Humanistic approach to education in modern conditions. Humanistic approach in social work: theoretical and methodological aspect

In the first half of this century, behaviorist and psychoanalytic approaches predominated in psychology. In 1962, a group of psychologists founded the Association for Humanistic Psychology. They proposed humanistic psychology as a “third force”, forming provisions alternative to the other two approaches. In defining its mission, the association adopted 4 principles as its basis:

1. Human experiences are of primary interest. People are not just objects of research. They should be described and explained by their own subjective views of the world, their self-perception and self-esteem. The fundamental question that everyone must face is: “Who am I?” To find out how an individual is trying to answer it, the psychologist must become his partner in the search for the meaning of existence.

2. Priority areas of research are human choice, creativity and self-actualization. Humanistic psychologists reject the psychoanalytic approach, believing that a psychology based on distorted personalities can only be a distorted psychology. They also reject behaviorism as a psychology that denies consciousness and is based primarily on the study of lower organisms. People are not simply motivated by organic needs such as sex and aggression, or physiological needs such as hunger and thirst. They have a need to develop their potential and abilities. The criteria for mental health should be growth and self-actualization, not just ego control or adaptation to the environment.

3. Meaningfulness must precede objectivity in the selection of research tasks. Humanistic psychologists believe that psychological research is too often guided by the methods available rather than by the importance of the problem under study. They say that important human and social problems must be studied, even if this sometimes means using less rigorous methods. Although psychologists should try to be objective when collecting and interpreting observations, their choice of research topics can and should be guided by value criteria. In this sense, research is not value-free; psychologists should not pretend that values ​​are something they do not have or for which they must apologize.

4. The highest value belongs to human dignity. People are basically good. The purpose of psychology is to understand a person, not to predict or control him. Many humanistic psychologists believe that even calling a person a “test subject” is to demean his dignity as a full partner in the quest to understand the person’s personality.

Psychologists who share the values ​​of this association come from different theoretical platforms. For example, Gordon Allport was also a humanistic psychologist, and we have already noted that some psychoanalysts, such as Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Erik Erikson, held humanistic views of motivation that differed from Freud's. But it was the views of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow that took center stage in the humanistic movement.

Carl Rogers. Like Freud, Carl Rogers (1902-1987) developed his theory from work with clinical patients (Rogers, 1951, 1959, 1963, 1970). Rogers was struck by the inner tendency he observed in individuals to move toward growth, maturation, and positive change. He came to the conviction that the main force motivating the human body is the tendency to actualize all the body's abilities. A growing organism strives to realize its potential within the limits of its heredity. A person may not always clearly see which actions lead to growth and which lead to regression. But when the path is clear, the individual chooses to grow rather than regress. Rogers did not deny that there are other needs, including biological ones, but he considered them auxiliary to the improvement motive.

<Рис. Карл Роджерс полагал, что индивидуум обладает врожденной тенденцией к росту, достижению зрелости и позитивным изменениям. Он называл эту тенденцию тенденцией к актуализации.>

Rogers' belief in the primacy of actualization forms the basis of his non-directive, client-centered therapy. This psychotherapeutic method assumes that each individual has the motive and ability to change and that the individual himself is most competent to decide in which direction these changes should occur. In this case, the psychotherapist plays the role of a probing system, and the patient explores and analyzes his problems. This approach differs from psychoanalytic therapy, in which the therapist analyzes the patient's history to identify the problem and develop a course of treatment (see Chapter 16 for a discussion of different approaches to psychotherapy).

"I". Central to Rogers' theory of personality is the concept of "I". "I" or "the concept of self" (Rogers uses these terms interchangeably) became the cornerstone of his theory. The “I” includes all the ideas, perceptions and values ​​that characterize the “I”; it includes the awareness of “what I am” and “what I can.” This perceived “I”, in turn, influences a person’s perception of both the whole world and his behavior. For example, a woman who sees herself as strong and competent perceives and acts on the world very differently than a woman who sees herself as weak and worthless. The “concept of self” does not necessarily reflect reality: a person can be very successful and respected and still consider himself a failure.

According to Rogers, the individual evaluates each of his experiences from the point of view of his “concept of self.” People want to behave in ways that fit their self-image; sensations and feelings that are not consistent with the self-image pose a threat, and their access to consciousness may be blocked. This is essentially the same Freudian concept of repression, but for Rogers such repression is neither inevitable nor permanent (Freud would say that repression is inevitable and that some aspects of an individual's experiences remain in the unconscious forever).

The more areas of experience a person denies because they do not correspond to his “concept of self,” the deeper the gap between self and reality and the greater the possibility of maladjustment. An individual whose “concept of self” does not correspond to his personal feelings and experiences has to defend himself from the truth, since the truth leads to anxiety. If this discrepancy becomes too great, defenses can break down, leading to severe anxiety and other emotional disturbances. In a well-adjusted person, on the contrary, the “concept of self” is consistent with thoughts, experiences and behavior; The “I” is not rigid, it is flexible and can change as it masters new ideas and experiences.

In Rogers' theory there is another “I” - the ideal one. We all have an idea of ​​what we would like to be. The closer the ideal “I” is to the real one, the more fulfilling and happy a person becomes. A large discrepancy between the ideal and real “I” makes a person unhappy and dissatisfied. Thus, two types of incongruity can develop: one between the Self and experienced reality, the other between the Self and the ideal Self. Rogers has made several hypotheses about the development of these inconsistencies. In particular, he believed that people began to function more fully if they cultivated an unconditional positive attitude. This means that they feel valued by their parents and others, even though their feelings, attitudes, and behavior are less than ideal. If parents offer only a conditionally positive attitude, appreciating the child only when he behaves, thinks or feels correctly, the child’s “concept of self” is disrupted. For example, feelings of competition and hostility towards a younger brother or sister are natural, but parents do not allow them to hit and usually punish them for such actions. The child must somehow integrate this experience into his “concept of self.” He may decide that he is doing something wrong and feel ashamed. He may decide that his parents don't love him and therefore feel rejected. Or he may deny his feelings and decide that he does not want to hit the baby. Each of these relationships contains a distortion of the truth. The third alternative is the easiest for the child to accept, but by doing so, he denies his real feelings, which then become unconscious. The more a person is forced to deny his own feelings and accept the values ​​of others, the more uncomfortable he feels. The best way for parents to do so is to acknowledge the child's feelings as they are, but explain why hitting is unacceptable.

<Рис. Согласно Роджерсу, люди, вероятно, будут функционировать более эффективно, если они будут получать безусловную положительную оценку, то есть если они будут чувствовать, что родители ценят их независимо от их чувств, взглядов и поведения.>

Dimensions of correspondence between the real and ideal selves. In Chapter 12, we described an assessment method called Q-classification, in which the assessor, or sorter, is given a set of cards, each containing statements about a personality (for example, “cheerful”), and asked to characterize the individual's personality by sorting the cards into piles. The evaluator puts cards with statements that are less characteristic of a given individual in a pile on the left, and with more characteristic ones on the right. Other statements are distributed into piles between them; Thus, each Q-component is assigned an indicator according to the pile in which it is placed. Q-classifications can be compared with each other by calculating the correlation between the indicators, thereby assessing how close the two Q-classifications are to each other.

Carl Rogers was the first to use the Q classification as a tool for studying the “concept of self.” The Q-set compiled by Rogers includes, for example, the following statements: “I am satisfied with myself,” “I have warm emotional relationships with others,” and “I do not trust my emotions.” In Rogers' procedure, the individual first sorts for himself as he actually is - for the real "I", then for the one he would like to be - the ideal "I". The correlation between these two sorts shows the discrepancy between the real and ideal self. A low or negative correlation corresponds to a large actual-ideal discrepancy, signifying feelings of low self-esteem and low personal worth.

By repeating this procedure several times during therapy, Rogers could evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy. In one study, the correlation between actual and ideal classifications of help-seeking individuals averaged 2.01 before treatment and 0.34 after treatment. The correlation was unchanged in a matched control group that did not receive therapy (Butler & Haigh, 1954). In other words, for these individuals, therapy significantly reduced the perceived discrepancy between their actual and ideal selves. Note that this could happen in two ways: the individual could change his idea of ​​the real self so that it becomes closer to the ideal self, or he could change his idea of ​​the ideal self so that it becomes more realistic. Therapy can cause both of these types of changes.

Abraham Maslow. The psychology of Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) echoes the psychology of Carl Rogers in many ways. Maslow first became interested in behaviorism and conducted research on sexuality and dominance in primates. He was already moving away from behaviorism when his first child was born, after which he noted that anyone observing a child could not be a behaviorist. He was influenced by psychoanalysis, but over time he began to criticize its theory of motivation and developed his own. In particular, he proposed a hierarchy of needs, rising from basic biological needs to more complex psychological motives that become important only after basic needs are satisfied (Figure 13.4). The needs of one level must be at least partially satisfied before the needs of the next level begin to significantly determine actions. If food and security are difficult to obtain, then the satisfaction of these needs will dominate a person's actions and higher motives will not have much importance. Only when organic needs can be easily satisfied will the individual have time and energy for aesthetic and intellectual interests. Artistic and scientific endeavors do not thrive in societies where people must struggle for food, shelter, and safety. The highest motive - self-actualization - can be realized only after all other needs are satisfied.

7. Self-actualization needs: find self-realization and realize your potential.

6. Aesthetic needs: symmetry, order, beauty.

5. Cognitive needs: to know, understand, explore.

4. Self-esteem needs: to achieve, to be competent, to receive approval and recognition.

3. The need for intimacy and love: to be attached to others, to be accepted, to belong to someone.

2. Security Need: To feel protected and safe.

1. Physiological needs: hunger, thirst, etc.

Rice. 13.4. Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Needs lower in the hierarchy must be at least partially satisfied before needs higher in the hierarchy become significant sources of motivation (according to Maslow, 1970).

Maslow decided to study self-actualizers - men and women who have achieved extraordinary use of their potential. He began by studying the lives of prominent historical figures such as Spinoza, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Albert Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt. [Jefferson Thomas - third President of the United States, primary author of the Declaration of Independence; Jane Addams - American social reformer and pacifist, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 1931 (shared with Nicholas Murray Butler); Roosevelt Anna Eleanor - diplomat, humanitarian, wife of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. - Approx. transl.] In this way he was able to create a composite portrait of a self-actualizer. The distinctive characteristics of such people are listed in table. 13.1 along with some of the behaviors that Maslow believed could lead to self-actualization.

<Рис. Альберт Эйнштейн и Элеонора Рузвельт принадлежали к числу людей, которых Маслоу относил к самоактуализаторам.>

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Preconscious memory
Of everything that is happening around us now, of all the accumulated knowledge, of all the memories of the past, at any given moment we can only focus on a small

Unconscious
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Psychotropic drugs
In addition to meditation and hypnosis, medications (narcotics) can be used to achieve altered states of consciousness.

Since ancient times people have used
Depressants

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Stimulants

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Cannabis

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Experimental data

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Disputes about evidence

In 1985 and 1986, the Journal of Parapsychology published a comprehensive analysis of the ganzfeld work; the analysis centered on a debate between Ray Hyman, a cognitive psychologist and steam critic
[In addition to the known meaning of the word “anecdote,” it also has another meaning: “episode from private life.” Apparently both meanings are meant here. - Approx. ed.] In consciousness p

Memory consolidation during REM sleep
The ability to store incoming information in memory in order to reproduce it later is called memory consolidation. [Memory consolidation is usually understood as strengthening traces

Subjective need for sleep
Harvey Babkoff, Bar-Ilan University Ratings of subjective sleep need are just one of the ways scientists are using to study the transition from sleep.

Paradoxes of the need for sleep
Derk-Jan Dijk, Harvard Medical School The alarm clock wakes you up at seven in the morning. You are still very sleepy despite a good night's sleep. But now it’s ten o’clock in the evening.

Approaches to learning
As we remember from the first chapter, there are three most important approaches in psychology: behaviorist, cognitive and biological. There is no less learning in learning research than in any other

Pavlov's experiments
In Pavlov's basic experiment, a fistula is first inserted into a dog's salivary gland to measure the amount of saliva produced. Then a bowl is placed in front of the dog, into which it is automatically

Some phenomena and their applications
The discovery of a large number of phenomena greatly strengthened the universality of classical conditioning and made it an important form of learning.

Second order conditioning.
Predictability and cognitive factors

So far we have analyzed classical conditioning only in relation to external or environmental events: one stimulus is regularly followed by another, and the body begins to adapt to them.
Biological limitations

We have already mentioned in this chapter that different species learn the same thing through different mechanisms. The phenomena related to this were discovered by ethologists - bio
Operant conditioning

In classical conditioning, a conditioned response often resembles a normal response to an unconditioned stimulus. Salivation, for example, is a normal dog reaction to food. But if you want
Law of Effect

The study of operant conditioning began at the turn of the century with a series of experiments by Thorndike (E. L. Thorndike, 1898). Thorndike, who was greatly influenced by Darwinian theory
Skinner's experiments

B. F. Skinner is responsible for a number of changes in ideas about what operant conditioning is and how to study it. His method of studying operant conditioning was
There are a number of phenomena that significantly expand the scope of operant conditioning and indicate its possible application to human behavior.

Conditional n
Conditioning with aversive stimuli

We talked about reinforcement as if it were always positive (food, for example). But negative or unpleasant events, such as electric shock or unbearable noise, are also often used
Control and cognitive factors

So far we have analyzed classical conditioning only in relation to external or environmental events: one stimulus is regularly followed by another, and the body begins to adapt to them.
Our analysis of operant conditioning emphasized the role of environmental factors: the response was invariably followed by a reinforcing event, and the organism learned to associate this response.

As with classical conditioning, biology places limits on what can be learned through operant conditioning. These restrictions concern the relationships between p
Integrated learning

According to the cognitive approach, the main issue of learning - and intelligence in general - lies in the ability of the organism to mentally represent various aspects of the world and operate with these
Cognitive maps and abstract concepts

One of the first proponents of the cognitive approach to learning was Edward Tolman. He studied how rats learned their way through a complex maze (Tolman, 1932). In his opinion, a rat, etc.
Insight in learning

In the recent past, while many scientists have attempted to study complex learning in species very distant from humans (rats and pigeons), others have found that the best evidence for complex learning is
Prejudice

In animal studies, learning with absolutely predictable relationships takes advantage. For example, in most experiments on classical conditioning, the control system in
Structural changes

Scientists believe that the neural basis of learning lies in structural changes in the nervous system, and they are increasingly looking for these changes at the level of neural connections. To appreciate these
Cellular changes in simple forms of learning

So far we have not been very specific about what kind of structural changes increase the effectiveness of synapses. There are several possibilities. One of them is an increase in res
The role of neural systems in fear conditioning

Most recent research on the neural basis of learning has focused on neuroanatomical structures (which may consist of hundreds or thousands of
N. J. Mackintosh, University of Cambridge John Watson, the father of behaviorism, believed that infants have only a few innate fears, and of these the two most important are fear

Phobias are an innate defense mechanism
Michael S. Fanslow, University of California, Los Angeles The emotional experience of fear can be very powerful. Why does fear exist? The reason must be sought in

Three stages of memory
Let's say one morning you are introduced to a student and told that her name is Barbara Cohn. That afternoon you see her again and say something like, “You are Barbara Cohn. We met with

Short-term and long-term memory
The three stages of memory proceed differently in different situations. Memory distinguishes between situations when you need to remember material for a few seconds, and situations when you need to remember material for a few seconds.

Different types of memory for different types of information
Until about the last decade, psychologists generally believed that the same memory system was used for all types of material. It was assumed, for example, that the same debt

Coding
To encode information into short-term memory, you need to focus your attention on it. Because we selectively direct attention (see Chapter 5), short-term memory will be

Storage
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about short-term memory is its very limited capacity. On average, its limit is seven elements plus or minus two (7 ± 2). Some people may

Playback
Now let us again imagine the contents of short-term memory as an active part of consciousness. Intuition suggests that access to such information is immediate. You don't need to get to it

Short-term memory and thinking
Short-term memory plays an important role in thinking. When consciously trying to solve a problem, we often use short-term memory as a mental workspace: we use

Transfer from short-term memory to long-term memory
As we learned from the previous section, short-term memory has two main functions. First of all, it stores material needed for a short time and serves as a workspace for calculations.

Long-term memory
Long-term memory is needed when information needs to be retained either for just a few minutes (for example, a remark made earlier in a conversation) or for the entire duration of a

Coding
Encoding of meaning The predominant representation of verbal material in long-term memory is neither auditory nor visual; it is based on the values ​​of the element

Playback
Forgetting in long-term memory often occurs due to loss of access to information rather than loss of information itself. That is, poor memory is often explained by the inability to reproduce

Storage
It is unlikely that unsuccessful recall was the only cause of forgetting. Just because forgetting sometimes occurs due to unsuccessful retrieval does not mean that it always occurs.

Encoding and Reproduction Interactions
In describing the encoding stage, we noted that the operations performed during encoding (for example, comprehension) facilitate subsequent reproduction. Probability of successful reproduction

Emotional Factors in Forgetting
So far we have treated memory as if it were divorced from emotion. But don't we remember (or forget) material because of its emotional content? This

Memory in amnesia
Much has been learned about implicit memory thanks to people suffering from amnesia. Amnesia is called partial memory loss. It can occur for a variety of reasons, including

Various memory storages
Based on work with patients suffering from various types of brain damage, researchers have suggested that both explicit and implicit memory manifest themselves in a variety of forms.

Implicit memory is normal in humans
Experiments involving only normal subjects also support the assumption of the existence of separate explicit and implicit memory systems. In many of them, as

Enlargement and memory capacity
For most people, the capacity of short-term memory cannot exceed 7 ± 2 elements. However, it is possible to expand the size of one unit and thereby increase the number of elements found

Images and coding
We noted earlier that recall of unrelated items can be improved by adding meaningful connections between them during encoding; Such connections will further contribute to

Conceptualization and coding
We have seen that the more we delve into the content of the elements being remembered, the easier it will be to subsequently reproduce or recognize them. This happens because the more connections

Context and Reproduction
Context is a powerful factor in recall, so memory can be improved by restoring the context in which memory occurred. If your psychology lectures always fail

Organization
We know that organizing material during encoding improves subsequent recall. This principle can be of great practical importance: it can be stored and reproduced

Reproduction trainability
Another way to improve recall is to practice it, which means asking yourself questions about what you are trying to learn. Let's say you have 2 hours to learn in

Pvchuk method
One of the most well-known methods of improving memory is the PVCHUK method. It is designed to improve students' ability to learn and retain educational material (Thomas &

Productive memory
In previous chapters we distinguished between bottom-up and top-down processes; Bottom-up processes are controlled by input signals, and top-down processes are controlled by preliminary input.

Stereotypes
Another means of filling, or constructing, memories is social stereotypes. A stereotype is a set of conclusions about personality traits or physical characteristics of an entire category

Can memory loss be cured with plants?
It has been called the "elixir of youth" and the "partner of memory"; its effectiveness was recognized by both ancient healers and modern scientists. Nowadays it attracts wide attention

Is subconscious memory a dangerous belief?
Elizabeth F. Loftus, University of Washington In our world, transformed by science, pseudoscientific beliefs are still alive. Such extravagant and dangerous beliefs were held by

Recovered or false memories?
Katie Pezdek, Claremont Graduate University In recent years, questions have increasingly arisen regarding the veracity of an adult's memories of his childhood.

Language levels
The use of speech has two aspects - generation and understanding. When generating speech, we start with mental pronunciation, somehow translate it into a sentence, and finally create a sound

Units and processes of speech
Taking the above as a basis, we will consider the units and processes involved at each level of speech. In reviewing relevant material, we will take the position of someone who understands

The influence of context on speech understanding and production
As a summary in Fig. Figure 9.3 shows a modified version of the description of speech levels. It can be seen that the generation of speech occurs in the reverse order relative to its understanding.

What is being purchased?
Development occurs at all three levels of language. It begins at the level of phonemes, continues at the level of words and other morphemes, and then moves to the level of phrasal units, or syntax.

Learning processes
Now that we have an idea of ​​what children acquire in the process of acquiring speech, we can ask how they acquire it. Learning plays a role here; in

Congenital factors
As noted, part of our knowledge of speech is innate. There are, however, conflicting opinions about what kind of knowledge and to what extent is innate. One and

Concepts and Categorization: The Building Blocks of Thinking
Thought can be thought of as the “language of the mind.” In fact, more than one such language is possible. One of the modes of thinking corresponds to the stream of phrases that we “hear in our minds”;

Functions of concepts
A concept is a representative of a certain class - it is a certain set of characteristics that we associate with this class. Our concept of “cat,” for example, includes, in addition to

Prototypes
The features associated with the concept fall into two groups. One group includes features that characterize the prototype of the concept; these are the characteristics that belong to the best

Hierarchies of concepts
In addition to knowing the characteristics of concepts, we also know how concepts are related to one another. For example, "apples" is a representative (or subset) of the more general concept "fruit"; "small

Different categorization processes
We constantly make decisions that involve categorization: we categorize every time we identify an object, diagnose a problem (“It’s an electrical failure,

Concept acquisition
How is the multitude of concepts that we possess acquired? Some concepts may be innate, such as the concepts of “time” and “space.” Other concepts have to be taught

Neurological mechanisms of concept formation and categorization
Although we have previously emphasized the differences between well-defined and loose concepts, research conducted at the neurological level shows that there are important differences

Deductive Reasoning
Logical rules: In logic, the most rigorous proofs have deductive validity; this means that the conclusion of a proof cannot be false if true

Inductive Reasoning
Rules of Logic: Logicians point out that a proof can be good even if it lacks deductive validity. This kind of evidence is powerful

Creative thinking
At the beginning of this chapter, we mentioned that in addition to thinking in the form of statements, a person can also think in the form of images, especially visual images. This kind of visual thinking and

Nervous basis of images
Perhaps the most compelling evidence for the similarity of imagery to perception would be that both are mediated by the same brain structures. In recent years

Visual creativity
There are countless stories of scientists and artists who created their greatest works through visual thinking (Shepard & Cooper, 1982). Although these are

Thinking in Action: Problem Solving
For many people, problem solving represents thinking itself. When solving problems, we strive for a goal without having a ready means to achieve it. We must break the goal into sub-goals and, in

Problem Solving Strategies
Much of what we know about goal subdivision strategies comes from the research of Newell and Simon (e.g., Newell & Simon, 1972). Typically, these researchers ask

Problem View
The ability to solve a problem depends not only on the strategy for decomposing it, but also on how we imagine it. Sometimes it is best to present it in the form of a statement

Experts and novices
In a given subject area (for example, physics, geography, or chess), experts solve problems in a qualitatively different way than novices. This is due to differences in the used

Computer modelling
To find out how people solve problems, researchers often use computer modeling. By asking subjects to think out loud when solving complex problems, they use

Localization of speech in the brain
Given that innate factors play a large role in language acquisition, it is not surprising that certain areas of the human brain are specialized for speech. In Chapter 2 in the section “Act

How language can determine thinking: linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism
Dan I. Slobin, University of California, Berkeley Nobody disputes the thesis that language and thought have a significant influence on each other. However, there are disagreements

The influence of thinking on language
Elinor Roche, University of California, Berkeley Does language place us within a particular worldview? According to the most effective formulation of the language child hypothesis

Reinforcement and incentive motivation
As a rule, a motive directs behavior towards a specific stimulus that causes pleasure or alleviates an unpleasant state: food, drink, sex, etc. In other words, a stimulus

Drug addiction and reinforcement
For some people, addiction becomes a strong motivator. Craving for certain drugs, such as opiates (heroin or morphine), psychostimulants (amphetamine or cocaine) or synthetics

Homeostasis and needs
Our life depends on maintaining the constancy of certain things. If your brain temperature changed by more than a few degrees, you would quickly lose consciousness. If

Temperature and homeostasis
If your brain temperature drops 10°C, you will lose consciousness. To make matters worse, if your temperature rises more than 10°C above normal, you will die. You can find

Thirst as a homeostatic process
Thirst quenching is an important homeostatic process. Thirst is a psychological manifestation of the body's need for water. After being without water or exercising in the hot sun,

Interaction of homeostasis and stimuli during hunger
Whatever types of food we choose, it is clear that we need to eat in order to maintain energy homeostasis in our bodies. Body cells burn fuel to produce energy

Physiological signs of hunger
You may have noticed that when you are hungry, your stomach sometimes growls. At such moments, the muscles of the stomach walls contract, which is why its contents sometimes make uneven movements.

Obesity
We have emphasized the role of homeostasis processes in regulating hunger, but some deviations from homeostasis are observed in human eating behavior. Some people's body weight is not as

Anorexia and bulimia
Obesity is the most common food consumption problem, but there is also an opposite problem, which manifests itself in the form of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Both of these disorders are associated with pathological

Sex (gender) and sexuality
Like hunger and thirst, sexual desire is a very powerful motivator. However, between the sexual motive and motives associated with body temperature, thirst and hunger, there is

Early sexual development
Most individuals, in order to have satisfying social and sexual experiences in adult life, need to develop an adequate gender identity, that is, for men

Hormones and environment
Much of what we know about the prenatal effects of hormones and the early environment on humans comes from studies of people who, for various reasons, were exposed to prenatal birth.

Sexuality in adults
During puberty, changes occur in the body's hormonal system, which usually begin between the ages of 11 and 14 (see Figure 10.8). Hygiene secretion begins

Sexual orientation
An individual's sexual orientation is the extent to which he or she is attracted to people of the opposite sex and/or people of the same sex. Like Alfred Kinsey, a research pioneer

Imprinting
Some motivational manifestations are instinctively directed towards their stimulating objects. In psychology, the concept of instinct, meaning an innate predisposition to behave

Research shows that people are born this way, not made this way.
J. Michael Bailey, Northwestern University For many years, most psychologists believed that homosexuality was the result of poor upbringing.

Sexual orientation is not innate
Daryl J. Boehm, Cornell University Dr. Bailey and I agree that there is indeed a connection or correlation between biological variables and sexual orientation

Components of emotions
Emotion is a complex (mental) state that arises in response to certain affectively colored experiences. Intense emotions contain at least six common components

The Power of Emotions
What is the relationship between increased physiological excitability and the subjective experience of emotion? In particular, is our perception of our own arousal an integral part of our

Differentiation of emotions
It is clear that autonomic arousal contributes to the strength of emotional experience. But how is it related to the differentiation of emotions? Is there one pattern of physiological activity

Strength and differentiation of emotions
Obviously, the strength of the emotional experience depends on our assessment of the situation. Being in a car that has rolled down a steep slope, we experience fear, if not horror; but if we know

Evaluation options
In part (c) of Fig. Figure 11.4 presents the third major theory of emotions, which we will call appraisal theory. In fact, these are several theories according to which it is people's assessment of the situation

Emotion without a cognitive component
Is it possible that cognitive appraisal is not involved in emotion? When, for example, a rat receives an electric shock for the first time, it seems to have nothing to think about and its emotional reaction is deprived.

Communication of emotions in facial expressions
Some facial expressions seem to have universal meaning, regardless of the culture in which the individual grew up. The universal expression of anger, for example, is characterized by a rush of blood

Brain localization
Emotional expressions that are universal (such as those associated with joy, anger, and disgust) are highly specific: for expressing certain emotions and

Strength and differentiation of emotions
Feedback Hypothesis: The idea that, in addition to its communicative function, facial expression contributes to the experience of emotions is sometimes called the feedback hypothesis.

Attention and learning: mood dependence
Mood is a stable emotional state. When experiencing an emotion, we pay more attention to those events that correspond to our mood. As a result, we are talking about such

The influence of mood on evaluation and judgment
Our emotional mood influences our assessment of other people. There are many examples of this in everyday life. For example, when we are in a good mood, a friend's habit is to constantly look

Aggression as an emotional reaction
Emotions cause not only general reactions, but also specific actions. We may laugh when happy, recoil when scared, become aggressive when angry, and so on. Among these

Aggression as an innate need
According to Freud's early psychoanalytic theory, many of our actions are determined by instincts, in particular the sexual instinct. When the expression of these instincts is suppressed (frust

Aggression as a reaction acquired through learning
Social learning theory studies social interaction between people, but its origins lie in behaviorist studies of learning in animals (some of which have been discussed

Expression of aggression and catharsis
Research attempting to distinguish between aggression as a need and aggression as a learned response often turns to the phenomenon of catharsis (release from

Using autonomic reactions in a lie detector
If autonomic arousal is part of an emotion, and the experience of emotion is a likely consequence of lying, then from the presence of autonomic arousal we can conclude that the person is lying.

The benefits of positive emotions
Barbara L. Fredrickson, University of Michigan What's so good about positive emotions? This question seems almost stupid, because at first glance the answer is obvious: positive

The benefits of negative emotions
Gerald L. Clore, University of Illinois, Champaign Feelings of fear, sadness, guilt, or anger are unpleasant. Undoubtedly, in an ideal world there could be no negative emotions. Not true

If you were asked why one person is taller than another, you would probably attribute it to innate characteristics: a tall person inherited “taller genes” from his parents

Heritability
Now we are ready to ask the “natural” question: to what extent is the superiority of some students in exam scores over others due to the fact that the former are genetically more capable?

Interaction between personality and environment
Correlation of genotype and environment. From the very moment of birth, the influences of genes and environment are closely intertwined, shaping the personality of the individual. Parents provide their

Assessing Individual Differences
Objective assessment of individual differences, especially differences in cognitive and intellectual abilities, is widely used in many industrialized countries. In the initial sh

Characteristics of a good test?
Because tests and other analytical tools play an important practical and scientific role, it is necessary that they accurately measure what they are intended to measure, and that is, they must have

Assessment of intellectual abilities
The first attempt to create intelligence tests was made by Sir Francis Galton a century ago. The naturalist and mathematician Galton had an interest in individual differences.

Personality assessment
Personality can be defined as the distinctive and characteristic pattern of thinking, emotion and behavior that shapes an individual's personal style of interaction with his physical and social environment.

Latest theories of intelligence
Until the 1960s, the factor approach prevailed in intelligence research. However, with the development of cognitive psychology, with its emphasis on models of information processing (see Chapter 9), a new

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences
Howard Gardner (1983) developed his theory of multiple intelligences as a radical alternative to what he calls the "classical" view of intelligence as

Anderson's Theory of Intelligence and Cognitive Development
One of the criticisms of Gardner's theory indicates that a high level of ability related to any of the manifestations of intelligence that he identifies tends to

Sternberg's triarchic theory
Unlike Anderson's theory, Sternberg's triarchic theory considers individual experience and context, as well as the basic mechanisms of information processing. Sternberg's theory will include

Bioecological theory of Cesi
Some critics argue that Sternberg's theory is so multicomponent that its individual parts are inconsistent with each other (Richardson, 1986). Others note that this

Theories of Intelligence: Summary
The four theories of intelligence discussed in this section differ in several respects. Gardner attempts to explain the wide variety of adult roles found

Long-term study of personality
Only scientists who are able to work without immediate reward or who have selfless dedication to science undertake long-term research. When the work is planned for many

SAT and GRE Test Scores Are Accurate Measures of Intelligence
Douglas K. Detterman, Western Reserve University How can you tell if two measurements indicate the same thing? You calculate a statistical indicator, called

Why IQ, SAT and GRE Don't Measure General Intelligence
Stephen J. Ceci, Cornell University There is a funny joke about a man waiting for a bus, and when a woman walks by pushing a baby stroller with

The modern cognitive approach is partly a return to the cognitive roots of psychology, and partly a reaction to the narrowness of behaviorism and the stimulus-response position (since
The creator of psychoanalytic theory, Sigmund Freud, was one of the outstanding intellectual figures of the 20th century. His psychoanalytic theory of personality - whatever its shortcomings may be

Personality structure
Freud found that his topographical model was too simple to describe the human personality, and went on to develop a structural model in which the personality was divided into three main groups.

Personality dynamics
Conservation of Energy. In the 19th century, physical science achieved a lot, and Freud was strongly influenced by the German physicist Hermann von Helmholtz, who argued that physics

Personal development
Freud believed that during the first 5 years of life an individual goes through several stages of development that influence his personality. Based on a broad definition of sexuality, he called these

Modifications of Freud's theory
Freud perfected his theory throughout his life. Like a good scientist, he remained open to new data and revised previous positions when new data accumulated that he could not fit into.

Projective tests
The fixed structure of personality questionnaires - specific questions that a person must answer by choosing one of the proposed answers - is not well suited for assessing some

Psychoanalytic portrait of a person
At the beginning of this chapter, we noted that each approach to personality carries within itself one or another philosophy of human nature. How free or deterministic are we? Kind, neutral

Evaluation of the psychoanalytic approach
Psychoanalytic theory covers so much that it cannot simply be considered true or false. But from the point of view of its overall influence on our culture and the values ​​of some of its

Social learning and conditioning
Operant conditioning. An individual's behavior is significantly influenced by other people - the rewards and punishments they receive from them. Accordingly, one of the most important

A behaviorist portrait of human behavior
Like the psychoanalytic approach, the behaviorist approach to personality is full of determinism. However, unlike the psychoanalytic approach, it pays very little attention to the biological

Evaluating the Behaviorist Approach
With its emphasis on identifying environmental variables that produce specific behaviors, social learning theory has made important contributions to both clinical psychology and

Humanistic portrait of a person
Following their principle, psychologists with a humanistic orientation have clearly defined the values ​​and philosophical premises that underlie their approach to human personality. Chet

Evaluating the Humanistic Approach
By focusing on the individual's unique perception of events and their interpretation, the phenomenological approach brings the category of personal experience back into personality research. Rogers' theories

As discussed in our brief overview of the history of psychology, the behaviorist approach focuses on observable stimuli and responses. In particular, S-R analysis of your social
Today, most personality psychologists will not declare themselves to be “pure” adherents of any one of the three approaches described above, and the differences between these

Kelly's personality construct theory
George Kelly (1905-1966) was one of the first personality psychologists to place cognitive processes at the center of individual functioning. While humanis

Self-schemas
Schemas are the cognitive structures through which we perceive, organize, process, and use information. Through the use of schemas, each individual develops

Gender schema theory proposed by Sandra Bem
Another theory based on the concept of schemas was proposed by Sandra Boehm. This theory considers the gender characteristics of individuals as the basis for their way of organizing

Evaluation of the cognitive approach
The cognitive approach has both strengths and weaknesses. One of the positive aspects of this approach is that it is based on empirical research. The above about

Neurotransmitters and personality
There is ample evidence that certain neurotransmitters play an important role in the development and expression of various personality traits. On the functioning of the nervous system

Freud's ideas are alive and well
Joel Weinberger, Adelphi University Of course, Freud died. He died on September 23, 1939. No one doubts that Isaac Newton and William James died. For what

Freud's contribution to psychology is dead ballast
John F. Kihlstrom, University of California, Berkeley If the 20th century was “the American century,” then it was also the century of Sigmund Freud (Andersen & Glassman, 1996; Grits-Ghristoph, Coo

Characteristics of Stressful Events
Countless events can cause stress. These include major changes that affect many people, such as war, nuclear power plant accidents, or earthquakes. TO

Traumatic events
The most common source of stress is traumatic events - situations that are extremely dangerous and beyond the scope of normal human experience. This includes, for example, the verse

Controllability
Uncontrollable events are more likely to be perceived as stressful than others (see Chapter 7). Serious uncontrollable events include the death of a loved one, being fired from a job, or a serious illness.

Predictability
The ability to predict the occurrence of a stressful event, even if it cannot be controlled, usually reduces the severity of its stressful impact. As we discussed in Chapter 7, laboratory

Exceeding Capacity
There are situations that, although largely controllable and predictable, are nevertheless experienced as stressful because they are at the limit of our capabilities and throw

Internal conflicts
Until now, we have only talked about external events when our well-being is endangered by someone or something from the environment. But stress can also be caused by internal events - not

Anxiety
The most common reaction to a stressor is anxiety. It is an unpleasant experience, designated by words such as "worry", "apprehension", "stress" and "fear", and feels

Anger and aggression
Another common reaction to a stressful situation is anger, which can lead to aggression. Laboratory studies have shown that some animals behave aggressively in

Apathy and depression
Although active aggression is a common response to frustration, the opposite reaction of withdrawal and apathy is also common. If stressful conditions persist and the individual is unable to

Cognitive impairment
In addition to the emotional reactions to stress that we just discussed, people often experience significant cognitive impairment when faced with severe stressors. It's hard for them to cope

Physiological responses to stress
The body responds to stress by initiating a complex sequence of internal reactions to the perceived threat. If the threat passes quickly, these emergency reactions subside and physiological

Stress and hardening of the body
We focused on the negative aspects of physiological arousal caused by stressors. Research shows, however, that intermittent exposure to stressors can...

Impact of stress on health
Attempts to adapt to the constant presence of a stressor can deplete the body's resources and increase its susceptibility to disease. Chronic stress leads to such physical

Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalysts distinguish between objective anxiety, which is a reasonable reaction to a threatening situation, and neurotic anxiety, which is inadequate to the real danger.

Behaviorist theory
While Freud saw the source of stress reactions in unconscious conflicts, behaviorists focused on how individuals learn to associate stress reactions with one or another.

Cognitive theory
A version of learned helplessness theory proposed by Abramson and her colleagues (Abramson et al., 1978) is based on one personality style related to attribution processes, i.e.

Problem-oriented coping
The problem solving strategy includes the formulation of the problem, the development of alternative solutions, the assessment of alternatives in terms of costs and benefits, the selection of an alternative and the implementation of the chosen solution.

Emotionally Focused Coping
People use emotion-focused coping to avoid being overwhelmed by negative emotions and to prevent these emotions from preventing them from taking actions to achieve positive goals.

Defense Mechanisms as Emotionally Focused Coping
The coping strategies we have discussed so far have been researched relatively recently. However, in psychoanalytic literature (A. Freud, 1946/1967) the idea of ​​emotional orientations

Stress management
So far we have mainly talked about intrapersonal factors influencing perception and the impact of stressful events on it. Emotional support and participation of other people also

Behavioral methods
The following behavioral methods exist to help a person control their physiological reactions to a stressful situation: biofeedback, relaxation training

Cognitive methods
People who have learned to control their physiological and emotional reactions through biofeedback and relaxation training, in a real stressful situation, do

Is it possible to psychologically influence cancer?
Many experts are skeptical about the ability to significantly influence the course of serious diseases such as cancer through psychological intervention. They claim that they prefer

The Dangers of Unrealistic Optimism
Neil D. Weinstein, Rutgers University Are you more or less prone to alcohol addiction than other people? What about your chances of contracting any

Unrealistic optimism may be good for your health
Neil D. Weinstein, Rutgers University Is unrealistic optimism bad for your health? At first glance it seems that it should be harmful. After all, if people

Definition of anomaly
What do they mean by “abnormal” behavior? By what criteria is it distinguished from “normal”? There is no consensus here, but most descriptions of abnormality include one or more

What is the norm?
Normality is even more difficult to define than abnormality, but most psychologists agree on the following qualitative indicators of emotional well-being. (Note that in these characters

Types of Abnormal Behavior
There is a detailed classification of abnormal behavior. Some of these behaviors are acute and transient, occurring as a result of certain stressful events.

Approaches to the analysis of mental disorders
Explanations of the causes of mental disorders and suggestions for their treatment generally fall under one of the psychological approaches described in Chapter 1. The biological approach, called

Anxiety disorders
Most of us feel anxious and tense when faced with stressful or threatening events. These feelings are a normal reaction to stress. Consider anxiety to be abnormal

Panic disorders
People suffering from general anxiety also experience panic attacks - acute and overwhelming fear or horror. During these attacks, a person becomes confident that

About the nature of panic disorders and agoraphobia
Many people who develop panic disorders probably have a genetic or other biological predisposition to it. Panic disorders are

About the nature of phobias
In the past, the nature of phobias has been the subject of fundamental disagreement between proponents of psychodynamic and behaviorist approaches. Freud's theory of the development of phobias

Obsessive-compulsive disorders
A person gets out of bed several times every night and checks that all doors are closed. Upon returning to bed, he begins to be tormented by the thought that he missed one door. Another man

About the nature of obsessive-compulsive disorder
Numerous studies suggest that obsessive-compulsive disorder likely has biological causes. In individuals suffering from this disorder,

Depression
Almost everyone feels depressed from time to time. Most of us go through periods when we feel sad, apathetic and uninterested in anything. Depression is normal

Bipolar disorders
Most depressions occur without periods of mania. However, 5 to 10% of mood disorders involve both poles of mood and are classified as bipolar disorders, known

About the nature of mood disorders
As with anxiety disorders, a combined biological-psychological model can better explain the nature of mood disorders. Most people who have

Multiple personality disorder
Multiple personality disorder, also called dissociative identity disorder, is the existence in one person of two or more different selves, or personalities, that

Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia refers to a group of disorders characterized by severe personality disorganization, distortions of reality, and an inability to function in daily life. She meets in everything

Characteristics of schizophrenia
Whether schizophrenia develops slowly or suddenly, its symptoms are many and varied. The main symptoms of schizophrenia can be divided into the following groups, although not every person

About the nature of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia likely has strong biological roots, but environmental stress may cause exacerbation of symptoms in people predisposed to schizophrenia.

Antisocial personality
Antisocial individuals have little to no sense of responsibility, morality, or interest in others. Their behavior is determined almost entirely by their own needs. In other words

On the nature of the antisocial personality
What factors contribute to the development of an antisocial personality? Modern research focuses on biological determinants, characteristics of the parent-child relationship, and

Borderline personality disorder
Over the past two decades, borderline personality disorder has received significant attention in the popular press and in clinical and psychological research publications. Dia

About the nature of borderline personality disorder
Representatives of psychoanalysis believe that people with this disorder have a fairly good sense of reality, allowing them to survive in the world around them, but when encountering conflicts,

Biological-psychological interactions and mental disorders
Although some researchers and clinicians specializing in psychopathology still share the view that mental disorders are caused exclusively

Insanity as a factor of legal protection
How should the law treat a person suffering from mental illness who has committed a criminal offense? Should people whose mental abilities are impaired be considered

Depression and suicide
The most devastating consequence of depression is suicide. Of the 30,000 people who are reported to die each year in the United States, the majority suffer from depression. However, since the

ADHD is overdiagnosed
Karin L. Carlson, University of Texas at Austin Over the past decade, increased attention to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has increased

GHD is not overdiagnosed and overtreated
William Pelham, State University of New York, Buffalo Because ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder in children, the frequency of its drug treatment has been

Background
The ancients - the Chinese, Egyptians and Jews - believed that if a person had unusual behavior, it meant that they were possessed by spirits. To drive out these demons, they resorted to prayers, spells,

First shelters
At the end of the Middle Ages, shelters for the mentally ill began to be created in cities. They were just prisons; their occupants sat in dark, filthy cells, handcuffed to the wall

Modern treatment services
Mental hospitals have been greatly improved since Beerce's time, but much still needs further improvement. The best of these hospitals are comfortable, well maintained and

Psychotherapeutic professions
Whether a person is undergoing psychotherapy in a hospital, a community mental health center or in a private institution, specialists from several disciplines may work with him.

Psychia
Psychotherapy methods

Psychotherapy is the treatment of mental disorders using psychological (as opposed to medical or biological) means. Behind this term there are a number of methods aimed at
Psychodynamic therapy methods

The basic premise of all forms of psychoanalytic therapy is that the problems of the individual that trouble him in the present cannot be successfully resolved without deeper
The term behavior therapy covers a number of different therapeutic techniques based on the principles of conditioning and learning described in Chapter 7. Therapists using the techniques

Cognitive behavioral therapy
The behavioral therapy procedures we have discussed so far focus on direct behavior correction and do not pay attention to the individual's thinking and reasoning processes.

Humanistic therapies
Humanistic therapies are based on the phenomenological approach to personality, discussed in Chapter 13. Although humanistic therapies are very diverse, they all rely on natural

Eclectic approach
In addition to the ones we have discussed, there are many other types of psychotherapy. Some of them are given in table. 16.5. Most psychotherapists are not absolute believers.

Group and family therapy
Many emotional problems relate to a person's difficulties in relating to others, including feelings of isolation, rejection and loneliness, and an inability to form meaningful relationships.

Features of treatment for children
Each of the forms of therapy we have described has likely been used at some time in the treatment of children and adolescents suffering from mental disorders. Effectiveness evaluation studies

Psychotherapy assessment
Assessing the effectiveness of psychotherapy is a difficult task because there are so many variables to consider. For example, some people with mental problems get better without any intervention.

Comparison of different types of psychotherapy
Psychotherapy improves more than no treatment, but are different therapeutic approaches equally effective? A number of reviews have analyzed studies in which

General factors of psychotherapeutic methods
One school of psychotherapy uses insight, another uses modeling and reinforcement, and a third relies on rational knowledge. But it is possible that these variables are not decisive. dr

Psychotropic drugs
By far the most successful type of biological therapy is the use of drugs that modify mood and behavior. The discovery of drugs that relieve neck pain in the early 1950s

Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), sometimes called electroconvulsive therapy, involves passing a moderate electrical current through the brain to induce a seizure.

Combining biological and psychological forms of therapy
Although in this chapter we have divided all forms of therapy into psychological and biological, there is now a growing trend towards combining biological and psychological

Influence of culture and gender on therapy
Each year in the United States, more than 2 million people are hospitalized for mental disorders (Kiesler & Sibulkin, 1987). African Americans and Native Americans are significantly more likely than

Promoting mental health
Prevention and treatment of mental disorders is a problem of great importance for both the family and the state. Earlier in this chapter we noted that the Law on Community Psychiatric Centers

How to promote your emotional well-being
Beyond seeking professional help, there are many ways each of us can positively influence our own psychological well-being. Tracking with

Placebo response
Placebos are widely used in studying the effectiveness of drugs. A placebo is a neutral substance (without a pharmacological effect) that does not differ in appearance

AA solves the problems of drinkers
Keith Humphreys, Stanford University and Veterans Health Services in Palo Alto Alcoholics Anonymous has a worldwide membership of approximately two million

AA is not the only way
J. Alan Marlatt, University of Washington Although Alcoholics Anonymous is the most well-known self-help group, there are many people who seek

Intuitive theories of social behavior
We are all psychologists. In trying to understand others, we, like informal scientists, create our own intuitive theories of social behavior. At the same time, we encounter the same basic problems

Stereotypes
Finding correspondence or correlation - that is, finding out what agrees with what - is one of the main tasks in any science. Disclosure that the symptoms of a certain disease are associated

Attributions
Establishing cause and effect is the basis of most sciences. Likewise, we, as intuitive scientists, feel that we really understand some cases of human behavior if we know

Cross-cultural differences in attribution
Most Western industrial societies are individualistic and value independence and self-assertion. In contrast, many non-Western cultures are collectivist-oriented.

Settings
So far, our discussion has focused exclusively on cognitive functions, the processes of perception and thinking. From the concept of attitude, which is one of the central

Consistency in Attitudes
Some installations function together. For example, people advocating for the Affirmative Action program [In the US, affirmative action is the active promotion of

Setting functions
Attitudes perform a number of psychological functions for us. Different people may adhere to the same attitude for different reasons, and an individual may follow a certain

Attitudes and behavior
The main reason for studying attitudes is the expectation that they will predict future human behavior. Political candidates are interested in voter opinion surveys

Cognitive dissonance theory
We learned how attitudes turn into behavior, but it happens that behavior also turns into attitude. The most influential description of this sequence of events has been the theory of cognition.

Sympathy
Not all of us can be great movie stars, but when two such people become a married couple, they can serve to illustrate a number of determinants of interpersonal relationships.

Romantic/sexual attraction and love
Love is not just strong sympathy. Most of us know people we really like but don't like, and some of us have even felt a passionate attraction to that person.

Pair formation and matchmaking strategies
One of the newest approaches to romantic and sexual attraction is also one of the oldest: Darwin's theory of evolution. As noted in Chapter 1, evolutionary

How to create passion using external stimulation
In his manual, The Art of Love, the Roman poet Ovid gave advice to men and women regarding romantic conquest. Among the most interesting proposals to the man was

Evolutionary origins of sex differences in mate preference
David M. Bass, University of Texas at Austin Evolutionary psychology serves as a powerful theoretical tool in identifying the similarities and differences between men and women. This

The influence of social learning and social roles on mate choice.
Janet S. Hyde, University of Wisconsin, Madison A man's attraction to a woman is usually largely determined by her physical attractiveness. Women too

Presence of others
Social Facilitation In 1898, psychologist Norman Triplett, while studying speed records of participants in bicycle races, noticed that many

Deindividuation
Around the same time that Triplett was conducting his laboratory experiments on social facilitation, another researcher of human behavior, Gustav Le Bon, put forward a more

Witness intervention
In previous chapters, we noted that people react not just to an objective situation, but to its subjective interpretation. We have seen in this chapter that even social facilitation is

Conformity to the majority
When we are in a group, we sometimes find ourselves in the minority on a particular issue. This is a fact of life that many of us get used to. If we decide that the majority is more dos

Minority influence
A number of European scholars have been critical of social psychology research conducted in North America because of its focus on the subjugation of the minority by the majority.

The Power of the Situation
In Chapter 17, we mentioned that people tend to overestimate the factor of personal disposition and underestimate the role of situational factors in controlling behavior, that is, they commit

Communicative Persuasion
Just as the practices of Nazi Germany under Hitler led social psychologists to become interested in obedience, so did the propaganda efforts of both sides during World War II.

Reference groups and identification
Almost every group to which we belong - from family to society as a whole - has an explicit or implicit set of beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that it considers

Group polarization
In the 1950s, it was generally accepted that group decisions tended to be more cautious and conservative. It has been argued, for example, that as business decisions are increasingly made

Groupthink
“How could we be so stupid?” was President John F. Kennedy's reaction to his administration's disastrous 1961 attempt to invade

Altruism
The subway riders and children helping puppies described in this chapter exhibit a form of prosocial behavior known as altruism. Altruism can be defined as behavior

Negative aspects of the Support Promotion
Madeline E. Heilman, New York University It is generally believed that awards should be commensurate with merit. What happens when a person is not rewarded for his achievements?

Benefits of the Support Promotion
Fay J. Crosby, University of California, Santa Cruz In order to evaluate the effect of a Sponsorship, you first need to know what is and is not a Sponsorship. IN

Frequency distribution
Elements of raw data become comprehensible when they are grouped into a frequency distribution. To group data, we must first divide the scale on which it was measured

Measures of average
A measure of average is simply an indicative point on a scale that condenses a feature of the available data. Three measures of average are commonly used: mean, median, and mode.

Measures of variation
Typically, there is more to know about a distribution than measures of the average can reveal. What is needed, for example, is a measure that can tell whether a bunch of values ​​is located close to their mean or

Group and samples
First of all, it is necessary to distinguish between a group and a sample from that group. The United States Census Bureau attempts to describe the population as a whole by obtaining descriptive data on

Normal distribution
When a large amount of data is collected, tabulated, and displayed as a histogram or envelope, it often forms a bell-shaped, symmetrical distribution

Data scaling
To interpret a metric, you often need to know whether it is high or low in relation to other metrics. If a person taking a driving test takes 0.500 seconds, what

How representative is the average?
How well does the sample mean reflect the group mean? If height is measured in a random sample of 100 college students, how well does the mean of the sample predict

Significance of difference
In many psychological experiments, data are collected from two groups of subjects; one group is exposed to specific experimental effects, and the other serves as control

Correlation as a product of moments
Most often, the correlation coefficient is determined by the product of moments method; the resulting index is usually denoted by a small letter r. Calculated through the product m

Interpretation of the correlation coefficient
Correlation can be used to make predictions. For example, if it is known from experience that a certain admissions test correlates with freshman grades, one can predict from

Humanistic psychology is a direction in psychology, the subject of study of which is the whole person in his highest, human-specific manifestations, including the development and self-actualization of the individual, its highest values ​​and meanings, love, creativity, freedom, responsibility, autonomy, experiences of the world, mental health, “deep interpersonal communication”, etc.

Humanistic psychology emerged as a psychological movement in the early 1960s, opposing itself, on the one hand, to behaviorism, which was criticized for its mechanistic approach to human psychology by analogy with animal psychology, for considering human behavior as completely dependent on external stimuli, and, on the other hand, psychoanalysis, criticized for the idea of ​​human mental life as completely determined by unconscious drives and complexes. Representatives of the humanistic movement strive to build a completely new, fundamentally different methodology for understanding man as a unique object of research.

The basic methodological principles and provisions of the humanistic direction are as follows:

> a person is whole and must be studied in his integrity;

> each person is unique, therefore the analysis of individual cases is no less justified than statistical generalizations;

> a person is open to the world, a person’s experiences of the world and himself in the world are the main psychological reality;

> human life should be considered as a single process of human formation and existence;

> a person has the potential for continuous development and self-realization, which are part of his nature;

> a person has a certain degree of freedom from external determination thanks to the meanings and values ​​that guide him in his choice;

> man is an active, intentional, creative being. The main representatives of this direction are

A. Maslow, W. Frankl, S. Bühler, R May, F. Barron, etc.

A. Maslow is known as one of the founders of the humanistic movement in psychology. He is best known for his hierarchical model of motivation. According to this concept, seven classes of needs consistently appear in a person from birth and accompany his/her growing up:

1) physiological (organic) needs, such as hunger, thirst, sexual desire, etc.;

2) security needs - the need to feel protected, to get rid of fear and failure, from aggressiveness;

3) the need for belonging and love - the need to belong to a community, to be close to people, to be recognized and accepted by them;

4) needs of respect (honor) - the need to achieve success, approval, recognition, authority;

5) cognitive needs - the need to know, be able to, understand, explore;

6) aesthetic needs - the need for harmony, symmetry, order, beauty;

7) self-actualization needs - the need to realize one’s goals, abilities, and develop one’s own personality.

According to A. Maslow, physiological needs lie at the base of this motivational pyramid, and higher needs, such as aesthetic and the need for self-actualization, form its top. He also believed that the needs of higher levels can only be satisfied if the needs of lower levels are first met. Therefore, only a small number of people (about 1%) achieve self-actualization. These people have personal characteristics that are qualitatively different from the personality traits of neurotics and people who have not reached such a degree of maturity: independence, creativity, philosophical worldview, democracy in relationships, productivity in all areas of activity, etc. Later, A. Maslow abandoned the rigid hierarchy of this model , distinguishing two classes of needs: need needs and development needs.

V. Frankl believed that the main driving force of personality development is the desire for meaning, the absence of which creates an “existential vacuum” and can lead to the most tragic consequences, including suicide.

Humanistic psychology - a direction in Western (mainly American) psychology that recognizes as its main subject the personality, as a unique integral system, which is not something given in advance, but an “open possibility” of self-actualization, inherent only to man. In humanistic psychology, the main subjects of analysis are: highest values, self-actualization of the individual, creativity, love, freedom, responsibility, autonomy, mental health, interpersonal communication. Humanistic psychology emerged as an independent movement in the early 60s of the 20th century as a protest against the dominance of behaviorism and psychoanalysis in the United States, receiving the name of the third force. A. Maslow, K. Rogers, W. Frankl, S. Bühler, R. May, S. Jurard, D. Bugental, E. Shostrom and others can be included in this direction. Humanistic psychology relies on existentialism as its philosophical basis. The manifesto of humanistic psychology was the book edited by R. May “Existential Psychology” - a collection of papers presented at a symposium in Cincinnati in September 1959 as part of the annual convention of the American Psychological Association.

Main features

In 1963, the first president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, James Bugental, put forward five fundamental principles of this branch of psychology:

Man as a whole being is greater than the sum of his parts (in other words, man cannot be explained by the scientific study of his partial functions).

Human existence unfolds in the context of human relationships (in other words, a person cannot be explained by his partial functions, in which interpersonal experience is not taken into account).

A person is aware of himself (and cannot be understood by psychology that does not take into account his continuous, multi-level self-awareness).

A person has a choice (a person is not a passive observer of the process of his existence: he creates his own experience).

A person is intentional (a person is oriented towards the future; his life has a purpose, values ​​and meaning).

Some areas of psychotherapy and humanistic pedagogy are built on the basis of humanistic psychology. The healing factors in the work of a humanistic psychologist and psychotherapist are, first of all, unconditional acceptance of the client, support, empathy, attention to internal experiences, stimulation of choice and decision-making, authenticity. However, despite its apparent simplicity, humanistic psychotherapy is based on a serious phenomenological philosophical basis and uses an extremely wide range of therapeutic technologies and methods. One of the basic beliefs of humanistic-oriented specialists is that every person contains the potential for recovery. Under certain conditions, a person can independently and fully realize this potential. Therefore, the work of a humanistic psychologist is aimed, first of all, at creating favorable conditions for the reintegration of the individual in the process of therapeutic meetings.

It puts at the center of its methodology the client's personality, which is the controlling center in the penologist's decision-making. This distinguishes this direction from psychodynamic theory, which emphasizes how the past 1 affects the present, and from behaviorist theory, which uses the influence of the environment on the personality.

Humanistic, or existential-humanistic*| Some direction in psychology was developed by K. Rogers! F. Perls, V. Frankl. ;|

Their main methodological position is that|| The purpose of man is to live and act, defining | his destiny, the concentration of control and decisions is within the person himself, and not in his environment.

The main concepts in which this branch of psychology analyzes human life are the concept of human existence, decision-making or choice and the corresponding action that alleviates anxiety; the concept of intentionality - an opportunity that states that a person, acting in the world, must be clearly aware of the impact of the world on him.

The task of the client and the psychologist is to understand the client’s world as fully as possible and support him while making a responsible decision.

The revolution, which in practical psychology is associated with the works of K. Rogers, is that he began to emphasize the responsibility of the person himself for his actions and decisions. This is based on the belief that every person has an initial desire for maximum social self-actualization.

The psychologist supports the client's mental health, giving the person the opportunity to get in touch with his inner world. The main concept with which psychologists of this direction work is the worldview of a particular client. Working with the client’s world requires the psychologist to have the skills of attention and listening, and high-quality empathy. A psychologist must be able to work with the contradiction between the real and ideal image of the client’s “I”, establishing a relationship with the client. In this process, the psychologist must achieve congruence with the client during the interview. To do this, the psychologist must have authenticity during the interview and treat the client in a deliberately positive and non-judgmental manner.

During the interview, the psychologist uses open and closed questions, reflection of feelings, retelling, self-disclosure and other techniques that allow the client to express his worldview.

Using interaction methods in communication with the client that allow the client to relieve anxiety and tension, the psychologist shows the client how to communicate with people. A client, heard and understood by a psychologist, can change.

In the humanistic direction of psychology, Gestalt therapy (F. Perls) occupies a special place, characterized by a variety of techniques and microtechniques that influence the client. Let us list some of the techniques of Gestalt therapy: perception of “here and now”, directiveness; speech changes;

empty chair method: conversation with part of your “I”; dialogue between the “top dog” - authoritarian, directive, and the “bottom dog” - passive with a sense of guilt, seeking forgiveness; fixed sensation; working with dreams.

In addition, thanks to the work of V. Frankl, attitude change techniques are used in humanistic psychology! nia; paradoxical intentions; switching; escape method."| Denia (call). Implementation of these techniques requires psi*.| chologist of eloquence, precision of verbal formulations/! orientation to the client's worldview. |

The humanistic direction of practical psychology^ constantly focuses on the individual growth of the client. SCH

A practical psychologist working with a client contributes | in an interview with him his own worldview. If the psycho-Dologist is inclined to impose his point of view on the client, then this may lead to an inability to hear the client, which is disparate. ruins the interaction situation. Psychologist to work| If you want to be effective, you shouldn’t start work with a preconceived idea!” ideas about how his client's world should be structured.! The practical work of a psychologist is working with specific | individuality of a person. Including the actual one! individuality is an integral part of his professionalism" | new position. ,.<|

A psychologist needs to constantly study his personality, | ny and professional opportunities to avoid rigidity or excessive freedom in the development of personal concepts^!

The psychologist and the client - two different people - meet in | interview time. Regardless of its success, both will participate! as a result of interaction, they change. . l|

Supporters of humanistic theories of individuality primarily interested in how a person perceives, understands and explains real events in his own life. They describe the phenomenology of individuality, rather than looking for an explanation for it, because theories of this type are periodically called phenomenological. Descriptions of an individual and events in her life here are mainly concentrated on present life experience, and not on the past or future, and are given in terms such as “meaning of life”, “values”, “life goals”, etc.

The most famous representatives of this approach to individuality are American specialists A. Maslow and K. Rogers. We will specifically consider A. Maslow’s concept further, and now we will briefly dwell only on the characteristics of C. Rogers’ theory.

Creating his own theory of individuality, Rogers proceeded from the fact that every person has the desire and ability for personal self-improvement. Being a being endowed with consciousness, he determines for himself the meaning of life, his goals and values, and is the supreme expert and supreme judge. The central concept in Rogers' theory was the concept of "I", which includes perceptions, ideas, goals and values ​​through which a person characterizes himself and outlines the prospects for his growth. The main questions that any person poses and must solve are the following: “Who am I?”, “What can I do to become who I want to be?”

The image of “I”, which develops as a result of personal life experience, in turn influences a given person’s perception of the world, other people, and the assessments that a person gives of his behavior. The self-concept can be positive, ambivalent (contradictory), negative. An individual with a positive self-concept sees the world differently than a person with a negative or ambivalent one. The self-concept may incorrectly reflect reality, be distorted and fictitious. What does not agree with a person’s self-concept may be repressed from his consciousness, rejected, but in fact may be true. The degree of a person’s satisfaction with life, the degree of completeness of the joy he feels, depends precisely on the extent to which her experience, her “real self” and “ideal self” are consistent with each other.

The main need of a person, according to humanistic theories of individuality, is self-actualization, the desire for self-improvement and self-expression. Recognition of the main role of self-actualization unites all representatives of this theoretical direction in the study of the psychology of individuality, despite significant differences in views.

According to A. Maslow, the psychological characteristics of self-actualizing individuals include:

Active perception of reality and the ability to navigate it well;

Acceptance of yourself and other people as they are;

Spontaneity in actions and spontaneity in expressing one’s own thoughts and feelings;

Focusing on what happens outside, as opposed to focusing only on the inner world, and focusing consciousness on your feelings and experiences;

Possessing a sense of humor;

Developed creative abilities;

Rejection of conventions, but without ostentatiously ignoring them;

Concern for the well-being of other people and failure to provide only for one’s own joy;

The ability to deeply understand life;

Humanistic psychology

Humanistic psychology - A direction in psychology in which the main subjects of analysis are: highest values, self-actualization of the individual, creativity, love, freedom, responsibility, autonomy, mental health, interpersonal communication.

Representatives

A. Maslow

K. Rogers

V. Frankl

F. Barron

S. Jurard

Subject of study

A unique and inimitable personality, constantly creating himself, aware of his purpose in life. He studies health, harmonious individuals who have reached the pinnacle of personal development, the pinnacle of “self-actualization.”

Self-realization.

Consciousness of self-worth.

Social needs.

Reliability needs.

Stages of personality degradation.

Search for the meaning of life.

Physiological basic needs.

The unsuitability of animal research for human understanding.

Theoretical provisions

a person is whole

Not only general, but also individual cases are valuable

The main psychological reality is human experiences

Human life is a holistic process

A person is open to self-realization

A person is not determined only by external situations

Contributions to psychology

Humanistic psychology opposes the construction of psychology on the model of the natural sciences and argues that a person, even as an object of research, should be studied as an active subject, assessing the experimental situation and choosing a method of behavior.

Humanistic psychology - a number of directions in modern psychology that are focused primarily on the study of human semantic structures. In humanistic psychology, the main subjects of analysis are: highest values, self-actualization of the individual, creativity, love, freedom, responsibility, autonomy, mental health, interpersonal communication. Humanistic psychology emerged as an independent movement in the early 60s. gg. XX century as a protest against behaviorism and psychoanalysis, receiving the name “third force”. A. Maslow, K. Rogers, W. Frankl, S. Bühler may be included in this direction. F. Barron, R. May, S. Jurard and others. The methodological positions of humanistic psychology are formulated in the following premises:

1. A person is whole.

2. Not only general, but also individual cases are valuable.

3. The main psychological reality is a person’s experiences.

4. Human life is a single process.

5. A person is open to self-realization.

6. A person is not determined only by external situations.

Some areas of psychotherapy and humanistic pedagogy are built on the basis of humanistic psychology.

Page 1

The humanistic approach also allows us to reinterpret the nature of the organization’s relationship with the environment in the direction that organizations are able not only to adapt, but also to change their environment, based on their own idea of ​​themselves and their mission. Developing an organization's strategy can turn into an active construction and transformation of the surrounding reality.  

According to the humanistic approach, culture can be seen as the process of creating a reality that allows people to see and understand events, actions, situations in a certain way and give meaning and meaning to their own behavior. It seems that a person’s entire life is determined by written and especially unwritten rules. However, in reality, rules are usually only a means, and the main action takes place only at the moment of choice: which of the rules to apply in a given case. Our understanding of the situation determines what set of rules we use.  

How the humanistic approach to statistical quality management is implemented is well illustrated by the example of one of the Ford Corporation plants (chap.  

Within the framework of the humanistic approach, there is an understanding that effective organizational development is not only a change in structures, technologies and skills, but also a change in the values ​​that underlie the joint activities of people.  

Within the framework of the humanistic approach, a metaphor was proposed for an organization as a culture, and a person as a being developing within a certain cultural tradition.  

The most essential thing in the humanistic approach to creativity is the expression of universal human values ​​in it. The concept of universality most often appears as something significant not for some limited circle of people: a class, social group, party, state or individual, but as something that matters for all of humanity. Such values ​​and objects include the entire range of problems whose solution ensures the survival of humanity.  

Human management is a concept of personnel management, developing within the framework of a humanistic approach to management, focused on considering personnel functions in their integrity. The concept assumes that management should focus on specific human characteristics - the spirit of cooperation, interdependence, viewing the organization as a family, the need for partnerships.  

In this business portrait of the manager, what is difficult to combine turns out to be compatible: a mutually compensatory combination of a rational business and humanistic approach to employees, which ensures a generally normal working environment. The strategy of the department head in this case was formed as a combination of authoritarian and liberal leadership styles, which justifies itself well, mutually limiting extremes and complementing the strengths of their manifestation.  

In addition to the students’ active assimilation of these problems, this lesson gave a tangible result when studying subsequent civilizations: students actively began to think about the place of man in a particular system of spiritual values, i.e. learned to practically apply a humanistic approach to assessing various social systems, including the modern Russian one.  

Thus, today philosophical reflections on life and death are also necessary for solving specific problems arising in connection with the development of biology, medicine and healthcare. The humanistic approach seeks moral support for a person in the face of death, including what belongs, so to speak, to the culture of dying. Not fantastic dreams and hopes, not panicked negative emotions and painful mental tension in the face of death, but an honest and courageous look at it from an individual who has wisely decided these issues for himself as an organic part of his life - this is the philosophical basis that is affirmed by real humanism.  

The humanistic approach uses the idea of ​​an organization as a culture, and of a person as a being developing within a certain cultural tradition. Therefore, with a humanistic approach, management of change is formulated as a concept of human management, and the main tasks of personnel management are adaptation, development of the organization’s culture: setting values, forming rules and time, symbolization. This approach seems to be the most adequate for today's world, but in Russia it is still rarely used. This is because the key to such management is a complex, fine-tuned system of ramified intra-company communications. They create organizational culture.  

Humanity is heading towards an environmental disaster. To overcome it, a humanistic approach is required in all major areas of production. The most important task is to overcome the consumerist approach to people. On this score, science has not yet given a clear answer. One thing is clear: there must be a constructive understanding of man’s position in the world around him. At the forefront of this understanding is a new attitude to the national specifics of labor behavior.  

Therefore, we believe that there is no need to dwell on them separately in this section. It is important to emphasize that the humanistic approach is implemented in group forms of work, such as quality circles, teams and quality groups.  

The humanistic aspect of international politics is clearly visible in the activities of international expertise. For example, a similar examination was carried out in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster. The objectivity, high scientific and technical level and humanistic approach to its implementation are beyond doubt.  

Humanistic approach

In the first half of this century, behaviorist and psychoanalytic approaches predominated in psychology. In 1962, a group of psychologists founded the Association for Humanistic Psychology. They proposed humanistic psychology as a “third force”, forming provisions alternative to the other two approaches. In defining its mission, the association adopted 4 principles as its basis:

1. Human experiences are of primary interest. People are not just objects of research. They should be described and explained by their own subjective views of the world, their self-perception and self-esteem. The main question that everyone must face is “Who am I?” To find out how an individual is trying to answer it, the psychologist must become a partner in the search for the meaning of existence.

2. Priority areas of research are human choice, creativity and self-actualization. Humanistic psychologists reject the psychoanalytic approach, believing that a psychology based on distorted personalities must only be a distorted psychology. They also reject behaviorism as a psychology that denies consciousness and is based primarily on the study of lower organisms. People are not simply motivated by organic needs such as sex and aggression, or physiological needs such as hunger and thirst. They have a need to develop their potential and abilities. The criteria for mental health should be growth and self-actualization, not just ego control or adaptation to the environment.

3. Meaningfulness must precede objectivity in the selection of research tasks. Humanistic psychologists believe that psychological research is too often guided by the methods available rather than by the importance of the problem under study. They say that important human and social problems must be studied, even if this sometimes means using less rigorous methods. Although psychologists should try to be objective when collecting and interpreting observations, their choice of research topics can and should be guided by value criteria. In this sense, research is not value-free; psychologists should not pretend that values ​​are something they do not have or for which they must apologize.

4. The highest value belongs to human dignity. People in their base are kind. The purpose of psychology is to understand people, not to predict or control them. Many humanistic psychologists believe that even calling a person a “subject” means degrading his dignity as a full partner in the quest to understand a person’s personality.

In the first half of this century, behaviorist and psychoanalytic approaches predominated in psychology. In 1962, a group of psychologists founded the Association for Humanistic Psychology. They proposed humanistic psychology as a “third force”, forming provisions alternative to the other two approaches. In defining its mission, the association adopted 4 principles as its basis:

1. Human experiences are of primary interest. People are not just objects of research. They should be described and explained by their own subjective views of the world, their self-perception and self-esteem. The fundamental question that everyone must face is: “Who am I?” To find out how an individual is trying to answer it, the psychologist must become his partner in the search for the meaning of existence.

2. Priority areas of research are human choice, creativity and self-actualization. Humanistic psychologists reject the psychoanalytic approach, believing that a psychology based on distorted personalities can only be a distorted psychology. They also reject behaviorism as a psychology that denies consciousness and is based primarily on the study of lower organisms. People are not simply motivated by organic needs such as sex and aggression, or physiological needs such as hunger and thirst. They have a need to develop their potential and abilities. The criteria for mental health should be growth and self-actualization, not just ego control or adaptation to the environment.

3. Meaningfulness must precede objectivity in the selection of research tasks. Humanistic psychologists believe that psychological research is too often guided by the methods available rather than by the importance of the problem under study. They say that important human and social problems must be studied, even if this sometimes means using less rigorous methods. Although psychologists should try to be objective when collecting and interpreting observations, their choice of research topics can and should be guided by value criteria. In this sense, research is not value-free; psychologists should not pretend that values ​​are something they do not have or for which they must apologize.

4. The highest value belongs to human dignity. People are basically good. The purpose of psychology is to understand people, not to predict or control them. Many humanistic psychologists believe that even calling a person a “test subject” is to demean his dignity as a full partner in the quest to understand the person’s personality.

Psychologists who share the values ​​of this association come from different theoretical platforms. For example, Gordon Allport was also a humanistic psychologist, and we have already noted that some psychoanalysts, such as Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Erik Erikson, held humanistic views of motivation that differed from Freud's. But it was the views of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow that took center stage in the humanistic movement.

Carl Rogers.Like Freud, Carl Rogers (1902-1987) developed his theory based on work with clinical patients(Rogers, 1951, 1959, 1963, 1970). Rogers was struck by the inner tendency he observed in individuals to move toward growth, maturation, and positive change. He came to the conviction that the main force motivating the human body is the tendency to actualize all the body's abilities. A growing organism strives to realize its potential within the limits of its heredity. A person may not always clearly see which actions lead to growth and which lead to regression. But when the path is clear, the individual chooses to grow rather than regress. Rogers did not deny that there are other needs, including biological ones, but he considered them auxiliary to the improvement motive.

< Рис. Карл Роджерс полагал, что индивидуум обладает врожденной тенденцией к росту, достижению зрелости и позитивным изменениям. Он называл эту тенденцию тенденцией к актуализации.>

Rogers' belief in the primacy of actualization forms the basis of his non-directive, client-centered therapy. This psychotherapeutic method assumes that each individual has the motive and ability to change and that the individual himself is most competent to decide in which direction these changes should occur. In this case, the psychotherapist plays the role of a probing system, and the patient explores and analyzes his problems. This approach differs from psychoanalytic therapy, in which the therapist analyzes the patient's history to identify the problem and develop a course of treatment (see Chapter 16 for a discussion of different approaches to psychotherapy).

"I". Central to Rogers' theory of personality is the concept of "I". "I" or "the concept of self" (Rogers uses these terms interchangeably) became the cornerstone of his theory. The “I” includes all the ideas, perceptions and values ​​that characterize the “I”; it includes the awareness of “what I am” and “what I can.” This perceived “I”, in turn, influences a person’s perception of both the whole world and his behavior. For example, a woman who sees herself as strong and competent perceives and acts on the world very differently than a woman who sees herself as weak and worthless. The “concept of self” does not necessarily reflect reality: a person can be very successful and respected and still consider himself a failure.

According to Rogers, the individual evaluates each of his experiences from the point of view of his “concept of self.” People want to behave in ways that fit their self-image; sensations and feelings that are not consistent with the self-image pose a threat, and their access to consciousness may be blocked. This is essentially the same Freudian concept of repression, but for Rogers such repression is neither inevitable nor permanent (Freud would say that repression is inevitable and that some aspects of an individual's experiences remain in the unconscious forever).

The more areas of experience a person denies because they do not correspond to his “concept of self,” the deeper the gap between self and reality and the greater the possibility of maladjustment. An individual whose “concept of self” does not correspond to his personal feelings and experiences has to defend himself from the truth, since the truth leads to anxiety. If this discrepancy becomes too great, defenses can break down, leading to severe anxiety and other emotional disturbances. In a well-adjusted person, on the contrary, the “concept of self” is consistent with thoughts, experiences and behavior; The “I” is not rigid, it is flexible and can change as it masters new ideas and experiences.

In Rogers' theory there is another “I” - the ideal one. We all have an idea of ​​what we would like to be. The closer the ideal “I” is to the real one, the more fulfilling and happy a person becomes. A large discrepancy between the ideal and real “I” makes a person unhappy and dissatisfied. Thus, two types of incongruity can develop: one between the Self and experienced reality, the other between the Self and the ideal Self. Rogers has made several hypotheses about the development of these inconsistencies. In particular, he believed that people began to function more fully if they cultivated an unconditional positive attitude. This means that they feel valued by their parents and others, even though their feelings, attitudes, and behavior are less than ideal. If parents offer only a conditionally positive attitude, appreciating the child only when he behaves, thinks or feels correctly, the child’s “concept of self” is disrupted. For example, feelings of competition and hostility towards a younger brother or sister are natural, but parents do not allow them to hit and usually punish them for such actions. The child must somehow integrate this experience into his “concept of self.” He may decide that he is doing something wrong and feel ashamed. He may decide that his parents don't love him and therefore feel rejected. Or he may deny his feelings and decide that he does not want to hit the baby. Each of these relationships contains a distortion of the truth. The third alternative is the easiest for the child to accept, but by doing so, he denies his real feelings, which then become unconscious. The more a person is forced to deny his own feelings and accept the values ​​of others, the more uncomfortable he feels. The best way for parents to do so is to acknowledge the child's feelings as they are, but explain why hitting is unacceptable.

< Рис. Согласно Роджерсу, люди, вероятно, будут функционировать более эффективно, если они будут получать безусловную положительную оценку, то есть если они будут чувствовать, что родители ценят их независимо от их чувств, взглядов и поведения.>

Dimensions of correspondence between the real and ideal selves. In Chapter 12 we described an estimation method called Q - classification, in which the evaluator, or sorter, is given a set of cards, each containing statements about a person (for example, “resilient”), and asked to characterize the individual's personality by sorting the cards into piles. The evaluator puts cards with statements that are less characteristic of a given individual in a pile on the left, and with more characteristic ones on the right. Other statements are distributed into piles between them; thereby everyone Q -the component is assigned an indicator according to the pile in which it is placed. Q -classifications can be compared with each other by calculating the correlation between the indicators, thereby assessing how these two Q -classifications are close to each other.

Carl Rogers was the first to use Q -classification as a tool for studying the “concept of self.” Q- Rogers' set includes, for example, the following statements: “I am satisfied with myself,” “I have warm emotional relationships with others,” and “I do not trust my emotions.” In Rogers' procedure, the individual first sorts for himself as he actually is - for the real "I", then for the one he would like to be - the ideal "I". The correlation between these two sorts shows the discrepancy between the real and ideal self. A low or negative correlation corresponds to a large actual-ideal discrepancy, signifying feelings of low self-esteem and low personal worth.

By repeating this procedure several times during therapy, Rogers could evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy. In one study, the correlation between actual and ideal classifications of help-seeking individuals averaged 2.01 before treatment and 0.34 after treatment. The correlation in the matched untreated control group did not change(Butler & Haigh, 1954). In other words, for these individuals, therapy significantly reduced the perceived discrepancy between their actual and ideal selves. Note that this could happen in two ways: the individual could change his idea of ​​the real self so that it becomes closer to the ideal self, or he could change his idea of ​​the ideal self so that it becomes more realistic. Therapy can cause both of these types of changes.

Abraham Maslow.The psychology of Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) echoes the psychology of Carl Rogers in many ways. Maslow first became interested in behaviorism and conducted research on sexuality and dominance in primates. He was already moving away from behaviorism when his first child was born, after which he noted that anyone observing a child could not be a behaviorist. He was influenced by psychoanalysis, but over time he began to criticize its theory of motivation and developed his own. In particular, he proposed a hierarchy of needs, rising from basic biological needs to more complex psychological motives that become important only after basic needs are satisfied (Figure 13.4). The needs of one level must be at least partially satisfied before the needs of the next level begin to significantly determine actions. If food and security are difficult to obtain, then the satisfaction of these needs will dominate a person's actions and higher motives will not have much importance. Only when organic needs can be easily satisfied will the individual have time and energy for aesthetic and intellectual interests. Artistic and scientific endeavors do not thrive in societies where people must struggle for food, shelter, and safety. The highest motive - self-actualization - can be realized only after all other needs are satisfied.

7. Self-actualization needs: find self-realization and realize your potential.

6. Aesthetic needs: symmetry, order, beauty.

5. Cognitive needs: know, understand, explore.

4. Self-esteem needs: achieve, be competent, receive approval and recognition.

3. The need for intimacy and love: to be attached to others, to be accepted, to belong to someone.

2. Need for security: feel protected and safe.

1. Physiological needs: hunger, thirst, etc.

Rice. 13.4. Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Needs lower in the hierarchy must be at least partially satisfied before needs higher in the hierarchy become significant sources of motivation (according to Maslow, 1970).

Maslow decided to study self-actualizers - men and women who have achieved extraordinary use of their potential. He began by studying the lives of prominent historical figures such as Spinoza, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Albert Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt.[ Jefferson Thomas - third President of the United States, primary author of the Declaration of Independence; Jane Addams - American social reformer and pacifist, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 1931 (shared with Nicholas Murray Butler); Roosevelt Anna Eleanor - diplomat, humanitarian, wife of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.- Approx. transl.] In this way he was able to create a composite portrait of the self-actualizer. The distinctive characteristics of such people are listed in table. 13.1 along with some of the behaviors that Maslow believed could lead to self-actualization.

< Рис. Альберт Эйнштейн и Элеонора Рузвельт принадлежали к числу людей, которых Маслоу относил к самоактуализаторам.>

Table 13.1. Self-actualization

Characteristics of self-actualizers

Perceive reality productively and are able to withstand uncertainty

Accept themselves and others as they are

Relaxed in thought and behavior

Focused on tasks, not on yourself

Have a good sense of humor

Very creative people

Resist being absorbed into the culture, but do not intentionally behave unusually

Concerned about the well-being of humanity

Able to deeply appreciate the basic experiences of life

Establish deep, satisfying interpersonal relationships with few people

Able to look at life objectively

Behaviors that lead to self-actualization

Experience life like a child, with complete immersion and concentration

Trying something new rather than following the safe and secure path

When evaluating your own experience, listen to your feelings, and not to traditions, authority or the opinion of the majority

Be honest, avoid pretentiousness or flirtation

Be prepared to be unpopular if your views do not coincide with those of the majority

To take responsibility

Work hard if you decide to take on a task

Try to recognize your safe niches and have the courage to abandon them

(The table lists the personal qualities that Maslow considered characteristic of self-actualizers and the types of behaviors that he considered important for self-actualization (by: Maslow, 1967).)

Maslow conducted his research on a group of college students. After selecting students who fit his definition of self-actualizers, Maslow found that this group belonged to the healthiest portion (1%) of the population; these students showed no signs of maladjustment and used their talents and abilities effectively(Maslow, 1970).

Many people experience transient moments of self-actualization, which Maslow called peak sensations. The peak sensation is characterized by an experience of happiness and fulfillment; This is a temporary, calm, non-self-directed experience of perfection and an achieved goal. Peak sensations can occur with different intensities and in different contexts: in creative activity, while admiring nature, in close relationships with others, parenting, aesthetic appreciation, or participation in athletic competitions. After asking many college students to describe something close to the sensation of a peak, Maslow tried to summarize their responses. They talked about integrity, perfection, liveliness, uniqueness, lightness, self-sufficiency and the value of beauty, goodness and truth.

Humanistic portrait of a person

Following their principle, psychologists with a humanistic orientation have clearly defined the values ​​and philosophical premises that underlie their approach to human personality. The four principles put forward by the Association for Humanistic Psychology, which we briefly outlined earlier, draw a sharp contrast between the humanistic portrait of human personality and the portraits created in psychoanalytic and behaviorist approaches.

Most humanistic psychologists do not argue that biological and environmental variables can influence behavior, but they emphasize the individual's own role in determining and creating his own destiny and thereby mitigate the determinism characteristic of other approaches. People are generally kind and strive for growth and self-actualization. They can also change and are active. Humanistic psychology sets particularly high criteria for mental health. Self-control or adaptation to the environment alone is not enough. Only about an individual whose development is aimed at self-actualization can we say that he is mentally healthy. In other words, mental health is a process, not an end state.

Philosophical positions also have political meaning. We indicated earlier that the philosophical tenets of behaviorism are well compatible with American ideology. His proposition that all men are created equal and can be infinitely modified by their environment provides the psychological basis for liberal political programs that seek to improve the environment of those who are disadvantaged. Humanistic psychology, by contrast, supports much more radical politics. Anything that delays the realization of potential, anything that prevents any human being from becoming all that he or she wants to be, must be changed. If women in the 1950s were happy and well adjusted to their traditional sex roles, then this satisfied the criterion of mental health established by behaviorism. But from a humanistic point of view, assigning all women the same role is undesirable - no matter how suitable the role is for some of them - because it prevents many women from achieving their potential. It is no coincidence that the rhetoric of liberal movements - for the liberation of women and for the freedom of sexual minorities - echoes the language of humanistic psychology.

Evaluating the Humanistic Approach

By focusing on the individual's unique perception of events and their interpretation, the phenomenological approach brings the category of personal experience back into personality research. The theories of Rogers and Maslow, more than other theories we have discussed, focus on the whole, healthy person and offer a positive, optimistic view of human personality. In addition, phenomenologically oriented psychologists emphasize that they study important problems, even if they do not always have rigorous methods for studying them. There is a reason here: the study of trivial problems simply because there is a convenient method for this does not contribute much to the development of psychological science. In addition, phenomenological psychologists have become increasingly inventive over the years in developing new methods for assessing the “concept of self” and conducting research in which the individual is treated as an equal partner. However, the quality of the arguments in support of humanist claims can and has been questioned. For example, to what extent are the characteristics of self-actualizers a consequence of the psychological process called self-actualization, and to what extent do they simply reflect the value system shared by Rogers and Maslow? Where, they ask, is the evidence for the existence of Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

Humanistic psychologists are also vulnerable to criticisms that mirror those they themselves level at Freud. They criticized Freud for attempting to construct a complete theory of personality based on observations of neurotics. But, critics point out, Rogers, Maslow and Kelly based their theories on observations of relatively healthy people (mostly college students, in the case of Rogers and Kelly). Accordingly, their theories are best suited to normally functioning people who have the luxury of taking care of the needs at the top of Maslow's hierarchy. The applicability of these theories to individuals with severe disabilities and to people who are socially, culturally, or economically disadvantaged is less clear.

Finally, some even criticized the very values ​​defended by humanistic theorists. Many observers believe that America is too obsessively interested in the individual and too little in the welfare of the larger society. A psychology that raises the self-realization and actualization of the individual to the top of the hierarchy of values ​​is too compatible with American ideology; some critics even believe that it provides a psychological "sanction for selfishness"(Wallach & Wallach,1983). Although Maslow mentions interest in the welfare of humanity as one of the characteristics of self-actualizers (see Table 13.1), and some self-actualizers, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, clearly possess such a characteristic, its absence from the hierarchy of needs is conspicuous.