Humanist theories of personality

Human potential movement in psychology Humanist theories respond to current concerns –Anxiety –Boredom –Lack of meaning Emphasis on –Self-actualization –Fulfillment of potential –Openness to experience

A.H. Maslow (1908 – 1970) Thesis: –People are basically good or neutral rather to evil –There is in everyone an impulse toward growth or the fulfillment of potentials. –Things can be better if people are free to express themselves and be themselves. A view of human motivation that distinguishes between biological needs and psychological needs.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

A pyramid consisting of five levels. the four lower levels are grouped together as deficiency needs, the top level is termed being needs. While our deficiency needs must be met, our being needs are continually shaping our behaviour. The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus once all the needs that are lower down in the pyramid are mainly or entirely satisfied. Growth forces create upward movement in the hierarchy, whereas regressive forces push prepotent needs further down the hierarchy.

Physiological needs The first need for the body is to achieve homeostasis. This is obtained through the consumption of food, drink and air, achieving adequate sleep, a comfortable temperature, and so on. When some needs are unmet, a human's physiological needs take the highest priority. –For instance, if one simultaneously experiences the desire for love and the hunger for food, a human is more likely to seek to satisfy the latter need first. As a result of the predominancy of physiological needs, an individual will suppress all other desires and capacities. These are the basic needs which are required for the sound state of a person's well-being and only after having these needs satisfied, does he plan to prioritize for his secondary and tertiary needs.

Safety needs When the physiological needs are met, the need for safety will emerge. Safety or security ranks above all other desires; –a properly-functioning society tends to provide security to its members. Sometimes the desire for safety outweighs the requirement to satisfy physiological needs; –for example, during the Kosovo War many residents of Kosovo chose to occupy a secure area rather than an insecure area, even though the latter provided better access to food.e.g.

Love/Belonging needs Once a person's physiological and safety needs are largely met, the third layer of human needs starts to become apparent. This involves emotionally-based relationships in general, which includes the perceived need for companionship (both sexual and non- sexual) and/or having a family. There is the sense of community or affiliation; in other words, humans want to belong to groups, whether it be clubs, work groups, religious groups, family, gangs, etc. They need to feel loved (sexually and non-sexually) by others, and to be accepted by them. People also have a constant desire to feel needed. In the absence of these elements, people become increasingly susceptible to loneliness and social anxieties.e.g. Some may resort to pursuing their hobbies when their need for love and belonging is not met.

Esteem needs There are two versions of esteem needs: –the need for the respect of and recognition by others, –the need for self-respect. After the basic needs get satisfied, a person desires for esteem. An individual may look for ways by which he/she can boost his status and make his/her presence felt audaciously.

Being needs Though the deficiency needs may be seen as "basic", and can be met and neutralized, self-actualization and transcendence are "being" or "growth needs" (also termed "B-needs"), i.e. they are enduring motivations or drivers of behavior. Self-actualization Self-actualization is the instinctual need of a human to make the most of their unique abilities. Self-actualization means to have self-fulfillments of one’s potential. Maslow described it as follows: –A musician must make music, the artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualisation. (Motivation and Personality, 1954.)

Self-actualization Maslow writes of self-actualizing people that: –They embrace the facts and realities of the world (including themselves) rather than denying or avoiding them. –They are spontaneous in their ideas and actions. –They are creative. –They are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives. –They feel a closeness to other people, and generally appreciate life. –They have a system of morality that is fully internalized and independent of external authority. –They judge others without prejudice, in a way that can be termed objective.

Flow M. Csikszentmihalyi: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience People are the most happy when they are in a state of flow - a Zen-like state of total oneness with the activity at hand and the situation. Positive states of consciousness: –A perceived match between personal skills and environmental challenge –A high level of focused attention –Involvement in an activity such that time seems to fly –A sense of intrinsic enjoyment in the activity –A temporary loss of self-consciousness (the self is not aware). –The flow experience can take place in activities as work, hobbies, sports, dancing, and social interactions The flow state is an optimal state of intrinsic motivation, where the person is fully immersed in what he/she is doing. This is a feeling everyone has at different times, characterized by a feeling of great freedom, enjoyment, fulfillment, and skill-and during which temporal concerns (time, food, ego-self, etc.) are typically ignored.

Positive psychology Positive psychology is a term coined by A. Maslow and adopted recently by psychologist Martin E.P. Seligman. The movement in psychology which emphasizes what is right with people rather than what is wrong with them. –Positive Psychology is an attempt to redress the balance, to encourage psychologists to try to contribute to positive aspects of life, not just do something about negative things. Strengths and virtues that are found in the happiest people. To enable more people to live lives filled with greater health and well-being as well as the absence of illness and disease. An important feature of Positive Psychology is its rejection of moral relativism. –This is based on the observation that certain character traits and ways of acting are considered good by the vast majority of cultures. It is also observed that these traits lead to increased happiness when practiced.