Recent Indian Studies on Social Psychology

In this article we will discuss about the Recent Indian Studies on Social Psychology.

Ghosh, Emmanuel S. and Kumar Rashmi made a study on Hindu-Muslim intergroup relations in India: Applying socio-psychological perspectives. Special Issue: Conflict and harmony in pluralistic societies. Psychology & Developing Societies, 1991 (Jan.-Jun.). They examined the applicability of existing intergroup theoretical perspectives to the study of Hindu-Muslim intergroup relations in India.

The literature review of the current theoretical approaches outlines intergroup conflict as a universal process, the individual differences approach, realistic conflict theory, social identity theory, and the theory of relative deprivation.

Hindu Muslim relations are reviewed in their historical, political, and social contexts. Socio-psychological studies in India and elsewhere are discussed in the context of intergroup theories and discontinuous social relations and cross-cultural approaches.

Jain, N. and Singh, R.P. conducted a study on situational elements and locus of control as related to group risk-taking behaviour.

They examined the differences between internals and externals under three risk-taking conditions—information about the risk-taking levels as favoured by peers, group discussion with the effective involvement it can generate, and achievement of consensus with its possible centering of commitment upon the group.

Three hundred and sixty subjects were split into ‘internals’ and ‘externals’ by administering Rotter’s I.E. Scale, and divided into above mentioned groups. In case of group discussion, 5 persons made a group.

Discussion with or without consensus produced substantial shifts towards greater risk taking, while consensus without discussion yielded an average effect. Results also indicated that risk-taking behaviour varied significantly as a function of situational elements and locus of control.

K. Saroja and Surendra, H.S. made an investigation on A study of postgraduate students’ endogamous preference in mate selection. Indian Journal of Behaviour, 1991 (Jan). They examined 213 male and 182 female, unmarried postgraduate students’ degree of endogamous preferences in mate selection, ranging from kinship endogamy to religious exogamy.

Variables studied were age (21-28 yrs), sex, caste, preferred type of marriage, and postgraduate discipline. 64.3% of Ss preferred to marry within caste, with variations in preference distributed within kingroup, subcaste, and caste.

Almost 25% of Ss preferred to marry outside their caste, and more than 10% wished to marry outside their religion. Intermarriage was favoured by males, applied science students, Ss who wished to have love marriages, and Ss older than 22 yrs of age.

Kanekar, Suresh and Pinto Anita J. in a study on “Attributed responsibility for and perceived likelihood of an outcome as a function of its valence and severity.”

Journal of Social Psychology, 1991 (Jan) investigated the issue of accountability using 480 undergraduates who read vignettes that examined severe vs mild outcome, negative vs positive outcome, and whether the behaviour leading to the outcome was controllable vs uncontrollable.

As predicted, the difference between female and male Ss was significant only for the unhappy outcome and not the happy outcome; this difference was thought to be culture-specific.

Kanekar, Suresh and Sovani, Anuradha V. made an investigation on “Attributed fault for and perceived likelihood of an accident as a function of victim’s sobriety and behavioural therapy.” Psycholigia—An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient, 1991 (Mar)

They conducted 2 experimental studies of attribution for a hypothetical accident involving a male pedestrian being knocked down by a car while crossing a street.

The studies used the same factorial design (S’s sex X sober vs drunk stimulus person X proper vs improper behaviour of stimulus person X mild vs severe outcome), the dependent measure being fault attributed to the victim in Exp. 1 and perceived likelihood of the accident in Expt. 2. 528 college students participated as Ss.

Greater attributed fault and higher perceived likelihood were obtained in the improper rather than proper behaviour condition. Greater fault was attributed to the drunk victim than to the sober victim only by female Ss, and higher likelihood of accident was perceived for the drunk victim only in the improper behaviour condition.

Results suggest the greater relative importance of an immediate cause (behavioural impropriety) rather than a prior cause (insobriety).

Kodandaram, P. in a study on “Sex-role identification in father absent juvenile delinquents.” Journal of Personality & Clinical Studies, 1991 (Mar) 63-65 investigated the effect of father absence among 40 juvenile delinquents (aged 13-16 yrs) on their sex-role identification.

A control group of 20 juvenile delinquents had never experienced father absence. The father absent Ss showed a significantly greater feminine role identification on the Femininity Scale of the California Psychological Inventory.

Malhotra, Punita and Vohra, Swasti S. in a study on “Ethics and the mass media: A field study” Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 1991 (Jan-Jun) compared 20 media professionals and 20 consumers of the media on media ethics. 10 Ss in each group were male.

An interview schedule consisting of 6 incidents was developed to elicit spontaneous ethical judgements about media performance. The incidents tapped different aspects of media ethics, including protection of privacy of public figures, sensationalism, objectivity in reporting, and suppression of information.

Media and nonmedia groups agreed on 11 of 13 questions, and males and females agreed on 10 of 13 question. Both media and nonmedia groups expressed strong positive attitudes toward ethics in the mass media. In comparison to males, females generally had a more stringent conscience and were more aware of the obligations of the press and the rights of the public.

Mathur, Purnima and Guha, A.K. made a study on “Attitude towards technology transfer and related factors: An exploratory study.” Indian Journal of Applied Psychology, 1991 (Jul). They explored the attitude of the policy and decision-makers which play a definite role in the socio-psychological and management aspect of technology transfer.

200 respondents from government, public and private sector industries, academic and R&D institutions expressed their views in response to a questionnaire and an opinionnaire. Findings revealed that nature and type of organisation and nature of work of the respondent contributed maximally to the dependent measure.

The technological orientation, field of specification and nature of organisation emerged as major predictors.

Mehta, C.S. on a study on Adjustment of obedient and disobedient students in relation to family size and economic status. Indian journal of Psychometry & Education, 1991 (Jan) Mehta, C.S. compared the adjustment pattern of 50 obedient and 50 obedient students as influenced by family size (more than 5 family members and 5 or fewer family members) and socioeconomic status (SES).

Results indicate that the obedient Ss of large families were more adjusted than the disobedient Ss of large families.

Results also indicate that the difference between the mean adjustment score of obedient and disobedient Ss of high SES was significant, and non-significant differences were observed in respect of obedient and disobedient Ss of low and middle SES. Obedience itself is an important personality factor for good adjustment.

Patravali, Pratibha and Gaonkar, V. made on investigation on “Opinions of educated youth towards age at marriage and difference in age between partners.” Indian Journal of Behaviour, 1991 (Apr).

They administered questionnaires to 160 male and female college students to determine Ss opinions concerning the appropriate age for marriage. Ss were both rural and urban residents. Females considered 22 yrs and 26-27 yrs to be the appropriate ages for marriage for females and males, respectively.

Males considered 20-21 yrs and 25-26 yrs to be the appropriate ages for marriage for females and males, respectively. Males considered 20-21 yrs and 25-26 yrs to be the appropriate ages for marriage for females and males, respectively. Most Ss felt that the age difference between husband and wife should be less than 5 yrs, although some of the older Ss felt that 5-10 yrs was more appropriate, with the husband being older.

Rayalu. T. Romala investigated on “Areas of conflicts between parents and their teenage children.” Indian Journal of Behaviour, 1991 (Apr). They explored the areas of conflicts between teenagers in India and their parents, based on a questionnaire administered to 365 teenagers (aged 13-19 yrs) from rural and urban areas.

The major conflict areas between parents and teens involved money matters, education and vocation, friends and recreation, dress and food habits, marriage and traditional practices, and parents’ general behavioural attitude. The conflicts differed according to age, sex, and residence of Ss.

Reddy. T. Rayapa and Jayaramaiah, K.M. in a study on Village extension officers’ attitude towards T & V system in Andhra Pradesh. Indian Journal of Applied Psychology, 1991 (Jul)112- 115 explored village extension officers’ (VEO) altitude towards training and visit (T&V) system and the factors related with it. 180 VEOs participated as Ss.

Results indicated that majority of the VEOs had neutral attitude towards T&V system. Out of the 22 variables studied, 14 variables were significantly related with the VEO’s attitude towards T&V system.

Saeeduzzafar and Sharma, Rama, in a study of dependence-proneness among Hindu and Muslim youths in relation to locus of control. Journal of Personality & Clinical Studies, 1991 (Sep), examined the effect of religion (Hinduism and Islam) and locus of control on dependence, proneness.

A 2 x 2 factorial design was used. The Hindi version of Rotter’s Internal-External Locus of Control Scale was administered to 125 Hindu and 125 Muslim undergraduates in India, thus forming 4 groups on the basis of religion and locus of control.

Ss then completed the Dependence Proneness Scale (J.B. Sinha, 1968). The results showed that Muslim Ss were more dependent prone than Hindu Ss. Externally oriented Ss were more dependent than internally oriented Ss. However, the interactional effect of religion and locus of control was insignificant.

Saha, A.K. and Krishna, K.P. studied the “Motivational determinants of risk-taking behaviour.”

Psychological Studies, 1991 (Jul). 330 male undergraduates took the Hindi version of the Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire (N. Kogan and M.A. Wallach, 1964) and R.R. Tripathy’s (1973) Personal Preference Schedule to assess motivational differences in high, moderate, and low risk takers (RTKs) and to examine the association of risk-taking behaviour with motivational factors.

Achievement, order, autonomy, and affiliation motives discriminated significantly among the high, moderate, and low RTKs. The high RTKs scored significantly lower on achievement and order motives and higher on autonomy and affiliation motives compared to the low RTKs.

Risk taking tended to exhibit a significant positive relationship with achievement; order, and abasement motives and a significant negative relationship with autonomy and affiliation motives.

Sahoo, F.M. and Bidyadhar, Shwetaleena, in a study on “The subjective components of psychological well being An ideographic investigation using the lens model.” Psychological Studies, 1992 (Jul. & Nov), explored the subjective components of psychological well-being in terms of the positive and negative dimensions and quality of life using the Brunswik’s lens Model of idiographic approach.

25 Ss in each individual group consisting of doctors, teachers, engineers and administrators participated in the study. Results obtained are discussed in relation to professional and social framework.

Shaherwalla, Asma and Kanekar, Suresh made a study on Self-serving bias in causal attributions as a function of self-consciousness. Irish Journal of Psychology, 1991.

In 3 studies 512 female undergraduates were examined to find out the effect of private self-consciousness (Study I), public self-consciousness (Study 2), and social anxiety (Study 3), as measured by the Self- Conscious Sales, on self-attributions of casualty for positive and negative outcomes in 4 situations : examination, job, love, and lottery.

Four hypothetical events describing a positive outcome and 4 describing a negative outcome were presented to Ss. Self-serving bias was shown in all the studies, and the 2-way interaction between type of situation and nature of outcome was consistent in all the studies.

Results indicate:

(1) That the differential effects of the type of situation deserved more attention and

(2) Greater relative importance of situational self-attributions together with personality differences as determinants of differential self-attributions.

Sharma, Vandana and Kaur Daljit, in a study on “Interpersonal attraction as a function of situational similarity-dissimilarity and age.” Psychologia—An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient, 1991 (Dec) explored the effects of situational similarity-dissimilarity and age on interpersonal attraction, using 40 school girls (aged 12-14 yrs) and 40 female university students (aged 21-23 yrs).

Ss solved jumbled problems and then responded to an interpersonal attraction rating scale. The attraction date were analyzed using a 2 x 2 factorial design with 2 situations (common goal and different goal) and 2 levels of age (higher and lower).

Findings suggest the main effect of situation to be significant for dimensions such as liking the other person, enjoy meeting with her, rating her as friendly and warm, and enjoy working with her on an experiment. The main effect of age was significant for dimensions such as liking the other person and rating her to be warm. Results show more interpersonal attraction in the case of a common goal situation and in older Ss.

Shivaramu, S. conducted an investigation “Social advertising.” Management review, 1991 (Jan.- Dec) using some of the elements of communication, presents a framework of analysis to understand the present social communication pattern in India. The paper describes the genesis and growth of social marketing as a distinct set in marketing discipline.

One can classify the different types of social changes desired which is then followed by classifying the target group directed through mass media. Various communication strategy implicit in these social advertisements are analyzed with the type of message factor prominent.

In a study on “Power motive in relation to sex and value orientation” Indian Educational Review, 1991, Singh, Lai aimed at examining the relationship between power motive and value orientation among post-graduate students in relation to sex and different courses of arts and science.

The Thematic Apperception Test and Hindi Adaptation of Allport- Vernon Lindzey scale of Values were administered to 200 students. Results revealed that females were more power motivated than their male counterparts.

Sex differences were observed in case of social values. Science students were more power motivated than arts students. Power motive was found to be positively related to economic values among arts students and political values among science students.

Sinha, Durganand in “Values and work behaviour.” Abhigyan, 1991 (Spr), 1-14, discussed Indian values and behaviour styles that are relevant to the requirements of modern development and work behaviour. Values and characteristics felt to be inimical to proper work behaviour include Hindu religious values such as renunciation and fatalism, and characteristics such as passivity, conformity and love of comfort.

A dynamic synthesis exists between values an work behaviour. Any program for making work more effective cannot afford to overlook these sociocultural realities. 4 strategies for ensuring values-work congruence are outlined.

Sinha, Sahab P. and Sinha, Surat P. in a study entitled Personal space and density as factors in task performance and feeling of crowding. Journal of Social Psychology, 1991 (Dec.)investigated the effects of density and personal space on performance in simple and complex tasks and on feelings of crowding using 60 female Hindu undergraduates (aged 16-18 yrs).

Density was manipulated by varying the number of Ss in a fixed room space (social density), and the stop-distance technique was used to measure personal space.

Complex task performance was adversely affected by a high-density condition and by the personal space of the Ss, leading to a significant interaction effect of the 2 variables, but no significant main or interaction effect was observed for the simple task performance. Ss with “far” personal space under the high-density condition evaluated the environment of the experimental room as most crowded.

Sridhar, M.J. in an investigation “Towards an understanding of deliberate injuries.” Indian Journal of Applied Psychology, 1991 (Jan.), studies 56 high and 56 low outpass goers to understand the conscious intentions of hurting oneself in order to get time off their routine jobs.

Observational data indicated that workers of both the groups showed a tendency to inflict injuries when they were denied outpasses to go out of the factory during the normal schedule of work activities. The deliberate injuries were more frequent in the forenoon than in the afternoon.

It is suggested that to deal with cases of deliberate injuries, organisations should examine the alternative ways of reinforcing their employees rather than inadvertently reinforcing minor injuries.

Sriram, T.G.; Kishore, Kumar K.V.; Jayaprakash, M.R.; Sriram, Rahdika et al. in a study on informed consent.

A study of experiences and opinion of utilizers of health services from India. Social Science & Medicine, 1991. interviewed 148 urban and rural Ss (aged 16-60 yrs) who had been hospitalized for any medical problem within the previous 3 yrs using a semi structured interview schedule to understand their opinion and experiences of informed consent.

60 medical officers (aged 25-53 yrs) who provided primary care were also interviewed. Patients were unhappy with the information they had received about the different aspects of their illness. Both doctors more often thought that illiterates could not understand the information. Patients more often felt that information about the nature of investigations and about prognosis need not be routinely revealed.