Friday, July 8, 2011

i-CAT Cochin one day workshop in - “Behaviour Technology Applications for Human Behaviour Modification” on 17th July 2011.

 i-CAT (Institute for Competency Advancement of Teachers), established by Indira Gandhi National Open University,  is a centre of excellence engaged in teacher training. i-CAT is committed to improve the quality of education through a number of innovative training programmes for competency advancement of teachers and researchers in different disciplines and at all stages of education.

Almost all major human problems involve human behaviour, and they cannot be solved by physical and biological technology alone. What is needed is a technology of human behaviour. So in relation with behaviour technology, we are happy to invite you for the upcoming one-day workshop in Behaviour Technology Applications for Human Behaviour Modification which will be conducted on Sunday, 17th of July, 2011 at IGNOU Regional Centre, Cochin.

The brochure, programme schedule and the registration form of the training programme are enclosed.  The registration fee per participant is Rs. 250/- (Rupees two hundred and fifty only) which will cover expenses on training, training materials, lunch and refreshments to the participants.  Registration forms, along with the registration fee, may be forwarded at the earliest to The Programme Coordinator, i-CAT, IGNOU Regional Centre, Kaloor ,Cochin-682017 ’.

We look forward to your active involvement in this training programme. Please pass this message to your friends and colleagues who may be interested in this programme.

    

With regards,
Dr. N. V. Sreedharan,
Deputy Registrar
(Programme Coordinator )
Mob: 098462 33295





Institute for Competency Advancement of Teachers (i-CAT)
IGNOU Regional Centre, Cochin-17
One Day Workshop in ‘Behaviour Technology Applications for Human Behaviour Modification

PROGRAMME SCHEDULE

17.07.2011 (Sunday)
Time

9.00 am - 9.30 am
Registration
9.30 am - 10.00 am
Inaugural Session


Session
Resource Person
10.00 am -11.00 am
Session : I
Management of Children

Rtn PHF PP Prof Dr Vedagiri Ganesan Ph. D.(Psy.)
Global Institute of Behaviour Technology – Coimbatore.
11.00 am - 11.10am
Tea Break

11.10 am -12.15 pm
Session : II
Management of Spouse
Rtn PHF PP Prof Dr Vedagiri Ganesan Ph. D.(Psy.)

12.15 pm -1.15 pm
Session : III
Management of Women
Rtn PHF PP Prof Dr Vedagiri Ganesan Ph. D.(Psy.)

1.15 pm - 2.00 pm
Lunch Break
2.00 pm – 3.15 pm
Session : IV
Enhancement of Mental Health
Rtn PHF PP Prof Dr Vedagiri Ganesan Ph. D.(Psy.)

3.15 pm -3.30 pm
Tea Break
3.30 pm – 4.30 pm
Session : V
Management of Emotions
Rtn PHF PP Prof Dr Vedagiri Ganesan Ph. D.(Psy.)


4.30 pm -5.00 pm

Valedictory Session

 


i – CAT (INSTITUTE FOR COMPETENCY ADVANCEMENT OF TEACHERS)
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY REGIONAL CENTRE, COCHIN-17
Workshop in “Behaviour Technology Applications
for Human Behaviour Modification ”
17th July, 2011 (Sunday)


REGISTRATION FORM

  1. Name of the Participant :
  2. Address of the School/College/Org. :
  3. Contact Number : __________ ________ __________
Office/School, Residence, Mobile.

  1. E-mail ID :

  1. Designation :
  2. Date of Birth :
  3. Qualifications :
  4. Subjects Taught :
  5. Teaching/Professional Experience :
  6. Proficiency in IT :
  7. Fee remittance details : DD Cash
DD No.___________ Date:_________ Amount Rs.____________
Date:

Signature of the Participant


Place:
Date :
For Office Use
  1. Fee paid :
  2. Registration No. :

Admitted/ Not admitted.


Deputy Registrar/Regional Director

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Experimental Psychology - Notes to be written on the beginning of practical record.


Psychological testing is a field characterized by the use of samples of behavior in order to assess psychological construct(s), such as cognitive and emotional functioning, about a given individual. The technical term for the science behind psychological testing is psychometrics. By samples of behavior, one means observations of an individual performing tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand, which often means scores on a test. These responses are often compiled into statistical tables that allow the evaluator to compare the behavior of the individual being tested to the responses of a norm group.
Psychological assessment is similar to psychological testing but usually involves a more comprehensive assessment of the individual. Psychological assessment is a process that involves the integration of information from multiple sources, such as tests of normal and abnormal personality, tests of ability or intelligence, tests of interests or attitudes, as well as information from personal interviews. Collateral information is also collected about personal, occupational, or medical history, such as from records or from interviews with parents, spouses, teachers, or previous therapists or physicians. A psychological test is one of the sources of data used within the process of assessment; usually more than one test is used. Many psychologists do some level of assessment when providing services to clients or patients, and may use for example, simple checklists to assess some traits or symptoms, but psychological assessment is a more complex, detailed, in-depth process. Typical types of focus for psychological assessment are to provide a diagnosis for treatment settings; to assess a particular area of functioning or disability often for school settings; to help select type of treatment or to assess treatment outcomes; to help courts decide issues such as child custody or competency to stand trial; or to help assess job applicants or employees and provide career development counseling or training.

Experimental Psychology

Experimental psychology had its origin in Fechner's psychological theory and psycho-physical methods in the third quarters of nineteenth century. Gustav Theodor Fechner [1801- 1887] a German physicist and philosopher was very much interested in studying the relationship between mind and body and the problems involved in it. He was working on it for  more than one year and atlast was able to evolve a theory even before the time when Fechner was concentrating on mind body problems. There were also other scientist working on the relationship between the body, soul or spirit (mind). Fechner has perceived this problem from different angle with his experience and knowledge in physics and physiology.
Experiment is a plan investigation to provide evidence for or against the hypothesis. I t is  an act of conducting an investigation of test. En experiment may be a plan and conducted based upon some natural event or hypothetic assumption.
Experimental psychology according to Sheridon, Experiemental psychology is a branch of psychology in which experimental methods are used. Whenever experimental method is applied to psychological events it is an instinct of experimental psychology.
Objectives of experimental psychology:
·         The primary object of experimental psychology is study of behavious of organism systematically.
·         It also tries to predict the conditions into which the specific psychological event occur.
·         To predict the behavior of the population from the results obtain from the sample.
·         Tries to fulfill certain functions of Measurement Analysis Synthesis of the subject matter

The Scientific method
  (Write notes about the following)
Observation - Write about empirical
Description - Operational defition
Hypothesis formation


Verification.






Notes on 16PF will be published on next wednesday only.




Friday, April 8, 2011

Discussion on Practicals

MA Psychology co-ordinator Mr. Rajasekharan Sir has informed about a Dicussion class on April 16, 2011, 3 pm to 4 pm at regional centre, Kochi. Discussion is about practicals, dates, materials to be brought and things related to it. Attendance is compulsory.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

corrections in the Assigment questions - Statistics


Ms. Maya, Faculty for Statistics has pointed out the following corrections in the Assigment questions.
MAPC: Correction in Statistics assignment-Q4-Find value of r12.3 and r23.1.
Q5- 2x+3y-8=0 ii) Find x and y and ....
Q9- find U and U'

Importance of Normal Distribution


The normal distribution as great significance in statistical work because of the following reasons.
  1. The Normal Distribution has the remarkable place stated in the central limit theorem, most imporant of which is the sample mean and sample variance tends to be normally distributed as the sample size becomes large.
  2. Even if a variable is not Normal Distributed, it can sometimes be brought to normal form by sample transformation of the variable.
  3. Many of the sampling ditributions like student t, F, etc also tend to Normal Distribution.
  4. The sampling distribution and testa of hypothesis are based upon the assumption that samples have been drawn from a Normal population with mean μ and variance 2.
  5. Normal Distribution find large application in statistical quality control
  6. As n becomes large, the Normal Distribution serves as a good appreciation for many descrete distributions (Binomial, Poisson)
  7. In theoretical statistics, many problems can be solved only under the assumption of a Normal Distribution.
  8. The Normal Distribution has numerous mathematical propertied which make it popular and esay to manipulate.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Deena jerly - Electives

Friends
Can you please tell me which is the better of the two electives, clinical or counselling. The feasibility too has to be considered too, because we have the internship, and the project.
Initially when we filled in the application form we were asked to opt the elective. Now we have the application form for the second year. Is it possible to change the elective.

Patricia Robin
deenajerly@gmail.com

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Fully-functioning person

Carl Rogers was a psychotherapist who, in the early part of the twentieth Century, developed the concept of client-centered psychotherapy. He was a great proponent of the scientific method and was one of the first to incorporate it into psychotherapy. His person-centered approach to psychotherapy entailed an unconditional acceptance between client and counselor. And with all this said I still find it phenomenal yet suspicious that a therapist can listen to an individual without interjections and still assists in improving the individual by making them a person.
Rogers felt that the role of the counselor, instructor or any other individual who was responsible for the developing personal maturity in another, was to help that person become fully-functional. Rogers identified five specific categories which were important in this goal. They are the openness to experience, existential living, organismic trusting, experiential freedom and creativity.
To Rogers to be fully functioning was to live the good life. He defined this goal:
"The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination. It is not...a state of virtue, or contentment, or nirvana or happiness. It is not a condition in which the individual is adjusted, or fulfilled or actualized"(187).
Rogers therefore sees the fully functioning person as a person who is taking the right path in life, a path which is accelerated by favorable psychological conditions. This path is one in which is available to all persons and is inherent and ubiquitous. They can be enhanced, according to Rogers, with client-centered therapy.
But even with all this said, I am torn between stepping aside from my everyday views and willingly accepting the fact that client-centered therapy is the best way to produce an individual that will be psychologically on the right path and living the good life.
Although, Freud's attempts at this goal were in a different fashion, he still achieved remedy in many of his patients through psychoanalytic therapy. Not only did he satisfy most of his patients likewise he passed his methods on to many other psychologists. It is only my mere feeling that those who do not possess the same intuitive and insightful qualities that Carl Rogers did can not fully assist a client with his form of client-centered therapy.

Merits and demerits of case history method

Case Studies
Definition
• An intensive description and analysis of a single individual or (sometimes)  group.
Advantages
1. Good source of ideas about behavior
2. Good opportunity for innovation
3. Good method to study rare phenomena
4. Good method to challenge
theoretical assumptions
5. Good alternative or complement to the group focus of psychology
Disadvantages
1. Hard to draw definite cause-effect conclusions
2. Hard to generalize from a single case
3. Possible biases in data collection and interpretation (since single person
gathers and analyzes the information)

The Five-Factor Model : Personality

One of the long held goals of psychology has been to establish a model that can conveniently describe human personality, and disorders therein, with the intent to use this model in the remedying of personality disorders and improving general understanding of personality. Currently, a handful of models have risen to prominence, and have thus far stood the test of time. Some models are more generally accepted than others. Support for some models seems to come and go in cycles.
One of the more prominent models in contemporary psychology is what is known as the five-factor model of personality (Digman, 1990). This theory incorporates five different variables into a conceptual model for describing personality. These five different factors are often referred to as the "Big 5" (Ewen, 1998, p. 140). The five-factor theory is among the newest models developed for the description of personality, and this model shows promise to be among the most practical and applicable models available in the field of personality psychology (Digman, 1990). Thorough critical attention is given to the proposal that the five-factor model is in fact a great theory.

The Five Factors

As it became evident to many psychologists that, mathematically, combinations of five factors were useful in describing personality, there was a need to clearly define what these factors were. Indeed, this process led to some dissent in the ranks. One dissenter from the five-factor theorists was renowned psychologist H. J. Eysenck. Eysenck felt that, due to overlaps in the five factors and their correlates, in fact a three-factor model was more appropriate and accurate. His theory is called the PEN model (which stand for psychoticism, extroversion, neuroticism) (Eysenck, 1991), or sometimes is even shortened to the two factor E-IN model (extroversion-introversion, neuroticism) (Eysenck, 1991). According to Eysenck, "Factor analysis has improved the situation...but the problem of naming factors is of course still with us" (Eysenck, 1991, p. 775). Many psychologists support Eysenck's PEN model. However, of the major "factor-analytic models...the Big Five dominates the landscape of current psychological research" (Ewen, 1998, p. 141). Through extensive debating and experimenting, there is currently a general consensus in the realms of scholarly psychology as to the identity of the five factors, and their basic interpretations and values to analysis of personality. The five factors are extroversion-introversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness (Ewen, 1998).
Extroversion has long been one of the traits that has appeared in factor-analytic models, and is one of the two traits to appear in both the five-factor model and Eysenck's PEN and E-IN models. Extroversion also is sometimes referred to as social adaptability, though the popularity of this term seems to be waning (Zuckerman, 1991). Extroversion is defined as "a trait characterized by a keen interest in other people and external events, and venturing forth with confidence into the unknown" (Ewen, 1998, p. 289).
Neuroticism is the other trait to play a role in most of the contemporary factor models for personality. In some studies, adjustment is examined as a factor, instead of neuroticism. In this case, higher scores will indicate a positive result, consistent with the other four factors. This is because the term neuroticism has an inherent negative denotation (Bradshaw, 1997). The bases of neuroticism are levels of anxiety and volatility. Within these bounds, neuroticism is "a dimension of personality defined by stability and low anxiety at one end as opposed to instability and high anxiety at the other end" (Pervin, 1989, p. G-7).
Openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness are all terms with which most people outside the realm of psychology are familiar. In general, openness refers to how willing people are to make adjustments in notions and activities in accordance with new ideas or situations. Agreeableness measures how compatible people are with other people, or basically how able they are to get along with others. Conscientiousness refers to how much a person considers others when making decisions.
As with the two factors in the big five from Eysenck's E-IN, these three are also placed on sliding scales. These three scales, like neuroticism and extroversion, slide between their limits to give a clear picture of personality. The limits of these scales give a clear idea of their applications and are defined as "trusting and helpful versus suspicious and uncooperative (agreeableness), hard working and reliable versus lazy and careless (conscientiousness), and nonconformist and creative versus conventional and down-to-earth (openness)"

Application

In accordance with the aforesaid flaw in the second criterion for greatness, the five-factor model runs into the most trouble when approached through the standards set forth by the third criterion. This criterion calls for a great theory to be applicable. McAdams (1992) states, "Personality theories do more than specify traits" (p. 336). In essence, what he is getting at is that the five-factor model (although it provides an excellent basis for the description of much of what, in psychology, falls into the realm of personality study) falls short of attaining or ever having a chance to attain the title of the unified psychological theory (McAdams, 1992). As stated, the five-factor model is used effectively in application. Because of this, it can be said that it is applicable, even though this does not address McAdams' claim that the five-factor theory should not really be considered a theory, but more appropriately just a list of five variables that are useful when attempting to identify and classify personality traits. In general, though, most of the applications of the five-factor model as it now exists seem to come in the academic and experimental forum. In reference to the model's usefulness in academics, Digman (1990) says, "At a minimum, research on the five-factor model has given us a useful set of very broad dimensions that characterize individual differences. These dimensions can be measured with high reliability and impressive validity" (p. 436). In summary, Digman states that the five variables that compose the five-factor model "provide a good answer to the question of personality structure"
Five criteria were established to test the hypothesis that the five-factor model was a great psychological theory. The first criterion for greatness was that the theory should be compatible with other major psychological theories. On this point, the five-factor model was shown to be not only compatible, but even complementary to other theories, including a theory that would seemingly be at the other end of the spectrum from the five-factor model, Freud's highly subjective theory of psychoanalysis. Second, it was suggested that a great theory should be empirical. Although the five-factor model leaves much to be desired as far as the explanation of the numbers, it was shown that with the sliding scales associated with each of the five variables, the five-factor model was easily quantifiable. The five-factor model does have some real problems when scrutinized for its theoretical qualities. It has been suggested that the five-factor model was not so much a theory, but rather, just an idea or a means of classification. This is certainly a stumbling block for the five-factor model's chances at greatness. Also, whereas the five-factor model passed the test of originality with flying colors, when examined to see if it held true universally (or as close as a psychological theory can get) another flaw appeared. The broad taxonomy that is so elemental to the model makes it difficult to specifically anticipate behavior in many situations.
"From the standpoint of a multifaceted personology, the five-factor model is one important model in personality studies, not the integrative model of personality," says McAdams (1992, p. 355) in the conclusion to his critique of the five-factor model. This model does not meet all the criteria for greatness, and though it seems to have great potential, it is, as McAdams suggests, not the final all-encompassing theory of psychology. This is a high mark to hit, but one to which, when models like the five-factor are accompanied with theories like Freud's psychoanalysis, contemporary psychology is getting closer. As this model does not quite live up to the standards for a great theory in personality (it would be tough to find a theory that does) perhaps a more appropriate name for it would be a great taxonomy in personality.




Approach to personality

PERSONALITY
Four main approaches to personality:
! Humanistic approach
! Psychodynamic approach
! Trait approach
! Behavioural-cognitive approach
Humanistic approach
Rogers
Personality is determined by a person’s self-concept
Actualisation tendency: innate motivation to develop its potential to the fullest possible
Not many people are full-functioning individuals (openness to experience, existential living, orgasmic
trusting, experiential freedom, creativity).
Q-sort test: organise cards (I am smart, I am lazy) according to how you see yourself and according to
how you like to see yourself. Discrepancy indicates the work that needs to be done.
Maslow
Hierarchy of needs (from deficit needs to being needs)
Personal Orientation Inventory: self-report, 2 basic scales (inner directed support, time competence)
Psychodynamic approach
Freud
Personality is made up of id, ego, and superego
Emphases role of unconscious in personality
Internal conflicts evokes defence mechanisms that underlie differences in personalities
Murray’s need theory
Primary needs (biological)
Secondary needs (achievement, power, affiliation, intimacy) drive personality
Projective tests as a window to the unconscious
Interpretation of ambiguous information leads to projection of unconscious impulses
Rorschach: holistic vs detailed responses, time taken to answer, content, typical or unusual responses
Thematic Apperception Test: what led up to, what do you see in the picture, and what happens next
TAT assesses personal needs
House-Tree-Person, free association, dream analysis, word association, sentence completion
Jung
Four dimensions (extraversion-introversion, intuition-sensing, thinking-feeling, judgement-perception)
Myers-Briggs Type Inventory: 4 preference scales
Trait approach
Trait has a genetic basis
Approach tries to describe individuals by a set of characterising attributes
Eysenck’s PEN theory
2 (extraversion-introversion, stability-neuroticism), later 3 (psychoticism-ego control added)
dimensions
Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS) in the brain stem relates to extraversion-introversion
Statistical approach to personality, factor analysis of many traits
Cattell’s 16PF
Big Five (OCEAN): 44 questions with Likert scale
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): screens for personality and psychosocial
disorders
California Personality Inventory (CPI)
Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI)
Sensation Seeking scale (Zuckerman-Kuhlman): I like wild uninhibited parties, I prefer quiet parties
with good conversation
Cognitive-Behavioural approach
Personality is an accumulation of a set of learned tendencies and is the sum total of what we do and not
of what we think or feel
Classical/Pavlovian conditioning, Operant/Instrumental conditioning, Social learning
Bandura
Observational learning: tendency to model what is being seen/heard
Situational factors determine behaviour and thus personality
Perceived locus of control
Attributional style
Social learning
Rotter
Personality: interaction between individual and its environment
Relatively stable set of potentials for responding to situations in a particular way
Individuals behave in order to maximise their reinforcement
Behaviour potential (BP): likelihood of behaving in certain ways
Expectancy: subjective probability that behaviour will lead to a particular outcome
Reinforcement value: subjective value of outcome
BP depends on Expectancy and the Reinforcement value
Locus of control (of reinforcement): belief about whether the outcomes of our actions are contingent on
what we do or on events outside our personal control
Locus of control test: self-questionnaire of opinions, select alternative with which you agree the most
or disagree the least. Different domains (academic, health). Differences with age, status, gender.
INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence has been given many definitions, depending on the researcher
Francis Galton
Family-tree study suggested a hereditary link
Self-questionnaire study suggested a nurture component
Measured psychological variables as if they were physical variables (such as height or weight)
Eugenics: improve overall intelligence of the human species
James McKeen Cattell
Conducted many psychophysical experiments to measure intelligence differences
Wissler controversy: different psychophysical measures do not correlate with academic grades and do
not intercorrelate
" psychophysical measures are not valid in intelligence research
Alfred Binet
Main research question: How to identify subnormal children?
Simon-Binet intelligence test
Binet’s assumptions:
Intelligence is a general attribute that manifests itself across various tasks => wide range
Intelligence develops with age -> test development using item-response notions
Mental age is the absolute level of cognitive capacity (2 years rule of thumb)
Galton vs Binet
Galton
- Intelligence is hereditary
- Eugenics
- Focus of supernormal
Binet
- Intelligence develops, but genetic maximum never reached
- Mental orthopedics
- Focus on subnormal
Stanford-Binet
Terman’s revised version of the Simon-Binet test
Two versions (Army Alpha, Army Beta)
Charles Spearman
Binet used a large variety of tests, which all seem to correlate -> positive manifold
Factor analysis on large dataset
Two-factor theory of intelligence
- general ability (g)
- specific ability (s)
Only people with a high g are allowed to have voting rights
David Wechsler
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence (WPPSI)
L.L. Thurstone
Person-centered approach
Understanding how people reach their goals
7 primary abilities: verbal comprehension, word fluency, number, space, associative memory,
perceptual speed, reasoning
Raymond Cattell
Crystallised vs Fluid intelligence
Cattell’s Culture Fair test: 4 subtests
Guilford: 180 primary abilities related to operations, contents, and product
Vernon & Caroll: hierarchical model from g to s
Howard Gardner’s theory includes intra- and interpersonal abilities next to musical and movement
Robert Sternberg: analytical, practical, and creative intelligences
Flynn effect: observation that IQ scores increase from generation to generation
Reaction range: range of possible IQ scores one might achieve given various environments
Cognitive neuroscience
In the new field of cognitive neuroscience intelligence research has looked at finding processes and
structures in the brain that are particularly related to intelligence. Findings from neuropsychological
and neuroimaging studies has shown that the prefrontal cortex is particularly involved in performing
intelligence tests. Aging studies showed similar results, but the field is yet to make any progress that
could lead to any relevant and useful conclusions
Intelligence and politics
American immigrants before WWI
1921 immigration restriction to 3% annually
1924 2% of each European group in US
Arthur Jensen (1969): intelligence is largely hereditary, so there is no need for programs that help
subnormal children
Herrnstein & Murray (1995): the Bell curve
Explaining ethnic differences based on g
Warns America of a polarised state
Cognitive elite vs underclass
g exists, is stable, is heritable, can be measured adequately, and differences in g relate to differences in
academic aptitude
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN COGNITION
Besides the traditional research on individual differences in intelligence and personality, there is a
research program on individual differences in cognitive abilities in particular in working memory.
A major methodological approach is the use of structural equation modelling.
A major assumption is that cognitive tasks are not measuring one cognitive ability, but a number
cognitive abilities. By giving several tasks that purport to measure the same cognitive ability, this
ability can be determined through factor analysis. These so-called latent variables can then be used in a
path analysis to address differential contributions of cognitive constructs to complex cognitive tasks.
This type of research requires testing many participants on a large number of tasks.
BIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY, INTELLIGENCE, AND COGNITION
There are differences methodologies that suggest a link between biology and psychology
Genetic analysis: certain psychological aspects are genetically determined
Neuropsychological: patients with certain brain damage have specific psychological dysfunction
Neuroimaging: certain brain areas are particularly active in certain psychological tasks
Heritability: estimated proportion of phenotype variance in a group of individuals that is attributable to
genetic variance
Concordance: conditional probability that a feature appearing in one individual also appears in another
individual
Family studies
Children share 50% of their genes with each parent
Correlate the degree of overlap among family members with the degree of psychological (personality,
intelligence, and so on) similarity
=> Environment forms a confound
Twin studies
Monozygotic twins share 100% of their genes, whereas dizygotic twins share 50%
Heritability = two times the difference between the correlation between MZ twins and the correlation
between DZ twins
=> Assumes equal environments
=> Assumes representativeness of sample
Adoption studies
Siblings in the same family should be more similar than siblings in different families
Positive correlation between adopted children with different parents support environmental influence
Positive correlation between adopted children with same parents support genetic influence
=> Representativeness
=> Selective placement
Twin studies have shown that in particular the structure of the frontal cortex has a strong hereditary
component. This is consistent with views that personality, intelligence, and high-level cognition have a
genetic component and are mediated by the frontal cortex. However, as the correlations are not 1.0
there is a non-genetic component. This fits with the concept of reaction range.
Environmental influences could be shared (same house) or non-shared (friends, hobbies) environments.
Reactive genetic-environment interaction (e.g., because you’re tall/black you’re treated in a particular
way)
Active genetic-environment interaction (e.g., sensation seekers seek risky environments)
PSYCHOMETRICS
A good test is: reliable, valid, generalisable, standardised
Reliability (consistency): extent to which a test is repeatable
- Test-retest
- Alternate forms
- Inter-rater
- Internal consistency: extent to which all items measure the same construct
- Inter-item correlation
- Item-total correlation
- Split-half reliability
- Alpha reliability
Validity
- Face (content)
- Construct
- Criterion (concurrent, predictive)
- Convergent: performance on test converges with other tests that measure the same construct
- Discriminant: test measures one construct and not something else
A test is invalid when it is unreliable, invites response sets or has biases
A standardised test has consistent testing conditions, has an objective scoring procedure, and tends to
measure relative performance
Constructing tests follows a number of steps:
- Defining the purpose of the test
- Mapping the purpose on the type of questions
- Creating the items
- Pilot study to select good items
- Item analysis
- Psychometrics (reliability, validity)
- Write a test manual (indicating standardised procedure)
Item response theory
A family of models that predict the probability of observing a particular response to an item
Binet selected items in the Simon-Binet test such that all children up to a certain age perform well on
the item

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Correlation

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In statistics, multiple correlation is a linear relationship among more than two variables. It is measured by the coefficient of multiple determination, denoted as R2, which is a measure of the fit of a linear regression. A regression's R2 falls somewhere between zero and one (assuming a constant term has been included in the regression); a higher value indicates a stronger relationship among the variables, with a value of one indicating that all data points fall exactly on a line in multidimensional space and a value of zero indicating no relationship at all between the independent variables collectively and the dependent variable.
Unlike the coefficient of determination in a regression involving just two variables, the coefficient of multiple determination is not computationally commutative: a regression of y on x and z will in general have a different R2 than will a regression of z on x and y. For example, suppose that in a particular sample the variable z is uncorrelated with both x and y, while x and y are linearly related to each other. Then a regression of z on y and x will yield an R2 of zero, while a regression of y on x and z will yield a positive R2.

[edit] Fundamental equation of multiple regression analysis

The coefficient of multiple determination R2 (a scalar), can be computed using the vector c of cross-correlations between the predictor variables and the criterion variable, its transpose c', and the matrix Rxx of inter-correlations between predictor variables. The "fundamental equation of multiple regression analysis"[1] is
R2 = c' Rxx−1 c.
The expression on the left side denotes the coefficient of multiple determination. The terms on the right side are the transposed vector c ' of cross-correlations, the inverse of the matrix Rxx of inter-correlations, and the vector c of cross-correlations. Note that if all the predictor variables are uncorrelated, the matrix Rxx is the identity matrix and R2 simply equals c' c, the sum of the squared cross-correlations. Otherwise, the inverted matrix of the inter-correlations removes the redundant variance that results from the inter-correlations of the predictor variables.

Correlation - Mrs. Salini Viswom


CORRELATION – ITS INTERPRETATION AND IMPORTANCE

INTRODUCTION
.
In the foregoing units we have discussed those statistical measures that we use for a single variable i.e. the distributions relating to one quantitative variable. Now we shall study the problem of describing the degree of simultaneous variation of two variables. The data in which we secure measures of one variable for each individual is called aunivariate distribution. If we have pairs of measures on.two variables of each individual, the joint presentation of the two sets of scores is called a bivatiate distribution. We come across a number of situations involving the study of two or more variables. For example, consider the scores of five students in mathematics and physics as under :
Students
1 2 3 4 5
Scores in Maths (X) 40 !7 29 36 25
Scores in Physics (Y) 38 16 30 32 24
Here each student has values on two variables X and Y i.e. the scores in Mathematics and
Physics respectively; hence the distribution is called bivariate distribution.
Similarly,' the distr~butioninvolving more than two variables are called multivariate distributions. In the present unit we will deal with bivariate distribution;. In a bivariate distribution the pair of scores made by the same set of individuals on two variables are given. 
Statistical Techniques of Analysis
THE CONCEPT OF CORRELATION
To illustrate what we mean by a relationship between two variables, let us use the example cited in \6.1 i.e. the scores of 5 students in mathematics and physics. What pattern do youfind in the data ?You may notice that in general those students who score well in mathematics also get high scores in physics. Those who are average in mathematics, get just average scores in physics and those who are poor in mathematics get low scores in physics. In short, in this case there is a tendency for students to score at par on both variables. Performance on the two variables is related; in other words the two variables are related, hence co-vary. If the change in one variable appears to be accompanied by a change in the other variable, the two tariables are said to be co-related and this inter-dependence is called correlation.
CO-EFFICIENT OF CORRELATION
To measure the degree of association or relationship between two variables quantitatively, an index of relationship is used and is termed as co-efficient of correlation.
Co-efficient of correlation is a single number that tells us to what extent the two variables are related and to what extent the variations in one variable changes with the variations in the other.
Symbol ~f co-efficient of correlation
The co-efficient of correlation is always symbolized either by r or p (Rho). The notion 'r' is known as product moment correlation co-efficient or Karl Pearson's Coefficient of Correlation.  The symbol 'P' (Rho) is known as Rank Difference Correlation Coefficient or Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient.
 
MAXIMUM RANGE OF VALUES OF CO-EFFICIENT
OF CORRELATION
The measurement of correlation between two variables results in a maximum value that ranges from -1 to + I , through zero. The k 1 values denote perfect coefficient of correlation. 
TYPES OF CORRELATION
In a bivariate distribution, the correlation may be :
1. Positive, Negative or Zero; and
2. Linear or Curvilinear (Non-Linear)
16.6.1 Positive, Negative and Zero Correlation
When the increase in one variable (X) is followed by a c~rresponding
increase in the other variable (Y); the correlation is said to be positive correlation. The positive correlations range from 0 to + l ; the upper limit i.e. +1 is the perfect positive co-efficient of correlation. The perfect positive correlation specifies that, for every unit increase in one variable, there is proportional increase in the other. For example "Heat" and "Temperature" have a perfect
positive correlation. If, on th.e other hand, the increase in one variable (X) results in a corresponding decrease in the other variable (Y), the correlation is said to be negative correlation. The negative correlation ranges from 0 to -1; the lower limit giving the perfect negative correlation. The perfect negative correlation indicates that for every unit increase in one variable, there is proportional unit decrease in the other. . Zero correlation means no relationship between the two variables X and Y;i.e. the change inone variable (X) is not associated with the change in the other variable (Y). For example, body weight and intelligence, shoe size and monthly salary; etc. The zero correlation is-the mid-point of the range -1 to +l.
 


Friday, March 4, 2011

Attribution Theory 1 - Mr. Jayachandran

Attribution 1: Theories

Individual in Society
Attribution Theory
Attribution theory - The conceptual framework within social psychology dealing with lay, or common sense explanations of behaviour.
Through life we gradually construct explanations/theories of why people behave in certain ways
1.) Naïve psychologist (Heider, 1958)
2.) Correspondent inference (Jones & Davis, 1965)
3.) Kelley’s model
Primary questions
1.) What are the main characteristics of attributions?
2.)How are attributions are made?
3.)
Naïve Psychologist(Fritz Heider,1958)
Sets out the foundations of attribution theory “common sense psychology”
Individual as a ‘Naïve Scientist’
Two important contributions
1.) Proposed the idea of internal
& external causes of behaviour 2.) Perceivers ignore part or all situational
factors when explaining behaviour.
(Later theorists who expanded on and developed Heider’s ideas: Kelley,1967; Jones & Davis,1965; Weiner, 1979. )

Correspondent inference (Jones & Davis, 1965)
When judging another’s behaviour we use information to draw a correspondent inference where the behaviour is attributed to a disposition/personality characteristic
Use various characteristics to do this including:
Social desirability
Non-common effects
Important historically, but its impact has been limited
Kelley’s Model (1967,1973)
What information is used to arrive at a causal attribution?
Developed a logical model for judging whether a particular action should be attributed to some characteristic (internal) of the person or the environment (external)
What information is used to arrive at a causal attribution?
1.) Covariation - Perceiver has info from multiple observations, at different times and situations, and can perceive the covariation of an observed effect and its causes

2.) Configuration - Perceiver is faced with a single observation and must take account of the configuration (i.e.the current info available)

Covariation: Multiple observations
Covariation Principle – An effect is attributed to a condition that is present when the effect is present, and absent when the effect is absent. (e.g. donuts disappear/ Homer)

Analysis of Variance Model of Covariation
Analysis of Variance Model of Covariation (McArthur e.g., 1972)
Analysis of Variance Model of Covariation (McArthur e.g., 1972)
Why did the students fall asleep during the lecture?
e.g. The majority of the students fell asleep in Dr. Sheppard’s lecture on theories of attribution. They also fell asleep during her other lectures, but not lectures given by other teaching staff.
High consensus
High consistency
High distinctiveness

Why did the students fall asleep during the lecture?
e.g. The majority of the students fell asleep in Dr. Sheppard’s lecture on theories of attribution. They never fell asleep during her other lectures, or in lectures given by other teaching staff.
High consensus
Low consistency
High distinctiveness


But…
Works well for person and entity
No single clear pattern which can lead to circumstance attributions. These seem to be maximised when consistency is low (Forsterling, 1989; Hewstone & Jaspars, 1987)
This can be seen as a limitation to the model

Main criticisms of covariation principle
1.) Doesn’t work well for circumstance attributions
2.) Covariation does not mean causality
3.) Participants are given “pre-packaged” info which they might not seek or use in everyday situations (model idealised/normative)
4.) Evidence suggests people are poor at assessing covariation between events (Alloy & Tabachnik, 1984)
5.) It may appear that the covariation principle was used, but the processing used may be completely different (e.g. Nisbett & Ross, 1980)
6.) Requires multiple observations over time- which is not always possible to do
Configuration: Single observations
Causal Schemata – Preconceptions or theories built up from experience about how certain kinds of causes interact to produce a specific effect (abstract-content free i.e. general & apply across content areas)
Allows one to interpret information quickly by comparing and integrating it with a schema
E.g. multiple sufficient cause schema – any of several causes can produce the same effect
Configuration: Single observations
Each Schema is associated with a number of principles set out by Kelley
Discounting principle – if different causes can produce the same effect, the role of a given cause in producing the effect is discounted if other plausible causes are present


Configuration: Single observations
 Augmentation principle – The role of a given cause is increased (augmented) if an effect occurs in the presence of an inhibitory cause.


Main criticisms of causal schemata (Fiedler, 1982)
1.)   The existence and functioning of causal schemata has not been successfully demonstrated – research supporting it is artificial – can’t prove
2.)   The idea of schemata is content free and thus too abstract
Can internal and external attributions be distinguished?
Statements implying internal attributions can be rephrased to imply external & vice versa
Students asked to write down why they had chosen their degree subject at uni (Nisbett et al, 1973)
Statements such as “I want to make a lot of money” were coded as internal while statements such as “Chemistry is a high paying field” were external
Criticised internal/external categories for being very broad and too heterogeneous (Lalljee,1981)
Participants have difficulty understanding the distinction (Taylor & Koivumaki, 1976)

Can internal and external attributions be distinguished?
Other categorisations of attributions e.g. multidimensional approach (Weiner, 1986)
Locus – internal or external?
Stability – is the cause a stable or unstable one (over time)
Controllability – to what extent is future task performance under the actor’s control?
Applications of attribution theory
Individual differences & attributional style
Rotter (1966) argues people differ in terms of the amount of control they believe they have over reinforcements & punishments received – measures of locus of control related to range of behaviour e.g. political beliefs, achievement
Internals – high personal control over destiny
Externals – fatalistic, things occur by chance
Attributional style questionnaire (Peterson et al., 1982) – sorts explanations on 3 dimensions: internal/external, stable/unstable, global/specific
Those who view aversive events as caused by internal, stable, global factors = depressive attributional style
Applications of attribution theory
Interpersonal relationships
Most commonly used in relation to marital success e.g. Fincham & O’Leary, 1983
happily married individuals tend to credit partners for positive behaviour by citing internal, stable, global & controllable factors to explain them
Negative behaviour is explained away by ascribing to external, unstable, specific & uncontrollable causes
Distressed couples do the opposite
Women continuous engage in attributional thought about relationships – men only do so when dysfunctional!!
Summary
Theories of attribution claim we aim to attribute behaviour to either internal (person) or external (situation) causes
Kelley proposed models of covariation (data driven) & configuration (theory driven)
In reality these may interact i.e. our expectations (schemata) may influence what data are processed i.e. what observations made
References
Hewstone & Stroebe (2001) Introduction to Social Psychology, Chapter 7.
Fraser & Burchell (2001) Introducing Social Psychology, Chapter 11.