1 Psychology 305A: Personality Psychology April 1 Lecture 21.

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Psychology 305A: Personality Psychology

April 1

Lecture 21

• Students are expected to submit a hard copy of their paper during class on April 8.

Paper Submission

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• Late papers and papers submitted via e-mail, in my mailbox or the TA’s mailbox, or under our office doors will not be accepted.

• In addition to submitting a hard copy in class, you must submit an electronic copy to TurnItIn.

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• TurnItIn is a plagiarism detection system that scans and compares your paper to online content (e.g., other students’ papers, published works, websites).

• It provides an “originality report” that documents the overlap between your paper and online content, identifying sources of plagiarized content.

• Overlap between your paper and online content is acceptable if you have properly cited the sources (see the course syllabus and APA Publication Manual for citation procedures).

What is TurnItIn?

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• Step-by-step instructions are available in the “Student Quickstart Guide” at http://www.turnitin.com/static/support/guides_manuals.html.

• Go to www.turnitin.com. If you do not have an account, create an account by clicking “Create Account.”

TurnItIn Instructions

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• Use the following information to create an account or add Psychology 305A to your existing account:

Class ID: 7882356Password: psych305a

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• Your paper will not be graded if you do not submit it to TurnItIn.

Additional Notes on TurnItIn

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• You may view your originality report before submitting the hard copy in class to address any concerns regarding plagiarism.

• Please contact your TA if you have any questions or difficulties submitting your paper to TurnItIn.

• The electronic copy submitted to TurnItIn must be identical to the hard copy submitted in class; do not change the content or format of the document.

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Reminder

Please complete your evaluation for this course. Your evaluation will be anonymous and secure.

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To date, 12% of students have completed the evaluation.(Goal: 60% completion rate!)

A little R&R ….(Review and Reflect)

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1. Is self-actualization universally achieved? (continued)

2. According to Rogers’ person-centered theory, what is a fully functioning person?

3. How does a person become fully functioning?

4. What therapeutic approach did Rogers develop to help people become fully functioning?

5. What is happiness?

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The Self-Actualization/Determination Perspective

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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

3. describe Roger’s notion of the actualizing tendency.

4. discuss the characteristics of a fully functioning person.

5. review the conditions that are necessary to become fully functioning.

1. explain why self-actualization is rarely achieved.

2. define the term Jonah complex.

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8. describe the 3 conditions that are necessary for therapeutic change in client-centered therapy.

9. distinguish between hedonic and eudaimonic happiness.

7. identify defense mechanisms that are used by individuals who are not fully functioning.

6. define the term conditions of worth.

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Is self-actualization universally achieved? (continued)

• Maslow asserted that only 1-2% of North Americans achieve a self-actualized state due to sociocultural constraints and self-constraints.

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With respect to self-constraints, he stated:

“We fear our highest possibilities …. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under the most perfect conditions, under conditions of greatest courage. We enjoy and even thrill to the godlike possibilities we see in ourselves …. And yet we simultaneously shiver with weakness, awe, and fear before these very same possibilities.”

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According to Rogers’ person-centered theory, what is a fully functioning person?

• Rogers believed that humans are driven by one “master motive,” the actualizing tendency. The actualizing tendency subsumes all other motives.

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• Rogers described the fully functioning person (FFP) as an individual who is engaged in the process of self-actualization; s/he need not be fully self-actualized:

The fully functioning state is “a direction, not a

destination.”

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• The FFP is characterized by six attributes: openness to experience, existential living, organismic trust, experiential freedom, creativity*, harmonious relationships with others.

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How does a person become fully functioning?

• Rogers believed that humans have an innate need for positive regard: to be accepted and receive love and affection from others.

• Rogers theorized that, in order to become fully functioning, an individual must receive unconditional positive regard: acceptance, love, or affection that is given without conditions.

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• An individual who receives unconditional positive regard in the formative years develops unconditional positive self-regard: an ability to view her- or himself favorably under all conditions.

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• An individual with unconditional positive self-regard accepts diverse experiences, trusts her or his own judgments, and acts in accordance with his or her own desires and wishes.

• Accordingly, the individual with unconditional positive self-regard develops the attributes necessary to engage in self-actualization and be fully functioning.

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• Rogers believed that an individual cannot become fully functioning if s/he receives conditional positive regard: acceptance, love, or affection that is given only under certain conditions.

• Rogers referred to conditions put forth by significant others for earning positive regard as conditions of worth.

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• An individual who experiences a multitude of conditions of worth in the formative years develops

conditional positive self-regard: an inability to view her- or himself favorably under all conditions.

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• An individual with conditional positive self-regard distorts personal experiences, disregards her or his own judgments, and acts in accordance with the desires and

wishes of others.

• Accordingly, the individual with conditional positive self-regard develops attributes that prevent him or her from engaging in self-actualization and becoming fully

functioning.

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What therapeutic approach did Rogers develop to help people become fully functioning?

• Rogers suggested that most people encounter incongruities or discrepancies between their self-concept and their experience.

• These incongruities produce anxiety—an “uneasiness or tension whose cause is unknown”.

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• The FFP reduces incongruities by incorporating new experiences into her or his self-concept.

• The individual who is not fully functioning reduces incongruities by employing defense mechanisms: denial and distortion.

• In an effort to minimize this anxiety, people try to reduce the incongruities that they experience.

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• Rogers developed a therapeutic approach to help people who are not fully functioning: Client-centered therapy.

• Also referred to as “nondirective therapy.”

• The therapist creates an environment in which the patient can solve her or his own problem.

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• The therapist creates this environment by fulfilling 3 conditions:

1. Therapist congruence.

2. Unconditional positive regard.

3. Empathetic understanding.

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• Empathetic understanding is communicated by restating the feelings and contents of the patient’s statements.

Example:

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Patient: I just don’t know which classes to take next year. I wish someone could make those decisions for me.

Therapist: You are looking for someone to tell you what to do.

Patient: Yes, but I know that’s impossible. Nobody can decide what’s right for me if even I don’t have a clue.

Therapist: You find it exasperating that you are having so much trouble deciding on a class schedule.

Patient: Well, none of my friends have this much trouble making decisions.

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Therapist: You feel that your situation is not normal; it’s not like the experiences of your friends.

Patient: Yeah, and it makes me mad. I should just be able to pick four or five courses and stick with my decision, but I can’t seem to. I know it’s silly.

Therapist: You think it is a trivial thing, yet it makes you angry that you cannot seem to make the decision.

Patient: Well, you know, it really is trivial, isn’t it? I know I can always change classes if they don’t work out. I guess I just need to try them out.

Therapist: You see some options, that you can get out of a class if it isn’t right for you.

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• Ideally, through client-centered therapy, the patient transitions from the “then and there” to the “here and now” and becomes fully functioning.

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What is happiness?

• Positive psychology focuses on “positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions … to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless” (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).

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• Positive psychologists distinguish between two forms of happiness (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011):

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Hedonic happiness: High satisfaction with life, high positive affect, low negative affect.

Eudaimonic happiness: Self-actualization (e.g., fulfillment of potential, pursuit of intrinsic motivations, experience of meaning in life).

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Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985)(1=Strongly Disagree, 7=Strongly Agree)

1. In most ways my life is close to my ideal.2. The conditions of my life are excellent.3. I am satisfied with life.4. So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.5. If I could live my life over, I would change almost

nothing.

Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2006)(1=Absolutely Untrue, 7=Absolutely True;

a=Presence Subscale, b=Search Subscale)

1. I understand my life’s meaning.a

2. I am looking for something that makes my life feel meaningful.b

3. I am always looking to find my life’s purpose.b

4. My life has a clear sense of purpose.a

5. I have a good sense of what makes my life meaningful.a

6. I have discovered a satisfying life purpose.a

7. I am always searching for something that makes my life feel significant.b

8. I am seeking a purpose or mission for my life.b

9. My life has no clear purpose.a

10. I am searching for meaning in my life.b

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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

3. describe Roger’s notion of the actualizing tendency.

4. discuss the characteristics of a fully functioning person.

5. review the conditions that are necessary to become fully functioning.

1. explain why self-actualization is rarely achieved.

2. define the term Jonah complex.

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8. describe the 3 conditions that are necessary for therapeutic change in client-centered therapy.

9. distinguish between hedonic and eudaimonic happiness.

7. identify defense mechanisms that are used by individuals who are not fully functioning.

6. define the term conditions of worth.