Mind and behavior are two
really complex topics and
no one can claim to have
mastered them completely
but what you can do is,
give it your best shot.
The study of mind and behavior
from different aspects
is being done under the
subject known as psychology
and that is what we are going to
talk about in the coming chapters.
Make sure you try to apply all that
you have learned in your daily life.
Only then will you be
able to get any benefit.
Let’s not waste any more time and dig in
to see what we have got in here for you.
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology, an applied science, is
basically the study of mind and behavior.
It includes both the conscious as well
as the subconscious part of the mind.
A highly complex subject,
psychology requires an innumerable
amount of research and after
conducting this immense research,
certain principles are formed on the basis
of which minds and behaviors are studied.
The person who studies the subject of
psychology is known as a psychologist and
he possesses the title of a cognitive,
behavioral or a social scientist as well.
A psychologist’s job is to study the
behaviors and mental functions while linking
them with the biological facts that could
lead to those behavioral patterns.
The goal of psychology is to benefit
human beings in every possible way.
Even in daily life, you
don’t just see psychology
playing its role in
the hospitals alone.
You can use it in every profession
and get benefit from it.
PIONEERS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Like any other science, psychology has
been through those phases as well
where there was nothing definite
that anyone knew about this subject.
Yes, a lot of research was being
done and people were trying to give
their contributions to the subject
but nothing valuable was coming out.
Then, William James came who introduced
the approach known as functionalism.
According to him, the mind is a very diverse
and a constantly evolving thing so he
didn't see any point in looking for the
building blocks of what it experienced.
Instead, he said that
we should focus on how
and why a person does
something that he does.
The basic idea, in this case, was to look
for the reasons behind the behaviors
and then associate that with the mental
processes that could be involved.
The second name that is considered
among the pioneers is of Wilhelm
Wundt and his approach towards the
matter was named as structuralism.
This wasn’t a very successful attempt
and the results weren’t reliable either
but the reason why he
is still considered as
one of the pioneers is
because he opened the
first ever laboratory that was meant for
psychological researching and experimenting.
That laboratory, in a way, paved
way for modern psychology.
Initially, psychology and
philosophy used to be
considered somewhat similar
because both involved minds.
It has Wundt who separated
them by developing
more standardized
procedures for psychology.
HOW IT WORKS
Whenever a psychological
research is conducted,
it involves particular
systematic procedures
for doing so and on
the basis of the data
collected by this research,
inferences are made.
These inferences become principles that
can lead to a certain generalization.
The process is not as
simple as it may seem.
When we say people who sleep
a lot are distressed or
depressed, we are not just
randomly passing a judgment.
A lot of research has gone
into forming this statement.
There is a lot of hard work
that has been put into
collecting the data regarding
a particular subject.
You have to experiment on
hundreds and thousands
of people and then see the
results that you get.
The results are interpreted
in such a manner
that some logic can be
formulated from it.
Because it is a diverse topic,
psychology involves research
related to memory, learning,
motivation, perception, sensation,
emotion, intelligence, thinking,
personality, social behavior, language etc.
Every single topic is researched
upon in great details and critical
evaluation is being done before
passing any generalized statement.
This was just a brief
introduction to psychology
that we have brought
forward for you.
There is a lot more to it that
needs to be talked about.
We are going to touch
all the important
details of this topic
in the coming chapters.
We are going to make sure that you know
all the details including the different
branches of psychology and the major
theories that were being presented etc.
This is an extremely
interesting topic and you will
realize that once everything
starts to unfold for you.
MAJOR BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY
Now, you are well-aware
of what psychology is.
The next important thing to know is the
major branches that psychology has.
It covers almost all the
aspects of a human mind.
Those are:
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
As the name indicates, this
branch deals with the pathologies
that are associated with the
psychological aspect of the brain.
There are many
psychotherapists and clinical
psychologists out there who
work on these pathologies.
These include: depression,
obsessive-compulsive disorder,
bipolar disorder, sexual
disorders and much more.
Precisely, it deals with the
diseases that are associated
with the mind, the ones that
have the psychological basis.
BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY
Like we explained earlier,
behavioral psychology is a
theory that still prevails in
the subject of psychology.
Also known as behaviorism, this theory
basically stresses upon the fact
that all the behaviors are acquired
through learning and practicing.
This practicing is called
conditioning in more technical terms.
Operant conditioning and
classical conditioning
are the two major forms
that it focuses on.
This theory of behaviorism gained a
lot of attention in the beginning of
20th century but around the 1950s it
kind of lost its original impact.
Having said that, behavioral techniques
still are practiced in many therapies.
BIOPSYCHOLOGY
This is the branch of psychology
in which we study how the brain
affects the behavioral patterns
that people adopt over the time.
The influence of the brain
on the overall personality
is being seen in this
branch of psychology.
In other words, it is also
known as physiological
psychology or behavioral
neuroscience.
We also study the endocrine
system and the way
neurons are being
affected by this system.
Considering it is biopsychology, the
structure of a neuron is also studied.
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
The branch of psychology that
deals with the more abstract
subjects such as attention,
thinking, problem-solving,
decision-making and motivation is
known as cognitive psychology.
This is one of the most interesting
branches of psychology
as it carries some really
complex subjects in it.
COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Generally, anything
that is implemented on
human beings is first
tested on the animals.
Similarly, in comparative psychology, the
behaviors of the animals are studied.
The animal behaviors are then
compared with the humans and this
leads to the formation of
principles for human psychology.
We can obtain deeper and
better understanding of human
psychology by studying it under
the comparative psychology.
CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY
Like everything else, behaviors also vary
based on the culture that you belong to.
This is exactly what we study
in cross-cultural psychology.
Specialists study the
factors that influence
the behaviors in
different cultures
and it was established a long time ago
that different cultures bring forward
different behavioral patterns due to
the difference in morals, ethics etc.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Developmental psychology is one of the
most complex branches of psychology.
We study the different stages
of human development in
this branch, starting from the
prenatal time till death.
We also study the reasons why and
how people change over the time.
All sorts of changes that
take place throughout the
life are taken into
consideration in this branch.
Those include physiological,
emotional, social,
intellectual, personality
and perceptual development.
Other than that, many child
development theories and issues
regarding developmental psychology
are being studied in it.
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
These days, we have this trend
of giving psychological
awareness and training to
teachers as well as students.
All of this is studied in
educational psychology.
All the educational issues
and concerns related to
the students are being
discussed under this head.
The most important target for the
education psychologists is to devise
plans through which students can
learn better and perform better.
For this reason, psychologists
come in direct contact
with the parents, students,
and administrators etc.
EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Experimental psychology is a more
contemporary branch of psychology.
It deals with the scientific
methods in order to get
more knowledge regarding the
human brain and behavior.
These techniques can be really
helpful in getting more
information regarding a person’s
developmental psychology
and all the social issues that he may
be going through at a particular point.
More and more research has been
put into this subject with time.
FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
Forensic psychology has emerged has a
really useful branch of psychology.
There is a large number of duties that a
forensic psychologist has to fulfill.
He is supposed to deal
with the sexual assault
victims as well as the
child abuse cases.
He has to monitor the psychological
condition of the persona
and sometimes may even have to
prepare them for a testimony.
Evaluating the mental
state of a criminal, in
order to decide whether
or not he is liable
to a particular punishment, is also the
responsibility of a forensic psychologist.
HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
In the human body,
everything is inter-linked.
Hence, health psychology is associated with
the study of the role that psychology,
behavior, and social factors as well as biology
play on the overall health and illness.
More importantly, health is promoted
through this branch and more as well as
better attempts are being made to treat
as well as prevent diseases and illness.
PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY
Like we explained earlier, personalities
are being studied in this
branch and the way these
personalities develop over the time.
The factors that influence the development
of personalities are also being studied
in this particular branch along with all
the possible details related to the topic.
Precisely, these are all
the branches of psychology
that are gaining
popularity over the time.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
PSYCHOLOGIST AND A PSYCHIATRIST
Lately, a very important
discussion has been going on.
The role of a psychologist and
a psychiatrist are somewhat
similar and so a lot of people
get confused between these two.
Yes, there is a lot of
similarity between these two
professionals but there are
certain differences as well.
We are going to explain the difference
between these two in this chapter.
IN TERMS OF DEGREE
When you talk about the
degree, these two fields
are absolutely different
from each other.
The educational requirements
that a psychologist requires are
entirely different from what a
psychiatrist needs to have done.
In order to be a psychologist
you have to study
psychology as a major in
your undergraduate degree
and then later on you
have to earn a doctorate
degree which again takes
five to six more years.
Before you start practicing
as a psychologist, you
need to do an internship for
at least two years span.
The specific rules vary
from state to state but
the basic ones are somewhat
similar everywhere.
While you are doing your degree, you can
specialize in any particular branch
of psychology and for that, you will
have to study some extra subjects.
Eve for becoming a psychoanalyst
you need to have special training.
As for a psychiatrist, it
is a little different.
You need to have studied medicine
in order to be a psychiatrist.
Most people get confused by the
fact that what is the primary
difference between a
psychologist and a psychiatrist.
The primary difference lies in
the fact that a psychiatrist
can prescribe medicine while
a psychologist can't.
We are going to elaborate this
difference in the coming paragraphs.
For a psychiatrist, you have to attend the
medical school and after getting done
with your medical school you need to
complete your residency for four years.
Your residency will be in
the psychiatric department.
Following this residency,
you will go through an exam
in order to be classified as
a practicing psychiatrist.
HOW THEY DEAL WITH THEIR PATIENTS
When it comes to a
psychologist, like we already
mentioned, they can’t
prescribe medicine.
They are more concerned with
the non-medicated solutions
like talking to the patient,
counseling a patient,
monitoring their thoughts and feelings and
taking care of their general mental health.
These are primarily the routes that
they use to cure their patients.
The people that you see lying on the
couch, talking to their doctor, while the
doctor is just writing things down on a
notepad is basically a psychologist’s job.
He treats his patients like that.
For a psychiatrist, he is primarily
going to treat the disorders.
If he thinks some patient needs
counseling or needs some talking in order
to just vent it out, he will refer
the patient to some psychologist.
The psychiatrist is going
to come into action
when there is some disorder
that needs a cure.
He is going to prescribe some
medicines for the disorder.
Of course, he is also going to
talk to the patient and will give
him emotional support as well but
it’s not the way a psychologist.
It is just a protocol that you have to
follow while treating your patient.
A psychologist can also refer a patient
to a fellow psychiatrist if he feels
that the patient needs some medication
and he can’t be fixed without that.
IN TERMS OF EARNING
In today's time, there isn't a
lot of difference between a
psychiatrist and a psychologist when
it comes to the monetary terms.
Yes, there is a little difference because
psychologists usually have a different
kind of patients coming to them while a
psychiatrist has more complex patients.
Due to the medical degree that
he has earned, a psychiatrist
earns more money than a psychologist
would do on a yearly basis.
This data is collected on the basis
of the normal statistics observed
but this doesn't at all mean
that it always works like that.
There could be a psychologist who
is so famous that more number of
patients comes to him and so he
earns more than the psychiatrist.
Also, it is important for you to
understand that in professions
like these, it is never the
money that should matter.
It is your passion that matters and
you should work according to that.
This is the reason why we have
explained everything in such details.
Now, you should choose according
to your own interest that
whether you want to be a
psychologist or a psychiatrist.
While you are making the decision,
keep the monetary aspect aside
because this profession is a social
service that you do for mankind.
If you are all about the monetary gains
then this profession is not meant for you.
THEMES OF PSYCHOLOGY
Like we explained the different
branches of psychology,
there are certain themes
of psychology as well.
These themes are basically
the different aspects
of psychology through
which we look at it.
Those are as under:
UNCONSCIOUS MIND
The unconscious mind, also known
as the subconscious mind, has a
lot to do with the actions that
we perform in our daily lives.
A lot has been spoken about
this particular topic.
The basic idea here is that for
every human being, there are
certain things that they do
without even being aware of it.
For example, the accent that you
have adopted is something that you
took without making any extra
effort and so now when you talk,
you don't make the effort to
think about how you are talking.
It just comes naturally to you.
The argument here is that some
doctors say that this sub
conscious behavioral patterns
can be adopted over the time
while others say that these are only some
habits that you naturally possess and
nothing practiced over the time can
become a part of your unconscious mind.
PERSONALITY
Personality is another theme
that we study in psychology.
The pattern of thoughts,
emotions, and behavior
that we follow, comprises
a personality.
There has been a lot of dispute
regarding this topic because different
schools of thoughts have different
perceptions regarding personality.
Some believe that different
factors contribute
towards personality building
for examples childhood
and the circumstances that
you have lived in as well
as the way you have been
treated all your life etc.
Some believe in trait analysis,
according to which, there
are three major traits that
define the personality.
The number of traits vary as well,
according to different schools of thought.
Precisely, personality is a very complex
subject that is under discussion.
MOTIVATION
In philosophical terms, motivation
has a somewhat different
meaning but in psychology, it is
interpreted in a different way.
You can say that all your
instincts combine and
give rise to one force
that is very dominant.
This force is known as motivation.
Without getting into any
technical details, we can simply
just say that hunger, thirst,
sexual pleasure, fear etc.
these are all motivations for a
normal human being and from these
very basic motivations, come
the most complex motivations.
Human beings have the need to feel secure,
loved, belonged, appreciated etc.
All of these are the
secondary motivations
that somehow were related
to the primary ones.
There are a lot of factors
that are associated with
motivation and a very long
debate can be conducted on that.
DEVELOPMENT
Development is a really important
topic and which is why
we have a whole branch of
psychology associated with it.
The main target of this theme is to
first see the changes that a human mind
goes through starting from the very
first moment in this world to the end.
We also see why these
changes take place and
how they affect the
overall personality.
Social, moral,
neural all kinds of
development are studied
in this one subject.
Many interesting new ways of conducting
the research have been introduced.
For example, in the case of a child,
different interesting games are being
devised that the child can enjoy and
so he is being observed that way.
In fact, new techniques
have been introduced to
the study the development
in infants as well.
Other than that, stages like
adolescence and old age are being
studied as well because these
are the times that matter.
ENVIRONMENT AND HEREDITY
We all know very well that genes
and environment play a very
crucial role in the kind of human
being that you turn out to be.
You can’t neglect these
two factors when you
are studying the
personality of a person.
You must have seen some
behavioral patterns that
only exist in certain
regions and nowhere else.
The reason for this could
be any starting from the
environmental factors to the role
that is played by the genes.
Let’s consider an example in this regard.
If there is a woman who is clinically
depressed, there are higher
chances of her children being
affected by the same disorder.
The only two reasons that could be
the link here are that either the
children will get depressed due
to staying in such an environment
where they are always surrounded
by a depressed mother or because
there is a higher chance of
acquiring the disorder in genetics.
While you are conducting
a psychological study,
you can’t possibly neglect
these two topics.
MIND AND BODY
Lastly, a lot of research has been
conducted regarding the effect that your
body has on your mind and your overall
happiness and feeling of satisfaction.
The psychologist is going to tell
you some exercises or some postures
that you need to adopt and that will
make you feel good on the inside.
This is really important for a
person's overall well-being.
You don't have to be a patient for that.
You can even normally ask your
doctor to tell you about the
exercises that can help you
in feeling relaxed and calm.
This also includes the benefits
of smiling and the very
simple daily life things that
can be very helpful for you.
We have mentioned some basic
themes that psychology follows
and we hope that you got an
understanding of the topic.
We are going to elaborate these
further in the coming chapters.
PSYCHOSOCIAL STAGES OF A HUMAN
We are obviously going to
focus more on the human
development and for someone
who is not a psychologist,
we would like to explain everything
in as much detail as possible while
making sure that nothing is too
technical for you to understand it.
We are going to elaborate the
stages that a human mind goes
through, starting from the
very basic stage of infancy.
We will complete the whole cycle till
the old age and our major target is
to explain the basic traits that a
human being develops over the time.
STAGE 1: INFANCY (BIRTH TO 18 MONTHS)
BASIC TRAIT: TRUST VS MISTRUST
This is the stage at
which the child can
develop one of the two
above mentioned traits.
Now, how is that even possible
for an infant to do so?
Well, it’s actually quite simple.
The only major task that you perform
with a child at this age is feeding.
If you feed your child well
and take good care of him/her
then he will put his trust
in you and will rely on you.
In case you don’t perform
these duties too well,
your child will not
be able to trust you.
He will develop mistrust towards you.
You need to make sure that you are taking
good care of your child and don’t at
all think that he doesn’t know or understand
anything because he is an infant.
STAGE 2: EARLY CHILDHOOD (2-3 YEARS)
BASIC TRAIT: AUTONOMY
VS SHAME AND CONFUSION
We may not consider it very
important but children at this age
need to feel that they have a
control over their physical needs.
The most important thing that we need to
teach them at this age is toilet training.
You need to train them in such a way that
they don’t stay too dependent on you.
If you train them well, they
will become confident in
themselves and will feel autonomous
but if you fail to do so,
they will start to feel the
shame and they are going
to start doubting themselves
and their skills.
You need to make sure that
this doesn’t happen at all.
STAGE 3: BEFORE SCHOOL (3-5 YEARS)
BASIC TRAIT: INITIATIVE VS GUILT
Children at this age start
to explore too much and you
will see them exerting power
on their environment.
They need to feel free in this case.
The problem that occurs in most
cases is that the adults stop them
from doing anything that they do
because they cause too much mess.
When you stop them from doing
everything that they do, they start
to feel guilty about everything
and they stop taking initiatives.
This is bad for a child’s mind.
You are suppressing the
creative side of his mind.
Of course, it is okay to stop a
child when he is going overboard
with things but let them explore
as much as they want to.
This is very healthy for a young brain.
STAGE 4: SCHOOL GOING AGE (6 TO 11 YEARS)
BASIC TRAIT: INDUSTRY VS INFERIORITY
This is the time when children
start going to school.
Now, they are getting out of their
comfort zone which was their home.
No matter how confident a child is at home,
things change when they come to school.
At home, everything was about them but in
school they so many other kids like them.
They have to cope up with a lot
of social and academic demands.
This can lead some children distressed.
They feel the need to prove
themselves to everyone and if
they fail to do so, they start
to feel inferior to others.
This is not a very good position to be in.
STAGE 5: ADOLESCENCE (12 TO 18 YEARS)
BASIC TRAIT: IDENTITY VS ROLE CONFUSION
This is probably one of the
most crucial periods of life.
Teenagers are supposed to form
social relationships and they
try to fit in the circles that
they are hanging out with.
If they succeed in forming
their own identity then they
stay true to themselves and the
human beings that they are.
In case they fail to do so,
they are going to start to
feel insecure and confused
regarding their identity.
They will probably have a low
self-esteem and they will start
to act like someone who according
to them is really cool.
They will lose their own identity.
STAGE 6: YOUNG ADULTHOOD (19 TO 40 YEARS)
BASIC TRAIT: INTIMACY VS ISOLATION
This is the age where energy is at
its peak and so is a vulnerability.
Young adults feel the need to
form intimate relationships
with people and then carry
on with these relationships.
If they get successful
with this, the
relationships are going
to last for a lifetime
but if they don't they will
start to feel lonely and
will probably get isolated
from the rest of the world.
This is a very important time for
forming lifelong relationships.
STAGE 7: MID ADULTHOOD (40 TO 65 YEARS)
BASIC TRAIT: GENERATIVITY VS STAGNATION
This is the age where there is
work pressure as well as the
pressure to handle the family
and fulfill their demands.
Every person tries his or her best to do
so and those who succeed in doing so,
start to feel accomplished and
feel like they have done something
good in their life while those who
are unable to fulfill their duties
start to feel worthless and get
involved in other things mostly.
STAGE 8: MATURITY (65 TO DEATH)
BASIC TRAIT: SELF-ASSURED VS DESPAIR
This is the age where everyone looks back
at what they have done in their lifetime.
The ones who feel like they
have passed a meaningful life,
feel happy about themselves
and proud of themselves
while others who feel like they didn’t
do much in life or couldn’t do what they
wanted to do, they start to get bitter
and experience the feelings of despair.
These are the stages of
life that every human
being (who lives up to
this age) goes through.
We have tried to summarize
them as simply as possible.
We wanted you to just get a brief idea of
what a person feels when he or she is going
through these stages in
life so that you can
deal with the people
according to their age.
Once you have the basic
understanding of how things work,
you will be able to show
more empathy towards people.
Isn’t that exactly what
a psychologist does?
APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY IN EVERYDAY LIFE
As you must know already,
there is a wide variety
of applications of psychology
in our daily lives.
You don’t just have to be a psychologist
to understand people better.
You will be able to do so even after
getting the basic knowledge of psychology.
Here, in this chapter, we are
going to describe the important
applications of psychology that
we have in our daily life:
STAY MOTIVATED
We all start to feel short of
motivation at some point in life and
then we need to get that drive
again to get back into action.
If you have some basic know-how
of the principles of cognitive
psychology, you will be able
to help yourself really well.
Let’s say you are trying to adopt a
new habit or if you are trying to get
rid of a bad habit that you have, you
can motivate yourself for doing that.
You can set certain targets for
yourself and make sure you
reward yourself well every time
you complete a certain target.
You can use many such small
techniques to stay motivated.
BE THE LEADER
You may or may not be a born
leader but either way, a
little bit of psychology can
help you out in this regard.
A lot of research has been conducted
regarding this topic and we have come
to a few conclusions that can help you
in polishing your leadership skills.
For example, make sure
you appreciate any new
creative ideas given
by your group members.
Let them give their opinions but make sure
you give your commands as the final orders.
Think of solutions to the problems
along with your group members.
These small tips can
help you become a better
leader and people will
respect you more for this.
IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Communication is really important
for anybody and while we say the
word communication, we don’t just
mean what you write or read.
We are also talking
about the non-verbal
communication that takes
place between two people.
In fact, it has been established
through research that
non-verbal communication
plays a more important role.
Your hand gestures and that
way your eyes move as well as
the change in your voice tone,
all of that matters a lot.
You need to take care of all f that in
order to have an effective communication.
Make sure you look into the other
person’s eyes and start to
notice the non-verbal signs
shown by other people as well.
UNDERSTAND THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU
In order to nurture healthy
professional as well as personal
relations, it is really important
to understand each other better.
You need to get a better understanding
of your own emotions and only then
will you be able to develop an understanding
towards other people's emotions.
You need to look at situations
from other people's perspectives.
All of this comes under the heading of
emotional intelligence and some psychologists
say that emotional quotient is more
important than intelligence quotient.
You can simply just do it by
writing your reactions to
situations in a journal and then
assess other people's reactions
and try to understand why and how
they feel a certain way about things.
GET BETTER AT DECIDING THINGS
Taking some help from the research
that has been conducted regarding the
cognitive psychology, you will be
able to make way better decisions.
We are all human beings and
it is only natural to get
confused while you are
making some big decisions.
Next time you are making a big
decision, don’t stress out and
follow the tips that are provided
to you by the psychologist.
You can consider the six thinking
hats when you are making a decision.
Those include: creative, emotional,
rational, positive, negative
and intuitive aspects of a
decision while you are making it.
You will have to consider all of
these and then decide accordingly.
This can help you in making the most
important decisions of your life.
IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY
Memory, being the most important
asset of a mind, plays a really
important role in our lives and we
really need to take care of it.
With all the possible
techniques that psychology
offers, you can improve
your memory over the time.
There isn't much that you need to do.
Just follow the simple tips
like make sure you eliminate
all the possible distractions
while learning something.
Repeat what you have learned so
that it gets embedded in your
memory and focus all your attention
on what you are learning.
These and much more such techniques can
help you in improving your memory.
BE MORE PRODUCTIVE
You must have heard a lot
about being productive
while multitasking and
all that but guess what?
It is all the just rubbish that has
absolutely no basis to prove the point.
You need to know psychology
to understand the
complex mechanism that
your mind undergoes.
To make it simple for you, we can say that
make sure you don't multitask at all because
naturally, your speed and accuracy are
affected really badly by multi-tasking.
You have to make sure that you
just focus on the task at
hand and eliminate any
distractions that you may have.
If you want to be more
productive, just do one
thing at a time and you
will see the results.
These are some really basic things
in which psychology can help
you even if you have the very
basic know how of the subject.
