A. Maslow's theory of self-actualizing personality
The founder of humanistic psychology is A. Maslow. Humanistic psychology is a third force psychology that arose as an opposition to behaviorism and introspection. Representatives of humanistic psychology criticized behaviorism for transferring the results of experiments on animals to people, and psychoanalysis for the fact that from this position a person acts as an irrational, aggressive and asocial being, and all productive forms behavior – sublimation of sexual energy.
Humanistic psychology says that the essence of man - the desire for self-actualization - is the highest human need. It manifests itself in a person’s desire to realize in his life his internal potential, to be and become yourself, to realize your abilities.
A. Maslow relied on the analysis of the behavior of a mentally healthy person, creative personality(their teachers).
Personality structure – A. Maslow’s hierarchy of motives (Fig.).
Rice. A. Maslow's pyramid of needs
general characteristics motivational sphere according to Maslow:
1. All needs are inherent in a person by his nature, i.e. have an innate or instinctoid character.
2. All needs form hierarchical structure according to the principle of dominance or priority, i.e. the lower the need is located in the general hierarchy. It is all the more important and priority for the individual.
3. The transition from one level of need to another occurs only if the underlying needs are satisfied. If the needs of a certain level are not met, then a return to lower levels is carried out. The hierarchy of needs is universal.
Later, A. Maslow introduced meta-needs into the pyramid, or needs that are built on top of the others. These are B-motives, existential motives or growth motives. Meta-needs include spiritual needs: truth (cognitive needs), beauty (aesthetic), goodness (ethical), justice, meaningfulness of life, perfection, self-sufficiency or autonomy, etc. Metaneeds are represented by 15 varieties.
Metaneeds, just like deficiency ones, are innate in nature. But unlike deficiency needs, they are non-hierarchized, i.e. possess for a person equal importance. They are less conscious to humans. Satisfaction of deficiency needs is aimed at relieving (reducing) tension, and the desire to satisfy meta-needs makes a person’s life more stressful, because these needs are directed towards distant goals.
Mental maturity is achieved by those people who reach the level of meta-needs and self-actualization needs. Awareness of higher needs is hampered by defense mechanisms. Ion complex – refusal of the individual to self-actualize, conscious reduction of one’s own level of aspirations.
What is the cause of neuroses? Neurosis is failure personal growth. The cause of neurosis is not the suppression of lower needs, but the dissatisfaction of higher ones, i.e. their deprivation. Internal deprivation is associated with the ion complex.
A special type of neurosis is associated with the dissatisfaction of meta-needs - existential neurosis (this is a type of metapathology). Metapathologies arise when meta-needs are not met. Metapathology most often affects fairly prosperous people who have all their basic needs satisfied.
Types of metapathologies:
Apathy is indifference to everything;
Boredom, which is often combined with melancholy;
Alienation from other people;
Excessive selfishness;
A feeling of meaninglessness and uselessness of one’s own existence - loss of the meaning of life;
Death wish;
Loss of self and identity (the person feels constantly changing and anonymous).
Criteria for mental maturity(characteristics of a self-actualizing personality):
I.Creativity, i.e. creativity. Maslow understands creativity not as new contribution into science, art, but as a person’s desire and ability to do exactly what he does, i.e. achieve mastery in your craft. This is the leading characteristic.
II.Direction centeredness– this is passion for one’s work, devotion to it. Self-actualizing individuals live in a sphere of complete competence; they are professionals. They live to work, not work to live.
III.Distinguishing between means and ends. Using only those means that comply with moral standards. A manifestation of this feature is a person’s passion for the process of activity itself, and not for the final result.
IV.Objective perception of reality– intellectual maturity, when a person, when assessing events, relies on facts, and not on his emotions generated by the event.
V.Acceptance of yourself and others just the way they are. Self-actualizing individuals are characterized by high tolerance and tolerance. It's the lack of mechanisms psychological protection.
VI.Spontaneity of behavior– simplicity and naturalness, absence of posturing, desire to “show off.” High need in solitude. They protect their inner world from outside interference, but loneliness does not burden them, for the motto of such a person is: I am best friend themselves, and remaining alone, they remain alone with themselves.
VII.Autonomy. The individual is the master of his own destiny, he chooses who to be. This is a manifestation high level self-sufficiency. Such people do not strive for honors, fame, external honor; internal growth and self-improvement, in which they rely on self-approval, are important for them.
VIII.Resistance to acculturation– non-conformism, low susceptibility to other people’s influence.
IX.Depth of interpersonal relationships. Such people are not prone to wide contacts; they are characterized by communication in narrow circle of a deep nature. Communication is built on kinship of souls, unity of values and interests. The circle of people is small and very limited.
X.Democratic character- respectful attitude towards other people. Mentally mature personality Shows respect towards everyone. Lack of authoritarian tendencies.
XI.Public interest. People are concerned not only with their own fate, but with the fate of their country and its citizens.
XII.Freshness of perception: Every event is perceived as if it were the first time.
XIII.Summit or mystical (peak) experiences- a state of ecstasy, peace, harmony, special kind bliss.
XIV.Sense of humor(philosophical).
Phenomenological theory of personality by C. Rogers (self theory)
The leading and only motive of behavior is the tendency to actualization, and all other motives are only the embodiment of this tendency.
Update– is to preserve and develop oneself, i.e. realize the qualities, abilities, and inner potential inherent in us by nature. Trend of actualization- This is the tendency inherent in the body to develop all its abilities in order to preserve and develop personality. That. Human behavior is motivated by the need to develop and improve. Man is governed by the process of growth.
Final goal , which the trend of actualization is aimed at, is achieving autonomy and self-sufficiency, i.e. self-actualization. The need for self-actualization (according to Maslow) is the main manifestation of the self-actualization tendency. To realize this need (i.e. realize one’s inner potential), a person needs to know himself well. The central concept of Rogers’ personality theory is the concept of I (self, self-concept) - this is a person’s generalized and consistent idea of himself.
The concept of personality comes down to self-awareness or self-concept.
Personality(or Self) is a differentiated part of the phenomenal field (the entire human experience), which consists of conscious perception and assessments of Self, i.e. a person's awareness of himself and his experience.
The self-image includes ideas about what we can become, so the self-concept is divided into 2 types: the ideal self and the real self. For harmonious development For a person, the coordination between the real self and the ideal self is important. A sharp gap between them can give rise to neurosis or increase the need for self-improvement.
Rogers focuses on the issue of the formation of self-concept and its role in the life of each of us. Self-concept is a product of socialization and is formed under the influence of a person’s experience. To form a positive self-esteem, it is important for the child to receive approval from an adult.
Normal harmonious development of personality is possible only in the case of correspondence (congruent relationships) between experience and self-concept. If there is a contradiction between experience and the self-concept, a conflict arises and, as a consequence, the threat of destruction of the self-concept or self-esteem. This threat can be either conscious or unconscious. A perceived threat, when we understand that our behavior does not correspond to our image of ourselves, causes feelings of guilt, internal emotional discomfort and tension, and remorse. If a person is not aware of the discrepancy between experience and self-concept, then he is filled with anxiety.
Anxiety from Rogers's point of view this is emotional reaction person to a threat that signals personality. That the formed self-concept is in danger of destruction (disorganization). Unlike guilt, anxiety occurs when a person feels threatened but is not aware of it. The frequent occurrence of anxiety associated with a mismatch between experience and self-concept leads to neurosis.
To get rid of anxiety, a person develops psychological defense mechanisms. Defenses are a behavioral response to a threat. the main objective– preserve and support the existing self-concept.
Highlight 2 types of protection :
1. Distortion of perception(rationalization): the incongruent experience is allowed into consciousness, but in a form that makes it compatible with the self-concept. An interpretation of the event occurs that makes it possible to harmonize with the self-concept.
2. Denial is ignoring negative experiences.
The purpose of defense is to eliminate the conflict between experience and self-concept. If defense mechanisms turn out to be weak and ineffective, then neurosis begins.
The main condition for the harmonious development of personality and achievement mental health is the flexibility of the self-concept.
Criteria for mental health (fully functioning personality):
Openness to experience or experiences. This manifests itself in the fact that a person is subtly and deeply aware of his entire experience. Lack of psychological defense mechanisms.
The existential way of life is the desire to live fully and richly, to lead such a way of life when the Self-concept follows from experience, and not experience is transformed to please the Self-concept.
Flexibility of self-concept.
Organismic trust is the independence of the individual, the desire of a person to rely on himself in everything, trust in himself, autonomy.
Empirical freedom is freedom of choice, which is combined with ultimate responsibility.
Creativity or creativity combined with non-conformity and adaptability.
Psychological growth
Maslow views psychological growth as the consistent satisfaction of increasingly “higher” needs. The movement towards self-actualization cannot begin until the individual is freed from the dominance of lower needs, such as the needs for safety or esteem. According to Maslow, early need frustration can fix an individual at a certain level of functioning. For example, a child who was not very popular may continue to be deeply concerned with the need for respect and honor throughout his life.
Striving for higher goals in itself indicates psychological health.
Maslow emphasizes that growth occurs through the work of self-actualization. Self-actualization implies long-term, constant engagement in the work of growing and developing one's abilities to the maximum possible, rather than settling for less out of laziness or lack of self-confidence. The work of self-actualization includes choosing worthy creative tasks. Maslow writes that self-actualizing individuals are attracted to the most difficult and intricate problems that require the greatest and most creative effort. They tend to deal with certainty and ambiguity and prefer difficult tasks easy solutions.
2.3. Obstacles to growth
Maslow points out that growth motivation is relatively weak in relation to physiological needs and the needs of safety, respect, etc. The process of self-actualization can be limited by: 1) the negative influence of past experiences and resulting habits that lock us into unproductive behavior; 2) social influences and group pressure, which often act against our tastes and judgments; 3) internal defenses that tear us away from ourselves.
Bad habits often hinder growth. According to Maslow, they include addiction to drugs and alcohol, poor diet and others that affect health and productivity. In general, strong habits hinder psychological growth because they reduce the flexibility and openness needed to function most productively and effectively in different situations.
Maslow adds two more types of defenses to the traditional psychoanalytic list: desacralization and the “Jonah complex.”
Desacralization is the impoverishment of one's life by refusing to treat anything with deep seriousness and involvement. Today, few cultural and religious symbols command the respect and care that were once associated with them, and accordingly they have lost their inspiring, motivating, uplifting and even just motivating power. As an example of desacralization, Maslow often cites modern views for sex. A lighter attitude towards sex, really; reduces the possibility of frustration and trauma, but at the same time, sexual experience loses the significance that inspired artists, poets, and simply lovers.
“Jonah complex " is a refusal to try to realize the fullness of one's abilities. Just as Jonah tried to avoid the responsibility of prophecy, so most people are actually afraid of using their abilities to the maximum extent. They prefer the security of average, not requiring much achievement, as opposed to goals that require completeness own development. This is also common among students who are content to “pass” a course that requires only a portion of their talents and abilities. This can also be found among women who fear that successful professional work is incompatible with femininity or that intellectual achievements will make them less attractive.
2.3. Self-actualization theory
Maslow defines self-actualization as “the full use of talents, abilities, opportunities, etc.” "I imagine a self-actualized person not as ordinary person, to whom something has been added, but as an ordinary person from whom nothing has been taken away. The average person is a complete human being, with suppressed and suppressed abilities and gifts."
“Self-actualization is not the absence of problems, but the movement from temporary and unreal problems to real problems”
Maslow's latest book, The Further Advances of Human Nature, describes eight ways in which an individual can self-actualize, eight types of behavior that lead to self-actualization.
"First of all, self-actualization means experience with full concentration and full absorption, full concentration and absorption. At the moment of self-actualization, the individual is entirely human. This is the moment when I realizes itself... The key to this is selflessness. "Usually we are relatively little aware of what is happening in us and around us (for example, if necessary, obtain testimony about certain event most versions differ). However, we do have moments of heightened awareness and intense interest, and these moments are what Maslow calls self-actualizing.
If we think of life as a process of choices, then self-actualization means : decide in favor of growth in every choice . At every moment there is choice: advance or retreat . Either a movement towards even greater protection, security, fear, or a choice of advancement and growth. Choosing development over fear ten times a day means ten times moving towards self-actualization. Self-actualization is a continuous process; it means multiple separate choices: to lie or remain honest, to steal or not to steal. Self-actualization means choosing from these opportunities opportunities for growth. This is what the self-actualization movement is.
Update - means to become real, to exist in fact, and not just in potentiality. By self, Maslow means the core, or essential nature of an individual, including temperament, unique tastes and values. Thus, self-actualization is learning to tune into one's own inner nature.
Honesty and taking responsibility for your actions - essential moments of self-actualization. Maslow recommends looking within for answers rather than posing, trying to look good, or trying to please others with your answers. Every time we look within for answers, we are in touch with our inner self. Whenever a person takes responsibility, he self-actualizes.
The first five steps help you develop the ability to live your best life. choice . We learn to trust our judgments and instincts and act on them. Maslow believes this leads to better elections in art, music, food, as well as in serious problems life, such as marriage or profession.
Self-actualization - this is also permanent the process of developing their opportunities and potential . This, for example, is the development of mental abilities through intellectual activities. This means using your abilities and intelligence and "working to do well what you want to do." Great talent or intelligence is not the same as self-actualization. Many gifted people have not been able to fully utilize their abilities, while others, perhaps with average talent, have done incredible things.
" Peak experiences " - transitional moments of self-actualization. At these moments, a person is more whole, more integrated, more aware of himself and the world at the “peak” moments. These are the times when we think, act, and feel most clearly and accurately. We love more and in to a greater extent accept others, are more free from internal conflict and anxiety are more able to use our energy constructively.
The further step of self-actualization is the discovery of one’s “defenses” and the work of abandoning them. Finding yourself, discovering what you are, what is good and what is bad for you, what is the purpose of your life - all this requires revelations of one's own psychopathology . We need to be more aware of how we distort self-images and images outside world through repression, projection and other defense mechanisms.
2.4.Characteristics of self-actualizing people
Self-actualizing people represent the “color” of the human race, its best representatives. These people have reached the level of personal development that is potentially inherent in each of us. The following characteristics give an idea of what it means to be a healthy, full-fledged person from the point of view of a humanistic personologist.
Each person strives to realize their inner potential in their own way. Therefore, any attempt to apply Maslow's criteria for self-actualization must be tempered by the understanding that each person must consciously choose own way self-improvement, striving to become who he can be in life.
Maslow concluded that self-actualizing people have the following characteristics.
1. Highest degree of perception of reality .
It means increased attention, clarity of consciousness, balance of all ways of perceiving reality. It is hardly possible to describe this property more accurately.
2. More developed ability accept yourself, others and the world as a whole as they really are.
This property does not at all mean reconciliation with reality, but speaks of the absence of illusions regarding it. A person is guided in life not by myths or collective ideas, but, if possible, by scientific and, in any case, sober opinions about the environment dictated by common sense.
3. Increased spontaneity.
In other words, to be, not to seem. This means revealing your personality, freely expressing it, the absence of inferiority complexes, fear of seeming funny, tactless, profane, etc. In other words, simplicity, trust in life.
4. Greater ability to focus on a problem .
It seems that this ability is more understandable: stubbornness, perseverance, digging into a problem and the ability to consider and discuss it with others and alone.
5. More pronounced detachment and a clear desire for solitude.
A mentally healthy person needs mental concentration; he is not afraid of loneliness. On the contrary, he needs it because it supports his continuous dialogue with himself, helps inner life. A person must work within himself, educate his soul, must be able to talk with God if he is a religious person.
6. More pronounced autonomy and resistance to joining any one culture.
The continuous feeling of being part of some culture, family, group, some society is generally a sign of mental inferiority. In general, in important life things a person should not represent anyone, not be anyone’s delegate. This means that he must draw from all sources, be able to perceive all cultures and not be subordinate to any of them. The regulator of the behavior of a healthy person is not the opinion of others, not their views, not their approval and not their rules, but a code of conduct developed in dialogue with highest principle in itself. In short, it is not an impersonal culture of shame, but a culture of guilt, not external coercion to the same behavior, but multivariate behavior based on an independent vision of life as a whole that characterizes a mentally healthy person.
7. Great freshness of perception and richness of emotional reactions.
This characteristic probably does not need further clarification. If a person is a unity of the emotional, intellectual and physiological spheres, then he must take the best of all of them.
8. More frequent breakthroughs to the peak of experience .
This quality just needs comment. Maslow calls peak experiences moments of awareness, insight, revelation. This is the time of highest concentration, when a person joins the truth, something beyond his strength and abilities. At such moments he seems to switch to more high level, the secrets and meanings of existence suddenly become clear to him, the secrets and meanings of existence are revealed.
Such experiences do not necessarily include, for example, scientific discoveries or the joy of artistic inspiration of the creator. They can be caused by a moment of love, the experience of nature, music, merging with a higher principle. The main thing is that at such moments a person does not feel detached, but connected with higher powers.
He becomes most godlike, says Maslow, which means that he does not experience the slightest need or desire and finds satisfaction in all things.
9. Stronger identification with the entire human race .
All-humanity, a sense of unity is much greater than what separates us all. The uniqueness and dissimilarity of people is the basis for closeness, and not for their enmity.
10. Changes in interpersonal relationships.
A mentally healthy person is self-sufficient and independent, she is less dependent on other individuals. And this means that she has no fear, envy, need for approval, praise or affection. She has no need to lie and adapt to people, does not depend on their preferences and social institutions. She is generally indifferent to signs of encouragement and censure, she is not carried away by orders and glory, they find rewards within, and not outside, themselves.
11. More democratic character structure .
A self-realizing personality does not need any social hierarchy, authorities or idols. She also has no desire to rule over others, to impose her opinions on them. She creates islands of cooperation around herself, rather than the execution of instructions; for her, the team is not a hierarchically structured organization, but a collection of irreplaceable specialists.
In the social structure, such a person corresponds to a democratic social structure. In general, such people, no matter what position and no matter what public place they occupy, even the most inconspicuous one, have no superiors. They know how to arrange themselves everywhere so as not to have controllers and people financially dependent on them over them.
12. High Creative skills .
In some in the highest sense the concepts of man and creator coincide. If we don’t see this, if there are, as it seems to us, gray, insignificant, unnoticeable people around, it means that this society is poorly structured, it does not give a person the opportunity, the scope for self-actualization.
13. Certain changes in the value system.
People who have achieved a certain degree of self-realization have a very high opinion of others. They believe in people, in humanity, in its destiny, in its better future, although they cannot necessarily articulate it in words. In other words, they have a positive attitude, they are not only friendly towards others, but they have a certain and, as a rule, strong positive philosophy of life, a system of interconnected values.
14. Creativity .
Maslow discovered that all self-actualizing people, without exception, have the ability to be creative. However, the creative potential of his subjects did not manifest itself in the same way as outstanding talents in poetry, art, music or science. Maslow spoke, rather, about the same natural and spontaneous creativity that is inherent in unspoiled children. This is the creativity that is present in Everyday life as a natural way of expressing an observant, perceptive and invigoratingly simple personality.
To be creative, a self-actualizing person does not have to write books, compose music, or create paintings. Speaking about his mother-in-law, whom he considered self-actualizing, Maslow emphasized precisely this fact. He said that although his mother-in-law does not have the talents of a writer or an actor, she is highest degree creative in preparing soup. Maslow observed that first-rate soup always contains more creativity than second-rate poetry!
15. Resistance to culturalization .
Self-actualizing people are in harmony with their culture, while maintaining a certain internal independence from it. They have autonomy and self-confidence, and therefore their thinking and behavior are not subject to social and cultural influence. This resistance to enculturation does not mean that self-actualizing people are unconventional or antisocial in all areas of human behavior. For example, in matters of dress, speech, food and behavior, if this does not cause obvious objections to them, they are no different from others. In a similar way, they do not waste energy fighting existing customs and rules. However, they can be extremely independent and unconventional if any of their core values are affected. Therefore, those who do not take the trouble to understand and appreciate them sometimes consider self-actualizing people to be rebellious and eccentric. Self-actualizing people also do not demand immediate improvement from their environment. Knowing the imperfections of society, they accept the fact that social change may be slow and gradual, but it is easier to achieve by working within that system.
CONCLUSION
All my psychological work Maslow connects with the issues of personal growth and development, considering psychology as one of the means that promotes social and psychological well-being. He made significant theoretical and practical contributions to the creation of an alternative to behaviorism and psychoanalysis, which sought to “explain to the point of destruction” creativity, love, altruism and other great cultural, social and individual achievements of mankind. It should be recognized, however, that his works are more a collection of thoughts, points of view and hypotheses than a developed theoretical system.
Self-actualizing people are not angels.
The above may lead to the conclusion that self-actualizing people are a select group of “superstars”, approaching perfection in the art of living and standing at a height unattainable for the rest of humanity. Maslow unequivocally refuted such conclusions. Being flawed by human nature, self-actualizing people are also subject to foolish, unconstructive and unhelpful habits, just like us mortals. They may be stubborn, irritable, boring, contentious, selfish or depressed, and under no circumstances are they immune to unreasonable vanity, excessive pride and partiality towards their friends, family and children. Temperamental outbursts are not that unusual for them. Maslow also found that his subjects were able to exhibit a certain "surgical coldness" in interpersonal conflicts. For example, one woman, realizing that she no longer loved her husband, divorced him with a determination bordering on ruthlessness. Others recovered from the death of people close to them so easily that they seemed heartless.
Further, self-actualizing people are not free from feelings of guilt, anxiety, sadness and self-doubt. Due to excessive concentration, they often cannot tolerate empty gossip and easy conversation. In fact, they may speak or behave in ways that suppress, shock, or offend others. Finally, their kindness to others can make them vulnerable to interactions that are not helpful to them (say, they are in danger of getting bogged down in interactions with annoying or unhappy people). Despite all these imperfections, self-actualizing people were considered by Maslow to be excellent models of mental health. At the very least, they remind us that the potential for human psychological growth is much greater than what we have achieved.
Self-actualization - a process that involves the healthy development of people's abilities so that they can become what they can become.
Self-actualizing people are people who have satisfied their deficiency needs and developed their potential to such an extent that they can be considered extremely healthy people.
Nowadays, when scarcity needs are artificially cultivated by trading companies, through the media with slogans like: “If you are unhappy, it means you consume little!”, diverting people’s attention from true needs, thereby provoking the growth of neurotic deviations, manifested in an endless number of psycho-somatic diseases, Maslow’s concept sounds incredibly relevant.
List of used literature
1. Asmolov A.G. Psychology of Personality. M., 1990.
2. Humanistic theory of personality by A. MASLOW (based on the book by L. Kjell and D. Ziegler “Theories of Personality” St. Petersburg, 1997).
3. Personality psychology. Texts /Ed. Yu.B. Gippenreiter and A.A. Bubbles. M., 1982.
4. Nemov R.S. Psychology / Tutorial. M., 1990.
SELF-ACTUALIZING
Characteristics of creative, self-actualizing personalities. According to A. Maslow, internal activity personalities manifests itself first of all... the level of growth motivation shapes self-actualizing personality. A. Maslow analyzed in detail and summarized the biographical...
A. Maslow, in his concept of self-actualization, offers the following interpretation of the nature of personality: a person is naturally good and capable of self-improvement, people are conscious and intelligent creatures, the very essence of a person constantly moves him in the direction of personal growth, creativity and self-sufficiency.
To study a person as a unique, holistic, open and self-developing system, A. Maslow used the concept of self - actualization (English). Human development in this theory is represented as climbing a ladder of needs, which has levels in which it is “highlighted”, on the one hand, a person’s social dependence, and on the other hand, his cognitive nature associated with self-actualization. The author believed that “people are motivated to find personal goals, and this makes their lives significant and meaningful.” Issues of motivation are central to humanistic personality theory and describe man as a “desiring being” who rarely achieves satisfaction.
A. Maslow considers all human needs as innate. The hierarchy of needs, according to A. Maslow, can be traced from the first level, which consists of physiological needs associated with maintaining the internal environment of the body. As these needs are satisfied, the next level of needs arises. The second level consists of the needs for safety, stability, confidence, freedom from fear, and security. These needs function similarly to physiological needs and, when satisfied regularly, cease to be motivators. The next, third level includes the need for love and affection, communication, social activity, and the desire to have one’s place in a group or family. This is followed by the fourth level, which consists of the needs for respect, self-esteem, independence, independence, mastery, competence, confidence in the world, the desire to have a certain reputation, prestige, fame, recognition, dignity. Dissatisfaction with the needs of this level leads a person to a feeling of inferiority, uselessness, and leads to various conflicts, complexes and neuroses. And finally, the last, fifth level of needs is the need for self-actualization, self-realization and creativity.
A. Maslow identified two types of needs that underlie personality development:
“scarcity”, which cease after their satisfaction and “growth”,
which, on the contrary, only intensify after their implementation. In total, according to Maslow,
There are five levels of motivation:
1) physiological (needs for food, sleep);
2) security needs (need for an apartment; work)
3) needs for belonging, reflecting the needs of one person in
another person, for example in starting a family;
4) level of self-esteem (need for self-actualization, competence,
dignity);
5) the need for self-actualization (meta-needs for creativity, beauty,
integrity, etc.).
13. Logotherapy c. Frankl.
Logotherapy is a method of psychotherapy and existential analysis created by V. Frankl (from the ancient Greek logos - meaning). Logotherapy is a complex system of philosophical, psychological and medical views on the nature and essence of man, the mechanisms of personality development in normal and pathological conditions, and ways to correct anomalies in personality development.
Logotherapy deals with the meaning of human existence and the search for this meaning. According to logotherapy, the desire for a person to search and realize the meaning of his life is an innate motivational tendency inherent in all people and is the main driver of behavior and personal development. Therefore, Frankl spoke of the “striving for meaning” as opposed to the pleasure principle (otherwise known as the “striving for pleasure”), on which psychoanalysis is concentrated. A person does not require a state of balance, homeostasis, but rather a struggle for some goal worthy of him.
Logotherapy is not a treatment that competes with other methods, but it may well compete with them due to the additional factor that it includes. As one of the areas of modern psychotherapy, logotherapy occupies a special place in it, opposing, on the one hand, psychoanalysis, and on the other, behavioral psychotherapy. It differs from all other systems of psychotherapy not at the level of neurosis, but when it goes beyond its limits, in the space of specific human manifestations. Specifically we're talking about about two fundamental anthropological characteristics of human existence: about its self-transcendence and the ability to self-detachment.
There are specific and non-specific areas of application of logotherapy. Psychotherapy of various types of diseases is a non-specific field. A specific area is noogenic neuroses generated by the loss of the meaning of life. In these cases, the Socratic dialogue technique is used to push the patient to discover the adequate meaning of life. The personality of the psychotherapist himself plays an important role in this, although imposing your own meanings on them is unacceptable.
The position about the uniqueness of meaning does not prevent Frankl from giving a meaningful description of possible positive meanings. Values are semantic universals that are the result of a generalization of typical situations in the history of society. There are 3 groups of values: 1) values of creativity, 2) values of experience and 3) values of attitude.
Priority belongs to the values of creativity, the main way of implementation of which is work. Among the values of experience, Frankl dwells in detail on love, which has rich semantic potential.
Paradoxical intention. The method proposed by V. Frankl (in 1929, described by him only in 1939, and published under this name in 1947. As we noted above, logotherapy includes two specific human manifestations, such as self-transcendence and the ability to self-detachment .
A person with noogenic neurosis is constantly in search of meaning. Paradoxical intention is used in neuroses when the following pathogenic response patterns are present:
1. A certain symptom causes the patient to fear that it may recur; a phobia arises - the fear of waiting for a repetition of the symptom, which leads to the fact that the symptom actually appears again, and this only strengthens the patient’s initial fears. Sometimes fear itself can be something that the patient is afraid of repeating, but more often they are afraid of fainting, heart attack, etc. Patients react to their fear by escaping reality (life), for example, trying not to leave the house.
2. The patient is under the yoke of obsessive ideas that have taken possession of him, tries to suppress them, counteract them, but this only increases the initial tension. The circle closes, and the patient finds himself inside this vicious circle.
The paradoxical intention is based on the fact that the patient must want what he fears so much to come true. (In case of a phobia, others realized it, in case of obsession, so that he himself realized what he was afraid of). In this case, the paradoxical proposal should be formulated, if possible, in a humorous form.
Dereflection is a psychotherapeutic method that helps the patient neutralize compulsive introspection by focusing on the positive aspects of his existence. For example, one of V. Frankl’s patients suffered from a compulsive desire to observe her act of swallowing: experiencing uncertainty, she anxiously expected that the food would “go down.” the wrong way”, or that she would choke. Anticipatory anxiety and compulsive self-observation disrupted her eating process to such an extent that she became completely thin. During therapy, she was taught to trust her body and its automatically regulated functioning. The patient was therapeutically dereflexed through the formula: “I do not need to observe swallowing, because I actually do not need to swallow, because in fact it is not I who swallow, but rather the unconscious does it.” And thus the patient got rid of the neurotic fixation on the act of swallowing.
The term “ humanistic psychology” determined by a group of psychologists led by Abraham Maslow. Maslow called his approach third force psychology, contrasting it with behaviorism and psychoanalysis. The humanistic concept is characterized by an existential view of man. The basic principles include the interpretation of personality as a single whole, the uselessness of research on animals, the perception of man as a fundamentally positive and creative being, and an emphasis on the study of mental health.
Maslow's theory describes motivation in terms of a hierarchy of needs. Lower (basic) needs must be reasonably satisfied before needs higher order will become the dominant motivating forces in human behavior. The hierarchy of needs in order of dominance is as follows:
1.physiological needs (food, water, sleep, etc.);
2.need for security (stability, order);
3.needs for love and belonging (family, friendship);
4.need for respect (self-esteem, recognition);
5.need for self-actualization (development of abilities).
Maslow distinguished two types of motives in humans: deficit motives and growth motives. The former are aimed at reducing tension, and the latter are aimed at increasing tension through the search for new and exciting experiences. Maslow suggested that both types of motives are biologically embedded in people.
He identified several meta-needs (for example, truth, beauty or justice), with the help of which he described self-actualizing people. Failure to meet metaneeds should produce metapathologies (e.g., apathy, cynicism, and alienation).
Empirical research Maslow focused on the concept of self-actualization. Self-actualizing people are the “color” of humanity, people living life to the fullest and reached potential level personal development. Their characteristics are as follows: more effective perception of reality; acceptance of self, others and nature; spontaneity, simplicity and naturalness; problem-centered; independence: need for privacy; autonomy: independence from culture and environment; freshness of perception; summit experiences; public interest; deep interpersonal relationships; democratic character; differentiation of means and ends; philosophical feeling humor; creativity (creative abilities); resistance to cultivation.
The main source of human activity is the desire for self-actualization. Self-actualization means:
- understanding real life with all its complexities (without the “ostrich effects”);
- acceptance of oneself and others (“I am I”, “You are You”);
- naturalness of behavior, independence of judgment;
- goodwill;
- openness to experience;
- professional passion for what you love;
- realization of all your potential capabilities;
- congruence (correspondence of experience to its true content, achieved by overcoming internal defense mechanisms individual).
Self-actualization is inherent in human nature. But he must realize a number of needs that form a hierarchical ladder:
- physiological needs for food, clothing, housing, sex, etc. (lower);
- need for security (maintaining the ability to satisfy lower needs, providing work, ensuring personal safety, etc.);
- social needs(satisfying individual desires for contacts with other people);
- need for respect, status, awareness self-esteem;
- the need for self-actualization, self-development, self-improvement (higher needs).
As a rule, the implementation of a higher level of needs involves the implementation (inclusion) of lower levels.
Obstacles to self-realization:
- the feeling of a “cog” depending on everyone and everything (the phenomenon of “learned helplessness”);
- sterile division of surrounding people into “us” and “strangers”;
- “self-criticism”, psychological critical “masochism”;
- the presence of topics, ideological positions, etc. that are prohibited for discussion and analysis.
Psychotherapeutic help (logotherapy) is required by a person when an existential vacuum forms around him:
- when a person has lost the meaning of life;
- when obstacles to self-realization become impassable.
The meaning of life is comprehended by developing one’s abilities to love and empathize.
Weakness Maslow's approach in some biologization moral qualities person. Unfortunately, people are not born absolutely kind, they can become so.
Abraham Maslow - Doctor psychological sciences, who developed his own theory based on detailed study psychological concepts 50s of the XX century and formed newest direction in psychology. The need to form your own approach to understanding the psyche lies in opposing the absolutization of the experience of old schools and their approaches. One of greatest shortcomings Maslow believed in psychoanalysis not the desire to reduce the role of consciousness, but to reduce the tendency to consider mental development regarding the processes of adaptation of the human body to environment and the desire for balance with the given environment. Just like his predecessor, he believed that this could have a detrimental effect on the individual. The most important thing in Maslow's psyche emphasized independence and the desire for self-development. Unlike other psychoanalysts, he was mainly interested in the process of emergence of deviant behavior. Only in this way could the limits of human capabilities be determined and the true nature of the human mind be assessed.
Thus, humanistic psychology Maslow came down to the development of a certain hierarchy human needs. Let's consider the needs identified by Abraham Maslow for personality development:
- Physiological needs– food, water, sleep, etc.;
- The need for security - stability, order;
- Need for love and belonging – family, friendship;
- The need for respect - self-esteem, recognition;
- The need for self-actualization is the development of abilities.
Personal self-actualization is a need associated with the ability to understand oneself, i.e. learn to exist and build your behavior in accordance with this nature. This process self-actualization of the individual is endless. Maslow considered conscious motives and aspirations to be the main component human personality. But upon implementation own needs a person often faces obstacles or misunderstandings from others and own weaknesses. Most people fail to cope with difficulties and retreat, as a result of which personal growth stops. Society itself cannot become an obstacle to a person’s desire for self-actualization, since any society tries to present a person in the image of a stereotyped representative, which contributes to the alienation of the individual from the most important essence and makes it conformal. Thus, Maslow's theory, the only one in which the main emphasis was on difficulties, deviations and negative sides personality. He was one of the first to explore the achievements personal experience. As a result, the path was opened for self-development and self-improvement of every person.