Theories of Personality
Preliminary Exam

The Case of Jason

Glenn is a family historian of sorts. His hobby is to document the stories of hisfamily by typing them into his computer and distributing them to interestedfamily members. Currently, he is writing down stories relevant to his grandfather,Jason. As he thinks about and writes them, he begins to understand why his grandfatherseemed so distant and aloof even though Glenn, as a child, expressed lovetoward him. Glenn found out a lot about his grandfather when he attended hisgrandfather’s wake a few years back. His odd behaviors make a lot more sense tohim now considering what Jason’s relatives and friends said about him.

Jason was born in eastern Colorado in the 1920s just before the GreatDepression of 1929, the third of four brothers, to a stay-at-home mother and afather who could be considered a farmer and cowboy, both of German-American descent. His family was poor during his childhood, and their homewas so small that in all except the worst weather, he was required to sleep onthe front porch. Some nights it was so cold on the porch that he would wakeup to a light dusting of snow on his blankets. Food was not always plentiful.Glenn remembers that his grandfather sometimes joked that on a farm, sellingcrops came first, then came feeding the livestock, then came feeding the children.He was only half joking really. Christmas, of course, was sparse for thechildren and so were new clothes. When Jason needed clothes as a small child,his mother would sew them, sometimes using burlap bags as material.

Although the family was poor, they shared what they could with others whowere less fortunate than they were. When Glenn was a child, his grandfather toldhim that strangers would stop by their house during the Depression, hoping for ameal. His mother would then add another cup of water to the soup pot and give abowl to the stranger along with a piece of bread. Jason thought that was odd at thetime and could not imagine strangers just stopping by his house asking for a meal.

On a farm, children are expected to help with various chores, and Jasonhelped sell vegetables such as beets and squash from their produce truck. Jason’sfamily also had cows, and it was Jason and his brothers’ job to sell and delivermilk from a milk truck. They would combine the watery milk of some breeds ofcows with the creamier milk of other breeds to make a good product and toensure that none of the customers were cheated. He and his whole family tookpride in their work.

Glenn found out from his great uncle that Jason had a close relationship with hismother and nursed until he was three years old—until his two older brothers laughedat him. He stopped nursing because he did not want to be made fun of. Jason had asomewhat distant relationship with his father, though, who was fairly uninvolvedwith his children. Jason’s parents seemed to have a good relationship, however.They had met at a county fair when they were doing a show in which they did akind of square dancing with horses. Jason’s mother’s usual partner took sick, and shewas paired with his father (to be). Jason’s parents married when his mother was only16; his father was 28. They remained married for the rest of their lives. His motherhad an eighth grade education; his father had a third-grade education.

Over the years, Glenn found out from some of Jason’s childhood friends thatwhen Jason was a teenager, at the beginning of World War II, he went to Denverwith these friends to sign up with the army. Because he was not 18 yet, Jasonhad to get his parent’s permission to join the army, which his father gave.Although he finished high school, Jason did not wait for his graduation ceremony.He was anxious to leave Colorado and to begin his own life. He hadhopes of living a life that was more comfortable and sophisticated than the onehe lived as a child. He reported for duty in the army immediately after completinghis high school requirements. Jason was stationed on what could be consideredthe front lines of World War II, but he never had to actively battle theenemy. This was probably best considering that when he was a teenager, hewent on a Sunday school hunting trip and used his father’s gun to shoot hisfirst—and last—rabbit. The animal was completely obliterated, and the experiencedisturbed Jason. Although Jason never stated it, he probably joined thearmy because of peer pressure and because of the idea that “that was what realmen did.” Glenn remembers that it had always been important to his grandfatherthat he be thought of as a real man, and Jason perceived himself as ruggedlookingeven though he was actually fairly short and not very muscular.

After Jason finished his military service, he went back to Colorado only once,when his father was sick and dying of cancer. Jason spent some time in San Franciscowith his friends and worked for an airline company washing airplanes. After ashort time, Jason decided to enroll for another stint in the army. After this secondtour of duty, Jason left the army and attended college on the GI Bill. He majoredin accounting, and although his academic record was not outstanding, he completedhis bachelor’s degree in just over three years by taking the maximum numberof credits during the regular semester and by attending summer school. Hesupported himself with various temporary jobs such as washing dishes.

While attending college, Jason met the woman who became his wife. Theymarried after a brief courtship and had three children. Jason worked at Westinghousein Buffalo to support his new wife, but a recession caused Jason to be laidoff. Throughout his life, economics influenced Jason, and this particular time wasno different. Jason again decided to enlist in the army and attend officer trainingschool, which he did, because he had his college degree. Glenn understood thatthe army offered Jason some financial security.

Glenn knew from his mother, Jason’s daughter, that Jason was not veryinvolved in the raising of his children because of his position in the army. Heworked long hours and often spent time on base after work at the officer’s clubto wind down. During this time, Jason became increasingly distant from his family.He became more isolated from them and more involved in his work. Evenhis social life consisted primarily of going out with other men with whom heworked rather than going on family outings or dates with his wife. Even whenhe was with his family on weekends, Jason spent time with his friends when hiswife was shopping at the grocery store. He became interested in art, music, andfine food and at any one time subscribed to as many as 10 magazines on thesetopics. Jason became an increasingly cultured person, growing to appreciate thebetter things in life that he never had as a child. He encouraged his wife, Glenn’sgrandmother, to become involved in the officer’s wives club, but she did notenjoy the experience. This emotional distance between Jason and his family, hiswife in particular, came to a pinnacle when she decided to stop having sex withhim. The only reason Glenn knew this was because, as a teenager, Glenn had
overheard a conversation between his grandmother and his mother about this.He was notsure how the conversation began but as soon as he was discovered,it ended. It seemed to be a family secret.

Years later Glenn found out more about the conversation. According toGlenn’s mother, her mother, Jason’s wife, later found out that he had been havinghomosexual relationships with various men. When confronted, Jason claimed tohave been faithful to his wife. He believed that he never committed adulterybecause he did not have intercourse with another woman and that he did notstart his homosexual activities until after his wife “cut him off.” Jason did not feelguilty about his extramarital affairs. Rather, he felt victimized because his wifewould not have sex with him, and he claimed that the homosexual acts were nothingmore than working out in the gym. His wife never divorced him, however.

Although Jason had some contact with his children after they were grown,his relationships with them were distant. He seemed to continue to have homosexualexperiences until his death, but he did not have a regular partner. Henever expressed regrets about anything, but he did feel closer to his past thanto his present or future. An example of this is that he attended many armyreunions throughout the year but rarely visited his children or grandchildren.

Name: ________________________________________

1. How could Jason’s homosexuality be explained from a Freudian perspective?

2. What was Jason’s goal in life, according to Adler’s theory? Did he experiencefeelings of inferiority that influenced his life? Provide examples. How did he strive for success? Explain.

3. How could Jung’s concept of self-realization apply to this example?
4. How could Horney’s theory explain the difference in Jason’s idealized versusreal image of himself?

5. How would Sullivan’s interpersonal personality theory explain Jason’s lackof close relationships, especially with his wife and children?

6. According to Bowlby and Ainsworth, what type of adult attachment styledid Jason have? Explain.

7. Which of Erikson’s stages did Jason successfully complete? Which werenot completed successfully? Explain.