`` What We Talk About When We Talking About Love `` By...

What is love? Love can come from that of a friendship, a romantic relationship, the unconditional love that God has for one, or simply one person adoring another. These are all considered, in one form or another, love. However, as Mel McGinnis has asked: â€Å"what do any of us really know about love?† (333). Is love real, or is it just a figment of our imagination? What does the word LOVE even mean? The indefinability of love is the overlaying theme in the story â€Å"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,† written by Raymond Carver. This story focuses on the examples two couples, Mel and Terri, and their newlywed friends Laura and Nick, use to discuss the meaning of love. While sitting around a kitchen table drinking a bottle of gin, the two pairs discuss what love is as the day passes them by, and although they never reach a consensus, they do provide excellent examples allowing the reader to draw conclusions on the meaning of love. However, as the theme suggest s, no matter the amount of examples or time spent trying to figure it out, love can never be given one general definition because there are many different interpretations of what love actually is. This is a great take away point for college students to learn because college is where students are trying to find the meaning of love and life. Through characterizations and ironic situations, love can be broken down in to two different categories of unconditional and conditional love, and while this story mostly coversShow MoreRelatedWhat We Talking About When We Talk About Love By Raymond Carver1677 Words   |  7 PagesLove can be defined in many ways, but does anyone know the true meaning of it? In Raymond Carver’s short-story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, he shows us the realism behind the true meaning of love with a menacing tone. This story particularly shows how different people may have different definitions of it that reflect who they are as a person by usi ng strangle dialogue given by the characters and situations that reveal symbolic items. From the ironic remarks and slight rebuttals inRead MoreThe Sojourner And What We Talking About When We Talk About Love By Carson Mccullers And Raymond Carver1291 Words   |  6 PagesIn the short stories title The Sojourner and What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, written by Carson McCullers and Raymond Carver respectively, the writers tell a story about love and its changing attitudes. The main characters in these stories all vary in regard to their personalities and their individual idiosyncrasies, however, the message being conveyed by McCullers and Carver is that of the changing nature of love, and how it can impact an individual’s sense of self in respect to how oneRead MoreRaymond Carver1583 Words   |  7 PagesRaymond Carver (1938-1988) was a poet and a simple realist writer of short stories. His prose addresses the average working-class citizen. Bill Mullen describes the book that contains the short story â€Å"What We Talk About We Talk About Love† to the â€Å"distinctly post-modern fate of contemporary working-class Americans† (Bloom). The writings are depressing and riddled with failures in life. The textbook calls his school of writing â€Å"Alcoholic Blue-Collar Minimalist Hyperrealism† (Bayam). This is evidentRead MoreImportance of Symbolism in What We Talk About When We Talk About Love1027 Words   |  5 Pagesmake. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is a short story about four friends trying to find the true meaning of love, trying to prove points through experience. In What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Raymond Carver uses very strong symbolism to help convey the theme of the story. Instantly, it is easy to recognize that Carvers story will be one on love, since the title clearly mentions it. He introduces the characters, two married couples, who are having a discussion about loveRead MoreEssay about Raymond Carver (what We Talk About When We Talk About Love)892 Words   |  4 Pages Mel McGinnis of â€Å"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love† seems like that one guy that everyone seems to know. He stands out from others; he’s unique. You either love him or hate him. Mel is very much like one of my good friends. They are both very individualistic and hey are both annoying drunks. They are both interesting characters though. I think the author Raymond Carver created the character Mel based off someone he knew. Carver created Mel for one reason or anotherRead MoreThe Many Sides of Dr. Melvin R. McGinnis1475 Words   |  6 PagesRaymond Carvers short story â€Å"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love† leaves the reader feeling as if they have sat down at the table with a bottle of Gin and experienced first hand the effects of alcoholism and depression. In the original version of this story the â€Å"Beginners† Carver carefully crafts the many sides of an alcoholic personality developing strong knowable characters. The fundamental personalities are left fairly intact from the original version. It should be noted that the feelingsRead MoreIt’S Interesting How Everyone Has A Differing And Personal1659 Words   |  7 Pagespersonal definition of love. Love is an indefinable heap of confusion. I guess I could say â€Å"in my opinion†, love is connection, trust, affection, and openness†¦love is the most extraordinary and satisfying expe rience that we can have as human beings. At some points in our life we will all experience love whether it’s for a human being or maybe just for your dog. Why is this question so hard to answer? I perceive love in a positive way but on the other hand Raymond perceives love differently. That’s okayRead MoreEssay on Raymond Carvers What We Talk About When We Talk About Love1355 Words   |  6 PagesLove is undoubtedly one of the most frequently explored subjects in the literary world. Whether the focus is a confession of love, criticism of love, tale of love, or simply a tale about what love is, such literary pieces force readers to question the true meaning and value of love. Raymond Carver accomplishes this in his short story â€Å"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.† As the unadorned setting and the personality of each character unfold, the reader realizes that Carver is making a graveRead MoreThe Complexity of Love in Raymond Carver’s What W e Talk About When We Talk About Love520 Words   |  2 Pagesto get wrapped up talking about is love. And it always has been. In Raymond Carver’s â€Å"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,† the four characters spend an entire afternoon discussing the simple word that has countless interpretations. Carver uses this story to convey how not everyone shares the same definition of love. He uses Mel, Terri, and Nick and Laura to show just a few of the ways love can be seen, expressed, or develops through stages. Mel McGinnis views love in a handful of differentRead MoreEssay about Cathedral Character Analysis1414 Words   |  6 Pagesthe story Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, the narrator is conflicted with issues of inner-demons that are manifested in a blind man whom he perceives as a danger to his marriage. The narrator in this story is a good example of an anti-hero showing negative characteristics while never actually being a bad guy. This gives the idea that he is very humanistic character. That being said, he is a flawed character who is just trying to please his wife while not giving up what he wants. In the end he realizes

Descriptive Essay - Original Writing - 2098 Words

Wake up Abby, it s time to go to school! my little sister Natalie whispered as she poked me. Leaves were blowing against my window, making a pitter patter sound that made me smile. I loved that fall breeze. It was another miserable, chilly Monday, to bad Autumn was coming to an end. I looked up at Natalie with her gigantic grin, and her gaze on me she never let go of. Nat, it s only 5:55, can t I at least rest for five more minutes until I have to start getting ready? I pointed to the door to my bedroom, so she would get the idea that I wanted her to leave. Okay, Abby! she said cheerfully, and skipped out the door, with her short brown hair blowing behind her from the open window that let a breeze in my dark purple room. I sat up in my bed and took a deep breath. Another day of school, I thought. I didn t want to go to our elementary school. Elementary school is so boring and I didn t want to go to the morning CARE Program my mom signed Natalie and I up for either. My sisters and I w anted to stay home watching a movie while sipping hot cocoa, but I couldn t. I had to go to McDole Elementary School, but since my parents had to work we have to go to the CARE Program that started at 6:45. Then we would have to play card games like crazy eights and garbage with the other kids who had to go there. Being in the CARE program is hard, but I don t feel bad for half of those kids because a lot of them a just plain rude! I pull myself out of bed... slowly, tryingShow MoreRelatedDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1110 Words   |  5 PagesI don’t know how I got to where I am, but I’m here now, and I have to win if I want to live. I am in a game, and in order to live, I have to escape. That’s the thing, though: I don’t know how to escape. I was running for my life around this old house that looked like it came straight out of a horror movie. I doubled over and held my head in pain as I saw the static, which meant it was coming. I was being chas ed by what looked like a person but in no way acted like one. Just as it was about to appearRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1102 Words   |  5 PagesIt is on days like this when we stop to think about our life. Small drops of rain begin to dapple the cobblestone pavement as people whip out their umbrellas for cover. I continue sauntering down the busy street, relishing the feeling of a light shower. Moving with the mass of pedestrians, I stop at a crosswalk where I wait for the stoplight to turn green. A flower shop employee across the street scurries to bring in the numerous bouquets and close the doors as rain starts rolling down the displayRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing914 Words   |  4 PagesDreamy I thought. Standing on the corner is a young guy with a smile. I see him here almost every day, so I linger for a while. He tells me his name, and I tell him mine. I m Ester, what s your name? I enquired. My names David .,He replied. We end up talk ing for a while and I asked him if he had ever left this city. He tells me of all these stories of the places where he s been, the distant lakes and mountains, and in valleys oh so green. I can see it in his eyes, he really has beenRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing974 Words   |  4 Pages I was used to moving round, having a mother who liked to travel more than making roots was something I had gotten used to. Still, I had never gotten used to the loneliness of an empty house when she was out exploring, or the feeling of leaving behind someone who could have meant something to me. Our most recent move was Oregon. It was pretty, and I didn’t mind it, but it was much different than Florida. Not only was it opposite sides of the country, it felt as if it were opposite worlds. InRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1012 Words   |  5 Pageshave plenty of time in the next month to think about my feeling in regards to Kendrick. I needed to finish up the article and get it off to my editor. I should be able to get it done by tonight and send an email in the morning. I was thinking of writing my next article about the sea life around the Scottish coast. Since our salmon dinner last evening I thought I would do a piece about the commercial salmon farming that began in Scotland in 1969. In 2002 over 145,000 metric tons of farmed AtlanticRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1561 Words   |  7 PagesThere’s something I need to say and what follows may not be something that you’d expect, it won’t be heartening or uplifting. If you remember today, I told you about going somewhere I wanted to go to†¦ I’m not sure if you believed and accepted what I now confess as untrue; it is partly. I needed to pull away emo tionally†¦ from you. You must have had fathomed that some degree of formality had seeped between us. Born of habit, formulaic greetings had become a routine. You presume that I’m a close friendRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1387 Words   |  6 PagesI was wearing a beautiful blue dress with sapphire gems all around the chest area as I entered the ball with Ciel and Sebastian. I took a good look around here, the hallway was lined with gold. There was a servant ready to escort us to the ball room. Hello, come this way. He said, walking forward. Wow, this place is so fancy! I exclaimed, looking around. It s fake gold. Ciel bluntly replied, bringing my hopes down. I sighed. Ciel sounded like he wasn t in a very good mood. Ciel, lightenRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1287 Words   |  6 Pages In the morning, Caireann woke me up. She stood above my bed, shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes, looking at her. Then I looked across the room to her empty bed. Andy s empty bed sat in the corner. I swallowed, climbing out of bed. Sleep well? Caireann asked me, starting out the door. Yeah, I said, going over to our small dresser. I had the bottom two drawers. Andy had the middle two, and Caireann had the top. I pulled open the drawers, pulling on a colorful tank top and a grayRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1345 Words   |  6 PagesLater that night, I was behind the wheel of my G-Wagon with Melissa in the passenger seat. She didn’t feel like driving since she was on the road all day and I understood so I didn’t mind when she asked me to. I had been tight-lipped. She kept eyeballing me as if she detected that something was bothering me but I just kept singing to my India Arie as if I was carefree. â€Å"So are you going to tell me what’s going on or no† Melissa said disrupting my own personal concert. I stopped singing and tookRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1085 Words   |  5 PagesI WAS SITTING IN a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster. It was just after dark. A blustery March wind whipped the steam coming out of the manholes, and people hurried along the sidewalks with their collars turned up. I was stuck in traffic two blocks from the party where I was heading. Mom stood fifteen feet away. She had tied rags around her shoulders to keep out the spring chill and was picking through the trash

Social Impact Assessment in Decision Making †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Social Impact Assessment in Decision Making. Answer: Introduction Environmental assessment is criteria that the government has mandatory to improve the effect of any project before their development. Any project before the initiation requires to assess the impact. This includes risk assessment, cultural and hazard assessment, economic affect assessment and policy evaluation (Grieco et al. 2015). The scheme has been developed by US government in 1970 (Smith 2014). The environmental assessment includes the monitoring and evaluation of the companys latest projects. The three element of this evaluation are public policy, health and education initiatives and international impact assessments. In Australia Newcastle City Council and potential issues, policies created the first Consultative Panel and actions were taken based on the models and theoretical framework of Social Impact theories (Prenzel and Vanclay 2014). There are two kinds of approach to SIA, The technical approach and political approach. Both are simultaneously important to consider before the planning process of the project. The most important social impact assessment theory is Actor-Network Theory (Epstein and Buhovac 2014). The projects of development are mostly initiated for governmental to create a difference in the lifestyle of general people by intervening, transforming and enforcing. The most important part of the projects is to execute without any hindrance. The wellbeing of individuals are of priority and thus by monitoring and evaluating the impact before making a decision is needed action for developers. Like risk assessment takes into consideration the chances of success, the SIA takes care of major ethics of developing a project (Hildebrandt et al. 2014). The happenings of people and impact of the project is positive or negative is assessed in the planning stage of a project. Action, interaction, change and impact are the main elements of this theory (Epstein and Buhovac 2014). Different stages in project development It should be ensured that the identified variables of those that are involved in projects, be it directly or indirectly, are measurable. The human population and community involved (workers, employers and their favmilies0, political resources, social resources, environmental resources (Becker 2014). Population characteristics of the region of the place the project is getting developed presents the change in ethnic, influxes as well as outflows of temporary residents. If the project is developed and the region is not suitable for the population, there would be consequences and unwanted expenses to bear (Smith 2014). Community and industrial development must be in accord with the project development plan and execution. The whole system must have capacity for industrial change and voluntary association for that can relate to each other. Thus, the harmony is needed before forming the plan (Smyth and Vanclay 2017). Individual and family changes were very important for the stakeholders involved in the project. Community resources and social resources are essential part of project planning to consider. As an industry cannot run without the resources that are needed to fulfil the work (Hildebrandt et al. 2014). The aspects where social variables affects the life of people and should be considered while decision making The way of peoples life in the society, that is how they live, work, play and interact with other people. The social or individual culture of people, the religion, values, language diversity or dialect of people The political systems of the project and level of democracy in the environment is a major aspect to consider for the purpose of betterment of the project as well as the conceptualisation of the social impacts The health and well-being of the people need to be taken into consideration Disadvantage of violation of the human rights by any means (Epstein and Buhovac 2014) Standard of making the SIA in Australia The Australian government has standards and sub standards of social impact assessment rules and regulations that seek for fulfilment of the policies. The main objective of this policy is to have direct impact assessment team and detail statement of the impact Enhance the consistency, transparency and councils assessment of social issues Assist the staff to improve their assessments of development of projects (Becker 2014) The key principles for assessing the social impact for having data to help in decision-making To have minimum necessary information to avoid the complexity in decision making List of positive as well as the negative impacts in environmental aspects. This will be useful in construction and operation Participation of the people and social groups that have potential impact of the project development Practical and action focused statement of the assessment of the project requirement that is related to the assessments. Least of all the health, productivity and diversity of the environment should be given more emphasis in order to analyse the impact in the life of people who are involved The fear and aspiration of the perception of the physical safety and adequacy of the sanitation also comes under the impact (Arce-Gomez et al. 2015) The nature of SIA policies that includes the international context is to help make better decisions and also mitigating the implementation programs harmful effect and maximising the output of the productivity (Karami et al. 2017). SIA is a complementary activity to economic development. It increases the sustainability of the planned project. The agencies and professional have different context of executing this task in order to commit to the sustainability, integrity, equity and fairness of human rights as well as advocates the accountability and openness of the ethics. It also adds value to the system (Franks and Vanclay 2013). The major activities that are included in the SIA are It participates in the planned intervention It also identifies interested and people who are affected by the project development Documents and analysis of the historical settings of the site and what has affected before Social profiling of the stakeholders impact of assessment and process Assessment of the process that needs to be identified (Karami et al. 2017) Assist in the process of selecting the site Assessments of the evaluation process is known as the major activity of developing a project (Franks and Vanclay 2013) The recommendation regarding the process is needed for mitigating the measure that are taken in development stage The project needs to be in harmony with the development and capacity building in community Appropriate coordination and arrangements in the non-mitigatable impacts The mentoring and management programs should be assisted (Glasson et al. 2013) Conclusion Therefore, from the above discussions it can be concluded that Social Impact Theory is one of the most important part of making a project sustain in the economy. The main concern in the development of project is to meet the ultimate goal set by management programs and without analysing the impact of the project in social environment. The scope is covered by studying people with different background. The reliability of the project also depends upon the extension sustainability factor. The social exchange theory is based on the relevant issues that are identified in the actor network theory. The economist links the development of the complex process and each development activities listed above affects well-being of the peoples lives. It is essential for decision makers to maximise the benefit and outcome of the project, thus efforts must be given in developing the policies of social impact after assessment. References Arce-Gomez, A., Donovan, J.D. and Bedggood, R.E., 2015. Social impact assessments: Developing a consolidated conceptual framework.Environmental Impact Assessment Review,50, pp.85-94. Becker, H., 2014.Social impact assessment: method and experience in Europe, North America and the developing world. Routledge. Epstein, M.J. and Buhovac, A.R., 2014.Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Franks, D.M. and Vanclay, F., 2013. Social Impact Management Plans: Innovation in corporate and public policy.Environmental Impact Assessment Review,43, pp.40-48. Glasson, J., Therivel, R. and Chadwick, A., 2013.Introduction to environmental impact assessment. Routledge. Grieco, C., Michelini, L. and Iasevoli, G., 2015. Measuring value creation in social enterprises: A cluster analysis of social impact assessment models.Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly,44(6), pp.1173-1193. Hildebrandt, L. and Sandham, L.A., 2014. Social impact assessment: The lesser sibling in the South African EIA process?.Environmental Impact Assessment Review,48, pp.20-26. Karami, S., Karami, E., Buys, L. and Drogemuller, R., 2017. System dynamic simulation: A new method in social impact assessment (SIA).Environmental Impact Assessment Review,62, pp.25-34. Prenzel, P.V. and Vanclay, F., 2014. How social impact assessment can contribute to conflict management.Environmental Impact Assessment Review,45, pp.30-37. Smith, L.G., 2014.Impact assessment and sustainable resource management. Routledge. Smyth, E. and Vanclay, F., 2017. The Social Framework for Projects: a conceptual but practical model to assist in assessing, planning and managing the social impacts of projects.Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal,35(1), pp.65-80.

Personality an Example of the Topic All Posts by

Personality I. Introduction Puzzling people move all around us. You are one and I am one. Evidence to show that we are single, clearcut individuals is meager; in fact, a large number of studies indicate that each of us alters our personalities and behaves differently, depending upon circumstances. Apparently the same ability holds true regarding ourselves. We do all manner of quite bizarre things that dont fit together objectivelylike the good Christian tax-evaderbut these contradictions dont make us come apart or feel we are two different peopleinstead, I am just me, all one person. We see all parts of ourselves as fitting together; usually it is the mental patient, ironically, who detects the discrepancies, and they are quite worrisome to him. Need essay sample on "Personality" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Personality theorists fall prey to the desire for unity for its own sake all the time. As one author has pointed out, for example, if a woman is sometimes fiercely independent and sometimes rather docile, the psychologist tends to lump these two behaviors together, concluding, for example, that she is actually quite independent and dominating, but to satisfy this need for domination, sometimes she must pretend to be docile (Mischel, 2001). This is pretty tricky reasoning. The point is that personality theorists to oversimplify; at least be aware of this as we discuss personality.Nonetheless, science cannot advance without some organization, and personality theories provide this structure, that is, something psychologists can at least grab hold of so they have some framework for discussion and experimentation. Personality is difficult to define for at least two reasons. For one, personality is differently defined by different theorists. Freud, for example, would have said that personality is made up of behavior patterns resulting from the handling of sexual and aggressive impulses during childhood. Others see the origins of behavior differently. The second difficulty is that personality is the ultimate in complexity and variability. How do we explain Mr. Jones, who is the following: a tax-evader, a shifty business operator during the week, a faithful and apparently sincere churchgoer on Sunday, a dynamo at work and very meek at home? What is personality? Any definition could give rise to legitimate complaints. But, in order to give the discussion some structure, a definition is needed: personality consists of relatively enduring behavior patterns that result in fairly consistent reactions to a number of different situations.Personality theory attempts to pinpoint specific types of people, determine what is responsible for producing that type of person, and make predictions about their behavior that will hold true most of the time. II. Background A. The Meaning of Personality Personality is a fascinating area of study, but a difficult concept to define. In this study, we define personality as the organization of an individuals distinguishing characteristics, attitudes, or habits; it includes the individuals unique ways of thinking, behaving, or otherwise experiencing the environment. The qualities that make up ones personality are relatively stable and organized into a totality. With this definition of personality in mind, we can identify four separate tasks that personality psychologists have addressed (Runyan, 2003). To analyze individual and group differences. Why are people different from each other? Are members of some groups more similar to each other than other groups? For example, are there personality dimensions that influence the way we experience life events such as the midlife transition? To understand particular individuals. Students tell us that this is a major reason that they take introductory psychology. They want to find out what makes peoplethemselves and others do the things they do. To study personality processes. There are many personality processes, including altruism and sex-role differences. For example, are masculinity and feminity dimensions of personality that influence behavior in predictable ways?To develop general theories of personality. Theories of personality are unified explanations for the totality of individual behavior. III. Discussion A. Research Issues in Personality Psychologists have approached these tasks using a wide variety of research methods (Craik, 2003). Knowledge about peoples personalities can be obtained from their everyday conduct, as is the case in field studies. People also reveal themselves through the products of their imaginations, and this technique is used when personality tests known as projective tests are given to people. A straightforward approach to gathering personality data is to ask people to fill out self-report inventories about their characteristics. With this method, two risks are apparent: People may not be fully aware of what they are like; and if they are, they may wish to cover up some of the flaws they perceive. We gain information of a different sort about personality when we ask others for their impressions of specific people. This technique is known as the use of observer reports in research. Life histories, such as those biographies and autobiographies, and archival material provide a rich source of data o n particular individuals for the study of personality. Clinical case histories, on which many of the major theories are based, fall into this category. The most carefully controlled information comes from behavior in laboratory studies of personality. Although control is maximized in laboratory studies, it is sometimes at the expense of naturalistic experiences. No single source of information about personality is the ideal, correct source. All these methods are important for obtaining information about personality. Published research on personality, however, relies heavily on self-report inventories and laboratory studies with limited samples of people. Between 1998 and 2002, 85% of the research published in major journals used these two methods, and approximately two thirds of the research used under-graduate samples (Craik, 2003). However, there has been a trend in recent years toward greater use of biographical material, sometimes referred to as psychobiography, in the study of personality (Alexander, 2003). B. Psychoanalytic Models of Personality According to psychoanalytic models of personality, people are born with psychic energy that is transformed and redirected during their normal course of development into complex human behavior. In the psychoanalytic view, the human mind is an active agent, with divisions that keep some material from entering conscious experience. We consider in detail psychoanalytic view, the human mind is an active agent, with divisions that keep some material from entering conscious experience. We consider in detail the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud and, to a lesser extent, other psychoanalytic perspectives. Freuds Psychosexual Theory Freud developed most of his theory through his studies of his patients, people who sought his help or were referred to him for help for psychological problems. These problems, he believed, were related to the ways that instinctual energy was channeled. For example, patients suffering from hysteria, a disorder in which physical symptoms are present without apparent organic basis, were suspected if allowing their sexual energy to build up without appropriately discharging (Freud, 1977). According to Freud, there are two sources of instinctual energy that are the ultimate cause of all activity (Freud, 1977). One instinct accounts for feelings and behavior related to self-preservation and preservation of the species, including sexual behavior; Freud called this the life instinct (eros). The other instinct, called the death instinct (thanatos), impels the person toward aggression and destruction (Freud, 1977). Most of Freuds work on personality was concerned with the life instinct. However, Freuds views in aggression and its place in civilization merit a slight digression. Primitive people, according to Freud, had no restrictions on the expressions of their instincts. Expression of sexual urges was not restricted by social norms and decorum. Contemporary civilized societies, however, place fairly rigid restrictions on sexual expression. We can only have intercourse in appropriate places and with certain people or we face severe social sanctions. Similarly, civilization limits expression of our aggressive instincts. Freud felt that aggression was a derivative of the death instinct, and that it could be channeled in two different directions. If directed toward the self, then the individual risks self-destruction. If directed away from the self, aggression is the result. Because of the instinct demands some kind of expression, a decrease in aggression increases the risk of self-destruction (Freud, 1977). Freuds views on aggression are controversial in a number of respects. For one thing, he tells us that civilization itself is part of our problem. IV. Conclusion From a practical point of view, Freuds notion that aggression is an instinct that demands some kind of releaseinstead of a form of social behavior that can be increased or decreased through environmental circumstancesis especially controversial. Consider the case of television violence. If Freuds views are correct, then watching televised violence might actually be a good thing. People could reduce their aggressive instincts through catharsis, on relief of the emotions from viewing the experiences of others. Perhaps no aspect of everyday life is more common than watching television. In the average American household the television set is on more than 6 hours a day, and the average child between the ages of 2 and 11 watches it for about 3 hours daily. Estimates are that by high school graduation, the average American child will have spent 11,000 hours in the classroom and 15,000 hours watching television. Programs aimed specifically at children, such as Saturday morning cartoons, contain a great deal of violence. The National Institute of Mental Healths report on television and behavior estimates that childrens weekend programs contain more violence than do prime-time shows (NIMH, 2002). Hundred of studies have examined the relationship between television violence and actual aggression among viewers. In one of these studies, more than 500 children in grades 1 through 5 participated in a short-term longitudinal study. Reference: Alexander, I. (2003). Personality, psychological assessment, and psychobiography. Journal of Personality, 56, 265-294. Craik, F.I.M. (2003). Personality research methods: A Historical perspective. Journal of personality, 54, 18-51. Freud, S. (1977). Analysis of a phobia in five year old boy. In A Strachey & J. Strachey (Eds. And Trans.), (Vol. 10,pp. 165-305). New York: Penguin (Penguin Freud Library). Mischel, W. (2001). Continuity and change in personality. Amer. Psychol. 34:1012-1018. National Institute Mental Health (2002). Television and behavior: Ten years of scientific progress and implications for the eighties: Vol. 6. Summary report (DHHS Publication No. ADM 95-1195). Washington, DC:US Government Printing Office. Pervin, L.A. (2005). Personality: Current controversies, issues, and directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 36, 83-114. Runyan, W.M. (2003). Progress in psychobiography. Journal of Personality, 56, 295-326.