Humanism and Positive Psychology Overview

A humanistic approach to understanding people focuses on their unique perception of the world, emphasizing personal worth and values. It acknowledges the importance of self-awareness and free will, and views the meaning of life in terms of both personal and altruistic aspects.

Phenomenology emphasizes the importance of conscious experience over objective reality. This perspective is the foundation of free will, as it highlights the choice we have in how we perceive and interpret our experiences.

Key goals in humanistic psychology are understanding consciousness, free will, happiness, and personal meaning. It emphasizes the uniquely human aspects of the mind that give meaning to existence.

Humanistic psychology emphasizes personal experience, choice, creativity, self-realization, socially significant problem-solving, and personal/social growth.

To understand a person, one must grasp their unique perspective of reality. This is the core assumption in humanist thought.

Self-awareness is a uniquely human experience emphasized by humanistic psychology. The mind is aware of itself and its environment. It has opinions on everything. Studying the mind is profoundly different than studying objects.

Humanistic psychology recognizes both selfish and altruistic tendencies in the search for meaning. It acknowledges the potential human need to find meaning in helping others beyond the individual.

In humanistic psychology, the primary focus is directly on the individual's current conscious experience. This includes immediate perceptions and feelings.

How you perceive the world; the basis for how you live your life.

The ability to choose how you perceive and interpret situations.

A philosophy focusing on the human experience of existence.

Examining existence in specific time and place.

Biological experience (sensations).

Social experience (thoughts & feelings about others).

Psychological experience (introspection).

The context (time, place, and circumstances) of your birth.

Unpleasant feelings from existential questions.

Existential angst; our choices are entirely our own.

Existential angst; regret over choices.

Existential angst; some outcomes are out of control.

Ignoring existential responsibility; living a lie.

Facing existential questions and responsibilities; living in truth.

Personal experience shapes how you see the world.

The tendency to overestimate the intensity and duration of future emotional reactions to events.

Creating happiness from within, often when external goals are unmet.

Happiness derived from achieving desired outcomes.

Happiness created in response to unmet desires.

Our ability to reshape our perspectives to cope with and feel better about our reality.

A study framework exploring how decisions are made and their impact on happiness.

A memory condition making it hard to form new memories.

The state of spiritual understanding, accepting impermanence and caring for others.

Fulfilling one's potential by meeting basic needs and thriving.

The fundamental, innate drive to reach fulfillment; to grow.

Accepting someone completely, regardless of their actions.

Requirements for love or acceptance, impeding self-actualization.

A non-directive therapy focusing on the client's self-awareness and growth.

A person who is living a self-aware, fulfilled life, without conditions.

Someone who perceives the world accurately, takes responsibility, and is happy, free from existential anxiety.

A theory suggesting basic needs must be met before higher-level needs can be addressed.

The most basic needs, such as food, water, sleep, and shelter.

The need for security, stability, and freedom from fear.

The desire for social connections and relationships.

The need for self-respect, achievement, and recognition.

The need to learn, understand, and explore the world.

The need for beauty, order, and balance.

Moments of intense joy, wonder, and connection, often associated with self-actualization.

The ability to accept and experience feelings, both positive and negative.

Focusing on the present moment and appreciating immediate experiences.

Trusting in one's own inner wisdom and intuition.

Feeling free to make choices and take responsibility for them.

Continuously seeking new experiences to become more self-actualized.

Traits observed in people who have reached their full potential.

A change in behavior due to experience; involves acquiring new skills, preferences, or responses to stimuli.

A simple form of learning where repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to a decrease in response.

Learning by association; associating a neutral stimulus with an unlearned response.

Learning through rewards and punishments; behaviors are strengthened or weakened based on their consequences.

A psychological approach that focuses on observable behaviors and how they are shaped by the environment.

The idea that all knowledge comes from experience and sensory perception; the mind is a blank slate.

The tendency for two things that occur close together to become mentally linked; learned connections.

The initial learning phase of a conditioned response through repeated pairings.

The gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

The inherent potential within each person for optimal growth and development. It emphasizes natural goodness and sees suppression as the root of issues.

Being disconnected from your authentic self, often leading to unhealthy social interactions and a lack of genuine fulfillment.

Shifting from just studying mental illness to understanding and promoting human strengths, virtues, and the factors that contribute to happiness and meaning in life.

Essential virtues that are considered foundational to human experience and can be cultivated through parenting and social support.

A life filled with happiness that comes from overcoming challenges and contributing to something bigger than oneself.

A state of deep engagement and immersion in an activity, where time seems to disappear and you are completely absorbed.

To understand human strength and weakness, build the best things in life, and improve the lives of normal people.

Focuses on maximizing positive emotions and pleasure, learning skills that enhance enjoyment.

Focuses on engagement and flow in activities that are meaningful and fulfilling.

Emphasizes the subjective experience of each person, acknowledging the unique way they perceive and interpret reality. It cautions against judging others.

When a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus (CS) also elicits the conditioned response (CR).

Learning to distinguish between different stimuli and respond only to the original conditioned stimulus (CS), ignoring similar stimuli.

Behaviours followed by rewards are more likely to happen again, while behaviours followed by punishment are less likely to occur.

An event that increases the likelihood of a behaviour happening again.

An event that decreases the likelihood of a behaviour happening again.

A stimulus that is innately rewarding, satisfying a basic need (food, water, warmth).

A stimulus that becomes rewarding through association with primary reinforcers (money, grades).

Gradually training an organism to perform a specific behaviour through successive approximations, rewarding steps closer to the desired behaviour.

Adding something pleasant after a behaviour to increase its likelihood.

Removing something unpleasant after a behaviour to increase its likelihood.

Adding something unpleasant after a behaviour to decrease its likelihood.

Removing something pleasant after a behaviour to decrease its likelihood.

When a behaviour becomes associated with a reward, even if the behaviour didn't actually cause the reward.

Bandura's experiment where children learned aggressive behavior by observing an adult model interact with a Bobo doll.

Learning by observing and imitating others, even without direct reinforcement.

The continuous interaction between behavior, personal factors, and the environment.

Belief in your ability to achieve goals and succeed in specific situations.

Unplanned events that can influence our behavior, often unplanned.

The ability to control our own actions and shape our lives.

The ability to set goals and plan actions to achieve them within real-world constraints.

Anticipating future outcomes and using that knowledge to guide current actions.

The ability to motivate and regulate your own behavior to achieve your goals.

Evaluating your goals, actions, and progress to refine your actions toward your goals.

Provide empirical support for the scientific study of personality and offer practical applications in various fields.

Can be too simplistic, overlook internal processes and struggle to explain unique or complex behaviors.

The role of external factors like culture, social context, and learning experiences in shaping personality.

According to Bandura, personality is modifiable through taking control of your life and exerting human agency.

The view that our behavior is largely determined by external factors and learning experiences.

A long-standing and deeply ingrained pattern of behavior and thinking that significantly deviates from cultural norms and causes distress or impairment in daily life.

The current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the handbook used by mental health professionals to diagnose and classify mental disorders.

A characteristic of personality disorders where individuals don't recognize their behaviors as problematic, believing them to be a natural part of themselves.

A characteristic where individuals are aware of their problematic behaviors and wish to change them.

A widely accepted model of personality that includes five broad traits: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Extreme and inflexible expressions of the Big 5 personality traits, which can lead to problems in interpersonal relationships and daily functioning.

An individual must show significant impairment in their ability to function in self or interpersonal relationships. This includes difficulty with self-identity, self-direction, empathy, and intimacy.

A shorthand term for the five pathological personality traits that are associated with personality disorders: Negative Affectivity, Detachment, Antagonism, Disinhibition, and Psychoticism.

The problematic behavior patterns must be consistent and pervasive, appearing across different settings and relationships. The onset should be traced back to adolescence or early adulthood.

It's important to consider cultural context when diagnosing. Behaviors that might seem problematic in one culture might be accepted in another. Acculturation after immigration should not be confused with a disorder.

A mental health disorder characterized by a persistent pattern of violating the rights of others, including aggression, deceitfulness, vandalism, and rule-breaking behavior, usually beginning before age 15.

A personality disorder marked by excessive attention-seeking, dramatic emotional expressions, shallowness, and a need for approval. It is more commonly diagnosed in females than males.

A personality disorder characterized by disregard for social norms and the rights of others, including impulsiveness, manipulative behavior, and a lack of empathy and remorse. It is more commonly diagnosed in males than females.

Characterized by social anxiety, fear of rejection and criticism, self-consciousness, and avoidance of social situations.

A personality disorder marked by a pervasive preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, control, and a need for control over oneself and others. NOT to be confused with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

A personality disorder characterized by a strong need to be taken care of, a fear of separation, and submissiveness. This disorder is often accompanied by low self-esteem, anxiety, and a tendency to seek approval.

A tendency to be hostile, manipulative, and distrustful of others. It is a common feature of several personality disorders, including antisocial, borderline, and histrionic personality disorders.

A tendency to act impulsively and without considering consequences. It is often associated with a lack of self-control and behavioral problems.

A tendency to be overly focused on rules, order, and perfection, which can lead to rigidity and anxiety. This trait is often associated with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

A tendency to experience negative emotions such as anxiety, sadness, and anger. It is a common feature of several personality disorders, including borderline, avoidant, and dependent personality disorders.

A widely accepted model of personality that describes five main dimensions of personality: Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Personality traits that are inflexible and cause significant distress or impairment in a person's life. They are often associated with personality disorders.

Therapy for personality disorders usually involves long-term psychotherapy, often in combination with medication to address comorbid disorders. Treatment can be challenging as individuals may be resistant to change and have difficulty forming trusting relationships.

Ego-syntonic refers to personality traits or behaviors that are consistent with a person's sense of self and are not perceived as problematic. Ego-dystonic refers to traits or behaviors that are incongruent with a person's self-image and are perceived as distressing or unwanted.

Behaviorism, focusing solely on rewards and punishments, couldn't fully explain the complexity of human and animal behavior.

Behaviorism overlooks crucial aspects of human behavior, such as motivation, cognition, social influences, and the active role organisms play in shaping their environment.

This theory emphasizes the importance of social interaction in learning, arguing that behaviorism fails to account for the social dimension of learning.

This theory integrates cognition (expectancy) with learning and motivation (reinforcement), suggesting that our decisions are based on the perceived value and likelihood of achieving an outcome.

People are naturally driven to seek positive experiences and avoid negative ones. This principle influences our motivation to engage in behaviors.

Personality is a stable set of tendencies in how we respond to our environment, shaped by life experiences and learning, and changeable over time.

Our belief in the likelihood of achieving a desired outcome significantly impacts our motivation to engage in a particular behaviour.

Specific expectancies relate to a particular situation and behaviour, while generalized expectancies apply broadly to all situations and actions, influencing our behaviour in unfamiliar settings.

Internal locus of control reflects a belief that individuals control their outcomes, while external locus of control suggests outcomes are beyond personal control.

Individuals with an internal locus of control tend to be proactive, more likely to achieve success, and have a greater sense of responsibility for outcomes, while those with an external locus of control might attribute success to luck and struggle to influence their circumstances.

Building upon Rotter's work, Bandura emphasized the social nature of learning, highlighting the role of observation and modeling in acquiring and shaping behavior. This involves the interplay of thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

This refers to our belief in our ability to successfully perform a specific behavior in a particular situation.

Self-efficacy stems from four sources: past experiences, observing others, verbal persuasion, and emotional states. These sources contribute to our confidence in performing a particular behavior.

This type of learning occurs when we observe others' actions and the consequences they experience, influencing our likelihood of performing similar actions. It extends beyond simple imitation and involves conscious decision-making.

Observational learning is guided by several principles, including the attractiveness of the model, the consequences observed, and the potential for deferred imitation, where we learn a behavior but only perform it later.

The process of observational learning encompasses four key stages: attending to the behavior, remembering the behavior, physically reproducing it, and being sufficiently motivated to perform it. These stages highlight both cognitive and operant elements of learning.

This classical experiment demonstrates the impact of observational learning on aggression. Children exposed to aggressive models were more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior themselves.

A group of personality disorders characterized by odd, eccentric, and withdrawn behaviors. Individuals with these disorders often have difficulty forming close relationships and may experience unusual thoughts and perceptions.

A group of personality disorders marked by impulsive, dramatic, and erratic behaviors. Individuals with these disorders often have difficulty controlling their emotions and may engage in risky or destructive behaviors.

Personality disorders categorized by anxious, fearful, and avoidant behaviors. Individuals with these disorders often experience significant anxiety in social situations and may have difficulty making decisions or being independent.

Characterized by pervasive distrust and suspicion of others, assuming others are trying to deceive or harm them. They often misinterpret neutral events as threats, struggle to form close relationships, and experience restricted emotional reactions.

Marked by a persistent lack of interest in social relationships and a flattened affect; they often appear cold, aloof, and indifferent to others' thoughts and feelings. They have difficulty expressing emotions and find little pleasure in social interactions.

Marked by a pattern of social and interpersonal deficits, characterized by odd thinking and behavior, perceptual distortions, and extreme social anxiety. They may have unusual beliefs, magical thinking, and difficulty understanding social cues.

Characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, a need for admiration, a lack of empathy, and a tendency to exploit others. They believe they are superior and entitled to special treatment, often demanding constant attention and praise.

Most severe of the personality disorders, characterized by extreme emotional instability, impulsivity, intense and unstable relationships, a sense of emptiness, and self-destructive behaviors.

A broad personality trait that includes experiences of negative emotions like anxiety, sadness, anger, and self-consciousness. People high in negative affectivity tend to be moody, easily distressed, and ruminative.

A personality trait characterized by withdrawal from and avoidance of emotional contact with others. Individuals high in detachment may have difficulty forming close relationships and expressing their emotions.

A personality trait marked by a tendency to be hostile, manipulative, and distrustful of others. Individuals high in antagonism often exhibit behaviors like deceitfulness, grandiosity, and callousness.

A personality trait characterized by impulsivity, a lack of self-control, and difficulty delaying gratification. Individuals high in disinhibition often engage in risky behaviors and struggle with responsibilities.

A personality trait characterized by unusual thought processes, eccentric behaviors, and a tendency towards unconventional or bizarre experiences. Individuals high in psychoticism may have difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy.

A type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) specifically designed to treat borderline personality disorder. It focuses on helping individuals regulate their emotions, learn coping skills, and improve their interpersonal relationships.