Indian Journal of Psychology & Education
Submit paper now! Indian Journal of Psychology and Education (IJPE) is biannual (January and July) peer reviewed/refereed journal devoted primarily to Psychology and Education. IJPE prefers to publish empirical data based research papers however it also considers for publication review based theoretical papers, case studies and papers based on meta-analysis with significant potential for application. The contributors can mail the soft copies of the paper prepared as per APA style or can submit a hard copy along with a soft copy in CD. Online paper submission facility is also available (Submit your paper ) Brief reports, book reviews and letters to the editor are also published. IJPE (ISSN 2231-1432) is Indexed in Indian Citation Index
A Comparative Study of Personality Profile of Epileptic Adolescents
Epilepsy is a very recurrent condition that may occur among individuals of all ages, sex, and races. It is a serious neurological disorder described by spontaneous recurrence of unprovoked seizures. Many studies focus on psychiatric and behaviour disorders; personality is less frequently studied in epilepsy. The current investigation was conducted to examine whether epileptic and normal subjects differ in their personality profile. A total of 140 (epileptic group=70, normal group=70) completed self-report measure of personality, i,e., the NEOFFI-3 (John, Naumann, & Soto, 2008). Results show that the groups differ in two personality traits. The epileptic patients scored significantly higher than normal individuals Neuroticism [F (1/138) =10.755, p<.001] and Openness to experience [F (1/138) =6.208, p<.01]. Result further indicated that the groups scored almost the same on Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness personality dimensions. These results suggest that people suffering from epilepsy tend to be sad, moody, anxious, and emotionally unstable. At the same time, they tend to be curious, eager to learn new things, and enjoy new experiences.
Epilepsy, Personality, Personality traits
Successful Aging in relation to Spiritual Transcendence
Successful aging is a multifaceted construct which includes a lot of factors like social connectedness, happiness, personal resources, self-efficacy, and well-being etc. Spiritual transcendence is also one of the factors which can contribute in the process of successful aging. The present study examined the relationship between spiritual transcendence and successful aging. The sample selected for the study was 100 older adults with the age range of 60 years and above. The tools used for the study were: Successful Aging Scale by Reker (2009) and Spiritual Transcendence Scale by Reker (2003). The data was analyzed using correlational analysis. The result showed that spiritual transcendence is significantly and positively correlated with successful aging. The results have been discussed at length in the paper.
Exploring the Meaning of Home Spaces of Married Couples in COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19pandemic brought with it a new 24*7 pattern of living for the couples. The home spaces would have acquired a different meaning as couples adjusted to a drastically changed global scenario. The study explored the meaning of home spaces of married couples during the pandemic period from the lockdown in end-March till August 2020. Semi structured interviews were conducted online with 11 couples with both the spouses together. Couples from Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Chennai participated in the study. Thematic analysis was used and the themes identified are: redesigned spaces of comfort and confinement, and rediscovered time for coupledom. As the world compressed into a small space within the boundary of couple’s home, the redesigned spaces emerged out of a tussle between confinement from outside world and efforts to make the inner spaces livable, flexible and comforting. The spaces of couple interactions i.e., bedroom, living room and kitchen were perceived positively, where couples engaged in conversations, working and cooking together, and leisure activities. Some spaces were given special labels indicating exclusivity of couple’s shared space. Yet at times, these same spaces also became walls that held the unfulfilled needs and desires, with sense of being caged, frustration, and unease. This novel time afforded a chance to rediscover each other from the relational lens, as intimate partners again. The greater time available was perceived to be beneficial for the relationship as indicated by the positive outcomes such as enhanced emotional and physical intimacy, feeling of closeness, greater knowledge about the spouse, finding a new or interesting side of the spouse, realizing the presence of spouse as a companion and appreciating a new routine with her or him. In revealing the positive aspect of couple relationship, this study showed a kind of resilience people can have during crises. This comes by creating conditions of well-being with in their own circumstances through efforts to reshape their living spaces, mutual support and enjoyable interactions.
Qualitative Analysis of the Impact of Covid-19 on the Family and Work Life of Police Personnel
COVID-19 has deeply affected the frontline workers regarding their mental, physical, economic, and social well-being. The present study is targeted at the police personnel who have been roundthe-clock representing governance on the streets to maintain the COVID protocols. This study is an endeavour to microscopically understand the impact of the pandemic on their family and work lives. Semi-structuredqualitative and detailed telephonic interviews were carried with the police personnel posted in Delhi (N=40). The data for the study were collected from 5th May, 2020 to 1st June, 2020. Interviews were later transcribed for thematic analysis.The study shows adverse impact of COVID-19 on the physical, social, interpersonal relationships and work-life balance of police personnel. Yoga, meditation, family outreach, belief in government and God, seeking personal and professional help are some of the approaches to cope up with the adverse effect of COVID-19.
A Study on Family Environment, Approval Motive and Career- Family Values of Working Women in Different Family Structures
Present study is addressed to find out perceived family environment, approval motive and careerfamily values of working women living in two different family structures, that is, nuclear and joint families. 100 working women are selected through random sampling technique from two family set up. Therefore each group consisting of 50 working women aged between 20 to 25 years. Four questionnaires namely General Information Schedule, Perceived family environment Scale, Approval motive Scale and Career-family values Scale are administered on the selected samples. Results suggest that working women living in joint families perceived their family environment as more favourable than working women living in nuclear families.Working women living in joint family structure also have greater approval motive and family values. On the other hand, working women living in nuclear families have higher career values in comparison to those belonging to joint families. Findings also reveal that approval motive and family values are positively correlated. There also exists a significant correlation between perceived family environment and family values. Moreover, results indicate that family values are negatively correlated with approval motive as well as perceived family environment of working women residing at Kolkata.
Career- Family Values and Approval Motive
Standardization and Validation of Hindi Version of Metacognitions Questionnaire in Indian Sample
The Meta-cognitions Questionnaire (MCQ) developed by Cartwright-Hatton and Wells (1997) measures maladaptive metacognitive beliefs. The cultural adaptation of Hindi translation of MCQ was conducted in 19 to 78 years old (N = 1706) Hindi speaking men and women participants of Varanasi city of Uttar Pradesh of India. The psychometric properties of the MCQ-H (Hindi version of MCQ) indicated good internal consistency with fairly high reliability and little different order of factor structure than that of original MCQ and acceptable construct and convergent validity. The CFA indicated that MCQ-H had an acceptable goodness of model fit indicating good construct validity. The five factors extracted were ‘Positive Beliefs’, ‘Cognitive Confidence’, ‘Uncontrollability and Danger’, ‘Superstitions, Punishment and Responsibility’, and ‘Cognitive Self-consciousness’. The gender and age differences analyses also indicated that the instrument has good predictive validity. Positive beliefs, Uncontrollability and danger, and Superstitions, punishment and responsibility’ factors, and MCQ-H Total correlated positively with anxiety and depression. The MCQ-H emerged as a reliable and valid measurement of maladaptive metacognitive beliefs in Hindi speaking Indian cultural milieu.
Evaluation of Psychometric Properties and Standardization of Hindi Version of Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory
The study was conducted with the objective to assess the psychometric properties, dimensionality, and predictive validity of Hindi translation of Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory in Indian cultural context. Three hundred 18 to 65 years old participants were conveniently sampled from Varanasi city of Uttar Pradesh, and they were administered the Hindi form of Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory. Exploratory factor analysis (principal components) revealed two factors, Positive Ideation (PI) and Negative Suicide ideation (NSI) and the two factors together explained a total of 53.173 % of variance. Confirmatory analysis revealed fairly acceptable goodness of fit indexes (RMSEA = 0.070; TLI = 0.914; CFI = 0.928; GFI = 0.913; AGFI = 0.879; RMR = 0.068; SRMR = 0.058) indicating a good model fit. The split-half, Cronbach’s alpha and Guttmann lambda 2 reliability coefficients for positive ideation, negative suicide ideation subscales and for the whole scale were observed to be fairly high. Positive ideation associated positively with positive affectand associated negatively with negative affect and depression whereas negative suicide ideation associated positively with negative affect and depression and negatively with positive affect. Moreover, Men as compared to women and younger as compared to older participants displayed significantly more positive PI and NSI respectively.
Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory
Sex Differences in Aptitude: A study amongst English Medium Students of Delhi
Aptitude is one of the psychological construct that is gaining a huge importance in today’s world in helping people choose their career. Over the years, differences have been studied between males and females in various domains. Evidences show that males and females also differ in terms of their abilities. Males are found to have good visuo-spatial ability whereas females are said to have good verbal ability. Thus the purpose of the present study is to compare the cognitive abilities of male and female students. This study is conducted on a total of 438 students including 320 males and 118 females (age range 15-17 years). The cognitive abilities are assessed using David’s Battery of Differential Abilities- Revised Version (DBDA-R) which includes eight subtests. The results show a significant difference in the abilities of males and females in three subtests, i.e., Mechanical Ability, Spatial Ability and Psychomotor Ability. Male students have been found to perform higher in Mechanical and Spatial Ability, whereas female students outperformed in Psychomotor Ability. No significance difference is found in other five abilities. Therefore the present study shows sex-differences in some abilities whereas not in others. This could be related to various factorssuch as differences in brain hemispheres as well as cultural differences which are further discussed in the study.
Personality, Parenting Style and Instructor Anxiety as Predictors of Psychological Problems among Adolescents
Urban adolescents are often assumed to be privileged with resources that nurture their physical and mental health. This assumption overshadows the fact that they face many unacknowledged psychological problems, due to which they remain as an understudied or neglected population in the area of resilience research. The present study attempts to explore the factors that contribute to the psychological problem in urban adolescents. A convenient sample of 423 students in the age group 12 to 16 years from six CBSE schools in a mid-sized city in South India was selected. The participants completed self-report measures of personality, family cohesion, perceived parenting style, peer relationship, student-teacher relationship and psychological problems. Psychological problems in this study were assessed in terms of internalizing and externalizing problems. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was carried out to find the best predictors of psychological problems. The results indicate that psychological problem in urban adolescents is negatively predicted by personality traits like honesty-humility and extraversion, perceived parenting styles like mother autonomy granting, mother responsiveness and father demanding. Further, the psychological problem is positively predicted by instructor anxiety. Thus cultivating positive personality traits, a supportive family environment with positive parenting, and good support and guidance from the teachers may help urban adolescents by buffering against their psychological problems.
Social Maturity of Adolescents of Different Castes of Chhattisgarh State
A research was conduct on the adolescents of different castes of Chhattisgarh. The main objective was to find out the effect of caste on the social maturity of adolescence of Chhattisgarh. For harmonious development an adolescence must-have social maturity. Social Maturity reflects in the form of his behavior, when we compared with their peer group if an adolescent is socially measured he\ she will be more polite, self-confident, adjust with others in different circumstances. He \She will be away from bullying or conflicts and always ready to agree with the decisions given by others and respects to other’s opinions than we can say that he\she is socially mature person. In the present study a sample of 480 students 120 general, 120 SC, and 120 ST and 120 OBC students of class 11th are taken as a sample by Random sampling method. Nalini Rao (2006) Social maturity Scale was used as a tool to collect the data. The finding indicates that there is no significant effect of caste on the social maturity of adolescence.
Influence of Achievement Motivation on Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Mathematics
Mathematics is a compulsory subject in the secondary school curriculum and is also necessary for studying different science courses in colleges and universities. Achievement motivation of a student is said to be an essential component for bringing in success or the attainment of excellence in mathematics. The purpose of the research was to study the effect of achievement motivation on mathematics achievement of secondary school students. 300 students of Class XI were selected by purposive sampling technique from Kolkata and PurbaMedinipur district of West Bengal. Data were collected using survey method. The Achievement Motivation Scale (n-Ach) developed by Deo and Mohan (2018)was administered to the sample and the scores of the students inMadhyamik Examination were taken as mathematics achievement scores. The obtained data were analysed through t test and ANOVA.The results revealed that there exists significant effect of achievement motivation on mathematics achievement of the rural and urban as well as the male and female students of the secondary stage. The findings further indicate that if a student is motivated towards his achievement, the level of mathematics achievement increases. The results of the present study has immense implications for educational planners, administrators, teachers, parents and above all the society.
Effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique on Sleep Quality among board appearing students during COVID-19.
Intense pressure of board exams and uncertainty of the academic activities due to COVID-19 restrictions have caused remarkable difficulties in sleeping pattern of students appearing for board exams in a negative way. To determine the effectiveness of Progressive muscle relaxation technique on sleep quality among board appearing students during COVID-19,the present study was carried out among 44 students in total (20 of class 10th and 24 of class 12th) who were recruited from Glacier Public School, Dehradun, India. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to assess the sleep quality of students before and after the PMR interventions. The analysis of the results of the present study revealed that PMR training can significantly improve overall sleep quality and components of sleep for board appearing students of class 10th and 12th. Findings of the present study can help educational organizations to understand the beneficial effects of PMR on sleep quality and thus they can provide such PMR training to their students in order to maintain their sleep quality, sleep pattern and other physiological and psychological areas of well being. It is recommended that further studies on PMR and sleep quality are required with larger sample and longer duration of evaluation.
Temperament and Psychopathology of Aggressive-Peer Rejected Boys and Girls: A Comparative Study
A comparative study of aggressive- peer rejected (AR) with aggressive-nonrejected by peers (ANR), nonaggressive- peer rejected (NAR) and nonaggressive- nonrejected by peers (NANR) boys and girls was done in relation to temperament and psychopathology. A total of2158, 3rd to 5th grade children in age group of 9-11 years participated in the study. The children were chosen from eight government schools of Chandigarh, India. Aggression index and sociometry were used. Final sample of 205 children was selected on the basis of quartiles, and was divided into 4 groups: AR, ANR, NAR and NANR. These groups were further tested for their temperament and psychopathology using temperament measurement schedule and child psychopathology measurement schedule respectively. As per parent ratings, AR children found to be more social and energetic. They had low intelligence, with more behavioral problems, conduct disorders, anxiety and increased somatization. Discussion was focused on role of Indian culture/ environment on temperament differences and psychopathology.
Effectiveness of Math differentiation using an Intervention program for high-ability students, implemented in a mixed ability 5th grade classroom
In India, schools have ‘mixed-ability classrooms’ – students of various abilities in a single set-up; teachers use a ‘one-size-fits-all’ methodology to teach. The focus of present study was on introducing stimulation activities to students having higher abilities in Math. A Differentiation Program in Math was designed and implemented in a mixed-ability classroom. Students were divided into a control and experimental group of 20 each on the basis of a “Pragalbha scholastic test”, assessing analytical, evaluative and application-based skills using the knowledge domain of Math and Science. At the end of the program, it was administered as a post-test (with a mixedup sequence to reduce practice errors). The gain scores of the experimental were significantly higher than the control group (t=2.351, df=35, p<.05). A qualitative analysis of the responses given by the high-ability students as compared to other students indicated more number of responses, higher creativity, and greater complexity in response.
Stress Tolerance and Job Satisfaction among School Teachers
The study was to understand the stress tolerance and job satisfaction among school teachers and to find out the difference between Government and Private school teachers. The study findings and recommendations to be submitted to the appropriate authority for remedial intervention to improve the welfare of the teaching community. 200 government and private school teachers in the Thiruvananthapuram district were chosen in this regard. Job satisfaction and Stress tolerance scales are used for this study. ANOVA and t-test were used to analyse the data. The result shows that there is a statistically significant difference in job satisfaction among Government and Private school teachers. There is no significant difference in stress tolerance among Government and Private school teachers. There is no significance in age, gender, and working experience on both stress tolerance and job satisfaction.
Stream-wise Comparison of Happiness level of the Undergraduate College Teachers
Teacher is an essential and active component in educational organization. The college teachers are role model for their students. They modify the thinking pattern and shaping students who stand to build the future of the nation. Their happiness is most essential part of teaching-learning process. But hardly few studies have been conducted in the area of college teacher’s happiness and their stream of teaching particularly India as well as West Bengal.This study tries to find out the happiness level of stream-wisecollege teachers and to compare the difference of happiness among stream-wise undergraduate college teachers.Stratified random sampling was used for selecting the sample comprising of 270 (Social science=90, Science=90, and Commerce=90) undergraduate college teachers from 15 colleges, affiliated to University of Calcutta, West Bengal. Descriptive survey design was used in this study. Happiness scale (Rastogiand Moorjani,2017) and Personal Information questionnaire was used for collecting data. Data were analysed by using Percentage, Mean, SD and ANOVA. The findings of study revealed that almost 42.2 percent Social science, 40 percent Science and 33.3 Commerce stream teachers exhibited high level of happiness. While almost 33.3 percent Social Science, nearly 49 percent Science and 45.6 percent Commerce teachers displayed above average level of happiness. 23.3 percent Social Science, 10 Science and nearly 19 percent Commerce teachers exhibited average level of happiness. It was found that 2.2 percent commerce teachers belong to below average level of happiness in undergraduate college. However, in regard to happiness no significant difference was found among social science, science and commerce teachers of undergraduate level.
Efficacy of Grassroots Level Administration: Psycho-Social Prospective
Administration in any operational organisation is well defined and follows a set pattern course of actions. Administrative practises under defined set of rules with rigid frame of references need to metamorphose with innovative practises in it for better dividend. By virtue of performing at administrative position, covering larger area/sections and accomplished numerous projects, author made an attempt to consolidate his experiences with offering the present paper as an innovation in administration. The grassroots administration having certain similarities and contradictions with famous grassroots movements/ campaign is a form of administration in which it facilitates to involve people all inclusive from very basic level with great synergy and also demand for deeper involvement of administrator at ground/ field level without compromise with discipline and quality of work. The present thematic paper is organised with various definition of administration and a comparative concept of management and administration followed by objective and significance. Grassroots Administrative procedures and practises are portrayed with graphic presentation followed by Execution Methodology, Features of grassroots Administration and Expectation from a Grassroots Administrator. The psycho-social basis and its understanding to utilise on the part of administrator would be worthwhile in the surrogated concept. The theme in the present paper may be efficacious for practitioner and policy makers as well.
Dysfunctional Individuation and Attachment among Indian Adolescents
The present study was conducted to explore the relationship between dysfunctional individuation (DIS) and attachment characteristics in Indian high school students. It assessed the contribution of attachment characteristics on DIS. Separation-individuation and attachment are two concepts that have always been compared and thought to be contradictory to each other. But the link between these two aspects has also been reported. For this study a sample of 67 students (27 boys & 40 girls) who were 12 to 14 years of age were assessed using Dysfunctional Individuation Scale (Stey et al., 2014) and Adolescence Attachment Questionnaire (West et al., 1998). The data was analysed using multiple regression analysis, coefficient of correlation and student’s t-test. The results indicate a significant direct relationship of DIS with Angry Distress and indirect relationship of DIS with availability. Attachment proved to be a strong predictor of dysfunctional individuation. Outcome suggests adolescents with working mothers have greater goal corrected partnership than adolescents with non-working mothers. Details have been discussed in the paper.
Dental Anxiety and its Correlation with Perceived Stress: A Study on Dental Patients of Tripura
The present paper is aimed to ascertain the prevalence of dental anxiety and stress among patients with dental problem. The paper also aimed to examine the correlation between dental anxiety and perceived stress in patients having dental problems. The sample consisted of 104 patients who visited a specialized dental clinic of Agartala during December 2019 to March 2020 (4 months). Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale (1969) and Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein, 1983) were used for data collection. Findings of the study revealed that more than 85% patients with dental problems had moderate to severe dental anxiety. Again more than 90% of them had moderate to severe stress level. Further dental anxiety and stress were significantly correlated.
Emotional Maturity as a predictor of Psychosocial Well-Being among Young Adults
The present study was conducted to explore role of emotional maturity in psychosocial wellbeing. A sample of 150 young adults in age group of 20 -24 years was selected. Emotional maturity was assessed using Emotional Maturity Scale and Mental Health Continuum Short Form was used to measure psychosocial well-being. Correlation analysis revealed significant association between emotional maturity and psychosocial well-being. Social well-being and psychological well-being were significantly correlated with associated with only all the dimensions of emotional maturity but emotional well-being was significantly associated with only one dimension of emotional maturity. Further, regression analysis revealed that emotional maturity emerged as a significant predictor of psychosocial well-being.
Gratitude among Depressed and Non-Depressed Adolescents: A Comparative Study
The present study examined the gratitude among the depressed and non-depressed adolescents. This study also examined the impact of gender and depression on the gratitude of adolescents. Quantitative technique was used for investigation having two factors: the first factor having two levels of “Gender” (Boys and Girls) and the second factor having two levels of “Adolescents” (Depressed and Non-Depressed). This study adopted a 2×2 factorial design. After screening 320 participants, 120 adolescents: 60 depressed (30 male and 30 female) and 60 non-depressed (30 male and 30 female) were selected from different colleges of Cuttack district of Odisha, (18-20 years) having ‘moderate level depression’ (within the score range of 20-28 in the screening test of BDI-II) in case of 60 depressed adolescents. Beck’s Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) (for screening) developed by Aron T. Beck and “Gratitude Questionnaire-Six-Item Form” (GQ-6) developed by McCullough et al. (2002) were used for the study. Two-Way ANOVA statistical technique was utilized and analysis was done through SPSS Version-20. Results revealed significant differences between depressed and non-depressed adolescents for gratitude, but no significant differences were found among male and female adolescents in their gratitude. The interaction effect was also not significant.
Fear of Covid-19 in Relation to Depression and Stress: A study During Lockdown
The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between fear of COVID-19, depression and stress among citizens. The sample consists of total 104 (40 female & 64 male) with in age range of 20-40 years. Generalized fear of COVID-19 scale (Ahorsu, et. al., 2020), Perceived stress scale (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, (1983) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) (Spitzer, Williams, Kroenke, et al., 1999) were used. The data were analysed by using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s Product Moment correlation and step wise multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that fear of COVID-19 have a significant positive relation with depression and stress. Depression was found to be significantly positively correlated with stress. The stepwise regression analysis revealed that fear of COVID-19 is a predicator of stress.
Resilience, Rumination, and Loneliness among young adults among NSSI-Endorsers and Non-NSSI-Endorsers
The present study aimed to explore the relationship between Resilience, Rumination, and Loneliness among NSSI-Endorsers and Non-NSSI-Endorsers. Purposive sampling was used in order to obtain the data – two groups of participants (total n = 180; female n = 105) were formed on the basis of a self-report screening question - NSSI-Endorsers, n = 90; (female n = 47; male n = 43); and Non-NSSI-Endorsers, n = 90; (female n = 58; male n = 32) The tools employed were (a) The Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Expectancy Questionnaire (NEQ); (b) The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS); (c) The Ruminative Response Scale (RRS); and (d) The UCLA Loneliness Scale. The data were analyzed using mean, SD, Pearson's correlation, and t-test. The results of the study indicate that NSSI shares a statistically significant relationship with resilience, with rumination, and with loneliness.
Building Resilience among at-risk Adolescents Using Interventions Based on Thirukkural and Probabilistic Orientation
Several studies have attempted to evaluate interventions to enhance resilience among at-risk adolescents based on western theories. However, these models have questionable relevance to Indian culture. Various models described in Indian literature can be used to design psychological interventions to promote resilience in culturally meaningful ways. The present study evaluates two intervention programs' efficacy using a qualitative method, one based on Thirukkural and the other based on Probabilistic Orientation (PO). A purposive sample of 117 at-risk adolescents between 11-15 years of age (M = 12.66; SD = .81) was used in this study. Two rural government schools were selected for the investigation, and they were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions, viz., condition 1 (Thirukkural condition) and condition 2 (PO condition). A 12-week intervention based on Thirukkural was delivered to participants in condition#1, and PO intervention was delivered to condition#2. The semi-structured interview was carried out on 12 participants randomly selected from each group before and after the interventions to understand the interventions' efficacy in promoting resilience. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis, and themes identified are discussed. Psychological interventions based on Thirukkural and PO appear to enhance resilience among at-risk adolescents studying in rural schools.
Job Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment of Sikshya Sahayak (SS) Teachers
Job satisfaction and organisational commitment are two crucial factors of organisational effectiveness. The present study focuses on the job satisfaction and organisational commitment of school teachers designated as Sikshya Sahayaks (SS) in Dhenkanal district, Odisha. Organisational commitment and job satisfaction were examined among 80 randomly selected Sikshya Sahayaks(SS teachers). The study adopted a descriptive correlation design. The data were randomly collected by survey method using Lester’s (1982) Teacher job satisfaction questionnaire (TJSQ) and Meyer & Allen’s (1990) organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ). Descriptive, inferential, and correlational analysis of data found a positive correlation between organisational commitment and job satisfaction of Sikshya Sahayaks. Female teachers (Sikshya Sahayaks) are more contented with their profession as compared to their male counterparts. There is a significant effect of gender on organisational commitment of Sikshya Sahayaks.
Making Safety a ‘Way of Life’ in Indian Society: A Psychological Perspective
How to make safety a way of life, whether this objective is a myth or reality? This paper is an exploration in this direction involving 540 HSE professionals using focused group discussions/interviews and webinars. Implications are drawn toward this objective as well as reflections on the existing safety culture and its challenges and solutions thereof. Hopefully, this exploratory effort would help nearing the objective.
Parenting Styles as Predictors of Social and Emotional Maturity
Attainment of maturity is a key outcome of adolescence phase. A number of factors contribute to social and emotional maturity among adolescents. Rearing practices adopted by parents are one of the most relevant determinants of maturity attainment among adolescents. (Okpako 2004) defines parenting styles as the act of parenthood, the child upbringing, training, rearing or child education. Steinberg and Cauffman (1996) opine that social maturity relates to the aspects of development and behaviour that includes traits, interpersonal relations, and emotional experiences. It indicates the competence accomplished by an individual with respect to interpersonal relationships, appropriateness of behaviour, social decision making and problem solving. Emotional maturity has been defined by Menninger (1999) as the ability to deal constructively with reality. Chamberlain (1960) has emphasized the self control part of emotional maturity when he defined an emotional person is one whose life is well under control. The present study was conducted to analyze the relationship between parenting styles, social maturity, and emotional maturity. The sample comprised of 200 adolescents in the age range of 15-17 yrs, selected from different educational institutions in Haryana. Parental authority questionnaire (Buri 1991) was used to assess the adolescents’ perceptions of their parent’s parenting style. Social Maturity Scale ((Srivastava 2004) was administered to assess social maturity and Emotional Maturity Scale (Singh and Bhargava, 2006) was administered to assess emotional maturity among adolescents. Pearson Product Moment correlation and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results revealed parenting styles to be significant predictors of social and emotional maturity among adolescents.
Deciphering the Concept of Imagination in Cultural-Historical Psychology: The Problem of Domain Distinction with Creativity
The advances in creativity research within the Cultural-historical school of Psychology focus on significance, re-definition, domain-distinction and experimental verification of the concept of imagination. The Vygotskian conception of Imagination as a reality-manifesting material as opposed to the common meaning of fantasy is significant to the overall framework for other cognitive processes. The ontological relevance of the concept in day-to-day affairs makes it a primary and basic process for other higher-order cognitive processes like Creativity. This article reviews the Vygotskian conception of imagination and the later experimental work on imagination by Michael Cole and Etienne Pelaprat. It also focusses on the relationship between creativity and imagination. The review is focussed on significant arguments, experimental methods, Domaindistinction of creativity and imagination and its implications. Vygotsky refers to two basic processes in creativity based on perception-Dissociation and Association of elements. Imagination and creativity are different in developmental time scale and in adaptability. Creativity is in cultural historic plain whereas imagination is in individual-temporal-spacial plain.
Working Memory Profile for Parenting Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders and the Typically Developing: Same or Different?
Working memory (WM) as one of the components of Executive Functions (EF) has been studied in parents in the context of endophenotypes of children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD). But the examination of such cognitive functions that are pertinent for effective parenting skills in this group of parents has been limited. This study aims at understanding WM and what they reveal about parenting when examined on parents of children with NDD vis-a-vis a control group of parents with children who are typically developing (TD). NDD is defined in a novel unitary approach. Hence a cross-sectional two-group design was employed with 54 parents of the NDD group and 45 parents of the TD group, where all their children had homogeneous demographic characteristics except their developmental status. Parents were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The parents had no psychiatric morbidity or cognitive impairments and belonged to high socioeconomic status (SES). N-back and Spatial span tasks were administered. Results revealed a significant difference in most of the n-back tasks but none in spatial span tasks between the groups. Task nature and their relevance in normal and clinical groups of adults were discussed with implications in parenting.
COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call for Paradigm Shift in Learning Methods
With the outbreak of COVID-19, all the educational institutions were shut down globally resulting in teachers and students staying out of their classrooms. This resulted into a transformation of education system which incorporated e-learning as basic tool whereby teaching and training is largely conducted on digital platforms. The colleges and universities came under intense pressure to conduct online classes as they were left with no other choice. The present study is an attempt to find out the strengths and weaknesses of online learning system in meeting the challenges posed by the unprecedented pandemic. It also highlights diverse ways to improve the online learning and the desired paradigm shift in the education system. The present study was conducted in the form of a survey which was designed for students based on online learning and was carried out with the help of google link during a period of one month i.e. 15th September to 15th October, 2020.Seven hundred responses were received and analyzed. The responses covered the entire length and breadth of the country and involved students from wide and diverse streams. The survey suggested students’ readiness to online methods but majority favored an optimal mix of offline and online modes. Additionally, they were worried about the safety and security of digital world. The evolving paradigm needs to be strengthened as the online component which is technology dependent requires proper set up, support and regular update which many students and institutions are unable to afford.