1. The Humanistic Perspective
Of Personality

2. Humanistic Psychology
In the 1960’s people became sick of Freud’s negativity and trait psychology’s objectivity.
Along came psychologists who wanted to focus on “healthy” people and how to help them strive to “be all that they can be”.

3. 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”.

4. Who did Maslow study?

5. Self-Actualized People
They 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.

6. Self-Actualized People
Problem centered rather than self-centered.
Focused their energies on a particular task.
Few deep relationships, rather than many superficial ones.

7. 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?

8. Carl Rogers’s Person-Centered Perspective
People are basically GOOD.
We are like Acorns
Humans are like acorns.
We are hard headed.
Then we grow up into something great.
We fall from the group.
Sage words from Scott Wages (2009)
Need Water, Sun and Nutrients to Grow into a big Oak Tree.
We need genuineness, acceptance and empathy for us to grow.

9. Genuineness Being open with your own feelings. Dropping your facade.
Being transparent and self-disclosing.

10. Acceptance Unconditional Positive Regard:
An attitude of acceptance regardless of circumstances.
Accepting yourself or others completely.

11. Empathy
Listening, sharing, understanding and mirroring feelings and reflecting their meanings.

12. Self-Concept
All of thoughts and feelings about ourselves trying to answer the question….
WHO AM I?

13. 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

14. 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.

15. Possible Selves
What are your possible selves?

16. Possible Selves Self concept (two parts)
1. Real self --The you that you are
2. Ideal self -The self we think we should be (unattainable)
e.g. You are not a quality person if you don’t have a girlfriend…social situations will be threatening
e.g. Successful people go to college…career options outside of this will be denied
Goal: Fully functioning Individual (congruency)
Uniting your real and ideal self

17. Self-Esteem
One’s feelings of high or low self-worth.

18. Do minorities have lower self-esteem?
NOT REALLY
They value the things which they excel.
They attribute problems to prejudice.
They compare themselves to their own group.

19. 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.

20. 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?

21. Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective
Humanistic psychology has a pervasive impact on counseling, education, child-rearing, and management.
Concepts in humanistic psychology are vague and subjective and lack scientific basis.
Gender identity may develop before 5-6 years of age.