CHAPTER 3 – THE BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOUR



LISA NOTES Chapter 17 Personality through self-experiences

KEY CONCEPTS

phenomenology

the study of the inherent potential in people, and of the subjective experiences and meanings people attach to objects and events

existentialism

the philosophy that people have freedom of choice and the ability to rise above the realities of a situation

self

a person’s perceptions of him/herself

self-experience

learning about one’s own self or the selves of others

wholeness

the integration of physical, psychological and spiritual levels

meaning

the purpose of life

self-esteem

worth attached to the self

self-dignity

being worthy of respect

positive regard

unconditional love and respect

self-determinism

free will, having self-control

congruence

the authentic expression of emotions

organism

the total psycho-physical individual

phenomenological field

experiences, perceptions and meanings attached to events outside the person

self-actualising

expressing the self to its fullest potential

peak experience

experiences of wonder and total involvement

constructs

cognitive representations of people or events

self-efficacy

the belief that one can be successful in tasks

self-control

reinforcing one’s own behaviour, being in control of what happens

needs

deficiencies or imbalances creating a drive to achieve a goal

optimal

to the fullest

salutogenesis

the human ability to be resilient under stressful conditions

This chapter focuses on the philosophical ideas of the humanistic-phenomenological school of thought. It embraces the intrinsic goodness in people, their unique subjective experiences, human striving towards self-actualisation and finding meaning in life.

17.1 Introduction

The humanistic-phenomenological approaches are concerned with the subjective and unique experiences of people in their attempts to live a meaningful life.

These approaches can also help us to develop a better understanding of the self, which form the core of personality descriptions.

The aim of this chapter is to explain personality according to the humanistic, phenomenological and existential ideas.

17.2 A background to the humanistic view of human nature

The humanistic approach views being a person or having a sense of self as a continuous process of choices and experiences regarding the world and other people.

The uniqueness of every person’s context and frame of reference is a central idea. Humanistic approaches are referred to as the "Third Force" in psychology, as opposed to psychoanalysis and behaviourism.

Humanists emphasise the more positive side of human nature, such as creativity, the striving for self-actualisation and the search for meaning in life.

Phenomenology and existentialism preceded the humanistic approach and focus on humans’ striving to rise above the realities of life.

17.3 Main assumptions of humanistic approaches

Human-oriented theorists emphasise the strong influence of social factors and important people in a person’s life on that person’s personality.

17.3.1 Subjective or phenomenological experiences

People do not only react to physical realities, but also to how they subjectively interpret events and phenomena.

Subjective experience is measurable only when it happens.

The idea of self-experience is used in training, development and therapy groups.

A person’s self-concept is formed by progressive subjective experiences during personality development.

Therefore a person’s self-concept will have an influence on his/her feelings, reactions and thinking.

The idea of self-experience is extensively used in training, development and therapy groups.

17.3.2 The uniqueness of each individual

People’s experiences are not only subjective, but also unique, and may never be the same for someone else.

The humanistic approaches understand human behaviour through understanding the unique experiences people have rather than through using objective measurement instruments.

17.3.3 Personality as a Gestalt or holistic phenomenon

The humanistic approach emphasises the person and his/her behaviour as a whole.

Personality is an integrated whole and more than the sum of its parts.

The integration of physical, mental, psychological and social characteristics makes us operate as a coherent whole.

17.3.4 The intrinsic goodness, potential and self-actualisation of people

Unlike psychoanalysis, humanists emphasise people’s intrinsic ability to grow towards healthy adjustment and the achievement of goals.

The concept of self-actualisation is used to refer to a person’s intrinsic ability to become what he/she wants to be.

Unfortunately, many people never achieve self-actualisation.

Positive psychology aims at releasing the hidden resources and resilience of people.

17.3.5 Free will or self-determination

Coupled to self-actualisation is people’s ability and freedom to be in control of what happens to them.

The humanistic-phenomenological view of humankind emphasises that people are in control of their destinies.

This is quite similar to cognitive psychology’s idea that by having knowledge people take responsibility for themselves.

17.4 Self-concept: the integrating personality structure

Many humanists use the concept of the self to explain personality or personality structure.

Rogers distinguished between:

• the organism

• the phenomenological field

• the self.

Self-awareness develops from an early age.

Our self-schemas incorporate our perceived negative and positive attributes.

“Self” refers to a person’s perception of him/herself as a result of his/her experiences in the phenomenological field.

The self-concept may denote self-identity, which is who people are.

Self-esteem also forms part of our self-concept, and is important in work behaviour because it contributes to work involvement and work motivation.

Employees with high self-esteem manifest the following work-related behaviours:

• They try to improve on work performance when negative feedback is received.

• They are more able to work independently.

• They are less negatively affected by chronic stressors.

• They are more ambitious.

• They are less likely to conform to group norms or need group support.

Another concept related to self-esteem is self-efficacy, which is the conviction that one can successfully execute behaviour to produce the expected outcomes.

According to Kelly, people create their own representations by interpreting events according to mental constructs.

Kelly describes constructs as being hierarchical and changeable.

Various types of constructs exist:

• core constructs

• peripheral constructs

• pre-emptive and constellatory constructs

• propositional constructs.

Of all of these, the perception of the self is the central and most important construct.

Frankl described personality as a wholeness consisting of physical, psychological and spiritual levels.

17.5 The development and maintenance of self

Humanistic theories report that self-development is a constant process throughout life, and self-concepts are formed and changed through an ongoing valuing mechanism.

The continual self-concept formation and development centre on the physical, intellectual and psychosocial spheres of human development.

If development is “healthy” the individual is able to be congruent regarding how different aspects of self-expression coincide.

People can only develop into fully functioning people if they are accepted (unconditional positive regard), feel worthy and are able to develop a complete self-image.

17.6 Motivational forces in becoming a person

17.6.1 Finding meaning in life

Because people’s ultimate goal in life is to grow and find meaning, people have an intrinsic will to meaning.

The concept of self-transcendence indicates people’s ability to rise above the situation in order to find meaning in life.

17.6.2 Needs and self-actualisation

Maslow asserts that human behaviour is directed by a number of physiological needs represented in a hierarchy.

He distinguishes between:

• deficiency or primary needs

• growth or secondary needs.

Self-esteem and self-actualisation are higher-level needs and are responsible for the individual’s constant striving behaviour.

Self-actualisation is associated with peak experiences.

Kelly believed people were naturally motivated because they were alive.

An individual will do things based on how he/she thinks about, anticipates and predicts events through various constructs.

This is similar to Frankl’s idea about life values giving meaning to events.

The Job-Characteristics Model of Hackman and Oldham illustrates how certain attributes are related to people having meaningful work experiences with positive results.

17.6.3 Free will as perceived self-control

Humans have the capability to regulate their own behaviour.

Freedom of choice and the internal motive to self-actualise relate to the cognitive ideas of self-control, an internal locus of control, self-determination, self-regulation and self-efficacy.

Humans have control because they provide meaning to events and experiences by forming constructs that are representations of reality.

17.7 Optimality and deficiencies in being

Optimality involves ongoing growth whereby the individual takes responsibility for the development of his/her physical, psychological and mental capabilities.

Optimality can therefore be regarded as self-actualisation.

Rogers perceives the fully functioning person as one who uses, recognises and develops all his/her abilities and talents to further self-knowledge.

Rogers perceives the following as characteristics of fully functioning people:

• awareness of all experiences

• existential or full and quality living

• organismic confidence

• freedom of experience

• creativity and adaptability in the face of changes

• having courage to face life’s problems.

Self-defeating behaviour and negative social influences are serious inhibiting factors when trying to live a full life.

The following factors facilitate optimal growth:

• unconditional acceptance from others as having self-worth and potential as a person

• self-regard, which develops in the person through experiences about him/herself in relation with other important people

• self-esteem, which develops when the person gets feedback from others and from the manner in which he/she is accepted and grows towards, and experiences, self-actualisation

• positive societal and environmental opportunities, and the freedom to develop potential and to self-actualise.

Psychological health is seen as dependent on the congruency of self-perceptions and experience in the environment.

Incongruency leads to anxiety and defence mechanisms.

Salutogenesis and related concepts such as self-control, potency, sense of coherence and personal hardiness indicate the human ability to be resilient even under stressful conditions, and to strive for optimality.

These self-actualised behaviours are in contrast to concepts such as alienation, which denotes work experiences that leave employees without autonomy, meaning or connectedness.

17.8 Summary and conclusion

The humanistic approach emphasises people's unique experiences and internal motivation to develop towards the realisation of their potential.

The application of self-actualisation is one of the humanists’ greatest contributions.

The essence of humanistic theory is to recognise and cultivate the natural, positive potentials of humankind and to encourage people to find meaning in whatever they do.

The end !!!!

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