3. “It is not things in themselves that trouble us, but our opinions of things.”
“Change your thoughts and you change your world."
“I do not react to some absolute reality, but to my perception of this reality. It is this perception which for me is reality.”

4. Awareness is everything!
Conscious experience is all that matters
The past is only important if it affects your thoughts and feelings now
Even if “reality” exists, it doesn’t matter
Note how different from other approaches
Trait
Genetic
Psychodynamic

5. Humanistic Psychology
The study of the mind is different than any other science
The mind is aware!
The mind is attempting to understand the mind

6. Awareness Existentialism Phenomenological Humanistic
The cs mind has a sense of “existence”
Phenomenological
The “phenomenon” of experience
Humanistic
This phenomenon is uniquely human

7. Phenomenological, Humanistic, and Existentialism
Free will
Awareness
Meaning
Responsibilities of free will
The object of study are human beings

8. Free Will Previous approaches CS experience is personality
The UCS mind does not matter
The past does not matter
Only times these do matter is if you let them
Gordon Liddy example

9. Awareness What does it feel like to exist? Umwelt Mitwelt Eigenwelt
Senses you feel as a biological organism
Mitwelt
Feelings related to social experiences
Eigenwelt
Feelings when you think of your own existence

10. What would you have been like if you. . .
Were born to an extremely wealth family?
Were born to an extremely poor family?
Were born in North Dakota in 1952?
Were born in England in 1500?

11. Thrown-ness The circumstances into which you happened to be born
What time period do you think it is most difficult to find a sense of meaning?

12. Meaning Modern times Why are you here? What should you be doing? Angst
Existential anxiety

13. What to do?
“Lucky mud”
Free choice – must not “blow” your chance to find “meaning”
Not a “true” meaning, but a personal “meaning”

14. Authentic Existence Come to terms with your existence
Life is shot
You will die
You are in control of your choices – find meaning
Still not a “happy” existence
Your will die
Meaning is only an illusion

15. Bad Faith
Avoid Angst
Stop worrying about the problems of existence

16. Bad Faith Problems 1) Living a lie 2) Still will not be happy
Might as well just be the “unlucky mud”
2) Still will not be happy
3) Still making a choice
Chosen not to chose is a choice
“Man is condemned to freedom”

17. Carl Rogers

18. Carl Rogers
“. . . the most wonderful miracle in the world took place. .”

19. Subjective Experiences
Inner reality more important than objective reality
Inner experiences
Conscious experiences
Experiences that can be verbalized or imagined
Unconscious experiences
Experiences that cannot be verbalized or imagined

20. Self-Actualizing Tendency
Innate motive toward fulfillment of our potentials
Evidence
Rat and human studies
Evolution
“Innate goodness”

21. So why do people do bad things?
Infants perceive their experiences as reality

22. Uninhibited by the evaluations of others
All behavior directed toward satisfying need for SA
Organismic Valuing Process
SA is the criterion used to make judgments of worth

23. Start to experience a need for positive regard
As we get older
Start to experience a need for positive regard
Satisfying the needs for others satisfies this need

25. True self

26. Social self
Created through contact with others
True self

27. Social self
Prevents us from getting into touch with our true self
True self

28. Social self
Leads to “conditions of worth”
True self

29. So why do people do bad things?
Social self hinders movement toward SA
Not behaving like true self causes anxiety
Anxiety causes defense mechanisms

30. So why do people do bad things?
Psychotic

31. Positive Development Avoid conditions of worth
Unconditional positive regard
Congruence between true self and experiences

32. Fully Functioning Person
Open to experience
Characterized by existential living
Trust their organisms
Are creative
Live rich lives