HUMANISTIC AND POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Humanistic Psychology

Self-awareness produces uniquely human qualities - should be the focus of psychology, free will, creativity, introspection (looking inwards, journaling…),
Humanistic psychology focuses on- human experience, meaning of life
Self-awareness should be the focus of these studies
Humanistic- basic assumptions
Phenomenology is essential- umbrella term, where humanistic + positive psychology is found, study of phenomenon as they manifest in our experience (study of the way we perceive and understand things/experience), central to this field
Here and now- not looking back into the past, focus on present as we experience
Free agency- free will, humans make decisions and they enact them in the world, make decisions based on what we perceive (ex. life is what you make of it)
Construal and free agency- from Rogers, how we interpret the world + comprehend this world, free will is achieved by choosing a construal, it is up to you, free will is lost when this choice is up to someone else (ex. family deciding something for you)
A construal- making interpretation that someone is happy to see me when they smile at me, can make negative or positive construals (a subjective experience)
Good, desiring to improve- believed humans are good in their essence, opposite of freud, they desire to make themselves and the world better

“I do not react to some absolute reality, but to my perception of this reality. It is this perception which for me is reality” -Carl Rogers

Carl rogers- came up with humanistic psychology, the importance of a person's subjective experience, human mind is aware + knows its being studied
Humans respond + act on the world as they perceive it to be
Self-awareness is very important
Talked a lot about phenomenology + free agency

Humanistic psychology-

Rejects comparative psychology and scientific methodology- psychological nature of humans are compared, humans have more sophisticated intelligence, how evolution contributes to personality differences, they are not interested in scientific methodology (like in behaviourism)

Qualitative research methods- wanted to instead focus on qualitative measures, like diaries, to measure free will…, open ended questionnaires (interviews),

Existentialism- root of phenomenology, philosophical approach, emphasises existent of individual as a free responsible agent that will determine their own path

Rationalism- lost touch with human experience, considered the logical reasoning is the main source of knowledge, things abide by particular logical structure
Instead- what is the nature of existence? What does it mean?
They would accept the fact they need to find own meaning, there is no determinism, everyone has free will

↓ they all critiqued rationalism- they said human experience could not be explained by this, cannot think of laws to define human experience- its too simple

Existentialists

Heidegger- coined the term authentic life

Geworfenheit- german word meaning thrown-ness into existence, from the moment we are born we are thrown into existence (why we tend to ask ourselves what meaning is)
Authentic life- idea we accept the finiteness of our existence so what we are doing with our free will in the here and now is very important, time you are born matters + experiences surrounding you matters, must accept this to lead authentic life,
Existential angst- if we go through life and find no meaning, we have no idea who we are, experiencing anxiety with experimenting with life, consequences of our actions
Inauthentic life- giving up freedom, opposite of authentic, going along with anything with no direction, no questioning and going along with others ideas

Sartre- ↑ reprised concept of authentic life, talked about individuality, it's not something learned- you must earn it through experiences, said you should lead authentic experience, life is finite, no universal meaning (its subjective), you must face mortality, immoral not to question things

Angst comes in 3 different forms:

Anguish- recognition, your choices will never be perfect, will lead to all kinds of outcomes, positive or negative
Forlornness- since understanding of our life is very individual, it means we are alone with our choices and must recognize this
Despair- recognizing there are things beyond our control, only amplifies the responsibility we have, whatever we do might also affect the world

Binswanger- influenced by heidegger + sartre, talked about human experience of being alive,

3 modes of existence to differentiate humans vs. non-humans-

Umwelt- biological experience, interplay between organism and environment, we live in the environment and are influenced by this, applies to humans + animals, BUT anything non-human cannot design in this world or be creative
Mitwelt- social experience, with the world, what you think and feel as a social being, this applies to humans + animals BUT applies mainly to humans with human interaction, view our lives in relation to someone else (ex. I'm someone's daughter, friend…)
Eigenwelt- psychological experience, one’s own world, more introspective, purely human, own subjective experience, described humans as having choice over their life

**they all overall argued life involves experiencing angst

Existentialism- Eastern Alternative

Anatta = no-self, less individualistic, group focused, in buddhism, refers to the central concept, there is no unchanging self
Self is an illusion leading to dukka (pain), if you believe in independence self you have pain + are disconnected from others + isolated
Anicca = impermanence, nothing is permanent, things come and go- so don't focus on one thing for too long, you change
Nothing stays the same
Nirvana = freedom, liberation, when you understand ↑ you have freedom from the pain, selfless state of serenity, not focusing on one self

**all together- all things are without self and impermanent, with pain involved

acknowledge you live in a group + well-being of others is just as important as your own, understanding this leads to empathy and compassion (nirvana)

Optimistic Humanism

By Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow- very prominent with humanistic psychology

Four Central Principles-

Phenomenology- considered psychological but also cultural influence on personality, study of phenomenon in experience, how we perceive our life
Here and now- focus on moment you are in
Free agency- must take personal responsibility for your actions
Good, desiring to improve- they believed humans are naturally good

**emphasis on personal growth + improving, you are inherently worthy

Humanistic psychology- also called positive psychology

They believe in free will, this theory contrasts ‘negative’ psychoanalytic approach

Carl Rogers Personality Theory

Drive to self-actualize and for positive regard- people have motivating drive to self-actualize, you strive to reach your full potential
React to stimuli within their phenomenal field- in your subjective reality, environment can change things BUT in the end you must change things about yourself
Positive regard examples- affection, love, praise… (you have basic need for this)

**self-actualization + positive regard may create conflict (ex. you want to be an artist but parents disapprove of this)

Person-centered therapy (by rogers)- more passive
Unconditional positive regard- key to self-concept, for well being, showing active listening + attention, acceptance + empathy is important, leads to heightened initiate goodness
Congruent ‘ideal’ and ‘actual’ self- we all have an ideal self, it's the way you want to, may/may not align with actual self, the more they align the better, unconditional positive regard helps with this too

**Rogers focused on subjective reality - not objective (ex. how we perceive ourselves), there can be discrepancy

Conditional positive regard- creates issues, can hinder self worth, undermines freedom to make decisions for yourself (ex. only show affection if you get an A, only if the parent is in a good mood…)

Goal of this therapy- to help client believe in themselves, be as passive as possible as the therapist, done gradually as you show client unconditional personal regard

This kind of therapy is limited, it cannot do a lot with disorders

Abraham Maslow- studied healthy self-actualized people

Study self-actualized people- to prove humans are trying to accomplish something greater, focused on adults (studied philosophers who achieved something- ex. einstein)

Self actualized people…

Acceptance of self and others- they accepted themselves
Intimate personal relationships- had healthy relationships
Spontaneity- they tend to be spontaneous
Independence- also comfortable being alone

Are also- creative, not bound by social constrictions…

Peak experiences- mystical states of awareness, more peak experiences = better, the more likely you are to self actualize

**all self actualized people were reality centered- are able to differentiate between good/bad better, they were problem centered, they liked solving problems

But his study was limited- only looked at 18 people

Hierarchy of Needs (maslow)

Pyramid- innate human needs, must start from the bottom and work your way up to self actualization (ex. Basic needs must be satisfied first), they don't need to be solved in linear fashion, can solve them out of order

First 4 levels- D-needs (deficit needs- if there isn't enough of one of these there is a drive to get it )
Top levels- B-needs (being needs- human being, cognitive needs)
Applicable to not only to mental well-being

Basic Needs- physiological needs, safety needs

**once you have ↑ you move on to the next

Physiological Needs- belongingness + love needs, esteem needs

**once you have ↑ you move on to the next

Self-fulfillment Needs- self-actualization

**after all needs you get self-actualization

Limitations- very criticized but still used, in marketing its used (need for belonging + esteem used a lot in marketing) lacks empirical validation + limited usefulness with treating mental health disorders, subjective method

Self-Actualized = fully functioning person

Faces the world without self-doubt and with congruent self-concept

Positive Psychology

- Martin Seligman

Talked about learned helplessness
Saw similarities with ↑ and depression, comes from perceived lack of control in situations
Promoted positive psychology- saw lots of happiness and positive emotions, finding meaning in life
Argued we should have a counterpart to DSM to focus on what can go right (strengths, virtues…)
Talked about qualities of life- forgiveness, humility…

Czikszentmihalyi’s Flow- the psychology of optimal experience, highly focused state, agreed with positive psychology, said people are happiest when we are in a state of flow- ex. being ‘in the zone’

The flow- is a state of concentration with the activity at hand, highly focused mental state, productivity + a meaning to what we're doing, characterized by: inner motivation, feeling of great fulfillment, reaching your potential with entire body involves

Highlighted differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, any other concerns were ignored (ego, feeding…) during flow, time flies

Achieving flow characterized by these factors-

Optimal experience- making the most of your moment - moment experience, ego falls away (embarrassment isn't present…)
Autotelic activities- engaging in activities that are enjoyable simply because they are enjoyable, better quality of life, can be reflected in personality (humility, persistence…)
Transformation of time- time goes by quickly without notice
Challenge-skill balance- to stay in the flow there should be a balance between the challenge of the task + skill of performer, don't want any extremes
High skill + Low challenge = anxiety
Low skill + Low challenge = apathy
High skill + Low challenge = boredom
**Natural to get more skills which then leads to more responsibility

Self-Determination Theory (STD

By Deci and Ryan in 2000s
Theory of- human motivation that concerns peoples growth, psychological needs, builds on ideas of maslow + rogers

2 ways of seeking happiness-

Hedonia- about maximizing pleasure, immediate gratification
Eudaimonia- autonomy (make own decisions), competence (finding something you're good at), relatedness (ability to develop meaningful relationships for belongingness)
Intrinsic motivation and goals to lead a meaningful existence, done with autonomy, competence, relatedness
Positive correlation with self-esteem + happiness (universality? works for various countries but not totally universal- some cultures focus on wellbeing of group, not only self)
**Long run eudaimonia is better