Humanistic and Existential Personality Theories Matrix
Theorists have invested years of research into learning the dynamics of one’s personality. Humanistic and Existential Personality Theories offered perspectives that have proved to be valuable to those researching and exploring how one’s personality develops and expands throughout life. From Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to Carl Rogers’s development of the formative tendency and the actualizing tendency, the range of perspectives is diverse. In this paper, we will analyze how humanistic and existential theories affect individual personalities and give explanation to how these personality theories influence one’s interpersonal relationships.
Humanistic and Existential Theories Effects on Individual Personalities Each theory has its own explanations in how one’s personality becomes affected and so do the humanistic and existential theories. The holistic-dynamic theory carries many different names including the humanistic theory or the third force in the psychology and came to life because of one important humanistic psychologist, Abraham Maslow. According to this theory, one possesses the ability, as an entire person, to reach the stage of self-actualization, which is something that is part of everyone’s life and happens naturally once the time is right. Maslow thought that people go through different levels before he or she can actually reach their full potential. He also believed that one is always driven (there are four different dimension by which one is motivated, which are conative, aesthetic, cognitive, and neurotic) by his or her needs but at the same time, immediate needs are not everything. Rather, one is interested in his or her continuous positive development. However, to be able to do so, one must first meet the lower end needs of hunger, love, and