Humanistic and Existential Personality Theories Matrix

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 …show more content…

People who believe in existential theories believe that personalities are deeply rooted in experience. Every individual’s personality is a result of the experiences they have been through and how he or she interpreted those experiences (Feist & Feist, 2009). For example, if John Smith gets his heart broken in a bad relationship, his personality will be affected and when the next relationship comes around, he will be more cautious. John Smith will not want to experience the same heartbreak, which will in turn lead him to put up walls to protect his heart. Each of us has experienced something in our lives that caused a change in our personality. It mostly depends on how we interpreted the experience and how we used that experience to prepare for the next one. Humanistic and Existential Theories Effects on Interpersonal Relationships According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the humanistic and existential theory influences interpersonal relationships via belongingness and love needs. One moves up the ladder of needs and is effected by the desire for friendship, finding someone to love, and having a family. This requires contact with people and the emotions of love. People who have reached this level have no problem accepting rejection