reason or motive behind each PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 71 MODULE - II Motivation and Emotion Basic Psychological Processes type of activity mentioned. Working, studying, playing and caring are some important activities which are considered purposeful. Motives, wants, needs, interests and desires help explain our movement towards the chosen goals. A need or motive directs us to act or behave in a particular way towards a certain goal. Thus you study for long hours to achieve good results and your mother looks after you because of the affection and concern she has for you as her child. Notes A. The Concept of Motivation Motivation plays an important role in directing human behaviour. There are several characteristics of motivation. First, it pushes us to reach the goals we have set for ourselves. In order to reach our goals we need to be aroused or feel active. Too little arousal will make us feel dull and relaxed, whereas, too much arousal may make us withdraw from our goal. Hence we must be motivated to maintain a balanced or optimum level of arousal. Second, people are motivated to behave in certain ways because of the pleasing and pleasant properties of external stimuli, such as, money, good grades, food, which motivate the person to act in a purposeful/focussed manner. Third, motivation is the result of the person’s thoughts and expectations. It can be of two types: intrinsic motivation that comes from within the person, based on personal enjoyment of any task, and extrinsic motivation which is based on external rewards such as money, pay and grades. You will find that sometimes we work hard and produce high quality work when motivation is intrinsic rather than extrinsic. On the other hand, we are also influenced by the external rewards. In life, both types of motivation are important. Finally, motivational needs are ordered such that basic needs such as hunger and thirst are satisfied first and then other higher-needs, such as need for achievement and power are fulfilled. Let us now learn about the hierarchy of needs. B. The Hierarchy of Needs According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, there are several levels of needs that each person must strive to meet before he or she can achieve the highest level of personal fulfilment. Thus, a person must be able to fulfil the primary (biological) needs at the lowest level, as indicated in Figure 1. Once these needs are met then safety becomes important, followed by need to belong and to love and be loved. The desire to belong to groups such as family, friends, and religious groups makes us feel loved and accepted by others. If we succeed in satisfying the mentioned needs then we feel the need to have self esteem, confidence, and feeling of self- worth. Next come cognitive needs which include need for knowledge and understanding, followed by need for order and beauty. Finally a person moves towards reaching the full potential called self-actualization. Such a person has the qualities of self awareness, is socially responsive, and is open to the challenges of life. This type of organization of needs is called a hierarchy, or ranking in a series. 72 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Motivation and Emotion MODULE - II Basic Psychological Processes Notes Figure 8.1: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs As life goes on people gain wisdom and knowledge of how to handle situations, thus they move up the ladder or hierarchy. A person may move up and down the hierarchy depending upon the situation he or she finds himself in. This hierarchy may not hold true for different cultures. It has been found that in countries like Sweden and Norway quality of life is very important and social needs are more sought after than self-actualization. In some cultures security needs are more dominant than self-actualization making job security more important than job satisfaction. C. Primary Needs ‘Need’ refers to a lack of something that is necessary for us. We feel hungry when our blood sugar level is low, thus we need to eat food to satisfy our hunger. Motives or needs are characterized in terms of primary and secondary needs or motives. Important primary needs are biological needs such as hunger, thirst, oxygen, rest, sleep, temperature regulation, warmth, shelter, excretion, and sex. These needs have to be satisfied for us to stay alive. Needs such as hunger and sleep are cyclical in nature or are repetitive. Thus we need to eat and sleep regularly. Attempt Activity 1 to understand the effects of not eating or sleeping for a long time. PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 73 MODULE - II Motivation and Emotion Basic Psychological Processes Activity 1 Primary Needs a) Effect of lack of sleep on performance. Try to keep awake for a long period of time, for example for about 16 hours. Now list your experience on two aspects: i) how long you take to learn a lesson and ii) your feelings at this Notes point of time. b) Effect of not eating for a long period of time. Try not to eat for a long period, for example, 8 hours. List your experience in terms of how you feel. Rate your feelings on a five point scale in terms of: i) extent of low feeling, ii) level of irritation and annoyance. Also try to concentrate on reading a new lesson. Are you able to read the lesson? If not, why is this so? The starting point of many biological needs is an imbalance in the physiological conditions of our body. Our body tries to maintain a state of balance called homeostasis. This balance is crucial. There must be enough water content in our body, body temperature must not be high or too low, glucose levels must be adequate and so on. Without maintaining this balance we would not be able to function properly in our daily life activities. Can you recall when you or a family member suffered from high fever and had to rest in bed for a few days? A state of balance must be maintained within our body to carry out our daily activities. Why do we eat or feel hungry? There are several factors involved in the hunger need. Stomach contractions or ‘hunger pangs’ indicate that the stomach is empty and low levels of glucose and protein in the blood make us hungry. In addition, the smell, taste or appearance of food may lead to a desire to eat. When you reach home the smell of your favourite dish makes you feel hungry! Many factors work together to make us feel hungry. It is interesting that you can go hungry for long periods but not without water. We feel thirsty because we lose water content due to perspiration, breathing and urination. Influence of Culture and Environment on Primary Needs Do you know that our biological needs, such as hunger, are influenced by environmental factors? Often we are likely to feel hungry because of a number of reasons rather than due to low glucose levels in the blood. Environmental factors that have an effect on hunger and eating are: Learned liking and habits, for example, a person who enjoys having pizza will want to eat it even if not hungry. Stress can lead to eating, for example, examination stress makes some students eat more than is required. External cues, such as when it is dinner time or your mother calls out for dinner you are likely to feel hungry. The smell and attractive appearance of food may also make you feel hungry. 74 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Motivation and Emotion MODULE - II Basic Psychological Dietary restraints, if the doctor has advised a patient to avoid sweet foods there Processes may be an increased desire to eat sweets. D. Secondary Needs Secondary needs lead to psychological or social motives. They are called social motives because they are learned in social groups, particularly the family. As children grow up and interact with others they acquire certain needs which can be fulfilled in Notes a group setting. For example, achievement motivation is acquired by children through their parents, role models and socio-cultural influences. Some common social motives are: Achievement: To strive for success and excellence, carry out difficult tasks. Affiliation: To seek and enjoy the company of others, to make friends. Power: To strive for impact on others, to influence, control and persuade others. Nurturance: To help and take care of others such as children, elderly or sick persons. Aggression: To fight, forcefully overcome opposition, to hurt and ridicule. Exploration: To seek a variety of stimulation, to explore novel things. The type and strength of social motives differ from person to person. For example, you may have high needs for achievement and affiliation, whereas your friend could have a moderate need for achievement and a low need for affiliation. Or, you could have a high need for affiliation and your friend a high need for exploration. Mother Teresa’s concern for the poor, sick and helpless made her open the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. It provides food for the needy and runs schools, hospitals, orphanages, youth counselling centres, and, homes for lepers and the dying. Mother Teresa’s work has touched the lives of thousands of people. Her concern for others makes her high on need for nurturance. Do read the poem written by Mother Teresa as shown on www.youtube.com. Nelson Mandela dedicated himself to the struggle of African people and was imprisoned for 27 years before he achieved freedom for his people. In fact he did not want personal freedom but fought for the setting free of common people. He was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s way of thinking. For him it is important to live in peace and harmony and have equal opportunities for all people. Nelson Mandela was able to achieve difficult goals and his commitment helped him accomplish his purpose in life. Watch the video on www.youtube.com ‘Making Poverty History – Nelson Mandela’ and ‘First Nelson Mandela Interview’ PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 75 MODULE - II Motivation and Emotion Basic Psychological Processes We can also classify needs into three basic types: existence needs that include all primary needs that are essential for survival; relatedness needs include safety, belongingness, esteem and other social relationships needs; and, growth needs include those aspects that help people to develop their full potential. It is important to understand that biological and psychological needs do not work in isolation. They influence each other and determine human behaviour. Notes INTEXT QUESTIONS 8.1 1. Explain the concept of motivation. _______________________________________________________________ 2. Differentiate between primary and secondary motives. _______________________________________________________________ 3. Describe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. _______________________________________________________________ 4. Discuss the role of culture and environment in our needs and motives. _______________________________________________________________ Quiz 1 1. The process by which a person moves towards fulfilment of wants is called: a. need b. incentive c. motivation d. goal 2. Secondary needs are acquired through a. biological needsb. social interaction c. intrinsic procession d. innate needs 3. According to Maslow the most basic needs are: a. safety b. cognitive c. love d. biological 4. Reema gets Rs. 20 for every good grade she obtains in school. Reema is receiving: a. intrinsic motivation b. extrinsic motivation c. primary need d. growth need 5. Ashok has a high need for …………….. because he likes to study and investigate new things. a. love b. nurturance c. exploration d. achievement 76 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Motivation and Emotion MODULE - II Basic Psychological 8.2 NATURE OF EMOTIONS Processes Each one of us has experienced strong feelings that are associated with pleasant or negative experiences. Examples of emotion are feeling happy when enjoying a movie, or getting embarrassed when we break a neighbour’s beautiful vase, or sadness after an argument with our best friend. Emotions influence our everyday behaviour. Notes A. Functions of Emotions Emotions play several important functions in our lives. Emotions prepare us for action: When you see a person with a gun coming towards you, the emotion of fear and the accompanying bodily changes will help you run away from the situation. Emotions help arrange our activities and future behaviour in some order: Emotions help us to gather information and increase our chances of making the right response in the future. When a person threatens us we will try to avoid meeting that person out of fear. Positive emotions can act as reinforcement such as, wanting to repeat an action which brought us praise and joy. Emotions help us interact effectively with others: When we show our emotions other people watching them may come to be familiar with our way of behaving and know how we are likely to act again in the future. Similarly, others’emotional expressions help us understand how to behave with them. Activity 2 In column A are some situations which we all go through. In column B are emotions we might experience in these situations. Try and match column A to column B. A B (i) You had fight with your best friend (i) Surprise, excitement (ii) You are about to go for an interview / exam (ii) Fear, nervousness (iii) You and your family are going for a picnic (iii)Sorrow, sadness (iv) You are about to receive the results of (iv)Disgust an exam that you do not think you did well on. (v) You have received an unexpected gift (v) Scared, nervousness (vi) You see a man chewing pan/tobacco and (vi)Excitement, happiness spitting on the road PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 77 MODULE - II Motivation and Emotion Basic Psychological Processes Notes Fig. 8.2: Emotional Expressions B. Components of Emotions Emotion has three basic components or parts: 1. Physiological changes: when a person feels an emotion certain changes take place in our body such as increase in heart rate, blood pressure, pupil size is increased, perspiration takes place, breathing is faster and the mouth may become dry. Think about the last time when you went to the examination centre to write your exam or when you were angry at your younger brother. You may have experienced these bodily changes. 2. Behavioural changes and emotional expression refer to the outward and noticeable signs of what a person is feeling. These include facial expressions, bodily postures, and gestures with the hand, running away, smiling, frowning, and slumping in a chair. The six primary emotions in facial expressions are: fear, anger, sadness, surprise, disgust and happiness. This means that these emotions are easily recognized in people from all over the world. 3. Emotional Feelings: Emotion also includes the personal/individual feeling. We can label the emotion felt as: happy, sad, angry, disgusted and so on. Labelling 78 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Motivation and Emotion MODULE - II Basic Psychological of a feeling is shaped by past experiences and the culture one belongs to. On Processes seeing a person with a stick in his/her hand we may run away or prepare ourselves to fight, whereas, if a well known singer is in your neighbourhood you will go to the place to hear him sing your favourite songs. Cognition or understanding of the situation is the most important part of emotional experiences. Some psychologists feel that we think and then feel, Notes while others believe that our emotional reactions are so fast that thinking about the situation does not arise. Attempt Activity 3 to check which explanation is correct according to you? Human emotions involve so many things, past experience, culture, individual differences therefore at times we may first act and then think about it, whereas in other situations we can first think before reacting. Activity 3 Emotion and Thinking Think and answer: when you suddenly see a dog snarling near by do you first run away or do you first think ‘What should I do?’ and then decide to run? Make a list of other situations where you are likely to first react and other situations where you are likely to first think and assess the situation and then you will respond. Most of the times we feel a mixture of emotions. For example, when a person wins a lottery she may show the emotions of shock, disbelief, surprise and joy. We are also familiar with each other’s feelings and know what it means to him or her. Hence you know when your friend is happy to receive a gift and sad when you have had an argument with her. However your experience of emotions of joy and fear is different from your friend’s. Going for a walk may provide you with pleasure whereas for your friend a hug from her mother gives the feeling of pleasure. The meaning a feeling has for you or your friend is influenced by past experiences and memories. Activity 4 There are many ways by which we describe our feelings. Prepare a list of the various emotions people feel. Make your own list of emotions. Also ask your family members and friends. You will realize that the list is very long for human emotions have a wide range. C. Emotions and Culture Do people in all cultures express their emotions similarly? Yes, research indicates that the six basic emotions are expressed universally. Therefore, Indians, Americans, Germans or Japanese express joy and fear in the same basic way. Each primary emotion is associated with a unique set of facial and muscular movements. PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 79 MODULE - II Motivation and Emotion Basic Psychological Processes Yet you must understand that the behaviour of people from various countries is different from your behaviour. Japanese tend to show very little emotional display as compared to Italians. Why does this difference in display exist if there are basic universal emotions? The answer is that as we grow up we come into contact with family members and others. The social experiences lead to the development of display rules which are approved way of showing of emotions. These rules are learnt during Notes childhood and this learning becomes noticeable in the expression of emotions. Can you recall any instance when you have received a gift that you do not like? Have you not thanked profusely with a smile ‘pasted on your face’? This is known as ‘making of emotion’. Interestingly there may have been instances when you have been able to note the difference between a made up smile and a true smile. INTEXT QUESTIONS 8.2 1. State the functions of emotions in our lives. _______________________________________________________________ 2. With the help of examples identify the components of emotions. _______________________________________________________________ 3. State how display rules are influenced by culture. _______________________________________________________________ Quiz 2 State whether the following statements are true or false: 1. Emotions prepare us for action. T/F 2. When a person feels an emotion no bodily changes take place. T/F 3. Emotional expression is only shown through facial expressions. T/F 4. Labelling of emotions is influenced by past experience and the culture one belongs to. T/F 5. Display rules are approved ways that are noticeable in the expression of emotion. T/F 8.3 ROLE OF EMOTION AND MOTIVATION IN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR Can you imagine a situation when you are about to appear for an important examination or are going to receive a prize for securing the first position in class and you do not feel anything? Or, you are walking alone down a dark street at midnight and someone is following you and again you are not feeling anything? Absence of not being motivated to do something and absence of feelings is likely to make us act in a robotic fashion. 80 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Motivation and Emotion MODULE - II Basic Psychological We have tried to understand motivation and emotions as two distinct concepts. In Processes real life both are closely related and connected and separating the two concepts is a difficult task. In this unit you have learned that along with motivation we also feel our experiences. In the examples provided above the act of studying long hours and the experience of success provides you with a sense of achievement and happiness. The emotional feelings of love and affection your parents have towards you also motivate them to care for you. The death of a loved one brings on the emotion of Notes sadness whereas we experience anger at being treated unfairly. Emotions not only motivate us, they also indicate the reason for motivation. They play an important role in our lives. Hence your motivation is also accompanied by emotions. Any situation that brings about a strong emotion is likely to motivate you to either repeat it or to avoid it. Thus both motivation and emotion are forces that push us towards action. Primary needs like hunger, thirst and sleep and secondary needs like achievement, power or approval are accompanied by emotional reactions of satisfaction, joy and pride. It can be said that: Both motivation and emotion move, activate and help control and plan human behaviour. The feeling part of emotion has a motivational component. It helps us to get what we want and to avoid what we do not want in life. Emotions can serve as motives. For example, a frightened child may cry out for help and seek comfort and security from a loved one, such as, a mother or father. WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT Motivation is a want or need that helps us move towards our goal. It moves us to act or behave in a particular way. Motives and needs are characterized in terms of primary motives (biological) and secondary (psychological) motives. Primary needs are due physiological imbalance while secondary needs are influenced by social experiences of the individual. According to the hierarchy model, biological needs must be fulfilled before psychological needs. Emotions play three important functions: prepare us for action, organize our behaviour and future, and, interact effectively with others. Emotions have three interrelated components: physiological changes, behavioural and emotional expression and subjective feelings. Basic emotions and their expressions are universal in nature yet culture provides guidelines towards how and when to show emotions. PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 81 MODULE - II Motivation and Emotion Basic Psychological Processes Motivation and emotion together activate and organize our life. Motivation leads to emotional experience and this further motivates (reinforces) a person to act. TERMINAL QUESTIONS Notes 1. Write three examples of motivated action. Now identify the important characteristics of motivation. 2. Identify the important components of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Which motives are satisfied first? Provide reasons as to why this is so. 3. With suitable examples describe the role of motivation and emotion in organizing our behaviour. Activities/Exercises 1. Interview a person who has achieved prominence in his or her field. For example, the president of a company, a sports person, a dancer or a physically challenged person. Ask the person about his/her life – starting from childhood to the current position, incidents that influenced them, the various challenges and how they were overcome. Prepare a case study. 2. Collect a number of magazines, and newspapers. Cut photographs which show different facial expressions. Make a collage of these photographs to understand the different emotions in human life. 3. Interview a dancer or theatre person. Ask the person about different emotional expressions and how they are used to communicate specific emotions. Try to note how the body posture, gestures, and facial expressions communicate emotions. ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS 8.1 Refer to Section 8.1 Quiz 1 1. c 2. b 3. d 4. b 5. c 8.2 Refer to Section 8.2 82 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Motivation and Emotion MODULE - II Basic Psychological Quiz 2 Processes 1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T Notes 5. T Hints for Terminal Questions 1. Refer to section 8.1 2. Refer to section 81 3. Refer to section 8.3 Web Sites The following websites will help you to further understand motivation and emotions. 1. http://thesituationist.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/emotions.jpg Types of emotions: (a) In this site robots have been used to depict different types of emotions. Study in detail how each part of the face (forehead, eyebrows, size of eye pupil, etc.) (b) https://sfari.org/image/image_gallery?img_id=136061&t =1241787803666 Whereas in this site humans have been used to show six different emotions. Can you identify them? (c) http://www.scribd.com/doc/12910868/Paul-Ekman-Emotions-Revealed- Recognizing-Faces-and-Feelings-to-Improve-Communication-and-Emotional- Life This E-book by Paul Ekman has a number of photographs which you can observe to understand different types and display of emotions. On page 236 in the appendix there is a test ‘Reading Faces’ consisting of 14 photographs that you can attempt. At the end of the e-book answers with explanations are also provided. PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 83 MODULE - III Nature and Determinants of Development Human Development Notes 9 NATURE AND DETERMINANTS OF DEVELOPMENT One of the most important features of all living beings is change. The changes are most striking when we see the transition in human life spanning from conception to death. The journey from an unborn baby to an adult and then on to an old person is very fascinating. Even a casual observation of the human lives around you will make it clear that several changes happen each day in our bodies and psychological functioning. Some changes are noticeable while some can not be immediately or clearly observed. Some of these changes are determined more by hereditary or genetic factors, while some depend more on environmental and cultural factors. Different cultures hold different goals for development and use different strategies to bring up children. In order to help individuals develop in the best way possible, it is important to understand the nature and process of development throughout the life-span. OBJECTIVES After studying this lesson, you will be able to: describe the nature of development and distinguish it from other related concepts; describe the important domains and stages of human development; identify major genetic and environmental influences on human development; and learn about the effects of environmental factors on pre-natal as well as post- natal development. 9.1 NATURE OF DEVELOPMENT In this section, we will try to understand what is meant by the term “development”, distinguish it from other related concepts, and identify its main characteristics. 84 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Nature and Determinants of Development MODULE - III Human Development A. The Concept of “Development” The term “development” is generally used to refer to the dynamic process by which an individual grows and changes throughout its life-span. It is often thought of as the process of qualitative change taking place from conception to death. In this way Notes development is a broad term and deals with all areas including physical, motor, cognitive, physiological, social, emotional and personality. It should be noted that developments in all these areas are inter-related. For example, a 13 year-old girl undergoes physical and biological changes in her body and such changes are in turn related to her mental, social and emotional development. Life begins at conception when mother’s ovum fertilized by the father’s sperm and a new organism is created. From that point till death an individual keeps on changing. Such changes are not random but orderly and generally follow a pattern. It may be noted that the developmental changes are not always incremental or evolutionary. They may also involve a decline in the functioning called “involution”. A child loses milk teeth in the process of development while an old person may show decay in memory and physical functioning. Development, therefore, is best viewed as a gain-loss relationship in which newer and different kinds of changes take place. Older behavior patterns may lose their salience while new ones may emerge. Development is shaped by the joint influences of both nature and nurture in a cultural context. Nature refers to the hereditary contribution a child receives from parents at the time of conception. Genetics determines several aspects of a person’s physical structure and functioning as well as some psychological characteristics to a certain extent. Nurture refers to the influences of the complex physical and social ecology in which we develop and grow. Various aspects of the child’s ecology (e.g. physical facilities, social institutions and rituals, and school) influence the developmental outcomes in important ways. B. Key Developmental Concepts The term “development” is often used interchangeably with “growth” and “maturation”, but these terms need to be carefully distinguished. “Growth” generally refers to the quantitative additions or changes in the organic structure. For instance as we become older, the body size, height, weight, proportion of parts of our body change in measurable ways. Also, the vocabulary increases. “Development” on the other hand, is a broader term which often includes growth, but is used more to refer to functional and qualitative changes in cognitive ability, perceptual ability, personality and emotional development and so on. “Maturation” is a term that refers to the natural unfolding of changes with increasing age, e.g. hormonal changes as the individual reaches puberty. An example of this PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 85 MODULE - III Nature and Determinants of Development Human Development can be seen in breast development which is influenced by release of estrogen when a girl reaches adolescence. Maturation refers to the changes which are primarily biological in nature and occur due to our genetic programme. Our biological structure follows a predetermined course of changes with time. This can be seen in the development of teeth during childhood. Changes in body proportions with age provide Notes an example of such predetermined universal trends. The size of the head is roughly half of the whole body at birth, but the proportion keeps decreasing until adulthood, when it is less than one-fourth of the whole body. Therefore, maturational changes in our body are primarily due to the ageing process rather than learning or other factors such as illness or injury. It must be noted that changes in behavior also occur due to “learning”. Learning takes place as a result of a person’s interaction with the environment. Maturation provides the raw material and sets the stage for learning to occur. Taking the case of learning to read, the child needs to be biologically ready. The eyes need to develop proper focusing ability before a child can learn to read. Therefore, maturation and learning jointly bring about changes in a person’s behaviour. “Evolution” is a term that refers to species-specific changes. Evolutionary changes happen very gradually and are passed on from one generation to the other so that the species is better equipped for survival. The evolution from apes to human beings took place over a period of about 14 million years. Changes that occur at the level of species are called phylogenetic and those that occur at the level of individual are called ontogenetic. The term evolution is also used to describe the incremental changes that take place in the course of development. C. Characteristics of Development We can now summarize the characteristic features of development to help us distinguish it from other kinds of changes. Development is a life-long process, spanning from conception till death. Developmental changes are often systematic, progressive and orderly. They usually follow a pattern, proceeding from general to specific, and from simple to complex and integrated levels of functioning. Development is multi-directional, i.e. some areas may show a sharp increase while other areas may show a decline. Developmental changes usually involve an increase in maturity towards higher levels of functioning, e.g. increase in vocabulary’s size and complexity. But it may also involve a decrease or loss, such as in bone density or memory in old age. Moreover the rate of growth and development is not always constant. ‘Plateaus’ are often seen in the pattern of development, indicating periods of no apparent improvement. 86 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Nature and Determinants of Development MODULE - III Human Development Developmental changes can be quantitative, e.g. increase in height with age, or qualitative, e.g. formation of moral values. Development is both continuous as well as discontinuous process. Some changes may occur very rapidly and be overtly visible, such as appearance of the first tooth, while some changes may not be sharp enough to be observed easily in Notes day-to-day functioning, such as understanding of grammar. Developmental changes are relatively stable. The temporary changes due to weather, fatigue or other chance factors will not qualify as development. Developmental changes are multi-dimensional and inter-related. They may happen together in many areas at a time, or can occur one at a time. During adolescence there are rapid changes in the body as well as in emotional, social and cognitive functioning. Development is highly plastic or flexible. This means that the same person may suddenly show greater improvement in a particular area than expected from the past rate of development. An enriched environment can produce unexpected changes in the physical strength, or in memory and intelligence levels. Development is contextual. It is influenced by historical, environmental and socio-cultural factors. The loss of a parent, an accident, a war, an earthquake and child-rearing customs are examples of factors which may influence development. There are considerable individual differences in the rate or tempo of developmental changes. These differences could be due to hereditary factors or environmental influences. Some children can be very precocious for their age, while some children show developmental delays. For example, though an average child begins to speak 3 word sentences around 3 years of age, there will be some children who have mastered this much before 2 years, while there will be some who are not able to speak full sentences even by 4 years. Moreover, there will be some children who are not able to speak even beyond the upper limit of the range. INTEXT QUESTIONS 9.1 1. Write True/False against each statement: a. Development refers to both quantitative and qualitative changes. T/F b. Development follows a constant rate. T/F c. The study of development does not cover old age. T/F d. A person may show increase in some aspects and show decline in other aspects at the same time T/F e. Enrichment of the environment can produce dramatic changes. T/F PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE 87 MODULE - III Nature and Determinants of Development Human Development 2. Write short answers to the following questions: a. Explain the concept of development. _______________________________________________________________ b. State any 3 major characteristics of human development. Notes _______________________________________________________________ 9.2 DOMAINS OF DEVELOPMENT As we have noted development is an inclusive term that incorporates changes in several areas. These areas or domains deal with 3 broad categories: 1. Physical and motor development: It refers to changes in body-size and structure, functioning of various body systems, brain development, perceptual and motor development. 2. Cognitive development: It refers to the development of cognitive and intellectual processes, including memory, attention, intelligence , academic knowledge, problem solving, imagination and creativity. It also includes development of language. 3. Socio-emotional development: It refers to how we develop relationships with other people, and how our emotions emerge and change as we grow older. It includes emotional communication and self-control, understanding of self and others, interpersonal skills, personality, and emergence of friendship and moral reasoning. Physical Domain Socio- emotional Cognitive Domain Domain Fig. 9.1: Inter-relatedness of the domains of development These domains or areas are inter-related and combine in a holistic manner to make a person’s developmental pattern unique. Each domain influences and is influenced by others. As a baby develops physically, several motor skills are acquired. As the 88 PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE Nature and Determinants of Development MODULE - III Human Development baby becomes capable of grasping, reaching, sitting, crawling, standing and walking, he/she is able to better explore the environment, resulting in further cognitive development. Improved thinking and understanding helps formation of better social relations as well as emotional expression and comprehension. On the whole, each domain helps the child move towards enriched experiences, learning and overall development. Notes INTEXT QUESTIONS 9.2 1. Fill in the blanks in the following statements: a. Improvement in memory and language indicates development in the —— ——domain. b. Interpersonal relationships fall in the ___________ domain. c. Changes in size and structure of the body fall in the _______domain of development. d. ___________ broad domains of development can be categorized for the sake of convenience. 9.3 STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT Even though development is a continuous process, some theorists believe that various stages can be identified for the sake of locating major shifts and determining the developmental tasks. This helps in monitoring the pace of developmental changes. It must be pointed out that there is no sharp dividing line between them. Each stage has certain characteristic features and prepares the ground for the next stage. Some theorists have suggested stages in specific areas of development. For instance Piaget who identified stages of cognitive development and Freud who suggested stages of psycho-sexual development. These theories are explained in other lessons. A. Developmental Stages: A Life Span Perspective Most psychologists identify the following stages of development: Prenatal period (from conception to birth) : In this period, the single-celled organism changes into a human baby within the womb. Infancy and toddlerhood (birth-2 years): Rapid changes in the body and brain help several sensory, motor, social and cognitive capacities to emerge. Early childhood: (2-6 years): Motor skills are refined, language develops, ties are formed with peers, and the child learns through play. PSYCHOLOGY SECONDARY COURSE