Understanding Personality: The Humanistic/Existential Perspectives

1
Understanding PersonalityThe Humanistic/Existent
ial Perspectives
2
What is personality?

• unique way a person thinks, acts and feels
  throughout life
• is stable over time
• many perspectives in personality, we will focus
  on humanistic and psychodynamic perspectives

3
A Phenomenological approach

• Behavior is determined by the phenomenological
  reality of a person
• Must know what the world is like for that person,
  no two people are the same

4
Abraham Maslows Need Hierarchy
5
Abraham Maslow (p. 343-344)

• peak experiences
• criticism?

6
Carl Rogers Person-Centered Approach

• we all need love and approval
• we all have a desire to develop our unique
  potential- a self-actualizing tendency

7
Carl Rogers Person-Centered Approach

• self- concept the real and ideal selves
• Unconditional Positive Regard
• empathy, genuineness
• mirroring

8
Existential Approaches

• free will and choice, leading to responsibility
• the search for meaning

9
Viktor Frankls Logotherapy

• finding meaning in life
• not so much mental illness as existential
  frustration

10
Frankls Logotherapy (cont.)

• the existential vacuum
• ultimate goal is SELF-TRANSCENDENCE