Sensory, Attentional & Perceptual Processes PDF

Sensory, Attentional & Perceptual Processes Main Highlights Sensation, Perception and Attention, Chapter 5 for Psychology Class 11 addresses three main processes that determine the way we gain knowledge of things happening around the world. The initial expe...

Sensory, Attentional & Perceptual Processes Main Highlights Sensation, Perception and Attention, Chapter 5 for Psychology Class 11 addresses three main processes that determine the way we gain knowledge of things happening around the world. The initial experience of a stimulus or an object registered by our sense organs is called sensation. In the process of attention, we select a certain stimulus from a given set of stimuli. Perception is defined as the process by which we interpret the stimuli in our environment and give proper meaning to them. Functional Limitations Of Sense Organs In order to get noticed by a sensory receptor, a stimulus has to be of an optimal intensity or magnitude. The relationship between stimuli and the sensations they evoke is profoundly studied under a discipline called Psychophysics. In order to get noticed a stimulus has to carry a minimum value or weight. The minimum value of a stimulus required to activate a given sensory system is termed Absolute Threshold or Absolute Limen(AL). The smallest difference in the value of two stimuli that is necessary to notice them as different is called Difference Threshold or Difference Limen(DL). Attentional Processes In the process of attention, we select a certain stimulus from a given set of stimuli. For example, when we enter a mall, we come across so many people, showrooms, and cafes but we pay attention to the place where we want to go. There are 3 properties of attention described as follows- o Alertness refers to the activeness and readiness of an individual to deal with the stimuli that appear before him/her. o Concentration refers to focusing awareness on certain Stimuli while excluding others for the moment. o In Search, an observer searches for some specified subset of stimuli among a given set of stimuli. Attention has a focus where our maximum awareness is catered as well as a fringe where we are least aware of the stimuli.  o When our awareness is centred on a particular object or event, it is called a focal point of attention. o When we have vague ideas about the stimulus and it is away from the centre of awareness, it is called a fringe of attention. Filter Theory Here are some theories of attention explained in Chapter 5 for Psychology Class 11: It was given by Broadbent (1956). As per this theory, many stimuli enter our receptors which creates a kind of “bottleneck” situation. Moving through the short-term memory system, they enter the selective filter which allows only one stimulus to pass through for higher levels of attention. Filter Attenuation Theory It was developed by Triesman (1962) and it was considered as a modification of Broadbent’s theory. As per this theory, the stimuli not getting access to the selective filter at a given moment of time are not completely blocked, instead, they are just attenuated (weakened) in strength. Multimode Theory It was developed by Johnston and Heinz in 1978. According to the multimode theory, attention is a flexible system that allows the selection of a stimulus over others at three stages At stage one sensory representations are constructed, at stage two semantic representations are constructed and in stage three both of them enter our consciousness. Two Types of Attention & Factors Affecting it YouTube: Course Hero In this section, we will explain the two types of attention: Sustained and Selective and factors affecting it as explained in the Chapter 5 for Psychology Class 11: Sustained Attention While selection of Stimuli focuses on selection of stimuli whereas on the other hand,sustained attention lays emphasis on.It is defined as the ability to maintain attention on an object or event for longer durations Factors Affecting Sustained Attention Sensory Modality: Performance is found to be superior when the stimuli are auditory than when they are visual Clarity of Stimuli: Intense and long-lasting stimuli facilitate sustained attention and thus, leading to better performance Temporal Uncertainty: Stimuli can be attended better if they appear at regular intervals as in such cases it is easier to keep a track of it. Spatial Uncertainty: Stimuli that appear at a fixed place are readily attended whereas those at random places are difficult to attend. Selective Attention It is concerned mainly with the selection of a limited number of stimuli or objects from a larger number of stimuli Our perceptual system has a limited capacity to receive and process information. Factors Affecting Selective Attention External factors: It deals with the features of stimuli. Other things held constant, the size, intensity and motion of stimuli appear to be significant determinants of attention. Novel stimuli easily catch our attention. Internal factors lie within the individual and are elaborated as follows: o Motivational factors which relate to our biological or social needs o Cognitive factors include factors like interest, attitude and preparatory set and interesting objects are easily attended by the individuals. Class 11: Perceptual Processes Perception is defined as the process by which we interpret the stimuli in our environment and give proper meaning to them. Two processing approaches are elucidated as follows- o The idea that the process of recognition begins from the parts, which serve as the basis for recognition of the whole is termed as Bottom-Up Processing. o The idea that the recognition process begins from the whole, which leads to the identification of its various components is termed Top-Down Processing. Human beings are creative and smart in nature who always attempt to give substantial meaning to the stimuli in their environment.  Factors that play an important role in the perception process are described as follows- o Motivation- The needs and desires of a perceiver strongly influence his/her perception and people always aim to satisfy their needs and wants and for that people perceive objects in such a way that it will satisfy their needs and desires. o Expectations– The expectations about what we might perceive in a given situation also have a strong impact on our perception and it reflects a strong tendency to see what we expect to see even when the results are not in sync with the external reality. o Cognitive Styles- It is defined as the consistent way of dealing with our environment and it crucially affects the way we perceive our environment. o Cultural Background And Experiences- Different experiences and learning opportunities available to people available in different cultural settings also has a strong impact on the perception. The process of organising visual fields into meaningful wholes is defined as form perception. As per Gestalt Psychologists, we perceive different stimuli not as discrete elements but as an organised whole that has a definite form. For Example, a flower pot with a bunch of flowers is a whole and if the flowers are removed, the flower pot still remains a whole. The most primitive organisation takes place in the form of figure-ground segregation Figure Ground Figure has a definite form. backGround is relatively formless. It is highly organised. It is highly unorganised. It has a clear contour. It is contourless. Figure stands out from the background. Background stays behind the figure. Figure is clearer,limited and relatively nearer. Background appears relatively unclear,unlimited and away from u Laws Of Perceptual Organization pixelpixiewebdesign&development.com According to Chapter 5 Psychology Class 11 notes, Laws of Perceptual Organization have 7 principles and all are explained below: The Principle Of Proximity: According to this principle, the objects that are close together in space or time are perceived together. The Principle Of Similarity: According to this principle, objects that are similar to one another and have similar characteristics are perceived as a group The Principle Of Continuity: This principle states that we tend to perceive objects as belonging together if they appear to form a continuous pattern. The Principle Of Smallness: As per this principle, smaller areas tend to be seen as figures against a larger background.  The Principle Of Symmetry: This principle suggests that symmetrical areas tend to be seen as figures against asymmetrical backgrounds The Principle Of Surroundedness: This principle suggests that areas surrounded by others tend to be perceived as figures. The Principle Of Closure: We tend to fill gaps in stimulation and tend to perceive objects as a whole rather than their separate parts. Perception of Space, Depth and Distance YouTube: Daniel Storage Next we will cover perception of space, depth and distance as mentioned in Chapter 5 Psychology Class 11: The process of viewing the world in three dimensions is termed distance or depth perception On perceiving depth, we mainly depend on two main sources of information termed cues. One is called Binocular cues as they require both eyes and another is called Monocular cues as they allow us to perceive depth with just one eye Monocular cues are explained below– o Relative Size: We tend to perceive an object farther away when it appears small, and closer when it appears bigger. o Overlapping: These cues occur when some portion of the object is covered by another object. The overlapped object is considered farther away, whereas the object that covers it appears nearer. o Linear perspective: Denotes the phenomenon by which distant objects appear to be closer together than nearer objects.  o Aerial Perspective: The air comprises microscopic particles of dust and moisture that makes distant objects look hazy or blurry. This effect is called Aerial Perspective. o Light And Shade: In light, some parts of the object get highlighted, whereas some parts become darker. o Relative Height: Larger objects are perceived as being closer to the viewer and smaller objects as being farther away. o Texture Gradient: Denotes a phenomenon by which the visual field having more density of elements is seen farther away. o Motion Parralox: It is a kinetic monocular cue that occurs when objects at different distances move at a different relative speed. Binocular cues (Physiological Cues) are: o Retinal or Binocular Disparity: It occurs because the two eyes have different locations in our head. They are separated by each other horizontally by a distance of about 6.5 centimetres and due to the distance, the image formed on the retina of each eye of the same object is slightly different and this is known as retinal disparity. o Convergence: When we see a nearby object our eyes converge inward in order to bring the fovea of each eye. A group of muscles send messages to the brain regarding the degree to which eyes are turning inward and these messages are interpreted as cues to the perception of depth. The degree of convergence decreases as the object moved farther away from the observer. Perceptual Constancies : Perception of the objects is relatively stable in spite of changes in the stimulation of sensory receptors called perceptual constancy. We will now explore three types of Perceptual Constancies o Size Constancy: The tendency for the perceived size of objects to remain relatively unchanged with changes in their distance from the observer and the size of the retinal image is called Size Constancy. o Shape Constancy: In our perceptions, the shapes of familiar objects remain unchanged despite changes in the pattern of the retinal image resulting from the differences in their orientation. o Brightness Constancy: The tendency to maintain an apparent brightness constant under different amounts of illumination is termed brightness Constancy. Illusions They refer to misperceptions which are a consequence of misinterpretation of information received by our sensory organs. Some illusions are universal in nature whereas others are more personal and culture-specific. Some important visual illusions are as follows-  o Geometric Illusion o Muller-Lyer Illusion o Vertical-Horizontal Illusion o Apparent Movement Illusion Chapter 5 Psychology Class 11: Socio-Cultural Influence On Perception Socio-cultural factors play a crucial role in our perceptions by generating differential familiarity with and salience of stimuli as well as certain habits of Perceptual influence among people. People differ in their way of identification of objects and interpretation of depth as per their cultural settings.  What Is Psychology? Facts That matted: Any knowledge discipline is hard to define because : (i) It evolves continuously and (ii) Any one definition cannot capture the range of phenomena involved. The term psychology is derived from two Greek words : Psyche meaning soul and Logos meaning science or study of a subject. Thus, it was a study of the soul or mind. But since then psychology has moved away considerably and established itself as a scientific discipline which deals with processes underlying human experience and behaviour. Discipline defined as : (A) What it studies : Mental processes, Experiences and Behaviours (B) How it studies ie. Methods : in different contexts. Psychology is defined as a science which studies mental processes, experiences and behaviour in different contexts. In doing so, it uses methods of biological and social sciences to obtain data systematically. It makes sense of the data so that it can be organized as knowledge. Mental process: (i) Mental processes are activities of the mind and brain, related to cognition. (ii) We use mental processes when we think or remember something, or solve a problem. (iii) However, these mental activities are -different from neural activities, though they are mutually overlapping processes. Experiences: Experiences can be defined as the learning acquired through everyday life situation. (i) Experiences are subjective in nature, different for every individual. (ii) We cannot directly observe or know someone’s experience. (iii) Only the experiencing person can be aware or conscious of his/her experiences. Thus, experiences are imbedded in our awareness or consciousness.. (vi) Experiences are important because most of our learning is based on experiences. Behaviours: (i) Behaviours are responses or reactions we make or activities we engage in. Eg. One can feel the heart pounding before taking an examination. (ii) Some behaviours such as thinking may be simple or complex, short or enduring. (iii) On the other hand, some behaviours can be outwardly seen or sensed and are called overt, for example laughing..  Psychology as a discipline (i) It studies behaviour, experience and mental processes. (ii) It seeks to understand and explain how the mind works and how different mental processes result in different behaviours. (iii) When we observe others, our own point of view or ways of understanding the world influence our interpretations of their behaviours and experiences. – Neuroscience and computer science borrow principles continuously from psychology. There are fast developing brain imaging techniques like MRI, ECG, etc. which make it possible to study brain processes in real time, i.e, when they are actually taking place. – Psychology as hybrid science : Psychology is a hybrid science that draws its influence from both natural and social sciences. As a natural science : (i) Modem Psychology has developed because of the application of the scientific method to study, psychological phenomenon. (ii) As a physical science, it emphasizes on data that is systematic and can be studied under controlled conditions. (iii) It is quantitative and requires analysis. (iv) It takes influences from both physics and biology and believes in the Hypothetico Deductive Model (HDM). (v) Every or any hypothesis can be accepted or rejected on the basis of factors available. The model suggests that scientific advancement can take place if you have a theory to explain a phenomenon. Conscious means to be alert and aware of something. We are aware of all the outside environment as well as of the processes taking place in ourselves. Thus we are aware of the diverse sensations, perceptions, memories and feelings that take place in ourselves. In waking consciousness, we perceive time, place and events as real, meaningful and familiar. Psychology is a social science because it studies the behaviour of human beings in their social tests cultural context. Psychology as a social science discipline focuses on humans as social beings. It focuses on the individual and communities in relation to their social, cultural and physical environment.. Due to many researches particularly in Neurology the term ‘mind’ has returned in Psychology. It is true that Mind and brain are different and mind cannot exist without brain. Recent studies in Neuro Science has proved that there is a relationship between Mind and Behaviour. These researches and neurological experiments proved that a person suffer from damage of some part of the brain but his mind had remained intact.. The emergence of Psychology as a science of mental processes, behaviour and experiences can be attributed to certain important development in Physiology and Physics as well as to the efforts of William Wilhelm Wundt who established first Psychological laboratory in 1879. The evolution of Psychology can be traced in the major schools of Psychological thoughts. Structuralism: It was proposed by Wundt and he studied the structure of conscious experiences by introspection. Introspection is a procedure in which individual or subjects in Psychological experiments are asked to describe their own mental processes or experiences scientifically in detail.  Functionalism: It was proposed by William James and Jonh Dewey. They studied the functions of concious experiences in how people deal with the environment using introspection method. It shows the adaptation of human behaviour according to their changing needs. Gestalt Psychology: The school was proposed by Koffka, Kohler and Werthiemer. It focussed on human perception. According to Gestalt Psychology, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Behaviourism: It was proposed by John Watson and Skinner. According to this, Psychology must focus on what is observable and verifiable. Psychoanalysis: It was proposed by Dr Sigmund Freud. He focused on unconscious mind and childhood experiences. Humanistic Perspective: It was a revolt against Psychoanalysis and Behaviourism proposed by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. It stated that human strive to grow and unfold their inner potential. Cognitive Perspective: It focuses on mental processes. It views human beings as actively constructing their mind through their exploration into the Physical and Social world. Piaget stated that children actively construct their own minds whereas Vygofsky suggested that the mind is a joint cultural construction and emerges as a result of interaction between children and adults.. The roots of Psychology are found in Philosophy particularly with respect to methods of knowing. Psychology is closely related to Economics, Political Science and Sociology. Psychology has provided knowledge related to micro level economic behaviour and consumer behaviour. Psychology provides understanding of voting behaviour, exercise of power, opinion polls etc. Sociology is positively related to Psychology, e.g., Psychology studies human behaviour whereas Sociology studies human behaviour in society, i.e., socio cultural context. Psychological principles explain crime, criminal behaviour, how well a witness remembers a crime, etc. Accordingly Psychology is closely related to law and criminology. Similarly Psychology has close bonds with Mass Communication, Music and Fine Arts, Architecture and Engineering. Psychology as a discipline not only provide understanding to the development of theoretical knowledge of human behaviour but it has close linkages across Psychological processes. Psychologists now a days employed to help in diverse activities in different domains of Professional activities including hospitals, educational settings, industrial organisations, training institutes, military and government organisations. Psychology continuously provides knowledge and understanding of human behaviour in different domains. Some of the emerging perspectives are Evolutionary Psychology, Cultural Psychology and Positive Psychology. Evolutionary Psychology is an approach in social and natural sciences that examines psychological structure from a modem evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are involved in adaptations—that is the functional products of natural selection or sexual selection. The goal of research in evolutionary psychology is to discover and understand the design of the human mind. It is a theoretical approach to Psychology that attempts to explain useful mental and psychological traits — such as memory, perception or language — as adaptations, i.e., as the functional products of natural selection. Cultural Psychology is the study of how psychological and behavioural tendencies are rooted in and embodied in culture. It studies how mind and culture are inseparable and mutually constitute, i.e., people are shaped by culture and their culture is shaped by them. Cultural Psychology is the study of the way cultural traditions and social practices, regulate, express and transform the human Psyche, resulting less in Psychic unity for hurrian kind than in ethnic divergences in mind, self and emotion (Richard Shweder). Contemporary psychologists have shown increasing interest in understanding what makes life good and meaningful. This development is termed as positive psychology. and modifying the behaviour. Psychology can be viewed in two fold perspective which are complementary to each other i.e. Basic Psychology and Applied Psychology. Basic Psychology provides theories through researchers whereas Applied Psychology is related to the category of application according to the needs of society. 1. Behaviour: Any covert or overt action/reaction a person or animal does that can be observed in some way. 2. Behaviourism: A school of thought that emphasises objectivity, observable behavioural responses, learning, and environmental determinants. 3. Cognition: All the mental activities associated with knowing; namely, perceiving, thinking, and remembering, etc. These are associated with processing, understanding, and communication information. 4. Cognitive economy: A term to denote maximum and efficient use of the capacity of long-term memory through organisation of concepts in a hierarchical network. 5. Consciousness: Awareness of the general condition of one’s mind, awareness of particular mental contents, or self-awareness. 6. Constructivism: Modern cognitive psychology views human beings as actively constructing their minds through their exploration into the physical and the social world. 7. Developmental Psychology: A branch of psychology which establishes the physical, social and psychological changes that occur at different ages and stages over a life-span, from conception to old age. 8. Functionalism / Functional fixedness: The tendency to think of thinks only in terms of their usual functions, impediments to problem solving. The school of psychology That emphasised the utilitarian, adaptive functions of the human mind or consciousness. 9. Gestalt: An organised whole, Gestalt psychologists emphasise our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes. 10. Gestalt psychology: A branch of psychology in which behaviour is viewed as an integrated whole, greater than the sum of its parts. 11. Humanistic approach: The approach to Psychology that emphasises the person, or the self, and personal growth land development. 12. Hue: Property of chromatic colours or name of the colours. 13. Introspection: The process of looking inward to one’s feeling and conscious experience. 14. Mind: Mind is a concept, which refers to unique set of individual’s sensations, perceptions, memories, thoughts, dreams, motives and emotional feelings. 15. Neuro psychology: It is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes as function of brain activity and the nervous system. 16. Physiological psychology: A scientific study of human and animal behaviour based on the relationship of physiological processes like those of nervous system, hormones, sensory organs and the behavioural parameters. 17. Psychoanalysis: A method of psychotherapy in which the therapist attempts to bring repressed unconscious material into conscious. 18. Sociology: The systematic study of the biological basis for social behaviour. 19. Stimulus: Any well-defined element in the environment affecting the organism, which may lead to an overt or a covert response.  Methods Of Enquiry In Psychology The Psychological research is also conducted to explain and understand subjective meaning of events as they occur in a particular context and also manifest ones own behaviour and experiences. Psychological researches use different types of data including demographic, environmental, physical, physiological and psychological informations are gathered. In Psychological study the data is located in a context and linked to the theory and method used for its collection. Psychologists use three general methods. One is natural observation, which is made as systematic as possible by the development of psychological tests. Another is the experimental method in which independent variables are manipulated and dependent variables are measured. The third is statistical methods to test the significance of differences obtained and to compute correlations between variables. The general scientific method involves careful observation, forming hypotheses, and testing hypotheses against empirical facts. Psychologists use three major scientific methods: descriptive methods, correlational methods, and formal experiments. 1. Descriptive methods include the use of surveys, naturalistic observation, and clinical methods to describe behaviour and mental processes; these help us to reach the goal of description. 2. Correlational methods are used to study the relationships between variables; these help us to reach the goal of prediction. 3. Formal experiments can be used to reach conclusions about cause-and- effect relationships between variables; these help us to reach the goals of understanding and influencing behaviour. Different methods are used for the collection of information, e.g., observation, experiment, correlational research, survey research, case study etc. Observation method refers to employing systematic, organised and objective procedures to record behavioural phenomena occuring naturally in real time. It may be naturalistic vs controlled and participant vas non-participant.  The experimental method helps in establishing cause-effect relationship. Experiment refers to a series of observations conducted under controlled conditions to investigate the causal relationship between selected variables. It involves the manipulation of an independent variable in order to see its effect on a dependent variable. There are three types of experiments: the laboratory experiment, the field experiment and the natural experiment/quasi experiment. In most of the Psychological measurement the individual differences in one ability are often related to individual differences in other abilities. Correlational research indicates a relationship between two variables. The correlation between two variables may range from +1.00 through 0.0 to -1.00. The coefficient of correlation is of three types: positive, negative and zero. Correlation simply provide a numerical value of relationship, it never explains the cause of relationship. The focus of survey research and interviews is to inform about the existing reality. The investigator make use of questionnaire, interviews and ratings to obtain information about a particular area. Surveys are generally remote, in that respondants do not have an interviewer present, whereas interviews involve face to face interaction. The questionnaire is very common, simple, versatile and low cost self report method of collecting data. Surveys are also conducted through telephonic survey. Psychological tests have been devised and are primarily used for the determination and analysis of individual differences in general intelligence, differential aptitudes, educational achievement, vocational fitness, personality, social attitudes and non intellectual characteristics. A Psychological test is a standardised and objective tool which is used to assess an individual’s abilities and personality characteristics in relation to others. A good psychological test should have high reliability, high validity and representative norms. Psychological tests can be categorised on language basis as Verbal, Non Verbal and Performance tests. On the basis of administration Psychological tests are divided into individual and group tests. These tests can also be classified as speed or power tests. Case study is another important technique to understand human behaviour. It is an attempt to explore, in some considerable depth, the behaviour and experiences of an individual. These are based on data generated by different methods e.g., Interview, Observation, Questionnaire and Psychological tests. Case studies are developed of individuals, organisations, small group of individuals, institutions and specific events. In Psychological researches the data may be analysed through qualitative as well as quantitative methods. Lack of absolute zero, relative nature of Psychological tools and subjective interpretation of qualitative data are some of the limitations of Psychological inquiry. Ethical principles of voluntary participation of the subjects, their informed consent, and sharing of results with the participants must be followed by a researcher. , Experiments usually involve at least one experimental group (which receives the independent variable) and a control group. Differences between the groups in the dependent variable can be said to be caused by the independent variable. Ethical research carefully protects the rights of participants. Research using humans is considered to be ethical when the following conditions are met. 1. Individuals are asked to participate without coercion (force). 2. Individuals are informed about the nature of the experiment before giving consent to participate. 3. Unnecessary deception of participants is avoided and carefully regulated when required. 4. The nature of the study is fully explained to the participant after the study is over. 5. All information learned about the participant is kept confidential. Statistics is that branch of mathematics which deals with numerical data. It deals with description, summarising and representation of data. The inferential statistics helps to draw conclusions from data. Psychologists use four levels of scales: Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio. Nominal scale is at the lowest level and ratio the highest. The bar diagram represents distribution of categorical data, qualitative categories on a nominal or ordinal scale of measurement. If the data are on a nominal scale the categories to be representted by the bars on x-axis could be in any meaningful order.  Frequency Polygon is a line figure which is used to represent data from a frequency distribution. It is a series of connected points above the midpoint of each class interval. Histogram is a bar graph that presents data from frequency distribution. Histogram as well as polygon are made when data are either on interval or ratio scale. A measure of central tendency helps to simplify comparison of two or more groups. There are three commonly used measures of central tendency: Arithmetic Mean, Median and Mode. The arithmetic mean is the sum of all the scores in a distribution divided by the total number of scores. The median is the score value that divides the distribution into halves. It is such a value that half of the scores in the distribution fall below it and half of them fall above it. The mode is the score value with the highest frequency. In an ungrouped data the mode is that single score which occurs in a distribution of scores most frequently. Words That Matter 1. Case study: A technique in which one person, event or organisation is studied in depth. 2. Confidentiality: Researchers are responsible for keeping all of the data they collect completely anonymous. 3. Control group: Subjects in a study who do not receive the special treatment given to the experimental group. 4. Correlational research: Research with the goal of describing the strength of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics or variables. 5. Data: Qualitative and quantitative information related to mental processes and behaviour, gathered from individuals. 6. Debriefing: The procedure for informing a participant of the actual intent of an experiment after its successful completion. It is specially required if the participant was seriously misled during the conduct of experiment. 7. Dependent variable: The factor that is measured in an experiment; it changes because of the manipulation of the independent variable. 8. Experimental group: The subjects in study who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable. 9. Experiment: A series of observations conducted under controlled conditions to investigate the causal relationship between selected variable. 10. Group test: A test administered to several people at one time by a single tester. 11. Hypothesis: A tentative statement of the relationship between variables as answer to the research questions. 12. Enculturation: All learning that takes place without direct, deliberate teaching. 13. Independent variable: The event or situation manipulated by an experimenter to see if it will have a predicted effect on some other event or situation. 14. Individual test: A test which Can be administered to only one person at a time. The Standford-Binet and the Wechsler intelligence tests are examples of individual tests. 15. Interview: A face-to face dialogue for the purpose of obtaining information, establishing a diagnosis, assessing interpersonal behaviour and personality characteristics, or counseling the individual. 16. Negative correlation: Relationship between two variables in which as one variable goes up, the other goes down. 17. Norm: Standard or “value or criteria, based on measurements of a large group of people used in interpreting scores on psychological tests; in social psychology, the group standard for approved behaviour. 18. Objectivity: If two or more persons independently study a particular event, both of them, to a great extent, should arrive at the same conclusion.. 19. Observation: The intentional examination and recording of an object or process as it occurs. 20. Performance tests: Tests that do not involve language. 21. Psychological test: A standardised and objective tool to assess psychology attributes of a Sample of a person’s behaviour. 22. Positive correlation: Two or more than two variables have some common features. 23. Qualitative method: Psychologists use method in which data is interpreted in terms of narrative analysis generally in descriptive forms like field notes, photographs, etc. Information is not available in form of scores. 24. Quantitative method: Responses and analysis of the data is based on statistical calculations in terms of scores or in scaled form. Scores are expressed in the strength and magnitude of the response. 25. Questionnaire: Set of questions. Most common, simple, versatile and low- cost self-report method of collecting information. 26. Reliability: A statement about the degree of consistency of a measurement technique. Reliable techniques yield similar measure upon repeated measurement under similar conditions. 27. Speed Test: A test which evaluates the individual on the basis of time taken to answer the items accurately. 28. Power Test: Test which assess the underlying ability of the individuals by allowing them sufficient time. 29. Survey: A research method utilising written questionnaires or personal interviews to obtain data of a given population. 30. Validity: The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure. 31. Variable: Any measurable conditions, events, characteristics, or behaviours that are controlled or observed in a study.