Assignment Code: BPCG-172/Asst/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: BPCG-172

Assignment Name: Youth, Gender and Identity

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Total Marks: 100

NOTE: All questions are compulsory.

Assignment One

Answer the following descriptive category questions in about 500 words each. Each question carries 20 marks. 2 x 20 = 40

Q1) Explain the concept of development. Discuss the cognitive development of youth during the adolescence years.

Ans) Development is described as a pattern of change that starts at conception and lasts the duration of an individual's life. Change is the operative term in development. However, "stability" or "constancy" is also a crucial component of maturing. The more recent characteristics we pick up as we mature stabilise us to some level and help define who we are as people right now. In addition, development encompasses not only growth and gains but also decline and losses. Our thinking and our brains both mature as we age.

Additionally, we are seeing a drop in several childhood behaviours, such thumb sucking. Older people's wisdom continues to increase with age, but their memory may suffer. In general, learning, growing, and adaptation are the three main components of development. Lifelong learning is a process. Throughout our lifetimes, we continue to change and develop. The rate of this development might be gradual or quick, and it differs from person to person. It is affected by the environment or culture in which the person is raised. The context is determined by a person's nationality, family, school, socioeconomic background, culture, customs, and behaviours.

The cognitive development of youth during the adolescence years are as follows:

Deductive Reasoning: This is the capacity to extrapolate specific results from generalisations.

Abstract or Propositional Thought: the capacity to conceptualise and assess ideas outside the purview of verifiable reality. Individuals cope with concrete issues prior to this level. This stage gives individuals the ability to mentally manipulate abstract concepts, such as the capacity to identify patterns in seemingly random data, to develop hypotheses, and to comprehend several underlying meanings in a single statement.

Metacognition: being able to contemplate one's own thoughts. At this stage, people may consciously identify their own thoughts, control them, and utilise them to gauge their aptitude and come up with solutions.

Systematic Problem-solving: The pre-operational ability to solve issues through trial and error develops into this talent. Now, the person solves issues by following a set of organised steps.

Hypothetico-deductive Reasoning: Deductive reasoning also helps people develop and test theories. A theory or an assertion about the structure is called a hypothesis. People have the capacity to mentally consider various actions that might be taken while conducting systematic accuracy tests on their hypotheses.

Attention and Memory: People are better able to focus their attention and distinguish between relevant and irrelevant inputs. Even when there are outside distractions, they can keep their attention on their subject of interest. They employ memory techniques to improve information retention and recall. According to research, the brain continues to develop and evolve throughout adolescence and into the early stages of adulthood.

Cognitive Self-regulation: People have become more adept at identifying, changing, and controlling their thinking as a result of the development of meta-cognition. For instance, a person has the power to exert control over a pattern of thought if they are aware of it.

Processing Capacity: People can hold more information and efficiently handle and arrange it as a result of both brain development and abstract reasoning. This process entails creating new connections or schemas between concepts, categories, and pieces of information that already exist 

Q2) What is work-life balance? Discuss various challenges faced in it.

Ans) The concept of work-life balance refers to allocating time and resources to both work and personal life in a balanced way. Generally speaking, the idea of employment has been founded on the idea of paid work, while the idea of personal life has been interpreted as an individual's involvement with family obligations, pursuit of hobbies, social life, etc.

The challenges faced in work-life balance are as follows:

Psychological Consequences

1. Frustration: Blocking goals causes frustration when the person doesn't meet the goal at work or any personal goals that are set.

2. Stress: Stress is brought on by the individual's overload and ongoing pressure to complete tasks at home and at work.

3. Anxiety: The person is still plagued by the unreasonable worry that if I fail to do this task or meet my goal, he will get anxiety.

4. Depression: A persistent sense of unfinished business and unmet goals lowers one's self-esteem, which in turn triggers sadness.

Societal Consequences

1. Life roles and well-being: It has been discovered that non-work role-based facilitation, or the enriching effects of engagement in family/friendship and leisure/recreational roles, are important in enhancing peoples' well-being. It was discovered that role-based facilitation at work positively predicted leisure happiness.

2. Work-family conflict: Work-family conflict occurs when either family obligations interfere with work or when work obligations conflict with family obligations.

3. Disturbed families: Families of employees are negatively impacted by work family imbalance. Couples that have two incomes and have a lot of work to do find it difficult to spend enough time together. Young couples' reproductive levels are being impacted by increased stress and exhaustion.

4. Unethical practices: Employees often engage in unethical behaviour, such as drinking, smoking, using drugs, engaging in improper relationships like office romance, etc., to cope with the stress in the workplace and family-related concerns as well.

5. Work hangover: Despite being physically at home, employees often continue to live in their professional environment. Additionally, the impact of their work rage spills over into their personal lives.

6. Need for home based care for elderly: Home-based care for the elderly is becoming more necessary as India's population ages and working couples struggle to manage their domestic and professional obligations.

Organizational Consequences

1. Work life balance and organizational citizenship behaviour: It has been observed that employees who have a healthy work-life balance act kindlier toward their co-workers and the company as a whole.

2. Under performance: Employee underperformance is a result of the work-life balance imbalance. Due to stress and exhaustion, employees perform far below their true potential. They struggle to maintain the balance and become frustrated, which prevents them from giving their vocation their all.

3. Lack of job satisfaction and organizational commitment: Unbalance between work and life leads to job discontent. Employee dissatisfaction leads to a loss of interest in both the job and the company as a whole.

Physical Outcomes

In the long run, a lack of work-life balance and the psychological issues that emerge from it give birth to a variety of physical illnesses. Tension headaches, migraines, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. are among the most prevalent. In addition to this, polycystic ovaries and reproductive disorders are common among working women nowadays. Men can experience problems with their fertility and muscle pain.

Assignment Two

Answer the following middle category questions in about 250 words each. Each question carries 10 marks. 3 x 10 = 30

Q3) Explain James Marcia’s theory of identity status.

Ans) James Marcia has developed a basic framework for a particular identity formation model by extending Erikson's theory. Marcia asserts that achieving an identity status includes two primary components: going through crisis stages and having or not having a well-defined and consistent commitment to values, beliefs, and standards found in the areas of religion, politics, and career choices.

1. Identity Diffusion: It occurs when the teenager lacks a distinct sense of who they are, hasn't thought much about who they are, and doesn't try to figure out who they are.

2. Identity Foreclosure: The teenager adopts the identity and beliefs that their family instilled in them while they were little. In this stage of development, the adolescent has chosen an identity, but not as a result of their own quest or crises.

3. Identity Moratorium: The adolescent is still going through an identity crisis, but they are beginning to form moral as well as professional obligations. Although they are still forming their identities, they are starting to commit to them.

4. Identity Achievement: The teenager has a distinct sense of who they are. Throughout maturity, the development of their identities can typically be expanded upon and continuously defined. In addition to being aware of their ego, adolescents are also dedicated to an ideology. One could also claim that choosing one's route requires conscious effort. Regardless of what one wants to believe, I am confident that if I hadn't gone through the four stages of identity development, I would not be the flawed, joyful person I am today, with regrets and accomplishments, but most importantly, without the love and support of the people who matter the most to me.

Q4) Discuss the social bases of identity.

Ans) The social bases of identity are as follows:

Race/Ethnicity/Caste: It is a group of people that are classified as separate because of alleged and assumedly unchangeable biological distinctions that are visible in their outward appearance. A human group is said to be ethnic if there are recognised and accepted cultural differences within it, such as linguistic and historical differences.

Class: Psychological literature frequently fails to acknowledge class as a significant identity. Class positions have a big impact on things like getting into jobs, how well people are treated by the police and the courts, and access to and quality of health and educational resources. The advantages and/or drawbacks of class membership are correlated with one another on the social, cultural, and economic levels.

Religion: Religious context can offer a vantage point from which to view the world and a set of fundamental guidelines for living. The psychological study of how extreme religious identities are formed has become important in today's environment of intense interreligious hostility.

Sexuality: Sexual identity is the understanding that one is a sexual being. Understanding one's sexual identity, whether heterosexual or homosexual, involves negotiating and interpreting one's experiences in relation to those of persons who have different sexual orientations.

Gender: Gender identity is the sense of self that is centred on whether one believes they are male or female and internalises behaviours that are seen as culturally suitable for these self-perceptions.

Age: Age-based identity dynamics are distinct. Age is a concept that can mean different things to different people in different cultures.

Identities of (Dis)ability: People with physical and mental disabilities want to appear normal, but they also have to negotiate their disability identity in order to overcome the many obstacles preventing them from achieving success in their daily lives.

Q5) Explain the macro influences on educational institutions.

Ans) The macro influences on educational institutions are as follows:

Political Ideology: Education policies and the operation of educational institutions are influenced by the character of the state and its ideology. Schools in militarised states like Israel provide militarised education. In such schools, a lot of the instructors, particularly the principals, are frequently ex-military personnel. Schools exalt military figures and wars. There are customs like asking young children to send care packages with gifts to soldiers, especially during holidays, and having them write thank-you letters to the soldiers. One of the main objectives of education is to prepare students for military service.

Economics: The state's budgetary distribution of funds for education is impacted by notions of knowledge and skills needed for the future, as well as the cost-effectiveness of programmes and curriculum. Both publicly supported schools and privately sponsored institutions exist in India. Private schools are subject to limited governmental regulation, which frequently results in exorbitant tuition, which makes it difficult for kids from underprivileged areas to enrol in such schools. But there is a provision for economically disadvantaged children to enrol in private schools under the EWS category, as well as under the Disadvantaged Group category for children from Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes, non-creamy layer Other Backward Classes, differently abled children, and transgender children.

Diversity: Schools are miniature versions of the society in which they are located. Elite educational institutions, which are relatively small in number and admit only a select group of applicants based on merit as narrowly defined in terms of academic performance, are created in highly competitive countries. In societies that support multiculturalism and inclusive policies, there are a variety of educational settings where people from various religions, physical abilities, linguistic resources, genders, sexual orientations, and ethnicities come together to form an academic community that is heterogeneous and dynamic and rich in different perspectives.

Assignment Three

Answer the following short category questions in about 100 words each. Each question carries 6 marks. 5 x 6 = 30

Q6) Media and its impact on youth

Ans) The media has significantly impacted how people live their lives, particularly how youth conduct their daily lives, study, work, interact with others, and view the world. Independence and autonomy from parents and other family members are hallmarks of adolescence. They engage in more peer interaction and develop social connections outside of the family. Communication, social contact, and the development of relationships are all significantly influenced by media technology. Playing with different online personas enables dispute resolution and deep personal work. The limitations placed on the real self in terms of geography and social duties are removed when one is online.

The youth can use the relative anonymity of the internet to be anyone they want to be by using it to express their "true" or inner selves. The ability to create media material is another possibility provided by media. User-generated content thrives in social media. In an information-based culture, young people develop their identities and interact with others in this way. The constant perception that young people need to interact with their peers, combined with their natural curiosity and willingness to try new things, might put them in danger of encountering strangers and visiting dangerous places. Another important potential risk for the internet generation is internet addiction.

Q7) Drive theories of aggression

Ans) According to the drive theories of aggressiveness, unfavourable environmental and external circumstances can lead to the development of an internal drive to hurt other people. Therefore, external circumstances that give rise to the desire to harm others are the root of aggression. The Frustration-Violence Hypothesis, which simply argues that frustration leads to aggression, is the most well-known of these theories. It claims that when we fail to achieve our goals, we become frustrated. As a result, a desire to damage the imagined cause of the dissatisfaction is sparked.

We may have witnessed instances where your acquaintance, angry that she was passed up for a part in the college play, began to slander the person who got the part. Frustration may also be brought on by socioeconomic factors, one's social background, or societal discrimination. So, frustration may not always come from a clear source. This hypothesis has also drawn criticism since anger does not necessarily translate into violence and because there are many other reasons that can contribute to aggressive behaviour.

Q8) Catharsis

Ans) Release of the bad emotions that accumulate within the body is referred to as catharsis. By letting these emotions and feelings out, you might lessen your tendency to become upset or act aggressively. However, rather than dwelling on them, these should be conveyed in a healthy and positive way. Rumination entails reflecting on the unpleasant feelings and the cause of the suffering. Focusing on one's bad mood simply serves to amplify it and may lead to aggressiveness. On the other hand, doing something positive like gardening or working out can make you feel less angry. Catharsis can therefore be utilised to address aggressive behaviour. However, as Baron and Byrne note, research on the catharsis hypothesis has shown conflicting results.

Q9) Concept of equity and equality

Ans) A higher level of virtue is equity. Being just, fair, impartial, and even-handed is a virtue. A state of equality is one in which everyone enjoys equal rights. For instance, when we discuss gender equality, we mean that both men and women receive the same treatment and have equal access to resources. Equitable treatment is viewed as a way to that objective. Equitable behaviour will lead to equality in society. Equitable justice and distributive justice go hand in hand. Fair resource distribution is discussed.

When we use the phrase "fair distribution," we mean that the available resources should be allocated in accordance with people's needs and requirements. Equitable resource distribution is meant when we use the word equality. Equity can be seen in all of the government's subsidies to the underprivileged and needy members of society. Equality refers to treating everyone equally and consistently, as in our law, which accords equal opportunities to all Indian citizens regardless of caste, religion, gender, or ethnicity.

Q10) Gender stereotyping

Ans) Gender stereotyping is the act of assuming that someone you are interacting with has unfavourable traits and attitudes just because they fall under that identification group. The act of assigning to a specific woman or man particular traits, traits, or roles only because she or he belongs to the social group of women or men is known as gender stereotyping. When gender stereotypes lead to one or more abuses of fundamental freedoms and human rights, they are wrong.

Women are frequently the victims of prejudice due to inaccurate gender stereotypes. A wide range of rights, including the right to health, an adequate standard of living, education, marriage and family relationships, employment, freedom of expression, freedom of movement, political participation and representation, access to an effective remedy, and freedom from gender-based violence, are all violated as a result.