Essay Sample on Self-Image

Introduction

Example of how repression, reaction formation, projection, rationalization, displacement, and denial could each be used to protect or even enhance a positive self-image.

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Denial is the subconscious or the conscious means by which people blind themselves to certain behavioral traits that they have or believe they possess. These people close their eyes to a negative self- a concept about others, places, or other things they find too severe to deal with. An example would be when a parent pretends that an alcoholic son is going through a hard time or they are probably sick but in a real sense, he is incapable of controlling his alcohol intake. The faith these parents have on the son, or the possible expectations the society have for him cause them to paint an image that protects both the son and the parents.

Displacement is usually the expression of feeling to a substitute target because they are reluctant to express it to the real target. This feeling expressed on the substitute target stream from the negative self- concepts about the real target and the person expressing in relation to the target. Crooked anger or dumping are examples one lets out their frustration and negative self- concept about another person and their relation to this particular person to a safer target who are either below you in position at work, a child by a parent or dependent in financial support.

Projection is the attribution to others of one's own negative self- concepts. For example, when a wife is mad or frustrated at a husband, they may claim that the husband is mad and frustrated. Inferiority complex leads people to attack others in faith that they have negative feeling others and release these feelings on them.

Rationalization the process of a person defending their behaviors and intentions and why they do not need to be judged negatively. This may take the form of justification of a misdeed or mistake with circumstantial reasons.

Reaction formation, on the other hand, is the developing conscious positive self- concepts basically used to cover the negative and opposite self- concepts. A wife who really hates her husband may go out of her way to show and do so much for him to be perceived as a loving wife while she is not. It could also be seen in a person with speech impediments learning in school to be a public announcer to believe through others that they can speak well.

The role of brain structures, neurochemistry, and genetics in the development of personality and what has influenced my personality most.

Personality traits are the continuous patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that cause the inclination to respond in certain ways when put in particular circumstances. Research has proved that personality traits are moderately heritable. It further suggests that hereditable variations in personalities like neuroticism would share a common genetic basis with psychiatric diseases. Most people will find that they have personality traits that fall under the following personality traits including introversion, extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, neuroticism among others.

Researchers have tried to define how much of the personality traits are influenced by genetic structures. A study that was done on twins who were both identical and fraternal, living either together or apart, proved that personality traits are largely influenced by genetics. The identical twins were realized to have similar personalities despite the fact that they were raised in separate places. This does not mean that other factors do not influence personalities.

People who are high in extraversion are believed to have long forms of genes DRD4. This gene dictates how a person produces dopamine. These people are believed to produce higher levels of dopamine when exposed to positive experiences. People high in conscientiousness been found to have frontal gyrus in the left lateral prefrontal cortex part of the brain. This kind of people is believed to be active in planning and making plans. Those who are high in neuroticism carry long forms of serotonin Transport Gene. This kind of people is believed to have a hard time regulating their emotions after a bad event.

According to the attribution theory the explanation we create for our behavior and the behaviors of others generally fall into categories. Describe these two categories and the key concepts in attribution theory such as the fundamental attribution error

Attribution theory describes reasons why people behave the way they do and what causes these specific ways of behavior in different people (Dweck, 2013). It deals with how a person perceiving uses the information to get a casual conclusion for events. It studies the information gathered and how it is put together to come to a particular conclusion. It is why and how ordinary people come up with the various explanation to events as they do. The major categories of attribution theory that seek to find the reason for failure or success they are; internal and external, stable and unstable. Fundamental attribution is the tendency of a person trying to describe another person's behavior based on internal factors such as personality, disposition, not taking into consideration the external factors like the institution influence. This is also known as the dispositional attributes it usually attributes the cause of behavior as concerned with the internal attributes of an individual.

Internal attribution provides us with information from which we are able to make predictions about a person's future behavior depending on the situation at hand. The correspondent inference is used to refer to an occasion when an observer infers that a person's behavior matches or corresponded with a certain person's trait which is led by five reasons (Dweck, 2013). Choice, when a behavior is spontaneously selected it, is believed to originate from an internal force. Accidental behavior is believed to be as a result of a situation or a circumstance. Other behaviors are directed by social perception. When a certain trait is viewed to have a law perception in the society, people tend to avoid it by all means.

The situational attribution assigns the cause of behavior to situations and events which lie outside a person's control, unlike the internal ones. This factors such as situational or environment features

Nineteen-year-old Letitia reported although I was not at all sure that I really loved my boyfriend he coaxed me into sleeping with him. After that, I convinced myself that I did really love him use your understanding of cognitive dissonance theory to explain why Laetitia developed such positive feeling for a boyfriend. What could she in future to ensure that her sexual behaviors are guided by her own true attitudes and desires.

According to dissonance theory, people seek consistency in their cognition. Whenever there arises a conflict between attitudes and behaviors (dissonance) something must change to bring harmony. In most cases when a discrepancy arises between attitude and behavior, possibly the attitude will change to accommodate the behavior. Aspects that reinforce dissonance are; the number of dissonance belief and the importance attached to each belief.

Since dissonance results when an individual has to choose between attitudes and behaviors that are contradictory, Latitia who is in a dissonance faces the dilemma of choosing between her attitude towards her husband and her behavior which resulted in the situation she is in. she does not feel comfortable being with someone she feels no love for, but she also agreed to have sex with him a decision that was not in harmony with her feeling. She, therefore, convinced herself that the feeling will develop with time (Dweck, 2013).

This kind of conflicts is disregarded by decreasing the significance attached to particular beliefs and acquiring new beliefs that alter the balance eliminating the conflicting attitude or behavior. Laetitia belief that she has to remain in the relationship due to her behavior, should be reduced and the significance of the feeling of love that she anticipates. This way she will move on, make better decisions based on her true feelings and attitudes.

Andrea is furious because her steady boyfriend spent half and an hour her talking to his former girlfriend at last night school dance. A friend suggests that Andrea ought to get the anger out of her system by repeatedly pounding pillow while she imagined that she is hitting her boyfriend. Explain why this might be ineffective for her and what she should do.

There is a common belief among people that anger negative emotions build up with time once a bad situation has occurred and that these feelings have to be let out by either punching on a bag. Sigmund Freud believed that this kind of an act helped relieve anger feeling. Hundreds of years later a research was done by Brad Bushman found no supporting evidence in this situation making it untrue. They actually proved that the opposite was true. That has people hit the pillow in a bid to release anger the more aggressive they became. When a person responds well in a crisis, they increase their effectiveness in the world, however losing self- control we earn a hostile and aggressive reputation and loose relationships more.

Better ways to deal with such emotions is taking a careful look at these situations and the people involved. The feelings we get always communicate something that is well understood help us understand ourselves better and why we react the way we do.

Relax. Instead of acting aggressively, relaxing while angry helps a person to earn more respect as well as act in a sober way. Controlling temper is always a good way to deal with anger and earn respect. Taking a walk in the other person's shoes will make the angry person understand the position of the other person and probably understand why they behaved the way they did.

Late in 2004, a black box warning for all antidepressants was required. What does this mean? What does the research say regarding this evidence?

In the year 2004, the Food and Drug Administration issued a black box warning that antidepressants were causing increased suicidal thought, behaviors and feeling among young people. This meant that people suffering depression would stop seeking medical attention while doctors would be discouraged from prescribing the medicine. Few years down the line, in 2007 an extension of the warning stated that depression itself was associated with risks of suicidal attempts.

The warning provoked wide research to examine the situation and further findings have proved that the earlier statement might be wrong. Since the issue in 2004, research has shown that antidepressants usage had steadily reduced from 31.0%, 24.3% and 14.5% among the adolescents, the youths and adults respectively. Diagnosis of the same also reduced among all age groups. Statistically speaking a disturbing finding has been noted that over this period of time, there has been a significant increase in psychotropic drug poisoning.

References

Dweck, S. C. (2013). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. London: Psychology Press.