PSYCH 150 REVIEWER

UNIT I. Introduction to Theories of Personality and therapist must make daily decisions about issues for which no ready-
made set of answer exist. Theories may provide some answers.
MODULE 1. Defining Personality and Theory
5. Internally consistent - includes operational definitions that define
What Is Personality? concepts in terms of specific operations to be carried out by the observer.
The term personality comes from the Latin word “persona”, meaning the That is, an operational definition defines units in terms of observable events
mask people wear or the role they play in life. However, most psychologists or behaviors that can be measured.
use the term to refer to much more than the face or facade people show to
6. Parsimonious - simpler one is preferred.
others. Personality can be defined as a pattern of relatively permanent traits
and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to Dimensions for a Concept of Humanity
human behavior.
 determinism versus free choice,
What is a Theory?  pessimism versus optimism,
 causality versus teleology,
The term theory is often used quite loosely and incorrectly to imply
something other than a useful scientific concept. Theories are used by  conscious versus unconscious determinants of behavior,
scientists to generate research and organize observations  biological versus social influences on personality,
 and uniqueness versus similarities among people
Because personality theories evolve from a theorist's personality,
psychologists interested in the psychology of science have begun to study MODULE 2. Methods in the Assessment and Study of Personality
the personal traits of leading personality theorists and their possible impact  Reliability refers to a measuring instrument's consistency and may
on their scientific theories and research. include test-retest reliability and internal consistency.
What Makes a Theory Useful?  Validity refers to the accuracy or truthfulness of test and usually
includes predictive validity and construct validity.
1. Generate Research - . A useful theory will stimulate both descriptive
research and hypothesis testing. Descriptive research provides a framework Variety of personality assessment methods
for an evolving theory whereas hypothesis testing expands our knowledge  Self-report or objective inventories
of a scientific discipline. - Subjects to answer queries about their behaviours or feelings
2. Falsifiable - it must generate research that can either confirm or - Validity scales? It can not say scale – it detects non-
disconfirm its major tenets. A theory that cannot be falsified is little more responsiveness
than armchair speculation. - Till 30 questions
- L-scale – detects social desirability bias
3. Organize Information - it should make sense of what is currently known - F-scale – detects deviant and atypical response patterns.
about personality. It should be able to fit current research data into an - K-scale - detects “faking good” or “faking bad”
intelligible framework and to integrate new information into its structure. In - Fb and Fp scale – new f scales, performs same functions as f
short, a useful theory should be able to organize and explain observations scales
gleaned from research. - VRIN scale - detects inconsistent random response
4. Guide the actions - Theories are practical tools that guide a road map for - TRIN scale - detects true statement bias
making day-to-day decisions. Parents, teachers, businesspeople, counselors, - Downsides: Too long questionnaires and some items are highly
personal
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- Upsides: It discriminates between neurotics and psychotics and - can be interpreted several ways
discriminates between the emotionally reality and emotionally 2. Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT)
disturbed. - Developed by Henry Murray and Christiana Morgan (1935)
- Critiques of SRI: Issues on varying IQ levels of test takers; Social - Interpretation revolve around personal relationship
desirability bias; most objective tool to personality assessment - Low reliability and validity in diagnosis
(positive critique) 3. Word Association
 Clinical interviews – administered to component objective 4. Sentence Completion Test
psychological assessments.
What are the issues that affect personality assessment?
- wide range of behaviours, feelings and thoughts can be
investigated in the interview 1. Accessibility
 Behavioral assessment – an observer evaluates a person’s 2. Language Barrier
behaviour in a given situation. 3. Social desirability biases
- Doing the assessment with person’s who know you better.
 Online Test Administration – same as administered offline. Research In the study of Personality
- less time consuming and less expensive a) Clinical Method
- most objective; it does not need the person to predict - Case studies - When aiming to gather in depth data about the
- most accepted by younger members of workplace personality of one or very few individuals. It requires the
- greater sense of anonimity consultation of various sources to produce a detailed history of
 Thought and experience sampling procedures (e.g., diaries, a person that highlights which biological, psychological, and
journals) social factors may have influenced their personality.
- recording own thoughts systematically - Details history of an individual that contains data from a variety
- Kind of TEA; Experiencing sampling method of sources
Some situations also call for the assessment of sensitive / intimate aspects - Data obtained are more subjective.
of personality (e.g., values, fears, needs) which can come across as a b) Experimental Method - aim to establish a cause and effect
relationship to explain phenomena, where personality can be the
threatening and alienating experience to most people.
presumed cause (i.e., independent variable) or exhibit a presumed
 Projective methods / Projective technique - using non- threatening effect (i.e., dependent variable).
and seemingly neutral stimuli can be an alternative (e.g., Rorschach - Manipulating variables to explain possible causation of
Inkblot Test). behaviour
- to find personal fears, needs, and values of a person - Random selection of participants
- ambiguous stimulus c) Virtual Research – conduct of psychological research online
- not high in reliability, not consistent across all methods - Upsides; faster responses, less costly
- still widely used today for diagnostic purposes d) Correlational Method - when trying to measure the degree and
direction of the associational relationship between two variables,
Forms of Projective Technique expressed in a correlational coefficient.
1. Rorschach Inkblot Test – Comprehensive system; an attempt to - Measures the degree and strength of the relationship
standardize the procedure. - Does not prove causation
- developed by Hermann Rorschach (1921)
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UNIT II: Psychodynamic Theories  The Provinces of the Mind
MODULE 3: Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis and Alfred Adler’s Individual
 ID – pleasure principle
Psychology
- The IT
 Who is Sigmund Freud? - Wants to satisfy desire
- was born in the Czech Republic in 1856 and died in London in - Primitive, chaotic, inaccessible to consciousness, illogical, driven
1939, Freud spent nearly 80 years of his life in Vienna. by basic drives ( sex and aggression ), amoral.
- He was intensely curious about human nature.  EGO – reality principle
- he was perhaps more interested in learning about the - The I
unconscious motives of his patients than in curing neuroses. - Constantly tries to reconcile demands of both Id and reality
 Psychodynamic Perspective – unconscious mind - Employs defense mechanisms to counter anxiety.
- childhood experiences shaped adult personality - The only region in contact with reality.
 Psychoanalysis – the twin cornerstone is sex and aggression.  SUPEREGO – Morality and Idealistic principle
- borne out of deductive reasoning rather than rigorous research. - Above I
- No contact with the outside world
Notes: - Can decipher right from wrong
 hypnosis – to treat hysteria - Can be extremely demanding of perfection
 catharsis - talking method of treating hysteria (the case of - Subsystems; Conscience – “What we should not do”
Anna O) - Ego-ideal – “What we should do”
 Freud in the Victorian Era – focused his study on sexual  Dynamics of Personality
 Freud in WW1 – focused his study on aggression 1. Drive
 Free association – the technique of associating things with  Sex Drive – Libido/Eros
their memory. - it aims pleasure
 Suppression – conscious mind - can be transformed/displaced
- other manifestations of Eros
 Repression – the unconscious mind
- are narcissism (infants possess primary narcissism while
 Phylogenetic endowment – part of the unconscious,
adolescence and adulthood possess secondary narcissism but
inherited from the experience of early ancestors.
this is not universal)
 Structure of the Personality / Levels of Mental Life
- love
 Pre-conscious – capable of life being recalled.
- sadism - is the reception of sexual pleasure from inflicting pain
- Elements are not conscious but can be conscious
on another and,
 Unconscious – all those drives and urges or instincts behind
- masochism - is the reception of sexual pleasure from painful
the experiences.
experiences, satisfies both sexual and aggressive drives.
 Conscious – all mental elements that we are aware of.
 Aggressive Drive – aims to return the organism to an
 Perceptual Conscious System - act as a medium for the perception of
inorganic state
external stimuli (external)
- Final aim; self-destruction
 Internal Mental Structure – non-threatening ideas from the
- Object; self or others
preconscious.
- Thanatos; Death Drive
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2. Anxiety  Who is Alfred Adler?
- Unpleasant state accompanied by a physical sensation, that - was born in 1870 in a Viennese suburb, a second son of middle-
worn the person against impending danger. class Jewish parents
 Neurotic anxiety – apprehension about an unknown danger - Hates Freud
and stems from the ego’s relation with the id (id vs. ego) - Identified with “common person”
 Moral anxiety – conflict between realistic needs (ego) and - Had strong belief in basic gender equality
dictates of the superego  Principal Tenets of Individual Psychology
 Realistic anxiety – unpleasant, non-specific feeling involving 1. The one dynamic force behind people’s behavior is striving for
a possible danger (real, objective) success or superiority.
2. People’s subjective perceptions shape their behavior and
Note: Defense mechanism sprung out of the unconscious mind. personality.
 Applications of Psychoanalytic Theory 3. Personality is unified and self-consistent.
 Early psychoanalysis - Freud used an active approach 4. The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of
through hypnosis and dream interpretation whereby he social interest.
strongly suggested to patients that they had been sexually 5. The self-consistent personality structure develops into a person’s
seduced as children. style of life.
6. Style of life is molded by creative power.
 Late psychoanalysis - one that relied heavily on free
association, dream interpretation, and transference. The  Abnormal Development
goal of Freud's later psychotherapy was to uncover - The most important factor in psychological maladjustment is
underdeveloped social interest. They may also have;
repressed memories, and the therapist used dream analysis
and free association to do so.  exaggerated physical deficiencies - Overcompensation for
 Dream analysis - . In interpreting dreams Freud inadequacy due to exaggerated feelings of inferiority.
differentiated the manifest content (conscious description)  pampered style of life - Weak social interest, strong desire
from the latent content (unconscious meaning of the dream to perpetuate parasitic parental relationship, extreme
that lies hidden from the dreamer). discouragement, indecisiveness, oversensitivity, impatience,
- Dreams that are not wish-fulfillments follow the principle of high anxiety.
repetition compulsion and often occur after people have had a  neglected style of life - Abused and mistreated >> weak
traumatic experience, now called a post-traumatic stress social interest; suspicious, distrustful, dangerous to others.
disorder. Freud used both dream symbols and the dreamer's - Safeguarding tendencies - people create partly-conscious
associations to the dream content in interpreting dreams. neurotic symptoms as a means of protecting their fragile self-
 Freudian slips - Freud believed that slips of the tongue or esteem and maintaining their inflated sense of self-importance
pen, misreadings, incorrect hearings, misplacing of objects, as well as their neurotic style of life.
and temporary forgetting of names or intentions are not Note:
chance accidents but reveal a person's unconscious
intentions. Masculine protest - Both men and women sometimes overemphasize the
 Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology desirability of being manly.

Note: His theory’s cornerstone is social interest. - a non-universal drive and gave this a limited role in his theory of
abnormal development.
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Adlerian psychotherapy is to enhance courage, lessen feelings of inferiority, - Unconscious (Personal) – a repressed, forgotten, of one
and encourage social interest through humor and warmth. particular individual.
 Complex – emotionally toned conglomeration of associated
- to create a relationship between therapist and patient that
ideas. (e.g. Mother Complex)
fosters social interest and elevates courage and self-esteem. - Collective Unconsciousness – the cornerstone of Jung’s Theory
MODULE 4: Carl Jung’s Analytical Psychology and Melanie Klein’s Object - Biologically inherited response tendency influenced by primitive
Relations Theory primordial experiences of ancestors.
- images are those that are beyond our personal experiences and
 Who is Carl Jung? that originate from the repeated experiences of our ancestors.
- was born in Switzerland in 1875, the oldest by about 9 years of
two surviving children. Archetypes
- Had a mid-life crisis - Contents of the collective unconscious
- Freud is his “religious crush” - Ancient or archaic images that derive from the collective
- Jung's early experience with parents—who were quite opposite unconscious
of each other—probably influenced his own theory of  Persona – side of a personality that people show to the
personality, including his fanciful No. 1 and Number 2 world.
personalities. - Psychologically healthy
 “conscious” – extraverted self  Shadow – qualities we don’t wish to accumulate but
 “unconscious” – introverted self attempt to hide from ourselves.
- disenchanted with Freud's pansexual theories, broke with Freud - first test of courage
and began his own approach to theory and therapy.  Anima – ( in Latin Soul) – the feminine side / “feeling” side
 Analytical Psychology of man.
- Rest in the assumption that occult phenomena can and do - explains the mood of a man
influence the lives of everyone - second test of courage
- Motivated not only by repressed experiences but also by certain  Animus – the masculine side / “thinking and reasoning” side
emotionally toned experiences inherited from our ancestors. of women
- Jung’s theory is a compendium of opposites.  The Great Mother – represents two opposites forces;
- Self-realization – the ultimate final goal of human beings – can fertility & nourishment and power & destruction (e.g. Tafiti
be achieved by attaining balance. of Moana)
 Levels of the Psyche
 The Wise Old Man – archetype of wisdom and meaning. It
- Conscious – images sensed by the ego.
symbolizes human’s pre-existing knowledge of the
 Ego – is the center of consciousness. It is also secondary to mysteries of life. (e.g. politicians)
the self.
 Hero – represents power, strength, and vulnerability
 Self – center of personality.
 Self – innate predisposition towards growth, perfection and
Note: Jung’s view of ego is opposite to Freud’s – that ego is the center of completion. An archetype of order, unity and totality.
personality.
What motivates behaviour?
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 Causality and teleology – Jung believes that behaviour Object relations theory differs from Freudian theory in three important
influenced by both past experiences and future goals ways:
 Progression – adaptation to the outside world involves the
1. Her theory emphasizes on interpersonal relationship
forward flow of psychic energy.
2. Relationship with the mother rather than the father
 Regression – involves backward flow of psychic energy.
3. it suggests that people are motivated primarily for human contact
 Psychological Types
rather than for sexual pleasure.
 Unconscious & conscious ( Personality )
 Introversion & Extraversion ( Attitude ) The term object in object relations theory refers to any person or part of a
 Stages of Development person that infants introject, or take into their psychic structure and then
 Childhood – anarchic phase – chaotic and sporadic later project onto other people
consciousness
 Psychic Life of the Infant
- Monarchic phase – development of the ego
 Phantasies – assumes that young infants possess an active,
- Dualistic phase – objective and subjective
unconscious phantasy life. Their most basic fantasies are
 Youth – period of increased maturity and activity
images of the "good" breast and the "bad" breast.
 Middle Life – moves towards an introverted direction of
- Unconscious forces
expanded consciousness and finding new meaning of life.
 Objects - emphasize the child's relationship with these
 Old Age – accepting death is the goal of life. Find meaning
objects (parents' face, hands, breast, penis, etc.), which she
in death.
saw as having a life of their own within the child's phantasy
Self-realization, or individuation, involves a psychological rebirth and an world.
integration of various parts of the psyche into a unified or whole individual. - Conscious forces
Self-realization represents the highest level of human development.  Positions
 Paranoid-Schizoid Position - The struggles that infants
Active imagination – life association experience with the good breast and the bad breast lead to
 Jung’s Methods of Investigation two separate and opposing feelings—a desire to harbor the
 Word association test breast and a desire to bite or destroy it. To tolerate these
 Dream Analysis two feelings, the ego splits itself by retaining parts of its life
 Active imagination and death instincts while projecting other parts onto the
breast. It then has a relationship with the ideal breast and
 Psychotherapy
the persecutory breast. To control this situation, infants
Melanie Klein’s Object Relations Theory adopt the paranoid-schizoid position, which is a tendency to
see the world as having both destructive and omnipotent
 Who is Melanie Klein? qualities.
- was born in Vienna in 1892, the youngest of four children.  Depressive Position - By depressive position, Klein meant
- she specialized in working with young children the anxiety that infants experience around 6 months of age
- she calls herself Freudian but Freud ignores her. over losing their mother and yet, at the same time, wanting
- She analysed children directly and is very opposite to Freud’s to destroy her. The depressive position is resolved when
methods of conducting analysis. infants phantasize that they have made up for their
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previous transgressions against their mother and also - insisted that modern culture is too competitive and that
realize that their mother will not abandon them. competition leads to hostility and feelings of isolation.
 Psychic Defense Mechanisms  Theory
 Introjection - The phantasy of taking into one's own body - Her theory focuses on social and cultural conditions especially
the images that one has of an external object, especially the childhood experiences are largely responsible foor shaping
mother's breast. Infants usually introject good objects as a personality.
protection against anxiety, but they also introject bad
objects in order to gain control of them Need for love and affection; if satisfied, it results to Psychological health.
 Projection - The phantasy that one's own feelings and - If not satisfied, it results to Basic Hostility and turns to basic
impulses reside within another person is called projection. anxiety.
Children project both good and bad images, especially onto
their parents Ways to combat anxiety
 Splitting - Infants tolerate good and bad aspects of  Moving towards people
themselves and of external objects by splitting, or mentally  Moving against the people
keeping apart, incompatible images. Splitting can be  Moving away from people
beneficial to both children and adults because it allows
them to like themselves while still recognizing some Neurotic Compulsive behaviour – results to Intrapsychic conflict ( inner
unlikable qualities tensions)
 Projective Identification - The psychic defense mechanism
Two guiding principle:
whereby infants split off unacceptable parts of themselves,
project them onto another object, and finally introject them - Safety and Satisfaction
in an altered form.  Dynamics of Personality
1. Basic Hostility – if one can not satisfy the other’s needs for safety
Note: Primary drive in Klein’s theory on infant is the “hunger drive”.
and satisfaction ( e.g. parents and children)
Internalization - After introjecting external objects, infants organize them - there should have been a balance in genuine love and healthy
into a psychologically meaningful framework. discipline.
 Repressed hostility – profound feelings of insecurity and
- are aided by the early ego's ability to feel anxiety, to use defense vague sense of apprehension.
mechanisms, and to form object relations in both phantasy and reality - This repression will leads to basic anxiety.
2. Basic Anxiety – it is a feeling of being isolated and helpless in a
MODULE 5: Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory
world conceived as potentially hostile.
 Who is Karen Horney? - Itself is not neurosis.
- Focuses primarily on neurosis
- was born in Germany in 1885 General protective devices from basic anxiety;
- One of the first women in Germany to study medicine  Affection
- Lived through inflation and economic disorder of 1923  Submissiveness
- Had an affair with Erich Fromm  Power prestige possession
- Emphasizes on culture and social context  Withdrawal
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Compulsion – the salient characteristics of all neurotic devices Neurotic pride - a false pride based not on reality but on a
distorted and idealized view of self.
 Compulsive Drives
 Self-hatred – borne out of the realized gap between the real and ideal
 Neurotic needs – how neurotics attempt to combat basic self.
anxiety, unconsciousness, compulsive evokes severe
 Manifested as;
conflicts
- Relentless demands on the self
- Satisfied unconsciously
- Merciless self-acussation
- Compulsively satisfied
- Self-contempt
 Neurotic Trends – how needs compel a neurotic person to - Self-frustration
stick to a single trend or basic attitude towards self and - Self torment
others - Self destructive actions and impulses
 Neurotic analog – how normal individuals, combat anxiety –  Feminine Psychology
conscious, spontaneous, evokes mild conflict. - Horney believed that psychological differences between men
 Horney’s Neurotic Needs and Trends and women are not due to anatomy but to culture and social
 The Compliant Personality – moving towards the people expectations. Her view of the Oedipus complex differed
- Affection and approval markedly from Freud's in that she again insisted that any sexual
- A powerful partner attraction or hostility of child to parent would be the result of
- People Narrow limits to life learning and not biology.
 The Aggressive Personality – moving against the people - Basic anxiety is at the core of men’s need to subjugate women
- Power and women’s wish to humiliate men.
- Exploitation
- Recognition and unassailability Horneyian Therapy – aims to have patients give up their idealized self-
- Personal admiration image, relinquish their neurotic search for glory
- Personal achievemnet
- Dream Interpretation
 The Detached Personality – moving away from the people
- Free association
- Self-sufficiency and serene independence
- Perfection and prestige Erik Erikson’s Post-Freudian Theory
 Intrapsychic conflicts
 Idealized self-image  Who is Erik Erikson?
 Self- hatred - was born in Germany in 1902 his name was Erik Salomonsen.
 Aspects of Idealized self- image - Worked for and psychoanalyzed by Anna Freud
 Neurotic search of glory - a comprehensive drive toward - No medical credentials and college degree
actualizing the ideal self. - Studied and lived among two Native American tribes
- The neurotic search for glory includes the need for perfection  Theory – his theory primarily an extension of Freud’s theory.
(the tyranny of the should), neurotic ambition, and the drive - Developmental stages – In every stages, there is a “psychosocial
toward a vindictive triumph. struggle” that contributes to the formation of personality.
 Neurotic claims - believe that they are entitled to special - Identity crisis – turning point in one’s life that may either
privileges and make neurotic claims on other people that strengthen or weaken personality.
are consistent with their idealized view of themselves.  The Post – Freudian Ego
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 Ego – a positive, adaptive force that creates a self-identity, a  Syntonic – harmonious experiences
tense of “I”  Dystonic – disruptive experiences
- it unifies personality and guards against indivisibility.  Basic Strength – ego quality
- Synthesizes present experiences with past-self identifies and
anticipates images of self. Erich Fromm’s Humanistic Psychoanalysis
 Aspects of Ego;  Who is Erich Fromm?
- Body ego - Factors that shaped his life and personality; born in Jewish
- Ego ideal – ought to be
family, witnessed the suicide of young woman artist and had an
- Ego identity – self extreme sense of nationalism of Germany.
Pseudoscience – an illusion perpetrated and perpetuated by a particular - He is drawn to “mother figures”
society that it is somehow chosen to be the human species. - Influenced by old testament, Freud, Marx, Zen Buddhism and
Bachofen.
- a fictional notion that they are superior to other cultures  Theory – revolves around human dilemma.
- Similar to ethnocentrism.  Human Dilemma – people have become separate from nature and yet
Epigenetic Principle – each stages comes to its ascendance – meet its crisis have the capacity to be aware of themselves as isolated beings.
and find its lasting resolution toward the end of the stages mentioned. - to escape from too much freedom onto interpersonal
dependencies.
 Stages of Psychosocial Development  Existential Dichotomies
1. Awareness of Life and Death
2. Ability to conceptualize self–realization x knowledge that life is too
short to reach that goal.
3. People are alone, but not tolerate isolation.
 Human Needs – can be satisfied with Non-productive and productive
forms.
Human Needs Non-productive Form Productive Form
1. Relatedness – the Submission, Power Love, Care,
desire for union Responsibility,
with another Respect, Knowledge
person.
2. Transcendence – Destructiveness > Creativeness
rise above passive malignant aggression (
and accidental killing for reasons other
existence. than survival)
3. Rootedness - Fixation ( reluctance to Wholeness
establish roots and move away from
feel at home again security)
in the world.
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4. Sense of identity Adjustment/Conformity Individuality 1. Receptive Character – wants to receive not to give.
– awareness of self to a group (e.g. cult) 2. Exploitative Character – aggressively taking desires rather than
as a separate person passively receiving.
5. Frame of Irrational goals Rational goals > 3. Hoarding Character – hold everything inside and don’t let go of
Orientation – object of deviation. anything.
consistent 4. Marketing Character – self as commodity
philosophy in - Personal value dependent on one’s ability to sell oneself.
finding our way
Productive Orientations
through the world.
 The burden of Freedom – humans are “the freaks of the 1. Work
universe” 2. Love
- Freedom from the security of a permanent place in the world 3. Biophilia – love everything about life
(macro/societal level) 4. Thought
- Freedom from the security of being one with the mother
(individual level) Personality Disorders
 Mechanism of Escape 1. Necrophilia – opposite of biophilia
1. Authoritarianism – had to give up the sense of individuality - love everything about death
2. Destructiveness – wants to destroy others to restore one’s power 2. Malignant Narcissism – extreme obsession
that was lost. 3. Incestuous Symbiosis – incest
3. Conformity – give up the sense of individuality and follow others. - Extreme dependence on host person
Positive Freedom – the spontaneous activity of the whole, integrated Syndrome of Decay
personality
Necrophilia, Narcissism and Incestuous
- Achieved when person becomes united with others and with
the world. Syndrome of Growth
- Twin component; love and work.
Biophilia
Character Orientation
UNIT III: Humanistic / Existential Theories
 Personality – totality of inherited and acquired psychic.

Desire of growth
 Character

Awareness of existence
Ways to relate 
Personality is shaped by freedom of choice, response to
anxiety, and awareness of death
a. Assimilation
 Abraham Maslow’s Holistic-Dynamic Theory
b. Socialization
Who is Abraham Maslow?
- was born in New York City in 1908
Non productive orientations - one of the most miserable childhood out of all theorists
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- he has extreme IQ, higher than Einstein  Carl Rogers’ Person-Centered Theory
- his worldview and philosophy is shaped by his hatred towards - was more concerned with helping people heal than describing,
his mother. explaining, predicting and controlling behaviour
- He criticized psychoanalysis and behaviourism, became one of
the pillars of humanistic psychology Who is Carl Roger?
 Humanistic Perspective – the third force of psychology - best known as the founder of client-centered therapy
 Behaviorism – second force of psychology - just wanted to practice psychotherapy
 Psychoanalysis – first force of psychology - was born into a devoutly religious family in a Chicago suburb in 1902
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs ( Conative Needs ) - intended to become a minister, but he gave up that notion and
(lowest to highest level) completed a PhD in psychology from Columbia University in 1931.
1. Physiological
2. Safety and Security His theory relies on two assumptions;
3. Belonging and Love 1. Formative tendency – simple to complex
4. Esteem 2. Actualizing tendency – moving towards completion or fulfilment of
5. Self-Actualization potentials.
6. Self-Transcendence
 Aesthetic needs - a desire for beauty and order, and some Theory: Person – centered Theory
people have much stronger aesthetic needs than do others
Therapy: Client – centered Theraphy
- people with strong aesthetic needs do not automatically reach
self-actualization. Unconditional positive regard + congruence + empathy = psychological
 Cognitive needs - the desire to know, to understand, and to growth
be curious.
Self has two subsystems;
- people who have satisfied cognitive needs do not necessarily
become self-actualized.  Self – actualization – tendency to actualize the self as perceived in
 Neurotic needs - a desire to dominate, to inflict pain, or to awareness.
subject oneself to the will of another person.  Self – conception – experiences inconsistent with self
- it lead to pathology whether or not they are satisfied.
- Lack of satisfaction of any of the basic needs.
 Metapathology – lack of satisfaction of self  Awareness - aware of both their self-concept and their ideal self,
- Actualization needs although awareness need not be accurate.
- Instinctoid nature of needs
B- values - truth, goodness, beauty, justice, and simplicity.  Three Levels of Awareness
1. Ignored/ Denied
The Jonah Complex (definition on photo) 2. Distorted/ Reshaped
- fear of being or doing one's best, a condition that all of us have 3. Accurately symbolized in becoming a person
to some extent. Barriers to Psychological Health
“We must be loved by others before we can love ourselves.” 1. Conditions of Worth – (external evaluation)
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2. Incongruence – (vulnerability, anxiety, threat) 4. who demonstrates unconditional positive regard
3. Defensiveness – (denial or distortion) 5. and who listens with empathy to a client
4. Disorganization –(when defenses fails behaviour becomes 6. who perceives the congruence, unconditional positive regard, and
disorganized empathy
Process of Therapeutic Change Three crucial conditions in Roger’s therapy;
Step 1. Unwillingness to communicate  Counselor congruence - therapist whose organismic experiences are
matched by awareness and by the ability and willingness to openly
Step 2. Discuss only external events and other people
express these feelings.
Step 3. Talking about self but hesitant  Unconditional positive regard - exists when the therapist accepts and
prizes the client without conditions or qualifications.
Step 4. Disclosing strong emotions felt in the past  Emphatic listening - ability of the therapist to sense the feeling of a
Step 5. Begins to express present feelings client and also to communicate these perceptions.
 Rollo May’s Existential Psychology
Step 6. Feely showing denied experiences
Who is Rollo May?
Step 7. Becomes fully functioning individual
- was born in Ohio in 1909, but grew up in Michigan.
Needs - He was influenced by Adler, the ministry, H.S. Sullivan, Fromm,
The two basic human needs are maintenance and enhancement, but people Kierkegaard
also need positive regard and positive self-regard. - His parents do not put much value to education
- He learned in the river
 Maintenance needs - include those for food, air, and safety, but they - Ventured across Europe, instrumental to bringing existentialism to USA
also include our tendency to resist change and to maintain our self- - Almost died of tuberculosis
concept as it is. - Received many acoolades throughout his career.
 Enhancement needs - include needs to grow and to realize one's full
human potential. Note: How Adler influenced Maslow, Rogers and May?
 Positive regard - to be loved or accepted by another person. - The idea of striving towards growth
 Positive self-regard - they acquire only after they perceive that
someone else cares for them and values them.
 Incongruence - experienced when basic organismic needs are denied or The central idea of May’s theory is from his near death experience from
distorted in favor of needs to be loved or accepted. tuberculosis. Fighting illness rather die not overcoming it.
Client-centered Therapy
There are six conditions necessary to consider; Existential Psychology - rooted from the philosophy of early existential
1. A vulnerable or anxious client must thinkers; Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Neitzsche, Martin Heidegger, Jean –
2. have contact of some duration Paul Sartre, Ludwig Binswanger and others.
3. with a congruent counselor
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- People as living in the world of present experiences and responsible for b) Guilt – arises when people deny their potentialities
who they become. - Remain oblivious to their dependence on the natural world
 Umwilt Guilt - separation from natural world
Existentialism – emphasis on the balance between freedom and
 Mitwilt Guilt – inability to judge the needs of others
responsibility.
 Eigenwilt Guilt – denial of their own potential
- The objective and the subjective  Neurotic Guilt – refusal to accept ontological guilt and it
become morbid
Note: Phenomenology – study of experiences c) Intentionality – gives meaning to experience
Primary Tenets of Existentialism - Allows people to make decision about the future.
d) Care, Love, Will – Care is opposite of apathy, something does
1. Existence takes precedence over essence matter.
2. Existentialists oppose the artificial split between subject and object. - Love is the delighted feeling in the presence of others
3. Existentialists stress people's search for meaning in their lives. - Will is the capacity to organize one’s self and unconsciously commited
4. Existentialists insist that each of us is responsible for who we are action
and what we will become.  Forms of Love
5. Most existentialists take an antitheoretical position, believing that  Sex
theories tend to objectify people.  Eros
Basic Concept of Existentialism  Philia
 Agape – highest form of love and can also be called as altruistic
- Dasein or being-in-the-world love
 Three modes of Dasein e) Freedom - gained through confrontation with one’s destiny
 Umwelt – environment around us  Existential Freedom –freedom of action, to pursue tangible
 Mitwelt – our world with other people goals.
 Eigenwelt – relationship with our self  Essential Freedom – freedom of being, freedom to think , to
plan, to hope.
May’s Conception of Humanity f) Destiny – ultimate destiny; Death
a) Anxiety – aware of existence and it might be destroyed - Includes biological properties, genetic predisposition, psychological and
- Awareness of one’s non-being cultural factors
- Awareness of freedom to choose
Destiny can’t be change, only the person’s outlook of his/her destiny.
 Normal Anxiety
 proportionate to the threat Note: Rollo May did not practice therapy despite his theory.
 does not involve repression
 all growth consist of the anxiety Goodluck on Midterm!
 creating surrender of past values
 Neurotic Anxiety
 Disproportionate reaction to threat
 Involves repression
 Managed by various kinds of blocking off of activity and awareness