Panorama of Psychology - Case Study Example

Psychology Name Institution Jasminder Bhamra (Jess) Jess is a teenage girl Sikh woman born of the Indian culture. Her culture demands a lot from her as a woman and she is supposed to do what a woman is to do. Her place is behind a man and she should not be involved in manly activities. She is instead to be concerned about making her man love her and concerned about making her skin soft but she does not share the same beliefs because she has dreams and ambitions and is passionate about playing football. Although she holds true her culture, she is different from what her culture dictates as a normal woman. Sociological theory explains why Jess is behaving differently towards her culture. It describes how and why she appears to be outside normal since it is points out that not all people are same. As the finals of her big game approaches, she is asked to attend her sister’s wedding, and she becomes moody, affective theory allows us to understand the reason for her change of feelings. This is best shown when her father asks her to go for her big game and she suddenly changes and the results it has. After the game, she goes back home and celebrates her sister’s after wedding ceremony (Myers 1998, 74). Juliet (Jules) Jules is a teenage Muslim woman who is born and raised of the British culture. She becomes friends with Jess after she sees her training with male friends on a football game and asks her to join her team. She is open to change and believes someone should be left to do what one feels is right for him or her. Her mother thinks ill of her daughter because she thinks that Jules is a lesbian because she hangs out mostly with her female friends. Cognitive theory enables us to understand the reason why Jules is different because it allows room for different thinking pattern that is shown by her. She thinks that one should be left to do what she likes most and not hold down by other people’s thoughts of them. Behavioral theory lets us find the reason why Jules likes to spend more time with her women friends compared to her male counterparts. This is best point out when her mother thinks that she is lesbian. Juliet’s Mother She is a woman brought up in the British culture but Muslim in religion. She has a mind set mixed trying to figure out what her daughter is and is not. She thinks that she should be concentrating on men more than she does with women and this ends up making her think that her daughter is a stereotype. She is open to thought but very set on her cultural belief has and just like Jess’s mum, she believes its not a woman’s place playing football. Sociological theory enables us understand why she is feels the way she does, she is not willing to open up to change for fear of what people might say (Myers 2011, 66). Jess’s Family Jess’s family is a traditional family and sticks to the culture at all costs and pressure’s its children to do so too. This is well shown since despite living in London they uphold their cultural beliefs. Jess’s mother is so strict with Jess when it comes to their faith and mode of their cultural living, she tells her of what her role as a woman is and why it is not right for a woman to play football. Jess’s father is a believer but an open-minded man who understands her daughter’s feeling. He is not ready to see her daughter suffer because of culture and gives her the freedom to be her own person. Different members of this family have different beliefs that make all theories of cross-cultural Counseling be emphasized. From her mother, sociological issues does not allow her to let her daughter be herself. From her father, cognitive theory shows how he is able to understand her daughter’s passion and feelings. Jess’s R/CID Stage Jess is in stage 2, Dissonance characterized by conflicting messages and observations that are inconsistent to view of one’s culture and the dominant culture. Jess’s perception of what she believes should be of a woman is way different to what her dominant culture is. As things change she becomes more and more true to her own culture’s value and tends to reject her dominant Indian culture. Jess starts crossing between stages 2 to stage 3. After being given the chance by her father to go and play for her team, she starts to realize the extreme nature of her feelings and this progresses her into the next stage, introspection. She finally recognizes her role in her life and the shape of her life and fully develops a sense of security and inner peace in what she does, she ends up in integrative awareness stage (Sue & Sue 1999, 46). Jules’s R/CID Stage Jules is in stage 3, Resistance and Immersion stage. This stage is characterized by full embrace of one’s cultural values and beliefs. She has made up her mind about what she wants to do and no culture is going to hold her down. As she keeps up with her team, she keeps going through changes and in turn into the next stage, introspection. When the team finally plays its major game, it gives her the full realization of who she is, she turns and finds comfort in her own beliefs and inner security and this gives her away into the final stage, the integrative awareness stage (Weiten 2010, 50). Jess’s mother R/CID Stage Jess’s mother is in stage 1, the conformity stage. This stage is characterized with complete embrace of the dominant culture and her own culture are rejected because she is faithful to her dominant culture. My R/CID Stage I am in stage 2, Dissonance characterized by conflicting messages and observations that are inconsistent to view of one’s culture and the dominant culture. My way of thinking is so different to what my dominant culture is. With the changes I have been through, I have become becomes more and more true to my own culture’s value and tends to reject dominant. I am in a constantly crossing between stages and I know I will have what I want because it is what I have been longing for. Jess’s IC-EC & IR-ER In the case of Jess, I would first ask her examine to measure who she wants to be in her own life and in her future. I would then go ahead and explain her there are several factors, internal and external, that contribute to someone’s success or someone’s failure. External factors are those that are driven by what other people want someone to be while internal factors are those that someone wants on their own. Jess’s internal locus of control is that of a person who wants to be free from cultural beliefs, wants to live a life of personal choice and not communal. I would advice her to be who she feels is right for her to be, not be who the society want her to be. Also, I would advice Jess to be careful when taking responsibilities since there are internal and external responsibilities as well. She should weigh options on what she is able to do and what she not able to do. She should bare in mind that every decision comes with responsibilities and if she wants to follow her dreams and ambitions, there are several responsibilities she has to be ready to carry out in order to achieve her goals (Kazdin 2000, 49). Jules’s IC-EC & IR-ER In the case of Jules, I would ask her to search deep inside her soul to find out perfectly who she wants to be in the future. I would go about defining to her the several factors of that lead to success. Then, I would differentiate to her the internal and external factors known as the locus of control and advice her not to dwell in the external factors since external factors dictate to someone who and how she should be in the society. Since Jules is a self-driven woman, I would ask her to keep it that way and only focus on the future irrespective of what the society thinks of her choices. Then, I would go about defining the locus of responsibilities that are there. Make her understand the internal and external locus of responsibilities that will help her achieve her dreams. I would then explain to her that both internal and external requires sacrifices but the most important ones are the self driven responsibilities that will enable her be who she desires to be (Vardanyan 2011, 56). Jules’s Mother In Jules’s mother, I would make her understand the both locus of control and how they work. I would ask her to obey her daughter’s intentions and make her through explanation that all people are not meant to live the same path. I would then go ahead and explain to her the locus of responsibilities that are there and make her understand that every person has a role to play in the society. Jules role is not the same as hers and I would ask her to respect her decisions and help her on her responsibilities (James 1950, 62). Jess’s Family I would have a talk with them and make them understand the two locus of control. I would ask them not to force their daughter into being someone she is not. I would then go about explaining to them the locus of responsibilities, internal and external and make them help their daughter. They should not force her to commit to responsibilities that she is not yet ready or willing to take. Family Conflict In Terms of Cross-cultural Group and Family Counseling Theory The conflict seen between families of Jess and Jules can be made to be understood in several ways. The families are fighting the idea of their daughters playing football simply because of gender superiority. They are not denying them because it is an activity that cannot be done by women but because they are trying to picture what the society they are in will perceive of them. On top of that, mothers wants their daughters to be like them, they want them to stay home and do what culture dictates to them, that is, to be married and please their men. Jess’s mother even goes to the extend of asking her what sort of family would like a daughter playing football instead of cooking. Both families see this as shameful and undeserving. These families both feel its not right for these girls to be together as friends because they influence each other un the wrong ways. Jess’s family thinks of inter-marriage as a taboo or something that will bring a lot of shame to them. While Jules’s family thinks the relationship between the two girls has led their daughter to be a stereotype, something found out to be only a misconception that Jules mother has. The families are also hold back about their daughters from playing football under the umbrella of no women national football team is in place. Using this, they pin their daughters and Jess lies that she no longer play football anymore while she plays in secrets. Using family counseling theory and cross cultural group, similar cases happen due to the fact that inter racial amongst people makes others to mock their counterparts on the basis of nationality. The nationals of the mother country feel they are superior and feel they are being made to share what is theirs by people who are barely visitors in their counties. As a result of this, natives tend to dominate visitors and in those rare cases where they make relationship, visitors tend to be the inferior. They tend to be influenced into doing things that are not right for them, this in turn leads to breakages of family cultures something which they are not ready to let go over what they do not know (Coon 2010, 39). References Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (1999). Counseling The Different: Theory & Practice (3rd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Coon, D., Mitterer, J. O., Talbot, S., & Vanchella, C. M. (2010). Introduction to psychology: gateways to mind and behavior (12th ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. James, W. (19501918). The principles of psychology (Authorized ed.). New York: Dover Publications. Kazdin, A. E. (2000). Encyclopedia of psychology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association Myers, D. G. (1998). Psychology (5th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. Myers, D. G. (2011). Exploring psychology: eighth edition in modules (8th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Vardanyan, V. (2011). Panorama of psychology. Central Milton Keynes, [U.K.: AuthorHouse UK. Weiten, W. (2010). Psychology: themes & variations (8th ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Top of Form Bottom of Form Read More