VALIDITY IN PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Although there are numerous terms and concepts used to describe validity, we can simplify the complexity of validity by organizing terms and concepts into four main types: construct validity, external validity, internal validity, and statistical conclusion validity. Mastering these Big 4 types of validity provides a comprehensive framework to judge the strengths and weaknesses of scientific research. 

Determining the overall validity of research is simply not a black-and-white decision. Instead, we have four types of validity to reinforce the notion that we have many different ways to determine the strength of a research study.  In fact, rarely will you ever encounter a study that ranks strong in all four validities. Remember, the methodological decisions made to increase one type of validity often harm another type of validity (e.g., steps taken to increase internal validity often harm external validity), and similar tradeoffs can occur among all four of our major classes of validity (Mitchell & Jolley, 2006 ).

In addition, many studies are conducted that do not address all four validities. Recall that only an experimental research methodology is able to establish internal validity and cause-and-effect conclusions. Thus, when non-experimental research methodologies are adopted, a study by default will be weak in internal validity. Similarly, many researchers have aptly noted that external validity can be a premature goal of research (Mook, 1983). Researchers may first want to study a phenomenon in isolated populations or isolated situations before trying to generalize their results to the population from which they drew their sample.  Therefore, to determine the overall merit of a study, we initially need to recognize what the goals of the study being conducted are and what validities need to be established to meet those goals. The next step would be to weigh the strengths that make the study valid against the weaknesses that threaten the study’s validity.

Because individual studies are likely to be weak on one or more types of validity, researchers rarely conduct and report single studies. Instead, they often conduct multiple studies to answer the same research question using different research methodologies. A validity weakness threatening the conclusions of one study can be tested in a new study using a different methodology to address (or remove) that potential threat to validity. A common practice is for researchers to engage in systematic research in which a series of studies are conducted and published over time. Alternatively, researchers will report multiple studies in a single professional article to demonstrate how different threats to validity were tested and ruled out across different studies of the article.

            A common area of confusion that can occur when learning about validity is determining which type of validity is being threatened. We have found that students particularly have difficulty when trying to distinguish construct validity problems from internal validity problems. Our first tip is to highlight the fundamental difference between these two ways to critique a research study. A critique of construct validity involves thinking about each variable of a study separately, and then making a judgment on whether each variable was measured or manipulated validly. If you have concerns that a particular measure or manipulation was biased in representing what it was supposed to represent, then your concern involves a critique about construct validity. In contrast, internal validity involves thinking about the relationships among variables of the study, and then making a judgment that one or more of them can be clearly linked to causing other variables in the study.

(From "21st Century Psychology: A Reference Handbook" by Buskist and Davis (2008), Sage Publications)

BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION

Behaviour modification is based on a simple idea of learning. It is based on the idea that behaviour followed by reward is more likely to be repeated, or retained, than not. On the other hand, behaviour which results in an unpleasant outcome tends to be quickly dropped or disappear.

Behaviour modification is based on the idea that behaviour is, in part, controlled by its consequences. The idea has been demonstrated in both humans and animals. Of course, people have more complex interactions between physical, emotional and cognitive reinforcements than animals. But many of the principles are still relevant.

(From Regional Training Seminar on Guidance and Counselling Module 4, Behaviour Modification UNESCO February 2000)

FULLY FUNCTIONING PERSON

Roger’s theory of personality centers on the concept of the self, a flexible and changing perception of personal identity that emerges from the phenomenal field. The phenomenal field is the person’s total subjective experience of reality. For Rogers self means an organized cognitive structure based on our experience or our own being. The term self has two distinct sets of meanings. One set has to do with people’s attitudes about themselves; their picture of the way they took and act; the impact they believe they have on others; and their perceived traits, abilities, foibles and weakness. The collection constitutes what is known as the self concept or self image. Apart for this, there is an ideal self for each person. Ideal self means a dynamic changing construct which represents a person’s goals and aspirations. It is the self the person would like to be. The real self or true self of the person is what the person really is. A fit between one’s self concept, ideal self and true self is known as congruence.
Congruence will make a person to be fully functioning. The fully functioning person is one who has achieved openness to feelings and experiences and has learned to trust inner urges and intuitions. Rogers believed that this attitude is most likely to occur when a person receives ample amounts of love and acceptance from others.Information or feelings inconsistent with the self image are said to be incongruent. Experiences that are seriously incongruent with the self image can be threatening. Blocking, denying, or distorting experiences prevents the self from changing and creates a gulf between self image and reality. As the self image grows more unrealistic, the incongruent person becomes confused, vulnerable, dissatisfied, or seriously maladjusted.

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Abraham Maslow’s concept of needs hierarchy is one of the most influential theories in humanistic school of thought. Maslow asserted that behaviour is motivated by the conscious desire for personal growth. He believed that we are separated from lower animals by our capacity for self-actualization.
Maslow (1970) organized human needs into a hierarchy, from physiological needs such as hunger and thirst through self-actualization. His theory regarding the hierarchy of needs consists of the following.
1. Physiological needs: hunger, thirst, elimination, warmth, fatigue, pain avoidance, sexual release.
2. Safety needs: protection from the environment through housing and clothing, security from crime and financial hardship.
3. Love and belongingness needs: love and acceptance through intimate relationships, social groups and friends.
4. Esteem needs: achievements, competence, approval, recognition, prestige, status.5. Self actualization: fulfillment of our unique potentials. It involves needs for cognitive understanding (novelty, exploration, knowledge) and aesthetic needs (music, art, poetry, beauty, order).

LATENT LEARNING

Latent learning is a form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response. It occurs without obvious reinforcement to be applied later.
Latent learning is when an organism learns something in its life, but the knowledge is not immediately expressed. It remains dormant and may not be available to consciousness, until specific events or experiences might need this knowledge to be demonstrated. For instance, a child may observe a parent setting a table or tightening a screw, but does not act on this learning for a year, and then he finds he knows how to do these.

It was Tolman & Honzik (1950) who showed that rats learn about their environment in the absence of reinforcement. Tolman trained some rats to run through mazes for standard food goals. Other rats were permitted to explore the same mazes for several days without food goals or other rewards. After the unrewarded rats had been allowed to explore the mazes for 10 days, food rewards were placed in a box at the far end of the maze. The previously unrewarded explorers reached the food box as quickly as the rewarded rats after only one or two reinforced trials. Tolman concluded that rats learned about mazes in which they roamed even when they were unrewarded for doing so. He distinguished between learning and performance. Rats would acquire a cognitive map of a maze, and even though they would not be motivated to follow an efficient route to the far end, they would learn rapid routs from end to end just by roaming about within the maze. Yet this learning might remain hidden, or latent, until they were motivated to follow the rapid routes for food goals. Thus latent learning is learning that occurs but is not evident in behaviour until later, when conditions for its appearance are favourable.

DECISION MAKING

Decision making is the process of considering alternatives and choosing among them. Making decisions is hard work. Usually people use short cuts in performing decision making. One group of cognitive short-cuts is heuristics. Heuristics are the mental rules of thumb that permit us to make decisions and judgments in a rapid and efficient manner. There are three frequently used heuristics – availability heuristics, representative heuristics, and anchoring and adjustment heuristics. Availability heuristic is a cognitive rule of thumb in which the importance or probability of various events is judged on the basis of how readily they come to mind. Representative heuristic is the mental rule of thumb suggesting that the more closely an event or object resembles typical examples of some concept or category, the more likely it is to belong to that concept or category. Anchoring and adjustment heuristics is a cognitive rule of thumb for making decisions in which existing information is accepted as a reference point but then adjusted in light of various factors.

PROBLEM SOLVING

According to Skinner (1968), Problem Solving is a process of overcoming difficulties that appear to interfere with the attainment of a goal. It is a procedure of making adjustment in spite of interferences. If we have no ready means of achieving a goal or answering a question, then we have a problem to solve. Problem solving is a deliberate and serious act, involves the use of some novel methods, higher thinking and systematic scientific steps for the realization of the set goals. There are two aspects to the study of problem-solving behaviour. One of them is to examine the logical ways in which solutions to problems may be discovered, and to specify procedures that will help people become more effective problem solvers. The other is to discover how people actually solve problems and to understand the thought processes involved.
Problem solving may be obstructed by a mental set that leads someone to apply an inappropriate solution technique because it has worked for other problems that appear similar but are not. It can also be hampered by functional fixedness, which is the tendency to see an object as having only one use rather than several different ones. Analogical thinking allows us to solve new problems by referring to old problems with the same structure, although people often make the mistake of applying it to problems which are similar only in content. Incubation (gather information about the problem, explore its structure and then set the matter aside for a period of time) may also assist problem solving by encouraging those processes thought to be responsible for insight.
Stages of Problem Solving:
Identifying the problem: Becoming aware regarding the difficulty or problem that needs a solution
Defining and representing the problem: Defining the problem in terms of the specific goals and objectives. All the difficulties and obstacles in the path of the solution are to be properly named and identified.
Formulating a strategy: Thinking about various possibilities for the solution of the problem.
Organization of information: Collecting relevant information about the problem through all possible sources.
Resource Allocation: Finding and establishing the relevant resources to solve the problem.
Monitoring: supervising the progress towards a solution in order to detect the errors if any, in the early stage itself.Evaluation: Determining the strengths and weaknesses of the way in which the other stages were implemented.

GOALS OF COUNSELLING

The goals of counseling are to help individuals overcome their immediate problems and also equip them to meet future problems. Counselling is to be meaningful, has to be specific for each client, since it involves her/his unique problems and expectations. The goal of counseling may be described as immediate, long range and process goals. The immediate goal is however, to obtain relief for the client and the long range goal is to enhance the adaptability of the client.
Counseling goals may be classified in terms of counselor goals and client goals of therapy. These may be further classified as follows.
Developmental goals: are those where in the client is associated in meeting or advancing her or his anticipated human growth and development.
Preventive goals: are those in which the counselor helps the client avoid some undesired outcome.
Enhancement goals: If the client possesses special skills and abilities, enhancement means, they can be identified and/or further developed through the assistance of a counselor.
Remedial goals: involves assisting a client to overcome and/or treat an undesirable development.
Exploratory goals: represents goals appropriate to the examining of options, testing of skills, and trying new and different activities, environments, relationships and so on.
Reinforcement goals: are those used in the instances where clients need help in recognizing that what they are doing, thinking and feeling is okay.
Cognitive goals: are those which involve the acquisition of the basic foundations of learning and cognitive skills.
Physiological goals: are those which include acquiring the basic understanding and habits for good health.
Psychological goals: aids in developing good social interaction skills, learning emotional control, developing a positive self concept and so on.
All these goals will lead to the ultimate goals, which are discussed following.
1. Achievement of positive mental health: The individual will learn to adjust and respond more positively to people and situations, to prevent the emotional tension, anxieties, indecision etc. and thereby to lead to positive feelings and warmth.
2. Resolution of the problems: The individual will learn to alter maladaptive behaviour, to make good decisions and to prevent problems.
3. Improving personal effectiveness: The individual will be able to commit himself to projects, investigating time and energy and to take appropriate economic, psychological and physical risk.
4. Change: The individual will understand the mechanism of change, and be able to freely choose and act within the conditions impressed by the environment. The effectiveness of the individual responses evolved by the environment shall be enhanced.
5. Decision making: The individual will be able to make clear cut decisions that foster personal growth. 6. Modification of behaviour: The client will be able to remove undesirable behaviour or action, or to reduce an irritating function that hinders personal growth.

OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

Acquired new information, forms of behaviour, or even abstract rules and concepts from watching the actions of other people and the consequences they experiences is called observational learning. That is, learning by watching others. The proponent is Albert Bandura.
Steps in observational learning
1) Attend and perceive the behaviour
2) Remembering the coded behaviour
3) Converting the memory to action
4) Reinforcement of the initiated behaviour.
Observational learning is efficient and adaptive. It occurs in both animals and human. E.g. young chimpanzees learn how to use a stone to crack open nuts by watching their mothers perform this action. And there is no need of checking whether a door is locked or an iron is hot if someone else is seen trying the door or suffering a burn.Children are particularly influenced by the adults and peers who act as models for appropriate behaviour in various situations. In a classic experiment (Bandura, 1965), children watched an adult attack a large blow up Bo-Bo doll. Some children saw an adult sit on the doll, punch it, hit it with a hammer, and kick it around the room. There were different endings for the film. Some children saw an ending in which the aggressive adult was called a “champion” by another adult, and was rewarded with candy and soft drinks. Some saw that the aggressor was scolded and was called a bad person. A third group saw a neutral ending, in which there was neither reward nor punishment. After the film, each child was allowed to play alone with a Bo-Bo doll. Bandura found that children who saw the adult rewarded for aggression showed the most aggressive acts in their play. They were vicariously reinforced to imitate the aggressive actions. Those who had seen the adult punished for aggressive acts initially showed less aggression, but they still learned something.

LANGUAGE

Language is the spoken, written or gestured words and the ways these words are combined to communicate meaning.
There are five basic elements of language – phoneme, morpheme, grammar, semantics, syntax.
Phoneme in a spoken language is the smallest distinctive sound unit. Morpheme in a language is the smallest unit that carries meaning. Grammar is a system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate with others. Semantics is the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes or the combination of morphemes. Syntax is the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language.
Language development in children mirrors language structure. It moves from simple to complex. There are four stages in language development in children – Babbling stage, one word stage, two word stage and telegraphic speech.
Babbling stage begins at 3 to 4 months. This is a stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the house hold language. One word stage is a stage in speech development, from about 1 to 2 during which a child speaks mostly in single words. Two-word stage begins during the age of 2. The child will learn here to speak connecting two words. Telegraphic speech is an early speech stage when the child speaks in telegraphic language. E.g. “Go car” which means let us go to car. Psycholinguistics is the discipline of Psychology that studies the mental mechanisms of language processing – speaking, listening, reading and writing in both a native and a second tongue. Psycholinguistics also studies the processes underlying the acquisition of language. Psycholinguistics borrows many of its theoretical constructs from linguistics. Levels of processing, distinguished in theories of language comprehension or language production, correspond to linguistic levels, such as semantics, the lexicon, syntax, morphology, phonology and phonetics. Psycholinguistic experiments provides information about the psychological reality of linguistic units and the way linguistic information is represented and processed in the mind of the language user.

FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS AND MENTAL SET

The tendency to think of using object only as they have been used in the past is called functional fixedness. Functional fixedness arises when people have a fixed idea of the function of an object, and is unable to see that it may have other uses which would enable them to solve the problem. People tend to see object only in terms of their customary functions. Normal functions of objects become fixed in an individual’s thought, so that he/she does not consider using them in new and creative ways.
Mental set is the tendency to apply a familiar strategy to the solution of a problem without carefully considering special requirements of that problem. A mental set can be either facilitating or inhibiting, depending upon what response the problem requires. Mental set might be determined by personality and attitudinal factors, and not by intellectual and critical thinking abilities. E.g. a child may enter a store by pushing a door open. After this, each time when the child comes to a door expecting it to open by pushing even though may doors only open by pulling. This is due to the mental set for opening the doors.

THINKING

Thinking refers to all the mental activities associated with processing, understanding and communicating (Myers, 2000).
Tools of thinking
The two major tools using in thinking process are
a) concept b) imagery
According to ‘David Myers’, concepts are the mental groupings of similar objects, events and people. Concepts provide us much information without much cognitive effort. To simplify things concepts are organized into hierarchies. In addition to that some concepts are formed by definition. E.g. On the basis of the rule that a triangle has three sides, all the three sided geometrical forms is recognized as triangles. Concepts are also formed through the development of prototypes. Prototype is a mental image or a best example that incorporates all the features associated with a category. Prototypes may include positive or negative instances. When a child sees a dog and forms the mental image, “it is a dog”, then it is a positive instance. When the child sees a goat and discriminate it forming the mental image “it is not a dog”, then it is a negative instance.
Concepts are of two types – logical and natural. Logical concepts (or formal concepts) are those which are clearly defined by a set of rules, a formal definition or a classification system. It is also called artificial concept. E.g. mathematical symbols like triangles, rectangle, square etc. Natural concepts are those acquired not from a definition, but through every-day perceptions and experience. They are somewhat fuzzy, not clear cut and systematic. Imagery is the mental representation of sensory experiences. It can be visual, auditory, gustatory, motor, olfactory or tactile. E.g. Imagination of tasting favorite ice cream is a gustatory imagery. Mental images may be dimmer and less vivid than actual experiences. Though the images are not limited to time, space or other physical realities, they used to be similar to that of the real world. Visual imagery is most common form of imagery. Imagery about performance has impact on the muscles, and the consequence is muscular imagery.

Theories of Counselling: Behaviourism

The scientific development of behavioural theory can be traced directly from Pavlov’s 19th century discoveries in classical conditioning. Important foundations are laid by John B. Watson (1913), American Psychologist, through the article “Psychology as the Behaviorist views it”. Significant research and publication on the subject were conducted by Watson, Thorndike and many others, but it was not systematically refined and developed until B.F.Skinner. Skinner took behaviourism towards its current popularity (Gibson and Mitchell, 2003).
Views of behaviourists
1. Behaviour is a set of learned responses to events, experiences, or stimuli in a person’s life history.
2. Behaviour can be modified by providing appropriate learning condition and experiences.
Behaviourists stood for the aspects that can be empirically observed or measured. Psychology got the status of science when empirical observation and measurements intervened. The behaviourists focuses on specific behavioural goals, emphasizing precise and repeatable method. The behavioural theoretical approach to conselling has grown steadily since 1950s. Today, it is utilized in a wide variety of settings. The approach has been successful in the treatment of smoking, weight control, and other eating disorders, substance abuse, speech difficulties, behavior problems and others (Gibson and Mitchell, 2003).
Counselling, for a behaviourist involves the systematic use of a variety of procedures, which are intended specifically established goals between a client and a counselor. A wide variety of techniques drawn from knowledge of learning processes are employed for the purpose of counseling and therapy. The first among them is operant learning.
Operant learning:
The approach is based on the usefulness of reinforcements and timing of their presentation in producing the change. Reinforcements may be concrete rewards or expressed as approval or attention. The theory (Operant conditioning) is based on the work of B. F. Skinner, who drew on the idea of classical conditioning, but thought individuals to be more active in the learning process than that theory allowed. For learning to occur, it is essential that the person be an active participant. In this theory, when learning is rewarded, behaviour is perpetuated or maintained, while punished behaviour is removed.
Operant conditioning principles of behaviour intervention were developed by Skinner through systematic laboratory research. The process involves learning from one’s actions as one operates the environment. The student's behaviour is modified by the consequences of his/her responses.
Operant conditioning principles:
Operant conditioning is learning from one’s action as one operates the environment (UNESCO, 2000). Main principles are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, non-reinforcement, extinction, punishment, shaping, stimulus control, token economics and time out.
Reinforcement could be positive, negative or neutral. The behavioural change is attempted to be brought by first identifying the behaviour to be changed and defining the objective.
Positive reinforcement: The use of rewards for positive responses, to strengthen the new behaviour.
Non reinforcement: No reward for the undesirable behaviour (to diminish problem behaviour)
Extinction: Stopping rewarding-established behaviour (to stop responding the way he/she does)
Punishment: Presentation of some form of discomfort or unpleasant consequences to a response (to suppress the response)
Shaping: Process of rewarding successive responses in order to reach a desired response
Stimulus control: Controlling the situation in which the behaviour occur
Token economy: Usage of symbolic reinforcements for desirable behaviour. These reinforcements, later, will be exchanged as genuine reinforcements (find points, then prize)
Time out: Removal of an individual from the source of the problem in order to help him/her change. There are three main ways – observational time, exclusion, seclusion.
Observational time: the individual is withdrawn from a reinforcing situation. For example, a child is placed outside the perimeter of the activity.
Exclusion: The individual is asked to leave the reinforcing situation to a non-reinforcing. For example, a child who misbehaves while watching a game can be removed to a place where there is no game.
Seclusion: Putting the child in an isolated room where he/she is alone

Operant theorists believe that reward is a more powerful method of shaping behavior than punishment. Reward has the virtue of indicating what behaviour is required, while punishment only indicates what response an individual should withhold. Punishment can also cause anxiety, hostility, and resentment in an individual. Aversive stimuli, as we have already seen, can also lead to avoidance learning. The individual can learn to avoid the parent, teacher, or supervisor or to perform the undesired response out of their range.

Skinner (1971) believed that society in general has gradually shifted from systems of control based on the use of aversive stimuli to ones which use reward. Teachers now try and make children want to learn through reward rather than through punishment. Parents increasingly offer rewards to their children in the form of approval rather than using punishment to shape their children’s behaviour. And some organizations have replaced aversive autocratic managerial practices with the potentially more rewarding democratic supervisory styles.

Theories of Counselling: Psychoanalysis Part 2

Libido is the instinctual energy that belongs to the sexual drive. Discharge of this energy leads to pleasure. The part of the body that leads to such pleasure is called erogenous zone. The concept of erogenous zone is some more elaborated by Erikson (1963). He classified them to oral-sensory – facial apertures and upper nutritional organs, anal – excretory organs and genitalia – the genitals. Orality is a method of relating to external world (Erikson, 1963). The first mode of approach in the oral zone is incorporation-to take in, in an independent fashion, what is offered by the mother (Capuzzi and Gross, 2007).
According to Erikson (1963), functions in each zone included incorporation, retention, elimination, and intrusion. During the oral stage, Incorporation is clamping down with jaws and gums; elimination is spitting up and out; retention is closing up of lips and intrusion the tendency of the infant to fasten itself upon the nipple. Fixation during oral stages will lead the individuals to be orally dependent. The characteristics of orally dependent clients are extreme dependence to the oral elements in adult functioning and they tend to relate the world in terms of a need to be nurtured. They crave for dependency in their adulthood just as a child shows its need to be nurtured. All the above said functions will be redone by such individuals even in the adulthood. Erikson saw primary conflict at this level as one of developing the sense of basic trust vs. mistrust.
Anal stage begins with the acquisition of the control of anal sphincter by the child. The child learns to control the muscle system (Capuzzi and Gross, 2007). The duality which has been seen during this period is rigidity vs. relaxation, flexion vs. extension. The child during this period delineates his world as I, you, me and mine. General actions will be reaching out, holding on, throw/push away – to appropriate things/to keep them in distance. They are able to make a decision and to carry over that decision. Erikson saw primary conflict at this level as autonomy vs. shame and doubt – therefore the process of letting go and holding down. According to Freud, fixations my stem out from these conflicts lead to two sets of anal traits – anal retentive and anal expulsive traits. Anal retentive traits involve excessive use of self-control. They include perfectionism, a strong need for order, and exaggerated neatness and cleanliness. Anal-expulsive traits, on the other hand, “let it all hang out”. They include carelessness, messiness and even sadism (Rathus, 1996).
During phallic stage, the child will be moved from a 2 person interaction – Mother-child interaction – to a triangular relationship – mother-child-father. The child will wish to possess or to be possessed by the parents of the opposite sex. This creates a conflict with the thought of the parent of same sex. Here incestuous feelings are combined with patricidal impulses. The boy wishes to possess his mother. The boy fears father’s revenge of castration – castration anxiety. The girl wishes to be possessed by her father. The girl feels jealous of the penis: penis envy. This complex is necessary for later development. The threat of castration leads the child to internalize. Here super-ego starts to develop.
Post Freudian psychoanalysis involves a variety of technique. One of them is based on the object relations theory. According to object relations theory, object seeking is the nature of motivation. Post Freudians did not discard drive theory (of Freud), but contributed to it the significance of interaction with important others in the formation of personality. Some of the most popular Post Freudian contributors are Melain Klein, Donald Winnicott and Heinz Kohut. Among these Kohut (1977) developed the theory called self psychology. Self psychology suggests that self is an organized construct of experience (not innate drives and instincts).
Overall, Post-Freudian theorists expanded psychoanalysis theory from Freud’s one person system to a two person system. They, more than considering an individual as a closed system, the scope widened to include another person (the analyst). According to Freud, psychoanalytic treatment is similar to what a surgeon do. Just as a surgeon removes a tumor, a psychoanalyst removes the repressed memory from the unconscious. Freud conceived the analyst as a mirror (non-reactive, non-contributory), which reflects back the unconscious desires and fears emanating from the client. On the other hand, object relation psychoanalysts suggests this relationship as just like that of a mother and a child. By the entry of Neo-Freudians, there occurred a paradigm shift in psychoanalysis (Capuzzi and Gross, 2007). Terms such as inter-subjectivity theory, relational theorizing and social constructivism indicates this shift is from the positivistic belief that there are ultimate truths to be found within the intra-psychic structure of the individual (Robin, 1995).
According to Freud, an analyst is an archeologist shifting through strange symbols (dreams, slips of the tongue, symptoms). He will decipher meanings and present them to the client via an interpretation. But, for the neo-Freudians, the role of an analyst is different. In their opinion, the analyst and patient together create or construct what is clinically useful (Robin, 1995). This shift has influenced even the concept of counter transference (Capuzzi and Gross, 2007). Freud viewed counter transference as a reaction that contaminates therapy. According to Freud, it is a function of unrecognized neurotic conflicts within the analyst.
The system of psychoanalytic theory rests on meta-psychology (Rapaport & Gill, 1959). To comprehend a psychic event thoroughly, it is necessary to analyze it from six different points of view.
1) The topographic
2) The dynamic
3) The economic
4) The genetic
5) The structural
6) The adaptive
Topographic point of view: Contrasts unconscious and conscious mental processes. The unconscious part is the deeper layer. Its sole aim is to discharge impulses. Analysis of dream is done to verify the assumptions about the latent or unconscious meaning of the symbol or the dream itself. To interpret the meaning of dream without these associations would be to impose our own thoughts onto the client – a process derogatorily called wild analysis.
The analyst will always check the possible associations to illustrate metapsychological point of view.
The dynamic point of view: suggests the tension-discharge hypothesis. It assumes that mental phenomena are the result of the interaction of psychic forces seeking discharge (similar to hydraulic systems in physics during Freud’s time). The tension-discharge hypothesis is the base of all the other assumptions, concerning instinctual drives, defenses, ego interests and conflicts.
The economic point of view: is closely related to the dynamic point of view. These two points have close connection with Freud’s idea of the psycho-economic hypothesis (Capuzzi & Gross, 2007). This hypothesis requires a construct of psychic energy, with principles of pleasure-pain and constancy. For Freud, the development of instincts necessitated conflict. When two primary instincts of sexual and aggressive drives strive toward expression, they clash with the reality principle, which leads to states of pent-up tension.
The two principles which base the concept of psychic energy are pleasure-pain principle and constancy. Principle of constancy states that the function of nervous system and the psychic apparatus is to keep the level of excitation at its lowest point. The pleasure principle is related to constancy principle. It assents the lowering level of excitation, which connotes release and relief, leads to pleasure, whereas increased excitation creates tension and description and is experienced as pain.
Genetic point of view: thinks about the origin and development of a particular psychic phenomenon. It explains how the past is being brought to the present and why a certain compromise solution has been adopted.
Structural point of view: divides the psychic apparatus into different persisting functional units – ego, id, & superego.
Adaptation point of view: thinks about the attempts done by the individual to adapt with a challenging situation. It checks about the environmental influences such as love, hate, society etc.
Goals of counseling:
Psycho analysis emphasizes,
1. Resolution of client’s problem to enhance the client’s ability to cope with life changes
2. Their working through unresolved developmental stages.
3. Their ability to cope more effectively with the demands of the society. However goals change with the client and with the psycho-analytic approach (drive theory, ego psychology, object relations, self psychology).

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF COUNSELLING: PART ONE

Psychodynamic counselling is a model that uses psychoanalytic concepts to explain human growth and development, and the nature of psychological problems. The roots of psychodynamic or psychoanalytic approach belong to the psychoanalytic theory introduced by Sigmund Freud, who broadened the field of Psychology and gave it a new exciting look (Gibson & Mitchell, 2003). The term psychodynamic means 'pertaining to the laws of mental action'. It indicates that there are some principles that determine the relationship between mind and action.
According to Freud, human mind is like a vast submerged iceberg. What is there in the conscious awareness is just the tip of this iceberg above the sea level. Psychoanalytic theory hypothesized that human mind has three parts: conscious, pre-conscious and unconscious. The conscious part of the mind includes everything we are aware of at a given moment, including thoughts, perceptions, feelings and memories (Coon, 1992). It is the region that pokes through in to the light of awareness (Rathus, 1996). The preconscious contains elements of experiences that are presently unaware, but that can be easily brought to awareness. The unconscious mind is shrouded in mystery. It contains biological instincts such as sex and aggression (Rathus, 1996). Some unconscious urges cannot be experienced consciously, because mental images and words could not portray them in all their colour and fury. Other unconscious urges may be kept below the surface by repression (Rathus, 1996).
According to psychoanalytic theory, personality is divided into three major systems – the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is innate in human beings since birth. Id follows pleasure principle. It provides the drive for the pursuit of personal wants (Gibson and Mitchell, 2003). Ego is the rational element, which has contact with the world of reality. Ego follows reality principle. It controls our consciousness and provides realistic and logical thinking. It will also moderate the desires of id (Gibson and Mitchell, 2003). Superego represents the conscience of the mind. Superego follows morality principle. It is in super-ego, pride, self love, punishments and feeling of guilt or inferiority existed (Gibson and Mitchell, 2003).
Superego is always aware of the impulses of the id because both of these exist in the unconscious part of the mind. Superego will direct ego to control id (Gibson and Mitchell, 2003). Controlling id means, controlling the basic instincts of pleasure seeking. The basic instincts in human beings, according to Freud, are life instinct and death instinct. Life instinct is expressed through sex and death instinct is expressed through aggression. When these basic instincts are brought under control, the consequences are tension, conflict and anxiety. Human behavior is inevitably directed towards the reduction of this tension (Gibson and Mitchell, 2003).
Current psychodynamic counselling draws from a much wider range of theoretical influences. The theory suggests that we are unaware of many of our motives and that if these are known to us we are able to make better, less conflicted choices. However we are often resistant to or defended against recognition these hidden motives. By the arrival of neo-freudians, like Anna Freud, Erich Fromme, Karen Hornye etc. the mechanisms used to defend the unconscious motives were theoretically expanded.
Defense mechanisms help the individuals to reduce tensions, adapting to the situations. For the most part, these are normal and operate at an unconscious level. According to the psychodynamic theory, defense mechanism is an unconscious function of the ego that protects it from anxiety-evoking material by preventing accurate recognition of this material (Rathus, 1996). Some of the defense mechanisms are repression, rationalization, regression, identification, displacement, overcompensation, projection, introjection. People who overuse defense mechanisms become less adaptable, because they consume great amounts of emotional energy to control anxiety and to maintain an unrealistic self-image (Coon, 1999).
Repression is the automatic ejection of anxiety-evoking ideas from awareness (Rathus, 1996). It is viewed as the basic defense mechanism (Gibson and Mitchell, 2003). People used to repress ugly childhood experiences (Myers & Brewin, 1994). Repression is the defense mechanism that protects us from perceiving morally unacceptable impulses (Rathus, 1996). We protect ourselves by repressing thoughts or impulses that are painful and threatening. Feelings of hostility toward a loved one, the names of disliked people, and past failures and embarrassments are common targets of repression (Coon, 1999).
Regression is characterized by the return, under stress, to a form of behaviour of an earlier stage of development (Rathus, 1996). Most parents who have a second child have to put up with at least some regression by the older child. Threatened by a new rival for attention, an older child may regress to childish speech, bed-wetting, or infantile play after the new baby arrives (Coon, 1999). An adult who throws a temper tantrum or a married adult who “goes home to mother”, after arguments with the spouse are examples of regression.
Rationalization is the use of self-deceiving justifications for unacceptable behaviour (Rathus, 1996). For example, anyone who cheats on giving income tax will say ‘everyone does it.’ Rationalization provides us with reasons for behaviour we ourselves find somewhat questionable.
Displacement is the transfer of ideas and impulses from threatening of unsuitable objects to less threatening objects (Rathus, 1996). For example, a worker picks a fight with spouse after criticized sharply by the supervisor.
Projection is the thrusting of one’s own unacceptable impulses on to others so that others are assumed to harbor them (Rathus, 1996). Example is the perception of a hostile person that the world is a dangerous place. Projection is an unconscious process that protects us from the anxiety that would occur if we were to discern our own faults or unacceptable traits. A person who is projecting tends to see his or her own shortcomings or unacceptable impulses in others. Projection lowers anxiety by exaggerating negative traits in others while directing attention away from one’s own failures.
Reaction formation is a defense in which impulses are not only repressed, but are also held in check by exaggerated opposite behaviour. The basic ides in reaction formation is that the individual acts out an opposite behaviour to block threatening impulses or feeling. For example, a mother who unconsciously resents her children may, through reaction formation, become absurdly overprotective and overindulgent. Her real thoughts of “I hate them” and “I wish they were gone” are replaced by “I love them” and “I don’t know what I would do without them”.
Denial is the refusal to accept the true nature of a threat (Rathus, 1996). If a person who smokes heavily thinks ‘cancer can never happen to me’, it is denial. Denial is one of the most basic defense mechanisms. It protects the individual from an unpleasant reality by refusing to accept it or believe it (Coon, 1999).

Sublimation is the channeling of primitive impulses into positive, constructive efforts (Rathus, 1996). If a hostile person becomes a tennis star, it is sublimation. Freud believed that art, music, dance, poetry, scientific investigation, and other creative activities can serve to re-channel sexual energies into productive behaviour. Freud also felt that almost any strong desire can be sublimated. Greed may be refined into a successful business career. Lying may be sublimated into storytelling, creative writing, or politics (Coon, 1999).

References:

Coon, D., (1999). Introduction to Psychology: Exploration and Application. West Publishing Company, NY.

Gibson, R. L. & Mitchell, M. H. (2003). Introduction to Counselling and Guidance. Pearson Education, Inc.

Myers, L. B., & Brewin, C. R. (1994). Recall of Early Experience and the Repressive Coping Style. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103, 288-292.

Rathus, S. A., (1996). Psychology in the New Millenium. Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

Counselling in India

According to Rao (1981), counselling is not a novel institution in Indian context. In his opinion, Bhagavat Gita presents the first counsellor, Lord Krishna, and it provides counselling for all the ages and all the times. However, this idea can be questioned because in the process of counselling, theoretically, it is the counselee who will talk more and not the counsellor. In the case of Gita, Krishna gives advices to Arjuna (or for all ages and all the times). Arjuna is merely a listener. However, these advices had the power to bring changes in the views of Arjuna. It could also bring changes in Arjuna’s behavior. Therefore, we can say that the advice given by Krishna in Gita contained the power that could bring the effect of counselling.
In ancient India, the system of education existed in the form of Gurukula (Rao, 1981). During those times, pupil had the choice or freedom to seek his own Guru or teacher (Rao, 1981). It has to be noted that all those who liked to learn did not get the opportunity for it during those days. Even in Mahabharatha, evidences of racial discriminations in the case of acquiring education can be seen. Thus, realization of knowledge from Gurukula system was limited in a privileged class. One cannot imagine that all the Indians equally shared liberty and equality during those days. However, these traditional aspects present ideas and constructs that are rich in possibilities for application in Indian cultural setting. Therefore, the fact that psychological thought is not new to India, is true.
Counselling needs in the Indian context emerged against the background of tremendous social change. In addition, the last ten years of economic reform have enhanced the pace of these changes and further transformed life styles. Counselling services are poorly defined and presently anyone at all with little or no training can offer these services. Available counselling services are largely based on Western approaches to psychology. These approaches have been widely criticised as not being relevant to the Indian cultural context (Rao, 1981). A relevant and culturally valid counselling psychology therefore has remained a hatchling discipline.
The roots of couselling in India belong to Mysore University, where the first chair in psychology was endowed. After this, within a year, Calcutta University started a department of Psychology. During the mid 1940s, Patna University started a department of Psychology, closely followed by Banaras Hindu University, the Lucknow University etc. Currently, the major is included in a lot of state as well as central universities in India.
Along with this, Applied Psychology emerged as an independent department of the existing departments of Psychology. In Calcutta University, a section of Applied Psychology started in 1938, and in 1945, department of Psychological services was established at Patna University.
Establishment of Vocational Guidance Bureau by the trustees of the Parsi Panchayath, a voluntary organization in Bombay, was a major step in the case of emergence of guidance in India. The bureau was primarily meant to help the youth of the Parsi community. However, the bureau was closed out of financial burden during 1950s, but restarted in 1960s.
Another far-reaching step was the appointment of Acharya Narendra Dev Committee by Government of Uttar Pradesh to examine the issue of providing guidance at schools. Following this, realizing the importance of vocational and educational guidance to school going people, Uttar Pradesh Government established a Bureau of Psychology in Allahabad. Dr. C.M.Bhatia, a renowned psychologist and author of Bhatia’s Battery of Performance Tests, was appointed as its first Director. Soon after this, five more regional bureaus – Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut and Bareilly – were established at Uttar Pradesh.
After about one decade, the Government of Bombay opened a vocational guidance bureau, which was later renamed as Institute of Vocational Guidance. It was during this time the first professional journal, “Journal of Counselling Psychology” was released. Following this, all India Vocational Guidance Association was organized and a decision was taken to start a journal. The journal had its first issue in 1956.
In 1954, the Government of India set up the Central bureau of Educational and Vocational Guidance in New Delhi. By 1955, 11 state bureaus were established. In 1958, M.S.University, Baroda, began counselling services and appointed a full-time counsellor.
Even though Governmental agencies as well as non-government organizations have come forward to the field of counselling, it is still on the process of emergence. Organized work and provision of professional services are still lacking. Another great challenge is that unqualified personnel and quacks have made the field doubtful to the public. Moreover, people seem to be confused with the terms counselling and guidance as well as with the ideas behind counselling and advice.

An orientation regarding difference between student personnel services and counselling may help to rectify the doubts of the people. Counselling is psychotherapeutic assistance, which requires academic preparation, professional training and supervised internship (Rao, 1981). Currently, the courses provided by the universities have started to maintain all these standards. But, professionals are yet to be hatched out to fulfill the needs of the society. Moreover, legislation for the certification of these professionals is yet to be formulated.

RESEARCH ON STRESS, EXPECTANCY FOR SUCCESS AND ACADEMIC RESILIENCE

STRESS, EXPECTANCY FOR SUCCESS AND ACADEMIC RESILIENCE AMONG THE ENGINEERING COLLEGE STUDENTS.

K.R.Santhosh* and O.S.Sreejith**
Abstract: The study analyzed how the experience of stress and the expectancy for success influenced the academic resilience of the engineering students. Data were collected from a purposive convenient sample of 150 students of the Government Engineering College located at Sreekrishnapuram (Palakkad district) in the state of Kerala. The instruments used were The Expectancy for Success Scale (Fibel and Hale, 1978) and Are You A Type A Student Questionnaire (Rathus and Fichner-Rathus, 1997). The students were classified into those with high academic resilience and those with low academic resilience on the basis of the score they received in the first semester exams. Univariate ANOVA indicated that students with high stress were low in their academic resilience and those with high expectancy is high in their academic resilience. Linear regression analysis indicated that stress has inverse relationship with expectancy for success in the engineering college students.
Keywords: Academic resilience, Stress, Expectancy for success.
*K.R.Santhosh, M.A., M.Sc., Ph.D.
Research Psychologist, AMMA Psychological Research Centre, Cherpalchery, Palakkad – 679503. email: sunthoshh@gmail.com
**O.S.Sreejith, M.Sc.
Educational Psychologist, AMMA Psychological Research Centre, Cherpalchery, Palakkad – 679503

Personality Types and Heart Attack

Individuals can be classified into two on the basis of their personality types-Type A and Type B.
Type A personality includes a set of characteristics that includes being impatient, excessively time-conscious, insecure about one's status, highly competitive, hostile and aggressive, and incapable of relaxation. Type A individuals are often highly achieving workaholics who multi-task, drive themselves with deadlines, and are unhappy about the smallest of delays. Although they may exhibit some or all of these characteristics, it does not mean that people with the type A personality are incapable of showing love, affection or other types of non-pessimistic behavior. Many are also capable of "couching" some of these behavior attributes with proper treatment and medication. Those who do not seek treatment have been described as stress junkies, and often display some of the following characteristics:
1. An intrinsic insecurity or insufficient level of self-esteem, which is considered to be the root cause of the syndrome. This is believed to be covert and therefore less observable.
2. Time urgency and impatience, which causes irritation and exasperation.
3. Free floating hostility, which can be triggered even over little incidents.
The Type B personality, in contrast, is patient, relaxed, and easy-going.
An individual can work any number of hours provided he/she enjoys it. Otherwise it causes stress. Negative personalities like Type A trigger negative psycho-neuro-humoro-viscero-immune chain reaction. This increases the hormones of fright, fight and flight (adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol) resulting in a rise in heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, bad cholesterol (LDL) and decrease in good cholesterol (HDL). This leads to the narrowing of coronary arteries namely left and right (in turn endangering the blood supply to the heart muscle (myocardium), which in turn causes an imbalance between demand and supply of oxygen to the heart.
These individuals generally see their work as stressful, tend to over eat, lead a sedentary life, are obese and also smoke. This kind of a lifestyle leads to hypertension, diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia, which culminates in coronary heart disease (CAD) and other health problems. There are three mechanisms of CAD: narrowing of the coronary arteries by the deposit of excess cholesterol or plaque; the erosion or rupture of plaque causing an instantaneous blood clot; acute coronary spasm. Obstructions up to 70 percent in the coronary arteries are sometimes compensated by coronary reserves, a gift of Nature. But beyond 70 percent, it manifests as effort angina or chest pain caused by exertion. Total or 100 percent block leads to a heart attack.
The increasing incidence of CAD among youngsters can be attributed to a combination of stress, insecurity and unhealthy lifestyle. A majority of the heart attacks occur between 5.00 a.m. and 8.00 a.m. due to over anxiety about work.
Type B personalities have a positive chain reaction that results in increased secretion of hormones like endorphins, melatonin and serotonin that help the organs including the heart to function normally.
A healthy work culture along with lifestyle modification not only helps in primary prevention of heart disease but also in reversing blocked coronary arteries. Intermittent breaks, mild stretching exercises, including more vegetables and fruits in diet and mental relaxation help improve one’s performance.
Globally about 30 percent of heart attack victims die within 2-3 minutes of the onset of pain. The only solution is primary prevention. Interventions like stenting and bypass surgery are temporary measures.
The only permanent cure is effective lifestyle changes. Three mantras for a healthy heart:
1. Positive Thought
2. Healthy food
3. Adequate exercise.
Reference:
Chockalingam, V (27/9/2009), Magazine, The Hindu Daily.
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/

Modifying Our Own Behaviour: Research Findings

Can people modify their own behaviour?

The answer is yes.

The first thing to do is to decide what is the "target" behaviour.

Similar is the case if you want to get rid of some behaviour.

Behaviour modification sepecialists emphasize a positive approach called "ignoring". Much better results are achieved when the emphasis is on the new behaviour to be acquired rathre than on the behaviour to be eliminated. For example, instead of setting a target of being less shy, you migh define the target behaviour as becoming more outgoing or more sociable. Other possible target behaviours are behaving more assertively, studying more, and getting along better with your room-mates. In each case, you have focused on the behaviour that you want to acquire rather than on the behaviour that you want to reduce or eliminate.

The next step is to define the target behaviour precisely: What exactly do you mean by "assertive" or by "sociable"? One way to do this is to imagine situations in which the target behaviour could be performed. Then describe in writing these situations and the way in which you now respond to them. For example, in the case of shyness, you might write: "when I am sitting in the lecture hall, waiting for class to begin, I don't talk to the people around me. " Next, write down bow you would rather act in that situation: "Ask the people sitting next to me how they like the class or the professor; or ask if they have seen any particularly good films recently."

The next step is to monitor your present behaviour by keeping a daily log of activities related to the target behaviour in order to establish your present rate of behaviour. At the same time, try to figure out if your present, undesirable behavoiur is being reinforced in some way. For example, if you find yourself unable to study, record what you do instead and try to determine how that undesirable behaviour is being reinforced.

The next step--the basic principle of self-modification--is to provide yourself with a positive reinforcer that is contingent on specific improvements in the target behaviour. You may be able to use the same reinforcer that now maintains your undesirable behaviour, or you may want to pick a new reinforcer.

(Obligation: "Psychology: An Introduction" 7th ed. by Charles G. Morris)

Research Findings on Listening Techniques.

Teachers are of different type. Type 1 come down to the students during the lecture, through various live illustrations. There is a type 2, teachers who would never come down, but try to raise the students to their level through an elevated style. Most of the students would like to listen type 1. But some, this may be very little, really motivated students love the type 2. In other words, type 2 lectures will be a great success in a class of active listeners. Active listeners, indeed, used to motivate the type 1 teachers too. They know how to control their attention in the teachers explanations, avoiding unnecessary internal as well as external noises. Is there any common process which is followed by active listeners? Yes; the following can be taken as some tips to become an active listener in the class.

The important steps for active listening can be summarized as LISAN.

L = Lead. Don’t follow. Try to anticipate what the instructor is going to say. Try to set questions as guides. Questions can come from the instructor’s study guides or the reading assignments. Or it can be made from the text too. If so, there should be a prior reading on the topic.

I = Ideas. Every lecture is based on a core of important ideas. Usually, an idea is introduced and examples or explanations are given. Ask yourself and make clear, “What is the main idea now?” And “What ideas support it?”

S = Signal words. Listen for words that tell you the direction the instructor is taking. For instance, here are some groups of signal words:
There are three reasons why … - The idea will follow
Most important is… - Next will be the main ideas.
On the contrary… - Opposite idea to the main idea will follow
As an example… - Support for main idea will be delivered.
Therefore… - The speaker tends to conclude.

A = Actively listen. Sit where you can hear and where you can be seen if you need to ask a question. Look at the instructor when he or she talks. Bring question you want answered from the last lecture or from your reading. Raise your hand at the beginning of class or approach your instructor before the lecture begins. Do anything that helps you to be active.

N = Note taking. As you listen, write down only key points. Listen to everything, but be selective and don’t try to write everything down. If you are too busy writing, you may not grasp what is being said. Any gaps in your notes can be filled in immediately after class.

Findings suggest that most students take reasonably good notes, but never use them properly! They wait until just before exams to review their notes. By then the notes would have lost much of their meaning. Thus, notes those are taken should be reviewed regularly. LISAN will help to listen carefully as well as to motivate the teachers. After all, good teachers are made by good students. The main reason for the lack of class room performance by well eminent scholars may be that they would not have faced well motivated class of students.