Chapter 13 Experience Existence and the Meaning of Life Humanistic and Positive Psychology 1 Objectives Discuss the main issues of humanistic psychology Discuss positive psychology 2 Humanistic Psychology Goal overcome the paradox of studying humans Humans are aware we re being studied Implications of self awareness Reflective thinking Creativity Happiness Self critism Free will 3 Phenomenology Awareness is Everything Phenomenology one s conscious experience of the world everything a person hears feels and thinks At the center of humanity Central insight of this theory Phenomenology is psychologically more important than the world itself Basis of free will 4 Phenomenology Awareness is Everything We do not see things as they are We see them as we are Talmud It is not things in themselves that trouble us but our opinions of them Epictetus I do not react to some absolute reality but to my perception of this reality It is this perception which for me is reality Carl Rogers 5 Phenomenology Awareness is Everything Construal a person s particular experience of the world Everyone s is different Form the basis of how you live your life Choosing your construal interpretation of life is how you achieve free will 6 Optimistic Humanism Rogers and Maslow Began with previous assumptions Phenomenology is central People have free will Added another crucial idea People are basically good Have innate need to improve ourselves Opposite of Freud Note skipping pg 443 448 7 Optimistic Humanism Self Actualization Actualization need to maintain and enhance life Goal of existence is to satisfy this need Maslow Hierarchy of needs how human motivation is characterized 8 Maslow The Hierarchy of Needs Practical applications Career choice What does the career meet Employee motivation Feel more secure before showing imagination Understand happiness in different cultures Financial status more important in poorer countries Home life more important in richer country 9 Rogers The Fully Functioning Person Definition perceives the world accurately without neurotic distortion and takes responsibility for choices clearly aware of reality and yourself Face the world without fear or self doubt Actual vs ideal self Importance of unconditional positive regard Rogers vs Maslow Conditions of worth Limit your freedom to act and think 10 Optimistic Humanism Psychotherapy Goal help the client become a fully functioning person The therapist develops genuine relationship with the client provides unconditional positive regard 11 Optimistic Humanism Psychotherapy Jobs of the therapist Help the client perceive her own thoughts and feelings Make the client feel appreciated Goals Allow insight Remove conditions of worth 12 Optimistic Humanism Psychotherapy Efficacy research Real and ideal self perceptions become more closely aligned after thearpy Criticism of research Both real and ideal selves change with therapy Having closely aligned real and ideal selves is not always a good measure of psychological adjustment 13 Personal Constructs Kelly Personal constructs Based in how one s mind assembles various construal s of the world bipolar adjectives Ex good vs bad fat vs thin outgoing vs shy Help to determine how new experiences are construed Each person has a unique set 15 Personal Constructs Kelly Role Construct Repertory Test Rep Identify three important people and how two of them are similar and different from the third Repeat with ideas traits etc Similar Figures Similarity Construct Construct Self Father Self Mother Mother Father Dissimiliar Figure Constrasting 16 Personal Constructs Kelly Chronically accessible constructs Easily brought to mind Ex Failure vs success Sources of constructs Sociality corollary understanding another person means understanding his personal construct system 17 Positive Psychology Health means more than the absence of disease Traditional psychology overemphasizes psychopathology and malfunction and ignores the question of the meaning of life The focus is on positive phenomena Examples Positive experiences Individual strengths 18 Positive Psychology Flow Csikszentmihalyi Optimal experience how to make the most of your moment to moment experiences Autotelic activities enjoyable for their own sake Flow subjective experience of these activities Happens when challenge matches skill level Tremendous concentration Total lack of distractibility Mood that is slightly elevated Time seems to pass very quikly 19 Self Determination Theory Deci and Ryan Three central intrinsic goals Autonomy Competence Relatedness Research support for advantages of following intrinsic goals well being vitality positiv emotions depression negative emotions anxiety illness 20 Question 1 According to optimistic humanism the goal of life is to a understand other people b self actualize or maintain and enhance life c enhance one s social experience or Mitwelt d achieve enlightenment 21 Question 2 Which of the following is true about flow or autotelic experience a People who spend more time in flow tend to be depressed b During flow time seems to pass very slowly c People experience a very positive state during flow d In order to experience flow a person s skills must meet the challenge of the activity 22