Chapter 8 Motives and the Dynamics of Personality

1. Personality Psychology Chapter 8 Motives and the Dynamics of Personality

2. Needs and Motives Theory Defined • A theory of personality that asserts that personality is best understood as a reflection of underlying needs

3. Key Components • Personality revolves around concept of Needs • Personality is reflected in behavior, which results from underlying needs/motives/press • Very General • Based on basic aspects of life humans want or desire for their well-being • Very Individualized • Idiographic

4. Key People • Henry Murray • Abraham Maslow • Carl Rogers

5. Henry Murray • Central figure • Developed wide-ranging theory of personality organized by a pattern of needs, motives, and press • Idiographically oriented • Manifest needs (observable) • Latent needs (underlying)

6. Needs • Basic desire for something; states of tension; internal state that is less than satisfactory (Need for Food) • Two Types • Three Combinations • Thought to be objective

7. Motives • Drives to meet needs and reduce dissatisfaction; internal states that arouse and direct behavior towards goals (Hunger) • Influenced by needs • Cognitions with affective overtones, organized around preferred experiences and goals (emotionally-charged goals) • Appear in thoughts that pertain to either desired or undesired goals • Subjective overtones • Leads to behavior directly

8. Press • External events that influence motives (Seeing someone eat dessert) • Environmental influence on motives as opposed to biological, internal influences of needs • Can bring on a motivational state simply through environmental exposure • Both objective and subjective press exists • Alpha Press (objective environment) • Beta Press (perceived environment)

9. The process of personality in Needs and Motives Theory • Underlying need and the external press are combined into motives • Motives influence what behaviors are expressed

10. Murray’s Understanding of Personality Need Motive Behavior Press

11. Murray’s Understanding of Personality Water Buy a drink Thirst Hot day

12. Murray’s Hierarchy of Needs • Needs exist at different levels of strength • Each need interacts with other needs, resulting in interactions, or dynamics within the person • Varies from person to person, resulting in unique patterning of needs, motives, and behaviors (individualized)

13. Measuring Needs • Manifest Needs (aka Motives) • Behavior, self-report • Latent Needs (True definition of Needs) • Murray was most interested in pattern of latent needs • Indirect methods • Applied the term “Apperception” to mean the process of projecting needs onto a stimulus • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

14. Most Researched Needs Need For Achievement • Doing Things Better • Research Findings • Gender Differences • Promoting Achievement Motivation

15. Most Researched Needs Need For Power • Having Impact • Research Findings • Gender Differences • Health Status and The Need For Power • War and Peace…and Power

16. Most Researched Needs Need For Intimacy • Wanting Relationships • Research Findings

17. Most Researched Needs Need For Affiliation • Motive to spend time with others; want to be accepted; actively make social contacts • Couples do best when Need for Affiliation is similar • Four sub-domains in terms of the function of this need • Social comparison, Emotional support, Positive stimulation, Attention from others

18. The Humanism Paradigm The Motive to Self-Actualize The “Self” is the most important being; the “Self” is the center of one’s universe, second to no others Humans determine for themselves what their lives are to be like: Focus on free-will Emphasizes the human need for growth and realizing one’s full potential Believes that humans are intrinsically good and self-perfecting

19. The Humanistic Tradition: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • Needs are hierarchically organized • Needs must be satisfied at the lower levels before we proceed to satisfy the higher needs • Lower needs • More powerful and pressing, but more primitive • Deficiency-based • Higher needs • Weaker, or subtle, but more human • Growth-based

20. Characteristics of “Self-Actualizers” According to Maslow • Efficient in perceptions of reality • Accepting of themselves and others • Spontaneous, natural, authentic • Philosophical • “Oceanic feelings”

21. The Humanistic Tradition: Carl Rogers • The Motive to Self-Actualize • Main Beliefs • Actualization • Self-actualization • Fully-functioning person • Positive Regard

22. Rogers: Positive Regard • Unconditional: Offered without prerequisites • Conditional: Offered only on the basis of certain requirements • Conditions of Worth • Conditional Self-regard

23. Rogers as a “Self” Theorist • Self-Concept: Set of qualities the person views as being part of himself or herself; made of many elements • Ideal Self: Image the person wants to be • Actual Self: Image the person understands him or herself to be • Real Self: Who each person acts like from day to day

24. Rogers as a “Self” Theorist • How perspectives on the Self can interact • Congruence of Self • Incongruence of Self

25. Congruence vs. Incongruence • Congruence of “Self” • Occurs when ideal self and actual self are similar – when you are whom you want to be • Occurs when actual self and real self are similar – when you act like the person you know yourself to be • Both achieved by self-actualization and result in a fully functioning person

26. Congruence vs. Incongruence • Incongruence of “Self” • Caused by a mismatch of ideal/actual selves or actual/real selves • Caused by ‘conditions of worth’ • Leads to anxiety • Defenses enacted to protect Self from this anxiety

27. Rogerian Defenses • Distortions of experiences • Perceive event from being different than it is • Rationalization • Preventing threats to reach awareness • Denial of experience • Avoidance • Self-handicapping

28. Rogerian Client-Centered Therapy • Focus on the client’s topics of discussion • Clarify feelings • Restatement of content • Client is responsible for therapy’s progress and coming to own conclusions, solving own problems

29. Rogers versus Maslow • Rogers began at Maslow’s social needs level (3rd level) • Maslow’s Need for Love and Belongingness is similar to Roger’s Need for Positive Regard • Maslow’s Esteem Need is a positive need; Rogers’ Conditions of Worth are negative according to him • Both thought the need for acceptance was stronger than the need for self-actualization