2 Different Behaviors From Johnny’s Case Study – Using 2 Different Theories

I have chosen to apply concepts to his argumentative and short tempered behavior as well as his poor performance in school. I will discuss how the different theories by Rogers and of Traits are used to explain the same behaviors differently.

• Johnny can be extremely argumentative and short tempered with his peers.

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I will be applying Carl Roger’s Humanistic Theory to explain Johnny’s poor behavior. Roger’s believed in this person-centered perspective feeling that people are born as basically good and thereby leaning towards goodness unless thwarted by external forces in their surroundings. As such, people perform best and are happiest when they are in a growth-supporting environment. This requires three conditions of genuineness, acceptance and empathy. The condition and concept of genuineness means that you are acting as your own true internal self and not what someone else thinks you should be/do. There is no exterior motive and everything coming forward is true to the specific person. In Johnny’s case, he might be unable to show his true kind self. His mother is concerned about his behavior. In being aggressive toward his peers that might be the only way he has learned to communicate with them.

I will also be applying Trait Theory (Big 5) to explain Johnny’s behavior. Trait theory is used so psychologists can try to determine all the variations in personality types. The Big 5 of this theory refers to the idea that there are five basic dimensions that help serve as the building blocks of one’s personality. These five factors that have been identified are that of conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness and extroversion. Each factor has a range from high to low. Those high in conscientiousness are able to have good self-control allowing them to direct their behaviors toward goals. They are usually thoughtful, detail oriented, well prepared, careful and think of others. The opposite end of the conscientiousness spectrum is disliking schedules and structure. They can be messy, impulsive, disorganized, procrastinate and fail to complete necessary and assigned tasks.

Agreeableness is high when the person is very trusting, friendly, optimistic, kind, cooperative and prosocial. Low scorers for this are critical, more competitive, aggressive and sometimes manipulate others to get what they want. They insult and belittle others while not caring about their problems or feelings. When neuroticism is high the person feels a lot of stress and worry. They are upset easily, moody and anxious. The opposite end of this characteristic is one who feels emotionally stable. They rarely get overly stressed or sad and they are very relaxed. Those low in neuroticism are said to be emotionally resilient. Openness involves characteristics like imagination and insight. Those high in this trait tend to be more adventurous and ready to learn new things and tackle new challenges. Those low in openness do not welcome change and actually resist new ideas and the abstract as they are more traditional and conventional. People high in extroversion can have high amounts of emotional expressiveness and are outgoing and social. They enjoy being the center of attention and are energized around others. The other side to this is preferring to be alone and they find starting conversations and meeting new people to be difficult and exhaustive. Psychologists believe that these 5 traits are universal. The environment plays the role of providing situations in which the person responds consistently with their underlying personality traits.

Then applied lackadaisical to johnny’s situation. A person can rate all the way left, all the way right, or anywhere in between. Johnny is having issues with neuroticism in his emotional instability. He is unable to remain calm or feel secure and thereby lashes out at the other students.

• Johnny does very sloppy school work.

I will be applying Roger’s Humanistic Theory to explain Johnny’s behavior. Rogers believed that acceptance goes hand in hand with unconditional positive regard. If one does not accept their surroundings and what is happening then they cannot be a productive part of their society. One can understand that you have weakness and work on them rather than giving up altogether. Johnny might not be getting positive reinforcement for good things he does at home but he needs acceptance from his family and teachers just to be himself. That might lead him to feel negatively about his actions and outcomes which leads him to give up on his school work or not even try in the first place.

I will also be applying Trait Theory (Big 5) to explain Johnny’s behavior. Conscientiousness is a characteristic that, when applied to school work would be best for the student if one leaned towards being organized, careful and accomplished tasks with control over self-discipline. However, in Johnny’s case, he is leaning the other way towards being disorganized, careless and impulsive. He is low in conscientiousness and is therefore lackadaisical; careless, indifferent and lazy. Unfortunately this is not good for accomplishing tasks well and on time as requested by his teacher.

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