What Is Educational Psychology? 6 Examples and Theories

What is Educational Psychology

Plato believed that learning is based on the mind’s innate capacity to receive information and judge its intellectual and moral value.

Plato’s foremost pupil, Aristotle, emphasized how learning involves building associations such as succession in time, contiguity in space, and similarities and/or contrasts.

Later thinkers would devote considerable attention to learning and memory processes, various teaching methods, and how learning can be optimized.

Together, these thinkers have formed the growing and diverse body of theory and practice of educational psychology, and this intriguing topic is what we will discuss below.

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This Article Contains:

What is educational psychology and why is it important, a brief history of the field, job description and roles of an educational psychologist, 3 real-life examples, 3 popular theories, educational psychology research topics, educational psychology vs school psychology, a look into vygotsky’s ideas, positivepsychology.com’s relevant resources, a take-home message.

Educational psychology is dedicated to the study and improvement of human learning, across the lifespan, in whatever setting it occurs.

Such settings include not only schools, but also workplaces, organized sports, government agencies, and retirement communities – anywhere humans are engaged in instruction and learning of some type.

Educational psychology is important because of its focus on understanding and improving the crucial human capacity to learn.

In this mission of enhancing learning, educational psychologists seek to assist students and teachers alike.

Educational Psychology

However, it was not until later in history that educational psychology emerged as a field in its own right, distinct from philosophy.

John Locke (1632–1704), the influential British philosopher and “father of psychology,” famously described the human mind as a tabula rasa  (blank slate) that had no innate or inborn knowledge, but could only learn through the accumulation of experiences.

Johann Herbart (1776–1841) is considered the founder of educational psychology as a distinct field. He emphasized interest in a subject as a crucial component of learning.

He also proposed five formal steps of learning:

  • Reviewing what is already known
  • Previewing new material to be learned
  • Presenting new material
  • Relating new material to what is already known
  • Showing how new knowledge can be usefully applied

Maria Montessori (1870–1952) was an Italian physician and educator who started by teaching disabled and underprivileged children. She then founded a network of schools that taught children of all backgrounds using a hands-on, multi-sensory, and often student-directed approach to learning.

Nathaniel Gage (1917–2008) was an influential educational psychologist who pioneered research on teaching. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII, where he developed aptitude tests for selecting airplane navigators and radar operators.

Gage went on to develop a research program that did much to advance the scientific study of teaching.

He believed that progress in learning highly depends on effective teaching and that a robust theory of effective teaching has to cover:

  • The process of teaching
  • Content to be taught
  • Student abilities and motivation level
  • Classroom management

The above is only a sample of the influential thinkers who have contributed over time to the field of educational psychology.

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Educational psychologists have typically earned either a master’s degree or doctorate in the field.

They work in a variety of teaching, research, and applied settings (e.g., K–12, universities, the military, and educational industries like textbook and test developers).

Those with a doctorate often teach and do research at colleges or universities.

They teach basic courses such as Introduction to Educational Psychology  and more advanced seminars such as Professional Ethics in Educational Psychology , or Research Methods in Educational Psychology .

They conduct research on topics such as the best measure of literacy skills for students in secondary education, the most effective method for teaching early career professionals in engineering, and the relationship between education level and emotional health in retirees.

Educational psychologists also work in various applied roles, such as consulting on curriculum design; evaluating educational programs at schools or training sites; and offering teachers the best instructional methods for a subject area, grade level, or population, be it mainstream students, those with disabilities, or gifted students.

Mamie Phipps Clark

This theory states that besides the traditionally measured verbal and visual–spatial forms of intelligence, there are also forms that include kinesthetic or athletic intelligence, interpersonal or social–emotional intelligence, musical or artistic intelligence, and perhaps other forms we have not yet learned to measure.

Dr. Gardner teaches, conducts research, and publishes. His many books include Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983) and The Disciplined Mind: Beyond Facts and Standardized Tests, the Education That Every Child Deserves  (2000).

Mamie Phipps Clark (1917–1983), shown above, was the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in psychology from Columbia University. She and her husband Kenneth Clark (1914–2005) were interested in development and self-esteem in African-American children.

Her doctoral work illustrated the dehumanizing effect of segregated schools on both African-American and white children, in the well-known “doll study” (Clark & Clark, 1939). She found that both African-American children and white children imputed more positive characteristics to white dolls than to Black dolls.

This work was used as evidence in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided that schools separated by race were not equal and must be desegregated.

She and her husband founded several institutions dedicated to providing counseling and educational services for underprivileged African-American children, including the Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited project.

Irene Marie Montero Gil earned her master’s degree from the Department of Evolutionary and Educational Psychology at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.

Ms. Montero Gil had been balancing subsequent doctoral studies with her role as the youngest member of Spain’s Congress of Deputies, representing Madrid. She later postponed her studies to become Spain’s Minister of Equality, an office that advocates for equal opportunity regardless of age, gender, or disability.

The above examples show just some contributions that educational psychologists can make in research, teaching, legal, and advocacy contexts.

Day in the life of an educational psychologist w/ Dr. Sarah Chestnut

Various theories have been developed to account for how humans learn. Some of the most enduring and representative modern-day theories are discussed below.

1. Behaviorism

Behaviorism equates learning with observable changes in activity (Skinner, 1938). For example, an assembly line worker might have “learned” to assemble a toy from parts, and after 10 practice sessions, the worker can do so without errors within 60 seconds.

In behaviorism, there is a focus on stimuli or prompts to action (your supervisor hands you a box of toy parts), followed by a behavior (you assemble the toy), followed by reinforcement or lack thereof (you receive a raise for the fastest toy assembly).

Behaviorism holds that the behavioral responses that are positively reinforced are more likely to recur in the future.

We should note that behaviorists believe in a pre-set, external reality that is progressively discovered by learning.

Some scholars have also held that from a behaviorist perspective, learners are more reactive to environmental stimuli than active or proactive in the learning process (Ertmer & Newby, 2013).

However, one of the most robust developments in the later behaviorist tradition is that of positive behavioral intervention and supports (PBIS), in which proactive techniques play a prominent role in enhancing learning within schools.

Such proactive behavioral supports include maximizing structure in classrooms, teaching clear behavioral expectations in advance, regularly using prompts with students, and actively supervising students (Simonsen & Myers, 2015).

Over 2,500 schools across the United States now apply the PBIS supportive behavioral framework, with documented improvements in both student behavior (Bradshaw, Waasdorp, & Leaf, 2012) and achievement (Madigan, Cross, Smolkowski, & Stryker, 2016).

2. Cognitivism

Cognitivism was partly inspired by the development of computers and an information-processing model believed to be applicable to human learning (Neisser, 1967).

It also developed partly as a reaction to the perceived limits of the behaviorist model of learning, which was thought not to account for mental processes.

In cognitivism, learning occurs when information is received, arranged, held in memory, and retrieved for use.

Cognitivists are keenly interested in a neuronal or a brain-to-behavior perspective on learning and memory. Their lines of research often include studies involving functional brain imaging (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging) to see which brain circuits are activated during specific learning tasks.

Cognitivists are also keenly interested in “neuroplasticity,” or how learning causes new connections to be made between individual brain cells (neurons) and their broader neuronal networks.

From the cognitivist perspective, individuals are viewed as very active in the learning process, including how they organize information to make it personally meaningful and memorable.

Cognitivists, like behaviorists, believe that learning reflects an external reality, rather than shaping or constructing reality.

3. Constructivism

Constructivism holds that from childhood on, humans learn in successive stages (Piaget, 1955).

In these stages, we match our basic concepts, or “schemas,” of reality with experiences in the world and adjust our schemas accordingly.

For example, based on certain experiences as a child, you might form the schematic concept that all objects drop when you let them go. But let’s say you get a helium balloon that rises when you let go of it. You must then adjust your schema to capture this new reality that “most things drop when I let go of them, but at least one thing rises when I let go of it.”

For constructivists, there is always a subjective component to how reality is organized. From this perspective, learning cannot be said to reflect a pre-set external reality. Rather, reality is always an interplay between one’s active construction of the world and the world itself.

Educational College

For example, Zysberg and Schwabsky (2020) examined the relationships between positive school culture or climate, students’ sense of self-efficacy, and academic achievement in Israeli middle and high school settings.

They found that school climate was positively associated with students’ sense of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy, in turn, was positively associated with academic achievement in math and English.

This study reflects a constructivist approach, emphasizing how students create meaning out of their educational experiences.

Other recent research has focused on behavioral interventions to support online learning, which is increasingly prevalent as an educational option.

For example, Yeomans and Reich (2017) found that sending learners regular prompts to complete online work resulted in a 29% increase in courses completed. They concluded that sending regular reminder prompts is an inexpensive and effective way to enhance online course completion.

This study reflects a proactive behaviorist approach to improving educational outcomes.

Another current research domain in educational psychology involves the use of brain imaging techniques during learning activity.

For example, Takeuchi, Mori, Suzukamo, and Izumi (2019) studied brain activity in teachers and students while teachers provided hints for solving a visual–spatial problem (assembling puzzles).

They found that the prefrontal cortex of the brain, involved in planning and monitoring of complex cognitive activities, was significantly activated in teachers, not when they planned hints to be given, but only when they actually gave the hints.

For the student participants, the prefrontal cortex was significantly activated when they had solved the puzzle with hints provided.

This study emphasizes a cognitivist approach, focused on brain activity during learning.

For cognitivists, understanding how the brain converts instructional inputs into learning can lead to improved teaching strategies and better learning outcomes.

Educational and school psychologists overlap in their training and functions, to some extent, but also differ in important ways.

Educational psychologists are more involved in teaching and research at the college or university level. They also focus on larger and more diverse groups in their research and consulting activities.

As consultants, educational psychologists work with organizations such as school districts, militaries, or corporations in developing the best methods for instructional needs.

Some school psychologists are involved in teaching, research, and/or consulting with large groups such as a school district. However, most are more focused on working within a particular school and with individual students and their families.

About 80% of school psychologists work in public school settings and do direct interventions with individuals or small groups.

They help with testing and supporting students with special needs, helping teachers develop classroom management strategies, and engaging in individual or group counseling, which can include crisis counseling and emotional–behavioral support.

Lev Vygotsky

One idea central to Vygotsky’s learning theory is that of the zone of proximal development (ZPD).

The ZPD is the area between what a learner (student, adult trainee, rehabilitation patient, etc.) can already do on their own and what the learner can readily accomplish with the help of teachers or more advanced peers.

For example, a five-year-old might already know how to perform a given three-step manual task, but can they be taught to complete a four- or five-step task?

The ZPD is a zone of emerging skills, which calls for its own kind of exploration and measurement, in order to better understand a learner’s potential (Moll, 2014).

Vygotsky was also interested in the relationship between thought and language. He theorized that much of thought comprised internalized language or “inner speech.” Like Piaget, whose work he read with interest, Vygotsky came to see language as having social origins, which would then become internalized as inner speech.

In that sense, Vygotsky is often considered a (social) constructivist, where learning depends on social communication and norms. Learning thus reflects our connection to and agreement with others, more than a connection with a purely external or objective reality.

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As mentioned in the discussion of Nathaniel Gage’s theory of effective teaching, student motivation is an important component to assess and encourage.

The Who Am I Self-Reflection can help students and their teachers think about what they are good at, what significant challenges they have been confronted with, and what inspires them. This knowledge can help both teachers and students find ways to enhance motivation in specific cases.

As noted above, the cognitivist approach to educational psychology includes understanding how the brain learns by forming new connections between neurons. The Adopt A Growth Mindset activity is a simple guide to replacing fixed mindset thinking with growth statements. It can inspire adults to learn by referencing their inherent neuroplasticity.

The idea is that with enough effort and repetition, we can form new and durable connections within our brains of a positive and adaptive nature.

For parents and teachers, we recommend Dr. Gabriella Lancia’s article on Healthy Discipline Strategies for Teaching & Inspiring Children . This article offers basic and effective strategies and worksheets for creating a positive behavioral climate at home and school that is pro-social and pro-learning.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others enhance their wellbeing, this signature collection contains 17 validated positive psychology tools for practitioners. Use them to help others flourish and thrive.

The field of educational psychology has ancient roots and remains vibrant today.

Today, there are many programs across the world providing quality training in educational psychology at the master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, career opportunities in psychology will grow at a healthy rate of about 14% over this decade, and educational psychology is expected to keep pace.

In addition, job satisfaction in educational psychology and related fields such as school psychology has traditionally been high, including as it concerns social impact, independence, and compensation (Worrell, Skaggs, & Brown, 2006).

Those with a doctorate in educational psychology have potential for a broad impact on learners of any and every type. They often teach at the college or university level, conduct research and publish on various topics in the field, or consult with various organizations about the best teaching and learning methods.

Researchers in educational psychology have made important contributions to contemporary education and culture, from learning paradigms (behaviorism, cognitivism, constructionism) and the theory of multiple intelligences, to proactive school-wide positive behavioral supports.

We hope you have learned more about the rich field of educational psychology from this brief article and will find the resources it contains useful. Don’t forget to download our free Positive Psychology Exercises .

  • Brown v. Board of Education , 347 U.S. (1954).
  • Bradshaw, C. P., Waasdorp, T. E., & Leaf, P. J. (2012). Effects of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports on child behavior problems. Pediatrics , 130 (5), e1136–e1145.
  • Clark, K., & Clark, M. (1939). The development of consciousness of self and the emergence of racial identification in Negro preschool children. Journal of Social Psychology ,  10 (4), 591–599.
  • Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly , 26 (2), 43–71.
  • Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences . Basic Books.
  • Gardner, H. (2000). The disciplined mind: Beyond facts and standardized tests, the education that every child deserves . Penguin Books.
  • Grinder, R. E. (1989). Educational psychology: The master science. In M. C. Wittrock & F. Farley (Eds.), The future of educational psychology (pp. 3–18). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Madigan, K., Cross, R. W., Smolkowski, K., & Stryker, L. A. (2016). Association between schoolwide positive behavioural interventions and supports and academic achievement: A 9-year evaluation. Educational Research and Evaluation , 22 (7–8), 402–421.
  • Moll, L. C. (2014). L. S. Vygotsky and education . Routledge.
  • Neisser, U. (1967). Cognitive psychology . Appleton-Century-Crofts.
  • Piaget, J. (1955). The child’s construction of reality . Routledge & Kegan Paul.
  • Simonsen, B., & Myers, D. (2015). Classwide positive behavior interventions and supports: A guide to proactive classroom management . Guilford Publications.
  • Skinner, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis . B. F. Skinner Foundation.
  • Takeuchi, N., Mori, T., Suzukamo, Y., & Izumi, S. I. (2019). Activity of prefrontal cortex in teachers and students during teaching of an insight problem. Mind, Brain, and Education , 13 , 167–175.
  • Worrell, T. G., Skaggs, G. E., & Brown, M. B. (2006). School psychologists’ job satisfaction: A 22-year perspective in the USA. School Psychology International , 27 (2), 131–145.
  • Yeomans, M., & Reich, J. (2017). Planning prompts increase and forecast course completion in massive open online courses. Conference: The Seventh International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference , pp. 464–473.
  • Zysberg, L., & Schwabsky, N. (2020). School climate, academic self-efficacy and student achievement . Educational Psychology. Taylor & Francis Online.

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How to Write a Psychology Essay

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

On This Page:

Before you write your essay, it’s important to analyse the task and understand exactly what the essay question is asking. Your lecturer may give you some advice – pay attention to this as it will help you plan your answer.

Next conduct preliminary reading based on your lecture notes. At this stage, it’s not crucial to have a robust understanding of key theories or studies, but you should at least have a general “gist” of the literature.

After reading, plan a response to the task. This plan could be in the form of a mind map, a summary table, or by writing a core statement (which encompasses the entire argument of your essay in just a few sentences).

After writing your plan, conduct supplementary reading, refine your plan, and make it more detailed.

It is tempting to skip these preliminary steps and write the first draft while reading at the same time. However, reading and planning will make the essay writing process easier, quicker, and ensure a higher quality essay is produced.

Components of a Good Essay

Now, let us look at what constitutes a good essay in psychology. There are a number of important features.
  • Global Structure – structure the material to allow for a logical sequence of ideas. Each paragraph / statement should follow sensibly from its predecessor. The essay should “flow”. The introduction, main body and conclusion should all be linked.
  • Each paragraph should comprise a main theme, which is illustrated and developed through a number of points (supported by evidence).
  • Knowledge and Understanding – recognize, recall, and show understanding of a range of scientific material that accurately reflects the main theoretical perspectives.
  • Critical Evaluation – arguments should be supported by appropriate evidence and/or theory from the literature. Evidence of independent thinking, insight, and evaluation of the evidence.
  • Quality of Written Communication – writing clearly and succinctly with appropriate use of paragraphs, spelling, and grammar. All sources are referenced accurately and in line with APA guidelines.

In the main body of the essay, every paragraph should demonstrate both knowledge and critical evaluation.

There should also be an appropriate balance between these two essay components. Try to aim for about a 60/40 split if possible.

Most students make the mistake of writing too much knowledge and not enough evaluation (which is the difficult bit).

It is best to structure your essay according to key themes. Themes are illustrated and developed through a number of points (supported by evidence).

Choose relevant points only, ones that most reveal the theme or help to make a convincing and interesting argument.

essay structure example

Knowledge and Understanding

Remember that an essay is simply a discussion / argument on paper. Don’t make the mistake of writing all the information you know regarding a particular topic.

You need to be concise, and clearly articulate your argument. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences.

Each paragraph should have a purpose / theme, and make a number of points – which need to be support by high quality evidence. Be clear why each point is is relevant to the argument. It would be useful at the beginning of each paragraph if you explicitly outlined the theme being discussed (.e.g. cognitive development, social development etc.).

Try not to overuse quotations in your essays. It is more appropriate to use original content to demonstrate your understanding.

Psychology is a science so you must support your ideas with evidence (not your own personal opinion). If you are discussing a theory or research study make sure you cite the source of the information.

Note this is not the author of a textbook you have read – but the original source / author(s) of the theory or research study.

For example:

Bowlby (1951) claimed that mothering is almost useless if delayed until after two and a half to three years and, for most children, if delayed till after 12 months, i.e. there is a critical period.
Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fullfil the next one, and so on.

As a general rule, make sure there is at least one citation (i.e. name of psychologist and date of publication) in each paragraph.

Remember to answer the essay question. Underline the keywords in the essay title. Don’t make the mistake of simply writing everything you know of a particular topic, be selective. Each paragraph in your essay should contribute to answering the essay question.

Critical Evaluation

In simple terms, this means outlining the strengths and limitations of a theory or research study.

There are many ways you can critically evaluate:

Methodological evaluation of research

Is the study valid / reliable ? Is the sample biased, or can we generalize the findings to other populations? What are the strengths and limitations of the method used and data obtained?

Be careful to ensure that any methodological criticisms are justified and not trite.

Rather than hunting for weaknesses in every study; only highlight limitations that make you doubt the conclusions that the authors have drawn – e.g., where an alternative explanation might be equally likely because something hasn’t been adequately controlled.

Compare or contrast different theories

Outline how the theories are similar and how they differ. This could be two (or more) theories of personality / memory / child development etc. Also try to communicate the value of the theory / study.

Debates or perspectives

Refer to debates such as nature or nurture, reductionism vs. holism, or the perspectives in psychology . For example, would they agree or disagree with a theory or the findings of the study?

What are the ethical issues of the research?

Does a study involve ethical issues such as deception, privacy, psychological or physical harm?

Gender bias

If research is biased towards men or women it does not provide a clear view of the behavior that has been studied. A dominantly male perspective is known as an androcentric bias.

Cultural bias

Is the theory / study ethnocentric? Psychology is predominantly a white, Euro-American enterprise. In some texts, over 90% of studies have US participants, who are predominantly white and middle class.

Does the theory or study being discussed judge other cultures by Western standards?

Animal Research

This raises the issue of whether it’s morally and/or scientifically right to use animals. The main criterion is that benefits must outweigh costs. But benefits are almost always to humans and costs to animals.

Animal research also raises the issue of extrapolation. Can we generalize from studies on animals to humans as their anatomy & physiology is different from humans?

The PEC System

It is very important to elaborate on your evaluation. Don’t just write a shopping list of brief (one or two sentence) evaluation points.

Instead, make sure you expand on your points, remember, quality of evaluation is most important than quantity.

When you are writing an evaluation paragraph, use the PEC system.

  • Make your P oint.
  • E xplain how and why the point is relevant.
  • Discuss the C onsequences / implications of the theory or study. Are they positive or negative?

For Example

  • Point: It is argued that psychoanalytic therapy is only of benefit to an articulate, intelligent, affluent minority.
  • Explain: Because psychoanalytic therapy involves talking and gaining insight, and is costly and time-consuming, it is argued that it is only of benefit to an articulate, intelligent, affluent minority. Evidence suggests psychoanalytic therapy works best if the client is motivated and has a positive attitude.
  • Consequences: A depressed client’s apathy, flat emotional state, and lack of motivation limit the appropriateness of psychoanalytic therapy for depression.

Furthermore, the levels of dependency of depressed clients mean that transference is more likely to develop.

Using Research Studies in your Essays

Research studies can either be knowledge or evaluation.
  • If you refer to the procedures and findings of a study, this shows knowledge and understanding.
  • If you comment on what the studies shows, and what it supports and challenges about the theory in question, this shows evaluation.

Writing an Introduction

It is often best to write your introduction when you have finished the main body of the essay, so that you have a good understanding of the topic area.

If there is a word count for your essay try to devote 10% of this to your introduction.

Ideally, the introduction should;

Identify the subject of the essay and define the key terms. Highlight the major issues which “lie behind” the question. Let the reader know how you will focus your essay by identifying the main themes to be discussed. “Signpost” the essay’s key argument, (and, if possible, how this argument is structured).

Introductions are very important as first impressions count and they can create a h alo effect in the mind of the lecturer grading your essay. If you start off well then you are more likely to be forgiven for the odd mistake later one.

Writing a Conclusion

So many students either forget to write a conclusion or fail to give it the attention it deserves.

If there is a word count for your essay try to devote 10% of this to your conclusion.

Ideally the conclusion should summarize the key themes / arguments of your essay. State the take home message – don’t sit on the fence, instead weigh up the evidence presented in the essay and make a decision which side of the argument has more support.

Also, you might like to suggest what future research may need to be conducted and why (read the discussion section of journal articles for this).

Don”t include new information / arguments (only information discussed in the main body of the essay).

If you are unsure of what to write read the essay question and answer it in one paragraph.

Points that unite or embrace several themes can be used to great effect as part of your conclusion.

The Importance of Flow

Obviously, what you write is important, but how you communicate your ideas / arguments has a significant influence on your overall grade. Most students may have similar information / content in their essays, but the better students communicate this information concisely and articulately.

When you have finished the first draft of your essay you must check if it “flows”. This is an important feature of quality of communication (along with spelling and grammar).

This means that the paragraphs follow a logical order (like the chapters in a novel). Have a global structure with themes arranged in a way that allows for a logical sequence of ideas. You might want to rearrange (cut and paste) paragraphs to a different position in your essay if they don”t appear to fit in with the essay structure.

To improve the flow of your essay make sure the last sentence of one paragraph links to first sentence of the next paragraph. This will help the essay flow and make it easier to read.

Finally, only repeat citations when it is unclear which study / theory you are discussing. Repeating citations unnecessarily disrupts the flow of an essay.

Referencing

The reference section is the list of all the sources cited in the essay (in alphabetical order). It is not a bibliography (a list of the books you used).

In simple terms every time you cite/refer to a name (and date) of a psychologist you need to reference the original source of the information.

If you have been using textbooks this is easy as the references are usually at the back of the book and you can just copy them down. If you have been using websites, then you may have a problem as they might not provide a reference section for you to copy.

References need to be set out APA style :

Author, A. A. (year). Title of work . Location: Publisher.

Journal Articles

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Article title. Journal Title, volume number (issue number), page numbers

A simple way to write your reference section is use Google scholar . Just type the name and date of the psychologist in the search box and click on the “cite” link.

scholar

Next, copy and paste the APA reference into the reference section of your essay.

apa reference

Once again, remember that references need to be in alphabetical order according to surname.

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Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice Essay

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Cognitive learning is based on the theory in terms of which any kind of information may be reasoned and processed. It is not enough for people to learn something new. It is more important to understand how important knowledge is, and how it can be organized in long-term memory (Pressley & McCormick 1995). The reading chosen for this week helps to comprehend that knowledge may take different forms. The choice of methods depends on many things, and one of them is the theory that is defined as the basis of knowledge. In Pressley and McCormick’s reading, certain attention is paid to Bandura’s observational learning theory. According to Bandura, human behavior is the main source for children to learn. People demonstrate their attitudes, give examples, and show the ways how knowledge could be gained and used. There is no right or wrong way to use knowledge. Learners always have options, and the observational learning theory provides the options in the form of verbal and imaginal systems (Pressley & McCormick 1995).

The usage of this theory helps teachers and learners at the same time. As soon as students learn something new, they are able to observe the ways to use their knowledge, investigate possible results, and make the conclusions. In their turn, educators can easily find the material to use in the educational process. Other theories are also applicable to the case and help to clarify the factors that have to be recognized in education and learning processes. For example, Piaget and Vygotsky, with their ideas of cognitive development and the stages with their own functions and effects on people and their recognition of the world, Erikson’s theory of social development, or Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, may be used (Slavin 2006). All these theorists focused on different aspects of human development and proved that any development is the process with a certain purpose that has to be described and cannot be neglected. Social interactions are crucial, according to Vygotsky. Piaget explains the changes in mental abilities. Kohlberg develops the ideas that facilitate the learning processes of boys with their moral reasoning and judgments. Finally, Erikson’s approach helps to clarify the nature of challenges and concerns people have to deal with during their life.

My classmate’s posting is powerful. First, it contains interesting and clear information on the theoretical background. Second, it is based on personal attitudes to the subject and the importance of education as an opportunity to stay active and use an action as a form of education and the way of knowledge demonstration.

Pressley, M & McCormick, C 1995, Advanced educational psychology for educators, researchers, and policymakers, HarperCollins College Publishers, New York.

Slavin, RE 2006, Educational psychology: theory and practice, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.

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How to Write a Psychology Paper: An Expert Guide

How to Write a Psychology Paper: An Expert Guide

A bit of a pep talk

You might be feeling rather overwhelmed now. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly okay. After all, a psychology paper is supposed to be challenging for a student to write. Just don’t let blank page anxiety get in the way of your academic success. Push through and, if you feel like you need to, don’t hesitate to consult the resources that offer recommendations on overcoming the fear of writing. You can do it!

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.

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How to Write an Introduction for a Psychology Paper

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

write essay on educational psychology

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

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  • Writing Tips

If you are writing a psychology paper, it is essential to kick things off with a strong introduction. The introduction to a psychology research paper helps your readers understand why the topic is important and what they need to know before they delve deeper.

Your goal in this section is to introduce the topic to the reader, provide an overview of previous research on the topic, and identify your own hypothesis .

At a Glance

Writing a great introduction can be a great foundation for the rest of your psychology paper. To create a strong intro:

  • Research your topic
  • Outline your paper
  • Introduce your topic
  • Summarize the previous research
  • Present your hypothesis or main argument

Before You Write an Introduction

There are some important steps you need to take before you even begin writing your introduction. To know what to write, you need to collect important background information and create a detailed plan.

Research Your Topic

Search a journal database, PsychInfo or ERIC, to find articles on your subject. Once you have located an article, look at the reference section to locate other studies cited in the article. As you take notes from these articles, be sure to write down where you found the information.

A simple note detailing the author's name, journal, and date of publication can help you keep track of sources and avoid plagiarism.

Create a Detailed Outline

This is often one of the most boring and onerous steps, so students tend to skip outlining and go straight to writing. Creating an outline might seem tedious, but it can be an enormous time-saver down the road and will make the writing process much easier.

Start by looking over the notes you made during the research process and consider how you want to present all of your ideas and research.

Introduce the Topic

Once you are ready to write your introduction, your first task is to provide a brief description of the research question. What is the experiment or study attempting to demonstrate? What phenomena are you studying? Provide a brief history of your topic and explain how it relates to your current research.

As you are introducing your topic, consider what makes it important. Why should it matter to your reader? The goal of your introduction is not only to let your reader know what your paper is about, but also to justify why it is important for them to learn more.

If your paper tackles a controversial subject and is focused on resolving the issue, it is important to summarize both sides of the controversy in a fair and impartial way. Consider how your paper fits in with the relevant research on the topic.

The introduction of a research paper is designed to grab interest. It should present a compelling look at the research that already exists and explain to readers what questions your own paper will address.

Summarize Previous Research

The second task of your introduction is to provide a well-rounded summary of previous research that is relevant to your topic. So, before you begin to write this summary, it is important to research your topic thoroughly.

Finding appropriate sources amid thousands of journal articles can be a daunting task, but there are several steps you can take to simplify your research. If you have completed the initial steps of researching and keeping detailed notes, writing your introduction will be much easier.

It is essential to give the reader a good overview of the historical context of the issue you are writing about, but do not feel like you must provide an exhaustive review of the subject. Focus on hitting the main points, and try to include the most relevant studies.

You might describe previous research findings and then explain how the current study differs or expands upon earlier research.

Provide Your Hypothesis

Once you have summarized the previous research, explain areas where the research is lacking or potentially flawed. What is missing from previous studies on your topic? What research questions have yet to be answered? Your hypothesis should lead to these questions.

At the end of your introduction, offer your hypothesis and describe what you expected to find in your experiment or study.

The introduction should be relatively brief. You want to give your readers an overview of a topic, explain why you are addressing it, and provide your arguments.

Tips for Writing Your Psychology Paper Intro

  • Use 3x5 inch note cards to write down notes and sources.
  • Look in professional psychology journals for examples of introductions.
  • Remember to cite your sources.
  • Maintain a working bibliography with all of the sources you might use in your final paper. This will make it much easier to prepare your reference section later on.
  • Use a copy of the APA style manual to ensure that your introduction and references are in proper APA format .

What This Means For You

Before you delve into the main body of your paper, you need to give your readers some background and present your main argument in the introduction of you paper. You can do this by first explaining what your topic is about, summarizing past research, and then providing your thesis.

Armağan A. How to write an introduction section of a scientific article ?  Turk J Urol . 2013;39(Suppl 1):8-9. doi:10.5152/tud.2013.046

Fried T, Foltz C, Lendner M, Vaccaro AR. How to write an effective introduction .  Clin Spine Surg . 2019;32(3):111-112. doi:10.1097/BSD.0000000000000714

Jawaid SA, Jawaid M. How to write introduction and discussion .  Saudi J Anaesth . 2019;13(Suppl 1):S18-S19. doi:10.4103/sja.SJA_584_18

American Psychological Association. Information Recommended for Inclusion in Manuscripts That Report New Data Collections Regardless of Research Design . Published 2020.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Branches of Psychology — Educational Psychology

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Essays on Educational Psychology

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Overview of The Philosophies of Psychology of Change in Regards to Adult Training

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Two Theories on The Nature of Intelligence

Printing of funny morale patches, the effect of educational attainment in managing scale businesses, how is psychology used in everyday life, personal philosophy of education, relevant topics.

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Essay Samples on Educational Psychology

Bilingual education in childhood for effective social communication and development.

Today’s society places a heavy emphasis on the importance of being an effective social communicator, whether it be through verbal or non-verbal skills. Presently, more than half of the world’s population is multilingual and an increasingly larger number of people have been exposed to another...

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Intelligence And Definition Of Wisdom In Psychology

Interpersonal Intelligence is the potential of humans to communicate with others. Politicians who are very famous and popular are characterized by way of this ability, as well as humans who are attractive. Man, even though able to live alone, is a social being by way...

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Humanization of the Students During the Study Process

Education has constantly assumed a crucial job in the moulding of any country. Numerous people, both in the East and the West, have submitted their lives for the advancement of their social orders through training. It has been the key element of human advancement and...

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Reflecting on the Education Approaches of Paulo Freire and Reimers

Paulo Freire and Reimers are two educators who have made significant contributions to the field of education. Both of these scholars have a unique perspective on how education should be approached, and they have inspired many others to adopt their methods. In this essay, we...

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The Models of Class Reflection and Its Role in Education

Introduction An essential quality for a teacher is to be able to reflect on their own practice. This skill is important as it increases and improves the learner’s performance. It is an ability which enables a practitioner to reflect on action in order to encourage...

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Modern Psychology in Today's Scientific and Religious Mindsets

Science and religion can often seem at odds with each other, but perhaps there are more similarities and interconnectedness than scientists give credit. Psychology, as a relatively new science, has a slightly different view than other sciences. Unlike biology, which tries to explain away religion,...

My Decision to Pursue Psychology: A Journey of Understanding and Compassion

When I first chose to major in psychology, it was because I believed it would allow me to make a positive impact on people's lives. We all face challenges at some point, and the opportunity to help others overcome them felt incredibly rewarding. Additionally, psychology...

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Impact of Psychology on the Nutritional Health of People

Those halcyon days in my high school years were the most important events in my life in terms of choosing my career. I have always said that I want to help people in the medical field in any type of way in order to use...

Psychology Is My Lifelong Aspiration

I am applying for Psychology. When I was 14 years old I had made the incidental decision to take Psychology at GCSE. Unknowingly I had chosen a subject in which I would become extremely passionate about. This has led me to studying Psychology at A...

Communities of Practice Learning, Meanings, and Identity

The various kinds of communities which exist include, the communities made of people with the same interest or share the same passion, i.e: A community of people who try to bring change through their actions. A community of people who are brought together as a...

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Best topics on Educational Psychology

1. Bilingual Education In Childhood For Effective Social Communication And Development

2. Intelligence And Definition Of Wisdom In Psychology

3. Humanization of the Students During the Study Process

4. Reflecting on the Education Approaches of Paulo Freire and Reimers

5. The Models of Class Reflection and Its Role in Education

6. Modern Psychology in Today’s Scientific and Religious Mindsets

7. My Decision to Pursue Psychology: A Journey of Understanding and Compassion

8. Impact of Psychology on the Nutritional Health of People

9. Psychology Is My Lifelong Aspiration

10. Communities of Practice Learning, Meanings, and Identity

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  • Critical Reflection
  • Human Behavior
  • Growth Mindset
  • Big Five Personality Traits

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Psychology Discussion

Educational psychology: meaning, scope and methods.

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After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Introduction to Educational Psychology 2. Scope of Educational Psychology 3. Meaning 4. Aspects 5. A Cognitive-Developmental View 6. Aims and Objectives 7. Aims and Objectives.

  • Methods used in Educational Psychology

1. Introduction to Educational Psychology:

Educational psychology has become a separate discipline altogether as it poses itself in the present time. The individuals who are interested in teaching profession and those who are already in it, as for example, the classroom teachers or educational managers-cum-administrators have become more and more interested in the development of broader and more general themes of educational psychology.

A number of eminent scholars and scientists have in the process contributed to the development of educational psychology as a major applied field within the context of psychology.

A brief historical trekking along the developmental path of educational psychology as it reaches the modern age, would probably be relevant here. Before the emergence of psychology as a discipline in its own right, and of educational psychology as a branch of that discipline—speculation and observation concerning the relation of human nature to the educational process were not uncommon.

In the West, this feature can be traced from pre-Socratic period of classical Greece, where Democritus in fifth Century B. C. advanced his idea of education. He wrote about the importance of education in man’s continuity of life process as well as considered the influence of the home and family upon the child. He held that the father’s self-control and the process of educating himself served to teach the children.

Eventually there arose the importance of child rearing process in educational psychology. Stress was laid upon such matters as training in the management of property by sharing it with the children. In India the same kind of imparting education by the father to the son was a social a practice.

Moulding the son in accordance with the identity of the father —even to be absolutely identified with the son to enter into the son during death as presented in Mahabharata is an example of the same process.

That is, in fact, the essence of patriarchal society. In Arya Society in India, however, education was confined to a particular stra­tum or class, whose formal education started only at the age of 12 after a formal initiation, who became Brahmmacharins.

They were totally separated from the family for a particular period of life—sent to the Guru’s (i.e. teacher’s) Ashram, where they were trained to acquire various skills and given special trainings to lead life and later to attain self-realization, the ultimate aim of education. The concept of mind and its training was more of philosophical nature, than of psychological one.

Much later, psychology replaced philosophical concept after a great deal of research work carried on throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century. Other great names in the field of education of classical period, in West were Socrates, the epitome of education, followed by Plato and Aristotle.

They were gems of post-Socratic period dating back to fourth century B. C. From Plato and Aristotle onward we got glimpses of modern education and its relation to psychological factors.

Scattered throughout their works Aristotle and Plato discussed the following issues such as, “the ends of education, the ideals of the educated man, the disadvantages of being educated, the kinds of education that are appropriate to different kinds of people, the training of the body and the cultivation of bodily skills, the formation of a good character, the possibilities and limits of moral education, the influence of the family in the training, the role of the state in moral education, the effect upon character of music, poetry and other arts; the profession of teaching and the relation of teacher and students, the means and methods of teaching; the nature of learning, the order of learning, the emotional aspect of learning; learning apart from teachers and the acquisition of techniques.”.

Almost the same kind of educational system was operative in ancient India and we see the greatest teacher Krishna teaching the most obedient disciple Arjuna in Gita and imparting the kind of education embodying the ethos of Indian social thoughts and Indian idealism.

Aristotle’s psychological views relevant to the educational matters are presented more systematically, logically and in greater details than as forwarded either by Socrates or Plato. Aristotle’s views encouraged the working of faculty psychology and emphasized more of intellectual and rational processes than the emotional ones.

Aristotle laid the foundation for the main psychological doctrines taught and accepted by the learned world for the next two centuries to come. They were subsequently modified by the later psychologists throughout the developmental period of history of educational psychology.

In the hands of seventeenth century philosophers, specially Descartes, mind was equated with innate ideas which did not arise from experience, rather the ideas are considered as the basis of true knowledge. The scientific character of psychology remained a doom at that period.

But very soon John Locke, in the same century, renowned as empiricist, initiated the first wide and continued protest against the form of faculty psychology current in his time.

He argued that the faculties do not function by themselves, knowledge is gained when the mind becomes functional as it comes in contact with the external environment. At birth the human mind does not perform but is potentially sensitive to impressions from outside through the senses.

“Through the empirical process of experience he receives sensory experiences from which simple experiences are built into complex ideas, through the internal activity of reflection, and ideas”…. They arose from sensory impressions and from the processes of reflection. Thus arise all knowledge, all values, all learning. This learning by experience come to be known as empiricism.

The interactional processes between one’s self and environment involved in learning laid the foundation of modern psychology—the non-faculty point of view turned into behaviouristic character. And psychology—instead of being defined as science of mind (psyche+logos)—achieved a scientific status and, finally, came to be defined as the science of human behaviour.

Modern psychology, a science of behaviour like all other sciences, has its origin in the feeling of curiosity of the primitive man. His curious inquiry about the nature and its events ultimately gave rise to physical and biosciences of modern age. The same curiosity about his own thinking, feeling and willing, dreaming and imagining gave rise to an inquiry into the mental process, which gradually helped the emergence of the science of psychology.

According to the modern definition of psychology, mind can be analysed functionally into different mental processes—cognitive, conative and emotive and is .expressed through behaviour of the interacting person. Hence psychology is a science of behaviour.

Psychology emerged as a scientific discipline as and when Withhelm Wundt—the founder of experimental psychology— established the first psychological laboratory at Leipzig in Germany in the year 1879. From that time onward the learned world witnessed a host of renowned psychologists working in different aspects of mental performances and a long intellectual pursuit of psychological discoveries ensured.

This led more and more to the application of theories, branching, specialization, specification of methods as well as more and more qualitative and quantitative sophistication of techniques. One such branching encompasses the educational field and has been termed as Educational Psychology which emerged as a separate discipline, involving the general principles of experimental psychology applied in the field of education.

A great name in the history of educational thoughts in the early 19th century was Pestalozzi who psychologised education by emphasizing upon ‘education’ as a process of drawing out the functional mind of the individual.

The next great advance in educational psychology came about mid-nineteenth century when Johann Frederich Herbart, a German professor, formulated an approach to education based directly and avowedly upon psychology.

From the end part of nineteenth century till the beginning of twentieth century a number of famous psychologists started working in different lines of education applying the principles and techniques of general psychology. Among them mention may be made of Francis Galton, the oldest of the founders of educational psychology.

He conducted the first experimental investigation of associationism, tests on reaction time and sensory acuity. Stanley Hall, meanwhile, published his papers using the questionnaire to investigate the minds of children. In 1885 Ebbinghans published his study on memory and, within the span of six years, events of importance like objective measurement, child psychology and learning experiments, all took place.

To add to the list enriching the movement was Galton’s studies on nature-nurture problem, mental inheritance of ability, studies of twins, widespread realizations of individual differences in the psychological sense, various mental and physical developments as well as use of psychological tests and their statistical interpretation (particularly the correlational studies which was later followed by Karl Pearson), rating scales and questionnaires. “His most important theoretical contribution was the distinction in the ‘Structure of mind’ between a general broad ability of intelligence and special abilities entering only into narrower ranges of activity”.

The next major contributor to the foundation of educational psychology was Alfred Binet in the field of intelligence testing. With assistance of Theophile Simon, he developed the first Binet Scale. Then comes John Dewey whose contribution is rather noteworthy in the field of educational philosophy than in the general psychological field.

After Dewey, from the year 1900 to some ten or twelve years more, educational psychology remained more or less in incubation till Edward L. Thorndike came out with his revolutionary ‘laws of learning’.

He was possibly the first man to be called an educational psychologist in the modern sense of the term. He studied the art and science of learning very systematically and consistently. Then joined Woodworth with Thorndike and together they worked on transfer of training at the turn of the century.

Thorndike then published three volumes of Educational Psychology between 1913-14 consisting of his original work arising from experimental research. His studies in various related fields of education opened up new vistas to be trekked by later educational psychologists.

2. Scope of Educational Psychology :

Educational psychology embraced over the years various fields of education e.g. intelligence testing, mental abilities, achievement testing, child psychology, developmental psychology, school performance, mental deficiency, curriculum, personality, character, educational measurement and so on and so forth.

In 1910, the Journal of Educational Psychology was first published, to reveal experimental researches on various psychological issues regarding education and their interpretations.

In the recent past the field of educational psychology has become more complex as the vision of what it encompasses has broadened. Originally concerned with learning and measurement its scope has been extended with each succeeding generation to the point where now the newest extension is in social-educational field and a new branch emerged in educational psychology known as educational social psychology.

In conclusion, we may note that the aim of educational psychology is to apply psychological concepts and principles in order to improve educational practice. Educational psychology that has evolved as a new discipline tends to represent all the areas within psychology in general.

These include some distinct areas dealing with human development, individual difference in ability, aptitude and temperament, perception, motivation, learning, thinking, problem-solving, psychopathology, the dynamics of personality and group interactional processes.

The educational scientists have employed two strategies for applying psychology in education. Consequently, two kinds of researches had been advanced in the field of educational psychology; the first is the direct experimental investigation of learning in laboratory and school settings.

The second has been an attempt to distil from basic psychological research the educational proceedings to be employed in teaching-learning situation, implication of learning in its broader perspective (formal and informal learning), and also human nature and its interactions.

In this process educational psychology deals not only with the individual’s own psychology and its functioning, but also an awareness of his interacting counterpart, the changing environment—both physical and social.

Any educational endeavour is actually a learning situation; the task of educational psychology is to study the learner in that situation. The first learning situation outside the family a child (or a learner) encounters is the school, which is again teaching-learning condition oriented. The teacher’s duty in this setting is to apply the general propositions received from psychology and apply them in the classroom.

But not one single strategy employed so far had yielded any fruitful result. A more practical oriented strategy is required in order to synthesize the learner, the teacher the instructional techniques and the educational managers on the one hand and producing qualified students to meet the demand of the day, on the other.

The world we live in today is shaped to a considerable degree by the decisions people make—individually and collectively. Any decision-making needs possessing some knowledge and use them in solving problems. In other words, the kind of perceiving, thinking and evaluating that goes into the problem solving has to be considered.

Historically, possession of knowledge and its utilization are learned during the developmental years of the children through interacting with parents, employers, religious and political leaders as well as teachers in the classroom.

The interaction with the teachers is no less important in the process of our lifelong learning even if the exposure to school be brief and transitory (this is stated considering the number of dropouts at the school level in our country). It has an impact in their lives, nevertheless.

Specially in the developing countries like India and South Asia the involvement of young people with teachers and schools is certainly increasing as revealed by survey reports at Governmental level for the last two decades. Teachers do play an active role in the teaching-learning system.

It will not be unreasonable to say that the kind of future we and our children will experience is influenced more by teachers than by any other professional groups.

The world of tomorrow will be shaped not only by what today’s children are learning from their teachers, but also by the ‘way’ they are learning it, for it is the way knowledge is presented that determines how children will learn to solve problems. Thus according to Lindgren (1980), the ‘how’ of teaching includes not only teaching methods, but also teachers’ attitudes and values, and full range of teachers’ classroom behaviours.

They serve as ‘models’ whose way of thinking, behaving, attitudes, advice and manner, the process of acquiring and imparting knowledge are imitated in more ways than they can imagine. Hence they are influential far beyond their immediate awareness. Therefore, it is necessary that the teachers know consciously their personal psychology in order to understand the psychology of their students.

3. Meaning of Educational Psychology:

A text book point of view :

Educational Psychology may be defined as the study of the human mind and behaviour with relation to teaching-learning process. Educational Psychology involves all the people who learn and help learning, teach and help teaching.

Hence educators, psychologists, teachers, learners, parents and friends, workers and bosses, relatives and associates all form part and parcel of this process, because all of us try to learn and teach. We learn nearly all our life and watch others learn. We try to teach each other, trying to arrange conditions to achieve success in life.

In the process we try to modify in same way our aims and objectives, beliefs, values, attitudes, aspirations, practices and skills. Sometimes we do it unaware and, therefore, fail to approach in a systematic and effective way. But when the same thing is being done consciously and with a voluntary effort the process becomes professional and sophisticated— teaching becomes institutionalized.

But the classroom, in spite of undergoing a conscious formal processing, is not immune to the deficiencies mentioned above. As we inquire and wonder “why” such things happen even when we follow a set rule, there remains the scope to discover what other kinds of arrangements have a greater probability of success. “This is what texts in educational psychology are about”.

Educational psychologist believes that the answer to such “why” question can be given with a thorough knowledge of the psychological principles underlying all learning activities. So, how does psychological inquiries contribute to education is the theme of educational psychology.

The psychologist observes systematically about the traditional educational practices and ideas, their strength and weaknesses, and improve upon them, if necessary. They evaluate methods and techniques, offers concepts for the teachers and curriculum-makers to consider while framing plans.

That endeavour helps the educator to become applied scientists, who would make judgment about values and assumptions, about taking educational decisions, encouraging use of advanced educational technology to enrich the educative process. Educational psychology as a beha­vioural science contributes to the soundness of both traditional and up-to-date technology.

The subject matter of educational psychology, though restricted to teaching-learning domain only, is an applied field of the broader principles of psychology, which deals with human behaviour, in general.

According to the behaviouristic concepts in education the term behaviour can be subclassified into such terms as exploratory, impulsive, involuntary, learned, reflexive, purposeful, emotional, patternized risk taking, reinforced, modified and shaped behaviour, and extinction of a behaviour.

The aims of educational psychology are understanding, predicting and controlling behaviour in learning situations. So far as learning process is concerned, three sections of psychology contributed most in evolving the scope of it. These three styles have been distinguished as behaviouristic, humanistic and cognitive-developmental. “Behaviourism seeks to develop firm conclusions from objective evidence, and avoids discussion of internal psychological processes.”

This view is a product of the protect lodged by Watson long ago in the history of psychology when psychology used to be defined as the science of soul or mind, derived from the word psyche. Soon the scientists and educators realized that the mind, as such, is difficult to study, observable behaviour is more easily analyzed as a clue to person’s ideas, knowledge, feelings and other inert mental processes.

Humanistic psychology emphasizes inner feelings and interpretations. Wishing to explain broad phenomena, the humanist accepts wide variety of data, including naturalistic observation. “The cognitive-developmental psychologist sees the person as actively engaging his environment, thinking about his experience, and growing as a result.”

4. Aspects of Educational Psychology:

Behaviouristic Aspect :

All psychologists observe behaviuor of the learner. Strict behaviourist in the learning situation will only restrict his observation on what is seen, and what can be recorded objectively. The strict behaviourist relies only on responses given to a stimulus, where reasoning is cautious and conclusions are limited to observable behaviour; i.e. he notices only what the learner ‘does’ without any reference to inner mental states. “He concentrates on aspects of the situation that can be experimentally altered and controlled”.

A major figure in the behaviouristic much of his research on operant conditioning, which was carried on by his followers subsequently, was based mainly on how rewards—which he called ‘rein-forcers’— affect responses.

The behaviouristic emphasis is summed up in the following assumptions or working hypotheses:

i. The environment can be unambiguously characterized in terms of stimuli.

ii. Behaviour can be unambiguously characterized in terms of responses. (After a stimulus is presented, an observer can say that the response did or did not occur).

iii. A class of stimuli called ‘reinforcers’ can be identified. (The reinforcer may be grains in the pigeon’s cup or the teacher’s nod of approval following the student’s response to a question. A reinforcer makes the response it follows more likely in future).

iv. Learning can be completely characterized in terms of couplings among stimuli, responses and reinforcers.

v. Unless there is definite evidence to the contrary, any type of behaviour is assumed to be learned, to be open to change when the conditions are altered, to be trainable, and to be extinguishable (in the sense that a habit can be wiped out). Psychologists in the behaviouristic tradition had had great success in dealing with some difficult practical problems.

When the reinforcement conditions can be controlled and the desired outcome is definite, behaviouristic techniques can work remarkably well. But it has its weakness too. Exceptional emphasis on objective behaviour speaks nothing about the subjective aspect of experience.

Behaviouristic technique may operate successfully and effectively in a research setting or in labortory condition, but broad and long term conditions are ignored by the strict behaviourist.

The behaviourists hardly examine the learner’s total school career—their study of learning conditions are piecemeal. Moreover, the learner’s purpose and his self-fulfilment are hard to discuss in behaviouristic language. These questions were raised by the critics of behaviourism.

As a result, a second line of behaviourism emerged in the field of educational psychology which is known as neo-behaviourism. It takes up a broad range of phenomena, and does consider cognitive process. The neo-behaviourists reinterpreted the concept of learning and behaviour, expanded the usage of reinforcement.

‘They recognized that reinforcement involves a subjective feeling — it provides information as well as pleasure’. A person learns to anticipate the consequences of his behaviour when learning gradually becomes complex, and he learns to change his behaviour accordingly which is more than stimulus-response connection.

Humanistic Aspect :

Humanistic approach is more humane, more subjective and involves more mentalistic concepts than the objectivity oriented behaviouristic viewpoint. They accept all the terms and language which are discarded by the behaviourists.

Humanistic psychology is particularly interested in the inner states of mental processes, man’s feelings, aspirations, motives and motivation. The humanists are very much concerned with the ‘self’ of the individual, his self-awareness and self-esteem.

They see each person as a self-directing, integrated being, evolving in a unique direction as he interprets his experiences. Observation is also a method for the humanist, and he recognizes the subject as a self-observant. Their prime data rests on what a person says about his present feelings and recollection of past experiences. They count much on a person’s image of world—take them as unit rather than breaking them up as single action into stimulus and response.

Among contemporary humanistic psychologists, one of the most eminent is Erik Erikson who based his studies of American Indian tribes and of such men as Luther and Gandhi. His famous work is on ‘identity’ (Identity: Youth and Crisis, 1968). The same view has been corroborated by Abraham Maslow, who took similar position, equating healthy development with “self-actualization”. The humanistic psychologists examine the human conditions in life situations and do not restrict their observations to the well- controlled conditions only.

They prefer to observe the human behaviour in its natural setting at par with the traditions of natural scientists. For this they base their observations on biographical and anthropological studies of the whole culture or on interviews that examine the sources of a person’s lifestyle, and even on his own introspection and reflections.

They study the individual’s impressions in a social context, his value judgment of educative importance and the values that he himself incorporates. The humanists have strong views about good life and good society and, within this limitation, they are permissive on an individual’s self-determinism. It may sound romantic but in fact the humanistic psychologists are considered more democratic than the behaviouristic ones. The behaviourist-humanistic dialectic is alive in the minds of most educational psychologists when they plan an education system.

5. A Cognitive-Developmental View of Educational Psychology :

The exponent of this theory is Lee. J. Cronbach. He explains his theory first by analysing the terms involved. The first one, i.e. cognitive part, stresses the active ‘intellectual’ functioning of the person. The second stresses that behaviour develops in a ‘cumulative fashion’. Any behaviour means not only a reaction to the present circumstances but the past experiences are equally important to constitute such behaviour.

An experience when is converted into behaviour involves both cognitive and affective aspect. By ‘cognitive’ we mean understanding, reasoning, interpretation, and intellectual analysis—’to become acquainted with’. “Affective” is associated with emotions, preferences, interests and positive and negative feelings.

The contrast between the two meanings is apparent so far as an experience is concerned; any experience is coloured both with cognitive and affective elements i.e. a cognitive experience is also affective in nature.

The nature of cognitive behaviour changes as a person develops. Behaviour and attitudes evolve in part through encounters with the world; hence the developmental psychologists compare persons living in different conditions in their natural settings, like the humanistic psychologists.

The developmental psychologists, therefore, classify children, for example, either in terms of social-class background, or in terms of age groups or in terms of parent’s style of child-rearing etc.

These psychologists employ sometimes standardized con­ditions for making age-to-age or group-to-group comparisons like that of the behaviourists. But even in doing so the internal mental processes are equally attended to by the cognitive- developmental style. For example, external behaviour plus encoding, self-criticism and identification and such other mental processes are duly considered.

Educational psychology considers all the above approaches in determining behaviour of the learners and teachers. It helps the teachers to plan their lessons, to program their instructions, to develop insight or regarding their students.

The central implications of educational psychology leads us to ensure that:

(1) Behaviour is purposive—that whenever a person is actively engaged in tackling a problem-situation, learning takes place.

(2) Personality Development is cumulative—that “societal-demands set developmental tasks for the person at each age level. These generate needs that provide the core of motivation” i.e. motivations are culturally determined which are constituents of personality.

(3) Abilities are expressed through behaviour which enable the persons to acquire new knowledge through intelligence where concepts, techniques and attitudes work together to know the unfamiliar.

(4) Educational psychology helps teaching to be scientific, technical and professional.

It is true that the essence of teaching involves emotions, values, instantaneous judgment, and intuition which science cannot provide, because these cannot be standardized. But teaching is also a skill, which can be improved through application of scientific techniques. Some new techniques have been directly inspired by research on behaviour. A good example is computer-aided instruction.

The rationale for computer-assisted instruction rests in part on the principle of feedback or reinforcement. Clear-cut signals about the appropriateness of responses shape response patterns. The first deve­lopments were programmed instructional materials in printed forms. Nowadays the computer offers considerably better flexibility than the printed page—a technologically controlled education.

(5) Decision making, problem solving can be made easy with the application management models forwarded by modern technology (e.g. ‘automated’ vs ‘informate’ model).

6. Aims and Objectives of Educational Psychology:

Let us start this section with Gordon Allport’s caution: “One aim of education is to make available the wisdom of the past and present so that youth will be equipped to solve the problems of future”.

The general aims of educational psychology, as stated before, are understanding, predicting and controlling behaviour in learning situations. As the learning situation includes, teacher, learner, classroom environment and evaluation of their interactions, therefore, each objective can be separately treated.

The aims are closely related with the functional aspects of educational psychology. Hence the functional objectives are:

(1) To evaluate educational theories and put to application the workable part of it;

(2) To examine contemporary educational practices and suggest the modifications required;

(3) To critically examine and evaluate contemporary teaching methodology in the light of established principles of learning and motivation in varying con­ditions of different cultures, different environments and different facilities provided.

(4) To provide methods for researchers who are scientifically studying educational problems.

(5) To assess and modify the principles and practical operations according to the set values/beliefs and attitude of a culture and also to maintain the scope for the changes with time.

In order to point out the aims of educational psychology it is better to remember William James, who—as early as 1898— put an important question in psychology; “What we are about”? Educational psychology should provide such answer to this question as it is through learning, through experiences a behavioural change occurs and makes a man what he is.

Educators not only look to educational psychology to learn “what we are” about, but also to learn “what we should be about” in education tomorrow—it is not only to ‘be’ but to ‘become’.

But to achieve it, is a hard task. The world is changing so fast that parents and teachers now see that tomorrow is not a photocopy of yesterday, present is not the replica of the past; learning of their time is totally different from that of nowadays.

We need an image of tomorrow’s society while teaching today and in framing the aims our image must include the likelihood of radical changes—changes that we are today unable to comprehend.

Because the changes that are likely to occur in possible future is not one-sided, not singular, but plural, many-sided and global. Subject to the choices we would make innumerable arrayed options where some lines of development are more likely than others.

An eye to this will help the educators to frame future sensible goals at present time. The sensible goals signify that the development of personality or constant individual growth must take into consideration the meaning and purpose of human life.

The educationists who set the goals should remember and realize that the homo-sepiens, though primarily animals, are most advanced forms of life. Neither are they to regard people as machines, just a little higher or lower than the computer. “A major task of psychology of the future is to help humans learn how to learn and discover, perhaps to help expand the human potential”.

The identification and proper statement of the educational objectives of a lesson is the most important step in instructional planning. When a teacher knows where he is reaching, what is his specific objective, he will be able to decide how he will be designing a lesson. Therefore, getting a clear statement of educational objectives is the first step in the systematic application of psychology to education.

The setting of goals in terms of objectives i.e. to understand, to predict and to control behaviour is the behavioural objectives for the teacher. The first behavioural objective for the teacher is understanding the terms “understanding” and “knowing” and these are the key ones of the various educational objectives.

While setting instructional materials the teacher should analyse the objectives in behavioural terms, like knowing, understanding and recognizing the importance of the materials presented.

Therefore, in setting up educational objectives, the objectives are to be interpreted in such behavioural terms as:

1. Specific statement of properly stated objective.

2. Differentiating between properly stated and improperly stated objectives.

3. Expressing educational goals in terms of behaviourally stated objectives.

The test for whether a person—child or adult—”knows”, or “understands” a concept means whether he talks or act appropriately—appropriate to the statement made. In the same way to test whether the person understands a statement made for him, one must witness the fact, watch him talk and act accordingly when confronted with the test situations, or when circumstances arise in the natural course of events.

Therefore, a teacher, when imparting a concept to a student, must check all the aspects of concepts—translate them into behaviour (behavioural concepts) and then test his range of understanding (behavioural objective).

The educational objectives, then, help the educator in deciding what is required to evaluate a person’s understanding which is in essence, identifying those tests he wants his students to pass after instruction. Such understanding will also pinpoint the ‘skills’ and ‘knowledge’ which are involved in the process of understanding.

Teaching these are the educational goals interpreted as proper form for statements of educational objectives, whereas instructional objective is to teach a concept or to teach an understanding of a concept.

For example a concept of addition involves many things. “An ‘understanding’ of addition could be broken down into an understanding of part-whole relationships (Objective I), a ‘Knowledge’ of the sums and columns of rows and numbers (Objective II), an understanding of word problems involving addition (Objective III) and so on”, (ibid) Breaking down the objectives into more specific statements removes some of the vagueness, so that objectives are stated behaviourally, in terms of what student is to say or do – in terms of student’s behaviour.

Teacher’s Objectives :

The central theme of all education is learning, and the teacher’s objective is to guide and stimulate pupils in their educational growth. The teacher should look into the conditions needed for effective learning and its method of application.

The main behavioural objective of the teacher is to understand the characteristics of children and adolescents and the basic principles of learning, knowledge about the subject matter and bring all these knowledge into the classroom. Each child comes to the school equipped with experiences gathered from his environment in his own way and peculiar to himself.

He uses his experiences so gathered to accumulate variety of .them which he uses again to interpret his new environment and new experiences. Schooling should help them to reshape their concepts whenever necessary so that they may be helpful to reinterpret them in social context, thereby broadening existing concepts, developing new skills, acquire new attitudes and reorganize behaviour. This is how enriched learning takes place.

Today student-teacher objectives are often expressed explicitly as outcomes or learning. Such objectives generally include subject matter, knowledge, and learning-oriented attitudes, appreciations, interests and skills. The main and most important teacher’s objective is to help children acquire behaviour patterns that contribute to effective living.

7. Methods Used in Educational Psychology :

Educational psychology—being a behavioural science— uses scientific methods of behavioural research. The commonest of all the methods is observation. Educational psychology uses observation not as common-sense view sees it.

It uses systematic observation which equates methods with research in the educational field and is also scientific in character. As such, the subject matter of educational psychology is human behaviour and every one can observe behaviour.

But educational psychology avoids subjective observation and employs the method objectively to evaluate behaviour and its modification which is a product of learning. An educational psychologist adopts systematic, objective and investigative measures in assessing the effects of learning in the pupils.

Such in-depth scientific probes are necessary if we are to explain, predict and control behaviour with any acceptable degree of accuracy. This is in short, scientific observation.

Educational research depends on the use of scientific method which need to follow five steps for its investigation. These steps are:

(1) Formulating the problem,

(2) Stating the hypotheses,

(3) Collection of data from respective fields,

(4) Testing the hypotheses,

(5) Interpreting and reporting the findings, and

(6) Applying the findings. Researches in educational psychology can be conducted in the classroom, in the laboratory or in the outer field as is necessary.

Laboratory research has sometimes been referred to as pure research, while that conducted in the classroom is known as applied research.

The use of scientific methods in educational psychology has produced profound changes in organization and management of school, curriculum, syllabus making, learning materials, audio-visual aids, effective lesson planning and instruction methods.

A number of scientific teaching methods have been tried out in the classroom researches to get effectiveness in teaching e.g. discovery method, the learner- centered method, the Socratic method, the project method, the laboratory method or the tutorial method—based upon various conditions with various subject matters and with various kinds of students.

However, the detailed descriptions will be available in books on research methodology—which deal with the introduction, improvement and either rejection or retention of a particular method or combination of them as required by the teacher while imparting instruction. The researchers also use the methods in order to reach to any conclusion following a hypothesis or an assum­ption they adopt.

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Educational Psychology Dissertation Topics

Published by Owen Ingram at January 3rd, 2023 , Revised On August 11, 2023

Finding engaging educational psychology dissertation ideas can be really time-consuming particularly if you haven’t been through this process previously. -. Every student is not particularly adept at creating a unique dissertation topic .  Educational psychology is one of the most challenging subject areas, and finding the right topic for writing a dissertation can be challenging.

Here is a list of the best educational psychology dissertation topics for you to choose from. These top educational psychology dissertation topic ideas will help you complete your dissertation on a unique and intriguing topic that would help you advance your academic career.

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List of Educational Psychology Dissertation Topics

  • A comparison of the effects of college and school counselling on students’ mental health in the UK.
  • University of Bedfordshire analysis of cultural differences in how people view learning.
  • Study the relationship between studying time and academic performance in college students compared to university students.
  • A thorough investigation of social and emotional learning in UK primary education.
  • A case study compared the performance of school-age kids and teenagers in the UK according to their ethnicity, race, and religion.
  • An analysis of how technology is used in classrooms and how that affects students’ learning in the UK.
  • The relationship between toddlers’ social abilities and a norm-referenced theory of mind measure.
  • A mixed-methods study of the UK’s university students’ subjective well-being and classroom support.
  • Examine the coping mechanisms and treatment hurdles of a middle school teenager with a severe anxiety problem in the United Kingdom.
  • An analysis of how teaching children arithmetic concepts early on can improve their performance in higher-level courses.
  • The association between self-motivation and academic achievement at the university level in the United Kingdom.
  • The investigation of the links between parental traits and the detrimental effects of classroom peer pressure on children in playgroups in the United Kingdom.
  • Nonverbal communication and neurolinguistics programming in the educational process.
  • The pros and cons of learning a language through immersion and communication.
  • The contribution of smartphones and computers to children’s motor skill development.
  • There is a connection between academic performance and the quantity of time spent studying.
  • The impact of parents’ language abilities on their deaf children’s development.
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of encouraging support and acknowledgement in special education?
  • What function does technology play in a classroom, and how does that impact students’ learning?
  • It may affect secondary-level student achievement when parents are strict, and there is little school discipline.
  • The distinction between bullying and peer aggression in practice trends may change or develop.
  • Self-motivation and academic accomplishment levels are related.
  • Memorization and concept building in education are two different things.
  • You can research every aspect of schooling, including disparities in pupils and motivation for studying.
  • Collaborative Learning with a Geometry Video Game: The Importance of Game Design and Elaboration for Learning and Motivation.

It takes a lot of time and effort to develop a dissertation topic in educational psychology. The more thoroughly you research your ideas, the easier it will be to succeed. The topic you choose must also be engaging. Your educational psychology dissertation topic should address all development difficulties, such as self-concept, self-regulation, environmental factors, motivation, knowledge, and cognitive development.

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To find educational psychology dissertation topics:

  • Review current research and theories.
  • Identify educational challenges.
  • Explore learning methods and technologies.
  • Consider socio-cultural factors.
  • Investigate student motivation and behavior.
  • Select a topic aligning with your passion and research goals.

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Essays on Educational Psychology

Psychology as a Science Psychology is described as the science of the mind and behavior that takes into account all aspects of conscious and unconscious cognition. It belongs to the humanities and social sciences because it is also utilized for academic reasons. The subject is involved with comprehending organizations and individuals...

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Psychology and Human Development Psychology is the study of both the social and mental aspects of human behavior. This course is also relevant in fields such as mental health, school reform, job challenges, and many other areas of society's day-to-day activities. Experience in Psychology I have experienced many huddles and encounters in the...

Psychology and Its Application in Various Areas of Life Psychology refers to the study of thought mechanisms and human actions. In order to navigate the prevalent conditions, it can be used in multiple areas of life. It helps us to realize who we are and leads us in the path of...

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The aim of the American Psychological Association (APA) and Code of Ethics is to direct the practitioner in operational mode while setting the expected standards as well. The fundamental aspect of civil liability is the code of ethics. The system also makes the decision-making process smooth. Obviously, when it comes...

The book Influence: Persuasion's Psychology by Cialdini was first published in 1984. Cialdini cites several psychological studies where multiple variables are evaluated to assess their ability to affect decision-making by individuals. Not only are the discussions highly instructive with regard to the power of influence, but they also provide fascinating...

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Educational Psychology - Essay Example

Educational Psychology

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    Summary. Educational Psychology is the study of the aspects of education including development, learning, and motivation.There is no doubt that teaching and learning has changed over the years which may have affected students' motivation in terms of education…. Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing.

  24. Teens are spending nearly 5 hours daily on social media. Here are the

    41%. Percentage of teens with the highest social media use who rate their overall mental health as poor or very poor, compared with 23% of those with the lowest use. For example, 10% of the highest use group expressed suicidal intent or self-harm in the past 12 months compared with 5% of the lowest use group, and 17% of the highest users expressed poor body image compared with 6% of the lowest ...