psychology meaning essay

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• Introduction

Early history

Behaviourism, freud and his followers, after world war ii and sputnik.

• Impact and aftermath of the cognitive revolution
• Social cognitive neuroscience
• Epigenetics
• Evolving scope and structure of psychological science
• Multiple tools and methods for diverse goals
• Complex data-analysis methods

• Where was Sigmund Freud educated?
• What did Sigmund Freud die of?
• Why is Sigmund Freud famous?

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• Verywell Mind - An Overview of Psychology
• Simply Psychology - What is Psychology?
• Khan Academy - Introduction to psychology - Depression and major depressive disorder
• Psychology Today - Psychology
• Social Science LibreTexts - What is Psychology?
• WebMD - Guide to Psychiatry and Counseling
• Official Site of the American Psychological Association
• psychology - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• psychology - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
• Table Of Contents

psychology , scientific discipline that studies mental states and processes and behaviour in humans and other animals.

The discipline of psychology is broadly divisible into two parts: a large profession of practitioners and a smaller but growing science of mind , brain , and social behaviour. The two have distinctive goals, training, and practices, but some psychologists integrate the two.

(Read Sigmund Freud’s 1926 Britannica essay on psychoanalysis.)

In Western culture , contributors to the development of psychology came from many areas, beginning with philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle . Hippocrates philosophized about basic human temperaments (e.g., choleric, sanguine , melancholic) and their associated traits. Informed by the biology of his time, he speculated that physical qualities, such as yellow bile or too much blood, might underlie differences in temperament ( see also humour ). Aristotle postulated the brain to be the seat of the rational human mind, and in the 17th century René Descartes argued that the mind gives people the capacities for thought and consciousness : the mind “decides” and the body carries out the decision—a dualistic mind-body split that modern psychological science is still working to overcome. Two figures who helped to found psychology as a formal discipline and science in the 19th century were Wilhelm Wundt in Germany and William James in the United States . James’s The Principles of Psychology (1890) defined psychology as the science of mental life and provided insightful discussions of topics and challenges that anticipated much of the field’s research agenda a century later.

During the first half of the 20th century, however, behaviourism dominated most of American academic psychology. In 1913 John B. Watson , one of the influential founders of behaviourism, urged reliance on only objectively measurable actions and conditions, effectively removing the study of consciousness from psychology. He argued that psychology as a science must deal exclusively with directly observable behaviour in lower animals as well as humans, emphasized the importance of rewarding only desired behaviours in child rearing, and drew on principles of learning through classical conditioning (based on studies with dogs by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov and thus known as Pavlovian conditioning ). In the United States most university psychology departments became devoted to turning psychology away from philosophy and into a rigorous empirical science.

Beginning in the 1930s, behaviourism flourished in the United States, with B.F. Skinner leading the way in demonstrating the power of operant conditioning through reinforcement. Behaviourists in university settings conducted experiments on the conditions controlling learning and “shaping” behaviour through reinforcement, usually working with laboratory animals such as rats and pigeons. Skinner and his followers explicitly excluded mental life, viewing the human mind as an impenetrable “black box,” open only to conjecture and speculative fictions. Their work showed that social behaviour is readily influenced by manipulating specific contingencies and by changing the consequences or reinforcement (rewards) to which behaviour leads in different situations. Changes in those consequences can modify behaviour in predictable stimulus-response (S-R) patterns. Likewise, a wide range of emotions , both positive and negative, may be acquired through processes of conditioning and can be modified by applying the same principles.

Concurrently, in a curious juxtaposition , the psychoanalytic theories and therapeutic practices developed by the Vienna-trained physician Sigmund Freud and his many disciples—beginning early in the 20th century and enduring for many decades—were undermining the traditional view of human nature as essentially rational. Freudian theory made reason secondary: for Freud, the unconscious and its often socially unacceptable irrational motives and desires, particularly the sexual and aggressive, were the driving force underlying much of human behaviour and mental illness . Making the unconscious conscious became the therapeutic goal of clinicians working within this framework.

Freud proposed that much of what humans feel, think, and do is outside awareness, self-defensive in its motivations, and unconsciously determined. Much of it also reflects conflicts grounded in early childhood that play out in complex patterns of seemingly paradoxical behaviours and symptoms. His followers, the ego psychologists, emphasized the importance of the higher-order functions and cognitive processes (e.g., competence motivation , self-regulatory abilities) as well as the individual’s psychological defense mechanisms . They also shifted their focus to the roles of interpersonal relations and of secure attachment in mental health and adaptive functioning, and they pioneered the analysis of these processes in the clinical setting.

After World War II , American psychology, particularly clinical psychology, grew into a substantial field in its own right, partly in response to the needs of returning veterans. The growth of psychology as a science was stimulated further by the launching of Sputnik in 1957 and the opening of the Russian-American space race to the Moon . As part of this race, the U.S. government fueled the growth of science. For the first time, massive federal funding became available, both to support behavioral research and to enable graduate training. Psychology became both a thriving profession of practitioners and a scientific discipline that investigated all aspects of human social behaviour, child development , and individual differences, as well as the areas of animal psychology, sensation , perception , memory , and learning.

Training in clinical psychology was heavily influenced by Freudian psychology and its offshoots. But some clinical researchers, working with both normal and disturbed populations, began to develop and apply methods focusing on the learning conditions that influence and control social behaviour. This behaviour therapy movement analyzed problematic behaviours (e.g., aggressiveness , bizarre speech patterns, smoking , fear responses) in terms of the observable events and conditions that seemed to influence the person’s problematic behaviour. Behavioral approaches led to innovations for therapy by working to modify problematic behaviour not through insight, awareness, or the uncovering of unconscious motivations but by addressing the behaviour itself. Behaviourists attempted to modify the maladaptive behaviour directly, examining the conditions controlling the individual’s current problems, not their possible historical roots. They also intended to show that such efforts could be successful without the symptom substitution that Freudian theory predicted. Freudians believed that removing the troubling behaviour directly would be followed by new and worse problems. Behaviour therapists showed that this was not necessarily the case.

To begin exploring the role of genetics in personality and social development , psychologists compared the similarity in personality shown by people who share the same genes or the same environment . Twin studies compared monozygotic (identical) as opposed to dizygotic (fraternal) twins, raised either in the same or in different environments . Overall, these studies demonstrated the important role of heredity in a wide range of human characteristics and traits, such as those of the introvert and extravert , and indicated that the biological-genetic influence was far greater than early behaviourism had assumed. At the same time, it also became clear that how such dispositions are expressed in behaviour depends importantly on interactions with the environment in the course of development, beginning in utero.

1 What Is Psychology?

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Understand the etymology of the word “psychology”
• Define psychology
• Understand the merits of an education in psychology

Psychology  is defined as the scientific study of mind and behavior . In Greek mythology, Psyche was a mortal woman whose beauty was so great that it rivaled that of the goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite became so jealous of Psyche that she sent her son, Eros, to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest man in the world. However, Eros accidentally pricked himself with the tip of his arrow and fell madly in love with Psyche himself. He took Psyche to his palace and showered her with gifts, yet she could never see his face. While visiting Psyche, her sisters roused suspicion in Psyche about her mysterious lover, and eventually, Psyche betrayed Eros’ wishes to remain unseen to her. Because of this betrayal, Eros abandoned Psyche. When Psyche appealed to Aphrodite to reunite her with Eros, Aphrodite gave her a series of impossible tasks to complete. Psyche managed to complete all of these trials; ultimately, her perseverance paid off as she was reunited with Eros and was ultimately transformed into a goddess herself (Ashliman, 2001; Greek Myths & Greek Mythology, 2014).

Psyche comes to represent the human soul’s triumph over the misfortunes of life in the pursuit of true happiness (Bulfinch, 1855); in fact, the Greek word psyche means soul , and it is often represented as a butterfly. The word psychology was coined at a time when the concepts of soul and mind were not as clearly distinguished (Green, 2001). The root -ology denotes the scientific study of , so the term psychology refers to the scientific study of the mind. Since science studies only observable phenomena and the mind is not directly observable, we expand this definition to the scientific study of mind and behavior.

The scientific study of any aspect of the world uses the scientific method to acquire knowledge. To apply the scientific method, a researcher with a question about how or why something happens will propose a tentative explanation, called a hypothesis, to explain the phenomenon. A hypothesis is not just any explanation; it should fit into the context of a scientific theory. A scientific theory is a broad explanation or group of explanations for some aspect of the natural world that is consistently supported by evidence over time . A theory is the best understanding that we have of that part of the natural world. Armed with the hypothesis, the researcher then makes observations or, better still, carries out an experiment to test the validity of the hypothesis. That test and its results are then published so that others can check the results or build on them. It is necessary that any explanation in science be testable, which means that the phenomenon must be perceivable and measurable. For example, “a bird sings because it is happy” is not a testable hypothesis, since we have no way to measure the happiness of a bird. We must ask a different question, perhaps about the brain state of the bird, since this can be measured. In general, science deals only with matter and energy—that is, those things that can be measured—and it cannot arrive at knowledge about values and morality. This is one reason why our scientific understanding of the mind is so limited, since thoughts, at least as we experience them, are neither matter nor energy. The scientific method is also a form of empiricism. An empirical method for acquiring knowledge is one based on observation, including experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities.

It was not until the late 1800s that psychology became accepted as its own academic discipline. Before this time, the workings of the mind were considered under the auspices of philosophy. Given that any behavior is, at its roots, biological, some areas of psychology take on aspects of a natural science like biology. No biological organism exists in isolation, and our behavior is influenced by our interactions with others. Therefore, psychology is also a social science.

Merits of an Education in Psychology

Often, students take their first psychology course because they are interested in helping others and want to learn more about themselves and why they act the way they do. Sometimes, students take a psychology course because it either satisfies a general education requirement or is required for a program of study such as nursing or pre-med. Many of these students develop such an interest in the area that they go on to declare psychology as their major. As a result, psychology is one of the most popular majors on college campuses across the United States (Johnson & Lubin, 2011). Several well-known individuals were psychology majors. Just a few famous names on this list are Facebook’s creator Mark Zuckerberg, television personality and political satirist Jon Stewart, actress Natalie Portman, and filmmaker Wes Craven (Halonen, 2011). About 6 percent of all bachelor’s degrees granted in the United States are in the discipline of psychology (U.S. Department of Education, 2013).

An education in psychology is valuable for a number of reasons. Psychology students hone critical thinking skills and are trained in the use of the scientific method. Critical thinking is the active application of a set of skills to information for the understanding and evaluation of that information. The evaluation of information—assessing its reliability and usefulness— is an important skill in a world full of competing “facts,” many of which are designed to be misleading. For example, critical thinking involves maintaining an attitude of skepticism, recognizing internal biases, making use of logical thinking, asking appropriate questions, and making observations. Psychology students also can develop better communication skills during the course of their undergraduate coursework (American Psychological Association, 2011). Together, these factors increase students’ scientific literacy and prepare students to critically evaluate the various sources of information they encounter.

In addition to these broad-based skills, psychology students come to understand the complex factors that shape one’s behavior. They appreciate the interaction of our biology, our environment, and our experiences in determining who we are and how we will behave. They learn about basic principles that guide how we think and behave, and they come to recognize the tremendous diversity that exists across individuals and across cultural boundaries (American Psychological Association, 2011).

Watch a brief video that describes some of the questions a student should consider before deciding to major in psychology: Why Major in Psychology?

“Psychology” derives from the roots psyche (meaning soul) and –ology (meaning scientific study of). Thus, “psychology” is defined as the scientific study of mind and behavior. Students of psychology develop critical thinking skills, become familiar with the scientific method, and recognize the complexity of behavior.

Review Questions

Critical thinking questions.

Psychology courses deal with a number of issues that are helpful in a variety of settings. The text made mention of the types of skills as well as the knowledge base with which students of psychology become familiar. As mentioned in the link to learning, psychology is often helpful/valued in fields in which interacting with others is a major part of the job.

One goal of psychology is the study of the mind. Science cannot directly study the mind, because it is not a form of matter or energy. This might create some skepticism about the scientific nature of psychology.

Personal Application Question

Why are you taking this course? What do you hope to learn about during this course?

Media Attributions

• “ iDelcare – Why Major in Psychology? ” by humbiomovies . CC BY 3.0 License .

the scientific study of mind and behavior

broad explanation or group of explanations for some aspect of the natural world that is consistently supported by evidence over time

acquiring knowledge is one based on observation, including experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities

What Is Psychology? Copyright © 2022 by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Write a Great Psychology Essay

Categories Psychology Education

Writing a great psychology essay takes skill. You need good research skills to provide an adequate empirical background. You also need to put your analytical skills to work to evaluate the research and then build a coherent argument. If you are not used to writing psychology essays, it can be a little challenging at first (especially if you are also learning how to use APA format).

Remember, the skill of writing an exceptional psychology essay lies not only in presenting information, but also in synthesizing and explaining it effectively. If you need to write a psychology essay for a class, here are some tips to help you get started.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

• Craft a strong thesis statement highlighting the main points of your psychology essay.
• Incorporate research studies to support arguments and critically evaluate their validity and reliability.
• Structure the essay with a clear introduction, focused body paragraphs, and a compelling conclusion.
• Include critical analysis by evaluating research methodologies, strengths, weaknesses, and ethical considerations.

What to Include in an APA Format Essay

To craft a great psychology essay, it’s important to make sure you follow the right format. While your instructor may have specific instructions, the typical format for an essay includes the following sections:

• The title page
• The abstract
• The introduction
• The main body
• The reference section

Mastering the key components of a psychology essay is vital for crafting a compelling and academically sound piece of writing. To start, a good introduction sets the stage for your essay, providing a clear overview of what will be discussed.

Moving on to the main body, each paragraph should focus on a main theme, supported by evidence from research studies published in peer-reviewed journals. It’s pivotal to critically evaluate these studies, considering their validity, reliability, and limitations to strengthen your arguments.

Incorporating research studies not only adds credibility to your essay but also demonstrates a deep understanding of theoretical perspectives in psychology.

The Structure of a Psychology Essay

Each section of a psychology essay should also follow a specific format:

The Title Page

The title page is the first impression of your essay, and it should be formatted according to APA guidelines. It typically includes:

• The title of your essay : Make sure it’s concise, descriptive, and gives the reader an idea of its content.
• Your name : Place your full name below the title.
• Institutional affiliation : This usually refers to your university or college.
• Course number and name : Include the course for which the essay is being written.
• Instructor’s name : Write the name of your instructor.
• Due date : Indicate the date when the essay is due.

The Abstract

The abstract is a brief summary of your essay, typically around 150-250 words. It should provide a snapshot of the main points and findings. Key elements include:

• Research topic : Briefly describe what your essay is about.
• Research questions : Outline the main questions your essay addresses.
• Methodology : Summarize the methods used to gather information or conduct research.
• Results : Highlight the key findings.
• Conclusion : Provide a concise conclusion or the implications of your findings.

The Introduction

The introduction sets the stage for your essay, providing context and outlining the main points. It should include:

• Hook : Start with an interesting fact, quote, or anecdote to grab the reader’s attention.
• Background information : Provide necessary context or background information on your topic.
• Thesis statement : Clearly state the main argument or purpose of your essay.
• Overview of structure : Briefly outline the structure of your essay to give the reader a roadmap.

The Main Body

The main body is the core of your essay, where you present your arguments, evidence, and analysis. It should be well-organized and divided into sections with subheadings if necessary. Each section should include:

• Topic sentences : Start each paragraph with a clear topic sentence that introduces the main idea.
• Evidence : Provide evidence to support your arguments, such as data, quotes, or studies.
• Analysis : Analyze the evidence and explain how it supports your thesis.
• Transitions : Use transitions to ensure a smooth flow between paragraphs and sections.

The Reference Section

The reference section is crucial for giving credit to the sources you used and for allowing readers to locate the sources themselves. It should follow APA format and include:

• Alphabetical order : List all sources alphabetically by the author’s last name.
• Proper citation format : Follow APA guidelines for formatting each type of source (books, articles, websites, etc.).
• Hanging indent : Ensure that each reference entry has a hanging indent.

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your psychology essay is well-structured, informative, and adheres to APA format.

Using Research in Your Psychology Essay

To strengthen the arguments in your psychology essay, it’s essential to incorporate relevant research studies that provide credibility and depth to your analysis. Utilizing research studies not only enhances the validity of your points but also demonstrates a deeper understanding of the topic at hand.

When integrating research into your essay, remember to include citations for each study referenced to give proper credit and allow readers to explore the sources further.

It is also important to evaluate the research studies you include to assess their validity, reliability, and any ethical considerations involved. This helps you determine the trustworthiness of the findings and whether they align with your argument.

Be sure to discuss any ethical concerns, such as participant deception or potential harm, and showcase a thoughtful approach to utilizing research in your essay.

Analyzing the Research Critically

When writing a psychology essay, using high-quality research sources and analyzing them critically is crucial. This not only strengthens your arguments but also ensures the credibility and reliability of your work. Here are some guidelines to help you critically analyze sources and use them appropriately:

Evaluating the Credibility of Sources

• Authorship : Check the credentials of the author. Are they an expert in the field? Do they have relevant qualifications or affiliations with reputable institutions?
• Publication Source : Determine where the research was published. Peer-reviewed journals, academic books, and respected organizations are considered reliable sources.
• Date of Publication : Ensure the research is current and up-to-date. In psychology, recent studies are often more relevant as they reflect the latest findings and theories.
• Citations and References : Look at how often the source is cited by other scholars. A frequently cited source is generally more credible.

Assessing the Quality of the Research

• Research Design and Methodology : Evaluate the research design. Is it appropriate for the study’s aims? Consider the sample size, controls, and methods used.
• Data Analysis : Check how the data was analyzed. Are the statistical methods sound and appropriate? Were the results interpreted correctly?
• Bias and Limitations : Identify any potential biases or limitations in the study. Authors should acknowledge these in their discussion.

Synthesizing Information from Multiple Sources

• Comparing Findings : Compare findings from different sources to identify patterns, trends, or discrepancies. This can help you understand the broader context and the range of perspectives on your topic.
• Integrating Evidence : Integrate evidence from various sources to build a comprehensive argument. Use multiple pieces of evidence to support each point or counterpoint in your essay.

Citing Sources Appropriately

• In-Text Citations : Follow APA guidelines for in-text citations. Include the author’s last name and the year of publication (e.g., Smith, 2020).
• Direct Quotes and Paraphrasing : When directly quoting, use quotation marks and provide a page number. For paraphrasing, ensure you rephrase the original text significantly and still provide an in-text citation.
• Reference List : Include a complete reference list at the end of your essay, formatted according to APA guidelines.

Using Sources to Support Your Argument

• Relevance : Ensure each source directly relates to your thesis or the specific point you are discussing. Irrelevant information can distract from your argument.
• Strength of Evidence : Use the strongest and most persuasive evidence available. Prioritize high-quality, peer-reviewed studies over less reliable sources.
• Balance : Present a balanced view by including evidence that supports and opposes your thesis. Acknowledging counterarguments demonstrates thorough research and critical thinking.

By critically analyzing research sources and using them appropriately, you can enhance the quality and credibility of your psychology essay. This approach ensures that your arguments are well-supported, your analysis is thorough, and your work adheres to academic standards.

Putting the Finishing Touches on Your Psychology Essay

Once you have a basic grasp of the topic and have written a rough draft of your psychology essay, the next step is to polish it up and ensure it is ready to turn in. To perfect your essay structure, consider the following:

• Make sure your topic is well-defined: Make sure your essay topic is specific and focused to provide a clear direction for your writing.
• Check that you are highlighting a main point in each paragraph: Commence each paragraph with a topic sentence that encapsulates the main idea you’ll discuss.
• Revise and refine your first draft: Take the time to review and refine your initial draft, guaranteeing that each section flows logically into the next and that your arguments are well-supported. ( Tip: Ask a friend of classmate to read through it to catch any typos or errors you might have missed. )
• Check your APA format : Use the APA publication manual to double-check that all your sources are cited and referenced correctly.

Creating an amazing psychology essay requires a compelling introduction, evidence-based arguments, a strong thesis statement, critical analysis, and a well-structured essay.

By incorporating research from peer-reviewed journals, evaluating studies for validity and reliability, and considering differing viewpoints and ethical considerations, you can craft a powerful and insightful piece that showcases your understanding of the topic.

With attention to detail and logical flow, your psychology essay will captivate and inform your readers effectively.

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Psychology Extended Essay Guide: Definition, Rubric, And Topics

by  Antony W

June 9, 2024

This is the complete guide on Psychology Extended Essay for the IB students. Whether you’re currently determining what subjects to work on or you’ve already made up your mind that you want to focus on psychology, you’ll find this guide quite helpful.

The guide covers everything you need to know about the topic. In particular, you’ll learn:

• What psychology extended essay is
• How to choose psychology essay topics
• The best psychology EE topic examples
• How to write the extended essay and
• Psychology extended essay assessment criteria

Let’s get started.

What’s Psychology Extended Essay?

The IB EE Guide defines the subject as the examination of interaction of sociocultural, biological, and cognitive influences on human behavior and experiences.

As an IB student, you should have a solid understanding of what falls within this subject when developing a topic to investigate.

The aims of writing an Extended Essay in IB Psychology is to demonstrate that you can conduct independent research on a given topic and develop the skills necessary for creative and critical thinking.

When your examiners look at the EE, they should instantly see a systematic process of research relevant to the subject and your expression of intellectual discoveries.

What’s the Role of Psychology Extended Essay?

An extended essay in psychology is a project that gives you the chance to research a topic of personal interest within the discipline of psychology, which may extend beyond the Diploma Program.

Students who choose Psychology actively investigate a research issue that will enhance their analytical and communication abilities, as well as their comprehension of behavior.

An extended essay in this filed should introduce you to the pleasure of intellectual discovery as you study the “systematic of behavior and experience."  

When developing your topic, you should have a comprehensive comprehension of what fits under the realm of psychology.

To be clear, psychology covers the study of both human and nonhuman animal behavior. It has its own terminology, techniques, and literature.

For you to complete an extended essay in psychology, you must have a solid grasp of the subject and its techniques. Psychology is not a "residual" category for extended essay topics that do not fit into any other area.

You must therefore select themes that lend themselves to psychological inquiry and analysis, and you must carefully evaluate the assessment criteria while selecting a topic.

Get IB Psychology Extended Essay Writing Help

Feeling stuck with you IB Psychology Extended Essay and don’t know where to start?

Or maybe you already have a topic to explore but you don’t have enough time to do research and get the work completed?

Don’t worry because, with our  IB Extended Essay Writing Service ,  you can get the work completed in time. Our guarantee is that we help you to earn good grades by delivering well-researched essays on time. Place your order with us today and let us help you get the work done. Or keep reading below to learn how to write the essay in your free time.

How You Should Treat the Psychology Extended Essay Topics

A psychology extended essay requires you to examine a subject of personal interest in a systematic manner. You have to structure the assignment around a focused research topic, which you should strives to address throughout document.

You need to view the essay as an investigative and analytical argument than as a research hypothesis to be discovered through a formal psychological investigation employing research methodologies.

Data collection and research techniques, such as experiments, surveys, observations, and case studies, are unsuitable for an extended essay in psychology. So you shouldn’t include them in the essay.  

You should examine your own personal interests as a starting point for the essay writing process. That’s because experiences demonstrate that personal interest plays a significant influence in the success of an essay.

After picking a topic of interest, you can reduce the scope of their essay and research question by considering subfields within that field.  

Psychology Extended Essay Topic Examples

The following are examples of the best Psychology Extended Essay topics. These are just ideas, so use them as guidance to develop or come up with your own topic to investigate.

• What do you believe is the most prevalent cause of eating disorders and food indifference among adolescents?
• How do you see borderline personality disorder and how is it treated?
• Schizophrenia is an illness that requires considerable care. How do you describe it?
• Dreams are the most discussed topic in the world. What do you think about it?
• Attention-seeking disorder should be treated with a great deal of care and sensitivity from the beginning. What do you think about it?
• The dilemma of mankind has always been gender norms or gender prejudice.
• Child abuse and child labor are on the rise as global concerns. How can we alter it?
• How do you feel about prenatal development and its management?
• The parenting style has a significant impact on the behavior of children. What are your opinions on the subject?
• Aging is one of the most widely acknowledged facts of life How do you characterize this phenomena from a psychological standpoint?
• Divorce between parents has a significant impact on children's mental health. How should this be prevented?
• What are your opinions on the rising video game addiction among children?

Remember that a good extended essay topic in Psychology is the one that’s clear, concise, and can fit within the scope of the extended essay requirements.

IB Psychology Extended Essay Outline

Now that you have completed your research, it’s time to take the information you have gathered and put it together into a comprehensive Extended Essay for the IB Psychology.

Your EE should have three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Here’s how to develop each section.

The Introduction

The opening statement of an Extended Essay is huge, so you should give it your best. Your goal with this section of your EE is to establish and explain your argument. It helps to include relevant background information as this goes a long way to make your argument sensible. Define complex words for clarity. And make sure this section isn’t more than two paragraphs long.

Once you have ensured that your introduction has established a strong argument and can easily grab the attention of your reader, start working on the body section. The body should be at least 6 paragraphs. As it is with argumentative essays , each paragraph of your IB Psychology Extended Essay should:

Present a unique idea or argument.

Start with a topic sentence, which is a summary of the main idea that you will be discussing in that paragraph.

Include an example with an explanation on how relevant the example is to your argument.

End with a closing link (or sentence) that introduces the reader to the next consecutive paragraph.

The purpose of a topic sentence in IB Psychology Extended Essay is to introduce and explain the point you intend to make in a paragraph.

A good topic sentence should be clear, concise, and have a strong link to the argument you presented in the introduction. In addition to building on the points you made in a previous paragraph, the topic sentence should also give a clear summary of your argument.

The conclusion of your IB Psychology Extended Essay is as important as other sections of the essay. So you should equally spend enough time writing it. The conclusion to your IB Psychology EE should naturally link to the introduction and summarize the significant points that you’ve made throughout the essay.

As with the conclusion on any given argumentative essay topic, the conclusion of your IB Psychology EE should not merely reflect a re-write if your main ideas. Instead, you should restate the ideas using different terms and phrases to retain the meaning without sounding too repetitive. Furthermore, the conclusion must never introduce a new idea to the article as this could easily distract your readers.

How to Write a Psychology Extended Essay

To write a comprehensive extended essay in psychology:

Read and understand the IB’s EE handbook and, if your teacher issues additional instructions, make sure you follow them.

Choose a preliminary topic and a tentative research question for your extended essay in Psychology. Some questions to ask yourself when choosing the topic to work on include:

• Why is my topic and research issue significant to me personally?
• Is there a particular discussion, book, or other source that can assist me in narrowing my focus or choosing my topic and the research question?
• What do I perceive to be the greatest obstacle as I begin this process? How do I handle this difficulty?

We recommend that you consult your supervisor, so they can provide input about the suitability of your ideas for project.

Start your research early. Begin your research with Google Scholar, JYKDOK library, and EBSCO Academic Search Elite.

As you write you write your essay, your focus should be on developing your case by citing pertinent concepts, theories, and studies from academic psychology research publications and scholarly literature.

• Do NOT make any claims that you can’ back by evidence from psychological theories or investigations.
• Provide a well-balanced argument in answer to your research topic.
• In addition to describing your sources, analyze them in light of your research topic.
• It is OK to modify your essay's topic and research question as you write. Your sources may yield novel insights.
• Always pay attention to the EE evaluation criteria as you work on your subject

Consult with your EE supervisor for first reflection. Your supervisor will provide prompt comments on your progress. In addition, the instructor will advise you on your initial reflection.

Psychology Extended Essay Assessment Criteria

The following is the assessment criteria used by IB to evaluate psychology extended essays:

Criterion A: Focus and Method

The key to writing an essay with concentration is a targeted research subject. Although there are several extremely good questions, inferior essays in the psychology subject tend to have difficult questions.

Keep in mind that each component of the essay must directly address the research topic. Be careful to make sure that you don’t spend an excessive amount of time explaining concepts and theories before answering the topic directly with relevant research.

Criterion: Knowledge and Understanding

Stronger essays define essential concepts and present research pertinent to the study. On the other hand, weaker essays often employ language without explaining its relevance to the study or subject.

For instance, claiming that a research showed minimal instrument bias without providing a detailed explanation for why this is the case can cost you valuable marks.

You need to make sure your essay doesn’t have inaccuracies in the usage of words such as external and internal validity and the identification of research techniques.

Criterion C: Critical Reasoning

When writing a psychology extended essay, you must discuss, analyze, and evaluate the significant studies that you cite. Your work can’t be merely descriptive. In other words, you can’t just offer a list of various studies, frequently without a connection to the study issue.

Instead, your essay should include evidence against or for the thesis and then demonstrate why your main argument is stronger.

Criterion D: Presentation

Despite the fact that citation is something that teacher directly examine, you need to make sure your Psychology extended essay has clear citation.

Do not use footnotes for anything other than citations, since it frequently interferes with the reading of the essay.

The key to effective presentation is understandable text. Spacing is an issue in several writings. You must either indent your paragraphs or leave a blank line between them. The last mistake you want to make as far as presentation is concerned is hindering the readability of your extended essay.

Criterion E: Engagement (Or the EE Reflection)

Strong remarks illustrate your research journey and development as a researcher. These reflections elucidate your capacity to identify problems, adopt necessary modifications, and demonstrate their reflexivity throughout the research and writing process.

Weak extended essay reflections detail meetings with the supervisor, reiterated the essay's results, or described the students' passion for their topic.  

Choosing a single area of your research journey to describe and analyze in each reflection is preferable than attempting to cover all aspects of their investigation.

Revising Your IB Psychology Extended Essay

Ending with a strong conclusion doesn’t make your essay complete. You have to edit the assignment thoroughly to make sure it meets the assessment standards of IB EE .

Start by looking at the obvious grammatical errors that could make your IB Psychology EE to mean something other than what you intended. Sometimes your eyes may not notice minor spelling and grammatical errors. That’s why it’s important to use a tool such as Grammarly or Hemmingway App for assistance.

The next in your revision is to ask yourself the “so what?” question. This is where you ask yourself whether your essay communicates the intended message very well so that when your audience asks questions, the essay provides the answers that they need – and in an instant.

The most important questions to ask when trying to answer the “so what” factor are as follows:

Does this essay provide the information that my audience should care about in the first place?

Do the ideas addressed in my IB Psychology Extended Essay add to what others already know about the essay?

As yourself these two questions and you can be sure to make your essay greater than what it currently is.

Advice for IB Students Taking Psychology Extended Essay

Some of the most intriguing, engaging, and successful psychology extended essays don’t always focuses on the course material.

Typically, essays constrained by the guidance provide detailed, emotionless descriptions of classic psychological research. Supervisors do not require in-depth understanding of the student's topic; this is a less relevant component in topic selection than resource availability, student engagement, and essay length.

Generally, "pop psychology" or "self-help"-related topics are inappropriate for the extended essay. Psychology, as stated in the definition, is a systematic study.

In an effort to comprehend behavior and experience, psychologists undertake research studies and construct theories.

Extended essays in psychology must feature support by meticulous and appropriate citation of relevant psychological theories and/or studies. This suggests that academic and psychological research publications and books are the finest resources.

The IB Psychology Extended Essay focuses on an in-depth investigation of an area within the field of psychology. While it’s on a subject presented in the IB EE prompt, your teacher may also allow you to explore a topic of your interest.

This subject gives you the opportunity to explore research questions that can not only promote your understanding of behavior but also develop your research, writing, creative, and intellectual discovery skills.

In this lesson, you will learn everything about the IB Physics EE, from what it is to writing a comprehensive Extended Essay on the subject. Let’s get started.

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

What is Psychology? - Meaning, Definition, Nature, Scope & Importance

• What is Psychology?

Introduction and Origin of Psychology

Meaning of psychology, definition of psychology, importance of psychology.

• Nature and Characteristics of psychology

Scope of Psychology

• Downloadable PPT and PDF Notes of Psychology

Psychology as the science of the soul

Psychology as a science of mind, psychology as the science of consciousness, psychology as a science of behavior.

• Psychology as a modern discipline aims at  understanding the complexities  of mental processes, experience, and behavior of individuals located in a  socio-cultural matrix .
• The central task of psychology is to describe, understand, predict, and  control behaviors  in diverse situations.
• Psychology  attempts to  understand the complexities of human nature , identify the regularities and patterns in the way people behave and develop theories and laws about them.

According to Woodworth:   “The Psychology deals with the activities of the individual in relation to his environment.”

Skinner:  “Psychology is the science of behavior and experience.”

Munns:  “Psychology today concerns with the scientific investigation of behavior.”

Crow & Crow:  “Psychology is the study of human behavior and human relationships.”

From the above definitions of psychology, we have analyzed that:

• Psychology studies the mental processes
• Psychology  deals with behavior
• Psychologists are interested in the study of the experiences of the people
• Almost all Psychologists use scientific methods in their studies

Psychology studies the mental processes: 

Psychology deals with behavior: , psychologists are interested in the study of the experiences of the people: , almost all psychologists use scientific methods in their studies: .

Nature of Psychology

• Possesses a body of facts and is able to support it through universal laws and principles.
• Doesn’t believe in hearsay, stereotype, or superstitions.
• Believe in cause and effect relationship.
• Is capable to turn its theory into practice by having its applied aspect.
• Adopts the method of objective investigation, systematic and controlled observation, and scientific approach.
• Stands for generalization, verifiability, and modification of the observed results.
• Helps in predicting future developments.
• Psychology possesses a well-organized theory that is supported by relevant psychological laws & principles.
• It has its applied aspects in the form of various branches of applied  psychology  like industrial, legal, clinical, and educational psychology.
• It believes that behavior has its roots, factors of its cause, and influence.
• It emphasizes the search for truth by advocating objectivity, reliability, and validity in the assessment of behavior.
• The methods and techniques employed in the study of the behavior in psychology are quite scientific.

• Developmental processes
• Personality
• Cross-cultural and cultural psychology
• Comparative physiological psychology
• Abnormal  psychology
• Clinical and counseling psychology
• Education and learning process
• Environmental psychology
• Industrial and organizational psychology
• Social psychology
• Psychological assessment
• Other fields

Developmental processes: 

Cognition: , personality: , cross-cultural and cultural psychology: , comparative physiological psychology: , abnormal psychology: , clinical and counseling psychology: , education and learning process: , environmental psychology: , industrial and organizational psychology: , social psychology: , psychological assessment: , other fields: .

Download Powerpoint Presentation and PDF Notes of Psychology

• What is Psychology? How do we define psychology?
• What are the major psychological perspectives?
• Psychology as a science
• Why study Psychology?
• Scientific psychology
• How Accurate is the Image of Psychology?
• Typical images of Psychology
• Where did Psychology come from?
• History of Psychology
• Structuralism  Psychology
• Functionalism in Psychology
• Psychological Perspectives
• Freud contribution
• Psychoanalytic Theory
• Behaviorism and psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Research and Professional Areas in Psychology
• Experimental Psychologists
• Applied Psychologists
• Psychology Today

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How to Write a Good Conclusion in a Psychology Essay

Psychology essays or Psychology academic writing are often used to explore and explain human behavior. To effectively do this, a good conclusion should be included in the essay. A good conclusion is one that is logical, concise, and provides a sense of closure. It should also be able to connect the argument to a larger context and leave the reader with a lasting impression. In this article, we will discuss the steps and tips for writing a good conclusion in a psychology essay.

Definition of a Good Conclusion  

A good conclusion is the last part of an essay that ties all the ideas and evidence together and provides closure for the reader. It should be concise, logical, and provide a sense of finality. The conclusion should also be able to connect the argument to a larger context, either in the field of psychology or in the real world.

Purpose of a Good Conclusion  

The purpose of a good conclusion is to tie all of the ideas and evidence together in a concise and logical way. It should be able to explain the implications of the argument and provide a sense of closure for the reader. Additionally, it should be able to connect the argument to a larger context and provide a lasting impression on the reader.

If you are in need of some creative, eye-catching PowerPoint templates for your next presentation, here, you can access a wide variety of recruitment process templates and team templates to make your presentation unforgettable. Whether creating a business presentation or a school project, you will find the perfect template to meet your needs.

Steps for Writing a Good Conclusion  

• Restate the Main Argument: The first step in writing a good conclusion is to restate the main argument of the essay. This will help to remind the reader of the main points of the essay and will provide a sense of closure.
• Summarize the Supporting Evidence: The next step is to summarize the supporting evidence for the argument. This will help to reinforce the main points of the essay and will provide a sense of finality for the reader.
• Connect the Argument to a Broader Context: The next step is to connect the argument to a larger context. This could be in the field of psychology or in the real world. This will help to provide a sense of relevance for the reader and will leave the reader with a lasting impression.
• Leave the Reader with a Final Thought: The final step is to leave the reader with a final thought. This could be a call to action, a warning, or a thought-provoking question. This will help to leave the reader with a lasting impression and will provide a sense of closure.  

Tips for Writing a Good Conclusion  

• Avoid Introducing New Ideas: It is important to avoid introducing new ideas in the conclusion. This could confuse the reader and could lead to an unclear conclusion.
• Don’t Repeat Yourself: It is important to avoid repeating yourself in the conclusion. This could lead to a repetitive conclusion and could be confusing for the reader.
• Use Appropriate Language: It is important to use appropriate language in the conclusion. This could be formal or informal language, depending on the context.
• Be Concise: Finally, it is important to be concise in the conclusion. This will help to keep the conclusion clear and will provide a sense of closure for the reader.

Summary of Steps and Tips for Writing a Good Conclusion

  In summary, the steps and tips for writing a good conclusion in a psychology essay are to restate the main argument, summarize the supporting evidence, connect the argument to a larger context, leave the reader with a final thought, avoid introducing new ideas, don’t repeat yourself, use appropriate language, and be concise. Following these steps and tips will help to ensure that the conclusion of the essay is clear and concise and will provide a sense of closure for the reader.

Final Thoughts on Writing a Good Conclusion  

Writing a good conclusion in a psychology essay is an important part of the essay writing process. It should be concise, logical, and provide a sense of closure for the reader. Additionally, it should be able to connect the argument to a larger context and provide a lasting impression on the reader. By following the steps and tips outlined in this article, you can ensure that you write a good conclusion in your psychology essay. If you want to be sure your conclusion will be clear and concise, better order a custom essay written by EasyEssay.us . Furthermore, by understanding the implications of narcissism and how to manipulate it, you can ensure that your conclusion will be effective.

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What Is Positive Psychology & Why Is It Important?

There are some common misconceptions about positive psychology, both about what it is and what it is not.

To clear up some of these misunderstandings and provide a brief but comprehensive overview of the field, we’ve put together this piece focused on defining and describing the positive psychology movement.

Before you read on, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises will explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology including strengths, values and self-compassion and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students or employees.

This Article Contains:

What is positive psychology: a definition, on the founder: martin seligman, 17 benefits of positive psychology, theory and concepts, goals of positive psychology (in coaching), an introduction to the perma model, meaning of topics like flow and flourishing, examples of positive psychology in practice (+pdf), criticism of the movement in perspective, 7 other definitions, a take-home message.

Positive psychology has been described in many ways and with many words, but the commonly accepted definition of the field is this:

“Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living” (Peterson, 2008).

To push this brief description a bit further, positive psychology is a scientific approach to studying human thoughts, feelings, and behavior, with a focus on strengths instead of weaknesses, building the good in life instead of repairing the bad, and taking the lives of average people up to “great” instead of focusing solely on moving those who are struggling up to “normal” (Peterson, 2008).

What Positive Psychology Focuses on in a Nutshell

Positive psychology focuses on the positive events and influences in life, including:

• Positive experiences (like happiness , joy, inspiration, and love).
• Positive states and traits (like gratitude, resilience , and compassion ).
• Positive institutions (applying positive principles within entire organizations and institutions).

As a field, positive psychology spends much of its time thinking about topics like character strengths, optimism, life satisfaction , happiness, wellbeing , gratitude, compassion (as well as self-compassion), self-esteem and self-confidence , hope , and elevation.

These topics are studied in order to learn how to help people flourish and live their best lives.

Martin Seligman is a researcher with a broad range of experience in psychology.

If you had never heard of the positive psychology movement until now, you still might have heard his name at some point. Seligman’s research in the 1960s and 70s laid the foundation for the well-known psychological theory of “ learned helplessness .”

This theory, which has been backed by decades of research, explains how humans and animals can learn to become helpless and feel they have lost control over what happens to them.

Seligman connected this phenomenon with depression, noting that many people suffering from depression feel helpless as well. His work on the subject provided inspiration, ideas, and evidence to back up many treatments for depressive symptoms, as well as strategies for preventing depression.

While this is impressive enough on its own, Seligman knew that he had more to offer the psychology community and the world at large—in particular, more work on the positive, the uplifting, and the inspiring. After making a name for himself with learned helplessness, he turned his attention to other traits, characteristics , and perspectives that could be learned.

He found what he was looking for in resilience and learned optimism, findings that became the groundwork for his widely administered resilience programs for children and members of the military, among others.

Seligman grew frustrated with psychology’s overly narrow focus on the negative; so much attention was paid to mental illness, abnormal psychology, trauma , suffering, and pain, and relatively little attention was dedicated to happiness, wellbeing, exceptionalism, strengths, and flourishing .

When he was elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1998, he jumped at the opportunity to alter the direction of the field from such an influential position. He proposed a new subfield of psychology with a focus on what is life-giving rather than life-depleting. The foundational paper of this new field, positive psychology, was published in 2000 by Seligman and the “founding father” of flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi .

Since 2000, Seligman’s call for a greater focus on the positive in life has been answered by thousands of researchers around the world, provoking tens of thousands of studies on positive phenomena and establishing a base for the application of positive principles to coaching, teaching, relationships, the workplace, and every other life domain.

The plethora of projects and papers on positive topics has provided an enormous repository of knowledge on how to encourage ourselves and those around us to live the best lives possible.

It would be impossible to list all of the benefits of positive psychology, but we’ll try to give a comprehensive overview of some of the most impactful and influential outcomes of practicing positive psychology.

In general, the greatest potential benefit of positive psychology is that it teaches us the power of shifting one’s perspective.

This is the focus of many techniques, exercises, and even entire programs based on positive psychology because a relatively small change in one’s perspective can lead to astounding shifts in wellbeing and quality of life. Injecting a bit more optimism and gratitude into your life is a simple action that can give you a radically more positive outlook on life.

Of course, no respected positive psychologist would tell you to think about, act out, and focus on ONLY the positive in life—balance is important. Positive psychology was not established to replace traditional psychology, but to complement it with a positive bias that’s just as strong as psychology’s negative bias over the last several decades.

Studies and Research

Positive psychology teaches how to harness the power of shifting one’s perspective to maximize the potential for happiness in many of our everyday behaviors. For example, each of these findings gives us a concrete idea for improving our own quality of life:

• People overestimate the impact of money on their happiness by quite a lot. It does have some influence, but not nearly as much as we might think, so focusing less on attaining wealth will likely make you happier (Aknin, Norton, & Dunn, 2009);
• Spending money on experiences provides a bigger boost to happiness than spending money on material possessions (Howell & Hill, 2009);
• Gratitude is a big contributor to happiness in life, suggesting that the more we cultivate gratitude, the happier we will be (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005);
• Oxytocin may provoke greater trust, empathy, and morality in humans, meaning that giving hugs or other shows of physical affection may give you a big boost to your overall wellbeing (and the wellbeing of others; Barraza & Zak, 2009);
• Those who intentionally cultivate a positive mood to match the outward emotion they need to display (i.e., in emotional labor) benefit by more genuinely experiencing the positive mood. In other words, “putting on a happy face” won’t necessarily make you feel happier, but putting in a little bit of effort likely will (Scott & Barnes, 2011);
• Happiness is contagious; those with happy friends and significant others are more likely to be happy in the future (Fowler & Christakis, 2008);
• People who perform acts of kindness towards others not only get a boost in wellbeing, they are also more accepted by their peers (Layous, Nelson, Oberle, Schonert-Reichl, & Lyubomirsky, 2012);
• Volunteering time to a cause you believe in improves your wellbeing and life satisfaction and may even reduce symptoms of depression (Jenkinson et al., 2013);
• Spending money on other people results in greater happiness for the giver (Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008).

Positive psychology also lends itself to improvements in the workplace ; studies from the field have found that:

• Positive emotions boost our job performance;
• Positive emotions in the workplace are contagious, which means one positive person or team can have a ripple effect that extends through the entire organization;
• Small, simple actions can have a big impact on our happiness, meaning that it doesn’t take much to encourage your workplace to become a happier and more positive place (Kjerulf, 2016).

One of the benefits of practicing a positive psychological outlook is, to put it broadly, success! Not only does success make us happier, feeling happy and experiencing positive emotions actually increases our chances of success (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005).

However, don’t assume that refusing to brook any encroachment of negative emotions or outlooks will help you reach success. An important finding from positive psychology research is that forcing people who are not naturally optimists to “just think positively” can do more harm than good; unrealistic optimism is detrimental, along with intense pessimism (del Valle & Mateos, 2008; Dillard, Midboe, & Klein, 2009).

Another broad benefit of the positive psychology movement is a more well-defined idea of what “the good life” is.

Renowned positive psychologist Roy F. Baumeister and colleagues took on the challenge of determining what makes a good life, and they found some interesting findings that you can apply to your own life (2013). Their research showed that happiness and a sense of meaning in life do not necessarily go hand-in-hand, indicating that focusing on positive emotions alone will not bring the fulfilling and satisfying life you crave.

Some of their more specific findings included the following:

• The satisfaction of one’s wants and needs boost happiness, but have virtually no impact on meaningfulness; this indicates that focusing on obtaining what you want will increase your happiness, but you may have to supplement to get a deeper sense of meaning .
• Happiness is present-oriented, rooted in the moment, while meaningfulness is more focused on the past and future and how they link to the present; this finding suggests that you can focus on the present to increase your happiness, but you might consider thinking more about your past and future to find meaning.
• “Givers” experience more meaning, while “takers” experience more happiness; if you find yourself lacking in meaning, try giving back to others, but if you are lacking in happiness, try being accepting of others’ generosity to give yourself a boost.
• Worry, stress, and anxiety are more likely to be felt by those whose lives are high in meaningfulness and low in happiness; this indicates that you shouldn’t get too down about experiencing negative emotions if you have a strong sense of meaning—a little negative emotion can actually be a good thing!
• An intention to express your authentic self and a sense of strong personal identity are linked to meaning, but not to happiness; if you are searching for meaning, try working on your practice of authenticity.

Findings such as these have given rise to, and are driven by, a number of interesting theories that pepper the positive psychology literature.

As University of Michigan professor and positive psychology legend Christopher Peterson put it:

“…positive psychology is not to be confused with untested self-help, footless affirmation, or secular religion—no matter how good these may make us feel. Positive psychology is neither a recycled version of the power of positive thinking nor a sequel to The Secret.” (2008)

Peterson goes on to outline the theories and concepts that have resulted from research so far (up to 2008, anyway):

• For the most part, most people are happy;
• Happiness is one of the causes of the good things in life, and also promotes more happiness;
• Most people are pretty resilient;
• Happiness, character strengths, and good social relationships act as buffers against disappointments and setbacks;
• Crises reveal character;
• Other people matter (in terms of what makes life worth living);
• Religion matters (and/or spirituality);
• Work also matters in terms of making life worth living, as long as we are engaged and draw meaning and purpose from it;
• Money has diminishing returns on our happiness after a certain point, but we can buy some happiness by spending money on other people;
• Eudaimonia (wellbeing, deeper form of satisfaction than happiness) is more important than hedonism (sole focus on pleasure and positive emotions) for living the good life;
• The “heart” matters more than the “head,” meaning that things like empathy and compassion are just as important as critical thinking;
• Nearly all good days have three things in common: a sense of autonomy, competence, and connection to others;
• The good life can be taught.

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Applying positive psychology to coaching can be a tricky business, but it is undertaken with the best of intentions and care for others.

In general, the goals of positive psychology in coaching are as follows:

• To positively impact the client’s life—this goal is above all others, and all others feed indirectly into this goal. The main goal of coaching is to improve the client’s life. Positive psychology coaching is no different;
• Increase the client’s experience of positive emotions;
• Help clients identify and develop their strengths and unique talents;
• Enhance the client’s goal-setting and goal-striving abilities;
• Build a sense of hope into the client’s perspective;
• Cultivate the client’s sense of happiness and wellbeing;
• Nurture a sense of gratitude in the client;
• Help the client build and maintain healthy, positive relationships with others;
• Encourage the client to maintain an optimistic outlook;
• Help the client learn to savor every positive moment (Mentor Coach, n.d.; Peppercorn, 2014).

You can probably easily see why the first goal is the biggest, and basically subsumes all the other goals. Each of Goals 2 through 10 can be considered milestones on the way to Goal 1—effective techniques and objectives that help the client and coach work their way towards the client’s biggest life goals .

Where does positive psychology fit within the field of psychology?

Let’s consider a continuum ranging from -5 to +5. -5 represents those in our community who suffer from mental health problems while +5 represents those who are flourishing and living a fulfilling life. 0 represents those who neither have a mental health problem nor are flourishing.

Traditionally, psychology has taken a ‘weakness’ focus, training practitioners to focus on what is going ‘wrong’ with an individual in order to reduce and potentially remove their symptoms. This is a valuable focus and in doing so, practitioners work to move their clients from -5 to 0 on this continuum.

But, how can we go further and help people truly flourish and live a meaningful life? This is where positive psychology comes in. It trains practitioners to consider what is going ‘right’ with an individual and cultivate ways in which to boost their strengths and promote human flourishing.

This is an equally valuable focus and in doing so, practitioners help clients move from 0 to +5 on this continuum and, more importantly, towards positive wellbeing.

The PERMA model is a widely recognized and influential model in positive psychology. Seligman proposed this model to help explain and define wellbeing in greater depth.

“PERMA” is an acronym for the five facets of wellbeing according to Seligman:

• P – Positive Emotions: Even though seeking positive emotions alone is not a very effective way to boost your wellbeing, experiencing positive emotion is still an important factor. Part of wellbeing is enjoying yourself in the moment, i.e., experiencing positive emotions;
• E – Engagement: Having a sense of engagement, in which we may lose track of time and become completely absorbed in something we enjoy and excel at, is an important piece of wellbeing. It’s hard to have a developed sense of wellbeing if you are not truly engaged in anything you do;
• R – (Positive) Relationships: Humans are social creatures, and we rely on connections with others to truly flourish. Having deep, meaningful relationships with others is vital to our wellbeing;
• M – Meaning: Even someone who is deliriously happy most of the time may not have a developed sense of wellbeing if they do not find meaning in their life. When we dedicate ourselves to a cause or recognize something bigger than ourselves, we experience a sense of meaning that there is simply no replacement for;
• A – Accomplishment / Achievement: We all thrive when we are succeeding, achieving our goals, and bettering ourselves. Without a drive to accomplish and achieve, we are missing one of the puzzle pieces of authentic wellbeing (Seligman, 2011).

This model gives us a comprehensive framework for understanding wellbeing as well as a foundation for improving wellbeing. If you’re looking to enhance your own sense of authentic happiness and wellbeing, all you need to do is focus on:

• Experiencing more positive emotions; do more of the things that make you happy, and bring enjoyment into your daily routine;
• Working on upping your engagement; pursue hobbies that interest you, develop your skills, and look for a job more suited to your passions, if necessary;
• Improve the quality (and/or quantity) of your relationships with others; work on building more positive and supportive relationships with your friends, family, and significant other(s);
• Seek out meaning; if you don’t find it through your work, look for it in volunteering opportunities, personal hobbies or leisure activities, or acting as a mentor for others;
• Keep your focus on achieving your goals—but don’t focus too hard; try to keep your ambition in balance with all of the other important things in life (Seligman, 2011).

These five aspects of the PERMA model are measurable, and also vital for an overall sense of wellbeing. This model pushes past the older model of authentic happiness in its consideration of more than just happiness or positive emotions. Of course, positive emotions are important—they’re part of the PERMA model itself, after all—but focusing just on positive emotions will not help you to develop a comprehensive sense of wellbeing, including engagement, meaning, success, and positive relationships with others.

Happiness alone will likely not propel you towards flourishing, but wellbeing will.

Speaking of flourishing, it’s a concept we’ve touched on in this piece already, but have not yet defined. We’ve also mentioned the topic of flow, though indirectly, which is an important concept in positive psychology as well.

Understanding these concepts is vital for understanding the field of positive psychology. Read on to learn more about them.

Flourishing

Flourishing is one of the most significant concepts in positive psychology, as it encompasses and extends to so many other positive concepts.

In short, “flourishing” refers to the state we are in when we pay attention to each aspect of the PERMA model and build up a solid sense of wellbeing. We flourish when we cultivate our talents and strengths, develop deep and meaningful relationships, feel pleasure and enjoyment, and make a meaningful contribution to the world.

We flourish when we find fulfillment in life along with achieving more traditional objectives related to success when we are truly living the “good life” (Seligman, 2011).

Positive psychologist and professor Dr. Lynn Soots (n.d.) describes flourishing as the following:

“Flourishing is the product of the pursuit and engagement of an authentic life that brings inner joy and happiness through meeting goals, being connected with life passions, and relishing in accomplishments through the peaks and valleys of life.”

Further, Soots emphasizes that flourishing is not a trait, a characteristic, or something you “either have or don’t have;” rather, flourishing is a process that requires action. While it might be disappointing that it doesn’t come easy, it’s encouraging to know that, truly, anyone can flourish!

Another well-known topic in positive psychology is that of flow.

The concept of flow was first scientifically explored and defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (our second “founding father” of positive psychology).

In the last few decades of the 1900s, Csikszentmihalyi noticed that many artists fell into a particular state while they were working; this state was characterized by a particularly intense focus and great concentration on the task at hand, to the point of losing track of time for hours at a time.

He continued pursuing this topic and noticed it in others as well. Professional athletes, musicians, writers, and people from all sorts of artistic and creative trades frequently reported losing themselves into their work in a similar way. As he gathered more descriptions of this phenomenon, he observed six factors that characterize a flow experience:

• Intense and focused concentration on the present moment;
• The merging of action and awareness, or being fully present in your actions;
• A loss of reflective self-consciousness (lack of attention to the self);
• A sense of personal control or agency in the situation;
• A distorted sense of time passing;
• Experiencing the activity or situation as intrinsically rewarding (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975).

Those who enter into a state of flow are totally immersed in what they’re doing. This immersion arises when the challenges of the activity in front of us are significant and roughly equal to our skill at this activity.

When we have high skill and low challenge, we are bored. When we have a high challenge and low skill, we are overwhelmed. When we have “low skill and low challenge,” we are apathetic. It is only when both our skill and our challenges are high that we enter into a flow state.

Entering into flow is intrinsically rewarding and often an enjoyable experience; flow also seems to link to greater happiness and wellbeing, more academic (and, subsequently, career) success, and more positive and healthy relationships (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988).

To learn more about flow, Csikszentmihalyi gave an outstanding TED Talk on the subject.

If the video only piqued your interest, you may want to consider buying Csikszentmihalyi’s books on flow:

• Finding Flow:  The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life (1998)
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (2008)
• Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention (2013)

Positive psychology principles and exercises can be applied in several different settings, including therapy, the classroom, the workplace, and in your own home.

Some of the techniques that have proven most useful include:

The use of the experience sampling method (or ESM), also referred to as a daily diary method.

Before the days of smartphones, you would be given a beeper or pager that goes off at random points during the day, alerting you to pause, notice what you were thinking, feeling, and doing at that moment, and writing it all down. This is often used in positive interventions to help people realize how much of their day is actually quite positive.

The practice of keeping a gratitude journal.

A gratitude journal offers individuals a method of identifying and reflecting on all of the good things in their lives—all the things they have to be grateful for. Interventions often involve prompting people to write down three things they are grateful for each day, with the only stipulation being that they need to be different each day. Within a week, many people experience a boost in wellbeing along with an increase in gratitude.

Making a gratitude visit.

A gratitude visit (or letter) is an exercise in which an individual identifies a person to whom he or she is grateful and why; once they have these in mind, they can write a letter to this person expressing and explaining their gratitude.

If the person lives close enough to visit, they are encouraged to drop off the letter in person and visit with them; if not, a phone call, video chat, or simply dropping the letter in the mail can work as well. This exercise provides a significant boost to both gratitude and wellbeing.

Focusing on building personal strengths instead of weaknesses.

One of the most significant differences between many other forms of coaching and counseling and one based in positive psychology is the focus on strengths instead of weaknesses.

Positive psychology is based on the idea that building on our strengths is often a more effective path to success than trying to force excellence in areas we are simply not suited for. In practice, this technique involves identifying one’s strengths and working to provide yourself with more opportunities to use them.

Wellbeing therapy.

This holistic approach to therapy is similar to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) but focuses on both promoting the positive and alleviating the negative in the client’s life.

It is founded on Carol Ryff’s model of wellbeing, which recognizes six facets or factors of wellbeing: mastery of the environment, personal growth, purpose in life, autonomy, self-acceptance, and positive relationships (Harvard Health Publishing, 2008).

Positive psychotherapy.

Positive psychotherapy is similar to wellbeing therapy, but generally packages several techniques and exercises into one treatment. Its focus is on building positive emotions, character strengths, and a sense of meaning in life. Twelve exercises are generally practiced in this form of therapy, including exercises on using your signature strengths, keeping a gratitude journal, making a gratitude visit (Harvard Health Publishing, 2008).

To read more about the power of putting positive psychological principles into practice, check out the aptly titled book, Positive Psychology in Practice , by positive psychologists P. Alex Linley and Stephen Joseph at this link. This book will walk you through the major facets of applying the relevant findings from the positive psychology literature, including:

• The applied positive psychology perspective;
• Historical and philosophical foundations;
• Values and choices in pursuit of the good life;
• Lifestyle practices for health and wellbeing;
• Methods and processes for teaching and learning;
• and positive psychology at work.

For more tools, exercises and techniques of positive psychology, click here  for the free eBook with 3 positive exercises.

World’s Largest Positive Psychology Resource

The Positive Psychology Toolkit© is a groundbreaking practitioner resource containing over 500 science-based exercises , activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments created by experts using the latest positive psychology research.

Updated monthly. 100% Science-based.

“The best positive psychology resource out there!” — Emiliya Zhivotovskaya , Flourishing Center CEO

At the 2015 World Conference of Positive Psychology, some of the biggest names in positive psychology discussed a few of these criticisms. Below, we’ll outline some of the major criticisms and an evaluation of their merit in today’s field.

Research findings are often invalid, overstated, and misleading.

Like any other scientific field, mistakes are sometimes made. This often seems to be due to excitement over the potential of findings in positive psychology; it can be hard to maintain objectivity when you feel a finding has both broad and deep applicability to the real world.

However, this is no excuse for a lack of scientific rigor. While there is a bit more leeway in crossing your “t”s and dotting your “i”s in applied research, positive psychologists must be careful to keep their claims within reason and think critically about the limitations of their methods—there is always a limitation!

Today, positive psychology has overcome some of the initial obstacles and growing pains inherent to a new field. More critical attention is being paid to the research, which gives us all more confidence in the findings.

There is too much emphasis on self-report and cross-sectional survey data.

This is certainly a valid point; much of the positive psychology literature is built on survey data. However, this emphasis on survey data is not exclusive to positive psychology, and positive psychology does not exclusively use surveys. Receiving feedback from those close to an individual is increasingly being utilized to corroborate or compare self-report data to, which increases confidence in data.

Although positive psychology is not alone in this limitation, it is one that positive psychologists should continue to consider when planning, implementing and reviewing research.

Positive psychology has a cultural and ethnocentric bias.

It’s true that much of the research in positive psychology has been published by Western scholars, editors, reviewers, and journals. It is also true that positive psychology generally embraces a white, middle-class audience, in which injustice, poverty, and inequality are swept under the rug.

However, this bias seems to have been much over-hyped. Recently, more research from experts in non-Western countries and from a diverse range of backgrounds is being conducted (and published). The recent establishment of the International Positive Psychology Association is one sign of this attempt at broadening the perspective of positive psychology.

The field is too individualistic.

Another valid point is that positive psychology focuses too much on the individual—on personal experiences, individual traits and characteristics, and intrapersonal processes and phenomena. Positive psychology does indeed seem to have an overly narrow focus on the individual and a lack of attention paid to relationships, teams, groups, organizations, and communities.

Some have argued that this focus on individuals leads positive psychology to victim-blame (e.g., “If you can’t figure out how to be happy, it’s your fault”) and excuse those who are contributing to systemic issues (e.g., “It’s too hard to make corporations act ethically, so we’ll just help you make the best of it.”).

Positive psychology is just a promotion of a “Pollyanna” personality type, not an authentic exploration of the good life.

Of the major critiques of positive psychology, this may be one of those with the least merit. Although there is a good deal of research on “ Pollyanna ” types (happy, bubbly, cheerful, extroverted), that research is by no means representative of the entire field.

As cited earlier, there are studies on the dark side of happiness and optimism and the benefits of thinking pessimistically. There are also myriad studies on people from all across the spectrum of personality, from quiet and successful introverts to boisterous and struggling extroverts, and on the lack of fulfillment and meaning in the lives of some of the most “bubbly” individuals.

On the surface, it may seem that positive psychology is the study of the perpetually happy, but anything more than a cursory look will show you that the field is a rich exploration of all that which makes life good (and a bit of what makes it difficult as well).

Some of the criticisms of the field make excellent points.

Rather than struggling against these points, we should be open to considering them, thinking critically about the health of our field, and coming up with solutions for any big problems.

No field is immune from criticism, nor should it be; a healthy debate and a robust peer review process is what will keep positive psychology theory from lapsing into nothing more than an edict to “be positive” and positive psychology interventions from devolving into self-help material that is based on nothing but opinions or wishful thinking.

Watch this video to find out what Positive Psychology means to The Positive Psychology People ( website ) and some of the most influential researchers in the field:

Definition 1:

“Positive psychology is the study of the conditions and processes that contribute to the flourishing or optimal functioning of people, groups, and institutions.”

Source: Gable, Shelly L., Haidt, Jonathan,  What (and Why) Is Positive Psychology? (PDF), MichaelGeorge.com

Definition 2:

“Positive psychology is the branch of psychology that uses scientific understanding and effective intervention to aid in the achievement of a satisfactory life, rather than merely treating mental illness.”

Source: Wikipedia

Definition 3:

“Positive psychology studies what makes life most worth living.”

Source: Peterson, Christopher, What is positive psychology and what is it not?

Definition 4:

“Positive Psychology is the scientific study of human flourishing, and an applied approach to optimal functioning. It has also been defined as the study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals, communities, and organisations to thrive.”

Source: Positive Psychology Institute.

Definition 5:

“Positive psychology cannot be confined to any dogmas carved in stone, because it is always subject to influences by new creative ideas, pressing human needs, and changing circumstances.”

According to Paul Wong, the underlying theme of positive psychology is that life can be made better for all people if certain conditions are met.

Source: Wong, Paul T. P., Wong, Lilian C. J., McDonald, Marvin J., Klaassen, Derrick W.,  2012, The Positive Psychology of Meaning and Spirituality

Definition 6:

“Positive psychology is the scientific study of human strengths and virtues.”

According to Martin Seligman —who is seen as the founding father  of positive psychology—the positive psychology movement can be described as:

“The study of what constitutes the pleasant life, the engaged life, and the meaningful life.” 

Source: Batthyany, Alexander, Russo-Netzer, Pninit, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology

Definition 7:

“Positive psychology is the scientific and applied approach to uncovering people’s strengths and promoting their positive functioning” (Hugo Alberts).

“Positive psychology studies what is going right with the human mind and behaviour and how to foster these types of wellbeing on both the macro-, group-, and individual-level” (Seph Fontane Pennock).

Source: PositivePsychology.com

What is Positive Psychology and How Did it Come into Being?

The question “what is wrong with people” has guided the thinking of many researchers and dominated countless scientific studies during the 20th century. It is hard to deny that this entails an important question.

In our attempts to answer the question, we have gained more understanding of many illnesses and have developed effective treatments for a wide range of problems.

However, as an inevitable consequence of our focus on the negative aspects of wellbeing and health, such as distress and disease, we developed an almost exclusive attention to pathology.

We believe that science has focused disproportionately on pathology and repair, and devoted relatively little attention to factors that “make life worth living.”

As the 21st century unfolds, however, we are beginning to ask a different question: “What is right about people?”

This question is at the heart of positive psychology, which is the scientific and applied approach to uncovering people’s strengths and promoting their positive functioning.

During the past 14 years, the number of scientific studies on positive psychology has increased tremendously. In addition, countless interventions have been developed to increase people’s wellbeing.

17 Top-Rated Positive Psychology Exercises for Practitioners

Expand your arsenal and impact with these 17 Positive Psychology Exercises [PDF] , scientifically designed to promote human flourishing, meaning, and wellbeing.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

We hope this article has given you a good understanding of positive psychology—what it is, what it isn’t, where it’s been, and where it’s going.

Positive psychology is a field with a huge potential for improving the lives of people around the world, and many impactful findings have already been discovered.

The bottom line is this: if you want to keep up in the world of coaching, teaching, counseling, therapy, and a dozen other domains, make sure to keep an eye out for what’s new in positive psychology!

What are your thoughts on the state of the field? Do you think there are bigger criticisms that are being ignored? Do you think the field is doing a good job at solving the problems it set out to solve? What do you think is the “next big thing” in positive psychology? Please let us know in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

• Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I., & Dunn, E. W. (2009) From wealth to well-being? Money matters, but less than people think, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 523-527. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760903271421
• Barraza, J. A., & Zak, P. J. (2009). Empathy towards strangers triggers oxytocin release and subsequent generosity. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1167, 182-189. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04504.x
• Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., Aaker, J., & Garbinsky, E. N. (2012). Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life. Journal of Positive Psychology, 8, 505-516. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2013.830764
• Del Valle, C. H. C., & Mateos, P. M. (2008). Dispositional pessimism, defensive pessimism and optimism: The effect of induced mood on prefactual and counterfactual thinking and performance. Cognition & Emotion, 22, 1600-1612. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930801940289
• Dillard, A. J., Midboe, A. M., & Klein, W. M. P. (2009). The dark side of optimism: Unrealistic optimism about problems with alcohol predicts subsequent negative event experiences. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 1540-1550. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209343124
• Dunn, E. W., Aknin, L. B., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Spending money on others promotes happiness. Science, 319, 1687-1688. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1150952
• Fowler, J. H., & Christakis, N. A. (2008). Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: Longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. The BMJ, 337. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a2338
• Harvard Health Publishing. (2008). Positive psychology in practice. Harvard Mental Health Letter. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/positive_psychology_in_practice
• Howell, R. T., & Hill, G. (2009). The mediators of experiential purchases: Determining the impact of psychological needs satisfaction and social comparison. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 511–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760903270993
• Jenkinson, C. E., Dickens, A. P., Jones, K., Thompson-Coon, J., Taylor, R. S., Rogers, M., Bambra, C. L.,…, & Richards, S. H. (2013). Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers. BMC Public Health, 13, 773-782. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-773
• Kjerulf, A. (2016, January 18). The 5 most important findings from the science of happiness that apply at work. The Chief Happiness Officer Blog. Retrieved from https://positivesharing.com/2016/01/positive-psychology-at-work/
• Layous, K., Nelson, S. K., Oberle, E., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2012). Kindness counts: Prompting prosocial behavior in preadolescents boosts peer acceptance and well-being. PLoS ONE, 7. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051380
• Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131 , 803-855. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2005-15687-001
• Mentor Coach LLC. (n.d.). What IS positive psychology? MentorCoach – Positive Psychology & Coaching. Retrieved from http://www.mentorcoach.com/positive-psychology-coaching/
• Peppercorn, S. (2014). The benefits of positive psychology coaching. Positive Workplace Partners. Retrieved from http://positiveworkplacepartners.com/the-benefits-of-positive-psychology-coaching/
• Peterson, C. (2008). What is positive psychology, and what is it not? Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-good-life/200805/what-is-positive-psychology-and-what-is-it-not
• Scott, B. A., & Barnes, C. M. (2011). A multilevel field investigation of emotional labor, affect, work withdrawal, and gender. Academy of Management Journal, 54 , 116-136. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.59215086
• Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York City, NY: Atria Books. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1439190763/
• Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, S. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60 , 410-421. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2005-08033-003
• Soots, L. (n.d.). Flourishing. Positive Psychology People. Retrieved from http://www.thepositivepsychologypeople.com/flourishing/

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Asslamoalikum, I am Assistant professor in a graduate college and serving in the department of Applied psychology. I studied this article which is very informative and helpful for my students. I really appreciate it.thanks.

I am a retired primary care physician. My career has focused on getting needed care to persons in the greatest need. The process of getting the best solutions to all the population is desperately in need of an improved understanding of how to help the entire population (which includes care givers, care receivers and the complex of citizens who fund care and organize that care) to change nonproductive behavior. I’m convinced very few of us understand what knowledge and values are essential to inform all of us to play more constructive and compassionate roles. Without positive psychology such reorganization would remain a distant dream. With this reorientation of how to consider encouraging the best human flourishing there is reason to be more optimistic!

Hello, I am not a psychologist but love the science in psychology! I am a teacher and more concerned with students’ career guidance.For this matter,I would prefer including ‘Positive Psychology’ as a subject in Secondary school curriculum if we are to help everyone without waiting for counselling classes later on when someone is referred to as “a client” -who will possibly be a patient at that time. This can help students catch up with living focused,valued lives much earlier in life instead of waiting to treat the signs and symptoms of negative psychology. My suggestion is just a preventive measure!(Talking from Africa;I don’t know the stand else where).

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Overview of Personality Psychology

• Assessments

Personality psychology is the study of how personality develops. One of the largest and most popular psychology branches , researchers in this area also strive to better understand how personality influences our thoughts and behaviors.

Your unique personality makes you who you are; it influences everything from your relationships to the way you live. Learn more about what personality is, the theories surrounding its development, how personality is tested, and what it means to have a personality disorder.

Importance of Personality Psychology

Personality psychologists often look at how personality varies from one individual to the next, as well as how it may be similar. These professionals may also be tasked with the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of personality disorders.

Understanding personality also allows psychologists to predict how people will respond to certain situations and the sorts of things they prefer and value. To get a sense of how researchers study personality psychology, it will be helpful to learn more about some of the most influential personality theories.

The Basis of Personality Psychology

What is it that makes you who you are? Many factors contribute to the person you are today, including genetics, your upbringing, and your life experiences.

Many would argue that what makes you unique is the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make up your personality . While there is no single agreed-upon definition of personality, it is often thought of as something that arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life.

Personality encompasses all of the thoughts, behavior patterns, and social attitudes that impact how we view ourselves and what we believe about others and the world around us.

Theories of Personality Psychology

A number of theories have emerged to explain the aspects of personality. Some are focused on explaining how personality develops, while others are concerned with individual differences in personality.

Trait Theories of Personality

The trait theories of personality center on the idea that personality is comprised of broad traits or dispositions. Various theories have been proposed to identify which attributes are key components of personality, as well as attempts to determine the total number of personality traits .

Psychologist Gordon Allport was one of the first to describe personality in terms of individual traits. In his dispositional perspective, Allport suggested that there are different kinds of traits: common, central, and cardinal.

Common traits are shared by many people within a particular culture. Central traits are those that make up an individual's personality. Cardinal traits are those that are so dominant that a person becomes primarily known for those characteristics.

An example of a cardinal trait is Mother Teresa. She was so well-known for her charitable work that her name became almost synonymous with providing service to those in need.

Allport suggested that there were as many as 4,000 individual traits. Psychologist Raymond Cattell proposed that there were 16. Cattell also believed that these traits exist on a continuum and that all people possess each trait in varying degrees. A psychologist named Hans Eysenck would narrow the list of traits further, suggesting there were only three: extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.

Today, the "Big Five" theory is perhaps the most popular and widely accepted trait theory of personality. The theory proposes that personality is made up of five broad personality dimensions:

• Agreeableness
• Conscientiousness
• Extroversion
• Neuroticism

The Big Five theory states that each trait exists as a broad continuum. An individual's personality will fall somewhere on the spectrum for each trait. For example, you might be high in extroversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness, but somewhere in the middle for openness and neuroticism.

Research published in 2018 analyzed studies involving the Big Five and, based on their findings, suggests that these traits contribute to four types of personality: average, reserved, self-centered, and role model.

Theories of Personality Development

Freud's theory of psychosexual development is one of the best-known personality theories—but also one of the most controversial. According to Freud, children progress through a series of stages of personality development.

At each stage, libidinal energy (the force that drives all human behaviors) becomes focused on specific erogenous zones. Successful completion of a stage allows a person to move on to the next phase of development. Failure at any stage can lead to fixations that can impact someone's adult personality.

Erik Erikson, another psychologist, described eight psychosocial stages of life. With Erikson's theory, each stage plays a significant role in the development of a person's personality and psychological skills.

During each psychosocial stage, an individual will face a developmental crisis that serves as a turning point in their development. Successfully completing each stage leads to the development of a healthy personality.

While Freud's theory suggested that personality is primarily formed and set in stone at an early age, Erikson believed that personality continued to develop throughout life. Erikson was also more interested in how social interactions influenced the development of personality and was primarily concerned with the development of what he called ego identity.

Other major personality theories include biological theories, behavioral theories, psychodynamic theories, and humanistic theories.

Assessments in Personality Psychology

To study and measure personality, psychologists have developed personality tests, assessments, and inventories. The tests are widely used in a variety of settings. For example, the famous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is frequently used as a pre-employment screening assessment.

Other assessments can be used to help people learn more about different aspects of their personalities. Some tests are used as screening and evaluation tools to help diagnose personality disorders.

Gaining a better understanding of your personality can be helpful in many aspects of your life. For example, relationships with friends, family, and coworkers might improve when you become aware that you work well with others or that you need to make time to be alone.

You have probably encountered a selection of personality tests online (for example, an online quiz that tells you whether you are extroverted or introverted ). Some of these tests purport to reveal the "real you," while others are clearly meant only for entertainment.

Personality assessments that you take online should be taken with a grain of salt. Informal tools can be fun and might offer some insight into your preferences and characteristics, but only personality tests administered by trained and qualified professionals should be used as formal assessments or to make a diagnosis.

Disorders Involving Personality Psychology

Personality psychologists are also interested in studying problems with personality that may arise. Personality disorders are characterized as chronic and pervasive mental disorders that can seriously impact a person's thoughts, behaviors, and interpersonal functioning.

The current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-5 ) lists 10 personality disorders, including antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) reports that approximately 9.1% of the adult population in the United States experiences symptoms of at least one personality disorder each year.

Being diagnosed with a personality disorder can be distressing, but you should know that there are treatments. Working with a mental health professional, you can learn to recognize the difficulties that these disorders can cause and explore new coping strategies.

It is OK to feel frightened and concerned about what the future might hold but remember that you do not have to face it alone. There are people who are trained, skilled, and ready to help you take the next steps in your treatment.

Depending on your specific diagnosis, your doctor might recommend psychotherapy, skills training, medication, or a combination of all three.

Work closely with your healthcare team to develop a treatment plan that focuses on your needs and goals.

A Word From Verywell

Personality is a broad subject that touches on nearly every aspect of what makes people who they are. There are many ways to think about personality. There are some theories that focus on individual traits and those that consider the different developmental stages that take place as personality emerges (and sometimes changes) over time.

Psychologists are not only interested in understanding normal human personality, but in recognizing potential personality disturbances that might lead to distress or difficulty in key life areas. By being able to identify problems people have at home, school, work, or in their relationships, psychologists are better able to help people develop skills to cope with and manage the symptoms of personality disorders.

Gerlach M, Farb B, Revelle W, Nunes Amaral LA. A robust data-driven approach identifies four personality types across four large data sets . Nature Human Behav . 2018;2:735-742. doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0419-z

McCrae RR, Costa PT. Validation of the Five-Factor Model of Personality Across Instruments and Observers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . 1987;52: 81-90.

• National Institute of Mental Health. Prevalence: Any Personality Disorder .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Personality

A ‘dumpster archeologist’ reconstructs strangers’ stories via what they’ve discarded

Rituals and celebrations

Tender, yet creepy

Dolls help children create wonderfully vivid and imaginative worlds, while also serving as unsettling reminders of the abyss

Tishani Doshi

Ageing and death

We’re not the only animals that appear to grieve. What are the implications?

Sleep and dreams

Spinning the night self

After years of insomnia, I threw off the effort to sleep and embraced the peculiar openness I found in the darkest hours

Annabel Abbs

Love and friendship

For two brothers who rely on one another, love is a daily act of devotion

Virtues and vices

Make it awkward!

Rather than being a cringey personal failing, awkwardness is a collective rupture – and a chance to rewrite the social script

Alexandra Plakias

Meaning and the good life

A Japanese religious community makes an unlikely home in the mountains of Colorado

Psychiatry and psychotherapy

For those who hear voices, the ‘broken brain’ explanation is harmful. Psychiatry must embrace new meaning-making frameworks

Justin Garson

Sex and sexuality

From secret crushes to self-acceptance – a joyful chronicle of ‘old lesbian’ stories

Neuroscience

The melting brain

It’s not just the planet and not just our health – the impact of a warming climate extends deep into our cortical fissures

Clayton Page Aldern

Scenes from a school year paint a refreshingly nuanced portrait of rural America

Sexual sensation

What makes touch on some parts of the body erotic but not others? Cutting-edge biologists are arriving at new answers

David J Linden

Pleasure and pain

The volunteer musicians who perform in the aftermath of violence and tragedy

Food and drink

Local tensions simmer amid a potato salad contest at the Czech-Polish border

Human reproduction

When babies are born, they cry in the accent of their mother tongue: how does language begin in the womb?

Darshana Narayanan

Technology and the self

A filmmaker finds a tactile beauty in the creation of her prosthetic leg

Decolonising psychology

At times complicit in racism and oppression, psychology has also been a fertile ground for radical and liberatory thought

Rami Gabriel

How the magic of photography brought Victorian England closer to the spirit realm

Dog vision is a trendy topic, but what can we really know about how they see?

Biography and memoir

The adoption paradox

Even happy families cannot avoid the reality – my reality – that adoption is predicated on transacting the life of a child

Fiona Sampson

Me versus myself

I work against myself through procrastination, distraction and addiction. Why do I consistently sabotage my own life?

Eliane Glaser

War and peace

A century later, can poetry help us make sense of the First World War’s horrors?

Moral progress is annoying

You might feel you can trust your gut to tell right from wrong, but the friction of social change shows that you can’t

Daniel Kelly & Evan Westra

Language and linguistics

The little Peruvian guide to public speaking that conjures up a grandiose world

Attachment: A-Level Psychology Notes

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

On This Page:

Attachment can be defined as an emotional bond between two people in which each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure.

Caregiver-Infant Interactions in Humans

Interactions between very young babies and their parents are baby led, with the adult responding to the behavior of the baby.

Reciprocity

The word reciprocal means two-way, or something mutual. The infant and caregiver are both active contributors in the interaction and are responding to each other.

Reciprocity is a form of interaction between infant and caregiver involving mutual responsiveness, with both infant and mother responding to each other’s signals, and each elicits a response from the other. Smiling is an example of reciprocity – when a smile occurs in the infant, it triggers a smile in the caregiver and vice versa.

Reciprocity influences the child’s physical, social and cognitive development. It becomes the basis for the development of basic trust or mistrust and shapes how the child will relate to the world, learn, and form relationships throughout life.

Jaffe et al. said that from birth, babies move in a rhythm when interacting with an adult, almost as if they were taking turns as people do when having a conversation.

Interactional Synchrony

Interactional synchrony is when two people interact and tend to mirror what the other is doing in terms of their facial and body movements (emotions and behaviors).

Interactional synchrony is a form of rhythmic interaction between infant and caregiver involving mutual focus, reciprocity, and mirroring of emotion or behavior. Infants coordinate their actions with caregivers in a kind of conversation.

From birth, babies move in a rhythm when interacting with an adult, almost as if they were taking turns. The infant and caregiver are able to anticipate how each other will behave and can elicit a particular response from the other.

For example, a caregiver who laughs in response to their infant’s giggling sound and tickles them is experiencing synchronized interaction.

Interactional synchrony is most likely to develop if the caregiver attends fully to the baby’s state, provides playful stimulation when the infant is alert and attentive, and avoids pushing things when an overexcited or tired infant is fussy and sending the message “Cool it. I just need a break from all this excitement”.

Heimann showed that infants who demonstrate a lot of imitation from birth onwards had been found to have a better quality of relationship at 3 months. However, it isn’t clear whether imitation is a cause or an effect of this early synchrony.

Many studies involving the observation of interactions between mothers and infants have shown the same patterns of interaction. However, what is being observed is merely hand movements or changes in expression. It is extremely difficult to be certain, based on these observations, what is taking place from the infant’s perspective. Is, for example, the infant’s imitation of adult signals conscious and deliberate?

This means that we cannot know for certain that behaviors seen in mother-infant interactions have a special meaning.

Observations of mother-infant interactions are generally well-controlled procedures, with both mother and infant being filmed, often from multiple angles. This ensures that very fine details of behavior can be recorded and later analyzed.

Furthermore, babies don’t know or care that they are being observed, so their behavior does not change in response to controlled observation which is generally a problem for observational research.

This is a strength of this line of research because it means the research has good validity.

Stages of Attachment

Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) studied 60 babies at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of life (this is known as a longitudinal study ).

The children were all studied in their own homes, and a regular pattern was identified in the development of attachment.  The babies were visited monthly for approximately one year, their interactions with their carers were observed, and carers were interviewed.

The mother kept a diary to examine the evidence for the development of an attachment. The following measures were recorded:

• Stranger Anxiety – response to the arrival of a stranger.

• Separation Anxiety – distress level when separated from a carer, degree of comfort needed on return.

• Social Referencing – the degree to which a child looks at a carer to check how they should respond to something new (secure base).

They discovered that baby’s attachments develop in the following sequence:

Asocial (0 – 6 weeks)

Very young infants are asocial in that many kinds of stimuli, both social and non-social, produce a favorable reaction, such as a smile.

Indiscriminate Attachments (6 weeks to 7 months)

Infants indiscriminately enjoy human company, and most babies respond equally to any caregiver. They get upset when an individual ceases to interact with them.

From 3 months, infants smile more at familiar faces and can be easily comfortable by a regular caregiver.

Specific Attachment (7 – 9 months)

Special preference for a single attachment figure.  The baby looks to particular people for security, comfort, and protection.  It shows fear of strangers (stranger fear) and unhappiness when separated from a special person (separation anxiety).

Some babies show stranger fear and separation anxiety much more frequently and intensely than others, but nevertheless, they are seen as evidence that the baby has formed an attachment.  This has usually developed by one year of age.

Multiple Attachment (10 months and onwards)

The baby becomes increasingly independent and forms several attachments. By 18 months, the majority of infants have formed multiple attachments.

The study’s results indicated that attachments were most likely to form with those who responded accurately to the baby’s signals, not the person they spent more time with.  Schaffer and Emerson called this sensitive responsiveness.

Intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands and interacted with their children. Infants who were weakly attached had mothers who failed to interact.

The study’s results indicated that attachments were most likely to form with those who responded accurately to the baby’s signals, not the person they spent more time with. Schaffer and Emerson called this sensitive responsiveness.

Intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands and, interacted with their child. Infants who were weakly attached had mothers who failed to interact.

The most important fact in forming attachments is not who feeds and changes the child but who plays and communicates with him or her. Therefore, sensitive responsiveness to the baby’s signals appeared to be the key to the attachment.

The Schaffer and Emerson study has low population validity. The infants in the study all came from Glasgow and were mostly from working-class families. In addition, the small sample size of 60 families reduces the strength of the conclusion we can draw from the study.

However, the accuracy of data collection by parents who were keeping daily diaries while clearly being very busy could be questioned. A diary like this is also very unreliable, with demand characteristics and social desirability being major issues. Mothers are not likely to report negative experiences in their daily write up.

The study lacks historical validity. It was conducted in the 1960s when gender roles were different – Now, more men stay at home to look after their children, and more women go out to work, so the sample is biased.

AO2 Scenario Question

Laura is 7 months old; she is looked after by a childminder, Jackie, while her parents are at work.

Recently, she has started to show great distress when her mother drops her off and cries inconsolably. Use your knowledge of the stages of development of attachment to explain her behavior.

How long is this behavior likely to last? Explain your answer.

Multiple Attachments

Many of the babies from the Schaffer and Emerson study had multiple attachments by 10 months old, including attachments to mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, and neighbors.

By 18 months, 31% had five or more attachments.  The mother was the main attachment figure for about half of the children at 18 months old and the father for most others.

The multiple attachments formed by most infants vary in their strength and importance to the infant. Attachments are often structured in a hierarchy, whereby an infant may have formed three attachments, but one may be stronger than the other two, and one may be the weakest.

The Role of the Father

There is now an expectation in Western cultures that the father should play a greater role in raising children than was previously the case. Also, the number of mothers working full-time has increased in recent decades, and this has also led to fathers having a more active role.

However, whereas mothers usually adopt a more caregiving and nurturing role than fathers, fathers adopt a more play-mate role than mothers. For example, fathers are more likely than mothers to encourage risk-taking in their children by engaging them in physical games.

Most infants prefer contact with their father when in a positive emotional state and wanting to play. In contrast, most infants prefer contact with their mothers when they are distressed and need comfort.

Numerous factors affect the father’s role and his impact on his child’s emotional development. For example, culture, the father’s age, and the amount of time the father spends away from home. The existence of so many factors means it is difficult to make generalizations about the father’s role.

It is possible that most men are not psychologically equipped to form an intense attachment because they lack the emotional sensitivity women offer. Oestrogen underlies caring behavior, and there continue to be sex stereotypes that affect male behavior.

However, Field found that when fathers have the main caregiver role, they adopt behaviors more typical of mothers; therefore, the key to attachment is the level of responsiveness, not the gender of the parent.

Economic implications – Mothers will feel pressured to stay home because research says they are vital for healthy emotional development. Still, in some families, this may not economically be the best solution.

It is not important – McCallum and Golombok found that children growing up in single or same-sex families didn’t develop differently from those in two-parent families – Evidence undermines the idea of fathers having distinct roles.

If the father can be the primary attachment figure, this information should be shared in antenatal classes to ensure fathers play an equal role in childcare. Research can be used to improve the quality of care of infants and to strengthen attachment bonds.

Cultural Factors

There are also cultural differences in the role of the father. Until very recently, men were expected to be breadwinners and not directly involved in their children’s care. However, this might be a stereotypical view rather than reflect reality, as fathers might not have been directly involved in day-to-day care. Still, they were involved in factors like play, instruction, and guidance.

In modern families, fathers are less likely to engage in physical play in middle-class Indian families.

Social Policy

In the UK, fathers until recently were not given any paternal leave, so the responsibility for child care was implicitly given to the mothers. This could change the attachment the children make with their fathers.

However, this is not the case in every country, so the pattern of attachment between father and children might be different.

Biological factors

Men seem to lack the emotional sensitivity to infant cues (Heerman et al. 1994) that women offer spontaneously. This could be due to the fact that women produce a hormone, estrogen, which increases emotional response to others’ needs. However, Frodi et al. (1978) found that men’s physiological response was the same as women’s.

Age and gender: Freeman et al. (2010) found that male children are likelier to prefer their father as an attachment figure than female children. He also found that children are more likely to be attached to their fathers during their late childhood to early adolescence. Infants and young adults are less likely to seek attachment to their fathers.

Temperament: According to Manlove et al. (2002), fathers are less likely to be involved with their infant if the infant has a difficult temperament.

Animal Studies of Attachment

Discuss the usefulness of animal studies for investigating attachment. [16 marks].

Harlow wanted to study the mechanisms by which newborn rhesus monkeys bond with their mothers.

Harlow using rhesus monkeys , studied attachment. Two wires monkeys with different heads, one wire and the other wrapped in cloth, were placed with eight infant monkeys. With four of the monkeys, the milk was on the cloth-covered wire monkey, and the other four were attached to the plain wire-covered monkey.

Harlow, during the time measurements, found the amount of time the monkeys spent with each wire monkey. The findings concluded that the monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth-covered monkey, which provided contact comfort.

In Japan, mothers have great difficulties finding childcare for their babies. Government officials say that “eventually, robots will be able to take up and assume many of these tasks that women are currently doing present”.

Based on Harlow’s research, explain the effects this could have on children.

Harlow’s work has been criticized.  His experiments have been seen as unnecessarily cruel (unethical) and of limited value in attempting to understand the effects of deprivation on human infants.

It was clear that the monkeys in this study suffered from emotional harm from being reared in isolation.  This was evident when the monkeys were placed with a normal monkey (reared by a mother); they sat huddled in a corner in a state of persistent fear and depression.

In addition, Harlow created a state of anxiety in female monkeys, which had implications once they became parents.  Such monkeys became so neurotic that they smashed their infant’s face into the floor and rubbed it back and forth.

Harlow’s experiment is sometimes justified as providing valuable insight into the development of attachment and social behavior. At the time of the research, there was a dominant belief that attachment was related to physical (i.e., food) rather than emotional care.

It could be argued that the benefits of the research outweigh the costs (the suffering of the animals).  For example, the research influenced the theoretical work of John Bowlby , the most important psychologist in attachment theory.  It could also be seen as vital in convincing people about the importance of emotional care in hospitals, children’s homes, and daycare.

Another criticism of Harlow’s study was the confounding variable present within the study. The heads of the two wire monkeys within Harlow’s study varied significantly, which then acted as a confounding variable with the independent variable, which was whether the monkey was clothed or not.

The findings of the study lack internal validity due to the drastic difference in the heads of the monkey. This could suggest that the monkeys possibly chose one wire monkey over the other as they preferred the physical appearance of one monkey over the other.

Both studies were conducted on animals which raises the question of whether it can be generalized to human behavior. Though behaviorists believe that animal behavior can be generalized to human behavior, the behavior displayed by humans differs largely due to conscious decisions.

Schaffer and Emerson found that infants were not predominantly attached to the person that fed them but to the person who responded most sensitively to their needs.

This suggests that Harlow’s study on rhesus monkey is not valid in determining attachment as the cognitive level of humans greatly exceeds that of animals. In this context, Harlow’s findings cannot be generalized to humans.

Lorenz’s Imprinting Theory

Animal studies have been largely useful in describing attachment and imprinting. Lorenz (1935), using a clutch of gosling eggs, divided them into one half once incubated, seeing Lorenz as their first moving thing.

Lorenz later placed the marked ducklings together to show which had imprinted on the duckling’s mother and Lorenz, and they quickly divided themselves up. The animals were exposed to Lorenz during the critical period of imprinting.

Lorenz found that geese follow the first moving object they see during a 12-17 hour critical period after hatching.  This process is known as imprinting and suggests that attachment is innate and programmed genetically.

The usefulness of the study is supported by research regarding imprinting. For example, Guiton (1966) used chicks and yellow rubber gloves to feed them during the critical period, and the chicks were imprinted on the glove. Suggests that young animals imprint on any moving thing present during the critical period of development. The chicks were then later found trying to mate with the yellow rubber glove.

This largely corroborates with the findings originally found in Lorenz’s study as this suggests the long-lasting effects of the study as this is an irreversible change affecting social and sexual behavior known as sexual imprinting. This then links to several ethical issues within both Harlow and Lorenz due to the irreversible effect it had on the animals.

However, there are criticisms of imprinting as the concept of imprinting within Lorenz’s study suggests that within this context, the object leads to an irreversible situation on the nervous system.

However, Hoffman (1976) suggested that this is not an irreversible change which is then further supported by Guiton, who suggested that after spending time with their own species, they were able to engage in normal sexual behavior, suggesting that imprinting is moderately reversible.

Explanations of Attachment

Learning theory.

Dollard & Miller (1950) state attachment is a learned behavior acquired through classical and operant conditioning. It is a nurture theory.

The learning theory of attachment proposes that all behavior is learned rather than an innate biological behavior, as children are born blank slates.

According to classical conditioning, food (UCS) produces pleasure (UCR). The child associates food and the mother together. The mother becomes the conditioned stimulus , and happiness becomes the conditioned response…attachment has formed.

Attachment can also be learned by operant conditioning. The presence of the caregiver is reinforcing for the infant. The infant gains pleasure/reward as they are fed. The infant’s behavior is reinforcing for the caregiver (the caregiver gains pleasure from smiles etc. – reward). The reinforcement process is, therefore, reciprocal (two-way) and strengthens the emotional bond/attachment between the two.

Dollard & Miller (1950) used the term secondary drive hypothesis to describe the processes of learning an attachment through operant and classical conditioning. The secondary drive hypothesis explains how primary drives essential for survival, such as eating when hungry, become associated with secondary drives, such as emotional closeness.

They extended the theory to explain that attachment is a two-way process that the caregiver must also learn. This occurs through negative reinforcement when the caregiver feels pleasure because the infant is no longer distressed.

Schaffer and Emerson found less than half of infants had a primary attachment to the person who usually fed them.

Harlow’s research suggested monkeys became attached to the soft surrogate mother rather than the one who fed it. This goes against the learning theory of attachment.

Lorenz found goslings imprinted on the first moving object they saw, which suggests attachment is innate and not learned.

However, the reliability of the learning theory is questioned as it is based on animal research. Behaviorists believe that humans are similar to animals in how they learn.

The structure of the stimulus and response behavioral traits are similar in humans and animals, making it legitimate to generalize the findings from an animal to humans. These behaviors can be explained through conditioned behavior, but not all, such as attachment.

Behaviorist theories may lack validity as they’re an oversimplified explanation of human behavior as they believe attachment involves innate predispositions.

Another limitation of the learning theory in explaining attachment is it suggests that food is the predominant factor in forming attachments.

There has, however, been conflicting evidence. For example, a study by Harlow suggests that food is not the principal factor in attachment, which is supported by Schaeffer and Emerson. Infant monkeys were attached to the cloth-covered wire monkey, which provided contact comfort, not food.

Also, the drive reduction theory though popular previously is not used today as it can only display a few behaviors. The theory fails to explain secondary reinforcers as many people do things that give them discomfort.

Arguably, the learning theory does provide useful information as it explains that infants learn through association and reinforcement. Attention and responsiveness from a caregiver and sensitivity to the child’s needs allow an attachment to be formed. The sensitivity that the main caregiver provides is then mimicked by the infant teaching the child how to act.

Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory

Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment suggests attachment is important for a child’s survival. Attachment behaviors in both babies and their caregivers have evolved through natural selection. This means infants are biologically programmed with innate behaviors that ensure that attachment occurs.

Critical Period

This theory also suggests that there is a critical period for developing attachment (about 0 – 2.5 years). If an attachment has not developed during this time period, then it may well not happen at all.

A child has an innate (i.e., inborn) need to attach to one main attachment figure. This is called monotropy . This concept of monotropy suggests that there is one relationship that is more important than all the rest. Although Bowlby did not rule out the possibility of other attachment figures for a child, he did believe that there should be a primary bond that was much more important than any other (usually the mother).

Other attachments may develop in a hierarchy below this. An infant may therefore have a primary monotropy attachment to its mother, and below her, the hierarchy of attachments may include its father, siblings, grandparents, etc.

Internal Working Model

The child’s relationship with a primary caregiver provides an internal working model which influences later relationships. This internal working model of attachment is a cognitive framework comprising mental representations for understanding the world, self, and others. A person’s interaction with others is guided by memories and expectations from their internal model, which influence and help evaluate their contact with others.

There are three main features of the internal working model: (1) a model of others as being trustworthy, (2) a model of the self as valuable, and (3) a model of the self as effective when interacting with others. Around the age of three, these seem to become part of a child’s personality and thus affect their understanding of the world and future interactions with others.

Konrad Lorenz (1935) supports Bowlby’s monotropic theory as the attachment process of imprinting is an innate process that has a critical period. Also, the geese also attached to a single person/animal or object, thus showing monotropic behavior. However, Rutter’s Romanian Orphan Study showed that attachments could form after the critical period.

The idea of monotropy and hierarchy is supported by research into attachments formed by the Efe tribe of Congo. Efe women share the care of infants in the tribe and take turns breastfeeding them. However, the infants return to their natural mother at night and form a stable bond with the mother.

Use of contradictory evidence: e.g., Schaffer and Emerson’s findings re multiple attachments

Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation study provides evidence for the existence of the internal working model. A secure child will develop a positive internal working model of itself because it has received sensitive, emotional care from its primary attachment figure. An insecure-avoidant child will develop an internal working model in which it sees itself as unworthy because its primary attachment figure has reacted negatively to it during the sensitive period for attachment formation.

Implications (including economic implications) of monotropy theory: e.g., the role of fathers, mothers returning to employment, use of daycare, etc.

The importance of monotropy is overemphasized – Thomas questions the benefits of monotropy and suggests having a network of attachments to support infants and their needs and Van Ijzendoorn argued that a stable network of adults could provide better care than one mother – The theory lacks value and may require adjustment.

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Ainsworth and Bell (1971) conducted a controlled observation recording the reactions of a child and mother (caregiver) who were introduced to a strange room with toys.

In the strange situation , about 100 middle-class American infants and their mothers took part. The infant’s behavior was observed during a set of pre-determined activities.

The Strange Situation procedure involved the child experiencing eight ‘episodes’ of approximately 3 minutes each.

The child is observed playing for 20 minutes while caregivers and strangers enter and leave the room, recreating the flow of the familiar and unfamiliar presence in most children’s lives. Observers noted the child’s willingness to explore, separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, and reunion behavior.

Ainsworth & Bell observed from the other side of a one-way mirror so that the children did not know that they were being observed.

Types of Attachment

Secure attachment.

The main characteristics of this attachment type are:

(i) Infants are upset when left alone by the mother. (ii) Infants are happy when mother returns and seek contact with the mother. (iii) Infants avoid the stranger when alone, but friendly when the mother is present. (iv) The infants uses the mother as a safe base to explore their environment.

This type of attachment occurs because the mother meets the emotional needs of the infant.

Insecure Avoidant

(i) Infants are unconcerned by mother’s absence when she leaves the room. (ii) Infants shows little interest when they are reunited with the mother (i.e. she returns to the room). (iii) Infants are strongly avoidant of mother and stranger, showing no motivation to interact with either adult. The stranger is treated similar to the mother (does not seek contact).

This type of attachment occurs because the mother ignores the emotional needs of the infant.

Insecure Resistant / Ambivalent

(i) infants are clingy to their mother in a new situation and are not willing to explore – suggesting that they do not have trust in her. (ii) they are extremely distressed when left alone by their mother. (iii) they cannot be comforted by a stranger and will not interact with them – they treat the stranger and the mother very differently. (iv) when the mother returns they are pleased to see her and go to her for comfort, but then cannot be comforted and may show signs of anger towards her.

This type of attachment style occurs because the mother sometimes meets the needs of the infant and sometimes ignores their emotional needs, i.e., the mother’s behavior is inconsistent.

Johan was adopted at the age of 4. Before this, he was in an orphanage where there was very little emotional care. He is now 6 years old. His parents have noticed that he behaves in the same way toward strangers as he does with them.

Johan hurt himself recently, and he did not ask for them but accepted comfort from a man who stopped to help him.

What type of attachment is Johan displaying? What is the reason for this?

A problem of the study is that it lacks population validity. The original study used American infants. The study tells us about how this particular group behaves and cannot be generalized to the wider population and other cultures.

Another criticism of the study is that it has low ecological validity, and the results may not be applicable outside of the lab. The environment of the study was controlled, and the eight scripted stages of the procedure (e.g., mum and stranger entering and leaving the room at set times) would be unlikely to happen in real life.

One strength of the study is that it is easy to replicate. This is because it follows a standardized procedure involving the 8 episodes of the mother and stranger entering the leaving the room.

Cultural Variations in Attachment

Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988) wanted to investigate if attachment styles (secure and insecure) are universal (the same) across cultures or culturally specific (vary considerably from place to place due to traditions, the social environment, or beliefs about children).

They did not collect the data for their study. Instead, they analyzed data from other studies using a method called a meta-analysis. Data from 32 studies in 8 different countries were analyzed.

All 32 studies used the strange situation procedure to study attachment. Using a meta-analysis (a statistical technique), they calculated the average percentage for the different attachment styles (e.g., secure, avoidant, resistant) in each country.

Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg found that secure attachment was the majority of infants (70%). The lowest percentage of secure attachments was shown in China and the highest in Great Britain.

It was also found that Western countries that support independence, such as Germany, had high levels of insecure-avoidant.

Whereas Eastern countries that are more culturally close, such as Japan, had quite high levels of insecure resistant.

The exception to the pattern was China which had an equal number of avoidant and resistant infants.

One problem is that many of the studies used in the meta-analysis had biased samples, which cannot claim to be representative of each culture. For example, only 36 infants were used in the Chinese study, which is a very small sample size for such a populated country. Also, most of the studies analyzed were from Western cultures.

The Strange Situation was created and tested in the USA, which means that it may be culturally biased ( ethnocentric ), as it will reflect the norms and values of American culture.

This is a problem as it assumes that attachment behavior has the same meaning in all cultures when in fact, cultural perception and understanding of behavior differ greatly. For example, the belief that attachment is related to anxiety on separation. This may not be the case in other cultures, e.g., Japan.

There is a significant variation of attachments within cultures: Van Ijzendoorn looked at multiple studies in each country and found that every study produced different levels of each attachment classification. This intra-cultural variation suggests that it is an oversimplification to assume all children are brought up in the same way in a particular country.

Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation

Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis suggests that continual disruption of the attachment between the infant and primary caregiver (i.e., mother) could result in long-term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that infant. Bowlby originally believed the effects to be permanent and irreversible.

He argued that the first 2.5 years of life, the critical period, were crucial. If the child was separated from their primary attachment figure (often the mother) for an extended period of time and in the absence of substitute care, the damage was inevitable.

Use the acronym – ADDIDDAS to remember the effects of maternal deprivation: Aggression, Delinquency, Dwarfism, Intellectual retardation, Depression, Dependency, Affectionless Psychopathy, and Social maladjustment.

Affectionless psychopathy is an inability to show affection or concern for others, a lack of shame, or a sense of responsibility. Such individuals act on impulse with little regard for the consequences of their actions. For example, showing no guilt for antisocial behavior.

The 44 Juvenile Thieves

Bowlby was a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, working at the London Child Guidance Clinic in the 1930s and 1940s.

Aim : To investigate the long-term effects of maternal deprivation.

Procedure : He selected an opportunity sample of 88 children attending his clinic.

Group 1- thief group: 31 boys and 13 girls in the ‘theft group’ were referred to him because of their stealing.

Group 2- control group: 34 boys and 10 girls were referred to him because of emotional problems.

The two groups were matched for age and IQ.

The children and their parents were interviewed and tested by a psychiatrist (Bowlby), a psychologist, and a social worker focusing specifically on their early life experiences.

Findings : 14 children from the theft group were identified as affectionless psychopaths; 12 of those had experienced prolonged separation of more than six months from their mothers in their first two years of life, whereas only 5 of the 30 children not classified as affectionless psychopaths* had experienced separations. Out of the 44 children in the control group, only 2 had experienced prolonged separations, and none of them were affectionless psychopaths.

Anca is an orphan who has been adopted by a British couple. Before being adopted, Anca lived in an institution with lots of other children in very poor conditions. Her new parents are understandably concerned about how Anca’s early experiences may affect her in the future.

Use your knowledge of the effects of institutionalization to advise Anca’s new parents about what to expect. (5 marks)

“Apart from suffering maternal deprivation, because Anca lived in an institution with very poor conditions, she may have been mentally under-stimulated, malnourished, and uncared for.

In a study of similar children conducted by Rutter, orphans scored worse than a control group on measures of physical, social, and cognitive development.

Therefore, Anca may be physically and intellectually underdeveloped for her age and may show poor peer relations and disinhibited attachment – a form of insecure attachment where children do not discriminate between people to whom they try to attach to, being overly friendly, clingy, and attention-seeking.

However, if she does form an attachment at a fairly young age, these negative effects may be reversed.”

Laura is 2 years old, her mother died of cancer recently, and she has not got any family to look after her. Her social worker, Phil, is considering Laura’s future.

Based on your knowledge of the maternal deprivation hypothesis, what advice would you give Phil? Explain your answer.

Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation is supported by Harlow’s (1958) research with monkeys . He showed that monkeys reared in isolation from their mother suffered emotional and social problems in older age. The monkey’s never formed an attachment (privation) and, as such, grew up to be aggressive and had problems interacting with other monkeys.

Due to Bowlby’s theory, a number of real-life applications have been made: In orphanages now, they have to take account of emotional needs, and fostered children have to be kept in one stable home rather than being moved around. In maternity units, mothers are now allowed to spend more time with their babies as well as if they have a sick child, the visiting hours in the hospital have been extended, and parents can even stay overnight if they wish.

Critics such as Rutter have also accused Bowlby of not distinguishing between deprivation and privation – the complete lack of an attachment bond, rather than its loss. Rutter stresses that the quality of the attachment bond is the most important factor, rather than just deprivation in the critical period.

Bowlby assumed that physical separation on its own could lead to deprivation, but Rutter argues that it is the disruption of the attachment bond rather than the physical separation. This is supported by Radke-Yarrow (1985), who found that 52% of children whose mothers suffered from depression were insecurely attached. This figure raised to 80% when this occurred in the context of poverty (Lyons-Ruth,1988).

This shows the influence of social factors. Bowlby did not take into account the quality of the substitute care. Deprivation can be avoided if there is good emotional care after separation. Hodges and Tizard’s research (on privation / institutional care) shows that the effects of deprivation can be reserved.

Romanian Orphan Studies: Effects Of Institutionalization

Institutionalization is the behavior patterns of children who have been raised outside of the family home in an institution such as an orphanage or a residential children’s home.

Note, you need to describe the effects of institutional care – this means the results of research studies rather than the procedure (i.e. what happened).

Rutter’s Study

Procedure : Rutter (1998) studied Romanian orphans who had been placed in orphanages, aged 1-2 weeks old, with minimal adult contact. This was a Longitudinal study and natural experiment, using a group of around 100 Romanian orphans assessed at ages 4, 6, and 11, then re-assessed 21 years later.

58 babies were adopted before 6 months old, and 59 between the ages of 6-24 months old. 48 babies were adopted late, between 2-4 years old. These were the 3 conditions Rutter used in his study.

Findings : Those who were adopted by British families before 6 months old showed ‘normal’ emotional development compared with UK children adopted at the same age.

Many adopted after 6 months old showed disinhibited attachments (e.g., attention-seeking behavior towards all adults, lack of fear of strangers, inappropriate physical contact, lack of checking back to the parent in stressful situations) and had problems with peers.

Conclusion : This study suggests long-term consequences may be less severe than was once thought if children have the opportunity to form attachments. When children don’t form attachments, the consequences are likely to be severe.

Note : Disinhibited attachment is where children don’t discriminate between people they choose as attachment figures. The child doesn’t seem to prefer his or her parents over other people, even strangers. The child seeks comfort and attention from virtually anyone without distinction. They will treat strangers with overfriendliness and may be attention-seeking.

This study provided detailed measurements through the use of interviews and observations of the children’s behaviors. The problem is that it is not easy to find out information about the institutional experience for the child and therefore, we don’t know the extent of early privation experienced by these children.

Another problem with this type of study is that once the children are adopted, they may not wish to take part in the study anymore, so the results would not be representative.

The Bucharest Early Intervention Project

Procedure : Zeanah et al. (2005) assessed the attachment in 136 Romanian orphans aged between 12-31 months who had spent an average of 90% of their life in an institution and compared them to a control group who spent their life in a “normal family.” The attachment type was measured using the Strange Situation.

Infants took part in the Strange Situation to assess attachment type. 

Findings : 74% of the control group was found to be securely attached, but only 19% of the institutionalized group. 65% of this group were classified as disorganized attachment (a type of insecure attachment where the children display an inconsistent pattern of behavior; sometimes they show strong attachment, other times they avoid the caregiver).

The institutionalized children showed signs of disinhibited attachment.

There may be other factors – Other than emotional deprivation, the physical conditions of the Romanian orphans were appalling, and the lack of cognitive stimulation would also affect their development – Most institutionalized children experience multiple risks. Thus, maternal deprivation should not be over-exaggerated.

The Influence of Early Attachment on Childhood and Adult Relationships:

Including the role of an internal working model.

According to Bowlby (1969), later relationships are likely to be a continuation of early attachment styles (secure and insecure) because the behavior of the infant’s primary attachment figure promotes an internal working model of relationships , which leads the infant to expect the same in

The continuity hypothesis is the idea that there is consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships, and it sees children’s attachment types being reflected in these later relationships. This idea is based on the internal working model, which was proposed by Bowlby in his monotropic theory.

Bowlby sees attachment as monotropic, where infants have an innate tendency to form an attachment to one particular person. This attachment is the strongest of them all, forming a model for future relationships, which the infant will expect from others.

This is the idea of the internal working model, a template for future relationships based upon the infant’s primary attachment, which creates a consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships.

Explain how the Internal working model affects childhood relationships

Childhood Relationships

According to Bowlby’s theory, when we form our primary attachment, we also make a mental representation of what a relationship is (internal working model), which we then use for all other relationships in the future, i.e., friendships, working, and romantic relationships.

In other words, there will be continuity between early attachment experiences and later relationships. This is known as the continuity hypothesis.

Childhood Friendships

According to attachment theory, the child who has a secure attachment style should be more confident in interactions with friends.

Considerable evidence has supported this view. For example, the Minnesota study (2005) followed participants from infancy to late adolescence and found continuity between early attachment and later emotional/social behavior. Securely attached children were rated most highly for social competence later in childhood and were less isolated and more popular than insecurely attached children.

Hartup et al. (1993) argue that children with a secure attachment type are more popular at nursery and engage more in social interactions with other children. In contrast, insecurely attached children tend to rely more on teachers for interaction and emotional support.

An alternative explanation for continuity in relationships is the temperament hypothesis which argues that an infant’s temperament affects how a parent responds, and so may be a determining factor in infant attachment type. The infant’s temperament may explain their issues (good or bad) with relationships in later life.

Explain how the Internal working model affects adult relationships

Adult Relationships

Parenting style.

Research indicates an intergenerational continuity between adult attachment types and their children, including children adopting the parenting styles of their own parents. People tend to base their parenting style on the internal working model, so the attachment type tends to be passed on through generations of a family.

Research by Bailey (2007) found that the majority of women had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers.

Harlow’s monkeys showed a link between poor attachment and later difficulties with parenting because they had a lack of an internal working model.

Romantic Relationships

There also appears to be a continuity between early attachment styles and the quality of later adult romantic relationships. This idea is based on the internal working model, where an infant’s primary attachment forms a model (template) for future relationships.

The IWM influences a person’s expectation of later relationships thus affecting his attitudes toward them. In other words, there will be continuity between early attachment experiences and later relationships.

Adult relationships are likely to reflect early attachment style. This is because the experience a person has with their caregiver in childhood would lead to the expectation of the same experiences in later relationships. This is illustrated in Hazan and Shaver’s love quiz experiment.

They conducted a study to collect information on participants’ early attachment types and attitudes toward loving relationships. Of the volunteer sample, they found that those securely attached as infants tended to have long-lasting relationships; on the other hand, insecurely attached people found adult relationships more difficult, tended to divorce, and believed love was rare.

This supports the idea that childhood experiences significantly impact people’s attitudes toward later relationships. The correlation between adult’s attachment style and their memories of the parenting style they received is similar to Ainsworth’s findings, where children’s attachment styles were correlated with the degree of sensitivity their mothers showed.

However, this theory has been accused of being reductionist because it assumes that people who are insecurely attached as children will become insecurely attached as adults and have poor-quality adult relationships.

As well as this, attachment types identified in the Strange Situation and used in Hazan and Shaver’s study relate only to the quality of the relationship with one person. Therefore, an adult’s choice of description for their attachment style might only relate to their current relationships.

This theory is accused of being reductionist because it assumes that people who are insecurely attached as infants would have poor-quality adult relationships. This is not always the case. Researchers found plenty of people having happy relationships despite having insecure attachments. Therefore,, the theory might be an oversimplification.

The correlational nature of attachment research means causal links between early bonds, internal working models, and later relationships cannot be definitively determined. Intervening variables like innate temperament may influence parental responses and attachment style development rather than attachment experiences directly shaping adult relationship patterns.

An alternative explanation for continuity in relationships is the temperament hypothesis, founded by Kagan. He found that infants have an innate personality, such as being easygoing or difficult, which influences the quality of their attachment with caregivers and later relationships.

This suggests that attachments form due to temperament and not an innate gene for attachment, which goes against Bowlby’s theory. This also suggests that attempts to develop better-quality relationships by changing people’s attachment styles to more positive ones would not work.

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Social Isolation

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

Though our need to connect is innate, many of us frequently feel alone. Loneliness is the state of distress or discomfort that results when one perceives a gap between one’s desires for social connection and actual experiences of it. Even some people who are surrounded by others throughout the day—or are in a long-lasting marriage —still experience a deep and pervasive loneliness. Research suggests that loneliness poses serious threats to well-being as well as long-term physical health.

• Identifying and Fighting Loneliness
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Whether a person lives in isolation or not, feeling a lack of social connectedness can be painful. Loneliness can be described in different ways; a commonly used measure of loneliness, the UCLA Loneliness Scale, asks individuals about a range of feelings or deficits of connection, including how often they:

feel they lack companionship

feel left out

feel “in tune” with people around them

feel outgoing and friendly

feel there are people they can turn to

Given the potential health consequences for those who feel like they have few or no supportive social connections, widespread loneliness poses a major societal challenge. But it underscores a demand for increased outreach and connection on a personal level, too.

Loneliness is as tied to the quality of one's relationships as it is to the number of connections one has. And it doesn’t only stem from heartache or isolation.  A  lack of authenticity in relationships  can result in feelings of loneliness. For some, not having a coveted animal companion, or the absence of a quiet presence in the home (even if one has plenty of social contacts in the wider world), can trigger loneliness. 

There's evidence that lonely individuals have a sort of negativity bias in evaluating social interactions. Lonely people pick up on  signs of potential rejection more quickly than do others, perhaps better to avoid it and protect themselves. People who feel lonely need to be aware of this bias so as to override it in seeking out companionship.

Solitude, or time spent alone, is not inherently negative and can even be restorative or advantageous in other ways. Research suggests the reasons young people choose to be alone matter—they may do so to relax, create, or reflect, rather than to avoid other people.

Loneliness researcher John Cacioppo argues that just as you can start an exercise regimen to gain strength and improve your health, you can combat loneliness through small moves that build emotional strength and resilience . He has devised techniques for people at particularly high risk for chronic loneliness, such as soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. They may be useful to anyone. 

A number of unfavorable outcomes have been linked to loneliness. In addition to its association with depressive symptoms and other forms of mental illness, loneliness is a risk factor for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and arthritis, among other diseases. Lonely people are also twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, research suggests. The state of chronic loneliness may trigger adverse physiological responses such as the increased production of stress hormones , hinder sleep, and result in weakened immunity.

While a person can’t die simply from feeling too lonely, findings that lonely people have higher rates of mortality and certain diseases supports the idea that, over time, chronic loneliness can play a role in increasing the risk of dying.

Feelings of loneliness and isolation affect people of all ages, although adolescents and the elderly  may be especially likely to be impacted.

About 40 percent of Americans reported regularly feeling lonely in 2010, and other reports affirm that it is common for people to feel lonely at least some of the time. The high rates of reported loneliness have led some to declare an “epidemic,” though it is not clear that loneliness is increasing in younger generations.

Becoming a family's outcast often result from the family choosing to keep its system in place rather than doing the hard work of self-reflection.

Discover how prolonged isolation impacts our lives as well as actionable strategies to foster genuine connections.

A Personal Perspective: Between living in the land of the Internet and being trapped in the world of COVID, we have become isolated from each other.

Animal-assisted therapy might seem new, but its roots go back centuries. Explore the enduring bond between humans and animals in therapeutic settings.

Loneliness is increasingly tackled as a serious public health crisis. But solutions that focus on reducing social isolation are missing the key point. It's all about feeling needed.

We're all lonelier than ever, in our workplaces as well as in our personal lives. But we may find some hope in a surprising factor that reduces both loneliness and burnout.

Designing for solitude is not about strengthening isolation but, rather, about allowing all people to coexist—introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts alike.

If you are a recent empty nester struggling to find your new identity or a new mom wanting to create balance in your life, these suggestions can help.

Feeling lonely? Harness the power of self-talk and pattern interruption. A three-word mantra can help you pivot fast.

If you're feeling lonely, using three words can help reduce your stress and build your solitude muscle.

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Psychology Discussion

Essay on attention: meaning, factors and phenomena | psychology.

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After reading this essay you will learn about:- 1. Meaning of Attention 2. Factors Influencing Attention 3. Phenomena.

Essay on the Meaning of Attention:

The various sense organs in the human body are constantly receiving information from the outside world-the eyes respond to light waves, the ears receive sound waves, the fingers respond to the temperature and pressure of the objects they touch all these are called sensations. These sensations provide essential information about objects, people and events which an individual must deal within his daily life.

Usually, messages from several senses arrive at the same time, competing with one another. For example, a person reading a book may be simultaneously aware of some noise produced outside the room, the temperature of the room, the different objects around him etc. All these become part of his consciousness at that moment.

However, he is not aware of them with the same degree of clarity since he is most aware of what he is reading at that moment. This particular process of focusing within the field of awareness is called attention. This ‘preferred awareness’ or attention leads the brain to sort out different stimuli and identify them for further processing.

For instance, the eye records light and dark patterns on the retina as you are driving through a jungle. It is only when you focus your attention that you may see big patches of green and red moving gently mounted over a long brown object-which is a tree. This process of sensing, attending and interpreting what it means, or creating meaningful patterns out of jumbled sensory impressions is known as perception.

Attention and perception are considered to be twin psychological processes, independent of each other yet closely related while functioning. Some theories of attention claim that there can be attention without perception but no perception without attention. Attention is considered as a process which bridges the gap between sensation and perception.

When the sense organs sense and record a stimulus it has to enter the channel of attention in order to be perceived. Thus, it is attention which determines perception to a great extent, like the proverbial priest who delivers (or does not deliver) the boon, though it is granted by God. The first stage here involves a selection of some part or aspect of the stimulating situation for further processing. Attention, therefore, begins with a process of selection and elimination.

This process of selection becomes necessary because from the point of view of the organism, certain elements of the stimulating situation are more significant than others. Why we focus our attention on one or two particular objects or events could be understood by the example given here. Suppose you are sitting and watching the relay of a football match.

You cannot concentrate or focus your attention equally on the crowd, the action on the field, the comments of the commentators and the comments of the persons sitting besides you, all at the same time. At any particular moment one of these activities will claim your attention.

When the ball is in the field, you will probably focus your attention on the person who kicks the ball, perhaps even miss a goal being scored because you were watching the wrong player. Once the game halts, you may shift your attention elsewhere.

Some other object or activity then occupies the focus of your attention. Attention can and does shift very easily and rapidly from one object or event to another. What holds your attention at one moment gives place to something else the next moment. This phenomenon is influenced by a number of factors.

Essay on Factors Influencing Attention :

What commands our attention is determined by a number of factors. Some of these are related to the stimulus while others relate to personal factors. The former are referred to as objective factors and the latter as subjective factors. Some of these factors are explained here with examples instead of elaborate descriptions.

For instance, we tend to notice objects which provide strong stimulation to our sense organs like an exceptionally loud noise or bright light (intensity). An object that is unusually large (size) or moving (movement) draws our attention. Anything which stands out from its surroundings, for some reason or the other, attracts our attention (distinctness).

For example, though it appears rude, we cannot help glancing at a person who is seven-foot tall, walking in the street or a three-foot dwarf. Similar behaviour is exhibited when we see a foreigner in an unusual attire walking on the street. Anything which is repeated (repetition) continuously also catches our attention. For example, the repetitive sound of the bell of a fire engine stands out among other stimuli, a sudden alteration in the stimulus (change) is likely to attract our attention.

The clock which is ticking continuously may not draw our attention but when it suddenly stops, it may at once attract our attention because of the sudden uncharacteristic silence. It may be seen that these characteristics or factors, such as intensity, size, movement, distinctness, repetition and change are attributes of the stimulus or external environment and are known as objective factors.

Attention is also determined by certain subjective or personal factors. An individual’s needs, motives, interests, past experience, culture etc. influence attention to a very great extent. For instance, a person who has just finished a big meal may not be attracted by the smell of the food which is placed in the room as strongly as a person who is starving (need).

A person waiting for a letter (motive) will hear the postman’s call immediately in-spite of traffic noise and other noises. You may take notice of the score in a cricket match (interest) from a radio commentary, while other people in the same room continue their conversation without even noticing that the radio is on.

Thus, it can be seen that attention is not a simple process, but is influenced by other processes like learning, motivation, past experience, etc. Thus, we also see that attention is a complex process influenced by objective and subjective fac1. tors.

Essay on the Phenomena of Attention:

Now let us try to understand certain phenomena of attention which are as follows:

1. Phenomena of Attention :

Suppose you are listening to a lecture on biology. Your awareness of the sound of the words is more intense at certain moments and less at others. This illustrates the phenomenon of fluctuation. This property of fluctuation is integral to the basic process of attention and occurs even when there is no other sensory stimulus which is competing for your attention. Our attention, therefore, varies in intensity from moment to moment.

2. Shifting of Attention :

The intensity of attention to a certain stimulus is also affected by the presence of other stimuli competing for your attention. This is referred to as shifting of attention. This means a person’s attention, though focused on something, usually moves to other things in one’s environment.

For example, when a biologist sits at a laboratory table dissecting an animal his attention may be focused on the animal. Nevertheless, he may also be marginally aware, at the same time, of the odour of chemicals, voices of other people working in the laboratory, the creaking sound coming from the rotating ceiling fan, etc.

Not only does attention shift briefly from major activities to peripheral events and back again, but it has been demonstrated scientifically that quick shifting of attention from stimulus to stimulus is necessary for perception. Just as continuous and unchanging pressure can numb the tactile sense of a particular area of the body, similarly continuous and unchanging attention to exactly the same visual stimulus causes the perception of it to be distorted and fragmented.

Experiments with images fixed on the contact lenses have shown that because attention has been forcibly tied down to one constant visual stimulus, the person soon becomes unable to see that stimulus or image, and it fades away. If the person blinks or moves one’s eye rapidly, the image momentarily reappears. Shifting of attention, therefore, is necessary for perception; it prevents negative adaptation.

3. Distraction of Attention :

Another phenomena related to attention is what is known as distraction of attention. We have already seen what is shifting or fluctuation of attention. Here, the attention wavers and gets back to the stimulus or the attention process shifts from one part of the stimulus to another.

This is an inherent feature of the process of attention or perception caused by psychological factors. But there is another phenomenon which is called distraction of attention. Here the attention does not merely shift from one part of the stimulus to another. Our attention wanders away and we start attending to something else.

This must be a very common experience to students while listening to a lecture or reading a textbook. Here attention does not automatically come back. The student has to make an effort to get back to the book or lecture. Distraction is caused by a number of causes.

4. Span of Attention :

Yet another phenomenon related to attention is that there are limitations to the number of objects or stimuli that can be attended to in one act (period) of attention. That maximum amount of material that can be attended to in one period of attention is referred to as span of attention.

This phenomenon can be demonstrated by the number of figures or letters an individual can notice in one flash of attention. If you are able to note five digits or five letters in a single act of attention, your span of attention is five units. If you are able to note eight letters, then your span is said to be eight and so on.

This span also varies depending on the nature of the stimulus. When meaningful words are presented you may be capable of attending to a word containing more than eight or ten letters in a single act of attention. This is because the mind rapidly supplies certain parts which are not actually noticed. In this case, the process involved is not attention alone. It goes beyond attention and is known as perception.

5. Filtering of Attention or Sensory Gating :

This phenomenon provides one of the bases for the process of selective attention.

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