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PSY 370 - Personality Experience, Existence, and the Meaning of Life: Humanistic Psychology Chapter 13 Humanistic Psychology is based on the premise that, to understand a person, you must understand his or her unique view of reality. Phenomenology comprises everything a person hears, feels, and thinks, and which is at the center of his or her humanity and may even be the basis of free will. Fall ‘09 1 PSY 370 - Personality Foundations of Humanism The mind is aware, and it knows it is being studied, consequently: Psychology needs to address this unique phenomenon of awareness rather than brushing it under the rug. Self-awareness brings to the fore many uniquely human phenomena that do not arise when the object of study is a rock, a molecule, or even another animal. Awareness includes phenomena such as: willpower, conceptual thinking, imagination, introspection, self-criticism, aspirations, creativity, and above all, free will. The job of humanistic psychology is to seek to understand awareness, free will, and the many related aspects of the mind that are uniquely human and that give life meaning. But what is self-awareness? What is free will? And, most difficult of all, what is the meaning of life? Phenomenology: Awareness Is Everything . . . the realization that only your present experience matters is the basis of free will. The past is gone and the future is not here yet. You are here now and can choose what to think, feel, and do. Interpretations of reality Construal Your particular experience of the world Freely chosen By choosing your construals, by deciding how to interpret your experience, you can achieve free will. Yours are unique to you The Chemistry of Experience Wundt Fall ‘09 Credited with constructing the first psychological laboratory (1879). Some credit him with the emergence of psychology as an independent discipline with its own distinct methods, programs, and institutions. He conceived of psychology as the field that would examine conscious experience as an important phenomenon in its own right, beyond the physical stimuli that affect it. Advocated the study of human perceptions of and interactions with the physical world. 2 PSY 370 - Personality The Chemistry of Experience (cont.) Introspection: Observing your own inner experience Wundt used introspection as a method to study and record an individual’s pure mental experience (pure sensation & perception). train researchers to ignore learned meanings and associations, reporting perception without interpretation. The Chemistry of Experience (cont.) Introspection Describe this object. The Chemistry of Experience (cont.) Wundt used introspection as a method to Through introspection Wundt hoped to formulate something like a chemistry of mental life to identify the elements of perception and thought that comprise more complex inner experiences. to analyze any experience, feeling, or thought into its basic irreducible parts. These goals were not met. Fall ‘09 study and record an individual’s pure mental experience (pure sensation & perception). train research assistants to ignore learned meanings and associations; report perception without interpretation. conclude that cognition is separate from perception. The usefulness of this enterprise was unclear. As it turns out, some complex perceptions, feelings, and thoughts are apparently irreducible. Perhaps the most important difficulty with the phenomenological program was the method of introspection itself. 3 PSY 370 - Personality Existentialism: The Philosophical Roots of Humanistic Psychology Existentialism is a broad philosophical movement that began in Europe in the mid-1800s. It arose as a reaction against European rationalism, science, and the industrial revolution that existentialists believed had gone too far in its attempt to account for everything . Existentialists thought science, technology, and rational philosophy had lost touch with human experience. Existentialism began to catch on among European philosophers after World War II. Major philosophical questions about existence—in the moment: What is the nature of existence? How does it feel? What does it mean? Existentialism: Experience and Thrownness Three parts of experience: Umwelt—perception: the sensations you feel by virtue of being a biological organism Mitwelt—social experience: consisting of what you think and feel as a social being Eigenwelt—psychological experience: your inner experience, including the experience of introspection Thrown-ness (Geworfenheit)—an important basis of your experience; the time, place, and circumstances into which you happened to be born Being thrown into modern society is particularly difficult. Religion does not help much; it has a small role today as compared to the past. Modern substitutes for religion (e.g., science, philosophy) have failed to provide an alternate worldview. Existentialism: Questioning the Meaning of Life In modern society, the answers can be found nowhere; not in society itself, religion, science, art, or philosophy. An overarching purpose, indeed the meaning of life, cannot be found. Fall ‘09 4 PSY 370 - Personality Existentialism: Angst (existential anxiety) Fundamental Questions About Existence What is the meaning of existence? Why am I here? What should I be doing? Angst (existential anxiety): anxiety you experience when these fundamental questions are still unanswered by you You know that life is short and you had best spend what time you have in the “right way”. You will not know how to spend your time in the “right way” if you do not know what the “right way” is. Existentialism: Angst (existential anxiety) cont. Angst can be analyzed into three separate sensations Anguish: Choice is inevitable and imperfect; i.e., something always has to suffer for something else to benefit. Forlornness: There are no absolute rules and you are alone in making your own existential choices. Despair: If you acknowledge the momentous and regrettable fact that many critical life outcomes are outside of your control, then you also will feel despair at your inability to change those crucial aspects of life. Existentialism: Living in Bad Faith Bad faith Living in bad faith poses three problems: Fall ‘09 Leading an unexamined life Leaving the fundamental questions about existence unaddressed To ignore these troubling facts of existence is to live a cowardly lie; it is immoral and amounts to selling your soul for comfort. Even if you can temporarily avoid angst by ignoring troubling existential issues, you still will not be happy; even the most smug and unthinking person occasionally realizes that he or she will soon be dead without having done anything significant or meaningful. Choosing not to worry about the meaning of life and surrendering your choices to external authorities is still making a choice; there is no exit from this existential dilemma, even if you can fool yourself into thinking that there is. Consequently, you should hone your optimistic toughness and face the inescapable fact that you are mortal, your life is short, and you are master of your own destiny. 5 PSY 370 - Personality Existentialism: Living an Authentic Existence Authentic existence entails being honest, insightful, and morally correct. will not relieve you from loneliness and unhappiness. • A courageous examination of conscious experience reveals the awful truth that every person is alone and doomed. • Life has no meaning beyond what you give it. • Any apparent meaning it might seem to have is an illusion. Leads to discovering the essence of the human experience: • The human being is the only animal that understands it must die. Existentialism: Living an Authentic Existence (cont.) Living an authentic existence is not easy. It takes moral courage to cast aside defense mechanisms and the veneer of culture, and peer into the void of mortality and meaninglessness. • When Nietszche did this, he decided the most honorable response was to rise above it all and become a superman. His ideal person sought to triumph over the apparent meaninglessness of life by coming to see fundamental ideas in a way that provided the certainty and existential strength to face what must be faced. • Sartre reached a different conclusion; Sartre found that, through existential analysis, people can regain awareness of their freedom. He wrote that existential theory “is the only one which gives man dignity, the only one which does not reduce him to an object.” He believed that the existential challenge is to do all you can to better the human condition, even in the face of life’s uncertainties. This is how you can regain your dignity and freedom, and find meaning in life. Optimistic humanism: Rogers and Maslow Began with the existential assumptions that phenomenology people Added is central. have free will. two more assumptions: people are basically good. have an innate need to make themselves and the world better. people Fall ‘09 6 PSY 370 - Personality Self-Actualization: Rogers Carl Rogers changed the tone and much of the message of the classic existential and phenomenological analysis. People have one basic tendency and striving —to actualize, maintain, and enhance their own experience. Phenomenal field: The entire panorama of an individual’s conscious experience; a person can be understood only from the perspective of his or her phenomenal field. Self-actualization: To maintain and enhance life; self-actualization is the meaning of existence (a sharp departure from existential philosophy). The Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow When the lower needs are satisfied, the individual will work to satisfy the next set of needs until he or she reaches self-actualization. In other words, an individual will work on self-actualizing needs (including pondering the meaning of existence) only after all other needs are met. This idea marks another sharp departure from existentialist philosophy, in that existentialists promote living an authentic existence at all times (even when your physiological needs are not met). selfactualization status, esteem belonging, social activity safety, security, comfort basic physiological needs: food, water, etc. The Fully Functioning Person: Rogers The only way to accomplish this is to face the world Unconditional positive regard paves the way. Conditions of worth limit your freedom to think and act. Fall ‘09 without fear. without self-doubt. without neurotic defenses that distort reality. If you believe you are valuable only if certain things about you are true, then you will distort your perception of reality to believe them, even if they are not true. If you think you are valuable only if your behavior conforms to certain rules and expectations, you lose your ability to choose what to do. 7 PSY 370 - Personality The Fully Functioning Person: Rogers The Fully Functioning Person: Rogers There is only one correct answer to these questions: “I am here, at this college, in this personality class because I choose to be.” Yet how many times do you hear students say, “I am here because my parents are making me go.” Or similarly, “I am here because if I drop out of college my parents will kill me.” Or maybe even worse, “I am here because I will never get a job without a college degree.” None of these statements are true, in fact. • Your parents are not forcing you around campus, in handcuffs and shackles, sitting you down in your seat, forcing you to take this class. • Your parents are not going to kill you (with almost 100% certainty). • And, in fact, there are many stable, high paying, and honorable jobs that one can do without a college degree. The Fully Functioning Person: Rogers So, if you are one of those students who answered those questions incorrectly the first time, try answering them again; this time answering them correctly: “I am here, at this college, in this personality class because I choose to be.” When you start taking responsibility for your decisions, and you reject conditions of worth then you will begin taking steps toward becoming a fully functioning person. Fall ‘09 You will take back your free will. Caution: If you have free will you have complete responsibility for your choices (you can no longer blame anyone but yourself). You cannot have free will without also taking complete responsibility; you cannot become a fully functioning person without being completely responsible for your decisions and their outcomes. 8 PSY 370 - Personality The Fully Functioning Person: Rogers A fully functioning person Becoming a fully functioning person is possible if the individual experienced unconditional positive regard from parents and other important people in life, because those individuals will not develop conditions of worth .(Maslow disagreed slightly; he believed that anybody from any background could become a fully functioning person.) A person who is free from conditions of worth leads an existence that is free from existential anxiety, because that person is is happy, is leading an authentic existence, is psychologically healthy, is striving toward self-actualization. faces the world without fear, self-doubt, or neurotic defenses. confident of his or her value; does not need to blindly follow rules, because a sense of innate goodness leads to the right choices. A fully functioning person lives a life rich in emotion and self-discovery, and such a person is reflective, spontaneous, flexible, adaptable, confident, trusting, creative, self-reliant, ethical, open-minded, etc. Humanistic Psychotherapy Helps the client become a fully functioning person The therapist provides unconditional positive regard. The nature of communication between the therapist and client is extremely important – the therapist must be a good listener to help the client perceive his or her own thoughts and feelings without the therapist seeking to change them in any way. to make the client feel appreciated no matter what he or she thinks, says, or does. This time-consuming process allows insight and the removal of conditions of worth, the theory goes, and helps the client become a fully functioning person. Efficacy research Ideal self and the self are measured, using a Q-sort, before and after therapy. Post-therapy they are more similar than before therapy, but not as close as a control group of people who did not need therapy. Has been criticized because both selves (current and ideal) change, and a closely aligned current and ideal self is not necessarily a good measure of psychological health. Personal Constructs: Kelly Personal construct theory Kelly emphasized what he called personal constructs: how one’s cognitive or thinking system builds experience out of a unique set of ideas about the world. Fall ‘09 9 PSY 370 - Personality Personal Constructs: Kelly (cont.) The Role Construct Repertory Test (REP Test) The test taker is given a grid upon which he or she will write down the responses to a set of 22 questions. Every question asks the test taker to name an important person in his/ her life, or name a person that he/ she associates with a particular kind of event. Examples • Write down the name of “your closest present friend of the same sex as yourself”. • Write down the name of “a person with whom you usually feel most uncomfortable”. After answering all of the questions, the test taker will have recorded 22 names in all, including the test taker’s own name on line #1. Personal Constructs: Kelly (cont.) The Role Construct Repertory Test (REP Test) After all 22 names are recorded, the test taker is asked to make 22 comparisons in groups of 3; “Think about these three people. Are two of them alike in some important way that distinguishes them from the third person? Keep thinking about them until you remember the important way in which two of them are alike and which sets them off from the third person.” For Sort #1 this test taker viewed 2 people as intelligent; the 3rd person was not unintelligent, just viewed as uneducated compared to the other 2. Personal Constructs: Kelly (cont.) The Role Construct Repertory Test (REP Test) Fall ‘09 The test taker believes that he or she is comparing the people (“figures”) when taking the test. Constructs and contrasts are both words chosen by the test taker to describe important people in his or her life. By asking the test taker to identify constructs and name them, what the test is actually measuring is 22 constructs and 22 contrasts representing the unique way that the test taker views the social world. Since Kelly, research has shown that certain individuals more readily bring to mind particular constructs, called chronically accessible constructs; the REP test probably most frequently taps into chronically accessible constructs. 10 PSY 370 - Personality Personal Constructs: Kelly (cont.) Personal constructs come from past experience, but they are not determined by past experience. Kelly used a “man as scientist” metaphor to explain how personal constructs are developed. Kelly believed that the sum of your experiences and perceptions provides the data you use to develop an interpretation, or theory, of what the world is like. This theory is your personal construct system, which becomes the framework for your perceptions and thoughts about the world now. Personal constructs are freely chosen. No matter what has happened to you in the past, you could have chosen to draw different conclusions from it. In fact, you always can (now or later). Personal constructs are you – they are the sum total of your personality. Sociality corollary—understanding another person means understanding his or her personal construct system. You must be able to look at the world through that person’s eyes to understand that person. Personal Constructs: Kelly (cont.) Constructive alternativism, means that your personal reality does not simply exist apart from you. You construct it in your mind; you can always choose to construct reality differently. Constructive alternativism has implications for science, and is an idea that scientists sometimes forget. Working with any paradigm represents a choice, on the part of the scientist, to focus on some aspects of human psychology and ignore others. • Scientific paradigms are different frameworks for construing the meaning of data; the choice between them is not a matter of which is right and which is wrong, but of which one addresses the topic that interests you. • Each is sensible and each is consistent with the data it regards as important; you need all of them because each one leaves out something important. Csikszentmihalyi: Optimal Experience and Flow Your moment-to-moment experience is what really matters in life. Optimal experience, how to make the most of your moment-bymoment experience, is of primary interest to Csikszentmihalyi. Autotelic activities are the best way a person can spend his or her time; these are activities that are enjoyable for their own sake. Flow refers to the subjective experience of an autotelic activity. Flow is characterized by: Fall ‘09 tremendous concentration, total lack of distractibility, and thoughts concerning only the activity at hand. a mood that is elevated slightly (although not to the point of anything like ecstasy). time seems to pass very quickly. a focused and ordered state of consciousness that arises when your activity entails a balanced ratio of skills to challenges. The secret for enhancing your quality of life is to maximize time in flow. However, flow is a solitary experience. The drawback with flow is that somebody experiencing it can be difficult to interact with; he or she may not hear you, may seem distracted, and in general may be poor company. 11 PSY 370 - Personality Salvatore Maddi: Hardiness Stress is not always bad. Without stress, a life would be boring and meaningless. Even worse, many people seek to avoid stress by developing a conformist lifestyle driven by the expectations of other people and of society. • A conformist lifestyle is likely to lead to a kind of existential psychological pathology that resembles Sartre’s description of bad faith. • Vegetativeness is the most severe kind of existential pathology in which the person feels that nothing has meaning and becomes listless and aimless. • Nihilism is slightly less severe, and more common; it occurs when the person’s experience is dominated by anger, disgust, and cynicism. • Another potential side effect of the conformist lifestyle is an adventurousness in which only extreme thrills manage to garner one’s full attention and distract from deep feelings of meaninglessness. Whatever form these activities take, their purpose is the same: to capture one’s attention enough to conceal the emptiness at the center of life. Hardiness (a cure for bad faith) A lifestyle that embraces rather than avoids potential sources of stress promotes hardiness; properly approached, stressful and challenging experiences can bring learning, growth, and wisdom, and dealing with them successfully is an important part of what gives life meaning. Positive Psychology Abraham Maslow is often quoted as having said that health means more than simply the absence of disease. This idea, along with humanistic psychology’s traditional emphasis on growth, development, and the achievement of potential, has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years with the advent of the positive psychology movement. Traditional psychology focuses on the development of disease, dysfunctional behavior, treatment of problematic symptoms, and rates of recidivism. As an alternative, positive psychology focuses on concerns with a humanist heritage. The meaning of life, life satisfaction, subjective well-being. Positive psychologists usually argue that a satisfying and meaningful life involves happiness, but that true happiness comes from overcoming important challenges—a notion similar to Maddi’s notion of hardiness or Sartre’s conception of optimistic toughness. Positive Psychology (cont.) Despite a recent flurry of research, the rebirth of humanism is not complete via positive psychology. Fall ‘09 Positive psychology does not say much about existential anxiety, nor does it address the difficult dilemmas that arise from free will. It addresses experience in the form of subjective wellbeing, which is basically the degree to which one feels good; this alone would be a limited phenomenological analysis compared to the earlier work of existentialists and humanists. However, positive psychology, by that name, is still new; there are many unanswered questions and a great deal of research in progress. 12 PSY 370 - Personality The Mystery of Experience Though we are not quite able to describe what it is to be aware and alive every one of us knows what it is. Cognitive theories claim that consciousness is a higher-order cognitive process that organizes thoughts and allows flexible decision making; consciousness is just a feeling. Of course, to say consciousness is “just a feeling” begs the main question: What does it mean to be able to consciously experience the feeling? Awareness is a human experience, and science can neither credibly deny its existence nor explain just what it is or where it comes from. Understanding Others To understand another person, you must understand his or her construals (Kelly). You can only comprehend someone’s mind to the extent that you can imagine life from his or her perspective. Do not judge me until you have walked a mile in my shoes. Fall ‘09 This principle discourages judgmental attitudes about other people. It implies that if you could see the world through their eyes, you would realize that their actions and attitudes are the natural consequences of their understanding of reality. It is a mistake to assume that others interpret the world the same way you do, or that there is only one correct perspective. You cannot judge the actions and beliefs of other people through your own moral code; there is no objective reality—or, if there is, there is no way for anyone to know it. It is generally misleading to judge the values and practices of other cultures from the perspective of your own. Although there may be widespread agreement about a handful of core virtues, separate cultures still see the world very differently. To understand other cultures, just as to understand other individuals, we must seek to understand the world from an alternative point of view. 13