The Humanistic Approach to Personality and Individuality and The Character's Strength

Essays on Psychology of Development and Individual Differences
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Word Count: 2016
Essays on Psychology of Development and Individual Differences
1 Critically discuss the humanistic approach to personality and individual differences
1 Introduction
The humanistic perspective on personality is linked to individual qualities of optimal well-being and development. The approach focuses on the reductionistic explanation of personality based on isolated personality differences starting from the existential assumption that people have free will to achieve their potential and self-actualisation (Nykyporets & Herasymenko, 2018). The humanistic approach was developed after overviewing different limitations of behaviourist and psychodynamic psychology, and Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers have a considerable contribution to the humanistic approach to personality development (Anufrieva et al., 2020). The essay discusses the role of the humanistic approach on personality differences and development. Later, it discusses the critique by the opposing school of thought on the humanistic approach for a sound evaluation.
1.2 Maslow's and Roger's Approaches to Personality
Humanism is a third force of psychology. The previous two forms compared the psychological disturbance and behaviours where individuals act like robots caused by behaviouralist theories (Montag et al., 2020). Abraham Maslow opposed the view and believed in healthy, creative, and productive individuals. He believed that individuals share similar characteristics like being open, spontaneous, and concerned for others. He presented the hierarchy of needs theory which believes that needs among individuals are common at a different level and must be met in a certain way (Yahya et al., 2018). The self-actualisation need is the highest, showing that the person has achieved their full potential.
Maslow's theory is based on the analysis of personality, subjective experiences, free will, and innate drive to self-actualization. He has expanded the humanistic perspective and demands of humans in the individual lifespan and their influence on personality development. He emphasised individual differences from the basic needs to needs of self-actualization. Self-actualisation is the last stage achieved after all stages, leading to satisfying nature (McCleskey & Ruddell, 2020). Self-actualisers are different from others as they achieve the coherent personality syndrome, representing their optimal health and functioning.
Another humanistic, Carl Rogers, believed in the self-concept, thoughts, and feelings. When a person has a positive attitude toward others, he would feel good while discussing with him, and if the response is negative, he might feel unhappy with him. The categories divided by Rogers are the ideal and authentic self, which is the difference between what the person is and what he wants to be (Charnofsky & Sayani, 2020). Based on the idea, people need to achieve consistency in their behaviour rather than differences between actual and ideal selves. The reason is that the self-concept is accurate.
The humanistic approach leads to high congruence and productive life. For example, parents try to help their children achieve unconditional positive regard and unconditional love. When people are accepted and prized, their attitude toward development changes. Both Maslow and Rogers emphasised individual choices and differences because people strive for self-actualization (Yin, 2018). Their emphasis is on free will and self-determination to become the best person.
The primary motivation of self-actualisation is life satisfaction. Rich people have a different level of satisfaction, whereas poor people have diverse opinions on satisfaction. Individuals seek a scenario differently; hence, they look at different ways to achieve self-actualisation. Rogers believes in the self-concept and conditions of worth, whereas Maslow emphasises the hierarchy of needs. Some people have existential free will, and they do not compromise on their independence and happiness. Further, the humanistic approach believes that self-actualisation shapes human personalities (Jackson, 2019). People develop a self-concept based on their previous experiences from the reality field. Fully functioning people have a good life span to allow their personalities to emanate from their experiences.
1.3 Critical Evaluation
The critical evaluation is based on the strengths and limitations of the humanistic approach to development. The major strengths are that the humanism approach emphasises autonomy and individual differences while choosing behaviors. The people's viewpoints and experiences are taken subjectively rather than objectively, which makes a robust analysis of the differences of individuals. The theory believes that individuals are not products; instead, they have stimulus-response abilities against events or incidents (Allen, 2020). The approach focuses on the whole individual and its differences with other individuals. That is why the theory promotes the idea of personal responsibilities and capabilities.
The major criticism of the humanistic approach ignores biology because brain functions and nature could also impact individual differences. These concepts are unscientific and proven subjectively. The theory cannot be used to compare attributes of animals and humans which is against the deterministic laws of science (Rohmana & Rinda, 2019). The later researchers raised several questions for the lack of empirical evidence in the research. Their viewpoints are subjective; hence, there is much variation to be researched accurately.
Such a detailed emphasis on psychology does not provide details on the impact of society and personal development. The hierarchy needs are criticised because of cultural bias and primarily represent Western viewpoints (Jackson, 2019). Hence, these viewpoints cannot be universally applied. Lastly, the approach is too optimistic, assuming that all individuals are good and prefer a positive direction in their lives; however, there is limited free will and choices. One cannot choose the criminal path based on free will and choices (Nykyporets & Herasymenko, 2018). That is why one must consider both drawbacks and strengths of the theory before implementing their concepts in workplaces, educational centres, and daily lives.
1.4 Conclusion
From the discussion, it can be concluded that humanistic approaches have provided massive support to individual differences. All individuals are different; hence, their free will and choices differ depending on their nature, environment, and backgrounds. These individuals fulfill their self-actualisation needs as per their wishes and ideal lifestyles. The self-actualisation approaches are different for different individuals. That is why both Maslow and Rogers are vast supporters of the subjective nature of human rights. However, these theories ignore science and laws completely. Some individuals are not mentally developed and do not know their demands; similarly, the law of free will is not applicable in choosing the wrong directions. The humanistic approaches are based on the western culture; hence, these concepts are rarely applicable in collective cultures.
References
Allen, C. (2020). Humanistic and Existential Theory: Frankl, Rogers, and Maslow. The Balance of Personality.
Anufrieva, N. I., Volkov, L. V., Aralova, E. V., Kolomyts, O. G., & Myagkova, E. V. (2020). Environmental education: Nurturing of the humanistic orientation of a personality. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(11), 5529-5535.
Charnofsky, S., & Sayani, C. (2020). Clinical Applications of Humanistic Theory of Personality. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences: Clinical, Applied, and Cross‐Cultural Research, 27-36.
Jackson, T. (2019). The History of Black Psychology and Humanistic Psychology: Synergetic Prospects. In Humanistic Approaches to Multiculturalism and Diversity (pp. 29-44). Routledge.
McCleskey, J. A., & Ruddell, L. (2020). Taking a Step Back—Maslow's Theory of Motivation: A Christian Critical Perspective. Journal of Biblical Integration in Business, 23(1).
Montag, C., Sindermann, C., Lester, D., & Davis, K. L. (2020). Linking individual differences in satisfactio...