What drives my choices?

Choices �Session 4

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Remembering our ground rules

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Basic psychological needs

Sometimes our choice to connect with certain people or �groups is driven by our own basic psychological needs. �Choice Theory suggests there are five needs:

1. Survival: what you need to sustain life, as well as �a sense of safety and security
2. Love & belonging: the need to be connected to others
3. Power: the need to be your best, to matter, to leave a legacy, �to have an impact, to be competent
4. Freedom: the ability to do what you want, when you want, without restrictions
5. Fun: play, relaxation and meaningful, relevant learning

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Choice Theory

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Ella’s Story, Episode 3

• Read through Episode 3 of Ella’s story.
• As you read, think about Ella's decisions and the clues they give us about her state of mind.
• Ella's inner monologue provides some valuable clues to the circumstances that might be driving her decisions and how these have led her to the choice she now faces.
• Capture your thoughts on Worksheet 4.

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Understanding Ella’s Needs

Which basic need is driving Ella the most here?

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Love & Belonging

Ella is perhaps duped by her need to belong. Ella confesses she �"hates her lips". We should never hate ourselves, and we should learn to respect ourselves for who we are.

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Understanding �Ella’s Needs

Which basic need is driving Ella the most here?

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Power

Perhaps this is appealing �to a sense of taking control �of her life, even though the implication of changing her appearance might be considered quite a drastic change to make

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Understanding Ella’s Needs

Which basic need is driving �Ella the most here?

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Power

This is wrapped in appealing �to a sense of taking �control, but �where does �the real �control �lie? �Is Leah �simply �manipulating �Ella here?

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Understanding Ella’s Needs

Which basic need �is driving Ella �the most here?

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Love & Belonging

This is a negative play on Ella’s need, anger represents a threat to remove the feeling of love / belonging

It is used as a mechanism to �coerce and control Ella �at moments when she might �be wavering.

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Understanding Ella’s Needs

Which basic need is driving �Ella the most here?

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Love & Belonging

Cementing the need to belong �with a test of trust

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Love & Belonging

Approval, praise, recognition

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Love & Belonging

Using this to then manipulate Ella

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Understanding �Ella’s Needs

Which basic need �is driving Ella �the most here?

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Freedom

Once again, is Ella �duped into thinking �Leah’s influence will lead �her to be able to do what �she wants (or what Leah wants)?

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Understanding Ella’s Needs

Which basic need is driving �Ella the most here?

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Love & Belonging

Ella is beginning to distance herself from �her life at home. Is she being destabilised?

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Understanding Ella’s Needs

Which basic need is driving Ella the most here?

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Love & Belonging

Stripping her support network and the structure from around her so that she believes no one but Leah can help her

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What have we learned about what drives our choices?

Today we have seen:

How Ella’s state of mind, and her basic psychological needs, pulled her into a situation almost unwittingly.

Ordinarily, this is unlikely to lead to anything too serious but over the coming weeks we will see how such a situation could escalate and why it’s therefore important to have some understanding of our own psychological states and how they can impact our decision-making.

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