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Humanistic Existentialism. Existentialism. Big Questions… Are we free to make choices? What is the purpose of relationships with others? What is the meaning of life?. Introduction. experience is subjective make meaning out of it - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Humanistic Existentialism
Big Questions…
Are we free to make choices?
What is the purpose of relationships with others?
What is the meaning of life?
Existentialism
experience is subjective make meaning out of it
born in reaction to psychoanalysis and behaviorism (no freewill)
we determine our destiny and that the locus of control for our lives lies within
Introduction
not a coherent theory of personality but a philosophy
derives from people such as Kierkegaard,Nietzsche, Jaspers, Heidegger, Sartre andBuber
Existentialism
European: Binswanger, Boss, and Frankl
Frankl - student of Freud and developed logotherapy
logotherapy = therapy through meaning
existential vacuum = experienced when we do not busy ourselves with routine and work
Existentialism
American: May and Yalom
Carl Rogers (Humanism) Fritz Perls (Gestalt Psychology)
common thread among these approaches is the focus on the conscious experiences
Existentialism
emphasizes health rather than sickness
clients are not viewed as sick, but rather they are viewed as sick of life or awkward at living
Existentialism
respect of individuals exploring new aspects of human behavior existence is not fixed we continually recreate ourselves through our
projects humanism = any philosophy which recognizes
the value and dignity of persons and makes people the measure of all things
Existentialism
a) We have the capacity for self-awareness
b) Freedom and Responsibility
c) Striving for Identity and Relationship to Others
d) The Search for meaning
e) Anxiety as a condition for living
f) Awareness of death and nonbeing
Six Existential Propositions
we are finite we can act, or not act we can choose, and thus we can shape our
destiny
we are basically alone, but we have the opportunity to relate to others
Capacity of Self-Awareness
we are free to choose we must accept responsibility for our actions if we don't accept responsibility for our actions,
we act in what Sartre calls "bad faith" existential guilt = occurs when we choose not
to choose, or when we let others define or make choices for us
Freedom and Responsibility
part of the human condition is aloneness
we cannot depend on anyone else for our own confirmation
define from within
Striving for Identity and Relationship to Others
we alone must give a sense of meaning to life we alone must decide how we live when we are able to stand alone and dip within
ourselves for our own strength, our relationships with others are based on fulfillment, not our deprivation
Striving for Identity and Relationship to Others
concerns the struggle for significance and purpose in life therapists would encourage clients to help create a value
system that is based on their way of being sometimes people experience meaninglessness we create meaning working, loving, and building life is not meaningful in and of itself, rather an individual
creates and discovers meaning
Search for Meaning
when we make a decision or change, there will be anxiety there is normal and neurotic anxiety neurotic anxiety = anxiety that is out of proportion to the
situation existentialist therapists do not strive to eliminate normal
anxiety, rather life can not be lived, nor can death be faced without anxiety
"whenever you leave the sure basis of the now and become preoccupied with the future, you experience anxiety“ (Perls)
Anxiety as Condition of Living
Rogers…
when we receive information which is inconsistent with our self-concept we experience anxiety
the more inaccurate yourself concept, the more likely you will have clashes with other people
to ward off anxiety, a person has to reinterpret the experience to make it congruent with their self-concept
Anxiety as a Conditioning of Living
awareness of death as a basic condition gives significance to life
death means that we are finite and that we have a limited amount of time to do things
Awareness of Death and Nonbeing
Reversal Theory (Apter, 1989) suggests that our conscious experience shifts
between telic and paratelic modes telic mode = consciousness is goal directed to the future paratelic mode = consciousness is direct to the
pleasure of the activity at hand present oriented
Existential Trends
Csikszentmihalyi has argued for a psychology of optimal experience
autotelic experiences occur when you are completely absorbed by what you are doing
you are able to experience "flow“
Flow
Abraham Maslow1908-1970
Click here
Humanism (Allport, 1930)
1960s and 1970s
Third Force Psychology
Behaviorism◦ Narrow sterile view of human nature
Psychoanalytic◦ Focus on emotional disturbance
Maslow
Brooklyn, New York
Intense drive to succeed
Unhappy childhood Father –”loved whiskey and woman” Mother – hatred for her, punishing
Scrawny, large nose Inferiority complex Academically inclined (IQ = 195)
Maslow
Married at 20, his cousin Bertha fan of behaviorism in the 1930s Training in experimental psychology
PhD 1934 University of Wisconsin
Taught in New York in the 1930-1940s
1951 – 1969 Brandeis University
President of APA 1967 died 1970 massive heart attack
Maslow
Hierarchy of Needs
Self-actualization (weakest) Esteem Belongingness Safety Physiological (strongest)
Instinctoid needs = hereditary component One need dominates personality
Maslow
Vary in strength Higher needs appear later in life SA does not arise until midlife Lower needs called Deficient Needs
SA called Being Needs contentment, happiness, fulfillment
We work our way up the need chain Total satisfaction does not need to occur
Characteristics of Needs
Physiological Needs food, shelter, water
Safety Needs If unsatisfied – infants and neurotic adults Manifest by over need for structure/order
Belongingness Needs close relationship with friend, lover, mate or
even being part of group
Hierarchy of Needs
Esteem Needs
Two needs for esteem◦ From self and others
Derived from status, recognition or social success – feelings of self-worth
Failure to achieve – inferiority, helpless
Hierarchy of Needs
Highest need (Being Need)
Maximal realization of potential
Takes many forms
Conditions to SA◦ Free from society constraints◦ Not distracted by lower needs◦ Secure in self-image◦ Realistic knowledge of self
Self Actualization
Fasting until death
Religious figures
Exceptions to SA
Innate need to know and understand
Exists outside the hierarchy of needs
Need to know stronger than need to understand
Appears in late infancy
SA depends on satisfaction of cognitive need
Cognitive Needs
B-motivation Drive toward self-actualization Less than 1% of the population
D-motivation (deficiency) Drive toward every other need
Maslow
Efficient perception of reality Acceptance of self and others Spontaneous and natural Focus on problems outside themselves Need for privacy/sense of detachment Fresh appreciation and Peak experiences Social Interest and Profound relations Democratic Creative Resistant to enculturation
Chacteristics of Self-actualizers
Inadequate education
Improper child-rearing practices
Jonah complex The fear that maximizing our potential will
lead to a situation with which we will be unable to cope
Failure to SA
Freewill
Balance of nature versus nurture Balance of past and present
Uniqueness of people
Emphasis on growth
Optimistic view
Maslow’s view on human nature
Started with the study of Ruth Benedict and Max Wertheimer
For historical figures, he worked with biographical material
For living persons, he used interviews, free association and projective tests
Data collection not rigorous or controlled
Assessment of Maslow’s Theory
He referred to his program as consisting of a serious of pilot studies.
He is describing an ideal, but how did he arrive at this conclusion?
Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) Shostrom (1964) Self-report, 150 pairs of statements
Assessment
Positively correlated with Emotional health, creativity, academic
achievement, autonomy, racial tolerance
Negatively correlated with Alcoholism, neuroticism, depression and
hypochondriasis
POI scores increase gradually with age
POI
Ryan and Deci, 2000
People have an innate tendency to express their interests, exercise their interests, develop their capabilities and overcome challenges
Three basic needs: Competence- mastery of tasks Autonomy – freedom to act on one’s choices Relatedness – feeling connected with others
Self-determination Theory
"studies the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive."
"to find and nurture genius and talent” "to make life more fullfilling” not to cure mental illness
Martin Seligman the father of positive psychology
Positive Psychology
Carl Rogers1902-1987
Originated client-centered or person-centered therapy
Believes we are rational beings ruled by a conscious perception or our selves and our experiential world
Focus on the present
Inborn tendency to self-actualize
Carl Rogers
Oak Park, Illinois Strict religious background
◦ Suppression of displays of emotions◦ Virtue of hard work
Had little social life outside his family Competitive with his brother Felt lonely – inspired his theory of
personality
Started with agriculture then to theology Swung from fundamentalist to liberal
Rogers
PhD – 1931 1940 – moved from clinical to academia Ohio State University 1945 – 1957: University of Chicago 1957-1963: University of Wisconsin
APA President 1946
Received APA’s Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award and Distinguished Professional Contribution Award
Rogers
Self at the core of personality We are motivated to self-actualize
Actualization tendency Emcompasses all physiological and
psychological needs
Actualization begins in womb Responsible for maturation Is genetically determined
Rogers
Full development is not automatic
Involves struggle and pain
Organismic valuing process The process by which we judge experiences
in terms of their value for fostering or hindering our actualization and growth
Rogers
reality of our environment depends on our perception of it
perception is subjective
Phenomenology (experiential inner world)
The only reality we can be sure of is our inner perception of reality
Our inner reality is private and only we can know it
Rogers
Need for positive regard Acceptance, love and approval from others
Lack of it thwarts SA and development of self
Unconditional Positive Regard Love that is independent of behavior
Reciprocal influence – when we give love to others, it come back to us
Development of the Self
Conditions of worth A belief that we are worthy of approval only
when we express desirable behaviors and attitudes and refrain from expressing those that bring disapproval from others
Conditional positive regard Approval love or acceptance granted only
when a person expresses desirable behaviors attitudes
Rogers
Incongruence A discrepancy between a person’s self-
concept and aspects of his or her experiences
“We should love everyone” Then feel hatred towards another
Results in anxiety
To decrease the anxiety, we deny the hatred
Rogers
Psychological adjustment is the result of compatibility between our self-concept and our experiences
Aspects of self are not denied or distorted
Goal – all facets of the self are developed and become a fully functioning person
leading the “good life”
Rogers
All aspects of self are developed
Awareness of experience◦ Not defensive, reality not distorted◦ Self-concept is not threatened◦ Open to Positive and Negative Experiences◦ Wider range of emotions
Fully functioning people
Fresh appreciation of experience◦ Experiences cannot be predicted◦ We participate in fully in experience
Trust in one’s own behavior and feelings◦ Trust own reactions rather than being guided by
someone’s judgments◦ Nothing is threatening, all is experienced◦ Trust the emotional and intuitive side rather than
the intellectual
Fully Functioning People
Freedom of choice◦ Power in knowing future depends on choices
Creativity and spontaneity
Continual need to grow, maximize oneself Rogers used the word “actualizing” not
“actualized”
The latter implies a static personality
Fully Functioning People
Freewill Nurture Present experiences Uniqueness balanced with universality Growth Optimism
Rogers on Human Nature
Rogers in ActionThe Gloria Session
Gloria Clip 1 Gloria Clip 2 Gloria Clip 3 Gloria Clip 4 Gloria Clip 5
The Gloria Session
Link 1 Link 2 Link 3
What do you think about the difference between the two therapists?
The Gloria Session – Fritz Perls