¶ … Minds, Possible Worlds introduces the concept of "transactional self," or the self that is continually engaged in and developed from active relationships. These relationships "are premised on a mutual sharing of assumptions and beliefs about how the world is, how mind works, what we are up to, and how communication should proceed," (Bruner, 1986, p. 57). Almost a form of mind reading, transactional consciousness permits psychologists to make generalizations about typical human transactions and also pathological interactions with the world. Thus, a person intuits how others feel or think. Much of what we attribute to intuition, empathy, or even psychic powers can be conceptualized as an underlying intelligence about the transactional self.
Research, although burdened by methodological hindrances, reveals the nature of the transactional self. People tend to gravitate towards those who are perceived to like them. Questioning the underlying thought process, Bruner posits that the tendency to befriend those who are perceived to like us is either a form of vanity or a form of intelligence. Bruner's (1986) research also shows "that shared sensitivities and biases can produce some strikingly social consequences," (p. 59). These social consequences reveal the bridge between psychology and social psychology. For example, the tendency to bond with those who are perceived to be sympathetic creates stable social groups in which reciprocity is expected and implied. Moreover, transactional processes in social interactions tend to "intensify over time," which further solidifies in-group and out-group statuses (Bruner, 1986, p. 59).
Social transactions can be observed even in infants who have yet to develop language skills. Passing objects around a circle, for example, requires nonverbal cues. These nonverbal cues were shown to be transactional in nature in that they revealed "mutuality in action," (Bruner, 1986, p. 59). It seems as if human interactions are guided by an innate yet complex understanding of how to achieve social harmony. Children learn quickly to follow another's gaze, for example.
The transactional self also manifests in language construction and language learning. For example, deictic shifters are words that take on different meanings depending on the contextual cues -- mainly the speaker....
A teen might be asked to tell their own story from the point-of-view of other people they know, looking at themselves from other viewpoints. These clients are freed to invent stories and play parts in that serve the purpose of providing a framework of meaning and direction for themselves. The stories are never singled out as "true" or "false," but a recognition that truth is complex and no one
social world. • Apply life, including -concept, -esteem, -Efficacy. • Describe social experiences affected personal development. Personal Reflection on the Self He who knows how to breathe the air of my writings knows that it is an air of the heights, a bracing air. One must be made for it, otherwise the danger is no small one of catching cold in it. The ice is near, the loneliness is tremendous --
Those who went took with them knowledge of Mesopotamian customs, ideas, and skills, but many chose to remain, having put down firm roots during the decades of exile (LeMiere 19). Mesopotamia itself became even more cosmopolitan than before, since not only did the Persian court at times visit and contribute to local administration, but also foreign levies and mercenaries did tours of military service there. Anti-Persian feeling in conquered
Western civilization has been developing according to a set of coordinates that are entirely separated from the ones of its Eastern counterpart. The focus of this paper is to propose subjective psychologically-minded interpretations to a series of Asian stories and poems extracted from the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. The storyline of Searching for Buddha begins with the account of a monk's lengthy and arduous journey towards finding Buddha. When
Scientology Introducing a New Religious Movement, one must be as objective as possible. I, for instance, could choose to tell you that L. Ron Hubbard founded the Church of Scientology in 1954 and marketed it as an organization for social reform that essentially became the global force it is today, with (young, professional, stylish, racially-diverse) adherents providing positive sound bites on Scientology.org that promote (in naturalistic, community-oriented settings) the religion as
The enormous number of questions did not only succeed in bringing people to physical exhaustion, but they also confused people to the level where they could no longer think logically and risked being deported, even though they were not attempting to deceit the American system. Most contemporary people express their liberal opinions regarding immigrants in the U.S.T.C. Boyle's Tortilla Curtain goes at proving how while some have apparently changed their
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