Developing Psychological Skills Class 12 Psychology Exam Questions

Please refer to Developing Psychological Skills Class 12 Psychology Exam Questions provided below. These questions and answers for Class 12 Psychology have been designed based on the past trend of questions and important topics in your class 12 Psychology books. You should go through all Class 12 Psychology Important Questions provided by our teachers which will help you to get more marks in upcoming exams.

Class 12 Psychology Exam Questions Developing Psychological Skills

Class 12 Psychology students should read and understand the important questions and answers provided below for Developing Psychological Skills which will help them to understand all important and difficult topics.

Very Short Answer Questions

Question. Define ‘intra-personal communication’. 
Ans. Intra-personal communication involves communicating with yourself. It encompasses such activities as thought processes, personal decision making and focusing on self.

Question. What are the different types of skills?
Ans. American Psychological Association (1973) has identified three sets of skills. They are assessment of individual differences, behaviour modification skills, counselling and guidance skills.

Question. What is the role of culture in listening? 
Ans. Some cultures, such as India, emphasize on listening by being a silent communicator while some cultures focus on controlling attention.

Question. What is communication?
Ans. Communication is a conscious or unconscious, intentional or unintentional process in which feelings and ideas are expressed as verbal and/or non-verbal messages that are sent, received and comprehended.

Question. Explain the quality of ‘positive regard for others’ of effective counsellor.
Ans. ‘Positive regard’ by a counselor is accepting the feelings of the client. This is possible by using ‘I’ messages rather than ‘you’ messages, giving the client the freedom to share feelings by not interrupting or cutting in between, by avoiding labeling the person as an introvert etc.

Short Answer Questions

Question. Describe Naturalistic and Participant Observation.
Ans. 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.
Participant Observation is a method of naturalistic observation in which the observer is actively involved in the process of observing by becoming an active member of the setting where the observation takes place. For example, 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.

Question. Describe the individual and cultural differences among psychologists with special reference to sensitivity to diversity.
Ans. Effective psychologists are sensitive to diversity because they have:
(i) Knowledge of self (one’s own attitudes, values, and related strengths/limitations) as one operates in the professional settings with diverse others.
(ii) Knowledge about the nature and impact of individual and cultural diversity in different situations.
(iii) Ability to work effectively with diverse backgrounds in assessment, treatment, and consultation.
(iv) Ability to respect and appreciate different cultural norms and beliefs.
(v) Being sensitive to one’s preferences and also to one’s preference for own group.
(vi) Ability to promote diversity in cultural beliefs and respecting it to promote positive life outcomes.

Question. Explain active listening skill of communication.
Ans. (i) Academic success, employment achievement and personal happiness depend upon your ability to active listening or to listen effectively.
(ii) Listening requires a person to be attentive.
(iii) S/he should be patient, non-judgmental and yet have the capacity to analyse and respond.

Question. What are the characteristics of communication?
Ans. (i) 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.
(ii) Communication is continuous because it never stops, whether we are asleep or awake we are always processing ideas or thoughts. Our brain remains active.
(iii) 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.
(iv) 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 communication.

Question. Describe qualities that are associated with effective counsellors.
OR
What are the characteristics of an effective helper?
OR
What are the competencies required for becoming an effective psychologist?
Ans. The qualities that are associated with effective counsellors are:
(i) Authenticity: The degree to which you are aware of the perceptions of others as well as of your own perception of yourself indicates that you are self-aware. Authenticity means that your behavioural expressions are consistent with what you value and the way you feel and relate to your inner self-image.
(ii) Positive Regard for Others: In order to show positive regard to others, the following must be kept in mind:
(a) When you are speaking, get into the habit of using “I” messages rather than “you” messages. An example of this would be, “I understand” rather than “you should not”.
(b) Respond to what the other person has said, after checking with her/him.
(c) Give the other person the freedom to share feelings or anything s/he wants to say. Do not interrupt or cut in.
(d) Do not assume that the other person knows what you are thinking. Express yourself according to the frame of reference, i.e. in the context of the verbal exchange taking place.
(e) Do not label either yourself or the other person (e.g., “you are an introvert”, etc.).
(iii) Empathy: Empathy is the ability of a counsellor to understand the feelings of another person from her/his perspective. It is like stepping into someone else’s shoes and trying to understand the pain and troubled feelings of the other person.
(iv) Paraphrasing: This involves the ability of a counsellor to reflect on what the client says and feels using different words.

Question. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Observation?
Ans. Advantages:
(i) It allows behaviour to be seen and studied in its natural setting.
(ii) People from outside, or those already working in a setting, can be trained to use it.
Disadvantages:
(i) Events being observed are subject to bias due to the feelings of the people involved as well as of the observers.
(ii) Generally day-to-day activities in a given setting are fairly routine, which can go unnoticed by the observer.
(iii) The actual behaviour and responses of others may get influenced by the presence of the observer, thus, defeating the very purpose of observation.

Long Answer Questions

Question. What is the typical format of a counselling interview?
Ans. The 3 stages of a counselling interview are
(i) Opening of the interview: It involves establishing rapport between two communicators.
The purpose is to make the interviewee comfortable.
(ii) Body of the interview: It is the heart of the process. In this stage, the interviewer asks questions in an attempt to generate information and data that are required for the purpose. The interviewer prepares a set of questions, also called a schedule, for different domains or categories s/he wants to cover. For example, the questions used in job interview are nature of organization last worked for, satisfaction with past job etc.
(iii) Closing the interview: At this stage, the interviewer summarises what s/he has been able to gather and or offers comments. When the interview is ending, the interviewer
gives a chance to the interviewee to ask questions or offer comments.

Question. What are the generic skills needed by all psychologists?
Ans. General 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 any form of professional training (in clinical or organisational fields) to students who do not 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.
Intellectual and Personal Skills
(i) Interpersonal Skills: ability to listen and be empathic, to develop respect for/interest in others’ cultures, experiences, values, points of view, goals and desires, fears, openness to receive feedback, etc. These skills are expressed verbally and/or nonverbally.
(ii) Cognitive Skills: ability to solve problems, engage in critical thinking and organised reasoning, and having intellectual curiosity and flexibility.
(iii) Affective Skills: emotional control and balance, tolerance/understanding of interpersonal conflict, tolerance of ambiguity and uncertainty.
(iv) Personality/Attitude: desire to help others, openness to new ideas, honesty/integrity/value ethical behaviour, personal courage.
(v) Expressive Skills: ability to communicate one’s ideas, feelings and information in verbal, non-verbal, and written forms.
(vi) Reflective Skills: ability to examine and consider one’s own motives, attitudes, behaviours and ability to be sensitive to one’s own behaviour or others.
(vii) Personal Skills: personal organisation, personal hygiene, time management, and appropriate dress.
Sensitivity to Diversity: Individual and Cultural Differences
– Knowledge of self (one’s own attitudes, values, and related strengths/limitations) as one operates in the professional settings with diverse others.
– Knowledge about the nature and impact of individual and cultural diversity in different situations.
– Ability to work effectively with diverse backgrounds in assessment, treatment, and consultation.
– Ability to respect and appreciate different cultural norms and beliefs.
– Being sensitive to one’s preferences and also to one’s preference for own group.
– Ability to promote diversity in cultural beliefs and respecting it to promote positive life outcomes.

Question. What are the ethical considerations in client-counsellor relationships?
Ans. American Psychological Association (APA) has developed a code of ethical conduct for behaviour and decision-making in actual clinical settings. Some of the APA practice guidelines are:
(i) Knowledge of ethical/professional codes, standards, and guidelines; knowledge of statutes, rules, regulations, and case law relevant to the practice of psychology.
(ii) Recognise and analyse ethical and legal issues across the range of professional
activities in the clinical setting.
(iii) Recognise and understand the ethical dimensions/features of her/his own attitudes and practice in the clinical setting.
(iv) Seek appropriate information and consultation when faced with ethical issues.
(v) Practice appropriate professional assertiveness related to ethical issues.

Question. Explain the components of communication process.
OR
Discuss briefly the components of human communication.
Ans. The various components of the communication process are:
(i) Encoding: Encoding in the communication process involves taking ideas, giving them meaning and putting them in message forms. For example, while taking an examination you realize that you have not brought your pen and you ask your friend for it, i.e., encode a message that you need a pen.
(ii) Channel: After the message is encoded it is passed through a channel and our senses such as eyes, ears, tongue, nose or skin become active.
(iii) Decoding: After the message is encoded, passed through a channel it is decoded wherein the message is translated into understandable forms. For example, you may say that you heard a bell or an object feels soft.
(iv) Speaking: This involves the use of language which the communicator should use appropriately.
(v) Listening: Academic success, employment achievement and personal happiness depend upon your ability to listen effectively. Listening requires a person to be attentive. S/he should be patient, non-judgmental and yet have the capacity to analyze and respond.
(vi) Reception: During reception, in addition to using the hearing mechanism, people listen through their visual system. They observe a person’s facial expressions, posture, movement and appearance.
(vii) Attention: 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. For example, while watching a movie, a person in front of you is constantly whispering to his friend or you are worried about your forthcoming examination. Thus, your attention is divided and is pulled in different directions.
(viii) Paraphrasing: Paraphrasing involves the ability of a counsellor to reflect on what the client says and feels using different words. Human communication becomes effective if the counsellor understands and is again able to relate in his words what feelings and emotions the client has described.

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