Education Psychology
• Psychology as a field of conscious experimental study began in 1879
in Leipzig, Germany, when Wilhelm Wundt founded the first
laboratory in Germany dedicated solely to psychological research.
• Wundt was also the first to describe himself as a psychologist.
Major Branches of psychology
• Abnormal psychology deals with behaviour disorders and disturbed individuals. For example,
researchers might investigate the causes of violent or self-destructive behaviour or the effectiveness
of procedures used in treating an emotional disturbance.
•
Clinical psychology uses the understandings derived from developmental and abnormal psychology
to diagnose and treat mental disorders and adjustment problems. Some clinical psychologists work
to develop programmes for the prevention of emotional illness or conduct basic research on how
individuals can better cope with the problems of daily life.
• Comparative psychology explores the differences and similarities in the behaviour of animals of
different species. Psychologists in this field make systematic studies of the abilities, needs, and
activities of various animal species as compared with human beings.
• Developmental psychology studies the emotional, intellectual, and social changes that occur across
the life span of human beings. Many developmental psychologists specialize in the study of children
or adolescents.
Major Branches of psychology
• Educational psychology attempts to improve teaching methods and materials, to solve learning
problems, and to measure learning ability and educational progress. Researchers in this field may
devise achievement tests, develop and evaluate teaching methods, or investigate how children learn
at different ages.
• Industrial psychology is concerned with people at work. Industrial psychologists investigate such
matters as how to make jobs more rewarding or how to improve workers' performance. They also
study personnel selection, leadership, and management. Organizational psychology is a closely
related field.
• Social psychology studies the social behaviour of individuals and groups, with special emphasis on
how behaviour is affected by the presence or influence of other people. Social psychologists
concentrate on such processes as communication, political behaviour, and the formation of
attitudes.
Edu. Psy. is a positive
science:
• As every science has, it has its own subject of study. And it is a systematic
study.
• It collects facts and data using the scientific methods; especially through
observation of phenomenon under natural and under controlled conditions.
• The data so collected is arranged and closely studied by using quantitative
methods of Statistical techniques to arrive at certain conclusions and
general principles, theories or laws.
• The laws or theories thus deduced are subject to verification in the light of
new facts or data. Every science keeps its doors open for fresh information
land new facts and changes its laws if warranted by the new data.
Utility / Usefulness of Edu. Psychology:
• Educational psychology is useful in -
(i) Educational administration
(ii) in the curriculum
(iii) in the teacher training
Utility / Usefulness of Edu. Psychology:
• It helps to answer the questions:
(i) When to teach ?
(ii) What to teach
(iii) How of the learning process
(vi) Why of the learning process
Relationship between Education and
Psychology:
Both are related to behaviour
Psychology achieves the aims of education
The Problems of Edu & Psychology are same
Close relationship b/w Teacher & Psychologist
Benefits of Psychology to
Individuals
• Psychology gives the individual the opportunity to know himself
better and understand the reasons for his behavior.
• Psychology enables the individual to better understand other
individuals and animals and to empathize with them.
• Psychology enables the individual to establish harmony with the
environment by better understanding the people around him, the
groups around him, and the society, starting from his parents.
• Harmony/compliance forms the basis of psychological balance.
Education and Psychology
• Educational science cooperates with psychology to change students'
behavior in the desired direction.
• The findings revealed by psychological science are used to further develop
education.
• Psychology is also used in educational institutions to protect the
psychological health of students.
• Knowing student psychology while teaching provides great advantages for
teachers.
• Students' attitudes towards the course, their motivation, their anxiety and
drawing their attention to the course are important psychological factors
that affect the course.
Developmental Psychology
• Education psychology; It examines the individual's behaviors and the
reasons that create these behaviors and uses the data obtained in the
field of education.
• Developmental Psychology, tries to explain the physical, mental,
emotional and social changes that an individual undergoes
throughout individual’s life.
Fundamental Concepts About
Development
• Growth: It is simply that the body increases in height, weight and volume. Growth occurs at different rates in
different organs of the body.
• Development: It is the continuous progressive change of the organism through the interaction of growth,
maturation and learning. When we consider development as a product, we can define it as the process aspect of
the product.
• Maturation/maturity: It is a biological change that the body organs undergo under the influence of heredity in
order to reach a level where they can perform the function expected from them. Regardless of their learning
experience, for example, a child whose finger muscles are not sufficiently developed cannot cut paper neatly with
scissors.
• Readiness: It includes not only the individual's maturity level, but also the individual's previous learning, interests,
attitudes, motivation level, abilities, and general health status. Example: A child who will learn to draw must have an
interest in drawing as well as the maturation of his muscles to be able to hold a pencil.
• Learning: It is the permanent changes that occur in an individual's behavior as a result of his interaction with his
environment.It is the process of creating relatively permanent changes in our experiences consisting of our
emotions, thoughts and behaviors.
• Critical development phases: The early years of a child's life, from birth to around the age of five, are generally
considered the core of the critical period. The brain is incredibly absorbent during these years, taking in information
rapidly. Everything from language to motor skills to social cues is being learned and processed extensively
Phases of development
• Infancy (neonate and up to one year age)
• Earlychildhood/Toddler ( one to five years of age)
• Childhood (three to eleven years old) - early childhood is from three
to eight years old, and middle childhood is from nine to eleven years
old.
• Adolescence or teenage (from 12 to 18 years old)
• Adulthood
• Old age
Historical Background of
Ed. Psych.
1850 1875 1900 1925 1950
William James
John Dewey
E. L. Thorndike
William James (1842-
1910)
Emphasized the importance of observing
teaching and learning in the classroom for
improving education
His belief in the connection between mind and body led him to
develop what has become known as the James-Lange Theory of
emotion, which posits that human experience of emotion arises
from physiological changes in response to external events.
Along with Charles Sanders Peirce, James established the
philosophical school known as pragmatism, and is also cited as one
of the founders of functional psychology. A Review of General
Psychology analysis, published in 2002, ranked James as the 14th
most eminent psychologist of the 20th century.
John Dewey (1859-1952)
• Viewed the child as an active learner
• Emphasized the child’s adaptation to the environment
• Pushed for competent education for all children
John Dewey was an American philosopher and educator who was a
founder of the philosophical movement known as pragmatism, a
pioneer in functional psychology, and a leader of the progressive
movement in education in the United States.
Dewey believed that individuals grow and learn as they interact with the world.
Through encounters with their surroundings, individuals discover new ideas,
concepts, and practices that allow them to form their own understandings, which
they gradually reinforce through their learning and social experiences.
E. L. Thorndike (1874-1949)
• Initiated an emphasis on assessment and measurement
of learning
• Promoted the idea that educational psychology must have a scientific base and
that measurement should be a central focus
Thorndike's theory of learning, also known as the law of effect, states that
behavior that is followed by a positive consequence is more likely to be
repeated, while behavior that is followed by a negative consequence is
less likely to be repeated.
Jean Piaget theory
• 1. Sensorimotor period
• 2. Pre-procedure period
• 3. Concrete transactions period
• 4. Abstract operational period
Research in Educational Psychology
Research Is Important
• Based on the scientific method, researchers
• Conceptualize the problem
• Collect data
• Draw conclusions
• Revise research conclusions
and theory
• Theory
• Hypothesis
20
The Scientific Research
Approach
The scientific research STEP 4
approach is objective, Revise Research
systematic, and testable. Conclusions & Theory
STEP 3
Draw Conclusions
STEP 2
Collect Information
STEP 1
Conceptualize the Problem
