All right.
Let's talk about another theory of personality
called the humanistic theory.
But before I begin, I have to give you a little caveat.
Now, all these theories of personality
are not mutually exclusive.
One isn't more dominant over the other.
One isn't better than the other.
All these theories are just different ways
to look at how personality develops in people.
And they've all come from different branches,
you can say, of psychology, which
is why they're from perspectives of different psychologists
or theorists.
OK.
So the humanistic theory says that individuals have free will
and that we can actively develop ourselves to our highest
potential and reach self-actualization.
So "free will" is an important word.
And the term "self-actualization"
is also another defining word in this theory.
So the primary difference between Freud's
psychoanalytic theory and humanism
is that Freud's theory was deterministic.
So what I mean by that is that his theory says our behavior
is determined by our unconscious desires.
His theory also focuses on individuals
who have these mental conflicts and not all people.
Now, the humanistic theory focuses
on the conscious as opposed to the unconscious.
And it also says that people are inherently good,
and that we are self-motivated to improve.
And we want to always improve because we
want to reach self-actualization.
Now, the first major theorist of this theory was Abraham Maslow.
And he formed the hierarchy of needs,
which we can depict using a pyramid.
So all of our needs are built upon each other
in this pyramid.
He says that we must first fulfill our physiological needs
that form the base of the pyramid,
and then we can work our way up.
So after our physiological needs are met, our need for safety
must be fulfilled, and then love, and then self-esteem.
And lastly, self-actualization can be met.
Now, that sounds easy enough, right?
We can all reach self-actualization.
Well, what are some characteristics
of self-actualizing people?
Well, they must be self-aware, obviously.
They are caring.
They're wise.
And their interests are problem-centered.
They focus their energies on a task
that's the mission of their life.
And they have a higher purpose that's focused on larger causes
and less about the basic aspects of life.
So they don't focus on the basic aspects of life.
They're always trying to strive and think broader
and for larger causes.
Well, I hate to be the Debbie Downer here,
but self-actualization is rarely achieved.
Maslow believed that only 1% of people
ever reach self-actualization.
The average person seeks to self-actualize,
but may not ever get to that point.
Jeez.
Well, it looks like we all have something
to work harder towards, huh?
So are you going to be the Martin Luther
King or the Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa of our time?
Pretty sure they all reached self-actualization.
OK.
Let's talk about the second major theorist of this theory.
His name is Carl Rogers.
Carl Rogers used Maslow's idea and the qualities
he described, and says that they are nurtured early in life.
He said that self-actualization is a constant growth
process that is nurtured in a growth-promoting climate.
So that's another very important word,
"growth-promoting climate."
And this climate, in order for this climate
to help someone reach self-actualization,
there's two conditions that need to be met.
And the first is that growth is nurtured by when
an individual is being genuine.
So one has to be open and revealing about themselves.
They have to be genuine and true to who they are.
And the second condition that needs to be met
is that growth is nurtured through acceptance,
and acceptance from others.
So one must receive acceptance and receive
an unconditional positive regard from others.
So what does that mean?
For example, a parent may get upset at their child
and punish them for doing something wrong.
But they're going to still love their child
and regard their child without any conditions, no matter what.
So this allows us to be open and learn
without fearing others are going to look at us differently if we
do something wrong.
And genuine relationships with others and acceptance
is what allows us to live up to the ideals of our true,
real self, versus this ideal self
that is bounded by conditions that people rarely
can live up to.
And both Maslow and Rogers said a central feature
of our personality is self-concept.
And that's achieved when we bring genuineness acceptance
together and achieve this growth-promoting climate.
So as individuals, we tend to act
and perceive the world positively.
And we try to answer the question, who am I?
And that is what the humanistic theory talks about.