Instructions:
· Each reply post is expected to be at least 150 words
· Include at least one peer-reviewed article into each reply post and provide APA in-text citations and references for all of your sources
PEER 1:
Renée Catanzaro
Ms. Callsenck is a recently married, middle-aged Caucasian woman. She was raised as an only child by her at-home mom and blue-collar father in a home with Christian values within a middle-class, suburban neighborhood. Hard work and helping others were values her parents instilled in her. Due to her introverted personality as a child, she did not form strong friendships but rather invested her energies in tending to her animals and later focused on excelling in her schooling and becoming a veterinarian.
Utilizing Allport’s motivation and personality concepts theory for this week’s case conceptualization of Ms. Callsenck, it is important to understand that Allport believed that an individual’s personality is based on both heredity and environment. Conscious plans and intentions, or one’s cognitive processes are vital to personality and are very unique to the individual. According to Schultz & Schultz (2017), Allport further believed that one’s personality development is discrete from childhood to adulthood; an individual consciously focuses on the present and future as opposed to one’s past. Therefore, adult behavior is based on one’s current state of motivation. Focusing on Ms. Callsenck current state and present situation, she has reported that she is happily married to a Hispanic man originally from Central America. Cultural differences have recently caused her great levels of stress as she was raised in an individualist environment and her husband and his support system are from a collective environment. The conflict is arising due to her cardinal trait of introversion, which outweighs her central traits of wanting to be agreeable and kind with a willingness to help. She is uncomfortable with the large amount of socializing and invasion of her time and privacy in her home, yet she wants to help the collective group. This tension provides her with the opportunity for growth as Allport believed that striving and being motivated towards a goal, but not necessarily achieving it was the ultimate goal in life (Schultz & Schultz, 2017).
To assist Ms. Callsenck with this growth, Warren et al. (2023) discuss the use of trait mindfulness to assist with being open and non-reactive toward situations that arise. Two main treatment recommendations are also suggested to help with the presenting stressors. The first is the study of values where Ms. Callsenck provides an objective self-report about her aesthetic values, economic values, political values, religious values, social values, and theoretical values. The second is the personal documents approach. This approach examines personal written items that may include her diaries, letters, social media posts, or other personal records to discover personality traits that could prove beneficial to her therapy. Using a combination of these tools and possibly others should provide both therapist and patient with the information necessary to provide self-awareness or trait mindfulness that will assist in her growth.
References
Schultz, D., & Schultz, S. (2017).
Theories of Personality (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Warren, M. T., Galla, B. M., & Grund, A. (2023). Using Whole Trait Theory to unite trait and state mindfulness.
Journal of Research in Personality,
104, 104372.
Links to an external site.
PEER 2:
Alexia Constantinides
In this discussion I will be applying Gordon Allport’s psychology of personality to Ms. Callsenck’s case study. Allport’s theory applies that an individual’s personality is based on both genetic background and their environmental conditions. Ms. Callsenck grew up as an only child of a Christian middle-class family. Her family put a strong emphasis on working hard and helping her neighbors as a child, showing both genetic and environmental conditions that may make it difficult to set boundaries as she mentioned. Callsenck reports valuing achievement, with her hard work allowing her to become a successful veterinarian. Regardless of her value for achievement, Callsenck does recall being shy and quiet as a child with few friends.
Allport’s theory is also based on personal dispositions, or cardinal traits which are represented in many parts of an individual’s life. Callsenck, having cardinal and central traits like ambition and introvertedness, is prone to working hard and wanting alone time. Ms. Callsenck’s husband had a very different upbringing, growing up in an environment where it was important to help others over yourself. Because he is always helping others and inviting people into their home, Ms. Callsenck is currently struggling with these cardinal traits. Another factor that comes into play is Allport’s beliefs on propriate functioning, one of the three principles being organizing the energy level. With so little alone time, ms. Callsenck is unable to organize her energy level, allowing her to become frustrated quickly.
Allport valued the use of several methods when it comes to treatment. To treat ms. Callsenck, Allport would likely recommend journaling and other forms of personal documentation to find her personality traits. It would also likely be helpful for her and her husband to discuss these issues privately or with a therapist. Overall, it is important for ms. Callsenck to find a way to express her feelings and set boundaries, without feeling like she is letting people down.
References
Schultz, D., & Schultz, S. (2017).
Theories of Personality (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.
