328

Senior Secondary Course

Psychology
Part - 2

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OPEN SCHOOLING

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Website: www.nios.ac.in, Toll Free No.: 18001809393
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i
© National Institute of Open Schooling

2023 ( Copies)

Published by:
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A 24-25, Institutional Area, Sector-62, Noida-201309 (U.P.)
ii
 ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Prof. Saroj Sharma Dr. Rajiv Kumar Singh
Chairperson Director (Academic)
National Institute for Open Schooling, National Institute for Open Schooling,
NIOS, Noida (UP) NIOS, Noida (UP)
CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
Prof. Nandita Babu Dr. Swati Patra Dr. Kanwaljeet Kaur
Dept. of Psychology Reader Sr. Lecturer Dept. of DRU, DIET,
University of Delhi School of Social Sciences Daryaganj SCERT, New Delhi
Prof. Poornima Singh IGNOU, New Delhi Dr. Neelam Srivastava
Dept. of Humanities and Social Dr. Daya Pant Retd. PGT (Psychology)
science, IIT Delhi Former Professor Vasant Valley School
Prof. Mohammad Ghazi Dept. of Educational Psychology Vasant Vihar, New Delhi
Shahnawaz and Foundation of Education Dr. Madhur Bhatia
Dept. of Psychology NCERT, New Delhi Academic Officer
Jamia Millia Islamia Dr. Pooja Wadhawan Academic Dept. NIOS, NOIDA
Prof. Anjum Sibia Assistant Professor Dr. Shweta Verma
Dept. of Educational Psychology Dept. of Psychology Assistant Professor, Sharda
and Foundation of Education Mata Sundri College for Women, University, Knowledge Park III,
NCERT, New Delhi University of Delhi Greater Noida, (UP) 201310
COURSE WRITERS
Dr. Daya Pant Dr. Shivani Dutta Ms. Sandhyarani Hawbam
Former Professor Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Dept. of
Dept. of Educational Psychology Dept. of Psychology Psychology Daulat Ram College,
and Foundation of Education Kamla Nehru College, University of Delhi
NCERT, New Delhi University of Delhi Ms. Gurjeet Kaur
Prof. Roopali Sharma Dr. Suruchi Bhatia PGT, Psychology DAV Public
Professor Assistant Professor School, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi
Dept. of Psychology Department of Psychology Ms. Rimjim
Amity University, New Delhi Shyama Prasad Mukherji College, PGT, Psychology
Dr. Nisha Choudhary University of Delhi British School, New Delhi
Assistant Professor Ms. Suzen Houshou Dr. Madhur Bhatia
Bhim Rao Ambedkar College Assistant Professor Academic Officer
University of Delhi Department of Psychology (Teacher Education), NIOS
Dr Virendra Yadav Shyama Prasad Mukherji College, Dr. Shweta Verma
Assistant Professor University of Delhi Assistant Professor
SPM College Dr. Sarabjit Kaur Sharda University
University of Delhi Assistant Professor Dept. of Knowledge Park III, Greater
Dr. Suparna Jain Psychology Mata Sundari College, Noida, (UP) 201310
Assistant Professor University of Delhi
Dept. of Psychology Dr. Ravneet Kaur
Daulat Ram College, Dept. of Elementary Education
University of Delhi Mata Sundari College,
University of Delhi
iii
 EDITORIAL BOARD
Prof. Nandita Babu Dr. Radhika Gupta Prof. Poornima Singh
Professor, Department of Assistant Professor Professor, Department of Humani-
Psychology, University of Delhi, KMV Jalandhar ties and Social Sciences, IIT Delhi,
New Delhi Dr. Chander Prabha Verma New Delhi
Prof. Harpreet Chabra Counsellor Cantt. Board Prof. Anjum Sibia
Punjab University, Dagshai, Solan Professor, Depart of Education
Chandigarh Ms. Ravneet Kaur Psychology and Foundation of
Dr. Preeti Kapur Assistant Professor Education, NCERT, New Delhi
Associate Professor Mata Sundari College, Delhi Dr. Navin Kumar
Dept. of Psychology Dr. Hariom Sharma Associate Professor, Department
Daulat Ram College, Associate Professor of Psychology, Bhim Rao
New Delhi LPU Jalandhar Ambedkar College, University of
Dr. Virendra Yadav Mr. Pankaj Singh Delhi, New Delhi
Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Dr. Swati Patra
SPM College for Women, LPU Jalandhar Reader, School of Social Sciences,
New Delhi Dr. Komal Rai IGNOU, New Delhi
Prof. Anuradha Bhandari Assistant Professor Dr. Dinesh
Punjab University, Chandigarh LPU Jalandar Assistant Professor, Department of
Dr Neha Pandeya Dr. Kanwal Jeet Kaur Psychology, Faculty of Arts,
Assistant Professor Sr. Lecturer DIET, Dariyaganj University of Delhi, New Delhi
MCM DAV College, Ms. Sampurna Satpathi Dr. Suruchi Bhatia
Chandigarh PGT Psychology Assistant Professor, Department of
Dr. Jayanti Banerjee Amity International School Psychology, Shyama Prasad
PGT Psychology Ms. Sudeshna Nath Mukherji College, University of
Mother's International PGT Psychology Delhi, New Delhi
Shri Aurbindo Marg, New Delhi DPS Ghaziabad Dr. Alka Bajpai
Mr Rishabh Kumar Ms. Divya Sethi Assistant Professor, Department of
Assistant Professor Freelancer in Psychology Psychology, Faculty of Arts,
Mahatama Gandhi Hindu University of Delhi, New Delhi
University, Wardha Dr. Shweta Verma
Assistant Professor, Sharda University Ms. Neelam Srivastava
Ms. Sushmita Paul PGT (Psychology), Vasant Valley
PGT Psychology Matri Dua Mehta
Curriculum Development Manager School, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi
DPS Gurgaon
Hindi Lead School-Ed Tech
Dr. Chander Prakash Company
Assistant Professor
Vivekanand College, Delhi
COURSE CO-ORDINATOR
Ms. Sarika Singh
Senior Executive Officer (SEO) Psychology
GRAPHIC DESIGNING and DTP
M/s Multigraphics,
Karol Bagh, New Delhi

iv
 A Word with You

Welcome to the Senior Secondary course in Psychology. What is Psychology? It is nothing but the study of
the way we, the human beings think, behave and react with the people and world around us. You must have
noticed how your own family members behave and react to the same situation in different ways. Some of
them will face the same situation in a calm and quiet way whereas the other panic. We here at National
Institute of Open Schooling aim to give you a better understanding to these different aspects of human
behaviours through the course in Psychology at Senior Secondary level.

The Psychology curriculum is comprises of two books having three modules each. In the first module you
are going to study about the biological and psychological aspects of behaviour as well as about psychologi-
cal enquiry. Second module consists of learning, memory, emotions and motivation. The third module brings
to you all about the lifespan development from childhood to old age. The fourth module focuses on individu-
ality, self and personality whereas the fifth module focuses on social psychology of interaction and behaviour.
The last that is the sixth module in the second book is consisting of mental health and well-being and how to
cope up from that.

For your practice, a sample question paper along with the question paper design and marking scheme is
provided at the end of the book.

Iam sure that you will find the lessons and their approach interesting and would be able to apply your
knowledge in the real-life situations. So read all the lessons of this course carefully and be prepared for the
examination with confidence. If you face any difficulty in your studies, please feel free to write me. Your
suggestions are valuable for us.

Good luck and happy learning

Sarika Singh

Course Coordinator

v
 How to use the Learning Material

Congratulations! You have accepted the challenge to be a self-learner. It means, you have to organize your
study, learn regularly, keep up your motivation and achieve your goal. Here it is solely you, who is responsible
for your learning. NIOS is with you at every step.NIOS has developed the material in Psychology keeping only
you in mind. A format supporting independent learning has been followed. You can take the best out of this
material if you follow the instructions given below.

Title: The title of the lesson will give a clear indication of the contents within. Do read it.
Introduction: This will introduce you to the lesson and also link it to the previous one.
Objectives: These are statements of outcomes of learning expected from you after studying the lesson.
You are expected to achieve them. Do read them and check if you have achieved the same.
Content: Total content has been divided into sections and sub-sections. A section leads you from one
content element to another and a sub-section helps you in comprehension of the concepts in the content
element. The text in bold, Italics or boxes is important and must be given attention.
Intext Questions: Objective types self-check questions are asked after every section, the answers to
which are given at the end of the lesson. These will help you to check your progress. Do solve them.
Successful completion will allow you to decide whether to proceed further or go back and learn the unit
again.
Notes: Each page carries empty space on the outer margins for you to write important points or make
notes.
What You Have Learnt: It is the summary of the main points of the lesson. It will help in recapitulation and
revision. You are welcome to add your own points to it also.
Terminal Questions: These are questions answered that provide you an opportunity to practice for
better understanding of the whole topic.
Answers to Intext Questions: These will help you to know how correctly you have answered the Intext
questions.
Activity: Activities, if done by you, will help you to understand the concept clearly.
Key Terms: The important terms used in the lesson are highlighted in this section. Do remember these
terms.
Do and Learn: In this section certain activities have been suggested for better understanding of the
concept.
Role Play: To make your learning interesting an imaginary situation is given based on any concept
covered in the lesson. You are required to enact the imaginary situation through realistic behavior. You are
free to choose any other concept/topic of your choice to play the role.
QR Code: A quick response (QR) code is given in every lesson which is a type of barcode that stores
information and can be read by a digital device, such as a cell phone.
Audio: For understanding difficult or abstract concepts, audio programmes are available on certain con-
tent areas. You may listen to these on Mukt Vidya Vani, Community Radio FM-91.2 or on YouTube channel
"niosradiovahini".
Video: Video programmes on certain elements related to your subject have been made to clarify certain
concepts. You may watch these at NIOS live YouTube channel and also see live programs on PM e-vidya.
vi
 COURSE OVERVIEW

MODULE LESSON
Part
1 1. Foundations of 1. Understanding Psychology
Psychology 2. Bases of Human Behaviour
3. Methods of Psychological Enquiy-I
4. Methods of Psychological Enquiry-II
5. Basic Statistics
2. Basic Psychological 6. Attention and Perceptual Processes
Processes 7. Learning
8. Human Memory
9. Motivation
10. Emotions
11. Thinking and Problem
3. Human Development 12. Life Span Perspective on Development
13. Infancy and Childhood
14. Adolescence and Young Adulthood
15. Adulthood and Old Age

MODULE LESSON
Part
2 4. Individual 16. Diversity and Individual variations
Differences 17. Self and Personality
18. Intelligence
5. Social Processes and 19. Group Processes
Behavior 20. Attitude
21. Pro Social Behavior
6. Health and Well-being 22. Coping with Stress
23. Mental Health Problems
24. Psychology for holistic development

vii
 Psychology
Bifurcation of Syllabus
Psychology- 328
Total no. of Lessons=24

MODULE TMA (40%) Public Examination (60%)

(No. & name) (No. of lessons -10) (No. of lessons -14)

1. Foundations of L-2: Bases of Human L-1: Understanding

Psychology Behaviour L-3: Methods of Psychological Enquiy-I
(5 Lessons) L-4 : Methods of L-5: Basic Statistics Psychology
Psychological Enquiry-II

2. Basic L-9 : Motivation L -6: Attention and Perceptual Processes

Psychological L-7: Learning L-8: Human Memory
Processes L-10: Emotions
(6 Lessons) L -11: Thinking and Problem

3. Human L-12:Life Span Perspective L-13: Infancy and Childhood

Development on Development L-14: Adolescence and Young Adulthood
(4 Lessons) L-15 : Adulthood and
Old Age

4. Individual L-16 : Diversity and L-17: Self and Personality

Differences Individual variations L-18: Intelligence
(3 Lessons)

5. Social Processes L -21 : Pro Social L-19 : Group Processes

and Behavior Behavior L-20: Attitude
(3 Lessons)

6. Health and L -22 : Coping with Stress L-23 : Mental Health Problems
Well-being L -24 : Psychology for
(3 Lessons) holistic development

viii
 CONTENTS

MODULE LESSON PAGE NO.

4. Individual 16. Diversity and Individual variations 1-16

Differences 17. Self and Personality 17-40
18. Intelligence 41-56

5. Social Processes and 19. Group Processes 57-74

Behavior 20. Attitude 75-94
21. Pro Social Behavior 95-114

6. Health and Well-being 22. Coping with Stress 115-132

23. Mental Health Problems 133-146
24. Psychology for holistic development 147-159

Note: The syllabus has been bifurcated into two sections -

(i) Lessons for the Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA)
(ii) Lessons for public examination question paper

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 MODULE -4

Individual Differences

Human beings not only respond to the external world but also attend to themselves. In other
words self is also an object and all of us deal with it. In recent years, self has been given
significant place in the analysis of cognition, motivation and emotion. The kind of self concept
which people have is also influenced by our culture. Understanding of personality has also
been detailed out in this module. Various factors such as genetics, environmental and cultural
influencing personality of an individual are also dealt with. Intelligence, key theories of
intelligence and emotional intelligence and creativity has also been discussed.

16. Diversity and Individual variations

17. Self and Personality

18. Intelligence

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Diversity and Individual variations MODULE - 4

Individual Differences
16

DIVERSITY AND INDIVIDUAL

VARIATIONS Notes

When you look around, you will be able to see how different people are from each
other. Every individual, be it human or non-human (such as animals) is a unique entity.
Just as the fingerprints of no two individuals are the same, similarly there are numerous
physical, physiological, psychological, social and economic differences among humans.
These differences make our world full of diversity. A world where people not only
look different but also think differently based on the differences in their psychological
traits such as personality and intelligence. Thus, our lives unfold within social contexts
that are populated by people who are different- from us and each other. In this chapter
we will study the basic nature and causes of such differences. We will also learn to
value the diversity that is created by these differences and to utilize such variations and
differences in making the world a better place.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this lesson, learner :

 understands the meaning of diversity;

 illustrates the importance of diversity among people;

 describes various traits of diversity;

 explains factors causing diversity; and

 describes and evaluate the special needs arising out of diversity.

Psychology (328) 1
 MODULE - 4 Diversity and Individual variations

Individual Differences 16.1 UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY

Diversity refers to a range of people who differ from each other in a variety of ways.
Even though in psychology, we strive to generalize theories and research findings in
relation to many people, but at the same time psychology emphasizes a lot on individual
differences. We all are same in some ways but different in many other ways. For
instance, we all have same physical structure; however, the capacities of our sense
organs differ. Similarly, we all have brain but the way we think differs. Some of us
Notes
enjoy being around others such as in social gatherings, on the other hand, many of us
might value more being alone and reading a book. Even though born to the same
parents, siblings also differ from each other, sometimes to the extent that it is hard to
believe that our sibling is actually our blood relative.

People may differ in many ways, such as their ethnic identity, sex/gender, cultural
background, language usage, economic status, political affiliation, or religious belief.
These specific dimensions of difference do not matter nearly as much as the fact that
we think, feel, and behave differently from each other. Have you ever been amazed
that you perceived a situation, such as giving a test, much differently than a friend?
Perhaps you approached the test with optimism and confidence, regarding it as a
potentially positive step in your career goals. Your friend, however, may have viewed
the same scenario as threatening. We tend to project our own attitudes, feelings,
expectations, and fears onto the situations we encounter and thus evaluate the situations
differently resulting in differing behavior patterns.

Age

Culture

Gender
VISIBLE
Nationality

Ethnicity/Race

Mental/Physical Status

VISIBLE OR Veteran Status Religion

INVISIBLE
Sexual Oricntation Language

Working-Style Preferences Diversity of Thought

INVISIBLE
Family Status Values & Beliefs Education

Socioeconomic Status Life Experiences Perspectives

Fig. 16.1 : Classificaton of Diversity Traits

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Diversity and Individual variations MODULE - 4

16.1.1 Classification of Diversity Traits Individual Differences

Broadly, diversity traits i.e. the ways in which people differ from each other can be
classified under three heads (see Fig. 16.1):

1. Visible diversity traits – are traits which can be overtly observed and often
impact the first impression of an individual. For example: Physical characteristics

2. Visible or invisible diversity traits -These are neither completely overt nor Notes
completely covert. At times these traits are immediately observable, on other
times these might only come to surface after interacting with the individual. For
example: Sexual orientation.

3. Invisible diversity traits – These are the differences which are covert in nature
and thus come to knowledge only after keen observation over a period of time.
For example: Religious beliefs or political beliefs.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 16.1

State which of the following statements are ‘true’ and which are ‘false'?

1) Diversity is solely man made.

2) People of the same family can also be diverse.

3) Life experiences can lead to diversity.

4) Gender is an invisible diversity trait.

5) Diversity can be based on psychological differences.

ACTIVITY

For each of the following statements, write two names of people you know, first name
should be of someone who falls in that category and second name of someone who
doesn’t fall in that category:

1. Is from same religion as yours.

2. Is short tempered.

3. Enjoys being around people.

Psychology (328) 3
 MODULE - 4 Diversity and Individual variations

Individual Differences 4. Is good in mathematics.

5. Is thin.

6. Knows a language that you don’t know.

7. Eats non vegetarian food

This exercise will help you understand that people are different from each other. They
Notes can differ in various ways. We live in a world full of diversity.

16.2 FACTORS CAUSING DIVERSITY

In above activity, while listing the names, you came across differences based on varied
factors such as physical characteristics, religion, education, preferences towards varied
food/hobbies, interests, choices etc.

Thus, it is important to understand that there are multiple factors leading to diversity.
These factors can be classified as follows:

1. Physical

2. Physiological

3. Psychological

4. Social and Economic

5. Cultural

16.2.1 Physical Factors

Physical diversity is prevalent all round the world. It refers to diversity based on physical
characteristics such as height, weight, color of the skin, gender etc. No two individuals
except for identical twins have same physical features. Children might resemble their
parents, however, only to some extent.

Physical differences are easily observable and thus fall under the visible spectrum of
diversity. Due to genetic and environmental factors, people belonging to same region
of origin, religion and family might display similar physical characteristics. Due to these
intra -group similarities, humans often attach stereotypes with the entire community
leading to prejudices and biases, we will discuss this later in the chapter.

4 Senior Secondary
Diversity and Individual variations MODULE - 4

Physical differences among people belonging to various regions of India can be attributed Individual Differences
to the ancient migration of large number of races mostly from the Western and the
Eastern directions across the Himalayas. Their dispersal into sub-continent has resulted
in the consequent regional concentration of a variety of ethnic elements. India is an
ethnological museum. The population of India can be divided in six main ethnic groups,
namely (1) the Negrito (2) the Proto-Australoids, (3) the Mongoloids (4) the
Mediterranean or Dravidian (5) the Western Brachycephals and (6) the Nordic.
According to him, people belonging to these different racial stocks have major Notes
differences in physical appearances. For instance, the Negrito are characterized by
dark skin color, short stature, and frizzly hair. The best representatives of this type are
the Kadars, the Irulas, the Puniyans, etc. of South India. On the other hand, the Proto-
Australoids are distinguished by scanty growth of hair on face and body. The eyes are
obliquely set and show the presence of epicanthic fold. The face is flat with prominent
cheekbones and hair is straight. They are the inhabitants of the sub-Himalayan region;
the concentration is most remarkable in Assam and Burma Frontier.

16.2.2 Physiological Factors

Physiological diversity can be understood in two ways:

1. Co existence of a variety of species of flora and fauna on Earth.

2. Physiological differences among humans of varied ecological origins.

Between two populations occupying contrasting habitats, for example, differences in

physiological performance may be derived from genetic differences, or from adaptation,
or from onto genetic effects induced by growth and development in differing
environments.

Some genetic disorders are more likely to occur among people who trace their ancestry
to a particular geographic area. People in an ethnic group often share certain versions
of their genes, which have been passed down from common ancestors. If one of these
shared genes contains a disease-causing mutation, a particular genetic disorder may
be more frequently seen in the group.

According to research, asians are more prone to tuberculosis, hepatitis B, intestinal

parasites, Lactose intolerance and cancers such as lungs, breast, colon, stomach, and
pancreas as compared to the rest of the world. African Americans are highly prone to
hypertension, sickle cell anemia and diabetes. The combined overweight and obesity
rates for African-Americans are higher than for European-Americans: 65% of African-

Psychology (328) 5
 MODULE - 4 Diversity and Individual variations

Individual Differences American men and 56.5% of African-American women are overweight or obese.
Eastern European men commonly have diseases of the digestive system and women
have higher rates of musculoskeletal complaints than the rest of the world. Native
Americans/American Indians/Native Alaskans are almost three times as likely to have
diabetes as non-Hispanic European-Americans of similar age. Native Alaskan men
and women suffer disproportionately higher rates of cancer of the colon and rectum
compared with European-Americans.
Notes Thus, physiological differences arising from genetic factors, ancestral history, lifestyle
and geographical conditions also make the world diverse. People living in various
parts of the world have varying proneness to diseases.

16.2.3 Psychological Factors

Psychological differences among people are less visible, they can be only known after
repeated and keen observation. Psychological diversity refers to the differences in
human constructs such as cognitive ability, skills, attitudes, personality and so on.

In Psychology these differences can be scientifically measured through standardized

psychological tests. These tests are reliable i.e. consistent in their results; valid, i.e.
particular about what they measure and have established norms so as to compare
one’s score obtained on the psychological attribute with the others of similar age group.

The two most common psychological attributes studied in psychology to understand

psychological diversity are:

1. Personality

2. Intelligence

Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling

and behaving. People differ from each other in personality dimensions such as Openness,
Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism (OCEAN) :

Openness to experience - It concerns people’s willingness to try new things.

Conscientiousness - It is the tendency to control impulses and act in socially acceptable

ways.

Extroversion - It concerns where an individual draws his/her energy from and how
he/she interacts with others.

6 Senior Secondary
Diversity and Individual variations MODULE - 4

Agreeableness - It concerns with how well an individual gets along with others. Individual Differences

Neuroticism - It encompasses one’s emotional stability and general temper.

Many personality theories have given psychological classification of different types of

individuals. One example of personality types is Type A and Type B personality theory.
According to this theory, impatient, achievement-oriented people are classified as
Type A, whereas easy-going, relaxed individuals are designated as Type B. You will
study personality theories in detail in the next chapter. Notes
Intelligence refers to the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. It involves
some different mental abilities including logic, reasoning, problem-solving, and planning.
Individual differences in intelligence can be assessed using the concept of IQ –
Intelligence quotient. IQ is the score most widely used to assess intelligence, and
typically measures a variety of skills from verbal to spatial. Any person from any walk
of life can be highly intelligent, and scoring high on one aspect of intelligence tends to
correlate with high scores in other aspects.

Theories on intelligence have been divided into – uni factor theories, two factor theories
and multi factor theories. As the names suggest, uni factor theories view intelligence as
one overall measure comprising a wide variety of skills. While the two factor and multi
factor theories state that there are multiple kinds of intelligence that humans possess
in varying quantities, such as, visual-spatial, logical-mathematical, and interpersonal
intelligence. Someone high in interpersonal intelligence would likely to excel at
cooperating within a group, while someone with high levels of logical-mathematical
intelligence would have a heightened capacity to understand numbers, patterns, and
logical reasoning.

Thus, according to uni factor theories people differ from each other in terms of overall
intelligence, on the other hand as per the two factor and multi factor theories people
differ in various types of intelligence. Theories of intelligence will be discussed in detail
in the chapter on intelligence.

16.2.4 Social and Economic Factors

Social traits are the most visible factors of diversity. They comprise of all the features
attached by the society to the individual, such as, one’s caste, class, race, religion and
occupational pattern. People vary drastically from each other based on their social
background and thus can be easily allotted to a particular category merely by quick
observation. For instance, people of different regions use different types of dresses,

Psychology (328) 7
 MODULE - 4 Diversity and Individual variations

Individual Differences their eating habits and customs differ.

India is one of the best examples of social diversity. Salman Rushdie once wrote, “The
country has taken the modern view of the self and enlarged it to encompass almost 1
billion souls. The self-hood of India is so capricious, so elastic, that it accommodates
1 billion kinds of difference. It agrees with its billion selves to call all of them “Indian.”

As per the Census, conducted by the government of India in 2011, Hinduism is the
Notes most common religion in India, accounting for about 80% of the population. Islam is
the second-largest religion at 13% of the population. Other major religious groups in
India are Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.9%), Buddhists (0.8%) and Jains (0.4%). People
who claimed no religion are officially recorded under ‘other’ by the census. In 2011,
0.9% of Indians selected the ‘No Religion’ category.

While the number of Indians living in urban areas has increased over the last two
decades, about 67% of people still live in rural areas. In 2011, India had a literacy rate
of 74%: 82% for men and 65% for women. The literacy rate varies wildly by state.

Data on ethnicity is not collected by the Indian census, although the CIA world Fact
book estimates the population is 72% Indo-Aryan, 25% Dravidian, and 3% Mongoloid
and other.

The diversity hence caused by social and economic factors is immense. These factors
often contribute to stereotypes and prejudices. A stereotype is an over-generalized
belief about a particular category of people. By stereotyping we infer that a person has
a whole range of characteristics and abilities that we assume all members of that group
have. Stereotypes lead to social categorization, which is one of the reasons for prejudice
attitudes (i.e. “us” and “them” mentality) which lead to formation of in-groups and out-
groups. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual
experience. We as educated Indians should free ourselves from such harmful stereotypes
and prejudices.

16.2.4 Cultural Factors

Culture is defined as people’s way of life. It entails how they dress, how they speak,
the type of food they eat, the type of festivals they celebrate, the manner in which they
worship and their art among many other things.

Indian culture is one of the oldest cultures in the world. India is a land of unity in
diversity where people of different sects, caste and religion live together. There are
also innumerable languages prevailing in India.

8 Senior Secondary
Diversity and Individual variations MODULE - 4

Individual Differences
INTEXT QUESTIONS 16.2

Match the following:

i. Openness 1. This trait features characteristics such as

imagination and insight.

ii. Agreeableness 2. It is characterized by excitability, sociability, Notes

talkativeness, assertiveness, and high
amounts of emotional expressiveness.

iii. Extroversion 3. Standard features of this dimension include

high levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse
control, and goal-directed behaviors.

iv. Neuroticism 4. It is a trait characterized by sadness,

moodiness, and emotional instability.

v. Conscientiousness 5. This personality dimension includes

attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness,
affection, and other prosocial behavior.

ACTIVITY

We enjoy with them because they are somehow similar to us such as we both might
enjoy playing cricket or we both might enjoy watching movies together, or simply we
might enjoy being in each other’s company. By now the image of your best friend is
definitely there in your mind.

Begin by listing on a paper at least 5 ways in which you are similar to and also at least
five ways in which you are different from your best friend. Now analyse each similarity
and difference in terms of which factor of diversity it falls in. For example, if you both
enjoy mathematics, then this similarity falls under psychological factor.

By the end of this activity you ll be able to understand the meaning of diversity and the
factor leading to it. Despite the difference between the two of you, you like each other,
thus differences are not bad, and they often attract us to each other.

Psychology (328) 9
 MODULE - 4 Diversity and Individual variations

Individual Differences 16.3 SPECIAL NEEDS ARISING FROM DIVERSITY

Diversity brings with it a lot of challenges. Differences of lifestyles, opinions,

backgrounds, attitudes can make it challenging to coexist. Difficulty is faced more by
the minority group as compared to the majority group.

Minority is any small group in society that is different from the rest because of their
caste, religion, political beliefs or cognitive ability or a person who belongs to such a
Notes group.

As stated earlier, diversity often encourages stereotypes and prejudices. And the targets
of these prejudices are often the minority group.

Thus, there arises a special need to help build an environment of inclusion in which
everyone feels appreciated for their unique characteristics and are therefore comfortable
sharing their ideas and other aspects of their true and authentic selves.

Following are five techniques for reducing stereotypical thinking:

 Learning to recognize one’s stereotypical responses to other people, and to

generate non-stereotypical alternatives to explain that person’s behavior.

 Remembering or imagining people from stereotyped groups who do not fit the
stereotype.

 Paying attention to other things about someone besides the stereotypes of their
group–personal things that can help you see them as an individual, not just a
group member.

 Imagining what the world looks like through the eyes of a stereotyped person.

 Deliberately seeking opportunities to get to know people from stereotyped

groups.

 Special needs in diversity also arises due to cognitive disability and physical
disability faced by a segment of the population. As per Census 2011, in India,
out of the 121 Cr population, about 2.68 Cr persons are ‘disabled’ which is
2.21% of the total population (Refer to table 16.2)

10 Senior Secondary
Diversity and Individual variations MODULE - 4

Population, India 2011 Disabled persons, India 2011 Individual Differences

Persons Males Females Persons Males Females

121.08 Cr 62.32 Cr 58.76Cr 2.68 Cr 1.5 Cr 1.18 Cr

Table 16.2 Disabled Populations in India – Census 2011

The Census 2011 revealed that, In India, 20% of the disabled persons are having Notes
disability in movement, 19% are with disability in seeing, and another 19 % are with
disability in hearing. 8% has multiple disabilities (Refer to figure 16.2)

In an era where ‘inclusive development’ is being emphasized as the right path towards
sustainable development, focused initiatives for the welfare of disabled persons are
essential.

Countries differ in conceptualization of disability, identification procedures, educational

practices, comprehensiveness of provision, and policy priorities.

In India, Rehabilitation Council of India, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

and NHFDC (National Handicapped Finance and development Corporation), aim to
economically empower the disabled while discouraging charity.

8%
19%

18% In seeing
In hearing
In Speech
In Movement
Mental Retardation
3% Mental Illness
19%
Any Other
6% Multiple Disability

7%
20%

Figure 16.2 Disabled Population by type of disability in India – Census 2011

At personal level as well we should respect diversity created by disability. We should

not think of differently challenged people as less competent than us in any way. We
often attach stereotypes with them based on misconceptions, past experiences, and
the absence of fact. For example, common stereotypes attached mental illnesses are

Psychology (328) 11
 MODULE - 4 Diversity and Individual variations

Individual Differences that they’re dangerous, unstable, and face periods of hospitalization.

Ways in which we can respect the differently-abled people and cater to the special
needs arising from such diversity are:

 Pity is not the same as compassion. Whenever you see a person with disability,
you should presume they are just as competent as you are in the job they’ve
been assigned. Never assume they aren’t capable, or that you need to step in
Notes and help.

 Using the correct terminology - Just one word that you use can degrade someone,
hurt their feelings, insult them, or even imply that you are discriminating against
them. Earlier the label ‘Disabled’ was used for referring to people with disability,
however, now the term ‘differently -abled’ is used universally. The term disabled
takes away their individual identities. Just like we would not want to be called
by a characteristic of ours which we are not proud of (such as long nose, short
height), similarly people with disabilities do not want their disability to be their
name tag.

 See the person – the individual – instead of seeing them as their disability. Maybe
they have a great sense of humor. Maybe they’re a hard worker. See them for
the things they are. They are not defined by their impairment any more than you
are defined by the color of your hair.

 Treat differently abled people as you would treat anyone else.

 If you think someone needs assistance, you can offer it. The person may accept
it or not. Either way is okay. Don’t give your assistance without their permission.
That is assuming they can’t do something on their own.

 Sometimes people may have impairments that affect the way they speak. If
you’re having problems understanding what someone says, ask them to repeat
what they said. Be honest. Be polite.

 If someone is in a wheelchair, you want to make sure you converse with them at
eye level. This may mean pulling up a chair. Don’t bend over, kneel, or lean to
talk to them. Also, don’t lean on the wheelchair as support. If you can’t sit
down, it’s okay to stand. Just look them in the eye.

12 Senior Secondary
Diversity and Individual variations MODULE - 4

 If someone has a visual disability, identify yourself and anyone else who is with Individual Differences
you. If talking to someone else other than the blind person in a group, make it
clear who you are speaking to by addressing them by name.

 Never pat people in wheelchairs on the head or on the shoulders. That is how
you would treat kids or pets. Always treat adults as adults.

 To get the attention of a person who has a hearing disability, tap them on the
shoulder. Speak slowly and clearly so the person can read your lips. Don’t Notes
block the view of your mouth. Speak in normal tones. Don’t shout.

ACTIVITY

Read the COLOR the word is highlighted in, not the word itself:

Yellow Blue Orange Black Red Green Purple Yellow Red Orange Green
Black Blue Red Purple Green Blue Orange

Did you notice that though you can make yourself do it correctly, you have to read
much slower than normal. Brain wants to read the actual word.

This is an example of how difficult it is for students with learning disabilities to get
through the day. Their brain understands what needs to be done, but they have to
struggle to make it come out right.

ACTIVITY

Now let us try the following tasks to understand the plight of differently abled people:

1. Using a blindfold, cover your eyes. Find your way through your house or any
familiar surroundings.

2. Without using your preferred hand, tie your shoelace with only one hand.

3. Using a wheelchair or a stick walk through the public. Observe the reactions
and stares the general public gives.

DO YOU KNOW

When a person has an intellectual disability, it means that they learn slower. Because
they learn more slowly, they don’t learn as much as other people might. There are over
Psychology (328) 13
 MODULE - 4 Diversity and Individual variations

Individual Differences 200 known causes for intellectual disability. About one-third of the time, no one knows
what caused it. Not everyone with an intellectual disability is alike. One person can
have mild problems while another may have severe problems. A person with an
intellectual disability may:

 Have difficulty understanding what other people say or mean;

 Have difficulty saying what they mean or how they feel;

Notes  Understanding social cues (for example, if you turn away they may not know
this means you don’t want to talk to them);

 have difficulty learning and concentrating;

 Have to do things many more times than average before they learn it;

 Act younger than their age;

 Not understand when someone is making fun of them;

 May find it hard to read or write;

 May not understand when someone tells them to do something wrong.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 16.3

State which of the following statements are ‘true’ and which are ‘false

1. One should treat people with disabilities with pity.

2. Mental Retardation is the most common type of disability in India.

3. A more appropriate term to refer to people with disability is ‘Differently abled’

as compared to ‘Disabled’.

4. Stereotypes often lead to discrimination.

5. If someone is in a wheelchair, you should converse with them at eye level.

14 Senior Secondary
Diversity and Individual variations MODULE - 4

Individual Differences
WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT

Types of
Diversity Traits

Visible Traits Eg. Invisible Traits Visible/Invisible

Notes
Physical Eg. Values and Traits Eg. Sexual
Characterist ci s Beliefs Orientat oin
Fig 1. Classification of Diversity Traits

Factors Causing
Diversity

Social and
Physical Physiological Psychological Cultural
Economic

Figure 2. Factors that cause diversity

Handling Stereotypes Handling Prejudices

SPECIAL NEEDS
ARISING FROM
DIVERSITY

Developing compassion towards Developing compassion twards

Physically challenged Mentally Challenged

Figure 3. Special needs arising from diversity.

Minority is any small group in society that is different from the rest because of their
caste, religion, political beliefs or physical and cognitive abilities. These groups are
often targeted.

Psychology (328) 15
 MODULE - 4 Diversity and Individual variations

Individual Differences
ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

16.1

1) False 2) True 2) True 2) False 2) True

16.2
Notes (i) 1 (ii) 5 (iii) 2 (iv) 4 (v) 3

16.3

1) False 2) False 2) True 2) True 2) True

TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1) What is Diversity? With the use of examples, explain the classification of diversity
trait

2) Explain the psychological factors causing diversity.

3) What are the social and economic factors causing diversity in India?

4) How does diversity create special needs?

5) What are stereotypes?

6) What do you understand by the term OCEAN that describes different types of
personalities of individual

7) Explain the physical and physiological factors causing diversity.

8) What are the different ways of reducing stereotypical thinking?

9) Outline different types of diversity traits in which people differ from each other
can be classified.

10) How does the social and economic factor impacts the society?

16 Senior Secondary
Self and Personality MODULE - 4

Individual Differences
17

SELF AND PERSONALITY

Notes

Ram, a student in XI class was staying in a hostel. He received a telephone from his
father to come home immediately. His home was in a nearby city. He did not have
enough money in hand so he was wondering what to do! His roommate asked him
what the problem was? When Ram told him the situation, he quickly took out some
money from his pocket and talked to another friend. He arranged enough money and
asked Ram to go to his home. Ram thanked him and promised to pay back the money
when he returned.

We often find ourselves in such situations where we need to make choices, and decisions
and we wonder, "What should I do? Can I, do it? Why I am not confident? Why do I
make so many errors? I do not have an impressive personality". Many such questions
and doubts come to our mind whenever we must deal with difficult situations. Some of
us can deal with such situations easily. Some do not even think they just do something
and wonder later, why did I do it? Now I am in trouble! Such different kinds of
behaviours have been explained by psychologists with the help of two concepts,
personality, and Self. What does this Self mean, and how it prompts us to act in
different situations? What is the relationship of Self with personality, and how it influences
the behaviour of a person? How can we develop an effective personality or a strong
Self? In this lesson we will learn all about Self and personality, and how it develops
and controls our behaviour. We will also learn a few theories of personality and the
techniques of assessing personality.

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Individual Differences
LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this lesson, learner :

 defines Self, self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy;
 describes the meaning of personality;

Notes  discusses type and trait, psychoanalytic and humanistic theories of personality;
 explains Self report measures and projective techniques (Word Association Test
& TAT);
 becomes aware of one's own self in different contexts; and
 uses different techniques of assessing personality.

17.1 CONCEPT OF SELF

We describe ourselves in many ways such as, 'I am tall' or 'I can learn fast' or 'I am
strong' etc. There are many such ways of describing ourselves. All these descriptions
together define our Self. We develop an understanding of the Self during our interaction
with other individuals, as well as with the physical and social environment. Based on
these interactions and the feedback from others, we form opinions about our own
Self. We define ourselves in many ways in terms of our physical, academic, social, and
emotional qualities as well as our affiliations and relationships.

A small child has no concept of Self. As a child grows, the Self develops out of his/her
experiences and interactions with the physical and socio-cultural environment within
and outside the family. In the beginning, the self-descriptions are simple like 'this is my
hand' this is my mother, or 'my family or may include our physical characteristics.
Gradually, as one goes to school, and mixes with friends, many self-descriptions are
accumulated. These self-descriptions do not exist separately. These are linked with
each other, for example, the child believes that s/he is good-looking, s/he can make
others laugh and others pay attention to him/her, and s/he is smart as a result of her
parents like her. All these self-descriptions emerge around the different domains of
development like physical, academic social, emotional, and spiritual. These are linked
and if the description in any one domain is shaken the others are also weakened.
However, there are certain core concepts which lie at the heart of the Self of the
person, while other peripheral concepts may not be so crucial. The self-concept is
constituted by those core concepts. If the core concepts are challenged the individual
is threatened and disturbed.If you challenge peripheral concepts, it does not cause an

18 Senior Secondary
Self and Personality MODULE - 4

emotional threat. Now you know why some people react to some comments so Individual Differences
strongly. For instance, the fact that you are the son or daughter of so and so or your
religion, or your age, etc., all these are core concepts. The colour you like for your
dresses or the games you play or the political party you support, all these could be
peripheral self-descriptions.

The self-concept constituted by the core concepts is not neutral. It is either positive or
negative. Accordingly, individuals think positively or negatively about themselves. For
Notes
example, a child having a negative physical self-concept may not expect people to like
him/her and accordingly may not behave confidently in social situations. This in turn
makes people not take notice of him/her, further strengthening the self-concept.Thus,
it is not easy to change either the positive or negative self-concept. The individual may
not think about all the aspects of self as positive or negative. A person with a negative
physical self-concept may have a positive academic self-concept. Also, all individuals
with a positive self-concept may not be the same. Some may have high degrees of
positivity in some areas, while others may have positive self-concepts in other areas.

17.1.1 Real-Self Vs. Ideal-Self

Self-concept does not always coincide with reality. The experiences of a child, is
responsible for development of his/her Self. For example, a child could not complete
his work due to some reason, next day teacher while asking for homework may say
you are careless. Next day by chance mother or someone else also says the same
thing. The child unconsciously accepts this, and 'I am careless' may become a part of
his/her self-description. The child may be a smart child but receiving such negative
feedback may bring down the self-confidence and make him/her a careless person.
Similarly, parents love can seem conditional, example they may insist their child pursues
science and if he/she does then only will that make them happy. The child makes
efforts to do well in science, but he/she doesn't like it, and isn't good at science. The
fruitless efforts to do well in science give rise to self-description like 'I am not intelligent'
and 'my parents are not happy with me'. The real self was intelligent but being forced
to pursue science, the self-concept moved away from the real self to a distorted self-
concept. When the real self and ideal self-pull a person in different directions the result
is negative self-concept and poor self-esteem. What about you? Just think why you
choose different options!

17.1.2. Self-Esteem And Self-Efficacy

The overall evaluation of all aspects of Self like, physical, emotional, social, academic,

Psychology (328) 19
 MODULE - 4 Self and Personality

Individual Differences etc. is called self-esteem. Self-esteem is the sum of all the positive evaluations. An
individual with high self-esteem would think of him/herself to be a good person and
would behave accordingly. Higher self-esteem may lead to greater efforts to behave in
positive ways and avoid negative behavior. (High self- esteem may not always lead to
positive behavior). Self-esteem and self-concept gradually develop right from childhood.
The way child is treated by the family, school, peers and friends determines whether
different aspects of him/her would develop in a positive or negative direction. The self
Notes has both positive and negative components, but the overall self would be either negative
or positive, but it could vary in degrees of positivity or negativity. If the child's self-
esteem is low or negative he/she would develop doubts about his or her ability to
perform various tasks successfully.

There is another related concept known as self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the expectation

of a person about his or her capability to perform different types of tasks successfully.
Self-efficacy helps a person to predict his/her success or failure in various tasks. A
person with high self-efficacy will take up challenges and spend time and effort on
certain selected tasks. It depends on the task, and the individuals' experiences with
those or similar tasks. For example, a girl may have high self-efficacy,(self-esteem) but
if her experience of cooking has been bad, her self-efficacy related to those tasks
would be low. But a boy having pleasant experiences of cooking, even if low in self-
esteem would express high self-efficacy on related tasks. Self-efficacy is related to
self-esteem. The higher the self-esteem, the chances are higher would be self-efficacy.
Observation of successful performance of people who are like us increases our own
self-efficacy beliefs. Mastery of tasks and genuine praise from parents and other
important persons also increase self-efficacy while stress and failure decreases it. It is
therefore important that children seek positive role-models and stay stress free. This is
possible when they take responsibility for themselves and stay disciplined.

ACTIVITY

Describe yourself in five positive ways in the space given below. Think about each one
of these qualities and write next to it why you think so. What made you realize this?

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

20 Senior Secondary
Self and Personality MODULE - 4

17.1.2. Development of Self Individual Differences

The concept of self develops right from childhood. When parents and care givers
create pleasant home environment, children develop positive attitudes about themselves.
Children observe themselves across situations and develop opinions about themselves.
Not only parents, even siblings and friends comments and opinions affect self-concept.
During early childhood, the Self revolves around physical characteristics. As the
cognitive capabilities and feelings develop with age, the children compare themselves Notes
with others. The comparison of Self adds adjectives to self-descriptions like, "I am
quick in learning". In school, the statements and opinions expressed by teachers,
classmates, and peers also affect the development of the Self. The child gradually
develops a whole lot of concepts about their physical, academic, emotional, and social
qualities. Each one of these concepts is accompanied by positive or negative adjectives.
As these self-concepts are emerging, the child develops positive or negative feelings
about his or herself. The overall feelings are the self-esteem of the child.

The development of self-concept is influenced by the positive and negative interactions

taking place at home, in the family, among peers and in neighborhoods. Culture is also
an important factor in development of self-concept. The experiences that occur to the
child determine the direction of self-concept. If you think of yourself as smart or good
natured it is probably because people around told you that you are smart or good
natured.

ACTIVITY

Discuss with your friends what they think about themselves. Also question them why
and how they came to think of themselves that way.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 17.1

Fill in the blanks:

i. Self develops because of child's ...................................................with others.

ii. These concepts of self are either ............................. or .................................

iii. The core concept is called ............................................................................

iv. Self-esteem is evaluation of self as .............................or ..............................

Psychology (328) 21
 MODULE - 4 Self and Personality

Individual Differences v. Self-efficacy is related to ....................................................................................

vi. Self-concept develops from.......................................................

vii. Feedback from ................., ...................and .................determines self-concept.

viii. .............................helps in development of positive self-concept.

ix. Even your ............................. and ............................. affect your self-concept.

Notes
17.2 PERSONALITY

We learned about the Self in the previous section. The word we frequently use to
describe others is personality. It is derived from the Latin word persona which means
mask people wore during theatrical performances. But it does not mean that our
behaviour is an act. It is not easy to put on an act all the time. Infact, it is reverse
because people behave in consistent ways across different situations. Even if we want
to behave differently in different situations, it would be difficult. When we talk about
someone's personality, we are referring to the visible characteristics of others to which
we are either attracted or are not attracted i.e., the way they appear. These are physical
aspects of personality. But personality includes other aspects also.
Psychologically, personality is our unique ways of behaving in different situations such
as, excited, joyful, warm, or friendly, etc. You may have observed that some people
are not easily depressed by the difficult situations for a long time and remain happy.
There are others who respond to most situations with seriousness and are not easy to
please. These are the personality characteristics which are stable across situations.
Though people do behave out of character sometimes. Remember the times you say,
'Oh What has happened to him/her? She/he is behaving so differently' Rarely, an
individual may respond to a situation very differently than his/her usual style. However,
personality can be described as ways wherein people behave consistently in most of
the situations. There are two important characteristics uniqueness and consistency.
But let us not forget that people do behave inconsistent with their personality in certain
situations. It is due to this small proportion of flexibility that the change in personality is
possible. This is where role of psychologists' and individual's own efforts become
important. This is the dynamic nature of personality. Thus, we arrive at the definition of
personality as the unique, consistent, and dynamic organization of physical and
psychological characteristics of an individual.
The uniqueness of personality means that none of us are alike. Even two persons who
are aggressive are not same in personality. There are individual differences among all
of us. Each one is unique. Now you know that all of us are different. Some are very

22 Senior Secondary
Self and Personality MODULE - 4

emotional, some aggressive and some are quiet. Even those who do seem good or Individual Differences
have effective personalities could be very different from each other. Psychologists
study personalities to understand how we develop in such different ways. They also
would like to predict the behaviour of different kinds of personalities.

Thus, knowing the personalityof people enables us to predict their behaviour in different
situations. The purpose of studying personality is to understand how it develops in a
certain way. This knowledge would help us plan experiences that would facilitate
change in a positive direction. But remember it is not easy to bring about this change. Notes
In the next section we will learn about different ways of studying personality as proposed
by different theories.

ACTIVITY

Observe yourself and other people around you carefully. Make notes of the kinds of
errors you make and the appropriate behaviour you engage in. Is behaviour consistent
across situations?

INTEXT QUESTIONS 17.2

i. Explain the meaning of personality.

ii. Why do psychologists study personality?

iii. Fill in the blanks:

a. Personality is....................,.................... and consistent.

b. Knowing personality helps us to plan ....................experiences for individuals.

17.3 THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

Now you know the meaning and definition of personality. There are many ways in
which psychologists have explained personality. We will learn in this section how these
approaches or theories explain personality. These theories suggest ways of assessment
of the structure of personality, motivation or energy sources, and the study of
development of differences in personality. Here five theories namely, type, trait,
psychoanalytic, humanistic, learning and socio-cognitive theories of personalities have
been discussed, though there are others too!

Psychology (328) 23
 MODULE - 4 Self and Personality

Individual Differences 17.3.1 TypeTheories

The 'type approach is historical, and it categorizes people into different types according
to some specific behaviors. The Greek physician Hippocrates suggested four types of
people-based on the dominance of fluid in the body. According to him, sanguine or
optimistic people have bile produced by the spleen. The choleric irritable or aggressive
have black bile, and the phlegmatic or calm have blood produced by the liver, finally
Notes the melancholic or depressed have phlegm produced by the lungs.

There is Kretschmer's types classification according to physique and character.

According to him there are four types of personality: the Pyknic type with short and
round body, athletic type with slender or slim body, athletic or strong types, and the
dysplastic or unproportionate type. There is Sheldon's classification of three types:
endomorphs with soft, fat, and round bodies, ectomorphs with tall, thin, and flat chested,
and mesomorphs with well-built bodies.

In ancient India too, the earliest very well-known physician Charak, based on humours
of the body viz. vata, pitta, and kapha suggested the nature of personality accordingly.
Though these are not pure types, tridoshas exist in people in different combinations.
Accordingly, they have combined characteristics. Those with excessive vata are
generally energetic, muscular, open-minded, alert and learn easily. Those with excessive
Pitta are generally intelligent, fastidious, strong built, competitive. Those with excessive
kapha are generally steady, patient, thoughtful and supportive.

Another worth mentioning personality theory is by Jung. According to Jung there are
two types of people, Introverts and Extroverts. Introverts are shy, withdrawn, unable
to adjust in social situations. The Extroverts are outgoing, friendly, talkative, and social
in nature. However, we know that there are few who could be categorized into either
of the above categories. The others are called Ambiverts. In the next section we will
introduce other relatively recent theories.

17.3.2 Trait theory

Traits are the observable behavioural tendencies of people that are consistent across
situations. These are like the adjectives we use to describe the behaviour of people,
for example, traits like shyness, insecurity, outgoing, confidence, aggressiveness etc.
Traits are relatively permanent and stable characteristics. The personality is constituted
by several traits. These are the building blocks of personality. There are several trait
theories. Allport's and Cattell's theories are two of the important theories. Let's look at
both the theories.

24 Senior Secondary
Self and Personality MODULE - 4

Allport's theory Individual Differences

The structure and dynamics of personality: This theory distinguishes between

two types of traits - one that are observable behaviours and the other that are underlying
internal tendencies that produce the behaviours. The shyness comes from underlying
feelings of lack of competence, confidence, and negative expectations. Thus, traits are
the result of internal processes of thinking, feeling and behavioural tendencies. He has
distinguished three kind of traits- the cardinal, central and secondary. According to
Notes
him the cardinal traits are the ones that become the defining feature of a person's
personality. i.e. control the person's behaviour, for example hardworking, punctual or
loving, helpful etc. For example, Mother Theresa was so compassionate that she
worked with leprosy patients without concern for her own self. The central traits are
the general traits that define the person, but these are not as controlling as cardinal
traits (Example of central traits could be added).The secondary traits are those which
are not as important. These are casual likes and dislikes. According to Allport, the
traits are important, but the situations are also important and influence the expression
of traits. Gandhiji was just like others till he met with an unusual situation in South
Africa which made him a non-violent fearless leader.

People engage in different activities wherein they spend their energy for tasks which
motivates them. The energies are channelized in those activities which lead to success.
These activities become motivating, the motives become identified with their personality
and become self-sustaining. These are the cardinal traits that control the personality of
a person as explained through the example of Gandhiji and Mother Teresa.

Development of personality: A child at the time of birth has unique genetic

characteristics which slowly develop into different types of traits. The maturation,
imitation and learning bring about differentiation of traits.Those traits become prominent
which bring satisfaction. These traits gradually fall into a congruent behavioural pattern
which lies at the center of all behaviours.. An important concept is that of 'functional
autonomy'. The traits or action tendencies which develop to satisfy a need gradually
become autonomous. The adults have consistencies in their behaviour which is the
result of autonomy of various drives.

Cattell's Trait Theory

This theory slightly differs from the Allports' theory. It assumes that there are central
traits that each person possesses. But these traits are present in different individuals in
varying degrees. There are 16 central traits which were identified from a list of 171
adjectives. Using a statistical procedure, a personality test was developed using these

Psychology (328) 25
 MODULE - 4 Self and Personality

Individual Differences adjectives. The test is known as 16PF questionnaire. The test yields 16 traits that are
the primary factors. Besides these, there are other traits also that are acquired because
of interaction of these traits. These are called secondary traits.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 17.3

1. Mention the different theories of personality.

Notes
2. Name at least four type theories.

3. What are the different types of personality suggested by Charak?

4. What are the different types of traits in Allport's theory?

5. What are the two types of traits in Cattell's theory of personality.

6. Fill in the blanks:

i. Sheldon identified the …………, ………, and …………....................

ii. Jung identified two important types of people ............. and ....................

iii. The personality test based on the Cattell's Personality Theory is...............

iv. In Allport's theory cardinal traits are the ------------ feature of personality.

17.4 PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY

Sigmund Freud a physician developed the first theory of personality. During the treatment
of paralysis, numbness, fainting, particularly women, he found that these patients were
not suffering from any physiological problem. According to him these people were
suffering from internal conflict among their various desires and expectations. The conflict
is not all conscious. Psychodynamic refers to this pull of psychological forces in different
directions, which causes mental health problems. The theory is described under the
following heads: structure and development.

17.4.1 Structure of personality

In this theory the personality is made up of three parts: the: id, ego, and superego. Id
includes all desires i.e., all bodily needs, sexual desires, and aggressive impulses. Id
operates on pleasure principle; it seeks pleasure and satisfaction of needs immediately.
Ego is the part that operates on reality principle. It keeps the id in control and allows

26 Senior Secondary
Self and Personality MODULE - 4

satisfaction of needs only under appropriate circumstances. For example, you feel Individual Differences
hungry during your class. A part of you wants to eat immediately but ego reminds you
of the punishment from teacher and makes you wait till recess. The ego strikes a
balance between the desires and outside conditions. Ego is partly conscious not all the
parts of ego are conscious. Third part of personality is superego. It is concerned with
moral aspect of our actions. As id wants to satisfy some need, superego lays down
conditions. It is different from ego. Let's look at the example you are at home, you
want money,there is money in the dad's almirah.The superego warns, not because of Notes
any punishment but your parents have told that it is not right to take money without
permission. Superego contains all the teachings from parents, from the school, and the
teachers, and society. These morals are lodged in superego and give direction to our
behaviour. The conscious and unconscious conflict between the three parts of our
personality id, ego, and superego determines our mental health.

Most of the conflicts are unconscious. The consciousness forms one part of personality.
The conscious thoughts and feelings are a very small part of the personality.
Preconscious another part which contains a large portion of desires, memories, and
conflicts which are unconscious, but these become available to the consciousness, if
the person pays attention. However, most of these remain unconscious. The largest
part of human personality is unconscious which is formed by the threatening desires,
motives, and conflicts. These experiences were once conscious, but these were actively
pushed into unconscious. If such experiences come to conscious, they give rise to
anxiety, so such desires, motives and feelings are continuously pushed into unconscious
part of personality. The continuous struggle among the id, ego, and superego determines
the development of personality.

17.4.2 Development of personality

The prime motive which drives people is libido or pleasure seeking: The energy
or libido is concentrated in different parts of the body at different stages. During
developmental stages the child derives pleasure from different parts of the body also
called erogenous zones. As the child grows she/he also realizes that there are limitations
on pleasure seeking. The first stage of development is the oral stage.

Oral stage: During this stage (about first 18 months)total fixation is on the mouth(the
infant primary focus is on the mouth).The child seeks pleasure i.e., food and nurturance
through mouth. The baby sucks at things and puts things in the mouth. If for some
reason, there is lack of satisfaction and pleasure at this stage. The person's libido
becomes fixated here and she/he becomes dependent on others and craves for love

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Individual Differences and nurturance. This theme may continue throughout life.

Anal stage: This stage (2-3 years) is about the time when pleasure seeking is fixated
(concentrated) around anal region. The child is toilet trained by the parents. If parents
are too strict about training or the child resists discipline. She/he gets fixated at this
stage. The behaviour of such a person is either too fussy with neatness, stubborn or
excessively undisciplined and disorderly.

Notes Phallic stage: This stage (about 4-5 years) is centered around genitals. The children
become aware of their sexuality, and they understand the intimacy between their parents.
The attraction develops towards the parent of opposite gender which is called Oedipus
complex (Oedipus was a Greek character who killed his father to marry his mother).
Those who can resolve this fixation and develop the attitudes, values, and morals of
the parents of same gender or significant others in their life develop in a healthy manner.
This also leads to development of superego i.e., the moral sanctions.

Next two stages are: Latency (7-11 years) and Genital stage (12 year onwards).
During the latency stage the children learn to express their sexuality in desirable ways
by imitating their parents. The libidinal energy is channelized in constructive ways to
schooling, games and developing other talents. The sexuality is not visible in this period.

The genital stage is maturation of the sexuality and its expression physically and
psychologically in socially acceptable ways. The satisfaction of sexual urges becomes
the main goal. Those developing healthy would be capable of hard work, take
responsibility for working towards having a job and a future with own family. The
personality of the person as evolving during earlier periods gets integrated now with
adult attitudes. For example, if they were dependent, they would still be dependent on
their parents for help and show less enterprise; while those that were independent and
identified with the parent would be self-directed.

Defense mechanisms

As stated earlier in the previous section, during the early stages of the development of
the individual, the libidinal energy gets fixated in certain regions of the body. The energy
is demanded by all the id, ego, and superego. This means the impulses of the id such
as, feelings of anger, hate or other desires demand expression. Similarly, the superego
or the parental (moral) commands rules and discipline also seek expression. The
opposing demands of these cause anxiety, however these are balanced by the ego.
The ego devises strategies to divert energy to safe activities to protect itself from the
demands of the id. The needs of the individuals' id are not satisfied, but energy is
channelized partially to hide unwanted urges of id in the unconscious. The restof the

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energy is diverted to other activities.These strategies employed by ego are called Individual Differences
defense mechanisms. Some of the important ones are given below:

Displacement- diverting attention from the anxiety causing urges to acceptable activities.
Repression- forcefully suppressing the anxiety causing memories or events.
Denial-denial of existence of anxiety producing events. (Refusing to accept the existence
of anxiety producing events)
Projection- unacceptable impulses are denied entry into conscious and are projected Notes
(displaced) on to others.
Rationalization- using an excuse to explain anxiety producing or negative experience.
Reaction-formation- the socially unacceptable experiences are unconsciously turned
into opposite type of behaviour.
Regression- stressed people behave like a child and regress (make a return) to
previous stage of development.
(It would be good to provide examples for each of these defense mechanisms for
students)

INTEXT QUESTIONS 17.4

i. Psychodynamic theory was first developed by.............................................

ii. Three main parts of the personality given in psychodynamic theory are ............,
.............................and ...............................
iii. The parents' teaching and morals are contained in ...............................
iv. .............................. is the prime motive that drives people according to
psychodynamic theory of Freud.
v. Conflicts occur because all three parts of personality try to control ....................
vi. List all the stages of development given in the Freud's theory of personality.

17.5 NEO-FREUDIANS
Apart from Freud there were severalother psychologists who contributed to the
psychoanalytical theory. Some prominent ones were Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erich
Fromm, Karen Horney, Harry Stack Sullivan, and Erik Ericson. Freud conceptualized
unconsciousness consisting of the personal childhood memories. Jung added an
important conceptualization to the unconscious part of personality, The collective

Psychology (328) 29
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Individual Differences consciousness unconscious. According to him, the Collective Consciousness

unconscious is inherited. This component is universal, and present in all individuals.
The collective unconscious is made up of 'Archetypes'. Archetypes consist of the
images and behavior patterns that are associated with conception of mother, God,
spirituality, sex, etc. These are inherited from our ancestors. Another interesting concept
that Jung proposed is the 'Persona' or the Mask. Itis the outward personality that
individual adopts, to adjust his/her behaviour to the demands of the society. It is the
Notes public personality as different from the inner or private personality.Jung also distinguished
two major personality orientations, the introversion and extraversion.Introverts are
more inward directed to their subjective world of experiences, while the extraverts are
more outwards directed to the objective world. Thus, these two types of personality
orientations are present in all individuals but one aspect is always more dominant than
the other in a person.
Yet another psychoanalytical theorist was Alfred Adler. Adler is known for his concepts
of individuals strivings for superiority, social interest, lifestyle, and creative self. Adler
believed that all individuals suffer from feelings of inferiority, as a result they try to
overcome inferiority by striving for superiority. He also believed that the human beings
are inspired by social interests such as justice, cooperation, common good and having
social relationships. His concept of lifestyle is the unique way a person develops, his
typical motivations, and areas of strivings. An important difference that he brought was
importance of training and support in developing one's lifestyle. His conception of
creative self is the product of heredity and the experiences, and it's the creative self
which provides a direction to the entire personality. Adler's contributions credited
environment and outer support as important determinants of personality.
Erich Fromm is known for his focus on social relationships. Human beings are trying to
avoid loneliness and acquire a unique personal identity.His belief was that human beings
are trying to develop healthy relationships with others but depending on the social
environment, individuals' social character evolves. Erikson proposed that the individual
passes through six stages of psycho-social stages of development. These stages of
development, if mastered successfully the individual develops as a healthy adult, else
identity crisis occurs. These stages are concerned with development of toilet control,
skills for social interaction, responsibility, hardwork, etc.

17.6 HUMANISTIC THEORY

This theory is based on the fact that the subjective experience of situations is different
from the reality. Subjective experience means how we see a situation,for example the
father is scolding the child for making noise, but the child feels he is still angry with him/

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her for not doing well in the examination. External situation here refersto the fact that Individual Differences
the child was making noise and shouting.What the child is feeling, is the subjective
reality. All of us believe that our subjective experience is real. Two humanistic theorists
Rogers and Maslow had focused on the capability of human beings to become what
they want, unlike psychoanalysts who believe that the personal development is decided
during childhood.

17.5.1 Roger's theory Notes

The main assumption of the theory is that all behaviour is the result of the subjective
perception of reality rather than reality. This reality is not easy to perceive. The individuals
have limited perception. They cannot process all aspects of the situation. Always,
there is a gap between perception and reality. The other important assumption of the
theory is that all individuals are capable of self-actualization, which means realization
of a person's full potential.

17.5.2 Structure of Personality

There are a few concepts in the theory. The 'organism'is the experiencing being. At
birth there is no self, only experiencing organism or the child. The child at birth has no
self. The growing child slowly becomes conscious of himself/herself, and develops a
'Self'. Gradually the self-concept emerges. The self-concept develops out of the
feedback given by the significant people in the life of the individual. Parents and other
significant persons make the love and care conditional. As a result, the child develops
positive self-concept if s/he fulfills the conditions laid down. Otherwise, the self develops
in a negative direction away from the real self. The Self and self-concept both these
terms were discussed earlier in the beginning of the lesson. This self-concept influences
the way development will take place. The individual wants to be the 'ideal-self' i.e., the
self they aspire to be, as per their own experiences of success or as per the demands
of the significant people in their lives.

Development of the personality

The growing child needs care, love and regard from parents and other significant
adults. But regard or care from parents is conditional on fulfillment of their demands.
Conditional regard takes them away from real self. As a result, discrepancy or distancing
occurs between real self and the ideal self, which has been termed as incongruence in
the personality. The greater the discrepancy more miserable the person is. The
development of personality demands that there is congruence between real self and
ideal self-i.e., both are closer to each other. Hence Roger placed emphasis on
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Individual Differences unconditional positive regard, so that the child feels comfortable and his/her energies
are invested in activities of his/her choice. An example of a maladjusted personality is
a child who is low achieving, and parents put pressure on him to score high so that he
could study science. Since the child is not doing well, he is not allowed to play or do
other things she/he likes doing. The child will feel helpless and miserable;it may lead to
having low self -esteem.
The family and important others may have influenced the development during early
Notes stages. But according to Roger's theory the individual has a will and independence to
choose positivity and development, rather than negativity and the tendency to blame.
The following are the qualities that help in growth-
 Acute awareness of the ongoing experience or quality of being here and now.
 Acceptance of the experiences rather than being defensive.
 Listening to the inner voice.
 Taking responsibility for one's successes and failures.

17.6.3 Abraham Maslow's theory of personality

This theory of personality just like Rogers, believed in the strong need in the individual
to grow and develop. This means that the human beings have power in them to realize
the potential that they are
born with. But the theory also
proposes that the basic needs
of the individual must be Self-
Actualization
fulfilled. These needs are
need for food, safety, love, Esteem
and self-esteem. These
needs are hierarchically Belongingness
Social Connection.
important for the individual
(FIG 6.3). That means the Safety
first three basic needs must
be fulfilled before before Physiological
they progress to the other
higher needs. Figure 17.1: Maslow Need Hierarchy

In the above pyramid, the basic needs are depicted at the base. These are physiological
needs like, the need for air, water, food, sleep, etc. these needs must be fulfilled only
then people are motivated to seek fulfillment of other higher order needs viz. the need
for safety and love etc. If physiological needs are not satisfied, the person will not

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move on to the next level, i.e. the person will not be motivated for safety. Similarly, Individual Differences
when safety needs are satisfied the person will be motivated to satisfy the needs of
love, affection, and belongingness. When all these needs are satisfied, the person
become motivated to fulfil the needs of self-esteem and achievement of one's potential.
According to Maslow, if the lower order needs are not met, the person feels dissatisfied.
The higher needs are felt for growth and development when basic needs are satisfied.
Those individuals who are motivated by the higher order needs are not necessarily
dissatisfied; rather they become more self-accepting and accepting of the societal Notes
requirements as well. These people can rise above the routine and are spontaneous
and empowered.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 17.5

Fill in the blanks:

1. i. The common component of Roger's and Maslow's theory is that humans

can become what they....................................

ii. The two most important foundations of Rogers theory are role of subjective-
................................... and ...................................to develop.

iii. The main structures of personality in Roger's theory are....................... and

....................................

iv. ................................... self is what you want to be.

v. ................................... self is what you really are.

vi. ................................... is an evaluation of various aspects of your personality.

vii. Development is in a positive direction when ...................................... and

...................................are congruent.

17.7 LEARNING THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

Skinner was one of the prominent theorists to present the learning theory perspective.
In learning theory, behavior is understood as a response to a stimulus. The response is
linked to the stimulus known as S-R connections. There are two kinds of responses-
one those genetically embedded in the individuals' reflexes and the others are learned
during development. Several such series of stimulus-response connections may lead
to complex behaviours. There are two kinds of response learning, first is the operant

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Individual Differences response (instrumental conditioning) which leads to a reward(this you must have read
in the chapter on learning). The second is the conditioned response (classical
conditioning) which is evoked by a conditioned stimulus.The theory is described below

Structure of personality

The personality is formed by learned behaviours. Learned behaviours are those which
are reinforced or rewarded. The stimulus-response connections which are followed
Notes by rewards are strengthened. For example, a girl who is rewarded or appreciated for
her cooking skills would be increasingly interested in cooking. Another girl who is
appreciated for her athletic activities would be more and more involved in those kinds
of skills. Even if the two girls could equally excel in academics due to the appreciation
received in a particular area, their personality is shaped accordingly. The inclination to
seek rewards is built up in the individual. In this theory the role of genetics and
environment is prominent but the individuals' own inner thoughts and feelings are not
given any importance.

Development of personality

A newborn child has hereditary characteristics, primary drives, and reflex actions only.
The S-R connections which are followed by reinforcements are learned. The different
behavioral tendencies emerge later because of interactions with the environment. The
infants differentiate gradually in physical, emotional, and communication patterns.
Learning, imitation, maturation, and integration lead to greater differentiation of traits.
The action tendencies which had developed earlier to satisfy a need gradually become
autonomous i.e., even in the absence of reward the behavior continues. This autonomy
of the behavior of the various drives brings about consistency in the behavior. For
example, one may eat a particular food or dish to satisfy hunger but later the taste and
the circumstances under which it is eaten also get connected. The individual is motivated
to eat the same dish not only to satisfy hunger but it is secondary motivation to seek the
same environment and stimuli. Thus, the social context of learning -the role of family,
language, and conflict experienced in early stages also are important determinants of
behaviour.

Albert Bandura known as a social-cognitive learning theorist suggested the role of

observation and attention in learning. (You have learned about perception and attention
in the previous chapter). He highlighted the role of modeling, our own cognitions or
thoughts, and social context in learning. According to him, people learn by seeing
others do certain actions. For example, when you see others begin preparation for an
examination, you too start thinking about your own studies and preparation. The role

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of self-efficacy or the beliefs about own ability to successfully perform certain actions Individual Differences
also plays an important role in learning. Those students who believe they will be able
to get through the exams put in hard work, whereas those who think they will not pass,
stay distracted. The third aspect which is a social context or environmental support is
also considered important. The expectations and support of the parents or teachers
facilitate learning and performance.

Notes
INTEXT QUESTIONS 17.7

i. The learning theorists believe that all behavior is due to the formation of
................................and ..................................connections.

ii. Personality consists of ..................................

iii. The learning of a behaviour is strengthened by..................................

iv. In addition to learning …………,………………..,and ………..play an

important part in development of personality

v. Social cognitive theory was developed by..................................

17.8 ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY

The common impression about psychologists is that they can look at people and tell
their personality. But that is not true, the psychologists use psychological tests, self-
report inventories and surveys for assessment of personality in an objective manner.
These inventories/ questionnaires include several direct questions about a person's
behaviour in different situations or the traits or qualities. These tests are objective
measures as they produce scores which are reliable i.e., the score of an individual is
similar on different occasions.Another characteristic of these tests is their validity i.e.
the extent to which the score on these tests assesses what these tests are supposed to
assess.Thus, the quality of a test is decided based on its reliability and validity.

17.8.1 Self-Report Inventories

These are measures which include questions about the persons' own qualities which
are to be answered by the person him/herself. These questions are related to behaviours,
attitudes, beliefs, and feelings in different situations. The person taking test is asked to
rate each item with respect to him/herself. The ratings have to be given on traits like
aggressiveness, shyness, seriousness,etc.in various situations. People must answer on

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Individual Differences a rating scale of '1to 5', if the trait or quality mentioned in the question/item describes
them. The problem with these measures is that people are not very accurate in their
judgement and in rating about themselves. The second problem is the 'social desirability'
of presenting oneself in positive light; so mostly people give high ratings to themselves
on desirable qualities. There is also a tendency among some people to mark themselves
in the middle range rather than think, weigh, and then give accurate rating to oneself.

Among the standardized inventories there are two prominent ones Minnesota Multiphasic
Notes Personality Inventory (MMPI) which is used for identification of psychological disorders.
The 2008 version renamed as MMPI-2-RF contains 338 items. The earlier version
named MMPI-2 contained 567 items. There are 10 sub scales: Hypochondria,
Depression, Hysteria, Psychopathic deviate, Masculinity/ Femininity, Paranoia,
Psychasthenia, Schizophrenia, Hypomania, Social introversion. The questionnaire
includes items that reveal whether people are distorting answers deliberately. The test
was meant for clinical purpose, but it is used as a personality inventory widely. The
previous scale has been adopted by scholars in many different parts of the world,
including India.

The other popular scale is the Cattell's 16 PF questionnaire which measures personality
qualities like, Emotional engagement, Emotional Stability, Liveliness, socially secure,
Vigilance, Openness, Openness to change, Perfectionism, Reasoning ability,
Dominance, Rule aware, Sensitivity, Abstractness, Uncertainty, Independence, Tension.
It is used with children, adolescents, and adults. It is used for assessment of personality
for counselling related to academic, social,emotional as well as in clinical diagnosis.

17.8.2 Projective Techniques

These are psychological tests which are based on the psychodynamic theory. These
tests make use of the concept of unconscious projection, of own unacceptable anxiety
causing thoughts and feelings on to others. The tests use unclear or vague pictures,
inkblots and photographs which are presented to people with questions as to what
they would see in them. The persons unconscious thoughts and feelings are identified
from their responses. One of the earliest projective tests is word association, which is
described below.

Word Association Test

Word association test first used by Galton and was later used by Jung. The test is a
clinical diagnostic tool, though it is used along with other projective techniques. It uses
hundred stimulus words to be presented to the person and asking him/her to say the

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Self and Personality MODULE - 4

first word that comes to their mind as quickly as possible.These words are neutral. Individual Differences
The time taken by the person to give the word in response to stimulus word is noted.
The answers are recorded. These records provide clues to the personality of the
person. It is also used to identify progress in therapy. The responses that are normal
are known, and the responses that deviate from these indicate the nature of problem.
Long reaction time, feelings accompanying the response, and inability to give response
indicate the problem, and the efforts to block the normal responses.
Notes
Thematic Apperception Test

This is another projective technique. It was first developed by Murray and Morgan in
1935. It consists of a series of cards which have human figures depicted in different
settings vaguely. Some cards have only one, whileothershave two or more. These
cards are presented to the person one by one. S/he is asked to tell a story involving
these characters with four questions: what is happening, what lead to this situation,
what are these characters thinking, and last what will happen.There are 30 cards, out
of which some are appropriate for adult men and women, while others are for girls and
boys. The test is done in a quiet setting without any disturbance. The cards are shown
to the subject one by one. Based on the individuals' responses the personality is judged
(assessed).The judgement(assessment)of the personality is based on the content of
the story, the character of the people and the feelings displayed by them. The conflicts
and the inner desires and emotions are reflected in these stories.

ACTIVITY

Think about five strengths of yourself. Write them down. Now check with others your
family and friends. What do they think about your five strengths! Do they correspond?

INTEXT QUESTIONS 17.8

i. The two important characteristics of personality tests are .......................... and

..................................
ii. The problem with self-report inventories is about --------, ------- and accuracy
of ...................................
iii. Self-report inventories include questions about own ...................................
iv. MMPI contains .................................. items and ..................................scales.
v. Cattell's 16 PF test contains 16 ..................................
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 MODULE - 4 Self and Personality

Individual Differences vi. Projective techniques make use of the unconscious tendency to
..................................one's own inner .................................. on others.
vii. Word association tests isabout quality of .................................. to words which
are presented during testing.
viii. TAT assesses individual response to picture cards in terms of
.................................., ..................................and ..................................

Notes
WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT

Self esteem and self-efficacy Self Real self Vs Ideal self

Personality

Theories of Personality Assessment of Personality

Socio- cognitive Type Trait Psychoanalytic Self Report Projective

Theory Theory Theory Theory Imuntories Techniques

Humanistic Learning Word Thematic

Theory Theory Association Apperception
Test Test
TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the concept of Self, self-concept, and its development.

2. Define self-esteem and self-efficacy.
3. Describe the concept of personality.
4. Mention the trait theories of personality.
5. Describe the Freud's theory of personality and the assessment procedures.
6. Name two the humanistic theories of personality and explain any one theory?
7. What are the basic structural unit of personality in learning theory.
8. Explain the social-cognitive theory.
9. Explain self-report means of assessment.
10. Describe any one Projective tests of assessment.
38 Senior Secondary
Self and Personality MODULE - 4

Individual Differences
ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

17.1

i. Interactions ii. Positive, Negative

iii. Self-concept iv. Positive, Negative

Notes
v. Initiative vi. Childhood

vii. Parents, siblings, and friends viii. Positive, Feedback

ix. Teachers and classmates/friends

17.2

i. Personality is our unique ways of behaving in different situations such as,

excited, joyful, warm, or friendly, etc.

ii. Knowing the personalityof people enables us to predict their behaviour in

different situations. The purpose of studying personality is to understand
how it develops in a certain way. This knowledge would help us plan
experiences that would facilitate change in a positive direction.

iii. Fill in the blanks

a. unique, flexible b. positive

17.3

1. Type Theories & Trait theory

2. Hippocrates theory, Kretschmer's theory, Charak's theory and Jung's theory.

3. vata, pita and kapha

4. Cardinal, central and secondary

5. Central and secondary

6. Fill in the blanks

i. endomorphs, ectomorphs, mesomorphs ii. Introverts, extroverts

iii. 16 PF iv. Defining

Psychology (328) 39
 MODULE - 4 Self and Personality

Individual Differences 17.4

i. Sigmund Freud ii. Id ego superego

iii. Super ego iv. Pleasure seeking

v. Libido or energy vi. Oral, anal, phallic,

latency, genital

Notes 17.5

i. Want ii. Experience, will

iii. Organism, self iv. Ideal

v. Real vi. Self-esteem

vii. Real-self, ideal-self

17.6

i. Stimulus, Response ii. Learned Bhehaviour

iii. Reward iv. Genetics and Environment

v. Albert Bandura

17.7

i. Reliability, validity ii. Social desirability, rating

iii. Qualities iv. 567, ten

v. Personality Factors vi. Project,Conflicts

vii. response

viii. Story, result, hero(story, character, feelings)

40 Senior Secondary
Intelligence MODULE - 4

Individual Differences
18

INTELLIGENCE
Notes

One of the widely studied psychological attributes is Intelligence. People differ from
one another in their ability to understand complex ideas, adapt to the environment,
learn from experience, engage in various forms of reasoning, and overcome obstacles.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this lesson, learner :

 describes the meaning of intelligence;

 discusses theories of Intelligence;

 explains the meaning of emotional intelligence;

 examines the relationship between creativity and intelligence; and

 understands the concept of emotional intelligence.

18.1 CONCEPT OF INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence is a key construct employed to know how individuals differ from one
another. Intelligence is the global capacity to think rationally, understand the world,
and use available resources effectively when faced with challenges. Intelligence tests
provide a global measure of an individual's general cognitive competence.

Different authors have defined intelligence in several ways. Alfred Binet was one of the
first psychologists who conceptualized intelligence. He defined intelligence 'as the ability

Psychology (328) 41
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Individual Differences to judge well, understand well, and reason well'. Wechsler, whose intelligence tests
are most widely used, understood intelligence in terms of its functionality, i.e. its value
for adaptation to the environment. He defined it as 'the global and aggregate capacity
of an individual to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with her/his
environment.' Others like Gardner and Sternberg have understood intelligence in terms
of an individual not only adapting to the environment but also actively modifying or
shaping it. Therefore, there is no one definition of intelligence. It is a very dynamic and
Notes ever-evolving concept.

One of the widely used measures of intelligence in an individual is 'IQ' or intelligence

quotient. IQ as a concept was derived by William Sterns in 1912, wherein he formulated
that an IQ is an individual's mental age (MA) divided by his/her Chronological age
(CA) and multiplied by 100. IQ is represented by the following formula:

Intelligent Quotient (IQ)=MA/CA x 100

The purpose of multiplication is the avoidance of decimal points. When MA is equal to

CA, the IQ is said to be 100 which is the average score of intelligence. When MA is
greater than CA, the IQ is above 100 and the individual is said to be more intelligent
than his/her peers. When MA is less than CA, IQ is below 100 and then the individual
is considered below average as compared to others of his/her age.

18.1.1. Extremes Of Intelligence

IQ scores are distributed in the population in such a way that the scores of most
people tend to fall in the middle range of the distribution. Only a few people have
either very high or very low scores. The frequency distribution for the IQ scores tends
to approximate a bell-shaped curve, called the normal curve. This type of distribution
is symmetrical around the central value, called the mean.

The mean IQ score in a population is 100. People with IQ scores in the range of 90-
110 have normal intelligence. Those with IQ below 70 are suspected to have 'intellectual
deficiency', while persons with IQ above 130 are considered to have exceptional
talents.

Intellectual Deficiency

There are children who face enormous difficulty in learning even very simple skills.
Those children who show intellectual deficiency are termed as 'intellectually disabled'.
As a group, there is wide variation among the intellectually disabled. The American
Association on Mental Deficiency (AAMD) views intellectual disability as "significantly

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sub-average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive Individual Differences
behaviour and manifested during the developmental period". This definition points to
three basic features. First, in order to be judged as intellectually disabled, a person
must show significantly sub-average intellectual functioning. Persons having IQs below
70 are judged to have sub-average intelligence. The second relates to deficits in adaptive
behaviour. Adaptive behaviour refers to a person's capacity to be independent and
deal effectively with one's environment. The third feature is that the deficits must be
observed during the developmental period that is between 0 and 18 years of age. Notes
Individuals who are categorised as having intellectual disabilities show significant
variation in their abilities, ranging from those who can be taught to work and function
with special attention to those who cannot be trained and require special attention
throughout their lives. The different levels of intellectual disability are: mild (IQs 55 to
approximately 70), moderate (IQs 35-40 to approximately 50- 55), severe (IQs 20-
25 to approximately 35-40), and profound (IQs below 20-25). Although the
development of people with mild disabilities is typically slower than that of their peers,
they can function quite independently, and hold jobs and families. As the level of disability
increases, the difficulties are strongly marked. People with moderate disabilities, lag
behind their peers in language and motor skills. They can be trained in self-care skills,
and simple social and communication skills. They need to have a moderate degree of
supervision in everyday tasks. Individuals with profound and severe disabilities are
incapable of managing life and need constant care for their entire lives. AAMD
classification of mental retardation is presented in the table below.

Table 1: AAMD classification of mental retardation.

Level Intelligence Quotient Adaptation to Demands of life

Mild 50-70 Educable, can function independently, and hold

jobs and family.

Moderate 35-49 Trainable for self-care but not educable.

Severe 20-34 Incapable of managing life and need constant

care for their entire lives May perform simple
tasks under the supervision

Profound Below 20 Require constant aid and supervision. Incapable

of managing life and need constant care for their
entire lives

Psychology (328) 43
 MODULE - 4 Intelligence

Individual Differences Intellectual Giftedness

Intellectually gifted individuals show higher performance because of their outstanding

potential. The study of gifted individuals began in 1925 when Lewis Terman followed
the lives of about 1500 children with IQs of 130 and above to examine how intelligence
was related to occupational success and life adjustment. Although the terms 'talent'
and 'giftedness' are often used interchangeably, they mean different things. Giftedness
is exceptional general ability shown in superior performance in a wide variety of areas.
Notes Talent is a narrower term and refers to the remarkable ability in a specific field (e.g.,
spiritual, social, aesthetic, etc.). The highly talented are sometimes called 'prodigies'. It
has been suggested by psychologists that giftedness from the teachers' point of view
depends on a combination of high ability, high creativity, and high commitment. Gifted
children show early signs of intellectual superiority. Even during infancy and early
childhood, they show a larger attention span, good recognition memory, preference
for novelty, sensitivity to environmental changes, and early appearance of language
skills. To equate giftedness with brilliant academic performance is not correct. Athletes
who show superior psychomotor ability are also gifted. Each gifted student possesses
different strengths, personalities and characteristics. Performance on intelligence tests
is not the only measure for identifying the gifted. Many other sources of information,
such as teachers' judgment, school achievement records, parents' interviews, peer
and self-ratings, etc. can be used in combination with intellectual assessment. To reach
their full potential, gifted children require different educational and life enrichment
programmes beyond those provided to normal children in regular classrooms.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 18.1

Note: Give your answer in the space given below and compare it with answers given
at the end of this unit.

1. Intelligence is the ability to evaluate, judge and adapt to the environment to

function effectively. (True/False)

2. Intelligence is the product of both nature and nurture. (True/ False)

3. There are four subcategories of mental retardation; they are mild, moderate,
________ and __________.

4. The highly talented people are sometimes called _______.

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18.1.2 THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE Individual Differences

We now move further to describing various widely accepted theories. The sequence
of these theories also indicates the history of intelligence theories.

Uni-factor theory: Alfred Binet was the first psychologist who formalized the concept
of intelligence in terms of mental operations. Binet's theory of intelligence is
conceptualized as consisting of one similar set of abilities which can be used for solving
any or every problem in an individual's environment. Notes

Two-factor theory: Charles Spearman (1927) proposed a two-factor theory of

intelligence. He suggested that intelligence consisted of a general factor (g-factor) and
some specific factors (s-factors). The g-factor includes mental operations which are
primary and common to all performances' factors include all specific aspects of
intelligence that help you in excelling in your field of interest. For example, Lata
Mangeshkar in singing or Sachin Tendulkar in cricket.

Theory of primary mental abilities: Louis Thurstone proposed the theory of primary
mental abilities. It states that intelligence consists of seven primary abilities, each of
which is relatively independent of the others. These primary abilities include: (i) Verbal
Comprehension (grasping the meaning of words, concepts, and ideas), (ii) Numerical
Abilities (speed and accuracy in numerical and computational skills), (iii) Spatial
Relations (visualising patterns and forms), (iv) Perceptual Speed (speed in perceiving
details), (v) Word Fluency (using words fluently and flexibly), (vi) Memory (accuracy
in recalling information), and (vii) Inductive Reasoning (deriving general rules from
presented facts).

Theory of multiple intelligence: Howard Gardner (1983) proposed the theory of

multiple intelligence, wherein intelligence is not considered a single entity; rather believes
in the existence of distinct types of intelligence. Each of this intelligence is independent
of the other. This means that, if a person exhibits one type of intelligence, it does not
necessarily indicate being high or low on other types of intelligence. Also, that different
types of intelligence interact and work together to solve a problem. Gardner described
eight types of intelligence; they are as followed:

 Linguistic (skills involved in the production and use of language): It is the

capacity to use the language fluently and flexibly, to express one's thinking and
also understand other people. Persons high on this intelligence are 'word-smart',
i.e., they are sensitive to different word meanings, can articulate, and can create

Psychology (328) 45
 MODULE - 4 Intelligence

Individual Differences linguistic images in their minds. Poets and writers are very strong in this component
of intelligence.

 Logical-Mathematical (skills in scientific thinking and problem-solving):

Persons high on this type of intelligence can think logically and critically. They
engage in abstract reasoning and can manipulate symbols to solve mathematical
problems.

Notes  Spatial (skills in forming visual images and patterns): It refers to the abilities
involved in forming, using, and transforming mental images. A person high on
this intelligence can easily represent the spatial world in the mind. Pilots, sailors,
sculptors, painters, architects, interior decorators, and surgeons are likely to
have highly developed spatial intelligence.

 Musical (sensitivity to musical rhythms and patterns): It is the capacity to

produce, create and manipulate musical patterns.

 Bodily-Kin aesthetic (use whole or portions of the body flexibly and

creatively): This consists of the use of the whole body or portions of it for the
display or construction of products and problem-solving. People high on this
type of intelligence are most likely to become athletes, dancers, actors,
sportspersons, gymnasts, and surgeons.

 Interpersonal (sensitivity to subtle aspects of others' behaviours): It

involves the skill of understanding the motives, feelings and behaviours of other
people to form and bond into a comfortable relationship with others. Professionals
high in interpersonal intelligence may include Psychologists, counsellors,
politicians, social workers, and religious leaders.

 Intrapersonal (awareness of one's own feelings, motives, and desires):

This refers to the knowledge of one's internal strengths and limitations and using
that knowledge to effectively relate to others. Persons high on this ability have
finer sensibilities regarding the purpose of their life and existence. Philosophers
and spiritual leaders seem to be high on this type of intelligence.

 Naturalistic (sensitivity to the features of the natural world): This involves

complete awareness of our relationship with the natural world. Hunters, farmers,
tourists, zoologists, bird watchers and others seem to be high on naturalistic
intelligence.

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 Triarchic theory of intelligence: Robert Sternberg (1985) proposed the Individual Differences
triarchic theory of intelligence, wherein intelligence is viewed as "the ability to
adapt, to shape and select the environment to accomplish one's goals and those
of one's society and culture". This theory conceptualizes intelligence into three
basic types: Componential, Experiential, and Contextual.

 Componential Intelligence: Componential also known as analytical

intelligence, which is the analysis of information to solve problems. This intelligence
Notes
has three components, each serving a different function. First is the knowledge
acquisition component, which is responsible for learning and acquisition of ways
of doing things. The second is the meta or a higher order component, which
involves planning concerning what to do and how to do it. The third is the
performance component, which involves actually acting upon a planned course
of action.

 Experiential Intelligence: Experiential also known as creative intelligence, is

involved in using past experiences creatively to solve novel or new problems.
People high on this aspect integrate different experiences in an original way to
make new discoveries and inventions.

 Contextual Intelligence: Also called practical intelligence, involves the ability

to deal with environmental demands encountered on a daily basis. It may be
called 'street smartness' or 'business sense'.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 18.2

Give your answer in the space given below and compare it with the answers at the end
of this unit.

1. Triarchic theory of intelligence includes three components: componential,

________, and contextual intelligence.

2. Which one is not the part of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence:

a) Interpersonal

b) Structural

c) Naturalistic

d) Intrapersonal

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 MODULE - 4 Intelligence

Individual Differences 3. Theory of intelligence given by Spearman is called:

a) Uni-factor theory

b) multi-factor

c) Primary mental abilities

d) Two-factor
Notes
18.1.3. Assessment Of Intelligence

The timeline of the history of the assessment of intelligence indicates the contribution of
several experts in the field toward the development of psychological testing regarding
intelligence.

In 1905, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon made the first successful attempt to formally
measure intelligence. Later, in 1908, when the scale was revised, they gave the concept
of Mental Age (MA), which is a measure of a person's intellectual development relative
to people of her/his age group. A mental age of 10 means that a child's performance on
an intelligence test will be equal to the average performance level of a group of 10-
year-olds. Chronological Age (CA) is the biological age from birth. A bright child's
MA is more than her/his CA; for a dull child, MA is below the CA. In 1912, William
Stern, a German psychologist, devised the concept of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ).
IQ refers to mental age divided by chronological age and multiplied by 100. The
number 100 is used as a multiplier to avoid the decimal point. When the MA equals
the CA, the IQ equals 100. If MA is more than the CA, IQ is more than 100. IQ
becomes less than 100 when the MA is less than the CA. For example, a child with an
MA of 5 would have an IQ of 50 (5/10 ´ 100). The average IQ in the population is
100, irrespective of age.

Wechsler further defined intelligence as the capacity of an individual to act

purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his or her surroundings
or situation. David Wechsler published the first intelligence test explicitly designed
for an adult population, known as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, or WAIS.
After the WAIS was published, Wechsler extended his scale for younger people,
creating the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, or WISC.

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18.1.4 Tests of intelligence Individual Differences

Wide variety of intelligence tests have been devised, which can be categorised on the
basis of the following criteria:

 Individual or Group Tests: An individual intelligence test is one which can be

administered to one person at a time. A group intelligence test can be administered
to several persons simultaneously. Individual tests require the test administrator
to establish a rapport with the subject and be sensitive to her/his feelings, moods Notes
and expressions during the testing session. Group tests, however, do not allow
an opportunity to be familiar with the subjects' feelings. Individual tests allow
people to answer orally or in a written form or manipulate objects as per the
tester's instructions. Group tests generally seek written answers usually in a
multiple-choice format. Bhatia's Battery is an example of an Individual test
whereas Raven's progressive matrices is a group test

 Verbal, Non-Verbal, or Performance Tests: Verbal tests require subjects to

give verbal responses either orally or in a written form. Therefore, verbal tests
can be administered only to literate people. The non-verbal tests use pictures or
illustrations as test items. Performance tests require subjects to manipulate objects
and other materials to perform a task. Written language is not necessary for
answering the items. For example, Koh's' Block Design Test contains a number
of wooden blocks. The subject is asked to arrange the blocks within a time
period to produce a given design. A major advantage of performance tests is
that they can be easily administered to persons from different cultures. For
example, the Joshi's Intelligence test is a verbal test of intelligence catering to the
Indian population.

 Culture-Fair or Culture-Biased Tests: Many intelligence tests show a bias

to the culture in which they are developed. Tests developed in America and
Europe represent an urban and middle-class cultural ethos. Hence, educated
middle-class white subjects generally perform well on those tests. The items do
not respect the cultural perspectives of Asia and Africa. The norms for these
tests are also drawn from western cultural groups. Psychologists have tried to
develop tests that are culture-fair or culturally appropriate, i.e., one that does
not discriminate against individuals belonging to different cultures. In such tests,
items are constructed in a manner that they assess experiences common to all
cultures or have questions in which language usage is not required. Non-verbal
and performance tests help reduce the cultural bias usually associated with verbal

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Individual Differences tests. For example, the Bhatia battery test of intelligence is a performance test
to measure the intelligence of the Indian population.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 18.3

Note: Write your answer in the space given below and compare it with the answers at
the end of this unit.
Notes
1. Binet and _______ were the first to initiate the formal measurement of
intelligence.

2. The concept of Intelligence quotient (IQ) was given by _________.

3. Shabnam is 12 years old and her mental age is 15 years. What would be her IQ
based on the provided information?

a) 120 b) 80 c) 125 d) 100

4. Koh's' Block Design Test is an example of ________ type of test.-

18.2 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

The notion of emotional intelligence broadens the concept of intelligence beyond the
intellectual sphere/domain and considers that intelligence includes emotions. Emotional
intelligence is a set of skills that underlie accurate appraisal, expression, and regulation
of emotions. It is the feeling side of intelligence. A good IQ and scholastic record are
not enough to be successful in life. You may find many people who are academically
talented but are unsuccessful in their own life. They experience problems in the family,
workplace, and interpersonal relationships. What do they lack? Some psychologists
believe that the source of their difficulty may be a lack of emotional intelligence. This
concept was first introduced by Salovey and Mayer and popularised by Daniel Goleman.
Salovey and Mayer defined emotional intelligence as "the ability to monitor one's own
and other's emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide
one's thinking and actions". This definition covers four aspects of emotional intelligence
they are emotional perception, emotional integration, emotional understanding, and
emotional management. Whereas Goleman defined EQ as a cluster of traits relating to
the emotional side of life. Goleman proposed 5 aspects of Emotional Intelligence.
They are:

1. Knowing one's own emotions

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2. Managing one's own emotions Individual Differences

3. Motivating oneself

4. Recognizing the emotions of others

5. Handling emotions

Emotional Quotient (EQ) is used to express emotional intelligence in the same way as
IQ is used to express intelligence. Notes

18.3. CREATIVITY AND INTELLIGENCE

In recent years, our understanding of creativity has broadened. Creativity is not just
limited to a selected few - the artist, the scientist, the poet or the inventor. An ordinary
individual who is engaged in simple occupations like pottery, carpentry, cooking, etc.
can also be creative. However, it has been said that they are not working at the same
level of creativity as an eminent scientist or a writer. Hence, we can say that individuals
vary in terms of the level and the areas in which they exhibit creativity and that all may
not be operating at the same level. For example, the concept of a vertical garden is not
only a beautiful site but is also an effective way of reducing the carbon footprints of the
buildings by filtering pollutants out of the air, which results in a better quality of air.
Another level of creativity is working on what has already been established earlier by
way of modifications, by putting things in new perspectives or to new use.

One important debate in understanding the variations in creativity has been the
relationship of creativity with intelligence. Terman found that persons with high IQs
were not necessarily creative. Researchers have also found that both high and low
levels of creativity can be found in highly intelligent children and also children of average
intelligence. The same person, thus, can be creative as well as intelligent but it is not
necessary that intelligent ones, in the conventional sense, must be creative. Intelligence,
therefore, by itself does not ensure creativity. Researchers have found that the relationship
between creativity and intelligence is positive. All creative acts require some minimum
ability to acquire knowledge and the capacity to comprehend, retain, and retrieve.
Creative writers, for example, need a facility in dealing with language. The artist must
understand the effect that will be produced by a particular technique of painting, a
scientist must be able to reason and so on. Hence, a certain level of intelligence is
required for creativity but beyond that intelligence does not correlate well with creativity.

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Individual Differences A general feature of most of the creativity tests is that they are open-ended. They
permit the person to think of different answers to the questions or problems in terms of
her/his experiences, whatever these may have been. There are no specified answers
to questions or problems in creativity tests. Creativity tests involve divergent thinking
and assess such abilities as the ability to produce a variety of ideas, i.e., ideas which
are off-the-beaten-track, the ability to guess causes and consequences, the ability to
put things in a new context, etc. This is contrary to the tests of intelligence which
Notes mostly involve convergent thinking. In tests of intelligence, the person has to think of
the right solution to the problem and the focus is on assessing abilities such as memory,
logical reasoning, accuracy, perceptual ability, and clear thinking. There is little scope
for the expression of spontaneity, originality, and imagination. Since expressions of
creativity are varied, tests have been developed using different stimuli like words,
figures, action, and sounds. These tests measure general creative thinking abilities like
ability to think of a variety of ideas on a given topic/ situation, alternative ways of
looking at things, problems or situations, to guess causes and consequences, to think
of unusual ideas to improve and to use common objects, ask unusual questions and so
on.

ACTIVITY

1. Prepare a list of characteristics of an Intelligent person.

2. To identify creativity, prepare a list of items of daily use like paper, pencils,
water bottles etc., and ask your friends to tell the uses of these items as much as
they can.

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Individual Differences
WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT

Intellectual Intellectual
Intelligence
Deficiency Giftedness

Notes

Theory of
Uni-factor Theories of
Multiple
Theory Intelligence
Intelligence

Two – factor Theory of Primary

Theory mental abilities

Theory of Multiple
Intelligence

Types of Intelligence

Linguistic Logical Spatial Musical Bodily Interpersonal Intrapersonal

Mathematical Kinesthetic Naturalistic

Assessment of Intelligence

Individual or Verbal, Non-Verbal or Culture-fair or

Group Tests Performance Tests Cultural-Biased tests

Emotional Intelligence

Knowing Managing Motivating Recognizing Handling

one’s own one’s own oneself the emotions emotions
emotions emotions of others

Psychology (328) 53
 MODULE - 4 Intelligence

Individual Differences
TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. What is Intelligence? Discuss different theories of Intelligence.

2. What do you mean by assessment of intelligence? Describe different types of
intelligence tests.
3. Define Creativity. Discuss the relationship between creativity and intelligence.
Notes
4. What is emotional intelligence? Explain its importance in a person's life.
5. What is the formulae for calculating IQ and what does it represent?
6. What are the different levels of intellectual disability and how do they vary in
terms of abilities and needs for support and care?
7. How is intellectual giftedness measured and what educational programs are
needed for gifted children to reach their full potential?
8. What is the theory of multiple intelligence proposed by Howard Gardner and
how does it differ from other theories of intelligence?
9. What are the different types of intelligence explained by Howard Gardner?
Explain any four briefly.
10. What are the three basic types of intelligence according to Robert Sternberg's
Triarchic theory of intelligence?

ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

18.1

1. True

2. True

3. Severe and profound

4. Prodigies

18.2

1. Experiential

2. b) Structural

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Intelligence MODULE - 4

3. d) Two factor theory Individual Differences

18.3

1. Simon

2. William Stern

3. c) 125
Notes
4. Performance test

18.4

1. c) Both of the above

2. c) Divergent

3. b) Terman

4. d) Goleman

Psychology (328) 55
 MODULE - 4 Intelligence

Individual Differences

Notes

MODULE -5

Social Processes and Behavior

This module introduces the learners to the various social processes that influence human
behaviour and social functioning. The learners will understand different group processes and
their influence on individuals and groups. Further the learners will also understand the
concept of leadership, attitude and pro-social behaviour.

19. Group Processes

20. Attitude

21. Pro Social Behavior

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Social Processes and

19 Behavior

GROUP PROCESSES
Notes

Rahul is a 17-year-old boy. He was playing a game on his mobile phone, when his
mother called out to him to accompany her to the market to buy vegetables. He was
reluctant to go but at last he agreed. On his way to the market, they passed by a
playground and saw a cricket match going on in full swing. The players were in matching
uniforms and all were concentrating on the action of the batsman and the bowler. On
reaching the market, he saw many people buying things of different kinds, some were
bargaining and others were giving money to the shopkeepers. On the other end, the
shopkeepers were selling their goods and calling out to the customers to buy from
them. He was quite fascinated seeing the commotion going around and began to
wonder, what could be the difference between this collection of people in the market
and those in the playground. Like Rahul, you must have encountered a similar experience.
You must have seen a huge collection of people in the bazaar or a mall. Are they called
groups? No, they are just a mere gathering of people who happened to be at the same
time and place for their own personal purpose. So then, what are groups? Can those
players in the playground fit to be called a group? How are groups different from
other kinds of gathering of people?

In this chapter, the questions will be answered and additionally, you will learn about
groups and gain a wide understanding of its features and its influence on performance
and decision making in our day to day life. Later in the chapter, you will also learn
about leadership and the essential characteristics of effective leaders.

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Social Processes and

Behavior LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this lesson, learner :

 describes group and its features;

 recognizes the type of groups which we come across in our life;

Notes  describes the formation of groups;

 determines the influence of groups on performance and decision making;

 defines leadership; and

 identifies the characteristics of effective leaders.

19.1 GROUPS

Groups are people who have come together for a common agenda and purpose. Two
people are often considered as a "dyad" rather than a "group." A group consists of
three or more people who interact and are interdependent on each other. For example,
family, football team, dance troupe, a bunch of people who are working on a specific
project, etc. All of these are considered as groups as the members interact and influence
one another and are different from other collections of people.

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Social Processes and

Behavior

Notes

Figure 19.1: A group of people working on a project (top) and a crowd of people
in the market going about with their own work (bottom)
(Source:-www.unsplash.com)

Groups have the following salient features

(i) Groups are governed by social norms. Norms are conventional or unwritten
social practices, behaviors, thinking, outlook, etc that are widely accepted by
society. These norms guide the members how to behave and act in a group. For
example, a sports team should wear team uniforms during the match/game and
no other casual clothes;

(ii) Groups have common needs, motives and goals; moreover, the members in the
group strongly depend on each other to achieve their desired outcome;

(iii) The individuals constitute the group, interact and share ideas and thoughts with
one another;

(iv) Group members have well defined social roles- specific expected behavioral
roles that they are supposed to perform and also to do it well. For example, a
teacher and a student in a class have different roles and are expected to act as
per their roles assigned to them;

(v) The people who constitute a group are interdependent on one another- the
action or behaviour of one has an impact on the other.

Thus, groups are organized collections of individuals who have come together for a
common motive, purpose and goals, guided by social norms and expected to behave
as per role expectations.
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Social Processes and Functions of Groups

Behavior a) Groups fulfill the individual need for belongingness. As a social being, we feel
the need to relate to one another, seek affection and care for each other.
b) People also join groups in order to feel secure and protected as it gives them a
sense of greater strength and power when in a group.
c) Groups also give us a sense of identity as to how we define ourselves - a set of
Notes people who share distinct characteristics like common origin, religion, race, etc.
This sense of identity comes from being a member of a certain group which
gives the members their self-worth or value.
d) Being in a group helps them to increase their knowledge by getting information
from other members.
e) Groups also help the members to achieve their goals quickly as compared to
working alone.
Being in a group makes them feel closer to one another and therefore develops a
sense of security through shared identity and power. The members are able to identify
themselves and one another based on their affiliation with the respective groups.

ACTIVITY

Identify and list out the different types of groups that you are part/member of.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 19.1

Fill in the blanks:

a) Groups satisfy our need for………………..and ……………….…..

b) ………………..directs our actions and ways of behavior in groups.

19.2 GROUP FORMATION

There are many conditions and factors which are conducive and lead to the formation
of groups. The three main factors are:

(i) Groups are formed due to proximity like, physical proximity. For
example: residents of the same building or colony who often meet for morning
walks constitute a group. The more people tend to meet each other, the more

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we come to know about one another and the more likelihood to form groups Social Processes and
depending on similar interests and other likings. Behavior

(ii) Groups are also formed due to similarity .People discover similar interests, share
common ideas, opinion, values and other factors tend to bond with one another
based on their similarities and may come together as a group. For instance, a
Book Club where the members are part of the group due to their shared interest
in reading books. It is a relationship based on stability and balance.
Notes
(iii) Having a common goal and objective could also be a reason for forming groups.
Trade Union is an example of an association of workers formed for the common
interests and fulfilment of the common goals.

Figure 19.2: A group of people doing yoga. Such groups are usually formed due to
similar interest in health and fitness. (Source:-www.unsplash.com)

19.2.1 Group Development

In 1965, a psychologist by the name, Bruce Tuckman proposed five stages of group
development: forming; storming; norming; performing and adjourning. Each stage plays
a vital role in building a high-functioning team.

These five stages are as follows:

1. Forming

This is the initial stage and the group is characterized by uncertainty and lack of
clearly defined structure. People are just getting to know one another and
discovering the ideas and opinions of one another. It is the period of relationship

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Social Processes and development. Orientation day at a new job is an example of a group forming
Behavior stage.

2. Storming

In this stage, the members become more aware of one another's weaknesses or
habits. With growing familiarity, conflicts might arise due to disagreements,
frustration or annoyance with each other. The reasons for the conflicts could be
Notes differences on what are the group goals, how to achieve it, who will lead the
group, where to get the resources, division of work or responsibilities and
expectations from the task or job at hand. It is important to work through the
conflicts and then develop well-structured and clearly defined goals of the group.

3. Norming

At this stage, norms are developed regarding the behavior of its members and
also the possibilities and expectations from each member. A group identity is
formed and a cordial relationship develops among the group members. For
example, in a dance troupe, the members began to identify themselves not only
as individual dancers, but as a group of dancers. Therefore they begin to
understand the need to perform their respective roles and cooperate more with
the fellow troupe members to get the perfect combination and rhythm. The
members are now more committed towards achieving the group goals.

4. Performing

Once the norming stage is completed, the group members unitedly work towards
the attainment of the targets of the group. The group becomes functional and
now it is time for performance. The group members are willing to co-operate
and trust each other and are enthusiastic to adapt as per the need of the overall
group.

5. Adjourning

It is the final stage where the group after achieving the target or goals for which
it was set up is dissolved. The existence of the group is no longer required as the
purpose has been met.

However, you should note that for some groups, the performance stage is the final
one. But for some groups formed temporarily, adjourning is the last stage in group
formation as once the task is completed, it is dissolved. The stages of development of
groups do not always flow in a rigid stage by stage pattern. Sometimes the stages can

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go hand in hand or can start from the later stage or may even skip some of the stages. Social Processes and
Therefore, it is important to note here that each group is unique in its formation and at Behavior
times the sequence depicted in the five stages model may vary from one group to the
other.

FORMING STORMING NORMING PERFORMI ADJOURNING

Figure 19.3: Stages of group development

Notes
19.2.2 Composition of Groups

A structure of the group is formed in the process of group formation. Groups have
distinctive features and key components. They are given below:

 Status: Members of a group occupy different positions or rank within the group.
Basically it is the hierarchies in the group which defines a member's position in
the group. For example, a cricket team has captain, vice-captain, senior and
junior players.

 Roles: The members in the group do not perform the same functions and are
expected to play different important roles and complete the task as per the role.
Sometimes the roles are assigned and at other times the roles are acquired. For
example, in a football team there are goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders,
forwards and strikers.

 Norms: Standard and accepted rules which govern the behavioural conduct
within a group that might not be written but is considered the appropriate way
to follow. For instance, the expected manner in which the students should behave
in the class like to be attentive, maintain silence and so on.

 Cohesiveness: The force that binds members in a group, like a feeling of

oneness, togetherness, belongingness and many other factors. The out-group is
seen as something different and the presence of the out-group is seen as a
competitive threat and it consequently leads to the increased bonding of the
members in their own groups.

19.3 TYPES OF GROUPS

You must have come across many types of groups in your daily life. Nature of groups
can differ from one another in terms of their function- social service or profit making
business; size - football team or citizen of a country; duration -short term group formed

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Social Processes and for a specific project or a religious group; geographical distribution - an Asian or an
Behavior African group and so on. People may belong to different types of groups at same time.

The various groups can be broadly categorized as listed below:

(i) Primary group

Primary group is a group in which the relationship is close, personal and the
members often have face to face interaction. Family is a perfect example of a
Notes primary group. A family is a social unit where the members have a close bond
and intimate relationship among themselves.

(ii) Secondary group

The secondary groups in contrast are those where the relationships are less
personal, intimate and indirect in nature. Large groups like, political parties,
clubs, environmental movements fall under secondary groups. Unlike the primary
group, the members do not involve much in each other's personal matters.

Thus, primary groups tend to be more cohesive than the secondary groups as it
involve strong emotional bonding, deeper level of intimate relationships and one
to one engagement with one another.

(iii) Formal Groups

In the formal groups, the members have clearly defined roles; communication
flows through a channel and a professional relationship exist within the members.
Military unit is an example of a formal group where the communication follows
a standard procedure or channel. Here the command flows from higher official
to lower order within the unit. They have a well-defined set of roles for the
respective members in the group. The high-ranking officials are responsible for
decision making and looking after the members of the unit.

(iv) Informal Groups

Informal groups are loosely structured with no rigid rules or defined roles and it
is built on casual and friendly relations. These often get created spontaneously
by people mostly to fulfil their social needs. A group of random people who
gather to play cards is an informal group.

(v) In-groups

People tend to categorize themselves and others on the basis of race, religion,
class, caste, gender etc. The groups in which we belong are known as in-groups.

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We use words like 'we' for the groups in which we belong Social Processes and
Behavior
(vi) Out-groups

We also categorize others on the basis of their race, religion, class, caste, gender
and on the basis of other parameters. The groups in which we do not belong are
termed as out-groups and we used the term 'they' for the out-groups.

In-groups and out-groups way of description of groups is used to highlight the

Notes
similarities and differences between the groups. It is commonly found that people
tend to favour their own groups and highlight more desirable features about
their own groups, while the people of the out-groups are seen as being different
and not so much in a positive manner. Though such perceptions or outlook are
a common tendency of people, it is important to note that various diversities or
differences should be upheld and celebrated, rather than shunned out as it
contributes to the richness of the society.

(i) Primary Groups (iii) Formal Groups v) In-groups

E.g. Family E.g. Military Unit E.g. we are Punjabis

(ii) Secondary Groups (iv) Informal Groups (vi) Out-groups

E.g. Book Club E.g. Random group E.g. they are
of people who Gujaratis
gathers to play
cards

Fig 19.4: Types of Groups with examples

INTEXT QUESTIONS 19.2

1. State whether the following statements are True or False

i) Formal groups have properly organized structure. True/False

ii) Cohesiveness creates disunity within the group. True/False

2. Fill in the blanks

……………...and…………….are reasons for formation of groups.

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Social Processes and 19.4 INFLUENCE OF GROUPS ON INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE

Behavior AND DECISION MAKING

The presence of others has an important effect on our individual performance and in
arriving at a concrete decision. Sometimes an individual's performance in a group
tends to differ when the individual performs the same task alone. The presence of
others sometimes can improve the performance and at other times it may also decrease
an individual's performance. A detailed description of these phenomena is given below:
Notes
19.4.1 Social Facilitation

When an individual's performance is improved by the presence of others than when

they are alone, this is called Social Facilitation. For example, you are able to run much
faster when you are in a competition with others than when you run alone. A landmark
study on social facilitation was done by Norman Triplett in 1898. In his research, he
observed that the cyclist rode much faster when they raced against each other as
compared to when they cycled alone. Social facilitation can occur by the presence of
others who perform the same task. The mere presence of an audience or spectators
can also lead to social facilitation. Social facilitation may not be observed in every
situation. For instance, the presence of people may simply decrease the performance
and the person may commit a series of errors in the presence of others. This occurrence
is known as social inhibition. For example, a person who has a fear of public speaking
may stutter or make silly mistakes while speaking to an audience, but is able speak
effortlessly when practicing alone.

Figure 19.5: A bicycle race with the audience cheering on.

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The presence of spectators and fellow competitors can lead to social facilitation Social Processes and
Behavior
There are many reasons as to why social facilitation occurs.

 The presence of others leads to feelings of increased arousal which leads to

improved performance.

 The second reason is due to the evaluation apprehension hypothesis, i.e. concern
about negative evaluation or judgement by other people which arouses people
to perform well, especially on simple tasks. Notes

 The desire to make a positive impression on others.

19.4.2 Social Loafing

In social loafing, the influence of others leads to decrease in performance of an individual

when performing an activity as part of a larger group than performing alone. Let us
suppose in a certain school, all the students were asked to clean the school surroundings.
Since there are hundreds of students, each student will expect the work to be done
easily and therefore may choose to put in less hard work. Individuals may relax and
rest from time to time knowing that the others would work and that they could pass-
off unnoticed since there are hundreds of students working together on the same activity.
This social behavior of reduction in individual efforts when the output of the group is
combined together with the other members for a single task is known as social loafing.
Here the intensity of efforts put in by each individual would be less when working in a
group, as each member feels that their individual contribution is not identifiable. Whereas
the efforts put in by each individual would be more if they were asked to work alone
and clean a specific area, as their individual contribution would be identifiable. In
social facilitation, the presence of others gives a boost to the performance of an individual
when performing the task alone, but in social loafing the presence of other group
members who performs the task together reduces the performance of individuals as
their contribution is less noticeable and not easily evaluated.

Some of the reasons as to why social loafing occurs can be attributed to:
 Individual members feel less responsible for the collective task and therefore
contribute less effort when they work as a group.
 Since the contribution of work of each member would not be checked separately,
the motivation level of the group members decreases.
 Not proper coordination and differences in commitment level among the group
members.
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Social Processes and Social loafing could decrease by:

Behavior
 Building the bond of the group members and making them understand the
importance of collective responsibility.

 Making the group members feel important by counting their individual efforts.

 Make them know of the importance and value of the given work and thereby,
increasing the pressure to work hard together.
Notes
19.4.3 Groupthink

Groupthink is a phenomenon which occurs in a group. Here the group members think
that unity and harmonious relations of the group members is more important than
taking correct decisions and rational judgements. Therefore, the group members try to
maintain the balance of the groups by avoiding disagreement and conflict over logical
arguments and reasoning. For example in a board meeting a company director proposed
an idea about how to expand the business. All the board members agree to execute
the idea, though some of them felt the idea was not really good but accepted the idea
to maintain unity and good relation with the director and other board members.

Groupthink is likely to occur when the group is highly cohesive. Here the group members
avoid sharing opinions which may be different from others. The group leader actively
controls and directs the discussion and decision making. Groupthink also happens
when there is a feeling of external threat by the members.

The consequences of Groupthink are:

 Inadequate survey of alternative actions.

 Failure to examine fully the risk of the accepted choice.

 Failure to gather the required information.

 Failure to develop contingency or optional plans.

How to avoid Groupthink:

 The leader of the group should be impartial and accept criticisms as well as
differences of ideas from the members.

 Opinions and ideas from outgroup members should be invited and encouraged.

 The leader should create several sub-groups and let them meet separately and
then bring all the sub-groups to share their respective ideas to be discussed.
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 Sharing of anonymous opinion should be encouraged through secret ballot to Social Processes and
gather honest opinion from the members. Behavior

19.4.4 Group Polarization

Group polarization is the tendency of groups to take extreme actions or decisions

rather than the initial actions or decisions of the individual members. For example-
individual group members may be initially contemplating to invest a small amount in a Notes
business venture but when business partners join in larger number, they becomes
ambitious enough in investing a more exorbitant amount which could be quite risky.
The concept of group polarization was developed after the phenomenon of risky shift
effect put forth by James Stoner in 1961. Stoner studied the risk- taking decisions of
groups and individuals and found that groups take much more risky decisions than
individuals. This shift from the safer course of action when as an individual to a risky
course when in a group is known as a risky shift and this concept prompted many
scholars to do further research on group polarization.

Why Group Polarization happen?

 We usually want to be accepted and liked by others in a group. Therefore, there

is a tendency to adopt the beliefs, ideas and attitudes in order to fit in the group.
Individuals may favor a similar opinion of the group but may develop an extreme
form. If people wish to be liked by members of a certain group, they generally
take up the attitudes and actions consistent with the group so that they would be
accepted more favorably by the members and the leader.

 If the majority of the group members strongly support an attitude or an action,

the other in-group members who do not have a strong individual stand are likely
to develop and strengthen his position in alignment with the position of the majority
within the group.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 19.3

1. What is it called when the performance of an individual member improves in the

presence of others?

2. What happens when individual members in a group put in less effort in a collective
task?

3. Match the following

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Social Processes and a) Highly cohesive group i) Group polarization

Behavior
b) When groups members take extreme
decisions than when as an individual ii) Group think

c) Risky shift effect iii) James Stoner

19.5 LEADERSHIP
Notes If we observe any group, organization or nation state; we would find that there would
be a person who influences or exercises social power over the others in order to
accomplish certain objectives of the group. Without such a person, no group or
organization can expect to arrive at a decision to fulfill the goals and vision of the
group. For example, a school captain has influence and exercise more power over the
others in the class and he/she leads the fellow students in decision making and other
aspects. Therefore, in every group we will find that there is a person who is more
influential and who commands more respect or power than the other members of the
group. The person who can influence the other members to think and act in the desired
direction eventually becomes the leader of the group and the others followers.
Leadership is defined as the process in which the leader influences and directs the
followers towards the goal achievement of the group. Great leaders like Mahatma
Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and Indira Gandhi are exceptional leaders
who showed courage, led and guided their followers.

Figure 19.6:Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela are exemplary leaders of all times.

The leaders and followers need each other; they also influence each other while

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arriving at a decision and in various other activities. However, leaders have more Social Processes and
influence over the followers. Leaders are not the only ones who occupy power positions Behavior
in a group but leaders may also be the ones who want to make a difference, bring
positive changes and implement novel ideas for the welfare of the group.

Early researchers have promulgated two types of leadership theories. The first one is
the Great Man Theory, which assumes that great leaders are born and have unique
background which makes them different from the followers. The second is Trait Theory,
Notes
which maintains that a person associated with certain personality traits like intelligence,
self - confidence, creativity, drive, flexibility and integrity has the tendency to lead
others. However, numerous studies have found that there is a very weak relationship
between personality traits and leadership abilities.

Leadership should be understood from the amalgamation of both personality traits

and situational context. Seeing leadership from a single point of view would lead to
inadequate understanding of the true essence of a leader. Type of leadership varies
depending on the kind of work, situation or circumstances. For example, in a social
welfare organization, a relationship oriented leader would be more effective while for
a private company, a task oriented leader would be more successful.

ACTIVITY

Identify any two leaders who have been your inspiration. What are the qualities that
you admire in them?

There are different kinds of leadership styles. The most prominent among them are
transformational, transactional, autocratic and democratic leaders. They differ in the
type of functions they perform and the manner of functioning.

 Transformational leaders are characterized by trust and confidence in their

subordinates; inspire them to achieve their goals, lead an exemplary life and
strive to bring positive changes for the development of their subordinates.
Mahatma Gandhi is an example of a transformational leader.

 Transactional leaders perform the act of planning, organizing, controlling and

streamlining of the group. This type of leader is more concerned about the end
result and meeting the set target of the group. For example, a manager of a
company or the coach of a sports team. They give rewards, recognition and
privileges to the subordinates for good performance and achievement of the
group goals.

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Social Processes and  An autocratic leader assumes absolute power and dictates the decisions and
Behavior activities of the group. The leader determines the working system, imposes goals
on the group and resists changes. Adolf Hitler is an example of an autocratic
leader.

 A democratic leader believes in participation, involvement of the members in

the activities and the decision -making process of the group. He indulges in
interpersonal relations and works for the welfare of the members. Example: The
Notes Prime minister of a democratic country like India, England, etc.

Characteristics of Effective Leaders:

 Effective leaders work hard towards the achievement of goals

 Effective leaders are driven by a desire to excel.

 Have good communication skills.

 Effective leaders are self- confident and are assertive.

 Effective leaders are open to new ideas, experiences and can be flexible.

 Such leaders have high personal integrity and maturity.

 They have good interpersonal skills.

 They are considerate and have the ability to listen.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 19.4

Fill in the blanks

1. ……….. theory says that leaders have special personality characteristics which
make them a leader.

2. ………… leaders are concerned about their subordinates' welfare.

3. …………. leader believes in collective work and participative decision making.

4. A leader should possess …….. skill in order to build good rapport and cordial
relation with their members.

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Social Processes and

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT Behavior

Group Process

Notes

TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. What are groups? Explain the basic features of groups.

2. Describe the factors and the stages in the formation of groups.

3. Describe the different types of groups with examples.

4. How can the presence of others influence our behavior and decision making?

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Social Processes and 5. Explain the nature of leadership. Give the characteristics of an effective leader.
Behavior
6. What is the relationship between personality traits and leadership abilities
according to early leadership theories and current research findings?

7. What are the reasons for group polarization and what is the phenomenon of
risky shift effect in group decision making?

8. How different groups differ from one another in terms of characteristics and
Notes relationships among members?

9. What are the main features and characteristics of groups, and how do they
differ from collections of individuals?

10. What are the five stages of group development proposed by Bruce Tuckman
and how does each stage play a role in building a high-functioning teams?

ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

19.1

a) Belongingness, security

b) Norms

19.2

1. i) True ii) False

2. Proximity, similarity

19.3

1. Social Facilitation

2. Social Loafing

3. a) ii b) i c) iii

19.4

1. Trait 2. Transformational

3. Democratic

4. Interpersonal

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Social Processes and

20 Behavior

ATTITUDE
Notes

"Sahil is a student of class 2nd. One day he heard his elder sister talking about the
need for waste segregation to control environmental pollution. Unable to understand
the issue, Sahil asked his father to explain what waste segregation is and why is it
important? His father told him that dry waste may include wrappers, glass, metals etc
which can be later recycled and used whereas wet waste refers to biodegradable
kitchen waste like fruits and vegetable peels, seeds, used tea leaves, egg shells ,paper
bags etc that can be easily turned into rich manure for trees and plants. He told Sahil
that waste segregation is important as it makes the process of recycling of waste into
something useful easier. Waste segregation thus helps in controlling pollution by reducing
the amount of waste that needs to be disposed off. His father also showed him several
videos related to waste segregation and recycling. Sahil gets very inspired by all the
information and pledges that he too would contribute towards waste segregation and
protection of environment by informing his friends about it."

The above example clearly highlights how one evaluates and understands the social
world around us in the form of attitudes.

In this chapter you will study the concept of attitude, its formation as well as changes
in attitudes. The chapter also provides an insight into the concepts of stereotypes,
prejudice and discrimination and how can these be reduced. Further the chapter aims
to establish a link between how attitude and intergroup conflicts and also explores the
ways of resolving such conflicts.

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Social Processes and

Behavior LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this lesson, learner :

 understands the concept of attitude;

 lists the factors that contribute to attitude formation;

Notes  analyzes the process of attitude change;

 understands the concept of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination;

 explains factors causing prejudice and discrimination; and

 specifies the nature of intergroup conflict and its resolution.

20.1 WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY ATTITUDE?

An attitude can be understood as an evaluation of certain aspects of the social world

around us. It could be an evaluation of an event, an individual, an object or even any
idea .It is an abstract construct that can only be inferred through the behaviour of the
individual. Many of us think that attitudes are mere opinions about a person, a thing or
an event. However, it's important to understand the difference between these two
terms.

Just think about the number of times we use the phrase 'In my opinion….' Or 'I strongly
feel that this needs to be handled like this…'or 'As per my understanding……".These
examples indicate our 'opinion' or thoughts about a particular topic which may or may
not be very important to us. Now when these thoughts or opinions that one holds are
extremely important to them so much so that if someone opposes these, they react
emotionally or when these opinions are not just simple ways of thinking but also start
getting reflected in the behavioural patterns, then in such cases these are not simple
views or opinions, these are called attitudes.

All definitions of attitudes agree that an attitude is a state of the mind, a set of views, or
thoughts, regarding some topic (called the 'attitude object'), which have an evaluative
feature (positive, negative or neutral quality). It is accompanied by an emotional
component, and a tendency to act in a particular way with regard to the attitude
object. The thought component is referred to as the cognitive aspect, the emotional
component is known as the affective aspect, and the tendency to act is called the
behavioural (or conative) aspect. Taken together, these three aspects have been referred

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to as the A-B-C components (Affective-Behavioural- Cognitive components) of Social Processes and

attitude. Behavior

COGNITIVE

AFFECTIVE
Notes

BEAHVIOURAL

Figure 20.1: Three components of Attitudes

Example:

Neha, a college student has extremely negative views about the environmental hazard
posed by use of plastic. She strongly feels that plastic use should be minimised as
much as possible as its non-biodegradable nature has extremely harmful and long-
term effect on our environment and ecosystem. Recently on her visit to market, she
became extremely angry with a shopkeeper who was using a plastic bag for storage.
Also she has been actively participating and organizing various awareness campaigns
against plastic use in her locality as well as neighbouring societies.

What We Learn from the Example

Clearly, Neha has a negative attitude towards the use of plastic. The arguments that
she shares with others clearly show that her attitude are acting at a cognitive level. Her
attitude not only has an impact on her emotions (her anger with the shopkeeper) but
also her behavior (participating in awareness campaigns).

LET'S DO

Case Study:

Rakhi has been greatly influenced by the "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" initiative undertaken
by the government to promote cleanliness. She often reads about the various cleanliness
drive and awareness campaigns that have been organized in this regard. She keeps a
track of the various community programs that have been organized through social
media. Rakhi becomes angry when she sees people throwing garbage on streets. She

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Social Processes and has even launched a weekly cleanliness drive in her locality with the help of an NGO.
Behavior
Keeping the above case in mind, identify the cognitive, affective and behavioural
components of Rakhi's attitudes towards 'Swachh Bharat" mission.

Answer: (Cognitive: information gathered by Rakhi by reading about various cleanliness

drives and awareness campaigns; Affective: Rakhi becomes angry when she sees
people throwing garbage on streets; Behavioural: Rakhi has organised a weekly
Notes cleanliness drive in her locality.)

20.2 FORMATION OF ATTITUDE:

Attitudes can be learned or acquired through various sources. The primary sources
being:

1. Attitude formation through classical conditioning

2. Attitude formation through operant condition

3. Attitude formation through modeling/observational learning

4. Attitude formation through social comparison

5. Attitude formation through group and cultural norms

6. Attitude formation through exposure to information

Let us consider these sources in detail:

 Attitude Formation through Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is a basic form of learning in which an initially neutral stimulus

acquires the potential to evoke responses through repeated pairing with another stimulus.
For example, a student may not show any emotional response to a fountain pen he/she
has recently purchased. However, it so happened that each time the student wrote the
exam with this pen, he/she scored very good marks. This may lead the student to
associate happiness with that pen.

Having understood the concept of classical conditioning, let us now understand how it
shapes attitude. For example: Amit likes spending time with his best friend Robin.
Robin is very fond of playing football and goes to play in the local park every day. In
order to spend time with Robin, Amit has also started accompanying him to park and
has started playing football. Now Amit has also started developing liking for the sport.
This is because Amit has started associating positive affect that he has for Robin with

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his choice of sport i.e. football as well. Social Processes and

Behavior
In other words, a positive attitude that Amit has for his friend Robin gets associated
with the sport that was initially neutral for Amit.

 Attitude Formation through Operant Conditioning

Instrumental conditioning is another basic form of learning in which responses that lead
to positive/rewarding outcomes or that is instrumental in avoiding negative outcomes
Notes
are strengthened.

For example, a child observes that his/her mother feels happy when he/she finishes
food. This makes the child regularly eat well and finish the food due to the positive
reinforcement that the child receives. Taking another example, after returning from the
school, the child used to eat food without washing hands. This habit of the child used
to make his/her mother upset. The child realized that when he/she washes hands before
eating, the mother is not upset anymore. Thus the child's behavior gets strengthened as
it helps him/her to avoid negative reinforcement.

Let us now see how this principle of learning may lead to the formation of attitude. The
role of instrumental conditioning in the formation of attitude can be easily seen particularly
in case of children. A child may notice that when he/she switches off the lights and fans
when nobody is in the room, the parents shower him/her with appreciation and praises
for acting responsibly and saving electricity. This behavior eventually may get
strengthened in the child in anticipation of positive outcomes and thus the child may
develop positive attitude towards saving electricity.

 Attitude Formation through Modelling: Example

Formation of attitude is also possible through the process of observational learning/

modelling. A number of behaviors are learned by watching the activities of others and
the outcome of such activities. For example: A child may watch his/her grandparents
being respected and taken care of by everyone in the family. The child may acquire the
same behavioral patterns and develop a positive attitude towards aged people in general.

 Attitude Formation through Social Comparison

Attitude may also be formed through the process of social comparison according to
which we are constantly comparing ourselves with others with the desire to hold 'right'
view about the social reality. This comparison may lead us to acquire attitudes from
people we admire or people who serve as frame of reference for us.

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Social Processes and For instance: Rajat admires an Olympic athlete, he follows the athlete on social
Behavior media, reads articles and write-ups on him/her. Rajat is a big fan who idolizes the
athlete. He gets to know that the athlete is committed to the social cause of 'Education
of Street Children'. Rajat searches for NGOs working in this area and reads more
about them. He may eventually develop a positive attitude towards the cause just like
his idol.

 Learning attitudes through group or cultural norms

Notes
Very often, we learn attitudes through the norms of our group or culture. Norms are
unwritten rules about behavior that people are expected to show under specific
circumstances. Over time, these norms may get reflected in our attitudes.

 Learning through exposure to information

A person may acquire certain attitude on the basis of the information that he/she is
exposed to. The sources of information can be many such as newspapers, books,
internet, TV, movies and so on. For example: These days a lot of online campaigns
regarding waste management are being circulated. This information is helpful in helping
young children to adopt a positive attitude towards waste management by gaining
information about its process of waste management as well as its benefits.

CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING

GROUP AND OPERANT

CULTURAL NORMS CONDITIONING

SOURCES OF ATTITUDE
FORMATION

EXPOSURE TO OBSERVATIONAL
INFORMATION LEARNING

SOCIAL
COMPARISON

Figure 2: Sources of Attitude Formation

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Social Processes and

INTEXT QUESTIONS 20.1 Behavior

1. List the various sources of attitude formation.

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................
Notes
....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

2. State whether the following statements are True or False

a. The 'affective' component of attitudes is related to the thoughts and mental

process.

b. Attitude formation through classical conditioning involves positive and

negative reinforcements.

c. Observational learning does not contribute to attitude formation.

d. Attitudes comprise of true components.

20.3 ATTITUDE CHANGE

During and after the process of attitude formation, attitudes may get changed/ or modified
through various influences. Some attitudes change more than others do. Attitudes that
are still in the formative stage, and are more like opinions, are much more likely to
change compared to attitudes that have become firmly established, and have become
a part of the individual's values.

Process of Attitude Change/Persuasion

Persuasion is defined as the process of consciously attempting to change the other

person's attitudes through the presentation of different types of information/messages.

There are various factors that are instrumental in attitude change. Broadly these can be
understood in terms of the characteristics or features of the source that wants to bring
about an attitude change. For example: A teacher who wants the children to study

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Social Processes and every day in routine instead of just studying during examination time. Here the source
Behavior that wants to bring about the change in attitude is the teacher.

Another important factor is the characteristic or nature of the message used for
persuasion. In the above example the teacher could be employing messages of different
nature ranging from rational and logical appeal in terms of how it is not possible to
cover the entire syllabus thoroughly within few days just before exams to emotion
based appeals that would trigger certain emotions in the target i.e. the students in this
Notes case. For instance the teacher in this case could tell the students how if they don't
study in routine, they could score very poorly in their exams and may even fail thus
triggering fear.

Further it is important to note that it's not just the nature of source and message but
also the characteristics of the target that can influence the process of attitude change.
For instance in the above example how much the students are motivated and goal
driven would be influencing the kind of impact they would be experiencing when
subjected to a persuasive message from their teacher.

Now let us consider these three factors in more detail:

Source characteristics

Source credibility, expertise and attractiveness are three important features that affect
attitude change. Attitudes are more likely to change when the message comes from a
highly credible source rather than from a low-credible source. For example, a teenager
who wants to buy a new dress would find a member of the peer group to be more
convincing than other sources because they believe that their peers would be having a
fair idea about what's in trend and what's not. Similarly expertise in an area also increases
the likelihood of attitude change. For instance, a dentist telling about the importance of
regular dental check-ups and cleaning of teeth will have more impact than parents
telling their kids the same thing. Another factor related to the source is the attractiveness
of the source. For instance, if a youngster idolises a celebrity and follows him/her very
closely then chances would be very high that the youngster develops a favourable
attitude towards the product/brand that the celebrity is endorsing. This change in attitude
would not be influenced that much by the product/brand itself by virtue of its features
rather the change would be facilitated by the sheer liking that the youngster has
towards the celebrity which eventually gets transferred to the product he /she is
endorsing.

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Message characteristics Social Processes and

Behavior
The message that is presented to bring about the change in attitude is a very crucial
determinant of attitude change. Various characteristics of messages that can impact
attitude change are: Number of messages: Research has supported the view that
increasing the number of message enhances its persuasive impact because of increased
amount of information favouring attitude change as now the target would be exposed
to a lot of arguments suggesting a change in attitude will be appropriate.
Notes
Repetition of message: For the first several times is also considered to be conducive
for attitude change as through repetition of messages the target's attention gets captured
making the process of attitude change more likely.

Logical/Emotional Appeal of the message also has an impact on the process of attitude
change. A message could be having a logical or rational appeal in terms of factual
information or an emotional appeal in terms of being able to trigger various emotions in
the target of that communication. For example, a campaign against open defecation
may point out how open defecation may cause diseases and infections in a rational and
logical appeal. While on the other hand the campaign may focus on how the women
folk have to face a lot of humiliation and shame in going out in open for relieving
themselves, triggering emotions in the target audience.

Channel of communication i.e. the mode in which message is presented also has the
potential to impact attitude change. For instance, research has shown that face to face
communication is more effective than mass media in bringing about an attitude change
as face to face interaction makes the message more personal and attention grabbing.
For example any attempt to persuade girls to maintain menstrual hygiene using huge
mass media campaigns will not have that amount of impact compared to a face to face
personalised interaction with them as face to face interaction would also create a
space for two way communication and sharing of concerns and issues from their side.

Target characteristics

Qualities of the target, such as moods, personality traits like openness to experiences,
as well as knowledge related to the area of concern etc. may influence the likelihood
and extent of attitude change. Research has shown that people who are in good mood
are more likely to change their attitudes compared to others as they tend to display
greater flexibility and less rigorous processing of persuasive message. People who are
not very rigid in their mind set and are willing to exercise flexibility and are open to new
thoughts and opinions, change more easily. Advertisers benefit most from such people.
More intelligent people may change their attitudes less easily than those with lower
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Social Processes and intelligence. The more an individual is equipped with knowledge related to the attitude
Behavior object, it become more difficult to change their attitudes as the arguments need to be
well researched and exhaustive unlike for people who have very little knowledge
pertaining to that issue.

LET'S DO

Case Study: Vikas has been associated with a campaign called "Save Paper, Save
Notes Trees". He has been working really hard towards sensitizing people in his office regarding
this cause and has been urging them to use less paper as much as possible. He has
organised various workshops and talks around the issue specifically focussing on why
using less and less paper is environment friendly and how if papers are being used then
proper recycling must be done so that lesser number of trees are cut to make papers.
He has been talking about how wasting paper is harming the environment as in order
to make a single sheet of paper, hundreds of trees are cut. He pointed out that if we
don't stop cutting trees then our children would not be able to breathe in this toxic
environment. He has been often seen mentioning that if we can't do this to save our
environment, then we should do this to save our children so that they lead a healthy
and long life. Also, in one of the campaigns he even highlighted the amount of money
that could be saved annually by going paperless and how by managing everything
digitally the employees would be saved from the trouble of maintaining so many files
manually.

Keeping the above case study in mind highlight the rational and emotional
appeal used by Vikas.

Answer: Vikas has used a rational appeal by focussing on how wasting paper is
harmful for environment as for making a single sheet of paper so many trees are cut
thus making a logical argument. A logical argument is also made when he stresses how
both the employers and the employees would benefit by going paperless. Whereas he
makes an emotional appeal when points out that trees must be saved to ensure that
our children do not live in a polluted and toxic environment and have a healthy and
long life.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 20.2

1. Match the following:

1. Source characteristic i. logical argument

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2. Target characteristic ii. Expertise. Social Processes and

Behavior
3. Message characteristic iii. openness to new ideas

2. List the three characteristics that influence the process of attitude change.

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................
Notes
....................................................................................................................

20.4 STEREOTYPES, PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION: A SPECIAL

CASE OF ATTITUDES

Stereotypes

A stereotype is a belief about a particular ethnic, racial, social or religious group.

These beliefs or opinions are by virtue of their group membership. These are category-
based schemas or mental frameworks that are over generalized and are not directly
verified. For example: a belief that women are emotional, caring, and nurturing; or a
belief that men are not emotionally expressive. These are gender stereotypes that are
often generalized to the entire category. We often draw inferences on the basis of
these stereotypes without any first-hand experience or evidence. For instance: An
employer may not consider a female candidate for a leadership position based on the
stereotype that females are very emotional. The employer may feel that she may not
be able to be assertive and take logical decisions and may get emotionally influenced.
It is quite possible that the employer has never encountered any female who has not
been able to do justice to the leadership role because of being emotional, yet the
employer carries this firm belief. Hence the basis of these strong beliefs may/may not
be firsthand experiences but are often stereotypes; like in this case it was the gender
stereotype that had already drawn the employer's perception about the female
candidate. The inferences that are being drawn in this example are not the result of
logical thinking or direct experience but are based on pre-conceived ideas about a
particular group. It is important to note that since stereotypes are belief systems, they
indicate the cognitive aspect of attitude.

Prejudice and Discrimination

As mentioned above, stereotypes refer to the cognitive component of attitudes.

Prejudice on the other hand indicate affective component of attitudes towards a
particular group. It refers to the negative emotions towards another individual on the

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Social Processes and basis of that individual's membership of a particular group. Often, stereotypes consist
Behavior of beliefs or cognitions about undesirable characteristics about the target group, and
they lead to prejudice which are negative affect like hatred and dislike towards members
of specific groups.

Prejudice may also get translated into discrimination, the behavioral component,
whereby people behave in a less positive way towards a particular target group
compared to another group which they favor. For example, the evil practice of
Notes untouchability was rooted in the principle of discrimination on the basis of caste system.

Often these cognitive, affective and behavioral manifestations of attitude in the form of
stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination occur together. The preconceived notions
or beliefs about a particular social group (stereotypes) often leads to experience of
certain affective state (prejudice) as a consequence. This is often reflected in behavioral
reaction (discrimination) eventually.

Sources of Stereotypes and Prejudice

Social psychologists have shown that stereotypes and prejudice can be acquired from
one or more of the following sources:

1. Learning: Like other attitudes, stereotypes and prejudices can also be learned
through association, reinforcement , observing others, group or cultural norms
and exposure to information that encourages such preconceived notions and
negative affect as already discussed in the above sections on sources of attitude
formation. For instance stereotypes about a particular religion or caste may be
acquired by a child quite early in life through observational learning i.e. if the
child witnesses that his/her parents react very strongly against a caste/religion or
hold negative opinion towards them then the child would also tend to acquire
similar beliefs and affect and later on engage is similar behaviour too. The same
effect can be seen based on the principles of operant conditioning as well. For
instance if the parents scold the child or express strong disapproval towards the
child's friendship with another child belonging to a specific caste/religion then
due to a consistent negative reinforcement the child may also start maintaining
distance from that child and over time this may get generalised to the other
members of that caste of religion.

2. A strong social identity and tendency towards in-group bias: Individuals

who have a strong sense of social identity and have a very positive attitude
towards their own group often hold negative attitudes towards other groups.Thus
they often engage in prejudice and discrimination as these negative evaluation

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about other groups help them to enhance their positive feelings towards their Social Processes and
own group .Their own group becomes the in-group and the other group becomes Behavior
the out-group for them.

Strategies for Reducing Stereotypes and Prejudice

Prejudice and stereotypes can be reduced by employing various strategies.

Firstly it's important to note that since these attitudes are acquired through learning and
Notes
exposure to various sources of information such as books, newspapers, advertisements,
movies etc. Therefore controlling these sources would be the first step in handling
stereotypes and prejudice. Certain strategies that can be employed are:

1. Ensuring that any form of biased and negative beliefs and behavior is not positively
reinforced in any form. We have already learnt that attitudes are acquired through
instrumental conditioning wherein the behavior and beliefs that are followed by
a positive reinforcement get strengthened .Along these lines if children are
discouraged the very first time they express stereotyped and prejudiced beliefs,
then their tendency to engage in similar behavior in future will get weakened.

2. Ensuring that children as well as adults are exposed to role models that do not
encourage any form of stereotypical thoughts and prejudice. If children are
exposed to positive role models that display inclusive and non-discriminatory
attitude towards members of different social groups then similar attitude gets
instilled in them. Also exposure to instances where an individual has been
reprimanded or penalized for engaging in prejudiced behavior can also discourage
children to follow their footsteps.

3. Narrow social identity on the basis of any form of group affiliation should not be
encouraged.

4. De-emphasize in-group-out-group categorization. Individuals should be

discouraged to exaggerate boundaries between their social group and other
social groups. It is important to emphasize on the similarities that people share
across different social groups or categories rather than focusing on the differences.

5. Developing an inclusive and encompassing attitude so that individuals can

appreciate and respect the diversity and heterogeneity of various types of social
groups.

Also it is very important to note that beyond controlling the sources of attitude
formation, already established patterns of thinking and behavior can also be altered

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Social Processes and through the following strategies:

Behavior
 Imparting knowledge and information regarding different social groups or
categories to clarify and correct preconceived notions and dysfunctional beliefs
about specific target groups.

 Increasing intergroup contact allows for direct communication between the

groups thus providing opportunities to develop mutual trust and clarify
Notes misconceptions. Moreover, since stereotypes and prejudices are often not based
on firsthand/direct experience hence direct contact helps the members of different
social groups to discover the qualities of the specific target groups

INTEXT QUESTIONS 20.3

1. Match the following

1. Prejudice i. Behaviour

2. Discrimination ii. cognitions

3. Stereotypes iii. affect

2. List various ways of reducing stereotypes.

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

20.5 INTERGROUP CONFLICT

At times, these stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination trigger an intergroup conflict

between different social groups. Often the two main sources of intergroup conflict
have been identified as "competition for valued material resources" and "competition
for social rewards like respect and esteem". A social group that feels disadvantaged
and has witnessed prejudice and discriminatory behavior against its members is likely
to be driven by both the sources i.e. the members would want to compete for material
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gains in order to compensate for the discrimination and subjugation they have Social Processes and
experienced and along similar lines would also strive hard to gain respect and status in Behavior
the society. On the other hand, the other group members who have engaged in
prejudiced behavior in the past would strive hard to maintain their status and control
and would not like to get the power dynamics change. This power tussle often leads to
intergroup conflict.

Factors affecting intergroup conflict

Notes
a. Distrust and a sense of injustice: At times due to certain existing stereotypes,
members of a particular group develop distrust towards the other group members.
They start believing that the other group is deliberately trying to harm them and
put them at disadvantage, at times clearly ignoring the situational factors that
might have contributed to the not so favorable events. For instance: Due to
prevalence of gender stereotypes, a female candidate may feel that she wasn't
hired for the job because of the general bias against women candidates clearly
ignoring the fact that the candidate who was hired had better credentials than
her. Such negative and faulty thought processes discussed in the above example
often lead to mistrust and conflict.

b. Faulty Communication related issues: Lapses in communication create an

environment of mistrust leading to conflict like situation. Also, if harsh statements
and angry exchanges are made, a tendency to retaliate gets triggered in the
receiver which could lead to conflicts.

c. Egocentrism/Tendency to perceive one's group as perfect: Trusting and

having faith in the group's abilities and decision-making skills is important for
group members to be able to continue with their association with the group.
However, if this leads to a closed mind set wherein a group develops a tendency
to consider only its actions as logical and appropriate while degrading other
group's actions and belief systems then a conflict like situation may emerge.
Example: Religious or cultural fundamentalism may lead to intergroup conflict as
every group has a staunch belief of their religion's superiority over other religions.
For instance -History has witnessed that Hitler's belief in the Aryans being the
'master race' had led to severe consequences.

d. Vulnerability: At the group level a belief that they are susceptible to some kind
of damage or harm evokes a sense of vulnerability, which gets manifested in the
form of uncertainty or fear about the future and can lead to intergroup conflict.
For example: If a particular social group is being subjected to prejudice and

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Social Processes and discrimination then it may trigger a sense of vulnerability and insecurity in the
Behavior members, paving way for intergroup conflict as a preemptive measure in order
to safeguard their interests.

Ways Of Reducing Intergroup Conflict

a. Increasing inter group contact: Studies have suggested that increase in the
interactions between members belonging to different social groups can help in
Notes reducing intergroup conflict and tensions. These interactions have a very significant
impact on tension reduction and conflict management particularly when during
these exchanges equal status among members is highlighted and opportunities
are provided to establish more personalised one to one interaction. Due to
these interactions, members of different groups interact with each other and get
acquainted with each other's characteristics and patterns of behaviour on the
basis of firsthand experience instead of banking on stereotypes and biased
thoughts

b. Decategorization: One of the major sources of inter group conflict is erecting

boundaries between different members by virtue of their group membership. If
this boundary gets blurred, then the intensity of conflict can be reduced. This
can be achieved by ensuring that the members of different groups engage in
intergroup contact involving cooperation and interdependence so that the salience
of intergroup boundaries gets reduced.

c. Recategorization: Another alternative method is to recategorize the group

structures so that the boundaries get redefined and reset. By broadening the
scope and highlighting diversity in opinion and unity in the same context,
intergroup collaboration can be triggered thus reducing conflict.

d. Creating Superordinate Goals: Conflict can also be reduced between

competing groups by creating overarching superordinate goals that can tie their
interests together rather than driving them apart. Such goals can help in establishing
WIN-WIN perspective for both the parties rather than the WIN-LOSE one
ensuring that the members of both the groups cooperate and work together for
the larger goal and get over their differences and conflict.

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Social Processes and

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT Behavior

 Components of attitudes

COGNITIVE : The thoughts

Notes
AFFECTIVE : The emotions

BEHAVIORAL: The overt action

 Sources of attitude formation

CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING

GROUP AND OPERANT

CULTURAL CONDITIONING
NORMS

SOURCES OF
ATTITUDE
FORMATION

EXPOSURE TO OBSERVATIONAL
INFORMATION LEARNING

SOCIAL
COMPARISON

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Social Processes and  Factors influencing attitude change

Behavior
Message
characteristics

Source Target characteristics

characteristics

Logical/ Mode of
Rational appeal transmission/
repetition
Notes Credibility, Attractiveness/
Personality
traits/mood Knowledge
Expertise similarity

 Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination -A special case of attitudes

 Factors affecting Intergroup conflict

Faulty
communication

Sense of Factors
vulnerability Egocentrism

Distrust

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 Ways of reducing intergroup conflict Social Processes and

Behavior

decategorization/ increase in
recategorization contact

Notes
superordinate
goals

Ways of reducing intergroup conflcit

TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. What are the sources of attitude formation?

2. Exaplin the characteristics of source that can impact the process of attitude
change?

3. How is the nature of message and the target important for attitude change?

4. How are stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination related with open another.

5. Discuss the ways of resolving intergroup conflict?

6. What are some factors that can contribute to intergroup conflict, and how do
they impact the dynamics between different social groups?

7. What are some strategies that can be used to reduce prejudice and stereotypes,
both in terms of controlling the sources of attitude formation and altering
established patterns of thinking and behaviour?

8. What is the relationship between strong social identity and prejudice, and how
does it lead to ingroup bias?

9. What are the three components of an attitude, as described in the A-B-C model?

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Social Processes and 10. How can attitude be learned or acquired through classical conditioning, operant
Behavior conditioning, modelling social comparison, group and cultural norms, and
exposure to information?

ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

20.1
Notes
1. Various sources of attitude formation are:

a. Classical conditioning b. Instrumental conditioning

c. Observational learning d. Social comparison

e. Reference group

2. True and False

a. False b. False c. False d. True

20.2

1. Match the following

1. ii.

2. iii.

3. i.

2. The three characteristics that influence attitude change are:

Source characteristics

Message characteristics

Target characteristics

20.3

1. Match the following

1. iii.

2. ii.

3. i.

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Pro Social Behavior MODULE - 5

Social Processes and

21 Behavior

PRO SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

Notes

Have you ever helped a blind person cross road? Or have you ever shared your food
with a dog? Both these acts are examples of prosocial behaviours. Prosocial behaviour
refers to a set of positive form of behaviours which may benefit others and facilitate
greater cooperation and cohesion in society. Helping is an ethical value taught to us by
our elders; it is a valued quality of an individual. Humans are social beings, living in
groups, their survival depends on each other. Prosocial behaviour is an important
social skill that leads to reciprocity. Just like our evolutionary ancestors – monkeys,
they reciprocate to each other by scratching each other’s backs; humans also live in a
setup where they are dependent on each other. Prosocial behaviour also improves the
chances of survival of our own species. We tend to extend help more readily to the
members of our own species, and even more so to our kin.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this lesson, learner :

 describes the various forms of pro-social behavior;

 states how to develop pro-social behavior;

 understands the need to exhibit pro-environmental and pro-social behaviors;

 applies the strategies for promoting pro-environmental behavior; and

 explains the benefits of pro-social and pro-environmental behaviour for individual

and society.

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Social Processes and 21.1 FORMS OF PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

Behavior
Prosocial behaviors is “a broad range of actions intended to benefit one or more
people other than oneself—behaviors such as helping, comforting, sharing and
cooperation.”

Broadly, prosocial behavior requires three components: (1) the ability to take the
perspective of another person and recognize that they are having a problem; (2) the
Notes ability to determine the cause of that problem; and (3) the motivation to help them
overcome the problem.

There is no one way of extending help. We might indulge into various forms of helping,
depending on the demand of the situation and our intentions.

Major forms of prosocial behaviour are:

1. Helping
2. Sharing
3. Comforting
4. Cooperating
5. Volunteering
6. Donating

21.1.1 Helping

Helping refers to assisting an individual in fulfilling his/her instrumental need, where

an individual has difficulty completing goal directed behavior. Instrumental need refer
to the need to get day to day things done and achieve short and long term goals, for
example, getting information we need.

Research states that helping behaviour can begin within the first two years of life. By
their second birthday, children have developed the social cognitive skills required to
support the recognition of instrumental need and the ability to produce helping behaviors
(Dunfield, 2014).

Helping can be further divided into two sub categories, namely, egoistic helping and
altruism.

 Egoistic helping refers to acts where people help others not solely for benefiting
others but also for personal gain. We might, for example, donate money to a

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charity because we want to help, but also because it makes us feel good about Social Processes and
ourselves. Behavior

 Altruism is helping others while not expecting to have any personal benefits. For
example, sharing your lunch with a classmate who forgot his/her lunch box.

Altruism is connected to empathy. Empathy is the ability to feel the plight of the
another person by imagining ourselves in this person’s tough situation. When we feel
empathy for a particular person, we will attempt to help purely for altruistic reasons, Notes
that is, regardless of what we have to gain in the process. Empathy motivates the
people to reduce other person’s distress. If there is low empathy, people will reduce
their own distress by escaping from the situation. If there is high empathy, the emotional
response corresponds to the feelings of the other person.

21.1.2 Sharing

Sharing can be defined as offering, showing, allowing use of an object, or turn-taking.

It requires the ability and willingness to fulfill other’s unmet material desire. Examples
of sharing include giving some food from your lunchbox to a hungry friend, giving your
cricket ball to play for few days.

Research suggests that the ability to identify the need for sharing emerges over the
course of the second year of development.

While sharing, a child gives up something tangible to benefit someone else. For
preschool-aged children, sharing often involves a physical resource or a tangible object,
such as toys, stickers, and food.

21.1.3 Comforting

Comforting requires the ability to understand other’s negative emotional state. Alleviating
other’s emotional distress requires the ability to differentiate and identify the various
emotional experiences of others.

Research suggests that necessary emotional understanding is in place in the first year
of life, however the ability to explicitly identifying the particular type of distress do not
emerge until later toddler hood.

In mature comforting behavior, it is not enough to simply recognize other’s negative

emotions. It is important to be able to identify the cause of other’s emotional state so
as to truly understanding their plight and comforting them.

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Social Processes and 21.1.4 Cooperating

Behavior
Cooperation refers to working together to achieve goals. In a society, it is important to
adjust in accordance with each other for harmonious relationships. Cooperation posits
acting together for mutual benefits as opposed to competition where people act selfishly
for individual benefits.

A common example of cooperation is cooperative learning where in, students help

Notes each other by explaining study material to one another, explaining class lectures, helping
one another in difficult topics, mutually take turns in explaining what one has understood
better. Cooperative learning is also helpful in diverse classrooms where students of
different intellectual levels are taught together. In such classrooms, students learn
cooperation and helping behaviour. Cooperative learning is helpful for the students as
it leads to higher achievement, increased retention, positive relationships and a wider
circle of friends, Greater intrinsic motivation, Higher self-esteem and Greater social
support.

Cooperation is important for maintaining social order. It encourages the adherence to

societal norms, so that social order is maintained. For example, not playing loud music
at night is a form of cooperation.

21.1.5 Volunteering

Volunteering is an altruistic contribution of providing services without any personal

gain or monetary reward. For example, getting affiliated to an NGO to help injured
street animals, without receiving any payment is form of volunteering.

Volunteering has multiple benefits such as, connecting us to others, it is good for our
mind and body, it can advance our career and it brings fun and fulfillment to our life.
Volunteering differs from culture to culture and is more common among societies where
social involvement is appreciated.

21.1.5 Donating

Donation is to give others in need. It is closely linked to the prosocial behaviour of

sharing. Donation can be monetary, of clothes, food, blood, organs and so on. It eases
the lives of others and helps them survive.

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Donating is a noble act of sharing. It is also beneficial for the donor as it can help bring Social Processes and
a meaning to life and also provides a feel good factor. Monetary donation also helps in Behavior
tax deduction and makes one learn that every bit matters.

In India, The concept of ‘Daan’ is the practice of cultivating generosity which is

emphasized a lot.

DO YOU KNOW Notes

Organ Donation Day is observed every year on 13th of August. Due to lack of
awareness, there are myths and fears in peoples’ mind about organ donation. The aim
of this day is to motivate normal human beings to pledge to donate organs after death,
and to spread awareness about the importance of organ donation.

Organ Donation is donating a donor’s organs like heart, liver, kidneys, intestines,
lungs, and pancreas, after the donor dies, for the purpose of transplanting them into
another person who is in need of an organ.

According to a survey in India every year about 500,000 people die because of non-
availability of organs, 200,000 people die due to liver disease, and 50,000 people die
because of heart disease. Moreover, 150,000 people await a kidney transplant but
only 5,000 are able to get successful transplants.

The organ donor can play a big role in saving others’ life. The organ of the donor can
be transplanted to the patient who needs it urgently.

Facts about Organ Donation

 Anybody can be an organ donor irrespective of their age, caste, religion,

community etc

 There is no defined age for donating organs. The decision to donate organs is
based on strict medical criteria, not age.

 Tissues such as cornea, heart valves, skin, and bone can be donated in case of
natural death but vital organs such as heart, liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, and
pancreas can be donated only in the case of ‘brain death’.

 Organs such as the heart, pancreas, liver, kidneys and lungs can be transplanted
to those recipients whose organs are failing because it allows many recipients to
return to a normal lifestyle.

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Social Processes and  Anyone younger than age 18 needs to have the agreement of a parent or guardian
Behavior to be a donor.

 Having a serious condition like actively spreading cancer, HIV, diabetes, kidney
disease, or heart disease can prevent you from donating as a living donor.

NOTTO (National Organ Tissue Transplant Organization) has a website

www.notto.nic.in where detailed information about organ donation can be obtained.
Notes Another website for the same cause is www.organindia.org

INTEXT QUESTIONS 21.1

State which of the following statements are ‘true’ and which are ‘false?

1) In altruistic helping we expect something in return

2) Cooperation is important for maintaining social order.

3) Blood donation is unhealthy.

4) One should only help humans and not animals.

5) Volunteering can help in choosing a career path.

ACTIVITY

Find the right volunteer work for yourself

Ask yourself the following:

 Would you like to work with adults, children, animals, or remotely from home?

 Do you prefer to work alone or as part of a team?

 Are you better behind the scenes or do you prefer to take a more visible role?

 How much time are you willing to commit?

 What skills can you bring to a volunteer job?

 What causes are important to you?

After answering these questions, you would have a clear picture about the kind of
volunteer work is suitable for you.

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Mahatma Gandhi once said “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the Social Processes and
service of others”. Behavior

21.2 DEVELOPING PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

There is no right or wrong age to learn prosocial behaviour. However, adolescence is

the phase of adjustment and adaptation which is ideal to develop prosocial behaviour.
Children tend to start developing prosocial understanding during school, where they
learn to share and work in teams. As we grow, we develop moral behaviours and Notes
ethics based on our learning through interactions with elders and peers.

To be prosocial doesn’t require effort, it is embedded in our value system. Values are
basic and fundamental beliefs that guide or motivate attitudes or actions. Few ways of
developing prosocial behaviour are:

1. Encouraging prosocial behaviour in children by using techniques such as

reinforcement.
2. Experiencing a helper’s high, that is, learning to pat your back whenever you
indulge in a good deed. One should feel accomplished and hence euphoric after
a helping act. You deserve to feel good!
3. Teaching moral behaviours to people around us, especially children and peers.
4. Paying attention to activities going around us. This keeps us alert to help in an
emergency situation.
5. Remember you are as responsible as anyone else to help a stranger in need.
6. Be willing to take a chance or risk in order to help others. Government of India
gives bravery award to children who have helped other in need while risking
their own lives.

ACTIVITY

Tick the prosocial activities you have done from the following:

1. Helped a blind person cross the street/write an exam etc.

2. Helped an old person by spending time with him/her.
3. Gave food to a hungry animal.
4. Shared your clothes with someone.
5. Helped a child study.
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Social Processes and Add five more pro social actions you have ever done in life. If you are unable to recall
Behavior even five past pro social behaviours, it is time to buckle up and give back to the
society. And if you are able to recall, keep up the good work. Don’t stop!

21.3 PRO ENVIRONMENT BEHAVIOUR

Prosocial behaviour is incomplete without being compassionate towards mother Earth.

We all know about the degrading state of our environment. Be it pollution, deforestation,
Notes extinction of animals, plastic menace, oil spills or climate change, acting proactively to
save the environment is the need of the hour.

21.3.1 Need to Exhibit Pro Environment Behaviour

Saving the environment will help us enhance our own survival. Currently the pace at
which the nature is being destroyed by us, is a cause of concern and needs urgent
attention. Seven Biggest Environmental Threats:

1) Climate Change/ Global Warming

Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern
civilization, primarily as a result of human activities. The temperature of Earth is
rising due to activities such as deforestation. Climate change is increasing the
frequency and intensity of natural events like droughts, wildfires, heat waves,
rainstorms, tropical cyclone, and hurricanes which could disrupt food production
and cause famines. The industrial activities that our modern civilization depends
upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Other causes are burning
fossil fuels and intensive agriculture.

2) Species Extinction and Biodiversity Loss

Intensive agriculture, unsustainable fishing, wildlife poaching, habitat degradation

and destruction, acid rain, and climate change are threatening thousands of
species. Humans are clearing forests for raising livestock, agriculture or
establishing industries as a result of which animals are losing their home. Every
species has a role to play in the environment, and extinction of even one of them
disrupts the food chain and overall balance of the ecosystem.

3) Air and Water pollution

There are various types of pollution, but air and water pollution have most
alarming consequences. Air pollution is caused by industries, automobiles and
waste burning. Water pollution is at a rise due to plastic pollution. The Global

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Risks Report 2018 indicates that plastic pollution has increased so much that Social Processes and
micro-plastics can be found in 83% of tap-water in the world. Chemical pollution Behavior
is caused by industries and fertilizers used in agriculture, when these chemicals
are dumped in lakes, rivers and ponds.

4) Water Crisis

Though the Earth’s surface is covered 70% by water, only 2.5% is fresh water
that people, plants and animals can use to survive. Water shortage is occurring Notes
due to careless overuse. People are extracting water from groundwater-
reservoirs and rivers, and demand is growing. Expanding agriculture alone uses
70% of this resource. Large lakes are drying up which impacts not just people
but also vegetation and wildlife.

5) Natural Resources Drain

Growing population places more demands on the earth’s natural resources year
after year. A prime example of higher consumption demands can be found in the
fishery industry where 63% the world’s marine life is over-fished with few to no
renewable methods in place.

6) Deforestation

Deforestation disrupts the natural balance of ecological systems. It is a major

cause for extinction of various species of flora and fauna as forests are home
to 80% of animals. It increases soil erosion leading to landslides. It also is a
major contributor to global warming as trees are the only source of oxygen.

7) Soil Degradation

Soil degradation results due to soil erosion, soil compaction and application of
agricultural chemicals. Erosion of soil can happen due to wind or water, when
the protective cover of forests and other vegetation is removed, and the topsoil
is lost. Soil compaction occurs due to over-grazing and destruction of the soil
structure due to heavy tillage that is a characteristic part of industrial agriculture.

It decreases the ability of the land to absorb and hold rainfall, which can cause
soil drought and a decrease in recharge of groundwater reservoirs and rivers,
affecting the hydrology of an area. Further, the soil gets deposited as sediments
downstream, excessive quantities of which can be polluting and harmful to fish
and other aquatic life.

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Social Processes and 21.3.2 Pro Environment Behaviours and Actions

Behavior
What is required is that at least all of us become aware of the need to be environment
friendly and contribute in whatever ways possible.

There is only one Earth and we cannot afford to lose it. There are many ways in which
we can contribute to a healthy environment. The threats to the environment, as given in
section 21.3.1, can be reduced by our little actions.
Notes
1) Plant Trees : Planting trees reduces air pollution by releasing oxygen. Forest
cover is important to protect Earth. Wherever we see a vacant land where trees
can be planted, do not hesitate. Take help of an adult and plant a tree, nurture it
and see it bloom.

2) Help reduce air pollution : Do not burst crackers – Carbon fumes that are
released by burning crackers are highly hazardous for the environment. The
gases released in the atmosphere harm the ozone lining of Earth, in turn causing
climate change. Find a substitute to crackers for celebrations – enjoying at the
expense of Earth’s health should not be acceptable to you. Even the government
is trying to curb pollution by policies such as odd-even traffic movement.

Pro
Environme
Pro Environment
nt
Behaviours
Behaviours

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3) Switch of the lights : Electricity is mostly produced by burning coal, which in Social Processes and
turn contributes to air pollution. By conserving electricity we can reduce the Behavior
amount of the coal being burnt. Thus, switching of lights and fans when not
required, turning off the TV button, removing phone chargers from sockets
when not in use, and not leaving the refrigerator doors open for long, among
other things can help curb air pollution.

4) Save Water :Water is a nonrenewable resource. Overuse of water can lead to

Notes
depletion of the water table which can lead to water crisis. Further, water is
purified for human consumption which requires a lot of resources such as coal
burning. Therefore it is important to save water while bathing, brushing teeth,
and cleaning utensils. We should also mind that water is not wasted in public
places.

5) Say no to Plastic : Plastic is choking our planet. It is non bio-degradable and

thus once used, stays on Earth for thousands of years. Plastic is making the
entire planet a dust bin, including our oceans. It is consumed by the wildlife and
results in a large number of diseases. We should avoid using disposable plates,
spoons, straws, glasses made of plastic, also known as one time use plastic
products. The water bottles that we often buy without giving a second thought
are one of the most common form of plastic waste. Hence it is in our best
interest to avoid plastic products as much as possible.

6) Reduce meat consumption :Meat requires raising of livestock such as goats,

buffaloes and pigs which in turn requires pastures for grazing, leading to ranching,
that is, clearing of forests for making pastures. Meat is one of the most common
reason for deforestation. Also it requires gallons of water which impacts the
water table. If the demand for meat will reduce, the supply will also reduce, as
a result the meat industry will lead to lesser deforestation and lesser depletion of
valuable resources like water.

7) Don’t waste food : Just like meat, agriculture also require huge amount of
space. With increasing demand for food, the land for agriculture has to be
increased through deforestation, which means cutting through forests for land.
We can reduce the effect of deforestation by reducing the food wastage. Food
is directly proportional to clearing of forests, thus, more food we consume,
more is the deforestation.

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Social Processes and 8) Save Wildlife : Deforestation is a common cause for habitat loss and wildlife
Behavior extinction. Every species has a role to play in the ecosystem. And extinction of
even one species can impact our survival on this planet. We need to be sensitive
towards the wild life and their needs. Help animals, don’t abuse them. They
have an equal right on earth!

These are just few ways in which we can contribute to a healthy environment.
There are many more ways such as using family planning methods to control
Notes population explosion, switching off the car while waiting on traffic signal and
making others learn the importance of such pro-environment action.

Prosocial behaviour is not exclusively in helping fellow humans, but also in helping
our planet and other species survive.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 21.2

Match the following:

i. Cutting Trees 1. Natural Resource Drain

ii. Bursting Crackers 2. Water Crisis

iii. Over Fishing 3. Deforestation

iv. Leaving the tap running 4. Species Extinction

v. Hunting/Poaching 5. Air Pollution

Multiple Choice Questions

Global Warming is:

a) Increase in temperature of Earth

b) Decrease in Temperature of Earth

c) No change in temperature of Earth

d) A healthy phenomenon

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Social Processes and

ACTIVITY
Behavior

First activity - Among the Pro environment behaviours and actions explained in section
21.3.2, select at least 2 actions you find most important. Explain their importance to a
close friend. You have to convince your friend!

Second Activity – Time to Practice what we preach. Practice the 2 actions selected
for the above activity for atleast a week’s time. For instance, if you choose water Notes
conservation, close any running tap you notice, do not keep the tap running while
brushing or washing utensils, do not waste drinking water and so on.

Let’s contribute to a healthy environment!

DO YOU KNOW

There are three Rs of sustainability.

 Reduce: To use fewer resources in the first place. It takes resources to

manufacture, transport, and dispose of products, so reduction minimizes the
use of new resources.

 Reuse:Use materials more than once in their original form instead of throwing
them away after each use. Reuse keeps new resources from being used for a
while longer, and old resources from entering the waste stream.

 Recycle: Converting waste materials into new products, changing them from
their original form by physical and chemical processes. Although recycling uses
energy, it helps to prevent new resources from being used and old materials
from entering the waste stream.

For example, Plastic Menace can be partially handled by the three Rs.
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Social Processes and  We should REDUCE buying plastic products such as disposable utensils and
Behavior mineral water bottles.

 Once bought, the plastic products should be REUSED rather than being thrown
immediately.

 At the time of disposing the plastic products, one should be careful to throw
them in dustbins where they have a chance of being RECYCLED. If littered
Notes around, these harmful plastic products get mixed with soil or get dumped in
water bodies.

21.4 BENEFITS OF PRO SOCIAL AND PRO ENVIRONMENT BEHAVIOR

Humans are social creatures, spending much of their lives in the company of others
and these social connections are the greatest sources of human well-being.

Prosocial behaviours have both individual and social benefits. The act of helping can
give us immediate happiness (individual benefit) as well as improve our social
relationships in various realms of life (social benefits).

21.4.1 Individual Benefits

A large body of research has found that prosocial actions and pro-environment
actions improve wellbeing of the giver. Some of the research findings are stated below:

 People who volunteer more frequently are both healthier and happier than those
who do not volunteer.
 Individuals who volunteer report higher life satisfaction and lower depression
than those who do not volunteer
 Individuals who donate money to charity report higher levels of life satisfaction,
than those who do not
 Pro environment behaviour improves present and future subjective wellbeing of
the individual.

21.4.2 Social Benefits

Prosocial behaviours help us develop social connections, also known as social

capital. Likewise, Pro-environment behaviours bring like-minded people, seeking better
environment, together. Research has proven that the resulting social capital helps us
lead a smooth life. Some of the research findings are stated below:

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 Meaningful connections with others lead to happiness. Social Processes and

 Individuals with larger and more widely used networks provide more positive Behavior
life evaluations.
 Communities with high social capital have been documented to recover more
quickly from natural disasters, such as the Tokyo earthquake of 1923 and the
2004 tsunami in southern India.
 Strong social connections are also related to good physical health. Researches Notes
state that building social ties helps people achieve better health status, or speedier
recovery times.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 21.3

1) Outline two individual and social benefits of Pro social and Pro environment
behavior.

ACTIVITY

Make a diary, on each page make two columns, one for activity and the other for
feelings. While doing activity 2 among activities 21.3, at the end of each day fill the
columns of the diary stating all the environment friendly actions you undertook on that
day and how it felt.

The beautiful emotions that you will experience after indulging into pro-environment
actions would be a wonderful and help you achieve positive mood.

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT

Fig 1: Types of Prosocial Behaviours

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Social Processes and

Behavior

Notes

Fig. 2 Developing Prosocial Behaviour among children and adults

Threats to
Environment

Fig. 3 Biggest Environmental Threats

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Social Processes and

Behavior

Notes

Fig. 4 Benefits for us of Prosocial behaviours and Pro-environment behaviours

TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1) Define prosocial behaviour.

2) What are the various types of prosocial behaviours?

3) Can we develop pro social behaviour? If yes, how?

4) Why is there a need for pro-environment behaviours?

5) How can we contribute to a healthy environment? Explain with examples.

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Social Processes and 6) What are the benefits of pro social and pro-environment behaviours for an
Behavior individual?

7) Outline the three Rs of sustainability.

8) Identify the different environmental threats.

9) How does pro social behaviour of cooperating is important for maintaining social
order.
Notes
10) What will happen to the society and environment if no one develops and acquire
prosocial behaviour?

ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

21.1

1) False

2) True

2) False

2) False

2) True

21.2

I Match the following

i) 3

ii) 5

iii) 1

iv) 2

and v) 4

II Global warming is

a) Increase in temperature of Earth

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21.3 Social Processes and

Behavior
INDIVIDUAL BENEFITS

 Individuals who volunteer report higher life satisfaction and lower depression
than those who do not volunteer

 Individuals who donate money to charity report higher levels of life satisfaction,
than those who do not
Notes
SOCIAL BENEFITS

 Individuals with larger and more widely used networks provide more positive
life evaluations.

 Communities with high social capital have been documented to recover more
quickly from natural disasters, such as the Tokyo earthquake of 1923 and the
2004 tsunami in southern India

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Social Processes and

Behavior

Notes

MODULE -6

Health and Well-being

This module aims at developing and understanding about the concepts of health and well
being. It explains the barriers in the achievement of positive mental health and well being
leading to holistic development. It also explains the concepts of stress, how to cope with it,
mental health problems and concerns and positive interventions for health and well being.

22. Coping with Stress

23. Mental Health Problems

24. Psychology for holistic development

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Health and Well-being

22

COPING WITH STRESS

Notes

Sneha’s class 12 examinations were scheduled on 4th of April. She went to her home
town to attend her cousin’s wedding on 28th February. On returning back her friend
told her that the examinations have been preponed to 15th of March. At first she was
very worried but she realized that worrying will only lead to a waste of time. Without
wasting time she worked so hard that she passed the exams with the top grades in the
class.

Have you ever come across a situation where you performed well under stress? Many
of us might have undergone various situations in life where we were surprised to perform
much better than what we expected. It can be anything extending from passing a
difficult examination with good grades, winning a tough competition, cracking
competitive examination or accomplishing targets in the job. However, this is not true
for everyone. A lot of people find it difficult to deal with stressful situations on a day
today basis. For example, although in the above example Sneha could perform better
in the examination but she might find it difficult to deal with some other life situation.

There are many other examples from our daily life where different situations like managing
home and office, completing an important assignment , competing in the examination,
dealing with a strict boss in the office, facing traffic, dealing with people in the family/
neighbourhood and many other situations become a source of stress. Stress can
hamper an individual’s normal functioning. It is generally seen that something which is
stressful for one person might act as a motivator for the other person. The difference in
the effects of stress depends upon the nature and kind of situation as well as upon a
person’s ability to look up at the stress provoking situations in a positive or negative
manner. In this lesson we shall learn about the nature of stress and the various ways to
deal with stress.
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Health and Well-being

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this lesson, learner :

 describes the meaning and nature of stress;

 recognizes the physical, mental, emotional and behavioural signs and symptoms
of stress;
Notes
 analyses the various factors leading to stress;
 elucidates the effects of stress on physical and mental health; and
 Applies the ways and strategies to cope with stress.

22.1 MEANING AND NATURE OF STRESS

Hans Seyle has defined stress as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand
for change”. Stress is an indispensable part of human life. It makes life challenging and
interesting.

Stress can be understood with an example of elasticity. It happens that the magnitude
of the external force or stress makes proportional amount of deformation or strain in a
malleable metal. The malleable metal as a result of its property resumes its property
after having been compressed. In the same manner stress can be defined as a
psychological pain where small amounts of stress is necessary to improve performance,
whereas, negative stress can hamper one’s day to day functioning. The experience of
stress depends upon an individual’s ability to perceive the situation as challenging or
threatening depending upon the resources available to deal with the situation. Stress
can be caused by a number of reasons which can be internal or external to an individual.
Such stimulus or an event that causes stress in an individual is known as a stressor. Let
us know about these stressors.

22.1.1 Daily Hassles Stress

This kind of stress results from too many minor sources of stress. It can range from
making meals to reaching the office on time, dealing with traffic; attending guests at
home, shopping and so on. These daily hassles take a toll on an individual’s mental and
physical health and affects the psychological well being.

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22.1.2 Major Life Events Stress Health and Well-being

Apart from the daily hassles there are major life events that cause stress to the individuals.
Such stresses can be related to the death of a loved one, divorce, and transfer from
one place to another, losing a job etc. Major life events exert adverse effects on the
health of an individual.

22.1.3 Job Stress Notes

The stress related to the working environment adversely affects the physical and mental
wellbeing of an individual. Job stress can be related to the work pressure, salary
structure, and relationship with colleagues, working conditions, relationship with boss,
leave policy and many more.

22.1.4 Catastrophic Events

This refers to those situations that are beyond the control of a person. Such stressors
might include devastation after wars, earthquakes, tsunamis etc. causing individuals to
lose and would have devastating effects on individuals.

These are some of the different stressors that disrupt the physical and mental well
being of an individual.

Everyone experiences stress at one or the other point in life. As life goes on we try to
adjust ourselves.

However, stress need not be negative always. There are basically two types of stress:-

i) Positive stress

Just like Sneha who passed her examination with good grades despite less time
for preparation, it happens that sometimes stress leads to unexpected outcomes.
This occurs when we take charge of the stressful situation and take it as a
challenge. This further motivates us to counter the situation effectively. It is also
known as Eustress.

ii) Negative stress or Distress

Rahul has joined a new job; however, he is finding it difficult to manage with the
work pressure. Workload is hampering his performance at work. He also remains
irritated with people around him.

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Health and Well-being This kind of stress is also known as Negative stress or Distress. This occurs
when we lose our strength to work on stressful situations or face the challenge.
Such stress adversely affects the physical and mental wellbeing of an individual.

ACTIVITY

Think about a stressful situation in your life where you enjoyed working over the task.
Notes Write about your experience of dealing with the situation in 250 words.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 22.1

1. Briefly discuss the different types of stressors.

2. Positive aspect of stress is called ____________ and the negative aspect of

stress is called __________________ .

3. What are catastrophic life events and how can they create stress among
individuals?

22.2 EFFECTS OF STRESS ON AN INDIVIDUAL

22.2.1Physiological Reactions

Priyanka had severe toothache. Her dentist advised her for tooth extraction. On the
previous day of surgery she reported of having severe headache. The medical
examination revealed no signs of physical cause behind headache.

Stress can cause many physiological reactions such as

 Dryness of throat or mouth

 Low energy level

 Indigestion

 Rapid pounding of heart

 Lack of sleep

 Tense muscles frequent cold

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These responses may result from the weakened immune system due to continuous Health and Well-being
exposure to stress.

22.2.2 Cognitive Reactions

Piyush has to appear for his final board examination of class 12. However, as the date
of examinations is approaching he is not able to concentrate on his studies, he seems
unable to remember what he has learnt. Notes
Stress can also lead to some of the cognitive symptoms.

 Poor concentration

 Forgetfulness

 Confusion

 Poor judgement

 Negativity in thoughts

 Racing thoughts

22.2.3 Behavioural Reactions

Shreyas’s parents compares him with his elder brother and puts pressure on him to be
as good as his elder brother is in sports and studies. He often complains with his
friends of being under pressure always to match up with his brother’s standards.
Recently he has started being abusive to his brother.

Many of the stressors in the environment affect the way the person behaves

 Procrastination

 Unhealthy eating habits

 Substance abuse

 Crying

 Hitting

 Suicidal talk or behaviour

 Anti-social behaviour

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Health and Well-being  Avoidance behaviour

After completing her studies Kirti has been applying for jobs continuously. She has
always been a competent student throughout her life and everyone praises her for her
behaviour with others too. However, she is not able to get an appropriate job for her.
Her parents are observing that she has started getting angry over small little things. She
also remains very nervous and anxious whenever she gets an interview call.

Notes 22.2.4 Affective Reactions

 Anxiety

 Depression

 Irritability

 Frustration

 Nervousness

 Hopelessness

22.3 FACTORS LEADING TO STRESS

Ruhi is a confident and intelligent girl and has been a top scorer in her class. However,
to everyone’s surprise she is finding it really difficult to face class 10 Board examination.
Her teacher found that she is feeling stressed because her mother is hospitalized and
she has to take care of her younger sister and manage things at home.

There are various factors in the life of a person that can lead to stress. These factors
can be categorized into internal and external pressures or situation that mount upon
an individual and results in stress.

22.3.1 External factors

i) Catastrophic events like earthquake, tsunami, cyclone,war etc.,

ii) Prevailing situations around an individual like poor health of family members,
financial problems, unhealthy family environment, divorce, death of a loved
one etc.

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iii) Environment of an individual like background noise, pollution, overcrowding, Health and Well-being
job related factors such as workload or work underload, relationship with
colleagues and boss, unhealthy relationship with the neighbours etc.

iv) Culture stress: this may refer to the culture shock that one may experience as
a result of adapting to new cultures, for example, when a person from rural
background has to make an adjustment in the

22.3.2 Internal factors Notes

i) Personality factors of an individual

Arnab is a renowned chef and runs his own restaurant. Still he is not able to
retain his employees for a long time. His team members often complains that in
order to present a perfect dish he himself comes under so much stress that he
starts yelling and insulting his employees for small little things. People who are
highly motivated, competitive and perfectionists are more prone to stress.

ii) Locus of control

Priya and Rashmi appeared for competitive examination after class 12. Although
both of them were unable to clear the exam in the first attempt, Priya believed
that since the paper was quite tough and out of syllabus, she got stressed and
lost all her hopes. On the other hand Rashmi realized that she needs to put in
extra effort and change her strategy towards preparation. As a result she qualified
the examination in the next chance.

Experience of stress also depends upon the degree to which people believe that
they have control over the situations around them. People who have an internal
locus of control take charge of the events and situations happening around them
and believe in a sense of control. However, those with external locus of control
believe that such events and situations are beyond their control. Such individuals
are likely to feel more stress as compared to the ones with internal locus of
control.

iii) Attitude

After losing his job Arpit never lost hope and kept working on finding better
jobs. After waiting for six months he got a job in a very good organization.
Individuals with an optimistic attitude believe that good things will happen to
them as compared to those with pessimists’ feelings. This is mainly because

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Health and Well-being optimism is related with dedication and determination which help to adapt with
stressors more effectively as compared to pessimists.

iv) Poor health

Think of a situation in your life where your health became a reason for your
stress. If an individual is not in a good mental or physical health then it also leads
to the experience of stress of an individual.
Notes

INTEXT QUESTIONS 22.2

1. Match the following

(a) Physiological response to stress (i) impaired decision making

(b) Cognitive response to stress (ii) crying

(c) Affective response to stress (iii) irritability and anxiety

(d) Behavioural response to stress (iv) trembling and tense muscles

2. How can noise acts as a stressor to an individual?

3. a) Highly motivated people are more prone to stress. True/False

b) People with internal locus of control are likely to experience more stress as
compared to people with external locus of control. True/False

4. How can poor health of family member create stress?

5. Discuss how the attitude of an individual contributes to the experience of stress.

22.3 EFFECTS OF STRESS ON PHYSICAL AND MENTAL

HEALTH OF AN INDIVIDUAL

Up till now you may be able to understand the effects of stress on an individual.
However, stress can have far reaching effects on individuals at physical and mental
levels. In this section we will discuss the effects of stress on the physical and mental
level of an individual.

Hans Seyle proposed a three stage model of stress to explain the physiological changes
that take place in the body as a result of stress. It was popularly known as General
Adaptation Syndrome(GAS).

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General Adaption Syndrome Health and Well-being

Counter Shock- Exhaustion -
Sympathetic NS resources depleted
kicks in with Flight- the body is vulnerable
Fight Response to illness
Stressor - Exam

Resistance - Ability to
Notes
deal with original
stressor peaks. This
comes at the cost of a
decrease in the immune
Shock Phase - Decrease s ys te m
Blood Pressure, Heart
Rate & Muscle Tone
Alarm
Exhaustio n
Re sistanc e

Figure 22.1 General Adaption Syndrome

On looking at the figure you will find that there are three stages of the physiological
response to stress.
Let us take up the case of a learner whose term end examinations are approaching and
the learner is not prepared. So there will be three stages of reaction to stress due to
lack of preparation.
Stage 1
Alarm:-This means that the stressor which is ‘term end examination’ will ring an alarm
in the body or come as a shock to the learner. During this phase the blood pressure,
heart rate and muscle tone of the learner may be affected. This is a natural reaction to
stress provoking situations and prepares the learner to either flee or fight the situation.
Can you think how this happens? Let us go back to lesson number 2 and try to
understand the role of ANS in alarm reaction. During the alarm reaction the sympathetic
branch of the ANS is activated and releases adrenaline and produces cortisol to prepare
the body for action (flee or fight).

Autonomic Nervous System

1. Sympathetic Division (Mobilises body system during activity ‘fight or

flight’

2. Parasympathetic division(Calm body to conserve and maintain energy)

Figure 22.2
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Health and Well-being Stage 2

Resistance: After fight or flight responses the body begins to repair itself with the
help of parasympathetic system and tries to maintain homeostasis.

Stage 3

Exhaustion stage: If the stressor continues to be present even after the resistance
stage then this leads to exhaustion stage. The continuous effort of the body’s ability to
Notes deal with stress provoking situation depletes its ability to fight stress. This is regarded
as dangerous to one’s health as it weakens the immune system and the organism
becomes more vulnerable to stress induced illness.

Think about the last time during a stressed situation you caught cough, cold or a
disturbed stomach

INTEXT QUESTIONS 22.3

1. Prolonged stress adversely affects the immune system of the body. True/False

2. Parasympathetic division is related to the fight or flight response to stress.True/

False

3. Sympathetic division conserves and maintains energy.True/False

22.4 STRATEGIES TO DEAL WITH STRESS

In the previous sections we discussed the various factors that are responsible for
stress. We also talked about the various stress provoking factors and their effect on
the physical and psychological wellbeing of an individual.

However, most of the people in the world try to find out solutions to their problems.
Nobody wants to be under stress and go through its after effects. Do you ever
realize that when you are under stress you try to relieve yourself by talking to others?
We try a lot of coping strategies to deal with stress. Let us discuss a few of the coping
strategies with examples.

22.4.1 Problem Focused Coping

Ramesh had to sit in the final board examination and he realized that he was not able to
do well in one of his courses and he was feeling stressed. However, he decided to find

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out and make use of the available resources like video lectures, internet resources, Health and Well-being
books and extra help from the tutor to prepare for the course. To everyone’s surprise
he was able to score the highest marks in that course after such a preparation.

This kind of coping strategy which Ramesh used in the above example is known as
Problem Focused Coping strategy in which an individual tries to work on the problem
to find a solution and get relieved.

Notes
ACTIVITY

Create a scenario where you find that your friend is not able to continue with her
studies because of financial constraints. Develop a problem focused coping strategy
that can be helpful in such a situation.

22.4.2 Emotion Focused Coping

Pratigya spent a lot of time preparing to get selected for the women’s hockey team.
However, she was not selected. After the result was declared she decided to go out
for a vacation and spend some time at her grandmother’s place in Shimla.

Do you think it is possible for anyone to be the winner every time? It might be for some
but not for all. In such situations when as individuals we find that the situations or
circumstances are not under our control we tend to take breaks from the situations.
This is what Pratigya did in the above example. This kind of coping strategy is known
as Emotion Focused coping.

Sometimes in emotion focused coping people may delay the process of resolving the
issue at hand.

For example, people may delay the root canal treatment because of the pain associated
with it.

This kind of emotion focused coping is not beneficial for anyone to deal with the stress
provoking situations.

22.4.3 Cognitive Response to Stress

Mohan was diagnosed with Asthma at a very young age. He was under stress realizing
that asthma might refrain him from doing a lot of things that he used to do. However, he
decided to seek information about the disease through different resources like case

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Health and Well-being studies, clinical reports, doctors and through available online resources. This provided
him with rich information about the dos and don’ts of the disease. He now feels less
stressed as he knows how to effectively live with it.

Do you sometimes look for information to deal with the problem which you are
facing?

If we try to gather information about our problems then it generally gives us a clear
Notes picture of the problem and also tells us the strategies that helps in effective dealing.
This is also known as information seeking approach of stress reduction. If you are
facing any problem at a given moment try to help yourself by gathering information
about it. The problems may range from daily hassles to examination stress to major
issues in life but gaining knowledge helps to empower the individual in effective dealing.

22.4.4 Social Support

Geeta hails from an economically backward family. She always wanted to financially
support her family. She did a cutting and tailoring course from distance learning. Now
she wants to open her own boutique. She realized that she lacks funds for the purpose
and is under stress. Her tutor told her that she can approach various government
organizations to financially support her in setting up her boutique. She also sought help
from her relatives in finding a proper place for her boutique.

Do you also share your problems with your family, friends or with anyone whom you
trust will be supportive? The coping strategy which is discussed in the above example
is known as seeking Social Support. This is another coping strategy where an individual
tries to seek help from the immediate environment to deal with stressful situations.

22.5 TECHNIQUES OF STRESS MANAGEMENT

Have you ever noticed that when under stress lots of negative thoughts starts coming
in our mind? For example, what will happen if I fail in the examination, what will
happen if I lose my job etc. In such situations when negative thoughts start pouring in
our mind it is good to use cognitive strategies to alter the stress provoking thoughts.

There are various ways in which this alteration of thoughts can be done and Thought
Stopping is one among them.

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22.5.1 Thought Stopping Health and Well-being

means that whenever unnecessary thoughts creeps in mind just strongly say say
‘STOP’. This helps in getting the thought out of the mind of an individual. However,
this technique has to be practiced repeatedly to keep the stress provoking thought
away from the mind of the individual.

Another cognitive technique to alter the stress provoking thought is to modify the
Notes
stress provoking thought and rate it on a 100 point scale with.Let us do one exercise
to understand this technique.In the below given example there are two different
thoughts for the same situation. The situation is ‘I am late for the interview’

The thoughts can be;-

1. I will not be allowed to sit for the interview. I will lose the opportunity
to get this job and my one year will be wasted on what I will do.

Rate your thoughts on a 1-100 point scale for this thought.

I will not be allowed to face the interview. So what I will try to convince
them is that due to unexpected traffic jams, the roads were closed and I
could not reach on time. I may or may not be allowed to appear for the interview.
However, feeling sad about it will not be the solution. This is not the end of my life.
I will work even harder and will have better opportunities.

Rate your thought on a 1-100 point scale.Considering the above example, what
do you think is relaxing? Apparently the second.There are times when we are
faced with a lot of negative situations in our lives but how we think about the
situation changes the way we feel about it.

22.5.2 Time Management

There are 24 hours in a day for everyone. Some individuals are able to effectively
manage their time. The history tells examples of great leaders who could succeed in
their lives because they knew how to effectively manage and utilize these 24 hours in a
day. It happens with many of us when under stress we feel that time is running too fast.

The biggest hurdle to time management is procrastination. It happens when we delay

important assignments and waste on less important things. You might have come across
a situation where you know that submitting an assignment is more important than going
out with friends, however, you still chose to go out with friends and that results in

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Health and Well-being feeling helpless when you know that not submitting might end up you with losing grades
in examination. We may procrastinate for a number of reasons like keep on thinking
and planning and never execute the plan to finish the task, or we may procrastinate
because we feel that we might not be able to perform the task and thus we do not
make an effort, or we procrastinate because we think that we will do it perfectly.
There can be endless reasons for procrastination but it results in stress when we are
required to face the situation that we have been delaying. Effective time management
Notes requires planning and prioritizing. Let us understand how?

i) Planning: It is very important to plan ahead for what is to be done. Make a list of
activities to be done for the day. Every single day and each moment in the day
counts. It is important to set short term goals of the day to achieve the big
targets in life. Those who are successful in life, plan and manage their time
effectively

ii) Prioritizing: It is very important to prioritize what is to be done first while

planning for the activities. Prioritizing is the key to successful time management.
You must differentiate between the tasks that demand the urgent attention over
all others. Sometimes we spend our time on things that are not very important
and realize that even after spending time working on tasks we are still not able
to achieve targets.

22.5.3 Physical Exercise and Nutrition

The lifestyle of a person has an important role to play in the overall wellbeing of an
individual. When we are under stress we often resort to unhealthy eating habits and
refrain ourselves from keeping up a healthy lifestyle. However, physical exercise on a
regular basis and healthy eating habits boosts self confidence and also brings in discipline
in life. Physical exercise has been associated with bringing in positivity in individuals. It
has proven to be beneficial in reducing stress. Physical activity helps in releasing
endorphins from the brain which are the feel good neurotransmitters of the brain.
Endorphin release has been associated with producing a positive feeling in the body.
Physical exercise does not always mean going for a rigorous exercise every day. Walking,
jogging, skipping can also work well for the individual. Physical exercise combined
with yoga and meditation is an age old technique in the Indian tradition that reduces
stress and is effective in calming mind of the individuals. Apart from physical exercise,
healthy nutrition also contributes to reducing stress in an individual. When under stress
the body needs more energy, oxygen, circulation, and therefore more metabolic

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cofactors are needed (e.g. vitamins and minerals).When under stress individuals often Health and Well-being
resorts to unhealthy foods like sugary and fatty foods. Stress makes us eat an
imbalanced amount of food sometimes less sometimes more. This disturbs the nutritional
intake that is required by an individual. So it is very important that a good diet must be
taken during difficult times.

However, stress is detrimental to adopting any kind of healthy behaviours. Nevertheless

as already discussed in cognitive strategy that if one has clarity about the crux of the
Notes
problem the problem can be halved. So a healthy lifestyle must be adopted to reduce
stress.

Skills to cope with stress

Take time out for yourself:- If you think that the daily hassles have taken a toll
on you then you must find leisure time for yourself. It can be anything that you like
doing, for example, going for a walk, going out with friends, spending time doing
nothing at home etc.

Physical exercise:- As already discussed in the previous section any kind of

physical exercise is positively related to the wellbeing of an individual. Spending at
least 20 minutes a day can act as a stress buster for the individuals.

Watching movies: Watching comedy series or movies helps in relieving stress of

an individual as when you watch such movies you just enjoy and do not give stress
to your brain for thinking over anything else. Such movies relieve stress. Funny
content also makes you laugh which relieves stress and loosens your brain allowing
you to think without stress blocking the way of your thoughts. Laughing is good
medicine for preventing stress, so funny movies are a good choice.

Social support: A problem shared is a problem halved. Sharing problems with

people who really care helps in relieving stress. It helps in ventilating emotions.
Also if sometimes because of stress we are not able to find out solutions to our
problems then others can suggest better ways to deal with the situations.

Learn to say ' NO': It is not possible for anyone to do everything all at once. It
is good to set priorities and say NO to some activities if you think that you are not
ready for a task.

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WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT

Notes

TERMINAL EXERCISE

1. What do you understand by stress and its types?

2. How stress affects the physiological and psychological wellbeing of an individual?

3. What are the different strategies that are helpful in coping with stress?

4. What is the role of physical exercise and nutrition in enhancing the wellbeing of
an individual?

5. Discuss in detail about the role of cognitive strategy in dealing with stress.

6. What are the different factors leading to stress?

7. Describe General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) and how does it impacts the
individual.

8. Effective time management helps in planning and prioritizing of work, how does
it helps the individual in dealing with stress?

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9. Outline the different general skills to cope up with stress. Health and Well-being

10. Attitude plays an important role in our life, how does an optimistic attitude and
pessimistic attitude impacts the individual.

ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

22.1 Notes

1. Daily hassles stress:-This kind of stress results from too many minor sources
of stress. It can range from making meals to reaching office on time etc.

2. Major life events stress: Death of a loved one, divorce, transfer from one
place to another, losing a job etc.

3. Job stress:-The stress related to the working environment more.

4. Catastrophic events: Devastation after wars, earthquakes ,tsunamis etc. This

refers to those stressors that are beyond the control of a person. Such stressors
might include devastation after wars, earthquakes ,tsunamis etc. These might
land up individuals losing all the assets they have. Therefore, these have
devastating effects on the psychological wellbeing of individuals.

5. Eustress, Distress

22.2

1. a iv

b i

c iii,

d ii

2. Environment of an individual like background noise can create stress among

individuals. It disrupts, distracts, or detracts from regular functioning.

3. (a) T

(b) F

4. Caregiving to a family member often results in stress, affecting caregiver's physical

and psychological wellbeing.

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Health and Well-being 5. Individuals with an optimistic attitude believe that good things will happen to
them as compared to those with pessimist's feelings. This is mainly because is
optimism is related with dedication and determination which help to adapt with
stressors more effectively as compared to pessimists.

22.3

1. T
Notes 2. F

3. F

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Health and Well-being

23

MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

Notes

Umang is a 26 year old young trainee in a multinational firm. This has been a dream job
for her; however, she has been allotted the USA Project due to which most of the
work is to be undertaken during late night hours. Alongwith, she has recently been
engaged to her childhood friend. She is quite keen on meeting for dinners and party,
but she is unable to undertake the same. Also, the burden at work is increasing. All of
this is making her feel extremely low, and at time she feels nauseous also. She is losing
interest in the job of her dreams and also at times does not feel like getting married.
She is being guided to take care of her mental health by her friends and seek help of a
psychologist. The mentioned example highlights the importance of taking care of mental
health for overall wellbeing. Human beings are the most unique creatures of the universe.
One of the major things that differentiate human beings from others is their capacity to
think and feel. Healthy living is essential for every human being and mental health is an
important precursor to happy healthy life.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this lesson, learner :

 defines and describes mental health;

 identifies the various factors that can lead to poor mental health;

 enumerates the symptoms and causes of dealing with Anxiety, Depression, and
Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour;

 delineates the ways to deal with Mental Health Issues; and

 effective strategies for maintaining health and well being.

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Health and Well-being 23.1 MENTAL HEALTH: AN ESSENTIAL ENTITY

Mental health is a state of balance between the individual and the surrounding world,
a state of harmony between oneself and others, a co-existence between the realities of
the self and that of other people and the environment.

World Health Organization defines mental health as a "state of well-being in which the
individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can
Notes work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her
community".

23.1.1 Characteristics of A Mentally Healthy Person

 He/She has an ability to make adjustments.

 He/She has a sense of personal worth, feels worthwhile and important.

 He/She solves his problems largely by his own effort and makes his own
decisions.

 He/She has a sense of personal security and feels secure in a group, shows
understanding of other people's problems and motives.

 He/She has a sense of responsibility.

 He/She can give and accept love.

 He/She lives in a world of reality rather than fantasy.

 He/She shows emotional maturity in his behavior, and develops a capacity to

tolerate frustration and disappointments in his daily life.

 He/She has developed a philosophy of life that gives meaning and purpose to
his daily activities.

 He/She has a variety of interests and generally lives a well-balanced life of work,
rest and recreation.

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23.1.2 Signs of Poor Mental Health Health and Well-being

 Confused thinking  Substance use

 Prolonged depression (sadness or  Poor concentration

irritability)
 Being easily distracted
 Feelings of extreme highs and lows
 Worrying more
 Excessive fears, worries and Notes
 Finding it hard to make decisions
anxieties
 Feeling less interested in day-to-
 Social withdrawal
day activities
 Dramatic changes in eating or
 Frequent mood swings
sleeping habits
 Feeling overwhelmed by things
 Strong feelings of anger
 Tearfulness
 Strange thoughts (delusions)
 Tiredness and lack of energy
 Seeing or hearing things that aren't
there (hallucinations)  Sleeping more or less

 Growing inability to cope with daily  Talking less and avoiding social
problems and activities activities

 Suicidal thoughts  Talking more or talking very fast,

jumping between topics and ideas
 Numerous unexplained physical
ailments  Finding it difficult to control your
emotions
 Irritability and short temper
 Excessive Drinking
 Aggression

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Health and Well-being

INTEXT QUESTIONS 23.1

1. What do you understand by the mental health?

2. State common signs of Poor Mental Health.

3. State true or false

Notes a. Mentally health person is able to solve his problems largely by his own
effort and makes his own decisions. True/False

b. Individuals with Poor Mental health are able to adapt easily in social
situations. True/False

23.2 FACTORS THAT CAN LEAD TO POOR MENTAL HEALTH

Many factors are responsible for the causation of mental illness. These factors may
predispose an individual to mental illness, precipitate or perpetuate the mental illness.

23.2.1 Predisposing Factors

These factors determine an individual's susceptibility to mental illness. They interact

with precipitating factors resulting in mental illness.

 Genetic make up

 Physical damage to the central nervous system

 Adverse psychosocial influence

23.2.2 Precipitating Factors

These are events that occur shortly before the onset of a disorder and appear to have
induced it.

 Physical stress

 Psychosocial stress

23.2.3 Perpetuating Factors

These factors are responsible for aggravating or prolonging the diseases already existing

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in an individual. Psychosocial stress is an example. Thus, etiological factors of mental Health and Well-being
illness can be:

 Biological factors

 Physiological changes

 Psychological factors

 Social factors Notes

23.2.4 Biological Factors

 Heredity- What one inherits is not the illness or its symptoms, but a predisposition
to the illness, which is determined by genes that we inherit directly. Studies have
shown that three-fourths of mental defectives and one-third of psychotic
individuals have unfavorable heredity.

 Biochemical Factors- Biochemical abnormalities in the brain are considered

to be the cause of some psychological disorders. Disturbance in neurotransmitters
in the brain is found to play an important role in the development of certain
mental disorders.

 Brain Damage- Any damage to the structure and functioning of the brain can
give rise to mental illness. Damage to the structure of the brain may be due to
one of the following causes: E.g. Infection of brain, injury of brain tissue,
disturbance in blood glucose levels, lack of oxygen, and fluid and electrolyte
imbalance, brain tumor.

23.2.5 Physiological Changes

It has been observed that mental disorders are more likely to occur at certain critical
periods of life namely-puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, delivery, period after birth.
These periods are marked not only by physiological (hormonal) changes, but also by
psychological issues that reduce the adjustment capacity of the individual. Thus, the
individual becomes more susceptible to mental illness during this period.

23.2.6 Psychological Factors

 It is observed that some specific personality types are more prone to develop
certain psychological disorders. For example, those who are unsocial and
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Health and Well-being reserved (schizoid) are vulnerable to schizophrenia when they face adverse
situations and psychosocial stresses.

 Psychological factors like strained interpersonal relationships at home, place of

work, school or college, bereavement, loss of prestige, loss of job, etc.

 Childhood insecurities due to parents with problematic personalities, wrongful

attitude of parents (over-strictness, over leniency), abnormal parent-child
Notes relationship overprotection, rejection, unhealthy comparisons), deprivation of
child's essential psychological and social needs, etc.

 Social and recreational deprivations resulting in boredom, and isolation.

 Marriage problems like forced bachelorhood, disharmony due to physical,

emotional, social, educational or financial incompatibility, childlessness, too many
children, etc.

 Sexual difficulties arising out of improper sex education, unhealthy attitudes

towards sexual functions, guilt feelings about masturbation, pre and extra-marital
sex relations, worries about sexual perversions.

 Stress, frustration and seasonal variations are sometimes noted in the occurrence
of mental diseases.

23.2.7 Social Factors

 Poverty, unemployment, injustice, insecurity, migration, urbanization

 Alcoholism, gambling, multiple sexual partner, broken homes, divorce, very big
family, religion, traditions, political turmoil and other social crises.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 23.2

1. Enumurate predisposing factor responsible for poor mental health?

....................................................................................................................

2. Enumerate psychological factors leading to mental illnesses?

....................................................................................................................

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3. What are social factors affecting mental health of person? Health and Well-being

....................................................................................................................

23.3 SYMPTOMS CAUSES AND WAYS OF DEALING WITH ANXIETY,

DEPRESSION, AND OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOUR

Mental and behavioral disorders are understood as clinically significant conditions

which are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood (emotions) or behavior Notes
associated with personal distress and/ or impaired functioning.

23.3.1 Mood Disorder

The person who suffers from a mood disorder experiences these emotions for a long
period of time in a restricted way, remains fixed at one emotion or fluctuates on the
ranges of these emotions. For example, a person can be sad for days together or he/
she can be sad one day and happy the other day regardless of the situation.

Thus, depending on the behavioural symptoms of the person mood disorders are of
two types:

(i) Depression and

(ii) Bipolar disorder.

Mood disorders are characterized by

disturbances in mood or prolonged emotional
state. The main types of mood disorders
include depression, mania and bipolar
disorders. The most common mood disorder
is depression, which covers a variety of
negative moods and behavioural changes. In
day-to-day life, we often use the term
depression to refer to normal feelings after a
significant loss, such as the break-up of a relationship, or the failure to attain a significant
goal. People may experience the depression in different ways. It may interfere with
your lifestyle, leading to impairment of function in various tasks and activity of your
routine life. It can also influence relationships and some chronic health conditions.
Major depressive disorder is defined as a period of depressed mood and/or loss of
interest or pleasure in most activities, together with other symptoms which may include
change in body weight, constant sleep problems, tiredness, inability to think clearly,
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Health and Well-being agitation, greatly slowed behaviour, and thoughts of death and suicide. Other symptoms
include excessive guilt or feelings of worthlessness. Factors predisposing towards
depression: Genetic make-up, or heredity is an important risk factor for major depression
and bipolar disorders. Age is also a risk factor. For example, women are particularly
at risk during early adulthood, while for men the risk is highest in early middle age and
old age people are likely to experience more depression. Similarly gender also plays a
great role in this differential risk addition. For example, women in comparison to men
Notes are more likely to report a depressive disorder. Other risk factors are experiencing
negative life events, loneliness and lack of social support.

23.3.2 Mania

People suffering from mania become euphoric or experience 'high', can be extremely
active, excessively talkative, and are easily distractible. Manic episodes rarely appear
by themselves; they usually alternate with depression which means after an episode of
depression, an individual is likely to experience episode of mania. Such a mood disorder,
in which both mania and depression are alternately present, is sometimes interrupted
by periods of normal mood. This is known as bipolar mood disorder. Where two
different mood episodes occur in the same patient but during different time period. In
rare cases both the symptoms occur simultaneously which is known as mixed disorder.
Bipolar mood disorders were earlier referred to as manic-depressive disorders. Among
the mood disorders and severe depression, the lifetime risk of a suicide attempt is
highest in case of bipolar mood disorders. Several risk factors in addition to mental
health status of a person predict the likelihood of suicide. These include age, gender,
ethnicity, or race and recent occurrence of negative life event.

23.3.3 Anxiety Disorder

You might have experienced fear and apprehension in your life. However, if somebody
persistently becomes fearful, apprehensive, and anxious without any specific reason
you may call this person as having anxiety disorders.

There are different kinds of anxiety disorders in which the feeling of anxiety manifest
in different forms. They include generalised anxiety disorder, which consists of
prolonged, excessive, unexplained and intense worry that is not attached to any particular
object. The symptoms must prolong for at least six months for the diagnosis. The
symptoms include worry and apprehensive feelings about the future; hypervigilance,
which involves constantly scanning the environment for dangers. It is marked by motor

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tension, as a result of which the person is unable to relax, is restless, and visibly shaky Health and Well-being
and tense. Another type of anxiety disorder is panic disorder, which consists of recurrent
attacks of anxiety in which the person experiences intense terror. A panic attack denotes
an abrupt surge of intense anxiety rising to a peak when thoughts of particular stimuli
are present. Such thoughts occur in an unpredictable manner. The clinical features
include shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, palpitations, choking, nausea, chest
pain or discomfort, fear of going crazy, losing control or dying. You might have met or
heard of someone who was afraid to travel in a lift or climb to the tenth floor of a Notes
building, or refused to enter a room if s/he saw a lizard. You may have also felt it
yourself or seen a friend unable to speak a word of a well-memorized and rehearsed
speech before an audience. These kinds of fears are termed as phobias. People who
have phobias have irrational fears related to specific objects, people, or situations.
Phobias often develop gradually or begin with a generalized anxiety disorder. Phobias
can be grouped into three main types, i.e. specific phobias, social phobias, and
agoraphobia. Specific phobias are the most commonly occurring type of phobia. This
group includes irrational fears such as intense fear of a certain type of animal, or of
being in an enclosed space. Intense, incapacitating fear and embarrassment when
dealing with others characterizes social phobias.

Agoraphobia is the term used when people develop a fear of entering unfamiliar
situations. Many agoraphobics are afraid of leaving their home. So their ability to
carry out normal life activities is severely limited. Have you ever noticed someone
washing their hands every time they touch something, or washing even things like

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Health and Well-being coins, or stepping only within the patterns on the floor or road while walking? People
affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder are unable to control their preoccupation
with specific ideas or are unable to prevent themselves from repeatedly carrying out a
particular act or series of acts that affect their ability to carry out normal activities.
Obsessive behaviour is the inability to stop thinking about a particular idea or topic.
The person involved, often finds these thoughts to be unpleasant and shameful.
Compulsive behaviour is the need to perform certain behaviour over and over again.
Notes Many compulsions deal with counting, ordering, checking, touching and washing.Very
often people who have been caught in a natural disaster (such as tsunami) or have
been victims of bomb blasts by terrorists, or been in a serious accident or in a war-
related situation, experience post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD symptoms
vary widely but may include recurrent dreams, flashbacks, impaired concentration,
and emotional numbing.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 23.3

1. What are the type of mood disorder?

.....................................................................................................................

2. What are different types of anxiety disorder?

.....................................................................................................................

3. What are different types of phobia?

.....................................................................................................................

23.4 MENTAL DISORDERS AND THEIR TREATMENT

 Preparation of case history

The history of the particular disorder is prepared targeting the adjustment pattern
of the client with family, friends, social and occupational set up.

 Determination of the problem

After preparing case history the psychotherapist identifies certain key problems
which require urgent attention. This is achieved through administration of clinical
tests and interview.

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 Therapeutic Session Health and Well-being

Depending on the nature and severity of the problem the psychotherapist conducts
session with the client with a focused treatment plan. Progress after each session
is monitored and assessed, and further interventions are modified if necessary.

 Termination of Therapeutic Intervention

Once it is confirmed that the sessions have yielded the desired outcome set by
Notes
the psychotherapist then it is terminated. The client and the family members are
asked to follow the suggestions at home and if required the client is asked to
visit the psychotherapist again.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 23.4

1. Explain different steps of treating mental disorder?

23.5 EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR MAINTAINING HEALTH AND WELL BEING

Specific ways to promote mental health include according to WHO (World Health
Organization)

 Early childhood interventions (e.g. Providing a stable environment that is sensitive

to children's health and nutritional needs, with protection from threats,
opportunities for early learning, and interactions that are responsive, emotionally
supportive and developmentally stimulating).

 Support to children (e.g. Life skills programmes, child and youth development
programmes).

 Socio-economic empowerment of women (e.g. improving access to education

and microcredit schemes).

 Social support for elderly populations (e.g. Befriending initiatives, community

and day centres for the aged).

 Programmes targeted at vulnerable people, including minorities, indigenous

people, migrants and people affected by conflicts and disasters (e.g. Psycho-
social interventions after disasters).

 Mental health promotional activities in schools (e.g. Programmes involving

supportive ecological changes in schools).

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Health and Well-being  Mental health interventions at work (e.g. Stress prevention programmes).

 Housing policies (e.g. Housing improvement).

 Violence prevention programmes (e.g. Reducing availability of alcohol and access

to arms).

 Community development programmes (e.g. integrated rural development).

Notes  Poverty reduction and social protection for the poor.

 Anti-discrimination laws and campaigns.

Promotion of the rights, opportunities and care of individuals with mental disorders.

ACTIVITY

Carry out a campaign in your society to promote mental health?

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WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT

Mentally Healthy Mental Poor Mental

Person Health Precipitating Factors Health
Physiological Factors
Perpetuating Factors Biological
Factors Notes
Mental and Behavioral Mental disorder and their
Disorder treatment

Mood Mania Anxiety Case Determinations Therapeutic

Disorder Disorder History of the Sessions
Problem

Precipitating Factors Social Factors

TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. Define Mental Health

2. Explain various characteristics of a Mentally Healthy Person.

3. Briefly discuss the Mental Disorders and their treatment.

4. Enumerate some effective strategies for maintaining Health and Well Being.

5. Identify the various factors that can lead to Poor Mental Health.

6. What are the different types of anxiety disorders and their clinical features?

7. Explain any two types of mood disorder and their characteristics as well as risk
factors?

8. What are the steps involved in the process of psychotherapeutic intervention?

9. What are the different signs of poor mental health?

10. What are some of the psychological and social factors that can contribute to the
development of mental disorders?

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ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

23.1
1. Mental Health is a state of balance between the individual and the surrounding
world, a state of harmony between oneself and others, a co-existence
between the realities of the self and that of other people and the environment.
Notes 2. Some common signs of poor mental health are using Substance use, Poor
concentration, Worrying more, Finding it hard to make decisions, Feeling
less interested in day-to-day activities, Low mood, Feeling overwhelmed
by things, Tearfulness etc.
3. (a) True
(b) False
23.2
1. Predisposing factors
 Genetic make up
 Physical damage to the central nervous system
 Adverse psychosocial influence
2. Personality type, Interpersonal relationship, childhood issues and social
problems.
3. Poverty, unemployment, injustice, insecurity, migration, urbanization
,alcoholism, gambling, multiple sexual partner, broken homes, divorce, very
big family, religion, traditions, political turmoil.
23.3
4. Depression and Bipolar disorder.
5. Generalized anxiety disorder, Panic disorder and Phobia.
6. Specific phobia, social phobia and agoraphobia.
23.4
1. Phase of therapy
a Preparation of case history
b Determination of the problem
c Therapeutic Session
d Termination of Therapeutic Intervention
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24

PSYCHOLOGY FOR HOLISTIC

DEVELOPMENT Notes

Asha is a 30 year old woman with two children. She has never worked professionally
earlier. However, after the recent demise of her husband, she had to start working to
sustain her family. But, it is becoming extremely difficult for her to cope with everyday
issues of life. The same is also making her feel weak physically and mentally. This
makes her quite sad at times, but seeing her young kids she decided to carry on with
her life and also make others happy. The mentioned example highlights the importance
of dealing with all kinds of uncertainties and be resilient during adverse situations.

Holistic Development refers to human development that is meant to involve all over
development of an individual especially during the childhood of a person. It
accommodates physical development, mental growth, emotional development and
social development.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this lesson, learner :

 defines and describes holistic development;

 identifies health and positive emotions (Happiness, life satisfaction, resilience);

 defines and describes happiness and its constructs;

 understands the concept of Life Satisfaction and Subjective Well being; and

l understands resilience and strategies to build Resilience.

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Health and Well-being 24.1 MEANING OF HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT

Holistic development is overall development of an individual which includes individual's

Physical, Mental, Social, Emotional and Spiritual Growth. Holistic approach involves
studying different factors which affect the development of a person/individual, how
one factor affect the other factor and how it affect the individual as whole. In Psychology,
Holistic means looking how they are influencing persons psychology as whole.

Notes It is based on the assumption that an individual finds purpose and meaning in life
through connections to the world outside, nature, community and value of humanitarian
ground.

The holistic viewpoint is based on the premise that the system as a whole will determine
how its individual component acts.

A humanistic psychologist, for example, might consider an individual's environment

(including where they live and work), their social connections (including friends, family,
and co-workers), their background (including childhood experiences and educational
level), and physical health (including current wellness and stress levels).

For example, a psychologist might consider person's Environment (the surrounding

where he live or work) social relationship (which includes friends family, colleague),
Physical (Health, wellness) and Mental Health (stress or anxiety) how these are affecting
individual well-being.

24.1.1. Components of Holistic Development

1. Physiological- this attribute include the sensory organs (five sense organs- skin,
ear, nose, tongue and eyes).

2. Cognitive- the intellectual functions of the mind: thinking, recognizing, reasoning,

analysing, projecting, synthesizing, recalling, and assessing.

3. Psychological- this component depicts how thinking, feeling, and behaving interact
and happen in a person

4. Social- the manner by which an individual interacts with other individuals or

groups of individuals.

5. Spiritual- the attribute of a person's consciousness and beliefs, including the

values and virtues that guide and put meaning into a person's life

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24.1.2. Health and Positive emotions (Happiness, life satisfaction, resilience) Health and Well-being

Health is of prime importance of individual. It is very important to recognize your

health problems. Whenever you recognize any symptom in your body it need to be
address as soon as possible as the problem may progress fast whether it is mental
problem or physical.You should proceed to take the necessary corrective steps at the
earliest as per his/her consultation and guidance. Research suggests, having a positive
mindset might help to improve your physical health as well. Notes

24.1.3. Positive Emotions

It is often said that a smiling face indicates happiness and mental health. It is true but it
misses one important information- that experiencing positive emotions like love, affection,
interest, empathy, forgiveness, gratitude etc. contribute to one's state of health and
well being. Recent studies indicate that the experiences of various positive emotions
enhance the status of one's health. It is, therefore, important to discover, identify and
create opportunities for experiencing positive emotions in every possible time and
moment .If u face a problem, positive attitudes help us to look at the situation more
realistically and finding alternative to problem and better way to solve it.

All emotions-whether positive or negative-are adaptive in the right circumstances. The

key seems to be finding a balance between the two. Having positive outlook does not
mean you never feel negative emotions, People need positive and negative emotions
as well. Positive emotions expand our awareness and open up for the new ideas and
creativity and negative emotions are required move through difficult situations and
respond to them appropriately in the short term. Negative emotions can get us into
trouble, though, if they are used excessively, and if they are causing problems like
worry and anxiety.

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Health and Well-being Experts say that people who are emotionally well, have fewer negative emotions and
are able to bounce back from difficulties faster. This quality is called "Resilience".
Another sign of emotional wellness is being able to hold onto positive emotions longer
and appreciate the good times. Developing a sense of meaning and purpose in life and
focusing on what's important to you also contributes to Emotional Wellness.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 24.1

Notes

1. Explain the importance of Resilience.

2. Elaborate on the components of Holistic Development.

24.2. HAPPINESS

According to psychology, happiness is about more than simply the experience of a

positive mood. In order to describe happiness, psychologists commonly refer to as
subjective well-being (Kesebir & Diener, 2008). In other words, happiness is "people's
evaluations of their lives and encompasses both cognitive judgments of satisfaction
and affective appraisals of moods and emotions" (Kesebir & Diener, 2008, p. 118).

There are three ways that psychologists study happiness:

1. Need and Goal Satisfaction Theories

These theories suggest that happiness results from striving to achieve appropriate
goals and meeting one's fundamental human needs (Nelson, Kurtz
&Lyubomirsky, in press). Deci and Ryan (2000) for example, proposed Self-
determination Theory, which stipulates that wellbeing is achieved when one meets
their basic human needs including autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

2. Genetic and Personality Predisposition Theories

These propose that wellbeing is influenced by genes and is associated with the
personality traits of extraversion and neuroticism (Nelson et al., in press).

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3. Process/activity theories Health and Well-being

Process/activity theories argue that wellbeing may be improved by participating
in activities that are engaging and require effort (Nelson et al., in press).

Psychologists ask the question, 'Is it possible to increase one's happiness?'.

Some psychologists claim that making an attempt to enhance happiness is pointless
because happiness levels are predetermined and stable over time (Norrish &
Vella-Brodrick, 2008). Notes

INTEXT QUESTIONS 24.2

True and False

1) According to psychologists, happiness is only about experiencing positive

moods- True/False

2) Process/activity theories suggest that happiness can be improved by engaging in

activities that are challenging and require effort- True/False

3) According to Norrish & Vella-Brodrick (2008), attempting to enhance happiness

is pointless because happiness levels are predetermined and stable over time-
True/False

24.3. LIFE-SATISFACTION

Life satisfaction is a multidimensional concept related to psychological and

environmental life conditions. The term life satisfaction can be split into two words- life
and satisfaction. Life is the state of functional activity peculiar to organized matter and
especially to the portion of it such as, constituting an animal or plant before death
(Oxford Dictionary, 1990). Satisfaction is a Latin word that means to make or do
enough.

24.3.1. Definitions of Life Satisfaction

According to Hamilton (1995) in the Dictionary of Developmental Psychology, life

satisfaction is the degree of contentment with one's own life style. Life satisfaction is
referred as an assessment of the overall conditions of existence as derived from a
comparison of one's aspiration to one's actual achievement (Cribb, 2000).

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Health and Well-being Life satisfaction gives meaning to one's life and it can be source of a feeling or self-
worth. In the Indian context, most of the elderly review their past life in terms of self
fulfillment (Butler 1976)

Life Satisfaction is the central aspect of human welfare. It is the ultimate goal and every
human being strives to achieve this goal throughout the life. Humans are always striving
toward achieving life satisfaction by establish few goals and ultimately achieving those
goals, Perhaps, it can be said that the final aspiration of every human being is to attain
Notes his goals and desires and this attainment leads to life satisfaction.

In Indian Philosophy, satisfaction includes the capacity for enjoyment i.e. more
enjoyment leads to more happiness. A satisfied and meaningful life involves both
subjective thinking and objective component. The three foundations of a satisfied life
are-

 The establishment of depth relationships;

 The commitment to projects and goals; and

 The use of stories that place life in genuinely ultimate context.

Therefore, life satisfaction is a complex index of one's adjustments, attitudes towards

life and events, perception and experience of problems and interactional events.

So, to be truly satisfied and stimulated by life, a person needs to be intrinsically satisfied.
It is thus apparent that a person can be happy only when he has a realistic appraisal of
his abilities and potentials to develop realistic aspirations and expectations.

24.3.2. Factors Affecting Life Satisfaction

 Personal

 Environmental

24.3.2a. Personal Factors:

Satisfaction of needs - our needs or urges always creates tensions and worries in
our mind. As result, we become restless and dissatisfied. The various needs are as
follows-

Physiological - needs include food, clothing, dwelling & sex.

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Psychological - needs include self-esteem, attitude, social intelligence, mental health, Health and Well-being
anxiety, frustration, life skills, emotional stability.

Social - needs include strong family support (satisfaction with spouse, with children
and with rest of family), social participation, social support social cognitive skills, family
relationships, social status and other social outlets and affiliations.

Education - It has been realized that education plays a pivotal role in the life satisfaction
of an individual. Education is very much important for everyone. It dispels mental Notes
illusions and its place cultivates good thinking, knowledge, attitudes, values etc, which
helps in bringing life satisfaction.

Nature of Job - Man, being a social animal needs social recognition which is marked
by his status and position in the society. Job is an important factor to upgrade the
social status and position of a man. Hence, suitable job gives satisfaction in life.

Economic Status - Satisfaction with housing and living conditions, with income's
purchasing power and with financial solvency

Others factors includes

 Leisure Activities

 Marital Status

 Sports Participation

 Mental and Physical Health

 Positivity of Emotions

 Coping Abilities

 Ego Identity

24.3.2b. Environmental Factors

Environment includes everything that surrounds us. It is one of the important factors
which influence not only the various psychological traits but also our good social
behaviour. If the environment is peaceful and congenial, it helps to facilitate balanced
life. Good social relationships with neighbors, collogues and participation in social
activities also provide life satisfaction for example, social circle friendship, place to
live, occupational and professional opportunity to develop, congenial environment of

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Health and Well-being the family , community full with all the basic facilities such as transport, safety, trust in
local neighborhood.

24.4. RESILIENCE

Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy,
threats or significant sources of stress - such as family and relationship problems,
serious health problems or workplace and financial stressors. It means "bouncing back"
Notes from difficult experiences.

People commonly demonstrate resilience. Being resilient does not mean that a person
doesn't experience difficulty or distress. Emotional pain and sadness are common in
people who have suffered major adversity or trauma in their lives. In fact, the road to
resilience is likely to involve considerable emotional distress.

Resilience is not a trait that people either have or do not have. It involves behaviors,
thoughts and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone.

24.4.1. Factors affecting Resilience

A combination of factors contributes to resilience. Many studies show that the primary
factor in resilience is having caring and supportive relationships within and outside the
family. Relationships that create love and trust, provide role models and offer
encouragement and reassurance help bolster a person's resilience.

Several additional factors are associated with resilience, including:

 Positive attitude

 High Self esteem

 The capacity to manage strong feelings and impulses.

24.4.2.Strategies for Building Resilience

Developing resilience is a personal journey. All people do not react in a similar names
to traumatic and stressful life events. An approach to building resilience that works for
one person might not work for another. People adopt varying strategies to develop
reiliences

Some variation may reflect cultural differences. A person's culture might have an impact
on how he or she communicates feelings and deals with adversity - for example,

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whether and how a person connects with significant others, including extended family Health and Well-being
members and community resources.

24.4.3. Ways to build resilience

Creating Connections- Good relationships with close family members, friends or

others are important. Accepting help and support from individuals strengthens resilience.
Eg, Being active in civic groups, faith-based organizations, or other local groups Notes
providing social support.

Dealing with challenging problems- Interpret and Response to difficult events can
be changed. Looking beyond the present is necessary.

Acceptance of change- Accepting circumstances that cannot be changed can help in

focusing on circumstances that can be altered.

Making goals- Developing some realistic goals. SMART (Specific, Measurable,

Attainable, Relevant, Time Bound) goals can be created that are attainable.

Decisive actions - Acting on adverse situations and taking decisive actions, rather
than detaching completely from problems and stresses and wishing they would just go
away.

Nurturing a positive view- Developing confidence in an individual's ability to solve

problems and trusting their instincts helps build resilience.

Keeping things in perspective- Even when facing very painful events, trying to
consider the stressful situation in a broader context and keeping a long-term
perspective.

Maintaining an optimistic outlook- An optimistic outlook enables to expect that

good things will happen in life.

Introspection and caring for oneself- Paying attention to own needs and feelings.
Engaging in activities that are enjoyable and relaxing. Meditation and spiritual practices
help individuals build connections and restore hope.

24.5. INTERVENTIONS FOR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Health and well-being are significant aspects of human existence. The various
interventions that be utilized are:

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Health and Well-being 1. Diet & Life style

Healthy Diet can help in maintaining a Positive Lifestyle. Ahealthy lifestyle includes
eating balanced diet as well as healthy habits such as not taking Alcohols, drugs
etc.

2. Exercise

Exercising regularly can help an individual to keep oneself physically healthy.

Notes Proper exercise can maintain good health.

3. Yoga and Meditation

Yoga and Meditation can be the healthy positive alternatives that can help an
individual maintain Positive Well-being. Current research also suggests that
meditating and doing yoga can boost overall well-being and resilience to stress
factors. The potential health benefits of yoga include: Stress reduction. A number
of studies have shown that yoga may help reduce stress and anxiety. It can also
enhance mood and overall sense of well-being.

Meditation can improve wellbeing and quality of life. There is also evidence that it can
help people manage insomnia, depression and anxiety. Some research suggests that
meditation physically changes the brain and could help: increase ability to process
information, control the brain's response to pain.

4. Developing Positive emotions

Developing Positive Emotions can help an individual to practice Resilience and

also deal with day to day issues. Increased positive emotion can build physical,
intellectual, social and psychological resources (B. L. Fredrickson, Tugade,
Waugh, & Larkin, 2003).Positive emotion is more than just 'happiness'. There
are a range of positive emotions, including amusement, hope, interest, joy, love,
compassion, gratitude, and pride. They can be developed by:

 Practicing to be grateful

 Spending time with people

 Doing activities that are enjoyable, such as hobbies or pastimes

 Playing with children, pets or friends

 Listening to music

 Exercising.

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WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT
Physiological

Components of Holistic
Social Cognitive
Development
Notes

Spiritual Psychological

Need and Goal Process/

Satisfactions Three ways that Psychologists activity
Theories Study Happiness Theories

Genetic and Personality Predispositions theories

Personal
Life Satisfactions Environmental
Factors

Satisfactions Resilience
of needs
Positive High Self- Capacity to manage strong
Physiological attitude esteem feelings and impulses

Psychological

Social

Education

Nature if Job

Economic
Status

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Health and Well-being

INTEXT QUESTIONS

1. Explain about Holistic Development.

2. What are the factors affecting life satisfaction?

3. Describe the importance of Resilience.

Notes 4. Explain the Strategies For Building Resilience.

5. Describe certain ways to build Resilience.

6. Discuss the interventions for health and well-being.

7. How can positive emotions be developed to improve an individual's overall

sense of resilience and ability to cope with day-to-day issues?

8. How does a humanistic psychologist consider different factors, such as

environment, social connections, background, and physical health, when
examining an individual's overall well-being?

9. What are the components of holistic development, and how do positive emotions
contribute to an individual's state of health and well-being?

10. What are the three ways that psychologists study happiness and what do they
propose about the factors that influence happiness?

ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

24.1

1) Resilience is an essential quality for emotional wellness as it enables individuals

to cope with and bounce back from difficult situations or challenges. Life is full
of ups and downs, and everyone experiences setbacks and hardships at some
point in their lives. Resilience is the ability to adapt to such challenges, maintain
a positive attitude, and recover from adversity.

2) Physiological- this attribute include the sensory organs (five sense organs- skin,
ear, nose, tongue and eyes).

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Cognitive- the intellectual functions of the mind: thinking, recognizing, reasoning, Health and Well-being
analysing, projecting, synthesizing, recalling, and assessing.

Psychological- this component depicts how thinking, feeling, and behaving

interact and happen in a person

Social- the manner by which an individual interacts with other individuals or

groups of individuals.
Notes
Spiritual- the attribute of a person's consciousness and beliefs, including the
values and virtues that guide and put meaning into a person's life

24.2

1) False. Psychologists refer to happiness as subjective well-being, which

encompasses both cognitive judgments of satisfaction and affective
appraisals of moods and emotions.

2) True. Process/activity theories argue that engaging in activities that are

challenging and require effort can improve well-being.

3) True. Norrish & Vella-Brodrick (2008) claimed that attempting to enhance

happiness is pointless because happiness levels are predetermined and stable
over time.

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Feed back on Lesson 1-24
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No. Illustrations
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