Term
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Definition
| Self-actualisation is the tendency to develop your capabilities in ways that maintain or enhance the self. This tendency promotes a sense of congruence, or integration, within the person. Its effectiveness is monitored by the organismic valuing process. |
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Term
| Positive regard, conditions of worth, self-determination (Self actualisation) |
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Definition
People also have a need for positive regard: acceptance and affection from others. Positive regard may be unconditional, or it may be conditional on your acting in certain ways. These conditions of worth mean that the person is held worthy only if he or she is acting in a desired manner. Conditions of worth, which can be self-imposed as well as imposed by others, can cause you to act in ways that oppose self-actualisation
Self-determination theory focuses on the difference between behaviour that is self-determined and behaviour that is controlled in some fashion. People enjoy activities more if they feel they are doing them from intrinsic interest instead of extrinsic reward. People whose lives are dominated by activities that are controlled are less healthy than people whose lives are self-determined |
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Term
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Definition
| humanistic psychology (Schneider, Bugental, & Pierson, 2001). This term reflects the idea that everyone has the potential for growth and development. No one—no one—is inherently bad or unworthy.A basic goal of humanistic psychology is to help people realize this about themselves, so they’ll have the chance to grow. Some of the ideas in this chapter are also referred to with the term phenomenological.This term reflects an emphasis on the importance of one’s own personal experiences. |
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Term
| Self-actualisation + organismic valuing process (Carl Rogers) |
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Definition
self-actualization. Self-actualization enriches your life experiences and enhances creativity. It promotes congruence, wholeness or integration within the person, and it minimizes disorganization or incongruence.
Rogers believed that the actualizing tendency is part of human nature.This belief is also reflected in another term he used: the organismic valuing process.
This term refers to the idea that the organism automatically evaluates its experiences to tell whether they are enhancing actualization. If they aren’t, the organismic valuing proc- ess creates a nagging sense that something isn’t right. |
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Term
| Fully functioning person (Rogers) |
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Definition
| Rogers used the phrase fully functioning person to describe someone who is self-actualizing. Such people are open to experiencing their feelings and not threat- ened by them, no matter what the feelings are. Fully functioning people trust their feelings.They are also open to experiencing the world. Rather than hide from it, they immerse themselves in it.The result is that they live lives filled with meaning, chal- lenge, and excitement but also a willingness to risk pain. A fully functioning person isn’t a particular kind of person. It’s a way of functioning that can be adopted by anyone who chooses to live that way. |
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Term
| Unconditional positive regard + Conditional Positive Regard (Rogers) |
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Definition
| Positive regard can come in two ways. Affection given without spe- cial conditions—with “no strings attached”—is called unconditional positive regard. Sometimes, though, affection is given only if certain condi- tions are satisfied.The conditions vary from case to case, but the idea is the same: I’ll like you and accept you, but only if you act in a particular way.This is conditional positive regard. Much of the affection people get in their day- to-day lives is conditional. |
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Term
| conditions of worth + conditional self-regard (Rogers) |
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Definition
Another term used here is conditions of worth.These are the conditions under which people are judged worthy of positive regard.When people act to con- form to a condition of worth, they’re doing so not because the act is intrinsically desirable, but to get positive regard from other people (see the cartoon). Rogers argued that having conditions of worth applied to us by people around us causes us to start applying the conditions to ourselves (Sheldon & Elliot, 1998).
We give ourselves affection and acceptance only when we satisfy those conditions. This pattern is called conditional self-regard. Conditional self-regard makes you behave so as to fit the conditions of worth you’re applying to yourself
Because self-actualizing is more important than fulfilling conditions of worth, it should get first priority. But the need for positive regard is so salient that its influ- ence is often felt more keenly |
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Term
| needs are for autonomy (self-determination), competence, and relatedness. (Deci and Ryan) |
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Definition
Deci and Ryan believe that having a life of growth, integrity, and well-being means satisfying three needs. The needs are for autonomy (self-determination), competence, and relatedness.
Some actions are self-determined: done either because they have intrinsic interest or are of value to you. Other actions are controlled: done to gain payment or to satisfy some pressure.A behavior can be controlled even if the control occurs entirely inside your own mind. If you do something because you know you’d feel guilty if you didn’t do it, you’re engaging in controlled behavior. |
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Term
| Introjected regulation/controlled behavious (Deci and Ryan) |
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Definition
| Introjected regulation occurs when a person treats a behavior as a “should” or an “ought”—when the person does it to avoid guilt or gain self-approval. If you try to do well in a class so you won’t feel guilty about wasting your parents’ tuition money, that’s introjected behavior. Introjected behavior is controlled, but the control is exerted from inside. |
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Term
| identified regulation/self-determined (Deci and Ryan) |
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Definition
In identified regulation, in contrast, the person has come to hold the behavior as personally meaningful and valuable. If you try to do well in a class because you believe learning is important to your growth, that’s identified regulation. Identified regula- tion is self-determined.
It’s not quite as self-determined as integrated regulation (in which the goal is integrated within the self) or intrinsically motivated behavior (for which the interest is naturally there), but |
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Term
| Relatedness (Deci and Ryan) |
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Definition
Deci and Ryan’s conception of relatedness implies a genuine connection to others, an unconditional acceptance, rather than a connection based on pressure and demand. It might be more accurate to equate this need to a need for unconditional regard.
Deci and Ryan also believe that people have an intrinsic need for relatedness (see also Baumeister & Leary, 1995). At first glance, it might seem that a need for relatedness should conflict with the need for autonomy. However, it’s important to realize that Deci and Ryan’s definition of autonomy doesn’t mean being separate from or inde- pendent of others. Rather, it means having the sense of free self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1991, 2000).True relatedness doesn’t conflict with this. |
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Term
| self-concordant (Doing things you actually want to do e.g. study psychology) |
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Definition
.The key is that it’s good to pursue goals that are self-concordant, or consistent with your core values
You care more about such goals, and you benefit more from attaining them than from attaining goals that don’t connect to your core values. |
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Term
| Ideal self + Actual Self (Rogers) |
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Definition
| Rogers used the term self in several ways. Sometimes, he used it to refer to the subjective awareness of being (Rogers, 1965). At other times, he used it interchange- ably with self-concept.The self-concept is the set of qualities a person views as being part of himself or herself (much like e go identity). Many distinctions can be made among the elements of the self-concept. One of them is between the actual (or real) self and the ideal self.The ideal self is the image of the kind of person you want to be.The actual self is what you think you’re really like. |
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Term
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Definition
| Incongruence is disorganization, a fraying of the unitary sense of self.You don’t always know it consciously, but your organismic valuing process senses it. Rogers said that incongruence––either perceiving a gap between real and ideal or experiencing some- thing that doesn’t fit your self-image––leads to anxiety. |
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Term
| Self-handicapping (protect self-esteem) |
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Definition
| People protect their self-esteem in some very strange ways. One of them is called self- handicapping (e.g., Arkin & Baumgardner, 1985; Higgins, Snyder, & Berglas, 1990; Jones & Berglas, 1978; Jones & Pittman, 1982). Self-handicapping is acting to create the very conditions that tend to produce a failure. If you have a test tomorrow, it’s self-handicapping to party all night instead of studying. If you want to make a good impression on someone, it’s self-handicapping to show up drunk or drenched in sweat from playing basketball. |
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Term
| Stereotype threat (protect self-esteem by believing the stereotype given) |
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Definition
Stereotype threat - begins with the fact that some groups are stereotyped in ways that lead to expectations of poor performance of some sort. For example, the negative stereotype of African Americans includes an expectation that they will perform poorly on intellectual tasks.
Members of these groups can be threatened by being viewed through the stereotype, rather than as individuals. The sense of being prejudged occupies the person’s mind and promotes negative thinking |
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Term
| Maslows Model of Human Needs |
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Definition
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Term
| Levels of Maslows Model of Human Needs (LOW - deficiency-based motives; HIGH; growth-based motives) |
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Definition
| The levels of the hierarchy also differ in one more sense. Maslow (1955) said that the motives low on the pyramid are deficiency-based motives, whereas those high on the pyramid (particularly, self-actualization) are growth-based motives. That is, lower needs arise from deprivation. Satisfying them means escaping unpleasant con- ditions. Self-actualization is more like the distant call of your unrealized potential as a person. Satisfying this isn’t a matter of avoiding an unpleasant state. Rather, it’s the seeking of growth |
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Term
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Definition
However, there’s another side to growth and human potential.The pos- sibilities of self-actualization have a cost.They bring responsibilities. This is a key principle of existential psychology (Koole, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2006).The term existential is related to the word existence. It pertains to a philosophical view which holds that existence is all anyone has. Each person is alone in an unfathomable universe.
Existential psychologists believe, though, that we are all responsible for making the most of every moment of our existence and fulfilling that existence to the best of our ability (Boss, 1963; Frankl, 1969; May, 1969). This responsibility is inescapable. |
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Term
| existential guilt (existential psychology) |
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Definition
| . Even if your choices are wise, you’ll still have existential guilt over failing to fulfill your possibilities. This guilt is strongest when a person who’s free to choose fails to do so. But people who are aware are never completely free of existential guilt, because it’s impossible to fulfill every possibility. In realizing some capabilities, you prevent others from being expressed.Thus, existential guilt is inescapable. It’s part of the cost of being. |
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Term
In Rogers' view, people have a strong need to experience _________, which is the respect, love and friendship of others.
Group of answer choices
positive reinforcement
conditional acceptance
positive regard
expectancies of worth |
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Definition
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Term
Conditions of worth and conditional regard have the effect of:
Group of answer choices
making people depressed.
making people anxious.
altering behaviour to fit in with the desires of others.
facilitating a person’s goal of self-actualisation. |
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Definition
| altering behaviour to fit in with the desires of others. |
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Term
People engage in some activities because they find the activities intrinsically interesting. Such activities are said to be:
Group of answer choices
self-determined.
self-rationalised.
self-actualised.
explicitly motivated. |
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Definition
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Term
According to Maslow's hierarchy, the correct order of needs, beginning with the most basic, is:
Group of answer choices
physiological - love - safety - esteem - self-actualisation.
physiological - esteem - safety - love - self-actualisation.
physiological - safety - love - esteem - self-actualisation.
physiological - safety - esteem - love - self-actualisation. |
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Definition
| physiological - safety - love - esteem - self-actualisation. |
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Term
Self-actualisers tend to:
Group of answer choices
appreciate results rather than the process of doing things
form deep ties with many people
at times appear temperamental and ruthless
All of these options. |
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Definition
| at times appear temperamental and ruthless |
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Term
According to existential psychologists, awareness of the inevitability of death evokes a sense of:
Group of answer choices
reactance.
angst.
existential guilt.
wish fulfillment |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
that people have an intrinsic ten- dency toward self-actualization: the tendency to develop your capabilities in ways that maintain or enhance the self.This tendency promotes a sense of congruence, or integration, within the person. Its effectiveness is monitored by the organismic valu- ing process.
People also have a need for positive regard, acceptance and affection from others. Positive regard may be unconditional, or it may be conditional on your acting in certain ways.These conditions of worth mean that the person is held worthy only if he or she is acting in a desired manner. Conditions of worth, which can be self- imposed as well as imposed by others, can cause you to act in ways that oppose self-actualization. |
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Term
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Definition
Self-determination theory focuses on the difference between behavior that’s self- determined and behavior that’s controlled in some fashion. People enjoy activities more if they feel they’re doing them from intrinsic interest, instead of extrinsic reward. People whose lives are dominated by activities that are controlled are less healthy than people whose lives are self-determined.
Many theorists of this group assume that people have free will.This is a very hard idea to test, but people do seem to think they have free will. Studies of reactance have shown that people resist threats to freedoms they expect to have. Other research has questioned whether free will is illusory, though.
Behavior that opposes the actualizing tendency creates disorganization in the sense of self. Disorganization can be reduced by two kinds of defenses.You can distort per- ceptions of reality to reduce the threat, or you can act in ways that prevent threatening experiences from reaching your awareness (for example, by ignoring them). Use of these defenses is seen in the fact that people blame failures on factors outside them- selves but take credit for successes. People also engage in self-handicapping strategies, creating esteem-protective explanations for the possibility of failure before it even happens. The use of self-handicapping is paradoxical, because it increases the likeli- hood of failure. |
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Term
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Definition
Maslow elaborated on the idea of self-actualization by proposing a hierarchy of motives, ranging from basic physical needs (at the bottom) to self-actualization (at the top). Basic needs are more demanding than higher needs, which (being more subtle) can affect you only when the lower needs are relatively satisfied. Maslow’s intermedi- ate levels appear to relate to the need for positive regard, suggesting why it can be hard to ignore the desire for acceptance from others.
Existential psychologists point out that with freedom comes the responsibility to choose for yourself what meaning your life has.The basic choice is to invest your life with meaning or to retreat into nothingness.When people are reminded of their own mortality, they try harder to connect to cultural values. Even if people try to find meaning, they can’t escape existential guilt. No life can reflect all the possibilities it holds, because each choice rules out other possibilities |
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Term
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Definition
The humanistic view on personality uses many assessment techniques, including both interviews and self-reports. Regarding content, it emphasizes the self-concept, self-actualization, and self-determination. One way to assess self- concept is the Q-sort, in which a set of items is sorted into piles according to how much they apply to oneself. Different “sorts” can be compared to obtain additional information.
From the humanistic perspective, problems derive from incongruity, and therapy is a process of reintegrating a partly disorganized self. For reintegration to occur, the client must feel a sense of unconditional positive regard. In client-centered therapy, people are led to refocus on their feelings about their problems. The therapist is nonevaluative and simply helps clients to clarify their feelings. In this viewpoint, the processes of therapy blend into those of ordinary living, with the goal of experiencing continued personal growth. |
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Term
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Definition
- Actual self Your self as you presently view it.
- Actualization The tendency to grow in ways that maintain or enhance the organism.
- Clarification of feelings The procedure in which a therapist restates a client’s expressed feelings.
- Client-centered or person-centered therapy A type of therapy that removes conditions of worth and has clients examine their feelings and take personal respon- sibility for their improvement.
- Conditional positive regard Affection that’s given only under certain conditions.
- Conditional self-regard Self-acceptance that’s given only under certain conditions.
- Conditions of worth Contingencies placed on positive regard.
- Congruence An integration within the self and a coherence between your self and your experiences.
- Content analysis The grouping and counting of vari- ous categories of statements in an interview. |
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Term
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Definition
- Contingent self-worth Self-acceptance that’s based on performance in some domain of life.
- Dasein “Being-in-the-world” the totality of your autonomous personal existence.
- Deficiency-based motives Motives reflecting a lack within the person that needs to be filled.
- Existential guilt A sense of guilt over failing to fulfill all of your possibilities.
- Existential psychology The view that people are responsible for investing their lives with meaning.
- Flow The experience of being immersed completely in an activity.
- Fully functioning person A person who’s open to life’s experiences and who is self-actualizing. |
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Term
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Definition
- Growth-based motives Motives reflecting the desire to extend and elaborate yourself.
- Humanistic psychology A branch of psychology emphasizing the universal capacity for personal growth.
- Ideal self Your perception of how you’d like to be.
- Organismic valuing process The internal signal that indicates whether self-actualization is occurring.
- Peak experience A subjective experience of intense
self-actualization.
- Person-centered therapy See Client-centered therapy.
- Phenomenological A view that emphasizes the impor-
tance of your own personal experiences.
- Positive regard Acceptance and affection.
- Q-sort An assessment technique in which you sort descriptors according to how much they apply to you.
- Reactance A motive to regain or reassert a freedom that’s been threatened. |
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Term
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Definition
- Restatement of content A procedure in which a ther-
apist rephrases the ideas expressed by a client.
- Self-actualization A process of growing in ways that maintain or enhance the self.
- Self-concordance Pursuing goals that are consistent with your core values.
- Self-determination Deciding for yourself what to do.
- Self-handicapping Creating situations that make it hard to succeed, thus enabling avoidance of self-blame
for failure.
- Stereotype threat Having a negative perception of the self because of feeling prejudged.
- Transcendent self-actualizers People whose actualiza-tion goes beyond the self to become more universal.
- Unconditional positive regard Acceptance and affec-tion with “no strings attached.” |
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