11.3 Humanistic Theories

We have thus far discussed the psychoanalytic theories of personality development, which emphasize the importance of factors beyond one’s control. You don’t get to choose the identity of your parents, the dynamics within your family, or the nature of your childhood conflicts. Nor do you have the ability to direct unconscious activities. For those looking for more self-direction than the psychoanalytic theories permit, humanism may offer an attractive alternative. With this theoretical approach, the power is in your hands.

The Brighter Side: Maslow and Rogers

The humanistic perspective began gaining momentum in the 1960s and 1970s in response to the negative, mechanistic view of human nature apparent in other theories. According to the humanists, not only are we innately good, we are also in control of our destinies, and these positive aspects of human nature drive the development of personality. According to leading humanists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, our natural tendency is to grow in a positive direction.

Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) is probably best known for his theory of motivation. According to Maslow, human behaviors are motivated by biological and psychological needs. When a need is not being met, a state of tension motivates us to meet it, leading to the reduction of the drive. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains the organization of human needs, which are universal and ordered in terms of their strength (from basic physiological needs to self-actualization and self-transcendence). How does this discussion of needs relate to personality? If you recall, personality is the unique core set of characteristics that influence the way we think, act, and feel. Although we tend to respond to needs in a universal order, Maslow suggested that we all have the ability to reorder them. Not only are we responsible for being proactive in our lives; we also have an urge to “feel free and to be free” (Maslow, 1971, p. 14). Maslow was particularly interested in self-actualizers (TABLE 11.3), or people who are continually seeking to reach their fullest potential, a drive that is one of the guiding principles of the humanistic perspective.

Carl Rogers (1902–1987) was another humanist who had great faith in the essential goodness of people and their ability to make sound choices (Rogers, 1979). According to Rogers, we all have an innate urge to move toward situations and people that will help us grow and to avoid those with the potential to inhibit growth. He believed we should have faith in our ability to find happiness and mental balance, that is, to be fully functioning, and strive to really experience life, not just be passive participants. At the same time, we must also be sensitive to the needs of others.

Reaching High Pope Francis greets residents of the Varginha shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The leader of the Catholic Church is known for his humility and commitment to helping the poor. He is the type of person Maslow might have called a “self-actualizer,” or one who strives to achieve his full potential.

AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano

Rogers highlighted the importance of self-concept, which refers to a person’s knowledge of her own strengths, abilities, behavior patterns, and temperament. Problems arise when a person’s self-concept is incongruent with, or does not correspond to, her experiences in the world (Rogers, 1959). If a woman believes she is kind and sociable but fails to get along with most people in her life, this incongruence will produce tension and confusion. Rogers also proposed that people often develop an ideal self, which is the self-concept a person fervently strives to achieve. Problems arise when the ideal self is unattainable or incongruent with one’s self-concept, a topic we will discuss further in Chapter 14 (Rogers, 1959).

Conditional Love? Amy Chua poses with her daughters at home in New Haven, Connecticut. This Yale law professor is best-known for writing Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, a book about cross-cultural parenting differences. Chua never allowed her children to participate in play dates, select their after-school activities, or receive any grade lower than an A. When one daughter behaved in an “extremely disrespectful” way, Chua called her “garbage” (Chua, 2011, January 8). This type of response lacks what Rogers called unconditional positive regard, or total acceptance of a child regardless of her behavior.

Erin Patrice O’Brien

Like Freud, Rogers believed caregivers play a vital role in the development of personality and self-concept. Ideally, caregivers should show unconditional positive regard, which is the total acceptance of a child regardless of her behavior. According to Rogers, people need to feel totally accepted and valued for who they are, not what they do. Caregivers who place too much emphasis on rules, morals, and values, ignoring a child’s innate goodness, can cause the child to experience conditions of worth. When our behaviors are judged by others to be bad or wrong, we feel unworthy, so we may try to please others by hiding or repressing these “unacceptable” behaviors and emotions. Seeking approval from others, we deny our true selves, and anxiety is ever-present in our lives. As caregivers, it is important to show children that we value them all the time, not just when they obey us and act the way we want them to. Of course, children behave in ways we dislike; but parents should love their children unconditionally, because it is the behavior that is unacceptable, not the child.

Taking Stock: An Appraisal of the Humanistic Theories

Let’s step back and review the potential weaknesses of the humanistic approach. For humanistic and psychoanalytic theories alike, creating operational definitions can be challenging. How can you use the experimental method to test a subjective approach whose concepts are open to interpretation (Schultz & Schultz, 2013)? Imagine submitting a research proposal that included two randomly assigned groups of children: one group whose parents were instructed to show them unconditional positive regard and the other group whose parents were told to instill conditions of worth. The proposal would never amount to a real study, not only because it raises ethical issues, but because it would be impossible to control the experimental conditions. Another problem with unconditional positive regard in particular is that constantly praising, attempting to boost self-esteem, and withholding criticism can be counterproductive. In some cases, we run the risk of “fostering narcissism,” or another unproductive characteristic of elevated self-esteem such as aggression (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, & Vohs, 2003). Finally, humanism almost completely ignores the negative aspects of human nature evident in war, greed, abuse, and aggression (Burger, 2011). And while it is important to recognize that humans have great potential to grow and move forward, we should not discount the developmental impact of early experiences. In spite of these weaknesses, the humanistic perspective has led to a less negative and more balanced view of human nature, influencing approaches to parenting, education, and psychotherapy. Its legacy is alive and well in the emerging field of positive psychology (Chapter 12).

In the next section, we will explore how personality is influenced by forces in the outside world. How do you think your interactions with the environment have shaped your personality?