Humanistic Theories AP PSYCHOLOGY – CH 10

 Psychodynamic – focus on internal conflict and mental disorders  Failed to talk about normal personalities  Humanistic theories – optimistic about human nature  Personality determined by needs to adapt, learn, grow, and excel  Motivation important  Positive motivation to achieve, reach potential Humanistic Theories

 3 types of traits:  Central traits – form the core of our personality  Secondary traits – preferences and attitudes; traits that appear in some situations  Cardinal traits – define people’s lives; few people have cardinal traits, develop later in life Gordon Allport’s Traits

 Concerned with Freud’s fixation on mental illness  What are the ingredients of a healthy personality?  Self-actualizing personalities – healthy individuals who have met their needs and are free to be creative and fulfill their potentials. Abraham Maslow; Healthy Personality

 Deficient needs can produce maladjustment Abraham Maslow; Healthy Personality

 Fully functioning person – a healthy, self- actualizing individual, who has a self-concept that is both positive and congruent with reality.  High-self esteem, know weaknesses, focus on strengths Carl Rogers

 Everyone can grow in a supportive environment.  Conditional regard – love (parental) is dependent on something (good behavior, achievement)  Leads to low self-esteem, mental disorders  Unconditional positive regard – love without conditions attached Rogers and regard

 Upbeat nature a nice change  Laid ground work for positive psychology  Concepts fuzzy – hard to define “self-actualization”  Many concepts unclear, cannot be tested objectively  No mention of unconscious, psychodynamics criticized Evaluating Humanistic Theory