CHAPTER ONE

ESSENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY
1.1. Definition of Psychology and Related Concepts
The word psychology is derived from two Greek words 'psyche' and ‗logos‟.
Psyche refers to “breath”, “soul” or "mind," while logos, meaning "study of",
"knowledge or discourse. Simply put, the word psychology epistemologically refers
to the study of the soul, sprit or mind and it is often represented by the Greek letter ᴪ
which read as psy ("sy"). However, when did you last see or touch a “soul or mind”?
Because, there is no systematic procedure help us to study directly either a soul or a
mind.
Nowadays, most psychologists define psychology as “the scientific study of
behavior and mental processes of human and animals”. What is important about this
definition is that some of its terms have a broad meaning. For example, there are 3
key word and phrases in these definitions, namely; behavior, mental process and the
scientific study. There are 3 key word and phrases in these definitions, namely;
scientific, behavior and mental processes.
 The first is the term scientific which means studies using the scientific method. In
brief, the science of psychology is based on objective, verifiable evidence—not just
the opinions of experts and authorities, as we often fid in nonscientific fields.
 The second term is behavior which refers to all of our outward or overt actions
and reactions, such as eating, sleeping, talking, or sneezing, facial expressions,
movement, etc.
 The third term is mental processes include all covert, hidden processes involved
in thinking, remembering, learning, feeling and so forth.
1.2. Goals of Psychology
As a science, psychology has four goals; description, explanation, prediction, and
control.
Description: Description involves observing the behavior and noticing
everything about it. It is a search for answers for the following questions. What is
happening? Where does it happen? To whom does it happen? And under what
circumstances does it seem to happen?

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 Explanation: Why is it happening? Explanation is about trying to find
explanations for the observed behavior. This helps in the process of forming
theories of behavior (A theory is a general explanation of a set of observations or
facts).
Prediction: prediction is about determining what will happen in the future. To
evaluate their understanding, psychologists make and test predictions called
hypotheses.
Control: How can it be changed? Control or modify or change the behavior from
undesirable one (such as failing in school) to a desirable one (such as academic
success).
1.3. Historical Background and Major Perspectives in Psychology
Though systematic attempts to explain human behavior can be traced back to
philosophers in ancient times, psychology is a relatively new field in the realm of the
sciences, only about 140 years old. It was emerged as a scientific discipline in 1879
at Leipzig, Germany. There, the “father of psychology,” Wilhelm Wundt, set up a
laboratory to study conscious experiences of individuals. In his laboratory, Wundt
investigated how sensations, images, and feelings combine to make up personal
experience. He used a method called introspection, a method of exploring conscious
mental experiences by asking subjects to look inward and report their thoughts,
feelings, or sensations, immediately after viewing a specific stimulus.
After psychology has been started as a science, it gradually went through different
schools of thought. These schools were basically associated with different methods
used for description, explaining, and prediction of behavior and mental processes.
These schools of thought can be categorized as old and modern as described below.
1.3.1. Early schools of psychology

There are five early schools of psychology. These schools differ in three significant
ways.
 In their object of study, i.e. what they studied (Conscious mind, unconscious
mind, thought and overt behavior).
 In their goal (analyze the components of the mind or observing the effect of the
environment on behavior).

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 In their method (Introspection, observation, clinical case studies, experimental
studies etc...).
The earlier schools that paved the way for further developments in modern
psychology were:
STRUCTURALISM:- Edward B. Titchener (a student of Wundt) brought Wundt’s
ideas & methods to the USA and renamed structuralism; dealt with structure of
mental life. Structuralism maintains that complex conscious experiences can be
broken down into elemental structures or parts of sensations and perceptions. To
examine the contents of consciousness, the structuralists depended on the method of
introspection, a method of exploring conscious mental processes by asking subjects
to look inward and report their sensations, thoughts & feelings). Because it’s the
introspection method is not objective and reliable, it fails miserably.
FUNCTIONALISM: - Functionalism is an early school of psychology that
emphasized studying the purpose, or function of behavior and mental experiences,
rather than its structure. This school founded by the American psychologist William
James (1842-19 10), became prominent in the early 1900s. It looks at how behavior
functions to allow people to survive and to adapt successfully to their environments.
GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY: - The Gestalt approach emphasized that perception is
more than the sum of its parts and studied how sensations are assembled into
meaningful perceptual experiences. Max Wertheimer and his colleagues founded this
school of thought in Germany in the early 20th century. The German word Gestalt
means “form, pattern, configuration or whole.” Gestalt psychologists believe that
the brain organizes how we see the world so that we perceive unified or organized
wholes, not individual bits and pieces, or “elements” of sense experiences added
together. Their slogan was, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
BEHAVIORISM: Behaviorism focused on overt, observable behaviors that could
be measured and verified. Founded by American psychologist John B. Watson and
expanded by other proponents like E. Thorndike and F. Skinner. Watson rejected
strongly to the study of the “mind” or “conscious experience.” “Introspection,” he
said, “is unscientific.” The goal of Behaviorism is to discover the fundamental
principles of learning – how behavior is acquired and modified in response to
environmental influences. Watson emphasizing the importance of the environment
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over heredity, the behaviorists began to explore stimulus-response relationships,
often using laboratory animals as subjects. Another pioneer of Behaviorism was B.
F. Skinner, believed that all behavior is a result of rewards and punishments in the
past.
PSYCHOANALYSIS: - Psychoanalysis school stresses the influence of
unconscious impulses, desires, and conflicts on thoughts and behaviors. The founder
of Psychoanalysis school of thought was Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), in the late
19th century. Freud theorized that many unconscious thoughts are threatening;
hence, they are repressed (held out of awareness). But sometimes, he said, they are
revealed by dreams, emotions, memory blocks, humor or slips of the tongue. He also
stresses that psychological disorders could result when unconscious conflicts became
extreme. Most of all, perhaps, Freud is known for creating psychoanalysis, the first
“talking therapy.” Freudian psychotherapy explores unconscious conflicts and
emotional problem.
Freud believed that all thoughts, emotions, and actions are determined. In other
words, nothing is an accident: If we probe deeply enough we will find the causes of
every thought or action. Freud was also among the first to appreciate that childhood
experiences greatly influence the development of later personality traits and
psychological problems. (“The child is father to the man”). He used clinical case
studies (hypnosis, free association and Dream analysis) as a method.
1.3.2. Modern schools of psychology
What are the major approaches in contemporary psychology? Modern psychologists
tend to examine human behavior through several views. Although some early
schools of psychology have essentially disappeared, contemporary perspectives in
the field, including the Psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, physiological,
cognitive, and socio-cultural perspectives, continue to evolve and to shape our
understandings of behavior.
Psychodynamic/ Psychoanalytic perspective - It has its origins in Freud's theory of
psychoanalysis, but many other psychodynamic theories exist. Psychoanalytic
perspective attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by
focusing on unconscious determinants of behavior. Psychodynamic perspective
sought to uncover causes of behavior that were unconscious, or hidden from the
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person's conscious awareness. Freud’s psychodynamic theory of personality
emphasizes:
 The influence of unconscious or repressed thoughts that we cannot voluntarily
access on everyday behavior
 The importance of early childhood experiences in determining adult
personality
 The role the conflicts between conscious and unconscious forces that
influence our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors
Behavioral Perspectives- the behavioral approach focuses on observable behavior
and analyzes how organisms learn new behaviors or modify existing ones, depending
on whether events in their environments reward or punish these behaviors.
Behavioral perspective views all organisms as controlled by their environment, and
that they are a result of what they have learned from the environment.
Humanistic Perspective- Humanism is a view that focuses on humans’ conscious,
subjective experience. Humanistic psychologists are interested in human problems,
potentials, and ideals. Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, and other humanists rejected
the view that predetermined biological forces, unconscious forces or the environment
determines behavior. Instead, the humanists stress our ability to make voluntary
choices, or free will. They believe that people can freely choose to live more
creative, meaningful, and satisfying lives. Carl Rogers emphasizes each person's
unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction. Maslow’s concept of
self-actualization is a special feature of humanism. Self-actualization refers to fully
developing one’s potential and becoming the best person possible. This perspective
places greater importance on the individual‘s free will.
Cognitive Perspective- The cognitive approach focuses on how we process, store,
and use information and how this information influences what we attend to, perceive,
learn, remember, believe, develop language, solve problems, and feel. Some
cognitive psychologists apply principles of computer-based information processing
(i.e., the methods by which computers process information to solve problems) to
explain how humans process, store, retrieve, and manipulate information.
Biological Perspective- Biological Psychologists study the biological bases of
behavior including the nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, and
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genetics. They believe that factors such as chromosomes, hormones, biochemistry,
evolution, the brain and nervous system, have a significant influence on human
behaviors, feelings, and thoughts in. How the individual nerve cells are joined
together, how the inheritance of certain characteristics from parents and other
ancestors influences behavior, what behaviors are due to instincts, and so on.
Psychologists using the biological model view even more complex kinds of
behaviors such as emotional responses e.g. anxiety, as having critical biological
components.
Socio-cultural Perspectives- socio-cultural perspective examine how behavior and
attitudes are shaped by the family, social and cultural influences to which people are
exposed. According to this view, the nature of one’s relationships with others may
support both normal and abnormal behaviors and even cause them. Within this
perspective, psychologists consider how group affect attitudes and behaviors, why
authority and other people like spouse, lovers, friends, bosses, parents, and strangers
affect each of us. Cultural psychologists also examine how cultural rules and values
(both explicit and unspoken) affect people's development, behavior, and feelings.
1.4. Branches/Sub Fields of Psychology
As the study of psychology has grown, it has given rise to a number of subfields. As
a result a large number of sub fields have been developed. Some of the sub-fields of
psychology are the following:
1. Developmental psychology – it studies physical, mental, emotional and social
development of humans over the entire life span (from conception period to old
age or death). In particular, it focuses on the biological and environmental factors
that contribute to human development.
2. Personality Psychology – it focuses on the relatively enduring traits and
characteristics of individuals. Personality psychologists study topics such as self-
concept, aggression, moral development, etc.
3. Social Psychology –deals with people‘s social interactions, relationships, social
perception, and attitudes.
4. Cross-cultural Psychology - examines the role of culture in understanding
behavior, thought, and emotion. It compares the nature of psychological

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 processes in different cultures, with a special interest in whether or not
psychological phenomena are universal or culture-specific.
5. Industrial psychology – applies psychological principles in industries and
organizations to increase the productivity of that organization. Forensic
psychology - applies psychological principles to improve the legal system (police,
testimony, etc...).
6. Educational Psychology - concerned with the application of psychological
principles and theories in improving the educational process including
curriculum, teaching, and administration of academic programs.
7. Health Psychology - applies psychological principles to the prevention and
treatment of physical illness and diseases.
8. Clinical Psychology:-is a field that applies psychological principles to the
prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders.
9. Counseling Psychology: - is a field having the same concern as clinical
psychology but helps individuals with less severe problems than those treated by
clinical psychologists.
Psychiatry:-is a field that diagnoses and treats psychological disorders by using
medical and psychological forms of therapy.
1.5. Research Methods in Psychology
Psychologists study the behavior and mental process of both humans and animals.
And the main goals of this research are to describe, predict, explain, and understand
behavior. To achieve these goals they use the scientific method. The scientific
method is a process of testing ideas through systematic observations,
experimentations, and statistical analysis.
Let’s take a closer look at definitions and some elements of the scientific method.
I. Definition of terms
 Theories: - is an integrated set principles about observed facts intended to
describe and explain some aspects of the experience.
 Hypothesis: - is a tentative proposition about the relationship between two or
more variables or phenomena stated in a way that allows it to be tested. E.g.
Males have high self-confidence in making decisions than females.

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  Operational definition: - is defining a scientific concept by stating the specific
actions or procedures used to measure it. For example, an operational definition
of self-confidence & making decisions in the above example; “self-confidence” is
self-reported levels of self-confidence concern on a scale from 1 to 5 and “making
decisions” is the number of decisions made by both male and female participants
in observed 30 minute period.
II. Major types of research methods
Psychologists gather evidence and test hypotheses in 3 particular types of research
methods: descriptive, correlation and experimental research methods.
1. Descriptive research - is descriptive because the researcher simply records what

she/he has systematically observed. Descriptive research methods include

naturalistic observation, case studies, and surveys.
i. Naturalistic observation: is a method in which a researcher engages in careful
observation of behavior in their natural environment without intervening directly
with the subjects. Naturalistic observation allows researchers to get a realistic picture
of how behavior occurs because they are watching that behavior which is not
artificial. Limitations of naturalistic observation are observer effect (animals or
people who know they are being watched will not behave normally) and observer
bias (the researcher may not observe systematically or he/she may observe behaviors
he/she wants to observe and ignores others).
ii. Case study: is an in-depth analysis of the thoughts, feelings, experiences,
behaviors, or problems of a single individual. One advantage of a case study is that
its detailed information allows greater understanding of a particular person’s life. A
disadvantage of a case study is that its detailed information about a particular person
may not apply to others.
iii. Survey: is a descriptive research method used to collect a huge amount of data on
a very large group of people. In the survey method, the researcher uses
questionnaires or interviews to obtain information about a particular group of
people. It allows information about large numbers of people to be gathered and is
useful to get information on private (covert) behaviors. Its disadvantage is that
obtaining a representative sample is critical and can be difficult to do; answers may
be inaccurate; people may not do what they say or say what they do.
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2. Correlation research - is a research method which measures the relationship or

correlation between two or more variables. A variable is anything that can change or
vary –scores on a test, temperature in a room, gender, and so on. In correlation, first,
two factors of interest are measured. Then a statistical technique is used to find their
degree of correlation. For example a researcher might be curious to know whether or
not cigarette smoking is connected to life expectancy.
The strength and direction of a relationship can be expressed as a coefficient of
correlation. Correlation coefficients can vary from -1 .00 to +1 .00. For instance, if
the correlation result of a research is to be +0.5, its magnitude (strength) is 0.5 and it
shows positive relationship between the variables. That means when one variable
increases the second also increases and Vic versa.
If the correlation is 1.00, a perfect positive relationship exists; if it is 1.00, a perfect
negative relationship has been discovered. If the number is zero or close to zero, the
association between two measures is weak or nonexistent. The advantage of a
correlation studies are helping us discover relationships and make predictions. Its
disadvantage is the relationships may be coincidental; cause-and-effect relationships
cannot be confirmed.
3. Experimental Research:- with the experimental research method, investigators

directly explore cause-and-effect relationships by manipulating certain variables,

called independent variables, and observing their effects on certain measured
variables, called dependent variables. The dependent variables are so called
because they are thought to depend on the value or level of the independent, or
manipulated, variable. The research hypothesis suggests that the manipulated
independent variable or variables will cause changes in the measured dependent
variables.
For example, suppose a researcher want to design an experiment to study the effects
of class size on students’ academic performance; hypothesized as; do students in
small class size have better academic performance than students in large class size?
In this example, class size could be an independent variable. In the effects of class
size study, academic performance is the dependent variable.
The simplest psychological experiment is based on two randomly selected and
assigned groups of subjects. One group is called the experimental group; the other
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becomes the control group. An experimental group is a group whose experience is
manipulated. A control group is a comparison group that is treated in every way
like the experimental group except for they do not receive the manipulated factor or
receive a different manipulation. The control group serves as the baseline against
which the effects of the manipulated condition can be compared. In the effect of
class size study, we need to have one group of students who are assigned in small
class sizes (experimental group) and one group of students who are assigned in large
class sizes (control group).
An experiment’s primary advantage is that it has the greatest potential for identifying
cause-and effect relationships with less error and bias. A disadvantage of an
experiment is that information obtained in one experimental situation or laboratory
setting may not apply to other situations.
III. Steps of scientific research
Psychologists use the scientific method to generate, accumulate, and report scientific
knowledge. It can be conceptualized in terms of four general steps that scientists use
to test their ideas and to expand and re fie their knowledge:
Step one - Perceiving the Problem:- noticing something attention catching in the
surrounding for which one would like to have an explanation.
Step two - Forming Hypothesis - after having an observation on surroundings
(perceiving the problem), you might form an educated guess about the explanation
for your observations, putting it into the form of a statement that can be tasted in
some way.
Step three - Testing the Hypothesis - at this step, the researcher employs
appropriate research methodology and collects ample data (information) to accept or
reject the proposed statement.
Step four - Drawing Conclusions - this is the step at which the justification for the
result is presented. Once the hypothesis is tested it will be found that the hypothesis
was either supported or was not supported by the data gathered.
Step five - Reporting the Result - at this point, the researcher would want to write
up exactly what she/he did, why she/he did, and what she/he found. So that, others
can learn from what she/he has already accomplished, or failed to accomplish. This
allows others to predict and modify behavior based on the findings.
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N.B. Ethics of psychological research
American and Canadian psychologists have ethical code for the treatment of human
subjects and animal subjects. In research using human subjects, researchers must
obtain informed consent, not force anyone to participate, let subjects withdraw at
anytime, protect subjects from physical harm and mental distress, alleviate any
inadvertent harm or distress, keep information obtained from subjects confidential,
and make deception justified.
There are also ethical considerations when dealing with animals in research just as
there are with humans. With animals, though, the focus is on avoiding exposing
them to any unnecessary suffering. So, if surgery is part of the study it is done under
anesthesia. If the research animal must die in order for the effects of some drug or
other treatment to be examined in autopsy, the death must be accomplished
humanely.

CHAPTER TWO: SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

2.1. The meanings of sensation and perception
Your eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue are complex, miniaturized, living sense
organs that automatically gather information about your environment. Gathering
information about the world involves two steps. In the first step, electrical signals
reach the brain and are changed into sensations.
Sensation is the process of taking information from the world, transforming it into
neural impulses, and transmitting these signals to the brain where they are processed
to produce experiences of vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and so on. Sensation
involves the absorption of energy, such as light or sound waves, by sensory organs,
such as the eyes and ears.

In the second step, the brain quickly changes sensations, which you’re not aware of,
into perceptions. Perception is the selection, organization, and interpretation of
sensory input into something meaningful experiences. Perceptions are meaningful
sensory experiences that result after the brain combines hundreds of sensations. For
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example, when you look at the photo of the rose, your eyes are sensing the light
reflected from the page, including areas of low reflectance where ink has been
deposited in an irregular shape. What you perceive, however, is a picture of a rose.
2.2. The sensory laws: Sensory thresholds and sensory adaption
Stimulation must be of sufficient strength for detection to occur. This necessary
strength is called a threshold. A threshold is a dividing point between energy levels
that do and do not have a detectable effect. A distinction is made between thresholds
for revealing the presence or absence of a stimulus and those for detecting a change
in the value of a stimulus.
Absolute Thresholds: Detecting what’s out there
“What is the minimum amount of energy necessary for a sensation to occur?” The
answer to this question requires an understanding of the concept of absolute
threshold.
An absolute threshold for a specific type of sensory input is the minimum stimulus
intensity that an organism can detect. Absolute thresholds define the boundaries of
an organism’s sensory capabilities. Absolute threshold is the minimum stimulation
necessary to detect a particular light, sound, pressure, taste, or odor 50 percent of the
time.
Difference Thresholds: Noticing distinctions between stimuli
How does the magnitude of a stimulus influence our threshold for detecting
differences? Difference threshold or just-noticeable difference (JND) refers to the
smallest level of added or reduced stimulation required to sense that a change in
stimulation has occurred. The minimal difference between two stimuli that people
can reliably detect is the difference threshold applies to each of our senses. This
change is referred to as the just noticeable difference.
Sensory Adaptation: Turning down our responses
You enter a movie theater, and the smell of popcorn is everywhere. A few minutes
later, though, you barely notice the smell. The reason you acclimate to the odor is
sensory adaptation.
Adaptation is an adjustment in sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to
unchanging stimuli. Adaptation occurs as people become accustomed to a stimulus
and change their frame of reference. In a sense, our brain mentally turns down the
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volume of the stimulation it’s experiencing. Some sense organs adapt very quickly,
and some very slowly. For example, sensory adaptation may be illustrated by a
newly married person wearing a wedding band. At first, the ring seems very
noticeable and perhaps somewhat awkward. The person may twist, pull, or ‘‘fool
around’’ with the ring. With some experience, however, the individual usually
adjusts to the ‘‘new’’ stimulation and no longer is aware of the ring, although the
actual sensory stimulation remains the same.
2.3. Perception
A perception is the experience we have after our brain assembles and combines
thousands of individual, meaningless sensations into a meaningful pattern or image.
It is the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets stimuli into
a meaningful and coherent picture.
However, our perceptions are rarely exact replicas of the original stimuli. Rather, our
perceptions are usually changed, biased, colored, or distorted by our unique set of
experiences. Thus, perceptions are our personal interpretations of the real world.
You and your friend might see the same person, thing, or event, yet, you will
interpret in different ways. This interpretation is highly individualized and depends
on each person’s own needs, values, and expectations.
Major characteristics of the perceptual process
2.3.1. Selectivity of perception: Attention
Attention is the first step in perception. Through selective attention, you limit your
attention to certain stimuli while filtering out other stimuli. Selective attention
prevents you from being flooded with extraneous information. It explains why you
may perceive certain stimuli but not others. We pay more attention to stimuli that are
meaningful or emotionally significant.
Determinants factors of attention
Many factors affect our attention to particular stimuli. These, factors are classified as
external factors & internal factors to the perceiver.
A. Factors external to the perceiver
They refer to factors that are generally found in the objects or stimuli to be
perceived. Some of the external characteristics of objects that determine whether you

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 are going to attend them or not are: Size and intensity, repetition, novelty (or
newness), and movement.
i. Size and intensity: - Other things being constant, bigger and brighter stimuli are
more likely to capture your attention than smaller and dimmer objects. That is
why announcements and notice are written in big and block letters. In the same
way, people who dress bright colored clothes tend to capture your attention.
Repeat
ii. Repetition: - repeated or frequent exposure may increase attention to particular
stimuli. A misspelled word is more likely to be detected if it occurs many times in
a paragraph than when it occurs only once or twice. You are going to notice a
person if he continuously follows you as compared to a person you meet only
once or twice. That is, by the way, why slogans, advertisings, and announcement
are repeated continuously to audiences and spectators. In a word, repetition is
attention getting.
On the other hand, exposure to a constant stimulus can lead us to become
habituated, or accustomed, to it. When you first turn on an air conditioner or fan,
you may notice the constant humming sound it makes. But after a time, you no
longer perceive it, even though the sound continues to impinge on the sensory
receptors in your ears.
iii. Novelty: - refers to the extent to which a stimulus creates a contrast with the rest
objects in the environment. Novel or new objects create a sharp contrast with the
environment and hence tend to capture your attention. Remember here why you
are given a special attention as a guest, why first-born children get more attention
from parents etc.
iv. Movement:- Moving objects tend to get your attention more than non-moving or
stagnant objects. Your eyes are involuntarily attracted to movement the way
butterflies are attracted to light. This is because
B. Factors internal to the perceiver
Many internal or psychological factors affect our attention to particular stimuli,
including set/expectancy & motivation and needs.
i. Set or expectancy: - set/expectancy refers to the idea that you may be ready and
primed for certain kinds of sensory input. Set, or expectancy, therefore, varies
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 from person to person. It is important not only in the selection of sensory input
for inclusion in the focus of your attention. It is also important in organizing the
selected sensory input.
ii. Motivation and needs: - are the second psychological factors influencing you as
an observer. Motivational states, such as hunger and thirst, play important roles in
attention. When we are hungry, we are more likely than when we've just eaten to
pay attention to odors wafting out of a restaurant.
There are differences between you and your friend in what you select to perceive as
a result of differences in your motives and needs.
2.3.2. Form perception
How are sensations organized into meaningful perceptions? One of the important
processes required in vision is the perception of form. Form perception is a
perceptual phenomenon in which we perceive the shape, form or pattern of any
object and give name to objects as house, tree, table, chair etc. Mainly it involves
two important principles: Figure- ground relationship and Contours.
Figure- Ground Relationship
The simplest organization involves grouping some sensations into an object, or
figure, that stands out on a plainer background. The object is being recognized with
respect to its back ground, for example, black board and chalk, car parked in front of
a wall, painting against the wall etc. Contrasting figures and their grounds are early
and quickly perceived.
Figure-ground organization is probably inborn, because it is the first perceptual
ability to appear after cataract patients regain sight. In normal figure-ground
perception, only one figure is seen. In reversible figures, however, figure and ground
can be switched. In Figure 2.1 it is equally possible to see either a wineglass figure
on a dark background or two face profiles on a light background. As you shift from
one pattern to the other, you should get a clear sense of what figure-ground
organization means

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Figure 2.1: A reversible Figure-ground design. Do you see two faces in profile or a
wineglass?
Contours
The second feature of form perception called contours. Contours are perceptual
phenomenon in which we are able to maintain a difference of the form from its
background due to the perception of contours. For example, in observing the paper,
which has two colors, white and black; there is no contour at all. But as it becomes
lighter rather than becoming dark, a person can simply identify the difference. And
when the difference is much apparent, we simply divide into two parts as light and
dark and skip different shades as lighter or darker, where brightness changes
abruptly, we perceive contours. In general, contours give shape to the objects in our
visual world because they mark one object off from another or they mark an object
off from the general ground. When contours are disrupted visually, as in camouflage,
objects are difficult to distinguish from the background.

Gestalt Principles of Perceptual Organization

How do we separate a figure from its background? Max Wertheimer and the other
early Gestalt psychologists conducted studies in which they observed the ways in
which people assemble bits and pieces of sensory stimulation into meaningful
wholes. They concluded that even if you were seeing for the first time, several
factors would bring some order to your perceptions. On this basis, they formulated
laws of perceptual organization. Gestalt psychology emphasized that the whole
may be greater than the sum of its parts (features). Gestalt principles of form
perception include proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, and simplicity.
What are some of the laws of perceptual organization?
1. The law of Proximity or nearness. The laws of proximity says that items which
are close together in space or time tend to be perceived as belonging together or
forming an organized group.
2. The law of similarity: this law states that similar things tend to be associated in a
group and easy to recall than dissimilar things. Thus, learning similar things is
easier learning dissimilar ones.
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3. The law of Continuity. The principle of continuity reflects people’s tendency to
follow in whatever direction they’ve been led.
4. The law of Closure; states that we usually group elements to form enclosed or
complete figures rather than open ones. We tend to see the incomplete figure as a
complete one.
5. The law of Simplicity: The simplicity rule states that stimuli are organized in the
simplest way possible.
2.3.3. Depth perception
Depth perception refers to the ability of your eye and brain to add a third
dimension, depth, to all visual perceptions, even though images projected on the
retina are in only two dimensions, height and width. Depth perception is the ability
to see three-dimensional space and to accurately judge distances. Without depth
perception, you would be unable to drive a car or ride a bicycle, play catch, shoot
baskets, thread a needle, or simply navigate around a room. The world would look
like a flat surface. It is impossible for most sighted people to imagine a world
without depth, since they rely on depth perception to move and locate objects in
space. Research has found that depth perception is in part based on innate capacities
and in part learned through experience.
To make judgments of distance, people rely on a variety of cues, which can be
classified into two types: binocular and monocular cues.
Binocular depth cues depend on the movement of both eyes (bi means “two”;
ocular means “eye”). Our eyes are a few inches apart; so each eye receives slightly
different images of the world. There are two kinds of binocular cues: convergence
and retinal disparity.
Convergence refers to a binocular cue for depth perception based on signals sent
from muscles that turn the eyes. To focus on near or approaching objects, these
muscles turn the eyes inward, toward the nose. The brain uses the signals sent by
these muscles to determine the distance of the object.
Retinal disparity refers to a binocular depth cue that depends on the distance
between the eyes. Because of their different positions, each eye receives a slightly
different image. The difference between the right and left eyes’ images is the

17
 retinal disparity. The brain interprets a large retinal disparity to mean a close
object and a small retinal disparity to mean a distant object.
Fusion: When the brain uses the retinal images from the two eyes to form one
object, it is called fusion. Fusion takes place when the objects appear the same.
Monocular depth cues are produced by signals from a single eye. Monocular cues
most commonly arise from the way objects are arranged in the environment. There
are two kinds of monocular cues to depth.
One monocular cue is called motion parallax, which involves images of objects at
different distances moving across the retina at different rates. It is the result of active
use of the eye in viewing the world. For example, as an object comes closer, you
may sense the accommodation (the change in the curvature of the lens) that must
occur for the eye to adjust its focus. Furthermore, if you cover one eye and move
your head from side to side, closer objects appear to move more than distant objects.
In a similar vein, you may notice when driving along a highway that nearby objects
(such as fenceposts along the road) appear to move by more rapidly than objects that
are farther away (such as trees in the distance).
The other kind of monocular cues are pictorial depth cues—clues about distance that
can be given in a flat picture. There are six common prominent pictorial cues for
perceiving depth.
Linear perspective is a monocular depth cue that results as parallel lines come
together, or converge, in the distance.
Texture gradient is a monocular depth cue in which areas with sharp, detailed
texture are interpreted as being closer and those with less sharpness and poorer
detail are perceived as more distant.
Interposition is a monocular cue for depth perception that comes into play when
objects overlap. The overlapping object appears closer, and the object that is
overlapped appears farther away.
Relative size is a monocular cue for depth that results when we expect two
objects to be the same size and they are not. In that case, the larger of the two
objects will appear closer and the smaller will appear farther away.
Light and shadow make up monocular cues for depth perception: Brightly lit
objects appear closer, while objects in shadows appear farther away.
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 Atmospheric perspective is a monocular depth cue that is created by the
presence of dust, smog, clouds, or water vapor. We perceive clearer objects as
being nearer, and we perceive hazy or cloudy objects as being farther away.
2.3.4. Perceptual Constancies
Perceptual constancy refers to the tendency to perceive sizes, shapes, brightness,
and colors of an object as remaining the same even though their physical
characteristics are constantly changing on retinal image. It concerns with a tendency
to experience a stable perception in the face of continually changing sensory input.
Among other things, people tend to view objects as having a stable size, shape,
brightness, hue, and location in space.
In fact, there are many kinds of perceptual constancies. These include color
constancy, which allows us to see a flower as being the same color in the reddish
light of sunset as in the white glare of midday. Size constancy allows us to perceive
a person as the same size at different distances and also serves as a strong cue for
depth perception. Shape constancy refers to your tendency to perceive an object as
retaining its same shape even though when you view it from different angles, its
shape is continually changing its image on the retina. And brightness constancy
refers to the tendency to perceive brightness as remaining the same in changing
illumination. And it was shape constancy that allowed us to see the door as
remaining rectangular from different angles.

2.3.5. Perceptual Illusion

An illusion is a perceptual experience in which you perceive an image as being so
strangely distorted that, in reality, it cannot and does not exist. An illusion is created
by manipulating the perceptual cues so that your brain can no longer correctly
interpret space, size, and depth cues. Perceptual learning is responsible for a number
of illusions. In an illusion, length, position, motion, curvature, or direction is
consistently misjudged. Note that illusions are distorted perceptions of stimuli that
actually exist.
One of the oldest illusions that you have often experienced is the moon illusion,
which also has proven very difficult to explain. The moon illusion refers to the fact
19
that the moon is perceived to be about 50% larger when it is near the horizon than
when it is seen overhead, despite the fact that both moons are the same size and cast
the same size retinal image. This is an illusion because the moon is the same
distance from us at the horizon as when it is overhead. Thus, the retinal image it
produces is the same size when it is at the horizon as when it is overhead.
Besides naturally occurring illusions, there are others that humans have created. One
of the famous visual illusions is the Muller- Lyer Illusion (illustrated in Figure
2.2.). In the Müller-Lyer illusion (B), two equal-length lines tipped with inward or
outward pointing V’s appear to be of different lengths. One explanation for the
Müller-Lyer illusion suggests that the line with arrow points directed inward is
interpreted as the inside corner of a rectangular room extending away from us , and
the line with arrow points directed outward is viewed as the relatively close corner of
a rectangular object, such as the building corner.

Figure 2.2: (illustrated in Figure 6 on page 124)

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 CHAPTER THREE
LEARNING AND THEORIES OF LEARNING
III.1. Definition, Characteristics and Principles of Learning
DEFINITIONS OF LEARNING
There are many definitions of learning. However, the most widely accepted
definition is the one given below.
Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a
result of experience or practice.
This above definition emphasizes four attributes of learning:
 Learning is a change in behavior. This change in behavior is relatively
permanent.
 It does not include change due to illness, fatigue, maturation and use of
intoxicant.
 This permanent change in behavior is not because of biological factors (like
hormonal changes) that bring permanent changes in behavior; but because of
experience, or practice
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING
Among the various characteristics of learning, the following points are considered to
be the main characteristics of learning.
1) Learning is continuous modification of behavior throughout life

2) Learning is pervasive; it reaches into all aspects of human life.

3) Learning involves the whole person, socially, emotionally & intellectually.

4) Learning is often a change in the organization of experiences.

5) Learning is responsive to incentives

6) Learning is an active process

7) Learning is purposeful

8) Learning depends on maturation, motivation and practice.

9) Learning is multifaceted

PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING

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There are important principles that help explaining how learning occurs effectively.
Some of these most important principles of learning are as follows:
 Individuals learn best when they are physically, mentally, and emotionally
ready to learn.
 Students learn best and retain information longer when they have meaningful
practice and exercise
 Learning is strengthened when accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying
feeling, and that learning is weakened when associated with an unpleasant
feeling.
 Things most recently learned are best remembered.
 The principle of intensity implies that a student will learn more from the real
thing than from a substitute.
 Individuals must have some abilities and skills that may help them to learn.
 Things freely learned are best learned - the greater the freedom enjoyed by
individuals, the higher the intellectual and moral advancement.

III.2. Factors Influencing Learning

Some of the factors that affect learning are the following.
1. Motivation: The learner‘s motivation matters the effectiveness of learning. The
stronger and clearer the motives for learning, the greater are the effort to learn. \
2. Maturation: neuro-muscular coordination is important for learning a given task.
Example, The child has to be mature before she/he is able to learn.
3. Health condition of the learner: The learner should be in a good health status
to learn. Example- Sensory defects, malnutrition, toxic conditions of the body, loss
of sleep and fatigue hinder effective learning.
4. Psychological wellbeing of the learner: individual‘s psychological states like
worries, fears, feelings of loneliness and inferiority hinders learning. Whereas self-
respect, self-reliance, and self-confidence are necessary for effective learning.
5. Good working conditions – absence or presence of fresh air, light, comfortable
surroundings, moderate temperature, absence of distractions like noise and learning
aids determine learning effectiveness.
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 6. Background experiences: having background experiences affect effectiveness
of learning.
7. Length of the working period: Learning periods should neither be too short
nor too long. Long learning time sets fatigue and reduces effectiveness in learning.
Short learning time doesn‘t allow adequate practice needed to master a learning task.
8. Massed and distributed learning: learning that spreads across time with
reasonable time gaps brings better results compared with crammed learning that
occurs at once or within short span of time.
3.3. Theories of Learning and their Applications
A theory is an orderly, integrated set of statements that helps to describes, explains,
and predicts behavior. Theory of learning consists of a systematic framework of
principles of learning that can be used to understand and manage behavior.
Different experts have formulated different theories of learning that explain the process
of learning from different perspectives. It is really difficult to give a single theory,
which satisfies all interested persons. In general, learning theories may be broadly
categorized in to: Behavioral learning, Social learning theory, and Cognitive views
of learning.
3.3.1. Behavioral Theory of Learning
Behavioral theory of learning believes that learning occurs as a result of stimulus-
response associations. Behavioral theories emphasize observable behaviors, seek
laws to govern all organisms, and provide explanations which focus on
consequences. Behaviorists also differ among themselves with respect to their views
about the role of reinforcement in learning.
There are two major behavioral theories of learning. They are known as classical
and operant Conditioning. Both of these views emphasize associative learning,
which consists of learning that two events are connected or associated. For example,
associative learning occurs when a student associates a pleasant event with learning
something in school, such as the teacher smiling when the student asks a good
question.
3.3.1.1. Classical conditioning theory
Classical conditioning was the first type of learning to be discovered and studied
within the behaviorist tradition (hence the name classical). The major theorist in the
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development of classical conditioning is Ivan Pavlov. Classical conditioning focuses
on the learning of making involuntary emotional or physiological responses to
stimuli that normally elicit no response; for example; fear, increased heartbeat,
salivation or sweating at the sight of a hyena.
In classical condition, a response that is automatically produced by one stimulus
becomes associated, or linked, with another stimulus that would not normally
produce this response. More specifically, Classical conditioning is a basic form of
learning in which a natural stimulus (such as food or water) that produces an innate
response (e.g. Salivation and eye blinks) becomes associated with a previously
neutral stimulus (such as the sound of a bell or light), which then acquires the
capacity to elicit essentially the same response (e.g. Salivation ).
 N/B:- Stimulus anything in the environment that one can respond to
Responses any behavior or action towards a stimulus
Basics of Classical Condition
To demonstrate classical conditioning, we must first identify stimuli and responses.
In addition, you must be well familiarized with the following basic terms of classical
condition: Neutral stimulus: A stimulus that, before conditioning, does not
naturally bring about the response of interest. Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): A
stimulus that naturally brings about a particular response without having been
learned. Unconditioned response (UCR): A response that is natural and needs no
training (e.g., salivation at the smell of food). Conditioned stimulus (CS): A once
neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus to bring about a
response formerly caused only by the unconditioned stimulus. Conditioned
response (CR): A response that, after conditioning, follows a previously neutral
stimulus (e.g., salivation at the ringing of a bell)
Stimulus–Response relationships in Pavlov’s conditioning experiment
His Experiment has three stages:
A) Before Conditioning (training: at this stage, he wanted to see two presentation
of the stimulus separately.
He introduced the bell sound (neutral stimulus) the dog could not
salivate (no salivation)

24
 He presented food to the dog (Unconditioned stimulus) salivation
(Unconditioned response)
B) During Conditioning (training):
The bell sound (NS) + the food (UCS) the dog could salivated
(UCR).
At this stage, Pavlov trained the dog for a long time by pairing of the two stimuli’s
together.
C) After Conditioning (training)
Presentation of bell sound alone (conditioned stimulus) the dog could
salivated (conditioned response)
Principles of Classical Condition
The basic principles of classical conditioning include the role of stimulus
generalization, stimulus discriminations, extinction and spontaneous recovery.
A. Stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination
Stimulus generalization is a process in which, after a stimulus has been conditioned
to produce a particular response, stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus
begin to produce the same responses. For example, a dog conditioned to salivate to a
dinner bell (CS) might also salivate to a door bell, a telephone bell.
Stimulus discrimination is the process of distinguishing two similar stimuli; the
ability to differentiate between stimuli. Example, the dog salivates only in response
to the dinner bell instead of the doorbell or the telephone bell.
B. Extinction and spontaneous recovery
In Pavlov‘s procedure, if a CS is repeatedly presented without presenting the UCS
(meat), the CR will diminish and eventually stop occurring. This process is called
extinction. A dog that has learned to salivate to a dinner bell (CS) will eventually
stop doing so unless presentations of the dinner bell are periodically followed by
presentations of the UCS (meat). But extinction only inhibits the CR, it does not
eliminate it.
Spontaneous recovery is the reemergence of an extinguished conditioned response
after a period of rest and with no further conditioning. For example, suppose you
produce extinction of the CR of salivation by no longer presenting the dog with meat
after ringing the dinner bell. If you rang the dinner bell a few days later, the dog
25
would again respond by salivating. In spontaneous recovery, however, the CR is
weaker and extinguishes faster than it did originally.
3.3.1.2. Operant/Instrumental conditioning
Operant conditioning (also called instrumental conditioning) is a form of learning
in which the consequences of behavior produce changes in the probability that the
behavior will occur again. Operant conditioning is at the heart of behavioral view.
Consequences—rewards and punishments—are contingent on the organism’s
behavior. In operant conditioning, the organism's response operates or produces
effects on the environment. These effects, in turn, influence, whether the response
will occur again.
Besides, B.F Skinner, the very renowned proponent of operant conditioning, argued
that to understand behavior we should focus on the external causes of an action and
the action‘s consequences. To explain behavior, he said, we should look outside the
individual, not inside.
I. Basic concepts in operant conditioning
A. REINFORCEMENT (“What’s in it for me”): one of Skinner’s major
contributions to behaviorism. The word itself means to strengthen, and Skinner
defined reinforcement as anything that, when following a response, causes that
response to be more likely to happen again. In operant conditioning, reinforcement is
the key to learning.
The reward which increases the probability that a preceding behavior will occur
again is known as reinforcer. Hence, food is a reinforcer because it increases the
probability that the behavior of pressing (formally referred to as the response of
pressing) will take place. Reinforcer can be primary or secondary type based on the
types of needs it satisfies.
Primary reinforcer- is a type of reinforcer that satisfies a basic need like
hunger. E.g. Bread, water, oxygen etc.
Secondary reinforcer- is a type of reinforcer doesn’t satisfy basic needs
directly but by being associated with primary reinforces. E.g. money, success,
power, etc.
Both primary and secondary reinforcers can be positive or negative based on the way
they are used.
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 Positive Reinforcement-is the reinforcement or strengthening of a response
(behavior) by the addition or experience of a pleasurable consequence. For
example, if food, water, money, or praise is provided after a response, it is more
likely that that response will occur again in the future. Rewarding money for an
employee may let him/her to perform better.
 Negative Reinforcement-is the reinforcement or strengthening of a response
(behavior) by the removal or avoidance of un pleasurable stimulus. For example,
citizens may pay their taxes to avoid fines and penalties, and students may do
their homework to avoid detention. Canceling of negative record of an
employee, for instance, may let him/her to perform better.
B. Schedules of reinforcement
When a response is first acquired, learning is usually most rapid if the response is
reinforced each time it occurs. This procedure is called continuous reinforcement.
However, once a response has become reliable, it will be more resistant to extinction
if it is rewarded on an intermittent (partial) schedule of reinforcement, which
involves reinforcing only some responses, not all of them. There are four types of
intermittent schedules.
1. Fixed-ratio schedules: A fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement occurs after a
fixed number of responses. They produce high rate of responding. Employers often
use fixed ratio schedules to increase productivity. An interesting feature of a fixed
ratio schedule is that performance sometimes drops off just after reinforcement.
2. Variable-Ratio Schedule: A variable ratio schedule of reinforcement occurs
after some average number of responses, but the number varies from reinforcement
to reinforcement. A variable ratio schedule of produces extremely high steady rates
of responding. The responses are more resistant to extinction than when a fixed ratio
schedule is used.
3. Fixed Interval Schedule: A fixed interval schedule of reinforcement occurs only
if a fixed amount of time has passed since the previous reinforcer.
4. Variable Interval Schedule: A variable interval schedule of reinforcement
occurs only if a variable amount of time has passed since the previous reinforcer.

27
C.Punishment- is a stimulus that weakens the response or makes it less likely to
recur. Punishers can be any aversive (unpleasant) stimuli that weaken responses
or make them unlikely to recur.
Like reinforcers, punishers can also be primary or secondary. Pain and extreme heat
or cold are inherently punishing and are therefore known as primary punishers.
Criticism, demerits, catcalls, scolding, fines, and bad grades are common secondary
punishers.
The positive-negative distinction can also be applied to punishment. Something
unpleasant may occur following some behavior (positive punishment), or something
pleasant may be removed (negative punishment).

D. Shaping: - involves teaching new behaviors by reinforcing successive

approximations to a specified target behavior. Initially, you reinforce any
response that in some way resembles the target behavior. Subsequently, you
reinforce a response that more closely resembles the target, and so on until the
student performs the target behavior, and then you reinforce it.
3.3.2. Social Learning Theory (observational learning) theory
Social learning (also called, observational learning) refers to learning that involves
acquiring
skills, strategies, and beliefs by observing and imitating the behavior of another person,
who are called models. The leading proponent of Social Learning theory is Albert
Bandura. He believed that humans learn a great deal by observation, imitation, and self-
reward in the development and learning of behaviors.. Because of its reliance on
28
observation of others—a social phenomenon—the perspective taken by Bandura is often
referred to as a social cognitive approach to learning. In Bandura’s model of
observational learning, four processes need to be considered: attention, retention,
production, and motivation. The first two (attention and retention) highlight the
importance of cognition in this type of learning.
Attention: paying attention to what the model is doing or saying and its
consequences. And then, perceiving the most appropriate and distinctive features of
another person’s behavior whilst ignoring irrelevant and distracting aspects of the
model.
Retention: Retaining the critical features of the performance in memory for future
retrieval. This process depends on the observer's ability to code or structure the
information in an easily remembered form or to mentally or physically rehearse the
model's actions.
Re production: Accurately reproduce your stored mental images or thoughts into
overt behavior, such as performing activity or learned skills. Motor reproduction is
influenced by such factors like developmental level of the imitator as well as level of
practice or expected consequences. A sense of self-efficacy is also necessary; self-
efficacy refers to the belief that we are capable of performing the behavior, is
important at this phase and influence our motivation to perform.
Motivation: being motivated to reproduce learned behaviors and possess sufficient
motivation to apply new learning. Observers will perform the act only if they have
some motivation or reason to do so. The key motivating factors are seen by Bandura
as reinforcements in the form of internal, external or vicarious.
In addition to the preceding process, imitation is influenced by the consequences
observed when the model performs the observed behavior. Individuals are more likely
to imitate a behavior they have seen rewarded (a process called vicarious reinforcement)
and less likely to imitate a behavior they have seen punished (vicarious punishment).
Finally, the characteristics of the model also influence the likelihood of a subject
repeating/imitating the behavior. Research has found that individuals are more likely to
pay attention to and imitate a person they think is an expert, is attractive, has high social
status and is socially powerful.
3.3.3. Cognitive Learning Theory
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According to cognitive learning theory, some forms of learning must be explained as
changes in mental processes rather than as changes in behavior alone. Cognitive
learning refers to learning process involves mental processes or cognitions we
cannot directly observe; processes like thinking, information processing, problem
solving, and mental imaging. Cognitive learning, which involves mental processes
such as attention and memory, says that learning can occur through understanding,
knowing, anticipating, or imitation and such learning may not involve any external
rewards or require a person to perform any observable behaviors.
There are a number of models and theories in cognitive views with their own special
emphasis. Two of these theories are: Latent learning and Insight learning (gestalt
learning or perceptual learning).
Latent Learning
Evidence for the importance of cognitive processes comes from a series of animal
experiments that revealed a type of cognitive learning called latent learning. In latent
learning, a new behavior is learned but not demonstrated until some reward or
incentive is provided for displaying it. In short, latent learning occurs without
reinforcement. Here’s an example from a classic animal study (Tolman & Honzik,
1930): Two groups of rats were allowed to explore a maze for 11 days. The rats in
group 1 found food at the far end of the maze. Soon, they learned to rapidly make
their way through the maze when released. Rats in the group 2 were unrewarded for
10 consecutive days and showed no signs of learning. But later, when the
“uneducated” rats were given food (on the 11th day); they ran the maze as quickly as
the rewarded group. Although there was no outward sign of it, the unrewarded
animals had learned their way around the maze. Their learning, therefore, remained
latent (hidden) at first.
Insight Learning
It is a cognitive process whereby we reorganize our perception of a problem. It
doesn‘t depend on conditioning of particular behaviors for its occurrence.
Sometimes, for example, people even wake up from sleep with a solution to a
problem that they had not been able to solve during the day.

30
In a typical insight situation where a problem is posed, a period follows during
which no apparent progress is made, and then the solution comes suddenly. What has
been learned in insight learning can also be applied easily to other similar situations.
Human beings who solve a problem insightfully usually experience a good feeling
called an 'aha' experience.

CHAPTER FOUR
MEMORY AND FORGETTING
4.1. Nature and Processes of memory
Memory refers to the processes by which people and other organisms encode, store,
and retrieve
information. Simply memory is remembering previously learned experience.
Memories are not copies but representations of the world that vary in accuracy and
are subject to error and bias.
31
We’ ll briefly define each of the three memory processes because they are the keys
to understanding the interesting and complex process of how we remember and thus
create the world we live in.
i. Encoding: refers to the process by which information is initially recorded on the
memory in the form as you want.
ii. Storage: involves keeping or maintaining information in the memory. Or it is the
persistence of information in the memory.
iii. Retrieval: Retrieving is the process of getting or recalling information that has
been placed into short-term or long-term storage
In reality, memory is an active system that receives, stores, organizes, alters, and
recovers information. In some ways memory acts like a computer. When you type
something on computer’s keyboard, a software program encodes the information into
an electronic language that the computer can understand and use, stores it on a hard
drive, and retrieves it when you need to use it. Similarly, in information processing
models of memory, we encode information (convert it in to a form that the brain can
process and use), storing the information (retain it over time) and retrieve the
information (recover it out of the storage as needed for use). In storage, the
information may be represented as concepts, propositions, images, mental networks
of knowledge, beliefs, skills, and expectations concerning particular topics or aspects
of the world.
4.2. Stages/Structure of Memory
To explain how memory process information, cognitive psychologists have
constructed a hypothetical mental or information-processing model of through which
information flows and processed. Among the different models of memory, the
“information processing models” takes center stage in determining the stages of
memory. Information processing theorists have relied on the computer as a model of
human mental activity. They have proposed that like a computer, a human mind is a
system that processes information through the application of logical rules and
strategies.
According to one of the most influential theories of memory, which was developed
by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin (1968), storage takes place in three
interacting memory systems for different lengths of time. Each of these memories
32
operates according to different rules and serves somewhat different purposes.
According to Atkinson & Sheferin, the three memory systems are: Sensory Memory
(SM), Short Term Memory (STM) and Long Term Memory (LTM). To be stored for
a long time, information must pass through all three. Here below a schematic
representation of typical information processing model derived from the ideas of
several theorists presented.
A. Sensory registrar memory: It is a component of the memory system that
receives information from the environment. Capacity of sensory memory is very
large, more information than we can possibly handle at once. It stores all information
reaching our senses for a brief time i.e. it lasts between one to three seconds.
We’ll examine two different kinds of sensory memory: visual sensory memory,
called iconic memory, and auditory sensory memory, called echoic memory.
Iconic memory is a form of sensory memory that automatically holds visual
information for about a quarter of a second or more; as soon as you shift your
attention, the information disappears. (The word icon means “image.”
Echoic memory is a form of sensory memory that holds auditory information
for 1 or 2 seconds.
Some of the information that has got attention and recognition pass to short-term
memory for further processing.

B. Short-term memory (STM): It is a part of memory that holds the contents of

our attention. We can call it working/immediate/active/primary memory. STM is
33
important for a variety of tasks such as thinking, reading, speaking and problem
solving.
The duration of information in STM is short, about 20 to30 seconds, and the
capacity of STM is 7+/-2. By giving some more attention or rehearsing we can
increase the existence time of the information and also we can put it in LTM. There
are two types of rehearsals. These are:
 Maintenance Rehearsal – involves repeating the information in the mind. This
type of rehearsal is useful for retaining the information for a short time period and
then forgets, like phone number.
 Elaborative Rehearsal – involves associated with the information to different
things and persons that already knows. This kind of rehearsal is not only retains
information in the STM but also helps to move information from STM to LTM.
The limited capacity of short term memory can also be somewhat improved by the
process of chunking.
 Chunking; is a process of grouping individual bits of information.
C. Long- term memory (LTM):-It is a memory system used for relatively
permanent storage of meaningful information. The capacity of LTM also has no
practical limits. LTM stores information for indefinite periods. One major distinction
within long-term memory is that between procedural memory and declarative
memory.
A. Procedural Memory: procedural memory is a memory for skills and other
procedures. Our memories of how to ride a horse or a bicycle, to bake or to cook,
or to kiss are procedural memories. For example, I could still ride a bicycle even
though I had not ridden it in years. Procedural memory is sometimes called
“knowing how,” and recently it also has been described as “implicit memory.”
B. Declarative memory: Declarative memory is the conscious recollection of
information, such as specific facts or events that can be verbally communicated.
Declarative memory has been called “knowing that” and more recently has been
labeled “explicit memory.”
Declarative memory can be subdivided into semantic memory and episodic memory.
i. Semantic Memory: Semantic memories are our memories for general facts and
concepts. Much of what is in our long-term memory consists of what words
34
 mean, how they are related to one another, and rules for using them in
communication and thinking. In semantic memory, information seems to be
stored in a highly organized way.
ii. Episodic memory: Episodic memory represents our memory of events and
experiences in a serial form. It is from this memory that we can reconstruct the
actual events that took place at a given point in our lives. It consists of
memories of specific things that happened to us at particular times and places. It
is less highly organized, and more susceptible to being forgotten than semantic
memory.
In general, in long-term memory, information is stored in logical hierarchies that
goes from general categories to specific ones and in clusters of words with related
meanings. The component of LTM is structured like this:

4.3. Factors Affecting Memory

Memory as stated already, is a process which includes learning, retention and
remembering. As such all the three processes are important for good memory.
Eleven Factors that Influence Memory Process in Humans are as follows:
1. Ability to retain: This depends upon good memory traces left in the brain by
past experiences.
2. Good health: A person with good health can retain the learnt material better than
a person with poor health.
3. Age of the learner: Youngsters can remember better than the aged.
4. Maturity: Very young children cannot retain and remember complex material.
5. Will to remember: Willingness to remember helps for better retention.
6. Intelligence: More intelligent person will have better memory than a dull person,
7. Interest: If a person has more interest, he will learn and retain better.

35
8. Over learning: Experiments have proved that over learning will lead to better
memory.
9. Speed of learning: Quicker learning leads to better retention,
10.Meaningfulness of the material: Meaningful materials remain in our memory
for longer period than for nonsense material,
11. Sleep or rest: Sleep or rest immediately after learning strengthens connections
in the brain and helps for clear memory.

4.4. Forgetting
4.4.1. Meaning and Concepts of Forgetting
Psychologists generally use the term forgetting to refer to the apparent loss of
information already encoded and stored in the long-term memory. Forgetting is the
inability to retrieve or recall information from the long- term memory. Forgetting is
one of the more vexing aspects of memory. For example, why is it hard to remember
facts you learned for a test just a week or two later? Again, the more you know about
how we “lose” memories, the better you will be able to hang on to them.
Individuals differ from each other in their capacity to remember information stored
in the memory. This is mainly because of many various factors. The first may be
related to the initial encoding stage of the memory processes. Information enters the
memory system through the sensory receptors. Attention operates at this level to
select information for further processing. This raw sensory information that is
selected is then represented or encoded in a form of (sound, visual image, meaning)
that can be used in the next stages of the memory processes. In other words encoding
is the transformation of physical information into the kind of code (a form) that
memory can accept (or store).
Storage is the process of putting coded information into memory, i.e., is the retaining
(retention) of the encoded information in memory. Personal computers typically
store information on flash memory or hard disks. In human and animal memory,
information is stored in the brain. So, failure to appropriately storing information in
long term memory is another probable reason for forgetting.

36
Memory also depends on one last process: retrieval. In retrieval, material in memory
storage is located, brought into awareness, and used. Your inability to recall
information may rest on your inability to retrieve the information you learned earlier.
On the other hand, even if you had been exposed to the information and originally
knew the information, you might still be unable to recall it because of a failure in the
retention process. Memory specialists speak of placing information in storage, the
location in memory system in which material is saved. If the material is not stored
adequately in the first place, it cannot be recalled later.
What is recall and recognition in the retrieval process?
There are two types of information retrieval: recall and recognition. In recall, the
information is reproduced from memory. In recognition, the presentation of the
information provides the knowledge that the information has been seen before.
Recognition is of lesser complexity, as the information is provided as a cue.
However, the recall can be assisted by the provision of retrieval cues which enable
the subject to quickly access the information in memory.
4.4.2. Theories of Forgetting
Psychologists have proposed five theories to account for forgetting: decay,
replacement of old memories by new ones, interference, motivated forgetting, and
cue dependent forgetting.
1. Decay Theory. It states that memory traces fades with time if they are not
accessed now and then. In decay, the trace simply fades away with nothing left
behind, because of disuse and the passage of time.
2. Interference Theory. It holds that forgetting occurs because similar items of
information interfere on another in either storage or retrieval. There are two forms of
interference that influence forgetting. These are: Proactive /Forward/ Interference
-the information learned earlier interferes with recall of newer
information/materials/.Retroactive/Backward/ Interference-the new information
interferes with the ability to remember old information.
3. New Memory for Old/Displacement/Theory: It states that the new
information entering in the memory can wipe out old information, just as recording
on an audio or videotape will obliterate/wipe out the original material.

37
4. Motivated Forgetting Theory: According to this theory, people forget because they
are motivated to forget.
5. Cue Dependent Forgetting: When we lack retrieval cues, we may fell as if we have
lost the call number for an entry in the mind’s library. In the LTM, this type of memory
failure may be the most common of all.
4.4.3. Improving Memory
Someday in the near future, drugs may be available to help people with memory
deficiencies to increase normal memory performance. For the time being, however,
those of us who hope to improve our memories must rely on mental strategies. Some
simple mnemonics can be useful, but complicated ones are often more bothersome
than they are worth. A better approach is to follow some general guidelines.
 Pay Attention: It seems obvious, but often we fail to remember because we
never encoded the information in the first place. When you do have something
to remember, you will do better if you encode it.
 Encode information in more than one way: The more elaborate the encoding
of information, the more memorable it will be.
 Add meaning: The more meaningful the material, the more likely it is to link
up with information already in long-term memory.
 Take your time: If possible, minimize interference by using study breaks for
rest or recreation. Sleep is the ultimate way to reduce interference.
 Over learn: Studying information even after you think you already know it- is
one of the best ways to ensure that you‘ll remembers it.
 Monitor your learning: By testing yourself frequently, rehearsing thoroughly,
and reviewing periodically, you will have a better idea of how you are doing

CHAPTER FIVE
MOTIVATION AND EMOTIONS
5.1. Motivation
5.1.1. Definition and types of motivation
What is Motivation? Motivation is a desire, drive, instinct or need that speeds up
our behavior towards some goal. It is the process by which activities are started,
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directed, and continued so that, physical or psychological needs or wants are met.
The word itself comes from the Latin word "Mover", which means “to move”.
Motivation is what “moves” people to do the things they do. Motivation is a word
used to refer to reason or the reasons for engaging in a particular behavior, especially
humans’ behavior. These reason may includes basic needs such as food or a desired
object, goals, state of being or ideals. When you are motivated, you usually show
three characteristics:
1. You are energized to do or engage in some activity.
2. You direct your energies toward reaching a specific goal.
3. You have differing intensities of feelings about reaching that goal.
Many motivated activities begin with a need, or internal deficiency that causes us to
act. Needs cause a drive (an energized motivational state) to develop. The drive was
hunger, in Omar’s case. Drives activate a response (an action or series of actions)
designed to attain a goal (the “target” of motivated behavior). Reaching a goal that
satisfies the need will end the chain of events. Thus, a simple model of motivation
can be shown in this way:

There are different types of motivation. But, it is possible to categorize them into
two: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is a type of motivation
in which a person acts because the act itself is rewarding or satisfying in some
internal manner. Extrinsic motivation is a type of motivation in which individuals
act because the action leads to an outcome that is external to a person. For example,
giving a child money for every ‗A‘ on a report card, offering a bonus to an
employee for increased performance.

5.1.2. Approaches to motivation (theories of motivation)

Motivation theories can help us in understanding motivation. All theories of
motivation seek to explain the energy or force that guides people’s behavior in
specific directions. Motivation has biological, cognitive, and social aspects, and its

39
complexity has led psychologists to develop a variety of approaches. Some of these
theories are instinct, drive-reduction, arousal, incentive, cognitive, and humanistic.
A) Instinct approaches to motivation
In the early 1900s, William McDougall (1908) claimed that humans were motivated
by a variety of instincts. Instincts are innate tendencies or biological forces that
determine behavior. According to instinct approaches to motivation, people and
animals are born preprogrammed with sets of behaviors essential to their survival.
Those instincts provide the energy that guides behavior in appropriate directions.
Just as animals are governed by their instincts to do things such as migrating, nest
building, mating and protecting their territory, early researchers proposed that human
beings may also be governed by similar instincts.
The early theorists and psychologists listed thousands of instincts in humans
including curiosity, flight (running away), pugnacity (aggressiveness), and
acquisition (gathering possessions). However, none of these theorists did more than
give names to these instincts.
B) Drive-reduction approaches to motivation
Drive-reduction approaches suggest that the lack of a basic biological requirement
like water or air produces a drive to obtain that requirement (in this case, the thirst
drive). This approach involved the concepts of needs and drives. A need is a
requirement of some material (such as food or water) that is essential for survival of
the organism. When an organism has a need, it leads to a psychological tension as
well as a physical arousal to fulfill the need and reduce the tension. This tension is
called drive.
Many basic drives, such as hunger, thirst, sleep, and sex, are related to biological
needs of the body or of the species as a whole.
These are called primary drives. Primary drives contrast with secondary drives, for
which behavior fulfills no obvious biological need. In secondary drives, prior
experience and learning bring about needs that can be highly individual by their
nature. For instance, some people have a strong need for money, social approval, and
academic achievement. Applying the drive concept, we would say that their
achievement need is reflected in a secondary drive that’s motivating the behavior.
We usually try to satisfy a primary drive by reducing the need underlying it. For
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example, if the weather turns cold, we put on extra clothing or raise the thermostat to
keep warm. If our bodies need liquids to function properly, we are thirsty and seek
out water.
C) Arousal approaches: beyond drive reduction
Arousal approaches seek to explain behavior in which the goal is to maintain or
increase excitement. According to arousal approaches to motivation, each person
tries to maintain a certain level of stimulation and activity. As with the drive-
reduction model, this approach suggests that if our stimulation and activity levels
become too high, we try to reduce them. But, in contrast to the drive-reduction
perspective, the arousal approach also suggests that if levels of stimulation and
activity are too low, we will try to increase them by seeking stimulation.
D) Incentive approaches: motivational pull
Incentive approaches to motivation suggest that motivation stems from the desire to
obtain valued external goals or incentives. In this view, the desirable properties of
external stimuli- whether grades, money, affection, food, or sex—account for a
person’s motivation. When a luscious dessert appears on the table after a filling
meal, its appeal has little or nothing to do with internal hunger drives or the
maintenance of arousal. Rather, if we choose to eat the dessert, such behavior is
motivated by the external stimulus of the dessert itself, which acts as an anticipated
reward. This reward, in motivational terms, is an incentive.
E) Cognitive Approaches: the thoughts behind motivation
Cognitive approaches to motivation suggest that motivation is a result of people‘s
thoughts, beliefs, expectations, and goals. For instance, the degree to which people
are motivated to study for a test is based on their expectation of how well studying
will pay off in terms of a good grade.
Cognitive theories of motivation draw a key difference between intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation causes us to participate in an activity for
our enjoyment rather than for any actual or concrete reward that it will bring us. In
contrast, extrinsic motivation causes us to do something for money, a grade, or some
other actual, concrete reward. For example, when a physician works long hours
because she loves medicine, intrinsic motivation is prompting her; if she works hard
to make a lot of money, extrinsic motivation underlies her efforts.
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We are more apt to persevere, work harder, and do better work when our motivation
for a task is intrinsic rather than extrinsic. In fact, in some cases providing rewards
for desirable behavior (thereby increasing extrinsic motivation) actually may
decrease intrinsic motivation.

F) Humanistic approaches to motivation

The other approach to the study of motivation is the humanistic approach which is
based on the work of Abraham Maslow. Maslow was one of the early humanistic
psychologists who rejected the dominant theories of psychoanalysis and behaviorism
in favor of a more positive view of human behavior. Maslow suggested that human
behavior is influenced by a hierarchy, or ranking, of five classes of needs, or
motives. He said that needs at the lowest level of the hierarchy must be at least
partially satisfied before people can be motivated by the ones at higher levels.
Maslow‘s five Hierarchies of needs for motives from the bottom to the top are as
follows:
Physiological needs- these are biological requirements for human survival, e.g.
air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, sleep.
Safety needs- protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom
from fear.
Love and belongingness needs- after physiological and safety needs have been
fulfilled; the third level of human needs is social and involves feelings of
belongingness. Examples include friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance,
receiving and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group
(family, friends, work).
Esteem needs- the need to be respected as a useful, honorable individual; which
Maslow classified into two categories: (i) esteem for oneself (dignity,
achievement, mastery, and independence) and (ii) the desire for reputation or
respect from others (e.g., status, prestige).

42
Figure. Schematic illustration of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Self-actualization needs- realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking

personal growth and peak experiences. A desire ―to become everything one is
capable of becoming‖. The following figure shows how our motivation progresses
up the pyramid from the broadest, most fundamental biological needs to higher-
order ones.
N.B. Beyond his original hierarchy of needs, later, Maslow inserted the cognitive
and aesthetic needs above the esteem need and below the self-actualization needs
and transcendence above self-actualization needs.
Cognitive needs- are the needs to know, understand, and explore the world and are
typical of an academic person. Aesthetic needs -include the need for order and
beauty and are typical of artistic people. Transcendence- involves helping others to
achieve their full potential.
5.1.3. Conflict of motives and frustration
Based on the sources of motivation and the importance of making a decision, people
usually face difficulty choosing among the motives or demands. These are just a few
of the motives that may shape a trivial decision. When the decision is more
important, the number and strength of motivational pushes and pulls are often
greater, creating far more internal conflict and indecision. There are four basic types
of motivational conflicts.

43
 Approach-approach conflicts - exist when we must choose only one of the two
desirable activities. For example, deciding between going to a party or seeing a
friend involves choosing between two pleasurable options.
Avoidance-avoidance conflicts - arise when we must select one of two
undesirable alternatives. For example, if someone forced either to sell the family
home or to declare bankruptcy involves choosing between two undesirable
options.
Approach-avoidance conflicts - happen when a particular event or activity has
both attractive and unattractive features. For example, a freshman student wants
to start dating but, at the same time, she is worried that this may overly consume
her study time.
Multiple approach-avoidance conflicts - exist when two or more alternatives
each have both positive and negative features. Suppose you must choose between
two jobs. One offers a high salary with a well-known company but requires long
working hours and relocation to a miserable climate. The other boasts
advancement opportunities, fringe benefits, and a better climate, but it doesn‘t
pay as much and involves an unpredictable work schedule.
5.2. Emotions
5.2.1. Definition of emotion
Emotion can be defined as the “feeling” aspect of consciousness, characterized by a
certain physical arousal, a certain behavior that reveals the feeling to the outside
world, and an inner awareness of feelings. The word emotion means “to move,” and
emotions do indeed move us. We love, we hate; we get angry, afraid, and surprised;
we feel delighted, sad, and even disgusted. We can begin to understand emotions by
dividing them into 3 components: physiological reactions, behavior, and cognitive
components. Let’s briefly examine each of these four.
1) The Physiology of Emotion: - when a person experiences an emotion, there is
physical arousal created by the activation of nervous system. The heart rate
increases, breathing becomes more rapid, the pupils of the eye dilate, and the moth
may become dry. Such bodily stirrings are what cause us to say we were “moved”
by a play, a funeral, or an act of kindness.

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2) The behavior of Emotion / overt experience /:- It refers to the out ward signs of
emotions. There are facial expressions, body movements, and actions that indicate
to others how a person feels. For example, when you are intensely afraid, you
may show observable behaviors, such as such as fearful facial expressions, your
hands tremble, fleeing or crying, etc. In general, these expressions serve to tell
others what emotions we are experiencing.
3) Subjective experience or labeling emotion is the third component of emotion and
it involves interpreting the subjective feeling by giving it a label: anger, fear,
disgust, happiness, sadness, shame, surprise, and so on. Another way of labeling
this component is to call it the ―cognitive component, because the labeling
process is a matter of retrieving memories of previous similar experiences,
perceiving the context of the emotion, and coming up with a solution- a label. The
label a person applies to a subjective feeling is at least in part a learned response
influenced by that person‘s language and culture. Such labels may differ in people
of different cultural backgrounds.

5.2.2. Theories of emotion

Psychologists have proposed several theories to explain emotions. Some of these
theories are: The James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory and the Schachter-
Singer theory are discussed below.
I. James- Lang Theory of Emotion
This theory, proposed independently in the late 1800s by two psychologists, William
James and Carl Lange, emphasizes specific physiological patterns as causing
emotional feelings. The James-Lange theory says that our brains interpret specific
physiological changes as feelings or arousal
Physiological emotions and that there is a different
(High blood pressure, high heart rate,
physiological pattern underlying each emotion.
sweating)
Environmental stimulus Experience of
(e.g. roaring dog) Emotion (fear)

Figure. James Lange theory of emotion

II. Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
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Walter Cannon and Phillip Bard disagreed with the James-Lange theory. According
to them, emotional feelings and bodily arousal occur at the same time. Cannon and
Bard believed that seeing a lion activates the thalamus in the brain. The thalamus, in
turn, alerts the brain (center in thalamus for action). The (cortex) brainproduces our
emotional feelings and emotional behavior. The brain triggers a chain of events that
arouses the body. Thus, if you see a dangerous-looking lion, brain activity will
simultaneously produce bodily arousal, running, and feeling fear.

5.
Environmental stimulus Sub cortical brain
(e.g. roaring dog) -activity
6.
Experience of Emotion (fear)
7.
Figure. Cannon-Bard Theory

III. Schachter-Singer theory of emotion

In their Cognitive arousal theory Schachter-Singer (1962) proposed that two things
have to happen before emotion occurs: the physical arousal and a labeling of the
arousal base on cues from the surrounding environment. For example, if a person
comes across a snarling dog while taking a walk, the physical arousal (heart rating,
eyes opening wide) is accompanied by the thought (cognition) that this must be fear,
then and only then will the person experience the fear emotion. In other words, "I am
aroused in the presence of a scary dog; therefore, I must be afraid."

Cognitive appraisal

Experience of
Environmental stimulus Physiological arousal Emotion (fear)
(e.g. roaring dog) (High blood pressure, high
heart rate, sweating)

Figure. Schechter-Singer and Cognitive Arousal Theory

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 CHAPTER SIX
PERSONALITY
6.1. Meaning of Personality
The word personality is derived from the word ‘persona’, which has Greek and Latin
roots and refers to the theatrical masks worn by Greek actors. Personality has been
defined in many different ways, but psychologists generally view personality as the
unique pattern of enduring thoughts, feelings, and actions that characterize a person.
Personality should not be confused with character, which refers to value judgments
made about a person‘s morals or ethical behavior; nor should it be confused with
temperament, the enduring characteristics with which each person is born, such as
irritability or adaptability. However, both character and temperament are vital
personalities.
6.2. Theories of Personality
A personality theory is a system of concepts, assumptions, ideas, and principles
proposed to explain personality. Personality theories seek to describe and explain the
characteristics of thought, feeling, and behavior that differ among individuals and the
coherence of these characteristics within a single individual. Personality theories
describe approaches to human nature and provide the foundation for psychological
therapies. In this section, we can explore only a few of the many personality theories.
These are the three major perspectives we will consider hereunder: psychodynamic,
trait, and humanistic.
6.2.1. The psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic theory of personality
Psychoanalytic theory was founded by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud’s sees the
essence of personality as arising from conflict among internal psychic processes. He
was believed that many of our actions are based on hidden, or unconscious, thoughts,
needs, and emotions. In his theory, Freud, emphasizes the influence of the unconscious
or repressed thoughts that we cannot voluntarily access, the importance of early
childhood experience on a person's behavior and the conflicts between conscious and

47
unconscious forces that influence our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Freud believed
not only that unconscious psychological forces had a powerful influence on personality
but also that these forces originated in early childhood. Freud theory involves the
following four basic components: structure of personality, level of consciousness, and
defense mechanisms.
6.2.1.1. The levels of consciousness
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory viewed that there are three primary levels of
consciousness: the conscious, the preconscious, and the unconscious. The conscious
level includes mental activities, wishes, desires, or thoughts that we are aware of, or can
recall, at any given moment. The preconscious level consists of mental material or
thoughts of which one is currently unaware but that can be voluntarily recalled, when
the need arises.
The unconscious holds repressed memories and emotions, plus the instinctual drives
which we cannot be accessed directly at all times. It contains thoughts, memories, and
desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but that nonetheless exert
great influence on behavior. Examples of material that might be found in your
unconscious include a forgotten trauma from childhood, hidden feelings of hostility
toward a parent, and repressed sexual desires. The unconscious is the largest part of the
mind and manifests itself in the dreams, “slips of the tongue”, irrational feelings,
physical symptoms, or inexplicable anxiety.

6.2.1.2. Structure of personality

Freud divided personality structure into three components: the id, the ego, and the
superego. He saw a person’s behavior as the outcome of interactions among these three
components. They operate according to different principles and exhibit different modes
of thinking.
The “ID” (literally mean, "it"): If It Feels Good, Do It

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The id is made up of innate biological instincts and urges that is present at birth. The
ID is entirely unconscious. The ID is contains all basic instinctual drives and motives;
hunger, thirst, sex, aggression, for example. and operates according to the pleasure
principle, seeking immediate gratification of a motives of all kinds and reduce tension.
The id acts as a source of energy for the entire psyche, or personality. This energy,
called Libido, flows from the sexual or life instincts (or Eros). Freud also described a
death instinct; Thanatos, as he called it, produces aggressive and destructive urges.
Freud used the term sexual instincts to refer to desires for all forms of pleasure, not
just erotic sexuality.
The “EGO”: Executive director
The “EGO” -develops from the id during infancy. The ego represents the rational
component of personality that regulates thoughts and behavior and is most in touch with
the demands of the external world. The ego, operates according to the reality principle,
a policy of satisfying a wish or desire only if there is a socially acceptable outlet
available. Freud said that a relatively large part of the ego’s material is conscious.
The “SUPEREGO”: Regulator; the moral watchdog
The superego develops from the ego during early childhood; The Superego is the moral
part of us and develops due to the moral and ethical restraints placed on us by our
caregivers. The superego tells people what is right and what is wrong, and enforces this
through the emotion of guilt. It sets the moral goals and ideals of perfection. One part of
the superego, called the conscience, reflects actions for which a person has been
punished. When standards of the conscience are not met, you are punished internally by
guilt feelings. A second part of the superego is the ego ideal. The ego ideal reflects all
behavior one’s parents approved of or rewarded. The ego ideal is a source of goals and
aspirations. When its standards are met, we feel pride.
6.2.1.3. Defense mechanisms
For Freud, our personality is the outcome of the continual battle for dominance among
the id, the ego and superego. Their struggle for dominance sometimes produces anxiety

49
and guilt. Therefore, to protect against anxiety and guilt, people use psychological
Defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are processes that operate at unconscious
levels and that use self-deception or untrue explanations to protect the ego from being
overwhelmed by anxiety. Some of the psychological defense mechanisms are discussed
below.
Repression is a defense mechanism that involves banishing threatening thoughts,
feelings, and memories into the unconscious mind. Example: an Ethiopian husband
who is defeated by his wife will not remember/ talk it out again.
Denial is refusing to recognize some anxiety-provoking event or piece of
information that is clear to others. Mr. Gemeda is a heavy smoker but denies by
saying ‘I am an occasional smoker’.
Regression involves retreating back to an earlier, more childlike, and safer stage of
development. Example: a boy who has just entered school may go back to sucking
his thumb or starts biting his nails.
Rationalization: is giving socially acceptable reasons for one's inappropriate
behavior. Example: make bad grades but states the reason as being knowledge rather
than grade oriented; and grades only showing superficial learning.
Displacement: the defense mechanism that involves expressing feelings toward a
person who is less threatening than the person who is the true target of those
feelings. Example: Hating your boss but taking it out on family members.
Projection: the defense mechanism that involves attributing one's undesirable
feelings to other people. Example: a paranoid person uses projection to justify
isolation and anger.
Reaction formation: a defense mechanism that involves a tendency to act in a
manner opposite to one's true feelings. Example: a person who acts conservation but
focuses on violence in their behavior.

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 Sublimation: defense mechanism that involves expressing sexual or aggressive
behavior through indirect, socially acceptable outlets. Example: an aggressive
person who loves playing football.
Our use of defense mechanisms is not considered as inappropriate or unhealthy unless
we rely on them to an extreme level. Remember that all of us use defense mechanisms
to manage our conflict and stress. It may not be possible to get through life without
such defenses. But, excessive use may create more stress than it alleviates.
6.2.2. The trait theory of personality
Trait theories attempt to learn what traits make up personality and how they relate to
actual behavior. Trait theory is an approach for analyzing the structure of personality by
measuring, identifying, and classifying similarities and differences in personality
characteristics or traits. The basic unit for measuring personality characteristics is the
trait. A trait is a relatively stable and enduring tendency to behave in a particular way.
Though the history of the trait theory of personality has come through different stages,
the five-factor model has become the dominant conception of personality structure. The
five-factor model organizes personality traits and describes differences in personality
using five categories, which are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion,
agreeableness, and neuroticism. These five factors became known as the Big Five and
are easy to remember if you note that their first letters make the acronym OCEAN.
 Openness can best be described as a person’s willingness to try new things and be
open to new experiences. People who try to maintain the status quo and who don’t like
to change things would score on openness.
 Conscientiousness refers to a person’s organization and motivation, with people who
score high in the dimension being those who are careful about being places on time and
careful with belongings as well. Someone scoring low on this dimension, for example,
might always be late to important social events or borrow belongings and fail to return
them or return in poor coordination.

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 Extraversion is a term first used by Carl Jung, who believed that all people could be
divided into two personality types: extraverts and introverts. Extraverts are outgoing
and sociable, whereas introverts are more solitary and dislike being the center of
attention.
 Agreeableness refers to the basic emotional style of a person, who may be
easygoing, friendly and pleasant (at the high end of the scale) or grumpy, crabby and
hard to get along with (at the low end).
 Neuroticism refers to emotional instability or stability. People who are excessive
worriers, overanxious and moody would score high on this dimension, whereas those
who are more even-tempered and calm could score low. For further conception, look at
the following table.
 For further conception, look at the following table.
High scorer Factor Low scorer characteristics
characteristics (OCEAN)
Creative, artistic, curious, Openness Conventional, down-to-
imaginative, earth, uncreative
nonconforming
Organized, reliable, neat, Conscientiousne Unreliable, lazy, careless,
ambitious ss negligent, spontaneous
Talkative, optimistic, Extraversion Reserved, comfortable being
sociable, affectionate alone, stays in the
background
Good-natured, trusting, Agreeableness Rude, uncooperative,
helpful irritable, aggressive,
competitive
Worrying, insecure, Neuroticism Calm, secure, relaxed, stable
anxious, temperamental

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6.2.3. Humanistic theory of personality
Humanists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow wanted psychology to focus on
the things that make people uniquely human, such as subjective emotions and the
freedom to choose one’s own destiny. This theoretical approach is called humanism or
humanistic psychology. Humanism is a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the
unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal
growth. To a humanist the person you are today is largely the product of all the choices
you have made. Humanists also emphasize immediate subjective experience (private
perceptions of reality), rather than prior learning. They believe that there are as many
“real worlds” as there are people. To understand behavior, we must learn how a person
subjectively views the world—what is “real” for her or him.
Humanistic theorists also relays on the phenomenological approach, which assumes
that one has to appreciate individuals’ personal, subjective experiences to truly
understand their behavior. As Maslow‘s theory will be discussed in Chapter Four, in
this chapter the discussion of the humanistic view of personality will focus on the
theory of Carl Rogers.
6.2.3.1. Carl Roger’s Self Theory
Carl Roger was one of the founders of the humanistic theory. Rogers states that the
most basic human motive is the actualizing tendency; the innate drive to maintain and
enhance the human organism. According to Rogers, all other human motives, whether
biological or social, are secondary. He compared the actualizing tendency to a child’s
drive to learn to walk despite early frustration and falls.
An important tool in human self-actualization is the development of an image of
oneself, or the self-concept. A self-concept is a collection of beliefs about one’s own
nature, unique qualities, and typical behavior. Your self-concept is your own mental
picture of yourself. Two important components of the self-concept are the real self
(one’s actual perception of characteristics, traits and abilities that form the basis of the
striving for self-actualization) and the ideal self (the perception of what one should be

53
or would like to be). Rogers believed that much behavior can be understood as an
attempt to maintain consistency between our real self-concept and ideal self-concept.
Your self-concept may not be entirely consistent with your experiences. Most people
tend to distort their experiences to some extent to promote a relatively favorable self-
concept. Rogers called the gap between self-concept and reality “incongruence.”
Incongruence is the degree of disparity between one’s self-concept and one’s actual
experience. In contrast, if a person’s self-concept is reasonably accurate, it’s said to be
congruent with reality.
Development of the Self
In terms of personality development, Rogers was concerned with how childhood
experiences promote congruence or incongruence between one’s self-concept and one’s
experience. According to Rogers, the development of a consistent self-concept depends
greatly on the amounts of unconditional positive regard.
Unconditional positive regard refers to the child’s sense of being unconditionally
loved, valued and respect that comes from the significant others, even if she doesn’t
conform to the standards and expectations of others. Rogers views that, unconditional
love and acceptance from parents tends to foster an accurate self-concept that is
congruent with reality.
But Rogers maintained that most parents provide their children with conditional
positive regard-the sense that the child is valued and loved only when she behaves in a
way that is acceptable to others. The problem with conditional positive regard is that it
causes the child to learn to deny or distort her genuine feelings.
In this case, people are in a state of incongruence: Their self-concept conflicts with
their actual experience.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS AND TREATMENT TECHNIQUES
7.1. Nature of Psychological Disorders

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A psychological disorder is an ongoing dysfunctional pattern of thought, emotion, and
behavior that causes significant distress, and that is considered deviant in that person’s
culture or society. Psychological Disorder is a psychological dysfunction with in an
individual that is associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response
that is not typical or culturally expected.
Psychological dysfunction refers to a breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral
functioning of the
individual. A schizophrenic individual exhibits breakdown of cognitive (thinking),
emotional (feeling) or
behavioral (action) functions.
The scientific study of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders is known as
psychopathology. The term also refers to psychological disorders themselves, such as
schizophrenia or depression, and to behavior patterns that make people unhappy and
impair their personal growth. “Psychological disorders,” “abnormal behaviors,” and
“mental illness,” are terms often used in place of psychopathology. What are the
criteria used for determining that person has a psychological problem /disorder?
Deciding whether a person has a mental disorder can be difficult because so many
factors are involved in defining what is abnormal. As you’ll learn in this sub-section,
someone’s behavior may be described as abnormal but the person may or may not have
a mental disorder. There are three different ways to decide whether a behavior
distinguishes normal from abnormal behavior. These criteria are: abnormality,
maladaptiveness, and personal distress.
1. Abnormality (adequate deviation from the ideal or cultural standard)
Abnormal behavior is a behavior that deviates from the behavior of the typical‘person;
the norm. A society‘s norm can be qualitative and quantitative. When someone behaves
in culturally unacceptable ways and the behaviors he/she exhibit violates the norm,
standards, rules and regulations of the society, this person is most likely to have a
psychological problem. Only abnormal behavior cannot be sufficient for the diagnosis

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of psychological problem. Hence, we need to consider the context in which a person‘s
behavior happens.
2. Maladaptiveness
In many cases, people are judged to have a psychological disorder because their
everyday adaptive behavior is impaired and are unable to function effectively. Rather
than helping people cope successfully, abnormal behavior makes it more difficult for
them to meet the demands of day-to-day life. For example, abuse of alcohol or other
drugs may threaten an individual's health and ability to function in meeting life's
responsibilities.
3. Personal Distress
Our subjective feelings of anxiety, stress, tension and other unpleasant emotions
determine whether we have a psychological disorder. These negative emotional states
arise either by the problem itself or by events happen that on us. But, the criterion of
personal distress, just like other criteria, is not sufficient for the presence of
psychological disorder. This is because of some people like feeling distressed by their
own behavior. Hence, behavior that is abnormal, maladaptive, or personally distressing
might indicate that a person has a psychological disorder.

7.2. Causes of Psychological Disorders (Based on Perspectives)

The most important goal of researchers in the field of psychopathology is to discover
the causes (etiology) of each disorder. If the causes for disorders were known, then
psychologists could design effective treatments and, it would be hoped, be able to
prevent the development of many disorders. The Etiology or study of origins has to do
why a disorder begins (what causes it) and it includes the biological, psychological and
socio-cultural perspective.
7.2.1. The Biological Perspective

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Biological perspectives assume that many mental disturbances are the results of factors
relates to the brain and biological functioning. Biological influences include genetic or
inherited factors and various neurological factors that influence how the brain
functions. Current researchers believe that abnormalities in the working of chemicals in
the brain, called neurotransmitters, may contribute to many psychological disorders.
For example, over activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine, perhaps caused by an
overabundance of certain dopamine receptors in the brain, has been linked to the bizarre
symptoms of schizophrenia.
7.2.2. Psychological Perspectives
In this part, we will examine three psychological perspectives: the psychoanalytic
perspective, the learning, and the cognitive behavioral perspectives.
A. Psychoanalytic perspective
Sigmund Freud, the founder of the psychoanalytic approach, believed that the human
mind consists of three interacting forces: the id (a pool of biological urges), the ego
(which mediates between the id and reality), and the superego (which represent
society‘s moral standards).
Abnormal behavior, in Freud‟s view, is caused by the ego‟s inability to manage the
conflict between the opposing demands of the id and the superego. Especially important
is the individuals‘ failure to manage the conflicting of id‟s sexual impulses during
childhood, and society‟s sexual morality to resolve the earlier childhood emotional
conflicts that determine how to behave and think later.
B. Learning perspective
Most mental and emotional disorders, in contrast to the psychoanalytic perspective,
arise from inadequate or inappropriate learning. People acquire abnormal behaviors
through the various kinds of learning.
C. Cognitive perspective
Whether we accept it or not, the quality of our internal dialogue either builds ourselves
up or tears ourselves down and has profound effect on our mental health. The main

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theme of this perspective is that self-defeating thoughts lead to the development of
negative emotions and self-destructive behaviors. People's ways thinking about events
in their life determines their emotional and behavioral patterns positively or negatively.
Hence, if there is a disturbance in on our thinking, it may manifest in our display of
emotions and behaviors.
7.2.3. The Socio-cultural Model
The sociocultural perspective assumes that people’s behavior—both normal and
abnormal—is shaped by the kind of family group, society, and cultural contexts in
which they live. According to this view, the nature of one’s relationships with others
may support abnormal behaviors and even cause them. Consequently, the kinds of
stresses and conflicts people experience in their daily interactions with others can
promote and maintain abnormal behavior.
Today we have many different models to explain abnormal behavior. Nowadays,
however, there is increasing convergence toward a biopsychosocial model of abnormal
behavior, which focuses on the contributions and interactions of biological,
psychological and socioculture influences.

7.3. Types of Psychological Disorders

What are Psychological Disorders? A psychological disorder is a condition
characterized by abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Psychopathology is the
study of psychological disorders, including their symptoms, etiology (i.e., their causes),
and treatment. The term psychopathology can also refer to the manifestation of a
psychological disorder. In this connection, there are many types of psychological
disorders, but here in this section we will try to see only 3 types of mood disorder,
anxiety disorder and personality disorder.
7.3.1. Mood Disorders
What are mood disorders in psychology?

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Emotional fluctuations are natural, but some people are subject to extreme and
sustained distortions of mood. Mood disorders are a class of disorders marked by
emotional disturbances of varied kinds that may spill over to disrupt physical,
perceptual, social, and thought processes. Mood disorders are primarily defined by the
presence of extreme, intense, and long-lasting emotions.
The disorders in this category include those where the primary symptom is a
disturbance in mood. The disorders include Major Depression, Dysthymic Disorder,
Bipolar Disorder, and Cyclothymia.
1) Major Depression (also known as depression or clinical depression) is characterized
by depressed mood, diminished interest in activities previously enjoyed, weight
disturbance, sleep disturbance, loss of energy, difficulty concentrating, and often
includes feelings of hopelessness and thoughts of suicide.
2) Dysthymia is often considered a lesser, but more persistent form of depression.
Many of the symptoms are similar except to a lesser degree. Also, dysthymia, as
opposed to Major Depression is steadier rather than periods of normal feelings
and extreme lows.
3) Bipolar Disorder (previously known as Manic-Depression) is characterized by
periods of extreme highs (called mania) and extreme lows as in Major
Depression. Bipolar Disorder is subtyped either I (extreme or hypermanic
episodes) or II (moderate or hypomanic episodes).
4) Cyclothymia: Like Dysthymia and Major Depression, Cyclothymia is considered
a lesser form of Bipolar Disorder.
7.3.2. Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and can be beneficial in some situations. It can
alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention. Anxiety disorders are
characterized by physiological signs of anxiety (for example, palpitations) and
subjective feelings of tension, apprehension, or fear. Anxiety may be acute and focused
(phobias) or continual and diffuse (generalized anxiety disorder). Anxiety disorders are

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the most common of mental disorders and affect nearly 30 percent of adults at some
point in their lives. However, anxiety disorders are treatable and a number of effective
treatments are available. Treatment helps most people lead normal productive lives.
Anxiety disorders can cause people into trying to avoid situations that trigger or worsen
their symptoms. Job performance, school work and personal relationships can be
affected. In general, for a person to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, the fear or
anxiety must:
Be out of proportion to the situation or age inappropriate
Hinder your ability to function normally
Anxiety Disorders categorize a large number of disorders where the primary feature is
abnormal or inappropriate anxiety. The disorders in this category include Panic
Disorder, Agoraphobia, Specific Phobias, Social Phobia, Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
a) Panic Disorder is characterized by a series of panic attacks. A panic attack is an
inappropriate intense feeling of fear or discomfort including many of the following
symptoms: heart palpitations, trembling, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness.
These symptoms are so severe that the person may actually believe he or she is having a
heart attack. In fact, many, if not most of the diagnoses of Panic Disorder are made by a
physician in a hospital emergency room.
b) Agoraphobia literally means fear of the marketplace. It refers to a series of
symptoms where the person fears, and often avoids, situations where escape or help
might not be available, such as shopping centers, grocery stores, or other public place.
Agoraphobia is often a part of panic disorder if the panic attacks are severe enough to
result in an avoidance of these types of places.
c) Specific or Simple Phobia and Social Phobia represents an intense fear and often an
avoidance of a specific situation, person, place, or thing. To be diagnosed with a
phobia, the person must have suffered significant negative consequences because of this
fear and it must be disruptive to their everyday life.

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d) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by obsessions (thoughts
which seem uncontrollable) and compulsions (behaviors which act to reduce the
obsession). Most people think of compulsive hand washers or people with an intense
fear of dirt or of being infected. These obsessions and compulsions are disruptive to the
person's everyday life, with sometimes hours being spent each day repeating things,
which were completed successfully already such as checking, counting, cleaning, or
bathing.
e) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs only after a person is exposed to a
traumatic event where their life or someone else's life is threatened. The most common
examples are war, natural disasters, major accidents, and severe child abuse. Once
exposed to an incident such as this, the disorder develops into an intense fear of related
situations, avoidance of these situations, reoccurring nightmares, flashbacks, and
heightened anxiety to the point that it significantly disrupts their everyday life.
f) Generalized Anxiety Disorder is diagnosed when a person has extreme anxiety in
nearly every part of their life. It is not associated with just open places (as in
agoraphobia), specific situations (as in specific phobia), or a traumatic event (as in
PTSD). The anxiety must be significant enough to disrupt the person's everyday life for
a diagnosis to be made.
3) Personality Disorders
A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which you have a rigid and
unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning and behaving. A person with a personality
disorder has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and people. Thus, Personality
Disorders are characterized by an enduring pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving
which is significantly different from the person's culture and results in negative
consequences. This pattern must be longstanding and inflexible for a diagnosis to be
made.
There are around nine types of personality disorders, all of which result in significant
distress and/or negative consequences within the individual:

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1)Paranoid (includes a pattern of distrust and suspiciousness).
2)Schizoid (pattern of detachment from social norms and a restriction of emotions).
3) Schizotypal (pattern of discomfort in close relationships and eccentric thoughts and
behaviors).
4) Antisocial (pattern of disregard for the rights of others, including violation of these
rights and the failure to feel empathy).
5) Borderline (pattern of instability in personal relationships, including frequent bouts
of clinginess and affection and anger and resentment, often cycling between these two
extremes rapidly).
6)Histrionic (pattern of excessive emotional behavior and attention seeking).
7)Narcissistic (pattern of grandiosity, exaggerated self-worth, and need for admiration).
8) Avoidant (pattern of feelings of social inadequacies, low self-esteem, and
hypersensitivity to criticism).
9)Obsessive-Compulsive (pattern of obsessive cleanliness, perfection, and control).
7.4. Treatment Techniques
Treatment of mental illnesses can take various forms. They can include medication,
talk-therapy, a combination of both, and can last only one session or take many years to
complete. Many different types of treatment are available, but most agree that the core
components of psychotherapy remain the same. Psychotherapy consists of the
following:
1. A positive, healthy relationship between a client or patient and a trained
psychotherapist
2. Recognizable mental health issues, whether diagnosable or not
3. Agreement on the basic goals of treatment
4. Working together as a team to achieve these goals
With these commonalities in mind, this chapter will summarize the different types of
psychotherapy, including treatment approaches and modalities and will describe the
different professionals who perform psychotherapy.

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Treatment Approaches
Providing psychological treatment to individuals with some kind of psychological
problems is psychotherapy. When providing psychotherapy, there are several issues to
be considered. First and foremost is empathy. It is a requirement for a successful
practitioner to be able to understand his or her client's feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
Second, being non-judgmental is vital if the relationship and treatment are going to
work. Everybody makes mistakes, everybody does stuff they aren't proud of. If your
therapist judges you, then you don't feel safe talking about similar issues again. The
therapist must have experience with issues similar to yours, be abreast of the research,
and be adequately trained.
Aside from these commonalties, therapists approach clients from slightly different
angles, although the ultimate goal remains the same: to help the client reduce negative
symptoms, gain insight into why these symptoms occurred and work through those
issues, and reduce the emergence of the symptoms in the future. The three main
branches include Cognitive, Behavioral, and Dynamic.
Therapists who lean toward the cognitive branch will look at dysfunctions and
difficulties as arising from irrational or faulty thinking. In other words, we perceive the
world in a certain way (which may or may not be accurate) and this result in acting and
feeling a certain way. Those who follow more behavioral models look at problems as
arising from our behaviors which we have learned to perform over years of
reinforcement. The dynamic or psychodynamic camp stem more from the teaching of
Sigmund Freud and look more at issues beginning in early childhood which then
motivate us as adults at an unconscious level.
Cognitive approaches appear to work better with most types of depression, and
behavioral treatments tend to work better with phobias. Other than these two, no
differences in terms of outcome have been found to exist. Most mental health

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professionals nowadays are more eclectic in that they study how to treat people using
different approaches. These professionals are sometimes referred to as integrationists.
Treatment Modalities
Therapy is most often thought of as a one-on-one relationship between a client or
patient and a therapist. This is probably the most common example, but therapy can
also take different forms. Often time‘s group therapy is utilized, where individuals
suffering from similar illnesses or having similar issues meet together with one or two
therapists. Group sizes differ, ranging from three or four to upwards of 15 or 20, but the
goals remain the same. The power of group is due to the need in all of us to belong, feel
understood, and know that there is hope. All of these things make group as powerful as
it is. Imagine feeling alone, scared, misunderstood, unsupported, and unsure of the
future; then imagine entering a group of people with similar issues who have
demonstrated success, who can understand the feelings you have, who support and
encourage you, and who accept you as an important part of the group. It can be
overwhelming in a very positive way and continues to be the second most utilized
treatment after individual therapy.
Therapy can also take place in smaller groups consisting of a couple or a family. In this
type of treatment, the issues to be worked on are centered around the relationship. There
is often an educational component, like other forms of therapy, such as communication
training, and couples and families are encouraged to work together as a team rather than
against each other. The therapist's job is to facilitate healthy interaction, encourage the
couple or family to gain insight into their own behaviors, and to teach the members to
listen to and respect each other. Sometimes therapy can include more than one
treatment modality. A good example of this is the individual who suffers from
depression, social anxiety, and low self-esteem. For this person, individual therapy may
be used to reduce depressive symptoms, work some on self-esteem and therefore reduce
fears about social situations. Once successfully completed, this person may be
transferred to a group therapy setting where he or she can practice social skills, feel a

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part of a supportive group, therefore improving self-esteem and further reducing
depression.
The treatment approach and modality are always considered, along with many other
factors, in order to provide the best possible treatment for any particular person.
Sometimes more than one is used, sometimes a combination of many of them, but
together the goal remains to improve the life of the client.

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