Educational Psychology

"People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun's out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light within." -Elisabeth Kubler - Ross

Psychology is the study of human psyche and mind wherein the mental processes and behavior is analyzed and a relationship is established in the functioning and working of the brain and the influence of daily incidents of life on the functioning. Psychology gives a concrete shape to feelings and it is approached scientifically.

Psychology handles with the concept of emotion, personality, concentration, memory, attentiveness and relationships with other people. Nowadays Psychology is considered as an applied science than a mere theory, which was the perception of many conservative thinkers previously.

Psychology is split into specialized divisions of study like prenatal psychology, child psychology, educational psychology, social or industrial psychology etc., to understand the problem related to a specific field and its solution. Here we will discuss educational psychology, relevant in today's competitive world of immense pressure to prove yourself.

Educational psychology deals with education of humans and aspects like conditions in which the effectiveness can be enhanced. Schools and colleges appoint Psychologists to better the environment, style, syllables and increase the students' capacity for knowledge intake. They also analyze the necessary and unnecessary parts of a syllabus.

This field is vast as it deals with the behavioral and social development of an individual. It also helps in the structuring of individual perspective, which in turn leads to the development individualities ad personality traits.

Educational Psychology states that the development of human brain can be traced and classified in four stages, which are levels of the child's relationship with the surroundings. They also determine abilities of creativity, intelligence, morality and motivation in a child. In these four stages a child develops cognitive abilities and social understanding.

This field also studies the much-debated Heredity versus Environment aspect of a child's mental and behavioral development. There are instances when children of the same class have varied levels of understanding regarding a concept; in this case educational psychology aims to analyze the reason for the difference.

Educational psychology defines the primary and secondary needs of a child and provides him or her effective methods of learning so that the learned content is registered in the memory of the child. Creativity is also one aspect which is dealt with in this field, and the latter encourages the development of the former.

A school should definitely have an educational psychologist to ensure the all round development of its students motivating them, guiding them and counseling them in regular intervals. It has been observed that the use of educational psychology helps enhance the power of observation, understanding, listening, responding and application.