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PARTICIPATIVE THEORIES The main idea behind participative leadership theories is that an ideal leader takes into consideration the input of other people. In this type of leadership, participation and contributions are encouraged. This process not only makes other people feel engaged and relevant in the decision-making process, but they also feel more committed to it as well. It should be noted that in participative theories, even though there is participation from followers, it is up to the leader to give that right to other people. BEHAVIORAL THEORIES In contrast to great man theories and trait theories, behavior theories are based on the notion that a leader is not born, but made, and that leadership does not come about through mental characteristics. Instead, behavioral theories claim leadership is something that can be learned by observation and teaching. Leadership, according to behavioral theories, is a learnable behavior. TRANSFORMATIONAL THEORIES Transformational theories, which are also called relationship theories, focus on the relationship between a leader and his or her followers. According to transformational leadership theories, a leader will make followers understand the significance and benefits of a task by motivating and inspiring his or her followers. In transformational leadership, focus is not only placed on the performance of the group, but also on making sure every individual has reached his or her fullest potential. As a result, leadership that follows this type of theory also features high moral and ethical standards. TRANSACTIONAL THEORIES Transactional theories, which are also called management theories, emphasize the role of the supervisor, performance of the group, and organization. In transactional theories, leadership is based on a system made up of rewards and punishments, and expectations of followers are clearly understood. Transactional theories of leadership are commonly seen in the workplace. If an employee is successful, they will be rewarded, and if an employee fails, they will be punished or reprimanded. What does it take to make a great leader? Is it something you are born with? Is it just based on the particular situation at hand? Does listening to the input of others make you any better? Is good leadership a learned behavior? Perhaps it occurs by making the followers understand what it takes to reach their highest potential, or maybe a good leader is born out of creating a system of rewards and punishments. Understanding leadership theories and how others respond to forms of leadership can have very real applications in the world. But how does one make a great leader? To put it simply: many different ways. DREAMS What goes on when the lights are off In psychology, dreams are defined as any thoughts, images, or emotions that a person experiences while asleep. Psychologists have yet to agree on why we dream and what these dreams mean, but there are several significant theories. The “Science” of Sleep Believe it or not, scientists still don’t know the reason or purpose for sleeping in the first case! FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF DREAMS Sigmund Freud believed that the contents of our dreams were associated with wish fulfillment, and that our dreams represented the thoughts, motivations, and desires of our unconscious. Furthermore, Freud believed that the sexual instincts that the conscious represses appear in our dreams. In Freud’s book, The Interpretation of Dreams , Freud broke dreams down into two components: Manifest content —The actual thoughts, content, and images in the dream Latent content —The psychological meaning in the dream that is hidden To understand the meaning behind dreams, Freud broke dreams down into five distinct parts: Displacement: When a desire for something is represented by something or someone else Projection: When the wants and desires of the dreamer are pushed onto another person in the dream Symbolization: When the urges and desires that are suppressed are metaphorically acted out in the dream Condensation: When a lot of information is compressed into one image or thought, making meaning difficult to decipher Secondary Revision: The final stage of dreaming, where the incoherent elements become reorganized into a comprehensible dream While research has refuted Freud’s theory of the latent content being disguised by the manifest content, the work of Sigmund Freud contributed greatly to interest in the field of dream interpretation. CARL JUNG’S THEORY ON DREAMS While Jung believed in much of what Freud did when it came to dreams, Jung thought dreams were not just an expression of repressed desires, but that they also compensated for those parts of the psyche that were underdeveloped during waking life. Jung also believed dreams revealed the collective unconscious and personal unconscious, and featured archetypes that were representative of unconscious thoughts. THE ACTIVATION-SYNTHESIS MODEL OF DREAMING In 1977, Robert McCarley and J. Allan Hobson created the activation-synthesis model, in which they proposed that dreams were caused by the physiological processes of the brain. According to the activation-synthesis model, during the final stage of the sleep cycle known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, circuits within the brain stem activate, which in turn activates parts of the limbic system that play a key role in memory, sensation, and emotion. The brain then attempts to produce meaning from this internal activity, resulting in dreams. When the activation-synthesis model came out, it was met with controversy within the field of psychology, and particularly among those who followed Freud’s teachings. While many psychologists were attempting to find the hidden meaning behind dreams, the activation-synthesis model proposed that these dreams were simply the product of the brain trying to process brain activity. Hobson did not think dreams were utterly meaningless, however, and claimed instead that dreams were the “most creative conscious state,” where new ideas, both fanciful and useful, are formed. HALL’S THEORY ON DREAMS Psychologist Calvin S. Hall claimed the goal of dream interpretation was to understand the individual doing the dreaming, and not to simply understand the dream itself. Hall claimed that properly interpreting dreams required understanding several items: The actions the dreamer partakes in within the dream Any figures or objects that appear in the dream All of the interactions that occur between the dreamer and characters within the dream The setting of the dream Any transitions that occur within the dream The outcome of the dream DOMHOFF’S THEORY ON DREAMS G. William Domhoff studied under Calvin Hall, and came to the conclusion that dreams are actually reflections of any thoughts or concerns that occur during the waking life of the individual dreaming. According to Domhoff’s theory, dreams are the result of neurological processes. COMMON THEMES FOUND IN DREAMS The following are ten of the most common themes people experience while dreaming, as well as the possible meanings of these themes according to Freudian theory. 1. Taking a test that you are not prepared for: This type of dream does not only pertain to an academic test, and will usually be specific to the dreamer. For example, an actor might dream about not remembering their audition or not being able to recognize the words on a script. This type of dream deals with the feeling of being exposed, and the test might symbolize being judged or evaluated by someone else. 2. Being naked or inappropriately dressed in public: This type of dream relates to feelings of shame or vulnerability. 3. Being chased or attacked: This type of dream is much more common in children, whose dreams tend to focus on more physical rather than social fears. Additionally, their size can often make them feel as though they are more physically vulnerable. In adults, this type of dream can be a sign of being under stress. 4. Falling: Falling can represent feelings of being extremely overwhelmed with your current situation and having a loss of control. 5. Being lost in transit: This often represents feeling lost, or trying to get something or find your path and being unsure of how to do it. 6. Losing a tooth: This can represent feeling unheard or unseen in a personal relationship, or feelings of aggression. 7. Natural disasters: This can signify feeling so overwhelmed by personal problems that it seems they are raging out of control. 8. Flying: This can represent a desire to escape or be free from a situation. 9. Dying or being injured: This can represent something in the dreamer’s everyday life that no longer thrives or is wilting away, like a personal relationship or personal attribute, and does not necessarily mean or imply true thoughts of death. 10. Losing control of a car: This type of dream can result from feelings of stress and fear, and of not feeling in control of everyday life. While psychologists still do not fully understand dreams, their interpretation plays a key role in modern psychology. From Freud’s prominently used interpretation of dream analysis, which suggests dreams are connected to our unconscious and represent repressed desires, to the work of G. William Domhoff, who believed dreams were merely a result of neurological processes, understanding why dreams occur and the various details and possible meanings behind them remains a very important part of psychology. ART THERAPY The art of getting better Art is an extremely expressive medium. It can help people communicate, aid in dealing with stress, and can let someone discover and study the different parts of their own personality. In psychology, art is used to improve a person’s mental health and can even be used to treat psychological disorders. This is referred to as art therapy. By integrating the creative process that is required to create art with psychotherapeutic techniques, art therapy can allow an individual to resolve their problems, decrease the amount of stress they face in their life, manage their behavior, improve their interpersonal skills, and strengthen their self-awareness and self- control. Art therapy first began to emerge as a distinct form of therapy in the 1940s, when psychiatrists took interest in the paintings created by mentally ill patients and educators began to realize that developmental, cognitive, and emotional growth could be seen in the artwork of children. WHEN TO USE ART THERAPY There are groups of people who have been shown to respond very positively to art therapy. Some of these groups include: Adults that are struggling with severe stress Children that are struggling with learning disabilities People who have undergone a traumatic experience People that have mental health problems People that are struggling from a brain injury Children that are struggling with social problems and behavioral problems at home or at school Anyone suffering from depression, anxiety, or domestic abuse What Art Therapy Isn’t Art therapy is not a recreational activity or a time to teach someone how to make art, and no previous experience in art is needed for an individual to partake in this type of therapy. Most importantly, art therapy does not involve the therapist interpreting the patient’s artwork. Art therapy is about teaching someone how to heal through his or her art. HOW ART THERAPY WORKS Art methods involved in art therapy include painting, drawing, collage, and sculpture. Once in an environment that makes the patient feel safe, an art therapist will either provide the topic for the patient to work from, or the patient will be invited to work without any direction. As the patient creates art pertaining to their life experiences or an event, the process of making art allows the patient to think about their experience on a deeper level and transform what is in their head into symbols and metaphors. By making these unique symbols and metaphors, the patient is able to now define these images on their own terms, which is an important part of recovery and self- discovery. The patient is the only person who knows and has the ability to explain what these symbols represent. This process of taking an experience from the person’s “inner-self” and putting it out into the world as a physical object helps the individual become distant to the experience, which in turn makes him or her feel safer about talking about what he or she has made. So instead of having to speak about their problems directly, which can be very difficult for them to do, they can talk to the therapist about the artwork they have made. Gradually, this process increases a person’s understanding, self-acceptance, and self-awareness. OTHER BENEFITS FROM ART THERAPY Along with increasing self-awareness and self-acceptance, there are many other benefits that an individual can gain from art therapy. These include: Being forced to actively participate in the process, which fights boredom, alienation, and feelings of apathy Decision-making and choices are encouraged Creativity is nurtured, and this can then allow an individual to react differently towards situations that may be difficult Catharsis, a cleansing of negative feelings, can occur Interpersonal and social learning can occur Not Just Painting There are also versions of art therapy in music, dance, writing, drama (known as creative art therapy), and even the performing arts (known as expressive art therapy). What is truly exceptional about art therapy is that an individual has the ability to take an active role in the therapeutic process. By expressing thoughts through artwork and symbols, a person can recover and become self-aware on his or her own terms. HYPNOSIS It’s not smoke and mirrors In psychology, hypnosis is a technique used during therapy that involves a patient going into a very deep state of relaxation so that the individual can really begin to concentrate on his or her mind. During this state, connections between what the individual is thinking, feeling, and doing become clearer. While hypnosis is often portrayed negatively in the media, it has actually been clinically proven to provide not only therapeutic benefits, but medical benefits as well. The method is particularly effective when it comes to reduction of anxiety and pain, and some even believe that it can be useful in reducing symptoms related to dementia. Most of the time, hypnosis is used as an aid to the therapeutic process, and is not the treatment itself. HOW HYPNOSIS WORKS Hypnosis provides care and treatment by altering and reprogramming an individual’s subconscious mind. When placed under hypnosis, the conscious mind of an individual is subdued, while the subconscious mind is awakened. In order for there to be any real change in the person’s life, many psychologists believe that the subconscious mind, not merely the conscious mind, needs to change. Because the subconscious mind is more present during hypnosis than the conscious mind, thoughts, feelings, and memories that were once hidden can be explored. For example, if a person wants to quit smoking, he or she may do everything in his or her power on a conscious level to try and stop, but there may still be a desire from the subconscious mind that contributes to failed attempts at quitting. By understanding, changing, and reprogramming the subconscious mind, the individual may finally be able to succeed because the subconscious mind has been altered. When being hypnotized, a patient is not put into a deep sleep and cannot be forced to do anything against their better judgment or something they wouldn’t otherwise do; nor does a patient have to follow every command that the therapist says. Instead, the person being hypnotized is constantly aware of his or her environment and situation. Two Methods of Hypnotic Therapy PATIENT ANALYSIS: Using hypnosis to find the underlying cause of a symptom or disorder, such as a past trauma or event, that is hidden in the unconscious mind. Once revealed, the problem can be further attended to in psychotherapy. SUGGESTION THERAPY: Once hypnotized, a person will be able to change a specific behavior, like smoking or nail-biting, because they will respond to suggestions better. This technique can also be used to alter sensations and perceptions, and is frequently used in pain management. WHAT CAN BE TREATED WITH HYPNOSIS Because hypnosis can help a person deal with anything they find hard to handle, there are many mental, emotional, and physical conditions that hypnosis can help treat. Common conditions that hypnosis is used for include: Phobias Stress and anxiety Panic attacks Grief Eating disorders Sleep disorders Depression Addiction Weight loss Smoking cessation Symptoms of ADHD Reducing pain during childbirth Sexual problems Reducing nausea and vomiting in patients that suffer from cancer and are undergoing chemotherapy Easing symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome ALBERT ELLIS (1913–2007) Founder of a new type of psychotherapy Albert Ellis was born on September 27th, 1913, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ellis described his relationship with his parents as distant, and his mother struggled with bipolar disorder. As a result, Ellis cared for and raised his younger brother and sister. In 1934, Ellis graduated from the City University of New York and began writing about sexuality when he first took an interest in psychology. From there, Ellis attended Columbia University, where he would receive both his MA in clinical psychology (1943) and his PhD (1947). Ellis was originally a strong proponent of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis. However, the works of Karen Horney, Alfred Adler, and Erich Fromm had a great influence on Ellis, and soon he began questioning, and ultimately severing ties with, Freud’s work. Instead of following Freud’s concepts, Ellis created his own form of psychotherapy, which he named Rational Therapy—this would later be referred to as Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). This therapy is commonly seen as the beginning of cognitive behavioral therapy. In 1959, Ellis founded the Institute for Rational Living. Ellis was extremely active during the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and was an outspoken atheist. It was only after working on REBT with numerous religious practitioners that Ellis could finally see the psychological benefits that a belief in a higher being could bring to people. While he never stopped being an atheist, his outspokenness diminished, and Ellis came to the conclusion that having the choice could allow for the highest psychological result. While much of Ellis’s early work was met with criticism, in the last half of his life he received great praise as cognitive behavioral therapies were increasingly recognized as effective methods of treatment. Today, Albert Ellis is considered to be one of the most important people in the field of psychology. Albert Ellis died on July 24th, 2007. THE ABC MODEL In Albert Ellis’ concept of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, he believed that events occur every day that prompt a person to observe and interpret what is going on. These interpretations then turn into particular beliefs that the person will form concerning the event. These beliefs will also include the person’s role in the event. Once a belief has been developed, an emotional consequence is experienced as a result of that belief. Here is a helpful visual illustration of this concept: ACTIVATING EVENTS AND EMOTIONAL CONSEQUENCES 1. A: Your superior falsely accuses you of stealing from him and threatens to have you fired 2. B: You react, “How dare he? He has no reason to accuse me!” 3. C: You feel mad Ellis’s ABC attempts to show that event B is what causes event C to occur, and that it is not A that directly causes C. You are not mad because you have been falsely accused and threatened to lose your job; you are mad because of the belief that occurs in B. Doctoral Definitions Cognitive behavioral therapy: A type of psychotherapy where an individual works with a psychotherapist for a limited amount of sessions, and in a very structured way, so that the individual can begin to understand what feelings and thoughts influence their behavior. THE THREE BASIC MUSTS Ellis claims that there are three upsetting, irrational beliefs that we all share, no matter how different our expressions may be. Within each belief, there is a demand, which may either be about yourself, about other people, or about the world. These three common beliefs are referred to as the three basic musts. 1. A person must do well and win the approval of other people for his or her actions or else that individual is no good. 2. Others must treat you kindly, fairly, and thoughtfully, and in the precise way you want to be treated. If that does not happen, then those other people are no good and deserve punishment or condemnation. 3. A person must get what they want, when they want it, and they must not get something they do not want. If a person does not get what they want, then it is awful and they can’t stand it. The first belief will often lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt, and embarrassment. The second belief will often lead to feelings of passive-aggression, anger, and violence. The third belief will often lead to procrastination and feelings of pity for oneself. While beliefs that are flexible and not demanding can result in healthy behavior and emotion, when these beliefs are demanding, problems and neuroses can begin to arise. THE ROLE OF DISPUTING The main idea behind Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is to help turn the patient’s beliefs that are irrational into beliefs that are rational. This is done by having the therapist dispute the irrational beliefs of the patient. For example, a therapist might ask their client, “Why must others treat you kindly?” As the patient attempts to answer this question, they will slowly come to the realization that there is no rational reason for why these beliefs must occur. THE THREE INSIGHTS Ellis believed that everyone has the tendency to think irrationally, but the frequency, length, and intensity can be reduced with the use of three insights: 1. People do not simply get upset, but will become so as a result of having inflexible beliefs. 2. No matter what the reason is for getting upset, people continue to feel that way because they don’t let go of their irrational beliefs. 3. The only way one can improve is by working hard to change these beliefs. This takes a lot of practice. ACCEPTANCE OF REALITY For a person to be emotionally healthy, they must accept reality, even if this reality is unpleasant. In REBT, therapists try to help a person reach three different types of acceptance: 1. Unconditional self-acceptance: An individual has to accept that they are fallible, there is no reason for not having flaws, and they are no more or less worthy than anyone else. 2. Unconditional other-acceptance: An individual has to accept that he or she will be treated unfairly by other people sometimes, that there is no reason that other people have to treat him or her with fairness, and that people who treat him or her unfairly are no more or less worthy than anyone else. 3. Unconditional life-acceptance: An individual has to accept that life does not always work out the way they had hoped it would, that there is no reason for life to go the way they hoped it should, and that life, while it may be unpleasant at times, is never fully awful and is bearable. Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is currently one of the most popular forms of therapy today, and paved the way for all types of cognitive behavioral therapy. COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY Becoming aware of negative behavior Cognitive behavioral therapy, which is commonly used to treat disorders like depression, phobias, anxiety, and addiction, is a form of psychotherapeutic treatment that focuses on changing negative behavior by altering the influential thoughts and feelings an individual has. In cognitive behavioral therapy, it is believed that thoughts and feelings actually influence and reinforce the behavior of a person. For example, according to cognitive behavioral therapy, if a person is constantly thinking about car accidents, this will influence his or her behavior and he or she may avoid ever getting into a car or driving. If someone thinks negatively about their self-image and abilities, he or she will have a low self-esteem and, as a result, he or she may avoid social situations or miss out on opportunities. By changing the thought patterns of an individual, his or her behavior will also change. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on helping an individual with a very specific problem that he or she is suffering from; and for this reason, it is often a short-term process. With cognitive behavioral therapy, the individual will begin to learn that while he or she may not be able to control everything that goes on he or she does in the outside world, he or she does have the ability to control how to approach and interpret things happening in his or her own environment. THE STAGES OF COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY Cognitive behavioral therapy can be broken down into two stages. The first stage of cognitive behavioral therapy is known as functional analysis. During this stage, a cognitive behavior therapist helps the individual identify which of his or her beliefs are problematic. It is at this time that the therapist understands what situations, feelings, and thoughts contribute to the individual’s maladaptive behavior. While this stage may be difficult for a patient, the resulting insight and self-discovery is crucial to the process. The second stage of cognitive behavioral therapy is dedicated to the specific behaviors. During this stage, an individual will begin to learn and rehearse new skills that he or she can then apply to the real world. This is usually a gradual process where an individual progressively works towards his or her goal. As each new step is introduced, the main goal will seem less daunting and more achievable. MULTIMODAL THERAPY A common form of cognitive behavioral therapy (other than the previously mentioned Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy) is Arnold Lazarus’s Multimodal Therapy, which incorporates all of the characteristics of personality into the therapy, instead of simply concentrating on one or two elements. Lazarus’s Multimodal Therapy was built on the premise that all people are biological beings that experience certain modalities. These modalities are the ability to experience emotions, imagine, think, feel, smell, act, and relate to other people. LAZARUS’S CONCEPTION OF MODALITIES Lazarus listed these modalities under the acronym “BASIC I.D.” Behavior Affective reactions or emotions Sensory reactions, like hearing, touching, seeing, smelling, and tasting Imagery, including self-image, thinking in images, and others Cognition, including beliefs, opinions, attitudes, thinking with words, and more Interpersonal, or how people communicate with other people Drugs and biology, including medications, health, exercise, sleep, diet, and more The specific treatment in multimodal therapy is unique to every patient. Prior to starting therapy, an individual will complete a consultation that helps the therapist understand which modalities are being neglected and which are being prioritized by the individual. Therapy will then begin by focusing on the modality that will be the most beneficial to the patient. Eventually, however, there will be interventions with all of the modalities. Doctoral Definitions BRIDGING: Before the therapist can explore other modalities that may be more productive, they must first relate with the preferred modality of the individual. TRACKING: Understanding, evaluating, and prioritizing the “firing order” of the modalities for the patient. People will usually react to situations in a pattern, and this is especially true if the situations are similar. Understanding what the patient’s particular pattern is will be crucial for the treatment to be beneficial. Multimodal therapy is also particularly noteworthy because it exhibits technical eclecticism, meaning a therapist can use a variety of techniques and psychotherapeutic approaches, and are not restricted to particular theoretical bases. COGNITIVE THERAPY Created by psychologist Aaron Beck in the 1960s, cognitive therapy is another popular form of cognitive behavioral therapy. In cognitive therapy, it is believed that information is constantly being filtered and interpreted, and that this process leads to errors, false beliefs, and negative emotions. There are ten recognized patterns of faulty thinking, and these are referred to as cognitive distortions. In order to change the way you behave, you have to first change your thought processes, which can be done by understanding and fixing the cognitive distortions that apply to you. The ten cognitive distortions are: 1. Overgeneralization: Using an isolated situation and broadly assuming all others are the same way. 2. Disqualifying the positive: Acting as if events that are positive do not count. 3. All-or-nothing thinking: Only thinking in terms of absolutes and not recognizing there can be middle ground. 4. Emotional reasoning: Instead of looking at a situation objectively by studying the facts, a person lets his or her emotions govern his or her thoughts on the situation. 5. Jumping to conclusions: Assuming the worst even when there is not sufficient evidence to back that claim. 6. Magnification and Minimization: Downplaying events that are positive, and paying a significant amount of attention to events that are negative. 7. Mental filter: Overlooking any positive events that occur in life, and mentally singling out the bad events. 8. Should statements: Instead of attempting to deal with how things currently are, one focuses on how things should be. 9. Personalization: Blaming oneself for things that are not within one’s control. 10. Labeling and Mislabeling: Giving false and cruel labels to other people and to oneself. According to cognitive behavior therapy, one must change a negative thought process in order to change a negative behavior. Through approaches like Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, cognitive therapy, and Multimodal Therapy, patients can come to understand and fight their negative thinking patterns, and then learn new skills necessary to combat the negative behavior. HEURISTICS Making decisions Heuristics are the quick mental strategies that people use to solve problems. These are often referred to as “rule of thumb” strategies, and they allow for a person to make a fast and efficient decision without having to stop and deliberate over what the next course of action will be. Even though heuristics are oftentimes very helpful, they can also lead to errors, which are referred to as biases. In 1974, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky identified what they considered to be the three major forms of heuristics, a designation that we still apply to this day. AVAILABILITY HEURISTICS Availability heuristics help people judge the probability or likelihood of an event occurring by using examples based on what they can remember. This can often lead to biases because instead of relying on complete data to make a judgment about likelihood, a person relies solely on his or her memories. Scientists believe that events that are recalled easily and quickly are often the most recent. For example, if an individual watches the news and sees several stories about home foreclosures, he or she may believe that in general, there is a high probability of home foreclosure occurring; or if an individual can quickly provide examples of friends that are getting divorced, he or she may claim the divorce rate is higher, regardless of what actual statistics might say. The availability heuristic can also make people overestimate the likelihood of events that are improbable—they may worry about flying after seeing an article on a recent plane crash. Conversely, they might underestimate the likelihood of other events that are probable—for example, people may feel that their likelihood of getting an STD from unprotected sex is low because their friends have had unprotected sex and don’t have an STD, even though they are actually at high risk. ANCHORING AND ADJUSTMENT Anchoring and adjustment heuristics are based on the notion that people will often base their decisions or estimates on “anchors,” or reference points. These anchors are pieces of information that are retrieved from the memory of the person, and they are adjusted in an attempt to fit the criteria of the decision. For example, you are asked the following: Is the Mississippi River greater or less than 2,000 miles? Is it greater or less than 5,000 miles? By answering the first part of the question, you have been provided an anchor by which to answer the other question; and as a result, you will base your second answer off of this anchor. REPRESENTATIVENESS HEURISTICS The representativeness heuristic describes how people will often determine the probability of an event or outcome by looking for a known event that they can compare it to, and then assuming that the probabilities will be the same. In the representativeness heuristic, the largest mistake is the assumption that a similarity in one thing will result in similarities in other things. For example, if a person sees a man with arms covered in tattoos wearing a leather jacket, the person may use the representativeness heuristic and assume that this man is more likely to drive a motorcycle. The person believes this man is representative of what a motorcycle driver is, and groups the man into this category. The representativeness heuristic can also be used to explain “gambler’s fallacy,” where people incorrectly assume that they have the ability to predict random events or a winning streak or losing streak based on previous information, even though the probability of the event occurring is the same. For example, if a coin is tossed several times, always lands heads-up, and a person claims that the next toss will surely land tails-up because it has landed heads-up too many times, they have completely disregarded the fact that there is a 50 percent chance it could land either way. The representativeness heuristic also makes people ignore base rates, the frequency of an event occurring. HARRY STACK SULLIVAN (1892–1949) Interpersonal psychoanalysis Harry Stack Sullivan was born on February 21st, 1892, in Norwich, New York. The son of Irish immigrants, Sullivan grew up in a town with anti-Catholic sentiments, which left Sullivan feeling isolated socially—a situation that would later lead to the development of the concept of “social isolation” in his work. In 1917, Sullivan earned his MD from the Chicago College of Medicine and Surgery. Sullivan is most known for his work in interpersonal relationships, and loneliness among those suffering from mental illnesses, his work with people suffering from schizophrenia, and his modifications to the work of Sigmund Freud. While Sullivan believed in Freud’s main tenets, his approach towards psychoanalysis began to drift away from Freud’s—most significantly, from Freud’s concept of psychosexual development. From 1925 to 1929, Harry Stack Sullivan worked extensively with schizophrenics without the use of any medication and had great success. Sullivan claimed that the condition was not incurable, and that schizophrenia was largely the result of cultural forces. All of the men involved in this study were gay, which was perhaps particularly noteworthy for Sullivan, who many believe lived his entire life as a closeted gay man. Indeed, one of the patients from this study would later become Sullivan’s lover and move in with him, though the gentleman was always referred to as his adopted son. In 1933 and 1936, Sullivan helped found the William Alanson White Psychiatric Foundation and the Washington School of Psychiatry, respectively. Following World War II, Sullivan helped found the World Federation for Mental Health; and in 1938, he founded and became the editor of the journal, Psychiatry . On January 14th, 1949, Harry Stack Sullivan died. He was fifty-six years old. Sullivan’s work in personality and psychotherapeutic techniques continues to influence the world of psychology. HARRY STACK SULLIVAN’S INTERPERSONAL THEORY While he lived a life largely in isolation, Harry Stack Sullivan understood the significance that interpersonal relations could have on an individual. Sullivan believed that personality was primarily the result of the relationships people have with one another. Sullivan viewed personality as a system of energy, comprised of either actual actions, which he called energy transformations, or the potential for actions, which he called tension. Sullivan identified two types of tensions: needs and anxiety. Needs In order to reduce needs, a certain action is required. Needs are related to particular zones of a person, like the genitals or mouth, or the general well-being of an individual. Needs are either physiological, like the need for food and oxygen, or interpersonal, like the need for intimacy and tenderness. Anxiety Anxiety cannot be relieved by consistent actions. This, Sullivan claimed, is the main force of disruption for interpersonal relationships. If anxiety and tensions are completely absent from an individual, then that individual is experiencing euphoria. DYNAMISMS Sullivan referred to a standard pattern of behavior as a dynamism, and believed that dynamisms could relate to tensions or to particular zones of the body. Sullivan identified four dynamisms: Intimacy: A close personal relationship amongst two individuals who are equal in status. This decreases loneliness and anxiety, and encourages interpersonal development. Lust: This is a self-centered desire that can be fulfilled without an intimate interpersonal relationship. Lust is a dynamism based entirely on sexual gratification, and does not necessarily require another individual for this need to be satisfied. Malevolence: Hatred, evil, and the feeling that you are living among your enemies define this dynamism. Children that are malevolent will have difficulty with intimacy and the ability to give and receive tenderness. Self-System: This is a pattern of behaviors that maintain an individual’s interpersonal security and protect an individual from anxiety. This type of dynamism will commonly suppress any change in personality. If our self-system experiences anything inconsistent, security operations (psychological actions with the purpose of reducing interpersonal tensions) become necessary. Security operations include things like dissociation, where an individual will block experiences from his or her awareness, and selective inattention, where an individual will block specific experiences from his or her awareness. PERSONIFICATIONS According to Harry Stack Sullivan, people develop personifications of themselves through interactions with other people. These personifications are: Bad-Me: These are aspects of one’s self that are hidden from the rest of the world, and possibly one’s self, because they are considered to be negative. Often, when we experience anxiety, it is because the bad-me is being recognized by the consciousness. For example, when a person recalls an action that resulted in embarrassment. Good-Me: This is everything that an individual enjoys about him or herself. The good-me does not create anxiety, is shared with other people, and as a result, is oftentimes what an individual will choose to focus on. Not-Me: This is all of the things that create such anxiety that they are actually pushed into the unconsciousness so as to be kept out of our awareness. Much like Sigmund Freud, Harry Stack Sullivan believed childhood experiences and the role of the mother play a key role in the development of an individual’s personality. However, unlike Freud, Sullivan believed that personality can develop after adolescence and into adulthood. Sullivan referred to his developmental stages as “epochs,” and believed that people pass through these epochs in a Yüklə 1,8 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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