What is throwness?

An important basis of your experience is your thrownness Heidegger used the German word Geworfenheit. This term refers to the time, place, and circumstances into which you happened to be born

What is the classic argument of humanism and what are its implications?

argued the mind  is fundamentally different because the human mind is aware.

two implications, psychology needs to address this unique phenomenon of awareness and Second self-awareness brings to the fore many uniquely human phenomena that do not arise such as willpower, reflective thinking and introspection

What are the eight characteristics of humanism and their defnitions?

The eight characteristics are: humanistic, holistic, historic, phenomenological, Real life, Positivity, Will & value

Humanistic Study of humans, not animals

Holistic Human system is greater than sum of its parts

Historic Whole person from birth to death

Phenomenological Focus on interior, experiential, and existential aspects of personality

Real life Person in nature, society, and culture—not the experimental lab

Positivity Joy, fruitful activities, virtuous actions and attributes

Will Choices, decisions, voluntary actions

Value A philosophy of life that describes what is desirable

What is a construal? What approach are construal’s associated with and what is the assumption of that approach?

Your particular experience of the world is called your construal forms the basis of how you live your life

Associated with the phenomenological approaches that  assume that immediate, conscious experience is all that matters broader reality might exist, but only the part of it that you perceive matters

What research method did Wilhelm Wundt primarily use and when was his laboratory first opened

The primary method he followed was introspection first opened in 19^th century

What is Existentialism and what is it composed of?

began in Europe in the mid-1800s.

existentialism begins with the experience of the single individual at a single moment in time. All else, it claims, is illusion

existential questions are: What is the nature of existence? How does it feel? And what does it mean?

Composed of The Three Parts of Experience which are biological, social and psychological experience

is biological experience, or Umwelt, which consists of the sensations you feel by virtue of being a biological organism.

social experience, or Mitwelt, which consists of what you think and feel as a social being.

Third component is inner, psychological experience, or Eigenwelt. In a sense, this is the experience of experience itself.

What problems are associated with Existentialism?

existential anxiety : The unpleasant feelings caused by contemplating these

existential questions are: Why am I here? and What should I be doing

ignoring existential issues is very common it has three problems

to ignore these troubling facts of existence amounts to selling your soul for comfort. (Living in bad faith)

even if you manage to ignore troubling existential issues by surrounding yourself with material comforts, you still will not be happy.

Impossible to ignore as because choosing not to worry still a choice

According to Existentialism what is the essence of human discovery? What is this approach to life called?

The discovery that every person is alone and doomed to die. This approach/acceptance is called authentic existence and entails being honest, insightful, and morally correct.

What does Buddhism teach and what is the key idea?

teaches that What feels like your “self” is merely a temporary composite of many things—including your physiology, environment, social setting, and society—all of which are constantly changing.

The key idea of Buddhism is anatta, or “nonself,” the idea that the independent, singular self merely an illusion

everything and everyone are interconnected now, and not only in this moment but also across time.

All consciousness and all of time have equal claim to existence and are equally important

In Buddhism what is enlightenment, how is it achieved and what does it lead to?

Enlightenment is the essence of wisdom and is achieved through caring for others the same as for yourself, which leads to universal compassion

Achieved through embracing the ideas of anitta that the independent self is an illusion and anicca the idea that nothing lasts forever

leads to a serene, selfless state called nirvana

What is the basis of Optimistic Humanism?

began with the standard existential assumption  that experience is central and that people have free will and added idea that people are basically good

What Humanist approach did Carl Rogers and Maslow found and what are the components on Roger’s take on it?

Optimistic Humanism

Carl Roger’s take focused on Self Actualization the organism has one basic tendency and striving—to actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism

This need has much in common with Freud’s notion of libido

person can be understood only from the perspective of their phenomenal field,

What does Maslow’s approach consist of? What applications does it have?

Hierarchy of Needs

begins with the same basic assumption as Rogers’s claimed that self-actualization motive becomes active only if the person’s more basic needs are met first.

human motivation is characterized by a hierarchy of needs

a person requires food, water, safety, and the other essentials of survival then sex, meaningful relationships, prestige, money and finally self-actualization

applied to issues of employee motivation and is used to explain how people in different cultures may have different bases of happiness.

What concept do both Roger’s and Maslow’s theory contain and how does it differ in the two theories?

The concept of a fully functioning person faces the world without fear, self-doubt, or neurotic defenses

Rogers believed this was only possible if unconditional positive regard from the important people in your life, especially during childhood was received

if you feel that other people value you only if you are smart, successful, attractive, or good, then, you will develop conditions of worth Conditions of worth limit your freedom to act and think

Maslow believed that anybody from any background could become a fully functioning person

How is Roger’s theories applied to psychotherapy?

Goal is to help the client become a fully functioning person. To achieve this goal, the therapist develops a genuine and caring relationship

The therapist’s job is to help the client perceive his own thoughts and feelings without the therapist seeking to change them in any way, and to make the client feel appreciated no matter what he thinks, says, or does

two problems First, the results seem to be about equally due to changes in clients’ ideal views as to changes in their self-views.  Second describing oneself as highly similar to one’s idea of a perfect person is not always a good measure of psychological adjustment

Describe Personal constructs and Kelly’s contribution

Kelly’s contribution was to emphasize how one’s cognitive system assembles one’s various construals of the world into individually held theories

personal constructs  are theories on the world based on construals. help determine how new experiences are construed

How are personal constructs viewed and how are they determined?

viewed as bipolar dimensions

assessed using the Role Construct Repertory test (REP)

The Rep test asks you to identify three people who are or have been important in your life. Then it asks you to describe how any two of them seem similar to each other and different from the third.

you follow the same process with three important ideas, three traits you admire, and so on.

 In each case, the question is the same: How are two of these similar to each other and different from the third

that the ways you discriminate among these objects, people, and ideas reveal the constructs through which you view the world.

Where do personal constructs come from?

comes from the sum of your experiences and perceptions

What is sociality corollary?

the sociality corollary,  understanding another person means understanding her personal construct system

What is the basic lesson of Kelly’s theory? Define Constructive Alternativism

Basic lesson is you choose the construals you use

Constructive altenativism means that your personal reality does not simply exist apart from you; you construct it in your mind. Furthermore, you can always choose to reconstruct reality differently

What is the satisficing goal and what is it’s second goal?

satisficing goal is doing what you want as long as you can pay for it

second goal maintains that you must maximize your gain, and that unless you make as much money as possible, you have failed. This is an optimizing goal.

What is flow and who proposed this?

The subjective experience of an autotelic activity—the enjoyment itself—is flow

Established by Csikszentmihalyi

the experience of flow is characterized by tremendous concentration, total lack of distractibility, and thoughts concerning only the activity at hand

flow arises when the challenges an activity presents are well matched with your skills.

What opposing concept to Flow did Maddi propose?

hardiness, a lifestyle that embraces rather than avoids potential sources of stress.

Properly approached, stressful and challenging experiences can bring learning, growth, and wisdom, and dealing with them successfully is an important part of what gives life meaning

In what ways can happiness be sought? (self-detemination theory)

Through maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain or through seeking a deeper meaning to life by pursuing important goals, building relationship and taking responsibility for life choices

who came up with SDT and what ae the names of the two routes to happiness?

DECI AND RYAN

Maximizing pleasure/reducing pain is known as hedonia

Hedonia is dangerous as The more one seeks  to maximize pleasure and minimize pain the more one risks a life without significant meaning

Eudaimonia is finding and seeking intrinsic goals

there are three central intrinsic goals, according to SDT.

Autonomy means finding your own way in life and making your own decisions.

Competence involves finding something you are good at, and becoming better.

Relatedness means establishing meaningful and satisfying ties to other people

According to SDT you must attain all three of these intrinsic goals to become a fully-functioning person

What is the goal of Positive Psychology?

Correct long-standing overemphasis on psychopathology and malfunction

positive psychology focuses on phenomena such as “positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions” to improve quality of life

How is Positive Psychology conducted?

investigate the traits, processes, and social institutions that promote a happy and meaningful life. Focus on positive subjective experience

investigates the benefits of explaining and anticipating events from an optimistic viewpoint

focusses on identifying and promoting strengths

How are attributes determined to be virtues and what are the six key virtues?

their attributes whose universality suggests they are evolutionarily based

six key virtues are courage, justice, humanity, temperance, wisdom and transcendence

Courage

Emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition;

 examples include bravery, perseverance, and honesty.

Justice

Strengths that underlie healthy community life;

 examples include fairness, leadership, and teamwork

Humanity

 Strengths that involve protecting and taking care of others;

examples include love and kindness.

Temperance

 Strengths that protect against excess;

 examples include forgiveness, humility, prudence, and self-control.

Wisdom

Strengths that entail the acquisition and use of knowledge;

 examples include creativity,curiosity, judgment, and perspective.

Transcendence

Strengths that give meaning to life by connecting to the larger universe;

examples include gratitude, hope, and spirituality.