Humanistic and Existential Personalities

On the other, the existential/humanistic perspectives came up with self-actualization which is the innate process where one tends to grow spiritually and realize one’s potential (). These hierarchy of needs have five levels, namely; physiological needs, safety and security needs, the need for love and belonging, esteem needs, and the

Humanistic theories emerged in 1950s. We have two types of humanistic theories, the first one is Person-centred theory by Carl Rogers which is based on how people see them-selves in relation to their personal experience and the second theory is Self-actualisation by Abraham Maslow which is based on the needs that motivate people. In this paper both theories will be described in detail and also they will be evaluated.

Humanistic perspective is a psychological perspective popularized by Carlo Rogers and Abraham Maslow that emphasizes the human capacity for choice and growth. This perspective offers a very positive viewpoint of human nature and potential. It suggests that we are each responsible for our own happiness and well-being as humans. “The humanistic approach emphasizes the personal worth of the individual, the centrality of human

Personality is looked at everyday purposely and accidently. Whether you are judging how your new professor for the semester will be, or if you are studying your best friend for a project, personality is studied abundantly. While there are many ways to define personality, there is not a worldwide definition around. Personality is the unique combination of patterns that influence behavior, thought, motivation, and emotion in a human being (boundless.com). That is one of many ways of defining personality. When examining personality, there are four main approachable theories including: The Psychodynamic Approach, The Trait Approach, The Social-Cognitive Approach, and The Humanistic Approach.

To begin with, of the therapist/counselor is to apply a vast area of methods when dealing with clients, by providing them with the necessary tools using various existential-humanistic approaches. The reason is that there are no two people alike in the world. With this in mind, people’s problems, beliefs thought process, and their ‘here and now’ is a representation of our individuality and how each of us handle things. Therefore, when a person comes to see a therapist, it is important for that therapist to be able to help and address their issues, in the best way possible. This involves, the therapist/counselor to be knowledgeable, with various

1. According to Maslow, what are the characteristics of self-actualizing people? Why are these characteristics important?

There are factors of biological needs that influence the formation of the way the personality has an impact role, which shapes relationships by reviewing Maslow’s personality theory. By reviewing the relationships people will be able to see focused similarities and it’s upcoming. Analyzing the aspects that are essential to the theory of humanistic approach with the personality of explanations will enlighten people to the different views of each individual theory of personality.

The philosophy of existentialism is based primarily on a single question. One that asks the meaning of life or if there was some set path that individuals must follow. In the past, the answer to this would lie within religion, but as the human race continued to learn about the world, it became apparent that religion held little truth in terms of explanation. Since then, to philosopher’s dismay, there has been no definite answer to replace religion, nor will there ever be one. Instead, the concept of existentialism dawned on philosophers and scholars alike.

The humanistic perspective on personality deals exclusively with human behavior. Humanistic psychologists believe that human nature includes a natural drive towards personal growth, that humans have the freedom to choose what they do regardless of environmental factors, and humans are mostly conscious beings and are not controlled by unconscious needs and conflicts. They also believe that a person's subjective view of the world is more important than objective reality. Two of the humanistic theorists that have made an impact of humanism are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.

The humanistic/existential model uses different types of therapy to reach its goals. But all of the types of therapies agree on one thing, they focus on the client and not the symptoms. The humanistic aspect focuses on acceptance and growth, and the existential aspect focuses on responsibility and freedom. The problems are looked at as the result of the inability to be able to make meaningful and self-directed choices in your life. Thus, the treatments are focused on increasing the patient’s self-awareness and self-understanding.

Theorists have invested years of research into learning the dynamics of one’s personality. Humanistic and Existential Personality Theories offered perspectives that have proved to be valuable to those researching and exploring how one’s personality develops and expands throughout life. From Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to Carl Rogers’s development of the formative tendency and the actualizing tendency, the range of perspectives is diverse. In this paper, we will analyze how humanistic and existential theories affect individual personalities and give explanation to how these

The humanistic-existential perspective is both a reaction to and an outgrowth of the psychodynamic perspective. These thinkers refer to psychodynamic theory as inadequate, many were repulsed with its tendency to break down the "whole" person into discrete components, and, the idea of adapting to one's society, however questionable its values. Most importantly, they disagree that human action is beyond the individuals control, in fact they believe that if we could develop with out constraints, we would be rational and socialized. Humanists and existentialists also think psychology should be converted into a human science, different from psychological theories with more focus on natural science.

The author details the personality structure of humanity that is described by identifying the functioning parts. These five parts include the conscious mind, the unconscious mind, the heart, the will and the emotions. The conscious mind controls the perception and evaluation of the events in the mind. The unconscious mind houses the basic assumptions. The heart represents direction. The will identifies a person’s behavior. Finally, the emotions of an individual detail the capacity for feelings.

It is said that humanistic psychology was developed upon the limitations of behaviourism. The humanistic approach is often referred to as the “third force” in psychology coming after psychoanalysis and behaviourism; it is an alternative approach to psychology (Maslow, 1968). It offered a more wholesome approach to psychology at the time in comparison to behaviourism and psychoanalysis. This essay will compare and contrast behaviourism and humanistic psychology; it will focus on their contributions to psychological theory and their applications in the real world.

“The existential theory is concerned for the personal "commitment" of this interesting existing unique in the "human circumstances”.