psychology

skill development firm ACQYR, writes in the article ―Persuasive Communication‖ for Self Growth that the key to successful persuasive communication involves connecting to your listener(s). Nijmeh recommends doing this by finding out what your listener(s) care about and connecting that to your message.

Ceremonial communication celebrates or pays tribute to a person, place or thing. Types of ceremonial communications include wedding toasts, eulogies, commencement speeches and roasts. An important part of ceremonial communication is picking subject matters that your audience will be familiar with.

As the name suggests, informative communication, such as classroom lectures and driving directions, aims to provide factual information to others. Effective informative communication relies on communicating your message in a concise fashion. One way to format your message concisely is by addressing your message‘s five Ws: who, what, where, when, and why.

Non-verbal communication

Facial expressions are responsible for a huge proportion of nonverbal communication. Consider how much information can be conveyed with a smile or a frown. While nonverbal communication and behavior can vary dramatically between cultures, the facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger and fear are similar throughout the world.

Gestures Deliberate movements and signals are an important way to communicate meaning without words. Common gestures include waving, pointing, and using fingers to indicate numeric amounts. Other gestures are arbitrary and related to culture.

Paralinguisticsrefers to vocal communication that is separate from actual language. This includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection and pitch. Consider the powerful effect that tone of voice can have on the meaning of a sentence. When said in a strong tone of voice, listeners might interpret approval and enthusiasm. The same words said in a hesitant tone of voice might convey disapproval and a lack of interest.

Body Language and PosturePosture and movement can also convey a great deal on information.

5.Proxemics People often refer to their need for "personal space," which is also an important type of nonverbal communication. The amount of distance we need and the amount of space we perceive as belonging to us is influenced by a number of factors including social norms, situational factors, personality characteristics and level of familiarity.

6.Eye Gaze Looking, staring and blinking can also be important nonverbal behaviors. When people encounter people or things that they like, the rate of blinking increases and pupils dilate. Looking at another person can indicate a range of emotions, including hostility, interest and attraction.

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7.Haptics Communicating through touch is another important nonverbal behavior. There has been a substantial amount of research on the importance of touch in infancy and early childhood.

8.Appearance Our choice of color, clothing, hairstyles and other factors affecting appearance are also considered a means of nonverbal communication.

Practical Task Exercise 1 Scientific Problem Solving

Songwriter Cole Porter once asked, ―What Is This Thing Called Love?‖ That question has plagued psychologists interested in emotions and intimate relationships. How can one research a phenomenon that seems to be as unique as love? Psychologists can‘t exactly conduct experimental research on how people fall in love. (Imagine trying to set up a controlled observation in which you randomly assign individuals to ―heartbreak‖ and ―no heartbreak‖ conditions!)

However, psychologists can try to study aspects of the phenomenon, although that, too, is a challenge.

Your tasks in this exercise is to figure out just what would be measured if you tried to quantify falling in love. Join with a group of students who are about your age. How many different indicators can you generate that might be evidence of falling in love? Why is there so little uniformity across individuals in such an important emotional experience? Of those indicators, do any particularly reveal the measure that is most relevant to your own experience?

Indicators:

Literature:

Beaumont, J.G. (1998) Understanding Neuropsychology. Oxford: Blackwell. Bloom, F.E.&Lazerson, A. (1988). Brain, Mind and Behavior 2ndedn. NewYork: W.H. Freeman.

Evans, P. (1989) motivation and Emotion. London: Routledge.

Ray, J. (1989). The Psychology of Fear and Stress 2ndedn.London: Weidenfeld. Green, S. (1993). Principles of Bio-Psychology. London: Erlbaum.

Hayes, N. (1998). Foundations of Psychology 2ndedn. London: Nelson. Kalat, J.W. (1992). Biological Psychology. Pacific Grove: Brooks Cole.

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Theme14-15: Basic psychological problems in teaching activities

Content:

1)Definition of conflict

2)Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict

3)Effective management of conflict

4)Skills

5)Resolving and managing of conflict

The term conflict management refers to processes and programs that teach individuals concepts and skills for preventing, managing, and resolving conflicts non-violently. Conflict management programs can teach life skills, "win-win" negotiation strategies, mediation skills, and violence prevention strategies. They are implemented in elementary, middle and high schools to help students, teachers, administrators and parents resolve conflicts effectively.

1) Definition

-Opposition -Incompatible behavior -Antagonistic interaction

-Block another party from reaching her or his goals

Conflict…

Is natural and inevitable;

Is a motivator for change;

Can result from competition over values, power, or resources;

Can be constructive or destructive,

Can contribute to individual and organizational health; and

Can be managed to minimize losses and maximize gains for all concerned.

2) Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict

Functional conflict: works toward the goals of an organization or group Dysfunctional conflict: blocks an organi-zation or group from reaching its goals Dysfunctionally high conflict: what you typically think about conflict Dysfunctionally low conflict: an atypical view

Levels vary among groups

Dysfunctionally high conflict

Tension, anxiety, stress

Drives out low conflict tolerant people

Reduced trust

Poor decisions because of withheld or distorted information

Excessive management focus on the conflict

Dysfunctionally low conflict

Few new ideas

Poor decisions from lack of innovation and information

Stagnation

Business as usual

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3)Effective management of conflict comes from . . .

Identifying and understanding root causes of conflict;

Recognizing styles of conflict;

Exploring needs and differences; and

Working toward constructive resolution of the conflict.

Conflict is destructive when it . ..

 Diverts energy from important tasks and issues;

 Produces barriers to cooperative understanding and action;  Decreases productivity;

 Deepens value differences;

 Destroys morale and self-esteem;

Conflict is constructive when it . . .

Opens an issue to cooperative discussion;

Leads to a solution of a problem;

Leads to a higher level of understanding and communication between individuals or groups;

Helps people to grow personally and apply their new knowledge, skill, and understanding to future situations;

4)Skills

Effective implementation of conflict management strategies requires various skills and abilities for addressing conflict. Training in the various skills sets below will assist individuals in more effectively managing these types of encounters. The core abilities and skills include:

Orientation skills include values, beliefs and attitudes that are compatible with effective conflict management. Orientation abilities include:

Understanding own values and beliefs

Understanding how attitudes and beliefs about conflict, justice, and respect affect how we deal with conflict

Perception skills include the understanding that conflict lies not in objective reality, but in the perceptions that individuals have of that situation, circumstance, or event. Perception abilities include:

Perspective-taking abilities that include cognitive and affective perspectivetaking

Emotional skills include behaviors to manage emotions and feelings such as anger, frustration, hurt, fear, confusion and other emotions effectively. Emotional abilities include:

Recognize one‘s own emotions Recognize other‘s emotions

Be able to strategically express emotion

Be able to control negative emotion – especially anger Be able to talk about emotion rather than act out emotion

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Communication skills include listening and speaking which allows for more effective exchange of facts and feelings. Communication abilities include: Active listening

Ability to use non-defensive language and behavior

Ability to articulate your view of the situation and interests in decision Creative-thinking skills enable individuals to find new ways to view and

address challenges as they arise. Creative thinking skills include: Ability to create new options and perspectives

Critical-thinking skills (problem-solving) include analyzing, hypothesizing, predicting, strategizing, comparing, and evaluating options. Critical-thinking abilities include:

Ability to contrast and compare data Ability to predict and analyze situations Ability to construct and test hypotheses

5) Resolving and Managing Conflict ...

Avoidance

Avoid the issues

Not a good long run approach

Eventually the conflict will have to be faced.

Smoothing

o Emphasize common interests of the groups and de-emphasize the differences.

 Stress shared interests or needs to facilitate reaching common goals. o Only a short run solution

Compromise

o A traditional method where no one wins and no one loses.

o Most effective if the source that caused the conflict can be divided equitably.

 not as effective when no equitable solution is possible.  someone has to give.

Authoritative Command

Most frequently used

Mgt. solves the conflict on their own terms and communicates it to the groups.

Good in short run only

Altering the Human Variable

o Involves changing the behavior of group members.

focuses on causes of the conflict and attitudes of the people involved.

this method is difficult to use but it does get at the sources of the problems.

Altering the Structural Variables

o Changing the formal structure of the organization.

Accomplished by changing members of the group in some way.

Identifying a Common Enemy

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Similar to superordinate goals

Conflict Frames and Orientations Forcing

Avoiding

Compromising

Accommodating

Collaborating

• Conflict orientations

–Dominance: wants to win; conflict is a battle

–Collaborative: wants to find a solution that satisfies everyone

–Compromise: splits the differences

–Avoidance: backs away

–Accommodative: focuses on desires of other party Guidelines for Conflict Resolution...

 Search for compatible interests

 Every side has something valuable to say

 Search for commonalties instead of polarization

 With emotional issues, create an environment for people to express feelings (to vent)

 Listen to the other side

 Think about what you really want and then figure out how to make it easier for the other side to give it to you

 Use a third party to vent hostility and emotion  Avoid self-righteousness and moral posturing

Practical Task

Exercise 1 Pattern Recognition

How we process our facts influences how we make our decisions, but ―facts‖ can be ―framed‖ in different ways, depending on our purpose and the context. For example, consumers are more likely to buy ground beef that is ―80 percent lean‖ than to purchase the package labeled ―20 percent fat‖. Both descriptions are accurate, and logically they are equivalent. But only one of them is likely to make us reach for our wallets to make a purchase. (The other may launch us on a fat-free self-improvement campaign).

Framing comes into play in how we present information to others. A common practice when one North American needs to impart mixed news to another is to start with the statement, ―There is good news and there is bad news. Which would you like to hear first?‖ By making this statement, we offer the news recipient an opportunity to influence how we will frame the good and bad details that will follow.

Examine the following situations and speculate about how you could frame the information to produce the intended outcomes.

Have I Got a Deal for You!

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You sell used cars. The best car on your lot has 100,000 miles on it. How could you describe this car to a prospective buyer to make the purchase more attractive?

Making the Grade

You‘ re carrying six full classes. You‘ve had a hard semester, and you are about to talk with loved ones at a family gathering about how things have been going.

You‘ve excelled in five courses, but you know you won‘t pass the other course.

How do you talk about your experience in this difficult semester? IRS Blues

You‘ve just started working for the Internal Revenue Service. Tax specialists have developed tax brackets to assist in equitable taxation. Will you work with taxpayers by describing how much tax they will you pay or by explaining how much income they will keep?

Rain, Rain, Go Away

As a weather forecaster in an area that depends on the tourist industry, will you state your forecast as the likelihood of sunshine or as the likelihood of rain?

Literature:

Beaumont, J.G. (1998) Understanding Neuropsychology. Oxford: Blackwell. Bloom, F.E.&Lazerson, A. (1988). Brain, Mind and Behavior 2ndedn. NewYork: W.H. Freeman.

Evans, P. (1989) motivation and Emotion. London: Routledge.

Ray, J. (1989). The Psychology of Fear and Stress 2ndedn.London: Weidenfeld. Green, S. (1993). Principles of Bio-Psychology. London: Erlbaum.

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Tasks for intermediate control 1

1 Empiricists:

a) Believe that our development is largely determined by the environment in which we live;

b) Believe that our development is largely determined by the genes we inherit;

c) Believe that our development is the result of an interaction between the genetic material we inherit and the environment in which we live;

d) Are scientists involved in genetic engineering; 2 Species-specific behavior is:

a)Behavior peculiar to a specific species;

b)Behavior that is common to many species;

c)Behavior that is only demonstrated by mammals;

d)Inherited behavior;

3 Classical conditioning was studied in depth by:

a)Ivan Pavlov in 1950;

b)Ivan Pavlov in 1911;

c)J.B. Watson in 1900;

d)Sigmund Freud in 1912;

4 Classical conditioning deals with:

a)Involuntary responses;

b)Involuntary responses and voluntary behavior;

c)Voluntary behavior;

d)Learning sets;

5 Generalisation occurs when:

a)An animal responds to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus;

b)An animal learns to discriminate between two stimuli;

c)An animal responds to stimuli that are very different from originally conditioned stimulus;

d)An animal develops a phobia;

6 Delayed conditioning occurs when:

a)The conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are presented at the same time;

b)The conditioned stimulus has been presented and stopped before the unconditioned stimulus is presented;

c)The conditioned stimulus commences first, is then followed by the unconditioned stimulus and they both end at the same time;

d)None of the above;

7 A reinforce is:

a)Something that strengthens behavior or makes it more likely to occur

again;

b)Something that decreases the strength of a response or makes it less likely to occur again;

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c)A punishment;

d)A positive response;

8 Which of the following is an example of a secondary reinforser?

a)Money;

b)Food:

c)Comfort:

d)All of the above:

9 Negative reinforcement occurs when:

a)Something pleasant is given to an animal in order to get it to repeat an act;

b)Something pleasant is taken away as a means of preventing an act from being repeated;

c)Something unpleasant is removed in order to encourage an act to be repeated;

d)Something unpleasant is given in order to stop an act being repeated;

10 Whilst working with chimps, Kohler found evidence of:

a)Insight learning;

b)Learning through reinforcement;

c)Learning by trial and error;

d)Cognitive maps;

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Tasks for intermediate control 2

1 Which of the following psychologists was among the first to develop a systematic way of measuring intelligence?

a)Arnold Gesell;

b)B.F. Skinner;

c)Alfred Binet;

d)J.B. Watson; 2 Genotype refers to:

a)All the genetic characteristics that we inherit;

b)Only those genetic characteristics that can be seen to develop;

c)A person of inferior intelligence;

d)Gifted children;

3 According to Freud, ―Tanatos‖ is:

a)A life force;

b)A destructive instinct;

c)A pleasure zone;

d)A stage of development;

4 A definition of perception would be:

a)A process that enables us to hear;

b)The interpretation of information that we receive through our senses;

c)The interpretation of visual information only;

d)Communication by touch;

5 If people were unable to adapt to a different visual world we could conclude:

a)That human perception is largely inborn;

b)That human perception is largely learned;

c)That human perception involves an interaction between learning and innate abilities;

d)None of the above;

6.The central nervous system consist of: a)the brain and spinal cord;

b)the brain:

c)the spinal cord;

d)the somatic nervous system;

7.Messages pass from one neurone to another across:

a)a synapse;

b)a receptor site;

c)an axon;

d)a cell body;

8.When a nerve cell produces an electrical impulse, we say it is:

a)receptive;

b)firing;

c)transducing;

d)charged;

9.The pituitary gland is part of the:

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