SKILLS

 SKILLS

Psychology  is  a  universal agreement on the basic assumptions about human   nature   and   the   role   of   a psychologist  in  different  settings.  It  is generally assumed that psychologists have interest  in  people,  their  abilities  and temperaments.  

A  psychologist  from any field is required  to  have  interest  in  other people and exhibits a willingness to provide help  by  using  her/his  knowledge  of  the discipline. One can find active involvement of  a  psychologist  in  obtaining  the client's  history,  her/his  socio-cultural environment,  assessment  of  her/his personality  and  also  on  other  important dimensions.

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

American  Psychological 

Association(1973)  in  their  task  force  constituted with  the  objective  to  identify  skills essential  for  professional  psychologists recommended at least three sets of skills.These  are:  assessment  of  individual differences,  behaviour  modification  skills,and  counselling  and  guidance  skills.

               

The basic skills or competencies which psychologists have identified for becoming an  effective  psychologist  fall  into  three broad sections, namely, 

(a) General Skills,

(b) Observational Skills, and 

(c) SpecificSkills

GENERAL SKILLS

These skills are generic in nature and are needed by all psychologists irrespective of their field of specialisation. These skills are essential for all professional psychologists,whether  they  are  working  in  the  field  of clinical and health psychology,industrial/organisational,  social,  educational or  in environmental  settings,  or  are  acting  as consultants. These skills include personal as well as intellectual skills. It is expected that  it  will  not  be  proper  to  provide  anyform of professional training (in clinical or organisational  fields)  to  students  who  don't  possess  these  skills.  Once  a  student has  these  skills,  subsequent  training  in her/his  area  of  specialisation  would  only refine  and  further  hone  these  skills required  by  a  professional  within  her/his field  of  specialisation.

          

OBSERVATION SKILLS

A great  deal  of  what  psychologists  as researchers  and  practitioners  do  in  the field  is  to  pay  attention,  watch  and  listen carefully. They use all the senses, noticing what is seen,  heard,  smelt,  tasted,  ortouched.  A  psychologist,  thus,  is  like  an instrument  that  absorbs  all  sources  of information  from  the  environment.

A psychologist  engages  in  observing various  facets  of  surroundings  including people and varying events. To begin with,a  psychologist  may  begin  with  carefully scrutinizing  the  physical  setting  in  order to  capture  its  “atmosphere”. 

The following points are taken into consideration while making an observation.

Observe  patiently;

• Pay  close  attention  to  your  physical surroundings  —  who,  what,  when,where,  and  how;

• Be  aware  of  people’s  reactions,emotions,  and  motivations;

• Ask  questions  that  can  be  answered while  observing;

• Be  yourself,  give  information  about yourself,  if  asked;

• Observe  with  an  optimistic  curiosity and

• Be ethical, you have to respect privacy,norms of people you are observing, take care not to disclose any information to anyone.

Naturalistic Observation is one of the primary  ways  of  learning  about  the  way people behave in a given setting. Suppose,you  want  to  learn  how  people  behave  in response to a heavy discount provided by a company while visiting a shopping mall. For this, you could visit the shopping mall where the discounted items are showcased and systematically observe what people do and  say  before  and  after  the  purchases have  been  made.  Making  comparisons  of this  kind  may  provide  you  with  useful insights  into  what  is  going  on. 

Participant  Observation  is  the variation  of  the  method  of  naturalistic observation.  Here  the  observer  is  actively involved  in  the  process  of  observing  by becoming an active member of the setting where  the  observation  takes  place.  For Instance, for the problem mentioned above,an observer may take a part-time job in a shopping  mall  showroom  to  become  an insider in order to observe variations in the behaviour of customers. This technique is widely  used  by  anthropologists  whose objective is to gain a first hand perspective of  a  system  from  within  which  otherwise may not be readily available to an outsider.

Advantages  and  Disadvantages  of Observation

•Its  major  advantage  is  that  it  allows behaviour to be seen and studied in its natural  setting.

•People  from  outside,  or  those  already working in a setting, can be trained to use  it.

•One  disadvantage  of  it  is  that  events being observed are subject to bias due to the feelings of the people involved as well  as  of  the  observers.

•Generally  day-to-day  activities  in  a given  setting  are  fairly  routine,  which can  go  unnoticed  by  the  observer.

•Another  potential  pitfall  is  that  the actual  behaviour  and  responses  of others  may  get  influenced  by  the presence  of  the  observer,  thus,defeating   the  very purpose of observation.

SPECIFIC SKILLS

These Skills  are  core/basic  to  the  field  of psychological  service.  For  example,psychologists  working  in  clinical  settings need  to  be  trained  in  various  techniques of therapeutic interventions, psychological assessment,  and  counselling.  Similarly,organisational psychologists working in the organisational  context  need to have skills in assessment,  facilitation  and consultation,  behavioural  skills  to  bring about  individual,  group,  team  and organisational  development  besides research skills, etc. Though, specific skills and  competencies  are  required  for  a  very specialised  professional  functioning,nonetheless, all skill sets do overlap quite a  bit.  They  are  not  exclusive  to  an  area.Relevant  specific  skills  and  competencies can  be  classified  as  follows:-

(a)Communication  Skills

•Speaking

•Active  listening

•Body  language  or  non-verbal  skills

(b)Psychological  Testing  Skills

(c)Interviewing  Skills

(d)Counselling  Skills

•Empathy

•Positive  regard

•Authenticity

Communication  Skills

The  skills  we  are  going  to  discuss  may appear  abstract.  You  will,  however,understand them better when you engage in  exercises  related  to  them.  Let  us understand  the  basics  of the communication process  and  see  what  role  it  plays  in fostering  relationships  and  personal effectiveness.  Learning  how  to  be  an effective  communicator  is  not  just  an academic  exercise.  It  is  one  of  the  most important  skills  you  will  need  to  succeed in life. 

Communication    is    a    conscious    or unconscious,  intentional  or  unintentional process  in  which  feelings  and  ideas  are expressed  as  verbal  and/or  non-verbalmessages  that  are  sent,  received,  and comprehended.

Characteristics of Communication

• Communication is dynamic because the process is constantly in a state of change. As the expectations,  attitudes,  feelings,  and  emotions  of  the  persons  who  are  communicating change, the nature of their communication also changes.

• Communication is continuous because it never stops, whether we are asleep or awake we are always processing ideas or thoughts. Our brain remains active.

• Communication is irreversible because once we send a message we cannot take it back.Once we have made a slip of tongue, given a meaningful glance, or engaged in an emotional outburst, we cannot erase it.  Our apologies or denials can make it light but cannot stamp out what was communicated.

• Communication is interactive because we are constantly in contact with other people and with ourselves. Others react to our speech and actions, and we react to our own speech and actions, and then react to those reactions. Thus, a cycle of action and reaction is the basis of our communication.

The  process  of  communication  can  be accidental  (having  no  intent),  expressive(resulting  from  the  emotional  state  of  the person),  or  rhetorical  (resulting  from  the specific goal of the communicator). 

Human communication  occurs  on  the  intra-personal, interpersonal, and public levels.Intrapersonal  involves communicating  with  yourself.  It  en-compasses  such  activities  as  thoughtprocesses,  personal  decision  making,and  focusing  on  self.  Interpersonal communication     refers     to     the communication  that  takes  place  between two  or  more  persons  who  establish  a communicative  relationship.  Forms  of interpersonal communication include face-to-face  or  mediated  conversations, interviews  and  small  group  discussions. 

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

Components of Human Communication

When  we  communicate,  we  communicate selectively. That is, from the wide range of repertoire  of  words,  actions,  etc.  available to us, we choose that which we believe is best suited for the idea we wish to express.When  we  communicate,  we  encode  (i.e.,take  ideas,  give  them  meaning  and  put them  into  message  forms),  and  send  theidea through a channel. It is composed of four  primary  signal  systems  based  on  our senses  (i.e.,  seeing,  hearing,  tasting,smelling,  and  touching).  The  message  is sent to someone who receives it using heror  his  primary  signal  system.  S/he decodes  (i.e.,  translates  message  into understandable  forms).  For  example,  you may say that you heard a bell or an object that feels  soft.  These  are  examples  of  verbal communication  which  express  how you understand the  signals  your  senses  have received. 

Communication  is  broader;  it involves a relationship among two or more people  in  which  they  attempt  to  share meaning  so  that  the  intent  of the message received  is  the  same  as  the  intent  of  the message  sent.

Speaking

One  important  component  of  communication  is  speaking  with  the  use  of language.  Language  involves  use  of symbols  which  package  meaning  within them.  To  be  effective,  a  communicator must   know   how   to   use   language appropriately. Because language is symbolic, it is necessary to be as clear and precise  as  possible  when  using  words. Communication  takes  place  within  a context.  So  one  needs  to  consider  the other's  frame  of  reference,  that  is,  the context  used  by  the  sender  to  say something. Also whether s/he shares your interpretation.    If  not,  it  is  important  to adjust your vocabulary level and choice of words  to  fit  the  level  of  the  listener. Remember  that  slang  expressions,  words unique  to  a  culture  or  region,  and euphemisms  can  sometimes  become obstacles  in  good  communication.

Listening

Listening is an important skill that we use daily.  Your academic success, employment achievement,  and  personal  happiness,  toa large extent, depend upon your ability to listen  effectively.    At  first,  listening  may appear  to  you  as  a  passive  behaviour,  asit  involves  silence.    But  this  image  of passivity  is  far  from  true.  Listening Requires  a  person  to  be  attentive.  S/he should be patient, non-judgmental and yet have  the  capacity  to  analyse  andrespond.Hearing and listening are not the same.Hearing is a biological activity that involves reception  of  a  message  through  sensory channels.    It  is  only  a  part  of  listening,  a process that involves reception, attention,assignment  of  meaning,  and  listener's response to the message presented.

Reception

The initial step in the listening process is the reception of a stimulus or message. Amessage could be auditory and/or visual. The hearing process is based on a complex set of physical interactions that take place involving the ear and the brain.  In addition to  using  the  hearing  mechanism,  people listen  through  their  visual  system.  They Observe  a  person’s  facial  expressions, posture, movement,  and  appearance,which provide important cues that may not be obvious merely by listening to the verbal part  of  the  message. 

Attention 

Once the stimulus, i.e. the word or visual,or both, is received, it reaches the attention stage of the human processing system.  In This phase, the other stimuli recede so that we  can  concentrate  on  specific  words  or visual symbols. Normally your attention is divided  between  what  you  are  attempting to listen to, and what is happening around you,  and  what  is  going  on  in  your  mind. Consider,  you  are  watching  a  movie.  Theperson  in  front  of  you  is  constantly whispering  to  her/his  friend.  There  is  abuzz  in  the  sound  system.  You  are also  worried  about  the  forthcoming examination.  So  your  attention  is  being pulled  in  different  directions.  Divided Attention  makes  it  difficult  for  you  to receive  signals  or  messages.

Paraphrasing

How  would  you  know  that  someone  has been  listening?  Ask  her/him  to  restate what  you  had  said.  The  person doing this  does  not  repeat  your  exact  words.S/he  makes  a  summary  of  the  ideas  just received  and  provides  you  with  a restatement  of  what  s/he  understands. This is called ‘paraphrasing’. It allows you to understand how much s/he understood what  was  communicated.  If  someone cannot repeat or write down a summary of what was said, then s/he probably did not get  the  whole  message  or  did  not understand  it.  We  can  keep  this  in  mind when we are listening to our teacher in the class or to others.

Assignment  of  Meaning

The  process  of  putting  the  stimulus  we have  received  into  some  predetermined category develops as we acquire language. We   develop   mental   categories   for interpreting  the  message  we  receive.  For Instance,  our  categorising  system  for  the word ‘cheese’ may include such factors as a  dairy  product,  its  peculiar  taste  and colour,  all  of  which  help  us  to  relate  the word  ‘cheese’  to  the  sense  in  which  it  is used.

Role  of  Culture  in  Listening

Like  the  brain,  the  culture  in  which  we have been brought up also influences our listening  and  learning  abilities.  Asiancultures,  such  as  India,  emphasize  on listening  by  being  a  silent  communicator when  receiving  messages  from  seniors  or elders. Some cultures focus on controlling attention.  Buddhism,  for  instance,  has  anotion  called  ‘mindfulness’.  This  means devoting  your  complete  attention  to whatever  you  are  doing.  Training  in 'mindfulness’  which  starts  in  childhood can help to develop longer attention spans and  therefore,  lead  not  only  to  better listening but also to sympathetic listening. However, in many cultures, such listening enhancing  concepts  are  not  present.

Body  Language

Do  you  believe  that  when  you  communicate  with  another  person,  your  words communicate the complete meaning of the message?  If  your  answer  is  yes,  then  you are  mistaken.  We  all  know  that  it  is possible to communicate a great deal even without  using  verbal  language.  We  are aware  that  non-verbal  acts  are  symbolicand  closely  connected  to  any  talk  inprogress. Such non-verbal acts are part of what  is  called  ‘body  language’.

Body language is composed of all those messages  that  people  exchange beside words.

Some Tips to Improve Your Listening Skills

•Recognise that both the sender as well as the receiver have equal responsibility in making  effective communication.

•Refrain from forming an early judgment about information that is being communicated.  Be open to all ideas.

•Be a patient listener. Do not be in a hurry to respond.

•Avoid speaking ego. That is, do not talk only about what you want to talk about. Give Consideration also to others and to what they say.

•Be careful to the emotional responses which certain words are likely to bring about.

•Be aware that your posture affects your listening.

•Control distractions.

•If in doubt, try to paraphrase. Also check with the sender whether s/he has been correctly understood by you.

•Visualise what is being said. That is, try to translate the message in the form of a concrete action.

THANK YOU