Temple Grandin Case Study

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PSY-111 Introduction to Psychology 13 January 2013 Temple Grandin Temple Grandin is one of the most respected and influential people in the cattle industry today. She was diagnosed with autism at four, yet she has multiple achievements in the industry and with autism awareness. What driving forces and influences helped her to achieve this success and which psychological theories may help in explaining that success? In the early stages of her life, Temple was influenced in her development by her mother’s choice of not institutionalizing her daughter after being diagnosed with infantile schizophrenia. Her mother’s refusal to do this was a perfect example of the humanistic theory. Her devotion and determination…show more content…
She built her own squeeze machine as a way to calm herself (behavioral - relates to what she had seen at the ranch). The college did not understand and destroyed the machine. Temple convinced the college to allow her to perform a scientific study of other students regarding the effect the machine had on them in an effort to keep the machine and was successful in retaining it. The determination she showed is a direct application of the humanistic theory. Her college life improved dramatically after this event, especially after getting a new roommate who was blind. She related to the girl because of the similarities of their situations. She even stated that they were alike, just that her roommate used sound and she used pictures to learn new…show more content…
They requested that she tell them everything, and by doing so, she opened another door to the world for herself. She now is a professor at Colorado State University where she continues to teach and gives lectures on animal husbandry and autism around the world. Temple Grandin is a unique and gifted person whose complexity can be respected and admired. Humanistic, behavioral, and cognitive theories seem to stand out with regard to Temple’s life: humanistic, because of her determination to go forward despite obstacles or set backs; behavioral, for her ability to see something and apply it for her learning; and cognitive, for her unique way of thinking (processing). Temple said it best when she stated that she wanted her life to have meaning and she didn’t want her thoughts to die with her. Isn’t this what we all want? Works

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