Psychological Help

“Social Psychology” is the study of individuals in relation to the individuals. It is a very broad area that includes such problems as the way in which people perceive others, liking and disliking, helping, obedience, the forming of opinions and attitudes, persuasion, and behavior in group situation.

The area under social psychology includes:
- ATTITUDE:
(a) Attitude is defined as a predisposition involving beliefs, feelings and dispositions to act towards some object.
(b)It is the learned predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable manner to particular person, behavior, belief, or thing.

- INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION:
(a) Interpersonal attraction refers to an attitude about another person. Attraction involves an evaluation along a dimension that ranges from strong liking to strong disliking.
(b) Factors affecting interpersonal attraction are – Physical proximity, Affective state, Need to affiliate, Observable characteristics (physical attractiveness), Similarity, Mutual liking.
- PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR:
(a) Pro social behavior is a helpful action that benefits other people without necessarily providing any direct benefits to the person performing the act, and may even involve a risk for the person who helps.
(b) Latane & Darley gave 5 essential steps to a pro social response – i) Noticing the emergency -> ii) Interpreting it as an emergency -> iii) assuming the responsibility to help -> iv) knowing what to do to help out -> v) Making the decision to help.
(c) Factors effecting pro social behavior- i) personal factors ii) situational factors.
- AGGRESSION:
(a) Aggression is any form of behavior directed towards the goal of harming or injuring another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment.
(b) Determinants of aggression- i) Social causes: Frustration, Direct provocation, displaced aggression, Exposure to media violence, heightened arousal, sexual arousal. ii) Personal causes: Type ‘A’ behavior, Perceiving evil intent in others, Narcissism, Ego threat, Gender differences. iii) Situational factors: High temperature, consumption of alcohol etc.

- SOCIAL INFLUENCE:
(a) Social influence is efforts by one or more individuals to change the attitude, belief, perceptions, or behaviors of one

“anger” and “anxiety
sharp loss of interest and enthusiasm
AN EXAMPLE: During most of the period that I was depressed life seemed hopeless and futile
I frequently sought escape in sleep and would stay in bed until mid day.
At times panic and anxiety would come upon me for no apparent reason, often resulting in irrational fears. ( Rippere and Williams, 1985).

COGNITIVE SYMPTOMS
difficult to concentrate .
spend a considerable proportion of their time dwelling on unpleasant thoughts and memories .
Their pessimism may be associated with severe loss of self esteem and feelings of unworthiness.
self blame and guilt.
delusions may involve unrealistic assumptions and inferences that promote feelings of persecution and jealousy.

BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS:
Clinically depressed people often look profoundly sad .
woeful facial expressions and a hunched posture, and they may weep frequently.
Their sleep patterns are usually disturbed and self destructive behavior include self mutilation and attempts at suicide .
They may engage in stereotyped movements or other activities like wringing their hands

SOMATIC SYMPTOMS
physically very “run down .
loose weight, frequently feel physically tired and suffer from a variety of aches and pains .
tiredness, fatigue, weight loss, head aches or some other pain or physical discomfort .
A somatic symptom of depression may maintain or deepen the negative mood

SOCIAL SYMPTOMS
Avoid the company of others, including close friends and relatives.
They may have lost interest in conversation and social activities.
When they are with other people they may experience a strong desire to escape

TYPES

1) DEPRESSION THAT ARE NOT MOOD DISORDER

a. Loss and grieving process
– following the: death of a loved one, separation, financial loss, etc.
– Characteristic qualities of grief: Bowlby, 1980
Different Clinical Manifestations of Unipolar Depression
as Defined by Severity and Duration Threshold

b. Other normal mood variation
– Success Depression
– depression during carefree personal growth and freedom
– Postpartum depression
2) MILD TO MODERATE DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

a. DYSTHYMIA

DSM-IV Diagnosis:
– Dysthymic Disorder
Noteworthy DSM-IV Specifiers:
– Early Onset
– Late Onset
- Diagnostic Features,
- Complications,
- Co morbidity,
- Associated Laboratory Findings,
- Prevalence,
- Course,
- Familial Pattern,
- Treatment

Diagnostic Features
Dysthymic Disorder is a chronic condition characterized by depressive symptoms that occur for most of the day, more days than not, for at least 2 years
In children, the mood may be irritable rather than depressed, and the required minimum duration is only 1 year. During this 2-year period (1 year for children or adolescents), any symptom-free interval can not last longer than 2 months.
By definition, this diagnosis is not made if there are any Hypomanic, Manic or Mixed Episodes
This disorder’s depressive symptoms are not due to a medical condition, medication, illegal drug, or Psychotic Disorder
Complications
By definition, there must clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important functioning as result of the mood disturbance.
In childhood, this disorder is often associated with impaired school performance and poor social interaction.
Children and adolescents with this disorder are usually irritable and cranky as well as depressed. They have low self-esteem, poor social skills, and are pessimistic.

Co morbidity
In adults, this disorder is associated with an increased risk of having Major Depressive Disorder and Substance-Related Disorders.
In children, this disorder is associated with an increased risk of having Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Learning Disorders, and Mental Retardation.
Associated Laboratory Findings
No laboratory test has been found to be diagnostic of this disorder
Sleep EEG abnormalities are evident in 25%-50% of adults with this disorder.
Dexamethasone nonsuppression (which often occurs in Major Depressive Disorder) is not common in Dysthymic Disorder (unless it co-exists with Major Depressive Disorder)
Prevalence
Lifetime prevalence for this disorder in the general population is 6%.
In any year, 3% of the general population has this disorder
In adulthood, women are 2-3 times more likely to develop this disorder than men.

Course
This chronic disorder usually has an early and insidious onset in childhood or adolescence.
In adults, up to 75% of individuals with this disorder will develop Major Depressive Disorder within 5 years.
The spontaneous recovery rate for this disorder is approximately 10% per year. This recovery rate is significantly better with active treatment.

Familial Pattern
First-degree biological relatives of individuals with disorder have elevated rates of Dysthymic Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder compared with the general population.
Dysthymic Disorder is more common in the first-degree biological relatives of individuals with Major Depressive Disorder
Treatment
Medical Treatment
Recent research shows that approximately 62% of patients with dysthymic disorder will benefit from antidepressant medication.
Antidepressant Drugs: Both fluoxetine and imipramine have repeatedly been shown to be effective treatments for this disorder in placebo-controlled randomized double-blind studies

Antianxiety Drugs: A number of drugs are not of value for long-term treatment. Those drugs include the amphetamines, the barbiturates, and the benzodiazepines. Those drugs are often prescribed for patients with chronic symptoms of insomnia, fatigue, or tension.
However, clinical experience and systematic research indicate that they are little better than a placebo and are at times worse

Psychosocial Treatment
Psychotherapy is the principal treatment resource for patients with dysthymic disorder. Reassurance that the clinician understands the depth of the patient’s pain, assessment of suicidal and other self-destructive potential, and optimism for the future are all useful.
Individual Psychotherapy: Patients who receive psychotherapy of any of several types – notably cognitive, interpersonally-oriented, or behavior therapy with social skills training – tend to have a good prognosis, with or without antidepressant medication

Group Therapy
Although individual psychotherapy is the most common psychosocial treatment offered, many individuals with dysthymic disorder will benefit from group therapy and from active investigation and restructuring of maladaptive social functioning.
Family Therapy
Family-centered approaches differ from individual methods in their direct focus on the “role of the sick member” in the family system rather than on the symptoms of the identified patient.

CASE STUDY – Dysthymia
A 27-year-old, male, grade-school teacher presented with the chief complaint that life was a painful duty that had always lacked luster for him. He said that he felt enveloped by a sense of gloom that was nearly always with him. Although he was respected by his peers, he felt like a grotesque failure, a self-concept I have had since childhood.€ He stated that he merely performed his responsibilities as a teacher and that he had never derived any pleasure from anything he had done in life. He said that he had never had any romantic feelings; sexual activity, in which he had engaged with two different women, had involved pleasure less orgasm. He said that he felt empty, going through life without any sense of direction, ambition, or passion, a realization that itself was tormenting. He had bought a pistol to put an end to what he called his useless existence€ but did not carry out suicide, believing that it would hurt his students and the small community in which he lived.

b. ADJUSTMENT DISORDER WITH DEPRESSED MOOD
Behaviorally indistinguishable from dysthymia.
It differs from dysthymia in that it does not exceed six month in duration, and it requires the existence of an identifiable psychological stressor in the clients life within three months before the onset of depression.
Also, the diagnosis assumes that the person’s problem will remit when the stressor ceases or when a new level of adjustment is achieved.
Presumably, chronic cases of this sort would need to be rediagnosed as dysthymia.

3) MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

When Sonya came to Dr. Bolio he observed that her depression was so severe, “She had no interest in anything.“ Her physical symptoms included low energy, shaking and trembling throughout her body, heart palpitations, irregular menstrual flows, a medical history of cysts in the pancreas, liver and intestine, insomnia, constipation (since age six, when her parents divorced) and bad breath.
Sonya’s previous medical doctor had placed her on antidepressants and hormone therapy, which she felt had only worsened her condition and made her feel more anxious and withdrawn.
At the onset of therapy with Dr. Bolio, Sonya displayed extreme suicidal feelings, profound resentment towards her mother, anger and frustration with her oldest daughter (aged 26), and poor communication with her husband.

WHAT IS MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER
The diagnostic criteria for “major depressive disorder” require that the person exhibit more symptoms than are required for “ dysthymia” and the symptoms be more persistent (not interwoven with periods of normal mood).
An affected person must experience either markedly depressed mood or marked loss of interest in pleasurable activities in most of everyday for at least “two weeks

SYMPTOMS
Depressed mood. For children and adolescents, this may be irritable mood.
A significantly reduced level of interest or pleasure in most or all activities.
A considerable loss or gain of weight (e.g., 5% or more change of weight in a month when not dieting). This may also be an increase or decrease in appetite. For children, they may not gain an expected amount of weight.
Difficulty falling or staying asleep (insomnia), or sleeping more than usual (hypersomnia).
Behavior that is agitated or slowed down. Others should be able to observe this.
Feeling fatigued, or diminished energy.
Thoughts of worthlessness or extreme guilt (not about being ill).
Ability to think, concentrate, or make decisions is reduced.
Frequent thoughts of death or suicide (with or without a specific plan), or attempt of suicide

SUB TYPES OF MAJOR DEPRESSION:
-MAJOR DEPRESSION ON MELANCHOLIC TYPE .
-MAJOR DEPRESSIVE EPISODE WITH PSYCHOTIC FEATURES .
-DOUBLE DEPRESSION (major depression & dysthymia both)
-DEPRESSION AS A RECURRENT DISORDER .

4) SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER .
Depression showing a seasonal pattern; in the fall or winter.
The person must have had atleast two episodes of depression in the past two years occuring at hte same time of the year (fall or winter) and full remission must have occured at hte same time of the year (commonly in spring).

CAUSAL FACTORS -

BIOLOGICAL
Genetics
There exists incontrovertible evidence that both unipolar depression and bipolar disorder are genetically linked.
In monozygotic (MZ), or identical, twins, there was a concordance rate of 54 – 65% for unipolar depression.
There was only a concordance rate of 14 – 19% percent in dizygotic (DZ) or fraternal, twins.
Unipolar depression also appears frequently among relatives of those with bipolar disorder, although bipolar disorder does not occur more frequently than normal among family members of those diagnosed with unipolar depression (Feldman, Meyer, & Quenzer, 1997, p. 821) .
General Biological Hypotheses of Affective Disorders
Dysregulation Model: The dysregulation model of depression, as proposed by Siever and Davis (1985), suggests that depression is due to inappropriate (i.e. less selective) environmental responsiveness, and defective habituation (i.e. a slower return to baseline functioning following a perturbation). They believe that this is due to a chronic abnormality with the pattern and degree of responsiveness of a neurotransmitter
Learned Helplessness: It is hypothesized that either dopamine or norepinephrine functions are being altered in susceptible individuals. (Willner, 1994, p. 297-298).
Desynchronization of Circadian Rhythms: This includes: decreased total sleep time, increase sleep onset latency, decreased sleep arousal threshold, increased wakefulness, more frequent changes between sleep stages, and terminal insomnia.
Additionally, there is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep effects also associated with affective disorders
The effectiveness of phototherapy in seasonal affective depression (SAD) also is supportive of the theory of a desynchronization of circadian rhythms.
Behavioral Sensitization: When behavior become more severe and occurs more rapidly in response to the same dose of a given psychomotor stimulant, behavioral sensitization is said to have occurred. It is believed to involve dopamine at some point in the process, and can be modified by other neurochemicals such as sex hormones and vasopressin (Goodwin & Jamison, 1990, p.406)

PSYCHOLOGICAL ACCCOUNTS
LOSS AND REJECTION :Freud proposed that loss of a love object can also be withdrawal of love and affection by an important figure during a critical development period which can pre dispose an individual to develop depression later in life in response to similar situations involving real or imagined withdrawal or loss of love
LEARNED HELPNESS THEORY
This learned helplessness will produce three kinds of deficits:
Motivational deficiet .
Cognitive deficiets .
Emotional deficits
COGNITIVE THEORY:
Underlying “ depressogenic schemas or dysfunctional beliefs” which are rigid, extreme , counter productive.
Cognitive triad :
Negative thoughts about the self ( “ I am ugly”, “ iam worthless” , “ I am failure” )
Negative thoughts about one’s experiences and the surrounding world ( “ no one loves me” , “ people treat me badly” )
Negative thoughts about one’s future( “ its hopeless because things wil always be this way” )
STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS HAVE CAUSAL EVENTS
Situations that tend to lower self esteem like being fired or faioing in an important exam.
The thwarting of an imortnat goal or the posing of an insoluable dilemma such as being told the fellowship you were counting on to support in graduate school is no longer available.
Developing a physical diseases or abnormality that activated the idea of death or deteroration.
Single stressor of overwhelming magnitute like loss of a parent.
Several stressors occurring in a series.
Insidious stressors unrecognized as such by an affected person such living with a depressed or physically diabled person for a long time.
TYPES OF DIATHESIS STRESS MODELS FOR UNIPOLAR DEPRESSION -
PERSONALITY AND COGNITIVE DIATHESIS.
EARLY PARENTAL LOSS AS A DIATHESIS .
BEHAVIORAL THEORIES
Depressed person indeed receive fewer positive verbal reinforcement from their families than do non depressed person and fewer social reinforeceemnt in their lives in general.
They also have lower level of activity and report less pleasure from seemingly positive events .
INTERPERSONAL EFFECT OF MOOD DISORDER
LACK OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SOCIAL SKILL DEFICIET
VULNERABILITY FACTORS +PROVOKING AGENTS = DEPRESSION
( IN THE ABSENSE OF
PROTECTIVE FATORS)
EARLY LOSS OF MOTHER+ A RECENT FAMILY = DEPRESSION
DEATH

TREATMENT

Antidepressants, antipsychotic and antianxiety drugs are all used in treatment of mood disorders.
Tricyclics have unpleasant side effects and are highly toxic.
Antidepressants not used for bipolar disorder treatment.
SSRIs have fewer side effects and less toxic.
Prozac is used in significant depression and also in mild depressive symptoms.
Lithium is often effective in preventing cycling between manic and depressive episodes.

ECT is used with severely depressed who may present an immediate and serious suicidal risk including those with psychotic or melancholic features.
ECT is also used with patients who have not responded with other forms of pharmacological treatments.
However, maintenance on mood-stabilizing drugs following ECT is still usually required to prevent relapse.
Psychotherapy
Drugs plus electroconvulsive therapy that are used in the treatment of depression are combined with individual or group psychotherapy directed at helping a patient develop a more stable long range adjustment.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Interpersonal therapy
Family and marital therapy.

Depression & suicide
The risk of taking one’s own life is a significant factor in all depressive states.

SUICIDE
Suicide was one of the groundbreaking books in the field of sociology . Written by French sociologist Émile Durkheim and published in 1897 it was a case study of suicide, a publication unique for its time which provided an example of what the sociological monograph should look like.
He differentiated between four types of suicide:

Egoistic suicide: Egoism is a state in which the ties attaching the individual to others in the society are weak. Since the individual is only weakly integrated into the society, ending his or her own life will have little impact on the rest of the society. In other words, there are few social ties to keep the individual from taking his or her own life. This Durkheim saw as the cause of suicide among divorced men, and has been cited as the cause of rising teenage suicides by contemporary sociologists.

Anomic suicide: Anomie is a state in which there is weak social regulation between the society’s norms and the individual, most often brought on by dramatic changes in economic and/or social circumstances. This type of suicide happens when the social norms and laws governing the society do not correspond with the life goals of the individual. Since the individual does not identify with the norms of the society, suicide seems to be a way to escape them. Examples include the spike in suicide rates following the 1929 Stock Market Crash in the United States, as well as the spike following the September 11th attacks

Altruistic suicide: Altruism is a state opposite to egoism, in which the individual is extremely attached to the society and thus has no life of his or her own. Individuals who commit suicide based on altruism die because they believe that their death can bring about a benefit to the society. In other words, when an individual is too heavily integrated into the society, he or she will commit suicide regardless of his or her own hesitation if the society’s norms ask for the person’s death. Durkheim saw this as occurring in two different ways:
– Where people saw themselves as worthless or a burden upon society and would therefore commit suicide. He saw this as happening in ancient or ‘primitive’ societies, but also in highly traditionalized army regiments, such as imperial or elite guards, in contemporary society.
– Where people saw the social world as meaningless and would sacrifice themselves for a greater ideal. Durkheim saw this as happening in ‘Eastern’ religions, such as the Sati in Hinduism. Some contemporary sociologists have used this analysis to explain Kamikaze pilots and the cult of the suicide bomber.

Fatalistic suicide: Fatalism is a state opposite to anomie in which social regulation is completely instilled in the individual; there is no hope of change against the oppressive discipline of the society. The only way for the individual to be released from this state is to commit suicide. Durkheim saw this as the reason for slaves committing suicide in antiquity, but saw it as having little relevance in modern society. Contemporary sociologists have argued that modern fatalistic suicide occurs in such societies as Japan, where social mobility is so limited by social norms that individual fulfillment is impossible.

Why Do People Commit Suicide?
In response to extreme emotional pain,
and suicidal thoughts and feelings due to various brain chemistry deficiencies and/or disorders.
Prolonged life circumstances of extreme stress, emotional upset, abuse, poverty, terrible living conditions, neglect, poor health, injury, disability – especially with no apparent hope of change or improvement can and do precipitate depression and suicidal thoughts for some.
What is not commonly known is that -
Suicidal thoughts are an involuntary affliction ! We don’t choose to think them. Suicidal thoughts just enter.Under depression person is not able to understand that the decison od death is taken by a sick body and not a healthy mind.

Is Suicide A Sin?
The main problem with suicide is that it is murder. You would be murdering a person even though it would be your own self – you are still a person.
While we are depressed, we must consider that our decisions will be based on a body system that is not functioning as it should

Who Want To Commit Suicide?
The personality matters a lot.
Who cares if I live or die?
Emotional crisis: loneliness, isolation, competitiveness, work pressure and interpersonal problems.
Attempts – women, men, children & adolescents, adults, certain professionals (physician, dentist, lawyers, & psychologists).
Completed – usually men (due to the method used).

Reasons / Causal factors:
Psychosocial – loss of sense of meaning in life and/or hopelessness about future.
Egoistic suicide, Anomic suicide, Altruistic suicide, Fatalistic suicide.
Early negative experience, irrational beliefs and cognitive functioning.
Biological – reduced serotonergic functioning, genetic vulnerabilities.
Sociocultural – religious taboo, Kamikaze (Japan)

Suicidal ambivalence
Some people do not really wish to die, but instead want to communicate a dramatic message to others concerning their distress.
Their suicidal methods involve non lethal methods.
Another subset of people are who tend to leave the question of death to fate. “If I die the conflict is settled, but if I am rescued that is what is meant to be”.

Communication of suicidal intent
A Myth – that people who talk about killing themselves never actually do it; that they are simply drawing attention to themselves.
Whether direct or indirect, communication of suicidal intent usually represents a warning and a cry for help.
Failing to receive it after a suicidal threat, they go on to actual suicide.
Suicide notes
Only 15-25% left notes, usually addressed to relatives or friends.
The emotional content could be positive, negative, neutral, or mixed.

A suicide note – “I just need it to be over. I’ve tried to be good and go on but I’m tired. I’m sorry for my children. You will be better off without a crazy-mixed-up mother. You are great kids, this is something in me. You deserve better. I can’t live without you and I know you will just get mixed-up with me. Sorry, mom”

Suicide poetry
“ I’ll draw you a picture
I’ll draw it with a twist
I’ll draw it with a razorblade
I’ll draw it on my wrist
cut your wrist and ease the pain
a minute of relief is all you’ll gain
life is so stupid
hopeless and weak
another cut on my wrist
is all that i seek ”

Prevention
Helping suicidal persons is a very precarious matter
Learn and Understand. Educate yourself about this illness. Realize that there are millions out there just like your loved one. Their feelings are their symptoms. And their life really is danger.
They really are suffering with a potentially fatal biological illness.
Tell Them
Ask Them
“Please Don’t
Kill Yourself”
Reinforce
Emotional Ties
Tell the person – Don’t do it !
TELL them often.
ASK them not to do it – PLEASE don’t.
Tell them you don’t want them to do it and that they are loved and would be badly missed

Crisis Intervention- help these people regain their ability to cope with their immediate problems.
Talking helps – tell the one to seek comfort and support in other family, friends, medical doctor, family counselor, therapist, clergy. Don’t carry it alone.
Sometimes people need to be hospitalized to keep them from attempting suicide.
As low serotonin levels are associated with it.
UNDERSTANDING HELPS letting the hope float..

HELPLINES -
Sanjeevani Society for Mental Health Premarital/ marital counselling, emotional instability/ psychological counselling. A-6, Qutub Institutional Area, Satsang Vihar Marg, New Delhi-110067. Ph: 4311918/ 4317285. Contact: V. S. Subramaniam.
Sumaitri – a crisis centre for the suicidal and despairing Depression, suicide prevention. 48, Babar Road, near Bengali Market, New Delhi-110001. Ph: 3710763.
The Samaritans Working with mentally ill, emotionally disturbed and suicidal persons, providing free treatment. Consulting and day-care rehabilitation. 1st Floor, Seva Niketan, Sir J. J. Road, Byculla, Mumbai-400008. Ph: 022-3092068
Sneha Suicide prevention centre No. 4, Avvai Shanmugham Lane, Royapettah, Chennai. Ph: 8273456

What is educational psychology?
Educational Psychology constitutes the foundation of education. It provides an approach to educational problems and a set of techniques for studying children and the problems that arise in their education. It is an area of application rather than unique category of subject matter.
Educational Psychology – a field of specialization concerned with increasing the efficiency of learning in school through the application of psychological knowledge about learning and motivation to the curriculum.
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY-
DEVELOPMENT & INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
(A) DEVELOPMENT
(B) INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

A. Development
Physical growth & development
Mental growth and development
Emotional development
Social development
DEVELOPMENT
Development, as applied to the various areas of behavior, is characteristic of human nature from conception throughout life.
The prenatal period, childhood, and adolescence usually are referred to as representing sequential maturation or development toward adult maturity.
The habitual behavior patterns and understandings acquired during these developing years are aimed at serving the individual effectively in his life activities and relationship.

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The term development and learning sometimes are used synonymously. Their connotation differ, however, in that learning mastery in any area is dependent upon development readiness to profit from exposure to incidental or planned learning stimulating situations

PHYSICAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
The individual as an active, productive member of his group is first and foremost a physical being.
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Consequently, any program of learning that is organized for his benefit must not only be geared to his progressive stages of physical growth but also be aimed at providing educational media that will make possible for him the development of excellent body symmetry, good health, and effective activity of the neuromuscular system that will help him live long and successfully.
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1.GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
growth VS development
importance of physical development
Measures
2.SPECIFIC GROWTH CHANGES
height and weight
body proportion
growth of internal organs
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3.ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
4.EDUCATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
MENTAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
An emotion is an effective experience that accompanies generalized inner adjustment and mental physiological stirred up states in the individual, and that shows in his overt behavior.
Functions of emotion in life
Effects upon behavior
Causes of emotional stress
Emotional maturity
~>A study on the relationship between aggression and achievement in chemistry of XI standard students.
A study on the relationship between aggression and achievement in chemistry of XI standard students.
By T.Parimala
N=314, 108 girls & 206 boys
Aggression Questionnaire by G.B.Patti
Achievement test in chemistry by researcher.
RESULTS revealed that there is a negative relationship between aggression and achievement meaning that students who are less aggressive shall achieve better and there is a significant difference between boys and girls in both aggression and achievement.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Social development refers to the long-term changes in relationships and interactions involving self, peers, and family. It includes both positive changes, such as how friendships develop, and negative changes, such as aggression or bullying.

For teachers, the social developments that are the most obviously relevant to classroom life fall into three main areas: 1) changes in self-concept and in relationships among students and teachers, 2) changes in basic needs or personal motives, and 3) changes in your sense of rights and responsibilities.

As with cognitive development, each of these areas has a broad, well-known theory (and theorist) that provides a framework for thinking about the area as it relates to teaching.

B. Individual differences
Definition
Types
Distribution

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Each student is an individual and ultimately must be treated as such.
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Beyond the generalities of learning and motivation, Educational psychology must deal with the fact that people differ.
Differences among students reflect more than developmental factors, like differences in creativity, intelligence, motivation, language, and writing skill.
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Individual differences have fascinated and challenged parents and teachers throughout history and became a subject matter of educational psychologist after Sir Francis Galton’s (1869) investigation.
Q. What are the important characteristics on which student differ?
Q. What are their implications for individual treatment?
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To deal with these complexities, we have developed descriptive labels and associated measurement methods that allow us to describe students with respect to –
Social class & socio economic status
IQ
Gender
Cognitive styles
Creativity
Exceptionality
Ethnicity and culture
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OPPOSITION to such labeling
Many labels are demeaning and appear to produce undesirable self-fulfilling-prophecy effects.
Labeling as MEANINGFUL and HELPING
Linkage between labels and remedial procedures.
However linkages between labels and clear-cut remedial procedure are not so clear.
The value of labels, even so called “diagnostic” ones, depends not only on their accuracy but on the degree to which they provide guidance for remediation to the implied problem.
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Socioeconomic status
Social class
Socio economic status
~> Children with learning disabilities in relation to different ecological factors. **
By Chandra Kala Singh & Bimla Dhanda
N=60, age-group was 6 to 8 yr
Tools: McCarthy(1970) scales of children ability, Visual Motor Integration test (VMI) directionality subtest.
Self structured Interview of mothers of these children.
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RESULT: It was observed that the parents who were not able to provide their children with good recourses, proper care, academic and play material suffered from two or more learning disability.
Parents also had opinion that due to lack of resources, education and motivation, they could not provide their children healthy environment for learning.
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IQ
IQ tests
School success VS intelligence
Changing IQs
Type of intellectual abilities
Transfer of skills

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Sex roles
Differences in intellectual functioning
Differential effects of praise and criticism
~> When being a girl matters less: Accessibility of gender-related self knowledge in single-sex and coeducational classes and its impact on students physics related self-concept of ability.
By Ursula Kessels & Bettina Hannover
N=401, eight graders from coeducational school
Method: random assignments of student to single sex VS coeducational physics classes throughout the eighth grade.
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At the end of the year, students’ physics related self concept of ability was measured using a questionnaire. The accessibility of gender related self-knowledge during physics classes was accessed by measuring latencies and endorsement of sex typed trait adjectives.
RESULTS: Girls from single sex physics classes reported a better physics related self-concept of ability than girls from coeducational classes, while boys’ self concept of ability did not vary according to class composition. For both boys and girls, Gender-related self-knowledge was less accessible in single-sex classes than in mixed-sex classes. To the extent that girls feminine self-knowledge was relatively less accessible than their masculine self-knowledge, their physics related self concept of ability improved at the end of the school year.
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CONCLUSION: By revealing the importance of the differential accessibility of gender-related self knowledge in single-and mixed-sex setting, our study clarifies why single-sex schooling helps adolescents to gain a better self-concept of ability in school subjects that are considered inappropriate for their own sex.
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Cognitive Styles
Conceptual tempo: a) impulsive b) reflective
Psychological differentiation: a) field dependent b) field independent.
Creativity
Measures
Fostering creativity in classroom
~> Comparative study among juvenile delinquents and normal children in relation to different dimensions of creativity.
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By Dharpal Singh Yadav & Grijesh Kumar
N=200 normal children, N=100 juvenile delinquents
Tools: verbal and non verbal Torrance Tests of creative thinking
RESULT: Juvenile delinquents differ significantly on different dimensions of figural and verbal creativity such as flexibility and originality where as fluency did not show any difference.
The major findings of this research is that though the children are delinquent but their performance on creativity test were almost identical with non delinquent children and this will prove beneficial for development of delinquent children.
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Students with handicaps or special needs
Exceptionality
Mentally disabled **
Physically disabled
Gifted

Stairs handicap a person who uses a wheelchair
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Ethnicity and culture
Caste
Class
Ecology
Culture
Rural/Urban

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With respect to social equity motive, the problem centers on inequality in academic achievement associated with children from ethnic groups and the inability of schools to provide access to equal educational opportunities.

“Instructions may be delivered in the same way to all children and still not be equal.”
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Belonging to a particular caste or group is important because the traditions established in homes are the experiential background instrumental in engineering later development which will influence school learning.

The scheduled-caste children appeared to suffer from a crisis of personality orientation (Gupta, 1979; Chitnis and Naidu, 1981). In the case of these children value conflict often came in the way of educational progress besides curriculum and instruction problems (Kulshreshtha, 1983).

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Class membership and ecology imposed structural and functional constraints in the case of different groups of tribal children. School as a social institution is a comparatively new environment for tribal children.

The tribal child starts with near zero linguistic information and conceptualization when he enters school (Panda, 1988).

Ethnicity in the form of tribal origin failed to bring differences in intellectual functioning as measured by intelligence tests (Sinha, R.R.P., 1964; Chaudhuri & Sinha, 1959) but rural and urban differences in the same ethnic group were predominant in intelligence and other adjustment behavior (Sinha, R.R.P., 1964; Nomani, 1965).

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Ecological variables were studied by Mishra (1983). The sample consisted of urban, rural and tribal children drawn from socially disadvantaged and advantaged categories. The effects of disadvantage on achievement and adjustment were more prominent in the urban setup than in the rural set-up, probably because the urban set-up is more advanced and. complex.

Extent of individual differencesis represented by a normal curve, not bimodal or multimodal curves.
References:

1) Crow, L.D., and Crow, A., (1963). Educational Psychology. New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.
2) Skinner, C.E.,(1996). Educational Psychology. New Delhi, Prentice Hall.
3) Berliner, D.C., and Calfee, R.C. (1996).Handbook of Educational Psychology. USA, McMillan Library Reference, Prentice Hall.
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4) Ashok, S., (2008). Parent Child Interaction and Academic Achievement in Kindergarten, Primary and Middle School. Indian Journal of Applied Psychology, 45, 11-15.
5) Parimala, T., (2008). A study on the relationship between aggression and achievement in chemistry of eleventh standard students. Indian Journal of Applied Psychology, 45, 16-20.

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6) Kessels, U., and Hannover, B., (2008). When being a girl matters less: Accessibility of gender related self knowledge in single sex and coeducational classes and its impact on student’s physics related self-concept of ability. British journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 273-289
7) Singh, C.K., and Dhanda, B., (2008). Children with Learning Disabilities in relation to Different Ecological Factors. Disabilities and Impairments: An interdisciplinary Research Journal, 22, 24-28..
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Yadav, D.S., and Kumar, G., (2008). Comparative study among juvenile delinquents and normal children in relation to different dimensions of creativity. Disabilities and Impairments: an interdisciplinary Research Journal, 22, 43-48.
9) K.C. Panda. Research on Psychology of Education a trend report. Retrieved August 27, 2008 from http://education.nic.in/cd50years/g/Z/9I/0Z9I0903.htm

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10) Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection (2007 August 10). Contemporary Educational Psychology/Chapter 3: Student Development/Social Development: Relationships and Personal Motives. Retrieved August 23, 2008 from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Contemporary_Educational_Psychology/Chapter_3:_Student_Development/Social_Development:_Relationships_and_Personal_Motives

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11) Good, T.L., and Brophy, J.E.,(1980). Educational Psychology: A realistic approach. Library of Congress cataloging in Publication Data.

UNDERSTANDING can save…letting the hope float…

S.P.K.S