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A large number of thinkers have emphasized that many of the twenty-first-century problems can be solved by using strategies and techniques delineated by Gandhi way back in the early 1900s. While technology was still at a very nascent stage and the globalized, boundary-less village had yet to take shape, he could envisage the problems that we were giving an invitation to. In Volume 2 of this book, we focus on some of these problems and the ingenious ways in which they can be countered, with Gandhian thinking as the base. Chapter 1 deals with the problem of climate change and the rapid degradation of the environment. It starts with the concept of the tragedy of the commons and how personal selfishness brings in its wake both individual and societal loss, as well as the idea that for some problems there is no technological fix. We then move to the concept of the Anthropocene, as put forward by Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen and how today, it is no longer “we against nature.” Rather it is “Nature is us” and elaborates how we are bringing on the destruction of our own species and that of other flora and fauna. Further, the chapter highlights the difficulties with some of the solutions being offered for creating temperance, such as the Earth Charter, ecological citizenship and deep ecology, revealing, in the process, how environmental psychology stands to gain from Gandhi’s methods for inculcating pro-environmental behavior through concepts such as aparigraha (nonpossession), self-reliance and the twin concepts of Vasudeva Kutumbakam (Nature is our family) and self-control. At the same time, the chapter emphasizes the enormity of our responsibility as stewards of the Earth and discusses the ways through which Gandhi, the environmentalist, promoted trusteeship, paving a path for both theory and research in environmental psychology in the twenty-first century.

This chapter introduces the ideas and ideals of Gandhi, to whom is due to the credit of developing and using nonviolence for societal and national good. The goal of this chapter is to provide a detailed analysis of the building blocks of Gandhi’s nonviolence, through a discussion of what is regarded as the two pillars of Gandhi’s nonviolence, namely, Ahimsa and Satyagraha. The former provides the philosophy, while the latter details the practical methodology for nonviolence. The chapter starts with an analysis of what is Gandhi’s Truth and the relationship between means and ends according to him. It then goes on to illustrate to the global audience the basic concepts of these two pillars, focusing on aspects such as satya, ahimsa, vrat, anuvrat and self-control, aparigriha, anasakti, tapasya, sarvodaya and antodaya, satyagraha and duragraha and the important role of vows in the lives of nonviolent individuals. While recent years have seen a spate of research in the fields of psychological concepts such as self-control and self-sacrifice and the importance of vows in the attainment of such self-control, Gandhi crafted its usefulness and trained millions to use it. For example, recent research on vows by Kirby shows how Gandhi had long realized the futility of reinforcements as advocated by prominent psychologist Skinner. The chapter also discusses how Gandhi used nonviolence as a moral jiu-jitsu against the violent opponent, throwing him off balance in the process. A study of his techniques for doing so would go a long way in delving into the moral basis of nonviolence. All along, the aim of the chapter has been to focus on the salient features of principled nonviolence which takes into consideration much more than the simple resolution of a conflict. An understanding of the Gandhian idea of constructive programs at the end of the chapter provides further evidence for the importance that Gandhi laid to the needs of the social order and self-reliance for fulfilling these needs. Psychology, in general, and the psychology of nonviolence in particular, can be considerably enriched by incorporating many of the learnings from the building blocks of the Gandhian creed of nonviolence.

The goal of this chapter is to show how twenty-first-century communities and modern community psychology would gain from a thorough analysis of communities of the Gandhian era. Along these lines, the chapter starts with a definition of community psychology and the related disciplines of ecological psychology and environmental psychology, moving on to Kelly’s fourfold model. It is clear that Gandhi had preempted all four of the factors delineated by Kelly, and, had developed techniques through which these principles can be incorporated in any community. The next part of the chapter describes some of the communities set up by Gandhi and the simple ways by which he obtained mutual cooperation and clarifies why Gandhi succeeded where veteran psychologist Skinner failed. One of the major problems being faced by communities the world over is the lack of community feeling. The importance given by Gandhi to “bread labor,” self-help groups and community activities such as spinning and all religion prayer meetings reveals how they can be utilized to create the missing links in communities. The role of personal vows clarifies how discipline can be inculcated, how self-control and self-reliance can be imbibed and dignity and respect for work can be inculcated. The third part of the chapter focuses on the Gandhian concept of “doosri azaadi” (second freedom), that is, freedom from poverty and despair, and the ways through which Gandhi attempted to lift people out of such despair and poverty. In all, it is evident that community psychology stands to gain considerably from an understanding and analysis of Gandhi’s ideas and even more so from the practical ways crafted by him. Some such communities, that are prospering even today, have found due place in this chapter to showcase that they are more sustainable, highlighting the relevance of Gandhi in the twenty-first century.

Throughout this book, comprising two volumes, an effort has been made to analyze Gandhi, his life and work on nonviolence, in order to understand how the theories of modern psychology can be sharpened and empirical research be given new directions. While psychology was still in a nascent stage, Gandhi was way ahead, experimenting with truths to unearth the deeper levels of the human mind and helping us realize that aggression would destroy us. This final chapter of the book delineates some of these aspects. Firstly, while Skinner ignored the role of human cognition, Gandhi emphasized that decisions should emanate from the “inner voice.” Secondly, for Gandhi, identity without social affiliation had no meaning. We need to learn from Gandhi’s journey, comparable to the Japanese “Kensho,” that is, seeking wisdom with integrity and serving the community with transparent intentions. Thirdly, the chapter clarifies how examples from Gandhi’s work could illustrate our understanding of a variety of complex concepts, such as those of self-efficacy, moral (dis)engagement and self-control. The chapter then moves on to Gandhi’s enigmatic personality and topics such as subjective well-being, empathy, compassion and self-control, which are relatively new developments in the history of psychology, but the art and science of which had been perfected by Gandhi almost a century ago, and, which can help us to move from simply “being” to “becoming.” We then move to the application of Gandhian ideas for various subfields of psychology, to show how all these fields and many more would be enriched through the application of Gandhi’s wisdom and his views on conflict resolution, integrative power, corporate social responsibility, values-based education, appropriate technology development and moral development. The chapter closes on an encouraging note: that the current impetus in research in the psychology of wisdom bears testimony to the core of our argument presented throughout this chapter.

Much has been written by the Mahatma himself and considerable has been written by others. Yet, the life and times of Gandhi are often enigmatic. Trying to tackle this enigma, the present authors came to the conclusion that it would be of utmost importance to record, as much as possible, accounts from people who had witnessed the Gandhian era. These are people who had witnessed the Satyagrahas or worked with either him or his followers or were members of his family. The chapter is an analysis of in-depth interviews conducted by the present authors of satyagrahis from the Gandhi era and also of some members of his family, revealing that despite their tumultuous life, they look back with a deep sense of satisfaction, furthering our understanding of many concepts from the emerging field of positive psychology, such as those of resilience, generativity, self-efficacy and flow. The chapter draws to a close with the learnings from these people, each famous in his or her own way, but self-effacing and humble.

This chapter starts with the famous incident at Pietermaritzburg Station in South Africa, when Gandhi was thrown out of the first class compartment of the train, which planted the seeds of protest in him and which was to become the turning point in his life. The first part of the chapter discusses the role played by various people in the life of Gandhi, including his parents and a variety of people, in the formulation of his nonviolence technique. We, also, focus on how Gandhi, though a devout Hindu, drew considerably from other religions, namely, Christianity, Jainism and Buddhism, and incorporated them into his philosophy of life. These multiple influences on Gandhi and the ways in which he was able to blend them into a cohesive whole, his personal identity, provide insights into the psychosocial development of the individual, the various identity crises associated with it and their successful resolution bringing in its wake the ability to work for the social good. The influence Gandhi had on others forms the second part of the chapter. When the Time magazine declared the collective “Protestor” as its “Person of the Year” in 2011, it paid tribute to these thousands “who are changing history already and will change history in the future.” The chapter discusses the lives of some of these people who were directly or indirectly influenced by the Gandhian doctrine of nonviolence and reveals the charisma of both Gandhi and that of the science of nonviolent protest.

According to both psychologists and Gandhi, empathy is an important precursor of nonviolence. If empathy is of such great importance, there should be some reason for its presence through the ages and throughout the phylogenetic scale. The chapter first focuses on whether cooperative behavior, empathy and altruism are commonly seen in animals. The chapter then moves to the biological substrates of nonviolence, namely, the role of oxytocin in promoting trust and empathy and neural structures such as the mirror or Gandhi neurons and their relation to empathy and nonviolent behavior. The bulk of the studies enable us to conclude that we are hard wired for empathy and altruism, and thereby, for nonviolence. At the same time, it is clear that while psychology and neuropsychology have only recently discovered the significance of empathy and cooperative behavior, Gandhi had demonstrated how empathy can be used to overcome one’s adversary more than a century ago, revealing that the psychology of empathy would certainly be benefitted by learning from Gandhi’s use of the same. The next part of the chapter deals with studies by neurologist Dunbar and the social brain and the ways in which these studies echo Gandhian ideas regarding the village republic, ending with recent evidence from social cognitive neuropsychology. Once again, it is clear that our brain favors mutualism as against adversarialism, the presence of which suggests that there is a biological basis for the adoption of nonviolent lifestyles and that nonviolence is, indeed, as “old as the hills” as professed by Gandhi. The need of the hour is to put it into practice, one way for which could be the path shown by Gandhi.

Gandhi has, oft, been criticized for being not only against technology, but against all kinds of mechanization. This chapter attempts to, firstly, put Gandhi’s views in the correct perspective on the basis of his own writings, while highlighting some of his misgivings, many of which are being manifested today. Gandhi was forthright in pointing out the obligation of the scientist toward his fellow humans, and that technology must aid learned resourcefulness, rather than create unemployment and consequential scarring for life. Further, the ideas of Gandhi could be well used to resolve the issue of “product first” or “people first.” Gandhi’s view was a proactive approach based on the user, her needs and problems. He made the “charkha” (the spinning wheel) the cornerstone of his movement to demonstrate the coexistence of technology with all levels of human existence instead of being the tool of merely the rich and the intellectual. Through the symbol of the inexpensive and simple technology of the spinning wheel, Gandhi’s concept of appropriate technology emphasized that technology must bring people together rather than create problems such as those of the digital divide, problematic Internet use and being “alone together.” The chapter ends with the concept of Gandhian engineering and appropriate technology in an effort to clarify that technology can become all-encompassing rather than being a tool for exploitation by those having access to it. Gandhi outlined how the needs of the people must not be spurned by technological growth; it must be in synch with humanity and must create “flow” while using it, ideas which could be used by psychology of technology to help the designer and developer create hedonistic technology.

Directly or indirectly, the choice that individuals make between violence and nonviolence is mediated by cognitive processes. The chapter begins with the application of the information processing approach to cognition and Kahneman’s prospect theory to Gandhian nonviolence. Throughout the chapter, an effort has been made to bring to the fore, how Gandhi, with his keen perception of human psychology, created schemas and scripts for nonviolence. While recent research on facets such as priming, nudging and boosting has brought to the fore the importance of these aspects of cognition, Gandhi demonstrated the practical ways of using them to move people toward the practice of nonviolence. Further, Gandhi’s stipulation that his followers use their inner voice to take decisions regarding joining Satyagraha clarifies how he could nudge people to delay their decision making and make use of soul force, akin to the more rational System II elucidated by Kahneman much later. Cognitive psychology would certainly be benefitted by taking cognizance of the Gandhian way forward. Similarly, moving to the social side of cognition and the Social Identity Theory (SIT), Gandhi helps us to understand how a super identity can be created, blending both personal and social identity, to be used for the social good. At the same time, the focus on nonviolent cultures elucidates the underlying value placed upon the perception and practice of and training for nonviolence in certain cultures. The above reveal fresh avenues of research which could go a long way in not only enriching current theorization in cognitive psychology but in also helping individuals to comprehend and inculcate nonviolence.

An important aspect of understanding the dynamics of any phenomenon, including nonviolence, is to construct theories and models based on empirical research. A cursory glance at the history of psychology reveals that while Gandhi was able to weave the entire fabric of nonviolence, psychology of nonviolence still has a long way to go. This chapter details the scientific evidence for phenomena long regarded as the hallmark of nonviolence, namely, love and compassion, justice and morality, self-control, self-sacrifice and power. It is concluded that while we have garnered considerable scientific knowledge regarding these phenomena, much more needs to be accomplished regarding the practice of all of the above. Further, it is only lately that we have come to understand that self-control does not have to undergo ego depletion, that self-sacrifice is voluntarily possible and satisfying, that integrative power is, consistently, more efficacious than other types of power and that the nexus between justice and morality is complex. Gandhi was able to utilize these very concepts, communicating to his followers their importance and helping them to comprehend them. Moreover, he had enabled his followers to use them to overcome the oppressor and to better their own lives, through the experience of upward spirals of positive emotions. Over the years, several models of nonviolence have been constructed, including the 4 P model, the diamond model and the three-dimensional model of nonviolence. While their construction and subsequent validation have helped this nascent field of enquiry to grow, the life and work of Gandhi and the enormous bulk of his writings on his experiences and experiments with Truth and nonviolence can certainly be of great utility to enrich our understanding of nonviolence.

While nonviolence has and is being practiced by millions of people around the globe and there are numerous programs for inculcating nonviolence among various populations, there has been a dearth of instruments which can be used to measure the efficacy of these programs. Further, a question that has often been raised is whether nonviolence is a stable personality characteristic, amenable to psychometric measurement. The focus of this chapter is to establish the idea that nonviolence, determined through either heredity, environmental forces or the combination of both, is a more or less stable characteristic of human beings, dictating the unique reactions made by individuals and as such, it can be measured and used for the prediction of the degree to which individuals will manifest nonviolence. Various psychometric measures that have been developed by psychologists have been described along with the sound methodology that has been followed for the development of such measures. The psychometric properties of the scales have also been discussed. Some of the tests described are the Pacifism Scale, the Nonviolence Test (NVT), the Teenage Nonviolence Test (TNT), the Gandhian Personality Scale (GPS) and the Multidimensional Scale of Nonviolence (MSN). It is hoped that the chapter will lead to the enhancement of psychological studies of nonviolence, thereby enriching the science of nonviolence. In a world faced with strife and violence, it is mandatory that both educational programs and training programs be conducted for imbibing nonviolence, the philosophy and practice of which was clearly enunciated by Gandhi. An awareness regarding possible ways for adjudging the efficacy of such programs, through the use of scales for nonviolence, would not only encourage program coordinators but could also be utilized by governmental agencies in areas where violence runs rampant.

The volume starts with a detailed description of one of the most talked about researches in the history of modern psychology, namely, the ingeniously designed experiments on obedience to authority conducted by Stanley Milgram. The experiment threw up a number of issues, one being that while the majority conceded to act according to the instructions, there were some who refused to do so. The question raised is, “who were these people?” The chapter, then, goes on to narrate how such results paved the way for scientific inquiry into nonviolence, otherwise not paid much heed to for various reasons discussed in the chapter. The second part of the chapter delves into the history of inquiry into the psychology of nonviolence, clarifying that though scant, it is not absent. The personality characteristics of nonviolent individuals are discussed, on the basis of a well-known scale, namely, the NVT, along with other research in the area, as also, the contributions of several psychologists to the psychology of nonviolence, including that of William James, Erikson, Maslow, Kohlberg and Gilligan. The research undertaken by eminent stalwarts such as Gene Sharp, Johan Galtung and Kenneth Boulding on nonviolence, nonviolent techniques and uses of different types of power, especially integrative power, has been detailed in an effort to reveal how ideas from Gandhian nonviolence and Satyagraha can be used to benefit the psychology of nonviolence and help it to attain new heights. The chapter concludes with a discussion on how people ranging from the disobedient subjects of Milgram’s study to leaders such as Gandhi and Mandela, and to the protesters from around the globe to whom Time dedicated its Person of the Year award, provide evidence for the fact that nonviolence has as much legitimacy as the psychology of aggression and violence and that the psychology of nonviolence would gain considerably by taking into account the ingenious ways in which Gandhi and other nonviolent protesters have shown dissent and disobedience.

The aim of this volume has been twofold: firstly, to understand the building blocks of Gandhian philosophy and practice of nonviolence. Secondly, an attempt has being made to analyze the success of Gandhian practice through the lens of modern scientific psychology and to demonstrate how Gandhi’s line of thinking and practice can be used by modern psychology and the field of nonviolence. It can be concluded that a scientific psychology of nonviolence can be derived from the principles enunciated by Gandhi and followed so successfully in his Satyagrahas. By analyzing various attributes of the Gandhian creed of nonviolence, it is more than evident when psychology was not even born as an independent discipline, Gandhi crystallized aspects which he, then, wove together to form the fabric of nonviolence. The bulk of scientific evidence clarifies that Gandhi was a practical psychologist who envisioned the ideal person as one, who at the core, was a profound individualist, practicing self-control but who could use it for collectivist ventures in working for the social good. In the process, he created a super identity, blending individual identity and identification with the ocean of life, encompassing all things sentient in nature. The volume concludes that it would not be wrong to say that Gandhi had been able to develop a science of nonviolence and that as an engineer of the nonviolent mind, gave us insights into discovering our own psychological capital. Gandhi gave us a legacy, consisting of, both, a theory and the ways of using the theory. As we enter the era of the Anthropocene, it is up to us to make use of this legacy through our evolving noospheric consciousness to solve many of the problems of the twenty-first century.

The founding motto of Ohlange High school, the first school started by a black person in South Africa in 1901, “to teach the hand to work, the brain to understand and the heart to serve” could as well have described not only Phoenix Farm but also Gandhi’s philosophy of education. Gandhi formalized this motto through an ingeniously devised system of education, which he named “Nai Talim” (New Education) and “Buniyadi Shiksha” (Basic Education). Chapter 2 starts by pointing out how the UNESCO has taken up Gandhi’s ideas on education for forging its strategy for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of its Agenda 2030. Of special significance is that while educational systems, the world over, are laying stress upon socio-emotional development and character building of the child, societal values are undergoing a rapid erosion, bringing violence and crime in its wake. The present chapter focuses on recent research and theory in the domain of character building and then delves into the underlying principles, pedagogy and curriculum of Nai Talim, to show how education can go far beyond the mere providing of knowledge and can aid, not only, the all-round development of the child but also the inculcating of an appropriate value system, accompanied with a dignity of labor and respect for humanity at large. The ingenious ways through which Gandhi blended the Socratic and Confucian systems of teaching and aided conceptual knowledge in the child through handicraft are revolutionary, to say the least. The second part of the chapter describes in detail one such school which is following the curriculum of Nai Talim and deriving the advantages of the same vis-a-vis those accruing from the modern philosophy of education and educational psychology, in an effort to showcase the wisdom of the Gandhian educational model and to enrich educational pedagogy and curriculum of schools for the twenty-first century.

This chapter focuses on the two characteristics necessary in every organization, big or small, namely, effectiveness and efficiency, to reveal how management experts and the discipline of organizational behavior can learn from Gandhi. Starting with motivation, it is revealed how Gandhi differed from behavioristic theorists of motivation and their narrow focus on reinforcements, advocating, instead, intrinsic motivation in the form of “listening to one’s heart” or “soul force,” a concept very similar to that of the “Calling Orientation,” on which psychology has only recently started focusing. Gandhi’s followers drew from such intrinsic forms of motivation, which brings in its wake, organizational citizenship, effectiveness and efficiency of the highest order. The second part of the chapter deals with the simple techniques through which Gandhi used the power of groups and group dynamics to manage efficiently and effectively, various satyagrahi organizations, again revealing that the psychological study of group dynamics can be highly enriched through the analysis of Gandhian techniques. We, move, thereafter, to the concept of leadership and detail the Gandhian model of leadership, namely, leadership by example, and delve into the advantages accrued thereby, going far beyond those obtained from the traditional trichotomy (autocratic/democratic/laissez-faire styles). It has been emphasized that Bandura’s social learning theory is, definitely, relevant; that charisma can be used for the betterment of the employees; and that group cohesiveness does not always have to be deleterious. The third part of the chapter deals with the Gandhian concept of trusteeship, much akin to the modern concept of servant leadership along with the various moral issues being faced today, for example, diversity management, corporate governance and transparency, corporate social responsibility, conflict management and the means-end relationship. Organizational psychology can, certainly, use the ideas put forth by Gandhi to resolve these issues amicably.

The chapter deals with firstly, what is religion according to Gandhi, and secondly, how Gandhi’s approach to religion can help not only people in the twenty-first century override the narrow walls of religious sectarianism, but also add considerably to the development of psychology of religion. To meet these ends, we start the chapter with the basic differences between religion and spirituality and the position taken by Gandhi focusing on the importance of religion and faith in the life of Gandhi. The second part of the chapter focuses on issues of morality. When the twenty-first-century world is witnessing a major dilution and even erosion of morality and ethics, it is but natural that we make an attempt to not only decipher the causes for such a downfall but also try to find remedies. The chapter seeks to understand the ways through which Gandhi was able to inculcate morality of the highest order among his satyagrahis, with a parallel being drawn between Gandhi, who was always evolving, and the direction that needs to be taken by such an evolution in order to build a sustainable world. Another major issue facing us, today, is that of moral exclusion and narrow domestic walls. Gandhian thoughts and techniques are worthy of emulation in this context. Starting with the idea of not harboring any ill will against the oppressor and total acceptance of each and every person reveals that moral inclusion is possible when one starts practicing compassion for all. Moral shaming is yet another feature of the techniques used by Gandhi and the ways through which it can be used to convince the oppressor have also been discussed.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, through his nonviolent technique (Satyagraha), attempted to shape human behavior, revealing in the process, the human capacity to be able to rise above adversity, for hardiness and resiliency, qualities recognized by psychology to be the very ingredients for coping with stress and wellbeing. With his incessant focus on self-control, a hitherto neglected topic of study in psychology and other social sciences, and which he demonstrated through his nonviolent movement, he was able to forge courage and commitment leading to both social and emotional maturity. In this chapter, we focus, briefly, on a few selected concepts to highlight the usefulness of his work in promoting our understanding of human behavior in particular and its relevance for the mental health issues facing the world of today.

Can we think of a day in our life without a mobile phone or access to a computer? If you look at the figures regarding our use of smartphones, the emails that we write, and the purchases that we make through the Amazon or other portals, the overall numbers have been increasing steadily and substantially. This chapter begins with some statistics to show our dependence on technology not only for formal work or chores around us, but also to highlight that such dependence on technology has opened new vistas, transforming our traditional social relationships. This effect is not merely confined to the i-Generation but has slowly escalated to the older generations, too. Technology has become so pervasive that the consequences of using it have begun to show several pathological effects. Addiction to the internet, cyber bullying, technostress, and overloading of mental operations were hardly known two decades ago, but now such problems are as common as the common cold and flu. The next section of the chapter focuses on the effects of gaming in the context of its cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social gains. Beginning with a description of the classic Turing Test, the chapter moves on to explore virtual reality which has redefined the role of technology in our life. Citing the work of Turkle and others, the chapter illustrates how technology tends to merge with the functioning of our own self, contributing to our tendency to anthropomorphize and leading to the development of the “second self.” The chapter ends with the applications of virtual reality in education, therapy, and industry, in addition to its impact on our behavior in social settings.

Traditionally, technology has been viewed in the context of manufacturing and the output of products, but now it is also increasingly being viewed in terms of the appeal it has for us, our feelings and emotions toward it. Does the presence of a new gizmo cause a dopamine squirt? This chapter opens with a description of neuroesthetics—our ability to sense, retain, and respond to beauty, pleasure, and reward, a part of our evolutionary development. Moving away from the common notion of neutrality of technology, the chapter seeks to relate technology to hedonism. Raising the question “how emotions color our decision in the use of things” and citing relevant works of Simon, Norman, Kahneman, Zeki and others, it is argued that technology affords us the opportunity to understand the cognitive as well the emotional basis of human behavior. The role of hedonism is further highlighted in the context of the esthetic aspect of design and use of things and how it provides affordances for our wide variety of psychological needs. Covering several relevant concepts such as flow, Norman’s levels of designing, and the dilemma posed by choices, the chapter continues to seek the implications of the social psychology of attributions linking it to the context of use of technology. Finally, an analysis of applications of hedonomics has been presented in relation to e-consumer behavior, online gaming and music services, and support to people with varying abilities. The chapter concludes by inviting the reader to consider creating a balance between their wants and their likes and thereby helping to maintain the ecological balance.

A tool or a product cannot be used without our knowledge or ability of how to operate it. This chapter deals with the fundamental issues of our motor behavior that help us to perform tasks that range from the very simple to those that are highly complex ones, say, as in many industrial settings. Unfortunately, unlike perceptual and cognitive functions, as discussed in the previous chapter, the study of motor behavior has not been so well studied in the domain of psychology and is often, therefore, referred to as “the Cinderella of modern psychology.” This chapter opens with a description of the mechanism of motor behavior and its significance in performing our tasks and elaborates on the role of open and closed loop systems in the context of motor development of children who begin to engage in simple tasks such as climbing the stairs or playing with their toys. In the next section of this chapter, we focus on implications of our systemic knowledge of motor behavior in such diverse fields as prostheses, sport, and dance. Further, it shows the significant role of motor imagery in the mastering of such tasks. Another topic most commonly discussed in the understanding of motor behavior deals with the significance of Fitts’ law in reaching out to objects. Its numerous applications have been highlighted as well. Other topics include descriptions of human–computer interface (HCI), augmentation of motor functions, brain–computer interface with the example of Stephen Hawking, and more.

The impact of technology has been overwhelming and its usefulness, as far as adaptation is concerned, continues to increase, but it is difficult to predict how it would shape our behavior during this millennium. At best, we are currently able to predict its influence for the next 20 years, as argued in an NSF study. Kurzweil had also predicted that we would witness a furious growth of technology during the current century but would be unsure of its impact on us. One can say that the adverse effects of technology have been historically documented, from the Mayan prediction of the Balktun period to George Orwell’s 1984, but the violation of personal privacy through surveillance techniques and questions about our very existence as humans has never before been so obvious. This chapter focuses on how, in our craving for more technology, we have reduced human beings to factors (as in human factors engineering), and put the user of technology in the back seat. During the twenty-first century, new technologies would continue to challenge its users in a variety of ways. Some of these new challenges would be the creation of new moral dilemmas, the inability to differentiate between what we are born with and what has been made for our body, the assessment of the impact of genetic engineering and neurosurgery, and the experience of why changes caused by technology could not be identified in advance. The chapter discusses some of the ways in which psychology would thrive through extended interdisciplinary research, such as in convergent technologies (a combination of nanotechnology, biotechnology, informational technology, and cognitive sciences (nano-bio-info-cogno). This would certainly go to increase the scope of technology, in terms of forms of intervention for human behavior during the twenty-first century. Many of the ethical issues that would apply to this subfield of psychology of technology in such a scenario have been identified and analyzed. They would range from our understanding of “what does it mean to be human” to the elimination of certain myths. Of prime concern, and one that would have to be tackled, however, would be the fact that though the role of psychologists in the twenty-first century would expand, working as they would, hand-in-glove with engineers, biologists, and other specialists, their work or comments might not receive the type of attention required to put the user in the driver’s seat.

While one human characteristic, namely, human anatomy, places limits on the use of technology, another is the cornerstone of its very creation and development. This is the cortex of the highly developed human brain, bringing in its wake, tools and technology far surpassing those created by other primates. Evolutionary forces and environmental pressures have helped shape this brain, leading to the development of structures that have given it remarkable mental capabilities. Chapter 3 focuses on how this brain enables us to make the right choices so as to enhance the ability to collectively improve ourselves and to create technology that has helped in adaptation to the environment. It takes the reader through the intricacies of our highly advanced sensory systems which receive environmental cues, organizing them into perceptual wholes (or Gestalt) on the basis of which ways certain mental operations such as attention, memory, problem solving and reasoning, etc. (under the rubric of cognition) are performed. A thorough understanding of the sensory and perceptual systems along with their limits, especially those related to the visual and the auditory system provides useful insights to the technology developer, helping to resolve many of the problems associated with, say, the design of visual and auditory displays, sonification, and audiovisual synchronization. The chapter then moves on to describe some of the features of the human cognitive architecture. Using simple language with the minimum of technical jargon, the reader is enabled to understand the complex ways in which human cognitive processes operate leading to massive improvements in technology, helping it to grow exponentially, leapfrogging at times and destroying old technology to be replaced by new at other times. The isolation of regions of the brain associated with various cognitive processes has also gone a long way in enabling the design of brain interfaces through which cognitive processes may be further augmented. It has been pointed out that this can be possible only through interdisciplinary efforts requiring the participation of disciplines ranging from psychology to nanotechnology. The chapter ends with an introduction to convergent technologies, a perfect example of the symbiotic relationship between psychology and technology.

Technology has been transforming our behavior ever since early man started using it to enhance his adaptability but it has never been more so than at present. Whereas psychology is a relatively new science with less than 150 years of history and its first laboratory being established only at the end of the nineteenth century, many new subfields of psychology have emerged since then helping us to understand the nature of behavior in various domains of life (e.g., industry, education, business, religion, environment, and many more). Unfortunately, the development of psychology of technology has hitherto remained in a very nascent stage with its growth being nested under other subfields of psychology such as industrial psychology and human factors engineering. In this chapter, namely, Chap. 1, we have highlighted the fact that as compared to the growth of philosophy of science, that of philosophy of technology is fairly short. Yet, the latter has reinforced the emergence of the new field of psychology of technology with the realization that technology is not just a tool: rather, it creates a new reality as described by Heidegger, Ihde, Latour, and others. In addition to describing the fundamental nature of psychology of technology as a subfield of psychology, we have emphasized the four goals of this field—basic research, applications, applicability, and its applied aspects—all four of which are usually considered important in all fields of psychology so as to ensure the comprehensive growth of the discipline. Further, what has also been discussed is that the relationship of psychology with technology has been viewed in many forms: for example, the two disciplines maintaining their independent identity and at the same time relating with each other as per mutual need. It has, however, now become mandatory that we view issues relating behavior with technology so as to develop a comprehensive subfield of psychology of technology. Being interdisciplinary in nature, this subfield invites convergence with many diverse disciplines ranging from sociology to biology and anthropology to communication technology. In short, the chapter deals with two mainstreams of this field: one that is predominantly humanistic and the other, technological. The reader is invited to form her own judgment as to whether the former is the heart of psychology of technology with the latter being its scientific mind. That said, the chapter focuses on the significance of ethical issues raised commonly in the study of any subfield of psychology in general and consequently, in this field in particular. Also, the chapter offers a brief description of the methods that are used in research in psychology of technology with some of them being described more elaborately in later chapters.

The chapter begins with the premise: could we have remained a society devoid of technology? Loaded with neurotransmitters that contribute to search behavior and lead to goal-directed behavior, human beings tend to gain mastery over their environment. It would not be an exaggeration to contend that we are born to choose and create choices that lead to enhance our adaptability. Going beyond this specific domain might result in creation of myriad choices that could result in exaptation. Engaging in technology, thus, leads to the augmentation of adaptation and exaptation, and in many ways enables us to conclude that human activity and any use of technology appear to be inseparable in many cases. This is not just peculiar to human beings, for animals and other organisms have been found to employ technology as per their capacity, albeit dictated by their physical features and limitations. That said, the chapter invites the reader to consider the creation and use of things around us, for example, the dimensions of things ranging from those at home to those placed in other environments including those used in various cultures. Beginning with general issues that are common in the study of anthropometry, such as the structural and functional aspects of our physical dimensions in the context of how one size fits all, the chapter describes how growth in the field of ergonomics, particularly in the neurological context, has contributed to our understanding of psychology at work, an important subtopic of psychology of technology. This chapter has been written for both academic and applied professionals in particular and the layperson, in general, to appreciate how integration of our knowledge of biology, technology, and psychology has been helpful in contributing to the continuous growth of anthropometry and ergonomics and how such growth offers insights into redesigning workplaces for the elderly, developing interactive tools, looking beyond mere physical dimensions in creating things around us, designing for special conditions such as the space capsule, and in short, almost everything around us that is meant for our use.

Experiments and the experimental method form an important part of the repertoire of research methods that can be used in behavioral science research. However, problems ensue mainly because of the complex nature of the human subject vis-a-vis that of nonliving matter on which experiments are conducted in the natural sciences. It is to take care of such problems that specific experimental designs have been formulated, the use of which helps to control unwanted variance due to intervening and extraneous factors. Though a wide variety of experimental designs are available, a thorough understanding of each of them is imperative. While the right choice by a discerning researcher helps to bridge the gap between conceptual validity and statistical validity, a faulty selection of experimental design will lead to the obtaining of data which may be low on both reliability and validity.

The paper highlights the significance of Gandhian concepts in research in psychology and its related fields. To illustrate the application of Gandhian ideology, a test of non-violence is described here with its psychometric properties. Further, two unexplored research issues having a bearing on clinical psychology and psychiatry have been delineated. Firstly, a call for addressing the mental health problems of non-violent protesters numbering over one billion spread all over the world has been made. And secondly, there is a need for understanding the neurological basis of non-violent form of behavior, for example, the role of oxytocin, to increase the legitimacy of non-violence as adaptive behavior.

Understanding and measuring nonviolence.- Human aggression.- Cognition and self-control: The engine and brakes of nonviolence.- Motivation: The fuel of non-violence.- The non-violent individuals: Who are they?.- Conflict resolution.- The role of psychology of nonviolence in the 21st century.

People have a variety of reasons for not aggressing. Some people oppose aggression because it invites retaliation, punishment and social disapproval, whereas others do so on moral, ethical, and ideological grounds. A close scrutiny of the behavior patterns of the followers of Gandhi in India, Abraham Muste in the United States and members of pacifist groups shows that their opposition to violence varies both in quality and quantity.

An attempt was made to examine the encoding of visually presented additive and nonadditive digital material and its processing by deaf and hearing Ss. A 2 X 3 X 4 within-Ss design consisting of groups (45 deaf and 45 hearing Ss), numeral sets (additive, lower additive, and additive random), and recall intervals (0, 3, 9, and 12 seconds) was used. Results showed better recall of the additive set in which the third digit was the sum of the first two (e.g., 5-3-8) than other sets. Although the hearing Ss recalled better than the deaf Ss at short delay, performance of both groups deteriorated with increase in retention intervals. Implications of this study are related to the problem of automatic processing in short-term recall and how it is sensitive to the structure of the sequence of a numeral set.

(1978). Experimentally Induced Aggression as a Function of Instigating Information, Manifest Hostility, and Sex. The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 104, No. 2, pp. 305-306.