Documents
In order to really grasp the character that is Sue Sylvester we took a gander at her personal journal. By looking at her journal we were exposed to her inner most thoughts, the ones that she was unwilling to share with us.
References
Seasons 1 and 2 of GLEE!
Monday, March 14, 2011
A Case Study: Intervention
Intervention
To help Sue, we believe the flooding technique will be most effective in exposing Sue to her failure. If we make Sue believe that all the most valued aspects of her life (i.e.: Cheerios, victory against Glee Club), have been destroyed, then she will be forced to cope with these losses. We can only hope that Sue will look to her personal bonds for support; this will act as a catalyst to Sue's attempted growth in her relationships. We wish Sue the best, and we will be supporting her as true companions throughout her journey.
To help Sue, we believe the flooding technique will be most effective in exposing Sue to her failure. If we make Sue believe that all the most valued aspects of her life (i.e.: Cheerios, victory against Glee Club), have been destroyed, then she will be forced to cope with these losses. We can only hope that Sue will look to her personal bonds for support; this will act as a catalyst to Sue's attempted growth in her relationships. We wish Sue the best, and we will be supporting her as true companions throughout her journey.
A Case Study: Predictions For Sue Sylvester
Predictions
We predict that Sue will soon hit rock bottom. Sue's constant need for control and false image of herself cannot result in a healthy outcome. Even though she has maintained what she believes as success thus far, she will be surprised to find that failure at some point in life is inevitable. Once Sue experiences this failure, we believe that she will go through a temporary state of depression due to the realization that her true self, ideal self, and self concept are nowhere near congruency. At this low point in her life, Sue will be distraught by the fact that she will need more than competition in her life to reach self fulfillment. At this time, Sue will look to those around her to form real bonds with the companions in her life. By doing so, Sue will finally reach the stage of love and belonging in Maslow's hierarchy, which will lead to a real level of self esteem. She will now be able to form lasting bonds with her comrades and gain their respect.
We predict that Sue will soon hit rock bottom. Sue's constant need for control and false image of herself cannot result in a healthy outcome. Even though she has maintained what she believes as success thus far, she will be surprised to find that failure at some point in life is inevitable. Once Sue experiences this failure, we believe that she will go through a temporary state of depression due to the realization that her true self, ideal self, and self concept are nowhere near congruency. At this low point in her life, Sue will be distraught by the fact that she will need more than competition in her life to reach self fulfillment. At this time, Sue will look to those around her to form real bonds with the companions in her life. By doing so, Sue will finally reach the stage of love and belonging in Maslow's hierarchy, which will lead to a real level of self esteem. She will now be able to form lasting bonds with her comrades and gain their respect.
A Case Study: Analyzing Sue Sylvester
Analysis of Sue's Behavior
As Sue's therapists we have undergone an extensive study of what her personality and experiences consist of. To explain Sue's lack of compassion and emotion towards most people we look to Freud's psychodynamic theory. Freud tells us that childhood experiences play a major role in the unconscious decisions we make. Sue's negligent parents are the cause of her young maturity as she adopts a mother figure towards her younger sister. This lonely childhood has lead to her detached nature as an adult. Because Sue never formed strong parental bonds as a child, she is now unable to create and sustain companion relationships. Looking to Karen Horney's perspective, Sue developed basic anxiety stemming from her basic hostility as a child, in response to her negligent parents. Alfred Adler suggests that all children develop an inferiority complex, which develops into a drive for superiority. This is easily observed through Sue's constant attempts to dominate McKinley High, specifically seen through her quest for victory with the Cheerios. Sue is so determined to achieve superiority that she will endanger the lives of her precious Cheerios. At one point, Sue took drastic measures and attempted to shoot one of her Cheerios out of a cannon in hopes of gaining points with the judges. In Sue's adult life, she unconsciously uses reaction formation, humor and projection as a means of self defense. These defense mechanisms can be seen through her constant degradation of Will Schuester by criticizing every aspect of his life.
As we continue to analyze Sue's curious character, we look to Carl Roger's theories of self esteem. This humanistic/existential perspective nails Sue as highly incongruent. Sue's self concept is largely disproportional to her ideal self, and most importantly her true self. Her incongruent self concept manifests itself in a disturbingly harsh true self. Sue believes that she has already reached her ideal self. Her personality will remain unbalanced until she realizes that her self perception is skewed. We now turn to Maslow to explain Sue's quest for self actualization. Sue has fulfilled the basic psychological and safety stages of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. However, she has skipped the stage of love and belonging. Because Sue is unable to form a legitimate personal bond with any companion, she is unable to reach self actualization. She harbors a superficial level of self esteem which is shown through her extreme confidence, yet lack of respect for others.
As Sue's therapists we have undergone an extensive study of what her personality and experiences consist of. To explain Sue's lack of compassion and emotion towards most people we look to Freud's psychodynamic theory. Freud tells us that childhood experiences play a major role in the unconscious decisions we make. Sue's negligent parents are the cause of her young maturity as she adopts a mother figure towards her younger sister. This lonely childhood has lead to her detached nature as an adult. Because Sue never formed strong parental bonds as a child, she is now unable to create and sustain companion relationships. Looking to Karen Horney's perspective, Sue developed basic anxiety stemming from her basic hostility as a child, in response to her negligent parents. Alfred Adler suggests that all children develop an inferiority complex, which develops into a drive for superiority. This is easily observed through Sue's constant attempts to dominate McKinley High, specifically seen through her quest for victory with the Cheerios. Sue is so determined to achieve superiority that she will endanger the lives of her precious Cheerios. At one point, Sue took drastic measures and attempted to shoot one of her Cheerios out of a cannon in hopes of gaining points with the judges. In Sue's adult life, she unconsciously uses reaction formation, humor and projection as a means of self defense. These defense mechanisms can be seen through her constant degradation of Will Schuester by criticizing every aspect of his life.
As we continue to analyze Sue's curious character, we look to Carl Roger's theories of self esteem. This humanistic/existential perspective nails Sue as highly incongruent. Sue's self concept is largely disproportional to her ideal self, and most importantly her true self. Her incongruent self concept manifests itself in a disturbingly harsh true self. Sue believes that she has already reached her ideal self. Her personality will remain unbalanced until she realizes that her self perception is skewed. We now turn to Maslow to explain Sue's quest for self actualization. Sue has fulfilled the basic psychological and safety stages of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. However, she has skipped the stage of love and belonging. Because Sue is unable to form a legitimate personal bond with any companion, she is unable to reach self actualization. She harbors a superficial level of self esteem which is shown through her extreme confidence, yet lack of respect for others.
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