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Ward Planning and Education Secretaries · Chapter 10

Psychology and Communication

What to remember

  • Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. It began as a laboratory science with Wilhelm Wundt at Leipzig in 1879.
  • Learning, development, intelligence and motivation are the main topics in teaching. Each has well-known thinkers and terms.
  • Communication is a two-way process of sender, message, channel, receiver and feedback. Noise and barriers block it, and active listening and clear language improve it.

Schools of psychology

SchoolFounder or leaderMain idea
StructuralismWundt, TitchenerBreak the mind into elements by introspection
FunctionalismWilliam JamesStudy how the mind helps us adapt
BehaviourismJ.B. WatsonStudy only observable behaviour
PsychoanalysisSigmund FreudUnconscious mind drives behaviour
GestaltWertheimer, Koffka, KohlerThe whole is more than the sum of parts
HumanisticMaslow, RogersGrowth, free will, self-actualisation
CognitivePiaget, NeisserThinking, memory and problem solving

Methods in psychology are observation, experiment, case study, survey and interview. The experimental method is the most scientific because it controls variables.

Learning

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour from experience or practice.

  • Classical conditioning (Pavlov): a neutral stimulus paired with a natural stimulus gives a learned response. Terms: unconditioned stimulus (food), conditioned stimulus (bell), conditioned response (salivation).
  • Operant conditioning (Skinner): behaviour is shaped by its consequence. Reinforcement raises behaviour (positive: add a reward; negative: remove something unpleasant). Punishment lowers behaviour.
  • Trial and error (Thorndike): laws of readiness, exercise and effect. The law of effect says a satisfying result strengthens the link.
  • Insight learning (Kohler): sudden understanding of a problem, seen in his chimpanzee studies.
  • Social learning (Bandura): learning by watching a model; shown in the Bobo doll study.
  • Transfer of learning: earlier learning helps (positive) or hurts (negative) new learning.

Memory and forgetting: stages are encoding, storage and retrieval. Memory has sensory, short-term and long-term stores. Ebbinghaus studied forgetting and showed that it is fastest soon after learning. Revision and spaced practice reduce forgetting. Meaningful material is remembered better than rote material.

Development

TheoristIdea
PiagetFour stages of cognitive development
VygotskySocial interaction and language build thinking; Zone of Proximal Development
EriksonEight psychosocial stages
KohlbergThree levels of moral development
FreudPsychosexual stages

Piaget's stages: sensorimotor (birth to about 2 years, object permanence), preoperational (2 to 7, egocentric, symbols), concrete operational (7 to 11, logical thinking about real objects, conservation), formal operational (11 onward, abstract and hypothetical thinking).

The Zone of Proximal Development is the gap between what a child can do alone and what the child can do with help. Scaffolding is the support given by a teacher or peer. Kohlberg's levels are pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional.

Heredity and environment both shape development. Adolescence brings rapid physical, emotional and social change and needs guidance and counselling.

Intelligence

Intelligence is the ability to learn, reason, solve problems and adapt.

  • Binet made the first practical test (with Simon). Terman produced the Stanford-Binet.
  • Intelligence Quotient: IQ = (Mental Age / Chronological Age) x 100. Example: mental age 12 and actual age 10 gives IQ = 120. A child whose mental age equals actual age has IQ 100.
  • Spearman: a general factor "g" and specific factors "s".
  • Thurstone: seven primary mental abilities.
  • Gardner: multiple intelligences (linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist).
  • Goleman: emotional intelligence, the ability to know and manage feelings and understand others.
  • Sternberg: triarchic theory (analytical, creative, practical).

Motivation, personality and adjustment

  • Maslow's hierarchy of needs from base to top: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, self-actualisation.
  • Intrinsic motivation comes from interest; extrinsic motivation comes from rewards or punishment.
  • Personality is the stable pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Big Five traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism. Jung named introvert and extrovert types.
  • Defence mechanisms (Freud): repression, denial, projection, rationalisation, displacement, regression, sublimation.
  • Attitude has cognitive, emotional and behavioural parts. Stress is the body's response to demand; frustration arises when a goal is blocked.
  • Counselling is a helping relationship based on trust, privacy and acceptance.

Communication

The Shannon-Weaver model has a source, encoder, channel, decoder, receiver and noise. Feedback makes communication two-way.

Elements: sender, message, encoding, channel, receiver, decoding, feedback, noise and context.

TypeFeatures
Verbal oralTalks, meetings, phone calls
Verbal writtenLetters, notices, reports, emails
Non-verbalGestures, posture, eye contact, tone, dress
FormalFollows official channels: orders, circulars
InformalGrapevine, personal talk
Downward, upward, horizontalDirection of flow in an office

Barriers: language difference, noise, poor listening, status gap, emotions, prejudice, wrong channel, information overload and cultural differences. A bad listener answers before understanding.

Seven Cs of effective communication: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete and courteous.

Active listening: give full attention, do not interrupt, ask questions, repeat the main point in your own words, and watch body language. For a ward secretary, good communication means speaking in the local language, using simple words, keeping records of meetings, and giving written notice for official matters. When talking with a community, use respectful words and invite feedback.

Presentation tips: know the audience, state the purpose, use short points, use examples. A notice should have the date, place, time and the person responsible.

Psychology in the classroom and the community

  • Individual differences: children differ in ability, interest, pace and background. Teaching must match these differences.
  • Gifted, slow and disabled learners: gifted children need enrichment; slow learners need patience and extra practice; children with special needs need inclusive support and early identification.
  • Attention and interest: short, varied activities and real-life examples hold attention longer than long lectures.
  • Praise and feedback: specific and timely praise strengthens good behaviour. Public shame lowers confidence.
  • Discipline works best by clear rules, fair treatment and positive reinforcement instead of physical punishment.
  • Mental health: signs of stress include withdrawal, sudden fall in marks, anger or tiredness. A kind adult who listens, and referral to a counsellor, can help. Peer pressure and exam fear are common in adolescence.
  • Group behaviour: leadership may be autocratic, democratic or laissez-faire. Democratic leadership gives best results in most community work.
  • Perception and attitude: people see the same event differently. Stereotypes and prejudice are learned attitudes and can be changed by contact and information.

Communication in public service: a ward official meets many groups. Use the language of the audience, avoid technical words, check understanding by asking people to repeat key instructions, and keep a respectful tone. When giving bad news, be honest and give the next step. Meetings should have a clear agenda and a short written record. In an emergency, messages must be short, direct and repeated through more than one channel.

Exam traps

  • Wundt founded the first laboratory (1879); Watson founded behaviourism; Freud psychoanalysis.
  • Pavlov is classical conditioning; Skinner is operant conditioning; Thorndike is trial and error.
  • Piaget is cognitive stages; Vygotsky is the ZPD; Erikson is psychosocial stages.
  • Mental age divided by chronological age gives IQ, not the other way round.
  • Gardner is multiple intelligences; Goleman is emotional intelligence; Spearman is "g".
  • Negative reinforcement is not punishment: it removes an unpleasant thing to raise a behaviour.
  • Hearing is not listening; listening needs attention and understanding.
  • Encoding is by the sender; decoding is by the receiver.

One-liners

  • 1. Wundt set up the first psychology laboratory at Leipzig in 1879.
  • 2. Pavlov's experiments used dogs and a bell.
  • 3. IQ = (MA / CA) x 100.
  • 4. Piaget's four stages end with the formal operational stage.
  • 5. Maslow's top need is self-actualisation.
  • 6. Vygotsky introduced the Zone of Proximal Development.
  • 7. Gardner described eight intelligences.
  • 8. Bandura is linked with learning by observation.
  • 9. Thorndike's law of effect is part of trial and error learning.
  • 10. Feedback makes communication a two-way process.
  • 11. Non-verbal communication includes gestures and eye contact.
  • 12. The Big Five include openness and neuroticism.

Practice questions

  1. Who set up the first psychology laboratory at Leipzig in 1879?

    1. J.B. Watson
    2. Sigmund Freud
    3. Wilhelm Wundt
    4. William James
    Answer

    C. Wilhelm Wundt

    Wundt's Leipzig laboratory marks the start of experimental psychology.

  2. Who is regarded as the founder of behaviourism?

    1. Carl Rogers
    2. J.B. Watson
    3. B.F. Skinner
    4. Jean Piaget
    Answer

    B. J.B. Watson

    Watson argued that psychology should study observable behaviour.

  3. Classical conditioning is associated with

    1. Pavlov
    2. Skinner
    3. Bandura
    4. Kohler
    Answer

    A. Pavlov

    Pavlov's dog experiments showed conditioned reflexes.

  4. Operant conditioning is associated with

    1. Lev Vygotsky
    2. Ivan Pavlov
    3. Jean Piaget
    4. B.F. Skinner
    Answer

    D. B.F. Skinner

    Skinner studied behaviour shaped by consequences.

  5. Trial and error learning with the law of effect was given by

    1. Maslow
    2. Kohler
    3. Thorndike
    4. Bandura
    Answer

    C. Thorndike

    Thorndike proposed laws of readiness, exercise and effect.

  6. Who proposed the Zone of Proximal Development?

    1. Vygotsky
    2. Erikson
    3. Piaget
    4. Kohlberg
    Answer

    A. Vygotsky

    ZPD is the gap between what a child does alone and with help.

  7. Which is the top level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

    1. Belonging
    2. Safety
    3. Esteem
    4. Self-actualisation
    Answer

    D. Self-actualisation

    Self-actualisation lies at the top.

  8. The theory of multiple intelligences was proposed by

    1. Alfred Binet
    2. Howard Gardner
    3. Charles Spearman
    4. Daniel Goleman
    Answer

    B. Howard Gardner

    Gardner described several types of intelligence.

  9. Who is linked with the concept of emotional intelligence in popular use?

    1. Wundt
    2. Thurstone
    3. Terman
    4. Daniel Goleman
    Answer

    D. Daniel Goleman

    Goleman made emotional intelligence widely known.

  10. Learning by observing a model is the central idea of

    1. Bandura
    2. Skinner
    3. Pavlov
    4. Thorndike
    Answer

    A. Bandura

    Bandura's social learning theory uses modelling.

  11. Intelligence Quotient is calculated as

    1. Chronological age divided by mental age, times 100
    2. Mental age minus chronological age
    3. Mental age divided by chronological age, times 100
    4. Mental age plus chronological age
    Answer

    C. Mental age divided by chronological age, times 100

    IQ = (MA / CA) x 100.

  12. In the communication process, the person who sends the message is the

    1. Decoder
    2. Sender
    3. Receiver
    4. Channel
    Answer

    B. Sender

    The sender or source begins the communication.

  13. Return of a reply from the receiver to the sender is called

    1. Feedback
    2. Encoding
    3. Noise
    4. Channel
    Answer

    A. Feedback

    Feedback makes communication two-way.

  14. Which is a non-verbal form of communication?

    1. Telephone call
    2. Speech
    3. Eye contact
    4. Written report
    Answer

    C. Eye contact

    Gestures, posture and eye contact are non-verbal.

  15. A child has mental age 12 years and chronological age 10 years. The IQ is

    1. 22
    2. 100
    3. 83
    4. 120
    Answer

    D. 120

    IQ = (12 / 10) x 100 = 120.

  16. A child aged 8 years has a mental age of 6 years. The IQ is

    1. 48
    2. 75
    3. 133
    4. 100
    Answer

    B. 75

    IQ = (6 / 8) x 100 = 75.

  17. A child of 15 years has IQ 80. The mental age is

    1. 18.75 years
    2. 8 years
    3. 12 years
    4. 15 years
    Answer

    C. 12 years

    MA = IQ x CA / 100 = 80 x 15 / 100 = 12.

  18. A child understands that the amount of water stays the same when poured into a taller glass. This is typical of Piaget's

    1. Concrete operational stage
    2. Preoperational stage
    3. Formal operational stage
    4. Sensorimotor stage
    Answer

    A. Concrete operational stage

    Conservation appears at the concrete operational stage (about 7 to 11 years).

  19. Object permanence appears in Piaget's

    1. Preoperational stage
    2. Sensorimotor stage
    3. Concrete operational stage
    4. Formal operational stage
    Answer

    B. Sensorimotor stage

    A baby learns that objects exist when out of sight in the first two years.

  20. Abstract and hypothetical thinking begins in the

    1. Sensorimotor stage
    2. Concrete operational stage
    3. Preoperational stage
    4. Formal operational stage
    Answer

    D. Formal operational stage

    The formal operational stage starts at about 11 years.

  21. A student stops talking in class so that the teacher stops scolding, and then talks again when praised. The principle of reinforcement shown is

    1. Classical conditioning
    2. Operant conditioning
    3. Imitation
    4. Insight learning
    Answer

    B. Operant conditioning

    Behaviour changes by its consequences.

  22. Removing an unpleasant stimulus to raise the chance of a behaviour is called

    1. Punishment
    2. Positive reinforcement
    3. Extinction
    4. Negative reinforcement
    Answer

    D. Negative reinforcement

    Negative reinforcement strengthens a behaviour by removing something unpleasant.

  23. Kohler's studies with chimpanzees demonstrated

    1. Insight learning
    2. Operant conditioning
    3. Classical conditioning
    4. Imitation
    Answer

    A. Insight learning

    Sudden understanding of a problem is insight.

  24. Which of these is the correct order of Maslow's needs from the base upward?

    1. Physiological, esteem, safety, belonging, self-actualisation
    2. Safety, physiological, esteem, belonging, self-actualisation
    3. Physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, self-actualisation
    4. Self-actualisation, esteem, belonging, safety, physiological
    Answer

    C. Physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, self-actualisation

    Basic needs come first, growth need last.

  25. Which Freudian defence mechanism means blaming one's own faults on others?

    1. Sublimation
    2. Projection
    3. Regression
    4. Repression
    Answer

    B. Projection

    Projection places one's own unacceptable feelings on others.

  26. Which one is part of the Big Five personality traits?

    1. Intelligence
    2. Attention
    3. Memory
    4. Conscientiousness
    Answer

    D. Conscientiousness

    Big Five: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism.

  27. Ebbinghaus is known for his studies on

    1. Emotional intelligence
    2. Moral development
    3. Forgetting
    4. Personality types
    Answer

    C. Forgetting

    He showed that forgetting is fastest soon after learning.

  28. Which communication element is added by the receiver when interpreting a message?

    1. Decoding
    2. Channel
    3. Encoding
    4. Noise
    Answer

    A. Decoding

    The receiver decodes the sender's message.

  29. Which of these is a barrier to communication?

    1. Status gap and prejudice
    2. Active listening
    3. Feedback
    4. Clear language
    Answer

    A. Status gap and prejudice

    Prejudice, noise and status gaps block understanding.

  30. Which of these is NOT among the seven Cs of communication?

    1. Clear
    2. Concise
    3. Courteous
    4. Cunning
    Answer

    D. Cunning

    The Cs include clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete and courteous.

  31. Informal communication in an office, known as the grapevine, is

    1. Sent only through circulars
    2. Issued by orders
    3. Spread through personal contacts without official channels
    4. Written only
    Answer

    C. Spread through personal contacts without official channels

    Informal communication follows no official channel.

  32. Consider: 1. Pavlov is linked with classical conditioning. 2. Skinner is linked with insight learning.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Skinner is linked with operant conditioning; insight is Kohler.

  33. Consider: 1. IQ is mental age divided by chronological age, times 100. 2. A child whose mental age equals chronological age has IQ 100.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  34. Consider: 1. Vygotsky stressed social interaction. 2. Piaget described the Zone of Proximal Development.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    ZPD belongs to Vygotsky, not Piaget.

  35. Consider: 1. Feedback makes communication two-way. 2. Noise improves the clarity of a message.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Noise is any disturbance that reduces clarity.

  36. Consider: 1. Intrinsic motivation comes from interest in the task. 2. Extrinsic motivation comes from rewards or punishment.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both statements describe the two types correctly.

  37. Consider: 1. Wundt started the first psychology laboratory. 2. Freud founded behaviourism.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Watson founded behaviourism; Freud founded psychoanalysis.

  38. Consider: 1. Gardner proposed the idea of eight intelligences in his later list. 2. Spearman proposed a general factor "g".

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  39. Consider: 1. Active listening means not interrupting and giving feedback. 2. Hearing and listening are the same.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Listening needs attention and understanding; hearing is only sensing sound.

  40. Match in order: Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura, Vygotsky

    1. Social learning, ZPD, classical conditioning, operant conditioning
    2. Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning, ZPD
    3. ZPD, social learning, operant conditioning, classical conditioning
    4. Operant conditioning, classical conditioning, ZPD, social learning
    Answer

    B. Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning, ZPD

    Each name is paired with his main idea.

  41. Match in order: Piaget, Erikson, Kohlberg, Maslow

    1. Hierarchy of needs, moral development, psychosocial stages, cognitive stages
    2. Moral development, hierarchy of needs, cognitive stages, psychosocial stages
    3. Psychosocial stages, cognitive stages, hierarchy of needs, moral development
    4. Cognitive stages, psychosocial stages, moral development, hierarchy of needs
    Answer

    D. Cognitive stages, psychosocial stages, moral development, hierarchy of needs

    Each theorist matches the stated theory.

  42. A teacher repeats the main point of a parent's complaint in her own words before replying. This is an example of

    1. Noise
    2. Active listening
    3. Decoding error
    4. Grapevine
    Answer

    B. Active listening

    Paraphrasing shows attention and checks understanding.

  43. A person in a hurry waves a hand and says nothing while others wait. Which type of communication is used?

    1. Written
    2. Downward
    3. Formal oral
    4. Non-verbal
    Answer

    D. Non-verbal

    Gestures carry the message without words.

  44. Which psychologist developed the first practical intelligence test with Simon?

    1. Terman
    2. Alfred Binet
    3. Gardner
    4. Spearman
    Answer

    B. Alfred Binet

    Binet and Simon made the first practical test; Terman revised it as Stanford-Binet.

  45. Piaget's preoperational stage covers roughly the ages

    1. 0 to 2 years
    2. 2 to 7 years
    3. 7 to 11 years
    4. 11 years onward
    Answer

    B. 2 to 7 years

    The preoperational stage is marked by symbols and egocentric thought.

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