Chapter 4 Function, Dysfunction, and Change

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.2 Function Functional behaviors influence others in our environment to respond in such a way as to meet our needs. Dysfunctional behaviors produce a response in others that does not meet our needs.

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.3 Function Separations between people begin with differences in genetic predispositions and are magnified by beliefs and behaviors taught by parents, position, and culture. Safety and Security come from knowing what to do. Ethnocentrism: belief that your culture’s values, beliefs, and practices are right, and others wrong.

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.4 Function Adjust: a new beginning to put all the pieces back into place and construct a new world that again meets our needs. Behavior is locked into physical structures in the brain so there is a limit to how fast we can make the change.

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.5 Dysfunction Functional beliefs are beliefs and behaviors that succeed in getting our needs met. Dysfunctional beliefs are beliefs and behaviors that do not succeed in getting needs met.

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.6 Dysfunction Irrational beliefs are dysfunctional beliefs. Some examples include: –“I should always keep complete control over myself and others.” –“I should never feel vulnerable or sad.” –“Things are either right or wrong, good or bad, there is nothing in between.”

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.7 Dysfunction –“Life should be easy; what I want should be given to me.” –“I should always feel good, be happy, confident, and in control.” –“People who love each other never fight.” –“I cannot be alone; if I am alone, I feel empty and miserable.” –“Others should be the way I think they should be.”

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.8 Dysfunction –“I should never fail or make a mistake.” –“No one will like me or love me if they find out I am weak or imperfect.” –“My worth as a person depends on what I accomplish or on how I look.” –“I must have approval from everyone.” –“If something goes wrong, it proves to everyone that I am worthless.”

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.9 Dysfunction –“People who do bad things are bad people and they should be blamed and punished.” –“Being happy depends on the things a person gets or how important they are.” Unmet needs grow stronger If dysfunctional beliefs are to be kept unchanged they must be defended.

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.10 Defense Mechanisms Defense mechanisms: explanations or avoidance to –insulate us from our feelings or from the responsibility for our feelings –block our actions or shield us from the responsibility for our actions –We incorporate them into our belief system to shape our perception and alter reality.

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.11 Defense Mechanisms Self talk emerges from our daily appraisal of a situation. Appraisal is powered by our beliefs to –Process our feelings –Transform them into emotions –Power the actions to get our needs met

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.12 Defense Mechanisms Defense mechanisms include: –Repression: burying the memory of emotional or physical trauma in the unconscious mind –Denial of Reality: protecting one’s self from the consequences of unpleasant reality by acting as if it not real –Fantasy: building “air castles”

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.13 Defense Mechanisms –Reaction Formation: convincing yourself and others that you don’t feel and want the things you do –Projection: blaming others for your feelings and actions –Displacement: taking out your feelings or anger on someone –Emotional Insulation: giving up and not trying to get your needs met

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.14 Defense Mechanisms –Intellectualization; coming up with strong logical reasons to explain things –Rationalization: attempting to prove that negative behavior is “rational” –Regression: retreating backward –Identification: making up for your own feelings of inferiority or inadequacy

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.15 Defense Mechanisms –Compensation: making up for weaknesses in one area by becoming strong in another –Acting Out: reducing the pressure caused by forbidden or dangerous feelings by allowing them to flow into actions –Undoing: doing something good to make up for having done something bad

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.16 Adjusting Adjusting Maintaining a fulfilling life requires continuing adjustment. –Listen to what you say about yourself and become aware of negative self talk. Self Talk Changing negative self talk statements to positive ones is an important step towards adjustment

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.17 Adjusting There are typical kinds of self talk at each need/moral level; –Physical / Power –Safety and Security / Deals –Love / Good Boy or Girl –Belonging / Rules –Esteem / Social Contracts –Self Actualization / Individual Conscience

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.18 Adjusting Change requires growth. –New connections in the brain –Creating new abilities –The longer you continue to use new abilities, the more efficient and effective they will become. –Those around you will accept the new you. –Finally you will accept the new you.

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.19 Adjusting Stress drives you backward, and is caused by changes that require effort. The Stress Reaction There are four stages in our reaction to stress: –Alarm and Mobilization: a person responds to the stressor by focusing their attention on it. –Resistance: the stress can be short lived or it can continue.

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.20 Adjusting –Decompensation If the stress continues for too long the person becomes exhausted and cannot keep going. Get away. –Disintegration If it is not possible to get away the person will break down, physically, mentally,or emotionally

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.21 Summary Personality traits, beliefs, emotions, and actions are developed for us to meet our needs in the world. We continually make adjustments in order to function and get our needs met. Our belief system produces: –Rational beliefs –Irrational beliefs

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.22 Summary Dysfunctional beliefs are defended by defense mechanisms To stop unproductive behavior we need to change negative self talk to positive, which requires change

© Copyright 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.23 Summary Stress can drive a functional world back into dysfunction. When under stress, always be aware that it is not the time to deal with issues; they can wait.