Developmental Formulation · Capstone Exercise

Hypothesis, Not Biography

One history, two developmental accounts, and nothing in the file that chooses between them. The capstone exercise of the module, and the only one whose correct answer is that you cannot yet decide.

What this exercise practises

Building a developmental formulation across the domains of Section 18, recognising when the available information does not discriminate between competing accounts, selecting questions that could make your own formulation wrong, and offering it in a form the client is able to refuse.

Part 2 has a correct answer that most clinicians dislike. If you find yourself wanting to choose a pathway on the information given, that reaction is what the exercise is for.

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 35 minutes

1The domains
2Two accounts
3What would test it
4Holding it
5He disagrees
6Close

Before you begin

How this one works

This is the capstone exercise and the most demanding in the module. It asks you to build a developmental formulation and then to establish that you cannot yet choose between two versions of it.
Part 2 has a correct answer that most clinicians dislike. If you find yourself wanting to pick a pathway on the information given, that reaction is the thing the exercise is for.
Everything is multiple choice or sorting, with feedback on every answer. The two writing boxes near the end are optional.
Nothing is graded and nothing you type leaves your browser. Reloading discards it.

The organising question of developmental formulation is where a sexual meaning came from. The discipline is holding the answer as a hypothesis while it is still the most satisfying thing in the file.

References

  1. Grubbs, J. B., Perry, S. L., Wilt, J. A., & Reid, R. C. (2019). Pornography problems due to moral incongruence: An integrative model with a systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48(2), 397–415. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-018-1248-x
  2. Nathanson, D. L. (1992). Shame and pride: Affect, sex, and the birth of the self. W. W. Norton.
  3. Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (1986). Sexual scripts: Permanence and change. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15(2), 97–120.