Jim & His Dad

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1. How would you describe Jim’s self-concept? Jim’s self-concept is that he will never live up to his father’s unrealistic expectations of him. He has fallen prey to a self-serving bias that is distorting his perception of his intelligence (Wood, J., 2011, p. 81.). He feels he is not as “brilliant as his father. His frustration lies in explaining his perceived shortcomings to his father. The direct definition his parents are communicating is that Jim is smart, but just does not apply himself and it is as simple as studying harder. If this keeps up Jim may just start to believe it. 2. How is self-concept affecting the interaction? Is it helping it? Hindering it? Explain using concepts from the text. Jim’s negative self-concept is hindering the interaction between Jim and his father. Jim’s view of himself is being influenced by his father’s view of him to an extent. Because both perceive Jim’s skills so differently, a line of communication must be opened. 3. Using the process of human perception starting on page 64, explain the situation from your perspective as a student. As a student, I agree with Jim that it is not always as simple as studying harder. It may be that Jim can approach studying differently. Another variable could be the subject he is taking. If it is a subject he has no interest in, it may be harder to motivate him to learn about it and apply himself to studying. A subject he is not interested in may get him a D. A subject he is interested in may get him a B+. He could recognize that his father’s perception of him is partial and subjective, his father does not know what Jim is doing with his time, and by Jim saying he likes to hang out with his friends does not mean (in his father’s eyes) that he is partying. With selection, Jim’s father is only seeing the end result, Jim’s grades, and hearing that his son likes to hang out with his friends
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