Johnny Ch Lok

Education Psychology 35 Questions Johnny Ch Lok

Q22What are main methods of Educational Psychology ?(a) The first method is Introspection: Introspection is one of the older methods and is peculiar to psychology. It means looking within, looking into the working of our own minds and reporting what we find there. In order words, it is a method of "self-observation "-observation by an individual of his own mental states directly by directing attention towards a particular experience with a particular purpose. This kind of self-observation, therefore, is not a vague, unsystematic or haphazard observation. For example, a student has been asked to answer a question. He has to recall certain facts learned by him to organise them in a particular manner and then to report what way he tried to recall, what he thought and felt when trying to recall. Thus, it is a method in which the individual observes, analyses and reports his own feelings, thoughts or all that passes in his mind during the course of a mental act or experience.(b) The second is Observational Method: It is one of the most popular of methods used in psychology for collection of data. This method is also called the method of 'objective observation' as against introspection which is a method of self-observation. The individual's behaviour is observed by somebody other than that person himself. The behaviour observed may be expressed in the form of bodily changes, bodily action, gestures, facial expression and speech. The psychologist may sit down and take notes of the behaviour of a subject under particular conditions. The method was used widely by child psychologists who would prepare running records of all that the child did during a certain period and in a certain situation. These observations enabled them to make certain generalisations about human behaviour in general.(c) The third is Experimental Method: The experimental method in psychology was made popular first by a German psychologist named Wundt who opened the first psychological laboratory at Leipzing in 1879. The tremendous progress which psychology has made during the last 50 years is due to the use of this method. Experimental investigations has thrown light on different ways of memorisation, the effect of different factors on learning, mental fatigue, image and imagination, span of attention, the effects of giving children practice or coaching on intelligence tests, transfer of training, the role of maturation in learning and the like.(d) The fourth is Clinical Method: The clinical method is also called case study method. It is used by clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric social works and teachers in child guidance clinics or mental hygiene centers or in ordinary school situations. Generally, we use this method when we want to understand the causes and sources of people's fears, anxieties, worries, obsessions, their personal, social, educational and vocational maladjustments. The clinical investigator may start with some hypothesis about the probable causes of the difficulty or troublesome behaviour. The tentative hypothesis is supported or disproved by the data collected through the use of case-history, interviews, visits to the home or school and psychological testing. From the data collected, certain deductions are made as to probable treatment. The employment of this method includes the use of case histories, interviews and psychological testing. A case history traces the family and health, history, hereditary factors, classifies the developmental data, the educational progress, interpersonal and inter- parental or intra-parental relationships, and thus makes us understand the major forces and influences, which have developed and shaped the individual's personali