Aiou Solved Assignments code 840 Autumn & Spring 2024
AIOU Solved Assignments 1 & 2 Code 840 Autumn & Spring 2024. Solved Assignments code 840 Educational Psychology 2024. Allama iqbal open university old papers.
Course: Educational Psychology (840)
Level: M.A/M.Ed
Semester: Autumn & Spring 2024
Assignment No: 2
Q No: 1 Discuss the concept and significance of needs. Also distinguish between primary and secondary needs.
A Cooperative Extension Service agent, your primary responsibility is to plan, develop, and conduct educational programs based on the expressed and observed needs of people. Throughout your carreer, you will hear the concept of clientele needs discussed frequently. You will also recognize that programs are successful when they focus on clearly defined needs of your targeted clientele. Within different segments of society, individuals who face physical, mental or emotional challenges may qualify for special treatment or benefits. In most instances, the label of “special needs” applies to mental or physical disabilities or circumstances that create an exceptional situation requiring individualized educational programs, physical accessibility or primary care requirements. Competence Although requirements vary from state to state, all states have professional standards for K-12 teachers. Most require a bachelor’s degree with a teaching major and basic testing for certification. In addition, most states require that teachers work toward a master’s degree within a specific period. They must also attend mandatory professional training sessions. As an educator, you are responsible for accurately assessing the needs of your clientele in collaboration with targeted audiences and community leaders. As you study the current situation (WHAT IS), you will easily observe some needs based on your own experiences and perceptions. As you work with community leaders and targeted audiences, those observed needs will be validated and other needs will be expressed. In developing your educational strategies, you should take into account both the observed and expressed needs. It is important to remember that in nonformal education, people are motivated to participate when they feel a need for the information or training provided. If this need is not met satisfactorily, participation will diminish or cease. Thus, the astute extension educator offers educational experiences and presents information that meets the expressed or observed needs of the targeted audience. To make an accurate needs assessment, you will need to conduct a thorough situational analysis in collaboration with community leaders and representatives of targeted audiences. Also, needs change, so needs analysis should be implemented as an ongoing component of your overall educational programming effort. Expectations in the Classroom Professional classroom conduct is difficult to define, because regions and situations will dictate different behavior. Overall, a teacher should be sensitive to the demographics of the class as well as socioeconomic differences. Teacher should be able to act rationally with thought in volatile situations while still maintaining good communication. Out of the Classroom Conduct beyond the classroom should be reasonable, the teacher should be aware that she is always in the spotlight. While teachers aren’t expected to treat all situations like they would in a classroom, they should be aware that their actions are noted by the community and reflect on the profession. Responsibility to Students As part of a professional image, teachers should be good role models to students. Language and actions should reflect adult behavior and be honorable and fair. Because they are in the public eye, teachers should always be aware of their actions and behave ethically. specialized services on a long-term basis. They need services such as speech, physical and occupational therapy, as well as accommodations for their medical conditions. Administrative Teachers should be well organized and keep accurate records of grades and other student behavior. They should be aware of all deadlines and adhere to their administrative duties in the school. Applying Abraham Maslow’s theory of a pyramid-shaped physiological needs, personal safety, social affiliation, self-esteem and self-actualization to education is an ideal way to assess lesson plans, courses and educational programs. Like the rungs of a ladder, each need has to be met before progressing to the next level. By asking themselves whether the five needs are being met in their school or classroom, educators can
assess how well they are applying Maslow’s hierarchy to their teaching practice. Students may move back and forth on the hierarchy, so it is important to have ongoing assessments of how well their needs are being met. Physical needs: Start with students’ physiological needs food, clothing and shelter because it is impossible to advance to higher needs if students are hungry, don’t have warm enough clothes, or have to sleep on the street. Some schools apply this level of Maslow’s hierarchy by offering breakfast or lunch programs to ensure the basic nutrition needs of their students are being met. In the United States, schools have provided low-cost or free lunches since 1946, when President Truman signed the National School Lunch Act. Address personal safety issues. Students, whether children or adults, have to feel safe both physically and mentally before they can let down their guard and learn. It is difficult to concentrate on a theoretical mathematical concept, for instance, if you are worried that a bomb is going to explode or that you will be bullied on the playground at recess. To apply this step of the hierarchy, it is essential to create a safe learning space. Types of need: There are some important needs in educational prospective these needs are: Physiological Needs Modern physiological needs have evolved with society to include food and shelter, a range of healthy lifestyle choices, technological devices and transportation means, enabling consumers to coexist comfortably in society. As food is the number 1 physiological need of all humans beings, basic foodstuffs and consumables are purchased by consumers to survive and therefore require less marketing finesse to sell. However with the diverse range available to consumers, marketers appeal to the various whims of taste, cultural nuances and emotional stimuli to sell products in today’s competitive marketplace. Safety Needs After the need for physical survival is satisfied, safety is the next priority defined in Maslow’s study that consumers persistently pursue. Consumers purchase many products relating to the safety and comfort of themselves and their families, which drives marketers to design and market products based on this instinct. Security factors are used to sell vehicles, houses, home appliances and personal products, driving businesses to produce safer designs and devices to satisfy these needs. Self-Actualization Human need for realizing personal potential, seeking self fulfillment and personal growth are seen as key motives for consumers and aid in marketing personal success programs, gym memberships and many individual products designed for increasing human potential. Educational programs and selffulfillment courses, software programs, books and DVDs are all marketed to consumers based on the self actualization instinctive need. Needs of Love and Longing Once students have the basics for survival and security and school atmosphere, the need for love and longing is the next motivation that influences consumers, a need that is extensively used to market study and environments of all types. Students feelings and emotions based on this theory are evident across the education sector, appealing to student’s needs for love and affection. Emotional and Behavioral Issues Many children suffer from emotional and behavioral problems that interfere with their ability to function in a mainstream classroom. They demonstrate a wide range of symptoms, including depression, withdrawal, inability to communicate with others, temper tantrums, or angry and violent behavior. Some mental disorders that cause these symptoms include oppositional disorder, bipolar disorder and depression, and autism. Depending on the severity of the disorder, children with emotional and behavioral disorders benefit from counseling and behavior modification, as well as special education programs. Motor Disabilities and Medically Fragile Children who have motor or orthopedic disorders have difficulty sitting, standing or walking depending upon their particular condition. Although many of these children are on the same academic level as their non- disabled peers, they may require special services for their physical disabilities. Medically fragile children have serious health problems that require specialized services on a long-term basis. They need services such as speech, physical and occupational therapy, as well as accommodations for their medical conditions.
Aiou Solved Assignments 2 code 840 Autumn & Spring 2024
Q No: 2 Compare and contrast between Thorndlike’s trail and error theory and Skinners operant conditioning theory. Also discuss the educational implications of these two learning theories.
The experimental study of animal learning by E. L. Thorndike (1874-1949) in the United States and his theory on trial-and-error learning provided the impetus for Skinner’s experiments on instrumental or operant conditioning. Thorndike’s doctoral research on ‘Animal Intelligence’ in 1898 provided the psychological world the first miniature system of learning known as trial-and-error learning. His theory left a profound effect on American psychology then. It also continues to exercise its influence on contemporary psychological theorizing. Thorndike’s research was indirectly influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution. Darwin demonstrated that there is a continuity in the bodily structures of many different species. This evidence favored Darwin’s doctrine of evolution. What about continuity in the ability to think and reason? Can animals think, understand, and reason like human beings, although at a simpler level? The critics of Darwin argued that the essential difference between humans and beasts is that humans can think and reason, which animals are not capable of doing. Thorndike’s research on animals (cats, dogs, fishes, chicks, and moneys) showed that learning is a matter of connecting responses to stimuli in a very mechanical way. There is no involvement of consciousness, thinking, reasoning or understanding. The animal performs responses mechanically. The responses that bring reward are learned; the responses that do not bring reward are not learned. The animal does not show ability to understand, think, and reason. The animal learns mechanically through trial-and-error. Indeed many forms of human learning, particularly the learning of sensory- motor skills, are achieved through trial-and-error. Learning to walk, to swim, or to ride a bicycle is based on trial-and-error. At the beginning, we make wrong movements and commit errors. As we go through a series of practice trials, errors are reduced and responses are mastered. The gradual reduction of errors over trials gives the name, trial-and-error form of learning. Thorndike’s Experiments on Cats: Thorndike experimented on a variety of animals like cats, fishes, chicks and monkeys. His classic experiment used a hungry cat as the subject, a piece of fish as the reward, and a puzzle box as the instrument for studying trial-and-error learning. In this typical experiment, a hungry cat was placed inside the puzzle box, and a piece of fish was kept outside the box. The cat could not reach the fish unless it opened the door. In order to escape from the box, the cat had to perform a simple action as required by the experimenter. The cat had to pull a loop or press a lever in order to open the door. Once the door was opened, the cat could escape and eat the fish. What did the hungry cat do inside Thorndike’s puzzle box? Initially it made random movements and ineffective responses. On the first trial, the cat struggled valiantly; it clawed at the bars, it bit; it thrust its paws out through any opening; it squeezed itself through the bars; it struck out in all directions. All the irrelevant responses continued for several minutes until the cat hit upon the correct response, by chance. Accidentally, it pulled the loop and the door opened. The cat came out of the box and was allowed to take a small part of the fish. It was then put inside the puzzle box for the second trial. In the second trial, the time taken to pull the loop reduced a bit. Every time the cat came out of the box and took a piece of fish, Thorndike put the cat inside the box again. Thorndike and the cat kept up this exercise for a while. With increasing trials, the time taken to pull the loop (response latency) decreased. The wrong responses (errors) that the cat was showing also decreased, as trials increased. Finally, the cat learned the trick. As soon as it was put in the box, it pulled the loop to escape for a well-deserved reward. The name, trial-and-error learning comes from the fact that errors decreased over trials. The cat learned from its errors. How did the animal learn? To answer this, Thorndike plotted the time taken on each trial by the cat to show the correct response (i.e., pulling the loop). The plot indicated that there was a gradual decline in the response latency. If the animal would have shown some understanding of the requirements to reach the fish, the curve should have registered a sudden drop at some point. This did not happen. The declining nature of the curve suggested that the animal had no understanding of the situation; it was only performing some responses, one of which was getting mechanically connected with the stimulus situation. Thorndike concluded that animals do not learn through thinking, understanding and reasoning. This view also
received a second line of support, when Thorndike failed to teach cats to pull the loop for opening the door. He held cat’s paw over the loop, pulling it for them, if cats had understanding, they should find their way out in the box, particularly after Thorndike had taught them the method. It means that the animal cannot learn without acting, it has to make its responses to the situation. The findings suggest that the cat did not have understanding of the solution. Thorndike explained cat’s learning by the ‘Law of Effect’. Thorndike conducted similar experiments with other animals and obtained similar results. He said that the animal does not learn a new response; it only Thorndike’s puzzle box were in animal’s stock of responses. Only one response led to animal’s satisfaction of obtaining a piece of fish. As a result, this response was selected from the stock automatically. The connection between this response and the stimulus situation got strengthened over trials. Very simply, the ‘Law of Effect’ derives its name from the fact that whether a response would be strengthened or weakened depends upon the effect of the response. Educational Implication In brief, implications of the Trial-and-Error Learning Theory are- ? According to this theory the task can be started from the easier aspect towards its difficult side. This
approach will benefit the weaker and backward children. ? A small child learns some skills through trial and error method only such as sitting, standing, walking,
running etc. In teaching also the child rectifies the writing after commiting mistakes. ? In this theory more emphasis has been laid on motivation. Thus, before starting teaching in the
classroom the students should be properly motivated. ? Practice leads a man towards maturity. Practice is the main feature of trial and error method.
Practice helps in reducing the errors committed by the child in learning any concept. ? Habits are formed as a result of repeitition. With the help of this theory the wrong habits of the
children can be modified and the good habits strengthened. ? The effects of rewards and punishment also affect the learning of the child. Thus, the theory lays
emphasis on the use of reward and punishment in the class by the teacher. ? The theory may be found quite helpful in changing the behaviour of the deliquent children. The
teacher should cure such children making use of this theory. ? With the help of this theory the teacher can control the negative emotions of the children such as
anger, jealousy etc. ? The teacher can improve his teaching methods making use of this theory. He must observe the effects of his teaching methods on the students and should not hesitate to make necessary changes in them, if required. ? The theory pays more emphasis on oral drill work. Thus, a teacher should conduct oral drill of the
taught contents. This help in strengthening the learning more. By the 1920s John B. Watson had left academic psychology and other behaviorists were becoming influential, proposing new forms of learning other than classical conditioning. Perhaps the most important of these was Burrhus Frederic Skinner. Although, for obvious reasons he is more commonly known as B.F. Skinner. Skinner’s views were slightly less extreme than those of Watson. Skinner believed that we do have such a thing as a mind, but that it is simply more productive to study observable behavior rather than internal mental events. Skinner believed that the best way to understand behavior is to look at the causes of an action and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning was based on the work of Thorndike (1905). Edward Thorndike studied learning in animals using a puzzle box to propose the theory known as the ‘Law of Effect‘. Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. Operant conditioning was coined by behaviorist B.F. Skinner, which is why you may occasionally hear it referred to as Skinnerian conditioning. As a behaviorist, Skinner believed that internal thoughts and motivations could not be used to explain behavior. Instead, he suggested, we should look only at the external, observable causes of human behavior. Skinner used the term operant to refer to any “active behavior that operates upon the environment to generate consequences” (1953). In other words, Skinner’s theory explained how we acquire the range of learned behaviors we exhibit each and every day.
Examples of Operant Conditioning We can find examples of operant conditioning at work all around us. Consider the case of children completing homework to earn a reward from a parent or teacher, or employees finishing projects to receive praise or promotions. In these examples, the promise or possibility of rewards causes an increase in behavior, but operant conditioning can also be used to decrease a behavior. The removal of a desirable outcome or the application of a negative outcome can be used to decrease or prevent undesirable behaviors. For example, a child may be told they will lose recess privileges if they talk out of turn in class. This potential for punishment may lead to a decrease in disruptive behaviors. Components of Operant Conditioning Some key concepts in operant conditioning: Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows. There are two kinds of reinforcers: 1. Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by the addition of something, such as praise or a direct reward. 2. Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the display of a behavior. In these situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of something considered unpleasant. In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases. Punishment, on the other hand, is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows. There are two kinds of punishment: 1. Positive punishment sometimes referred to as punishment by application, involves the presentation of
an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows. 2. Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs when an favorable event or
outcome is removed after a behavior occurs. In both of these cases of punishment, the behavior decreases.
Aiou Solved Assignments code 840 Autumn & Spring 2024
Q No: 3 Discuss educational importance of motivation. How you will motivate your students in class.
Motivation in the classroom is one of the major keys to both teacher and student success. A teacher’s ability to motivate his students helps determining whether or not he is a good teacher, and student motivation factors into overall academic success. When attempting to motivate students, it is vital to be encouraging and positively reward good behavior. The teacher, however, must also gently yet firmly correct negative behavior in order to maintain a sense of positive motivation. Task of learning While schools are in place to educate students, students may not always feel up to the task of learning. In other cases, students may be extremely eager to embrace the curriculum. Various factors influence student motivation. Motivation in the classroom is one of the major keys to both teacher and student success. A teacher’s ability to motivate his students helps determining whether or not he is a good teacher, and student motivation factors into overall academic success. When attempting to motivate students, it is vital to be encouraging and positively reward good behavior. The teacher, however, must also gently yet firmly correct negative behavior in order to maintain a sense of positive motivation. As a teacher, your goal should not only be to educate, but also to inspire your students to willingly expand their knowledge and skills. By boosting your class’s motivation to learn, you will also reduce negative feelings that students may harbor about school and homework. Motivated students are more likely to seek further education after they have left your classroom. Instructor Feedback Positive feedback may increase students’ motivation by raising their self-confidence. When a teacher consistently offers negative feedback, students may feel discouraged and frustrated emotions that lead to lack of motivation. In addition, the teacher should demonstrate enthusiasm about the subject matter to foster an overall positive classroom climate. Personal Application
When learning a new subject, students will wonder how they can apply this knowledge to their personal lives. Students may feel less motivated to participate in lessons that seem to hold no practical application. To increase motivation, the teacher should explain how the material relates to life outside the classroom. Course Difficulty: Lessons that are too difficult or demanding may lower student motivation. When teaching difficult subjects, the teacher must be careful to present the information in a way that is both organized and easy to understand. Concrete examples can help make abstract concepts easier to understand. Student Internal Factors Students must have certain characteristics in order to do well in their academic careers. Some of these characteristics can include self confidence, a responsibility to do well in school, a desire to have a better life when they reach adulthood and a sense of control over their futures. Teachers can motivate a student to strive for personal success by explaining hard work in the classroom can eventually pay off with a rewarding career and the financial security to support a family. Also, a teacher can praise a student for academic successes and offer assistance such as tutoring in areas where a little extra effort is required. Student External Factors Students are also influenced by the world around them. Sometimes, his or her home life can affect academic performance. If parents have low expectations of the child, then this can greatly influence whether the student is motivated to do well academically. Schools have mentor programs set up where a student with the potential to do well is paired with either an older student or an adult who can motivate and encourage him to succeed and set higher goals academically and personally. The Teacher’s Role A teacher can play an important role in a student’s academic success. He can be a psychologist, a mentor or any other role that is lacking in a child’s life. It is the teacher’s responsibility to recognize the positive and negative in a student’s performance and reward the successes. Additionally, the teacher can also give a student extra help if he is performing below expectations and assign a mentor if necessary. Students Motivating and positions Oftentimes, students are motivated in the classroom by seeing one of their peers excel. If possible, use this to an advantage. Have this student assist others by tutoring in subjects he or she excels at. It can help students to know their peers are willing to help without passing judgment, thereby making the teacher’s job easier. Active Learning Encourage active learning in class. Rather than lecturing every day, allow the students a chance to participate. Ask open-ended questions. Questions that only have a single right answer may deter students from speaking. You can also incorporate educational games into each lesson. The children will have an easier time retaining information if they are relaxed and having fun. Practical Examples Relate each lesson to the lives of the students. For example, before teaching multiplication, explain how these mathematical skills can help them in their daily lives. Students will be more motivated to learn when they see that the lectures and assignments come with practical applications. Instructor’s Personality You don’t have to pull out the leather jacket and sunglasses, but be the kind of person that children like to be around. This does not mean you must sacrifice your role as rule enforcer. Be enthusiastic about the subjects and provide positive feedback for each student. Be patient and use humor to diffuse negative attitudes. Difficulty Avoid work that seems to overwhelm the majority of the class. An occasional challenge will keep the students interested, but don’t make the workload seem impossible. Adjust the difficulty of your lessons to match your students’ skills. In most cases, it’s best to start off with simple tasks and then increase the difficulty of the work after your students feel comfortable and confident. Keep your lessons and instructions as clear as possible. Focus on Learning While grades are a part of the education system, keep the students focused on learning instead of grades. For example, offer to help students with homework problems, rather than grading the assignments without first providing feedback. You can also grade homework based on completion rather than correctness, and then talk to students about the problems they missed. This method will reduce their fears of low grades and help them identify their weak points. Motivation techniques in class room
If you are a teacher, it can be difficult working with students who don’t seem interested in the material you are presenting. Unmotivated students may not want to do the work they are assigned, and are likely to receive lower scores on homework and tests. This may be especially bothersome to you if you enjoy the subject you are teaching, but students do not. No matter the situation, employing certain techniques in the classroom will have a motivating effect on your students. Make Material Relevant Students may not be motivated if they can’t see how the material relates to them and their lives. For instance, many students find subjects such as history or math boring, as well as not useful to their everyday lives. Find ways to relate your course material to student’s lives and hobbies, as well as current trends that the students are familiar with. Use teaching methods that incorporate technology that students already enjoy using. You can post a lecture as an online video, for example, or make the lecture available to download as an MP3 file, which students can listen to at any time. Clear Goals Goals are major motivating factors in the classroom. Without clear goals, students aren’t sure what they are supposed to be doing, and naturally feel bored and unchallenged. Clear, challenging goals let students know what you expect from them. Don’t make goals too challenging, though, as this is more likely to frustrate students than motivate them. Encourage students to set some goals for themselves, as well. Help students set goals that make sense for them. For example, students usually benefit from setting a goal of raising their homework scores. Empower Students Make your classroom a semi-democracy by allowing students to have options, which makes them feel empowered. You can let students vote to decide where they will go on the next field trip, for example. Allow students to choose, from two or three topics, which topic interests them the most, then explore that topic in further detail. This motivates students because they have a say in what they are taught. Students who are interested in the lesson plan are much more likely to experience success. Don’t Focus on Grades Although grades can be a good indicator of how students are doing in the class, avoid grading every homework assignment that you give to students. Making homework grades a large portion of a student’s final grade can backfire. Some students may cheat to get the grade they want, or they may simply give up and choose not to turn in assignments at all. If you assign homework, put less emphasis on grading it, and use it instead as a learning tool. Tell students to do the problems, then come to you with any they don’t understand.
Aiou Solved Assignments 2 Autumn & Spring 2024 code 840
Q No: 4 what do you understand by Intelligence Quotient? What care you will take while developing intelligence tests?
Psychological tests, especially intelligence tests are widely used tools. The effectiveness of a tool depends on the skill, scientific knowledge, and competence of its users. A long stick can be used to help a disabled person walk across the street or for assault on fellowmen. Similarly, psychological tests can either be used or misused. Ability tests can help a teacher divide children into groups sharing almost equal level of ability, or can be used to label some children as dull and incompetent. Poor performance on an intelligence test may attach a stigma to the child, inviting teacher and parental discrimination. Children’s cognitive abilities their ability to perform mental operations, to pay attention, to remember and to communicate about what they have learned – are sources of great anxiety for many parents who may wonder whether their children are developing normally. For this reason, we spend the next sections of this document talking about intelligence, which is the umbrella term used when making summary statements concerning children’s cognitive abilities and potential. For all its importance and prominence (most everyone has heard of the term) intelligence remains a poorly understood concept. Our plan is thus to offer an accurate definition of intelligence as it is currently understood, to talk about how intelligence is measured, and to discuss the various factors that influence the development of intelligence, which is not nearly as fixed an attribute as people are commonly led to believe. Mental capacities Most people think of intelligence as describing “how smart” someone is. However, the actual definition is quite a bit more complicated than that. Psychological researchers and theorists have actively debated and argued over how to best define and measure intelligence for over one hundred years. Individual theorists and researchers have disagreed on which mixture of cognitive skills and mental capacities (problem solving, abstract thinking, creativity, memory, concentration, interpersonal skills, body/movement skills, etc.)
should be included within the definition, and how to measure these important attributes in a fair, culture free manner. At present, intelligence is best thought of not as a single ability or attribute, but rather as a global construct encompassing many different and separate cognitive abilities. According to the American Psychological Association, intelligence describes a person’s ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt to the environment, to learn from experience, and to engage in reasoning and decision-making in all sorts of situations (both new and familiar). History of Intelligence Testing and IQ Score One way to understand the complexity involved in defining intelligence is to look at how tests measuring this construct have evolved over time. The first scientific test of intelligence, constructed by Alfred Binet during the early 1900’s, was designed to provide French educators with a reliable method for discriminating special needs children from the general school population for purposes of classroom placement. Binet used children’s test scores across a series of tests to separate children who needed special education classes from youth who could function well in regular classes. Binet’s approach attempted to measure children’s “general mental ability” by assessing different facets of their reasoning and thinking abilities and then using these scores to predict the learning environment likely best suited to each child. Capacities typically advance In 1905, Binet and colleague Theodore Simon updated Binet’s previous test to create the Binet-Simon scale, again for the purpose of identifying students in need of special education. The primary advance with this second intelligence test was that the Binet-Simon score was computed so as to take into account each student’s chronological age. Since children’s raw abilities and capacities typically advance and expand as children develop over time, it had become apparent that it was impossible to talk about intelligence without taking age into account. Without taking age into account, a truly smart child would appear (but not actually be) less intelligent than a less cognitively gifted adult simply because the adult is more cognitively mature and experienced than the child. Consequently, in computing the intelligence of children, it is vital that ability comparisons be made in comparison to similarly aged people, and not to all people of all ages. Discriminatory practices: Discriminatory practices initiated on the basis of intelligence test performance are unethical and should be abandoned- On the other hand, tests should be used to know the strengths and weaknesses of the child, and to draw up his cognitive profile with an intention to help him through appropriate remedial programs. The IQ tests tap only a part of human’s overall competence. There are many more skills to be assessed, such as competence in social situations, creativity, and close positive relationship. Intelligence or high IQ is not necessarily the ultimate human value. It only predicts school-related success not the life success. Therefore, it is impossible to separate intelligence from scholastic achievement. As a schoolboy, Robert Sternberg, who is known for his Triarchic Theory of Intelligence, did very poorly on intelligence tests Sternberg, and now a Professor of Psychology at the Yale University believes this intelligence is more than what IQ tests measure. Traditions intelligence tests: Sternberg’s three-part theory of intelligence suggests that the traditions intelligence tests have three major limitations: (a) the IQ tests fail to measure creative insight, (b) they ignore the practical side of intelligence, and (c) since IQ tests are limited to a fixed time schedule, they wrongly equate intelligence with speed. The intelligence tests are biased in favor of the middle-class and higher class populations. They underestimate the intellectual potentialities of children belonging to minority groups and other cultures. That is why, African-American tend to score about 15 points lower on IQ tests than the white American. Language and the nature of the test items create problems in estimating intelligence. The test developers have failed to separate what children have already learnt from what their abilities are to acquire the knowledge. pointed out that answers to some intelligence test items seems to have been arbitrarily decided. For example, a 4-6 year old child taking 1973 edition of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence scale was asked, “What a house is made of?” His answer was “A house is built of walls.” But according to the test developer, the correct answer was “The house is made of wood bricks and stone”. The child’s answer was relatively correct, but he failed to earn a score on the test. When scores obtained in IQ tests are thought to give a fixed and unchanging indicator of an individual’s intelligence, it brine misjudgment. Similar difficulties occurs when an intelligence test is used as the sole indicator of whether a child is placed in a special education program or in a class meant for gifted children. Creative abilities: Psychologists have pointed out that intelligence tests are less predicts of creative abilities that lead to scientific discoveries and inventions. It provides less meaningful information for the actual planning of
educational instruction At best the IQ tests provide an AQ or Academic Quotient predictive of academic achievement. In spite of its limitations, IQ tests provide important information about the individuals, when used judiciously by trained and expert investigators. The alternatives to intelligence testing are not yet promising. The test should be done repeatedly and its results should be used along with information collected from other sources. Intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a numerical measure of your knowledge and intelligence base. Some schools require IQ testing for their students and use it as a way to gauge how students are doing and apply for financial aid. The problem is that IQ testing doesn’t paint the full picture of a person’s intelligence; the Wechsler test and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, which are both commonly used to score IQ rate on a scale of around 70 to around 165, says the U.S. National Library of Medicine, and the results can be inconclusive. Limited Potential And Stereotypes IQ tests can limit student potential an perpetuate stereotypes within a classroom setting. Greg Machek of Indiana University notes in a paper titled “Brief History of the Measurement of Intelligence” that minorities and economically-challenged typically score worse than tier better-off, white counterparts. Upon receiving the result of a poor IQ test, a student may believe that she is “stupid” or less intelligent than her peers when it isn’t her fault. Similarly, better-off students with better scores might look down or unfairly class other students because of their scores. One Score Results The scale for an IQ test is decided upon by scoring the answers to the questions to come up with a single number that represents the individual’s intelligence. Unfortunately, that one number cannot possibly detail the breadth of someone’s intelligence, says the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders. One number assigned to a child or adult’s intelligence and grasp of traditional academic subjects is not an accurate way to measure IQ. What’s more, a poor IQ test can limit a child’s aspirations due to the one score that he is labeled with. Limited Subjects A traditional IQ test quizzes individuals in subjects like reading comprehension, limits, series and mathematical knowledge, but they don’t test for subjects that include mechanics, social skills or creativity. The University of South Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Studies says that these subjects are just as valuable than the intelligence that is tested through IQ tests. Quite simply, IQ tests are an ineffective way to measure intelligence, as intelligence itself is made up of different facets, subjects and talents. Predictive Capabilities Someone who gains a high score on IQ testing won’t automatically enjoy a high degree of success in her life. IQ tests are poor predictors of socioeconomic and vocation success. This could render them fairly useless for predicting later success in life. Psychologist Wayne Weiten argues in his book “Psychology: Themes and Variations” that while those with IQs certainly have the potential for vocational success, those with lower IQ’s with ambition and skill can do the same.
Aiou Solved Assignments 2 code 840 Autumn & Spring 2024
Q No: 5 Describe various characteristics of psychological tests.
From the first assessments used by Alfred Binet on French children, to the many tests that have emerged and evolved since then, testing IQ or “intelligence quotient” has become a common way to measure intellectual potential and identify weaker areas in need of support. However, there is controversy attached to IQ testing because of its inability to capture other human strengths, such as character, motivation, creativity and rational thinking skills. Also, when children are tested, behaviors unrelated to intelligence, such as fatigue or hunger, can render results inaccurate. Nevertheless, evaluating aspects of a person’s cognitive functioning still offers many benefits. Preventing Misdiagnosis Teachers may expect compliance and good grades without realizing that gifted children — those with a high IQ — stuck in unsuitable learning environments are not necessarily high achieving. As many as 20 percent of gifted children drop out of school due to anxiety and depression. Pediatrician Marianne Kuzujanakis explains that gifted children are sometimes never identified as gifted and their sometimesintense behaviors can look like psychiatric disorders that result in misdiagnoses and unnecessary medication. Gifted students sometimes need as much support as those with learning disabilities. Help for Learning Disabled Students Sometimes, low scholastic achievement is not because of low intelligence. Learning challenges can impact success at school, and if left unidentified, can make a child appear less capable of learning that he actually is. According to the National Institutes of Health, 15 percent of Americans have a learning disability. Some of these include the language disability dyslexia, math disability or dyscalculia, and writing disability or
dysgraphia — all of which negatively affect scholastic achievement. Ruling out a low IQ via intelligence testing helps to further narrow down the search for the source of poor performance in school. Identification of Learning Disabilities in Gifted Students Sometimes, learning disabled students are actually gifted. The learning disability and the giftedness mask each other, making the student appear average. However, if the specific areas of weakness and strength are identified through cognitive testing, the student can be supported to better reach her potential. For example, a student with a physical writing disability can be given a keyboard or voice-totext software, instead of a pencil, to help her transfer her ideas into written form for others to read. Without IQ testing, her advanced ability might continue to go unrecognized and her physical disability allowed to define her capabilities. Tracking the Impact of Education Average human intelligence is steadily increasing, so much so that IQ tests are updated every decade or so to ensure that the average score stays at 100 points. Based on data collected from the Wechlser scale, IQ has risen about 20 points during the 20th century. Formal childhood schooling and increasing difficulty in subjects like math are recognized as contributing factors to humankind’s cognitive growth. Without organized, standardized intelligence testing, this data would not exist and the impact of formal childhood education on average intelligence would not be as established. Psychologists use psychological tests or assessment instruments to diagnose mental functioning or disability, evaluate personality or intelligence, determine effectiveness of treatments, decide on appropriate treatment, and advise courts on questions of competency, child custody and sanity. Psychological tests can be administered by trained technicians, but must be interpreted by experienced psychologists. Social psychologists use rating and attitude scales to gain information about people. Characteristics of Projective Tests Psychologists use projective tests in which they show ambiguous stimuli to people so they will “project” their underlying feelings, traits, and concerns onto the stimuli. The most well-know projective test is the Rorschach Test, which employs ink blots as the ambiguous stimuli. Another important projective test is the Thematic Apperception Test, which uses pictures of people in ambiguous situations. The psychologist asks the client to interpret the picture and in the process the client reveals aspects of her personality or problems. Educational or employment settings Achievement and aptitude tests are usually seen in educational or employment settings, and they attempt to measure either how much you know about a certain topic (i.e., your achieved knowledge), such as mathematics or spelling, or how much of a capacity you have (i.e., your aptitude) to master material in a particular area, such as mechanical relationships. Intelligence tests attempt to measure your intelligence—that is, your basic ability to understand the world around you, assimilate its functioning, and apply this knowledge to enhance the quality of your life. Or, as Alfred Whitehead said about intelligence, “it enables the individual to profit by error without being slaughtered by it. Intelligence, therefore, is a measure of a potential, not a measure of what you’ve learned (as in an achievement test), and so it is supposed to be independent of culture. The challenge is to design a test that can actually be culture-free; most intelligence tests fail in this area to some extent for one reason or another. Attitude Scales Social psychologists often use attitude scales to measure people’s propensities, such as empathy, belief in a just world and self-esteem, and views on a range of concepts, such as racial attitudes, gender attitudes or attitudes toward a particular concept, such as abortion. The distinguishing characteristic of attitude tests are the response scales, typically a Likert scale in which respondents answer on a five point scale. Intelligence Tests Confidentiality is maintained on major intelligence tests, so only persons qualified to administer them can obtain the questions. The Stanford-Binet Test and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children have questions designed for children of various ages. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test measures vocabulary, understanding and knowledge in the verbal section and requests respondents to arrange pictures in story form or duplicate a block pattern in the performance section. Limitations of psychological testing Psychological tests or assessment techniques evaluate intelligence or personality, diagnose mental disorders, appraise disability or functioning abilities, determine appropriate treatment, assess treatment outcomes or inform courts on issues of sanity, competency and child custody. Trained technicians administer the tests or assessments and experienced psychologists interpret the results. Psychological tests assess and evaluate information about an individual or group. Types of psychological tests include
intelligence tests, neuropsychological tests, occupational tests, personality tests and specific clinical tests such as current level of anxiety or depression. Effective and accurate psychological tests are objective, reliable, valid, based on sound norms and standardized. Take the limitations of psychological testing into account when evaluating results. Test Construction Some psychological tests are constructed in ways that make them unreliable and unscientific. The Enneagram and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator tests, for example, are based on personality “types” not based on science. Another example is the Rorschach inkblot test, which involves presenting individuals with inkblots they must then interpret for meaning. The reliability of this test is not high, as its interpretation depends on the psychologist and not objective results. Cultural Bias Many psychological tests, particularly intelligence tests, can carry cultural biases. They assume all individuals have the same experiences and proficiency with the English language. Individuals from a, ethnic minority may interpret items in a psychological test differently due to their culture and upbringing, which may result in a disproportionate and inaccurate result. Accuracy Psychological tests may be inaccurate for a number of reasons. Individuals taking the test may give false responses. They may fake or distort answers in a bid to portray themselves in a positive light. This issue becomes particularly salient during tests that involve employment suitability, for example. Interpretation Even the most skilled in evaluating psychological test results can make errors, which becomes more likely when the test involves cognitive or emotional responses, which are more likely than behavioral responses, to garner a subjective interpretation. The same response may receive different scores depending on who scores the test. This limitation may result in an inaccurate test result and compromise the validity of the test. Psychological tests are usually administered and interpreted by a psychologist because studies in psychopathology, along with academic courses and supervision in psychological testing, are an integral part of the doctoral degree in clinical psychology. A counselor who has had the appropriate academic courses and supervision may administer occupational tests or achievement and aptitude tests, but most counselors have not received the training to administer personality tests. Academic courses and supervision in psychological testing are usually not a part of a psychiatrist’s medical training, so most psychiatrists can ethically administer only some specific clinical tests that are straight-forward checklists of symptoms.
Aiou Solved Assignments 2 Autumn & Spring 2024 code 840
