Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Self-Actualization
Carl Rogers Actualizationtendency to develop capabilities in ways that maintain or enhance the organism (present in all living creatures) Self-Actualizationpromotes maintenance or enhancement of the self
Moves person toward greater autonomy and selfsufficiency Promotes congruence, organization, wholeness, and integration in the person
Self-Actualization (Continued)
Organismic value processmechanism that evaluates whether experiences are actualizing
If not, nagging sense that something isnt right If yes, person is operating as fully functional person
Self-Determination
Ed Deci Three needs that must be satisfied for a life of growth, integrity, and well-being
Autonomy (Self-determination) Competence Relatedness
Self-Determination
Self-Determined Actionsdone because of intrinsic value to self
Longer interest is maintained
Identified Regulation:
Process whereby behavior comes to hold personal meaning and value (often for growth) over time Not as self-determined as intrinsically motivated behavior, but its close
Self-Concordance
Pursuit of goals that are consistent with core values These bring more contribution to a sense of well-being Creates a positive spiral of benefit
Greater effort Pursuit of core goals Higher well-being More satisfaction Higher success
Free Will
Emphasizes that people are free to determine:
How they act What to become If they are to be self-actualized or accept conditions of worth
Reactanceassertion of freedom when a threat to freedom is perceived Perceptions of free will can be experimentally manipulated
The Self
Development of the self represents gradual differentiation during infancy Self-Conceptset of qualities a person sees as being a part of herself
Actualperception of the way you really are Idealwhat you really want to be
Self-actualization creates a closer fit between the actual and ideal selves
Self-Handicapping
Acting in a way that creates condition for failure Hard goals and substantial risk of failure represent threats to self-esteem Create an external situation on which potential failure can be attributed and selfesteem can be maintained No threat to stable qualities of the self
Hierarchy of Motives
Abraham Maslow
Focused on most well-adjusted, fully functioning people Examined motivations and how they are organized
Selfactualization need
Esteem needs
Love and belonging needs Safety and physical security needs Physiological needs
Implication of Hierarchy
Low-level needs are more primitive and demanding than higher-level needs Power of motive forces decrease as you go up the pyramid Higher-level motives represent more distinctly human characteristics Needs at lower level must be met before attending to higher-level needs Low-level needs are deficit motivated and highlevel needs are growth motivated
Self-Actualizers
Efficient and accurate in perceiving reality Accepting of themselves, others, and of nature Spontaneous in thought and emotion, natural rather than artificial Problem-centered, concerned with eternal philosophical questions Independent and autonomous when it comes to satisfactions Freshness of appreciation of ordinary events Deep ties, but only with a few persons Appreciate, for its own sake the process of doing things Philosophical, thoughtful, nonhostile sense of humor Maintain inner detachment from culture in which they live Appear temperamental and even ruthless
Peak Experiences
Times when actualization is clearly occurring Heightened sense of connection to elements in surrounding environment Clarity of perception Distortion of time Subjective feelings of awe, wonder, and ecstasy More common during work than leisure
Existential Psychology
Emphasis on individuals personal experience in life with a focus on the existential dilemma Central constructDasein
Translates as being-in-the-world Conveys a sense of experience as an autonomous, separate, evolving entity in the world
Terror Management
Attempt to construct lives imbued with meaning and value as a response to the potential terror of mortality Often define meaning by social and cultural processes
Group identity is important Rejection of indications of animal nature
Assessment
Many assessment techniques
Interviewcontent analysis organizes responses into meaningful groups Q-SortSort items into piles that correspond to particular criteria (e.g., most like you to least like you) Inventories for self-actualization, autonomy, and control
Problems in Behavior
Problems arise from:
Incongruity and the negative affect that results Living in order to meet conditions of worth Not living in ways that promote selfacutalization
Therapy
Client-Centered Therapy:
Responsibility for improvement lies with client Removes distractions, so self-actualization processes can move client toward greater integration Therapist demonstrates unconditional positive regard and empathy Nonevaluative, rather therapist reflects with
Clarification of feelings Restatement of content And then beyond therapy to personal growth to be a fully functioning person