Personality and
the
Meaning of Life
PSYCH 215
February 26, 2017
Overview
Humanistic psychology
Hierarchy of needs
Existentialism
Flow
Explaining Mankind’s
Inhumanity to Mankind
Freud’s view
at the most basic level, humankind is
barbaric and cruel
we need cultural rules to control these
impulses
Roger’s View (Humanistic Perspective)
humankind is good
evil is a cultural construction
Humanistic Perspectives
Begins with a critique of behaviorism and
psychoanalysis
essentially negative view of
humanity
behavior is driven by prior
contingencies or primitive impulses
Can these perspectives explain joy or
artistry?
Carl Rogers
People are basically good
Phenomenological approach
tounderstand people, you need to
understand their unique view of reality
depends on communication, which is limited
Phenomonology:
One’s conscious experience of the world is
more important than the real world itself
Phenomenology:
Awareness Is Everything
Construal
Everyone’s is different
Forms the basis of how you live your life
Free will is achieved by choosing your construal
Introspec@on
5
Carl Rogers
Sense of self is crucial in human
experience
most people are struggling to
become their real selves
Self: an organized set of conscious
perceptions of who you are
perceptions of character and abilities
self in relation to others
goals and ideals
Goal of Rogerian Therapy
Bring ideal and actual self into alignment
Look at the discrepancies in your
questionnaires
Two ways to accomplish alignment
Raiseactual ratings
Lower ideal ratings
Maslow’s Hierarchy
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Rejects psychology’s reliance on animal
studies
rats have few motivations, other than
physiological ones
culture is an adaptive tool, designed to
satisfy the physiological needs
the forces that drive rats are mostly
absent from humanity
Release from pain is not sufficient to describe
human behavior
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Humans pursue positive goals
as well, once lower level
needs are met
providesa positive view of human nature
Ultimate need is to self-actualize
can only be attempted after lower
level needs are fulfilled
Maslow’s Hierarchy
Existentialism
Existentialism
Focuses on the experience of existence
Famous philosophical movement:
Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre
Key questions:
What is the nature of existence?
How does it feel?
What does it mean?
Focus on personal responsibility
Existential Psychology
Goal of humans is to integrate
We are conscious of self and need to make
choices
Thus, must recognize and confront
paradoxes in our lives
Paradox: two opposing things that cannot
exist without one another
E.g., good and evil, life and death
Viktor Frankl
Austrian psychiatrist, initially interested in
Freud and Adler’s work
Spent 2 yrs 10 mos. in German
concentration camps
By the end of the war, lost his pregnant
wife, parents, and brother
Frankl s theory focused on the meaning
of human existence as well as man s
search for such meaning
Primary motivational force in humans
No matter the state of the world, our attitude
can always help us
Flow
Last night at 7pm
What were you thinking about?
Where were you?
What was the MAIN thing you were doing?
What other things were you doing?
WHY were you doing this particular activity?
I had to
I wanted to
I had nothing else to do
How did you feel about the
MAIN thing you were doing?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
(low) (high)
Challenges of the activity
Your skills in the activity
Was this activity important to you?
Were you satisfied with how you were
doing?
Describe your mood during
the activity
1 2 3 4 5
Very – some – neither – some – very
Alert---- Drowsy
Happy ---- Sad
Active ---- Passive
Involved ---- Detached
Csikszentmihalyi
Focused on how to make each moment an
optimal experience
Flow
a state of mind
skills and challenge are high and perfectly
matched
Interviewed expert swimmers, climbers,
chess players
Interviews regarding flow
occurs during task we have chance of
completing
must be able to concentrate on task
clear goals and immediate feedback
enhances concentration
worries and frustration of daily life are removed
total absorption in task
concern for self disappears
passage of time is altered
Optimal Experience in Work
and Leisure
Experience sampling method
people are signaled during day by
beeper
complete brief questionnaire
What does this approach buy you that
traditional approaches do not?
provides data that is phenomenological
Sample of 107 working adults
Assessed challenges and skills
Optimal Experience in Work
and Leisure
CHALLENGE
HIGH LOW
HIGH
SKILLS
LOW
Optimal Experience in Work
and Leisure
CHALLENGE
HIGH LOW
HIGH flow boredom
SKILLS
LOW anxiety apathy
Results
When does flow occur?
54% of the time at work
17% of the time in leisure
Does flow at work depend on job?
managers 64% of time in flow
clerical workers, 51%
blue-collar workers, 47%
Results
Affect,potency, concentration, creativity,
satisfaction, and motivation were all
higher in flow states
Conclusion
Theobligatory nature of work masks the
positive experiences it engenders (p. 821)
Optimal Experience in Work
and Leisure
CHALLENGE
HIGH LOW
HIGH
SKILLS
LOW
Optimal Experience in Work
and Leisure
CHALLENGE
HIGH LOW
HIGH flow boredom
SKILLS
LOW anxiety apathy
