A Strong Partner for Sustainable Development

Module
In

CRIM 103
Course Code

HUMAN BEHAVIOR
AND
VICTIMOLOGY

College of Criminal Justice Education

Bachelor of Science in Criminology
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Module No. 1

INTRODUCTION
TO
HUMAN BEHAVIOR

2nd Semester AY 2021

JERALD JARDIN CENA, R. Crim

Instructor 1

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INSTRUCTION TO THE USER

This module would provide you an educational experience while

independently accomplishing the task at your own pace or time. It aims as well to
ensure that learning is unhampered by health and other challenges. It covers the
topic about Basic Types of Human Behavior, Classification of Human Behavior,
Pillars of Human Development Theories, Factors Affecting Human Behavior,
Abnormal Behavior, and Mental Disorders.

Reminders in using this module:

1. Keep this material neat and intact.

2. Answer the pretest first to measure what you know and what to be learned
about the topic discussed in this module.
3. Accomplish the activities and exercises as aids and reinforcement for better
understanding of the lessons.
4. Answer the post-test to evaluate your learning.
5. Do not take pictures in any parts of this module nor post it to social media
platforms.
6. Value this module for your own learning by heartily and honestly answering
and doing the exercises and activities. Time and effort were spent in the
preparation in order that learning will still continue amidst this Covid-19
pandemic.
7. Observe health protocols: wear mask, sanitize and maintain physical
distancing.

Hi! I’m Blue Bee, your WPU

Mascot.

Welcome to Western Philippines University!

Shape your dreams with quality learning experience.

STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY!

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CHAPTER I

Introduction to Human Behavior

Overview
This chapter presents an introduction to human behavior, basic types of human
behavior, classification of human behavior, pillars of human development theories, factors
affecting human behavior, abnormal behavior and mental disorders.

LESSON 1

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, you can:
1. discuss the basic types of behavior;
2. enumerate the classification of human behavior;
2. understand the pillars of human development theories; and
4. identify different factors affecting human behavior.

Time Allotment: 2 hours

Discussion:
Introduction to Human Behavior

Defining Human Behavior

Human behavior – can be defined as anything an organism does that involves self-
initiated action and reaction to a given stimulus. It is an attitude that a person adopts in
order to fit the society’s idea of right or wrong. It can be also defined as the sum total of
man's reaction to his environment or the way human beings act.

There are three significant contributors of this study, namely: Sigmund Freud, the
Father of Psychoanalysis, Francis Galton and his heredity and human behavior model study
as well as Charles Darwin guided by his Evolution Theory.
According, to Freud, human beings are just mechanical creatures that he views as
prisoners of primitive instincts and powers, which he can barely control. Further stating
that man’s purpose is to control these instincts and powers.
Behavioral genetics is a field of research in psychology, that aims to determine
heritability and to determine how much of the behavior is accounted for by genetic factors.
Behavioral genetics began in England with Sir Francis Galton and his study of the
inheritance of genius in families. He revealed that genius runs in families and concluded
that it is to a significant degree a heritable behavioral trait. Since Galton a lot of people tried
to prove that genetics play an important role in many aspects of behavior. Those people
proved that complex behaviors related to personality, psychopathology and cognition are all
influenced to some degree by genetics. They have also ascertained that genetics alone is
never enough to explain behavior because of the role of environment.
Most psychologists believe that behavior reflects both generic and environmental
aspects. They try to explain variability in a trait like intelligence or height or musically in
terms of the genetic and environmental differences among people within that population.
Heredity which refers to the transmission of genes from parents to offspring or the
sum of qualities and potentialities genetically derived from one’s ancestors and the
aggregate of social and cultural conditions of a community wherein a person is situated will

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tremendously shape and influence the development, character, type of human behavior of a
person and of society in general.

Human Behavior and Biological Nature of Man

The contribution of biology to a better understanding of human legal behavior seems

severely limited for three reasons: (I) Since laws are cognitive constructs of the human mind
which must be verbalized to become effective, man is the only species in which legal
behavior can be studied. All inferences from animal behavior studies and from evolutionary
considerations are highly speculative with respect to human legal behavior. (2) In the
ontogenetic development of human behavior there is adaptation of the behavior to the
environment, including culture. There seems no reliable procedure to factor out their
relative contribution, particularly since genetic adaptation can be easily photocopied.
Therefore, it is only rarely possible to separate a 'biological' component of human behavior
from a 'cultural' one. (3) Most theories pertaining to the evolution of behavior in animals
(and more so in man) are 'weak' theories with some reproductive but little predictive power;
they allow us to define probable modes for behavioral averages but say little about the
behavior of individuals, which is at issue in legal considerations.

Human Beings Defined

Human beings are intelligent social animals with the mental capacity to comprehend,
infer and think in rational ways.

Views in Human Behavior

1. Neurological View – deals with human actions in relation to events taking place inside the
body such as the brain and the nervous system.
2. Behavioral View – emphasizes on external functions of the human being that can be
observed and measured.
3. Cognitive View – it is concerned with the way the brain processes and transforms
information into various ways.
4. Psychoanalytical View – emphasizes unconscious motives that originate from aggressive
impulses in childhood.
5. Humanistic View – focuses on the subject’s experience, freedom of choice and motivation
toward self-actualization.

Two Basic Types of Human Behavior:

There are two basic types of behavior: (1) inherited behaviour and (2) learned
behavior. Normal human being exhibits both types of behaviours simultaneously and are
able to integrate them into fairly stable person that they are.

1. Inherited (Inborn) behavior – refers to any behavioral reactions or reflexes exhibited by

people because of their inherited capabilities or the process of natural selection. These
behaviors are modified through adaptation as the environment acts on the individual. Most
scientists believed that both physical and metal traits can be inherited by children from their
parents.
2. Learned (Operant) behavior – learned or operant behavior involves knowing or considering,
adoptions that enhance human being’s ability to cope with changes in the environment in
ways which improve the chances of survival. Learned behaviors, such as good command in
English, for verbal communication, logical problem-solving techniques, job skill and other
learned expertise, give people more control over their lives. It is the behavior that sets
human being apart from other animals.

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Social Relationship

Human being- as social animal - live and work as groups. A group is ordinary defined as
collection of individuals who derive satisfaction from interacting with each other in some
consistent and coordinated way as they strive to achieve a common goal or objectives.
Group are held together by various form of social relationship. A social relationship exists
when exist when people possess reciprocal expectation about one another so that they act in
relatively patterned ways. This concept is based on the fact that almost all human behaviour
is oriented towards others. Not only do people live and work together, they share common
beliefs, values, attitudes and normal understanding. They continuously interact and respond
to significant others. People shape their conscious and unconscious behaviour in relation to
the behavioural expectation of other within the group.

Groups, like the society in general, develop a distinctive way of life, or culture, that defines
appropriate ways of feeling, acting and thinking. Culture reflect the shared language, events,
symbols, rituals, and value attached to a particular group. While culture is derived from a
past behavior, it is perpetually reconstituted in present numbers through socialization
process. Culture embodied shared beliefs or how things work, and values that are
internalized by members of a group to produce behavioral norm. the culture must be
learned before it can be internalized. In this way, learning is defined as a dynamic process
which shows itself in charge behavior that is based on prior experience. People possess few,
if any instinctive skills and no instinctive knowledge which will enable them to survive.
People only survive by virtue of what they are learned from, shared with and modified
through interaction with other human beings in group settings.

As group develop they begin to establish their own unique personalities. In other words,
each group developed into an impersonal form that cannot be identified only with the
biography of one specific person. As a matter of fact, individual characteristic is almost over
showed by those of group itself. A police group, for instance, will usually exhibit
characteristics different from and beyond the mere total of those who make up the group.

Classification of Human Behavior:

1. Habitual – refers to motorized behavior usually manifested in language and emotion. –e.g.
a child brushing his teeth every morning and after taking his meals and before going to bed.;
Filipinos who have the knack of showing respect to elders by answering in conversations
with “PO” and “OPO” and mature persons crying when they are sentimental and hugging
and kissing in response to their emotions.
2. Instinctive – are generally unlearned and simply comes out of man’s instinct which can be
seen among instinct-instinct survival behavior. – e.g. A person will naturally eat and take
nourishment the moment he/she becomes hungry; drinking water when one is thirsty;
resting if one is tired; crying if one is hurt; and the most common instinct of man which is
his instinct of self-preservation.
3. Symbolic – are behaviors that are usually carried out by means of unsaid words and shown
through symbols or body signs. – e.g. the conduct of keeping portraits and photographs to
commit to memory a pleasant experience or an important person; diplomas and awards in
graduation to signify one’s academic achievements and a handshake or contract signing to
indicate an agreement person.
4. Complex – are those behaviors that combine two or more of the classified ones – e.g.
watching television while eating; texting while driving; signing while working and the likes.

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Characteristics of Behavior

a. Primary native or primary learned

Primary native or primary learned. The extreme of the mechanistic view is the theory of
instinct. An instinct is an innate biological force, which commands the organism to behave
in a particular way. The main advocate of the instinct theory was the psychologist
McDougall. He theorized that all thinking and behavior is the result of instincts, which are
fixed from birth, but which can be adjusted by learning and experience in his book Social
Psychology McDougall enumerated several instinctive drives. Like fear, curiosity, aggression
and reproduction. By changes and combinations of instincts he tried to explain the whole
repertoire of human behavior.

The instinct theory was supported by many psycho-analysts. For example, Freud
emphasized that human behavior could be rationalized by two major instincts: the instinct
to survive (such as a drive for sexual reproduction) and the instinct to avoid death, which
causes aggression.
Quite soon, it became obvious that many instincts were required to explain human
behavior and, even worse, these instincts did not explain very much; so many instincts were
postulated such that any type of behavior could be explain. A better phrasing would be to
say that instincts provide a description of behavior, rather than an explanation.

In the 1920’s instinct theory was replaced by the theory of drives. A driving force
originates from a natural need, like thirst. Such a situation stimulates the organism to
comply with the need. Lack of food causes chemical changes in the blood, which causes the
need for food, which stimulates the organism to look for food.

Behavior may also be attributed to the learning or cognitive process of man. Learning
denotes a permanent change as the result of specific experiences. Learning is basic for
understanding behavior. Learning may be defined as a relatively permanent change in
behavior that occurs as the result of prior experience.

There are several types of learning. Associative learning which is the most basic form of
learning. It is making a new association between events in the environment. Psychologist
distinguish two types of associative learning; the classical conditioning and the operant
conditioning. The more complicated types of learning are called cognitive learning. The
types of learning as a large overlap with memory and language.

b. Evoke by external stimuli or internal need

Evoked by external stimuli or internal need. Philosophers in the seventeenth and eighteenth
century (like Descartes and Hobbes) shared a mechanistic view. They thought that some of
our actions are the result of internal and external forces, which are not under voluntary
control. Hobbes, for example, claimed that underlying reasons for behavior are the
avoidance of pain and the quest for pleasure.
c. Automatic, voluntary, conscious or motorized
Automatic, voluntary, conscious, motor or international. Every moment of the day your
nervous system is active. It changes millions of signals corresponding with feeling, thoughts
and actions. A simple example of how important the nervous system is in your behavior in
meeting an acquaintance, relative or a friend or stranger.
First, the visual information of your eyes is sent to your brain by nervous cells. There the
information is interpreted and translated into a signal to act. Finally, the brain sends a

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command to your voice or to another action system like muscles or glands. For example, you
may start walking towards him.

Your nervous system enables this rapid recognition and action.

The nervous system is the most complex system of the human body. The human brain itself
consists of at least 10 billion neurons. Single-cell creatures do not need a nervous system.
They are in immediate contact with their environment and do not need communication
between cells.

Attributes of Human Behavior

1. Duration – refers to the aspect of human behavior in terms of function of time, how long or
brief the interval maybe
2. Extensity – traits of human behavior which centers on size, distance, location (spatial
characteristics)
3. Intensity – features of human behavior which focuses in terms of magnitude, mild, strong,
(disintegrative)
4. Quantity – refers to the aspect of human behavior dealing with the normal and abnormal
traits.

Causation of Human Behavior

There are three general functions of the nervous system in man and animals:
• Sensing specific information about external and internal conditions (in the example above,
this is seeing your friend)
• Integrating that information (This is the understanding of the information coming from the
eyes)
• Issuing commands for a response from the muscles or glands (This is the reaction of
walking towards him)

There are basically three steps on how does human behavior takes place.

1. Sensation – the feeling or impression of stimulus

a. Visual – refers to man’s sense of sight
b. Olfactory – refers to our sense of smell
c. Cutaneous – refers to our sense of touch or feeling.
d. Auditory – man’s sense of hearing
e. Gustatory – man’s sense of taste.
2. Perception – refers to the person’s knowledge of a given stimulus which largely help to
determine the actual behavior response in a given stimulus.
3. Awareness - refers to the psychological activity (according to interpretation and
experience of object or stimulus)

Four Pillars of Human Development

1. Equity. It is the idea that every person has the right to an education and health care,
that there must be fairness for all.

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2. Sustainability. It encompasses the view that every person has the right to earn a
living that can sustain him or her, while everyone also has the right to access to goods
more evenly distributed among populations.

3. Production. It is the idea that people need more efficient social programs to be
introduced by their governments.

4. Empowerment. It is the view that people who are powerless, such as women, need to
be given power.

Theories of Child (Human) Development

Personality Theory

Psychoanalytic Theory by Sigmund Freud

The Structure of Personality or Tripartite Personality

The structure of personality, according to Sigmund Freud, is made up of three major
systems: the id, the ego and the superego. Behavior is always the product of an interaction
among these three systems; rarely does one system operate to the exclusion of the other two.

1. Id. Id allows us to get our basic needs met. Freud believed that the id is based on the
pleasure principle i.e. it wants immediate satisfaction, with no consideration for the
reality of the situation. Id is the selfish, primitive, childish, pleasure-oriented part of
personality with no ability to delay gratification. Freud called id as true psychic
reality since it represents the inner world of subjective experience and has no
knowledge of objective reality.

2. Ego. As the child interacts more with the world, the ego begins to develop. The ego's
job is to meet the needs of the id, whilst considering the constraints of reality. The
ego acknowledges that being impulsive or selfish can sometimes hurt us, so the id
must be constrained (reality principle). Ego is the moderator between the id and
superego which seeks compromises to pacify both.

3. Superego (Conscience of Man). The superego develops during the phallic stage
(see below) as a result of the moral constraints placed on us by our parents. It is
generally believed that a strong superego serves to inhibit the biological instincts of
the id (resulting in a high level of guilt), whereas a weak superego allows the id more
expression-resulting in a low level of guilt. Superego internalizes society and parental
standards of "good" and "bad", "right" and "wrong" behavior.

How people interact? People intermingle by three psychological positions or

behavioral patterns called ego states:

1. Parent ego state – which may be characterized as protective, idealistic, evaluative,

righteous, refer to laws, rules and standards.
2. Adult ego state – which centers more upon reason, factual, flexible, views as co-equal,
worthy, and reasonable human being.
3. Child ego state – which may be easily described as dependent, rebellious, selfish,
demanding, impatient and emotional.

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Levels of Awareness or Topographical Model by Sigmund Freud

1. The Conscious Level. It consists of whatever sensations and experiences persons

are aware of at a given moment of time.

2. The Preconscious Level. This domain is sometimes called available memory that
encompasses all experiences that are not conscious at the moment, but which can
easily be retrieved into awareness either spontaneously or with a minimum of effort.

3. The Unconscious Level. It is the deepest and major stratum of the human mind;
the storehouse for primitive instinctual drives plus emotion and memories that are so
threatening to the conscious mind that they have been repressed, or unconsciously
pushed to the unconscious mind. Examples are forgotten trauma in childhood or
repressed sexual desires of which you are unaware.

Freud's Model of Personality Development or Psychosexual Stages:

1. Oral Stage (0-18 Months). This is the first psychosexual stage in which the
infant’s source of id gratification is the mouth. Infant gets pleasure from sucking and
swallowing. Later when he has teeth, infant enjoys the aggressive pleasure of biting
and chewing. A child who is frustrated at this stage may develop an adult personality
that is characterized by pessimism, envy, and suspicion. The overindulged child may
develop to be optimistic, gullible, and full of admiration for others.
2. Anal Stage (18 Months-3 Years). When parents decide to toilet train their
children during anal stage, the children learn how much control they can exert over
others with anal sphincter muscles. Children can have the immediate pleasure of
expelling feces, but that may cause their parents to punish them.
This represents the conflict between the id, which derives pleasure from the
expulsion of bodily wastes, and the super-ego which represents external pressure to
control bodily functions, If the parents are too lenient in this conflict, it will result in
the formation of an anal expulsive character of the child who is disorganized,
reckless and defiant. Conversely, a child may opt to retain feces, thereby spiting his
parents, and may develop an anal-retentive character which is neat, stingy, and
obstinate.

3. Phallic Stage (3-6 years). Genitals become the primary source of pleasure at this
stage. The child’s erotic pleasure focuses on masturbation, that is, on self-
manipulation of the genitals. He develops a sexual attraction to the parent of the
opposite sex; boys develop unconscious desires for their mother and become rivals
with their father for her affection.
This reminiscent with Little Hans' case study. So, the boys develop a fear that
their father will punish them for these feelings (castration anxiety), so decide to
identify with him rather than fight him. As a result, the boy develops masculine
characteristics and represses his sexual feelings towards his mother. This is known
as:

a. Oedipus Complex. It refers to an instance where in boys build up a warm and

loving relationship with mothers (mommy’s boy).

b. Electra Complex. It refers to an occasion where in girls experience an intense

emotional attachment for their fathers (daddy’s girl). Note: The Oedipus Complex
is named for the king of Thebes who killed his father and married his mother.

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4. Latency Stage (6-11 Years). Sexual interest is relatively inactive in this stage.
Sexual energy is going through the process of sublimation and is being converted into
interest in schoolwork, riding bicycles, playing house and sports.

5. Genital Stage (11 Years on). This refers to the start of puberty and genital stage;
there is renewed interest in obtaining sexual pleasure through the genitals.
Masturbation often becomes frequent and leads to orgasm for the first time. Sexual
and romantic interests in others also become a central motive. Interest now turns to
heterosexual relationships. The lesser fixation ~ the child has in earlier stages, the
more chances of developing a "normal" personality, and thus develops healthy
meaningful relationships with those of the opposite sex.

Psychosexual Theory asserts that we are born with two basic instincts:

1. Eros. It is named after the Greek god of love. Eros includes the sex drives and drives
such as hunger and thirst.

2. Thanatos. It is named after Greek god of death. This includes not only striving for
death, but also destructive motives such as hostility and aggression. These drives
highly influence the personality of a person.

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages: A Summary.

Stage Focus
1. Oral (0-18 months) > Pleasure centers on the mouth (sucking, biting, chewing).
2. Anal (18-36 months) > Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder ' elimination; coping
with demands for control.
3. Phallic (3-6 years) > Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual
feelings.
4. Latency (6 years to puberty) > A phase of dormant sexual feelings.
5. Genital (puberty on) > Maturation of sexual interest.

Trait Theory

Trait theories attempt to learn and explain the traits that make up personality, the
differences between people in terms of their personal characteristics, and how they relate to
actual behavior.
Trait refers to the characteristics of an individual, describing a habitual way of
behaving, thinking, and feeling. Trait approach identifies where a person might lie along a
continuum of various personality characteristics.

Kinds of Trait by Gordon Allport

1. Common Traits. These are personality traits that are shared by most members of a
particular culture.

2. Individual Traits. These are personality traits that define a person’s unique individual
qualities.

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3. Cardinal Traits. These are personality traits that are so basic that all person’s activities
relate to these. It is a powerful and dominating behavioral predisposition that provides the
pivotal point in a person’s entire life. Allport said that only few people have cardinal traits.

4. Central Traits. These are the core traits that characterize an individual’s personality.
Central traits are the major characteristics of our personalities that are quite generalized and
enduring. They form the building blocks of our personalities.

5. Secondary Traits. These are traits that are inconsistent or relatively superficial, less
generalized and far less enduring that affects our behaviors in specific circumstances.

Kinds of Trait from Lewis Goldberg’s Big Five or Five Factor Theory

1. Extraversion. This dimension contrasts such traits as sociable, outgoing, talkative,

assertive, persuasive, decisive, and active with more introverted traits such as withdrawn,
quiet, passive, retiring, and reserved.

2. Neuroticism. People high on neuroticism are prone to emotional instability. They tend
to experience negative emotions and to be moody, irritable, nervous, and prone to worry.

3. Conscientiousness. This factor differentiates individuals who are dependable,

organized, reliable, responsible, thorough, hard-working, and preserving from those
undependable, disorganized, impulsive, unreliable, irresponsible, careless, negligent and
lazy.

4. Agreeableness. This factor is composed of a collection of traits that range from

compassion to antagonism towards others. A person high on agreeableness would be a
pleasant person, good-natured, warm, sympathetic, and cooperative.

5. Openness to Experience. This factor contrasts individuals who are imaginative,

curious, broad-minded, and cultured with those who are concrete-minded and practical, and
whose interests are narrow.

Personality Trait by Hans Eysenck

1. Extrovert. It refers to a person that is sociable, out-going, and active.

2. Introvert. It refers to a person that is withdrawn, quiet, and introspective,

3. Emotionally Unstable. It is a trait that is being anxious, excitable, and easily disturbed.

Eysenck, theorized that criminality and antisocial behavior are both positively and
causally related to high levels of psychoticism, extroversion and neuroticism. The theory says
that in extroverts, and possibly also - in people high on the psychoticism scale, biologically
determined low degrees of arousal and arousability lead to impulsive, risk-taking and
sensation-seeking behavior that increase the level of cortical (brain) arousal to a more
acceptable and enjoyable amount.
Eysenck did find that extroverts experience cortical under arousal, prefer higher
levels of stimulation, and are less responsive to punishment — they therefore do not learn
behavioral alternatives with the use of disciplinary action.

What is Temperament?
Temperament refers to the fundamental groundwork of character, generally
presumed to be biologically determined and existent early in life, inclusive of traits like
emotional reactiveness, energy level, reaction tempo, and motivation to explore.

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Four Types of Temperament

Melancholic - sad, gloomy

Choleric - hot-tempered, irritable
Phlegmatic - sluggish, calm
Sanguine - cheerful, hopeful

Theories of learning:

Connectionism Theory – Edward Lee Thorndike states that practice strengthens the
association between stimulus and response by using the law of exercise. That this
connection between the stimulus and response can be strengthen further by means of
rewards or satisfaction, but can be weakened by punishment and dissatisfaction, through
the use of the law of effect. This theory of learning assumed that if a thing is to be learned,
there should be frequent repetitions of stimulus and response.

Classical or Respondent Conditioning – by Ivan Petrovich Pavlov which states that

the association between a conditioned stimulus and response is strengthen by repeated
presentation with the unconditional stimulus.

Ex: It's important to note that classical conditioning involves placing a neutral signal before
a naturally occurring reflex. In Pavlov's classic experiment with dogs, the neutral signal was
the sound of a tone and the naturally occurring reflex was salivating in response to food. By
associating the neutral stimulus with the environmental stimulus (the presentation of food),
the sound of the tone alone could produce the salivation response. In order to understand
how more about how classical conditioning works, it is important to be familiar with the
basic principles of the process.

The Unconditioned Stimulus

Unconditioned Stimulus is one that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically
triggers a response. For example, when you smell one of your favorite foods, you may
immediately feel very hungry. In this example, the smell of the food is the unconditioned
stimulus.

Instrumental or Operant Conditioning – wherein the learning or stimulus response

relationship is strengthened by immediately making a follow-up of the thing learned.

Learning process:
a. Knowledge is gain.
b. Skill is produced.
c. Habits, attitudes, ideals are obtained.

Factors Affecting Human Behavior

1. Heredity – it is the passing of traits to offspring (from its parent or ancestors). This is the
process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the
characteristics of its parent cell or organism.
2. Environment – refers to surroundings of an object. It consists of conditions and factors
that surround and influence behavioral pattern. For example, a child who grew up in a place
where violence is a way of life, there is a great influence that the child would develop violent
behavior in early childhood which may turn into criminal behavior as the child turn into
adulthood.
3. Learning – is the process by which an individual’s behavior changes as a result of
experience or practice.

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Process of heredity
1. When a specialized egg cell is produced in the woman’s body join with the sperm cell
produced in the man’s body which occurs only during sexual intercourse.
2. After this the ovum and the sperm cell unite.
3. Union is caused of penetration of a sperm cell from the male to the ovum.
4. The fertilized egg or the ovum contains the potentialities of growth and development.

Man’s eight (8) stages of growth:

1. Pre-natal stage – which is composed of

a. Ovum period – first two weeks
b. Embryo period – second week to second month
c. Fetus period – second month to birth
2. Infancy period first two weeks after birth
3. Babyhood – second week to two years old
4. Childhood – divided into two (early childhood 2-6 years old and late childhood 7 to eleven
years old
5. Puberty – end of childhood and beginning of adolescence
a. Adolescence divided into: (early adolescence puberty 17 yrs. And late adolescence, 17 to 21
years old)
6. Adulthood – 21 to 40 years old
7. Middle age – forty to 60 years old
8. Old age – sixty and above

Developmental task
Every stage of life has its accompanying developmental task. They are tasked to
imposed on the individual by maturation and culture that prepare him for the next stage of
life.

Factors affecting learning

1. Motivation – arouses interest, provide an objective and direct towards a goal, thus it
facilitates learning.
2. Reinforcement – can be made through the use of audio-visual aids, reviews, drills, and
other means.
3. Extinction – means to let something die out or be forgotten by disuse if it will not facilitate
learning.
4. Association – meaning the more connection are made with a subject, the better it will
learn and retained.
5. Interest – in a lesson will facilitate learning and serves as its own motivation, aside from
having the one teaching making the topic interesting
6. Reward or punishment – should be immediate for it to be effective and make learning
easy.
7. Regency – means that learning should be made recent in the mind of learners for them not
forget what they have learned.

Value System
As human beings, we learn and share values by which we live. Values represent the
ideas and beliefs through which we define our personal goals, choose personal courses of
action and judge our own behavior with that of others.
According to a famous author in human behavior, Clare Graves, normal people,
regardless of their intelligence, developed through various levels of existence, that as they
moved from a very limited set of values to a wider system of values that gives much more
meaning to their life, old values give way to, and are replaced by new values that are more

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appropriate to the elevated level of existence. Individual values and value systems are
manifested among our people in their behaviors towards their works. Due to this, seven
psychosocial existences emerged such as:

1. Reactive – is the basic level of existence in the evolutionary chain. Reactive people are
childlike. They exist in the here and now and have no conception of cause or effect. They are
not aware of themselves or others as individuals. Their only real interest is in the
physiological aspects of work, such as pay, benefits, safety, working conditions, etc.

2. Tribalistic – is the first established "way of life." People at the tribal level are mainly
concerned with their own safety and the principal value is tradition. This type people have a
strong need for direction from the boss. They are impressed by the use of power and
authority in their place of work. Group values are considered to be binding. Violation of
group shared expectations gives strong negative sanctions.
3. Egocentric – egocentric people are inclined to be suspicious and disruptive at work. They
are often selfish, thoughtless, unscrupulous, and dishonest in dealing with others because
they have not learned to live within their means. Power is viewed as the inalienable right of
those who claimed it.

4. Conformist – conformist accept their position in life and inequity as a fact of life. They
subscribe to the work ethic and believe in self-sacrifice, duty, loyalty, and achieving
perfection for one's assigned role. They go by the book. They have very low tolerance for
those who doubt resist changes, and stays on status quo. Conformists tend to judge
themselves and others in terms of absolute moral law.

5. Manipulative – manipulators are wheeler-dealers who constantly strive to get ahead.

They are ambitious, practical, and utilitarian in their efforts to achieve recognition, status,
and material rewards. Manipulators see everything as a game. They are on the lookout for
the surest and best way to beat the system. They are goal-oriented moral entrepreneurs
with a desire to meet their own needs regardless of the cost to others within the
organization.

6. Sociocentric – this type feels that getting along with others is more important than
getting ahead of them. Their value system center around interpersonal relationship,
positive human relations, empathetic supervision, and goal-oriented collaboration within
the work group.

7. Existential – people focus their attention on themselves as autonomous individuals. They

believe in meaningful work through job enrichment. They value spontaneity over
conventionality. Continuing growth and development are very important to them. They are
intolerant of closed systems, overly restrictive policy, and arbitrary use of authority. They
are quite viewed as trouble makers and may be forced out of work because they do not or
will not conform to culturally mandated expectations.

Other Related Factors Affecting Human Behaviour

There are lots of sociological factors that could affect human behaviour, family life,
school, environment, violence in TV or in the home, weak or strong social ties,
socioeconomic status, neighborhood (clashing or cohesiveness of cultural norms) education
level obtain, poor social influence, societal norms and influences, religious influences. etc.,

Family:
The basic unit of society and thus plays an important and crucial part in the
upbringing of a person’s behavior especially from his/her formative years. It is the place
where person learn socialization. Personalities, characters, values and belief of a person are
initially shaped. Parents and older members play as role models. This is where a person

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feels emotionally secured by showing love and affection, support and encouragement.
However, many families fail in achieving these concepts. They fail to inculcate moral values
hence, they transmit attitudes that promote criminality.

School:
School is considered as second home which is also tasked to develop person’s
behavior, teachers hold power and students exercise little control over their education. The
teacher is the manager, whose task is to impose the curriculum upon the students, whether
students learn anything or not. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that some
students find school uninteresting, hostile, boring and uninviting, where the teacher-
student relationship is characterized by structured-conflict, and where teachers coerce
students into obedience and teach them to follow routines and submit to authority, or else.

Environment:
The place where a person learns to socialize with other people other than his family
such as neighbor and friends. When there are positive role models within the home and
community, the individual is able to learn positive ways of achieving goals. When there is
violence in the home, the individual learns that violence is the only available way of coping
with frustrations. This means that the more positive the environment a person is placed in,
the more likely s/he is able to conform to society and learn good behavior

Media influence:
Popular explanations of criminal behavior are often rest on ideas about the
corrupting influence of television, movies, music videos, video games, rap/hip-hop music
and computer games. Since the early 1990’s, a number of films have come out depicting
gang file, drugs, sex and violence. Mass media embraces all kinds of communications where
an individual is expose to.

Perception
Perception is a mental screen or filter through which information must pass before it
can be integrated in human thought processes and behavior. It is an inherently complex
psychosocial process by which human beings attach meaning to those things they experience
through the senses. It is defined then as, the process by which people organize and interpret
sensory input.
Perceptions are formed based on the interaction between the perceiver, the target,
and the situational context in which the perception takes place. These factors influence the
perceiver’s interpretation of all sensory data related to an idea, event, person, place, or
thing.

1. Perceiver – most scientist contend that there is really no such thing as objective reality.
They operate an assumption that perception depends, to a large extent, on the personal
characteristics and background of the perceiver research conducted on organizational
behavior indicates that emotions, beliefs, values, attitudes, motives, interests, experiences,
and expectations changed perception. They also help to determine the actual behavioral
response in any given situation

2. Target – aside from those factors noted, perception is affected by the characteristics of the
target itself. Since perception involves the attribution of meaning as well as interpretation,
many targets that are not well define are particularly susceptible to perceptual distortion.

3. Situation – there are number of situational variables with the potential to influence
individual’s perception of people, places and things. The physical surroundings and social
setting, emotional atmosphere and time frames, are important factors in perception

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formation. While the perceiver and the target remain the same, our perception of the target
is anchored to and changes with the situation.

Motivation
Motivation is the inner state that causes a person to behave in a way designed to
satisfy a need. In other words, motivation explains why we, as human beings, act the way we
do. The motivation process begins with physical and psychological needs or deficiencies
which leads to the accomplishment of certain goals. A motive is a stimulus which produces
an action that satisfy a need. The intense need to satisfy an unmet need is known as drive.
Perceived needs which are link to basic values become strong motives and are always
accompanied by powerful drives.

Hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid,

with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-
actualization at the top.
The most fundamental and basic four layers of the pyramid contain what Maslow called
"deficiency needs" or "d-needs": esteem, friendship and love, security, and physical needs.
With the exception of the most fundamental (physiological) needs, if these "deficiency
needs" are not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual feels anxious
and tense.
Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the
individual will strongly desire (or focus motivation upon) the secondary or higher-level
needs. Maslow also coined the term Metamotivation to describe the motivation of people
who go beyond the scope of the basic needs and strive for constant betterment.
Metamotivated people are driven by B-needs (Being Needs), instead of deficiency needs (D-
Needs).
The human mind and brain are complex and have parallel processes running at the
same time, so many different motivations from different levels of Maslow's pyramid usually
occur at the same time. Maslow was clear about speaking of these levels and their
satisfaction in terms such as "relative" and "general" and "primarily", and says that the
human organism is "dominated" by a certain need, rather than saying that the individual is
"only" focused on a certain need at any given time. So, Maslow acknowledges that many
different levels of motivation are likely to be going on in a human all at once. His focus in
discussing the hierarchy was to identify the basic types of motivations, and the order that
they generally progress as lower needs are reasonably well met.

Physiological needs
For the most part, physiological
needs are obvious – they are the literal
requirements for human survival. If
these requirements are not met, the
human body simply cannot continue to
function.
Physiological needs are the most
proponents of all the other needs.
Therefore, the human that lacks food, love, esteem, or safety would consider the greatest of
his/her needs to be food.
Air, water, and food are metabolic requirements for survival in all animals, including
humans. Clothing and shelter provide necessary protection from the elements. The intensity

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of the human sexual instinct is shaped more by sexual competition than maintaining a birth
rate adequate to survival of the species.

Safety needs
With their physical needs relatively satisfied, the individual's safety needs take
precedence and dominate behavior. In the absence of physical safety – due to war, natural
disaster, or, in cases of family violence, childhood abuse, etc. – people (re-)experience post-
traumatic stress disorder and trans-generational trauma transfer. In the absence of
economic safety – due to economic crisis and lack of work opportunities – these safety
needs manifest themselves in such things as a preference for job security, grievance
procedures for protecting the individual from unilateral authority, savings accounts,
insurance policies, reasonable disability accommodations, and the like. This level is more
likely to be found in children because they have a greater need to feel safe.
Safety and Security needs include:

▪ Personal security
▪ Financial security
▪ Health and well-being
▪ Safety net against accidents/illness and their adverse impacts

Love and belonging needs

After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layers of human needs are
interpersonal and involve feelings of belongingness. The need is especially strong in
childhood and can over-ride the need for safety as witnessed in children who cling to
abusive parents. Deficiencies with respect to this aspect of Maslow's hierarchy – due
to hospitalism, neglect, shunning, ostracism etc. – can impact individual's ability to form
and maintain emotionally significant relationships in general, such as:

▪ Friendship
▪ Intimacy
▪ Family
Humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, whether it comes from a large
social group, such as clubs, office culture, religious groups, professional organizations,
sports teams, gangs, or small social connections (family members, intimate partners,
mentors, close colleagues, confidants). They need to love and be loved (sexually and non-
sexually) by others. In the absence of these elements, many people become susceptible to
loneliness, social anxiety, and clinical depression. This need for belonging can often
overcome the physiological and security needs, depending on the strength of the peer
pressure; an anorexic, for example, may ignore the need to eat and the security of health for
a feeling of control and belonging.

Self-Esteem needs
All humans have a need to be respected and to have self-esteem and self-respect.
Esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People need
to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the
person a sense of contribution, to feel self-valued, be it in a profession or hobby. Imbalances
at this level can result in low self-esteem or an inferiority complex. People with low self-
esteem need respect from others. They may seek fame or glory, which again depends on
others. Note, however, that many people with low self-esteem will not be able to improve
their view of themselves simply by receiving fame, respect, and glory externally, but must

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first accept themselves internally. Psychological imbalances such as depression can also
prevent one from obtaining self-esteem on both levels.
Most people have a need for a stable self-respect and self-esteem. Maslow noted two
versions of esteem needs, a lower one and a higher one. The lower one is the need for the
respect of others, the need for status, recognition, fame, prestige, and attention. The higher
one is the need for self-respect, the need for strength, competence, mastery, self-confidence,
independence and freedom. The latter one ranks higher because it rests more on inner
competence won through experience. Deprivation of these needs can lead to an inferiority
complex, weakness and helplessness.
Maslow also states that even though these are examples of how the quest for knowledge is
separate from basic needs he warns that these “two hierarchies are interrelated rather than
sharply separated” (Maslow 97). This means that this level of need, as well as the next and
highest level, are not strict, separate levels but closely related to others, and this is possibly
the reason that these two levels of need are left out of most textbooks.

Self-actualization
Main article: Self-actualization
“What a man can be, he must be. This forms the basis of the perceived need for self-
actualization. This level of need pertains to what a person's full potential is and realizing that
potential. Maslow describes this desire as the desire to become more and more what one is,
to become everything that one is capable of becoming. This is a broad definition of the need
for self-actualization, but when applied to individuals the need is specific. For example, one
individual may have the strong desire to become an ideal parent, in another it may be
expressed athletically, and in another it may be expressed in painting, pictures, or
inventions. As mentioned before, in order to reach a clear understanding of this

Activity

Instruction: Just wait for the formal instructions of your instructor, your activity and quizzes
will be uploaded to your Google Classroom and That Quiz App.

LESSON 2

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, you can:
1. differentiated normal behavior to abnormal behavior;
2. enumerate the four D’s in abnormalities;
2. identify the models of abnormality;
4. understand the identification of abnormal behavior; and
5. familiarized the symptoms of abnormal behavior.

Time Allotment: 2 hours

Discussion:
Abnormal Behavior

What is "abnormal behavior”?

In order to assess, treat, and eventually prevent abnormal behavior, one must come up
with a clear definition of "Normal" and" Abnormal" and develop criteria to distinguish one
from the other in actual cases.

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Normal behavior – refers to a lack of significant deviation from the average. Another
possible definition is that "a normal" is someone who conforms to the predominant
behavior in a society. This can be for any number of reasons such as simple imitative
behavior, deliberate or inconsistent acceptance of society's standards, fear of humiliation or
rejection etc.

Oxford English Dictionary defines normal as conforming to a standard. The French

sociologist Émile Durkheim indicated in his Rules of the Sociological Method that the most
common behavior in a society is considered normal. People who do not go along are
violating social norms and will invite a sanction, which may be positive or negative, from
others in the society.
Abnormal literary means "away from the normal". It implies deviation from some
clearly defined norm. In the case of physical illness, the norm is the structural and
functional integrity of the body.

What is Abnormal Behavior?

Abnormal Behavior is something deviating from the normal or differing from the
typical, is a subjectively defined behavioral characteristic, assigned to those with rare or
dysfunctional conditions. It may be abnormal when it is unusual, socially unacceptable, self-
defeating, dangerous, or suggestive of faulty interpretation of reality or of personal distress.
It refers to behavior that is deviant, maladaptive, or personally distressful over a long period
of time.
The American Psychiatric Association defines abnormal behavior in medical terms as
a mental illness that affects or is manifested in a person’s brain and can affect the way a
person thinks, behaves, and interacts with people,

There are two basic and conflicting views used in distinguishing between
normal and abnormal behavior. These are the following:

1. Abnormal as Deviation from Social Norm

This view was formulated by Ullman and Krasner. They maintained that abnormal is
simply a label given to behavior that is deviant from social expectations. They also
maintained that behavior cannot be considered abnormal so long as society accepts it.
Serious question may be raised on the validity of this definition. It rests on the questionable
assumption that it is social acceptance that makes behavior normal - that one set of values is
as good as another for human beings to adopt. It then follows that the task of the
psychotherapist is to ensure that patients conforms to the norms their society views as
appropriate, regardless of the values on which these norms are based.

Social norms – rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values,
beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These are the behaviors and cues within a society or group
or are acceptable or expected patterns of behavior. They have also been described as the
customary rules of behavior that coordinates our interactions with others.

The social norms indicate the established and approved ways of doing things, of dress,
of speech and of appearance. These vary and evolve not only through time but also vary
from one age group to another and between social classes and social groups. What is
deemed to be acceptable dress, speech or behavior in one social group may not be accepted
in another.

2. Abnormal as Maladaptive

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Adaptive behavior – is a type of behavior that is used to adjust to another type of

behavior or situation. This is often characterized by a kind of behavior that allows an
individual to change an unconstructive or disruptive behavior to something more
constructive. These behaviors are most often social or personal behaviors.

Maladaptive behavior – is a behavior or trait that is not adaptive — it is

counterproductive to the individual. Maladaptivity is frequently used as an indicator of
abnormality or mental dysfunction.

Guidelines for Judging Abnormal Behavior

To a police officer, especially those assigned on beat and patrol, they have to decide
as to whether a person’s behavior is or is not normal. If it is abnormal, the officer will have to
decide whether it can be handled without police action or whether official intervention is
necessary. This will involve judgement as to how serious abnormal behavior is, in terms of
danger in both police officer, others and the society.

The following are the general and specific characteristics of behavior which
can be used to serve guidelines in assessing the problem;

Appropriateness
Normal behavior tends to be appropriate to the situation; abnormal behavior tends to
be inappropriate. The basis of behavior’s appropriateness includes assessment of not only
behavior itself but also the situation in which it is happening.

Flexibility
Normal behavior tends to be flexible; abnormal behavior tends to be inflexible.
Normal behavior, regardless of the place, tends to be flexible and can be change in order to
fit the given situation.

Impulsivity
(Normal behavior is more likely to be a result of consideration of its consequences,
with important decision being given careful thought before implementation) abnormal
behavior, uncontrolled or partially controlled needs and drives, tend to be impulsive

What is Psychopathology?
Psychopathology is the scientific study of mental disorders, including efforts to
understand their genetic, biological, psychological, and social causes; effective classification
schemes (nosology); course across all stages of development; manifestations; and treatment.
It is also defined as the origin of mental disorders, how they develop, and the symptoms they
might produce in a person.

The 4 Ds in Abnormality (Deviance, Distress, Dysfunction, Danger)

1. Deviance. This term describes the idea that specific thoughts, behaviors, and emotions
are considered deviant when they are unacceptable or not common in society. Clinicians
must, however, remember that minority groups are not always deemed deviant just because
they may not have anything in common with other groups. Therefore, we define an
individual’s actions as deviant or abnormal when his or her behavior is deemed unacceptable
by the culture he or she belongs to.

2. Distress. This term accounts for negative feelings by the individual with the disorder: He
or she may feel deeply troubled and affected by their illness.

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3. Dysfunction. This term involves maladaptive behavior that impairs the individual’s
ability to perform normal daily functions, such as getting ready for work in the morning, or
driving a car. Such maladaptive behaviors prevent the individual from living a normal,
healthy lifestyle. However, dysfunctional behavior is not always caused by a disorder; it may
be voluntary, such as engaging in a hunger strike.

4. Danger. This term involves dangerous or violent behavior directed at the individual, or
others in the environment. An example of dangerous behavior that may suggest a
psychological disorder is engaging in suicidal activity.

Models of Abnormality

1. Behavioral Model. Behaviorists believe that our actions are determined largely by
the experiences we have in life, rather than by underlying pathology of unconscious
forces. Abnormality is therefore seen as the development of behavior patterns that
are considered maladaptive (harmful) for the individual.
Behaviorism states that all behavior (including abnormal) is learned from the
environment (nurture), and that all behavior that has been learnt can also be
“unlearnt” (which is how abnormal behavior is treated).

The emphasis of the behavioral approach is on the environment and how

abnormal behavior is acquired, through classical conditioning, operant conditioning
and social learning. Learning environments can reinforce (re: operant conditioning)
problematic behaviors.

2. Cognitive Model. The cognitive approach assumes that a person’s thoughts are
responsible for their behavior. The model deals with how information is processed in
the brain and the impact of this on behavior. The basic assumptions are:

a. Maladaptive behavior is caused by faulty and irrational cognitions.

b. It is the way you think about a problem, rather than the problem itself: that
causes mental! disorders.

c. Individuals can overcome mental disorders by learning to use more appropriate

cognitions.

d. The individual is an active processor of information. How a person, perceives,

anticipates and evaluates events rather than the events themselves, which will have
an impact on behavior. This is generally believed to be an automatic process; in
other words, we do not really think about it.

3. Medical or Biological Model. The medical model of psychopathology believes

that disorders have an organic or physical cause. The focus of this approach is on
genetics, neurotransmitters, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, biochemistry etc. For
example, in terms of biochemistry — the dopamine hypothesis argues that elevated
levels of dopamine are related to symptoms of schizophrenia.
The approach argues that mental disorders are related to the physical
structure and functioning of the brain. For example, differences in brain structure
(abnormalities in the frontal and pre-frontal cortex, enlarged ventricles) have been
identified in people with schizophrenia.

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4. Psychodynamic Model. As mentioned earlier, the main assumptions include

Freud’s belief that abnormality came from the psychological causes rather than the
physical causes, that unresolved conflicts between the id, ego and superego can all
contribute to abnormality, for example:

a. Weak Ego. Well-adjusted people have a strong ego to cope with the demands of
both the id and the superego by allowing each to express itself at appropriate
times. If, however, the ego is weakened, then either the id or the superego,
whichever is stronger, may dominate the personality.

b. Unchecked Id Impulses. If id impulses are unchecked, they may be expressed

in self-destructive and immoral behavior. This may lead to disorders such as
conduct disorders in childhood and psychopathic [dangerously abnormal]
behavior in adulthood.

c. Too Powerful Superego. A superego that is too powerful, and therefore too
harsh and inflexible in its moral values, will restrict the id to such an extent that
the person will be deprived of even socially acceptable pleasures. According to
Freud this would create neurosis, which could be expressed in the symptoms of
anxiety disorders, such as phobias and obsessions.
Freud also believed that early childhood experiences and unconscious motivation
were responsible for disorders.

Identification of Abnormal Behavior

1. Deviation from Statistical Norm.

The word abnormal means away from the norm. Many population facts are
measured such as height, weight and intelligence. Most of the people fall within the
middle range of intelligence, but a few are abnormally stupid. But according to this
definition, a person who is extremely intelligent should be classified as abnormal.
Examples are:

a. Intelligence.
It is statistically abnormal for a person to get a score about 145 on an IQ
test or to get a score below 55, but only the lowest score is considered abnormal.

b. Anxiety.
A person who is anxious all the time or has a high level of anxiety and
someone who almost never feels anxiety are all considered to be abnormal.

2. Deviation from Social Norm.

Every culture has certain standards for acceptable behavior; behavior that
deviates from that standard is considered to be abnormal! behavior. But those
standards can change with time and vary from one society to another.

3. Maladaptive Behavior.
This third criterion is how the behavior affects the well-being of the individual
and/or social group. A man who attempts suicide or a paranoid individual who tries
to assassinate national leaders are illustrations under this criterion. The two aspects
of maladaptive behavior are:

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a. Maladaptive to One's self. It refers to the inability of a person to reach goals or

to adapt the demands of life.

b. Maladaptive to Society. It refers to a person's obstruction or disruption to social

group functioning,

4. Personal Distress.
The fourth criterion considers abnormality in terms of the individual’s
subjective feelings, personal distress, rather than his behavior. Most people
commonly diagnosed as 'mentally ill' feel miserable, anxious, depressed and may
suffer from insomnia.

5. Failure to Function Adequately.

Under this definition, a person is considered abnormal if they are unable to
cope with the demands of everyday life. They may be unable to perform the behaviors
necessary for day-to-day living e.g. self-care, hold down a job, interact meaningfully
with others, make themselves understood etc. The following characteristics that
define failure to function adequately:

a. suffering,
b. maladaptiveness (danger to self),
c. vividness and unconventionality (stand out),
d. unpredictably and loss of control,
e. irrationality/incomprehensibility,
f. causes observer discomfort, and
g. violates moral/social standards.

6. Deviation from Ideal Mental Health.

Under this definition, rather than defining what is abnormal, we define what
is normal/ideal and anything that deviates from this is regarded as abnormal. This
requires us to decide on the characteristics we consider necessary to mental health.
The six criteria by which mental health could be measured are as follows:

a. positive view of the self,

b. capability for growth and development,
c. autonomy and independence,
d. accurate perception of reality,
e. positive friendships and relationships, and
f. environmental mastery (able to meet the varying demands of day-to-day situations).

According to this approach, the more of these criteria are satisfied, the healthier the
individual is.

Symptoms of Abnormal Behavior

1. Long Periods of Discomfort. This could be anything as simple as, worrying

about a calculus test or grieving the death of a loved one. This distress is related to a real,
related, or threatened event and passes with time. When such distressing feelings,
however, persist for an extended period of time and seem to be unrelated to events
surrounding the person, they would be considered abnormal and could suggest a
psychological disorder.

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2. Impaired Functioning. Here, a distinction must be made between simply a

passing period of inefficiency and prolonged inefficiency which seems unexplainable. For
instance, a very brilliant person consistently fails in his classes or someone who
constantly changes his jobs for no apparent reason.

3. Bizarre Behavior. Bizarre behavior that has no rational basis seems to

indicate that the individual is confused. The psychoses frequently result in hallucinations
(baseless sensory perceptions) or delusions (beliefs which are patently false yet held as
true by the individual).

4. Disruptive Behavior. Disruptive behavior means impulsive, apparently

uncontrollable behavior that disrupts the lives of others or deprives them of their human
rights on a regular basis. This type of behavior is characteristic of a severe psychological
disorder. An example of this is the antisocial personality disorder.

Activity

Instruction: Just wait for the formal instructions of your instructor, your activity and
quizzes will be uploaded to your Google Classroom and That Quiz App.

LESSON 3

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, you can:
1. discuss the relationship between mental disorder and crime;
2. comprehended the meaning of mental retardation;
3. understand the four different degrees, causes, and symptoms of mental retardation;
4. explain the prevention of mental retardation; and
5. Analyzed the relationship of criminal behavior and intelligence to mental disorder.

Time Allotment: 2 hours

Discussion:
Mental Disorder

What is a Mental Disorder?

It refers to the significant impairment in psychological functioning. A mental
disorder, also called as mental illness or psychiatric disorder, it is a behavioral or mental
pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning.

According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV, a mental

disorder is a psychological syndrome or pattern which is associated with distress (e.g. via a
painful symptom), disability (impairment in One or more important areas of functioning),
increased risk of death, or causes a significant loss of autonomy; however it excludes normal
responses, such as grief from loss of a loved one, and also excludes deviant behavior for
political, religious, or societal reasons not arising from a dysfunction in the individual.

In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) redefined mental disorders in the DSM-
5 as "a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual's
cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological,
biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning.

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What is Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders?

It is better known as the DSM-IV, the manual is published by the APA and covers all
mental health disorders for both children and adults. It also lists known causes of these
disorders, statistics in terms of gender, age at onset, and prognosis as well as some research
concerning the optimal treatment approaches, Mental Health Professionals use this manual
when working with patients in order to better understand their illness and potential
treatment and to help 3rd party payers (e.g., insurance) understand the needs of the patient,
The book is typically considered the ‘bible’ for any professional who makes psychiatric
diagnoses in the United States and many other countries. Much of the diagnostic
information on these pages is gathered from the DSM-IV.

What is American Psychiatric Association (APA)?

It is a medical specialty society with over 35,000 US and international member
physicians who "work together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons
with mental disorder, including mental retardation and substance-related disorders. It is the
voice and conscience of modern psychiatry. Its vision is a society that has available,
accessible quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment." APA is the oldest national medical
specialty society in the US.

Relationship between Mental Disorder and Crime

The relationship between mental disorder and crime is an issue of significant

empirical complexity. It has been subject of extensive research, using both cross-sectional
and longitudinal designs and including samples of the general population, birth cohorts,
psychiatric patients, and incarcerated offenders. Nevertheless, findings have been equivocal.
On the one hand, the following are several results of studies that have found a relationship
between mental disorder and crime:

1. The risk of criminal behavior was significantly higher among subjects with mental
disorders, regardless of the socioeconomic status of the childhood family. In particular, the
higher risk for violent behavior was associated with alcohol-induced psychoses and with
schizophrenia with coexisting substance abuse.

2. A review on the five epidemiological investigations of post-Second World War birth

cohorts, concluded that persons who develop major mental disorders are at increased risk
across the lifespan of committing crimes. However, this increased risk may be limited to
generations of persons with major mental disorders born in the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s,
as they do not have received appropriate mental health care.

3. After examining data from national hospital and crime registers in Sweden, researchers
found that the overall population-attributable risk fraction of patients was 5%, indicating
that patients with severe mental disorder commit one in 20 violent crimes.

4. A comparison on Swiss in-patients with the general population resulted that patients were
more frequently registered in all crime categories, although there were differences between
the diagnostic groups: while alcoholics and drug users of both sexes had a significantly
higher criminality rate, a higher rate was found among female, but not male patients
suffering schizophrenia or related disorders.

5. Finally, homicidal behavior appears to have a statistical association with schizophrenia

and antisocial personality disorder.

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On the other hand, there are also studies that discard any relationship between mental
disorder and crime. They are as follows:

1. In a study which examined the ability of personal demographic, criminal history, and
clinical variables to predict recidivism in mentally disordered offenders in the United
Kingdom, researchers found that reconviction in mentally disordered offenders can be
predicted using the same criminogenic variables that are predictive in offenders without
mental disorders.

2. Researchers analyzed the relationship between violence and substance abuse among
patients with chronic mental disorder and found that major mental disorder alone with no
history of alcohol or drug abuse was associated with a considerably lower risk of violence.
Overall, the study showed no difference in the rate of violence between patients with major
mental disorders and patients with other diagnoses.

3. Other studies suggest that the diagnosis of schizophrenia and delusional disorder,
contrary to previous findings, do not predict higher rates of violence among recently
discharged psychiatric patients.

4. Similarly, researchers found that crime rate among male schizophrenic patients was
almost the same as that in the general male population. However, the crime rate among
females was twice that of the general female population, so the overall results of the study
were mixed.

What is Mental Retardation (MR)?

MR is a condition of limited ability in which an individual has a low Intelligence
Quotient (IQ), usually below 70 on a traditional intelligence test, and has difficulty adapting
to everyday life; he/she first exhibited these characteristics during the so-called
developmental period — by age 18.

MR is a developmental disability that first appears in children under the age of 18. It
is defined as a level of intellectual functioning (as measured by standard intelligence tests)
that is well below average and results in significant limitations in the person's daily living
skills (adaptive functioning). Adaptive skills are a term that refers to skills needed for daily
life. Such skills include the ability to produce and understand language (communication);
home-living skills; use of community resources; health, safety, leisure, self-care, and social
skills; self-direction; functional academic skills (reading, writing, and arithmetic); and job-
related skills.

Four Different Degrees of Mental Retardation

1. Mild Mental Retardation. Approximately 85% of the mentally retarded population is in the
mildly retarded category. Their IQ score ranges from 50- 70, and they can often acquire
academic skills up to about the sixth-grade level. They can become fairly self-sufficient and,
in some cases, live independently, with community and social support.

2. Moderate Mental Retardation. About 10% of the mentally retarded population is

considered moderately retarded. Moderately retarded persons have IQ scores ranging from
35-55. They can carry out work and self-care tasks with moderate supervision. They typically
acquire communication skills in childhood and are able to live and function successfully
within the community in such supervised environments as group homes.

3. Severe Mental Retardation. About 3-4% of the mentally retarded population is severely
retarded. Severely retarded persons have IQ scores of 20-40. They may master very basic

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self-care skills and some communication skills. Many severely retarded individuals are able
to live in a group home.

4. Profound Mental Retardation. Only 1-2% of the mentally retarded population is classified
as profoundly retarded. Profoundly retarded individuals have IQ scores under 20-25. They
may be able to develop basic self-care and communication skills with appropriate support
and training. Their retardation is often caused by an accompanying neurological disorder.
Profoundly retarded people need a high level of structure and supervision.

Causes and Symptoms of Mental Retardation

Low IQ scores and limitations in adaptive skills are the hallmarks of mental
retardation. Aggression, self-injury, and mood disorders are sometimes associated with the
disability. The severity of the symptoms and the age at which they first appear depend on the
cause. Children who are mentally retarded reach developmental milestones significantly
later than expected, if at all. If retardation is caused by chromosomal or other genetic
disorders, it is often apparent from infancy. If retardation is caused by childhood illnesses or
injuries, learning and adaptive skills that were once easy may suddenly become difficult or
impossible to master. In about 40% of cases, the cause of mental retardation cannot be
found.

Biological and environmental factors that can cause mental retardation

include the following:

1. Genetic Factors. About 30% of cases of mental retardation is caused by hereditary factors.
Mental retardation may be caused by an inherited genetic abnormality, such as fragile X
syndrome.

What is Fragile X Syndrome?

It is a defect in the chromosome that determines sex, is the most common inherited
cause of mental retardation. Single-gene defects such as phenylketonuria (PKU) and other
inborn errors of metabolism may also cause mental retardation if they are not discovered
and treated early. An accident or mutation in genetic development may also cause
retardation. Examples of such accidents are development of an extra chromosome 18
(trisomy 18) and Down syndrome. Down syndrome, also called mongolism or trisomy 21,
is caused by an abnormality in the development of chromosome 21. It is the most common
genetic cause of mental retardation.

2. Prenatal Illnesses and Issues. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) affects one in 3,000 children
in Western countries. It is caused by the mother's heavy drinking during the first twelve
weeks (trimester) of pregnancy. Some studies have shown that even moderate alcohol use
during pregnancy may cause learning disabilities in children. Drug abuse and cigarette
smoking during pregnancy have also been linked to mental retardation.

Maternal infections and such illnesses as glandular disorders, rubella, toxoplasmosis,

and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may cause mental retardation. When the mother has
high blood pressure (hypertension) or blood poisoning (toxemia), the flow of oxygen to the
fetus may be reduced, causing brain damage and mental retardation.

Birth defects that cause physical deformities of the head, brain, and central nervous
system frequently cause mental retardation. Neural tube defect, for example, is a birth defect
in which the neural tube that forms the spinal cord does not close completely. This defect
may cause children to develop an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid inside the skull
(hydrocephalus). Hydrocephalus can cause learning impairment by putting pressure on the
brain.

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3. Childhood Illnesses and Injuries. Hyperthyroidism, whooping cough, chickenpox,

measles, and Hib disease (a bacterial infection) may cause mental retardation if they are not
treated adequately. An infection of the membrane covering the brain (meningitis) or an
inflammation of the brain itself (encephalitis) can cause swelling that in turn may cause
brain damage and mental retardation. Traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head
or by violent shaking of the upper body may also cause brain damage and mental retardation
in children.

4. Environmental Factors. Ignored or neglected infants who are not provided with the
mental and physical stimulation required for normal development may suffer irreversible
learning impairment. Children who live in poverty and suffer from malnutrition, unhealthy
living conditions, abuse, and improper or inadequate medical care are at a higher risk.
Exposure to lead or mercury can also cause mental retardation. Many children have
developed lead poisoning from eating the flaking lead-based paint often found in older
buildings.

Intelligence Tests for Learning Abilities and Intellectual Functioning:

1. Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

2. Wechsler Intelligence Scales

3. Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence

4. Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children

Prevention of Mental Retardation

Immunization against diseases such as measles and Hib prevent many of the illnesses
that can cause mental retardation. In addition, all children should undergo routine
developmental screening as part of their pediatric care. Screening is particularly critical for
those children who may be neglected or undernourished or may live in disease-producing
conditions. Newborn screening and immediate treatment for PKU and hyperthyroidism can
usually catch these disorders early enough to prevent retardation.
Good prenatal care can also help prevent retardation. Pregnant women should be
educated about the risks of alcohol consumption and the need to maintain good nutrition
during pregnancy. Such tests as amniocentesis and ultrasonography can determine whether
a fetus is - developing normally in the womb.

Criminal Behavior and Intelligence

What is Criminal Behavior?

Criminal Behavior refers to a behavior which is criminal in nature; a behavior which
violates a law. Thus, the moment a person violates the law, he has already committed
[exhibited] criminal behavior. Criminal behavior refers to conduct of an offender that leads
to and including the commission of an unlawful act.
According to Goldoozian, for human behavior to be considered a crime, three
elements are necessary to be present:
1. Legally, the criminal act should be prohibited by law.
2. Materially, the criminal act should be executed or realized.
3. Spiritually, the criminal act should be accompanied by criminal intention or guilt.

Origins of Criminal Behavior: Criminological Perspective

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1. Biological Factor. Heredity as a factor implies that criminal acts are unavoidable,
inevitable consequences of the bad seed or bad blood. It emphasizes genetic predisposition
toward antisocial and criminal conduct as evidenced by some studies and theories such as:
Born Criminal (Cesare Lombroso), Physique and Somatotype (Ernst Kretschmer &
William Sheldon), and Juke and Kallikak (Richard Dugdale & Henry Goddard).

2. Personality Disorder Factor. Personality disorder factor refers to an act that exhibits
a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others that begins in
childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood such as Anti-Social Personality
Disorder.

3. Humanistic Factor. It identifies personal responsibility and feelings of self-acceptance

as the key causes of differences in personality. This perspective focuses on how humans have
evolved and adapted behaviors required for survival against various environmental pressures
over the long course of evolution.

4. Behavioral or Social Learning Factor. As mentioned above, behavioral/social

learning approach explains consistent behavior patterns as the result of conditioning and
expectations. This emphasizes the role of environment in shaping behavior.

What is Behavioral Personality Theory?

It is a model of personality that emphasizes learning and observable behavior.

What is Social Learning Theory?

It is an explanation of personality that combines learning principles, cognition, and
the effects of social relationships.

What is Self-reinforcement?
This is the praising or rewarding oneself for having made a particular response.

What is Identification?
It is a feeling from which one is emotionally connected to a person and a way of
seeing oneself as himself or herself. The child admires adults who love and care for him or
her and this encourages Imitation.

Specifically, the following are some criminological learning theories under

the behavioral or social learning factor:

a. Differential Association Theory by Edwin Sutherland

b. Imitation Theory by Gabriel Tarde
c. Identification Theory by Daniel Glaser

5. Cognitive Approach. Cognitive approach looks at differences in the way people process
information to explain differences in behavior. This perspective emphasizes the role of
mental processes that underlie behavior.

Intelligence and Criminality

What is Human Intelligence?

Human intelligence generally points to at least three characteristics. First,
intelligence is best understood as a compilation of brain-based cognitive abilities. According
to 52 eminent intelligence researchers, intelligence reflects “a very general mental capability
that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think
abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience.”

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The earliest causal explanation, popular during the early 1900s, portrayed criminals
as so feebleminded and mentally deficient that they could neither distinguish right
from wrong nor resist criminal impulses. This feeblemindedness -hypothesis, however, lost
favor long ago as it became clear that few criminals are actually mentally deficient and most
recognize, though may not follow, behavioral norms. A more recent, and more compelling,
causal explanation emphasizes the importance of intelligence especially intelligence—during
childhood socialization. The socialization of children involves constant verbal
communication and comprehension of abstract symbols; therefore, children with poor verbal
and cognitive skills have greater difficulty completing the socialization process, which puts
them at risk of under controlled, antisocial behavior. Empirical studies overall have
supported this developmental hypothesis, and it fits with the especially strong correlation
between verbal IQ and crime (see table below).

Binet Scale of Human Intelligence

IQ SCORE Original Name Modern Name
Bellow 20 Idiot Profound
20 to 49 Imbecile Severe
50 to 69 Moron/Feebleminded Moderate
70 to 79 Borderline Deficiency Mild
80 to 89 Dull Dull Normal
90 to 109 Normal or Average
110 to 119 Superior
120 to 139 Very Superior
Over140 Genius or Near-Genius

A final causal explanation links IQ to crime through school ‘performance. Less

intelligent students do less well in school, which results in academic frustration. This
frustration, in tur, weakens their attachment and commitment to schooling, and a weakened
bond to school, as per social control theory, allows for more criminal behavior. This school
performance hypothesis has received strong support from empirical studies, and it is
probably the most widely accepted explanation of the IQ-crime correlation.

Criminal Law and Intelligence

What is the McNaughton (M'Naghten) Rule?

In 1724 an English court maintained that a man was not responsible for an act if “he
does not know what he is doing, no more... a wild beast”. Modern standards of legal
responsibility, however, have been based on the McNaughton decision of 1843.
The formal insanity defense has its beginnings in 1843, when Daniel McNaughton
tried to kill Robert Peel, the British prime minister (he shot and killed his secretary instead).
At his trial, McNaughton testified that he believed that the British government was plotting
against him, and he was acquitted of murder. The McNaughton Rule requires that a
criminal defendant:

1. not know what he was doing at the time; or

2. not know that his actions were wrong (because of his delusional belief,
McNaughton thought he was defending himself.

The Rule created a presumption of sanity, unless the defense proved “at the time of
committing the act, the accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of
the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing or, if he did know it,
that he did not know what he was doing was wrong." This rule was adopted in the US, and
the distinction of knowing right from wrong remained the basis for most decisions of legal
insanity.

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What is the Durham Rule?

It also called as the Product Test which states that, “‘an accused is not criminally
responsible if his unlawful act is the product of mental disease or mental defect.” Some
States in USA added to their statutes this doctrine which is also known as irresistible
impulse recognizing some ill individuals may respond correctly, but may be unable to
control their behavior.
The Durham Rule was adopted in USA in 1954 but was overturned in 1972, largely
because its ambiguous reference to "mental disease or defect" places undue emphasis on
subjective judgments by psychiatrists, and can easily lead to a "battle of the experts.”

What is ALI "Substantial Capacity" Test?

Many states in USA now adopt a version of guidelines set out by the American Law
Institute (ALI) in 1962, which allows the insanity defense if, by virtue of mental illness, the
defendant:

1. lacks the ability to understand the meaning of his/her act; or

2. cannot control his/her impulses (sometimes known as the irresistible impulse test).

The Test was integrated by the ALI in its Model Penal Code Test, which improved on the
McNaughton rule and irresistible impulse tests. The new rule stated that a person is not
responsible for his criminal act if, as a result of the mental disease or defect, he lacks
substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his act or to conform his conduct to the
requirements of the law.
Still, this test has been criticized for its use of ambiguous words like “substantial
capacity" and "appreciate" as there would be differences in expert testimonies whether the
accused's degree of awareness was sufficient. Objections were also made to the exclusion of
psychopaths or persons whose abnormalities are manifested only by repeated criminal
conduct. Critics observed that psychopaths cannot be deterred and thus undeserving of
punishment.
In 1984, however, the U.S. Congress repudiated this test in favor of the McNaughton
style statutory formulation. It enacted the Comprehensive Crime Control Act which made the
appreciation test the law applicable in all federal courts. The test is similar to McNaughton as
it relies on the cognitive test. The accused is not required to prove lack of control as in the
ALI test. The appreciation test shifted the burden of proof to the defense, limited the scope of
expert testimony, eliminated the defense of diminished capacity and provided for
commitment of accused found to be insane.

Criminal Law and Intelligence in the Philippines

In the Philippines, the courts have established a more stringent criterion for insanity
to be exempting as it is required that there must be a complete deprivation of intelligence in
committing the act, i.e., the accused is deprived of reason; he acted without the least
discernment because there is a complete absence of the power to discern, or that there is a
total deprivation of the will. Mere abnormality of the mental faculties will not exclude
imputability.
The issue of insanity is a question of fact for insanity is a condition of the mind, not
susceptible of the usual means of proof. As no man can know what is going on in the mind of
another, the state or condition of a person's mind can only be measured and judged by his
behavior. Establishing the insanity of an accused requires opinion testimony which may be
given by a witness who is intimately acquainted with the accused, by a witness who has
rational basis to conclude that the accused was insane based on the witness’ own perception
of the accused, or by a witness who is qualified as an expert, such as a psychiatrist. The
testimony or proof of the accused's insanity must relate to the time preceding or coetaneous
with the commission of the offense with which he is charged.

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The Revised Penal Code

Article 12 of the Code exempts a person from criminal liability in consideration of
intelligence. They are as follows:

Paragraph 1. Any person who has committed a crime while the said person was imbecile or
insane during the commission.
When the imbecile or an insane person has committed an act which the law defines
as a felony (delito), the court shall order his confinement in one of the hospitals or asylums
established for persons thus afflicted, which he shall not be permitted to leave without first
obtaining the permission of the same court.

Suggested Readings:
1. People of the Philippines vs. Tibon, G.R. No. 188320, June 29, 2010.
2. People of the Philippines vs. Roger Austria Y Navarro (alias Bernie), G.R. No. 111517-19,
July 31, 1996.
3. People of the Philippines vs. Fernando Madarang Y Magno, G.R. No. 132319. May 12,
2000.
4. People of the Philippines vs. Celestino Bonoan Y Cruz, G.R. No. L-45130, February 17,
1937.

Paragraph 2. A person over nine years of age and under fifteen, unless he has acted with
discernment, in which case, such minor shall be proceeded against in accordance with the
provisions of Art. 80 of the Code.
Paragraph 3. Any person having an age of 9 years old and below.

Suggested Reading:
1. People of the Philippines vs. Morales, G.R. No. 148518, April 15, 2004.

Note: In connection to paragraph 2 and 3, Republic Act No. 9344 otherwise known as
Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, as amended by Republic Act 10609,
raised the criminal exemption from 9 to 15 years old. In addition, a person of this age is
totally exempted, whether he/she acted with or without discernment during the
commission of crime.

Activity

Instructions: Just wait for the formal instructions of your instructor, your activity and
quizzes will be uploaded to your Google Classroom and That Quiz App.

Lesson 4

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, you can:
1. recognized the factors that cause changes to human behavior;
2. acquired sufficient knowledge about effects to human behavior of emotion and
conflict;
3. analyzed the concept of defense and coping mechanisms exhibited by human beings;
and
4. evaluated how they (learners) exhibited defense and coping mechanisms.

Time Allotment: 2 hours

Discussion:
Human Behavior and Coping Mechanisms

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This chapter presents the factors affecting human behavior such as: emotion, conflict,
depression, stress, and frustration. It further provides their association to criminal behavior
based on researches. Lastly, this chapter includes topics about defense and coping
mechanisms in response to various kinds of frustration.

Emotion
Emotion refers to feelings affective responses ‘as a result of physiological arousal,
thoughts and beliefs, subjective evaluation and bodily expression. It is a state characterized
by facial expressions, gestures, postures and subjective feelings. It is associated with mood,
temperament, personality, and disposition. The English word emotion is derived from the
French word émouvoir. This is based on the Latin emovere, where e- (variant of ex-) means
out and movere means move. The related term motivation is also derived from movere.

Theories of Emotion

1. James-Lange Theory by William James and Carl Lange. This states that emotion
results from physiological states triggered by stimuli in the environment: emotion
occurs after physiological reactions. This theory and its derivatives states that a
changed situation leads to a changed bodily state. As James says, "the perception of
bodily changes as they occur is the emotion." James further claims that, “we feel sad
because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble, and neither have
we cried, strike, nor tremble because we are sorry, angry, or fearful, as the case may
be." ‘The theory has now been abandoned by most scholars.

2. Cannon-Bard Theory by Philip Bard and Walter Cannon. This suggests that
people feel emotions first and then act upon them. This is a theory that
emotion and physiological reactions occur simultaneously.

Example: see a man outside my window. I am afraid. I begin to perspire.

The Cannon-Bard Theory is based on the premise that one reacts to a specific stimulus
and experiences the corresponding emotion simultaneously. Cannon and Bard posited that
one is able to react to a stimulus only after experiencing the related emotion and experience.

3. Two Factor Theory by Schachter & Singer. This posits that emotion is the
cognitive interpretation of a physiological response. For many, this remains
the best formulation of emotion. Most people consider this to be the “common
sense" theory to explain physiological changes; their physiology changes as a
result of their emotion.

What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)?

EI is the areca of cognitive ability that facilitates interpersonal behavior. EI was
popularized in 1998 by Psychologist and behavioral science journalist Dr. Daniel Goleman in
his book, Emotional Intelligence. He described [1 as a person's ability to manage Is feelings,
so that those feelings are expressed appropriately and effectively.
EI is the capacity to understand and manage emotion; however, the content and
boundaries of this construct remain unsettled.
Mayer and Salovey, defined LI as, the ability to perceive emotion, integrate emotion to
facilitate thought, understand emotions, and to regulate emotions to promote personal
growth.

Five Components of Emotional Intelligence by Goleman

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1. Self-awareness. Individual have a healthy sense of EI self-awareness if they

understand their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as how their actions affect
others. A person with emotional self-awareness is usually receptive to, and able to
learn from, constructive criticism more than one who doesn't have emotional self-
awareness.

2. Self-regulation. A person with a high EI has the ability to exercise restraint and
control when expressing their emotions.

3. Motivation. People with high EI are self-motivated, resilient and driven by an inner
ambition rather than being influenced by outside forces, such as money or prestige.

4. Empathy. An empathetic person has compassion and is able to connect with other
people on an emotional level, helping them respond genuinely to other people's
concerns.

5. Social skills. Emotionally intelligent people are able to build trust with other
people, and are able to quickly gain respect from people they meet.

Emotional Intelligence and Criminal Behavior: Research Findings

1. The group of convicted offenders obtained significantly lower scores on all the
domains of MEII (Mangal Emotional Intelligence Inventory) such as intrapersonal
awareness (own emotions), interpersonal awareness (others emotions), intrapersonal
management (Own emotions) and interpersonal management (others emotions), and
aggregate emotional quotient in comparison to their normal counterparts.
Researchers concluded that, the convicted offenders’ group had significantly Lower
EI compared to normal subjects, Starting EI enhancement program in prison can
help the inmates better understand their feelings and emotions.
2. EI is deeply related to aggression and offending.

3. Persons with high EI levels are more able to moderate their emotions and are less
impulsive while individuals with low EI levels are more prone to risky behavior. They
also have a hard time understanding situations from the perspective of others and,
therefore, tend to be less empathetic.

4. A reduced capacity to regulate emotions could possibly maintain offending pattern of

behavior in criminals. For example, internet child sexual abuse is often preceded by
unregulated negative feelings.

5. A reduced capacity to regulate anger, desire, and sexual arousal may result in an
assault, theft, and sexual assault, respectively.

6. Some recent studies, consistently report EI deficits in criminals. In addition, some

studies indicate, that offenders are deficient in subcomponents of EI such as social
problem-solving, empathy, social competency, flexibility, impulse control, and self-
regard.

Conflict
Conflict is a stressful condition that occurs when a person must choose between
incompatible or contradictory alternatives. It is a negative emotional state caused by an
inability to choose between two or more incompatible goals or impulse. Conflict is the state
in which two or more motives cannot be satisfied because they interfere with one another.

Types of Conflict

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1. Psychological Conflict (Internal Conflict). Psychological conflict could be

going on inside the person and no one would know (instinct may be at odds with
values). Freud would say unconscious id battling superego and further claimed that
our personalities are always in conflict.

2. Social Conflict. The different kinds of social conflict are:

A. Interpersonal conflict,
B. Two individuals me against you,
C. Inter-group struggles (us against them),
D. Individual opposing a group (me against them, them against me), and
E. Intra-group conflict (members of group all against each other on a task).

3. Approach-Avoidance. Conflict can be described as having features of approach and

avoidance: approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, approach-avoidance. Approach
speaks to things that we want while Avoidance refers to things that we do not want. The
kinds of approach, ° avoidance are:

a. Approach-Approach Conflict. In this conflict, the individual must choose between

two positive goals of approximately equal value. In this, two pleasing things arc wanted
but only one option should be chosen.
Examples: Choice between two colleges, two roommates, or two ways of spending
the summer.

b. Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict. This conflict involves more obvious sources of

stress. The individual must choose between two or more negative outcomes.
Examples: (a) Study or do the dishes. (b) I don't want this and I don't want that.
(c) A woman with an unwanted pregnancy may be morally opposed by abortion.

c. Approach-Avoidance Conflict. This conflict exists when there is an attractive ‘and

unattractive part to both sides. It arises when obtaining a positive goal necessitates a
negative outcome as well.

Examples: (a) Gina is beautiful but she is lazy. (b) I want this but I don't want what
this entails. (c) A student who is offered a stolen copy of an important final exam.
Cheating will bring guilt and reduced self-esteem, but also a good grade.

d. Multiple-Approach-Avoidance Conflict. This refers to conflict with complex

combinations of approach and, avoidance conflicts. It requires individual to choose
between alternatives that contain both positive and negative consequences.

Functional versus Dysfunctional Conflict:

a. Dysfunctional Conflict. There is dysfunctional conflict if conflict disrupts, hinders

job performance, and upsets personal psychological functioning. ‘

b. Functional Conflict. There is functional conflict if conflict is responsive and

innovative aiding in creativity and viability,

Crime and Conflict

Criminal behavior as an indicator of conflict within the person, emphasizing either:

a. failure to resolve tensions generated in the course of interaction between the

organism and human figures in its environment; and

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b. tensions generated by person’s inability to satisfy the contradictory expectations of

others, or else to mobilize the resources needed to perform a role assigned to him.

Activity

Instructions: Just wait for the formal instructions of your instructor, your activity and
quizzes will be uploaded to your Google Classroom and That Quiz App.

LESSON 5

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, you can:
1. discuss the cause and symptoms of depression;
2. comprehended the forms of depression;
3. understand the relationship depression and criminality;
4. explain the types and categories of stress;
5. analyzed the phases of stress. And
6. familiarized the connection of stress and criminality.

Time Allotment: 2 hours

Discussion:
Depression

Depression is an illness that causes a person to feel sad and hopeless much of the
time. It is different from normal feelings of sadness, grief, or low energy. Anyone can have
depression. It often runs in families. But it can also happen to someone who doesn't have a
family history of depression.

Causes of Depression
a. Major events that create stress, such as childbirth or a death in the family.
b. Illnesses, such as arthritis, heart disease, or cancer.
c. Certain medicines, such as steroids or narcotics for pain relief.
d. Drinking alcohol or using illegal drugs.

Symptoms of Depression.
a. Think and speak more slowly than normal.
b. Have trouble concentrating, remembering, and making decisions.
c. Have changes in their eating and sleeping habits.
d. Lose interest in things they enjoyed before they were depressed.
e. Have feelings of guilt and hopelessness, wondering if life is worth living.
f. Think a lot about death or suicide.
g. Complain about problems that don't have a physical cause, such as headache and
stomachache.

Different Forms of Depression:

1. Major Depressive Disorder or Major Depression. It is characterized by a

combination of symptoms that interfere with a person's ability to work, sleep, study,
eat, and enjoy once pleasurable activities. It is disabling and prevents a person from
functioning normally. An episode of this may occur only once in a person's lifetime,
but more often, it recurs throughout a person's life.

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2. Dysthymic Disorder or Dysthymia. The symptoms do not occur for more than
two months at a time. Generally, this type of depression is described a6 having
persistent but less severe depressive symptoms than Major Depression. It manifests
nearly constant depressed mood for at least 2 years accompanied by at least two or
more of the following:
a. Decrease or increase in eating,
b. Difficulty sleeping or increase in sleeping,
c. Low energy or fatigue,
d. Low self-esteem,
e. Difficulty concentrating or making decisions, and Feeling hopeless.

3. Psychotic Depression. This occurs when a severe depressive illness is

accompanied by some form of psychosis, such as a break with reality, hallucinations,
and delusions.

4. Postpartum Depression. This occurs after having a baby. A new mother develops
a major depressive episode within one month after delivery. It is estimated that 10 to
15 percent of women experience this depression. In rare cases, a woman may have a
severe form of depression called postpartum psychosis. She may act strangely, see
or hear things that aren't there, and be a danger to herself and her baby.

5. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This occurs during the winter

months, when there is less natural sunlight. The depression generally lifts
during spring and summer. SAD may be effectively treated with light therapy,
but nearly half of those with SAD do not respond to light therapy alone.
Antidepressant medication and psychotherapy can reduce SAD symptoms,
either alone or in combination with light therapy.

6. Bipolar Disorder. This is also called as manic-depressive illness; it is characterized

by cyclical mood changes from extreme highs (mania) to extreme lows (depression).

7. Endogenous Depression. Endogenous means from within the body. This type of
depression is defined as feeling depressed for no apparent reason.

8. Situational Depression or Reactive Depression. This is also known as

Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood. Depressive symptoms develop in
response to a specific stressful situation or event (e.g. job loss, relationship ending).
These symptoms occur within 3 months of the stressor and fasts no longer than 6
months after the stressor (or its consequences) has ended, Depression symptoms
cause significant distress or impairs usual functioning (e.g. relationships, work,
school).

9. Agitated Depression. This is characterized by agitation such as physical and

emotional restlessness, irritability and insomnia, which is the opposite of many
depressed individuals who have low energy and feel slowed down physically and
mentally inappropriate social behavior.

Depression and Criminality: Research Findings

People with depression might be more likely to commit a violent crime than those
without depression, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed data from more than 47,000
people in Sweden who were diagnosed with depression and followed for an average of three

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years. They were compared to more than 898,000 gender and age-matched people without
depression. '
People with depression were five to six times more likely than those in the general
population to harm others or themselves, according to the researchers at Oxford University
in England.
“One important finding was that the vast majority of depressed persons were not
convicted of violent crimes, and that the rates reported are below those for schizophrenia
and bipolar disorder, and considerably lower than for alcohol or drug abuse.
Specifically, almost 4% of depressed men and 0.5% of depressed women committed a
violent crime after their depression diagnosis, compared with slightly more than 1% of men
and 0.2% of women in the general population. Quite understandably, there is considerable
concern about self-harm and suicide in depression.

Stress
Stress refers to the consequence of the failure of an organism (human or animal) to
respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats, whether actual or imagined. Stress is
a form of the Middle English destresse, derived via Old French from the Latin stringere,
to draw tight. The term stress was first employed in a biological context by the
endocrinologist Hans Selye in the 1930s. Stress can be thought of as any event that strains or
exceeds an individual’s ability to cope.

What is Stressor?
Stressor is anything (physical or psychological) that produces stress (negative or
positive). For example, getting a promotion is a positive event, but may also produce a great
deal of stress with all the new responsibilities, work load, etc.

Two Types of Stress:

1. Eustress or Positive Stress. Eustress is a word consisting of two parts. The prefix
derives from the Greek eu meaning either well or good. When attached to the word stress,
it literally means good stress.
It is a stress that is healthy or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings.
Eustress enhances function like physical or mental, such as through strength training or
challenging work.

Examples of positive personal stressors include:

a. receiving a promotion or raise at work,
b. Starling a new job,
c. marriage,
d. buying a home,
e. having a child,
f. taking a vacation,
g. holiday seasons, and the like.

2. Distress or Negative Stress. It refers to a persistent stress that is not resolved through
coping or adaption. Distress may lead to anxiety or withdrawal (depression) behaviour.
Effects of distress are:

a) ineffectiveness at tasks,
b) self-defeating behavior,
c) transitional suicidal behavior,
d) anxiety and fear,
e) loss of interest and initiative,
f) poor decision —making,

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g) apathy and cynicism, and the like.

Examples of negative personal stressors include:

a. the death of a family member,
b. injury of illness (oneself or a family member),
c. being abused or neglected
d. separation from a spouse or committed relationship partner,
e. conflict in interpersonal relationships,
f. bankruptcy/money at school
g. sleep problem
h. children’s problems at school
i. legal problems, and the like.

Three Phases of Stress (General Arousal [adaptation] Syndrome/GAS)

1. Alarm. It is the first phase. When the threat or stressor is identified or realized, the
body's stress response is a state of alarm. At this stage adrenaline will be produced in order
to bring about the fight-or-flight response.

2. Resistance. It is the second phase, If the stressor persists, it becomes necessary to

attempt some means of coping with the stress. Although the body begins to try to adapt to
the strains or demands of the environment, the body cannot keep this up indefinitely, so its
resources are gradually depleted.

3. Exhaustion. It is the third phase in the GAS model. At this point, all of the body's
resources arc eventually depleted and the body is unable to maintain normal function. The
initial autonomic nervous system symptoms may reappear sweating, raised heart rate etc.
The result can manifest itself in obvious illnesses such as ulcers, depression, diabetes,
trouble with the digestive system or even cardiovascular problems, along with other mental
illnesses.

Types and Categories of Stress:

1. Acute Stress. It refers to what most people identify as stress. It manifest tension
headaches, emotional upsets, gastrointestinal disturbances, feelings of agitation and
pressure.

2. Episodic Acute. It refers to stress that is more serious and can lead to migraines,
hypertension, stroke, heart attack, anxiety, depression, and serious gastrointestinal
distress.

3. Chronic Stress. It is the most serious of all; a stress that never ends. It grinds a
person down until resistance is gone. Serious systemic illness such as diabetes,
decreased immune-competence, perhaps cancer is its hallmark.

4. Traumatic Stress. It is the result of massive acute stress, the effects of which can
reverberate through our systems for years. Posttraumatic stress disorder is treatable
and reversible and usually requires professional aid.

Types of Short-Term Stress:

1. Acute Time. It refers to a limited stress that come on suddenly (acute) and are over
relatively quickly. Situations like public speaking and doing math fall into this category. It
may come without warning but are short in duration.

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2. Brief Naturalistic Stress. Il is a stress that is relatively short in duration such as

classroom test or a final exam.

Types of Long-Term Stress

1. Stressful Event Sequences. It refers to a single event that starts from a chain of
challenging situations such as losing a job or surviving a natural disaster.

2. Chronic Stress. It refers to a stress that lacks a clear end point. Often, they force
people to assume new roles or change their self-perception. Think of a refugee leaving
their native country or an injury leading to permanent disability; these are life-
changing events.

3. Distant Stress. It refers to stress that may have been initiated in the past (like
childhood abuse or trauma resulting from combat experiences) but continue to affect
the immune system. Distant stressors have long-lasting effects on emotional’ and
mental health.

How does stress affect Human Behavior?

Stress contributes to health problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart
problems, and skin conditions. It also influences cognitive processes because it is associated
with elevated levels of cortisol, a hormone that can influence brain functioning.

Stress and Criminality: Research Findings

Criminal actors and victims experience various forms of stress related to criminal
activity. Stress and crime are interrelated in a linear fashion (e.g., stress causes crime) and in
a reciprocal cycle (e.g., victimization inducing stress). Strain theories posit the causal
relationship of stress to crime, and psychological conditions, such as posttraumatic stress
disorder and acute stress disorder, explain the experience of stress caused by criminal action.
Using general strain theory to explain the causal relationship, recent research explores the
circumstances that cause stress and result in crime.

Stress can Trigger Violent Crimes: Research Findings

A stressful life event like the death of a parent can trigger individuals to commit violent
crimes, a new study has found. Researchers discovered that in the week after being exposed
to stress, people were more likely to go on to commit a violent crime themselves.

Stress Related Crimes: Research Findings

According to research, pervasive stress on a. societal scale also correlates with higher
crime, including homicide, aggravated assault, rape and robbery and contributes to the
outbreak of war, terrorism, and other social violence.
According to prevailing theories in the field of conflict management, the first stage in the
emergence of war is mounting stress political, ethnic, and religious tensions. Such social
stress, if unchecked, erupts as violent conflict or war. When such societal tensions run deep,
history confirms that diplomatic efforts, negotiated settlements, and ceasefires produce
fleeting results and provide no stable basis for lasting peace.

Frustration
Frustration is a negative emotional state that occurs when one is prevented from
reaching a goal. It is an unpleasant state of tension and heightened sympathetic activity,

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resulting from a blocked goal. Frustration is associated with motivation since we won’t be
frustrated if we were not motivated to achieve the goal. Frustration may be external or
personal.

What is External Frustration?

It is a distress caused by outwardly perceivable conditions that impedes progress
toward a goal.

What is Internal/Personal Frustration?

It is a distress caused by the individual’s inner characteristic that impedes progress
toward a ‘goal. The sources of frustration are as follows:

1. Physical obstacles such as drought, typhoons, flat tire, etc. that prevents a person
from doing his plans or fulfilling his wishes.

2. Social circumstances such as obstacles through the restrictions imposed by other

people and customs and laws of social being.

3. Personal shortcomings such as handicapped by diseases, blindness, deafness or

paralysis.

4. Conflicts between motives such as leaving college for a year to try painting, but
also pleasing one’s parents by remaining in school.

Is anger a source of frustration?

There is a saying "frustration begets anger and anger begets aggression." Direct anger
and aggression expressed toward the object perceived as the cause of the frustration. If
someone gets in your way, you could verbally threaten them or push them aside. If the
source ° of the frustration is too powerful or threatening for direct aggression, displaced
aggression is often used. The aggression is redirected toward a less threatening and more
available object.
An angry person often acts without thinking. The person has given in to the frustration
and they have given up restraint. Anger can be a healthy response if it motivates us to
positive action but all too often the actions we engage in when angry are destructive.

Common Responses to Frustration:

1. Aggression. It refers to any response made with the intent of harming

person/objects. The infliction may be a physical or psychological harm.

2. Displaced Aggression. It refers to the redirecting of aggression to a target other

than the actual source of one’s frustration.

3. Scapegoating. It refers to the act of blaming a person or group of people for

conditions not of their making.

4. Escape. It is the act of reducing discomfort by leaving frustrating situation or by

psychologically withdrawing from them such as apathy (pretending not to care) or
illegal drug use (see more in Lesson 6 below).

What is the Frustration Aggression Theory?

It refers to a frustration turning into aggression. Aggression is a malicious behavior
or attitude towards someone or something, usually triggered by frustration.

What is Frustration—induced Criminality?

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It refers to the idea that when a person’s behavior is directed at a specific goal and is
blocked; arousal increases and the individual experiences a need to reduce it. Individuals
who employ violence to reduce this frustration will, under extreme frustration, become more
vigorous than. usual, possibly even resorting to murder and other violent actions. A good
example of this is, the child who does not have their needs met and becomes frustrated. The
frustration of not having dependency needs met prevents the child from establishing
emotional attachments to other people. The individual may thus become resentful, angry,
and hostile toward other people in general.

What is the Hypothesis of Catharsis?

If a person buys a punching bag, o, release your aggression by playing Quake, or by
screaming, then he will be Jess. Violent’ and aggressive in day-to-day life, having "released"
aggression.

Coping: and Defense Mechanisms

What are Coping Mechanisms?

These refer to the sum total of ways in which people deal with minor to major stress
and trauma. Some of these processes are unconscious ones, others are learned behavior, and
still others are skills that individuals consciously master in order to reduce stress, or other
intense emotions like depression. Not all ways of coping are equally beneficial, and some can
actually be very detrimental.

What are Defense Mechanisms?

These refer to an individuals’ way of reacting to frustration. These are unconscious
psychological strategies brought into play by various entities to cope with reality and to
maintain self-image. Healthy persons normally use different defenses throughout life.
According to Freud, defense mechanisms are methods that ego uses to avoid recognizing
ideas or emotions that may cause personal anxiety; it is the unrealistic strategies used by the
ego to discharge tension.

List of Coping and Defense Mechanisms:

1. Acting Out. This means literally acting out the desires that are forbidden by the Super
ego and yet desired by the Id. We thus cope with the pressure to do what we believe is wrong
by giving in to the desire. A person who is acting out desires may do it in spite of his/her
conscience or may do it with relatively little thought. Thus, the act may be being deliberately
bad or may be thoughtless wrongdoing.
Examples:
a. An addict gives in to his/her desire for alcohol or drugs.
b. A person who dislikes another person seeks to cause actual harm to him/her.

2. Aim Inhibition. Sometimes we have desires and goals that we believe that we are unable
to achieve, in aim inhibition, we lower our sights, reducing our goals to something that we
believe is actually more possible or realistic.
Examples:
a. A person who sexually desires another person but is unable to fulfill that desire (for
example the other person is married) convinces himself/herself that all he/she really
wants is to be friends.
b. A person who wants to be a veterinarian does not get sufficient exam grades, so
becomes a vet's assistant instead.

3. Altruism. Avoid your own pains by concentrating on the pains of others. Maybe you can
heal yourself and feel good by healing them and helping them to feel good.

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Example: A self-made millionaire who grew up in poverty sets up a charitable foundation

and gains great pleasure from how it helps others get out of the poverty trap. She receives
social accolade and public recognition for her good deeds gratefully.

4. Attack. The best form of defense is attack; it is a common saying and is also a common
action, and when we feel threatened or attacked (even psychologically), we will attack back.
When a person feels stressed in some way, he/she may lash out at whoever is in the way,
whether the other person is a real cause or not. He/she may also attack inanimate objects.
Example: A person is having problems with his/her computer. He/she angrily bangs the
keyboard.

5. Avoidance. In avoidance, we simply find ways of avoiding having to face uncomfortable

situations, things or activities. The discomfort, for example, may come from unconscious
sexual or aggressive impulses.
Examples:
a. I dislike another person at work. J avoid walking past his/her desk. When people
talk about him/her, I say nothing.
b. My son does not like doing homework. Whenever the subject of school comes up, he
changes the topic. He also avoids looking directly at me.

6. Compartmentalization. It is a “divide and conquer” process for separating thoughts

that will conflict with one another. This may happen when there are different beliefs or even
when there are conflicting values.
Examples:
a. A person who is very religious and is also a scientist holds the opposing beliefs in
different cognitive compartments, such that when they are in church, they can have
blind faith, whilst when they are in the laboratory, they question everything.
b. My son is an angel in school and a demon at home.

7. Compensation. Where a person has a weakness in one area, they may compensate by
accentuating or building up strengths in another area. Thus, when they are faced with their
weakness, they can say, but I am good at..." and hence feel reasonably good about the
situation.
Examples:
a. A person who failed in Math excelled in English.
b. People who are not intellectually gifted may turn their attention to social skills.

8. Conversion. It occurs where cognitive tensions manifest themselves in physical

symptoms. The symptom may well be symbolic and dramatic and it often acts as a
communication about the situation. Extreme symptoms may include paralysis, blindness,
deafness, becoming mute or having a seizure while lesser symptoms include tiredness,
headaches and twitches.
Example: A person's arm becomes suddenly paralyzed after it has been used to threaten
to hit someone else.

9. Denial. It is simply refusing to acknowledge that an event has occurred. The person
affected simply acts as if nothing has happened, behaving in ways that others may see as
bizarre.
Example: A man hears that his wife has been killed, and yet refuses to believe it, still
setting the table for her and keeping her clothes and other accoutrements in the bedroom.

10. Displacement. It refers to the shifting of actions from a desired target to a substitute
target when there are some reasons why the first target is not permitted or not available.
Examples:

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a. The boss gets angry and shouts at me. I go home and shout at my wife. She then
shouts at our son. With nobody is left to displace anger onto, he goes and kicks the
dog.
b. A man wins the lottery. He turns to the person next to him and gives the person a
big kiss.

11. Dissociation. It involves separating a set of thoughts or activities from the main area of
conscious mind, in order to avoid the conflict that this would cause. This can also appear as
taking an objective, third-person perspective, where you ‘go to the balcony’ and look down
on the situation in order to remove emotion from your perspective (it is called dissociation of
affect).
Example: A religious person preaches kindness to all, yet is cruelly strict to children,
without realizing that there is a conflict between the two.

12. Emotionality. When we become stressed or tension is caused, a number of negative

emotions may start to build, including anger, frustration, fear, jealousy and so on. When we
display these emotions, it can affect others around us, arousing similar or polar feelings.
Some people are either not good at restraining their emotions or are less concerned about
the effect on others and more about the personal benefits of emotional outbursts. As a result,
they regularly and habitually display extreme emotions.
Examples:
a. Teenagers often cannot contain the emotions caused by physiological and temporal
development. As a result, they can be very emotional and can contribute
significantly to family problems.
b. A man who has had long relationship problems is given to angry outbursts that
both give temporary respite and yet add to the cycle of relational failures.

13. Fantasy or Day Dreaming. When we cannot achieve or do something that we want,
we channel the energy created by the desire into fantastic imaginings. Fantasy also provides
temporary relief from the general stresses of everyday living.
Examples:
a. A boy who is punished by a teacher creates fantasies of shooting the teacher.
b. A student who flunks university exams imagines that they could have passed the
exams ‘if they really wanted to’.

14. Fight-or-Flight Reaction. When we perceive a significant threat to us, then our
bodies get ready either for a fight to the death or a desperate flight from certain defeat by a
clearly superior adversary.
Example: A lion suddenly appeared in front of a person while walking in the forest. That
person may choose to wrestle the lion or run away to save his life.

15. Help-rejecting Complaining. A person becomes upset or otherwise elicits supporting

actions from other people. When helpful suggestions or other comfort is offered, however,
he/she reject this and return to his/her complaint.
Example: A person complains to his/her partner about problems at work. When the
partner suggests ways of resolving the problems, the solutions are rejected out of hand and
the person continues to complain.

16. Idealization. It is the over-estimation of the desirable qualities and underestimation of

the limitations of a desired thing. We also tend to idealize those things that we have chosen
or acquired. The opposite of idealization is demonization, where something that is not
desired or disliked has its weak points exaggerated and its strong points played down.
Examples:

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a. A teenager in awe of a rock star idealizes his/her idol, imagining him/her to have a
perfect life, to be kind and thoughtful, and so on. He/she ignore the star's grosser
habits and rough background.
b. I buy a sports car and look admiringly at its sleek lines. I ignore the fact that it
drinks fuel and is rather uncomfortable.

17. Identification. It occurs when a person changes apparent facets of his/her personality
such that he/she appears to be more like other people. This process may be to copy specific
people or it may be to change to an idealized prototype. Areas of identification may include
external elements, such as clothing and hair styles as well as internal factors such as beliefs,
values and attitudes.
Examples:
a. A girl dresses like her friends, as much because she likes the garb as any conscious
desire to be like them.
b. A person in a meeting adopts similar body language of his/her manager and tends
to take the same viewpoint.

18. Intellectualization. This refers to a “flight into reason”, where the person avoids
uncomfortable emotions by focusing on facts and logic. The situation is treated as an
interesting problem that engages the person on a rational basis, whilst the emotional aspects
are completely ignored as being irrelevant.
Example: A person who is in debt builds a complex spreadsheet of how long it would take
to repay using different payment options and interest rates.

19. Introjection. It occurs as a coping mechanism when we take on attributes of other

people who seem better able to cope with the situation than we do.
Examples:
a. I have to give a presentation but feel scared. I put on the hat of Abraham Lincoln and
imagine I am confidently giving a vital speech to the nation.
b. A child is threatened at his/her school. He/she takes on the strong~ defender
attributes that he/she perceives in his/her father and pushes away the bully.

20. Passive Aggression. A person who uses passive-aggressive method to cope with
stresses does this by ‘attacking’ others through passive means. Passive aggression often
appears when a person is asked to do something which he/she wants to avoid for some
reason (such as priority of other work). By appearing to agree but not making any real
commitment, he/she can avoid the action.
Examples: a. A sales person uses a persuasive sales pattern. The customer agrees that this
is just what he/she wants, but when it comes to signing the order, __ he/she finds reasons
why he/she cannot buy today. b. A change manager asks people to change what they do.
They agree but do not actually do what they agreed to do.

21. Post-traumatic Growth. An individual who has suffered a traumatic experience

somehow finds ways to turn it into something good. Typically, interpersonal relationships
are improved, with friends and family valued more and more time being spent in helping
others. Self-perception changes through the increase in resiliency gained from realizing you
can cope with hardship.
Examples:
a. A mother who has lost her child due to cancer raises significant money for cancer
charities.
b. After a terrorist attack, people are friendlier with others nearby and help out.

22. Projection. When a person has uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, he/she may project
these onto other people, assigning the thoughts or feelings that he/she need to repress to a

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convenient alternative target. Projection may also happen to obliterate attributes of other
people with which we are uncomfortable.
Examples:
a. An unfaithful husband suspects his wife of infidelity.
b. A woman who is attracted to a fellow worker accuses the person of sexual advances.

23. Provocation or Free-floating. When a person feels stressed, his/her way to avoid
dealing with the real issues is to provoke others into some kind of reaction.
Examples:
a. A very common Context for provocation is between teenagers and their parents,
siblings and teachers. ‘The teenager deliberately does something reprehensible, gets
told off, and then blames the other person.
b. Provocation is also a common cause of fights, both verbal and physical. A person
who needs to affirm his/her power will provoke a weaker other in order to escalate
into a conflict he/she is confident he/she can win.

24, Reaction Formation. It occurs when a person feels an urge to do or sa something and
then actually does or says something that is effectively the opposite of what he/she really
wants. It also appears as a defense against a feared social punishment.
Examples:
a. A person who is angry with a colleague actually ends up being particularly
courteous and friendly towards him/her.
b. A man who is gay has a number of conspicuous heterosexual affairs and openly
criticizes gays.

25. Rationalization. When something happens that we find difficult to accept, then we
will make up a logical reason why it has happened. We rationalize to ourselves. ‘
Examples:
a. A person evades paying taxes and then rationalizes it by talking about how the
government wastes or losses money through corruption.
b. A person fails to get good enough results to get into a chosen university and then
says that he/she didn't want to go there anyway.

26. Regression. It involves taking the position of a child in some problematic situation,
rather than acting in a more adult way. This is usually in response to stressful situations,
with greater levels of stress potentially leading to more overt regressive acts. Regressive
behavior can be simple and harmless, such as a person who is sucking a pen (as a Freudian
regression to oral fixation),
Examples:
a. A person who suffers a mental breakdown assumes a fetal position, rocking and
crying.
b. A college student carefully takes his/her teddy-bear with him/her (and goes to sleep
cuddling it).

27. Repression. It involves placing uncomfortable thoughts in relatively inaccessible areas

of the subconscious mind. Thus, when things occur that we are unable to cope with now, we
push them away, either planning to deal with them at another time or hoping that they will
fade away on their own accord. The level of ‘forgetting’ in repression can vary from a
temporary abolition of uncomfortable thoughts to a high level of amnesia, where events that
caused the anxiety are buried very deep.
Examples:
a. A child who is abused by a parent later has no recollection of the events, but has
trouble forming relationships.
b. A man has a phobia of spiders but cannot remember the first time he was afraid of
them.

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28. Self-harming. It refers to the person’s physically deliberately hurting himself in some
way or otherwise puts himself at high risk of harm.
Examples: a. Slapping oneself. b. Punching a hard wall.

29. Somatization. It occurs where a psychological problem tums into physical and
subconscious symptoms. This can range from simple twitching to skin rashes, heart
problems and worse.
Examples:
a. A policeman, who has to be very restricted in his professional behavior, develops
hypertension.
b. A worried actor develops a twitch.

30. Sublimation. It is the transformation of unwanted impulses into something less

harmful. This can simply be a distracting release or may be a constructive and valuable piece
of work. Many sports and games are sublimations of aggressive urges, as we sublimate the
desire to fight into the ritualistic activities of formal competition.
Examples:
a. I am angry. I go out and chop wood. I end up with a useful pile of firewood. I am
also fitter and nobody is harmed.
b. A person with strong sexual urges becomes an artist.

31. Suppression. This is where the person consciously and deliberately pushes down any
thought that leads to feelings of anxiety. Actions that take the person into anxiety-creating
situations may also be avoided.
Examples:
a. An older man has sexual feelings towards a teenager and quickly suppresses the
thought.
b. Tam about to take a short-cut down an alleyway. There are some people down
there. I decide to take the longer, but more ‘interesting’ route.

32. Substitution. This takes something that leads to discomfort and replace it with
something that does not lead to discomfort.
Examples:
a. Rather than making a difficult phone call, I call my daughter for a chat.
b. Instead of putting up a mirror, I put up a photograph of myself when I was
younger.

33. Symbolization. It is a way of handling inner conflicts by turning them into distinct
symbols. Symbols are often physical items, although there may also be symbolic acts and
metaphoric ideas.
Examples:
a. A soldier explains his decision to join the army as 'defending the flag’. b.
Aman asks for the woman's hand, symbolizing the ‘hand in marriage’.

34. Trivializing. When we are faced with a disappointment over something that is
important to us, we are faced with the problem of having our expectations and predictions
dashed. We may even have told other people about it beforehand, making it doubly
embarrassing that we have not gained what we expected. One way is to make something a
joke, laughing it off.
Examples:
a. A-girl rejects the advances of a boy. He tells his friends that she isn’t that pretty
anyway.
b. I lose a lot of money due to gambling. I tell myself that I didn't need it anyway.

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35. Undoing. It refers to performance of an act to ‘undo' a previous unacceptable act or

thought. Confession is a form of undoing, including that done in a church to a priest or a
secret admission to a close friend.
Examples:
a. A man who has been unkind to his wife buys her flowers (but does not apologize),
b. A person who has barged in front of others in a queue holds the door Open for them.

36. Positive Coping. There are a number of approaches that we can take to Cope in a
positive way with problems, including:
a. Immediate problem-solving: Seeking to fix the problem that is the Immediate
cause of our difficulty
b. Root-cause solving: Seeking to fix the underlying cause such that the problem will
never recur.
c. Benefit-finding: Looking for the good things amongst the bad.
d. Spiritual growth: Finding ways of turning the problem into a way to grow
‘spiritually' or emotionally.
Example: A student fails an exam. He/she views it as an opportunity to deepen his/her
learning and study hard.

Activity

Instructions: Just wait for the formal instructions of your instructor, your activity and
quizzes will be uploaded to your Google Classroom and That Quiz App.

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REFERENCE/S
Professional Conduct and Ethical Standards (2020). PCol Adelene Maghinay Florendo, PNP
(Ret) and PSSgt Rizza Ruth Maghinay Florendo. Wiseman’s Book Trading, Inc

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Vision 2020
WPU: the leading knowledge center for sustainable
development of West Philippines and beyond.

Mission
WPU commits to develop quality human resource and green
technologies for a dynamic economy and sustainable
development through relevant instruction,
research and extension services.

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WPU-QSF-ACAD-82A Rev. 00 (09.15.20)