Life History Essay

The purpose of getting a liveliness history on a person is to be fit to paint a fancy of who they are. The information from the history should not reasonable be a haphazard collection of facts. The history should be an account of the persons animateness story, including important themes in their liveliness that mull over the development of their personality and their relationships with separate throng. Life histories run key roles in psychological treatment and research. temporary hookup the following guidelines are sort of typical of the sort of questions asked, questions vary immense depending on whos doing them and wherefore. Your purpose in conducting this interview is educational. While your mark is collecting the same information you might in a very clinical or research situation, keep in mind this is a didactic exercise. at that placefore, be go outinging to sacrifice sensitive or upset information to protect the comfort and privacy of your subject. Be su re to allow him or her know (s)he does not convey to emit near any thing (s)he doesnt want to.While doing the interview, pay careful attention to how the person is responding to your questions, and end littlely be respectful of his/her privacy. If it seems like the person is uncomfortable discussing nigh survey of his or her life, come int press for an answer. Move on to the neighboring explode of the interview. Each of you will interview a classmate. Then, that classmate will interview you. I expect each interview to follow most 1.5 hours. You should recognise notes, and if you pass access to a tape recording recorder, I would exhort using it likewise. Be sure to check your recorder to see that it is working, though, and take notes anywaymachines fail at the darndest beats Be sure to move a copy of these guidelines and bring them with you. Dont be algophobic to refer binding to them for questions and guidance virtually topics to broach. This assignment is due on 5/29/00.Beginning the InterviewIt is beat to begin the interview by giving the person free range to tell their life story. Where they start their story and how they tell it will reveal what immediately strikes them as important. So begin the interview with the following instructionsId like to specify out approximately your life history. Could you tell me close to it? Describe it to me as if you were telling me your life story.Most people will leave out certain details. If the details seem important, use unrestricted questions to probe for more information, such asAnd then what happened? or What did you do after(prenominal) that?We to a fault want to find out about how people thought and felt about what happened to them. If they omit this information, use such questions asHow did you detect about that? or What did you think about that at the time?The Importance of ReflectionIt is best if the interview doesnt turn into a question and answer session where you ask questions a nd they contact short answers. Its difficult to do, barely try to turn the interview into a smoothly flowing discussion. Use the technique known as reflection to come on a person to talk more about manything. Simply reflect back to the person some important aspect of what they have just said. You may simply repeat the exact words the person used, or you may sometimes add in some thought or feeling that you detected in what the person said. Reflections are NOT in the form of a question. If you can do this effectively, you wont have to bombard the person with all of the questions listed above. Here are some examples soul My father and I used to play ball in the backyard. We had a lot of fun with that. You You and your father had some fun times. Person When he said that to me, it genuinely annoyed me. I couldnt believe my best friend would say something like that. You He could actually get you gaga with his remarks.Other examples of open-ended reflections might beI guess you re ally enjoyed that time of your life.It expires like it upset you when he said that.It seems like that was a very important as yett for you.When a question does seem necessary, open-ended questions are most likely to lead to richer receptions (rather than yes or no). clear-cut ended questions invite answers that are descriptive and elaborative, rather than monosyllables. How do you feel about school is an open-ended questions, because it allows great latitude in the response that might be given. Do you like school would merely energetic a few word response similarly, a multple-choice format limits responses. There are situations where open-ended questions are not optimal (e.g., When and where were you born is fine). alone normally, the goal is getting the subject to talk about important topics, rather than answer hundreds of questions you think might be relevant. Open-ended questions are usually best for initiating a flowing conversation.Areas to ExplorePeople will also leave o ut certain topic areas that are important. You will need to ask questions about this areas, but always try to do so in an open-ended way that allows people to express themselves freely, according to what strikes them as important. You should get information about all of the following areas. Start with the front open-ended question, and work your way down to the following questions, if needed. 1. The history of farms and grandparents recognize me about your parents lives.What can you tell me about your grandparents lives?(Inquire about their lives before and after marri bestride, including important events in their life, their childhood, education, occupation, ethnic and religious compass. If they leave out a parent or grandparent, inquire about them)2. Early childhood (before school)What do you know about yourself as a baby.What was your mothers motherliness like?Were there any family stories or jokes about what you were like as a child?What are your earliest childhood memories? What do you opine or know about major early events in your life like eating habits, walking, talking, and toilet training?Were there any stresses in your family at that time?3. shoal YearsWhat were your early days in school like?Do you remember the very first day of school?How did you do at school work through the years?What were your relationships like with your teachers and schoolmates?Who were your friends and what sorts of things did you do with them?4. AdolescenceWhat was your adolescence like?How was your social and school life at that time?When did you enter puberty. How did your life change then?What was your relationship with your friends during your young years?What was your relationship with your family at that time?When did you start to date, and what were those relationships like?5. giving Life (including college)What has been important about your large life?What have your adult relationships with friends and co- workers been like?What has your relationship with your (husband/wife, fiance, boyfriend/girlfriend) been like?What types of jobs have you worked at, and what did you think about those jobs?What was college like for you?What hobbies or other interests do you have?6. Family Information (if you didnt already get this info)What has your family been like over the years.Tell me about your brothers and sisters (age, education, marital status, their relationship with the interviewee)How would you describe the personalities of the people in your family?What role did each parent take in raising you?Were there any emotional problems in the family, or conflicts between family members?Did your family ever move? What was that like?What is the ethnic background of your family?What has been your religious upbringing, and your attitudes about religion?Describe your own family. (relationship with children, how children relate to each other and spouse, typical activities, etc.)Questions & Answers about the AssignmentHere are some questions a classma te asked. I felt it might be right-hand to share them, and my replies, with the rest of you. I do have a tape recorder ( I am not sure if I religious belief it very a great deal, what if it doesnt pick up the voice or ), record the mike at the interviewee, talk a few minutes, then play it back to see if its working. If your partner has a tape, use it too as a back-up. I actually do use devil sometimes in my work. And, of course, take notes in case the darn thing decides to fail when you need it most.but what should I do about notes? (i dont write very fast at all) And how can/should an interviewer take notes so as to minimize its interference in the interview? encyclopedism to use shorthand is part of learning to be a practised inteviewer. Just write what you must to reconstruct the conversation. You can go back and fill in the details later. Its ok to ask the interviewee to calculate while you write (just a second, pleaseok, thanks, go ahead.). This is less disruptive than yo u might imagine, as immense as you dont do it too frequently.Are we supposed to ask All the questions? That is a stupid lead-in on my part, but it seems like that would take long than 1.5 hours.I actually expect the interviews will run about 2 hours, but if I assigned that people would run over anyway, so I thought Id do you a promote by starting with a lower expectation. Try to pace yourself. If you find youre spending lots of time on one part of your subjects life, move the conversation (great. Thanks. Now, could you tell me about new topic). I dont expect anyone will follow the guidelines exactly. Thats why Im offering them as guidelines rather than a strict set of questions.Are there wrong responses to this interview? I would not want to ramble and be a bore. I like to talk/share. I am trying to decide if I should warn my interviewer.That really is the interviewers jobto politely redirect the subject when (s)he rambles off. Some of that is inevitable, even desirable, but it is important to redirect things when the subject lapses into long, relatively unimportant tangents. withal what if you just dont remember or it takes too long to try and remember or you only remember vaguely or if things are difficult to explain?Well, you wont be able to say much about those things. Thats ok.Its not as though I think about these things all that often or in specific articulable terms, ya know? Or do I sound like an idiot?No, I feel the same way about some of the questions. For example, I dont know much about my toilet training. I suppose if I was still in diapers at age 4 I probably WOULD know about it, so often, when something in early childhood is unremarkable, we dont know much about it. Thats fine.Should we try to think of responses? What should/can I do to be a better interviewee/interviewer?I dont think you need to fasten to be interviewed. Of course, theres no deterioration in thinking a little about the questions ahead of time, but I think it would be a poo r idea to prepare your responses. That wouldnt give your interviewer a very natural experience.By the way, what is the age range difference between what is referred to in/by Schoool Years versus Adolescence?School Years generally refers to middle- and later-childhood, say the ages of 6-12.Also, What is due on the 26nd? notes? A write-up of some sort? Q & A transcript type record?No. both interviews should be complete by that date. Your write up will be due on the last meeting of class.You say this is a informative experienceas opposed to what? What sort of instruction is that intended to give us? Did you mean to convey anything specific, may I ask? Not to sound suspicious, just trying to understand.Im trying to cue you that this is a learning experience. So, if you start discussing things that are upsetting to the interviewee, or (s)he is antipathetic to discuss, I wouldnt encourage you to push or dig deeper. one(a) might do such things during a professional assessment, or as a t herapist, but this is an educational experience for the interviewer, not a clinical intervention to benefit the interviewee. Consequently, its appropriate to sacrifice information that be essential in a different context.For example, if you find that your subject was beaten(a) as a kid, you might not push for details in this exercise (that would be an unwarrented intrusion), although I certainly might in a real clinical or research interview.