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Class 12 - Psychology Important 2 Marks Questions and Answers

Psychology Important 2 marks Questions Class 12

1.Differentiate between psychometric and information-processing approaches to intelligence.
(Chapter 1 : Variations in Psychological Attributes)

Ans:

Psychometric Approach Information-Processing Approach
This approach considers intelligence as an aggregate of abilities. This approach deals on how an intelligent person acts.
It expresses the individual’s performance in terms of a single index of cognitive abilities. It mostly focuses mostly on emphasising studying cognitive functions underlying intelligent behaviour.

2.State any TWO techniques of self regulation.
(Chapter 2 : Self and Personality)

Ans:
Self-regulation refers to our ability to organise and monitor our own behaviour.
Techniques of self regulation are as follows:

  • Observation of own behaviour : This provides us with necessary information that may be used to change, modify, or strengthen certain aspects of self.
  • Self-instruction : We often instruct ourselves to do something and behave the way we want to. Such instructions are quite effective in self-regulation.

3.State the characteristics of stress resistant personality.
(Chapter 3: Meeting Life Challenges)

Ans:
As per studies by Kobasa it is shown that people with high level of stress and low level illness share three characteristics which are called personality traits of hardiness.
The three characteristics ie the three C’s are commitment , control and challenge.
Hardiness is a set of beliefs about oneself, the world, and how they interact. Commitment: It takes shape as a sense of what you are doing. For example a sense of control over your life, and a feeling of challenge. Control: Control on purpose and direction in life. Example commitment to work, family, hobbies and social life. Challenge: they see changes in life as normal and positive rather than as a threat.

4.Differentiate between self-esteem and self-efficacy.
(Chapter 2 : Self and Personality)

Ans:

Self-Esteem Self-Efficacy
In this an individual makes some judgment about our own value or worth. In this an individual believes they themselves control their life outcomes or the outcomes are controlled by luck or fate or other situational factors, e.g. passing an examination.
In order to understand self-esteem of an individual they are presented with a variety of statements (for example :s “I am good at homework”, or “I am the one usually chosen for the games”, or “I am highly liked by my peers”) and asked to indicate the extent to which those statements are true for her or him.If they are reported as true the individual is having a high self -esteem. A person who believes that s/he has the ability or behaviours required by a particular situation demonstrates high self-efficacy.

5.What do you understand by Type-C personality?
(Chapter 2 : Self and Personality)

Ans:

  • Morris has suggested a Type-C personality, which is prone to cancer.
  • Individuals characterised by this personality are cooperative, unassertive and patient.
  • They suppress their negative emotions (e.g., anger), and show compliance to authority.

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6.Describe any TWO factors from the Five Factor Model of personality. ?
(Chapter 2 : Self and Personality)

Ans:
Openness to experience : Those who score high on this factor are imaginative, curious, open to new ideas, and interested in cultural pursuits. In contrast, those who score low are rigid.
Extraversion : It characterises people who are socially active, assertive, outgoing, talkative, and fun loving. On its opposite are people who are shy.

7.How are IQ scores distributed in a population ?
(Chapter 1 : Variations in Psychological Attributes)

Ans:

  • William Stern, a German psychologist, devised the concept of Intelligence Quotient.
  • When MA = CA , IA = 100
  • If MA > CA, IQ > 100
  • If MA < CA, IQ < 10
  • People with an IQ scores in the range of 90–110 have normal intelligence.
  • People with an IQ below 70 are suspected to have "mental retardation".
  • People with an IQ above 130 are considered to have exceptional talents.
The following table shows the classification based on IQ range and the percent of population falling in the IA range

IQ Range Descriptive Label Percent in the Population
Above 130 Very superior 2.2
120-130 Superior 6.7
110-119 High Average 16.1
90-109 Average 50.0
80-89 Low Average 16.1
70-79 Borderline 6.7
Below 70 Mentally challenged/retarded 2.2

8.How is personal identity different from social identity?
(Chapter 2 : Self and Personality)

Ans:

Personal Identity Social Identity
Personal identity refers to those attributes of a person that make her/him different from others. Social identity refers to those aspects of a person that link her/him to a social or cultural group.
When a person tells about herself/himself by telling its name, qualities, characteristics,potentialities, capabilities,hobbies, beliefs, the person is disclosing his/her identity. When someone says that s/he is a Hindu or a Muslim, a Brahmin or an adivasi or a North Indian or a South Indian, or something like these, s/he is trying to indicate her/his social identity.

9.Explain information-processing approach to understand intelligence.
(Chapter 1 : Variations in Psychological Attributes)

Ans:

  • The information-processing approach mainly deals with the processes people use in intellectual reasoning and problem solving.
  • This approach deals on how an intelligent person acts.
  • It mostly focuses mostly on emphasising studying cognitive functions underlying intelligent behaviour.

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10.How does humanistic-existential model explain psychological disorders ?
(chapter 4: Psychological Disorders)

Ans:

  • Stress affects our behaviour in the form of eating less nutritional food, increasing intake of caffeine, smoking, alcohol and other drugs such as tranquillisers etc.
  • Tranquillisers can be addictive and have side effects such as loss of concentration, poor coordination, and dizziness.
  • Some of the typical behavioural effects of stress seen are disrupted sleep patterns, increased absenteeism, and reduced work performance.

11.State two psychological disorders in which cognitive behaviour therapy is used for treatment.
(chapter 5 :Therapeutic Approaches)

Ans:
Psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and borderline personality are treated with the help of Cognitive behaviour Therapy.

13.What is the meaning of logotherapy?
(chapter 5 :Therapeutic Approaches)

Ans:
Logos is the Greek word for soul and Logotherapy means treatment for the soul. Victor Frankl, a psychiatrist and neurologist propounded the Logotherapy.

14.Differentiate between self as subject and self as object.
(Chapter 2: Self and Personality)

Ans:

self as subject self as object
Example : I am a dancer. Here is the self is a subject. Example : I am one who easily gets hurt Here the self is described as an "object".
As a subject (actor) the self actively engages in the process of knowing itself. As an object (consequence) the self gets observed and comes to be known.

15.What is emotional intelligence?
(Chapter 1 : Variations in Psychological Attributes)

Ans:

  • Emotional intelligence is a set of skills that underlie accurate appraisal, expression, and regulation of emotions.
  • Salovey and Mayer defined emotional intelligence as “the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one’s thinking and actions”.
  • Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to process emotional information accurately and efficiently.

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Explain the role of social support in promoting positive health and well-being.
(Chapter 3 :Meeting Life Challenges)

Ans:
Social support is defined as the existence and availability of people on whom we can rely upon, people who let us know that they care about, value, and love us.
Social support is divided into
Tangible support : involves assistance in terms of material aid like money, goods,services, for example a child in school gives her notes to her friend as she was absent due to sickness. Informational support: An example of informational support is like a student facing difficulties in board exam, so in such a case if a friend who already have an idea gives the detail information will help to plan for the exam in an effective manner. During times of stress, one may experience sadness, anxiety, and loss of self-esteem. Emotional support: Friends , family provide emotional support making the individual feel loved, valued and cared for. Research has signified that social support effectively reduces psychological distress such as depression or anxiety, during times of stress and hence is positively related to psychological well-being.

17.Explain linguistic intelligence.
(Chapter 1 : Variations in Psychological Attributes)

Ans:

  • It is the capacity to use language fluently and flexibly to express one’s thinking and understand others.
  • Persons high on this intelligence are ‘word-smart’, i.e. they are sensitive to different shades of word meanings, are articulate, and can create linguistic images in their mind.
  • Poets and writers are very strong in this component of intelligence.

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18.Elucidate any TWO characteristics of emotionally intelligent individual.
(Chapter 1 : Variations in Psychological Attributes)

Ans:
The characteristics of emotionally intelligent persons are :

  • Perceive and be sensitive to your own’s feelings and emotions.
  • Perceive and be sensitive to others people’s emotions by paying attention to their tone, body language and facial expressions.

19.What is meant by self-actualisation ?
(Chapter3 : Meeting Life Challenges)

Ans:

  • Self-actualisation, is a state in which people have reached their own fullest potential.
  • Human beings are considered free to shape their lives and to self-actualise.Self-actualisation becomes possible by analysing the motivations that govern our life.

20.State four characteristics of psychotherapeutic approaches.
(Chapter 5: Therapeutic Approaches)

Ans:
(i) there is systematic application of principles underlying the different theories of therapy,
(ii) persons who have received practical training under expert supervision can practice psychotherapy, and not everybody. An untrained person may unintentionally cause more harm than any good
(iii) the therapeutic situation involves a therapist and a client who seeks and receives help for her/his emotional problems (this person is the focus of attention in the therapeutic process), and
(iv) the interaction of these two persons — the therapist and the client — results in the consolidation/formation of the therapeutic relationship.

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21.What is occupational therapy ?
(chapter 5: Therapeutic Approaches)

Ans:
In occupational therapy, patients are taught skills such as

  • candle making,
  • paper bag making and
  • weaving to help them to form a work discipline.

22.What is group polarisation?
(Chapter 7: Social Influence and Group Processes)

Ans:
A group gets stronger as a result of discussions in the group. This strengthening of the group’s initial position as a result of group interaction and discussion is referred to as group polarisation.

23.Explain the term frustration.
(Chapter 8 : Psychology and Life)

Ans:

  • Frustration is a consequence of aggression, i.e. an emotional state that arises when a person is prevented from reaching a goal, or attaining an object that s/he wants.
  • The person may be very close to the goal, and yet does not attain it.
  • It has been found that people in frustrating situations show more aggression than those who are not frustrated.

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24.Explain the term aggression.
(Chapter 8 : Psychology and Life)

Ans:

  • Psychologists use the term ‘aggression’ to refer to any behaviour by one person/ persons that is intended to cause harm to another person/persons.
  • It can be demonstrated in actual action or through the use of harsh words or criticism, or even hostile feelings against others.
  • Some psychologists distinguish aggression from violence by pointing out that aggressive behaviour involves the intention to harm or injure another person.

25.Explain discrimination in the context of poverty.
(Chapter 8 : Psychology and life)

Ans:

  • Discrimination refers to the behaviour that makes a distinction between the rich and the poor, favouring the rich and the advantaged over the poor and the disadvantaged.
  • This distinction is seen in matters of social interaction, education, and employment.
  • The poor or disadvantages are kept away from opportunities that are enjoyed by the rest of society.
  • Discrimination prevent the poor from improving their socio-economic condition through their own efforts, and this makes the poor even poorer.
  • Poverty and discrimination are related in such a way that discrimination becomes both a cause and a consequence of poverty.

26.Explain the term crowding.
(Chapter 8 : Psychology and Life)

Ans:

  • Crowding to a feeling of discomfort because there are too many people or things around us, giving us the experience of physical restriction, and sometimes the lack of privacy.
  • Crowding is the person’s reaction to the presence of a large number of persons within a particular area or space.
  • When this crowd becomes large, it causes stress to individuals caught in that situation. In this sense, crowding is another example of an environmental stressor.

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27.Describe the method of participant observation.
(Chapter 9: Developing Psychological Skills)

Ans:
When the observer is actively involved in the process of observing by becoming an active member of the setting where the observation takes place is called participant observation.
For example, an observer may take a part-time job in a shopping mall showroom to become an insider in order to observe behaviour of customers. This technique is widely used by anthropologists whose objective is to gain a firsthand perspective of a system from within which otherwise may not be readily available to an outsider.

28.State two skills of an effective psychologist.
(Chapter 9: Developing Psychological Skills)

Ans:
The skills required to become an effective psychologist are :
General Skills: It is one of the important skills and required by all type of psychologist irrespective of their specialisation. Examples of General skills are :

  • Interpersonal Skills: ability to listen and be empathic .It is expressed verbally or non-verbally.
  • Cognitive Skills: ability to solve problems, engage in critical thinking and organised reasoning, and having intellectual curiosity and flexibility.
  • Affective Skills: emotional control and balance, tolerance/understanding of interpersonal conflict, tolerance of ambiguity and uncertainty.
Observational Skills: requires to pay attention, watch and listen carefully. They use senses to see, hear, smell ,taste and touch.A psychologist, thus, is like an instrument that absorbs all sources of information from the environment.

29.What are norms?
(Chapter 7: Social Influence and Group Processes)

Ans:
Norms are expected standards of behaviour and beliefs established, agreed upon, and enforced by group members.
In your family, there are norms that guide the behaviour of family members.
These norms represent shared ways of viewing the world.

30.What do you understand by the term skill?
(Chapter 9: Developing Psychological Skills)

Ans:
The term ‘skill’ may be defined as proficiency, facility or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training and experience.
The Webster dictionary defines it as “possession of the qualities required to do something or get something done”.

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31.Explain separation anxiety disorder (SAD).
(Chapter 4: Psychological Disorders)

Ans:

  • Separation anxiety disorder is an internalising disorder unique to children.
  • The most prominent symptom is excessive anxiety or even panic experienced by children at being separated from their parents.
  • Children with SAD may have difficulty being in a room by themselves, going to school alone, are fearful of entering new situations, and cling to and shadow their parents’ every move.
  • To avoid separation, children with SAD may fuss, scream, throw severe tantrums, or make suicidal gestures.

32.Extreme cohesiveness within a group becomes harmful for functioning. Explain.
(Chapter 7 : Social Influence and Group Processes)

Ans:

  • Groupthink is a consequence of Extreme cohesiveness.
  • Groupthink is characterised by the appearance of consensus or unanimous agreement within a group.
  • Groupthink is likely to occur in socially homogeneous, cohesive groups that are isolated from outsiders.
  • Studies have shown that such a group has an exaggerated sense of its own power to control events, and tends to ignore or minimise cues from the real world that suggest danger to its plan.

33.What is public communication?
(Chapter 9:Developing Psychological Skills)

Ans:
Public communication is characterised by a speaker sending a message to an audience.It may be direct, such as face-to-face messages delivered by the speaker to an audience, or indirect, such as message relayed over radio or television.

34.Explain the term phobias.
(Chapter 4 : Psychological Disorders)

Ans:
You might have met or heard of someone who was afraid to travel in a lift or climb to the tenth floor of a building, or refused to enter a room if s/he saw a lizard. You may have also felt it yourself or seen a friend unable to speak a word of a well-memorised and rehearsed speech before an audience. These kinds of fears are termed as phobias.

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35.Differentiate between minimalistic perspective and instrumental perspective of human environment relationship.
(Chapter 8 : Psychology and life)

Ans:

Minimalistic Perspective Instrumental Perspective
The minimalist perspective assumes that the physical environment has minimal or negligible influence on human behaviour, health and wellbeing. The instrumental perspective suggests that the physical environment exists mainly for use by human beings for their comfort and well-being.
The physical environment and human beings exist as parallel components. Most of the human influences on the environment reflect the instrumental perspective.

36.Explain minimalist perspective of human-environment relationship.
(Chapter 8 : Psychology and Life)

Ans:
The minimalist perspective assumes that the physical environment has minimal or negligible influence on human behaviour, health and wellbeing. The physical environment and human beings exist as parallel components.

37.What is pro-environmental behaviour ?
(Chapter 8 : Psychology and Life)

Ans:
Pro-environmental behaviour includes both actions that are meant to protect the environment from problems, and to promote a healthy environment.
Some promotive actions to protect the environment from pollution are :

  • Reducing air pollution
  • Reducing noise pollution
  • Managing disposal of garbage sensibly
  • Planting trees and ensuring their care
  • Saying 'no' to plastics in any form

38.How does the traditional Indian view explain the human – environment relationship?
(Chapter 8 : Psychology and Life)

Ans:
The traditional Indian view about the environment supports the spiritual perspective. Human beings recognise the interdependent relationship between themselves and the environment, i.e. human beings will exist and will be happy only as long as the environment is kept healthy and natural.
We have at least two examples of this perspective in our country, viz. the customs of the Bishnoi community of Rajasthan, and the Chipko movement in the Uttarakhand region.

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39.What are the effects of noise on human behaviour?
(Chapter 8: Psychology and life)

Ans:

  • Any sound that is annoying or irritating, and felt to be unpleasant is said to be noise.
  • Noise has negative effects on mental activity because it reduces concentration.
  • Exposure to noise for a long period of time may lead to hearing loss.
  • Noise for a long time, is uncomfortable, and puts people in an unpleasant mood.
  • Continued exposure to uncontrollable and annoying noise can have harmful effects on mental health.

40.What is paraphrasing?
(Chapter 9 : Developing Psychological Skills)

Ans:
When someone is listening to you and told to restate what you said, at that time the person is not able to repeat your exact words.S/he makes a summary of the ideas just received and provides you with a restatement of what s/he understands.This is called "paraphrasing". It allows you to understand how much s/he understood of what was communicated.

41.What is substance dependence?
(Chapter 4: Psychological Disorders)

Ans:
In substance dependence, there is an intense craving for the substance to which the person is addicted, and the person shows tolerance, withdrawal symptoms and compulsive drug-taking.
Tolerance means that the person has to use more and more of a substance to get the same effect.
Withdrawal refers to physical symptoms that occur when a person stops or cuts down on the use of the substance.

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42.How is empathy different from sympathy?
(Chapter 5:Therapeutic Approaches)

Ans:
In sympathy, one has compassion and pity towards the suffering of another but is not able to feel like the other person.
On the other hand, empathy is present when one is able to understand the plight of another person, and feel like the other person.
It means understanding things from the other person’s perspective, i.e. putting oneself in the other person’s shoes.
Empathy enriches the therapeutic relationship and transforms it into a healing relationship.

43.What is biofeedback?
(Chapter3 : Meeting Life Challenges)

Ans:
Biofeedback is an effective stress management technique.
The procedure of biofeedback is to monitor and reduce physiological aspects of stress by giving feedback about the current physiological activities.
If often involves relaxation training.
Biofeedback training has three stages:
a)to develop an awareness of the particular physiological response for example heart rate.
b) to learn different ways to control the physiological response in quiet conditions.
c) making use of the control into conditions of everyday life.

44.Explain the concept of "unconditional positive regard".
(Chapter 5: Therapeutic Approaches)

Ans:
Unconditional positive regard is the relation that the therapist shows towards the client during treatment.The therapist conveys by her/his words and behaviours that s/he is not judging the client and will continue to show the same positive feelings towards the client even if the client is rude or confides all the ‘wrong’ things that s/he may have done or thought about.
The therapist encourages this by being accepting, empathic, genuine and warm to the client.

45.Explain social stress as a type of stress.
(Chapter3 : Meeting Life Challenges)

Ans:

  • Social stress is induced externally and result from our interaction with other people.
  • Death , illness in family, issues with neighbours are examples of social stress.
  • Stress differs from person to person.For example a quiet person will find it stressful to attend parties who is more interested is spending a quiet evening at home, whereas for an outgoing person staying at home will be very stressful.

46.Explain pervasive developmental disorder.
(Chapter 4: Psychological Disorders)

Ans:

  • Pervasive developmental disorder is a serious disorder in children and the most common one is Autistic disorder or autism.
  • These disorders are characterised by serious issues with social interaction and communication skills, stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests and activities.

47.Explain binge eating.
(Chapter 4: Psychological Disorders)

Ans:

  • Binge eating is a type of eating disorder.
  • In binge eating, there are frequent episodes of out-of-control eating.

48.What is existential anxiety?
(Chapter 5: Therapeutic Approaches)

Ans:

  • Existential anxiety, is a neurotic anxiety of spiritual origin.
  • Neurotic anxieties arise when the problems of life are attached to the physical, psychological or spiritual aspects of one’s existence.

49.What is meant by compliance?
(Chapter 7 : Social Influence and Group Processes)

Ans:

  • Compliance refers to behaving in a particular way in response to a request made by someone.
  • For example , you may sign the letter with the thought that you were accepting the request, not because you agree with other students, but because you have been requested to do so by a significant member.