The Boy Who Found Himself In New York Circa 1960, Psychologist Virginia Axline conducted a study on a boy named Dibs. Concluding the experiment, Axline wrote a nonfiction novel about it, called Dibs In Search of Self, Published by Ballantine Books. Now Dibs was not your ordinary toddler, in fact, normal was the last thing you thought when you met this child. Since he was very little, Dibs was very unresponsive to his parents, untouchable even. He was slow learning to walk, and was very helpless. Furthermore, he would stare at people like a wild animal, and lash out against other, kicking, screaming, and biting. These characteristics of Dibs led his parents to believe he was mentally retarded. (Axline, 1967, p. 87). Being declared …show more content…
This is when the psychologist watches the child play, and only comments when the child says something or does something. The comments are never made in a way that would influence the child to act or do something. This process would allow the child to build self-confidence and develop emotionally. This differs from other psychological experiments to develop children such as conditioning, where the psychologist would give a reward or punishment for an action would make the child act a certain way. This type of psychology only changed the child’s actions, not his emotional …show more content…
When around her, he would would act more adult like than childish. Yes he would revert back to sucking his thumb, but as Sigmund Freud proclaimed, sucking your thumb is a mechanism kids use to feel more in control of a situation. Anyway, Dibs would do things, such as read. paint, and build. These activities are not baby like, and he acts this way due to the oedipus complex, where children act like their fathers in order to secure an attachment with their mothers, or in this case, Miss A. Another thing that the textbook has is learning through repetition, Dibs’ mother does this when teaching Dibs to read. She read over and over again the alphabet, had him do puzzles, and read him other stories to help him learn to read. and he did. (Gazzaniga, 2015, p. 254). Dibs could very likely have a chemical imbalance in his Amygdala, evidence by his wacky emotional state, or possibly a large supply of serotonin, the chemical that causes emotional states and impulsiveness (Gazzaniga, 2015, p. 86). Furthermore, the mother had bad social anxiety. she would tense up when talking to Miss A and blocked communications with her friends. (Gazzaniga, 2015, p. 612). Dibs had an insecure attachment with his mother. When she came to get him, he would cry and throw a fit, typical signs in children with an insecure attachment to his parents (Gazzaniga, 2015, p. 370). Finally, Dibs had Antisocial Personality Disorder due to lack of empathy, or APD. This
emotional that he would cry. He would do anything to be first, even if it meant
Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1990). Procedures for identifying infants as disorganised/disoriented during the Ainsworth Strange Situation. In M. T. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti & E. M. Cummings (eds.), Attachment in the Preschool Years: Theory, Research and Intervention (121-160). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
I think Dibs acted this way because of his father’s attitude towards him. By his father being ashamed of him and locking him up all of the time, Dibs probably thought something was wrong with him and began to keep to himself. By having Dr. Axline in his life, Dibs became more normal because he was finally able to open up to someone and not be punished for speaking. By letting Dibs do things on his own, Dr. Axline helped Dibs realize that his level of dependency wasn’t as high as he thought it was.
When the books starts, Dibs is in the school since two years. At the beginning he refused to talk. Sometimes he could stay dumb and still during an entire morning. Other times, he could have violent bout of anger when it was time to go back home, which provoked towards teachers and director of the school a big anxiety. Was he mentally retarded? Was he suffering of a mental illness since his birth? Did his brain have received a shock? No one knew, even his parents who always refused to talk about their son’s attitude. But as the author, Virginia Axline, said “there was something about Dibs behavior that defied the teachers to categorize him, glibly and routinely, and send him on his way. His behavior was so uneven. At one time, he seemed to be extremely retarded mentally. Another time he would quickly and quietly do something that indicated he might even have superior intelligence” (Axline, Virginia Dibs in search of Self, 15). The staff meeting of class finally decide to help Dibs and to do something for him. It is at this point that the Doctor Virginia Axline, “specialized in working with children and parents” is called.
Antisocial Personality Disorder, also informally known as psychopathy/sociopathy, is a disorder where people elicit manipulative behaviors and lack morals. This includes disregard for rules, violence, superficial charm, promiscuity, a superiority complex, and difficulty forming attachments. This is said to be caused by genetics as well as modeling, or watching other people perform this kind of behavior. 3.3% of Americans are diagnosed with Antisocial Personality disorder. It’s 70% more common in males than females and is seen greatly in
Child psychology incorporates standardized experimental methods in which the investigator controls the environment and non-experimental studies in which researchers observe the subject in a natural setting. When researching children, there is no ideal approach, and factors such as gender, age, personality, or the subject of the study are suggestive of what investigation method is suitable. An educational psychologist works with schools, nurseries or any other organizations that engage with children and provides reports and advice to SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) representatives about observation of particular children’s cognitive development and evolution. To help in the development of problematic children, an educational psychologist may use standardized tests to evaluate the nature of the problem and set milestones for a plan of action. Furthermore, when
In this age Psychology underwent various changes in order to adapt to the ever-changing ways of society. Multiple reading materials throughout time started to focus more on the mind and psychological aspects of the human race. Each individual has the ability to react different in any given situations. A powerful example within the psychological community is a reading called “Dibs in Search of Self”. The reading was narrative produced in 1964 by Virginia Axline. The narrative is centered on the character not officially being diagnosed properly. The main character Dibs is described as possibly mentally retarded, brain damaged, or suffering from autism. Axline, produced the reading to be a definitive text on play therapy, frames her account in a familiar psychoanalytic trajectory, as the search for a sense of independent selfhood and human dignity. Throughout the reading Dibs is suffering from severe emotional deprivation. The deprivation was caused by the lack of attention his parents gave him. Dibs were an unwanted child, whose mother perceived him as the cause of her failed career. In reality, Dibs had no chance to grow and survive in a hard fought society. The thoughts of his mother hindered her son before birth. Thoughts of a human have more power than humans can imagine. Continuous thoughts of anything weather negative or positive will formulate in this current realm.
This is a counselling method used to help youngsters communicate their inner experiences through using toys and play. Nondirective play therapy is a non-pathologizing technique founded on the belief that youngsters have the internal drive to attain wellness (Petruk, 2009). Play therapy is grounded on the theory that play is a youngster’s language, the toys considered the words a youngster uses to express or show their inner experiences and how they experience and perceive the world. Within a play session, and throughout the course of sessions, themes develop in the youngster’s play, giving the therapist insight into the child’s feelings, thoughts, experiences, and interpretations of their world (Petruk,
The Book Throughout the book Dibs in Search of Self, by Virginia Axline, readers learn the moving story of a boy named Dibs who had been neglected since he was in the womb, by two scientist parents that did not want a child holding them back from their success. Readers are able to see the amazing journey of a six-year-old boy, learning to be himself and find his personality and intelligence through the help of play therapy sessions with the author, Mrs. Axline. Not only are readers seeing the growth that Dibs is experiencing, but they are also able to see the large benefits that the practice of play therapy can have on any child. Dibs’ Mothers Two Appointments with Axline
Family history showed his neglected childhood and his father left his home at the age of six years old and his mother had a hidden relationship with their neighbor. This example shows the typical way people get diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. Due to this occurrence at the beginning of S.B.
Developmental psychology is an area of research devoted to explaining the continuing growth and change that occurs over the course of one’s life. Throughout history many varying theories have been used to attempt to explain the complex process of childhood experiences altering who individuals become as an adult.
Wood, A. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2007). Child development: The world of psychology.
Child psychology, also known as child development, is the study of psychological growth of children; how these mechanisms develop from infancy to adolescence and why they deviate from one child to the next. Child development is associated with biological, psychological, and emotional diversity that occur in humans. Although there is a different advancement for each child, these developmental changes may be greatly determined by genetic factors and experience during prenatal life. The early years of a child’s life are very important for his or her health and development. Parents, health professionals, educators, and others can work together as partners to help children grow up to reach their full potential.
and she/he shall change her/his behavior or mood. According to Eimas & Lipsitt, found “researchers dealing with different behavior phenomena or processes,” it explains how easier the behavior should be changed (1973). After that, this is a good example to understand biological and behavioral changes. Application of developmental psychology In the developmental psychology has applied to the life are biological factors, social context, and environmental factors. Second, social context is about society and family influences.
This way the child would gradually learn to speak and use language. The child would respond to the smiles and approval of the parents. Skinner explained this as operant conditioning; the reinforcement of a random response by a reward. By trial and error the child would learn to communicate. The child would repeat verbal behaviour that was rewarded and drop sounds or speech that did not work in terms of getting a pleasurable response.