DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Applied Psychology for Engineers

Assignment

Submitted By:
D B Surya Teja
USN: 1RV16CV108

In partial fulfillment for the award of degree of

Bachelor of Engineering in

Civil Engineering 2023-2024

 B.P.C.-001/2023-2024
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology is the scientific study of mental life and human behavior. It helps to explain how we
think, feel and act both individually and as part of a social group.

E. R. Hilgard, R. L. Atkinson, and R. C. Atkinson (1975) have compiled the changing definitions of
psychology starting from that of William James (1890) to that of Kenneth Clark and George Miller
(1970). Bagga and Singh (1990) have also cited the following two definitions of Woodworth and Munn,
respectively:

“Psychology is the scientific study of the activities of the individual in relation to his environment”.

“Psychology today concerns itself with the scientific investigation of behaviour, including from the
stand-point of behaviour, much of what earlier psychologists dealt with as experience”.

Basic Fields of Psychology: The basic fields in psychology are primarily concerned with identifying
the causes of behaviour.

Psychologists who work in these fields try to understand and describe the determinants of behaviour.
The description of basic fields are as follows:

(i) Biopsychology: This area of psychology is focussed on how the brain, neurons and nervous system
influence thoughts, feelings and behaviours. This field draws on many different disciplines including
basic psychology, experimental psychology, biology, physiology, cognitive psychology and
neuroscience. People who work in this field often study how brain injuries and brain diseases affects
human behaviour.

(ii) Cognitive Psychology: This area of psychology is centered on the science of how people think,
learn and remember. Psychologists who work in this field often study things such as perception,
language, learning, memory, attention, decision-making and problem-solving.

(iii) Comparative Psychology: This field of psychology is centered on the study of animal behaviour.
This area has its roots in the work of researchers such as Charles Darwin and Georges Romanes and
has grown into a highly multidisciplinary subject. Psychologists often contribute to this field, as do
biologists, anthropologists, ecologists, geneticists and many others.

(iv) Experimental Psychology: Experimental psychology is an area of psychology that utilises

scientific methods to research the mind and behaviour. Experimental psychologists work in a wide
variety of settings including colleges, universities, research centers, government and private businesses.
(v) Gender psychology: This psychology research on differences between males and females, the
acquisition of gender identity and the role of gender throughout life.

(vi) Learning psychology: This psychology studies how and why learning occurs. These
psychologists develop theories of learning and apply the laws and principles of learning to solve a
variety of human problems.

(vii) Personality Psychology: This field is focussed on the study of the thought patterns, feelings and
behaviours that make each individual unique. Classic theories of personality include Freud’s
psychoanalytic theory of personality and Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Personality
psychologists might study how different factors such as genetics, parenting and social experiences
influence how personality develops and changes.

(viii) Physiological psychology: It reads behaviour of our nervous system. In other words,
physiological psychologists investigate the role of biochemical changes within our nervous systems and
bodies in everything we do, sense, feel or think. Mostly, they use experimental method and do basic
research on the brain, nervous system and other physical origins of behaviour. Physiological psychology
is not only a part of psychology, but also is considered to be part of the broader fieldcalled
neurobiology which studies the nervous system and its functions.

Applied Fields of Psychology: Applied branch of psychology deals with solving problem by applying
inputs from the basic/academic branch. Psychologists of this field applied many theories of many basic
branches to solve problems. Following are the major branches of applied psychology:

(i) Social Psychology: This field of psychology is focussed on the study of topics such as group
behaviour, social perception, leadership, non-verbal behaviour, conformity, aggression and prejudice.
Social influences on behaviour are a major interest in social psychology, but social psychologists are
also focussed on how people perceive and interact with others.

(ii) Clinical Psychology: Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the
assessment and treatment of mental illness, abnormal behaviour, and psychiatric problems.

(iii) Community psychology: This branch of applied psychology promotes community-wide mental
health through research, prevention education and consultation. Community psychology offers a
framework for working with those marginalised by the social system that leads to self-aware social
change with an emphasis on value-based, participatory work and the forging of alliances. It is a way
of working that is pragmatic and reflexive, whilst not wedded to any particular orthodoxy of method.

(iv) Consumer psychology: It is an interdisciplinary study area that combines theories and research
methods from psychology. In consumer psychology, we learn why and how individuals and groups
engage in consumer activities, as well as how they are affected by them. A large part of this discipline
is focussed on the cognitive processes and behaviour involved when people purchase and use products
and services. Without knowing how people process information and how they subsequently act, it would
be difficult to explain consumer behaviour.

(v) Counseling Psychology: This field is one of the largest individual areas within psychology. It is
centered on treating clients experiencing mental distress and a wide variety of psychological symptoms.
The Society of Counselling Psychology describes the field as an area that can improve interpersonal
functioning throughout life by improving social and emotional health as well as addressing concerns
about health, work, family, marriage and more.

(vi) Educational Psychology: Psychologists who work in this field are focussed on understanding how
people learn. They might study how different variables influence individual student outcomes.
They also study topics such as learning disabilities, giftedness, the instructional process and individual
differences.

(vii)Engineering psychology: This applied field does applied research on the design of machinery,
computers, airplanes, automobiles and so on, for business, industry and the military. Psychologists
working in this field also write instruction manual in such a manner that can be understood by
laypersons so that they can operate complex machinery and home appliances.

(viii) Industrial-Organisational Psychology: This field of psychology often referred to as I/O

psychology, works to improve productivity and efficiency in the workplace while also maximising the
well-being of employees. I-O psychologists study topics such as worker attitudes, employee behaviours,
organisational processes and leadership.

Characteristics of learning

The learning is defined as ‘any relatively permanent change in behaviour, or behavioural potential,
produced by experience.” This definition has the following characteristics:

i) learning does not apply to temporary change in bahaviour

ii) the behavioural changes due to maturation process does not form part of learning.

iii) learning can result from vicarious as well as from direct experience

iv) learnings are not always positive in nature. We learn bad habits as well in the process.

Observational Learning: A learning condition in which living beings learn by observing behaviours
and the consequences of behaviour of others around them is “Observational Learning”. Observational
learning is a complex process more complex than mere imitation. In our societies, there are plenty of
examples of this learning such as, many criminals, caught by police, confessed that they committed
crime by viewing a particular movie or a serial of the same type. Many researches are available in the
literature, which reveal that young people learn aggression through watching the actions of others.

Bandura et al; (1963) reported one study known as ‘Bobo doll’ study. One group of nursery-school
children saw an adult engaged in aggressive actions against a large inflated Bobo doll. The adult who
was serving as model knocked the doll down, sat on it, insulted it verbally, repeatedly punched it in
nose. Another group of children were exposed to another model who behaved in a quiet, non- aggressive
manner. Afterwards, both the groups of children were put in a room where several toys including a
Bodo doll were available. The behaviours of children were observed carefully and found that those
children, who had seen aggressive model, started behaving in the same way. They punched the toy, sat
on it and uttered verbal abuse similar to those of the model. The control group children did not show any
kind of aggression and played peacefully. The results of this observation clearly indicatethat children
do shape their behaviour by observing others in social situations around us.

No doubt, observational learning exists where one adheres to the bahviours of a model, the liked person.
We may now be interested to know as how and to what extent we acquire behaviours, information or
concepts from others. Bandura (1986) described the four conditions which facilitate behaviour change
through observation. The four conditions are — attention, retention, production process and motivation.
For learning through observation one must pay attention to the persons performing activities which one
likes, people attractive to them, the behaviours which are desirable in the eyes of the observer, suiting
the needs and goals of the person observing the behaviours. In other words, the extent to which one
focuses on others’ behaviour is attention. Another factor is remembrances i.e. the extent to which one
remembers what the other person has done or what did he
say? More the remembrance, more quick is the adaption of actions. Suppose, we try to copy the tune
of a song. It will be easily ready if we correctly remember the musical details of the song. The third
factor is production processes. We may remember the song and its musical details but if we cannot
perform due to voice disability or lack of knowledge of musical principles, we cannot make a change
in our behavioural pattern. Hence, observational learning does not take place. Production process,
hence, depends on two main bases — the physical ability of the person getting learning and the capacity
to monitor the desired behaviour till perfection is achieved. The fourth factor, motivation, is extremely
powerful in behavioural learning. If the action, information received by a model is not useful for the
observer, then it will not be used and easily forgotten. Motivation keeps the observer in the state of
readiness to accept the things they need. Only such behaviours are borrowed from othersin the world
about which the observers feel it is a must for them. This motivation level results in increased efforts to
achieve success by observing others in the society. In most of the cases, some people become role
models due to this process:

Basic determinants

Both positive and negative behaviours are adapted through observational learning. People easily get
influenced by other people around them. The social, moral and other values are mostly absorbed by
behavioural learning model. This is why, the parents see that their children always play with good
children, see only socially desirable behaviours. Wr may remember in joint families old ladies mostly
used to tell religious, moral, social stories so that in open environment children should try to follow
the same pattern and be good children. Suppose, we visit some friend’s house. We get a cup of tea.
When the tea is over, we keep our cup ourselves on the table. Children are keen observers. If some child
observes our behaviour, on her visit to any other house, if sweet is given to her, she will try to keep the
empty plate on the table herself. This way, observational learning takes place. Aggression, or normal
bahaviour, in higher degree is supposed to be a negative behaviour. Many studies have shown that when
aggressive behaviour gets re-enforcement by observation in movie or television, it is accepted by
children or even adults. Aggressive is added to their repertoire. Later when angry or frustrated they use
such aggressive behaviours towards others.

Observational learning is a complex process - more complex than mere imitation. A child develops in
a society which may have a different cultural-social values than a place where, in adulthood, gets a job.
To adjust in a new situation is comparatively difficult and sometimes gets a ‘culture shock’. Such a
person may be given cross-cultural training through experimental approach based on behavioural
modeling. Here, trainees first watch films in which models exhibit the correct behaviours in a problem
situation. They, then, take part in role-play exercises to test their knowledge. Finally, they receive
constructive criticism regarding performance in role-play. Studies have found it very effective in
altering behaviours in the desirable direction (e.g. Harrison, 1992). The concept of social learning is
fully based on observational learning in which one observes determined by cognitive processes. While
deciding the model, one considers the outcome from different angles. If cognitively one is satisfied
then particular behaviour of the model is accepted. Such accepted behaviour stays in the person for a
long period. Observational learning, in a way, shapes our lives effectively.

Factors in formation of attitude

Attitude has to be inferred from statements or behaviour; it is intangible and not directly observable. In
other words, although we can observe and measure behaviour, we have to ask people about their
attitudes to various things, and hope that their replies are honest ones. This can cause difficulties if we
are researching a sensitive topic.

The formation of attitude is based on experience of the object, normally direct experience; driving a
particular make of car, or trying a particular brand of beer, will lead to the formation of an attitude. The
individual builds up a mental picture (perception) of the object, and forms an attitude accordingly. First
impressions are important, since they colour our later information gathering this is why people behave
themselves on the first date, so that the other person forms a favourable attitude.

Attitudes can be formed by a large number of factors. Some of these factors are as follows:

(1) Direct instruction: Sometimes direct instruction can influence attitude formation. For instance,
somebody gives information about a hair dye or usefulness of some fruit, we develop an attitude about
that product, may be positive or negative.

(2) Operant Conditioning: It is based on the simple form of learning, i.e. “Law of Effect”. For
example, behaviours including verbal behaviours and even thoughts tend to be repeated if they are
reinforced. Conversely, behaviours tend to be stopped when they are punished. Thus, if one expresses,
or acts out an attitude is strengthened and is likely to be expressed again. The reinforcement can be as
subtle as a smile or as obvious as a raise in salary. Operant conditioning is especially involved with
the behavioural component of attitudes.

(3) Classical Conditioning: It is one of the few frameworks that can potentially accommodate the
notion that preference or attitudes may develop through some automatic, non-cognitive system.
According to classical conditioning, learning a neutral stimulus comes to elicit an unconditioned
response when repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus. Social psychologists opined that it
applies to the development of attitudes as well. For instance, when a child repeatedly listens from his
father that electricity is dangerous for him, and it may lead to death when he come in contact, then the
child gradually develops a negative attitude towards electricity, even though initially the word
electricity was a neutral word for him.

(4) Observational learning: It is sometimes equated with imitation, i.e. the observer watches a model
perform an act, and then the observer does likewise. Children growing often watch parents and
significant others in the family and society doing things which they follow without questioning the
wisdom or logic behind these activities. They follow without question only because they trust in the
wisdom of their parents and significant others in the family and society.

(5) Cognitive Dissonance: It creates an unpleasant state of tension that motivates people to reduce their
dissonance by changing their cognitions, feelings or behaviours. For instance, a person who starts out
with a negative attitude towards taking drugs, will experience cognitive dissonance, if the drug makes
them feel pleasant and great, and they find themselves enjoying the drug experience. The dissonance
they experience is thus likely to motivate them to either change their attitude towards drug taking or
stop taking drugs. This process can be conscious, but often occurs without conscious awareness.

(6) Unconscious Motivation: For an individual, some attitudes are held due to their serving of some
unconscious function. For instance, an individual, who is threatened by his contracting HIV as he
visits prostitutes may employ the defence mechanism of reaction formation and become a crusader
against HIV. Or, an individual who feels inferior may feel somewhat better by putting down a group
other than their own. That individual will not be aware of the unconscious motivation at the time it is
operative because it is unconscious but he may become aware of ti as some later point in time.

(7) Rational analysis: This involves the careful weighing of evidence for, and against, a particular
attitude. For instance, an individual may carefully listen to the election campaigns and read opinions
of political experts in order to decide which candidate to vote for in an election.

Factors causing attitudinal change

Attitude change refers to a modification of an individual’s general evaluative perception of a stimulus

or set of stimuli. Thus, changes for any reason in a person’s general and enduring favourable or
unfavourable regard for some person, objects or issues fall under the rubric of attitude change.

The attitude of the individual is likely to change in future as the individual, the people around him and
the environmental matrix continue to remain fluid. It means there is the possibility of change in the
performance or the thinking of an individual about a certain fact in future. There are two important
factors in attitude change:

(1) Other things being equal congruent change in attitude is easier to bring about than incongruent
change.

(2) If the strength, stability and consonance among the present elements of attitude are higher, then
congruent change is easier to about than incongruent change.

Psychologists identify a number of factors that cause attitudinal change. These factors are as follows:

(1) Structure of Attitude: Less structural attitude systems are easier to change than structuralattitudes.

(2) Centrality of Related Values: Attitude related to central values are difficult to more in an
incongruent change.

(3) Strength and No. of Want Satisfaction: Functionally significant attitudes are less prone to
incongruent change.

(4) Consistency: An inconsistent attitudinal system, which is unstable, is easily changeable than
consistent attitudinal system, which is restively stable.

(5) Interconnectedness: Interconnected attitudes are resistant to incongruent change.

(6) Consonance of Attitude Cluster: Dissonant attitude cluster is more susceptible to incongruent
change than consonance attitudes are less prone to incongruent change.

(7) Suspiciousness: Highly suspicious person are resistant to change of attitude.

(8) Authoritarianism: Authoritarians are resistant to attitudinal change.

(9) Neuroticism: Higher the neuroticism, the greater the change in attitude.

(10) Cognitive need and Style: Cognitive need clarifiers are prone to incongruent change, while
cognitive need simplifiers are prone to congruent change.
(11) Manifest Anxiety: Persons with high manifest anxiety are more susceptible to attitude change.

(12) Extroversion– Introversion: Highly extroverted persons are more difficult to change their
attitude as compared to introverted persons.

(13) Aggressiveness: The more aggressive a person is, he is less susceptible to change of attitude.

Evolutionary and psychodynamic approaches to development.

The psychodynamic approach was put forward by Sigmund Freud. This approach includes allthe
theories in psychology that see human functioning based upon the interaction of drives and forces within
the person, particularly unconscious, and between the different structures of the personality.

In the tradition of Darwin, Freud recognised that we share with non-human animals certain common
processes that have survival as their aim. We need to breathe, feed and eliminate bodily wastes. And
to survive as a species, we need to reproduce. Freud believed we are endowed with a sexual instinct that
has as its purpose the preservation of the species. He later would add an aggressive instinct to explain
human aggression. Yet Freud believed that giving free rein to these instincts might tear apart the very
fabric of society and of the family unit itself. To live in an ordered society, Freud maintained, humans
need to control their primitive sexual and aggressive impulses. In other words, humans needto channel
their sexual and aggressive instincts in socially appropriate ways so as to live harmoniously with one
another. They need to learn that aggression or sexual touching is unacceptable except in socially
acceptable contexts, such as the football field (aggressive impulses) and the marital bed (sexual
impulses).

Freud developed psychoanalytic theory to account for how the mind accomplishes the task of balancing
these conflicting demands of instinct and social acceptability. Freud’s theory of personality is complex,
but it can be represented in terms of three major concepts, i.e. Id, Ego and Superego. Id represents the
unconscious and contains basic biological drives and needs. It is innate and devoid of rationality. Ego
is rational and rooted in reality. It strives to establish balance Sensation, Perception, between the
irrational impulses and desires of Id. Superego is a learned, normative structure of personality and it
strives to thwart the gratification of the needs expressed by the Id especially theones that go against
the norms of the society. The ego on its part tries to balance between the Id’s desires, superego’s
restriction and the real life situation in the society.

Thus, ego ensures gratification on Id through socially acceptable channels. For example, a person
moving on the road sees deliciously tasty mangoes; Id wants to eat those delicious mangoes. But the
person does not have money to buy mangoes and satisfy Id. Id may insist on stealing them and achieve
satisfaction but Superego warns that stealing is crime and sinful. Now, Ego intervenes it may direct the
person to go back, arrange for money and buy mangoes to satisfy Id or it may try to arrive at some
compromise between Id and superego through some other alternative.

Attention - its types and determinants.

Attention is the concept of cognitive psychological process, which concentrates on one aspect of the
environment while it ignores other things. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of
processing resources. Cognitive inhibition controls distracting stimuli within and outside environment.
Individuals capable of cognitive inhibition are able to keep their mind from other thoughts. They are
also able to prevent unrelated stimuli from interfering with the task at hand.
Capacity for cognitive inhibition increases with age and it develops markedly during middle childhood.
It receives further impetus during adolescence. It is believed that frontal lobe is largely responsible for
this.

Determinants of Attention:

(1) Nature of Stimulus: The nature of stimulus refers to the type of stimulus, whether it is visual,
auditory, tactual, gustatory and olfactory. Experiments have established the superiority of colour and
sound in attention in comparison to other stimulus.

(2) Change in Stimulus: Change is also determinantal for paying attention to any object. Attention
cannot be concentrated for a long period of time on same object. Those things that suddenly change
generally attract out attention immediately than those, which remain the same.

(3) Movement of Stimulus: We pay more attention towards moving objects, while it is not the case
with the static object. The influence of movement in attention is effectively employed by advertisers
who now advertise through moving lights, figures and rotators.

(4) Duration of Stimulus: Normally, a stimulus which lasts long attracts more attention, than to a
sensory stimulus of short duration. However, contrary to this, sometimes, a stimulus of a very short
duration, like the flash of the camera draws more attention. But this is merely because of the intensity
of the flash.

(5) Position of Stimulus: Change in the position of stimulus also attracts our attention. Other things
being equal, why is it that, a stimulus sometimes attracts our attention and sometimes not. The best
example of this is the newspaper. If a heading is printed on the front page, it attracts our attention but if
it is on inside pages, it does not attract our attention.

Types of attention

There are the following types of attention given by Sohlberg and Mateer (1989):

(1) Focussed attention: Focussed attention is the general ability to focus on a specific stimulus,
whether it is auditory, visual tactile or the like.

(2) Sustained attention: This type of attention allows humans to focus on a specific stimulus over a
certain amount of time. For example, visual sustained attention is crucial for reading this text and
gathering all its wisdom.

(3) Selective attention: Selective attention on vigilance is the ability to focus on a certain stimulus
while ignoring competing stimuli. Using the example of reading this text, a student would be using
selective attention if he or she maintains attention on reading while ignoring his or her roommate’s
phone conversation.

(4) Alternating attention: Alternating attention is where a person shifts focus from one task to another
task. A student might read his or her book, then shift attention to writing an essay, and then shift back
to reading the book.

(5) Divided attention: Divided attention is the ability to focus on two stimuli at the same time. For
example, a person might drive and talk on her cell phone at the same time, though this example may
be problematic because driving becomes an automatic task that draws less on our attentional resources.
Theories of intelligence.

Factor theories of intelligence are as follows:

(1) G Factor and S Factor Theory of Intelligence: We can give the credit for defining general
intelligence to Charles Spearman. He, by the Sensation, Perception, series of studies, which he had
collected in Hampshire, England and from other places, concluded that there was a common function
(or group of functions) across intellectual activities. He termed these functions or abilities to function
as intelligence.

He named this common function as “g” or general intelligence. He says that ‘intelligent’ behaviour is
affected by two mental ability factors:

• General intelligence (G factor)

• Specific abilities (S factor)

The G and S factors are working together in a unit. Generally, G factor of intelligence is not found in
the same proportion among all individuals. Variations in G factors are due to individual differences.
Concept of a G factor is the physical energy of the individuals. G factor is a general energy that functions
in all mental activity, but such as mathematics, language, science or any special ability. G factor is
gifted ability of the individual.

(2) Robert Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory: Robert Sternberg in 1985 proposed the Triarchic Theory
of Intelligence to provide a more comprehensive description of intellectual competence. This theory
consisted of interplay of three factors (components) of intelligence. These are as follows:

(i) Environmental Context (Meta-components): Higher order or executive processes

• Adapting behaviour to fit the environment.

• Adapting behaviour to fit one’s needs.

• Selecting an environment, which is more conducive to success.

He identified three general skills:

• Practical problem solving ability

• Verbal ability – to speak, write and use a large vocabulary.

• Social competence (ability to relate with others).

(ii) Prior Experience (Performance components):

• Dealing with new situation with the past learning from experience.

• Dealing with familiar situations effectively and with speed.

(iii) Cognitive Process (Knowledge acquisition components):

• Applying other processes also.

According to Sternberg, intelligent behaviour subsumes the cognitive processes like interpreting new
situation; separating important and relevant information from the unimportant and irrelevant;
identifying possible strategies for solving a problem; finding relationship among apparently different
ideas; using external feedback about performance, etc.

Role of heredity and environment

Heredity is the passing of traits to offspring (from its parent or ancestors). Human offspring receives 46
or 23 pairs of chromosomes from parents out of which 23 come from mother and other 23 come from
father. Physical characteristics and structures are transmitted to the child through genes contained
chromosomes. Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can accumulate and cause a species
to evolve.

The word “nurture” includes in it all the influences on development arising from prenatal, parental,
extended family and peer experiences, as well as factors such as media, marketing and socio- economic
status. Studies reveal that family environmental factors may have an effect upon childhood IQ,
accounting for up to a quarter of the variance. However, in middle age, intelligence is influenced by
life style choices. Cultural factors also play a role in intelligence. For example, in one study,
instead of grouping food and tools into separate categories, a particular community participant stated
“the knife goes with the orange because it cuts it”.

Three main memory systems.

There are the following three main memory systems:

1. Sensory Memory:

2. Short term Memory (STM): This type of memory holds information for short intervals. These
intervals can be of 1 minute or a day. For example, often, one can remember what s/he ate in the morning
but s/he will forget it on another day. In other words, short-term memory also depends on intervals
durations and degree of attention. Items in STM are not fully processed as in long-term memory (LTM)
but not as raw and unprocessed as the contents of sensory register. STM for verbal materials tends to
be in acoustic form even if the material is presented visually. For example, if a subject is shown a series
of letters, the immediate recall shows acoustic rather than visual confusions. Letters of similar sounds
produce more confusion in recall than the letters of similar writing
structures. STM storage capacity is very limited; according to one estimate, the size of an average
college student’s reading vocabulary is about 50,000 words.

The storage capacity of the STM is determined by the memory span, the number of items (either letters
of words) one can recall just after one presentation visually or orally. Miller (1956) found that a subject
can recall 7 items, give or take about 2. This is known as magic number. This indicates the capacity
limit of STM.

3. Long term Memory (LTM): When data or information stored in our memory and retrieved from it
to get into LTM. It can be referred as a storehouse of information from which we can use different
type of information at different time or intervals for our whole life. We use it in speaking, playing,
studying and so on. In short, LTM can be referred as the soul of our survival without any problem.

Milgram’s experiment on reactions to authority.

In the late 1960s, a young psychologists at Yale University, Stanley Milgram, began a set of experiments
that have come to be called “the obedience experiments”. Milgram (1974) was struck by the fact that
so many German citizens went along with Nazi behaviour before and during the Second World War
even when they knew atrocities were being committed to their Jewish neighbours and friends. He also
wondered why ordinarily decent human beings who became guards at the concentration camps turned
into monsters in their treatment of inmates, while carrying on seemingly exemplary family, religious
and neighbourly lives outside their work. Thus, motivated, Milgram created a set of experiments to test
whether and how ordinary human beings would react to authority.

The experiment and its variations were fairly simple. Milgram and his associates solicited participants
randomly by placing a newspaper advertisement and selecting from those respondents. Each participant
would receive $4.50 for spending a few hours at Yale (and later at an off-site location of lesser prestige)
in an experiment allegedly on investigating pedagogical methods.

Milgram studied the conditions in which Ss would agree or refuse to administer increasingly severe
electric shocks to another person when that person erred in learning a list of paired words. The learner
was actually in league with E, having instructed to give wrong answers and to demand with increasing
insistence as the shock increased that the experiment be stopped.

The shock generator (which actually only delivered a sample shock to convince S of its authenticity)
was marked from 15 (“slight shock”) to 450 volts (“danger: severe shock”). S was instructed to drill the
learner and to increases the shock on each error. At 300 volts, the learner refused to answer and
demanded to be freed. E commanded them to continue. S’s score was assigned on the basis of the
maximum intensity he delivered, a score of 30 representing the highest voltage and 0 representing
unwillingness to administer any shock. Ss were mature males in samples stratified by age and socio-
economic rank.

The first condition studied was proximity of the learner. The decrease in the average intensity of
shock delivered when the “victim” was in another room (but pounded on the wall) when only his
voice could be heard, when he was 1½ feet away, and when S was ordered to force the victim’s hand
on the shock plate after he had removed it. In the latter variation, 70 per cent of the Ss refused to continue
the experiment, as compared with 34 per cent when the victim was in the next room.

Similarly, the physical presence of E was found to be a particularly important factor, i.e. compliance
with instructions decreased markedly when E was out of the room, even though he gave orders by
telephone. Some Ss reported they had administered the shock when in fact they had not.
Relationship of psychology with biological sciences

The intimate relationship between psychology and the biological sciences is fairly obvious. All
behaviour occurs through bodily processes. Hence, a science of behaviour is naturally dependent on
other sciences, which deal with the nature of the human body, the organs of the body and their
functioning. Sensations, perceptions and all forms of behaviour originate as physical and physiological
reactions and often culminate in muscular actions and glandular secretions. Hence, psychology is
naturally related to physiology.

Mental Age

Mental age is related to intelligence. It looks at how a specific child, at a specific age performs
intellectually, compared to average intellectual performance for that physical age, measured in years.
The physical age of the child is compared to the intellectual performance of the child, based on
performance in tests and live assessments by a psychologist. Scores achieved by the child in question
are compared to scores in the middle of a bell curve for children of the same age.

Second language acquisition

The theory has often been extended to a critical period for Second Language Acquisition (SLA), which
has influenced researchers in the field on both sides of the spectrum, supportive and unsupportive of
CPH, to explore. However, the nature of this phenomenon has been one of the most fiercely debated
issues in psycholinguistics and cognitive science in general for decades.

Reinforcement

Reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever
that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect maybe measured
as a higher frequency of behavior (e.g., pulling a lever more frequently), longer duration (e.g., pulling
a lever for longer periods of time), greater magnitude (e.g., pulling a lever with greater force), or shorter
latency (e.g., pulling a lever more quickly following the antecedent stimulus).

Sensory deprivation

The meaning of “sensory deprivation” is the intentional removal of stimuli affecting one or all of the
five human senses. This technique often used in alternative medicine as a form of relaxation and
meditation, this practice has also been used as a form of interrogation and torture. Sensory deprivation
and its effects have been studied and debated by numerous scientists, but no medical or scientific
benefits have yet been confirmed. In its simplest form, it may be merely tying a blindfold over
someone’s eyes, rendering the sense of sight useless. However, as a form of relaxation, meditation or
even prayer, sensory deprivation usually occurs in an isolation tank.

Threshold

Threshold can be referred as the minimum amount of stimulation, which needed to start a neural
impulse. With regard to psychophysics, the strength or greatness of a stimulant which will generate its
detection half of the time. In other words, threshold is the minimum severity of a stimulant, which is
required to elicit a reaction.
Characteristics of intention

Intentions have the following three characteristics:

First, the intended goal may involve imaginary elements.

Second, one cannot substitute into the description apparently synonymous words or phrases.

Finally, to understand the other’s intention necessitates that we adopt a congruent description of it. To
say that Raj intends to interview the smartest politician in the State of Delhi, as a description, may seem
absolutely consistent with the facts. Yet, Raj may not agree that this is his intention, for he may deny
that he is interviewing the smartest politician.

Types of social distance

In the sociological literature, the concept of social distance is conceptualised in several different ways.

(1) Affective social distance: One widespread conception of social distance focuses on affectivity.

(2) Normative social distance: A second approach views social distance as a normative category.

(3) Interactive social distance: A third conceptualisation of social distance focuses on the frequency
and intensity of interactions between two groups.

Biases in attribution

In attribution, the observers carefully scrutinise the environment, form impressions and interpret the
causes of the behaviour in rational way. In reality, however, they often deviate from logical
steps/methods described by attribution theory and fall prey to various types of biases. Common biases
in attribution as reported by most of the social psychologists are as follows:

(1) Correspondence bias: Over attribution to dispositions

(2) Actor-observer effect

(3) The Role of Perceptual Salience

Nerve impulse

A nerve impulse is the way nerve cells (neurons) communicate with one another. Nerve impulses are
mostly electrical signals along the dendrites to produce a nerve impulse or action potential. The action
potential is the result of ions moving in and out of the cell. Specifically, it involves potassium (K+) and
sodium (Na+) ions. The ions are moved in and out of the cell by potassium channels, sodium channels
and the sodium-potassium pump.