PERSONALITY THEORY – CARL ROGERS AND VICTOR FRANKL

Why is it that man lives up to a certain point not knowing what the meaning of life is. Not knowing what path to follow, not knowing if the energy and courage to discover the truths of ones own existence in this world exist. Some persons will drive past a street child on Cape Town roads and look sideways in horror, quickly lock a car door with an "unapparent" elbow; warm, safe, and comfortable in the interior of a brand new sports model car. Others will look away and ignore the feelings of pity, or even perhaps swear or curse this annoyance. But why is it that some will open the window, offer a smile, and return home to sit quietly and try to find a means to correct this sadness. Be it …show more content…

EXISTENTIAL – HUMANISTIC CONSIDERATIONS: Humans are free and are thus responsible in choosing the path towards ones own destiny, and to make choices as a human being. Subjective feelings and personal experiences are extremely important. People are concerned with the meaning of life. Humans have the capacity for improvement and people are urged to explore new possibilities for living in the attempt to find more effective choices. Each uniquely existing human is continually attempting to actualize himself in a threatening world, but the accompanying risk and the existential anxiety cause him to back off. Here, man is unwilling to actualize his potential in an independent manner, and so deprives himself of the most important aspect that motivates personality (quoted in Hergenhahn and Olson, 1999). As Victor Frankl (1999) said, existential frustration exists where the will to meaning is blocked. Here, the positive and negative aspects of human nature are emphasized. So, for instance, a person who finds himself in jail after stealing food in order to eat, may never have the opportunity to find his true calling in life. A feeling of worthlessness, negativity and sadness, all circumstances (human nature, and life aspects in general) that may block a human being's self actualizing abilities and free will (quoted in Hergenhahn and Olson, 1999).

COGNITIVE PROCESSES: Emphasis here is on