Model Case
During several years of being married, Anna, a young 24-year-old woman, did not understand and did not see that her husband was unfaithful to her. However, having understood the roots of the problems which she experienced in the family life, Anna did not focus on the issues which can be interesting for women who can find themselves in similar situations.
Anna did not choose any traditional variant in order to cope with the problem. Thus, Anna did not choose to talk to her husband, to pay more attention to her husband, to cease the relationship, or to fall in love with another man. Instead, having noticed her husband with another woman of her age, Anna quickly came to home and made a call to order some specific services to start preparations for the parachute jump.
Anna parachuted the next day, and she started to plan the other jumps. While focusing on her emotions associated with the fact of adultery and the parachute jump, Anna noticed that she felt the great pleasure and enthusiasm in both the situations. It was important for Anna to parachute because it was her dream, and the woman chose to concentrate on it instead of focusing on other aspects and situations.
This is a good example of a model case because:
Anna immediately chooses to parachute instead of speaking to her husband in order to understand the aspects of the problem because she cannot think logically and choose the scenario relevant for her, but it can seem irrational for many other people.
Anna focuses on preparing the parachute jump without noticing any other aspects of the situation because her reaction is based on the obsessive desire and enthusiasm which begin to control Anna’s thoughts, but this desire and the associated emotion cannot be controlled.
Anna unexpectedly chooses to parachute instead of solving the problem because she is not aware of her real emotions and feelings masked with the exaggerated enthusiasm, and she unconsciously chooses the variant of behavior which is most appropriate for her.
The woman acts impulsively and rapidly, while concentrating on the parachute jump despite any other activities because her inner high tension expressed in the form of enthusiasm needs to be revealed, and her emotions and actions cannot be caused by any arguments or rationales.
Anna focuses on the parachute jump to comfort herself because any situation cannot be solved according to the definite pattern, and her actions are important for her because they are not based on traditions, rules, and norms characteristic for the society.
Contrary Case
John is usually nervous and even terrified when he needs to communicate with a new acquaintance or present the project to the colleague. In spite of the fact that the above-mentioned situations are rather typical, and they are associated with the person’s everyday life, the emotions demonstrated by John are characteristic for him during a long period of time.
John knows that he was nervous while speaking to the other person even in the childhood. When John was a boy, he stuttered while speaking, and many other boys bullied him at school. Today, John does not stutter, but he is still nervous and terrified when he prepares the speech or communicates during his daily routine. When somebody asks John to tell the route, explain the issue, or argument the proposition, John needs several minutes to cope with his nervousness and start speaking.
This is a good example of a contrary case because:
John demonstrates his nervousness and fear when he needs to communicate with a stranger, a new acquaintance, and even a colleague because he fears that this person will be mocking at him or even bullying him. Thus, John makes a conclusion regarding the possible painful situation while referring to his previous experience.
John is often nervous while communicating in the daily situations because he needs to cope with the extreme stress while analyzing the situation and controlling his fears. John learns the situations and aspects which are the threats to him, and he needs to analyze the current situation in order to conclude about possible risks.
John does not allow his emotions to rule his actions because of coping with them every day. That is why, John understands the rational character of his emotions which are the result of the experienced series of causes and consequences.
John’s fears and demonstrated nervousness can be easily explained with references to the man’s life experience. From this point, John’s strong emotions are of the logical nature because the roots of the observed behavior are the fears and sufferings experienced in the childhood which can be discussed as the causes of the problem. Thus, the subjective and intensive emotions which seem to be illogical have the causes which can be known or not to the person.
Borderline Case
During a long period of time, Tom Smith and Jessica Stone were opponents in the court because of the complicated case associated with their business activity. There were many aspects and details in the case that is why the final decision was not stated during several months. Those months were most stressful for Tom and Jessica.
Finally, the judge declared the decision, but it seemed to be inappropriate for both the man and the woman, and the hatred in their relationships increased. One day, Tom and Jessica were invited to join the voyage, but they became the victims of a strong storm which ruined the yacht. The man and the woman remained to be alive, and they experienced strong positive emotions while seeing each other on the beach. Thus, Tom and Jessica began to help each other actively.
This is a good example of a borderline case because:
Tom and Jessica experienced strong positive emotions while seeing each other alive in spite of the fact that they were enemies in a way. The experienced stress prevents persons from hiding their emotions, and the emotions and some reactions are expressed without the mind control.
On the one hand, Tom and Jessica’s positive emotions are rational because they are caused by the observed situations and associated conditions. Thus, the man and the woman expressed their real emotions associated with the fact that they were both alive and rather close in that situation. It was the reasonable gladness typical for humans because of sharing the same values, beliefs, problems, and difficulties.
On the other hand, Tom and Jessica’s positive emotions are irrational because the man and the woman forgot about their profound hatred which was directed toward each other while meeting on the beach. Specific conditions made them blind in relation to their prolonged feelings and considerations, and momentary emotions began to control their mind and thoughts.
Tom and Jessica demonstrated their humanity in spite of their previous relations and other factors, and their behavior was caused by new shocking events. Thus, Tom and Jessica’s actions and emotions can be discussed as both reasonable or rational and illogical at the same time.
Invented Case
A small town in the green woods of Wonderful Land where all the downy inhabitants have large ears and positive faces is under threat of destruction because they have the unique elixir. The town is under threat of destruction also because of the anger of Dragon who intends to take possession of the elixir which gives the eternal life to those persons who use it.
That is why, to preserve the life in the town and provide the downy inhabitants with more opportunities for balancing the work and pleasure, Wise Magician comes to Jovial, the most expressive and courageous male resident in the town, and asks him to change the situation for better while coping with his fears and developing a plan in order to preserve the elixir giving the eternal life in the town. The town residents do not want to use the elixir because of the unexpected consequences, and they cannot allow Dragon to use it.
Jovial enthusiastically lists a range of variants to cope with a problem without his participation. The young man laughs and cries during his emotional speech several times, while surprising Wise Magician. However, finally, Jovial chooses to reject Wise Magician’s proposition because of the fear of meeting the unknown. In spite of Wise Magician’s convincing speech, Jovial starts trembling with fear after the first words of the magician about the possible threat for the town and for the life of Jovial.
Nevertheless, the eyes of Jovial begin to sparkle when he hears about the possibility to meet the beautiful daughter of Dragon, and the man becomes more and more involved in the magician’s speech. In an hour, Jovial decides to fight Dragon in order to protect the inhabitants of the town in spite of the fact that he is still trembling with fear, and he suffers because of the necessity to kill the father of the beautiful girl.
This is a good example of an invented case because:
Jovial rejects Wise Magician’s proposition at first because of his intense fear, and the emotion is demonstrated physically, with the help of trembling. The case illustrates that emotions can often be provoked by certain situations and conditions, but these emotions can be discussed as irrational because of their uniqueness and unexpectedness.
Jovial experiences a range of various emotions at the same time. The case demonstrates that emotions can be discussed as the urgent reactions of the organism on the stimulus, but the person’s deep feelings and the roots of emotions can differ in their nature from the observed behavior.
Emotions of Jovial change depending on the words he hears and perceives, but these emotions are unexpectedly exaggerated. From this perspective, Wise Magician does not experience any difficulties with identifying emotions expressed by Jovial, but he cannot understand their roots.
On the one hand, Jovial has all the reasons to demonstrate strong emotions which are the result of his inner struggle, but on the other hand, the reactions of Jovial are the result of his own considerations and logical chains which cannot be associated with the objective reality.