EDU PSYCHO GURU

EDU PSYCHO GURU

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USEFUL LINKS

Monday 10 August 2015

PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY.



  PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY.
INRODUCTION
The psychoanalytic conception of human behavior was developed by Sigmund Freud in Europe at about the same time when behaviorism was gaining momentum in America. Psychoanalytic approach is based on the belief that childhood experiences greatly influence the development of later personality traits & psychological problems. It also stresses the influence of the unconscious mind as revealed through fears, desires, motivation, etc. that regulate human mind & thought & behavior. Psychoanalytic concepts have been developed from case studies of mental patients. Psychoanalytic theories are based on the assumption that behavior is to be understood in terms of interaction & conflicts arising out of needs & desires of an individual, some of which operate at an unconscious level.
                                                According to Freud, the human mind has three levels of consciousness-the conscious, the pre-conscious & unconscious. Freud believed that the most important factor in psychic activity is the unconscious. The satisfied desires & painful-experiences of the individual are pushed down to the unconscious-layer of the mind.
                                                Freud explains the structure of mind in terms of three fundamental concepts namely the id, the ego & the super-ego.
                                                Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neuropsychologist, was the found of psychoanalysis & one of the major intellectual figures of 20th century. He concluded that the mental disorders might cause purely by psychological rather than organic factors.
                                                According to Freud in order to study one’s personality. We have to analyze the person’s mind or psyche. In 1899 he published famous book. Interpretation of dreams in which he said that dreams are distinguishes expression of unconscious wishes.
PSYCHIC ENERGY.
For every action we need energy. Freud called this energy as psychic energy. It is also called the Libido. This psychic energy motivates a person to put the action.
According to Freud, our instincts are the source of psychic energy. There are two types of instincts.
1.     Life instincts: instincts for love, affection, sex.
2.     Death instincts: instincts for destruction, suicide, etc.
Among the above mentioned instincts, sexual instincts are the most prominent one that produces the psychic energy.
THREE LAYERS OF HUMAN PSYCHE [PERSONALITY DYNAMICS].
Freud believes that the human mind has three levels of consciousness.
1.     The conscious mind: it is that layer of mind which contains the memories, thoughts & desines of which we are aware of at a given moment.
2.     The pre-conscious mind: it is that part of mind which contains those experiences of which the person is not fully aware at a given moment but which could be recalled easily.
3.     The unconscious mind: this is that part of mind which contains experiences & memories which cannot be recalled by the person. It is the bottom part of the mind. Many of the unfulfilled desires and unpleasant experiences reside in this part of mind. It constituted two third portion of the total mind.
THEORY OF PERSONALITY STRUCTURE.
Freud believes that the personality structure is composed of three major systems such as Id, Ego, & Super Ego. Each of these systems has its own characteristics & they interact with each other closely. The human personality is the outcome of such interaction.
1.     ID (instinctual drive): id is the original system of personality. It is from id that the other two system of personality emerges. It is controlled by pleasure principle. It is selfish & unethical. Id is the sources of all psychic energy (libidinal energy). Id may depend on two processes. Reflex action & primary process (satisfaction through unrealistic mental image).
2.     The Ego: the ego develops out of id in order to facilitate the realization of id’s goal in a socially acceptable & desirable manner without causing any danger to the individual. The Ego obeys the reality principle. It is concerned with whether an experience is true or false. Ego always depends on realistic thinking (secondary process). The main function of the Ego is to make a balance between Id & Super Ego.
3.     The super Ego: super ego is the morally & culturally conditioned aspects of the psyche. It develops as a result of the child’s interaction with parents, teachers, social codes of conduct, religious values, etc. it represents the ideal rather than real. It strives for perfection rather than pleasure. It thinks whether something is right or wrong. It follows the morality principle. One of the main functions of super ego is to block the energy coming from one’s Id.
The interaction between the three systems of one’s personality determines his behavior.
ANISHA
SOCIAL SCIENCE

Thursday 18 June 2015

PIAGET’S THEORY OF INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT



PIAGET’S THEORY OF INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
            According to Piaget   cognitive development of human intellectual abilities take place as a result of the organization and reorganization of certain pattern of behavior called schema. Schemas constitute the structural units of human mind (cognitive structure). The process of organization of those structural units (schemas) take place by three different activities – assimilation, accommodation and equilibration. These activities constitute for functional aspect of human mind (cognitive function or cognitive process)
Stages of cognitive development   
According to Piaget cognitive development arises as a result of the interaction between the individual and the world and payses through a series of a sequential stages. He identified four major stages in the cognitive development of individual. They are
(1)  Sensori- motor stage (0 to 2 years)
(2)  Pre-operational stage (2 to 7 years )
(3)  Concrete-Operational stage (7 to 11 years )
(4)  Formal operational stage (12 to 15 years)
1. Sensory motor stage (0 to 2 years)
            It is period of sensory motor activities. The child understands the world through sensory experience and motor activities. The child at the beginning lacks thinking. A three month old child thinks that out of sight objects do not exist. As the child grows and reach eight months, he can understand that out of sight objects also exist. At the end of this stage, the child starts to use words and the child becomes plan full thinkers.
2- Pre-Operational Stage
            As the name suggests, the child at this stage cannot do mental operations. The inability to do mental operation is due to some mental limitations of the child. The child has the following mental limitations.
a)     The child lacks reversibility: - Reversibility is the ability to reverse an example, the child can understand that 5+2 is equal to 7. But he cannot understand the 7-2 is equal to 5. He cannot reverse the action.
b)     The child has egocentrism: - Egocentrism is the inability to view the world from other point of view. The child can see the world from his own point of view. He cannot see the world from others point of view.
c)     The child does not understand the principle of conservation: - Principle of conservation says that the basic characteristics like length, mass and volume of an object does not change when its outward appearance changes. But the child at this stage cannot understand this principle. The child believes that the basic characteristics like length, mass and volume change when it is outward appearance changes.
During this state, the child starts symbolic thinking. He uses languages and images to represent his world. He engages in symbolic games. This stage is again subdivided in two:-
Ø  Pre – conceptual stage (2-4): in which the child cannot from concepts.
Ø  Intuitive stage (4-7) : in which the child starts to think intuitive
3. Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)
            At this stage, the child is able to perform complex mental operations. He starts to think logically. He overcomes the limitations of earlier stages. That means, now the child has reversibility, the child can think from others point of view, and the child can understand the principle of conservation.
            But there in order to perform complete mental operations, the child needs concrete object or event. He cannot think about abstract events or objects. For example, a child this stage cannot think about a man with five hands because he has not seen such a person in his life.
4. Formal operational stage (11-15 years)
            This is the final stage of cognitive development it is the stage at which the thinking of the child becomes formal and systematic. At this stage the child can perform mental operations base on both concrete and abstract objects and events. The main features of this stage are as follows:-
a)     The child can think logically.
b)     The child can thin both about concrete and abstract events. He can imagine about a person with five hands.
c)     The child can conduct complex experiments.


Educational implications of Piaget’s Theory
            Piaget’s theory may find its implications in the following areas.
1)     Piaget’s theory provides a broad development of perspective to the educator for building ability based curriculum for children.
2)      The description of the characteristics of each stage of intellectual growth is very useful in providing learning experiences in tune with the mental abilities of child.
3)     According to Piaget, learning is the net result of assimilation and accommodation. Hence, for optimum leaning the teaching – learning situation should be geared to point where the child is resther neither too familiar nor too unfamiliar with the learning task.
4)      Infants are in the sensori- motor stage of intellectual development. Hence play activities involving a fairly wide sensory and motor experience should be given to them to facilitate intellectual development.
5)     The pre-schoolchild is at the pre-operational stage. Hence, the educational programme at this stage should provide concrete experience to the children.
6)     Since the concrete operational children are able to think only in concrete terms, it is advisable to allow them to experiment with material in order to accommodate new understand and to new learning by themselves.
7)     Piagetian Theory advocated the need of child cantered educational experiences must be build around the learner’s cognitive structure.
8)     Piaget’s techniques may lead to the assessment of the child’s level of intellectual development that in turn may guide educator in grade placement and remedial measures.
JESNA. S      
Social Science



Concept Of Individuals Differences.




Concept Of Individuals Differences.
It must be clearly understood that whatever lies around us in the form of non-living or living being differ  from each other in so many aspects. These from each other in so many aspects. These differences and variations become more intense and   remarkable as we draw closer to human beings as one of the ultimate creation of the Almighty in the history of evolution. We as human beings quite distinctly differ size, shape, appearance, speed of reaction and innumerable other aspects of our personality make-up and behavior. Among us , some are healthy and jolly, while others are weak and irritable. Some are blue-eyed and black haired, while others are black eyes and gray hair. Some are know as girls or woman while others are termed as boys or men and etc. 
        These differences that are entitled as “individual differences.” in the languages of sociology and psychology. Two different explanations given for this term in the “Dictionary of education” by carter .B. Good (1959.p.172)
1.        Individual differences stand for “the variations or deviations among individuals in regard to a single characteristic or a number of characteristics.”
2.        Individual differences stand for “those differences which in their totality, distinguish one individual from another.” 
       The above two dictionary meanings of the term individual differences, now can help us in building the workable definitions with references to our discussion earlier in this chapter.
“ The  differences among individuals, that distinguish or separate them, from one another and make one and one as an unique individual in oneself, may be termed as individual differences”.



TYPES OF VARIETIES OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Whatever physical or physiological differences among the human beings, they may be generally grouped or classified in two broad categories, namely (i) physical or physiological differences and (ii) physiological differences. While physical or physiological differences among us are related with the differences created on account of the differences or variations in terms of physical or physiological make –up of our bodies, physiological make-up or conditions generate differences among us In  terms of varying intellectual potentialities, interests, attitudes, aptitudes, emotional ,social and moral development etc.

These two broad classifications of individual differences may give birth to a number of sub categories like below,
·        Differences related to physical growth and development
·        Differences related to mental growth and development
·        Differences related to motor skills and abilities
·        Differences related to socialization and social development.
·        Differences related to morality and character development.
·        Differences related to aesthetic sense and artistic ability.
·        Differences related to diversified interests and aptitudes.
·        Differences in attitudes, beliefs and opinions
·        Differences with regard to value system and self concept.
·        Differences with regard to levels of aspiration, study habits and achievements.
·        Differences with regard to acquisition of psychomotor  skills.
·        Differences with regard to status of maturation and learning performance.
·        Differences with regard to overall development of the personality out of the individual differences listed above, let us discuss a few important ones.
Differences in interest
Interest is the central force that drives the whole machinery of the teaching-learning process. The thins in which a learner has its interest are attended well, learned properly retained for a long time and made use of a proper time. The reverse is also true. If one is not interested in one or the other aspect of learning, all the attempts of making him lean will serve no purpose. On similar lines, the term “interest” has been defined by crow and crow (1973) as:
“Interest may refer to the motivating force that implies us to attend to a person, a thing or an activity” (p.248). Like for serving our own individual interests, we are always inclined towards some persons, things or activities while not caring or attending to others along or the other time. In other words, our areas of interest show wide choices and diversities. We are interested in some and not in others and it is due to this that we can observe wide individual differences related to interests among the human beings. Just sit in the drawing room of a family and you will notice the diversity of interests when the members of the family begin to quarrel over watching one or the other television channel.
Differences in attitudes     
Attitudes is one of the important attributes of our behavior. Our behavior to a great extent depends on our attitude towards a thing idea, person or object that exists in our environment. As a matter of definition, we may here reproduce a definition given by Sorenson (1977).
“An attitude is a particular feeling about something, it, therefore involves a tendency to behave in a certain way in situations which involves that something, whether person. Idea or object. It is particularly rational and partially emotional and is acquired, not inherent in an individual.”
A particular feeling about something that makes our attitudes towards that very thing is almost an individual phenomenon. We always behave in a certain way when needed to respond to a particular thing, person, idea or object depending on the nature of our own attitude- positive, negative or indifferent formed towards that thing.
Differences in aptitudes          
We may find a strange pattern of similarities and dissimilarities commonalities and differences among individuals with regard to their possession of different types of aptitudes, in a simple way, may be considered a special ability or specific capacity besides the general intellectual ability which helps an individual to acquire a required degree of proficiency or achievement in a particular field. We may have reproduce definition of the term “aptitude” given by freeman. “An aptitude is a combination of characteristics indicative of an individual’s capacity to-------(with training) some specific knowledge, skill or set of organized responses. Such as the ability to speak a language, to become a musician, to do mechanical work”.
Difference in values                 
We have different values-materialistic, social, moral or spiritual-depending upon our own philosophy of life, environmental situations and circumstances. Here we may come across certain commodities and wide variation among human beings with respect to possession of varieties of values like economic, political, physiological, psychological or social and moral values. Simply said we may associate our values with our needs physical, physiological, psychological, social and spiritual. We always value a thing because we need it. Accordingly we are materialistic in our values because of our need to satisfy our materialistic desires. As soon as we are saturated or reasonably satisfied with the realization of our material needs, we may seek the realization of spiritual needs or search for inner peace, social integration and other essential psychological or human values. In this way, our needs decide or perception and value for a thing-object, idea and person.
Difference in level of Aspirations
            To achieve our acquire something, the most essential requirement is to have an aspiration for its achievement. One can’t achieve without aspiring for it. Aspiration is thus the key for wish fulfillment, progress and success in life. Everybody wants to achieve one or the other thing in life and therefore, it is quite appropriate to generalize that everyone of us has the urge of aspiration, we differ with regard to its level. While many of us demonstrate a very high level of aspiration for achieving things in their lives, a good large number is also found to have. A very low level of aspiration for achieving or avoiding failure.
Differences in self- concept
As a child grows and develops in age, he is sure to develop his ability of concept format about the things and events available in his environment. Besides the formation of concepts about the things other than his self, he is sure to form a concept about his self such concept about the self is termed as one’s self-concept. It reflects the images, considerations or judgment about ones abilities and limitations usually held by an individual not only for projecting himself before others but also for estimation of his self in his own eyes. It in this context that the term self concept has been defined by famous psychologist H.J.EYSENK (1971) in the following words.
            “The totality of attitudes, judgment and values of an individuals relating to his behavior, abilities and qualities may be referred to as his self concept”.
Difference in Study Habits:-
Children and even we adults are bound to differ and have wide variations in terms of study habits as listed as follows.
Ø They differ in terms of attitudes, belief and opinion about studying one or the other thing.
Ø They differ in terms of their interest and aptitudes for studying one or the other thing.
Ø They differ in their approaches and objectives served by studying different things.
Ø They differ in terms of the time devoted and attempts made for studying different things.
Ø They differ with respect to proper use of the results of their professional and future life.
  Differences in achievements :
        Individuals may be seen to differ in terms of their achievements in one or the other areas of the subject of study, professional courses, occupations and other various aspects of life. Some are seen to excel in one field or other while lagging behind in the rest, others may exhibit dominance in almost all the fields or failure everywhere at each occasion. In this way, we can observe various types of variations and diversities among human beings with regard to their achievements in life.
Differences in psychomotor skills
Individuals are found to differ with regard to development and acquisition of one or more types of skills. These differences are very much observable right from an early age in children. Some are very quick , efficient and methodical. In performing skilled tasks like jumping, running, skipping ,hopping , galloping ,climbing , dancing ,swimming ,reading ,writing ,drawing ,catering copying, drawing, handling laboratory equipment and working tools, experimenting, computing, surveying, measuring, sketching, stitching, sewing, cooking, washing, dry-clearing etc. Not only physical but mental, social, moral, ethical and  aesthetic development is properly linked with development of psychomotor abilities and skills.
Distribution of individual differences
It might be clear now that we all differ from one another in one way or the other in so many aspects. Answer to all such questions lies in the fact that distribution of almost all the things in nature follow the pattern of a normal curve. Height, weight, beauty, wealth, intelligence and similar other attributes of our personality are distributed in our population in a normal way. Let us discuss what does this normal distribution mean. For this, let us take simple practical instances from our day-to-day life. We find that most of us are quite average in terms of the possession of the attributes of our personality. As a result you will find that majority of us possess average weight, height, wealth, beauty, and intelligence etc. There  are very  few who are too fact or too thin. similarly white we seldom come across beauties like Noorjahan, Padmavati or clepetra, we als rarely find extremely applicable to the distribution of intelligence. Most of us have normal intelligence with IQ level ranging between 90 to 100. Person having IQs more than 140 or 150 (Genius) as well as possessing IQs less than 60 or 40 (imbeciles) are rarely found.
Educational Implications Of Individual Difference
It has helped the teachers to realize the following facts.
1.     In any group there are individuals who deviate from the norms of the group. Along with the average, the presence of very superior and extremely dull is equally possible in a class.
2.     Every teacher should try to have the desired knowledge of the abilities, capacities, interest , attributes, aptitudes, and other personality traits of his pupils and in the light of this knowledge should render individual guidance to children for the maximum utilization of their potentialities.
3.     It is wrong to expect uniformity in gaining proficiency or success in a particular field from a group of students on account of their subnormal intelligence, previous knowledge , back ground, lack of proper interest, aptitude and attitude etc. some students lay behind in one or the other area of achievement.
4.     All students cannot be benefited by a particular method of instruction and a uniform and rigid curriculum.
Role Of Schools In Meeting The Individual Difference  
Emphasizing this need, crow and write, “since we supposedly ARE teaching individuals, not groups of individuals, it is the function of school with in its budgetary personnel and curricular limitation to provide adequate schooling for every learner no matter how much he differs from every other learner.”
How we can accomplish this task is a pertinent question or learning experiences for every learner according to his individually is not a simple task. However, the following suggestions can prove help feel for the teacher in this direction. 
1.     Proper knowledge of the individual’s potentialities;- to know about  the abilities, capabilities, interests, aptitudes and  other personality traits of individual, pupils.
2.     Ability grouping;- The students in a class or area of activity can be divided into homogenous groups. Such division can be prove beneficial in adjusting instruction to varying individual differences.
3.     Adjusting curriculum;   to meet the requirements of varying individual differences among pupils, the curriculum should be as flexible and differentiated as possible.
4.     Adjusting the method of teaching.
5.     Adopting special programmers or methods for individualizing instruction, like Dalton plan, the Winnetka plan, the project method etc.
Causes of individual differences found in human beings may be attributed to their heredity endowment as well as to the environmental stimulation. However, their impact and role in creating such individual differences is so interwoven and inter mingled that it is quite reasonable to conclude that both heredity and environmental forces are responsible for generating as well as perpetuating all these differences. 
REVATHI.M.B
SOCIAL SCIENCE