The Humanistic Perspective

Of Personality

Who am I? What do I want to be?

• In notes write down what career you are going to have?

• Then write down what are you doing now and what will you do in the future to meet those career goals?

Humanistic Psychology

• In the 1960’s people became sick of Freud’s negativity and trait psychology’s objectivity.

•Along came psychologists wanted to focus on “healthy” people and how to help them strive to “be all that they can be”.

Abraham Maslow’s Self Actualizing Person

• Hierarchy of Needs

•Ultimately seek self- actualization (the process of fulfilling our potential).

•Maslow developed his ideas by studying what he termed “healthy people”.

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Self-Actualizing PersonMaslow proposed that we as individuals are motivated by a hierarchy of needs. Beginning with physiological needs, we

try to reach the state of self-actualization—fulfilling our potential.

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Who did Maslow study?

Self-Actualized PeopleThey share certain characteristics:

•They are self aware and self accepting

•Open and spontaneous

•Loving and caring•Not paralyzed by others’ opinions.•They are secure in who they are.

Self-Actualized People• Problem centered rather than self-centered.

Focused their energies on a particular task.

Few deep relationships, rather than many superficial ones.

Self-Actualization

• These are the qualities that make up a mature adult.

•These people have found their calling in life.

Is this a goal worth striving for?

Carl Rogers’s Person-Centered Perspective

• People are basically GOOD.

•We are like Acorns

Need Water, Sun and Nutrients to Grow into a big Oak Tree.

We need genuineness, acceptance and empathy for us to grow.

Genuineness

• Being open with your own feelings.

•Dropping your facade.

•Being transparent and self-disclosing.

Acceptance

• Unconditional Positive Regard:

An attitude of acceptance regardless of circumstances.

Accepting yourself or others completely.

Empathy

• Listening, sharing, understanding and mirroring feelings and reflecting their meanings.

Preschool study

Carl Rogers Theory for a “Fully Functioning” Personality

• Self-Actualization-Is your understanding of your own “innate potentials”-What do you want to be? How do you know?

• Self-Actualizing Tendency-The actions that you are taking to fulfill those potentials-What are/have you been doing to fulfill that potential in the past, present, and future?

• Fully Functioning Personality-One in which: – Self-Concept : “Who am I” is genuine, has acceptance, and has

empathy from the environment. – YOUR Self-Esteem: is determined by what you believe your

Self-Concept is “worth”. Is it of value to yourself and others?– “Burying the True Self”

(Limiting ones Full Personality) Dead Poets Society Video Lab:-Watch the Clip and apply Rogers Theory to Neil’s

Character.

Self-Concept

• All of thoughts and feelings about ourselves trying to answer the question….

WHO AM I?

Self-Concept

• Both Rogers and Maslow believed that your self-concept is at the center of your personality.

•If our self concept is positive….

We tend to act and perceive the world positively.

•If our self-concept is negative….We fall short of our “ideal self” and feel dissatisfied and unhappy

How does a Humanistic psychologist test your personality?

• You would be asked to fill out a questionnaire asking to describe yourself both as you would ideally like to be and what you actually are.

When the ideal self and the way you currently see yourself are alike- you are generally happy.

How do psychoanalytic and trait assess?

Assessing your Self-Concept

Possible Selves

What are your possible selves?

The question of “Who am I ?”

Mr. K is a son, brother, husband, father, coach, teacher, friend, colleague, musician, athlete, historian, psychology geek, etc…

Self-Esteem

• One’s feelings of high or low self-worth.

Self-Serving Bias• A readiness to

perceive oneself favorable.

•People accept more responsibility for successes than failures.

•Most people see themselves as better than average.

Does culture play a part in our personality (according to humanistic

psychologists)?• Individualism: giving priority to one’s own

goals over group goals. Defining your identity in terms of yourself.

•Collectivism: giving priority to the goals of a group and defining your identity as part of that group.

Is individualism really better?

Humanistic Perspective

Morality Defined by individuals Defined by social networks (self-based) (duty-based)

Attributing Behavior reflects one’s personality Behavior reflects socialbehaviors and attitudes and roles

Value Contrasts Between Individualism and CollectivismConcept Individualism Collectivism

Self Independent Interdependent (identity from individual traits) identity from belonging)

Life task Discover and express one’s Maintain connections, fit in uniqueness

What matters Me--personal achievement and We--group goals and solidarity; fullfillment; rights and liberties social responsibilities and

relationships

Coping method Change reality Accommodate to reality

Relationships Many, often temporary or casual; Few, close and enduring;confrontation acceptable harmony valued