Students at the Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow, are coming to terms with a new term: psychological mapping. The university has prepared a psychological profile (database) of its students. Why? To instill the X-factor among these budding lawyers!
The university wants to know about the psychological traits of its students so that teachers can understand them better and handle them with care. Each student is a unique individual; yet they are treated uniformly in class. Now that the university has a readymade chart of students' psychologies, it will make the work of teachers easier.
The university sought help from Dr Poornima Agarwal, professor of psychology, Lucknow University, to prepare the psychological profile of its students. "At present we have the complete psychological database of our first semester students," said Prof Balraj Chauhan, director of the institute.
{{/usCountry}}The university sought help from Dr Poornima Agarwal, professor of psychology, Lucknow University, to prepare the psychological profile of its students. "At present we have the complete psychological database of our first semester students," said Prof Balraj Chauhan, director of the institute.
{{/usCountry}}After several sittings with the students, the psychological charts of 160 first year students have been prepared. They have been categorized into four groups: super sensitive, sensitive, normal and strong.
If a student is sensitive and an introvert, teachers will be asked to handle him with care. Such a student will be encouraged to speak up and mix well. He will also be encouraged to take part in extracurricular activities. “This, we hope, will help us produce better lawyers,” Chauhan said.
Dr Agarwal has prepared the profiles of individual students in accordance with the requirements of the university. "I've spent more than an hour with each student while preparing individual profiles. Personality traits vary from one person to another. Hence, teachers sometimes find it difficult to understand their students," she said.
Preparing psychological profile of students is a new concept in India. It could not immediately be ascertained if this is also a global first. The university has committed to keep the reports of each student confidential. It will, however, share them with the students and their parents.