II.

Personality Maladjustment and Reading

Personality
Maladjustment

Reading Reading
Failure Failure

Personality
Maladjustment
• Emotional factors that cause reading failure may also
cause problems in other learning areas

• Success in reading may reduce emotional difficulty

• Self-actualization and the Six Academic Orientations
(Davidson, Bromfield, Beck; 2007):
– Structure dependence
– Creative expression
– Reading for pleasure
– Efficacy in academics
– Academic apathy
– Mistrust of instructors
• Structure Dependence
– Dependence on clear guidelines for any classwork

• Creative Expression
– Predisposition towards individual expression of ideas

• Reading for Pleasure

– Delights in reading beyond what is required
• Academic Efficacy
– Confidence in one’s own academic ability and mastery

• Academic Apathy
– Lack of interest in academic work

• Mistrust of Instructors
– Negative perception of teachers
 Red Flags to Watch Out For
• Personality Characteristics:
– Unable to risk making a mistake
– Difficulty making decisions

• Attitude Towards Peers:

– Behavior provokes unkind attitudes and expressions from peers
– Complains that peers do not like him or her
 Red Flags to Watch Out For
• Attitude Towards Teachers and Parents:
– Antagonistic and defiant toward adults
– Dependent on teachers and parents (manipulative)

• Attitude Towards Reading:

– Hates reading
– Avoids reading activities
• Not all emotionally disturbed pupils are poor readers

• Not all poor readers are emotionally disturbed

• Stay vigilant!
 IV. Self-Concept Theory
• Our view of ourselves stems from how we dealt with
personal challenges (crises) and how others treated us

• Important people—family, peers, teachers—greatly

influence the formation of self-concept

• Also impacts the child’s self-concept as a reader

• Negative experiences associated with reading at an early
age may discourage reading (Harris; 1980)

• Social identity theory: comparing one’s own reading ability

to peers contributes to the formation of self-concept
(Walsh & Gordon; 2008)
• Risk-taking in the classroom and reading (Canfield; 1975)
– Positive self-concept likened to having many chips in poker
• Allows more bluffs, losses are acceptable
– Children exposed to risk in the classroom all the time
• Fears ridicule
• Desires praise
 A Balanced View
• Self-Concepts and Psychological Well-Being Assessed by
Beck Youth Inventory among Pupils w/ Reading
Difficulties (Lindeblad, Svensson, Gustafson. 2016)
– Swedish children 10-16 y/o
– Severe reading difficulties or dyslexia
– FEW symptoms of depression or anxiety
– Suggests a change in pedagogical strategies instead of clinical
 A Balanced View
• Reading Psychology, v. 37 (Fives; 2016):
– 229 children from low socio-economic standing (SES)
– Grade 1 and 2
– Combined INSTRUCTIONAL and EMOTIONAL support
produced gains in reading achievement
– Academic self-belief (Academic Efficacy orientation) and
frequency of reading at home had little to no impact
• Instructional Support:
– Supplemental instruction from parent while at home
– Focused quality instruction, NOT frequency of reading
– Adds poker chips to the child to ensure success

• Emotional Support:
– Build successes one or two years below level
– Praise for little wins: “Nothing succeeds like success!”
 VI. More Educational Implications
• Motivating students to read with PARS
(Fortran & Mangrum; 1989)
– Purpose: what exactly does teacher want me to look for?
– Attitude: how does my teacher teach reading?
– Results: what does my teacher think about my progress?
– Success: how well am I doing?
• Bibliotherapy (Rubin; 1982)
– Reading and stories don’t just change skills
– They also change attitudes
– Key developments:
• Wider, more diverse interests
• Sensitivity to others
• Connection to the life struggles of others
• There are many solutions to the same problem
• Stories reflect the journey of the human person
– The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Campbell, 1949)
• Call to Adventure
• External Assistance (goddess, magical companion, mentor, elder)
• Dealing with Conflict (dragon, beast, father-enemy, brother-enemy)
• Journey to the Underworld (death, rescue)
• Resurrection (goddess, mother, sister, magical companion)
• Magical Flight (escape from the dungeon or underworld)
• Boon for the Community (change of status quo)
– Folklore mirrors the human condition, diaspora, and psycho-
emotional disorders (Menez; 1996)
• Aliguyon: epic tale of reconciliation
• Lam-ang: adventure, death, and resurrection
• Sandayo: females as equally strong as men
• Gasumbi: differentiated but equal strength of females
• Agyu: migration, emancipation
• Engkanto Syndrome: psycho-social and psycho-emotional disorders,
cured by shamans through story and psychoanalysis
• Recommended topics for bibliotherapy according to the
psycho-social stage (Sutherland & Arbuthnot; 1991)
– Early Childhood
• Parent-child relationships
• Family dynamics
– Middle Childhood
• Conflict with others
• Taking responsibility
• Recommended topics for bibliotherapy according to the
psycho-social stage (Sutherland & Arbuthnot; 1991)
– Late Childhood:
• Comparing themselves to peers and parents
• Biographies of people who triumphed over diversity
– Adolescence
• Search for identity and self-discovery
• Eventual personal success as a teenager
• MSNBC - Nightly News - Books Help Kids Cope With
Poverty 10-18-2011
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpdn5n4MNK0
– Stories of losing a job, living in a car, among others
– Help children understand what they are going through