CASE CONFERENCE RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT

 

Silver Linings Playbook –Matthew Quick

 

Person: Pat Peoples

 

Part 1 – Case Study

1. CHARACTER ANALYSIS: IN THIS SECTION, YOU SHOULD THOROUGHLY ANSWER AS MANY OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AS ARE RELEVANT TO YOUR CHARACTER.

• What is your character’s name? Character Name: Pat Peoples 
• What is some background information about this person?
• Pat was married to his high school sweetheart, Nikki. When she found him cheating on her, and almost beating the man who was with her to death, he was forced to a psychiatric hospital. Four years later, the court ruled that he was allowed to move in with his parents except Pat remembers nothing of the incident and longs for “apart time” to be over with Nikki. He believes he was only in the “bad place” for a few months, but soon realizes how much has changed.
• What is this person’s socioeconomic background?
• Pat is a kind person, who seems to over think a lot. He has been known to have acts of anger and outbursts. He explains that when he has the outbursts, he does not feel himself and knows that it is wrong. So, he is a loose canon. He seems to get along with men, but is very loyal to his Nikki and does not get too close to any women.
• Where did this person grow up? Philadelphia.
• What is this person’s likes and/or dislikes, strengths and/or weaknesses?
• Pat revolves his day around exercise. He wakes up and that is the only thing he does. If he has a therapy appointment or plans, he goes to extreme measures to make sure he completes his workout. Working out is part of his healing, because instead of having outbursts of anger, Pat starts to go to his basement gym and go 300 sit ups instead. He also enjoys watching the Eagles games with his family, talking to his father, taking care of his mother, reminiscing about old times with Nikki and talking to Cliff in the cloud room. He does not like Kenny G or the song “songbird.” Every time this song comes on, he gets completely angry. He then turns his anger into hums and anytime he ever hears the name Kenny G he simply takes a deep breath and counts to ten. He dislikes when people are mean to his family, taking his medicine, discussing reality, when his father is mean to his mother and when he realizes how much time he was really sent away.
• Describe this person’s family and other significant relationships
• The family revolves around the Philadelphia Eagles. His father and him do not have a very good relationship, and the only way Pat gets his father to talk to him is if its sports related. His mother is kind, and does too much for her family. His younger brother, Jake is married to Caitlin and they have a very successful job.
• Describe other personal characteristics
• He has a best friend Ronnie that he rekindles his relationship with when he gets out of the hospital. They are neighbors. He has a wife Veronica, who is high maintenance and does not get along with Pat very well and a beautiful daughter Emily who Pat really connects with.

 

1. STRESSORS: NOTE: YOU ARE EXPECTED TO LOCATE DIRECT QUOTES FROM THE NOVEL TO SUPPORT YOUR ARGUMENTS

• Describe this person’s unhealthy relationships, if any.
• Nikki – his ex wife. He has no remembrance of what happened and why him and Nikki are in apart time. He does know that he did do something bad, but his determination to make things better with Nikki is almost an obsession. Everything he does, and every improvement he makes is for Nikki. We later find out, that the doctors are telling him he knows what happened, but his mind blocked out the memory. Nikki is a high school english teacher, and Pat remembers every book that Nikki makes her students read, but when he begins to read them and he does not see the “silver lining” in the ending, he becomes angry.
• Evidence to support this: “I actually rip the book in half and throw the two halves at my bedroom wall. Basement. Stomach Master 6000. Five hundred crunches. Why would Nikki make teenagers read such a depressing novel? Weight bench. Bench press. One-hundred-thirty-pound reps. Why do people read books like The Bell Jar? Why? Why? Why?
• Describe some of the problems in this person’s life, if any: economic, educational, personal, occupational, legal, etc.
• He often has outbursts of anger. To relieve this anger, he is constantly working out. This is where he meets his friend Tiffany and they begin running together. Certain things trigger his anger to come out.

 

III.  SYMPTOMS: NOTE:  YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BE ABLE TO LOCATE QUOTES FROM THE NOVEL IN THIS SECTION TO BACK UP YOUR CLAIMS

• What are this person’s main symptoms?
• Pat’s main symptoms are sudden bursts of mood changes. Whether it is angry or sad. Nobody ever knows what his next move is going to be.
• When do these symptoms emerge?
• Symptoms come with certain triggers. Such as someone hurting his family, when someone talks badly about Nikki, when the Kenny G song comes on.
• What form do these stressors take? Can you give specific examples from the book?
• The most common form is anger. Below is an example of when he beat someone up and they had to be hospitalized because he was defending his brother at an Eagles tailgate.
• Evidence: Page 108. “Even thought I was defending my brother, even though I did not seriously hurt the Giants fan, I don’t feel proud at all. I feel guilty. I should be locked up again in the bad place. I feel as though Dr. Timbers was right about me – that I don’t belong in the real world, because I am uncontrollable and dangerous. “

 

1. OUTCOME OF CASE: IN THIS SECTION, YOU SHOULD THOROUGHLY ANSWER AS MANY OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AS ARE RELEVANT TO YOUR CHARACTER

• Was there treatment for this person?
• He was sent to a psychiatric institution for many years. The doctors still did not think he was ready, but the court overruled this. He was then sent to weekly therapy, and was on many medications.
• If so, was this treatment effective?
• The institution was not at all effective, in fact it scared him and might have made things worse. When he was able to find a therapist that could relate to him, and when they found the right method of talking and balanced medicine, the symptoms seemed to not be as bad.
• If there was no treatment in the book, what treatment would your recommend? (therapy, meds, etc.)
• I think that the therapy and meds that Pat is currently on right now are leading him in the right direction. Although at the end of the book he has a small outburst, he learns how to deal with it. He often breaths, hums and counts to ten instead of bursting out.

 

Part 2 – Research on diagnosis

1. DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA – THIS CAN SIMPLY BE A PRINT OUT OF THE DSM-V RULES AND ESSENTIALLY ACT AS A CHECKLIST FOR YOU AND YOUR CLASSMATES TO FOLLOW.

• Does your patient meet the diagnostic criteria for a particular mental illness (See DSM-V)? Yes.
• Severe bipolar disorder with mood-congruent psychotic features



• What are the most common symptoms of this disorder?
• Bipolar 1: Agitated moods, a mix of high and low moods, manic episodes
• Mood- Congruent psychotic symptoms: false beliefs, hallucinations
• Cant function in a job or in relationships
• What is a typical age of onset? Early adulthood
• How well does your person’s symptoms match up with the overall symptoms of someone with this disorder?
• Pat matches up very well with the overall symptoms of someone with this type of disorder.

 

1. TREATMENTS

• What are the most common treatments available?
• If it is severe, doctors suggest that a person should be institutionalized as well as well as medicine. If it is moderate, most people suggest therapy and medicine.
• How effective are the current treatments?
• Pat seems to have once had severe bipolar disorder, but it looks like he is on the path to recovery with weekly therapy sessions with a doctor he can relate to, and balanced medicine.

VII. GENERAL RESEARCH: IN THIS SECTION, YOU SHOULD COMMENT ON RELEVANT INFORMATION NOT DISCUSSED UNDER OTHER HEADINGS. FOR EXAMPLE:

• Are there any controversies surrounding this disorder?
• “The following edition of the DSM, DSM-III (1980), began to characterize illness with specific diagnostic criteria and shapes the modern definition of bipolar disorder, now termed as such. The biggest deviation from previous versions specified the symptom criteria required for the diagnosis of “episode” and it is the presence of varied episodes, which will construct the final diagnosis. Another major divergence in this edition is the separation of unipolar and bipolar depression and a characterization that they are two different types of mood disorder. This emphasized the polarity of mood in this characterization, that the presence of any mania indicates bipolar disorder, rather than the episodicity of the aforementioned manic-depressive insanity/illness, in which the recurrence of the mood states was the primary characteristic”
• Source:
• Mason, Brittany L., E. Sherwood Brown, and Paul E. Croarkin. “Historical Underpinnings of Bipolar Disorder Diagnostic Criteria.” Behavioral Sciences. MDPI, Sept. 2016. Web. 15 May 2017. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5039514/&gt;.

 

VIII. CONCLUSION – EVALUATION OF CASE

In this final section, you should discuss the ease with which your client was diagnosed.  In other words did your client clearly suffer from a mental illness that is classified in the DSM-V, or was it a collection of symptoms that lent themselves to a variety of possible explanations?

 

 

Conclusion: Pat did not have a clear representation of bipolar disorder, but once I found mood-congruent psychotic features, the disorder looked a lot like his case. After a collection of symptoms, it finally occurred to me that my client is also a little obsessed with a false hope, his “silver lining.” I had to dig a litter further to realize that false accusations were a huge symptom in the mood- congruent features. With both disorders present, it seems to be a clear representation. Pat is already on his way to recovery. I do not believe he will ever be cured, but I do believe he is on the right track to moderate instead of severe.

 

Temple Grandin

Please reflect on the following questions from the movie below:

1. Describe briefly, in list form, some of the “abnormal” behaviors that Temple Grandin displays throughout the movie. What makes them “abnormal?” How did different people in her life respond to these behaviors?

Some of the “abnormal” behaviors are the way she thought about things. While everyone saw an object, she would interpret the object completely differently. Also, she was not affectionate and did not touch. She only liked to be touched by other surfaces, like the “squeeze machine” she made. Her mother responded very well raising her because she was a bright lady. Other people, saw her as weird. Her mother saw her as “different.”

2. In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association revised the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-V for autism to include a much broader spectrum of symptoms.  It now ranges from brilliant scientists, artists, and musicians to an individual who cannot dress himself or herself.

“One of the problems today is for a kid to get any special services in school, they have to have a label.  The problem with autism is you’ve got a spectrum that ranges from Einstein to someone with no language and intellectual disability,” says Grandin.  “Steve Jobs was probably mildly on the autistic spectrum.  Basically, you’ve probably known people who were geeky and socially awkward but very smart.  When does geeks and nerds became autism? That’s a gray area.”

–http://www.templegrandin.com/

What do you think some of the pros and cons of diagnosing a person with autism might be? What are the benefits, and potential harms, of such a label?

A pro is that people with autism have a different way of thinking. This could either make them behind, or ahead the way it made Temple. Having a “disadvantage” is something that could be used as an excuse for most people, but Temple used it as a blessing to succeed.

3. To what extent do you think a label of autism changed the expectations that others had for Temple Grandin as she was growing up, if at all? How did the expectations that others had for her influence her life and her career?

I think the label helped people understand why Temple was different, but at the same time socially it did not help her because people did not understand her, and she did not understand how to make connections with others.

4. Who were the people that formed the best relationships with Temple Grandin? What made their relationships with Temple so successful?

Her roommate and her mother had the best relationships with her. Her blind roommate helped her succeed because she too understood what it was like to have a “disadvantage” and they got along very well. Her mother, a highly educated women, helped her push through and socially help her as well.

5.  Autism is one of many psychiatric disorders that is discussed in our textbook within the Abnormal Psychology unit. However, this article from Psychology Today states: “many autism advocates have worked hard to frame autism as a developmental or neurological disorder rather than a psychiatric one… [but] it is a difficult debate to resolve because there really is no scientific basis on which to separate a psychiatric disorder from a neurological or developmental one.”  Please first read the article, and then write down three big take-aways, questions, or critiques that you have about this debate.

1. Scientists are having a hard time locating the source of autism.
2. “Autism Speaks currently seems to be trying to avoid this quagmire by now calling autism “a group of complex disorders of brain development.”  Such a description is true enough, but the statement seems just as valid for a variety of other diagnoses such as ADHD or even Bipolar Disorder. “
3. Labels are something that should not be put on people especially with a “disadvantage.”

 

STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What were the independent and dependent variables in this experiment?

• Independent -The set up of the jail – were they assigned guard or prisoner
• Dependent –  The reaction of the prisoners and the guards

2. Who participated in this experiment?

• College male students

3. How did Philip Zimbardo ensure that there were no pre-existing differences between the guards and the prisoners?

• He let them chose whether or not they wanted to be guard or prisoner.

4. Since 1953, the American Psychological Association has had a “Code of Ethics” for its members, providing psychologists with a set of guidelines on how to practice psychology in an ethical manner. This includes conducting research. Do you think Milgram violated this requirement? Explain why or why not.

a.      Psychologists must inform research participants of their right to decline to participate and to withdraw from the research once participation has begun.

He did not violate this requirement because he let the prisoner go home when he could not take it any longer.

b.     Psychologists must inform research participants about the factors that might affect their willingness to participate such as potential risks, discomfort, or adverse effects.

He did violate this requirement because he did not warm them of the psychological damage that this experiment caused.

c.      Psychologists do not use deception unless they have determined that the scientific knowledge or educational value makes up for the use of deceptive techniques and that the study would not be effective without deception.

He did not violate this because he did not use deception.

d.     Psychologists do not deceive potential participants about research that is reasonably expected to cause physical pain or severe emotional distress.

He did violate this because the prisoners eventually suffered physical pain.

Discuss and take notes on how the following terms can be applied to the Stanford Prisoner’s experiment

• Obedience – The prisoners obeyed the guards and the guards obeyed the experimenters. They were following other group members.

• Conformity-  As one guard started to get stricter the other guards would follow.

• Group polarization- The connection between the prisoners and the connection between the guards.

• Peer modeling (observational learning)-  The groups all started to defend each other and also creating a hatred between the two groups.

• Moral disengagement – How both roles started to actually feel like they were either a prisoner or a guard. The roles applied to them.

• Environmental determinism – The environment of the prison made the people change.

• Power differentials-  The group that was powerless really believed that they had nothing, while the people that had the power had almost too much power.

• In-group and out-group biases- These people were not affiliated in any way before this, and now they knew it was powerful or powerless group.

• De-individuation/de-humanization- Both of the groups stopped making this a role, but instead started making it into who they were.

Personal Reflection

Think about a time where you were influenced to do something that you did not want to do because someone in authority told you to do it, and so you obeyed (OR a time that you disobeyed). Who was the person in authority? How did you make your decision to behave the way that you did? How did you feel afterwards?

Alternatively, explain a time that you conformed (or did not conform!) to a group. How did you feel about (not) conforming to the group? Are you glad that you did, or do you wish that you didn’t? What went into your decision to (not) conform?

Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack TSC

TRIANGLE: What are three big take aways that you can extract from McIntosh’s essay?

• My skin should not determine my position in a company or my financial status.
• “I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege.”

• The article described men to women privilege first and how the ideas are mirrored to white privilege.

SQUARE: What is one thing that you learned from this reading that resonates with you?

I learned that in her opinion, being white is a “protection,” and other racial groups feel unconfident and uncomfortable. She wrote, “There was one main piece of cultural turf; it was my own turf, and I was among those who could control the turf.” I think that we are not the only racial group that can control it though, and being white like she said is not always a “privilege.”

CIRCLE: What is one idea from this reading that you are still confused about, or thinking about, or that you would like to challenge?

An idea that I started to think about after reading the article is the fact that there were a lot of “I’m pretty sure I can do this” instead of “I know I can do this.” It made me realize that we are still living in a world where people feel uncomfortable. I think America has spent hundreds of years trying to make everyone safe and free and it sickens me to know that people are still not confident enough. Understanding that it’s difficult to stand up for someone else beliefs, it is still not right.

 

Design Thinking: Motivation

“Students are bored and not motivated at this time of the year. With the beautiful weather and under 50 days left for seniors, it is hard to stay focused. We want to see the kids more passionate in the spring term.”

Proposal: To solve the situation of bored and unmotivated teenagers, our group came up with multiple options. We think that in order to make students motivated, there needs to be compromises. More trust and independence needs to be given to the seniors. Senior privileges should expand to relaxed study hall for boarders, or weekly class bonding activities. That being said, the class choices should be wider for the underclassman. Personally speaking as a senior, I feel like there were so many interesting classes to take except I could not fit them all into my schedule this year. To make students more passionate, homework should be optional in classes. Teenagers need to learn to be motivated by themselves. If one has a certain grade in a standard class, like an A, then the homework should be optional. If a student is struggling then they should have to do it. With the intense schedule our day holds, students should be able to have a break.

Inside Out: Psychology Critique

1. Inside out offers a different perspective on personality than the theories that we discussed in class (Trait, Humanist, Psychoanalytic, Social-Cognitive, & Biological). What aspects of each of those theories are present in Inside Out’s portrayal of personality? What are missing? In what ways does the movie understand personality completely differently?

The Social Cognitive Perspective is used fluently in this movie. As defined below, it is a personality that suggests that your environment influences your behavior, but also the way you think and feel about a situation. This was used when Riley was moving. She felt her life was put together in Minnesota and then once she moved, her personality changed and she felt her life going in a different direction, making her angry or sad. The Trait perspective was also used during the movie, because in her old town Riley was stable and enduring. Once the move happened, and Joy became lost in her head Riley was constantly overcome with all of the other emotions making her confused.

2. The movie suggests that without her core memories, Riley can no longer be “Riley.” Do you agree with this theory? Would you still be you without any of your memories? To what extent do your memories create who you are today?

I think core memories are part of what makes a person who they are. If Riley never had the early childhood memories playing hockey, or spending time with her family she would have never found the drive behind all of her passions. I know for me; I would have never found my love for singing if it was not for my core memories.

3. Initially, Riley can seemingly only feel one emotion at a time. By the end of the movie, however, she is able to feel multiple emotions at the same time. How do you make sense of this new ability? Is that consistent with research on emotions?

I think this all had to do with Riley’s maturity level. In her younger ages, her brain was not developed enough to have multiple emotions on the same time. If she was upset, she would be crying. Now, with her brain developing and major changes happening in Riley’s life she is now confused with what emotions can make her feel. It is possible to feel “bitter sweet” and I think that is part of the reason why Riley felt a little overwhelmed because she did not know that she could feel all of these feelings at once.

4. The movie seems to value happiness over the other emotions, but ultimately the movie suggests that expressing sadness is a tool for eliciting empathy and receiving compassion from those around you. How might sadness actually bring people together?

In the younger stages of your life, emotions pop in and out of your head. Going through so many changes at the age of twelve will bring so many other emotions intertwined. The end of the movie really touched me. A memory will bring out so many different emotions, not just one. When Joy and Sadness both touched a memory, it was remembered that a memory is how you feel, and how other people feel around you. When the hockey memory came into play, sadness thought it was a sad memory, because Riley felt sad she missed the winning shot, but at the same time Joy thought it was a positive memory because the whole team picked her up. Receiving compassion from those around you, and feeling what other people are feeling helps someone mature.

5. One of Riley’s personality islands is “hockey.” How is “hockey” as an identifier similar to or different from extroversion as a personality trait?

Personality is what people are made up with on the inside. Although emotions are part of what a personality is made of, I believe if you are passionate about something it is part of your personality as well. For Riley, it is similar to a personality trait because of her drive toward hockey. It is not just a sport, it is part of her personality.

 

My Personality Islands

 

Family Island 

This island is a very dysfunctional, but my most core island. I imagine this island as something that will never fade away, like some of the islands do in the movie. This island will always be lit up the most, because I know that if we fight or somebody messes up my family is part of who I am. One solid memory I will always have is whenever I am on stage performing, no matter how boring the function may be my family always has a row full of seats in the first few rows cheering me on, making sure their schedule is clear. Another memory I have is my first real fight with my most core person in my family, my mother. I remember it being really awful, and leaving in tears, but coming home the next day to my mom with open arms. That type of love is something I will never find in a friend, or a significant other. The love between my mother and child s a bond that I will forever cherish and love very much.

Performing Arts Island

This island has been a significant place in my heart for as long as I remember. From singing “Bye Bye Bye” on top of my kitchen table at the age of two, to being heavily involved in the performing arts at school, and dedicating my summers to theater being on stage is a passion of mine that molds me as a person. Singing has helped me gain a great deal of confidence in every aspect of my life, including being successful in school and public speaking. I assume that this island may not shine as bright as it used to in high school the next four years of my life, but I always want to be able to have this talent and use this talent for the rest of my life.

Trust Island

Trust Island is one the islands that I have always taken pride in. A known trait about my personality is that I am a very trusting in other people. I tend to see the good in everyone, no matter what their ways, which I always thought was a blessing until high school. This island has dimmed down, because throughout these last four years I have come to the conclusion that I need to think before I put trust into someone, and be careful with what I say to whom. Although I may think I have great trust in someone, it is not always how it seems. This at first frightened me, because I did not have the maturity to realize not all people are good. Trust is something that is essential to me, but it is not as much of a welcoming island anymore. I have learned that there needs to be an invitation to this more elite island. I have a photo of my grandmother because she is one of the people I trust the most. Throughout my life, my Mimi has been nothing but loyal, loving and totally supportive of everything I do. She has taught me the true meaning of trust, and what it means to be a good person. This island would not be the same without her as the center point.

Friendship Island

Friendship island is an island that has been with me ever since my preschool friend. I always knew companionship would be a strong suit of mine, and finding friends that had similar interests in me and that I could be myself around would be easy. In middle school, I found my best friend. We had very similar qualities and interests which made life easy and still today she is my best friend. That being said, leaving her behind to find friends in high school was a completely different experience. I remember finding my group of friends and wondering how I ever ended up with complete opposites, but somehow our friendship is still growing strong after four years. This island is forever changing and has the happiest memories. It coincides with “Trust Island” and every person who has entered a memory on this island will forever be in my heart.

Traveling Island

Traveling has been a passion of mine for a long time. My mom knew from the age of 12, when I wanted my room to be “Paris themed” and dreamt of being anywhere but home that it was essential to start thinking about traveling abroad. While I took many trips for educational enjoyment, like the past few March trips, the last two trips I took really turned my whole island around. First, the service trip to Ghana taught me a lot of different wonderful things and brought a whole new meaning to the word travel. It made me realize a lot about myself, and was eye opening. From that moment on, I realized that I wanted to be a teacher. My most recent trip I traveled to Western Australia to visit my uncle, who’s photo is above. I went into the trip beginning to think it was going to be like every other one, discovering new culture, learning a lot of different things and experiencing the world in a whole different way. Although I did all of those things, it made me value family even more and taught me the importance of staying in touch. This trip was very sentimental to me, and forever changed my values of this Island, along with the Ghana trip. I’ve learned traveling is a lot more than “experiencing new culture” and with each trip comes multiple lessons.

TSC States of Consciousness

Triangle 

1. The concept of dual processing – processing information on both conscious and unconscious levels of our mind is very interesting to me because multitasking is so unconscious but there is so much that goes on.
2. The concept of inattentional blindness and changed blindness. It is interesting that you can look at something, and not even notice what you are looking for. As a person, we don’t notice changes if we are focused somewhere else.
3. In every sense, our body uses selective attention which is very interesting because it is completely unconscious.

Square 

After many researching about selective attention, that is definitely a concept that I square with. Like  I previously said, it is amazing that we are focusing in on something, but at the same time there is something that is moving or moving that we can see, but chose not to notice it.

Circle

A question that I still have, but have solved since then was the “Mind-Body Dualism.” We think that mind and body are working together, and in a lot of ways they do, but I was confused as to how they are separate. It got me thinking, and it makes me realize that sometimes people say “my heart tells me this but my head tells me this.” This makes me realize that your mind and body do in fact feel two different ways and it is how you handle the situation.

 

Freudian Defense Mechanisms

1. Patty Playground is an elementary school girl who incessantly talks about how icky and cootie-filled the boys in her class are, and she goes hysterical if they accidental bump into her. – Reaction Formation 
2. Sammy Struggles complains that the only reason he got a D in his introductory Psychology class in college was because all the As and Bs were taken by students who either cheated or whose tutors wrote their papers for them.- Rationalization 

3. Biased Belinda has two children. Unconsciously she feels as though her younger son, Stubby, is unattractive and a “wee bit slow in the noggin.”  Belinda is always complaining that her husband is mistreating Stubby in favor of their older son, Zeus.- Projection 

4. Bobby Blamer is increasingly entertaining the idea of having an affair. He has become obsessed with tracking his wife’s whereabouts and accusing her of infidelity.- Projection 

5. When Jealous Jill’s little sister is born, Jill begins to use baby-talk and often curls up in the crib.- Regression 

6. Danielle Dropout tells her grandparents that the only reason she flunked out of the local college was because the teaching was so poor.- Rationalization 

7. Dan Doolittle’s heart hasn’t been in his work for quite sometime. Dan routinely complains that his highly rated boss is lazy and disinterested.- Projection 

8. Luscious Lucy dresses provocatively and writes a blog about suggestive topics when, unconsciously Lucy feels largely asexual. –Reaction Formation 

9. Homesick Helen is really homesick during the first three weeks at a far-away college. During this time, she finds comfort sleeping with her childhood teddy bear.- Regression 

10. Molly Molly uses a lot of MDMA on weekends, and it’s pretty obvious she’s strung out. Molly’s mom argues adamantly that her little girl is an angel and would never do such a thing when confronted by a member of the local vice squad.- Denial 

11. Faced with an unconscious understanding that he no longer loved his wife, Bob Blamester tells all his coworkers that his wife is no longer interested in him.- Projection 

12. Tom Trendy is a 58 year old man with arthritis. He routinely wears Abercrombie clothes and insists on playing in local pickup basketball games even though he routinely gets burned.- Denial 

13. Sultry Sally is subconsciously sex-obsessed. She lives alone and is the author of a particularly racy collection of romance novels.- Sublimation 

14. After an argument with his wife, Adam Hatchet goes into the backyard and spends an hour using an ax to split wood for their cabin.- Displacement 

15. Liberated Libby finds herself sexually attracted to a number of random men while traveling abroad. She spends great lengths talking about how promiscuous her college roommate is. – Projection 

16. Friella Firestorm is in an aggravating marriage that has her wanting to strangle her husband. She becomes a part time chiropractor where she is recognized for her hard work and dedication.- Sublimation 

17. William Wandering has developing romantic feelings for his co-worker. He has been increasingly romantic at home with his spouse.- Displacement 

18. Sam Straight has unconscious, romantic feelings for his male ice-fishing buddies. He increasingly rants against the legalization of gay marriage.- Reaction Formation 

19. Mandy Manipulative used borderline unethical behaviors to undermine a colleague who she was competing with for a promotion at work. When Mandy is awarded the promotion, she explains that she deserved it more because her colleague was unethical – Projection 

My Personality Profile

Homework 2/21

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a very common personality assessment based off of the ideas of Carl Jung (Remember this guy with The Red Book?).  This assignment asks you to find out a little bit more about this test, take an online personality test based off of the Myers-Briggs, and evaluate how accurately this test assesses your personality.

First go to http://www.myersbriggs.org/

On the left hand side, please click on “My Personality Type.” Next, click on “MBTI Basics” and answer the following questions:

1. In your own words, describe the essence of Jung’s theory (based on info from the website).

Jung’s theory based on the website seems like perception involves everything you do and everything that you see. Everybody sees things in different ways.

2. The Myers-Briggs is interested in assessing four essential ways we interact with the world (which then translates into what we perceive as our personality); what are these axes?

Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world?

Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning?

Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency or first look at the people and special circumstances?

Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options?

 

3. Looking at the table below, what do you predict your personality type to be?

ESFP

Next, please go to: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp and take the test. You need to answer every question.  Pick the best answer, as obviously there are going to be times when “sometimes” is the ideal choice. You have to answer “yes” or “no.”

4.  What is your personality type, as confirmed by the test?

ESTP

Finally please go to http://www.personalitypage.com/portraits.html

1. Chose your personality type
2. OPTIONAL: Copy the content of the page into a Word document.
3. Read (OPTIONAL, if it is easier for you: and underline/highlight) the passages that you think are good descriptions of your personality.

I got “The Doer” and it was SO accurate!

Please see this link: the-doer

Please answer the following questions

5. Do you feel that your personality type is an accurate description of your personality?  What parts jump out at you as being particularly accurate?  Inaccurate?

I think the description of my personality was very accurate! Some of the most accurate things is that I am blunt, I live in the here and now, I look at facts of a situation quickly, and I pick up on personality cues. The thing that I did not agree with was the fact that I think school is boring. I think that sometimes I do not see the importance in something, and I am not the smartest student when it comes to school smartness, but I do work hard and I think that is where it became a little inaccurate.

Lastly, take this personality test as well: The Big 5 Personality Test: http://personality-testing.info/tests/BIG5.php

6. Look at the table below to interpret your scores. Do you find this test to be more or less accurate? Why?

The other test was more accurate for me and I liked it better because it seemed easier to understand.