Nature and functions of Educational psychology

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I
Nature and Functions
of Educational
Psychology

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Nature and Functions of Educational Psychology
A. Pretest
Instruction: Analyze the statement carefully. Inside the box put  if the statement is correct
and x if it’s not.
1. One of the functions of educational psychology is to provide an understanding of the
nature aims and purposes of education.
2. Educational psychology possesses well organized , systematic and universally accepted
body of facts supported by the relevant psychological laws ad principle
3. Philosophy was defined as the “study of the soul”.
4. Philosophy is the scientific study of the activities of the individual in relation to his
environment
5. Sociological Psychology is a branch of psychology which deals with teaching and
learning.
6. Educational Psychology describes and explains the learning experiences of an individual
from birth through old age.
7. Philosophy describes and explains the learning experiences of an individual from birth
through old age.
8. Psychologists explore concepts such as perception, cognition, attention, emotion,
phenomenology, motivation, brain functioning, personality, behavior, and interpersonal
relationships, including psychological resilience, family resilience, and other areas.
9. Classical conditioning was an early behaviorist model.
10. Biological psychology or behavioral neuroscience is the study of the biological substrates
of behavior and mental processes.

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Key to Correction
(PreTest)
1. 
2. 
3. x Psychology was defined as the “study of the soul
4. x Psychology is the scientific study of the activities of the individual in relation to his
environment
5. x Educational Psychology is a branch of psychology which deals with teaching and
learning.
6. 
7. x Psychology describes and explains the learning experiences of an individual from birth
through old age.
8. 
9. 
10. 

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B. Introduction
Psychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental
processes and behavior. Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledge to various
spheres of human activity, including relating to individuals' daily lives and the treatment of
mental illness. Psychology differs from the other social sciences — anthropology, economics,
political science, and sociology — in that psychology seek to explain the mental processes and
behavior of individuals. Whereas biology and neuroscience study the biological or neural
processes and how they relate to the mental effects they subjectively produce, psychology is
primarily concerned with the interaction of mental processes and behavior on a systemic level.
The subfield of neuropsychology studies the actual neural processes while biological psychology
studies the biological bases of behavior and mental states.
Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of behavior, mind and
thought and the subconscious neurological bases of behavior. Psychology also refers to the
application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity, including problems of
individuals' daily lives and the treatment of mental illness. It is largely concerned with humans,
although the behavior and mental processes of animals can also be part of psychology research,
either as a subject in its own right (e.g. animal cognition and ethnology), or somewhat more
controversially, as a way of gaining an insight into human psychology by means of comparison.

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C. Content
What is Psychology?
 The word, ‘Psychology’ is derived from two Greek words, ‘Psyche’ and ‘Logos’. Psyche
means ‘soul’ and ‘Logos’ means ‘science’. Thus psychology was first defined as the
‘science of soul”.
 According to earlier psychologists, the function of psychology was to study the nature,
origin and destiny of the human soul. But soul is something metaphysical. It cannot be
seen, observed and touched and we cannot make scientific experiments on soul.
 In the 18th century, psychology was understood as the ‘Science of Mind’. William James
(1892) defined psychology as the science of mental processes. But the word ‘minds ‘is
also quite ambiguous as there was confusion regarding the nature and functions of mind.
 Modern psychologists defined psychology as the “Science of Consciousness”. James
Sully (1884) defined psychology as the “Science of the Inner World”. Wilhelm Wundt
(1892) defined psychology as the science which studies the “internal experiences’. But
there are three levels of consciousness – conscious, subconscious and the unconscious
and so this definition also was not accepted by some.
 (Thus psychology first lost its soul, then its mind and then its consciousness). At present
only its behavior exists. William McDugall (1905) defined psychology as the “Science of
Behavior”, W.B. Pillsbury (1911) and J.B. Watson (1912) also defined psychology as the
science of behavior.
 Behavior generally means overt activities which can observe and measured scientifically.
But one’s behavior is always influenced by his experiences. So when we study one’s
behavior we must also study his experiences.
 Psychology should, therefore, be defined as a “science of behavior and experiences on
human beings” (B.F. Skinner)
 According to Crow and Crow, “Psychology is the study of human behavior and human
relationship’”.
What is Educational Psychology? `
 Educational psychology is that branch of psychology in which the findings of psychology
are applied in the field of education. It is the scientific study of human behavior in
educational setting.
 Thus educational psychology is a behavioral science with two main references
– human behavior and education. – In the words of E.A. Peel, “Educational Psychology is
the science of Education”.

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 Education by all means is an attempt to mould and shape the behavior of the pupil. It
aims to produce desirable changes in him for the all-round development of his
personality.
 The essential knowledge and skill to do this job satisfactorily is supplied by Educational
Psychology. In the words of E.A. Peel, “Educational psychology helps the teacher to
understand the development of his pupils, the range and limits of their capacities, the
processes by which they learn and their social relationships.”
 (In this way, the work of the Educational Psychologists resembles with that of an
Engineer, who is a technical expert. The Engineer supplies all the knowledge and skill
essential for the accomplishment of the job satisfactorily… for example, construction of a
bridge.). In the same way Educational Psychologists, who is a technical expert in the field
of Education, supplies all the information, principles and techniques essential for:
Understanding the behavior of the pupil in response to educational environment and
desired modification of his behavior to bring an all-round development of his personality.
 In this way, it is quite reasonable to call Educational Psychology as a science and
technology of Education.
 Thus, Educational Psychology concerned primarily with understanding the processes of
teaching and learning that take place within formal environments and developing ways of
improving those methods. It covers important topics like learning theories; teaching
methods; motivation; cognitive, emotional, and moral development; and parent-child
relationships etc.
 In short, it is the scientific discipline that addresses the questions: “Why do some students
learn more than others?” and “What can be done to improve that learning?”
NATURE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Its nature is scientific as it has been accepted that it is a Science of Education. We can
summarize the nature of Educational Psychology in the following ways:
1. Educational Psychology is a science. (Science is a branch of study concerned with
observation of facts and establishment of verifiable general laws. Science employs certain
objective methods for the collection of data. It has its objectives of understanding,
explaining, predicting and control of facts.) Like any other science, educational psychology
has also developed objective methods of collection of data. It also aims at understanding,
predicting and controlling human behaviour.
2. Educational Psychology is a natural science. An educational psychologist conducts his
investigations, gathers his data and reaches his conclusions in exactly the same manner as
physicist or the biologist.
3. Educational psychology is a social science. Like the sociologist, anthropologist,
economist or political scientist, the educational psychologist studies human beings and their
sociability.

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4. Educational psychology is a positive science. Normative science like Logic or Ethics
deals with facts as they ought to be. A positive science deals with facts as they are or as they
operate. Educational psychology studies the child’s behavior as it is, not, as it ought to be. So
it is a positive science.
5. Educational psychology is an applied science. It is the application of psychological
principles in the field of education. By applying the principles and techniques of psychology,
it tries to study the behavior and experiences of the pupils. As a branch of psychology it is
parallel to any other applied psychology. For example, educational psychology draws heavily
facts from such areas as developmental psychology, clinical psychology, abnormal
psychology and social psychology.
6. Educational psychology is a developing or growing science. It is concerned with new
and ever new researches. As research findings accumulate, educational psychologists get
better insight into the child’s nature and behavior.
SCOPE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
The scope of educational psychology is ever-growing due to constantly researches in this
field. The following factors will indicate the scope of educational psychology:
1. The Learner. The subject-matter of educational psychology is knitted around the learner.
Therefore, the need of knowing the learner and the techniques of knowing him well. The topics
include – the innate abilities and capacities of the individuals, individual differences and their
measurements, the overt, covert, conscious as well as unconscious behavior of the learner, the
characteristics of his growth and development and each stage beginning from childhood to
adulthood.
2. The Learning Experiences. Educational Psychology helps in deciding what learning
experiences are desirable, at what stage of the growth and development of the learner, so that
these experiences can be acquired with a greater ease and satisfaction.
3. Learning process: After knowing the learner and deciding what learning experiences are to
be provided, Educational Psychology moves on to the laws, principles and theories of learning.
Other items in the learning process are remembering and forgetting, perceiving, concept
formation, thinking and reasoning, problem solving, transfer of learning, ways and means of
effective learning etc.
4. Learning Situation or Environment. Here we deal with the environmental factors and
learning situations which come midway between the learner and the teacher. Topics like
classroom climate and group dynamics, techniques and aids that facilitate learning and
evaluation, techniques and practices, guidance and counseling etc. For the smooth functioning of
the teaching-learning process.

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5. The Teacher: The teacher is a potent force is any scheme of teaching and learning process. It
discusses the role of the teacher. It emphasizes the need of ‘knowing thyself’ for a teacher to
play his role properly in the process of education. His conflicts, motivation. Anxiety, adjustment,
level of aspiration etc. It throws light on the essential personality traits, interests, aptitudes, the
characteristics of effective teaching etc so as to inspire him for becoming a successful teacher.
Though the entire scope of Educational Psychology is included in the above mentioned five key-
factors, it may be further expanded by adding the following:
A. It studies Human Behavior in educational situations. Psychology is the study of
behavior, and education deals with the modification of behavior; hence, educational
psychology pervades the whole field of education.
B. It studies the Growth and Development of the child. How a child passes through the
various stages of growth and what are the characteristics of each stage are included in the
study of educational psychology.
C. To what extent Heredity and Environment contribute towards the growth of the
individual, and how this knowledge can be made use of for bringing about the optimum
development of the child; form a salient feature of the scope of educational psychology.
D. Educational psychology deals with the Nature and Development of the Personality of
an individual. In fact, education has been defined as the all-round development of the
personality of an individual; personality development also implies a well-adjusted
personality.
E. It studies Individual Difference: Every individual differs from every other individual. It
is one of the fundamental facts of human nature which have been brought to light by
educational psychology. This one fact has revolutionaries the concept and process of
education.
F. It studies the nature Intelligence and its Measurement. This is of utmost importance for
a teacher.
G. It Provides Guidance and Counseling: Education is nothing but providing guidance to
the growing child.
We can conclude by saying that Educational Psychology is narrower in scope than
general psychology. While general psychology deals with the behavior of the individual in a
general way, educational psychology in concerned with the behavior of the learner in an
educational setting.

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D. Summary
There are various different approaches in contemporary psychology. An approach is a
perspective (i.e. view) that involves certain assumptions (i.e. beliefs) about human behavior: the
way they function, which aspects of them are worthy of study and what research methods are
appropriate for undertaking this study. There may be several different theories within an
approach, but they all share these common assumptions perspectives and whether one approach
is correct and others wrong. Most psychologists would agree that no one perspective is correct,
although in the past, in the early days of psychology, the behaviorist would have said their
perspective was the only truly scientific one.
Each perspective has its strengths and weaknesses, and brings something different to our
understanding of human behavior. For this reasons, it is important that psychology does have
different perspectives to the understanding and study of human and animal behavior.
Behaviorism is different from most other approaches because they view people (and animals) as
controlled by their environment and specifically that we are the result of what we have learned
from our environment. Behaviorism is concerned with how environmental factors (called
stimuli) affect observable behavior (called the response).
The behaviorist approach proposes two main processes whereby people learn from their
environment: namely classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning
involves learning by association, and operant conditioning involves learning from the
consequences of behavior.Behaviorism also believes in scientific methodology (e.g. controlled
experiments), and that only observable behavior should be studies because this can be
objectively measured. Behaviorism rejects the idea that people have free will, and believes that
the environment determines all behavior. Behaviorism is the scientific study of observable
behavior working on the basis that behavior can be reduced to learn S-R (Stimulus-Response)
units.
Classical conditioning (CC) was studied by the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov.
Though looking into natural reflexes and neutral stimuli he managed to condition dogs to salivate
to the sound of a bell through repeated associated of the sound of the bell and food. The
principles of CC have been applied in many therapies. These include systematic desensitization
for phobias (step-by-step exposed to feared stimulus at once) and aversion therapy. B.F. Skinner
investigated operant conditioning of voluntary and involuntary behavior. Skinner felt that some
behavior could be explained by the person's motive. Therefore behavior occurs for a reason, and
the three main behavior shaping techniques are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement
and punishment. Behaviorism has been criticized in the way it under-estimates the complexity of
human behavior. Many studies used animals which are hard to generalize to humans and it
cannot explain for example the speed in which we pick up language. There must be biological
factors involved.

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E. POST TEST
Instruction: Read the statement carefully and choose the best answer on the box. Write the
answer on the space provided.
__________________1. He believes that events in our childhood can have a significant impact
on our behavior as adults.
__________________2. A branch of psychology in which the findings of psychology are applied
in the field of education.
__________________3. He investigated operant conditioning of voluntary and involuntary
behavior.
__________________4. According to him “Educational psychology helps the teacher to
understand the development of his pupils, the range and limits of their capacities, the processes
by which they learn and their social relationships.”
__________________5. An educational psychologist conducts his investigations, gathers his
data and reaches his conclusions in exactly the same manner as physicist or the biologist.
__________________6. The educational psychologist studies human beings and their
sociability.
__________________7. It is concerned with new and ever new researches.
__________________8. Normative science like Logic or Ethics deals with facts as they ought to
be.
__________________9. Classical conditioning (CC) was studied by the Russian psychologist.
__________________10. Behaviorism is the scientific study of observable behavior working on
the basis that behavior can be reduced to learn _______________ units.
E.A Peel Educational Psychology is a Developing or Growing Science
B.F. Skinner Educational Psychology is a Natural Science
Sigmund Freud Educational Psychology is a Social Science
Ivan Pavlov Educational Psychology is a Positive Science
S-R (Stimulus-Response) Educational psychology

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Key to Correction
(Post test)
1. Sigmund Freud
2. Educational psychology
3. B. F. Skinner
4. E.A. Peel
5. Educational Psychology is a Natural Science
6. Educational Psychology is a Social Science
7. Educational Psychology is a Developing or Growing Science
8. Educational Psychology is a Positive Science
9. Ivan Pavlov
10. S-R (Stimulus Response)
Reference: http://seminarprojects.com/Thread-meaning-scope-functions-of-
philosophy-of-education-pdf#ixzz3GGs8cwwi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology#Behaviorism
http://johnparankimalil.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/meaning-nature-and-scope-of-
educational-psychology/
http://www.psychologistworld.com/behavior/stimulus-response-theory.php

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II
Nature of Attitude of
Emotion

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Nature of Attitude of Emotion
A. Pre-Test
Instruction: Analyze the statement carefully. Inside the box put  if the
statement is correct and x if it’s not.
1. People need to maintain an organized, meaningful, and stable view of
the world.
2. People adopt attitudes that are rewarding and that help them avoid
punishment.
3. The "presenceof two attitudes is extremely frequent.
4. Implicit measures tend to rely on self-reports or easily observed
behaviors.
5. Explicit measures are not consciously directed and are assumed to be
automatic
6. Knowledge provides us with general approachor avoidance
tendencies.
7. An attitude can be as a positive or negative evaluation of people.
8. Ego defensive used to express central values or beliefs.
9. Attitudes can be difficult to measure
10.Emotion is a common component in persuasion, social influence, and
attitude change.

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A. Pre-Test Key to Correction
1. People need to maintain an organized, meaningful, and stable view of
the world.
2. People adopt attitudes that are rewarding and that help them avoid
punishment.
3. The "presenceof two attitudes is extremely frequent.
4. Implicit measures tend to rely on self-reports or easily observed
behaviors.(Explicit)
5. Explicit measures are not consciously directed and are assumed to be
automatic. (Implicit)
6. Knowledge provides us with general approachor avoidance
tendencies.(Utilitarian)
7. An attitude can be as a positive or negative evaluation of people.
8. Ego defensive used to express central values or beliefs.
9. Attitudes can be difficult to measure
10.Emotion is a common component in persuasion, social influence, and
attitude change.


x
x

x
x




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B. Introduction
To live in harmony with the world, humans have to in some contexts control the
environment and in other contexts they need to accommodate to the control of the environment.
In order for man to be able to do so, he first requires knowledge of the world he lives in. But the
world contains millions of objects and events -- enough to drive any person to his wits' end if he
were to study each of them individually. A hit-or-miss approach of ever freshly responding to
individual stimuli as and when they present themselves would keep us incompetent to the end of
time. As a feasible alternative, therefore, man has recourse to a parsimonious understanding: he
classifies the stimuli, gives them category names and simplifies his dealing with them. Thus, he
reduces the multiplicity by conveniently grouping the objects and phenomena and develops
general or category-specific orientations to knowing them and dealing with them. Attitudes, thus,
serve as a personal strategy or an informal and empirical theory, based on direct experiences and
communications from others, to help reduce the anxiety in acquiring a working knowledge of the
world.
We also strive to maximize success and minimize failures in our interaction with the
world. Therefore, we develop favorable attitudes toward those objects which we perceive will
facilitate success and unfavorable attitudes toward those which we perceive will hinder success
or lead to failure. Besides developing such positive and negative affects toward correspondingly
valenced objects, we also adopt the attitudes of peers, authority figures, etc. to conform and feel
accepted. Thus, attitudes help us lead an adjusted social life.
Attitudes help people to understand the world around them, to lead an adjusted life in the
world, to protect their self-esteem, and to express their fundamental values. An attitude may
perform one or more or even all of these functions. For example, you might develop a hostile
attitude toward a particular "clique" of fellow students for ego-defensive reasons. Quite soon this
attitude guides your selection of student acquaintances and friends and thus becomes
instrumental in fulfilling your need to belong to a peer group. It can also lead you to assert your
views and derive satisfaction from being able to take an open stand on issues. It can also
facilitate your further dealings with the group by disposing you to act in a clear-cut and well-
defined fashion rather than feel fresh and lost every time you encounter the group or any of its
members.

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C. Content
An attitude can be as a positive or negative evaluation of people, objects, events,
activities, ideas, or just about anything in your environment, but there is a debate about precise
definitions. Eagly and Chaiken, for example, define an attitude as "a psychological tendency that
is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor." Though it is
sometimes common to define an attitude as affect toward an object, affect (i.e., discrete emotions
or overall arousal) is generally understood to be distinct from attitude as a measure of
favorability.
This definition of attitude allows for one's evaluation of an attitude object to vary from
extremely negative to extremely positive, but also admits that people can also be conflicted or
ambivalent toward an object meaning that they might at different times express both positive and
negative attitude toward the same object. This has led to some discussion of whether individual
can hold multiple attitudes toward the same object.
Whether attitudes are explicit (i.e., deliberately formed) versus implicit (i.e.,
subconscious) has been a topic of considerable research. Research on implicit attitudes, which
are generally unacknowledged or outside of awareness, uses sophisticated methods involving
people's response times to stimuli to show that implicit attitudes exist (perhaps in tandem with
explicit attitudes of the same object). Implicit and explicit attitudes seem to affect people's
behavior, though in different ways. They tend not to be strongly associated with each other,
although in some cases they are. The relationship between them is poorly understood.
On the other hand, the Iterative Reprocessing (IR) Model takes an integrated approach to
understanding attitudes instead of distinguishing between implicit and explicit attitude.
According to the IR model (Cunningham & Zelazo, 2007; Cunningham, Zelazo, Packer, & Van
Bavel, 2007), attitudes are characterized as evaluation, which refers to process of unfolding an
emergent property of multiple processes during a period of time. According to the theory, it is
differences in information processing, not different attitudinal representations stored in discrete
memory systems that cause differences in evaluation (Van Bavel, Xiao, & Cunningham, 2012).
The IR model proposes a connectionist framework. In this frame work, attitudes are defined as
stable unit weights, whereas evaluations refer to the current pattern of activation of the units
(Cunningham et al., 2007). Unit weights consist of valence and intensity (Van Bavel et al.,
2012). Depending on the level of valence and intensity, the extent to which evaluation is
influenced by context, motivation, and goals will be different (Van Bavel et al. 2012).

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Measurements
Many measurements and scales are used to examine attitudes. Attitudes can be difficult to
measure because measurement is arbitrary, meaning people have to give attitudes a scale to
measure it against, and attitudes are ultimately a hypothetical construct that cannot be observed
directly.
Following the explicit-implicit dichotomy, attitudes can be examined through direct and
indirect measures.
A. Explicit
Explicit measures tend to rely on self-reports or easily observed behaviors. These tend to
involve bipolar scales (e.g., good-bad, favorable-unfavorable, support-oppose, etc.). Explicit
measures can also be used by measuring the straightforward attribution of characteristics to
nominate groups, such as "I feel that baptists are....?" or "I think that men are...?" Likert scales
and other self-reports are also commonly used.
B. Implicit
Implicit measures are not consciously directed and are assumed to be automatic, which
may make implicit measures more valid and reliable than explicit measures (such as self-
reports). For example, people can be motivated such that they find it socially desirable to appear
to have certain attitudes. An example of this is that people can hold implicit prejudicial attitudes,
but express explicit attitudes that report little prejudice. Implicit measures help account for these
situations and look at attitudes that a person may not be aware of or want to show. Implicit
measures therefore usually rely on an indirect measure of attitude.
For example, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) examines the strength between the
target concept and an attribute element by considering the latency in which a person can examine
two response keys when each has two meanings. With little time to carefully examine what the
participant is doing they respond according to internal keys. This priming can show attitudes the
person has about a particular object.
Function
Another classic view of attitudes is that attitudes serve particular functions for
individuals. That is, researchers have tried to understand why individuals hold particular attitudes
or why they hold attitudes in general by considering how attitudes affect the individuals who
hold them. Daniel Katz, for example, writes that attitudes can serve "instrumental, adjustive or
utilitarian," "ego-defensive," "value-expressive," or "knowledge" functions. The functional view
of attitudes suggests that in order for attitudes to change (e.g., via persuasion), appeals must be
made to the function(s) that a particular attitude serves for the individual. As an example, the
"ego-defensive" function might be used to influence the racially prejudicial attitudes of an
individual who sees themselves as open-minded and tolerant. By appealing to that individual's
image of themselves as tolerant and open-minded, it may be possible to change their prejudicial

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attitudes to be more consistent with their self-concept. Similarly, a persuasive message that
threatens self-image is much more likely to be rejected.
Daniel Katz classified attitudes into four different groups based on their functions
1. Utilitarian: provides us with general approach or avoidance tendencies
2. Knowledge: help people organize and interpret new information
3. Ego-defensive: attitudes can help people protect their self-esteem
4. Value-expressive: used to express central values or beliefs
Utilitarian People adopt attitudes that are rewarding and that help them avoid punishment. In
other words any attitude that is adopted in a person's own self-interest is considered to serve a
utilitarian function. Consider you have a condo, people with condos pay property taxes, and as a
result you don't want to pay more taxes. If those factors lead to your attitude that " Increases in
property taxes are bad" you attitude is serving a utilitarian function.
Knowledge People need to maintain an organized, meaningful, and stable view of the world.
That being said important values and general principles can provide a framework for our
knowledge. Attitudes achieve this goal by making things fit together and make sense. Example:
 I believe that I am a good person.
 I believe that good things happen to good people.
 Something bad happens to Bob.
 So I believe Bob must not be a good person.
Ego-Defensive This function involves psychoanalytic principles where people use defense
mechanisms to protect themselves from psychological harm. Mechanisms include:
 Denial
 Repression
 Projection
 Rationalization
The ego-defensive notion correlates nicely with Downward Comparison Theory which holds the
view that derogating a less fortunate other increases our own subjective well-being. We are more
likely to use the ego-defensive function when we suffer a frustration or misfortune.
Value-Expressive
 Serves to express one's central values and self-concept.
 Central values tend to establish our identity and gain us social approval thereby showing us who
we are, and what we stand for.
An example would concern attitudes toward a controversial political issue.

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Change
Attitudes can be changed through persuasion and an important domain of research on attitude
change focuses on responses to communication. Experimental research into the factors that can
affect the persuasiveness of a message include:
1. Target Characteristics: These are characteristics that refer to the person who receives and
processes a message. One such trait is intelligence - it seems that more intelligent people
are less easily persuaded by one-sided messages. Another variable that has been studied
in this category is self-esteem. Although it is sometimes thought that those higher in self-
esteem are less easily persuaded, there is some evidence that the relationship between
self-esteem and persuasibility is actually curvilinear, with people of moderate self-esteem
being more easily persuaded than both those of high and low self-esteem levels (Rhodes
& Woods, 1992). The mind frame and mood of the target also plays a role in this process.
2. Source Characteristics: The major source characteristics are expertise, trustworthiness
and interpersonal attraction or attractiveness. The credibility of a perceived message has
been found to be a key variable here; if one reads a report about health and believes it
came from a professional medical journal, one may be more easily persuaded than if one
believes it is from a popular newspaper. Some psychologists have debated whether this is
a long-lasting effect and Hovland and Weiss (1951) found the effect of telling people that
a message came from a credible source disappeared after several weeks (the so-called
"sleeper effect"). Whether there is a sleeper effect is controversial. Perceived wisdom is
that if people are informed of the source of a message before hearing it, there is less
likelihood of a sleeper effect than if they are told a message and then told its source.
3. Message Characteristics: The nature of the message plays a role in persuasion.
Sometimes presenting both sides of a story is useful to help change attitudes. When
people are not motivated to process the message, simply the number of arguments
presented in a persuasive message will influence attitude change, such that a greater
number of arguments will produce greater attitude change.
4. Cognitive Routes: A message can appeal to an individual's cognitive evaluation to help
change an attitude. In the central route to persuasion the individual is presented with the
data and motivated to evaluate the data and arrive at an attitude changing conclusion. In
the peripheral route to attitude change, the individual is encouraged to not look at the
content but at the source. This is commonly seen in modern advertisements that feature
celebrities. In some cases, physician, doctors or experts are used. In other cases film stars
are used for their attractiveness.

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Emotion and attitude change
Emotion is a common component in persuasion, social influence, and attitude change.
Much of attitude research emphasized the importance of affective or emotion components.
Emotion works hand-in-hand with the cognitive process, or the way we think, about an issue or
situation. Emotional appeals are commonly found in advertising, health campaigns and political
messages. Recent examples include no-smoking health campaigns and political campaign
advertising emphasizing the fear of terrorism. Attitudes and attitude objects are functions of
cognitive, affective and cognitive components. Attitudes are part of the brain’s associative
networks, the spider-like structures residing in long term memory that consist of affective and
cognitive nodes.
By activating an affective or emotion node, attitude change may be possible, though
affective and cognitive components tend to be intertwined. In primarily affective networks, it is
more difficult to produce cognitive counterarguments in the resistance to persuasion and attitude
change.Affective forecasting, otherwise known as intuition or the prediction of emotion, also
impacts attitude change. Research suggests that predicting emotions is an important component
of decision making, in addition to the cognitive processes. How we feel about an outcome may
override purely cognitive rationales.
In terms of research methodology, the challenge for researchers is measuring emotion
and subsequent impacts on attitude. Since we cannot see into the brain, various models and
measurement tools have been constructed to obtain emotion and attitude information. Measures
may include the use of physiological cues like facial expressions, vocal changes, and other body
rate measures. For instance, fear is associated with raised eyebrows, increased heart rate and
increase body tension (Dillard, 1994). Other methods include concept or network mapping, and
using primes or word cues in the era .
Any discrete emotion can be used in a persuasive appeal; this may include jealousy,
disgust, indignation, fear, blue, disturbed, haunted,and anger. Fear is one of the most studied
emotional appeals in communication and social influence research.
Important consequences of fear appeals and other emotion appeals include the possibility
of reactance which may lead to either message rejections or source rejection and the absence of
attitude change. As the EPPM suggests, there is an optimal emotion level in motivating attitude
change. If there is not enough motivation, an attitude will not change; if the emotional appeal is
overdone, the motivation can be paralyzed thereby preventing attitude change.
Important factors that influence the impact of emotion appeals include self efficacy,
attitude accessibility, issue involvement, and message/source features. Self efficacy is a
perception of one’s own human agency; in other words, it is the perception of our own ability to
deal with a situation. It is an important variable in emotion appeal messages because it dictates a
person’s ability to deal with both the emotion and the situation. For example, if a person is not
self-efficacious about their ability to impact the global environment, they are not likely to change
their attitude or behavior about global warming.

21
D. Summary
The effects of attitudes on behaviours represent a significant research enterprise within
psychology. Two theoretical approaches have dominated this research: the theory of reasoned
action and, its theoretical descendant, the theory of planned behavior, both of which are
associated with Icek Ajzen. Both of these theories describe the link between attitude and
behaviour as a deliberative process, with an individual actively choosing to engage in an attitude-
related behaviour. An alternative model, called MODE for "Motivation and Opportunity as
Determinants" was proposed by Russell H. Fazio, which focuses on motivations and
opportunities for deliberative attitude-related behaviour to occur. MODE is a Dual process
theory that expects deliberative attitude-behaviour linkages - like those modeled by the theory of
planned behaviour - only occur when individuals have motivation to reflect upon their own
attitudes.
The theory of reasoned action (TRA) is a model for the prediction of behavioral
intention, spanning predictions of attitude and predictions of behavior. The subsequent
separation of behavioral intention from behavior allows for explanation of limiting factors on
attitudinal influence (Ajzen, 1980). The Theory of Reasoned Action was developed by Martin
Fishbein and Icek Ajzen (1975, 1980), derived from previous research that started out as the
theory of attitude, which led to the study of attitude and behavior. The theory was "born largely
out of frustration with traditional attitude–behavior research, much of which found weak
correlations between attitude measures and performance of volitional behaviors" (Hale,
Householder & Greene, 2003, p. 259).
The theory of planned behavior was proposed by Icek Ajzen in 1985 through his article
"From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior." The theory was developed from the
theory of reasoned action, which was proposed by Martin Fishbein together with Icek Ajzen in
1975. The theory of reasoned action was in turn grounded in various theories of attitude such as
learning theories, expectancy-value theories, consistency theories, and attribution theory.
According to the theory of reasoned action, if people evaluate the suggested behavior as positive
(attitude), and if they think their significant others want them to perform the behavior (subjective
norm), this results in a higher intention (motivation) and they are more likely to do so. A high
correlation of attitudes and subjective norms to behavioral intention, and subsequently to
behavior, has been confirmed in many studies.
A counter-argument against the high relationship between behavioral intention and actual
behavior has also been proposed, as the results of some studies show that, because of
circumstantial limitations, behavioral intention does not always lead to actual behavior. Namely,
since behavioral intention cannot be the exclusive determinant of behavior where an individual's
control over the behavior is incomplete, Ajzen introduced the theory of planned behavior by
adding a new component, "perceived behavioral control." By this, he extended the theory of
reasoned action to cover non-volitional behaviors for predicting behavioral intention and actual
behavior.

22
E. Post Test
Instruction: Read the statement carefully and choose the best answer on the box. Write the
answer on the space provided.
_________________1. This function involves psychoanalytic principles where people use
defense mechanisms to protect themselves from psychological harm.
__________________2. These are characteristics that refer to the person who receives and
processes a message.
__________________3. It helps people organize and interpret new information
__________________4. A message can appeal to an individual's cognitive evaluation to help
change an attitude.
__________________5. It achieve this goal by making things fit together and make sense.
__________________6. These tend to involve bipolar scales (e.g., good-bad, support-oppose,
etc.).
__________________7. The major source characteristics are expertise, trustworthiness and
interpersonal attraction or attractiveness.
__________________8. It’s used to express central values or beliefs.
__________________9. It provides us with general approach or avoidance tendencies
__________________10. It is a common component in persuasion, social influence, and attitude
change.
Cognitive Routes Emotion Ego Defensive
Explicit measures Value Expressive Knowledge
Message Characteristics Implicit Measures Utilitarian
Target Characteristics Source Characteristics Attitude

23
E. Post Test
(Key to Correction)
___Ego Defensive__ 1. This function involves psychoanalytic principles where people use
defense mechanisms to protect themselves from psychological harm.
Target Characteristics 2. These are characteristics that refer to the person who receives and
processes a message.
Knowledge_ 3. It helps people organize and interpret new information.
Cognitive Routes____4. A message can appeal to an individual's cognitive evaluation to help
change an attitude.
Attitude ___5. It achieve this goal by making things fit together and make sense
_Explicit measures ___6. These tend to involve bipolar scales (e.g., good-bad, support-oppose,
etc.).
Source Characteristics 7. The major source characteristics are expertise, trustworthiness and
interpersonal attraction or attractiveness.
Value Expressive ____ 8. It’s used to express central values or beliefs
Utilitarian ________ 9. It provides us with general approach or avoidance tendencies
Emotion ______ 10. It is a common component in persuasion, social influence, and attitude
change.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attitude_%28psychology%29
http://arulmj.net/attitud1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothesis
http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/6531?e=portolesediashumrel_1.0
-ch01_s03

24
III
NATURE AND
FUNDAMENTAL
EQUIPMENT OF THE
LEARNER

25
NATURE AND FUNDAMENTAL EQUIPMENT OF THE
LEARNER
A. PRE-TEST
Instruction: Analyze the statement carefully. Inside the box put  if the statement is correct
and x if it’s not.
1. Behaviorism denies or ignores mental activity as the basis for learning.
2. The individual is in active relation with his environment.
3. Every creature that lives learns.
4. The only way to study learning is through some observable behavior.
5. Behavior has been found to be one of the main factors that influence learning.
6. The will to learn is always labeled as a factor determining the amount of learning.
7. Educational background of the learner is an important factor that affects his
learning.
8. Teacher’s knowledge related with his subject, his experience and ability has a
direct bearing on the learning of the students.
9. Teacher’s behaviors influence the learning of students directly.
10. Behavior is one of the basic principles for effective teaching, because no
purposeful learning can take place apart from it.

26
LEARNER
A. PRE-TEST
Key to Correction
1. Behaviorism denies or ignores mental activity as the basis for learning.
2. The individual is in active relation with his environment.
3. Every creature that lives learns.
4. The only way to study learning is through some observable behavior.
5. Behavior has been found to be one of the main factors that influence learning.
(intelligence)
6. The will to learn is always labeled as a factor determining the amount of learning.
7. Educational background of the learner is an important factor that affects his
learning.
8. Teacher’s knowledge related with his subject, his experience and ability has a
direct bearing on the learning of the students.
9. Teacher’s behaviors influence the learning of students directly.
10. Behavior is one of the basic principles for effective teaching, because no
purposeful learning can take place apart from it. (Motivation)



X




X


27
LEARNER
B. Introduction
There are certain fundamental qualities of a learner that can be considered as the
learner’s equipment in order for him of for her to absorbed knowledge in learning. These
fundamental equipments are the learners cognitive as well as the learner’s appetitive faculties.
There are certain fundamental qualities of a learner that can be considered as the learner’s
equipment in order for him of for her to absorbed knowledge in learning. These fundamental
equipments are the learners cognitive as well as the learner’s appetitive faculties. These faculties
will naturally help or guide the learner as he dealt with the learning process.
The cognitive faculties of the learners included his or her five senses, his memory,
his imagination, as well as his intellect. All of these faculties is related to the basic operation of
the human brain and are necessary for the learning process. Through the learner’s five senses, the
learners can be able to see, to hear, to taste and to smell. He or she can be able to grasp different
information from his or her surrounding environment using these natural senses. With the
learner’s imagination, he or she can be able to form pictorial representation of material objects in
his or her mind. This ability is an important factor in the learning process.
The learner’s memory is one of the important factors in learning. With the use of
the memory, the learner can recall or retain post mental actions in his or her mind. The memory
serves as the storage of the prior knowledge of the learner. The learner’s intellect is also an
important factor in learning. With the use of the learner’s intellect, he or she can be able to form
concepts of ideas as he or she thinks as well make judgment from given information and reason
out. The appetitive faculty of the learner that can also be considered as equipment in learning
includes the feeling, the emotion as well as the learner’s rational will.
Using the learner’s feelings as well as his or her emotions, he or she can be able to
experience the pain or the joy, as well as the feelings of being happy, being sad or being angry to
a particular subject or situation. With his or her feelings, he can be able to identify and
experience the real feelings about a particular thing or situation. Using the learner’s rational will,
he or she has the capacity to think and choose what he or she thinks to be desirable according to
his or her own analysis. His or her rational will, will serve as a kind of guiding force or a main
integrating force in his or her character.

28
LEARNER
C. CONTENT
NATURE OF LEARNING /CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING
All Living is Learning i.e, the individual is in active relation with his environment.
1. It results in Change in Behavior. We note a change in the planarian’s response to the
light. It is a change of behavior influenced by previous behavior. It is any activity that
leaves a more or less permanent effect on later activity.
2. Learning is an Adjustment. Most learning in children consists in modifying, adapting,
and developing their original nature. In later life the individuals acquire new forms of
behavior.
3. It comes about as a result of practice. This characteristic eliminates sources of change
such as illness and maturation. Potent effects of motivation on behavior are worth
considerable here.
4. Learning is Universal. Every creature that lives learns. Man learns most. Human
children have the longest period of immaturity and helplessness and hence the longer
period for opportunity for learning. The human nervous system is very complex, so are
human reactions and so are human acquisition.
5. Learning is a relatively Permanent Change. After a rat wake up from his nap he still
remembers the path to the food. Even if you have been on a bicycle for years, in just a
few minutes practice you can be quite proficient again.
6. Learning is Growth. It is never ending growth. At reach stage the learner acquires new
visions of his future growth and news ideals of achievement in the direction of his effort.
Each achievement forms are basis of a fresh endeavor and thus the constant urge of his
soul to newer and higher ideals of work and achievement is progressively fulfilled.
7. Learning is not directly observable. The only way to study learning is through some
observable behaviour. Actually, we cannot observe learning; we see only what precedes
performance, the performance itself, and the consequences of performance.
FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING:
Learning is a comprehensive process. The success of this process depends not only upon
the effective teaching but also upon so many group factors. The factors related with the learner,
the teacher, and the environment are seen responsible as a determinant of quantity, nature and
speed of learning. The main factors that affect learning may be mentioned as below-
A) Factors belonging to the learner.
B) Factors belonging to the teacher.
C) Environmental Factors.

29
A) Factors belonging to the learner
The factors affecting learning related with the learner may be specified as under:-
1) The Child Himself:
Child is the pivot of any learning activity. All activities rotate around him. As the aim of
education is all round development of child’s personality, from this point of view, the activities
based and carried on account of child’s needs, interests, attitudes, aptitudes, potentialities,
capabilities, individuality, intelligence, etc. may be effective and of immense importance. Child
is the basis of teaching- learning process, hence, ignorance of child at any stage will make all the
learning process futile and more imagination, nothing else. Hence, it is suggested that each and
every activity related with the learning should be carried out in accordance with child’s interests,
needs and his physical and mental capacity. This all is possible only when the teacher has a deep
insight to understand his pupil thoroughly.
2) His Intelligence:
Intelligence has been found to be one of the main factors that influence learning. The proof
for this factor is very commonly found in the class-rooms. The schools which are meant for
children of average ability usually are not able to help a retarded child. The teacher does not have
the time to spend on this child who needs more help than an average child. Similarly, these
schools are of no help to a child who is more intelligent than the average one. Cases have been
found of a child indulging in delinquent acts simply because they are far above average in
intelligence but the school that they attend is poor in stimulation. As a result these children
satisfy their intellectual curiosity by indulging in delinquent and thrilling tricks. So we may say
that holding the conditions of learning constant, the level of intelligence of a child makes a
difference to the amount of their learning output on the class-room.
1) His Age:
The test of learning given to subjects of a wide range of ages have shown that
learning efficiency increases with age to a certain extent after which it stays stationary for some
time and ultimately tends to decrease. This phenomenon can be understood easily if we keep in
mind the developmental curves. Maturation of individual, experience also accounts for a
difference both of which are linked up with age. So we find that children are speedier and more
efficient at learning tasks as they grow older. As we get into adulthood and old age we find the
output of the subjects going down because of the fact that though their experience has increased
they cannot keep up the speed. So that when the tasks have a time limit on them, the older
subjects cannot do so well as the younger subjects can. However, the experiment on learning is a
continuous process and it spreads order the whole life with a desire in the individual to learn
more and more. The only difference that exists is caused by the type of tasks given for learning.
2) His Will to Learn:
The will to learn is always labelled as a factor determining the amount of learning. It is
believed that in order to be able to grasp and retain a certain material the individual must have an
inner urge to learn, a drive that can motivate him into learning. This motivation is determined by

30
the interests, desires and the purpose of a particular individual. All these three are more or less
developed with the help of a teacher. An intelligent and effective teacher teacher helps his pupils
in developing wide interests and habits, desire to pursue certain activities and at large a purpose
in life. If a teacher is successful in helping his pupils to develop worthwhile interests and habits
and a desire to understand things, he has helped them in becoming good learners.
3) Guidance:
Usually trial and error is considered to be the method of learning. When faced with a new task
an individual attempts it, in case it is a failure, he tries again, perhaps using a different technique
this time. After a few trials and errors he evolves the correct method of tackling the task. In
practice we find that it allows the hit and miss method, a pupil wastes a great deal of his time and
while facing failure, he goes through a certain amount of tension and frustration. A teacher,
through his guidance, can save his pupils a lot of frustration. He can help the child in making the
right trials and avoiding the ones which would not yield any fruitful results. In the initial stages
of learning, a limited amount of guidance can help the student avoid unnecessary errors. The
word “limited” is mentioned here because very often teachers are found to indulge in too much
of guidance as far as the learning is concerned. The usual result of excessive guidance is failure
of the purpose. Proper guidance should aim at developing initiative in the learner and discourage
the tendency to seek ready made solution.
4) Educational Background:
Educational background of the learner is an important factor that affects his learning. Student
may be backward from educational point of view as a general case or specific one. Some of the
students are week in most of the subjects while some students are week in one or two particular
subjects. The first category of the students is termed as general backwardness. While second
category of students is known as specifically backward. Educational background of generally
backward students is more challenging than the educational background of specifically backward
children. It is vey common that if a particular student is week in any subject, he will feel
difficulty in learning new knowledge of that subject. On the contrary if one possesses superior
ability, beyond normally, it will be easier for him o gain new knowledge in a very comfortable
and effective manner. Thus, educational background contributes a lot in further learning.
5) Health Status of Child:
The health of the student should be very sound. A mal-nourished, ill or otherwise physically
handicapped, cannot realize his potentialities as a learner. A pupil who is unhappy, discouraged
or otherwise does not possess the balanced emotional tone is sure to be handicapped in his
learning attempts. It is the rightly said that “a sound mind rests in a sound body” from this point
of view a student should be physically and mentally fit so that he may learn easily and
comfortably. Child’s attention, interests, concentration etc. have direct link with the physical and
mental health level of the students. Any sort of mental illness or deficiency or abnormality,
physical illness or mental tension and frustration will affect directly students learning. Students
who are physically and mentally feel tired very easily. They fail to concentrate upon their studies
for a long and get easily disturbed and depressed. They feel boredom and make very few efforts
to get success in any activity. They feel complex and always complain of headache and other
poor bodily symptoms. Thus, it is the first and foremost duty of the parents and the teachers to
take note of their ward’s physical and mental health seriously.

31
6) Motivation:
Motivation is one of the basic principles for effective teaching, because no purposeful
learning can take place apart from it. The human mind cannot absorb knowledge like a sponge.
In order to learn, a person must do some activity. The urge to activity shows itself along different
instinctive tendencies. Successful motivation depends on the successful use of these natural
powers and tendencies to action. The teacher who identifies and intensifies motives in learners, is
able to arouse interest in them. He succeeds in setting up an excellent learning situation. It is said
that “as is the motivation, so is the learning”, or “learning will proceed best, if motivated”. These
sentences clearly depict the importance of motivation in the process of learning. Thus, it is the
first and foremost duty of the teacher to create interest in the child before starting anything new.
Because, in the absence of motivation all the efforts made by the teacher will go waste. Proper
motivation helps in making the desire for learning strong.
Attitude of the Learner:
Learning has ever been the chief activity of man. Each generation after something new to
cultural heritage hands it down to the succeeding generation. For several centuries the heritage
has been so large and so important that society has given primarily to the school the task of
selecting, organizing and presenting to the children the most valuable situation possible. Life
pattern of an individual in adulthood, his attitudes, habits, mental, moral and physical well being
is largely determined by the forces which were prevalent in childhood.
Pope’s couplet says----
Tie education forms the common mind;
Just as the twig is bent the tree’s inclined.
Favorable or positive attitude is must to get success in any field of endeavour. Favourable
attitude towards the job or work makes one more active and enthusiastic. The same is related
with the students’ classroom activities. If the student has positive attitude towards any subject
he will grasp the knowledge imparted by the teacher interestingly and whole heartedly and on the
contrary, if he in not involved in the subject he will hate the subject, as well as the teacher of that
subject. Liking for anything is must in learning. The same view is supported by Thorndike’s law
of learning namely, ‘ law of use or dis-use’. If the student has negative attitude towards the
subject all efforts made by the teacher will go in vain. Thus, it is the first and foremost duty of
the teacher to make positive attitude of the student towards his entire academic activities.
Factors belonging to the teacher:
1. Knowledge of subject:
Teacher’s knowledge related with his subject, his experience and ability has a direct bearing on
the learning of the students. If a teacher does not possesses deep knowledge of his subject he
can’t give much enough to his students. On the contrary if a teacher has full command over his
subject and has a mastery over the subject matter, he will be capable in giving new knowledge to
his student with full confidence and his teaching will be effective undoubtedly. Generally student
like those teachers on the other hand, face very few disciplinary problems. On the other side,
teachers who lack competency on their parts deal students in a negative manner and indulge
themselves in non-academic activities or cheap politics in the college campus. Good teachers are
praised by their students like anything.

32
2. Teacher’s Behaviour:
Teachers behaviour influence the learning of students directly. A teacher should inherit all
essential qualities of a good teacher. Sympathy, co-operation, objectivity, sweet tempered, polite
etc. are all such traits that should reflect in teacher’s behaviour always. These traits will help in
making the environment of the school congenial and praise worthy. Student will feel relaxed in
the company of such teachers and face with them difficulty in discussing their personal
problems. Apart from it, if a teacher is rough and tuff in his behaviour, the students will not like
his subject, his company and will be compelled to leave the class and moreover they may turn to
be truants. Also, the teacher should be objective in his dealing with his students. He must be
impartial, no subjective attitude. Because, if it all happens, the student will start hating their
teaching and may develop a hatred attitude for him permanently in the near future. Thus, the
teacher should not be biased while dealing so many activities related with school and class-room
teaching.
3. Knowledge of psychology:
Every teacher must have extensive knowledge of psychology without which he can neither know
the student nor set the stage for learning. The elementary and secondary school teachers are most
concerned with the psychology of childhood, psychology of adolescence and educational
psychology. The latter deals with the application of psychological facts in such a way that the
educational growth of the individual is efficiently directed and controlled. So it is rightly said
that knowledge of educational psychology is must for a teacher. In this context it is quiet
apparent that until a teacher does not acquire proper understanding of the principles of
psychology, it is very difficult for him to make use of these principles in the field of education.
Hence it is quiet justified that he should have a deep knowledge of most common concepts of
psychology such as process of child development, heredity, individual differences, motivation,
theories of learning etc. Making use of all these a teacher can make his teaching effective.
Further, in the classroom situation he has to deal a variety of students at the same time. To gain
mastery over such situations and to handle problems of individuals it is unavoidable for a teacher
to have a detailed knowledge of educational psychology otherwise he will be utmost failure with
regard to so many classroom complex situations. It is only knowledge of psychology that makes
teacher fully competent and enthusiastic in dealing with his students.
4. Methods of Teaching:
The traditional methods of teaching were more formalized, conservative, teacher dominated as
opposed to modern, more flexible pupil involved, learner centered methods. In modern era it is
now recognized that the subjects should be taught as activities. This activity principle was
sponsored by Dewey. Teaching methods have a direct link with learning process. Consequently
each teacher has a unique method of teaching. Similarly, all the students cannot be taught by a
single method. If the method of teaching is scientific in nature, if will help in making the
teaching effective. Also the learning process will be easier and purposeful. Realizing this very
need of the students educationists have developed modern methods and techniques of teaching.
Methods are Playway method, Learning by doing, Learning by observation, Project method,
Heuristic method, Discovery method etc. Apart from above methods a teacher has to adopt his
unique teaching style. It is commonly seen that a teacher is academically and professionally
sound but his teaching is not effective in the classroom. There may be so many reasons behind

33
the same but the most sensed factor is teacher’s personal problem orientation technique, in the
absence of which a student does not keep pace with the teacher and hesitates in sharing his
personal problem with the teacher. Hence, personal rapport which the teacher is also needed for
the success of teaching.
5. Knowledge of individual differences:
Knowledge of individual difference is must for a teacher. Each students has his own interests,
attitudes, aptitudes, needs, potentialities, capabilities, values etc. and on account of these some
students grasp the knowledge imparted by their teachers easily while some grasp with some
difficulty and some of the students totally fail to grasp anything given by the teacher. Generally a
teacher has to face three types of students in his class- backward, normal, and gifted children. To
plan teaching accordingly the needs of these students or to satisfy the needs of all these students
at the same time is really a difficult and challenging task for the teacher. To keep pace with this
problem the teacher plans his teaching strategies keeping in mind the average children. This
helps a bit to backward as well as to the gifted children. Though both of these categories seem to
be dissatisfied with this approach of the teacher. But, apart from it there is no proper channel for
the teacher that he may try. To go through such channels only knowledge of individual
differences can help him to some extent.
6. Personality:
Good and appealing personality is the basis of successful and effective teaching. From this point
of view the personality of the teacher must be very attractive and influencing. He must create an
impression or put a stamp on his students keeping appropriate balance between his deeds and
actions. Students learn so many things indirectly from the teacher. It is thus that teacher is said to
be the best motivator for his students. He forms an idol for his students. Students imitate his each
and every part of his behavior gladly. So it is on the part of the teacher how he creates an
example for others. For this he has to be very much cautious in his behavior and has to exhibit all
those traits through his personality that are welcomed most by most of the societal members.
Personality should be viewed as the entire qualitativeness of a person or as an integrated pattern
of traits. Teacher should keep in his mind that personality is shaped by and inter –woven with the
social environment and culture is the ground from which personality emerges. To shape students’
personality he should always borne in his mind that personality which is just a bundle of ideas,
attitudes and intelligence depends a good deal on the people with whom the individual constantly
associates.
7. No care to foster individuality:
The aim of education should be to develop to the full of potentialities of every child in school in
accord always with the general good of society. It is also to develop each individual into a happy
well coordinated personality with socially desirable qualities. It is to produce good citizens who
will have sense enough to judge of public affairs, discernment enough to choose the right
officers, self control, enough to accept the decision of majority, honesty, enough to seek the
general welfare rather than his own at the expense of the community, public spirit, enough to
face trouble or even danger for the good of community. It would be no exaggeration if we call
traditional school a prison, the pupil’s prisoners and the teacher superintendent of the prison
where every thing was teacher centered and subject centered, where no attention was paid

34
towards the psychology of child. The children, in the schools were just like parrots in the cage
who were just like parrots in the cage who were made to cram certain bits of disorganized,
disconnected facts of knowledge which had no value in their later life.
8. Lack of personal contact between teacher and taught:
The size of classes in our schools is too large to permit close pupil and teacher contacts.
Therefore teacher cannot look towards the individual’s habits, attitudes aptitudes personal traits
needs potentialities etc. The increase in the size of classes has considerably reduced personal
contacts between teacher and students. Thus the training of character, inculcation of proper
discipline has been seriously undetermined. Teaching in our schools had an aim of imparting
only factual knowledge through certain exercises in which the teacher was an expounder, drill
master and a disciplinarian and the child a passive recipient of verbal and visual impressions. It
was assumed that the natural inclination of the child were against such subject matter. The
intermediary factor which was used to bridge the gap between the teachers and taught was
discipline, an external force that made the child to memories that subject matter. There was
nothing that could cater the intellectual, emotional and physical growth of the child. The child
could not develop into anything but a suppressed personally in the absence of proper rapport
between the teacher and the taught.
9. No emphasis on Co-curricular Activities:
The purpose of traditional school was to import certain fragments of isolated knowledge through
different subjects of the curriculum. All other activities were regarded as something for which
the school was not legitimately responsible hence, were called extra curricular activities. But the
modern school aims at all round development of the child. The school is responsible for the
education of the whole individual, his physical, mental, emotional, moral and social self. To
realize this aim the importance of introducing certain activities having relation to different
subjects of curriculum become clear and hence named as co-curricular activities. Secondary
Education Commission observes that, “The school has to formulate a scheme of hobbies,
occupations and projects that will appeal to, and draw out, the powers of children of varying
temperaments and aptitudes.” The co-curricular activities satisfy the needs of young people,
promote meaningful learning and develop them into good citizens.
10. Narrow Curriculum Approach:
Previously education in India was under foreign patronage. So it was divorced from our cultural,
social and economic life. Secondary Education Commission writes – “The curriculum as
formulated and as presented through the traditional methods of teaching does not give the student
insight into everyday world in which they are living. When they pass out of school they feel ill-
adjusted and cannot take their place confidently and competently in the community.” The
education given in our schools is purely of academic nature. It could contribute towards the
development of cognitive aspect of personality only whereas the non-cognitive aspect was
altogether ignored. The secondary Education commission observes that, “Education given in our
schools is narrow and one sided and fails to train the whole personality of the student. For many
decades it has provided only academic instructions. The non-cognitive aspects of his personality
– his practical aptitudes, his emotions, and his tastes were largely ignored.”

35
LEARNER
D. Summary
The fundamentals of effective assessment:
Twelve principles
The twelve principles below address practical assessment issues. They are united by a single
idea: assessment is at the heart of the whole teaching and learning process.
1. Assessment should help students to learn.
2. Assessment must be consistent with the objectives of the course and what is taught and learnt.
3. Variety in types of assessment allows a range of different learning outcomes to be assessed. It
also keeps students interested.
4. Students need to understand clearly what is expected of them in assessed tasks.
5. Criteria for assessment should be detailed, transparent and justifiable.
6. Students need specific and timely feedback on their work - not just a grade.
7. Too much assessment is unnecessary and may be counter-productive.
8. Assessment should be undertaken with an awareness that an assessor may be called upon to
justify a student's result.
9. The best starting point for countering plagiarism is in the design of the assessment tasks.
10. Group assessment needs to be carefully planned and structured.
11. When planning and wording assignments or questions, it is vital to mentally check their
appropriateness to all students in the class, whatever their cultural differences.
12. Systematic analysis of students' performance on assessed tasks can help identify areas of the
curriculum which need improvement.

36
NATURE AND FUNDAMENTAL EQUIPMENT OF THE LEARNER
E. Post Test
Instruction: Answer the crossword puzzle by analyzing the statement /questions given below.
Choose the appropriate answer inside the box.
N
L
I
D
R
A
A
E
T
L
A
1
BACKGROUND CHILD EDUCATION GUIDANCE
HEALTH INTELLECTUAL INTELLIGENCE
KNOWLEDGE LEARNING MOTIVATION
PERSONALITY TEACHERS
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

37
Analyze the following statement:
1. It is one of the basic principles for effective teaching, because no purposeful learning can take
place apart from it.
2. The __________ of the student should be very sound.
3. It has been found to be one of the main factors that influence learning.
4. It has ever been the chief activity of man.
5. Their knowledge related with his subject, his experience and ability has a direct bearing on the
learning of the students.
6. _______________ of individual difference is must for a teacher.
7. Good and appealing ____________ is the basis of successful and effective teaching.
. The aim of ___________ should be to develop to the full of potentialities of every child in
school in accord always with the general good of society.
9. A teacher, through his _______________, can save his pupils a lot of frustration.
10. Second category of students is known as specifically backward or educational __________.

38
NATURE AND FUNDAMENTAL EQUIPMENT OF THE LEARNER
E. Post Test
Key to Correction
References:
http://dgwaymade.blogspot.com/2010/09/nature-of-learning-or-characterisitics.html
https://education-teaching-careers.knoji.com/the-fundamental-equipment-of-the-learner-in-
learning/
http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/50300814.pdf
http://www.ic.sunysb.edu/Class/est571go/learning.html
http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/assessinglearning/07/
T H
P E R S O N A L I T Y
T
L
L
I
G
E
N
C
E
R
A
E
IT O NU C AD
N
N
GKAB RC UO DN
H E A
OM I V AT T OI
SRC H
E
E
L
G
W
O
N
K
AT E
1
2
N
I
3
4
5
6
7
8
EA CDU IG
9
10

40
Individual Differences
A. Pre-Test
Instruction: Encircle the letter of the appropriate answer. TRUE if the statement is true and
FALSE if it is false.
1. Teachers found in high occupational levels usually provide good physical and intellectual
environments, which favor the speedy cultural development of their children.
2. The general results of all studies made point to the fact that the differences between sexes
are quite insignificant.
3. Psychology influences are intrinsic or innate.
4. Individual differences are essential whenever we wish to explain how individuals differ
in their behavior. In any study, significant variation exists between individuals.
5. Psychologist is furthermore concerned with individual differences resulting from the
differing degrees of maturity or growth, and those which previous education and training
have caused.
6. The evidence is clear that the degree to which the individual possesses different traits also
varies.
7. Teachers who are mentally deficient are generally advised to take up vocational courses.
8. Attitudes towards education and authority differ in each family, culture and class. Some
of these attitudes are favorable while others are unfavorable to education...
9. In school the differences that the children exhibit is the outcome of their different
families and their communities.
10. The individual's movements of the hand and feet and other physical abilities are seen to
be very individual, as they do not resemble another's to any great extent.

41
A. Pre-Test (Key to Correction)
1. Teachers found in high occupational levels usually provide good physical and intellectual
environments, which favor the speedy cultural development of their children.
Parents not Teacher FALSE
2. The general results of all studies made point to the fact that the differences between sexes
are quite insignificant.
TRUE
3. Psychology influences are intrinsic or innate.
Heredity not Psychology FALSE
4. Individual differences are essential whenever we wish to explain how individuals differ
in their behavior. In any study, significant variation exists between individuals.
TRUE
5. Psychologist is furthermore concerned with individual differences resulting from the
differing degrees of maturity or growth, and those which previous education and training
have caused.
Education not Psychologist FALSE
6. The evidence is clear that the degree to which the individual possesses different traits also
varies.
TRUE
7. Teachers who are mentally deficient are generally advised to take up vocational courses.
Pupils not the Teacher FALSE
8. Attitudes towards education and authority differ in each family, culture and class. Some
of these attitudes are favorable while others are unfavorable to education...
TRUE
9. In school the differences that the children exhibit is the outcome of their different
families and their communities.
TRUE
10. The individual's movements of the hand and feet and other physical abilities are seen to
be very individual, as they do not resemble another's to any great extent.
TRUE

42
B. Introduction
The significance of individual differences in education has long been recognized. The
extensive experimental work that has been undertaken, began by Galton and carried on up to the
present time, has so increased our knowledge concerning individual differences and has so
enhanced their significance to education that their existence and importance are now a matter of
general acceptance.
Now knowledge of these differences, their amount, interrelations, and causes, is very
important and necessary in planning the education of a particular child. Exact knowledge of just
what differences do exist between individuals and of the causes of these differences is important.
Education is furthermore concerned with individual differences resulting from the differing
degrees of maturity or growth, and those which previous education and training have caused.
Education can only be made efficient with a minimum of effort, time, and expense by
knowledge of which of the differences between people and the achievements of a given person
are due to training, and which are due largely to the degree of maturity. Exact knowledge, not
opinion, along all these lines is essential, if progress is to be made. Individual differences must
be kept in mind by the teacher if the needs of the individual pupil are to be met. It should be
remembered that physical and emotional differences must be met, as well as intellectual
differences. The teacher must be familiar with many approaches to adjusting the learning
situation to the individual needs of the pupil. Any program of instruction must take into
consideration the important facts about differences in individuals and traits.
There exists in any realm of activity a wide range in endowments of individuals.
However, individuals cannot readily be classified into specific types since the various levels
merge gradually and are not sharply differentiated. The evidence is clear that the degree to which
the individual possesses different traits also varies. The wide range of capacities, abilities, needs,
and interests in any classroom necessitates a differentiated approach to instruction at all school
levels and in all areas of learning.
Until the differences among the pupils in a given class are recognized, instruction cannot
be on a sound and systematic basis. A significant part of the dilemma in modern education has
been brought about by a failure to admit differences by treating all the pupils alike. The
traditional methods of group teaching have tended to over-emphasize the similarities and to
ignore the difference. To ignore the fact that people differ in ability, intelligence, interest, social
training, and strength, as well as in age and sex, would be a serious mistake.
If training is to be shifted to the nature and needs of the individual, care must be taken to
keep the function of the school flexible and adaptable. No child in school can realize his
educational growth and development without a carefully planned and administered adjustment so
wide individual differences that exist among pupils.

43
C. Content
All differences between individuals may be interpreted by the facts of heredity or nature,
environment or nurture, and training. The factors which are commonly designated as causative of
individual differences are as follows:
5 Main Causes of Individual Differences
1. Race:
The ethnologists have explained many of the supposed
differences, and have been inclined to place the various races upon a
more equal footing with respect to inborn capacity. There may be
some difference in behavior among different races, but there is little scientific evidence that
favors the theory of native differences in mental traits. The superiority of the Nordic stock in
mental ability has been asserted by many, but recent and more accurate investigations tend to
show that this so-called superiority is largely the result of environmental conditions.
In America the question of racial superiority has usually narrowed down to the rivalry
between the white race and the Negro race. That the white race is much superior to the Negro
race cannot be considered absolutely final. Such conclusion must be tempered by a consideration
of the superior intellectual opportunities available to the white Americans.
Differences in mentality, reflecting influence of country and city life, is shown by the
study of Negro mentality in relation to time lived in the city. Kleinberg’s study shows a distinct
improvement in the test performance with increasing length of residence of Negroes in cities.
This study suggests that the superiority of city children over rural children is a direct con-
sequence of better cultural opportunities. In causing differences in physical traits this factor is
prominent.
2. Sex:
The general results of all studies made point to the fact that the
differences between sexes are quite insignificant. In detail, the exact
measurements of intellectual abilities show a relatively slight superiority
of the women in receptivity of memory, and relatively slight superiority
of men in control of movement and in grasp of concrete mechanical
situation. Investigations also show an apparent superiority of girls in
language and a somewhat better showing of boys in logical processes. In interests, who cannot
be definitely measured, the difference would seem to be that women are more interested in
people while men are more interested in things.

44
Difference in instinctive equipment is shown by the fact that women excel in the nursing
impulses and men in the fighting impulses. As to physical equipment, men are much taller,
stronger, and bigger than women. However, girls grow more rapidly than boys, especially before
adolescence. The girls reach physiological maturity earlier.
3. Heredity:
By heredity is meant the influence of factors inherent in
the child himself from the time he is conceived. Research has
shown that heredity proceeds according to certain laws. The first
laws of heredity were formulated by Galton who made the direct
investigation on heredity. Gregor Mendel also formulated some
well-known laws of heredity. Heredity influences are intrinsic or
innate. Individual differences in mental and physical traits are due to heredity and to
environmental factors. Heredity as a cause of individual differences may be due either to remote
or immediate ancestry. G. R. Conklin has affirmed that although we inherit approximately
equally from our parents, we also inherit unequally from our grandparents.
4. Maturity:
Differences in maturity of individuals
have always been observed. The pupils in any
grade present a considerable range of maturity.
The maturity of pupils varies along three lines of
development, namely: chronological, ana-
tomical, and organic. The chronological aspect
of maturity is that which is presented by
differences in mental development considered in
terms of actual number of years. Anatomical
growth is shown by different degrees of
development of the bones of the skeleton.
Studies made in this line have revealed
differences of from two to three years in the
anatomical development of the vital organs of
circulation and of reproduction. The organs most
affected are the organs of the circulatory system
and those of reproduction.
Psychological studies reveal that girls
mature earlier than boys. It is an accepted fact
that the development of an individual is
determined by a long interplay of heredity and
environment on him.

45
5. Social and economic status:
On the basis of data supplied by the
Army Alpha Test, people living in large
centers of population are more intelligent than
those living in rural areas; higher intelligence
is found along with better educational
facilities.
Higher intelligence likewise exists in
those states which rank high in their economic
condition. There exists a close relationship
between occupational socio-economic
condition and the general level of intelligence.
Parents found in high occupational
levels usually provide good physical and
intellectual environments, which favor the
speedy cultural development of their children.
A considerable body of evidence is available
to show that children belonging to the so-
called higher social classes are superior in
intelligence to those of the lower classes.
The well-known theories formulated to explain individual differences are:
1. Theory of Correlation (Galton):
This theory explains that strength in one trait is closely
correlated with strength in another trait, if these have many
elements in common. A person who stands high in one trait
or ability stands high in another as well. A pupil who is
generally proficient in Mathematics or English is equally
proficient in subjects like history, economics, and other
studies.
This theory is otherwise known as the theory of Positive
Correlation. Positive Correlation also means correspondence
among the abilities compared. Based on the studies made,
the general tendency is for all types of desirable traits to
show some degree of positive correlation

46
2. Theory of Compensation:
This theory states that weakness in one trait is
compensated by strength in other traits. It has
also been asserted that a good memory stands
opposed to good reasoning; the strong bodies
inherit low mentally; that great artists have
abnormal character.
In other words, this theory implies that great
strength in one trait implies a corresponding
weakness in some other trait. Some studies
have revealed that pupils who are weak in
abstract are generally skillful in the
manipulation of things.
Pupils who are mentally deficient are generally
advised to take up vocational courses. The
theory of compensation is otherwise known as
the theory of negative correlation. In the
explanation of the facts of individual
differences these two theories, correlation and
compensation, differ in their emphasis.
Both theories are the result of general observation and individual measurement. The first theory,
based on the early work of Galton on inheritance, gives more importance to the existence of
similar capabilities in more than one subject of study whereas the second is partial to the
presence of one definite capability limited and circumscribed within one subject of study.
Most psychologists believe, however, that on the average, strength in one trait implies strength in
others; weakness in one implies weakness in others; and mediocrity in one trait implies
mediocrity in others. Applied to the guidance of the students in the process of their knowledge
and understanding of these theories will greatly enhance the efficiency of instruction. Education,
to be of most worth, must be one that will be of most help and use to the individual.
Education has the responsibility of discovering the natural ability of the students in order to
guide them in the selection of a course in which their individual differences will play to their
advantage and make for efficiency and success.
There is no gainsaying the fact that one who chooses a career to which his individual inclination
has led him will find ease and delight in his endeavor, and will very likely experience success.
Recognition and appreciation of individual differences in the light of the theories of correlation
and compensation will greatly increase the effectiveness of education.

47
What are the Different Types of Individual Differences?
1. Average Intelligence:
The following brief description may serve to make individual differences a simple
concept that can easily be grasped. Individuals are seen differing in considerable measure in
respect of their general intelligence. It is not possible to send to schools children with an
intelligence quotient of below 50.Children with intelligence quotients between 50 and 70 can
learn only the very simplest tasks. Even the small schools trouble children whose intelligence
quotient varies between 70 and 80. Children between 75 and 90 I.Q. are considered morons and
they have considerable difficulty in progressing along with other children in their learning.
Generally, 40 to 60 per cent of the children in schools have I.Q.s. varying between 95 and
105, being the children with average intelligence who form the basis for the formulation of the
syllabus and curriculum as well as the method of teaching. Children who are either above or
below this level of intelligences require special educational methods and conditions. Children
with intelligence quotients varying between 115 and 120 are considered brilliant or intelligent.
2. Special Abilities
During the junior high school as well as the college stage, the individual's differences in
respect of special abilities, in addition to the general intelligence, are also important since special
professions and specialized fields of vocation all need certain specific abilities. Abilities of this
kind are concerned with mental, artistic, personality or motor ability.
3. Differences of Background
In school the differences that the children exhibit is the outcome of their different
families and their communities. Attitudes towards education and authority differ in each family,
culture and class. Some of these attitudes are favorable while others are unfavorable to
education. In either condition, the differences of attitudes results in differences among children.
Besides these attitudes, the child's emotional, social, aesthetic and moral development is
influenced by his family and the neighborhood.
4. Alacrity in Learning
Difference in the quickness or alacrity in learning is visible not only in children of
different ages but also among children in the same age group. This difference is dependent upon
their maturity and educational background. Differences in the alacrity of learning result in
benefits accruing from formal education.

48
5. Mental Age
Children of differing ages as well as children of the same age show differences in their
respective mental ages. Generally speaking, all students studying in the same class differ
according to their mental ages. It has been observed that in the age of 6, differences in mental
age range up to 5 years. Mental age and education are intimately related. The child's level of
education is determined according to his mental age
6. Motor Ability
The individual's movements of the hand and feet and other physical abilities are seen to
be very individual, as they do not resemble another's to any great extent. Till the individual
attains adulthood, his manual dexterity, rate of muscular movement and resistance to fatigue
develops continually. In this manner, the same individual in different ages and different
individuals in the same age group manifest considerable differences in manual dexterity.
7. Sex Differences
Makneimer and Terman discovered the following differences between men and women,
on the basis of some studies:
(i) Women have greater skill in memory while many have greater motor ability.
(ii) Female handwriting is superior while men excel in mathematical logic.
(iii) Women show greater skill in making sensory distinctions of taste, pain, smell, etc.,
while men show greater reaction and consciousness of size-weight illusion.
(iv) Possessing greater linguistic ability women are superior to men in languages,
similitude's, word building, compositions and use of long sentences etc. On the other
hand, men are superior in physics and chemistry.
(v) Women are more susceptible to suggestion while there are three times as many color-
blind men as there are women.
(vi) Women are better than men in mirror drawing. Faults of speech etc., in men were
found to be three times of such faults in women.
(vii) Young girls take interest in stories of love, fairy tales, stories of the school and home
and day-dreaming and show various levels in their play. On the other hand, boys
take interest in stories of bravery, science, war and scouting, stories of games and
sports, scouts stories and games of occupation and skill.

49
8. Nationality
Many studies have led to the conclusion that individuals of different nations differ in
respect of nature, physical traits, interest and personality, etc. Such a difference is only natural
since their cultural and geographic environment is distinctive.
9. Economic Situation
Economic differences are seen causing differences in the children's interests, tendencies
and character, etc.
10. Difference in Respect of Development
Difference in development is in evidence not only in individuals of different age groups
but also between individuals of the same age.
11. Differences Relating of Learning
In respect of learning, children manifest such differences as past experience and learning,
ability in the use of various kinds of apparatus, rate of learning, interest in learning, etc.
12. Difference of Interests.
As has been pointed out, the difference in sex leads to a difference in interests. Similarly,
factors such as family background, level of development, differences of nationality and race, etc.,
cause difference of interests.
13. Personality
Differences in respect of personality have led psychologists to much study, and on the
basis of this study individuals have been classified into many groups. Concerning these
classifications of the human personality, it should be remembered that although one specific
person may exhibit the main broad characteristics of one class of personality, he cannot be said
to belong to only that class of personality as the differences between various personalities are so
subtle and minute that it is not scientifically feasible to divide them into classes

50
Teacher's Advantage in Knowing Individual Differences
The objective of modern education is the complete development of the child. In this
connection, the teacher has the following advantage to derive from knowledge of individual
differences:
1. This can help him to form the proper attitude towards the brilliant and the dull-witted students.
It is only too evident that very good results cannot be expected from dull-witted or mediocre
students.
2. Any effort to bring all or a majority of the students in the class to the same level is futile since
some 50 or odd percentage of them will in variably remain below this level.
3. Improvements in atmosphere, method of teaching, and the apparatus of education cannot lead
to the satisfactory teaching of all students since their individual ability to learn differs widely.
4. Knowing the presence of individual differences the teacher is not perturbed at the failure of
some of his students since such failure is only to be expected from below-average students.
5. The teacher does not come to expect successes that are impossible. Individual difference
makes it clear that all aspects of the personality are mutually related and to develop any one
aspect it is essential that all the aspects be developed.

Nature and functions of Educational psychology

Nature and functions of Educational psychology

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