the twenty-first century challenges of psychology and education

The Twenty-first Century Challenges

of Psychology and Education

2 Renu Gangal

Psychology and Education 3

The Twenty-first Century Challenges of Psychology and Education

Dr Renu Gangal

Principal, Atman College of Education University of Jammu Jammu, J&K, India

Gandhian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies University of Jammu, Jammu-180006,

J&K, India.

4 Renu Gangal

Copy Right © 2009 Author


About the Author

Principal, Atman College, Jammu University. She is

a psychological consultant, a teacher and reputed writer in

Psychology and Education. Professor of psychology. Dr

Renu is professionally trained teacher. She is a research

supervisor and widely recognized expert in her twin areas of

psychology and education with Ph.D. in Psychology, M.Ed.,

post-doctoral research work in Deviance.

About the Book

Mainly special education, drugs abuse, mentally

challenged, deviant and other such persons and areas are

discussed here. This is written primarily for students

appearing in their B.Ed., M.Ed., and Masters Degree in

Psychology. This book will also be of significant use to

Doctoral and Post-doctoral researchers and other academics.

It deals with current major psychological and educational

issues discussed throughout the world today.

6 Renu Gangal


PAGE OF DEDICATION

I Dedicate This Book at the Lotus-feet of

Hakeem Ji

Shukla Bhabhi

and

Our Dearest

Mukteshi Sharma

8 Renu Gangal


Preface

It is a challenge to our civilised and educated world

when “civilisations clash”, holocaust “overkill”, nations go

to devastating warfare and terrorists ruthlessly massacre.

What follows suit is worldwide decimation of precious

human lives and resulting nightmares bringing forward

diversified disabilities, distresses and disorders primarily

causal in nature vis-à-vis directionless industrialisation and

blindfolded technologicalisation.

This situation is an educational and psychological

predicament. The more ‘scientific’ we are becoming, the

more atrocious and cold blooded we are turning into! That is

why specialised studies in the areas of modern human

psychological and educational problems are needed ever

more than before.

Above mentioned perspectives are the major

concerns of this book. The purpose is to present readable,

scientific and authentic information and analysis about

psychological, philosophical, educational and other related

areas of prevalent problems of school going children as well

as adolescents.

10 Renu Gangal

Apparently, to quote from Robert Frost’s famous

lines, “roads are lovely, dark and deep but there are miles to

go before we sleep”.

Balance is required, as Sigmund Freud also asserts, in

Thantos and Eros or aggression and love – basic instincts in

human beings and nations alike. Disturbed equilibrium with

more weight on either side of the basic instincts will cause

massive upheaval. Neither too much of love nor aggression

is needed. Otherwise, twenty-first century is going to be a

very difficult proposition for the global citizens in the years

to come.

Psychological training of human mind – in league

with psychiatry – is needed today. We need to do it before it

is too late. Modern India is far behind in this matter than

several other developed countries.

Indeed, writing a book is never an effort of a one

single person.

First, I am indebted to my son Purvansh who is just

on the verge of completing his sixth Semester of B.A.,

Psychology (Honours) from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He,

alongwith his Father, my husband, Professor Anurag Gangal,

has helped me in particular through all the support to me.

Secondly, in reality, everyone in my larger and extended

family has extended unconditional help to me in various


ways. Such a family is a great blessing providing a constant

source of strength throughout. I feel deeply beholden to my

family for everything they – members of my family – have

done for me.

My publisher, office staff, library persons and

Chairman of Atman College, Shri Sanjay Mahajan and Vice

Chairperson of the Atman College of Education, Mrs Ranjoo

Mahajan and people and friends at the University of Jammu

have also extended full cooperation to me including my

colleagues. I express my heart felt thanks for all that they

have showered upon me from time to time.

Despite all help from various quarters coming to me

in writing this book, I, alone, am responsible for my work

and any mistakes or anomalies that may appear in the book

in spite of all care that has gone into the final publishing of

the manuscript.

Renu Gangal Ph.D.

Author

12 Renu Gangal


Content Chapters Pages About the Author 5 About the Book 5 Page of Dedication 7 Preface 9 Content 13 1. Introduction: Philosophy of Education 17 2. Developmental Psychology: Major Issues 27 3. Major Educational Issues…Further Education 35 4. Arts Education in …Arts-integrated Schools 47 5. Adjustment and …Disabled Student 57 6. Deviance and …Drug…United Kingdom 67 7. Principles of Mental Hygiene...Adjustment 83 8. Mental Health and…Integrated Personality 97 9. Grandmother’s Psychology: Environment…Health 109 10. Why Self-mutilation as Self-healing! 119 11. Workaholic’s Psychology: Work and Work… 129 12. Conclusion: Twenty-first Century ‘Consciousness’ 139 Select Bibliography 151

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16 Renu Gangal


Chapter One

Introduction: Philosophy of Education

18 Renu Gangal


Chapter One

Introduction: Philosophy of Education

Philosophy brings forth rightful action. Philosophy of

education sets a trend for the teacher and students together. It

provides the real cohesive force and necessary academic

bonding among the students and the teacher. It leads to

evolving of a conducive environ from within and without.

‘Catch them white and dye them hard’ has been the aim of

education in earlier years since time immemorial. This trend

is changing today. Education has become highly pupil

centred in the present day democratic age. Education and

teaching is not just lecturing by the teacher. Creativity has to

be there. Education is no more where ‘rule rules the roost’.

Caning of students is no more advisable. A teacher has to

teach along while remaining as a friend to students.

My Philosophy and Why it is so:

Philosophy is wisdom, knowledge, virtue and truth. It

is paradigmatic from within. It is always there. Philosophy

has an element of timelessness in it. It is dynamic though it

does not change. There is a generally accepted notion that

‘change is the law of nature’. True it is. Yet, this law by

itself does not change. That’s how philosophy does not

20 Renu Gangal

change. Despite this, it is not static but vibrant. Philosophy,

as such, represents a way of life.

Philosophy may differ from person to person because

every individual interprets and understands philosophy of

life in one’s own way. Indeed, the reality of philosophy is

difficult to grasp fully. As many ways of realizing the

ultimate truth are, therefore, amongst us as there are

individuals in this world. The ultimate goal is, however, one

only. This is the goal of knowing one’s own self. This goal is

pursued knowingly and, at times, unknowingly. The later is

the case when we do not know where and in which direction

we are going while living on this spaceship Earth. This

directionlessness is dangerous.

Why I would like to be an Educator:

I have chosen my way of life as education. This is a

life long process of learning, service to community and

continuous achievements for an individual, especially a

teacher. I am sure I will never be bored in this profession. It

unfolds ever new challenges and opportunities to put my

creativity to test almost every minute of my existence.

Above all, it will always keep me in the company of younger

and naturally energized children, adolescents and youth. I

will always feel young and full of energy amongst them.


A teacher has a distinctive role in education. I am

sure, a teacher, possesses such treasures that can never be

taken away from one’s person – the treasures of knowledge

and virtues. These treasures are such that they always keep

on growing. A teacher is the one who is primarily a

‘Giver’—giving to pupils and seldom even expecting

anything in return. What a teacher like me wants from pupils

is merely an iota of respect and sincerity to their work and

lessons.

How my Philosophy will Influence me:

Philosophy is the essence of life. Life is a learning

process. My unquenchable thrust for seeking knowledge

makes me grope for light even in darkness. This attitude

makes me polite, humble and modest. Therefore, I believe

that the best teaching is through setting examples and not via

hammering of syllabi in pupils’ mind. Remaining a learner

throughout is the most important part of a teacher’s life.

Otherwise, the teacher soon becomes obsolete in the fast

moving world of technology today. Constant refurbishing of

one’s knowledge is necessary.

My philosophy of education will also help me in the

proper use of the following essential aspects and tools in

teaching:

22 Renu Gangal

1. Class Room Structure – This involves not only the

physical, archaeological and demographic size of a class, but

also different contexts of aesthetics, look of the class room

and overall environment created in the class. For

streamlining all these perspectives, an in depth involvement

with one’s own profession of teaching is necessary. This is

possible when a teacher like has near complete commitment

to the job of teaching. My philosophy of education clearly

shows the level of my commitment.

2. Basic Tools of Teaching – Class room structure

and environment can be developed with the help of:

a) rightful and balanced use of skilled and planned

seating arrangement,

b) dynamic and regular use of bulletin boards,

c) providing supplemental materials that may invoke

voluntary interest in teaching subjects,

d) special projects creating some enthusiasm for

studies,

e) day-to-day operations of keeping the class and

school surroundings clean and colourful and lively,

f) motivating students for hard work in such a that

they never loose interest in studies,


g) creating an inherent urge for discipline by

impressing upon the student community the magical prowess

of a disciplined life style,

h) adopting not just one particular method of

teaching but going for diversified stimulus variation

techniques and skills of teaching that may vary from time to

time and student to student according to the requirement and

potential of every student in a class (Moore 2005),

i) special responsibilities will be voluntarily

bestowed upon students in the class to create and enhance

their inherent leadership qualities.

Conclusion:

However, as regards seating arrangement in the class,

I prefer the semi-circular style for it cerates better eye

contact between pupils and teachers. Understanding with

students is an absolute must. Proper contact and

understanding with students can bring about a successful

teacher.

Otherwise, howsoever qualified a teacher maybe, it is

nearly impossible to be a successful educator. That is why I

always like direct contact with my students. It does not mean

giving them unbridled pursuit of freedom. I will never

compromise on the question of discipline, quality and

excellence. Despite this I am not in favour of military style

24 Renu Gangal

regimentation in the area of education. The best way is to go

for transformation of the individual through a moderate but a

steady way to one’s education.

Education is a field of voluntary action. Planning,

discipline and various skills of leadership are to be imbibed

in the pupil very carefully. Regimented imposition must be

avoided as far as possible. Undue strictness leads to uncalled

for brewing of unnecessary feelings of revolt against the

teacher and the school.

Indeed, this is quite true that ‘All work and no play

make Jack a dull boy, and all play and no work also make

Jack a dull boy’.


References

Moore, S (2005). Interpreting Audiences: From Theory to

Practice. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications, 396.

26 Renu Gangal


Chapter Two

Developmental Psychology: Major Issues

28 Renu Gangal


Chapter Two

Developmental Psychology: Major Issues

Attempt is being made here to summarize an article

of Wagner’s on “Issues in Developmental Psychology”

(2006). As such, there are four major issues in

developmental psychology today. These are, namely, 1.

Nature-nurture, 2. Early-later experiences, 3. Continuity-

discontinuity and 4. Abnormal behaviour-individual

differences phenomena.

Nature-Nurture

How a personality develops? Are there some inborn

features in every person? Is it mainly nurturing and

education of a person which is more important? There is a

Platonic thesis emphasizing the natural, inherent and

instinctive qualities of man leading to justice and order in

society. Every person is doing one’s own duty in one’s own

station for which one is best suited to do by Nature.

There are others like John Locke who considers that a

person is like a tabula rasa or a blank slate when someone is

born. What is expounded here suggests that a man’s

personality can be moulded into any desired and aspired for

direction and shape through modern means of education.

Empty mind, however, is the devil’s workshop!

30 Renu Gangal

Early-Later Experiences

Similarly, early influences on human mind have a

more lasting and prolonged effect in one’s life. Most of the

psychologists, including Sigmund Freud, believe that

experiences of an early age cause deep imprints upon the

concerned human mind. Experiences are more efficacious

way of shaping up of a man’s than merely the classroom

lessons.

Continuity-Discontinuity

How and at what pace change from birth to life is

taking place? These changes are merely quantitative or they

are qualitative as well? Children at certain stage of

development show more of specific skills than others. Why

is it like this? To grasp these aspects of human growth and

development, it is necessary to go into the Freudian psycho-

sexual, Erik Erickson’s psycho-social, Pavlov’s classical

conditioning, D. F. Skinner’s operant conditioning and

Piaget’s cognitive stages of development theories related to

psychologists through different experiments and experiences.

Abnormal Behavior – Individual Differences

According to developmental guideline chart, if any

child falls even slightly behind the normal standard, parents

become anxious. For modern psychologists, falling behind a

normal yardstick of growth may at times be due to individual


differences of personality and not due to any abnormalcy on

the part of the concerned person.

All above mentioned issues are mutually interrelated.

They are to be understood in a balanced way. Freud’s

psycho-analytic approach to human growth depending on

psycho-sexual stages, Erickson’s lifespan theory of

development in stages, Pavlov’s environment and mutual

interaction aspect, Skinner’s operant conditioning impact and

Piaget’s focus on development of mental processes, skills

and abilities are all to be known before delving deep into the

developmental psychology.

Analyses and Opinion

This article on “Issues in Developmental

Psychology” pin points major concerns in this field. As such,

the concise nature of this article maybe appreciated. Mainly

four issues raised are related to apparent questions about

importance of a child as a person. What is more significant –

inherent nature, acquired education, social environment or

learned skills -- in bringing about a change in one’s

personality? Answers to such questions are indicated to be

found in different approaches to child growth and

development.

This is, indeed, a thought provoking article for those

who are seriously inclined to find relevant answers to

32 Renu Gangal

problems faced by them in their routine life of dedicated

teachers and parents. The main weakness of this article lies

in its attempt to keep away from finding answers to

highlighted issues. It seems Wagner does not want to impose

her own answers upon readers and practitioners of education

and knowledge. She is just putting before us a few available

options.

An apparent difference is pointed out in this article

between Plato and John Locke anent their views on “nature-

nurture” perspective. This difference is, in effect, not there

when John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government and

Plato’s Republic: Concerning Justice is read more seriously.

Plato discusses the question of “nature” mainly concerning

justice in the city-state. When Plato comes to discussion and

dialogue on education, he also suggests “catch them white

and dye them hard” quite like Locke’s thesis of tabula Rasa.

Otherwise, Wagner’s article is an objective piece of

scientific explanation and learning in developmental

psychology.


References

Wagner, Kendra Van (2006). “Issues in Developmental Psychology”.

http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/devissues.htm

34 Renu Gangal


Chapter Three

Major Educational Issues in Further Education

36 Renu Gangal


Chapter Three

Major Educational Issues in Further Education

United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural

Organisation (UNESCO) have distributed quite a few

questionnaires to Governments of its member countries anent

emerging educational issues from time to time. This

exercise, especially during 1985 to 1995, has brought

forward responses from nearly 50 countries. Indeed, it has

highlighted global issues of further education from nation to

nation (Dyankov 1 and 4, 1-53).

Out of about 15 major global issues, the further

education concerns occupied nearly 40 per cent projection

and significance. As such, major contemporary issues of

further education relate to technical, vocational, continuing,

guidance, teaching, learning, methods, material, processes,

staff, general education, training, counselling, access of girls

and women, rural development, further education and

industries, preparation of teachers, institutional interaction

and cooperation, and constant updating of teaching-learning

skills. All these issues are current concern to further

education.

Further Education has, therefore, become not only a

national but also an international movement in view of its

38 Renu Gangal

widespread global application. From among all above

mentioned issues of further education, more important one

appears to be specially the context of retention and

achievement – its ever dynamic enhancement and persistent

maintenance of higher standards. This is not possible without

pupil-teachers -- at City & Guilds Certificate on Further

Education Teaching Stage 2 in United Kingdom – perfecting

their teaching-learning skills. Two questions arise while

writing about this matter:

� What level of retention and achievement

has to be maintained throughout for excellence?

� How teaching and learning can become an

ever perfectible process towards excellence?

According to Learning and Skills Council (LSC),

overall level of retention and achievement generally varies

between 66 to 87 per cent among youth of 16 to 19 years

(Government of United Kingdom, LSC) after due training.

What is more important here is maintaining a

consistent performance on the higher side of teaching and

learning through dynamic and skilful efforts towards an

excellent retention and achievement levels. How it is to be

done?


S. Wallace has an interesting and revealing

perspective in this matter. This author writes quite

analytically:

For a student teacher, or a teacher at the

beginning of his or her career, it is usually (and

understandably) the case that the focus of his or her

anxieties, and therefore his or her planning, is upon

the performance of teaching rather than upon the

achievement of learning.

I use the word ‘performance’ here

advisedly, because the inexperienced or student

teacher tends to envisage a lesson as a time to be

filled by his or her own activity.

They have to be ‘teaching’ all the time –

which can mistakenly be taken to mean doing all

the talking, making themselves the constant focus of

the class, having to fill any potential silence with

words.

This, ironically, may mean the students have

less opportunity to learn and that the teacher has no

time to focus on whether they are doing so.

If we remember, however, that the primary

objective is about students’ learning and that this,

after all, is what all the teaching is for, we can begin

40 Renu Gangal

to adjust our focus and to recognise that the careful

planning, implementation and recording of

assessment are central to what the lesson is about.

It’s not just about teaching; it’s about learning. The

teaching is only a means to that end (Wallace 64,

Emphasis added through converting this quotation

into paragraphs).

Retention and achievement are clearly related to

teaching and learning skills and maintaining quantitative

alongwith qualitative levels of excellence through further

education, continued and periodic updating of skills, and use

of every possible tool for obtaining information, knowledge,

experience and continuous self-assessment.

How to impart information and knowledge is indeed

extremely important. However, if teaching is also designed

as a process of learning then it proves to be of much greater

success and also an enjoyable educational journey in mutual

sharing and achievements.

There are several approaches to teaching and learning

such as “situated learning”, “constitutional model of

learning”, “strategic approach” etcetera (Bailey 1-7). It is

certainly necessary for trained teachers to obtain information

about the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching and

learning and different prevalent approaches. That is what is


known as an integral part of updating of information as a

trained teacher.

The “knowledge” aspect must also be given

continuous attention in training of teachers. Retention and

achievement level gains in terms of quality through skilled

analysis, in depth understanding, urge for finding the truth

for the sake of knowing and a devoted attitude for quest for

ever new frontiers of furthering education.

Information and knowledge both together help in

uplifting the level of retention and achievement without

which a student of Further Education cannot move, as it

were, even a twig leaf forward towards sharpening one’s

teaching and learning skills. Only seeking and stockpiling

information does not serve the purpose. This information has

to be utilised in real life situations of teaching-learning

process with the help of tools of knowledge. These tools of

knowledge are inference, logic, analytical grasp, theoretical

understanding and an urge for a quest into the realms of

deeper and fundamental realities. For instance, such reality

that lies beneath the “shadows of the cave”.

Prosser and Trigwell (17) have put forward a

comparison of these aspects of surface and deeper levels of

teaching-learning processes. Marton and Saljo (4-11, 46)

42 Renu Gangal

have also considered this matter: They put their contention in

a tabular format:

Table -- 1

Deep Approach Surface Approach

Intention to understand

Intention to reproduce

Vigorous interaction with content

Memorise information needed for assessments

Relate new ideas to previous knowledge

Failure to distinguish principles from examples

Relate concepts to everyday practice

Treat task as an external imposition

Relate evidence to conclusions

Focus on discrete elements without integration

Examine the logic of the argument

Unreflective about purpose or strategies

First six aspects of above mentioned “Deep

Approach” and first three of the “Surface Approach” are

essential for consistently higher retention and achievement

levels of a teacher being trained for “City & Guilds

Certificate on Further Education Teaching Stage 2”.

Combining the best not only of these two but also going for

the best available information, knowledge and training is

necessary.


Alongside these attitudes and approaches, self-

assessment skill of one’s performance, level of information

and depth of knowledge is also needed to be developed.

Keeping due track of the formal assessment and feedback

results certainly helps. A trained teacher, however, must

learn to go beyond this formal assessment for continuous

evolution towards excellence.

One must, in this context, learn not to be in love with

what one does, presents, writes and speaks. This is necessary

for professional competence. Objectivity and impartiality

despite all human weaknesses will have to be evolved over a

period of time as a result of training of an accomplished

teacher. Otherwise, continuous process of retention and

achievement cannot sustain the vicissitudes of complacency

in human nature.

A teacher’s training is not complete when it ends in a

course. Teachers need to be committed to lifelong

professional development. Their skills must always need to

remain up-to-date according to learners’ needs and

environment. The first step is to ensure that teachers are

professionally trained and well-equipped at the very start of

their teaching career. This first step must never end

throughout life. There is always ever more and more to learn

44 Renu Gangal

in the teaching-learning process. One life is too short for this

purpose.

Therefore, real and one of the most important issues

in Further Education is the context of retention and

achievement. This has to be looked in a holistic fashion. A

piecemeal approach to this aspect will not do. This issue is

very deeply connected to teaching-learning processes. Both

these are further inter-related to other professional formal as

well as “beyond formal” dimensions of life long process of

teachers training. This inter-linking has to be kept in mind

while looking into any aspect of continued and further-

education. It is a constant process – endless forever.

A line of educational leadership amongst youth has to

be developed. This has to continue. The movement, in this

process, is from information to knowledge and performance

via updating of teaching-learning skills through training in

Further Education.


References

Bailey, S. (2002). “Teaching students and Supporting Learning

– is it the Same Thing?”, Learning & Teaching in Action, Autumn, Vol.

1, Issue 3.

Dyankov, A. (1996). “Current Issues and Trends in Technical

and Vocational Education”, UNESCO International Project on Technical

and Vocational Education (UNEVOC), Section for Technical and

Vocational Education, Paris, UNESCO.

Marton, F. and Saljo, R. (1976). “On Qualitative Differences in

Learning: I – Outcome and Process”, British Journal of Educational

Psychology.

Prosser, M. and Trigwell, K. (1999). Understanding Learning

and Teaching. Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press.

United Kingdom, Government of, LSC. (2006).

http://www.lsc.gov.uk, http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk, and

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/copyright.asp for more information.

Wallace, S. (2005). Teaching and Supporting Learning in

Further Education, Second Edition, Southernhay, Learning Matters.

46 Renu Gangal


Chapter Four

Arts Education in Modern Arts-integrated Schools

48 Renu Gangal


Chapter Four

Arts Education in Modern Arts-integrated Schools

This is an abstract of a summary of an article “Arts in

Education” written by Nick Rabkin and Robin Redmond in

2006 in the journal Educational Leadership. This article

states that arts is proving to be a very effective instrument of

education and shaping up of human mind in modern arts-

integrated schools.

Recent developments in science have shown this

through standardized tests, observation and generalization

based on objective data. The standardized test scores of low-

income struggling students in 23 arts integrated schools in

Chicago rose as much as two times faster than scores of

youth in traditional schools (Rabkin and Redmond, 2006).

It seems, paring of subjects and syllabi with arts such

as writing with sketching and painting while reading with

looking at arts is working its wonders. Interestingly, pairing

between music and maths is also there.

It involves listening to a melody, following the notes

on a musical staff, counting the number of times each

musical note occurs and then putting the results in a graph.

Students in arts integrated schools are, therefore, generally

50 Renu Gangal

focused, attentive and full of excitement for their studies.

Their classrooms buzz with intensity.

Scientists have found that this is happening because

human mind and body form one single cognitive and fully

integrated system. Human mind and body represent the

abstract thought through metaphors that human beings

associate with experience and emotions. Thoughts, as such,

occur well below the level of conscious control and

awareness. Even logical thinking emerges quietly from this

thought process. This is the power of arts – moving from

conscious experiments to inner depths of human mind.

The scientifically proven power of arts is generally

missing in traditional schools. There is little evidence of

learning intensity when these schools are observed. Their

hallways are replete with posters and notices anent rules of

the school. Dominant education policy is evident in the

corridors and classrooms.

These schools assume that high standards and grades

are possible through strict academic regimentation only.

Students in traditional schools also appear persistently

drooping in their seats with utter boredom towards their

studies. They always feel like running away from the school

premises.


Arts integrated schools are also drawing their

strength from involving wider participation of civil society

and artists, especially, since the launching of such

institutions in United States in 1990. Significant relationship

is developed between teachers, artists in different areas of

arts, low-income students and prescribed syllabi. Community

resources are also properly and meaningfully utilized. Arts

integrated system within the national prescribed syllabi also

helps students raise funds for the school for furthering the

cause of their purposeful education. Even private

philanthropists also find it more interesting to extend their

support to such schools instead of district schools.

These arts integrated schools, however, need much

more attention in the federal education budgetary provisions

for their longer lasting sustenance. This is ever more

necessary because these schools are successfully focusing on

‘learning by doing’ with the help of artists. These artists also

need to be compensated well.

Current federal education budget provides only $35

million out of a total of $70 billion federal education budget

for arts integrated schools in United States. In view of highly

meaningful and widely successful contribution of arts

integrated schools to society and community, present budget

allocation is clearly much less than required. Due

52 Renu Gangal

consideration is needed from the federal government in this

direction.

Personal Opinion and Analysis of “Arts in

Education”

This article is, indeed, an eye opener for me. It has

drawn me highly towards the arts integrated schools,

especially in favour of them. I could never earlier grasp this

reality of our education system in United States. On the one

hand, Rabkin and Redmond bring forth the importance and

meaningful work of the arts integrated schools while, on the

other hand, they also highlight the inherent non-committal

attitude of the federal budgetary policy makers.

This is such a masterly piece on education in general

and arts integrated education in particular that it enlightens

me about so many aspects of education in our country today.

It defines education; It explains the nature of arts integrated

education; It shows what is conventional education; It

scientifically proves its argument; It puts forward scientific

data and study; It points out weaknesses of present day

educational policy and so much more.

I find efforts of the authors of this peace to be highly

commendable. I could not have written in a better way. They

have traversed and covered such vast areas of the field of

education in such a shot write up that they deserve great and


heart felt appreciation. I agree to every word they have put in

this article. Arts integrated education is clearly necessary,

especially, for low-income struggling students. This

educational orientation is a must for all other communities of

students as well. It is so creative and full of life. The future

of education lies in arts integrated system only.

54 Renu Gangal

References

Rabkin, Nick and Redmond Robin. (2006). “The Arts Make a

Difference”. Educational Leadership, 63/5, ACSD.

56 Renu Gangal


Chapter Five

Accommodations and Modifications for the Learning

Disabled Student

58 Renu Gangal


Chapter Five

Accommodations and Modifications for the Learning

Disabled Student

A disabled student is also just as much of a pulsating

and precious human being as any other normal student. What

goes on in a disabled student’s mind? A continuous sense of

permanent deprivation reels in such a student almost all the

while. Disabled students suffer perennially. They ask

“Why?” every second of their life. When they are alone and

when they are in public and interactive situations – they are

comparing in the depths of their nerves. They are tense from

within most of the time. They are like this even when they

are smiling and laughing and apparently relaxing. This

aspect further adds to their disability and difficulties. They

just cannot come out of their mental frame of what others are

able to do and what they are not able to do.

This is a psychological phenomenon. A teacher and

an instructor or facilitator has to enter the disabled mind. The

life and difficulty of a disabled student has to be felt alive

from within and without. A teacher has at least to imagine

this reality of the special pupil especially in class eight. The

disabled student in this eighth standard is entering into an

adolescent age. This stage throws out so many other

psychological challenges of adolescence as well. Until this

60 Renu Gangal

mundane psychology of the disabled is understood, their

expectations and apprehensions cannot be met fruitfully only

through varied adaptations, accommodations and

modifications (. Latham H, Patricia, 2002).

The list of disabilities is an endless inventory of

deprivations. Even in United States, every fifth person is

eligible to be considered as disabled (Treloar, Linda 1999).

Disabilities relate to numerous personality characteristics

and also several types of impairments. These are physical,

emotional, learning abilities and communication difficulties

etc. (DoDEA, n.d.):

• autism spectrum disorder • blind • deaf • deaf/blind • hearing impairment • other health impairment • orthopaedic impairment • traumatic brain injury • visual impairment

• articulation • fluency • language/phonology • voice • intellectual disability • specific learning disability

There are a number of ways for dealing with learning

of the disabled. These are generally used as Adaptation,

Accommodation and Modifications. For example,

adaptations mean changes introduced into the environment,

Table - 2


curricula, instruction and assessment etc. for leading a

student learner to success. Adaptations are employed

according to an individual student’s needs. All

accommodations and modifications are adaptations (Fuchs,

L.S., and Fuchs, D., 1998, Winter).

Accommodations provide a student equal access to

learning and equal opportunity to demonstrate.

Accommodations must not alter the content of the test or

provide inappropriate assistance to the student within the

context of the test. Accommodations do not require special

coding on an answer sheet. Accommodations do not bring

any change in syllabus and instructions.

Modifications represent substantial changes. These

may be made in what a student has to learn and demonstrate.

Changes may be introduced in the instructional level, the

content or the performance criteria. All these changes

provide a student with positive learning experiences,

environments, and assessments based on individual needs

and abilities. Modifications include oral reading, signing,

the reading skills test and use of calculators etc. When

preceding modifications are made, due notation has to be

recorded on the appropriate answer sheet (ANU, 1994).

Despite diverse specifics of adaptations,

accommodations and modifications of learning of the

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disabled, every disabled learner has to be considered as an

individual and a distinctive person. Each one – even if

having similar disability – possesses different and individual

centred characteristics. The major challenge is that each

individual disabled learner is wholesomely different and yet

fulsome. These disabled learners are very sensitive. They

cannot be treated as patients in hospitals. Special education

and individualized creative attention is needed for them.

That is why experts in this field of study seldom

agree to provide any mutually agreed definition of ‘learning

disabilities’. This term, for them, is an “umbrella term”

covering a wide area of disabilities. But each disability is so

distinct in nature and depth that it has to be given highly

individualized concern and very humanistic attention.

Learning disabilities are beyond any ambit of definitions and

generalized categorization. Scientific surveys and

questionnaire are no doubt distributed for scientifically

collecting data in this perspective. They have their own place

and value. Learning disabilities, despite attempts for

developing generalized knowledge bank in this matter,

cannot be fully grasped merely by scientific tools and

methods. A visionary approach and sensitive concern for

human person is required more.


What type of visionary approach can there be? It

means showing effective, meaningful and humanistic

concern for the disabled learners. First, as it is an accepted

practice now, they generally have to be an integral part of a

normal class. Secondly, this integration of theirs is merely

partial until their inner sense of deficiency is tackled in a

very sensitive way. Thirdly, all possible and considered

adaptations, accommodations and modifications are executed

in such a manner that special treatment given to them does

not become a hurdle in their overall development.

If some student, for example, is not generally able to

read the course book in the class properly, then a situation

should be created where the concerned student becomes

hassle free while reading in the class. There are times when a

student may feel, by nature, too tense while sitting in written

examinations. Here, several measures may be adopted after

due thinking and team work on the part of instructors and

teachers. The most important aspect, in every situation of the

learning disabled, is the question relating to creating

necessary psychological environment congenial to aspired

for purpose. Indeed, ‘there are miles to go before I sleep’ and

‘the forest is [dense, dark and deep]’.

64 Renu Gangal

References

Australian National University (1994). “Guidelines for Working

Effectively with Students with Learning Disabilities”,

http://www.anu.edu.au/disabilities/resources_for_staff/guidelines_lea

rning_difficulties.php

Defense Education and Activity, Deptt. of. (n.d.).

http://www.dodea.edu/instruction/curriculum/special_ed/index.htm

Fuchs, L.S., & Fuchs, D. (1998, Winter). “General Educators’

Instructional Adaptation for Students with Learning Disabilities”.

Learning Disability Quarterly, 21(1), 23-33.

Latham, Patricia. H. (2002). “Defining Learning Disabilities –

The Challenge”.

http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/general_info/ld_definitions.html

Treloar, Linda. (1999).

http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/LF/Spr99/forum4.html

Williams, Jane. (2001).

http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/bibliog/bib15.pdf

66 Renu Gangal


Chapter Six

Deviance and Social Control:

Drug Usage in United Kingdom

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Chapter Six

Deviance and Social Control:


Deviance and social control are mutually

interdependent terms. Social control is immediately required

when socially threatening acts of deviance start occurring on

a wider social plain – such acts as drug usage and its

disturbing social impact. United Kingdom is suffering from

this drugs use and abuse for several years now. How this

drug usage is to be controlled more effectively? Is this social

control really necessary in one of the oldest and most

successful democracies of the world? Should social use of

drugs be regarded as dangerous deviant behaviour?

Deviance

One way of deciding diverse social controls in

society is the perspective of existing established social

norms. Any deviation from them is deviance. The nature of

social norms in a given social milieu determines the

acceptable and unacceptable levels of social behaviour. The

intolerable and unacceptable part of social conduct is

branded as “deviance” or “deviant behaviour”. The utterly

improper instances of social behaviour have to be subjected

to social control. The nature of social norms is the primary

70 Renu Gangal

yardstick to unfold generally acceptable standards of social

behaviour. Transgression of these norms enters into the

realm of deviance. Socially unacceptable behaviour requires

the use of social control for social harmony and societal

health and cohesion.

The nature of socially acceptable norms differs from

society to society and place to place – at times – from family

to family also. Reasonable or permissible consumption of

alcohol is necessary almost daily in colder regions of the

world like United Kingdom and others. In quite a few other

warmer regions and their highly traditional societies, on the

other hand, alcohol consumption is a social taboo not only in

routine life but also during religious and other festivals. This

is specially true in traditional Indian Hindu families and

conventional Chinese Buddhist households. However,

modern Hindu and Buddhist homes have now come to terms

with alcohol in their routine life styles.

Need for Social Control

Standards of deviant behaviour differ according to

time, place, societal practices and familial understanding at a

given moment ant social environment. Indeed, certain

questions emerge here. Is deviance, as it were, in the eyes of

the beholder? How to judge who is a deviant? Who are to be

considered as deviants? Who will decide who is a deviant?


Do deviants threaten normal social existence and behaviour?

Is deviance socially bad? Is it necessary to have social

control of deviant behaviour?

Every human person is an original being with

personality specific distinctive traits. As such, for every

individual every other person may appear to be a deviant

person. However, the concept of deviance is mainly a social

concept involving social norms and behaviour. An

individual’s distinctiveness and idiosyncrasies are not in its

purview as long as they do not affect social perspectives,

norms and order. Despite this, it is true to a great extent that

‘deviance lies in the eyes of the beholder’. Beholders here

are society, social norms and law of the land – law as

derivative of established social norms and behaviour.

Deviance is an area where law does not prove to be

meaningfully effective. Deviance is often a socially

dangerous practice adhered to as a matter of habit formation

and not so much as a crime or criminal behaviour. No doubt,

long term effects of threatening deviant behaviour like

addiction to drugs on an increasing scale can be more

hazardous than the murder of an individual. Yet, deviance is

not so easy for law of the land to deal with without social

control of behaviour.

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Deviance Defined

Non-conformity of behaviour to established social

norms is deviance. Deviance is ideational and behavioural

both. This scale of non-conformity can vary from location to

location and even otherwise also. In United Kingdom it may

be different in comparison to Spain and Italy etcetera.

Deviance is the result of numerous interactive and

mutually overlapping variables such as home, environment,

peer groups, adjustment, interpersonal relations, socio-

economic status, religious practices, school, family,

institutional climate etcetera. Even most of the creative

writers, painters, novelists, poets, dramatists and other such

persons are generally deviants in varied aspects of their

behaviour. Their deviance, however, is self-affecting and not

dangerous to society. When any type of deviant behaviour

becomes socially harmful then it is regarded as really deviant

and threatening to community in general. It is at this stage of

deviance that social control of harmful deviant behaviour is

taken recourse to. This has to be observed, diagnosed, treated

for the present and also prevented for future.

One of the most pernicious types of deviance that is

playing the role of termites hollowing young and dynamic

citizens’ life and careers is the increasing use of drugs in the


name of preventing diversified mental stress among youth of

United Kingdom in particular and the world in general.


Drug use and its addiction amongst children and

adolescents is common factor and instance of dangerous

deviance the world over. It is difficult to come across a

society and community where such drug usage is regarded as

an act of normal and socially acceptable behaviour. Indeed,

this is one of the worst aspects of social deviance spreading

amidst children in the age group of six to sixteen.

United Kingdom Threat Assessment (UKTA)

produced by the National Criminal Intelligence Service

(NCIS) describes and assesses threats to the UK from serious

organised crimes including drug usage and addiction and its

related aspects. Newly created Serious Organised Crime

Agency (SOCA), from 01 April 2006, has also joined UKTA

and NCIS in their endeavour to streamline this challenge of

increasing drug use in society. According to yet another

2005 report on drug use in UK:

“[In a] …survey of 10,000 children aged 11 to 15

carried out by the National Centre for Social Research and the

National Foundation for Educational Research, 8 per cent of

11 year olds and 38 per cent of 15 year olds in England had

used drugs in the last year. Although cannabis was the drug

74 Renu Gangal

most widely used by pupils, 4 per cent of the sample reported

having used a Class ‘A’ drug in the last year... In addition to

concern at the overall level of illegal drug use on the part of

young people within the UK there has also been concern at the

young age at which some people are starting to use illegal

drugs. [In another survey] …2,318 children aged 10 to 12 in

Glasgow and Newcastle… a third of the children had been

exposed to illegal drugs, almost one in ten had been offered

illegal drugs and one in 20 had used illegal drugs in the past; 2

per cent had done so within the last month. Whilst such

surveys report important data on the overall level of illegal

drug use on the part of young people, much of the drug use

involved relates to cannabis and it is likely that only a

minority of these children will go on to develop a pattern of

longer-term drug misuse. Over the last few years it has also

been evident that the level of illegal drug use on the part of

young people in the UK is higher than that amongst many

other European centres” (McKeganey et al., 2004).

In such cases of drug use and widespread

involvement of children in this activity, only legal remedies,

laws and rules and strict regulations cannot really serve the

social cause of rehabilitation of affected children. Laws of

the land have their own place and role. They can be more

effective in prevention of drug use instead of rehabilitation

of drug addict children. In this matter, concerned families,

non-governmental organisations, social service and social

welfare institutions can be more useful.


Random Testing and Drug Usage

In February 2004 Prime Minister Tony Blair, in an

interview to News of the World said: “We cannot force them

to do it but if heads believe they have a problem in their

schools then they should be able to use random drug testing.”

The announcement of prime ministerial

support for drug testing pupils on a random basis

caused great surprise amongst experts in the field

and some sections of the media, not least because

there had been little prior indication that the

government was considering this policy. Within the

United States, by contrast, drug-testing programmes

have been developed across the country and there

has been a flourishing political, legal and public

debate over the pros and cons of testing school

children (Caulkins et al., 2002).

Random testing of pupils is a very sensitive matter. It

will create a constant sense of psychological mental burden

upon British children and adolescents of being watched all

the while. Before applying this policy, vast surveys upon its

short term and long term repercussions should have been

conducted. This policy of random testing has a positive

feature within an inherent dimension of creating lingering

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feeling of fear in the minds of upcoming children. Such tests

are to be conducted at random upon drug addicts and normal

children alike in effect.

Only about 4 to 40 per cent of schooling children are

currently under the influence of drug use. Remaining 60 to

84 per cent children will also have to face this ordeal of

random testing. What will be its impact upon them? Only

future can tell.

One positive impact of this random testing will

certainly be two-fold. Most of the drug taking children will

be more akin to be detected about their drug usage practice

much sooner than otherwise. In this sense, the scope of

rehabilitation of more and more children may take place on a

larger scale.

Russell Newcombe points an interesting feature of

drug usage in United Kingdom. For him, only a very small

minority of drug users constitute “problem drug users” (Phil

Rees, 2005). Earlier, before random testing, British

Government was doing other experiments. Random testing is

the most recent one. Phil Rees from British Broadcasting

Corporation (BBC) quotes Newcombe:

“I don’t think there’s any other area of social

policy where we would apply the same policy year

in year out for decades only to show that the


problem got worse every year, and yet still continue

with it saying well if we keep doing it, it might

work one day” (Phil Rees, 2005) .

Indeed, Tony Blair must still be given a clean chit for

his entire purpose appears to be benevolent and socially

uplifting in the interest of larger society and happier and

healthier British citizens. When this aim will be realised? It

is difficult to answer this obvious question.

The annual British Crime Survey of recent years has

shown increasing use of different drugs by British citizens

ranging from 16 to 59 age groups. It is not easy to clearly

bring out the addicts and recreational users through such

anonymous surveys. Varied use of drugs has certainly come

to light. Cocaine, heroine, crack, diazepam, opium, cannabis,

and ecstasy are popular drugs in use in United Kingdom.

Social Control and Drugs

There is a well known oft quoted phrase used by

Bruce G. Charlton from Department of Psychology,

University of Newcastle upon Tyne about diazepam as a

favourite drug among British. They use it as, “Diazepam

with your dinner, Sir”. Drugs are also becoming a sign of life

style, self-medication for tension and even a matter of social

courtesy during dinner parties, picnics, and birthday

celebrations etcetera.

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Therefore, there is a fertile social ethos making space

for drugs in modern British culture. Lifestyle is often the

trend setter. Hence, Tony Blair’s random testing will bring

results of widespread drug addiction among larger populace

of the British isle. Whether there are addicts or not – it will

be difficult to find. Yes, massive use of drugs may come to

new light because general surveys could never really bring

out the vast pastures of drug abuse in Britain fully.

The overall situation is more alarming than what it

appears to be. Instruments of social control such as family,

peer groups, schools, social trusts and other such institutions,

non-governmental organisations, voluntary rehabilitation

centres, governmental and other improvement centres

etcetera are obviously run by modern victims/consumers of

drugs – one way or the other – specially in view of vast and

inherent ‘networking’ of present-day depression, stresses and

tensions of a fast moving lonely lifestyle. Wither do we find

a tree without fruition of drugs on its branches today!

How this social control of drugs will be possible

when everyone appears to be enjoying drugs in some way.

Despite this, optimism must always continue to encourage in

solving modern dilemmas. There are of course six social

control strategies such as target removal, target devaluation,

target insulation, offender incapacitation, offender exclusion


and identification of offences and offenders. These

techniques often work wonders when applied properly.

However, if these techniques are also provided required

moral and inner force, then there cannot be any doubt about

their success.

Conclusion

Technology and techniques are very much there. The

moral force to properly utilise these techniques is missing to

a great extent. Social control from a point of weakness under

the garb of legalities is not as much desirable as from a point

of moral strength and inner determination.

Why certain types of intoxicating drugs are made

easily available in open markets? Is it necessary to equate

this freedom with fundamentals of democracy? Long term

freedom for usage of drugs is actually giving the right to

commit suicide as a coward under the influence of drug

induced sensationlessness. Is it really worth giving a try?

80 Renu Gangal

References

Caulkins, J., Pacula, R., Paddock, S. and Chiesa, J. (2002)

School-Based Drug Prevention: What Kind of Drug Use Does It

Prevent? http:// www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1459/

http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/1859352839.pdf

McKeganey, N., McIntosh, J., MaCdonald, F., Gilvarry, E.,

McArdle, P. and McCarthy, S. (2004) ‘Preteen children and illegal

drugs’, Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp.

315–27.

Rees, Phil. (2005) “The Failure of UK Drug Policy”,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/4138371.stm

Russell Newcombe is a Senior Lecturer with a Ph.D. working at

Drug Use and Addiction Programme of John Moores University in

Liverpool.

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Chapter Seven

Principles of Mental Hygiene and Implications of

Effective Adjustment

84 Renu Gangal


Chapter Seven

Principles of Mental Hygiene and Implications of

Effective Adjustment

Mental health is possible only through mental

hygiene. The process of overcoming mental illnesses is

known as mental hygiene. Mental hygiene provides the

means to attaining the end of mental health.

Concern for mental hygiene developed into a

movement surging ahead for securing mental health in 1908

with the publication of Clifford Beers, A Mind that Found

Itself. Beers, a graduate of Yale University, became mentally

ill under strain and undue stress resulting in a suicide attempt

out of sheer disgust. He was then treated for his mental

illness. After recovering from his illness, Beers wrote above-

mentioned book about his treatment. Then the first Society

of Mental Hygiene was established in 1908. National Society

of Mental Hygiene was then established in 1919. This, at a

later date, became International Committee for Mental

Hygiene. This Committee also publishes Mental Hygiene

journal.

Meaning of Mental Hygiene

Mental hygiene helps widen the gamut of awareness

about the need of having a healthy mind. Mental health is

86 Renu Gangal

rest assured on the realisation of mental hygiene. There are a

number of processes involved in realising mental hygiene.

The very process of mental hygiene defines its

nature. Mental hygiene is, therefore, to be defined as

necessarily a dynamic concept involving broadly two-

dimensional perspectives. One is Physical and the other is

Psychological.

First, mental hygiene requires regular and disciplined

physical regimen and life style with daily exercises, bath,

cleaning of self, necessary rest, work, proper eating and

sleeping habits and clean surroundings. Secondly, mental

hygiene involves psychological management and adjustment

of diversified stresses, tensions, work pressures and mental

illnesses arising in modern life from time to time.

Definitions of Mental Hygiene

� According to D. B. Klein, “Mental

hygiene is a study of ways and means of keeping

mind healthy and developing.”

� For Bernard, “The purpose of mental

hygiene is to assist people in the realisation of

fuller, happier, more harmonious and more effective

existence.”


� Benjamin B. Lahey (1998, pp.433 – 434)

suggests that the field of mental hygiene is now

converging since 1978 into the area of Health

Psychology relating to “coping” and mental

illnesses. For him, “ The field of health psychology

has emerged within psychology over past 20 years

to promote healthy behaviour and reduce the impact

of illness.”

� Mental health and mental hygiene are

both integral aspects of modern and recent field of

health psychology. It means, “The study of the

relation between psychological variables and health

reflects that both mind and body are important

determinants of health and illness” (Robert A.

Baron, 2001 and 2002, p. 490).

All these definitions indicate that mental hygiene is

an essential part of the larger field of health psychology.

Mental hygiene deals with physical and psychological

contours for ensuring mental health.

Concept of Mental Hygiene

Basic concept of mental hygiene fundamentally

involves a positive approach of psychologists to deal with

recurring threats to a normal and healthy life for all human

beings. This concept goes beyond merely physical

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perspectives. Psychological health is equally important in the

present-day world. Streamlining suicidal tendencies, stresses,

strains and work pressures provide the fundamental basis to

this concept of mental hygiene. This concept has in its fold:

i) Positive and determined effort of

psychologists and educationists to cope with mental

disturbances.

ii) Sincere will to remove dangers to

mental disorders and illnesses and

iii) Serious attempt to know the

vicissitudes of present-day world and people living in it.

iv) Modern life styles, perversions of

increasing promiscuousness, materialism, environmental

threats and ever growing automation in every sphere of

human existence further call for carefully planned mentally

hygienic pattern of human behaviour and thinking.

Principles of Mental Hygiene

a. Mental hygiene is an important feature of a

healthy life.

b. Adjusting to daily conflicts is a must for a healthy

living.

c. Suicidal tendencies need to be cured.

d. Sufficient level of “coping” behaviour has to be

developed through mental hygiene clinics.


e. Mental hygiene is necessary for complete health.

f. Mental hygiene is closely linked to surroundings,

attitudes, work and living conditions etcetera.

Mechanism of Adjustment

Mechanism of adjustment for maintenance of mental

hygiene is three-fold in essence.

First, it is Cognitive related primarily to mental

processes and patterns.

Secondly, it is Affective concerning emotional facets

mainly.

Thirdly, it is Conative anent physical aspects largely.

Needless to say that all these categories are interlinked,

interrelated, interdependent and mutually acting, reacting

and interacting while influencing one another in latent,

manifest and subtle fashion.

Cognitive:

1. Repression is pushing out or forgetting

unpalatable and unfavourable contexts from memory and life

to the best possible extent.

2. Rationalisation is to justify an over-

indulgence with an apparently rational and logical

framework or reason.

90 Renu Gangal

3. Regression is responding to a threatening

situation in a way appropriate to an early age or level of

development.

4. Identification is to glorify and satisfy ones

dreams, aims and unsuccessful aspects of life by aligning

with some noted person or institution.

5. Digression is an inbuilt mechanism helping in

ignoring unpleasant sequences and events while

concentrating on more positive options.

Affective:

1. Refusal to accept or acknowledge an anxiety-

producing piece of information is Denial.

2. Aggression is a typical hostile response to a

situation or a sense of frustration.

3. Negativism is constantly being involved in

pejorative, critical and derogatory perspectives of life.

4. Day dreaming concerns the fantasies

constructed by the people during their waking hours due to

the unavailability of certain resources.

5. The process of running away from certain

problematic situations or responsibilities is called

Withdrawal.


Conative:

1. Sublimation is the defence mechanism on

which threatening unconscious impulses are channelled into

socially accepted forms of behaviour.

2. Displacement is the process of redirecting an

emotional response from a dangerous situation to a safer one.

3. Retaliation is considered as a violent physical

response to a situation or comment.

4. Projection is the process of transference of

certain unacceptable motives and impulses on others.

5. Compensation is the process of making up for

our previous mistakes by performing exceptionally well in

certain tasks.

Diagram/Table 3.

Mechanism of Adjustment for Mental Hygiene

Cognitive Affective Conative

Denial Aggression Negativism Day Dreaming Withdrawal

Repression Rationalisation Regression Identification Digression

Sublimation Displacement Retaliation Projection Compensation

92 Renu Gangal

Implications of Adjustment

Aforesaid mechanisms are inherent and natural

instruments in a human person. Individuals naturally act,

react and interact within the broad parameters of this

framework. However, there emerges a very special role of a

Counsellor in view of such inbuilt mechanisms of adjustment

of mental hygiene. That is why Counsellors must be

extended ever more opportunities to come forward in a civil

society for offering proper guidance and counselling and

providing right type of direction to uncontrolled impulses in

human nature.

Cognitive, Affective and Conative mechanisms of

adjustment in mental hygiene are general guided by natural

impulses of human being. Such natural working of human

mechanisms of adjustment leads to prolonged predominance

of a particular sub-mechanism within the larger three-fold

system. This is often proving to be harmful to mental

hygiene. These circumstances end up in the formation of a

high level of Depression and at times Schizophrenia.

Such dangerous situations can be prevented

through an all time available Counsellor. Therefore, it is high

time when positions of trained Counsellor must be given a

special place and importance in present-day modern society

so full of stress otherwise.


Mental hygiene has two primary dimensions,

namely, physical and internal. Both these aspects need to be

given proper care. Aristotelian principle of mean appears

very significant here. Limits must be realised in every action

and thought. Frontiers of normal human living must not be

crossed. Otherwise, mental hygiene and mental peace will be

affected adversely.

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References

Baron, Robert, A. Psychology, Fifth Edition, Replica Press, New Delhi, 2002. Bernard, H. W., Mental Health in the Classroom, McGraw Hill, New York, 1970. Das, J. P., The Working Mind: An Introduction to Psychology, Sage Publications, New Delhi, 1998. Gates, I., Educational Psychology, Harcourt Brace, New York, 1954. Lahey, Benjamin B., An Introduction to Psychology, Tata-McGraw Hill, New Delhi, 2003.

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Chapter Eight

Mental Health and Development of Integrated

Personality

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Chapter Eight

Mental Health and Development of Integrated

Personality

Healthy mind is a pre-requisite of an integrated

personality. Mental health means a balanced and rational

mind under different situations and challenges of life. An

integrated personality also depicts patience and rationality of

behaviour. There is clearly an inherent link between mental

health and an integrated personality. Mental health is equated

with happiness, satisfaction and normal behaviour. It shows

one’s way of thinking, adjustment in life, relationship with

others and effective functioning in different roles of life.

Mental health is harmonious working of human mind

resulting in an integrated personality.

Concept of Mental Health

Mental health is a dynamic concept involving

rationality, health, normalcy, versatility, conformity to social

norms and balanced personality of an integrated human

being. For Sigmund Freud, “Healthy person is one who can

both love and work.” Clearly there is a close link between

personality and health – be it physical or mental. Mental

health relates to near completeness of a human personality.

Robert A. Baron (2002) regards mental health as a holistic

100 Renu Gangal

concept. It cannot be understood as a piecemeal

phenomenon. It is useful only when grasped in its totality

and wholesomeness. It includes physical, mental, social,

rational, logical and other interdisciplinary perspectives. All

these must interact in a balanced way one with another for

securing a healthy integrated personality.

Main features of Mental Health

M. Dash and Neena Dash (2003) specify six main

characteristics of mental health:

1. Environmental efficacy of a personality

signifying that a mentally healthy person has the ability to

love; adequacy in interpersonal relationships; capacity for

adaptation and adjustment; competence for love, work, play

and problem solving; and an aptitude to deal with different

situations of life.

2. Perception of reality including outlook towards

reality; empathy and social sensitivity.

3. Integrated personality includes balanced human

psyche or psychological forces; amalgamating and

integrating attitude to life; and capacity of minimising stress.

4. Autonomy and independence of making

decisions; regulating one’s behaviour from within; and

capacity to act independently.


5. Growth in healthy mind means proper and four-

fold development of one’s own self; balanced self-

actualisation; and self-motivation.

6. Reasonable attitude towards “self” including self-

awareness; self-acceptance; self-correction; and a sense of

identity.

Integrated Personality

A healthy mind with aforesaid characteristics can

lead to an integrated personality. Balanced development of

body, mind and soul constitutes an integrated personality. An

integrated personality is in conscious control of one’s life. A

healthy mind provides a fertile ground for the evolution of an

integrated person. Social conformity of behaviour, emotional

strength, proper value and reasonable philosophical

orientation, good habits, adaptability and required physical

health are a few essentials of an integrated personality.

How to Develop an Integrated Personality

i. Balanced Attitude and Thinking: Mental health

is a multi-fold integral process entering into diverse areas of

human life. This wide variety of human involvement brings

in its wake multiple challenges. Patience, mutuality and

thoughtful caring responses to one another help develop

102 Renu Gangal

balanced attitudes. This approach must be followed under

every type of situation.

ii. Positive View of Life: Bestowing truthful praise

and appreciation upon others is a must for every individual

possesses at least some positive qualities. The feeling of

jealousy must not be allowed to creep into one’s personality.

Good things happening to others must be duly acknowledged

and encouraged.

iii. Conformity to Social Norms: Social systemic

norms have to be followed and observed. This is of utmost

importance. Otherwise the social system can collapse. This

may lead to a civil war and absolute normlessness. Social

relations and institutions form the backbone of a healthy life.

Character building is one of the foremost

requirements of social conformity and mental health. This

character building is possible through observing all the seven

tools of developing an integrated personality explained in

this lesson.

iv. Daily Physical Work Schedule: Open and

healthy mind needs regular physical exercises to receive

necessary amount of fresh air and oxygen for our body pores.

This helps keep human physique in shape and properly


mobile. It also helps uplift our mind and spirit. This boosts

our sources of energy and versatility.

v. Meditation: Physical work combined with self-

study and meditation produces a balanced personality. This

self-study must include a regular process of self-realisation

and wider reading and thinking alongwith a process of self-

analysis.

vi. Taking Care of Daily Physical Hygiene:

Taking regular bath, exercises, rest, meditation, self-studies,

relaxation, self-analysis etcetera are steps to proper hygiene.

vii. Continuous Self-Assessment: Objective and

ruthless self-analysis and assessment are necessary at the end

of the day daily. Help of other friends can also be taken in

this context. But own assessment can best be done by one

self only. This helps us know our follies on day-to-day basis.

Thus giving us an opportunity to improve ourselves.

Let Us Sum-up

Mental health is a dynamic concept and process.

Rationality is its first necessity. It has to be preserved

through a well-planned regimen. An integrated personality is

generally a mentally fit and healthy. If the above-mentioned

tools of developing an integrated personality are observed

and followed in daily routine, mental health will always be

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there in one’s life. Mental health is a must for a normal

human society and being.


References

Baron, Robert A. (2002) Psychology, Fifth Edition, Replica Press, New Delhi.

Bernard, H. W. (1970) Mental Health in the Classroom, McGraw Hill, New York.

Das, J. P. (1998) The Working Mind: An Introduction to Psychology, Sage Publications, New Delhi.

Gates, I. (1954) Educational Psychology, Harcourt Brace, New York.

Lahey, Benjamin B. (2003) An Introduction to Psychology, Tata-McGraw Hill, New Delhi.

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Chapter Nine

Grandmother’s Psychology

Environment, Culture, Ethnicity and Health

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Grandmother’s Psychology

Environment, Culture, Ethnicity and Health

This maybe treated as a grandmother’s interview –

the interviewed person can be anyone’s grandmother – for

purposes of understanding the purpose of our study. As such,

when I asked my grandmother, Margarita, an octogenarian,

to find time for extending an interview of hers, she appeared

outwardly very reluctant. I could, however, observe that she

was finding this exercise for an interview to be of great

interest and uniquely intriguing. You know, there emerged a

twinkling naughtiness and a sense of mischievous self

importance in her eyes.

Environment

She is having completely gray/white hair, long and

waist length. Margarita is her name. Margarita is very

talkative and clear in speech when her dentures are fitted

properly in her mouth. She is fair of complexion with five

feet of height. Her weight is only 100 pounds. Face is a bit

wrinkled though charming with a perennial smile all the

while. She is very caring in nature. This part of her nature is

often interpreted as “too interfering”. That is why, most of

her children and grand children, leave her alone in her house

time and again.

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Margarita has adjusted to fast changing familial

socio-psychological paradigmatic dynamics of modern life

styles. She has even learnt computers. Her house is having

all modern and technological gadgets and facilities and

comforts. She served as a teacher in a public school about

twenty five years earlier. The name of her birth place is, as it

were, Canada.

Her living conditions are relatively quite comfortable

and modern. She is still very traditional like any other old

timer. She is very fond of talking about her way of life in her

own time: simple, straight from the heart, life full of inner

contentment, away from flaunting patterns and

exhibitionism. As she said, “People and not gadgets mattered

in her time”.

Culture

Margarita is from a family of conventional clan

producing teachers generations upon generations -- the old

style of traditional teachers. For such teachers, education

meant knowledge and virtue and not so much of modern day

money churning industry and pluses and minuses of

performance in twice in a year examinations. Their

educational upliftment was based on continuous lifetime

self-assessment process where the examinee was also the

examiner. A teacher seldom taught his pupils in such a


system. It was a process of learning through setting real and

actual examples.

My grandmother had come from such a cultural

background. Her clothing and style of wearing them was

extremely graceful. Robert Herrick’s “Liquefaction of

clothes” (Pollard 77) was regarded as a sign of beauty and

grace in her time. Classical singing of great epics was treated

equal to scientific worshipping of God for direct God

contact.

Modern contemporaneous allopathic medicine

system was considered inappropriate for treating various

diseases in her days of youth. My grandmother, therefore,

has had a number of ready to use home-made medicinal

formulae

to maintain health and preserve youthful zest. She

thinks that her formulae can keep one healthy and full of

vitality and energy in dealing with the routine rendezvous

and challenges of modern stressful daily life.

Ethnicity and Beliefs

My grandmother’s country is Canada. Hence, her

ethnicity (Smith 1986) and origins lie in the Canadian

region. She is from mixed South Asian, Asian Pacific and

East Asian community. Her ancestors were traditional

martial arts and spiritual teachers practicing their own ages

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old scriptures and sciences. My grandmother is the first one

to go for inter-ethnic marriage. She has faith in Christian,

Hindu and Buddhist religions. She maintains her health

through her disciplined eating habits.

She believes in birth after death. She says she knows

the time of her death. She worships God in temples,

Churches, Pagodas and Monasteries. She wants that after her

death, her body should be buried. She says that her inner self

is always directly connected to God. She believes in Hindu

practices of God worship also.

Health

For my grandmother, health depends on simply our

eating habits and establishing a balance between modernity

and traditions. It means we must keep away from extremes

and extremities in eating behaviour and life styles.

She says that diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or

painful swelling of body joints can be cured in 90 per cent

case simply by keeping away from protein diets. A regular

diet of green vegetables, properly boiled, can cure this

disease.

For her, chronic constipation is generally cured

through a commonly available regular necessary intake of

dried, crushed and refined powder of the stem of a plant

called picro hiza.


She even suggests that widespread modern problem

of shooting blood pressure is curable through commonly

available necessary and regular doses of soda bicarbonate

powder. She opines that we at times feel alarmed and start

thinking on the lines of considering ourselves established

heart patients due to this apparent disease. For her, when our

diaphragm is pushed a little upwards due to gastric pressure,

we including our modern scientific physicians, start thinking

on the lines of there being a possibility of a heart attack.

While, in reality, it is simply the pressure of gas pushing our

diaphragm upwards!

She said that she learnt all this from her mother.

However, her own children are not ready to learn from her.

They rather make a mockery of hers.

At this point I had to stop her from going on

endlessly telling her such wonderful formulae and usual

home made medicines. I then paid my respect to her and

came out from her house after promising her to come back

for another session of this interview.

116 Renu Gangal

References

Pollard, Alfred. Ed. (1891) Works of Robert Herrick. Vol. II.: Lawrence and Bullen, London. My Grandmother even narrated a poem of Robert Herrick entitled “Upon Julia’s Clothes”:

“WHENAS in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free; O how that glittering taketh me!”

Smith, Anthony, D. (1987) The Ethnic Origins of Nations, Blackwell, Oxford.

118 Renu Gangal


Chapter Ten

Why Self-mutilation as Self-healing!

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Chapter Ten

Why Self-mutilation as Self-healing!

This is an attempt at summarizing Max Malikow’s

(2006) article in Education Digest. His is a challenging

theme anent self-cutting by students in schools. Not too

many psychologists have dared tread this highly sensitive

area of research and immense human importance.

About two million students in United States schools

deeply cut their skin from a part of their body. How really

painful this has to be. They do not think, fear or bother about

this resulting pain when they go for cutting.

Why this painful cutting is taken recourse to? Does

this behaviour show an increasing social suicidal tendency?

Does it mean our children are subject to dangerously

growing societal and familial tensions today? Malikow

presents here a psychologist’s view. Psychiatrist A. Favazza,

accordingly, says that psychologists are “intrigued by the

possibility that some forms of self-mutilation represent an

attempt at self-healing."

Cutting behaviour is an off shoot of intensity. ‘Silent

clamouring around of human feelings and their gathering

momentum over a period of time from within’ leads to acts

of self-cutting, self-harm and giving pain to one’s own self.

This is like the sudden bursting of an erstwhile apparently

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sleeping volcano. The gathering momentum is released. The

damage is also done. The road to normalcy is also seen more

clearly after this volcanic outburst! The damage is physical.

Relief is emotional. The question of return to normal life

relates to social context.

Indeed, “Cutters are determined to hide the self-

abusive behaviours and are adept at doing so. They fear

discovery and being thought of as being crazy. Parents often

deny this behaviour” (Malikow, 2006).

This attitude of denial and fearfulness needs to be

curbed. Do not cut cutters. Prevention of cutting behaviour is

essential. Removing its causes is essential.

Teachers in schools and parents of cutters must know

that cutters need not be treated as having suicidal tendencies.

They are merely neurotic. They fear social humiliation. They

must not be ignored and put aside. More creative and

thoughtful consideration of their behaviour is required. Their

feelings must be given a fulsome opportunity for fuller

expression. ‘Rejection’ is the most fearful proposition to

cutters. They need attention without being to overt about

this.

Three major reasons are extended for cutting

behaviour. These are distraction, dissociation and


symbolism. They are distracted towards self-injury for they

fear what they feel. Their numbness of physical sensations

and emotions occur due to pressure and intensity of feelings.

This creates in them disassociation and de-personalization.

This leads to self-injury.

The experience of pain reassures cutters they are

alive and human. Depersonalization can be stopped by self-

injury. After self-injury, flowing of blood is an outward

expression of an inner release of undesirable emotion. Blood

and physical pain appear as a symbolism for release of

intensity, tension and fear.

This tendency of cutting must be treated through a

teacher who can render valuable support to a self-injuring

student. The treatment includes behavioural therapy,

cognitive therapy, and medication. The last technique of

medication must not be resorted to as far as possible. Public

condemnation of cutters must never be there. For B. F.

Skinner, they must be given sympathetic hearing. Exclusive

assignments must be given to them. They must never be

ignored. Patience and perseverance of a teacher will pay

here.

Personal Opinion and Analysis

A sympathetic approach to cutting behaviour and a

positive way of looking at this phenomenon must be

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appreciated. It is only through this attitude that several other

challenges to this world can also be properly looked into.

Wide spread practice of self-injury among schooling going

children, specially adolescents, is a very serious issue for

educationists and others.

A positive outlook and considerate stance is

necessary for treating and preventing this apparently

negative happening among students.

However, any negative act must never be given a

positive perspective in social and individual context.

Violence against humanity in any form has to be negated. Its

treatment may be prescribed after looking at the concerned

problem from every possible angle.

Creative and positive attitude is required here. This

does not mean that we change the meaning of a thing act.

Bad is bad. Good act is good. Yes, at times, a debate can be

their on what is good and what is bad. Cutting act is bad. It

must not be treated as something good because it helps

release accumulating intensity of feelings.

Students involved in this act will have to given due

regard and consideration. Yet the real cause behind the

problem has to be treated. This real cause lies, as it were, in

the vernacular, in social and other tensions of a fast moving

modern world. In this modern world, time is money.


Emotions, mutual love, human values and other related

aspects have secondary priority. The first priority is the

principle of “time is money”. How can this be changed?

What we need is not just a symptomatic approach.

Holistic perspective is needed to deal with such challenges as

the act of cutting behaviour among students. Short cuts to

solutions need to be coordinated with holistic alternatives.

126 Renu Gangal

References

Max Malikow. (2006). “When Students Cut Themselves”.

Education Digest. Volume 71, No. 8. Prakken Publications, Inc. pp. 45-

50.

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Chapter Eleven

Workaholic’s Psychology

Work and Work All the Way

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Chapter Eleven

Workaholic’s Psychology

Work and Work All the Way

This is an attempt to summarize an interesting article

in Psychology Today entitled “A Field Guide to the

Workaholic” (Goodman, 2006). Brenda Goodman has

discussed Brain E. Robinson’s and Gayle Porter’s analyses

of those who are almost always busy with their work. They

seldom find time for any other aspect of their life. For them,

work is life and vice versa. They treat work as worship

Such persons often feel uneasy at social places. Why

they feel so? It is because they are over obsessed with their

work. They keep imagining their work and office all the

while. They are akin to function like this even at the cost of

their family, health and a good night’s sleep! Any place other

than their place of work does not augur well with them.

Workaholics

Such wild workers are labelled as ‘workaholics’ and

‘workophiles’. They live in their own wilderness of their

work castles. Work becomes their only source of fortitude,

security and identity.

Their place of solace is work and work alone. Work

also helps them escape from the world. Work emerges as a

shield for them. There is only one track of life for them. To

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paraphrase Bible, “Live thy life by the sweat of thy work” –

evolves as the most fundamental principle for them.

“Workaholics are out of balance” for, as hard worker,

they “…will be at …[their] desk, thinking about the ski

slopes….workaholic[s] will be on the ski slopes thinking

about …[their] desk" (Goodman, 2006).

This ‘workaholic’ pattern is coming up as a potential

disease in United States where some institutions tend to work

nearly 24 hours a day for seven days a week! Here, primary

concerns are efficiency, customer satisfaction, and the wide

spread principle and belief that stresses for “time is money”.

This trend is eating on the nerves of almost every modern

United States (US) citizen.

Workaholics Types

About four types of workaholics are there in US

today. First, there are those who do their work quite near to

perfection.

Secondly, those who just remain at work place

without doing much of their work.

Thirdly, there are those who keep on making careless

mistakes for they have not learnt to say “no”. They will not

stop even for a while. They will just go on doing their work

relentlessly.


The fourth types are those who are always busy with

finding deepest details of their work even if such details are

not required.

The result is endless surging ahead of diversified

individual and social stresses, tensions and uncalled for

socially harmful tendencies like recurring personality

complexes and likely suicidal possibilities leading to

personality imbalances and social disharmony. For Gayle

Porter, workaholics quite incapable of institutional team

work and leadership.

They try to concentrate all work in their hands only.

They start considering work as their source of power

apparently. They thus become highly emotional and

possessive and obsessive about their work. As such, varied

crises emerge. The workaholic tries to utilize this situation to

his own advantage without much of an achievement and

accomplishment levels.

Workaholics suffer a lot due to their idiosyncrasies

and esoteric whims. Instead of workaholics’ obsession, those

workers are able to do much better work in terms of quality

and quantity who go for normal off days and permissible

holidays for relaxation and enjoyment. Any type of

obsession does not serve a positive purpose. Normal

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performance and steady progress of work leads to productive

results.

Opinion about the Article

This article is an analytical piece of work. It serves its

purpose of highlighting pejorative effects of obsessive

patterns of behaviour and working trends. Its emphasis on

the need to function in a balanced way is also appropriate.

The overall style and tenor of this piece is highly

edifying for it warns against work and administrative

excesses. This article also points to human questions of work

ethics when it states, “When a child comes home with a

drawing of her family that doesn't include her father, he may

finally alter his schedule” (Goodman, 2006).

Brenda Goodman indicates a trend. A process of

prolonged alienation of the obsessive worker is brought

forward very powerfully.

However, quite a few related aspects are not touched

in this article. Why this obsessive behaviour is coming up?

Why this alienation is their?

It is not their just due to whims of a workaholic.

Other reasons are also there. Modern world and its rat race

for acquiring ever new gadgets and ever widening network

of acquisitive instincts also contribute to threaten normal

behaviour of human beings. This type of modernity can also


be one of the important causes of increasing extra-normal

behavior amongst individuals today.

Psychology of modernity leading to different types of

obsessions in the minds of modern men must also be

considered. This article has great implications and meanings.

Various modern tensions by themselves can push any normal

human being to a corner where there could be no other

option but to go for obsessive behaviour in many directions

of life.

Contemporary unbridled pursuits of power and wants

are leading the world to numerous types of decay threatening

extinction of human species. Workaholic aspect is just one

dimension from among the many.

136 Renu Gangal

References

Goodman, Brenda (2006). “A Field Guide to the

Workaholic”, Psychology Today. May/June, Volume 39,

No.3 Sussex Publishers Inc. pp. 40-41.

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Chapter Twelve

Conclusion

Twenty-first Century ‘Consciousness’

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Chapter Twelve

Conclusion

Twenty-first Century ‘Consciousness’

Psychology is generally considered as a study of

human behaviour and mind. Human behaviour and mind by

themselves are meaningless machines and mechanical stuff

inclusive of actions like a non-thinking computer

reproducing “garbage upon garbage”. The real life to human

body and processes emerges when it comes alive with human

‘consciousnesses’. This debate is ages old as well as recently

emerging – in a different sense and focus than earlier -- as

the latest trend in the study of psychology and education.

The quest here is, indeed, interdisciplinary.

Twenty-first Century Needs

Quite a few psychologists have raised such concerns:

According to the theory of evolution, human

beings are the result of an evolutionary process

beginning millions of years ago with a simple life

form. In general terms, each of the physical

characteristics of human beings can be related in

some way or other (directly or indirectly) to their

adaptation for survival and reproduction. It seems

reasonable to assert that consciousness, which is

presumably also the result of an evolutionary

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process, is similarly somehow related to the

adaptation of human beings for survival and

reproduction… [Here] a mechanistic brain could

work without consciousness. Accordingly, unless

consciousness is merely a by-product of a

mechanistic brain of some complexity,

consciousness itself must make a difference, so that

the brain is not mechanistic.

This argument … [is] advanced in support

of anti-materialist positions …However, I think

there is more to be said about it. I begin with a

general statement of the argument, and then look at

various answers to it: in the course of this, I

consider what could be the advantages of

consciousness which may have led to its selection

by evolution….

Nevertheless, evolution has apparently

favoured consciousness, not merely by giving rise

to organisms with consciousness, but also by

equipping them with mechanisms to ensure that in

times of danger or crisis, or otherwise requiring

important decisions to be made, full conscious

attention is brought to bear on the problem

(Hodgson 1991 157).


Consciousness, Mind, Behaviour

When consciousness and sub-consciousness are able

to connect human mind and body, then human behaviour

remains properly functional. Not otherwise. It is here that

Psychology has to concentrate upon to really grasp human

realities of human behaviour.

Picture 1.

Source: Journal of Consciousness Studies with thanks

One cannot just assemble human body parts, heart

and mind for bringing it to life and work.

Psychology is engaged primarily in animal and

human behaviour as main focus of its study and the

‘consciousness and sub-conscious’ constitute merely

subsidiary and concomitant aspects of its explorations.

This focus must turn around now. Main focus must

be the scientific study of ‘consciousness and sub-conscious’

while other things following suit as logical corollary of

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thematic relevance, objective and purpose. Just see what

Steven Pinker is saying recently:

The young women had survived the car

crash, after a fashion. In the five months since parts

of her brain had been crushed, she could open her

eyes but didn't respond to sights, sounds or jabs. In

the jargon of neurology, she was judged to be in a

persistent vegetative state. In crueller everyday

language, she was a vegetable.

So picture the astonishment of British and

Belgian scientists as they scanned her brain using a

kind of MRI that detects blood flow to active parts

of the brain. When they recited sentences, the parts

involved in language lit up.

When they asked her to imagine visiting the

rooms of her house, the parts involved in navigating

space and recognizing places ramped up. And when

they asked her to imagine playing tennis, the

regions that trigger motion joined in. Indeed, her

scans were barely different from those of healthy

volunteers.

The woman, it appears, had glimmerings of

consciousness…..The report of this unusual case

last September was just the latest shock from a


bracing new field, the science of consciousness.

Questions once confined to theological speculations

and late-night dorm-room bull sessions are now at

the forefront of cognitive neuroscience.

With some problems, a modicum of

consensus has taken shape. With others, the

puzzlement is so deep that they may never be

resolved. Some of our deepest convictions about

what it means to be human have been shaken.

To make scientific headway in a topic as

tangled as consciousness, it helps to clear away

some red herrings. Consciousness surely does not

depend on language.

Babies, many animals and patients robbed of

speech by brain damage are not insensate robots;

they have reactions like ours that indicate that

someone's home. Nor can consciousness be equated

with self-awareness. At times we have all lost

ourselves in music, exercise or sensual pleasure, but

that is different from being knocked out cold

(Pinker 2007, Emphasis added with more number of

paragraphs than the original).

146 Renu Gangal

Consciousness and Dignity

Consciousness as such does not bestow upon

apparently normal individuals to brand a ‘challenged’ person

as a ‘vegetable’ even if someone appears to be like this. That

is why with the purpose of especially securing emotional

security and dignity of every affected individual, it becomes

ever more necessary to mould the direction and emphasis of

scientific psychological studies towards newer fields of

human and animal ‘consciousness’ and ‘sub-consciousness’.

Relevance of Consciousness Studies

This does not mean the revival of the older

psychological focus on ‘super natural’ ‘spirit’ and ‘soul

orientation’. It means more central and fundamental focus on

human consciousness as the basis and purpose of most of the

prospective scientific psychological studies in almost every

area and branch of psychology and education.

Picture 2. From Time – Source in References


The need is to see this perspective as the scientific

need of the twenty-first century for conjoining

‘consciousness’ studies as an integral part of human

behaviour, mind and body concerns – be they individual,

institutional or corporate in nature.

Consciousness by itself is closely related to the

twenty-first century’s major concerns of psychology and

education – as discussed in earlier chapters of this research

work. Clearly, it is the psychological and phenomenological

consciousness that is required to be put as top priority for

psychologists and educationists in their studies. Such studies

will have to become inherent and compatible part of

‘experimental psychology’ (Mathew n.d.; Seager 1999 01).

148 Renu Gangal

References

Hodgson, David (1991). The Mind Matters:

Consciousness and Choice in a Quantum World. Clarendon

Press. Oxford.

Mathew, V. George (n.d.). “Psychology of

Consciousness”. http://www.psychology4all.com/PsychologyofConsciousness.htm

Pinker, Steven (2007). “The Mystery of

Consciousness”. Time, Friday, 19 January. London.

Seager, William (1999). Theories of Consciousness.

Routledge. London.

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