Help! A Grade 11 Socionics Project

[ScarlettLux]

I'm not sure if this should go in General Discussion, move it if you will mods, but ... I really want this to garner some good attention..

So yeah. I'm in Gr 11 and I'm taking an Anthro/Socio/Psycho class. Our Culminating Activity is to do primary research and formulate a 3pgish report on the topic of our choice regarding any of the fields studied! Socionics of course sprang to my mind and the whole theory of personality.. mainly quadras. I wrote my proposal, etc. and my teacher said it seemed like a university-level project and more complex than she was actually looking for, but I think I could still do it with my partner.

Basically, I need some ideas/help. My whole project can be boiled down to one specific thing: Finding out if the QUADRA THEORY is really true.. I mean the whole deal with small groups of friends generally being of the same quadra (with one or two "stragglers" as mentioned on the socionics.us site) ..

I need to make surveys. This is how I decided I would do it. It may be quite biased, but eh.. best I can do for this high school thing, not trying to be overly worked up here. I have the types of PLENTY of people.. I was thinking I would print surveys to these people (knowing beforehand their types) and ask them questions about their behavior in groups.. like you know how most sites describe Quadra behavior and all? I was thinking I would break it down into simpler terms and ask questions that will lead me to understand whether or not they have a preference to a certain type of group behavior.

Example: Alpha vs Beta vs Gamma vs Delta
Question: Which appeals to you more in a group setting?

1. (Alpha, but they don't know this, obv.)

Carefree emotional expression, enjoying the simple sensory delights like funny stories, food, picnics, group outings, the arts

2. (Beta)

Dramatic self-expression, enjoying artistic means to express romantic, abstract ideals and feelings: singing, poetry, etc.

etc.etc.

I know it's a total copy from the socionics.us website but I'm not sure what else to do. I need suggestions to improve this whole thing, make it less biased and more understandeable to test takers. I'm scared that maybe certain choices will sound better than others...

Thank you =]

I can't wait to introduce at least one part of Socionics to my class.. I'll try not to screw it up too badly!

[ScarlettLux]

OH btw, (didn't wanna include this in original post.. fear of it getting to boring & long lol)

I am also filming people. I think it would be interesting to get a full quadra together and videotape their interactions.. see if they really do naturally get along after some short time.. they don't know eachother, but we know their types.

The problem with that is, I am not sure what we should do when they're together.. just let them.. talk? =/ I wanted also to compare it with a person from say, Beta (ESTp) going into a full DELTA quadra and seeing if there is real tension or what not.

[Animal]

To be honest, I agree with your teacher. Doing a properly controlled study on Socionics would be extremely difficult. For one thing, there is the issue of reliably typing people. People who deal with Socionics professionally can't even agree when it comes to typing methodology and they certainly don't consistently agree on who is what type. You will also need a huge survey of people to reach any even remotely valuable conclusions. Psychology/Anthropology/Sociology are messy subjects in and of themselves. Their axioms are merely gross generalizations, and their conclusions are nothing more than roughshod approximations. Socionics? It's about ten times more messy than THAT.

[aestrivex]

a suggestion to promptly be ignored:

your teacher is right. socionics is an excellent field of research for an undergraduate with an interest in any of the psychological fields. you are probably overstepping your own capabilities both by expecting that you will be able to both explain essential components of socionics and effectively explain the nature of your project in three pages.

a suggestion would be to dumb down the aspects of personality that you're really dealing with in socionics and restrict your input very drastically; compare, for example, socionics introverts with socionic extroverts. undoubtedly, solely classifying people as introverts and extroverts is not appropriate in the context of socionics, but your paper can explain the vast differences between different types of introverts and extroverts based on whatever findings you might make.


essentially, the point is that springing a study to do with something on the entire field of socioncs, something that your teacher likely has never heard of (they may have some significant knowledge of MBTI, if you're lucky), is probably not the best of ideas.

[Animal]

a suggestion would be to dumb down the aspects of personality that you're really dealing with in socionics and restrict your input very drastically; compare, for example, socionics introverts with socionic extroverts.

^ This is a good idea.

The quadra thing... the quadra values themselves are all based on idiosyncracies within the functions themselves (dramatic self expression? it's a facet of extraverted feeling, etc.). It would seem REALLY arbitrary if you just introduced the values themselves as criteria on which to study group dynamics. You would need to explain Socionics from the functions on up through the model of the psyche to individual types before to could deal with quadras in your paper. And that would take forever.

[ScarlettLux]

Oh mannn....

[UDP]

MBTI may be more feasible easier, and more familiar with the kids. They'd be able to relate to it more probably...
Especially since it is based on "empirical", visible observations of people.

High school stereotypes would fit more easily.

[aestrivex]

High school stereotypes would fit more easily.

doing a formal project/paper on high school stereotypes in an EXTREMELY bad idea

[Creepy-bg]

High school stereotypes would fit more easily.

doing a formal project/paper on high school stereotypes in an EXTREMELY bad idea

I don't think it's so much a bad idea as it's just overdone to death

[Creepy-male]

Well you don't have to scrap your idea, you just got to metabolize it for your audience. One immediate thing that comes to mind is, are you going to present it or is it just an essay?

Also I'd suggest focusing on a specific idea of quadra theory, instead of bit of such a big question. An example may be, "Do types of the same quadra work together on projects better than types of different quadras?", and set up a research project based around having groups do a simple project and observing the results or something. Also I suggest if you present it to have it be interactive and get students involved.

[Exodus]

This sounds like an awesome idea. However, the chances that it will end up being 3 pages are almost nil.

I tried writing an essay about socionics; I had two pages before I even finished explaining the basic concepts.

[ScarlettLux]

Thank you all who replied so quickly, much appreciated.

So after reading your responses and warning me against the complexity of my project, I've still decided to keep at what I originally set out to do. I'll tell you how it goes, and will post the entire report once it is finished =]

I am not looking to explain the entire concept of Socionics to anyone. I'm merely trying to put the basic theory of the Quadras in "layman" terms... for the people of my class. Yes, I will be presenting this and I will go further into a bit of background information regarding model A, etc.

I think I will be able to do this. I believe in myself.. haha.

[aestrivex]

good luck although i still think the project is totally infeasible.

[Creepy-male]

Thank you all who replied so quickly, much appreciated.

So after reading your responses and warning me against the complexity of my project, I've still decided to keep at what I originally set out to do. I'll tell you how it goes, and will post the entire report once it is finished =]

I am not looking to explain the entire concept of Socionics to anyone. I'm merely trying to put the basic theory of the Quadras in "layman" terms... for the people of my class. Yes, I will be presenting this and I will go further into a bit of background information regarding model A, etc.

I think I will be able to do this. I believe in myself.. haha.

Do something intereactive, no average high schooler is going to really take in what your saying if you just read off a 3 page extravaganza of words -- though you may get a good grade. Have them actively participate in the activity, they will especially like it because it gives them something to do other than just sit there and listen to paper after paper.

Trust me on this, I had to do a project in Anatomy Class in 11th grade and present it, I did stuff on the brain and memory and brought optical illusions and such to class and the people really thought it was cool because instead of hearing a rambling essay they got to participate in something, with psychology you can have the potential to do alot of interactive stuff.

Thats my 2 cents....

[UDP]

High school stereotypes would fit more easily.

doing a formal project/paper on high school stereotypes in an EXTREMELY bad idea

I don't think it's so much a bad idea as it's just overdone to death

( I was relating MBTI to high school stereotypes)

[aestrivex]

]
( I was relating MBTI to high school stereotypes)

i know. its still a bad idea to touch stereotypes at all in a formal project.