Very interesting. If nothing else we have a good example of psychoanalysis vs. behaviorism: Bettleheim vs. Skinner. Complexity vs. Parsimony. Fodder for a good class discussion and light-banter for a Sunday evening.
(Alejandro - thanks for the reminder of Bettleheim's "Enchantment" book - read that in undergrad) Michael Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com http://www.ThePsychFiles.com Twitter: mbritt On Oct 24, 2010, at 4:41 PM, Shearon, Tim wrote: > > Michael: > For the sake of parsimony *and* the aforementioned likelihood of harming > someone's enjoyment needlessly, I would stick with a behavioristic > explanation. Mildly ironic? :) I might add that it is one of the few sports > where those who are less strong and more empathic can equal or exceed the > accomplishments of those who are stronger and less "sensitive" - thus may be > more rewarding or reinforcing for some than for others (Not even getting to > the complexities of male and female developmental differences, > anthropological and cultural issues, etc.). I think it is more likely that > one can find a parsimonious explanation by looking to the effects > environmental variables (e.g., parents and their expectations) rather than > attempting to explain it based on far more complex phenomena. (Also, is this > backed up by data that females are more involved with horses or are we > speaking purely from anecdote? I honestly do not have a clue on that. > Apologies if this is more terse than I intended- I recognize that most of > what's been said is light-banter - this was constructed rather quickly and I > hope does not reflect a dismissive tone). :) > Tim > > _______________________________ > Timothy O. Shearon, PhD > Professor, Department of Psychology > The College of Idaho > Caldwell, ID 83605 > email: tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu > > teaching: intro to neuropsychology; psychopharmacology; general; history and > systems > > "You can't teach an old dogma new tricks." Dorothy Parker > ________________________________________ > From: Alejandro Franco [alejandro.franc...@gmail.com] > Sent: Sunday, October 24, 2010 1:53 PM > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) > Subject: RE: [tips] Girls and Horses - Archetype? > > Hi Michael: > > Bruno Bettleheim wrote this in his book: The uses of enchantment: the > meaning and importance of Fairy Tales (1975). p. 56-57 (you can find it in > Amazon.com). > > "Many girls of an older age group are deeply involved with horses; they play > with toy horses and spin elaborate fantasies around them. When they get > older and have the opportunity, their lives seem to rotate around real > horses, which they take excellent care of and seem inseparable from. > Psychoanalytic investigation has revealed that overinvolvement in and with > horses can stand for many different emotional needs which the girl is trying > to satisfy. For example, by controlling this powerful animal she can come > to feel that she is controlling the male, or the sexually animalistic, > within herself. Imagine what it would do to a girl's enjoyment of riding, > to her self-respect, if she were made conscious of this desire which she is > acting out in riding. She would be devastated -robbed of a harmless and > enjoyable sublimation, and reduced in her own eyes to a bad person. At the > same time, she would be hard-pressed to find an equally suitable outlet for > such inner pressures, and therefore might not be able to master them". > > Now you can add this explanation to the Jungian one :) > > Alejandro > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13405.0125141592fa9ededc665c55d9958f69&n=T&l=tips&o=5941 > or send a blank email to > leave-5941-13405.0125141592fa9ededc665c55d9958...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=5942 or send a blank email to leave-5942-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
