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Perception is the process through which we interpret and organize the received information so as to produce our conscious experience of objects and their relationship.

Key Points

• We feel something in sensation when the stimulus is present and when the meaning is added to them it becomes perception.
• In this process, physical energy; such as light, sound waves, heat; emanating from objects is transformed by the concerned sense organs into a code and transferred to and interpreted by the brain.
• The line between the two terms sensation and perception, therefore, is somewhat arbitrary.
• The sensation typically refers to the direct reception and transmission of messages, whereas perception refers to the active process of integrating and organizing these sensations.

Additional Information

• Imagination is a primary creative act, a willed activity of spirit, a self-consciousness, a "self-realizing intuition.
• Thinking is the base of all cognitive activities or processes and is unique to human beings. It involves the manipulation and analysis of information received from the environment.
• Memory refers to the ability or power of the brain that helps an individual in obtaining, transforming, storing,  retrieving, and using information when needed.

Hence, we conclude that giving meaning to sensation on the basis of past experience is called Perception.

Learning By Trial And Error**:** The connections between stimuli and responses are formed through random trial and error.

Key Points

• The law of trial and error was formulated after Thorndike’s experiment on a hungry cat imprisoned in a cage.
• When the cat could press the lever of the cage through several trials, it would get food as the reward.
• Thorndike also emphasized the significance of other factors like the readiness of learners, and goal-oriented learning endeavors, for learning.
• Thorndike also propounded "Trial & Error Theory" has developed three primary laws of learning that leads to development.

These primary laws are:

Hence, Thorndike propounded the law of trial and error of learning.

Additional Information

• The Theory of Classical Conditioning was propounded by ‘Ivan Pavlov’.
• 'Wolfgang Kohler', a German psychologist, has proposed the ‘Theory of Insight’. This theory advocates a sudden solution to the problem as insight doesn't rely on behaviour or observation.

Intelligence refers to a set of different cognitive abilities to think rationally, act purposefully, resolve problems, and deal with the demands of the environment.

• In 1912, William Stern suggested the concept called Intelligent Quotient (IQ). It refers to the score of a standardized test that assesses and measures human intelligence.

Key Points

An individual’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is determined by the formula given below,

\({\bf{Intelligence}};{\bf{Quotient}};\left( {{\bf{IQ}}} \right) = \frac{{{\bf{Mental}};{\bf{Age}};\left( {{\bf{MA}}} \right);}}{{{\bf{Chronological}};{\bf{Age}};\left( {{\bf{CA}}} \right)}} \times 100\)

Where,

• Mental Age is based on intellectual development.
• Chronological Age is the number of years a person has lived.
• When a person’s mental age is equal to his actual age, he is said to have an average IQ.
• If an individual's IQ lies in the 90-109 range, it means his/her IQ is average.

Important Points

Refer to the IQ table for further information:

Hence, it could be concluded that I.Q. The level of average intelligence in children will be between 90 - 109.

Intelligence is the ability to undertake activities that are characterized by difficulty, complexity, abstractness, economy, adaptiveness to a goal, social value, and the emergence of originals, and to maintain such activities under conditions that demand a concentration of energy and resistance to emotional forces.

Fluid Mosaic Model of Intelligence: The fluid mosaic model of intelligence was proposed by Raymond B. Cattell.

• Cattell defined fluid intelligence as the ability to perceive relationships independent of previous specific practice or instruction concerning those relationships.
• "Fluid intelligence is the ability to think and reason abstractly and solve problems. This ability is considered independent of learning, experience, and education. Examples of the use of fluid intelligence include solving puzzles and coming up with problem-solving strategies.
• Fluid intelligence is the capacity to reason and solve new problems. There is no influence from any knowledge from past experiences, rather the person innovates new logical methods to resolve the problem.
• Fluid intelligence peaks in adolescence and begins to decline progressively beginning around age 30 or 40.

Hence it is clear that Fluid mosaic model of intelligence was proposed by Cattel.

Educational psychology is the systematic study of the development of the individual within the educational setting. It helps the teacher to foster the harmonious overall development of the student.

Theories of Educational Psychology:

Hence, we can conclude that Operant conditioning theory is Propounded by Skinner.

Examinations have always been an important part of the total educational process. Examinations are designed and administered at different stages of education and their results are used for various purposes like improvement in learning, grading and classification of students, selection for admission to higher classes or for scholarship, certification and for providing guidance for future, etc.

Key Points

• Once the teacher or the test constructor is aware of the characteristics that a good test must possess, she/he then proceeds to construct a test, which may be either a unit test or a full-fledged question paper covering all the aspects of the syllabus.
• After deciding on the design of the test, the blueprint is prepared as It is an important component of test construction.
• The blueprint is a three-dimensional chart that shows the placement of each question in respect of the objective and the content area that it tests. It also indicates the marks carried by each question.
• It is useful to prepare a blueprint so that the test maker knows which question will test which objective, which content unit, and how many marks it would carry.
• Without a blueprint, only the weightage is decided for objectives, content areas, and types of questions. The blueprint concretizes the design in operational terms and all the dimensions of a question (i.e. its objective, its form, the content area it would cover, and the marks allotted to it) become clear to the test maker.

Thus, it is concluded that Blueprint is an important component of test construction.

Additional InformationComponents of test construction:

• Prepare a Design
• Preparing a Blue Print
• Prepare questions based on the blueprint
• Assembling the Question Paper
• Preparing the Scoring Key and the Marking Scheme
• Preparing Question-wise Analysis

Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, has made a systematic study of cognitive development in his theory that is categorized in four stages. 

• He observed his children and their process of making sense of the world around them and developed a model of how the mind processes new information encountered.

Key Points

• Piaget’s Pre-operational stage is from 2 - 7 years. In this stage, the child faces problems with the concept of conservation and struggles with the idea of centration and irreversibility.

The Four Stages of Cognitive Development:

Hence, it could be concluded that Pre-operational stage is the stage of development proposed by Piaget.

Additional Information

• Wolfgang Kohler, a German psychologist, is associated with the ‘Theory of Insightful learning’. In his theory, he has proposed the term ‘Insight’ that doesn't take place with trial & error, rather than it is a sudden reorganization of experience.
• Operant conditioning was first investigated by B.F. Skinner. Skinner studied the occurrence of voluntary responses when an organism operates in the environment. He called them operants.
• Bruner has proposed Theory of instruction. The theory implies the idea that anything can be taught to any child when they reach the appropriate stage of cognitive maturity.

Testing is becoming more and more important with each growing area of psychology. Personality testing is an essential prerequisite for identifying the various constituents of personality. Testing in personality provides measures of emotional and motivational traits of personality.

• Personality inventory is a printed form that consists of a set of statements or questions applying to human behavior. The list of questions is a standard one and requires specific answers such as “yes”, “no” and “cannot decide”. As the questions demand close-ended answers, these assessments are quite objective in nature.

Key Points

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory test is the most common personality inventory. It tests specifically, the abnormal behavior patterns in personality MMPI consists of 567 statements such as “I believe I am being plotted against”.
• The answers to the statements must be in “true”, “false”, or “cannot say”. It has 10 clinical scales and eight validity scales besides various subscales. Each scale tests a particular kind of behavior.
• Ranging from mild to more serious disorders such as schizophrenia and depression, are assessed using this inventory. Validity scales ascertain whether the person taking the inventory is responding honestly or not.
• For example, if one of the statements is “I am contented with whatever I have” and a person responds “true” to that statement, gets into suspicion that the person is lying. If several of validity scale questions are answered in this manner, it clearly depicts that the person is not being honest.

Thus, it is concluded that M.M.P.I is a test used to measure personality.

The correct answer is Motivation.

Key Points

• Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour, knowledge, or skills resulting from experience and practice.
• Motivation is the most essential factor for learning because it energizes, directs, and sustains an individual's efforts toward achieving learning goals.
• A motivated learner shows greater attention, persistence, participation, and willingness to overcome difficulties, leading to more effective learning.
• Without motivation, learners are less likely to engage meaningfully in the learning process, even if other conditions are favourable.
• Hence, the correct answer is Motivation.

Additional Information

• Guidance:
• Helps learners understand concepts and solve problems but is not the primary prerequisite for learning.
• Maturation:
• Refers to the natural physical and mental growth of an individual, which provides readiness for learning but does not by itself ensure learning.
• Interest:
• Interest enhances learning by increasing engagement, but it is generally considered a component or outcome of motivation rather than the most fundamental requirement.

Development refers to an increase in structure for better and enhanced functioning of organs.

• The development of human beings is divided into different stages such as Infancy, Childhood (Early & Late Childhood), Adolescence, and Adulthood.

Key Points

• Infancy refers to the first two years of a child's development in which the child grows rapidly after birth.
• It is a crucial period of development in which the child learns to sit, crawl, stand, etc.

Important Points 

Development in Infancy:

• Language Development: Infants start without language. Yet by four months of age, babies can read lips and discriminate speech sounds. The language that infants speak is called babbling.
• Emotional Development: Infants start without emotions. yet by 2 to 3 months of age, they begin to show smiles and later express their feelings such as anger, fear, etc.
• Social Development: Infants are born social learners. They form healthy attachments with their caregivers and enjoy being around other children of their age.
• Physical Development: The first year of an infant is characterized by rapid physical growth. A normal baby doubles its birth weight in six months and triples it in a year.
• Cognitive Development: In infancy, children develop many elements of abilities to think and to understand the world around them. Infants have remarkably competent organisms, even on the first day of life.

Hence, it could be concluded that the period of infancyhood is from birth to 2 years.