Essay On Humanistic Theory Of Personality

Personality is a person's characteristic pattern of behaving, thinking, and feeling. The development of reliable and valid measures of personality has been a boon to psychologists' attempts to define and explain individual differences in this important domain. Comprehensive theories of personality have been useful to these attempts as well. Psychoanalytic theories emphasizes unconscious forces, while humanistic approaches focus on individuals' attempts to better themselves and find acceptance. Each of these perspectives has been used to explain how and why variations in mental health develop.
K
Psychoanalysis is Freud's theory of personality and his therapy for treating psychological disorders; focuses on unconscious processes. The conscious is all thoughts, feelings, memories of which we are aware at a given moment, the preconscious is thoughts, feelings, memories that we are not consciously aware but can easily bring to mind, and the unconscious contains repressed memories and

instincts, wishes, and desires that have never been conscious. The theory has the three components of personality, which are the id, ego, superego. Id contains life and death instincts and operates according to the pleasure principle. Ego is the logical, rational part of personality and operates according to the reality principle. Superego is the moral system of the personality and consists of the conscience and the ego ideal. The ego uses defense mechanisms to maintain self-esteem and protect itself from anxiety created by conflict between the id and superego. The id's demands for pleasure often conflict with the super ego's desires for moral perfection.freud is credited with making important contributions to psychology by identifying the role of defense mechanisms and calling attention to the unconscious. Several theorists built on the strengthens of Freud's theory, and tried to avoid its weaknesses. They are called the Neo-Freudians.
K
In humanistic psychology, people are assumed to have a natural tendency toward growth and the realization of their fullest potential.

These theories are more optimistic about human nature than Freud's theory. One of the humanistic theories is Maslow's theory. Maslow proposed a hierarchy of needs that motivates human behavior. The highest need is self-actualization. Self actualizers accurately perceive reality and quickly spot dishonest, tend to be internally driven, autonomous, and independent, and frequently have peak experiences (experiences of deep meaning, insight, and harmony within themselves and with the universe). Another theory is the Rogers's theory. According to Rogers, our parents set up conditions of worth. These conditions force us to live according to someone else's values. Person-centered therapy enables people to live by their own values instead of the values of others. To achieve this, the therapist must give the client unconditional positive

regard.
K
One approach to personality assessment is projective tests. A projective test is a personality test consisting of ink lots, drawings of ambiguous human situations, or incomplete sentences for which there are no correct or incorrect responses. People respond by projecting their inner thoughts, feelings, fears, or conflicts onto the test materials. Two examples are the Rorschach Inkblot Method and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) . In the Rorschach Inkblot Method, the test taker is asked to describe 10 inkblots and their responses can be used to diagnose disorders. During the TAT, the test taker describes a series of drawings of ambiguous human situations , which are thought to reveal inner feelings, conflicts, and motives.