HUMANISTIC/EXISTENTIAL THEORIES

1. ABRAHAM MASLOW: HOLISTIC DYNAMIC

MASLOW’S APPROACH
 Prepotency to psychological health
 One need or another
 To understand humans: Should study HEALTHY
PEOPLE not psychopathology
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OF AVERAGE
 Normal in psych -> psychopathology in average
VIEW OF MOTIVATION
 HOLISTIC: the whole person is motivated
 COMPLEX
 Continually motivated by one need or another
 All people everywhere: motivated by the same basic
needs
 Needs are arranged into a HIERARCHY
 May be UNCONSCIOUS
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
 CONATIVE NEEDS: characteristic of need: have
motivational character
o DEFICIENCY NEEDS: Needs are met =
Motivation decreases
 PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS: recurring, can
be over satisfied
  SAFETY NEEDS: not completely satisfied,
basic anxiety
 LOVE/BELONGINGNESS NEEDS
 ESTEEM
 REPUTATION
 SELF-ESTEEM
o GROWTH NEEDS: Needs met = Motivation
increases
 SELF-ACTUALIZATION
 TRANSCENDENCE
 PRECONDITIONS TO SELF ACTUALIZATION
o No restraints imposed by others
o No distractions from deficiency needs
o Know self
OTHER NEEDS
 AESTHETIC NEEDS
 COGNITIVE NEEDS
 NEUROTIC NEEDS: Reactive; unmet basic needs
REVERSED ORDER OF NEEDS
 Surface behaviors -> unconscious needs
 Starving mother lets her children feed first -> seems
like satisfying love needs: not genuine love needs
UNMOTIVATED BEHAVIOR
 Not all behaviour needs motives
EXPRESSIVE & COPING BEHAVIOR
 Expressive: unmotivated
  Coping: to satisfy a need
INSTINCTOID NEEDS
 Needs -> instinct but modified by learning
 Instinctoid need; frustration = psychopathology
DEPRIVATION OF NEEDS
 Deprived basic needs = psychopathology
 METAPATHOLOGY: deprivation of self-actualization
needs
LOVE, SEX & SELF-ACTUALIZATION
 B-LOVE: unmotivated by deficiency
 D-LOVE: deficiency motivated, deficit satisfied by the
other
SELF ACTUALIZATION
 Progressed through hierarchy
 Free of psychopathology
 Embraced B-values
 Full potential
 PERSONAL ORIENTATION INVENTORY (POI)
VALUES OF SELF ACTUALIZERS
 B-VALUES/BEING VALUES/ETERNAL VERITIES
o Indicators of psychological health
 METANEEDS: ultimate level of needs
 DEFICIENCY NEEDS: needs of non self actualized
  METAMOTIVATION: motives of self-actualized
person
 DESACRALIZATION: removes: objectifies
experience
 RESACRALIZATION: returns: subjective & personal
experience
 TAOISTIC ATTITUDE: Awe and wonder to everything
CHARACTERISTIC OF SELF-ACTUALIZED PEOPLE
 More efficient perception of reality
 More accepting
 Spontaneity, Simplicity, Naturalness
 Problem-Centering
 Need for Privacy
 Autonomy
 Continued freshness/appreciation
 Peak Experiences
 Gemeinschaftgefuhl
 Enjoys intimate relationship
 Democratic character structure
 Discrimination between means and ends
 Creativeness
 Humor
 Resistance to enculturation
14 B-VALUES
 Truth  Beauty
 Goodness
  Wholeness/  Justice and Order
transcendence of  Simplicity
dichotomies  Richness/Totality
 Aliveness/Spontaneity  Effortlessness
 Uniqueness  Playfulness/Humor
 Perfection  Self-
 Completion Sufficiency/Autonomy
THE JONAH COMPLEX
 Fear of doing one’s best
GOAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
 Embrace B-Values
 Directed to need being thwarted
 Interpersonal relationship with therapist = best
psychological medicine
 2. Carl Rogers: Person-Centered Theory
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
 Uniquely human issues
 Innate goodness
 Freewill, conscious decision making
 IF THEN FRAMEWORK
 FORMATIVE TENDENCY: Simplier->complex
 ACTUALIZING TENDENCY: Towards completion,
fulfilment of potentials
o NEED FOR MAINTENANCE
o NEED FOR ENHANCEMENT: willingness to face
pain because of the biological tendency to fulfill
basic nature w/c is actualization
SELF AND SELF ACTUALIZATIONS:
 SELF -> Infancy-> established -> strive toward self-
actualization
o ORGANISMIC SELF: general -> all of person
even beyond awareness
 Organismic Valuing Process: natural
instinct -> guides to most fulfilling pursuits
(more value)
o SELF CONCEPT: identity perceived in
awareness
o IDEAL SELF: self: aspire to be
o Self-concept formed -> resist change = gaps w/
ideal self = incongruence = psychopathology
AWARENESS
 Aware of self-concept and their ideal self->
awareness need not be accurate -> not consistent
with the self-concept -> will be distorted or denied.
o Person distrusts the giver
o Recipient does not feel deserving of them
o Compliment carries an implied threat
 3 LEVELS
o Ignored/Denied
o Accurately Symbolized
o Distorted
NEEDS
 INCONGRUENCE
 SELF REGARD: only forms -> someone cares for
them: once formed -> INDEPENDENT FROM
EVALUATION
 CONTACT
 Contact -> positive regard -> positive self regard
BARRIERS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH/
PSYCHOLOGICAL STAGNATION
 CONDITIONS OF WORTH
o External evaluations
 INCONGRUENCE
o Organismic experience vs. Self-Concept
o Vulnerability = Unaware
o Anxiety = Dimly Aware
 o Threat = Fully Aware
o DEFENSES: (fail = disorganization)
 Distortion
 Denial
 DISORGANIZATION
PSYCHOTHERAPY: CLIENT CENTERED THERAPY
 CONDITIONS
o Congruence
o Unconditional Positive Regard
o Empathic Listening
 PROCESS (7)
o Unwilling
o Only external events and people
o Talk about selves but as an object
o Strong emotions from past
o Emotions from present
o Allow distorted into consciousness
o Irreversible growth
 3. Rolo Reese May: Existential Psychology
EXISTENCE: Change and Growth
ESSENCE: Final
 EXISTENCE precedes ESSENCE
 SUBJECTIVE & OBJECTIVE
 MEANING of life
 RESPONSIBLE for who we become
 ANTI-THEORETICAL
BASIC CONCEPTS
 BEING IN THE WORLD/DASEIN
o ALIENATION: separation: nature, authentic self
& meaningless interpersonal
o MODES OF DASEIN: healthy = live in all
 UMWELT: biological, objects, Freud
 MITWELT: Interpersonal, Sullivan and
Rogers
 EIGENWELT: Self
 UBERWELT: Supreme being
 EXISTENTIAL NON-BEING: possible non-being
o DEATH: accept non-being
 BLIND CONFORMITY
 HOSTILITY
 ANXIETY: non being/threat existence/
CONSTRUCTIVE; ontological
o NORMAL ANXIETY
 o NEUROTIC ANXIETY
 GUILT: ontological; from alienation
o ONTOLOGICAL: Umwelt, Jonah’s complex
o SEPARATION: Human dilemma
o EIGENWELT GUILT: striving to be better but
can never really reach fullest potential
 INTENTIONALITY: meaning
o action = intentionality = action
 CARE, LOVE, WILL
o CARE: recognize another humanity
o LOVE: delight in presence
 SEX
 EROS
 PHILIA
 AGAPE
o WILL: organize self -> goal
 FREEDOM: Capacity to know
o EXISTENTIAL FREEDOM: DOING: action
o ESSENTIAL FREEDOM: BEING
 DESTINY: universe speaking thru each of us
o DEATH
 THE POWER OF MYTH: stories -> unify
o RATIONALISTIC KNOWLEDGE: truth
o MYTHS: experience: collective unconscious
STAGES OF EXISTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
 INNOCENCE: Premoral; neither bad/good
 REBELLION: Merida and freedom/ adolescence
 ORDINARY: normal adult ego/ conformity
 CREATIVE: authentic adult