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Humanistic Existentialism

Humanistic Existentialism

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Humanistic Existentialism. Existentialism. Big Questions… Are we free to make choices? What is the purpose of relationships with others? What is the meaning of life?. Introduction. experience is subjective make meaning out of it - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Humanistic Existentialism

Humanistic Existentialism

Page 2: Humanistic Existentialism

Big Questions…

Are we free to make choices?

What is the purpose of relationships with others?

What is the meaning of life?

Existentialism

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experience is subjective make meaning out of it

born in reaction to psychoanalysis and behaviorism (no freewill)

we determine our destiny and that the locus of control for our lives lies within

Introduction

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not a coherent theory of personality but a philosophy

derives from people such as Kierkegaard,Nietzsche, Jaspers, Heidegger, Sartre andBuber

Existentialism

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European: Binswanger, Boss, and Frankl

Frankl - student of Freud and developed logotherapy

logotherapy = therapy through meaning

existential vacuum = experienced when we do not busy ourselves with routine and work

Existentialism

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American: May and Yalom

Carl Rogers (Humanism) Fritz Perls (Gestalt Psychology)

common thread among these approaches is the focus on the conscious experiences

Existentialism

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emphasizes health rather than sickness

clients are not viewed as sick, but rather they are viewed as sick of life or awkward at living

Existentialism

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respect of individuals exploring new aspects of human behavior existence is not fixed we continually recreate ourselves through our

projects humanism = any philosophy which recognizes

the value and dignity of persons and makes people the measure of all things

Existentialism

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a) We have the capacity for self-awareness

b) Freedom and Responsibility

c) Striving for Identity and Relationship to Others

d) The Search for meaning

e) Anxiety as a condition for living

f) Awareness of death and nonbeing

Six Existential Propositions

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we are finite we can act, or not act we can choose, and thus we can shape our

destiny

we are basically alone, but we have the opportunity to relate to others

Capacity of Self-Awareness

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we are free to choose we must accept responsibility for our actions if we don't accept responsibility for our actions,

we act in what Sartre calls "bad faith" existential guilt = occurs when we choose not

to choose, or when we let others define or make choices for us

Freedom and Responsibility

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part of the human condition is aloneness

we cannot depend on anyone else for our own confirmation

define from within

Striving for Identity and Relationship to Others

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we alone must give a sense of meaning to life we alone must decide how we live when we are able to stand alone and dip within

ourselves for our own strength, our relationships with others are based on fulfillment, not our deprivation

Striving for Identity and Relationship to Others

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concerns the struggle for significance and purpose in life therapists would encourage clients to help create a value

system that is based on their way of being sometimes people experience meaninglessness we create meaning working, loving, and building life is not meaningful in and of itself, rather an individual

creates and discovers meaning

Search for Meaning

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when we make a decision or change, there will be anxiety there is normal and neurotic anxiety neurotic anxiety = anxiety that is out of proportion to the

situation existentialist therapists do not strive to eliminate normal

anxiety, rather life can not be lived, nor can death be faced without anxiety

"whenever you leave the sure basis of the now and become preoccupied with the future, you experience anxiety“ (Perls)

Anxiety as Condition of Living

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Rogers…

when we receive information which is inconsistent with our self-concept we experience anxiety

the more inaccurate yourself concept, the more likely you will have clashes with other people

to ward off anxiety, a person has to reinterpret the experience to make it congruent with their self-concept

Anxiety as a Conditioning of Living

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awareness of death as a basic condition gives significance to life

death means that we are finite and that we have a limited amount of time to do things

Awareness of Death and Nonbeing

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Reversal Theory (Apter, 1989) suggests that our conscious experience shifts

between telic and paratelic modes telic mode = consciousness is goal directed to the future paratelic mode = consciousness is direct to the

pleasure of the activity at hand present oriented

Existential Trends

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Csikszentmihalyi has argued for a psychology of optimal experience

autotelic experiences occur when you are completely absorbed by what you are doing

you are able to experience "flow“

Flow

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Abraham Maslow1908-1970

Click here

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Humanism (Allport, 1930)

1960s and 1970s

Third Force Psychology

Behaviorism◦ Narrow sterile view of human nature

Psychoanalytic◦ Focus on emotional disturbance

Maslow

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Brooklyn, New York

Intense drive to succeed

Unhappy childhood Father –”loved whiskey and woman” Mother – hatred for her, punishing

Scrawny, large nose Inferiority complex Academically inclined (IQ = 195)

Maslow

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Married at 20, his cousin Bertha fan of behaviorism in the 1930s Training in experimental psychology

PhD 1934 University of Wisconsin

Taught in New York in the 1930-1940s

1951 – 1969 Brandeis University

President of APA 1967 died 1970 massive heart attack

Maslow

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Hierarchy of Needs

Self-actualization (weakest) Esteem Belongingness Safety Physiological (strongest)

Instinctoid needs = hereditary component One need dominates personality

Maslow

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Vary in strength Higher needs appear later in life SA does not arise until midlife Lower needs called Deficient Needs

SA called Being Needs contentment, happiness, fulfillment

We work our way up the need chain Total satisfaction does not need to occur

Characteristics of Needs

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Physiological Needs food, shelter, water

Safety Needs If unsatisfied – infants and neurotic adults Manifest by over need for structure/order

Belongingness Needs close relationship with friend, lover, mate or

even being part of group

Hierarchy of Needs

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Esteem Needs

Two needs for esteem◦ From self and others

Derived from status, recognition or social success – feelings of self-worth

Failure to achieve – inferiority, helpless

Hierarchy of Needs

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Highest need (Being Need)

Maximal realization of potential

Takes many forms

Conditions to SA◦ Free from society constraints◦ Not distracted by lower needs◦ Secure in self-image◦ Realistic knowledge of self

Self Actualization

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Fasting until death

Religious figures

Exceptions to SA

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Innate need to know and understand

Exists outside the hierarchy of needs

Need to know stronger than need to understand

Appears in late infancy

SA depends on satisfaction of cognitive need

Cognitive Needs

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B-motivation Drive toward self-actualization Less than 1% of the population

D-motivation (deficiency) Drive toward every other need

Maslow

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Efficient perception of reality Acceptance of self and others Spontaneous and natural Focus on problems outside themselves Need for privacy/sense of detachment Fresh appreciation and Peak experiences Social Interest and Profound relations Democratic Creative Resistant to enculturation

Chacteristics of Self-actualizers

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Inadequate education

Improper child-rearing practices

Jonah complex The fear that maximizing our potential will

lead to a situation with which we will be unable to cope

Failure to SA

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Freewill

Balance of nature versus nurture Balance of past and present

Uniqueness of people

Emphasis on growth

Optimistic view

Maslow’s view on human nature

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Started with the study of Ruth Benedict and Max Wertheimer

For historical figures, he worked with biographical material

For living persons, he used interviews, free association and projective tests

Data collection not rigorous or controlled

Assessment of Maslow’s Theory

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He referred to his program as consisting of a serious of pilot studies.

He is describing an ideal, but how did he arrive at this conclusion?

Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) Shostrom (1964) Self-report, 150 pairs of statements

Assessment

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Positively correlated with Emotional health, creativity, academic

achievement, autonomy, racial tolerance

Negatively correlated with Alcoholism, neuroticism, depression and

hypochondriasis

POI scores increase gradually with age

POI

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Ryan and Deci, 2000

People have an innate tendency to express their interests, exercise their interests, develop their capabilities and overcome challenges

Three basic needs: Competence- mastery of tasks Autonomy – freedom to act on one’s choices Relatedness – feeling connected with others

Self-determination Theory

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"studies the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive."

"to find and nurture genius and talent” "to make life more fullfilling” not to cure mental illness

Martin Seligman the father of positive psychology

Positive Psychology

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Carl Rogers1902-1987

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Originated client-centered or person-centered therapy

Believes we are rational beings ruled by a conscious perception or our selves and our experiential world

Focus on the present

Inborn tendency to self-actualize

Carl Rogers

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Oak Park, Illinois Strict religious background

◦ Suppression of displays of emotions◦ Virtue of hard work

Had little social life outside his family Competitive with his brother Felt lonely – inspired his theory of

personality

Started with agriculture then to theology Swung from fundamentalist to liberal

Rogers

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PhD – 1931 1940 – moved from clinical to academia Ohio State University 1945 – 1957: University of Chicago 1957-1963: University of Wisconsin

APA President 1946

Received APA’s Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award and Distinguished Professional Contribution Award

Rogers

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Self at the core of personality We are motivated to self-actualize

Actualization tendency Emcompasses all physiological and

psychological needs

Actualization begins in womb Responsible for maturation Is genetically determined

Rogers

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Full development is not automatic

Involves struggle and pain

Organismic valuing process The process by which we judge experiences

in terms of their value for fostering or hindering our actualization and growth

Rogers

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reality of our environment depends on our perception of it

perception is subjective

Phenomenology (experiential inner world)

The only reality we can be sure of is our inner perception of reality

Our inner reality is private and only we can know it

Rogers

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Need for positive regard Acceptance, love and approval from others

Lack of it thwarts SA and development of self

Unconditional Positive Regard Love that is independent of behavior

Reciprocal influence – when we give love to others, it come back to us

Development of the Self

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Conditions of worth A belief that we are worthy of approval only

when we express desirable behaviors and attitudes and refrain from expressing those that bring disapproval from others

Conditional positive regard Approval love or acceptance granted only

when a person expresses desirable behaviors attitudes

Rogers

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Incongruence A discrepancy between a person’s self-

concept and aspects of his or her experiences

“We should love everyone” Then feel hatred towards another

Results in anxiety

To decrease the anxiety, we deny the hatred

Rogers

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Psychological adjustment is the result of compatibility between our self-concept and our experiences

Aspects of self are not denied or distorted

Goal – all facets of the self are developed and become a fully functioning person

leading the “good life”

Rogers

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All aspects of self are developed

Awareness of experience◦ Not defensive, reality not distorted◦ Self-concept is not threatened◦ Open to Positive and Negative Experiences◦ Wider range of emotions

Fully functioning people

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Fresh appreciation of experience◦ Experiences cannot be predicted◦ We participate in fully in experience

Trust in one’s own behavior and feelings◦ Trust own reactions rather than being guided by

someone’s judgments◦ Nothing is threatening, all is experienced◦ Trust the emotional and intuitive side rather than

the intellectual

Fully Functioning People

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Freedom of choice◦ Power in knowing future depends on choices

Creativity and spontaneity

Continual need to grow, maximize oneself Rogers used the word “actualizing” not

“actualized”

The latter implies a static personality

Fully Functioning People

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Freewill Nurture Present experiences Uniqueness balanced with universality Growth Optimism

Rogers on Human Nature

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Rogers in ActionThe Gloria Session

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Link 1 Link 2 Link 3

What do you think about the difference between the two therapists?

The Gloria Session – Fritz Perls