Abraham Maslow Theory - Personality Analysis

Personality Analysis

May 3, 2013

Personality Analysis

Would an individual have his/her behavior be scrutinized by a situation that they are in or is a individuals personality the reason for their behavior? A parent on the sidelines watching their child play high school football could be aggressive, but is it okay to assume that is that individual’s personality? Behavior could be affected by our personality as well as our current or past environment. The humanistic/existential theorists, Maslow, Rogers, and May used a more holistic approach to humans. Maslow explained that, “it assumes that the whole person is constantly being motivated by one need or another and that people have the potential to grow toward psychology health (Feist & Feist, 2009).” Some dispositional theorists were Gordon Allport, Hans Eyesenck, Robert McCrae, and Paul Costa. Allport defined a personal disposition as “a generalized neuropsychic structure (peculiar to the individual), with the capacity to render many stimuli functionally equivalent, and to initiate and guide consistent (equivalent) forms of adaptive behavior (Feist & Feist, 2009).” People have different personalities and that is what makes them different, it also means that the learning style will be different as well.

Describe the Role of personality

Humanistic/Existential Theory

Abraham Maslow’s personality theory was the Holistic-Dynamic Theory. Maslow believed that “to attain self-actualization, people must satisfy lower level needs such as hunger, safety, love, and esteem (Feist & Feist, 2009).” An individual who has attained self-actualization is open to pursuing new ideas and opportunities. They continue to take advantage of improving the quality of their life. Carl Rogers, another humanistic psychologist, “agreed with the main assumptions of Abraham Maslow, but added that for a person to “grow,” they need an environment that provides them with genuineness, acceptance, and empathy (McLeod, 2007).” Rogers developed what is called person-centered therapy he basically that people are essentially good, and that they have a will to accomplish their true potential. Rollo May, an American psychologist introduced the existential theory is more concerned with the meaning of human life. Humanistic theory sees people as good, and existential theory sees people’s nature as impartial. A person acts good or bad is simply a matter of their own personal choice. Roll May stated that, “Consciousness and choices are interrelated. As people make more free choices, they gain more insight into who they are; that is, they develop a greater sense of being (Feist & Feist, 2009).”

Dispositional Theory

Comparable

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