Monday, April 7, 2008
Reflection: Blogging Experience
I find that this project has helped me a lot in learning the different concepts and theories put forward by some of the important psychologists. It has helped me because it has been a different learning experience compared to the normal classroom setting. The fact that we had reproduce what we learned in class and develop it will surely help me in remembering the different concepts during the final examination. Another aspect that I found helpful is that I was able to put in my own opinions and examples of my own life. This has made it easier for me to relate my experiences with theories and thus helping me to analyze myself and the reasons for my own behaviour and personality.
The fact that we had to do it in a blog form has allowed me to explore the possibilities of publishing work on the internet and have found it an interesting experience.
One challenge I faced during this project was to plan how to do everything, as a disorganized person I haven’t been able to plan how to split the project up and do it before the deadline. Thus next time we do a project I will attempt to plan everything ahead and do each part separately so that I don’t have to rush through everything a few days before the deadline.
Reflection: self-case study (psychological autobiography)
A case study is where one does an in-depth analysis of an individual.
In this self-case study I will talk about significant moments in my life.
May 12 1998 – My sister was born:
Till this date, as a child, I was used to getting all the attention from my entire family. I was the eldest daughter and grandchild. Thus I was always used to being the centre of attention wherever I was. When my sister was born I felt as though my life had turned upside down, I wasn’t the only little princess anymore. At times I remember feeling lonely, upset and slightly rejected. As the elder sister I was expected at all times to help my mother take care of my sister this made me feel awful, I desperately wanted to be the center of attention again. Although I loved my sister I wished that everything could be back to normal. At this point I started to withdraw my feelings. As my sister grew up she looked up to me and naturally wanted to become as ‘good’ as me and be able to do everything I was able to do. This naturally stirred a competitive feeling in my sister and pushed me to further withdrawal of my feelings. From the age of 8 onwards I was less attached to my parents and was determined to become independent because I felt as if I wasn’t really a part of this family anymore. However, I know that my parents tried to make sure that I didn’t feel this way by trying to give me more attention however it is quite natural to give my baby sister more because babies need more attention. As I withdrew from the family I became closer to my friends however sometimes I would feel alienated; neither was I exactly what my friends expected of me nor what my parents expected of me. The birth of my sister was very significant in my life because up to now I still observe times when I meet new people I am very quiet if I am with my family, I let my sister do all the talking. However, once I am freed from them I become as talkative as my sister.
July 5 2007 – Left my home Holland:
Although I had very good friends I always felt as though they expected something from me. There were a few friends who seemed to have given me conditional positive regard; however about a month before leaving Holland I found a group of friends (which included my best friend) whom when I was with I was able to be and act as myself and not someone else.
Leaving Holland was very significant because I felt that I left what I had been looking for all my life and I was leaving everything I knew to come to India, a country I know next to nothing about.
July 17 2007 – Entered my new school:
This was a very significant point in my life because I was suddenly thrown into a new environment, with new and different people who came from different backgrounds and views. I find that this sudden exposure to such an environment caused me to once again at times withdraw from the people around me. I’ve realised that at times I become very quiet however sometimes I feel that I can’t be myself. Perhaps due to expectations from others about how I should be. However the point is that the experience of entering a new place once again made me withdraw from the people around as I feel so different from the people.
December 4 2007 to 30th December 2007 – TTC:
The last and one of the most significant period of my life was when I took the Teacher Training Course in Yoga in Madurai, this gave me more knowledge about India and the culture. The Yoga course gave me an insight to the Yogic views on life and death, and I find that it has really changed my perception on life. For example, I learned about Karma which says that any of your actions will bring an opposite and equal action to you, whether it is in your present life or the next. It’s something like ‘what goes around comes around’. Learning about this has made me more relaxed and confident about what happens to me because I now believe it is because all is due to my own Karma. There are many more examples of how this course has transformed me; however the main point is that it has been one of the most significant events in my life because it has exposed to me to very different views on life than what I believed before.
Thus these are significant periods of my life which have moulded me into the present person I am.
In this self-case study I will talk about significant moments in my life.
May 12 1998 – My sister was born:
Till this date, as a child, I was used to getting all the attention from my entire family. I was the eldest daughter and grandchild. Thus I was always used to being the centre of attention wherever I was. When my sister was born I felt as though my life had turned upside down, I wasn’t the only little princess anymore. At times I remember feeling lonely, upset and slightly rejected. As the elder sister I was expected at all times to help my mother take care of my sister this made me feel awful, I desperately wanted to be the center of attention again. Although I loved my sister I wished that everything could be back to normal. At this point I started to withdraw my feelings. As my sister grew up she looked up to me and naturally wanted to become as ‘good’ as me and be able to do everything I was able to do. This naturally stirred a competitive feeling in my sister and pushed me to further withdrawal of my feelings. From the age of 8 onwards I was less attached to my parents and was determined to become independent because I felt as if I wasn’t really a part of this family anymore. However, I know that my parents tried to make sure that I didn’t feel this way by trying to give me more attention however it is quite natural to give my baby sister more because babies need more attention. As I withdrew from the family I became closer to my friends however sometimes I would feel alienated; neither was I exactly what my friends expected of me nor what my parents expected of me. The birth of my sister was very significant in my life because up to now I still observe times when I meet new people I am very quiet if I am with my family, I let my sister do all the talking. However, once I am freed from them I become as talkative as my sister.
July 5 2007 – Left my home Holland:
Although I had very good friends I always felt as though they expected something from me. There were a few friends who seemed to have given me conditional positive regard; however about a month before leaving Holland I found a group of friends (which included my best friend) whom when I was with I was able to be and act as myself and not someone else.
Leaving Holland was very significant because I felt that I left what I had been looking for all my life and I was leaving everything I knew to come to India, a country I know next to nothing about.
July 17 2007 – Entered my new school:
This was a very significant point in my life because I was suddenly thrown into a new environment, with new and different people who came from different backgrounds and views. I find that this sudden exposure to such an environment caused me to once again at times withdraw from the people around me. I’ve realised that at times I become very quiet however sometimes I feel that I can’t be myself. Perhaps due to expectations from others about how I should be. However the point is that the experience of entering a new place once again made me withdraw from the people around as I feel so different from the people.
December 4 2007 to 30th December 2007 – TTC:
The last and one of the most significant period of my life was when I took the Teacher Training Course in Yoga in Madurai, this gave me more knowledge about India and the culture. The Yoga course gave me an insight to the Yogic views on life and death, and I find that it has really changed my perception on life. For example, I learned about Karma which says that any of your actions will bring an opposite and equal action to you, whether it is in your present life or the next. It’s something like ‘what goes around comes around’. Learning about this has made me more relaxed and confident about what happens to me because I now believe it is because all is due to my own Karma. There are many more examples of how this course has transformed me; however the main point is that it has been one of the most significant events in my life because it has exposed to me to very different views on life than what I believed before.
Thus these are significant periods of my life which have moulded me into the present person I am.
Reflection: Phenomenological Perspectives
I am able to relate a lot to the phenomenological perspectives on personality especially the view of the humanistic perspective.
I truly feel that everyone has free will; however it is a question of using the free will. For example, I want to go back to my old school in Holland and I have the free will to do so, I can earn money and go to Holland. However I don’t find it very realistic as I would have to earn a lot of money etc. however I do have the free will to do so if I want to.
I also think that humans are intrinsically good, if provided with basic necessities I am sure that people would be good however external factors such as wealth cause people to sometimes commit crimes.
Phenomenological Perspectives on Personality
Phenomenology - “the subjective experience of individuals”.
In the phenomenological perspective there are three key concepts:
1. Phenomenology
2. Existentialism
3. Humanistic.
Historically, the perspective was founded by Wilhelm Wundt. He made people "introspect" – concentrating on and reporting on various subjective conscious experiences. However, it was viewed as lacking in scientific rigor and not having particular applications. However in the 50's and 60's there was a sense of political and personal freedom, thus there was more interest given to subjective experiences. From here Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers created the humanistic movement in psychology.
The phenomenological perspective branches into several parts and therefore no single theory or person exists to unite the three concepts. However, they are all categorized under this one perspective as they value and focus most importantly on the nature of an individual's subjective experience.
The phenomenological perspective (especially humanistic perspective) views man as being intrinsically good and self-perfecting. Human-kind is seen as being drawn towards growth, health, self-sufficiency, maturity and natural evolution towards greater beauty and more completeness. The perspective is very optimistic and focus’ on people’s potential.
In the phenomenological perspective there are three key concepts:
1. Phenomenology
2. Existentialism
3. Humanistic.
Historically, the perspective was founded by Wilhelm Wundt. He made people "introspect" – concentrating on and reporting on various subjective conscious experiences. However, it was viewed as lacking in scientific rigor and not having particular applications. However in the 50's and 60's there was a sense of political and personal freedom, thus there was more interest given to subjective experiences. From here Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers created the humanistic movement in psychology.
The phenomenological perspective branches into several parts and therefore no single theory or person exists to unite the three concepts. However, they are all categorized under this one perspective as they value and focus most importantly on the nature of an individual's subjective experience.
The phenomenological perspective (especially humanistic perspective) views man as being intrinsically good and self-perfecting. Human-kind is seen as being drawn towards growth, health, self-sufficiency, maturity and natural evolution towards greater beauty and more completeness. The perspective is very optimistic and focus’ on people’s potential.
The major themes and assumptions are:- The self is beautiful
- The everyone’s self is unique
- The self is forever changing and growing
- When provided with a nurturing external and internal environment, the self is able to grow towards the higher self naturally.
- The self has enormous potential
- Each individual is unique and views the world from their own unique perspective which relies a lot on their subjective experiences of reality.
- Free will must be used. Although people may think they don’t have the capacity to drive their life or believe that their past is so regretful that they can’t see the future. Thus when people lose sight of their free will and don’t see their own potential for change and growth is when people cannot reach their fullest potential.
Source:
Neill, James. "Introduction to Phenomenological Perspectives on Personality." Wilderdom. 14 Oct 2003. <http://wilderdom.com/personality/L10-0PhenomenologicalPerspectivesPersonality.html>.
Images:
Reflection: Roger's Positive Regard
Up until the age of 8, I was used to getting spoilt and got unconditional love from both my parents. However, around the age of 10 when I had to start actually growing up and was able to understand what my parents expected of me. Thus I began to experience conditional positive regard. If I did something good I would get appraisal however if I disappointed my parents, they would give me conditional positive regard. This was also because I had to be a good example to my younger sister. For example, if I didn’t keep my room clean I would get scolded.
Although I received conditional positive regard while growing up, now I only get unconditional positive regard from my parents. This is because they know that I usually try my best and that requires appraisal. On the other hand I still see them giving my sister conditional positive regard as she is only 8 and they want her to achieve more than or equal to what I was able to achieve at her age whether it is grades or in extra-curricular activities.
Although I received conditional positive regard while growing up, now I only get unconditional positive regard from my parents. This is because they know that I usually try my best and that requires appraisal. On the other hand I still see them giving my sister conditional positive regard as she is only 8 and they want her to achieve more than or equal to what I was able to achieve at her age whether it is grades or in extra-curricular activities.
Roger's Conditional and Unconditional Positive Regard
Roger’s sees the need for positive regard such as approval and love is universal, ideally one (both adult and child) should receive positive regard on a frequent basis. As infants grow they need positive regard: acceptance, love and approval from others. If a child doesn’t receive positive regard they may fail to develop self-actualization as the feeling of belongingness is in the third step towards it. There are two types of positive regard:o Unconditional Positive Regard – acceptance and caring given to a person as a human being, without imposing conditions on how the person behaves.
This is required in order to accept all aspects of ones own personality and it provides us with the guarantee that we are loved for being our real self and thus the
o Conditional Positive Regard – acceptance and caring given to a person only for meeting certain standards of behavior.
Rogers argues that most people grow up in atmospheres where we are provided with love, care and support in return for behaving the expected way. For example, when a child doesn’t do what her parents wanted her to do, the parents will probably withhold their love from her. As a result the child will abandon their true desires for those of their parents, in order to be accepted. This makes the child become alienated from her true self and tries to become her ideal self by doing what her parents expect of her.
Sources:
http://courses.wcupa.edu/ttreadwe/courses/02courses/theorist/rogers.ppt
Images:
Reflection: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Personally I feel that my basic life needs have been fulfilled, I live in a warm home and am able to sleep, eat and drink whenever I want to. My safety needs have also been fulfilled as I feel safe in my current home and school environment. I also get sufficient affection and care from my parents and significant others. However my esteem needs are not completely fulfilled as I don’t find that I have self-esteem. Therefore I am unable to reach the top of the pyramid to self-actualisation.
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