Humanistic Theories of Personality PDF

UNIT 3: HUMANISTIC THEORIES --------------------------- ### Intended Learning Outcomes a. Describe how the Humanistic theorist's personality or experiences may have influenced their theory of personality. b. Understand or explain human behavior using humanistic concepts and theories. c...

UNIT 3: HUMANISTIC THEORIES --------------------------- ### Intended Learning Outcomes a. Describe how the Humanistic theorist's personality or experiences may have influenced their theory of personality. b. Understand or explain human behavior using humanistic concepts and theories. c. Describe recent research on humanistic theories. 1. ### Introduction 2. ### Topics/Discussion (with Assessment/Activities) 1. **Maslow: Holistic Dynamic Theory**  ##### OVERVIEW ###### Maslow adopted a HOLISTIC APPROACH to motivation ###### Motivation is usually COMPLEX. ###### People are CONTINUALLY MOTIVATED by one need or another. ###### All people everywhere are motivated by the SAME basic needs. ###### Needs can be arranged on a HIERARCHY. Physiological ============= ###### Figure 10.1 CONATIVE NEEDS ###### [Physiological Needs] - only need that can be satisfied or overly satisfied - recurring nature ###### [Safety Needs] ###### [Love and Belongingness Needs] ##### ACCORDING TO MASLOW, THERE ARE 3 CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE: a. **PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD THEIR LOVE AND BELONGINGNESS NEEDS ADEQUATELY SATISFIED** - if love and belongingness is adequately met, these people have confidence that they are accepted by those who are important to them, so when other people reject them, they do not feel devastated. b. ##### THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED LOVE AND BELONGINGNESS - have seldom or never been hugged or cuddled nor experienced any form of verbal love, these people will eventually learn to devalue love and to take its absence for granted (not motivated for it!). ##### THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE RECEIVED LOVE AND BELONGINGNESS IN SMALL DOSES - because they receive only a taste of love and belongingness, they will be strongly motivated to seek it, they have stronger needs for affection and acceptance than do people who have received either a healthy amount of love or no love at all (Maslow, 1970). ###### [Esteem Needs] a. **REPUTATION** is the perception of the prestige, recognition, or fame a person has achieved in the eyes of others (in **others eyes**). b. **SELF-ESTEEM** is a person's own feelings of worth and confidence (in **one's own** eyes). ###### [Self-actualization Needs] ##### AESTHETIC NEEDS ##### COGNITIVE NEEDS ##### NEUROTIC NEEDS ###### General Discussion of Needs ###### [Instinctoid Nature of Needs] +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | - | - | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | - | - | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+  ###### Characteristics of Self-Actualizing People 1. More efficient perception or reality 2. Acceptance of Self, Others, and Nature 3. Spontaneity, Simplicity and Naturalness 4. Problem-centering 5. Need for privacy 6. Autonomy 7. Continued freshness of Appreciation 8. The Peak Experience 9. Gemeinshaftgefuhl (a community feeling or oneness with all of humanity) 10. Profound Interpersonal Relations 11. The democratic character structure 12. Discrimination between means and end 13. Philosophical sense of humor 14. Creativeness 15. Resistance to Enculturation ##### THE JONAH COMPLEX ###### First, the human body is simply not strong enough to endure the ecstasy of fulfillment for any length of time. ###### Second, defense against this grandiosity or "sinful pride" ##### MASLOW'S PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE ##### CONCEPT OF HUMANITY +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | - | +=======================================================================+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | - | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | - | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ ##### MASLOW\'S THEORY FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | - - | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | | - - - - - | +===================================+===================================+ | | \- Abraham Harold Maslow | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ -- -- -- -- ### Rogers: Person-Centered Theory ###### Basic Assumptions 1. **Formative Tendency -** there is a tendency for all matter, both organic and inorganic, to **evolve from simpler to more complex forms**. For the entire universe, a creative process, rather than a disintegrative one, is in operation. 2. **Actualizing Tendency -** the tendency within all humans (and other animals and plants) to **move toward completion or fulfillment of potentials** (Rogers, 1959, 1980). This tendency is the **only motive people possess**. ###### Tendencies to maintain and to enhance the organism are subsumed within the [actualizing] [tendency]: - **The Need for Maintenance** - similar to the lower steps on Maslow's hierarchy of needs which includes such basic needs as - but it also includes the tendency to **resist change and to seek the status quo**. - the conservative nature of maintenance needs is expressed in **people's desire to protect their current, comfortable self-concept.** - ###### The Need for Enhancement - people are willing to face threat and pain because of a biologically based tendency for the organism to fulfill its basic nature expressed in a variety of forms, including curiosity, - expressed in a variety of forms, including curiosity, playfulness, self-exploration, friendship, and confidence that one can achieve psychological growth. - seen in people's willingness to learn things that are not immediately rewarding. ##### ROGERS\' CONCEPT OF SELF AND ITS DEVELOPMENT ##### DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SELF-ACTUALIZATION AND ACTUALIZATION TENDENCY -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ###### Rogers (1959) postulated two self-subsystems, the self-concept and the ideal self. - SELF-CONCEPT - includes all those aspects of one's being and one's experiences that are perceived in awareness (though not always accurately) by the individual. - IDEAL SELF - one's view of self as one wish to be. The ideal self contains all those attributes, usually positive, that people aspire to possess. ##### AWARENESS ###### Levels of Awareness 1. Some events are experienced below the threshold of awareness and are either ignored or denied. 2. Some experiences are accurately symbolized and freely admitted to the self-structure. Such experiences are both nonthreatening and consistent with the existing self-concept. 3. Experiences that are perceived in a distorted form. When our experience is not consistent with our view of self, we reshape or distort the experience so that it can be assimilated into our existing self- concept.  ##### BECOMING A PERSON ### BARRIERS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH ##### CONDITIONS OF WORTH ### External Evaluations - Our perceptions of other people's view of us. - These evaluations, whether positive or negative, do not foster psychological health but, rather, prevent us from being completely open to our own experiences. ###### Vulnerability - The greater the incongruence between our perceived self (self- concept) and our organismic experience, the more vulnerable we are. - People are **vulnerable** when they are unaware of the discrepancy between their organismic self and their significant experience. - Lacking awareness of their incongruence, vulnerable people often behave in ways that are incomprehensible not only to others but also to themselves. ###### Anxiety and Threat - experienced as we gain awareness of such an incongruence - Rogers (1959) defined **anxiety** as "a state of uneasiness or tension whose cause is unknown" (p. 204). - **Threat** comes in when we become more aware of the incongruence between our organismic experience and our perception of self. - Anxiety and **threat** can represent steps toward psychological health because they signal to us that our organismic experience is inconsistent with our self-concept. - However, not pleasant or comfortable feelings. ##### DEFENSIVENESS ###### The two chief defenses: 1. **Distortion** - we misinterpret an experience in order to fit it into some aspect of our self-concept. We perceive the experience in awareness, but we fail to understand its true meaning. 2. **Denial** - we refuse to perceive an experience in awareness, or at least we keep some aspect of it from reaching symbolization. ##### DISORGANIZATION - Client-centered therapy is deceptively simple in statement but decidedly difficult in practice. - Briefly, the client-centered approach holds that **in order for vulnerable or anxious people to grow psychologically, they must come into contact with a therapist who is congruent and whom they perceive as providing an atmosphere of unconditional acceptance and accurate empathy.** But therein lies the difficulty. - The qualities of congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathic understanding are not easy for a counselor to attain. - Like person-centered theory, the client-centered counseling approach can be stated in an if-then fashion. - ###### If the *conditions* of therapist congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathic listening are present in a client-counselor relationship, then the *process* of therapy will transpire. - If the process of therapy takes place, then certain *outcomes* can be predicted. - Rogerian therapy, therefore, can be viewed in terms of conditions, process, and outcomes. ###### Conditions ###### [Counselor Congruence] ###### [Unconditional Positive Regard] ###### [Empathic Listening] ##### PROCESS ##### THEORETICAL EXPLANATION FOR THERAPEUTIC CHANGE ###### Stages of Therapeutic Change - Characterized by an unwillingness to communicate anything about oneself. People at this stage ordinarily do not seek help, but if for some reason they come to therapy, they are extremely rigid and resistant to change. They do not recognize any problems and refuse - Clients become slightly less rigid. They discuss external events and other people, but they still disown or fail to recognize their own feelings. However, they may talk about personal feelings as if such feelings were objective phenomena. - Clients talk more freely about self, although still as an object. "I'm doing the best I can at work, but my boss still doesn't like me." Clients talk about feelings and emotions in the past or future tense and avoid present feelings. They refuse to accept their emotions, keep personal feelings at a distance from the here-and-now situation, only vaguely 3. perceive that they can make personal choices, and deny individual responsibility for most of their decisions. - Clients begin to talk of deep feelings but not ones presently felt. "I was really burned up when my teacher accused me of cheating." When clients do express present feelings, they are usually surprised by this expression. They deny or distort experiences, although they may have some dim recognition that they are capable of feeling emotions in the present. They begin to question some values that have been introjected from others, and they start to see the incongruence between their perceived self and their organismic 4. experience. They accept more freedom and responsibility than they did in Stage 3 and begin to tentatively allow themselves to become involved in a relationship with the therapist. - Clients begun to undergo significant change and growth. They can express feelings in the present, although they have not yet accurately symbolized those feelings. They are beginning to rely on an internal locus of evaluation for their feelings and to make fresh and new discoveries about themselves. They also experience a greater differentiation of feelings and 5. develop more appreciation for nuances among them. In addition, they begin to make their own decisions and to accept responsibility for their choices. - Clients experience dramatic growth and an irreversible movement toward becoming fully functioning or self- actualizing. They freely allow into awareness those experiences that they had previously denied or distorted. They become more congruent and are able to match their present experiences with awareness and with open expression. They no longer evaluate their own behavior from an external viewpoint but rely on their organismic self as the criterion for evaluating experiences. They begin to develop unconditional self-regard, which means 6. that they have a feeling of genuine caring and affection for the person they are becoming. - Clients become fully functioning "persons of tomorrow". They are able to generalize their in-therapy experiences to their world beyond therapy. They possess the confidence to be themselves at all times, to own and to feel deeply the totality of their experiences, and to live those experiences in the present. Their organismic self, now unified with the self-concept, becomes the locus for evaluating their experiences. People at Stage 7 receive pleasure in knowing that these evaluations are fluid and that change and growth will 7. continue. In addition, they become congruent, possess *unconditional positive self-regard,* and are able to be 1. Psychologically healthy people would be ***more adaptable*.** They would be more likely to survive. They would not merely adjust to a static environment but would realize that conformity and adjustment to a fixed condition have little long-term survival value. 2. Persons of tomorrow would be ***open to their experiences*,** accurately symbolizing them in awareness rather than denying or distorting them. For people who are open to experience, all stimuli, whether stemming from within the organism or from the external environment, are freely received by the self. Persons of tomorrow would listen to themselves and hear their joy, anger, discouragement, fear, and tenderness. 3. Tendency to ***live fully in the moment***. What they experience in each moment would be new and unique, something never before experienced by their evolving self. They would see each experience with a new freshness and appreciate it fully in the present moment. Rogers (1961) referred to this tendency to live in the moment as **existential living.** 4. Persons of tomorrow would remain ***confident of their own ability to experience harmonious relations with others***. They would feel no need to be liked or loved by everyone, because they would know that they are unconditionally prized and accepted by someone. They would seek intimacy with another person who is probably equally healthy, and such a relationship itself would contribute to the continual growth of each partner. They would be what they appear to be, without deceit or fraud, without defenses and facades, without hypocrisy and sham. They would care about others, but in a nonjudgmental manner. 5. Persons of tomorrow would be more ***integrated, more whole, with no artificial boundary between conscious processes and unconscious ones***. Because they would be able to accurately symbolize all their experiences in awareness, they would see clearly the difference between what is and what should be; because they would use their organismic feelings as criteria for evaluating their experiences, they would bridge the gap between their real self and their ideal self; because they would have no need to defend their self-importance, they would present no facades to other people; and because they would have confidence in who they are, they could openly express whatever feelings they are experiencing. 6. Persons of tomorrow would have a ***basic trust of human nature***. They would not harm others merely for personal gain; they would care about others and be ready to help when needed; they would experience anger but could be trusted not to strike out unreasonably against others; they would feel aggression but would channel it in appropriate directions. 7. Finally, because persons of tomorrow are open to all their experiences, they would ***enjoy a greater richness in life*** than do other people. They would neither distort internal stimuli nor buffer their emotions. Consequently, they would feel more deeply than others. They would live in the present and thus participate more richly in the ongoing moment. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | - | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | - - - | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+  -- -- -- -- ###### [Motivational and Pursuing One's Goals] - Moderately productive / average rating on its ability to spark research - High on falsification, lends itself to either confirmation or disconfirmation - High on its ability to explain what is currently known about human behavior - Unequivocal or very clear and can serve as a guide for the solution of practical problems - Very high for its consistency and its carefully worked-out operational definitions - Unusually clear and economical, but some of the language is awkward and vague +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | - | +=======================================================================+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | - | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | - | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+  -- --  -- -- -- -- 2. You are about to see a short documentary. The primary individual in the documentary has a rather distinct personality. Toward the end of the documentary, you will see a drastic transformation in his personality. In a moment, each group will draw a card with the name of one of the personality theorists we have studied in this class. Your group is to explain the personality of the individual in the documentary by using at least four concepts or terms from the theorist you drew. You will also need to explain how your theorist would account for this individual's personality transformation. Be sure to note the behaviors the individual exhibits that led you to your conclusions. 3. Each group draws a card with the name of one theorist on it. The theorists that have typically been covered in class thus far include Freud, Jung, Adler, Horney, Fromm, Erikson, Maslow, and Rogers. All these theories work well for the activity. 4. Watch the movie in its entirety. 5. Select a spokesperson for their group and allow the groups 10 minutes to discuss the applications of their assigned theory. 6. Group will report which four concepts they used, how the concepts apply to the Grinch, and how his personality was transformed --- all according to their assigned theorist. 7. Groups needed to cite specific Grinch behaviors that fit each concept. If time permits, provide applications of additional concepts from the same theorist. 8. Analyze the movie with each and every theory, and that the explanations for his personality and its transformation varied greatly depending on the theory being used. 9. Students will also try to analyze the personality of someone they know well according to the theorist assigned to them. 3. ### May: Existential Psychology ##### CASE OF PHILIP ##### BACKGROUND OF EXISTENTIALISM ###### Basic Concepts ###### The Case of Philip ##### ANXIETY ###### Guilt ##### CARE, LOVE, AND WILL ###### Union of Love and Will ###### Forms of Love ###### Freedom and Destiny - **Freedom of Doing**, or freedom of action, which he called **existential freedom** - **Freedom of Being**, or an inner freedom, which he called **essential freedom.** ***environment and our personal qualities***, including our mortality, gender, and genetic predispositions. ###### Philip\'s Destiny ###### Psychopathology ###### Psychotherapy ##### RELATED RESEARCH ###### [Concept of Terror Management] ###### [Fitness as a Defense Against Mortality Awareness] ##### CRITIQUE OF MAY ##### CONCEPT OF HUMANITY -- -- ##### ASSESSMENT / ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY: ###### [Book Review: Veronika Decides to Die] ##### BOOK REVIEW FORMAT: 1. Write at least 3-4 sentences about the plot - What was the story about? - Who were the main characters? - What did the main characters do in the story? - Did the main characters run into any problems? - Did the main characters have any adventures? - Who was your favorite character? Why? 2. Your personal experiences - Could you relate to any of the characters in the story? - Have you ever done some of the things or felt some of the same things that the characters did? 3. Your opinion - Did you like the book? ### References ### Acknowledgment UNIT 4: DISPOSITIONAL THEORIES ------------------------------ ### Intended Learning Outcomes a. Discuss the characteristics of the psychologically healthy personality based on trait and dispositional theories. b. Understand or explain human behavior using dispositional and trait theories and concepts. c. Compare and contrast dispositions from traits. d. Discuss how religion and prayer may be related to health. e. Briefly describe some of the cross-cultural research on trait and dispositional theories. 1. ### Introduction 2. ### Topics/Discussion (with Assessment/Activities) 1. **Allport: Psychology of the Individual Structure of Personality** ###### Allport\'s Approach to Personality #### Allport defined personality as *\"the dynamic organization* within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought.\" 1. **Cardinal Dispositions** -- most general and that are so obvious and dominating that they cannot be hidden from other people. 2. **Central Positions** --not everyone has a cardinal disposition, but all people have 5 to 10 central dispositions, or characteristics around which their lives revolve. 3. **Secondary Dispositions**, - greatly numbered but are less reliable and less conspicuous than central traits. 1. **motivational dispositions**, which are strong enough to initiate action and 2. **stylistic dispositions**, which refer to the manner in which an individual behaves, and which guide rather than initiate action. 1. Perseverative Functional Autonomy, which is the tendency of certain basic behaviors (such as addictive behaviors) to continue in the absence of reinforcement, and 2. Propriate Functional Autonomy, which refers to self-sustaining motives (such as interests) that are related to the proprium. 1. **an extension of the sense of self,** 2. **warm relationships with others,** 3. **emotional security or self-acceptance,** 4. **a realistic view of the world,** 5. **insight and humor, and** 6. **a unifying philosophy of life.** ###### individual rather than groups. #### Allport and Ross found that *people with an extrinsic orientation toward religion tend to* be quite prejudiced, whereas those with an intrinsic orientation tend to be low on racial and social prejudice. #### *with an extrinsic orientation suffer from poor psychological health.*  -- -- ### Eysenck, McCrae, and Costa's Trait and Factor  ##### BASICS OF FACTOR ANALYSIS ###### oblique rotation procedure ordinarily results in more traits than the orthogonal method. 1. L data, or a person\'s life record that comes from **observations made by others**; 2. Q data, which are **based on questionnaires**; and 3. T data, or information **obtained from objective tests**. ##### SOURCE TRAITS ##### PERSONALITY TRAITS ###### Temperament Traits B. Second-Order Traits ##### DYNAMIC TRAITS A. Attitudes B. Ergs C. Sems D. The Dynamic Lattice ### GENETIC BASIS OF TRAITS ###### Measuring Personality A. Criteria for Identifying Factors 1. ***be based on strong psychometric evidence,*** 2. ***must possess heritability and fit an acceptable genetic model,*** 3. ***make sense theoretically, and*** 4. ***possess social relevance*** B. Hierarchy of Measures 5. ***specific acts or cognitions;*** 6. ***habitual acts or cognitions;*** 7. ***traits, or personal dispositions; and*** 8. ***types or superfactors.*** ##### DIMENSIONS OF PERSONALITY A. What Are the Major Personality Factors?  - Extraverts are characterized by sociability, impulsiveness, jocularity, liveliness, optimism, and quick-wittedness, whereas introverts are quiet, passive, unsociable, careful, reserved, thoughtful, pessimistic, peaceful, sober, and controlled. Eysenck, however, believes that the principal differences between extraverts and introverts is one of cortical arousal level. - Neurotic traits include anxiety, hysteria, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Both normal and abnormal individuals may score high on the neuroticism scale of the Eysenck\'s various personality inventories. - People who score high on the psychoticism scale are egocentric, cold, nonconforming, aggressive, impulsive, hostile, suspicious, and antisocial. Men tend to score higher than women on psychoticism. B. Measuring Superfactors ###### Biological Bases of Personality D. Personality and Behavior E. Personality and Disease ##### RELATED RESEARCH A. Personalities of Creative Scientists and Artists B. Biology and Personality ##### CRITIQUE OF TRAIT AND FACTOR THEORIES ##### CONCEPT OF HUMANITY ##### FIVE FACTOR MODEL OF PERSONALITY ###### The Big Five Personality Traits - **Openness to Experience** - ###### Conscientiousness - ###### Extraversion - ###### Agreeableness - ###### Neuroticism -- -- ### References ### Acknowledgment