The assignment:

Message no. 51: posted by Deborah Vess (IDST_2310) on Tue Jan 16, 2001 12:28
Subject: Assignment

Please summarize the results of your preferential shapes
project.  What was your preferential order of the
shapes?  Did the Jungian interpretation seem to convey
to you basic truths about yourself or did you disagree
with Jung's interpretation? 

Message no. 50: [Branch from no. 9] posted by student 3 on Tue Jan 16, 2001 12:20
Subject: re: Assignment

The first thing I learned through the shape project was
that everyone in my group was a lot more creative than I
 am. I enjoyed the project and I learned that while I
like to think that I am a stable person, that may not
always be true. The triangle best represents myself,
although I did not use it alot in my project. I think
that I am growing tremendously and have yet alot to
learn. The project was very useful and helped me see who
 I am and how others see me.

Amy Frost

The order of my preferential shape list was 1-circle,
2-spiral, 3- square, 4-triangle, and 5-cross. The test
did have some truth behind it. I do strive to be
independent and self-sufficient as the circle represents
and I am very solid and secure, which is what the square
represents. I believe that I could have found myself in
everyone of the shapes meanings, however, and feel that
this test compares greatly to people reading their
horoscopes. It was fun to see what all of the
preferential shapes symbolize.

I enjoyed the shape project! It was interesting to see
what the shapes meant. Most of mine were right on the
money. I chose to use the circle and spiral most in
design. I like different things and changes. The project
was very interesting.

My shapes pretty well matched up with how I actually am
in real life.  My favorite shape was the square, and
according to our little hand out this means that I have
a strong need for consistency, accountability, and
completion.  I value authenticity, integrity,
responsibility accountaliblity, and congruity.  This is
fairly obvious to anyone who knows me.  My second shape
is the equidistant cross.  According to the sheet, this
tells us our strengths, whether we know them or not. 
According to this, my strength is people skills.  I
develop relationships easily and acheiving balance is
natural to me.  Indeed, these are things that I never
really thought about myself.  However, looking back,
they are probably true.  Our third place shows us our
true current growth process.  In this case, because I
listed the circle, individualization is important to me.
 I very much value being your own person and not fitting
into a set "clique".  I always hope that I will be able
to be my own person, true to myself and what God wants
for my life.  The fourth place I have a little problem
with.  It's very vague...it seems to me that everyone is
motivated by their past dreams and and visions and
goals, and of course following them is what got them to
the place they are now.  This is typical to a person who
listed the triangle in the fourth slot.  I guess since
it seems so obvious to me, it must be accurate.  My
least favorite shape is the spiral, and it pretty much
states a true fact about me.  I don't have much interest
in change.  I don't fear it, but neither do I hasten to
bring it.  Stability and some routine are important to
me.  So, overall I found that this little study was fun
and enlightening.  Thanks!

My shapes were 1. Triangle, 2. Cross, 3. Square, 4.
Circle, 5. Spiral.  The parts of the test that I found
related most to me were the triangle in the first
postion, which shows that I am focused on my dreams and
goals for the future, the square in the third position,
which shows that stability is occuring within me, and
the circle in postion four, which represents an
experience that led me to self-reliance (I spent the
summer in Maine away from my parents and friends). 
However, although I agreed with these things, I
disagreed with the rest of the results.  The cross in
position two means that I have strong people skills. 
I'm a pretty shy person, and don't feel that people
skills would be a strength of mine.  The spiral in
position five means that I am unlikely to show growth
and change, which I disagree with completely.  Overall,
I found the activity interesting, even if it wasn't
completely accurate about me.

I really enjoyed this project and I was very anxious to
read the meanings of each of the shapes. My shapes in
order were: 1.euidistant cross, 2.circle, 3.square,
4.triangle, 5. spiral.  Like the results said I do see
myself placing an emphasis on the quality of time shared
with others and relationships are very important to me.
I also show very little intrest in change. Overall I
agreed with most of the results and enjoyed seeing how
my preference of shapes says a little about my.

The order of my preferential shapes was 1)circle,
2)spiral, 3)cross, 4)square, and 5)triangle.  I found
alot of truth with the meanings of the shapes.  As the
circle came first in my project which represents
wholeness, I find myself as a college student searching
for wholeness.  Next the spiral, which also defines me
as a college student growing mentally and physically to
change for the better.  The cross is defentally my sign.
 I love spending time with my friends and family. 
Relationships to me are what really makes a person who
they are because you can be yourself and not have to try
to act a different way to impress your friends. The
square is mildly me.  I am a stable person as long as
every thing is going good.  As for the triangle, I have
many goals set for myself to accomplish on a daily basis
and on a lifetime basis.  I have always been a dreamer
(which is sometimes bad). I found that the order of
shapes fit me pretty well, even thought I could find a
piece of me in everyone of the shapes.  This project was
alot of fun!  

I made a mobile of shapes using foam cut into different
shapes and covered with glitter. Then I hung them with
pipe cleaners. In order I preferred the
spiral,circle,square,triangle,and rectangle.  I think
the spiral describes me because I am going through lots
of change in my life and growing in lots of ways.

Jung's order of preferential shapes, for me, was the
square, circle, equidistant cross, spiral and triangle. 
I am more of a person that associates with color rather
than shapes, so I choose to represent my favorite shape
with my favorite color.  I created a little statue
combining all the shapes to illustrate my favortie.  The
square being my favorite was basically true.  I do feel
stability, but being that there is so much change in my
life right now, it may be a false since of stability. 
Perhaps the most significan position shape was the
equidistant cross.  It is the symbol or relationships,
which are very important to me.  I felt like it would be
higher in my preferences.  I agree with whoever said
that this activity is very similar to a horoscope: it
can be true how ever the person chooses to view it. 
Jung's shape preference activity was very interesting
and may provide some insight into a person and their
personality.

My preferential shapes were 1.triangle 2.circle 3.square
4.spiral 5.equidistant cross. The ones that were true
for me were the triangle in postion one, the square in
postion three the spiral in postion four and the cross
in postion five.  The only one that wasnt true was the
circle in postion two.  However the ones that were true
were only true in a few aspects.  In postion one with
the triangle i seem to sometime live to much in the
future. With the square I definatly put a great
infacisis on people taking responsiblity fo rwhat they
do as well as myself. In postion 4 with the spiral is
very true b/c i have been trying to grow and overcome
certain things in a relationship, and this is the same
for the cross in postion five. I really enjoyed this
excerise, and I like all types similar to this.

The results of my preferential shapes assignment are as
follows:  I think I am intensly focused on identifying
and pursuing goals and that this is the most important
thing, however.  I prefer these things the most but
really and truly I aspire to be independent and
individualistic.  My strength is my stability and I am
motivated by growth and chance.  I have unresolved
issues with a past relationship.

The order of my shapes is; Triangle, Circle, Cross,
Sprial, Square. Position 1-having the triangle here
tells me that my goals and dreams drive my life.  I
think this is true for everyone so it is fitting
Position 2-It says i am complete.  This is true, i am
very independent and happy with the way my life is right
now Position 3-i have the cross here and do not
understand what it means Position 4-I have the sprial
here, it means growth and change.  i do not understand
this one much either Postion 5-i chose the square.  The
packet says that i am denying stability and
responsibility nad do not care to be.  I am a 20 year
old college student, i take my education serious but i
dont feel the need to be uptight and mature.  I want to
have fun while i can!!!  

The results of my preferential shapes was very
interesting to me because I made it of play-dough.  This
project was exciting to learn about.  The order of my
shapes were 1-spiral, 2-circle, 3-square, 4-rectangle,
5-rectangle.  I do think that the Jungian interpretation
seem to convey the basic truths about me.  According to
the handout the spiral symbolizes growth and change.  I
have had this experience just recently, because I moved
to my parents lake house by myself and I have never been
the one to be alone at any time.  I have recently found
a new job in the last 3 months.  So, the Jungian
interpretation does convey the truths.  Even though I
dropped my project in the parking lot going to class
when it was due, I still had a great time imaging how
shapes are an important factor in my life.

My favorite shape is the spiral... which says that I
think I am at a point of growth and change, which would
be true... I see my second semester of college as a
transitional time and a time for me to get adjusted to
all my new found freedom.  My second shape is the
triangle, which says that my strengths are my goals,
dreams and visions, which is understandable because I am
very driven by my goals and what I would like to see
myself accomplish.  My third shape, the circle, claims
that where I am is at a place of wholeness, which I
don't quite understand.  I don't feel like I have a
balanced life right now, though I suppose that that
could come from my ability to adapt.  I can feel
comfortable where ever I am, and am good at stablizing
my schedule, no matter the confusion.  My motivation is
my relationships as predicted by my fourth shape, the
cross.  I agree with this in someways, my motivation
comes from a want to make my parents proud and to do
good for others.  My fifth shape confuses me,  a square,
it symbolizes any old, unfinished business.  Perhaps it
could be interpretted as my fear of being stuck in a
rut, leading a boring and unfulfilling life.  Either
way, the preferential shapes assignment, wheither it was
correct or not, did force me to examine myself and what/
or where I think I'm headed in my life

For the most part I agree with Jungian's theory. I think
that this piece of art described me pretty well. My most
favorite shape was the circle, then the following were
the square, the triangle, the rectangle and then the
spiral. I thought that Circles really showed my sense of
wholeness and the squares showed my stability. I think
that I am about as stable as a person my age can be!    
  Sheena A. Evans

The preferential shapes assignment was unique in the
fact that it allowed us a certain creative freedom to
interpret the "project" Seeing each person's individual
spin on how the project should have been done was more
informative than the supposed "results" of that
assignment. I looked at our handout as nothing more than
an intelligent and craftily written horoscope, which
catered to our willingness to believe in what we read.
All of the explaations for each shape, and its order of
choice was a reasonable application to anyone's life and
I found no justification for its legitimacy. Once again,
I did enjoy creating something of my own and liked being
allowed to exhaust my creative freedom. I also was
interested to see all of the other interpretations on
the assignment. I am curious to see how the latter
assignments turn out.

     THE ORDER OF MY SHAPES
P1-SPIRAL,P2-CIRCLE,P3-TRIANGLE,P4-SQUARE,P5- CROSS. AT
FIRST I HAD MIXED THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS ASSIGNMENT. I WAS
THINKING WHAT IF I AM DOING THIS ASSIGNMENT WRONG, BUT
NOW I SEE THAT THE WHOLE ASSIGNMENT WAS NOT ABOUT
WHETHER OR NOT YOUR PICTURE WAS PRETTY IT WAS THE
INTEPRETATION. MY PICTURE WAS VERY ACCURATE AND REALLY
LIKE MY HOROSCOPE. I ENJOYED THE EXERCISE.

By doing this assignment, I was able to tell a little
more about myself.  The circle was my first shape and it
showed that I felt complete.  I also am constantly
reaching for indivisualism and developing my own
identity instead of relating to my peers.  The
equidistant cross was my second shape and I believed
that it showed my need for relationships.  My first
relationship that I feel very strongly about is my
relationship with Christ.  Without that, I would
definately be incomplete.  I also cherish the
relationships I have with friends and family.  My third
shape was the triangle.  It showed me that at this stage
in my life, I am constantly trying to reach new goals as
I am about to embark on my journey in the "real" world. 
The square was my fourth shape.  I feel that I am stable
and I value integrity as well as responsibility and
accountability.  My last shape was the spiral.  I feel
that my college experience has caused me to grow
spiritually, emotionally, and socially.  Through
college, I have been able to look at things with a new
perspective.   By doing this project, I felt that it was
neat to see how my self-portrait could be revealed by
shapes.  Jill Simmons

The rank of my shapes are as followes:      1. Triangles
     2. Squares      3. Equidistance crosses      4.
Circles      5. Spirals The sheet discribing the
personnality for me was fairly accurate, but I felt that
the describtions were so general that one could apply
them to something in their lives.

In evaluating my project on January 16, 2001, I started
with the circle which represented to me the wholeness of
myself.  The circle starts at one point and ends by
connecting into a round shape; never ending.  This is
the way I see myself, searching for reality. The cirlcle
followed by the cross.  My cross representing I am not
satified with where I am in search of more to fulfill my
goals.  After several years away for the collegiate
setting, I have returned to complete a degree.  The
triangle envision the goals I want to achieve.  I am a
wife, mother and employee and yet there is more I want
to do.  Again followed with the circle again wanting to
be a whole person and finally the square, hoping to find
stability, for I am responsible for my destiny with the
help of our God who is the head.  

My order of my shapes is
rectangle,square,circle,triangle and spiral.I guess I
think I'm very stable but I'm really either very
wholesome or in the middle of self discovery.  My old
unfinished business is growth and change. This really
does discribe be to a T.It gives me a starting point to
look inside myself at a new light. This assignment was 
interesting and was alot of fun.

My preferential shapes went in this order:  cross,
circle, triangle, square, and then spiral.  I found it
interesting that the shape you use the most is not where
you are now but where you think you are.

 During the shape project, I have learned a little more
about myself and my personality. By looking at the
shapes that I most commonly consider my favorite and
doodle, I can see what kind of person I am through the
meanings of the shapes.   In my design of shapes, you
can see that the circle and square are my most drawn
shapes. The circle which represents my wholeness is very
close to the kind of person that I really am. According
to the meaning of the circle, I have learned and
realized now that I am the kind of person that needs my
space in order to achieve the most. I feel like I need
the space to become the person that I am and to have
quality time alone to sort out problems and difficult
situations.   The square is also my most drawn shape.
This part of me represents the stable person that I am.
I don't let a lot of things get to me, and I always feel
as though I must complete a job before going on to
another. I am also organized which is represented by my
foundness for the square.   Even though I can't count on
these shapes to determine my personality, it was a great
assignment that helped to uncover the meaning of my
doodles!

I felt that the shape assignment didn't really describe
me.  Though some of it was true.  I have never really
thought about what my favorite shape is.  I picked
circle first then triangles, spiral, squares and last
was the rectangle.  I don't feel that the order I put
the shapes said anything about me and the way I feel.  I
did though enjoy the topic and hope that there are more
assignments like this one to help me find "me".

The shapes project helped me to realize that the way I
preceive myself isn't always the way others may see me. 
The shape that I used the most in my project was the
spiral. According to the handout we were given in class,
this shape represents growth and change.  I have always
seen this shape as a good representation of life.  It
always has a begining and end, and it grows and changes
along the way.  My strength is stability.  I am the one
who tries to stay strong for everyone else.  The
triangle was the third shape I used.  This represents
goals, dreams and vision.  The project was right in
saying that this is my main focus for my life right now.
 My motivation is my relationships with others.  The
people who are close to me are my inspiration to achieve
my goals, dreams and visions.  The circle was my last
choice.  The circle represents wholeness, which
(according to the handout) I am lacking.  I believe once
I have achieved some of my goals and have reconciled
some old friendships I will be completely happy with my
life.