Humanistic, existential and positive aspects of personality Flashcards
What are the key-assumptions of an existential perspective of personality and how do these assumptions affect the way personality is studied?
The existential perspective focuses on that conscious experiences and goal driven behavior shape our personality. It stresses the importance of the individual agency.
Key assumptions:
Subjective experiences:
the meaning of life is not inherited in the universe but constructed through individual experiences and interpretations of these experiences.
Individuality:
we perceive reality differently, through our own lenses, and that affects development of personality over time.
Not deterministic:
our personalities are not predetermined, we can influence it.
Existential anxiety:
we have to confront fundamental aspects of human condition eg. death, freedom and the meaning of life. If not confronted, we cannot live an authentic life
Personal choice:
we can choose our attitude even in the most difficult situations. We cannot change physical conditions but control our thoughts and how we react.
What characterizes a phenomenological view of personality?
Many existential approaches tend to be categorized as phenomenological. This means that people’s own subjective views and experiences can be used as validated data for investigation and research.
What is characteristic of a humanistic view of humans?
The humanistic perspective builds on existentialism and is similar in focus on subjective experiences, individualism, personal growth and meaning in life. The difference is that the existential perspective focuses more on human existence and the meaning of life while the humanistic perspective emphasizes on the inherent goodness in all humans.
What were the main theoretical contributions of: Erich Fromm, Carl Rogers, Rollo May, Viktor Frankl and Abraham Maslow?
Erich Fromm:
Love is an art. It requires effort and commitment. It’s an ongoing process by giving and taking. It’s important for well-being and a feeling of belonging.
Carl Rogers:
Each person is responsible for his own life and maturity. He mentioned Therapeutic responsibility, where the client is seen as the primer agent of change and the therapist provides a supportive environment where the client can express themselves and grow without judgement.
Rollo May:
Anxiety is a threat to one’s core value of existence. We experience existential anxiety where we have to confront the fundamental aspects of human existence in a search for meaning.
Viktor Frankl:
We are able to control our responses in terrifying situations by training how we think and control our attitude
Abraham Maslow:
Maslow’s motivational model; a hierarchy organizing human needs. It emphasizes that by reaching goals or being in a process of reaching them can lead to more positive emotions, creativity, authenticity, and peace with yourself.
Which similarities and differences can you see between Erich Fromm, Carl Rogers, Rollo May, Viktor Frankl and Abraham Maslows theoretical approaches?
Similarities:
The individual is seen as having agency: they have to be the one who makes changes happen
The aim is to be the best version of yourself, which is to live authentically
There is a need to find meaning in your own life
They all treat humans as whole beings, integrating emotionality and thoughts instead of isolating symptoms
Differences:
Fromm critiqued societal structures, emphasizing their impact on alienation and mental health. Frankl, Maslow and Rogers were more focused on the individual’s capacity for inner growth despite circumstances
The source of motivation. Frankl saw it as the “will to meaning”, Maslow as a progression through a hierarchy of needs and Rogers as the tendency of self actualization as a motivator
Suffering as a motivation. Frankl and May saw suffering and anxiety as being a pusher into transformation, while Rogers and Maslow wanted to focus more on emphasizing fulfillment and growth.
Therapeutic goals. Rogers wanted to create a supportive
environment for the patient. May wanted to help individuals confront existential challenges and embrace freedom ,while Frankl wanted to assist clients in discovering meaning and purpose.
Maslow explained the motivation for reaching different levels in his hierarchy as D- needs (deficiency needs) and B-values (being values). Explain the distinction between the two.
Deficiency needs are basically defined as the survival-related needs that could stem from a sense of lack or deficiency, and should be fulfilled to minimize dissatisfaction. This is supposed to maintain a psychological equilibrium. Maslow states that his first four steps, basic needs, safety, love and self-esteem are related to this, as they are seen as fundamental pieces of well being.
Being values on the other hand is related to personal growth and potential fulfilment, something that can only efficiently happen if D-needs are met. These values are not driven by deficiency or survival, but only subjective meaning and sense of growth.
Is the concept of ‘peak experience’ same as the concept of a ‘self-actualized person’? If not, explain the difference.
They are not the same. A self-actualized person is someone who is actively striving to be living true to themselves. A peak experience is instead a single instance or moment where a person feels like they are true to themselves and their own beliefs. A peak experience does not necessarily happen because you are a self actualized person, but they are much more likely to happen.
Self-actualization is usually never achieved and according to Maslow won’t be by most but instead it’s a stage in Maslow’s pyramid of needs where one can strives to become all that one can be.
Explain the method and goal of Rogerian therapy.
The client is the driving agent of change, anything you give them “for free” is something you don’t let them work through themselves
as a therapist you are suppose to enable change by creating the optimal environment. Non-judgmental and safe environment.
How can positive psychology be defined?
its like right wing politics
instead of helping people who need it you make the people who are already good the best version of themselves
key concepts are:
Mindfulness
Optimal human functioning
Resilience
What limitations or criticism are there to humanistic and existential perspectives?
Basically its mumbo-jumbo that has no scientific evidence
focused on individual change and hard to apply to a lot of people. aka you spend a lot of money to help just one person, we are back to playing republicans.
Also is being “self-actualized” really the same thing for everyone?
