Sample psycho

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PSYCHOLOGY TERMSA

Aversion Therapy :- A form of therapy in which punish-ment or some other aversive stimulation is used to elimi-nate undesired responses.AAT:- Achievement. Anxiety Test: A specific anxiety mea-sure of both debilitating and facilitating effects of test anxi-ety.AB Design :-A single subject research design that containsone baseline (A) and one treatment (B).ABAB Design :-A single subject research design that con-tains a baseline (Al), treatment (Bl), a second baseline (B2)and a second treatment phase (B2)Abasia :-Inability to walk due to impairment in motor coor-dination.Aberration :-A departure from normal; a temporary lapsefrom normalcy idiosyncratic or peculiar behaviour.Abience :-Moving the organism away from a stimulus, incontrast of audient behavior, which moves the organism to-ward the source of stimulation.Ability :-Capacity to do something physical or mental; abil-ity includes aptitude and achievement.Ability Tests :-Tests of potential that is, of what an indi-vidual can learn with training, e.g. achievement tests, per-sonality test, etc.Ablation :-Removal of all or part of an organ for the purposeof studying its function.Abnormal :-Divergence from what is normal, or ordinary orexpected.Abnormal Behaviour :-Behaviour considered to be mal-adaptive or deviant by the individual or the social group ofwhich the person is a member.Abnormal Psychology :-A branch of Psychology that stud-ies different types of psychoses, neuroses and other ab-normalities, finds out their causes, general principles andutilises them to cure these abnormalities.Abortion :-Premature termination of a pregnancy.Abreaction :-The discharge of tension by words, feelingsand action as a traumatic experience.Absentmindedness :-Absorption in thoughts so as to beunaware of surrounding condition.Absolute Error :-Observed value (score) plus or minus tothe true value (score).Absolute Rating Scale :-A rating scale according to whichthe rater assigns a score to each subject on each charac-teristic being rated on the basis of comparison with a stan-dard for each characteristic.Absolute Refractory Period :-Period just after nerve celldischarge during which the cell cannot be excited.Absolute Scale :-A scale provided with an absolute zeropoint but having equal intervals.Absolute Threshold :-The minimum level of stimulus in-tensity of which an organism is aware or to which it re-sponds.Absolute Zero :-Characteristic of a scale of measurementthat contains a point where the scale has no value.Absorption :-A state of preoccupation or high degree of at-tention to one object or activity.Abstract :-Separated from what is real or concrete.Abstract Ability :-The ability to use abstract ideas in prob-lem solving.Abstract Idea :-A generalized idea representing some as-

pect of a class or group of objects apart from particular orconcrete objects themselves.Abstract Intelligence :-The ability to deal with abstract con-cepts effectively.Abstract Learning :-Learning which involves abstract ob-jects.Abstract Theory :-A theory that employs mathematical orpurely imaginary concepts or principles to explain eventsor relationships.Abstract Word :- A word that evokes very little visual imag-ery.Absurdity Test :-A task in which the testee must point outthe incongruity or absurdity in a story or picture used atseveral levels on the Binet test.Abulia :-A pathological disturbance of the mental regula-tion of actions; loss of ability to perform voluntary actionsor make decisions.Abundancy Motive :-A tendency to seek satisfaction be-yond those involved in fulfilling deficits or eliminating needs.Acalculia :-Inability to calculate and perform arithmeticaloperations as a result of cortical lesions.Acansthesia :-Paresthesia in which the individual experi-ence takes place.Acatamathesia :-Inability to comprehend perceived situa-tions; impaired ability to understand speech.Acathisia :-Inability to remain in a sitting position.Acceleration :-An increase in the rate of the sematic andphysiological maturation of children and teenagers.Accessory Nerve :-The eleventh cranial nerve helper, or ac-cessory, to the vagus, or tenth nerve, distributed to themuscles of the pharynx and larynx.Accessory Parts :-All parts of sense organs except the re-ceptor cells themselves. Accessory parts contribute to moreeffective functioning of sense organs.Accident Proneness :-Tendency toward accidents, person-ality factors.Accommodation :-The creation of new cognitive schemeswhen objects, experiences, or other information does notfit with existing schemas.Acculturation :-The process by which the individual childlearns the behaviour patterns characteristic of the grouplearning the social patterns of an alien group.ACE Test :-American Council on Education test of intelli-gence, (used for College freshers).Acetycholine :-A neurotransmitter associated with volun-tary movement, sleep and wakefulness.Acetylcholine :-A chemical believed to transmit nerve im-pulse across neuronal gaps and used to lower blood pres-sure and increase digestive functions.Achesthesia :-Seeing sharp points as touch, but lackingthe perception of pain usually associated with such stimu-lation.Achieved Status :-A social position that is obtained throughone’s own efforts, such as doctor, teacher, etc.Achievement Drive :-To perform well or better than others;based on standards set by the individual or by society.Achievement Motivation :-One’s need to reach successin various types of activity, especially in competition withothers.Achievement Motive :-The social motive to accomplishsomething of value or importance, to meet standards ofexcellence in what one does....


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PSYCHOLOGY ESSAYSPSYCHOLOGY OF SPORTS

Psychology’s role in sports may be naive, but ignoring itmay be considered as a serious oversight on the part of thepsychologists. Man has always viewed sports or sportingskills with excitement and awe. Sportsmen were consid-ered as personifications of strength, valour and even divin-ity. Mythologies show that excellence in sports was as-sociated with Gods and demons. Some such sports werewrestling, boxing, archery and gambling. The status of sportsin the modern world is amazing. One can infer this from thereports in every newspaper - almost as much space is de-voted to sports as to news. Some devote the strategic lastpage to sport, with attractive captions and pictures to makeit as attractive as the front page. The size of crowds somegames draw runs into millions. Players are often used asadvertising models. They are not only made to advertise cos-metics and textiles but razors and bubblegums. More andmore money has been allotted and released by governmentsto start sports institutes, coaching centres and facilities forthe players to improve their skills . Some of the main eventscovered by the mass media today are the sports events.Psychologists, therefore, cannot afford to ignore such animportant facet of human activity. They started their expla-nations in this area primarily to explain why man indulgesin play or play activity. Secondly, they tried to study theimpact of play or sports on the spectators or the audience.Thirdly, they tried to see whether sports had any practicalvalue, or longlasting implications for the individuals. Beforethe discussion takes a serious turn it is worthwhile to un-derstand the concepts of play, games and sports in orderto avoid misunderstanding.Play is described as a type of behaviour engaged for thepurpose of fun and enjoyment with utilitarian and abstractgoals in mind. However, pure play becomes a game when itbecomes repetitive, systematic and predictable. Play is gen-erally a unique piece of individual behaviour, whereas a gamecan be repeated by a person or others because it has asystematic pattern with outcomes that are, to a greater orlesser degree, quite predictable. Play is open ended and theplayer does not necessarily know what will happen in anyparticular play situation. In a game, one gets involved withgoals or the anticipation or expectation of goals. Play, in agame situation, assumes a goal directedness and becomesmore instrumental than consummatory. Play relinquishes acertain amount of its voluntary control in a game situation,simply because it is restricted or subordinated to the pursuitof real goals. Games, on the other hand are goal directed.Games are generally classified into four categories.Competitive Games (Agon) : Much of our modern sportsare extremely competitive. The psychological content ofthese games is equal struggle. The games are structuredin such a way that competitors start under equal terms andstrive under equal conditions. Here, a superficial equality iscreated in order to ensure an ideal confrontation betweenthe players. When such a confrontation is achieved triumphor victory is considered worthwhile. Some popular Agongames are hockey, cricket, chess, wrestling, boxing, etc.In these games the psychological content is that of tri-umphing over equals.Games of Chance (Alea): These games are based oninequality, caused by external forces on which the players

have no control. The psychological content here is luck.The player strives towards triumph over one’s destiny ratherthan over an opponent. Fate and luck determine the out-come and when rivalry exists, victory simply means thatthe winner was luckier than the loser. Some of the examplesof these games are gambling, flipping coins, card games,lotteries, etc. The player need not struggle, work or com-pete; all he must do is gamble and wait for lady luck tosmile on him.Games of Pretence: There are games in which the playeris pretending that he is someone or something which oneis not. Such manifestations are termed mimicry which maybe seen to range from a little girl playing mother or teacher,a little boy playing father or a cowboy or even cat and dogon the one hand, to a professional mimic mimicking a vari-ety of people in varied situations.Games of V ertigo: A good number of people seek sport oractivities which give them a sense of dizziness, giddinesscombined with loss of body control and a strong element ofdanger. These activities provide fun and enjoyment in addi-tion to a sense of adventure and risk taking. Some suchgames are taking a ride on a roller coaster, merry- go-round,sky-diving, ski-jumping, surfing, car racing, etc. It is difficultto explain people’s attraction to such games because theytremble, go pale, get tensed up but would continue to watchor participate in these games with the sense of ‘once more’.These are some of the categories under which most of thepopular games may be categorised. Coming back to thepoint, understanding the concepts, the reader after goingthrough the above note must be aware of what exactly theterms play and games mean. However, sports is a termemployed to refer to a large number of games or a body ofgames and its associated activities. Sports is conceivedas an institutionalised game. Games when they becomedistinctive and enduring patterns of culture and social struc-ture get combined into a single complex. This complex isseen to include those values, norms, knowledge,profeciencies and social roles and institutionalised blue-print, which forms the organisation and behaviour withingame occurrences and sporting events. Thus, it may beseen that play is an essential element of game and sport.Games and sports are built over play. Since play is thecrux of sports, it may be interesting to get acquainted withsome of the theories or views on play. Some of the popularviews regarding play are briefly described below.Von Schiller and Spencer claimed that play is the result ofa ‘surplus of energy’. Their explanation is that in humanbeings a certain amount of energy will always exist andthat there is a tendency to expend this energy in goallessactivity, i.e. play. A child rarely gets a chance to expendhis energy because parents and other members of societytake care of all his needs and this energy finds its outletthrough aimless activity which is pleasurable. Similarly, anadult will never be able to expend all his energy in work andthe surplus is automatically directed towards wholesomeactivity that makes him feel good. Planning play and physi-cal activity as a part of curriculum in schools and colleges,taking extra care to provide recreation at work places areall based on such a notion of play. Thus, play is consideredas both a biological and psychological explosion of en-ergy.....


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PSYCHOLOGYPAPER-III (A) (CORE GROUP)

UNIT—I•SIGNAL DETECTION THEORY,

SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION AND RELATED FACTORS,

INFORMATION PROCESSING APPROACH TO PERCEP-TION,

CULTURE AND PERCEPTION,

PERCEPTUAL STYLES.

ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON PERCEPTION.

PERCEPTIONThe student has already been introduced to the terms cog-nition and cognitive process. It was pointed out that sensa-tion, attention, perception, all of thinking and learning rep-resent different steps in the cognitive process. While everycognitive action may not involve learning, sensation, atten-tion and perception these are processes necessarily in-volved in cognitive action, or any act of cognition. This wasfollowed by a discussion of the sensory processes, thesense organs, the nature of sensations and sensory phe-nomena.The various sense organs are constantly receiving stimulifrom the outside environment and also from inside. Thesesensory inputs or information form the basis of our knowl-edge. At any moment sensory inputs keep flowing in throughthe various sense organs. But we do not become aware ofall of them to the same degree. In fact, we are not at allaware of some of them. On the other hand, we becomemore aware of some stimuli and not others. For example, ifthe teacher is teaching a very interesting topic in the class,we are not aware of what others are doing, what somepeople standing outside the classroom are doing and amyriad other things, about which sensory information isnevertheless pouring in. Similarly, if you are very seriouslyreading a book, then, many other events happening out-side, do not disturb you or attract you. It may be true thatyour mother is screaming at the top of her voice calling youfor lunch, but, you do not become aware of it. Later, shecomes and drags you by your ear. It may be seen here thatat anytime, we are more aware of sensory stimulation fromcertain agents than others. They occupy the centre of ourawareness.This selective process by which certain select sensorystimulations from among many come to occupy the centreof our awareness is known as attention. Attention is thus aselective cognitive process by which we become moreaware of certain objects, sounds, smells etc. and allowthem into the focus of our awareness. Of course, apartfrom those at the focus, there are certain other sensoryimpressions, which occupy a peripheral position in our fieldof awareness, or which occupy a secondary position. Thus,at any point, our field of awareness has a region of focalattention, a region of marginal attention, and non-attention.The process of ‘attending’ is influenced by a variety of fac-tors which introduce a selective process in bringing somestimuli to the focus of awareness, some to the peripheryand keeping the others out of our field of awareness.If sensation constitutes the first stage of a cognitive act,and attention, the second stage, the third stage involves‘perception’; perception is a much more complicated pro-cess and involves the organisation and interpretation of thestimuli which have crossed the threshold of the attentionprocess and get into focus of awareness to make themmeaningful. Suppose you are sitting in your room and seri-ously reading a book. Suddenly you hear a loud noise andturn your attention away, and immediately come to the con-clusion that the noise must be from the site nearby wheresome rocks are being exploded for constructing a footballstadium. Here it may be seen that while sensation dependson the nature and intensity of the sensory stimuli, and at-tention is more complex involving a selective process, per-ception is much more complex involving past knowledge,awareness etc. Perception involves arriving at meanings...


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ELECTIVE—V•PSYCHOPATHOLOGY:CONCEPTS,CLASSIFICATION AND CAUSES,CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS

•COMMON CLINICAL DISORDERS

•MENTAL RETARDATION

•MENTAL HEALTH :INTERVENTION MODELS ANDPSYCHO-THERAPIES

PRACTICAL IMPORTANCE OFSTUDYING PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Freud’s view that nobody is cent percent normal thoughheld by some as an exaggeration, it should be acceptedbeyond doubt that abnormality is perhaps the major prob-lem of a modem civilized society. It is, however, unfortunatethat this problem has been very much neglected in India.Psychologists should consider it to be their first and fore-most duty to help the mentally ill person to lead as far aspracticable a normal life in the society. Those who help insolving serious personality problems and deal with peoplehaving problems of adjustment definitely contribute to thewelfare of the humanity. Perhaps this would be the greatestand finest contribution of a psychologist to the mankind.Therefore, Coleman (1981) views that the study of abnor-mal behaviour may be of great value in bettering individualadjustment and in reducing the great amount of misery aris-ing out of mental illness and maladjustment in modern so-ciety.In primitive times, abnormality was considered as a kind ofmystical or spiritual occurrence. They thought that somepeople are enchanted by some evil spirits and thus thepatients were treated in a very crude and unscientific pro-cess. Today it is neither considered terrible nor uncom-mon. Many persons suffering from mental diseases areamenable to treatment.A scientific study of abnormal behaviour is essentialfor the following facts:-1.To know the nature and the cause of abnormality it leadsus to understand the mechanism of abnormal mind, diag-nose the disease and predict the progress of the disease.Hence abnormality no longer stands as a mystery or acurse.2.A correct understanding of abnormality can check, pre-vent and cure the disease.Modern psychopathology is also of great importance forcommon man as already discussed. In America every yearabout 1,50,000 or more new patients are admitted to men-tal hospitals. These figures do not include the patients go-ing to private clinics for counselling and treatment. More-over, the innumerable mild cases which are never referredto a psychiatrist remain unrepresented. In America as sta-tistics shows, about 10 percent of population suffer fromsevere types of mental diseases or insanity as it is popu-larly called. It has also been estimated that about 15 per-cent of the undergraduate students of American Collegesneed the services of the psychological counsellor. Prob-ably, at sometime or other it is expected that most of thestudents may need some sort of psychological counsellingand advice because of the competitive situation of the col-lege campus and academic life. In India though the per-centage may not be that high in comparison to their west-ern counterparts usually 4 to 5 percent seek regular guid-ance and counselling from an expert in the area. This isalso the author’s personal experience who has been in theteaching profession for 27 years.In view of the above facts, abnormal psychology has beenof tremendous importance for modern people. The implica-tions and significance of abnormal psychology lies in study-ing the maladjusted and abnormal personality. It is also ofvalue to the so called normal people of the society. Thissupports Freud’s view that nobody is cent percent normaland every body needs some sort of guidance, counselling


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and advice to overcome anxiety, depression, worries andother major/minor mental illness arising out of the stresses,strains and competitiveness of modern society.Modern psychopathology is also of great need and impor-tance to medicine. In fact, it is predicted that 50 percent ofthe medicines in future will be psychological medicines. Itis of tremendous importance to common man as over 10percent of the total population is expected to suffer fromsevere mental illness and tentatively every one of the popu-lation is likely to suffer from at least mild mental illness ordepression during his life time.

NORMAL AND ABNORMALNORMAL

The common pattern of behaviour found among the generalmajority is said to be the behaviour of the normal. Normalpeople exhibit satisfactory work capacity and earn adequateincome. They conform and adjust to their social surround-ing. They are capable of establishing, satisfying and ac-ceptable relationship with other people and their emotionalreactions are basically appropriate to different situations.Such people manage to control their emotions. Their emo-tional experiences do not affect their personality adjust-ment though they experience occasional frustrations andconflict. These people who adjust well with themselves, theirsurroundings and their associates constitute the normalgroup. The normal group covers the great majority of people.According to Colcman (1981) normal behaviour will repre-sent the optimal development and functioning of the indi-vidual consistent with the long term well being and progressof the group.Thus, people having average amount of intelligence, per-sonality stability, social adaptability are considered as nor-mal.

ABNORMALThe concept of abnormality is defined as the simple exag-geration or perverted development of the normal psycho-logical behaviour. In other words, it deals with the usualbehaviour of man. The unusual or maladapted behaviour ofmany persons which do not fit into our common forms ofbehaviour is known as abnormal behaviour. Abnormalityrefers to maladjustment to one’s society and culture whichsurrounds him. It is the deviation from the normal in anunfavourable and pathological way.According to Brown (1940) abnormal psychological phe-nomena are simple exaggerations (over development orunder development) or disguised (i.e., perverted develop-ments) of the normal psychological phenomena. It is ex-pected, for instance, that a normal human being would re-act to a snake by immediately withdrawing from it. But ifthe person on the contrary, plays with the snake very hap-pily, it is a sign of uncommon behaviour which may be con-sidered as abnormal provided that past experience or train-ing does not play a part here. A person who has been byprofession trained from the very childhood to deal withsnakes will not be afraid of a snake and if he does notwithdraw from a snake, will not be considered abnormal.Coleman (1981) holds that deviant behaviours are consid-ered as maladaptive because they are not only harmful tothe society, but to the individual. Maladaptive behaviour im-pairs individual and group well being and it brings distressto the individual. It also leads to individual and group con-flicts.Page (1976) views that the abnormal group consists of indi-

viduals marked by limited intelligence, emotional instabil-ity, personality disorganization and character defects whoin most part led wretched personal lives and were socialmisfits and liabilities.Thus, abnormality and normality can only be defined in termsof conformity to the will and welfare of the group and in thecapacity for self management.A close analysis of various types of abnormal behaviourindicates that , abnormal behaviour circumscribes a widerange of maladoptive reactions like psychoneuroses, psy-choses, delinquents, sexually deviants, and drug addictsetc. Thus, same kind of biological, social and psychologi-cal maladjustment affects the functioning of the individualin a society. The abnormal deviants who constitute about10 percent of the general population are classified into fourmain categories; such as psychoneurotic, psychotic, men-tally defective and antisocial.

CONCEPTS OF ABNORMALITYWhile distinguishing between normality and abnormalitymany concepts of abnormality have developed some of whichare unacceptable.

QUALITATIVE CONCEPTAccording to the qualitative concept, normality and abnor-mality differ in quality and not in quantity. These two con-cepts are separated from each other by water tight com-partments by this older conception.Not long ago, the insanes, criminals and mentally deficientswere considered to form a special group below the normalgroup, just as the gifteds were considered to constitute aspecial group above the normal group. It was also acceptedthat the insane, delinquent and genius were governed bydistinctly different laws. Thus, according to the qualitativeconcept, the insane and genius have no similarity with thenormal people in any respect.This popular conception of the distribution of human per-sonality is represented below diagramatically which aptlysuggests a qualitative difference between the insane, nor-mal and genius.To indicate the difference between the abnormal, the nor-mal and the superior each group has been described as aseparate entity.

The older people say that the insane and the genius haveno similarity with the normal people in any respect. Butthis concept of abnormality is unacceptable as it has al-ready been established that the normals and abnormals donot differ in kind but in quantity. In fact, no sharp dividingline can be drawn between the two behaviours as it doesnot exist in reality. The only difference between the twogroups lies in the capacity to adjust. .....


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PAPER-III (B)(ELECTIVE/OPTIONAL) ELECTIVE—I

•CURRENT TRENDS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

•SOCIAL COGNITION

•SOCIAL INFLUENCE

•PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

•ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

•APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY :

HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND LAW

CURRENT TRENDS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGYThe contemporary age has often been described as an ageof anxiety. Present-day society, has on the one hand,reached heights of economic growth, technological advanceand success. But along with this, we have also witnessedincreasing tensions, conflicts, unhappiness and a lot ofunproductive or even counterproductive behaviour on the otherhand. Writers like Karen Homey, Eric Fromm as well asauthors like Reisman and Galbraith have pointed out thatmodern society, while it has been building up its advan-tages has also allowed itself to be caught as a prisoner dueto its own actions, resulting in contradictory phenomenasuch as success accompanied with discontent, free choicewith compulsion, togetherness with loneliness and intimacywith isolation. Even though communication facilities haveincreased people seem to understand each other less andless. Prosperity has increased and so has poverty. Predict-ability has certainly increased with the parallel growth ofuncertainty. All these contradictions have led to the emer-gence of psychological problems such as perpetual anxi-ety, doubt, insecurity, etc. In his eloquent analysis of theposition of man in contemporary society Erich Fromm bringsout clearly what he calls the helplessness of modern man.In his classic work on “The Lonely Crowd” David Reisman,in a characteristic manner, brings out the increasing feelingof loneliness and isolation in contemporary man inspite ofphysical proximity to others. From a psychological point ofview it has been shown that modern man has more needs,more frustrations, more conflicts, more demands, morecontradictions and more of practically everything, except-ing common sense. While change and progress have beenachieved, instability and uncertainty have been the by-prod-ucts. Contemporary man often finds himself ‘busy doingnothing’. He has plenty of time to worry, but no time to dosomething about it. All this means that anxiety, stress andconflict have become the concomitants of contemporarylife.This has resulted in a condition now popularly known asalienation. Modern man does many things without knowingwhy; much of his behaviour is meaningless even to himself.While he feels his actions to be meaningless, he finds itdifficult to be at peace with himself or enjoy his leisure.Thus, meaningless action and a sense of restlessness, bothcontribute to a feeling of lack of authenticity. Modern manvery often is not convinced about what he is doing or notdoing. His own actions and inactions seem strange not onlyto others but to himself. To quote Stanley Hall, perhaps outof context, “He has entered a new world and knows neitherit nor himself.” He has freedom but only to conform. Unfor-tunately, all this is very different from what man expected toachieve through scientific progress, economic growth andtechnological advancement.Thus, the experiences appear to be more shocking thanconsoling. While poverty and underdevelopment have theirown natural and logical psychological problems, prosperityand affluence seem to bring in their own illogical conse-quences. Such a situation has thrown up a number of chal-lenges to psychologists, contemporary psychology is facedwith the problem of to identifying and developing ways andmeans of correlating material progress with psychologicalgain. The individual in contemporary society is always be-ing driven by a sense of pressure, stress and conflict. It istoday realized that developments in science and technol-


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ogy have to keep abreast of psychological growth and de-velopment. In this context, one can see the emergence ofcrucial roles for the psychologist to devise both individualand social strategies for minimizing anxiety, restlessness,listlessness and stress.Such strategies belong to different levels of social organi-zation, beginning from the family at one end to the entiresociety at the other end with other agencies like the school,work organization and community in between. The termpsychosocial engineering has come to have definite mean-ing. It implies an active role for behavioural scientists, par-ticularly psychologists in designing/ideal models of institu-tions and organizations and also evolving principles whichwould help to relate to these organizations and institutionsso that all of them contribute to the maximization of thepsychological resources of human beings and also ensurethat they are used for the best possible purposes.Psychological planning has become a necessary correla-tion of economic growth and planning. Unfortunately, psy-chologists so far have been working with smaller groupsand limited organizations (microsystems) and have not mademuch of a contribution to the planning of larger groups ormacrosystems. The credit goes to B.F. Skinner who wasthe first psychologist to bring out the possibilities of psy-chological theory or behaviour theory contributing to cul-tural planning and shaping. The preoccupation of psycholo-gists with problems such as social neuroses, social stress,etc. are indicative of the roles that will be emerging verydecisively in the future for psychologists.Such a role for the psychologist which involves psycho-social engineering certainly envisages necessity and thepossibility of evolving a functional and meaningful systemof psycho-technology and behavioural technology. It hasbeen shown clearly that just as technology can plan for amachine system, behaviour technology can plan for apsycho-social system. The problem with psychologistsseems to be that they only react and do not or cannotproact.DESTRUCTIVENESSViolence and aggression have been emerging as majorsymptoms of modern man’s deep-seated malady. Destruc-tiveness is not always bad in itself. Anything or anybodywho is a potential danger to human welfare has to be ruth-lessly destroyed. Thus there are occasions when destruc-tiveness and violence are not only to be preferred but areprobably the only alternatives. Destructiveness occasion-ally blends with ‘sado-masochistic’ tendencies but is differ-ent in that it aims at the total elimination of the object.Unlike sado-masochistic strivings where this is not the case,but it is also rooted in the human weakness or helpless-ness or powerlessness and isolation. In the words of Fromm“I can escape the feeling of my own powerlessness in com-parison with the world outside of myself by destroying it. Tobe sure, if I succeed in removing it, I remain alone andisolated, but mine is a splendid isolation in which I cannotbe controlled by the overwhelming powers of the objectsoutside of myself”. A distinction between sadism and de-structiveness is that while both have aggressive, perhaps,even violent overtones, the former aims at incorporating orswallowing or subjugating the outside object while the lat-ter aims at its total extermination; the former aims at con-trol and dominance over others, while the latter goes farbeyond and would like to end the helplessness once and

for ever.The student may wonder why so much is said about de-structiveness. On the one hand, it is certainly found in cer-tain quarters but not so alarmingly common as people wouldlike them to believe. It is here that destructiveness can bevery subtle, deceptive and disguised and sneak through inmany forms without being noticed. It can be enticingly fatalor fatally enticing. It is not often conscious, but unconscious.It certainly goes to the credit of Freud not only for highlight-ing the destructive potentiality of the human being, but alsoits deceptive ways and mechanisms of operation. Whileone may not agree with Freud on the instinctive origins ofaggressive and destructive tendencies, nevertheless, todaywe know that some socially generated, conditioned andacquired response patterns can be much more compul-sive, repetitive and endangering apart from being uncon-scious. They can be polymorphous. As Fromm observes,‘destructiveness today is so pervasive and versatile that itcan put on many rationalised appearances including love,concern, conscience, altruism and what not!’ This makes itvery difficult to keep track of destructiveness.Destructive behaviour can be of two types; Like violence itmay be a rational reaction or response to a real threat toone’s life, honour, reputation or self-esteem. It is perfectlyrational to feel like destroying something or someone whohas badly hurt you. We may consider this as rational orrational destructiveness. Very often these are consciousand visible signs and normally this does not operate on thesly.But the other type which accumulates and comes into op-eration without any provocation is a result of the helpless,neurotic condition of modern man, the consequence andresult of his own actions and, which waits for an opportu-nity to leak or sneak through is more dangerous. It is subtle,generalised, irrational and becomes a need or an end initself. Of course, we do find this type of destructiveness insome individual neurotics as evidenced by acts of undoingand compulsive acts and even violence. But the type ofdestructiveness under discussion is collective, isrationalised and people share this rationalisation as seenin the instances of terrorism, extremist violence, mindlesskillings, etc. The student needs no elaborate illustration ofsuch phenomena in the context of our country, where trainsare burnt or derailed, buses are set ablaze and innocentpeople are killed, and things are destroyed. Unfortunately,we have learnt to live with these very comfortably. Muchworse is the fact that there are some individuals who openlyand many implicitly are not only sympathetic to these, butperhaps even derive a vicarious satisfaction. They appearto share the tendencies and intentions of the terrorists butnot the courage of the latter. An extreme result of suchirrational but rationalised destructiveness can be “self-de-struction” “self-torture” etc. Not only do we tolerate destruc-tion but the perpetrators of destruction become heroes andleaders elected by the people of the country. One shouldnot be surprised if Veerappan becomes a hero....

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