- Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Jayanti Basu
University of Calcutta, Department of Applied Psychology, Faculty Member
- Social Psychology, Self and Identity, Ego Function, Creativity, Cultural Psychology, Creativity studies, and 10 moreTheoretical Psychology, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Cognitive Psychology, Violence, Partition, Culture, Moral Psychology, Clinical Psychology, The Self, and Models of Creativity & of Creative Processesedit
Abstract The study explored the relation of marital quality with gender role stereotype. A cohort of 350 couples aged 3050 years were assessed for marital quality, gender role identity and gender role attitude. Results revealed a... more
Abstract The study explored the relation of marital quality with gender role stereotype. A cohort of 350 couples aged 3050 years were assessed for marital quality, gender role identity and gender role attitude. Results revealed a preference for traditional pattern, as ...
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Research Interests:
A psychological study of the Bengal Partition, a traumatic time that continues to resonate. Why has it been so hard for Bengal to recover from this catastrophe, shared with the people of Punjab, who faced much more brutal and horrendous... more
A psychological study of the Bengal Partition, a traumatic time that continues to resonate. Why has it been so hard for Bengal to recover from this catastrophe, shared with the people of Punjab, who faced much more brutal and horrendous violence over a short period? Was it due to very different historical circumstances? The refugees were targets of soft violence, an extreme form of mental assault that chilled them with fear till they fled. They could not tell whether old friends had become new foes. Were they imagining this or perhaps it was a true reading of the situation? Departures were spread over many years, preventing a sharper break with the past, prolonging their confusion over identity, the grief of being uprooted, of feeling unwelcome in the truncated state of West Bengal. The author interviews a number of respondents who were young children or adolescents from the bhadralok, the educated section of society, to gauge their understanding of Partition and how it affects their lives. She uses the insights of psychoanalysis and cognitive psychology. Alan Roland, the distinguished psychoanalyst, talks of how the depth of these interviews and Basus psychological understanding of each person give a new understanding of memory and the reconstruction of Partition in peoples mind.
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The present article explored the perception of spouse, date and cross-sex friend among the college-going youth. Six demographical, 14 physical and 25 psychological characteristics were selected from a larger number of traits generated in... more
The present article explored the perception of spouse, date and cross-sex friend among the college-going youth. Six demographical, 14 physical and 25 psychological characteristics were selected from a larger number of traits generated in a preliminary study on 200 college students. In the final study these traits were presented to 240 college students who rated them in terms of their desirability in either a spouse, or a date or a cross-sex friend. Responses to the demographical variables were obtained on a multiple-choice response format with qualitative categories. The physical and psychological characteristics were assessed through responses to the items on five-point Likert-type scale. Results indicated that women put greater emphasis on demographical features and psychological characteristics, while men emphasised physical traits. Perception of the wife by the men was a combination of sex object and nurturing object, while a date was a companion without much commitment. For the women a husband and a date possessed overlapping characteristics, dates having greater sexual appeal. Cross-sex friends for both sexes shared some characteristics of spouse and date in less intensity. Results have been interpreted in terms of the evolutionary versus learning model of love.
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The present study was conceptualized in the context of the psychosocial needs of Hemophilic children and adolescents of Kolkata. Twenty four Hemophilic children and adolescents were compared with a matched group of normal controls to find... more
The present study was conceptualized in the context of the psychosocial needs of Hemophilic children and adolescents of Kolkata. Twenty four Hemophilic children and adolescents were compared with a matched group of normal controls to find out any specific difference in ...
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Marital quality in connection to its demographical and psychological correlates has been studied extensively in the West. In India also, it has been given considerable attention, but adequate exploration of relevant psychological... more
Marital quality in connection to its demographical and psychological correlates has been studied extensively in the West. In India also, it has been given considerable attention, but adequate exploration of relevant psychological variables is still wanting. The present study was conceptualized in this context to explore differences in the Personality factors, Attachment styles and Coping strategies in couples with good and poor marital quality. Data were collected from 90 couples for initial screening. Finally 20 couples with good marital quality and 20 couples with poor marital quality were selected based on scores of Marital Quality Scale. The tools used for screening were Marital Quality Scale and General Health Questionnaire-28. Other tools consisted of Neo Five Factor Inventory, Attachment style Questionnaire, and Coping Check list. Analysis revealed that the husbands with poor marital quality had higher neuroticism, less extraversion, less secure attachment style, less problem focused coping and acceptance, and greater denial than those with good marital quality. Wives with poor marital quality differed significantly from the wives with good marital quality in terms of less religious coping, acceptance and social support. The findings of the study may be utilized for advising maritally distressed couples by enhancing their coping resources and utilizing attachment potentials for furtherance of quality of married life.
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Research Interests:
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Gender asymmetry in psychiatric illness is attributed to gender role stereotypes and differences in stressors. However, less emphasis is placed on the contribution of gender role stereotypes and stressors in relation to wellness,... more
Gender asymmetry in psychiatric illness is attributed to gender role stereotypes and differences in stressors. However, less emphasis is placed on the contribution of gender role stereotypes and stressors in relation to wellness, especially in India. The present article reports two studies in this context. Study 1 attempted to determine the role of Masculinity, Femininity, Gender Role Attitude and Daily Hassles as predictors of Subjective Well-being in 400 college students of Kolkata. They were administered the GHQ-28, Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale, Subjective Well-being Scale, Indian Gender Role Identity Scale, Sex Role Attitude Scale and a Daily Hassles Scale. Step-wise Regression Analysis revealed that Masculinity and Daily Hassle were the best predictors of Subjective Well-being for both sexes. In Study 2, in addition to the above scales, Beck Depression Inventory and State Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered on 100 female and male psychiatric patients suffering from dysthymia, anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders, and 100 healthy counterparts. Step-wise Regression Analysis revealed that for the patient sample only Masculinity was a predictor of wellness. For the healthy counterpart, Masculinity and Hassle were the strongest predictors, thereby supporting Study 1. Women and men within the patient and the healthy groups revealed similar predictors. Thus, not sex per se, but masculinity in identity emerged as the common crucial factor determining wellness. The findings are explained in terms of Masculinity hypothesis within the Indian cultural context.
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The present study is an attempt to compare homophobic and non-homophobic individuals in terms of Defense styles used, Type D personality (Negative Affectivity & Social Inhibition) and Gender Role Identity. A sample consisting of 150... more
The present study is an attempt to compare homophobic and non-homophobic individuals in terms of Defense styles used, Type D personality (Negative Affectivity & Social Inhibition) and Gender Role Identity. A sample consisting of 150 persons with age ranging from 20 40 years, both male & female were taken from in and around Kolkata. The sample was divided in high homophobic and low homophobic subgroups depending on the score obtained on Index of Homophobia. The statistical analysis of the data included mean, standard deviation and independent sample t test. The results indicated that there is a significant difference between high homophobic and low homophobic individuals in terms of humor, acting out, passive aggression, denial and dissociation. Moreover there was no significant difference found between high homophobic and low homophobic individuals in terms of Type D personality and Gender role.
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The present study investigated the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that could evoke suicidal ideation among female college students. Content analysis (Berelson's Method) of interview of 120 female college students revealed four broad... more
The present study investigated the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that could evoke suicidal ideation among female college students. Content analysis (Berelson's Method) of interview of 120 female college students revealed four broad factors leading to suicidal ideation ...
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This study explored the role of 12 ego functions in relation to Stressful Life Events and three indices of psychopathology, namely, Psychoticism, Anxiety, and Depression among 60 Bengali adult patients suffering from Paranoid... more
This study explored the role of 12 ego functions in relation to Stressful Life Events and three indices of psychopathology, namely, Psychoticism, Anxiety, and Depression among 60 Bengali adult patients suffering from Paranoid Schizophrenia. Adapted versions of Bellak's Ego Function Assessment–M, Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered to them. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that Object Relation was associated with all three indices. Scores on Reality Testing correlated with those on Psychoticism, Stressful Life Events and scores on Thought Process with Anxiety, and Stressful Life Events, Sense of Reality, and scores on Defensive Functions with Depression. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that Object Relation also moderated between stressful life events and anxiety.
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Research Interests:
Gender asymmetry in psychiatric illness is attributed to gender role stereotypes and differences in stressors. However, less emphasis is placed on the contribution of gender role stereotypes and stressors in relation to wellness,... more
Gender asymmetry in psychiatric illness is attributed to gender role stereotypes and differences in stressors. However, less emphasis is placed on the contribution of gender role stereotypes and stressors in relation to wellness, especially in India. The present article reports two studies in this context. Study 1 attempted to determine the role of Masculinity, Femininity, Gender Role Attitude and Daily Hassles as predictors of Subjective Well-being in 400 college students of Kolkata. They were administered the GHQ-28, Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale, Subjective Well-being Scale, Indian Gender Role Identity Scale, Sex Role Attitude Scale and a Daily Hassles Scale. Step-wise Regression Analysis revealed that Masculinity and Daily Hassle were the best predictors of Subjective Well-being for both sexes. In Study 2, in addition to the above scales, Beck Depression Inventory and State Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered on 100 female and male psychiatric patients suffering ...
Research Interests: Psychology, Mental Health, Gender, Masculinity, Stress, and 3 moreFemininity, Wellness, and Daily Hassles
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Marital quality in connection to its demographical and psychological correlates has been studied extensively in the West. In India also, it has been given considerable attention, but adequate exploration of relevant psychological... more
Marital quality in connection to its demographical and psychological correlates has been studied extensively in the West. In India also, it has been given considerable attention, but adequate exploration of relevant psychological variables is still wanting. The present study was conceptualized in this context to explore differences in the Personality factors, Attachment styles and Coping strategies in couples with good and poor marital quality. Data were collected from 90 couples for initial screening. Finally 20 couples with good marital quality and 20 couples with poor marital quality were selected based on scores of Marital Quality Scale. The tools used for screening were Marital Quality Scale and General Health Questionnaire-28. Other tools consisted of Neo Five Factor Inventory, Attachment style Questionnaire, and Coping Check list. Analysis revealed that the husbands with poor marital quality had higher neuroticism, less extraversion, less secure attachment style, less problem focused coping and acceptance, and greater denial than those with good marital quality. Wives with poor marital quality differed significantly from the wives with good marital quality in terms of less religious coping, acceptance and social support. The findings of the study may be utilized for advising maritally distressed couples by enhancing their coping resources and utilizing attachment potentials for furtherance of quality of married life.
Research Interests:
The study qualitatively explored the clients’ and their psychotherapists’ perspectives on the mutative role of therapeutic relationship. The sample was composed of 13 psychotherapist participants from four professional backgrounds,... more
The study qualitatively explored the clients’ and their psychotherapists’ perspectives on the mutative role of therapeutic relationship. The sample was composed of 13 psychotherapist participants from four professional backgrounds, namely, psychoanalysts, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists trained in psychotherapy, and trained psychotherapists not belonging to the above three categories, as well as 16 clients who have successfully completed individual psychotherapy with any one of these 13 psychotherapists in a city in India. Semistructured interviews conducted separately with the client–psychotherapist dyads were analyzed qualitatively using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The themes that emerged suggested five major antecedent processes within the therapeutic relationship namely, listening, containing, reflection of past relationship, obedience–surrender, and curative relational experience. These were related to one or more consequential change processes such as emoti...
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Parkinsonism is known to be associated with clinically significant impairments on an array of cognitive deficits. The degree of impairment is dependent not only on the course of the disease, but also on other bio-social factors. The... more
Parkinsonism is known to be associated with clinically significant impairments on an array of cognitive deficits. The degree of impairment is dependent not only on the course of the disease, but also on other bio-social factors. The objective of the present study was to examine the cognitive dysfunction in non-demented idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) in relation to age, stage of disease, and educational level in a sample in Kolkata, India. The sample consisted of 51 (42 males, 9 females) right-handed patients suffering from non-demented IPD, of age between 40 and 82 years. Data were collected during on-phase medication by using the Kolkata Cognitive Screening Battery. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviations, and multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA). The patients with IPD were impaired in comparison to the available normative data in almost all aspects of cognitive functioning and higher order mental processes. With increasing age, the patients showed greater impairment in delayed memory and recognition task. Patients of more severe stage showed greater impairment in MMSE, delayed recall, and information. Those with lower education had more impaired visuoconstructional ability, information, comprehension, similarities, and arithmetic.
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The present article explored the perception of spouse, date and cross-sex friend among the college-going youth. Six demographical, 14 physical and 25 psychological characteristics were selected from a larger number of traits generated in... more
The present article explored the perception of spouse, date and cross-sex friend among the college-going youth. Six demographical, 14 physical and 25 psychological characteristics were selected from a larger number of traits generated in a preliminary study on 200 college students. In the final study these traits were presented to 240 college students who rated them in terms of their desirability in either a spouse, or a date or a cross-sex friend. Responses to the demographical variables were obtained on a multiple-choice response format with qualitative categories. The physical and psychological characteristics were assessed through responses to the items on five-point Likert-type scale. Results indicated that women put greater emphasis on demographical features and psychological characteristics, while men emphasised physical traits. Perception of the wife by the men was a combination of sex object and nurturing object, while a date was a companion without much commitment. For the women a husband and a date possessed overlapping characteristics, dates having greater sexual appeal. Cross-sex friends for both sexes shared some characteristics of spouse and date in less intensity. Results have been interpreted in terms of the evolutionary versus learning model of love.
Research Interests:
The virtue of humility is lauded by most authorities but opinions of what it is, what it includes and what it does not are multifarious. Religious and philosophical traditions in India stress its role in emancipating the ego and providing... more
The virtue of humility is lauded by most authorities but opinions of what it is, what it includes and what it does not are multifarious. Religious and philosophical traditions in India stress its role in emancipating the ego and providing an understanding for one’s perspective as contrasted against the magnanimity of the Almighty, the Supernatural or the Universe. Most academicians within the scientific psychological realm also look upon humility as a virtue. Accredited as a powerful tool for personal, social and organisational well-being, humility, as a moral construct, deserves a thorough and detailed exploration to reveal what it entails, what its corollaries are and how it can be measured. It is particularly useful in Indian context, as indigenous traditions have always emphasised humility. However, such efforts have remained relatively neglected till recent years. Of course, a few researchers with emphasis on moral and positive psychology have probed and prodded this concept to lay bare its comprising elements and to build tools to measure it. These attempts have been discussed here. Information was culled from surveying the scientific literature of the past four decades from psychological and philosophical journals and handbooks. Its overlap with Indian concept of humility has been discussed, and the unresolved questions about its nuances are put forward for future research endeavour.
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There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.-William Shakespeare.Thinking is instrumental in moral judgement. What might be the nature of the thinking process that may have such evaluative implications: is it spontaneous... more
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.-William Shakespeare.Thinking is instrumental in moral judgement. What might be the nature of the thinking process that may have such evaluative implications: is it spontaneous and intuitive or a product of rational deliberation? While some philosophers and psychologists emphasize the role of intuitive morality in humans, others have considered controlled rational reasoning as crucial to moral judgment. This paper would selectively review some of the modern research evidences pertaining specifically to this debate. In its focus on moral judgment, defined here as the cognitive precursor to decision making, the review excludes the studies on moral behaviour, and hence is limited in scope. However, in the first two sections, we would discuss the general outline of philosophical and empirical concerns with morality in general to locate the review in perspective.Pre-modern Notions of MoralityConcern with Morality has character...
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The paper reports the preparation of the Indian Gender Role Identity Scale (IGRIS) to assess psychological masculinity and femininity in our culture. Review of literature reveals that while scales for assessing Gender Role Identity are... more
The paper reports the preparation of the Indian Gender Role Identity Scale (IGRIS) to assess psychological masculinity and femininity in our culture. Review of literature reveals that while scales for assessing Gender Role Identity are available in the West, no such scale has been prepared in India taking into account the rigorous methodological procedure recommended for such scale. At the same time there are ample evidences that use of items in one culture are likely to be invalid in a different culture, since the meaning of masculinity and femininity differs widely across cultures. In the present scale the methodology followed by Sandra Bem was roughly followed, accommodating for the major critiques of Bem’s scale. At various phases it utilized 2486 subjects between the age range of 16 to 50 years of age, among which 1240 were female and 1246 male. The final scale consists of 30 items to be judged on a 7 point scale to describe oneself. The item validity, construct validity, relia...
A psychological study of the Bengal Partition, a traumatic time that continues to resonate. Why has it been so hard for Bengal to recover from this catastrophe, shared with the people of Punjab, who faced much more brutal and horrendous... more
A psychological study of the Bengal Partition, a traumatic time that continues to resonate. Why has it been so hard for Bengal to recover from this catastrophe, shared with the people of Punjab, who faced much more brutal and horrendous violence over a short period? Was it due to very different historical circumstances? The refugees were targets of soft violence, an extreme form of mental assault that chilled them with fear till they fled. They could not tell whether old friends had become new foes. Were they imagining this or perhaps it was a true reading of the situation? Departures were spread over many years, preventing a sharper break with the past, prolonging their confusion over identity, the grief of being uprooted, of feeling unwelcome in the truncated state of West Bengal. The author interviews a number of respondents who were young children or adolescents from the bhadralok, the educated section of society, to gauge their understanding of Partition and how it affects thei...
Research Interests:
Background: Autobiographical memory (AM) is a memory system consisting of different kinds of knowledge about oneself. The different subtypes of AM have been studied in Alzheimer disease (AD) and semantic dementia but there are only few... more
Background: Autobiographical memory (AM) is a memory system consisting of different kinds of knowledge about oneself. The different subtypes of AM have been studied in Alzheimer disease (AD) and semantic dementia but there are only few studies available in vascular dementia (VaD) despite its high prevalence in Asian countries. Objectives: To compare the impairment of AM between healthy elderly subjects, AD and VaD patients of eastern India. Methods: Consecutive AD and VaD patients and healthy elderly relatives of patients attending the institute were recruited for the study. Patients of AD and VaD were matched for age, education, and general levels of cognitive and everyday functioning. The Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI) Scale was used to assess the AM. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Bengali Mental State Examination, Clinical Dementia Rating scale and standard definition were used for assessment of each subject in the study. Results: There were 30 patients each of A...
The nature of ego functions of the professionals in Kolkata, who have chosen performing (music, dance, & acting) and visual (painting & photography) art as their career, in comparison to a control group of non-artist professionals has... more
The nature of ego functions of the professionals in Kolkata, who have chosen performing (music, dance, & acting) and visual (painting & photography) art as their career, in comparison to a control group of non-artist professionals has been investigated in the present manuscript with the purpose of understanding the effect of such statistical functions on creative personalities. The sample constituted of 150 artist professionals and 150 non-artist professionals from Kolkata within age range of 20 to 40 years, including respondents of both the genders. The control group was matched with the study group in terms of relevant demographic variables. The tool used to obtain the findings was Ego Function Assessment (EFA) Scale, as modified by Bellak (1989). The EFA scale assessed twelve separate ego functions viz., Reality Testing, Judgment, Sense of Reality, Drive Control, Object Relation, Thought Process, Adaptive Regression, Defense Functioning, Stimulus Barrier Autonomous Functioning, S...
Previous cross-sectional studies reported positive effects of meditation on the brain areas related to attention and executive function in the healthy elderly population. Effects of long-term regular meditation in persons with mild... more
Previous cross-sectional studies reported positive effects of meditation on the brain areas related to attention and executive function in the healthy elderly population. Effects of long-term regular meditation in persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD) have rarely been studied. In this study, we explored changes in cortical thickness and gray matter volume in meditation-naïve persons with MCI or mild AD after long-term meditation intervention. MCI or mild AD patients underwent detailed clinical and neuropsychological assessment and were assigned into meditation or non-meditation groups. High resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI) were acquired at baseline and after 6 months. Longitudinal symmetrized percentage changes (SPC) in cortical thickness and gray matter volume were estimated. Left caudal middle frontal, left rostral middle frontal, left superior parietal, right lateral orbitofrontal, and right superior frontal corti...
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This commentary on the target article underscores the need to examine the imagined trajectory of Place Spirituality, where person attachment and attachment to place through prior exposure are minimum or absent. Examples of such place... more
This commentary on the target article underscores the need to examine the imagined trajectory of Place Spirituality, where person attachment and attachment to place through prior exposure are minimum or absent. Examples of such place attachment through sheer spiritual imagination or belief have been provided. It is further argued that while Place Spirituality may be complex, the exact developmental trajectory of Place Spirituality has not been investigated and requires future research attention. The model of transitional phenomenon and transitional space by Donald Winnicott has been presented as a possible explanatory model.
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The most prevalent stimuli for exploring moral judgement in laboratory settings are small vignettes in the form of moral dilemmas. These dilemmas, mostly borrowed from the field of philosophy, are often criticised for lacking ecological... more
The most prevalent stimuli for exploring moral judgement in laboratory settings are small vignettes in the form of moral dilemmas. These dilemmas, mostly borrowed from the field of philosophy, are often criticised for lacking ecological validity due to their confined outcomes, hypothetical physical harms, focus on one character and overlooking cultural aspects. These criticisms are especially implicative for Indian culture which may have a different perspective on morality due to cultural prerogatives, encouraging collectivism as opposed to individualism of the West. Moreover, Indian culture often incorporates hints of ancient traditions and tales in a subtle but extensive way. We wished to probe this complex paradigm of moral judgement in the Indian context empirically by qualitatively analysing the responses and exploring the corresponding ratings of 60 participants, employing 10 selected stories from the Mahabharata. A preliminary report of the analysis is presented here. While t...
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Research Interests:
The virtue of humility is lauded by most authorities but opinions of what it is, what it includes and what it does not are multifarious. Religious and philosophical traditions in India stress its role in emancipating the ego and providing... more
The virtue of humility is lauded by most authorities but opinions of what it is, what it includes and what it does not are multifarious. Religious and philosophical traditions in India stress its role in emancipating the ego and providing an understanding for one’s perspective as contrasted against the magnanimity of the Almighty, the Supernatural or the Universe. Most academicians within scientific psychological realm also look upon humility as a virtue. Accredited as a powerful tool for personal, social and organisational well-being, humility, as a moral construct, deserves a thorough and detailed exploration to reveal what it entails, what its corollaries are, and how it can be measured. It is particularly useful in Indian context, as indigenous traditions have always emphasized humility. However, such efforts have remained relatively neglected till recent years. Of course, a few researchers with emphasis on moral and positive psychology have probed and prodded this concept to lay bare its comprising elements and to build tools to measure it. These attempts have been discussed here. Information was culled from surveying the scientific literature of the past four decades from psychological and philosophical journals and handbooks. Its overlap with Indian concept of humility has been discussed, and the unresolved questions about its nuances are put forward for future research endeavor.
Keywords: Humility, Positive Psychology, Moral Psychology
Keywords: Humility, Positive Psychology, Moral Psychology
Research Interests:
Gender asymmetry in psychiatric illness has been attributed to gender role stereotype and difference in stressors. However, less emphasis has been placed on contribution of gender role stereotype and stressors in relation to wellness,... more
Gender asymmetry in psychiatric illness has been attributed to gender role stereotype and difference in stressors. However, less emphasis has been placed on contribution of gender role stereotype and stressors in relation to wellness, especially in India. The present article reports two studies in this context. Study 1 attempted to determine the role of Masculinity, Femininity, Gender Role attitude and Daily hassles as predictors of Subjective Wellbeing in 400 college students of Kolkata. They were administered the GHQ-28, Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale, Subjective Wellbeing Scale, Indian Gender Role Identity Scale, Sex Role Attitude Scale and a Daily Hassles Scale. Stepwise Regression Analysis revealed that Masculinity and Daily Hassle were the best predictors of Subjective wellbeing for both sexes. In Study 2, in addition to the above scales, Beck Depression Inventory and State Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered on 100 female and male psychiatric patients suffering from dysthymia, anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders, and 100 healthy counterparts. Stepwise Regression Analysis revealed that for the patient sample, only Masculinity was a predictor of wellness. For the healthy counterpart, Masculinity and Hassle were the strongest predictors, thereby supporting Study 1. Women and men within the patient and the healthy groups revealed similar predictors. Thus, not sex per se, but masculinity in identity emerged as the common crucial factor determining wellness. The findings are explained in terms of Masculinity hypothesis within the Indian cultural context.
Research Interests:
Intelligence testing was one of the earliest interests of psychologists in India. Adaptation of Western intelligence tests has been a focus of psychologists in the first half of the last century. Indigenous development of intelligence... more
Intelligence testing was one of the earliest interests of psychologists in India. Adaptation of Western
intelligence tests has been a focus of psychologists in the first half of the last century. Indigenous
development of intelligence tests has been attempted, but diversity of language and culture,
complexity of school systems, and infrastructural inadequacies have emerged as major hindrances to
such development. Intelligence tests are presently used to identify disability, assess eligibility for
welfare, and account for gaps in potentiality and performance in school, rehabilitation, and guidance.
Attention to the upper stratum of intelligence and identification of the gifted is relatively neglected.
Tests commonly used for direct intelligence assessment, and in relation to developmental problems,
specific learning disability, and autism spectrum disorder, have been briefly discussed. Future efforts
should be directed toward developing intelligence tests suitable for Indian culture using an
information processing approach.
intelligence tests has been a focus of psychologists in the first half of the last century. Indigenous
development of intelligence tests has been attempted, but diversity of language and culture,
complexity of school systems, and infrastructural inadequacies have emerged as major hindrances to
such development. Intelligence tests are presently used to identify disability, assess eligibility for
welfare, and account for gaps in potentiality and performance in school, rehabilitation, and guidance.
Attention to the upper stratum of intelligence and identification of the gifted is relatively neglected.
Tests commonly used for direct intelligence assessment, and in relation to developmental problems,
specific learning disability, and autism spectrum disorder, have been briefly discussed. Future efforts
should be directed toward developing intelligence tests suitable for Indian culture using an
information processing approach.
Research Interests:
The study qualitatively explored the clients’ and their psychotherapists’ perspectives on the mutative role of therapeutic relationship. The sample was composed of 13 psychotherapist participants from four professional backgrounds,... more
The study qualitatively explored the clients’ and their psychotherapists’ perspectives on the mutative role of therapeutic relationship. The sample was composed of 13 psychotherapist participants from four professional backgrounds, namely, psychoanalysts, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists trained in psychotherapy, and trained psychotherapists not belonging to the above three categories, as well as 16 clients who have successfully completed individual psychotherapy with any one of these 13 psychotherapists in a city in India. Semistructured interviews conducted separately with the client–psychotherapist dyads were analyzed qualitatively using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The themes that emerged suggested five major antecedent processes within the therapeutic relationship namely, listening, containing, reflection of past relationship, obedience–surrender, and curative relational experience. These were related to one or more consequential change processes such as emotional unburdening, acceptance and validation of emotions, generation of emotional strength, setting stage for therapeutic interventions, and reformulation of self or relationships. The clients and their therapists agreed on some functions, but not on all details. Culturally informed interpretations have been proposed in the context of obedience–surrender as a therapeutic process. Relevance of therapeutic relationship was emphasized more by therapists working in psychodynamic mode.
Research Interests:
Marital quality in connection to its demographical and psychological determinants has been studied extensively in the West. In India also, it has been given considerable attention, but adequate exploration of relevant psychological... more
Marital quality in connection to its demographical and psychological determinants has been studied extensively in the West. In India also, it has been given considerable attention, but adequate exploration of relevant psychological variables is still wanting. The present study was conceptualized in this context to explore differences in the Personality factors, Attachment styles and Coping strategies in couples with good and poor marital quality. Data were collected from 90 couples for initial screening. Finally 20 couples with good marital quality and 20 couples with poor marital quality were selected based on scores of Marital Quality Scale. The tools used were Marital Quality Scale and General Health Questionnaire-28 for screening, Neo Five Factor Inventory, Attachment style Questionnaire, and Coping Check list. Analysis revealed that the husbands with poor marital quality had higher neuroticism, less extraversion, less secure attachment style, less problem focused coping and acceptance, and greater denial than those with good marital quality. Wives with poor marital quality differed significantly from the wives with good marital quality in terms of less religious coping, acceptance and social support. The findings of the study may be utilized for advising martially distressed couples by enhancing their copign resources and utilizing attachment potentials for furtherance of quality of married life.
Key words: - Marital quality, Personality factors, Attachment styles, Coping strategies.
Key words: - Marital quality, Personality factors, Attachment styles, Coping strategies.
Research Interests:
This article critically relocates the debate concerning the validity and utility of projective tests within multiple interpretative and process oriented approaches. Some scholars opine that there could be alternate ways of looking at... more
This article critically relocates the debate concerning the validity and utility of projective tests within multiple interpretative and process oriented approaches. Some scholars opine that there could be alternate ways of looking at projective tests, for example using it as a technique to elicit cognitive and emotional states or as behaviour samples. Supporting, modifying or denigrating the use of projective tests may reflect different underlying attitudes toward ambiguity and multiple interpretation of a situation. Thus it represents either of two different traditions of psychology: one, aspiring to attain a structured and organized view of human behaviour facilitating prediction, and the other, an acceptance and appreciation of idiographic and divergent responses that may not necessarily be predictive, but informative about the multiple possibilities of human thought process. This latter approach would be more concerned with the process of experiencing rather than with obtaining a relatively final and fixed answer to the dilemmas of existential conditions. The possibility of such approach was always present in the history of projective tests, but has been subdued under the hegemonic pressure of diagnostic utility. The present author argues that a process oriented view of responses to ambiguous situations, along with a sensitivity to human diversity and multiple interpretations rather than emphasizing commonality, may open up a fresh relocation of projective technique within psychology. Training of projective technique may incorporate this consideration for future researchers.