Humanistic Psychology & Achievement Motivation

I. Fundamental Concepts A. Free Will: the belief that behavior is caused by a person’s independent decisions (opposite to determinism). B. Humanistic Psychology: operates under the assumption of free will and deals with values, beliefs, and consciousness, including spirituality and the guiding principles by which people choose to live their lives. C. Peak Experiences: those moments in a person’s life when he or she feels truly fulfilled or content.

D. Motivation: an internal energetic condition that activates goal-oriented behavior and gives it direction. E. Perceived Responsibility 1) The Compensatory Responsibility Model: people are not seen as responsible for their problems but they are responsible for the solutions. II. Founders of Humanistic Psychology: Carl Rogers & Abraham Maslow A. Self-Actualization: to strive for and to achieve one’s fullest potential.

B. Unconditional Positive Regard: the acceptance of the person as he or she is. C. Conditional Positive Regard: the person is only held in esteem when they fulfill certain requirements set for them by another person or society. D. Self-Concept (Real Self): an image of the person that one really is. E. Ideal Self: an image that represents the person one would like to be.

F. Maslow’s Theory of a Hierarchy of Needs: once one’s needs are met at any given level of the hierarchy, one’s attention is drawn to the needs of the level above it. Biological: basics such as hunger and thirst; require satisfaction before other needs can begin operation Safety: protection from danger, for security, comfort, and freedom from fear Attachment: to belong, to affiliate with others, love, and to be loved Esteem: to like oneself, to see oneself as competent, and to be liked by others Cognitive: thought stimulation and to contemplate one’s existence Aesthetic: creativity, beauty, and a sense of order Self-Actualization: to strive for and to achieve one’s fullest potential. Transcendence: to step beyond Self-Actualization, to achieve higher states of consciousness, and a cosmic vision of one’s part in the universe.

III. Offshoots of Humanistic Psychology: Positive Psychology and the State of Flow A. Positive Psychology: the scientific study of features that enrich life, such as hope, creativity, courage, spirituality and responsibility. B. Keys to Happiness and Personal Fulfillment 1) Intimacy 2) Personal Growth 3) Contribution to the Community G. Delay of Gratification: the ability to wait in order to obtain something that one wants. This skill is often referenced with impulse control, will power, and self control.

C. Flow: the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. The challenge and skill levels should be high. The experience of Flow includes… 1)A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, attention is directed outwards towards their activity. 2) Distorted sense of time, one's subjective experience of time is altered as people become absorbed in their activity. 3) A sense of personal control over the situation or activity. 4) The activity is intrinsically rewarding, so there is an effortlessness stream of action.

IV. Achievement Motivation A. What’s motivating you to achieve? 1) Extrinsic Motivation: refers to things that are external to oneself, such as money or rewards. 2) Intrinsic Motivation: refers to things that are internal, such as pride of accomplishment. Impact on Achievement at School, Work, or with Creative/Leisure Activities

B. Success also depends on setting the right goals and effective time management. C. Regarding time management, sustained success is usually the result of planning ahead and working on tasks at a moderate and steady speed.