A 19-year-old youth was admitted to the psychiatric service. When he was admitted to us the boy's parents told us that over the past few months

• The boy's parents told us that over the past few months their son's behaviour had changed drastically
• the patient has spent most of his time staring vacantly out of the window.
• He has also become careless about his personal appearance and habits.
• He had been an average student at college, but was forced to leave recently as he was failing all his subjects.
• While at college he had done well at non-team sports and won several medals, but now he does no exercise at all.

• Further conversations with his parents have indicated that his childhood and adolescent adjustment had not been healthy.
  
  
• The personnel of the psychiatric service found it difficult to talk to the patient.
• He volunteered no information except to answer direct questions in a flat, toneless way, with no emotion.
• Often his answers were not logically connected to the questions.
• The observers who took part found it difficult to record their conversations with the patient. Often after the conversations the observers themselves were left wondering what the conversations had been about.
• While speaking about a serious illness which had left his mother bedridden for a considerable period, the youth constantly giggled.
• At times he became agitated and spoke with a curious intensity.
• The patient said he felt that he was somehow being influenced by a force outside himself to commit an act of violence -as yet undefined -towards his parents."

Questions relevant to Wundt's model:

1. As you read this case story, what might make you think that there were changes in the young man's sensations? What sensations might be affected? Why do you think so?
2. If there are perception distortions what consequences will that have upon the person's behavior, feelings, general state of consciousness, way to interpret the world?
3. What are the main feelings present in this person, it seems? Are there dominant feelings? Is there a balance between the different kinds of feelings?
4. What emotions seem to be present? Are the emotions appropriate? Why might they not be?
5. What are this person's volitional processes?
6. What is this young man's apperception like? What does he pay attention to and notice? What does he not notice? What volitional processes (i.e. motives etc.) might underlie the structure of his field of consciousness?
7. Having thought this through, has this model helped you gain some understanding of the young man's possible condition?