PSY 3303: Midterm 2

Victor Frankl

- developed approach of therapy
- was in a concentration camp (jewish)
- ideas regarding freedom + choice

Maslow's view of motivation

1. holistic approach (the whole person is motivated)
2. motivation is complex (a person's behaviour stems from 7vral separate motives)
3. people are continually motivated (when a need is satisfied, it loses it's motivational power and is replaced by another need)
4. all people everywhere are motivated by the same basic needs
5. needs can be arranged on a hierarchy

flow

a mental state where a person is fully immersed in the activity, resulting in energized focus, full involvement and enjoyment of the process

6 main components of flow

1. intense concentration
2. merging of action + awareness
3. a loss of self-consciousness
4. a sense of personal agency
5. a distortion of temporal experience
6. intrinsic reward

peak experiences

a rare experience of extreme joy, pleasure, or accomplishment (@ these moments, ppl seem to transcend the self + be 1 w/ the world)
- important data for understanding an individual's unique personality
- common among ppl who are self-actualized
- provide individuals w/ help + insight to maintain a healthy + mature personality
- foundational to personality + life goals and help provide a sense of purpose + meaning

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory

- proposes that lower level needs (D-needs) must be satisfied or @ least relatively satisfied before higher level needs (B-needs) become motivators
- once D-needs (deficiency needs) are satisfied, B-needs (being needs) become more important in our personality + expressed in our choices in life and oru goals for the future
- hierarchy is more like a ladder than a pyramid according to Maslow

conative needs

all needs in the hierarchy of needs bc they're assoc. w/ willful or purposeful striving

D-needs (deficency needs)

- physiological needs
- safety needs
- belonginess needs
- esteem needs

B-needs (being needs)

- self-actualization needs
- self-transcendence needs

maslow's hierarchy of needs (lower-higher needs)

- physiological needs
- safety needs
- belongingness + love needs
- esteem needs
- self-actualizing needs
- self-transcendence needs

physiological needs

need to satisfy hunger + thirst

safety needs

need to feel that the world is organized + predictable, need to feel safe

belongingness + love needs

need to love and be loved, to belong and be acceptedl need to avoid loneliness + separation

esteem needs

need for self-esteem, achievement, competence, and independence; need for recognition and respect from others

self-actualization needs

need to live up to our fullest and unique potential

self-trascendence needs

need to find meaning and identity beyond the self

self-actualizing people

people who are fully human, creative in the full sense of the world, and who have reached or are moving towards self-fulfillment + the realization of their full potential
- movement away from deficit-focused psych

self-actualizer criteria

- free from pathology (progressed through the hierarchy of needs so they can tolerate some frustration of D-needs)
- embrace B-values (meta needs that are above deficency needs + include values like truth, goodness, beauty, wholeness, uniqueness)
- be able to fully use their talents, capacities, and potentialities

15 tentative qualities (characteristics of self-actualizers)

1. more efficient perception of reality
2. acceptance of self, others and nature
3. spontaneity, simplicity, and naturalness
4. problem-centering as opposed to self-centering
5. need for privacy
6. autonomy
7. continued freshness of appreciation
8. peak experience
9. social interest
10. profound interpersonal relations
11. the democratic character structure
12. discrimination b/w means + ends
13. philosophical sense of humor
14. creativeness
15. resistance to enculturation

maslow's view of therapy

to help clients learn to embrace the B-values
- clients must be freed from their dependence on others = natural impulse grows and becomes active

psychotherapy must not be value free
- should be based on the idea that everyone has an inherent tendency to move toward a better, more enriching condition (self-actualization)

the goals of therapy should reflect the client's hierarchy of needs
- most ppl seeking therapy have some difficulties w/ love + belongingness needs = helped w/ a warm + accepting relationship w/ therapy
- positive relationship w/ therapist = build self-confidence + worth and to est. healthy relationships outside of therapy

measuring need fulfillment (related research on maslow's theory)

reiss & havercamp
- found support for maslow's predictions abt needs + age, lower motives were stronger in younger ppl + higher motives were stronger in older ppl

taormina & gao
- tested the prediction that lower-level needs must be mostly met before needs @ the next level are worked on or satisfied
- found inconsistent support, adjacent needs were often the most strongly correlated w/ each other, but not always

positive psychology

a field of psych that combines an emphasis on hope, optimism, and well-being w/ scientific research + assessment

positive psychology (related research on maslow's theory)

burton & king
- potential benefits from re-experiencing positive experiences from one's life
- writing abt positive experiences was assoc. w/ better physical health in the following months

carl rogers

- born in a large conservative protestant fam
- studied agriculture

rogers believed that people have an inherent tendency toward growth + maturation

- influenced by study of agriculture + growth processes in animals and plants
- in all species growth doesn't always happen
- in order to grow, individual life forms must be supported w/ the right envrionmental conditions

a psychologically healthy person (rogers)

- broad self-concept capable of understanding + accepting a wide variety of feelings and experiences
- exercises inner self-ctrl rather than being ctrlled by the envrionment

what does roger's think psychology should focus on?

the fully functioning person
- therapists should help ppl to explore the complete range of experiences that are possible w/in their lives

rogers' basic assumptions

- formative tendency
- actualizing tendency
- ppl are a complete organism

formative tendency

tendency in all matter to evolve from simpler to more complex forms

actualizing tendency

tendency within all people (and animals or plants) to move toward completion or fulfillment of potentials
- the only motive people possess
- all realized under certain conditions

how do people operate according to rogers?

- as a complete orgasnism + the actualizing tendency is organisimic involving the whole person
- includes tendencies to both maintain + enhance organismic functioning

maintenance needs

physiological + interpersonal needs that protect the status quo

enhancement needs

needs to develop, grow, and achieve

self-awareness

- begins during infancy
- children gradually become aware of their identities as they learn + develop preferences
- begin to evaluate experiences as good or bad in relation to how these experiences support their actualizing tendency
- valuing of experiences develop a rudimentary self-structure, through which the individual's tendency to self-actualize begins to evolve

self-actualization (rogers)

the tendency to actualize the self as perceived in awareness
- diff from actualizaing tendency, which refers to innate tendencies of the whole organism

self-concept (rogers)

consists of aspects of one's being + experience that an individual is consciously aware of
- once this is formed, change can be difficult as inconsistent experiences can be denied + distorted
- change most likely to occur when ppl feel accepted by others

the organismic self

more general term to self-concept that includes aspects of self beyond our awareness

ideal self

one's view of self as oen wishes to be, exists as part of our self-concept
- contains all those attributes that ppl aspire to possess
- wide gap b/w the ideal self + experience = incongruence
- psychologically healthy ppl perceive little discrepancy b/w their experience + what they ideally would like to be

awareness (rogers)

the symbolic representation of some portion of our experience

3 levels of awareness (rogers)

1. some experiences occur below the threshold of awareness + are either ignored or denied (i.e., occurs when there are multiple competing stimuli)
2. some experiences are accurately symbolized + freely admitted (i.e., positive qualities we attribute to ourselves)
3. some experiences are perceived in a distorted form when they're not consistent w/ our view of self (i.e., denied experiences could involve anger + resentment to ppl that aren't attended to/expressed, but then influenceo ur ebhaviour towards them)

becoming a person (aka a fully functioning people)

1. an individual msut make contact (positive or negative) w/ another person
2. through their relationships ppl recognize that others have some level of regard (positive or negative) for them, and they begin to value positive regard
3. positive regard from others leads to a positive self-regard, or the experience of valuing one's self
4. developing a positive self-regard leads ppl to become autonomous individuals + no longer be fully dependent on others for acceptance

positive regard

a need to be loved, liked, or accepted by another person
- if we perceive that others care for + value us then our need for positive regard is, at least partially, satisfied
- aspect of self-concept

rogers on barriers to psychological health

suggested a # of environmental experiences could become barriers to the process of becoming a person
1. conditions of worth
2. incongruence
3. defensiveness (distortion and denial)
4. disorganization

conditions of worth

instead of unconditional positive regard, most ppl experience qualitifcations attached to other ppl's positive regard
- occurs when the individual feels that in some respects they're prized + in others not
- conditions of worth can become criterion by which we accept or reject our experiences

incongruence

psychological disequilibirium that occurs when our organismic experiences are inconsistent w/ our self-concept
- conditions of worth experienced in childhood lead to a self-concept that's somewhat false + incongruent
- can lead to distortions + denaisl + inconsistent behaviours
- anxiety + threats are experienced as we gain awareness of incongruencies

defensiveness

the protection of the self-concept against anxiety and threat by the denial or distortion of experiences inconsistent with it
- distortion: misinterpreting an experience to fit it into some aspect of our self-concept
- denial: refusing to perceive an experience in awareness

disorganization

when people's defenses fail, behavior can become disorganized and psychotic
- rogers didn't like diagnostic categories + terms like 'neurotic' and 'psychotic'
- used the terms 'defensive' + 'disorganized' to highlight how psychological maladjustments exists on a continuum + ppl are open to change

Roger's Client-Centered Therapy

successful therapy = environment that's necessary + sufficient for growth
- allows the client to become more congruent, take ctrl of their life + grow toward self-actualization and unconditional positive self-regard
- if this envrionment is created, clients would show fewer neurotic + psychotic characteristics and more healthy, well-functioning characteristics

3 main components of therapeutic environment

1. genuineness (congruent) - being a complete human being whos' open w/ feelings, transparent, and self-disclosing
2. unconditional positive self-regard - an attitude of total acceptance of another person w/o any conditions
3. empathy - sharing + mirroring others feelings, seeing things from their POV + reflecting their meanings back to them

fully functioning person

if congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathy are optimal, individuals would be more likely to behave as this

characteristics of a fully functioning person

- adaptable to changing envrionments
- open to their experiences w/o denying or distorting them
- trusts their organismic self, including their inner feelings, perceptions and experiences + perceptions of other ppl's feelings
- experience existential living or living fully in the moment, appreciating it
- confident in their ability to experience harmonious + authentic relations w/ others, seeking intimacy w/o needing to be liked or loved
- more integrated + whole, w/ less boundaries b/wo conscious + unconsious processes and their real + ideal selves
-basic trust of human nature
- enjoys emotional + psychological richness in their life

rollo may

existential psychologist + therapist working on personality focused on supporting ppl to live + experience the world authetnically w/in their particular life circumstances

healthy people (rollo may)

those who continually grow + expand their ways of "being-in-the-world"
-challenge their destiny
-cherish their freedom
-live authentically w/ other ppl + themselves
-recognize the inevitability of death + having the courage to live in the present

exisential alienation (may)

- the illness of our time
- thought that many psychological symptoms he found w / his clients related to this

existential alienation manifests in 3 areas related to diff modes of being-in-the-world

1. lack separation from nature (umwelt)
2. lack of meaningful interpersonal relationships (mitwelt)
3. alienation from one's authentic self (figenwelt)

Umwelt (May)

the world of objects, nature, the way the world works like biology + environment

Mitwelt (May)

the world of other ppl, a lot of his writing focused on this

Eigenwelt (May)

the world of our inner self, infleunced by Freud's work on the inner self

the power of myth

may argued that ppl in western society have an urgent need for myths
- lacking myths = ppl turn to religious cults, drug addiction, pop culture to try and find meaning in their lives

myths (may)

conscious + unconscious belief systems that provide explanation for personal + social problems
- human socieities find meaning in their lives through shared myths in their cultural communities
- myths help to transcend the immediate conrete situation, to expand self-awareness + search for identity

how myths can contribute to psychological growth

- myths deal w/ + explore potential solutions to common human crises
- if ppl will embrace myths + allow them to open up a new reality = growth
- in western, tech-oriented societies, many ppl deny universal myths = risk feelings of alienation, apathy, and emptiness

may's view of anxiety

argued that much of human behaviour is motivated by an underlying sense of dread + anxiety
- ppl experience anxiety when they become aware that their existence, or some value identified w/ it, might be destroyed
- anxiety can give ppl energy + zest, but it can also paralyze and panic them

2 major kinds of anxiety

1. neurotic anxiety (reactions that are disproportionate to the threat)
- often involves repression + other forms of intrapsychic conflict
- leads to behaving in a non-productive, self-defeating manner

2. normal anxiety (the experience of threat that accompanies growth or change in one's values)
- feelings of proportionate to the threat + can be confronted constructively on a conscious level

love and will (may)

to love another person means to recognize the essential humanity of the other person, to identify w/ the emotions they feel + have an active regard for their development
- argued that in modern society, there's a division of love + will = love becomes superficial + will becomes self-serving and manipulative
- we have to unite love + will in our life so they both support actively reaching out to another person + involve care, choice, action, and responsibility

the 4 diff forms of love common in western tradition according to may

healthy adult intimate relationships blend all 4 forms
1. sex - the biological function that's satisfied in a release of sexual tension
2. eros - a psychological desire that seeks procreation or creation through an enduring unision w/ a loved one
3. philia - an intimate nonsexual friendship b/w 2 ppl
4. agape - altruistic love, of the concern for another's welfare that goes beyond any gain one can get out of it

psychopatholoy (may)

based in feelings of "apathy" and "emptiness"
- felt that many clients seemed "directionless" + lack "purpose of being"
- suggested that this can lead to a state of diminished consciousness + a narrow phenomenological world that makes coping easier

according to may, psychotherapy should...

set ppl free + make ppl feel more human
- should help clients expand their consciousness to live authentically, responsibilily, and be in a better position to make choices
- psychotherapies concentrated on symptoms miss the larger pic of the human exisential condition

existential therapy shouldn't according to may....

be based on a set of techniques (aka gimmicks)
- instead, therapists should work on building relationships w/ clients that support them in becoming more aware of themselves + living more fully in their world

exisential and humanistic psychology + personality assessment

theories of maslow, rogers, and may haven't led to much empirical research focused on confirming their specific contentions
- however, there's been a sig amount of work relating to understanding + assessing existential and humanistic themes in personality from the field of positive psych

aboriginal philosophy

- all things are in constant motion
- a holistic + cyclical view of the world
- one has to look @ the whole to begin to see patterns

"language embodies the way a society thinks"

- an individual absorbs the collective thought processes of the community by learning + speaking a language
- many indigenous languages are verb-based = "action-oriented"
- the categorizing process in many Indigenous languages doesn't make use of the dichotomies + highlights interrelationships b/w ppl + beings

"creation is continuity. if creation is to cont, then it must be renewed"

- many indigenous cultures + ceremonies involve "renewal ceremonies" + the telling + retelling of creation stories, the singing and re-singing of songs
- these ceremonies are seen as humans part in the maintenance of creation

aboriginal values + customs stem from characteristics of "aboriginal philosophy"

- wholeness or totality (the group as opposed to the individual)
- relationship
- personal responsibility (individuals have responsibilities to contribute to the whole)
- independence + respect and non-interference
- sharing, honesty, and kindness

Little Bear contrasts 7vral European values w/ those prominent in many aboriignal communities

- the concept of time is linear (progression from A to B)
- singularity (1 true answer + right way, social structure of specialists)
- static thinking ("and that's the way it is")
- objectivity

for Little bear, the ideal personality, or a healthy person, is someone who:

- shows strength both physically + spiritually
- is generous + shows kindness to all
- puts the groups' needs ahead of individual wants + desires
- is a generalist, knows survival skills + has wisdom
- is steeped in spiritual + ritual knowledge
- lives life + approaches "all their relations" w/ an easy-going + friendly demeanor that supports good feelings
- often attempts to suppress inner feelings, anger, and disagreement w/ the group
- display's bravery, hardiness, and strength against enemies + outsiders
- is adaptable + takes the world as it comes, w/o complaint

Mino- Pimatisiwin

for social work + the helping professions, growth towards this is the ultimate goal

wholeness + the medicine wheel

as a central symbol used for understanding various issues + perspectives, the medicine wheel reflects 7vral key + interrelated concepts that are common to many aboriginal approaches to helping
- the concepts: wholeness, balance, connectedness or relationships, harmony, growth, and healing

hart describes how the med wheel has been used to express many relationships that can be expressed in sets of 4 + emphasize wholeness and balance

- the 4 cardinal directions (north, east, south, west)
- the 4 aspects of humaneness (emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual)
- the 4 cycles of life (birth/infancy, youth, adulthood, and elder/death)
- the 4 elements (fire, water, wind, and earth)
- the 4 seasons

indigenous concepts of balance

in human life, balance accurs when a person is @ peace + harmony w/in + w/ all other living things, including the earth + natural world
- paying attention to both positive + negative aspects of ppl
= periodically achieved, but not indefinitely + constantly pursued
- imbalance = source of a person's disease or problems
- imbalance makes it difficult for ppl to reach their full potential
- to restore balance, each part of the med wheel must be addressed

an indigenous (cree) approach to the human condition:
- the human condition can be seen as one where all ppl are on a journey towards living "the good life" (mino-pimatasawin)

- human nature = good, tho "bad attributes of ppl" are recognized
- an intuitive, personal + flexible concept of time (past personal + generational experiences are important + how present events will affect future gens)
- relationships are guided by good conduct = not interfering in or judging the affairs of others (coercion is discouraged)
- great attention to the unconscious (spirits, altered states, dreams + visions)
- dreams have an ontological priority + are a source of knowledge and power
- vision quests can help individuals find direction + meaning in their lives, but they have to have a communal dimension (individual defined in the context of the tribe)
- universe + human life are in a constant state of flux, transition, and change

Gone's major arguments

- psychologists engaging in Indigenous community rarely recognize facets of Indigenous psych
- indigenous Aaniih psych: the power of thought to create reality
- respect for this power of thought = locally-distinctive construal's of mind + mentality
- absent deeper inquiry, such distinctive construal's can be misinterpreted through western disciplinary lenses
- community psych is uniquely prepared to preclude or remedy Indigenous misrecognition

interview excerpts w/ Traveling Thunder

- ceremonial participation
- ceremony optional for overcoming problems, if you have a strong mind
- some ceremonies are at odds w/ overcoming problems
- therapeutic relevance of western mental health services

aaniih cultural psychology

concerned w/ the instrumental power of thought to bring the world into alignment w/ one's wishes

gros venture beliefs, values and traditions

- ppl may curse one another = can create considerable anxiety in the person who's cursed
- ppl may have a battle of thinking. the outcome will depend on how each is developed in thinking, or their respective powers of thought
- wishing + thinking w/ others is more powerful than doing it alone
- wishing + thinking can influence the health of others
- wishing + thinking can influence the availability of game for hunting
- oral stories (i.e., war stories) can unify thought + are seen as communications of vitality

therapeutic implications of aaniih cultural psych + healing

- therapists must navigate the local impulses that follow from particular cultural orientations to the mind
- tribal members may be concerned w/ protecting the integrity of mind and thought = potential mistrust of therapeutic techniques of western professionals + use of drugs
- tribal members may prefer culturally relevant treatment like prayer or ceremonial petiton of nonhumans
- secular rationality of many psychotherapeutic techniques may be hard for tribal members to comprehend

WEIRD

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic

church argues that in recent years 7vral factors have led to a surge in interest in psych abt relationships b/w personality + culture

- the rejuvenation of the trait concept
- the emergence of the 5 factor model or "Big Five" as a possible universal model of trait strcture
- the elaboration of cultural dimensions such as individual-collectivism
- the elaboration of cultural dimensions such as individual-collectivism
- the infusion of research on culture + elf into mainstream psych
- the emrgence of indigenous psychologies + the increasing globalization of scientific activity

evolutionary psychologists

focus on the evolved-species typical aspects of human nature

some evolutionary psychologists suggest the mind is comprised of a large # of specific psychological mechanisms that evolved to solve adaptive problems, and are assumed to be universal for humans, including:

- mate selection mechanisms
- mechanisms for the detection of cheating + infidelity
- mechanisms for the negotiation of status hierarchies
- mechanisms for coalition formation

others suggest a small # of broad motive dispositions underlie adaptive behaviour across many domains

motivational systems for socialization, relationships + the achievement of status
- evolved needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness

evolutionary psychologists are often discinclined to view cultural variables as causes of personality or behaviour

- evolved mechanisms interact w/ diversse environments + cultural contexts to cause behaviour
- they often discuss evoked culture (the idea that cultural differences can result from the responsiveness of evolved mechanisms to environmental conditions)

cross-cultural perspectives

often involve comparisons of multiple cultures to demonstrate cross-cultural universals (i.e., in personality trait structure) or cultural differences amdist these universals
- culture is treated as "relatively static" + exists "outside" the individual
- personality variables are measured w/ traditional sclaes or inventories
- studies of construct + measurement equivalence and bias are conducted in diff cultural communities are common

McCrae & Costa suggest that the big 5 personality traits are biologically based basic tendencies that are independent of culture

- some research suggests that the big 5 traits are at least moderately heritable
- other research has replicated the dimensions of the 5-factor model in many cultures

challenges to the universiality of the 5-factor model

- Lee & Asthon proposed a 6th dimension model that adds honesty-humility
- lexical researchers have argued that only extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness replicate fully across cultures
- others have argued that studies which transport western inventories to new cultures may be biased towards cross-cultural replication

a major focus of indigenous psychologies has been exploring + elaborating personality construsts thought to be particularly salient for specific cultural communities

- japanese amae (indulgent dependence)
- korean chong (affection) and chemyon (social face, dignity)
- mexican simpatia (avoidance of conflict) and abnegacion (abnegation, self-sacrifice)

researchers have explored the degree to which indigenous constructs should be understood as culturally-unique or cultural-relevant manifestations of universal traits

- some suggest that most Mexican + Filipino personality constructs likely reflect subtle differences in the salience or cultural expression of universal traits
- studies w/ Chinese personality constructs suggest little evidence that openness defines a relevant personality dimension + that a unique "interpersonal relatedness" factor may be relevant in Chinese culture

Cultural psychology emphasizes that

"mutually constitutive" nature of culture + personality. conceptions of personality + self are viewed as socially constructed = variable across cultures

independent personality

person is viewed as autonomous entity w/ distinctive attributes that cause behaviour

interdependent personality

individual is part of an encompassing social relationship + behaviour is a consequence of being responsive to others

some cultural psychologists who study personality traits argue that traits have a reduced role in many non-western cultural communities

- collectivist cultures = less emphasis on traits in ppl's self-concept, lay theories of personality + causal attributions
- others report that East Asians + Asian Americans exhibit less cross-situational consistency in traits than European Americans