Psychology of self-actualization of personality by Maslow. Self-actualization concept A

Abraham Maslow's (1908-1970) personality theory is based on a study of mentally mature, progressive, creative people who form the so-called “growing elite” of society.
The scientific environment that influenced Maslow's theory is significant and varied. Living in New York, he met and studied with such outstanding scientists as A. Adler, E. Erikson, E. Fromm, K. Goldstein, K. Horney, M. Mead, M. Wertheimer.
Maslow's scientific aspirations were multifaceted. He studied issues of primate behavior from the perspective behaviorism, issues of female sexuality, anthropological studies of Indians; led training groups.
A. Maslow was critical of the psychology of that time, which studied the human psyche mainly on pathological material. He intended to deal only with healthy people. Like many other humanistic psychologists, Maslow believes that the mental must be considered as a whole, avoiding “unit-by-unit analysis” (see. Reader. 4.1).
One of the central places in Maslow's theory is the problem motivation. Refusing the psychoanalytic interpretation of needs and motives, he formulates the position according to which sociality lies in the very nature of man and acts as his biologically determined property. The aggressive actions and actions of people observed in society, the traits of cruelty are caused not by nature, but by the inhumane conditions of upbringing and life of the individual, some traditions inherent in society.
Motivation as the driving force of personality development was considered by him as a tendency that disrupts the mental balance of the individual. This is exactly the kind of violation homeostasis leads to growth, development, self-actualization personalities, i.e. to desire, which Maslow defined as a person’s desire to be who he can be. The concept of self-actualization occupies a leading place in his concept.
Despite the fact that a person’s need to be who he can be is innate, it remains potential until special conditions arise for its actualization. This condition is the satisfaction of all other (basic) needs of the individual: physiological needs, needs for safety and protection, love and respect. “If all needs are unsatisfied, and physiological needs dominate in the body, then all others may simply become non-existent or be relegated to the background” (Maslow A. Dominance, Self-Esteem, Self-Actualization. California, 1973. P. 155- 156). Failure to satisfy basal desires leads to neuroses and psychoses.
In later works, the position on the sequence of need satisfaction was revised and supplemented by the following thesis: if in the past an individual’s needs for security, love and respect were fully satisfied, he gains the ability to withstand hardships in this area and actualize himself despite unfavorable conditions. The main components of a person’s mental health are: 1) the desire to be everything that a person can be, 2) the desire for humanistic values.
There are positive and negative sides of self-actualization, where the latter leads to extreme individualism and autonomy.. With the positive side of self-actualization, some relative independence from others inherent in a healthy person, of course, does not indicate a lack of interaction with them; it only means that in such contacts the goals of the individual and his own nature are the main determinants.
In general, he describes a healthy personality as autonomous, inclined to accept others, spontaneous, sensitive to beauty, to humor, and prone to creativity. Comparing a healthy person and a sick person, he wrote that a self-actualizing person is unusual not because something has been added to him, but rather because he has not lost anything in the process of his individual life.
In addition to personal qualities, he highlights cognitive And perceptual features of a self-actualizing personality - a clear and clear perception of the surrounding reality, its unconventionality, rare use defense mechanisms, high predictive ability. Such people feel most comfortable in a new, unknown, unstructured situation and are successful in scientific activities. They adequately assess themselves and their abilities.
Special socio-psychological and communicative characteristics of a self-actualizing personality are also highlighted - manifestation positive emotions in communication with other people, democracy.
The need for self-actualization according to Maslow is an innate need. He considers detachment, detachment from the social environment, an important condition for the functioning of healthy people, when the assessment of one’s behavior is carried out on the basis of self-approval, which does not need external rewards and punishments.
Theoretical conclusions extend to understanding the role of psychotherapy. In his opinion, psychotherapeutic activity has unlimited possibilities, but can only be useful from the point of view of correction; it is not capable of returning what has been lost by a person for many years. He attributes great psychotherapeutic importance to self-actualization, extreme experiences, education and cultural factors. In the psychotherapeutic process itself, serious attention is paid to conscious aspects: education and voluntary regulation of one’s potential capabilities. Ideally, he saw the change in society as a process that occurs under the influence of specially organized psychotherapeutic education of the individual. He notes that if psychotherapists dealt with millions of people a year, society would undoubtedly change. IN recent works his attitude towards the psychotherapeutic reconstruction of society changes. It becomes more skeptical. "I long ago gave up the possibility of improving the world or the entire human race through individual psychotherapy. It is not feasible. In fact, it is quantitatively impossible. Later, in order to achieve my utopian goals, I turned to education, which should be extended to the entire human race."
Abraham Maslow's concept influenced the development of psychological science, as well as criminology, management, psychotherapy and education. This influence was strengthened by the fact that his theory was perceived not just as a scientific concept, but as an ideology that advances humanity along the path of revealing its potential. Maslow's interest in self-actualization grew in the process of communicating with his teachers R. Benedict and M. Wertheimer. He realized that their personalities could be interpreted not just as individuals, but as a certain type of self-actualizing person.

A person can and should become the creator of his own mental reality. From philosophy it is known that the criterion of truth is practice. Everyone has many practices, their success is health, a full-fledged joyful life, which is driven, as A. Maslow wrote, by the need for the development of life, and not the desire to satisfy basic needs. And one cannot but agree with the author that “ complete absence disappointments, pain, failures are also fraught with danger. To become strong, a person must develop the ability to survive disappointments, the ability to perceive physical reality as something absolutely indifferent to human desires, the ability to love other people and receive the same pleasure from satisfying their needs as from satisfying their own desires.”

Eight basic conditions for self-actualization:

1. Self-actualization means a full, vivid and selfless experience of life with full concentration and immersion in it, i.e., an experience without teenage shyness. Young people often suffer from a lack of selflessness and an excess of shyness and self-importance.

2. It is necessary to imagine life as a process of constant choice. At every moment there is a choice: advance or retreat. Or move to another more protection, security, fear, or the choice of advancement and growth. Self-actualization is a continuous process; it means many separate choices: to lie or remain honest, to steal or not to steal. Self-actualization means constantly choosing from these opportunities for growth.

3. The very word “self-actualization” implies the presence of an “I” that can be actualized. Man is always already something, at least some core structure. There is your own “I”, and you need to give this “I” the opportunity to manifest itself. Most of us (especially children and young people) listen not to ourselves, but to the voice of mom, dad, superiors, tradition, etc.

4. When you doubt something, try to be honest, do not defend yourself with the phrase: “I doubt it.” Often when we doubt, we are wrong. Turning to yourself, demanding an accurate answer, means taking responsibility. This in itself is a huge step towards self-actualization. Whenever a person takes responsibility, he self-actualizes.

5. Experience without criticism, choosing growth over choosing fear, honesty and taking responsibility. These are steps towards self-actualization and all lead to better life choices. The person who does these small acts in every choice situation will find that they help him better choose what is right for him. But a person will not be able to make good life choices until he begins to listen to himself, to his own “I” at every moment of his life, in order to calmly say: “No, I don’t like this.” In order to express an honest opinion, a person must be a nonconformist.

6. Self-actualization is not only the final state, but also the process of actualizing one’s capabilities. This is, for example, the development mental abilities through intellectual pursuits. Here, self-actualization means the realization of one's potential abilities. Self-actualization does not necessarily mean doing something out of the ordinary; it could be, for example, going through a difficult period of preparation for the realization of one’s abilities. Self-actualization is work in order to do well what a person wants to do.

7. Higher experiences are moments of self-actualization. These are moments of ecstasy that cannot be guaranteed. But conditions can be created for a more likely occurrence of such experiences. You can, however, and vice versa, put yourself in conditions under which their occurrence will be extremely unlikely. Giving up illusions, getting rid of false ideas about yourself, understanding what you are unsuited for is also part of discovering yourself, what you really are.

8. Finding yourself, discovering what you are, what is good and bad for you, what is the purpose of your life - all this requires exposing your own psychopathology. To do this, you need to identify your defenses and then find the courage to overcome them. This is painful because the defenses are directed against something unpleasant. But giving up protection is worth it. Repression is not the best way to solve your problems.

One of the main conditions for self-actualization is the motto of many creative people. If you take on some work - do it competently and efficiently! If you don’t know how to do this, learn, look for ways, means, resources - but the job must be done efficiently. That is, self-actualization is a combination of impeccable work and highest values.

In other words, self-actualization is not a process and not a result - it is the habit of living well, without hackwork, because you really can.

CONCLUSION

Self-actualization is the desire of an individual to realize his potential in the area in which he sees his calling. The motivation, desire, intentions, interests, goals and objectives that a person sets for himself are associated with the concept of motivation needs.

The significant interest of scientists in the problem of motivation is evidenced by the huge array of developments and various, often opposing concepts that are known today.

The most significant contribution to the knowledge of man as a unique, holistic object of study was made by humanistic psychology (J. Dewey, A. Maslow, G. Allport, K. Rogers, S. Frenet), which studies healthy, harmonious individuals who have reached the top personal development, the pinnacle of “self-actualization.”

Proponents of the humanistic approach in psychology understand self-actualization as a multidimensional personal category, which consists of different personal and professional orientations and represents the main motive and goal of life.

The main characteristic features of a self-actualizing personality are: complete acceptance of reality; acceptance of others and oneself; professional passion; constant novelty, freshness of assessments; self-development, manifestation of abilities, self-actualizing creativity in work, love, life; readiness to solve new problems, to understand one’s experience and to truly understand one’s capabilities.

The conditions for self-actualization are the conscious determination and development by the individual of his guidelines and his main life goal; knowledge of the main ways and methods of achieving your strategic goal and, finally, understanding your purpose.

List of used literature

1. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, K.A. Life strategy / K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya - M., 1991. - 299 p.

2. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, K.A., Brushlinsky, A.V. Philosophical and psychological concept of S.L. Rubinstein: To the 100th anniversary of his birth / K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, A.V. Brushlinsky - M.: 1989. - 248 p.

3. Barlas, T.V. Psychological workshop for dummies. Introduction to professional psychology/ T. Barlas. - M.: Independent company "Class", 2001. - 176 p.

4. Bodrov, V.A. Psychology of professional activity / V.A. Bodrov - M. - 2001. – 135 p.

5. Burlachuk, L.F., Morozov, S.M. Dictionary-reference book for psychological diagnostics / L.F. Burlachuk, S.M. Morozov - Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, 1989.

6. Vakhromov, E.E. The concepts of “self-actualization” and “self-realization” in psychology // Personal potential: an integrated approach: Proceedings of the All-Russian Internet Conference / Rep. ed. E.A. Uvarov. – Tambov: Publishing house of TSU named after. G.R. Derzhavina, 2002 – P. 133.

7. Vakhromov, E.E. Psychological concepts of human development: self-actualization theory. – M.: International Pedagogical Academy, 2001. – 160 p.

8. Vakhromov, E.E. Self-actualization and life path person//Modern problems of the meaning of life and acme: Materials of the VI-VII Syposiums of PIRAO / Ed. A.A. Bodaleva, V.E. Chudnovsky, N.L. Karpova, G.A. Weiser. – Samara: Publishing House “NTC”, 2002. – P.147.

9. Golovakha, E.I., Kronik, A.A. Psychological time of personality / E.I. Golovakha, AA. Kronik - Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, 1984. – 145 p.

10. Derkach, A.A., Kuzmina, N.V. Acmeology: ways to achieve the heights of professionalism / A.A. Derkach, N.V. Kuzmina - M., 2001. – 134 p.

11. Zaporozhets, A.V. Psychology / A.V. Zaporozhets - M.: 1965. -256 p.

12. Kalina, N.F. Personality Self-Actualization Questionnaire // N.F. Kalina - M.: Journal of practical psychologist, 2003, No. 1. - P.65-75.

13. Kalina, N.F., Lazukin A.V. SAMOAL Questionnaire. Adaptation of the “Self-actualization test” // Journal of a practical psychologist. – 1998. – No. 1. – P. 22.

14. Kovalev, V.I. Motivational sphere of personality as a manifestation of the totality public relations// Psychological Journal. -1984. -T.5, No. 4. -P.13.

15. Lisovskaya, E.B. Self-actualizing personality. // Scientific and technological revolution and social psychology/ Materials of the intercity conference. M.: Nauka, 1981. P. 76.

16. Lomov, B.F. On the problem of activity in psychology. - Psychologist. zhur., vol. 2, no. 5, 1981, pp. 3-22.

17. Maslow, A. Motivation and personality / A. Maslow - St. Petersburg: Eurasia, 1999 - 345 p.

18. Maslow, A. Self-actualization // Personality Psychology. Texts. / A. Maslow - M., 1982. – 123 p.

19. Nemov, R.S. Psychology: Textbook. For students higher ped. establishments: In 3 books. -M.: Vlados, 1999. -Book 1. General Basics psychology. -688s.

20. Allport, G.W. Personality in psychology. – M.: KSP+; SPb.: YUVENTA, 1998.

21. Pilipko, N.V. Choice as an activity: personal determinants and possibilities of formation // Issues. psychology. - 1995. No. 1. P. 97–110.

22. Povarenkov, Yu.P. Psychological content of a person’s professional development / Yu.P. Povarenkov - M., 2002. – 213 p.

24. Psychological Dictionary / Ed. V.P. Zinchenko, B.G. Meshcheryakova. - M., 2002. – 277 p.

25. Psychology and pedagogy / ed. A.A.Bodaleva, V.I.Zhukova, L.G.Lapteva, V.A.Slastenina - M., 2002

26. Raigorodsky, D.Ya. Theories of personality in Western European and American psychology. Reader on personality psychology / D.Ya. Raigorodsky, - Samara: Publishing House “BAKHRAH”, 1999. – 342 p.

27. Rubinshtein, S.L. Basics general psychology/ S.L. Rubinstein - M., 1946., p.535.

28. Stolyarenko, L. Fundamentals of psychology. / L. Stolyarenko - Rostov n/D.: Phoenix, 1997. -736 p.

29. Kjell, L., Ziegler, D. Theories of personality / L. Kjell, D. Ziegler - St. Petersburg: 2000. - 146 p.

©2015-2019 site
All rights belong to their authors. This site does not claim authorship, but provides free use.
Page creation date: 2017-06-30

American psychologist Abraham Harold and Maslow(1908-1 970) - one of the founders humanistic psychology. His Jewish parents immigrated to the United States from Russia. Maslow received a psychological education, became a professor of psychology, was a member of a number of professional societies of psychologists, and was the founding editor of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology and the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. Most of his books were written in the last 10 years of his life: “Towards the Psychology of Being” (1968), “Religions, Values ​​and Summit Experiences” (1964), “Motivation and Personality” (1987) and others.

A. Maslow believed that psychoanalysis is a good system for analyzing psychopathology, but psychoanalysis is completely unsuitable as a theory for explaining all human behavior. Maslow based his research not on the study of sick people, as Freud did, but on the study of the biographies of healthy, most mature, creative and outstanding individuals, believing that only by studying the best representatives of the human race can one approach the boundaries of human capabilities and explore them.

Maslow notes that although his sample of “the best of the best” did not include absolutely perfect and ideal people, they were all distinguished by one characteristic feature, which he designated as self-actualization (Self-Actualization).

The term "self-actualization" was first coined by Kurt Goldstein. His ideas differed significantly from Maslow's formulations. As a neurophysiologist who worked with brain-damaged patients, Goldstein viewed self-actualization as a fundamental process in every organism, which consists in the tendency to actualize all the individual abilities inherent in it, “its nature.” This process does not always have only positive consequences for the individual.

Maslow defines the concept of “self-actualization” as the desire for self-expression with the fullest use of one’s talents, abilities and capabilities. Maslow believes that this high

The humanoid need for self-actualization is always present in a healthy person. In other words, a person must realize what is inherent in him from birth, what he can. If he has the ability of a scientist or an actor, then he is obliged to realize it. If he does not do this, if living conditions interfere with self-realization, then the conflict of dissatisfaction begins, which lies at the basis of neuroses.

In personology, the most important question is the question of motivation. Maslow believes that people are motivated to find personal goals that make their lives meaningful. Human needs are organized into a hierarchical system of priority and dominance (“pyramid of needs”): physiological needs, needs for safety and protection, needs for belonging and love, needs for self-esteem, needs for self-actualization (personal improvement). Satisfaction of needs located at the bottom of the hierarchy makes it possible to recognize and participate in the motivation of behavior of higher order needs.

The concept of self-actualization is Maslow's most important contribution to psychology. To get closer to understanding it, he cites a number of “types of behavior” leading to self-actualization:

1. Freshness of perception. Usually we are small and superficial with
we know what is happening in us and around us. However, sometimes we have
there are brief moments of heightened awareness and interest in one's
to the inner and outer world, when we observe especially beautiful
great phenomena of nature, human creativity (sunset, car
tina artist) or experience emotional inspiration in
love - all these are “self-actualizing moments.” Self-actuals
tion means perception and experience complete, living, selfless
new, with maximum concentration and absorption. Self-actual
congestion people rarely complain about a boring, uninteresting life.

2. Personal growth and problem-centeredness.
Maslow believed that all the individuals he examined were
committed to some task, duty or calling. In other words
you, they were all not ego-centered, but oriented towards
tasks that are higher than their personal immediate needs
news If we think of life as a process of elections, then self-actualization
lization means a decision in favor personal growth in every
choice. We often have to choose between growth and lack of
danger, between progress and regression. Each choice has
its negative and positive aspects. Choose safe -
means staying with the known and familiar, but risking becoming
outdated and funny. To choose growth is to discover yourself.

new, unexpected experiences, but risk being in the unknown.

3. Acceptance of yourself, others and nature. Self-actualizing
people can accept themselves as they are. They're not superkree
sensitive to their shortcomings and weaknesses. Self-actualization is
learning to tune into one's own inner nature
go, with your self. By self, Maslow understands the heart.
wine, a person's own nature, his unique tastes and prices
ness. A person must decide for himself whether he likes
yourself this or that food, movie, etc., regardless of
opinions and points of view of other people. To be updated means
become real, exist in fact, and not just in
potentiality. They accept other people in a similar way.
and humanity as a whole.

4. Spontaneity, simplicity and naturalness. In the story
in the behavior of self-actualizing people there is no artificiality or
desire to make an effect. But this does not mean that they are constantly
behave contrary to tradition. However, when the situation requires it,
they can be irreconcilable even under the threat of condemnation. Chas
integrity and acceptance of responsibility for one’s actions is essential
ny moments of self-actualization. Maslow recommends not posing
don't try to look good or satisfy your
the answers of others. You need to “dig the answers inside yourself, and every time,
when we do this, we come into contact with our self again.

5. Autonomy: independence from culture and environment. All
the previous one helps to develop in a person the ability to be independent
in their actions from their physical and social environment
wife, he is capable of "the best life choices"not only in
art, music, food, but also in serious problems of life, such
like marriage or profession. We learn to trust our judgments and
act in accordance with them.

6. Creativity. Self-actualization is also a constant and
a continuous process of developing your capabilities and talents.
Great talent or intelligence is not the same as self-actualization.
Many gifted people have failed to fully utilize their
opportunities, others, maybe even with average talent, did
incredibly much. Self-actualization is not a thing that
one can have or not have, not a single achievement, but a process without
end, way of living.

7. More effective perception of reality. Further
the step of self-actualization is the discovery of one’s “psychological
defenses" and work to abandon them. Psychological defenses are

mechanisms for distorting reality for the sake of self-conceit. We need to be aware of how we distort our self-image and the external world through repression, projection, and other defense mechanisms.

8. Summit, mystical experiences.“Peak experiences” are what Maslow calls particularly pronounced and fairly long self-actualizing moments lasting several minutes (rarely hours). They are caused by a strong feeling of love, experiences of the exceptional beauty of nature or the works of the human mind. At such moments we are more integrated into the world, we are more aware of it, we act and feel more clearly. The most significant "peak experiences" are rare. Poets described them as moments of ecstasy, and people of religion - as deep mystical experiences. According to Maslow, these peak experiences are not of a divine or supernatural nature - people simply feel greater harmony with the world, lose their sense of self or go beyond it, and lose their sense of time and place.

Unlike peak experiences, “plateau experiences” are more stable and lasting. Maslow describes it as a new, deeper way of seeing and experiencing the world. Maslow himself experienced a similar thing late in life, after a heart attack.

States similar to descriptions of “peak experiences” are often found in psychopathology in the form of peculiar altered states of consciousness - an aura before an epileptic seizure, during a migraine attack, when taking drugs, etc. Maslow finds similar states in healthy people and considers them an essential property self-actualization.

He found that some self-actualizing individuals tended to experience many peak experiences, while others experienced them only rarely. He calls the first "transcending the self-act of alizoralpG", and they often bring mysticism into what is happening, think more chaotically, are able to transcend (from the Latin transcendere - to step over) the categories of past, present and future, good and evil, perceive the unity behind the apparent complexity and contradictory nature of life. They are more innovators , than systematizers of the ideas of others, which are the other half of the self-actualizers from his sample.

Maslow considered humanistic psychology, the psychology of the “third force” (after psychoanalysis and behaviorism), transitional and preparatory to an even higher, fourth psychology - transpersonal psychology, centered on space rather than human interests and needs. It will go beyond the limits of human

th self-determination, self-actualization. Anthony Sutich, founder and first editor of the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology (founded in 1989 with the participation of A. Maslow) defined it as “the study of the ultimate abilities and possibilities” of a person. This psychology includes the study of religious experience, meditation and other methods of obtaining altered states of consciousness, parapsychological phenomena, etc. Theoretical sources of transpersonal psychology include the teachings of medieval mystics (especially Maister Eckhart, XIII-XIV centuries), Eastern philosophy (mainly Indian), and the analytical psychology of C. Jung. The modern representative of the direction is Stanislav Grof.

The essence of the theoretical concepts here comes down to the fact that the determinants of human behavior and the sources of psychological problems are beyond the boundaries of individual, lifetime experience. A person with his lifetime formed psyche, experience and qualities is traditionally designated as “persona”. In addition, there is something in a person outside his individual experience, outside his “persona,” i.e. transpersonal. This “something” is, according to the mystics’ concept, a particle of God; for C. Jung, it is archetypes.

Maslow believes that self-actualization is the highest human need, the implementation of which is possible after satisfying the needs of a lower order - respect, love and belonging, security, as well as physiological needs (the “pyramid” of needs). Neurosis, as Maslow understands it, is a “disease of deprivation” of satisfying fundamental needs, just as a lack of vitamins causes physical illness.

In the motivational sphere Maslow's personality distinguishes between motivation, which orients behavior towards eliminating deficit anything needed by the body, i.e. satisfaction of any need that is not satisfied or frustrated (D-motivation), and motivation for growth, being(B-motivation). Examples of motivation of the first group (deficient motivation) are hunger, pain, fear. But when the body does not experience hunger, pain, or fear, new motivations appear, such as curiosity or the desire to play. This activity can be satisfying in itself. It relates to the world of being, satisfaction and enjoyment in the present (existential motivation). In accordance with this, Maslow distinguishes between B- and D-cognition, B- and D-values, B- and D-love, and the like. For example, in D-cognition, objects are viewed solely as need-satisfiers. A hungry person notices food, and a beggar notices money. B-cognition is more accurate and effective, it distorts its perception less in accordance with

with a need or desire, it does not judge, evaluate, or compare. B-love of nature is expressed in the ability to appreciate flowers and observe their growth. D-love is more likely to be expressed in picking flowers and arranging bouquets of them. B-love is love for the essence, “being” and existence of another.

Psychological utopia: Eupsycheia. A. Maslow, like many other psychologists, is the creator psychological theories personality, did not ignore the structure of social relations. He dreamed of a utopian society, which he called Eupsyche. In his opinion, a good person and a good society are one and the same. Society, Maslow believed, must find ways to realize the potential of its citizens: “enlightened management” assumes that workers want to be creative and productive, they just need support and approval, and not restrictions and control of the administration. Forcing oneself to act always indicates a certain conflict of motives, and ideally a person does what he should do because he wants to do it.

Carl Rogers (C. Rogers): phenomenological theory of personality

Carl Ransom Rogers (1902-1987) was an American psychologist whose work was widely recognized in the field of clinical psychology. His main work is the book Client-Centered Therapy: Its Modern Practice, Meaning and History (1951). It sets out a theory that most fully reflects phenomenological direction in the study of personality. Rogers is also the author of many books on psychological counseling.

The phenomenological school of psychology emphasizes the idea that human behavior can only be understood in terms of its subjective perception and knowledge of reality- from the point of view of his internal, subjective experience. The external world is only that reality that is consciously perceived and interpreted by a person at a given moment in time.

Another important idea of ​​the phenomenological direction is the recognition that people are free to decide their destiny. If people believe that they live under some forces that they cannot resist, then this is because they have lost faith in the freedom of self-determination that is inherent in their nature.

3 Sidorov P.I. and Ir. T. II 65

The last important thesis of the phenomenological direction is that man is by nature good and strives for perfection, realizing your internal capabilities.

Rogers's view of personality was shaped by his personal experience working with people with emotional disorders. As a result of his clinical observations, in contrast to Freud, who saw the driving forces of personality in instincts, Rogers came to the conclusion that man, by his inner nature, is good and his essence is oriented and aimed primarily at moving forward towards positive goals. A person strives to realize himself if he is given the opportunity to reveal his innate potential. Of course, Rogers admitted that people sometimes have evil feelings and abnormal destructive impulses, but then the person does not behave in accordance with his inner nature. Rogers argues that his view of human nature is not naive optimism, but is based on 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist.

K. Rogers, like A. Maslow, considered the main life motive of human behavior to be his tendency to actualization, which is the desire to develop all his abilities in order to preserve and develop his personality. This fundamental tendency (the only one postulated by the author) can explain all other motives - hunger, sexual desire or the desire for security. All of them are only specific expressions of the main tendency - to preserve oneself for development, actualization.

What is real for a person, his thoughts and feelings, is only what exists within his internal coordinates or subjective world, which includes everything that is conscious at a given moment in time. Phenomenologically speaking, each person reacts to events in accordance with what he feels, subjectively perceives at the moment. Since different people can perceive the same situation in diametrically opposed ways, phenomenological psychology defends the doctrine according to which psychological reality phenomena is solely a function of how they are seen and perceived by specific people. Rogers is interested in psychology precisely in this psychological reality, and objective reality, in his opinion, is the destiny of the study of philosophers. If we want to explain why a person feels, thinks and behaves in a certain way, then we should comprehend it inner world, his subjective experience, i.e. psychological reality.

A person’s behavior is not determined by the past events of his life, but only by how a person perceives his environment here and now. Of course, past experience influences the perception of the present, but a person’s actions determine how this past is perceived now, in the present time. Moreover, Rogers believed that behavior in to a greater extent It is not a person’s past history that influences, but how he sees his future. And finally, he emphasized that the personality should be considered not only in the context of “present-future”, but also as a single, integral organism, and this unity cannot be reduced to the constituent parts of the personality. Rogers' commitment to holistic direction visible in almost every aspect of his theoretical system.

The most significant element of psychological reality, of a person’s individual experience, is his self, or Self-concept. Self-concept is a person’s system of views on his essence, on what he is. In addition to the true self (real self) and ideal self (ideal self), the self-concept can include a whole set of self-images: parent, spouse, student, musician, leader, etc.

The self-concept is a product of human socialization, and in the process of its formation, a child, and then an adult, always needs positive attention from his environment. This attention, according to Rogers, must be unconditional, i.e. without any ifs and buts. A person should be perceived as he really is. That's exactly what unconditional positive attention we see the love of a mother for her son, regardless of his misdeeds. Conditioned positive attention we see when a child is told that if he gets excellent grades for half a year at school, then they will buy him some kind of toy that is interesting to him. This conditioned positive attention is widespread in everyday life adult. Rogers argues that conditional positive attention causes damage to personal development, the child tries to meet the standards of others, rather than determine for himself who he wants to be and what to achieve.

Rogers believes that most human behavior is consistent (congruent) with the self-concept, or at least the person strives for this. All experiences that are consistent with the self-concept are well recognized and accurately perceived. And vice versa, experiences that are in conflict with the “I” are not allowed to be realized and accurately perceived. In Rogers' theory, anxiety and a threat to well-being begin to arise only when

people begin to realize the discrepancy between the self-concept and their actual real state. So, if a person considers himself honest, but commits a dishonest act, he will feel anxiety with confusion and guilt. It is also very likely that a person experiences anxiety, but is not aware of the reasons for it. An anxious person is a person who is vaguely aware that acknowledging or symbolizing certain experiences will lead to a disruption of the integrity of his current self-image. Psychological personal defenses are called upon to preserve the integrity of the self-structure.

If a person’s experiences are completely inconsistent with the self-concept (incongruence), then severe anxiety appears and he develops a neurotic disorder. A “neurotic” person’s psychological defense is still quite strong and, although he needs the help of a psychotherapist, his self-structure is not significantly disturbed. If ineffective psychological protection and significant destruction of the self-structure, a person develops psychosis and needs the help of a psychiatrist. Rogers suggests that personality disorders can arise either suddenly or gradually. In any case, as soon as a serious discrepancy between the “I” and the experience appears, the person’s defenses cease to function adequately and the previously integral structure of the I is destroyed.

Klien! - centered non-directive psychotherapy. In the therapy of personality disorders, according to Rogers, the following conditions are required to implement constructive personality changes:

1. The presence of psychological contact between the psychotherapist
and the client.

2. The client is incongruent, vulnerable and anxious, so he
asked for help.

3. The therapist must be congruent, harmonious and
sincere in relationships with your clients.

4. The therapist experiences unconditional positive attention
tion to your client. The atmosphere of the psychotherapy process should
create confidence in the client that he is fully understood and
accepted.

5. The therapist experiences empathic understanding of the inner
your client's early experiences. The psychotherapist feels inside
the patient's external world as if it were his own internal
early world.

6. Empathic understanding must be transferred to the client
attention and unconditional positive attention of the psychotherapist. Bess

It makes sense to have similar feelings for your client if the latter does not know about it. The psychotherapist must try to convey this attitude to the client with every word and gesture.

Rogers argues that it is the client, not the therapist, who is responsible for personal growth and the results of psychotherapy. The author's use of the concept "client" instead of "patient" emphasizes recognition of this. This approach is understandable to everyone who shares Rogers' optimistic view of human nature - provided there is the right conditions the person himself strives to move towards personal growth, actualization and health. Person-centered psychotherapy is designed to resolve incongruence between experiences and the self.

Training groups. Training groups are created for training with healthy people. It's about about the use of group forms of interaction between people not for therapeutic purposes, but for gaining life experience and personal growth. The emergence of this kind of psychocorrectional groups is due to the desire for self-expression, characteristic of the humanistic movement. Among such psychocorrectional groups, organizational development groups (solving certain problems) can be distinguished; leadership training groups, interpersonal skills training (socio-psychological training); personal growth groups and others. K. Rogers (1947) paid especially great attention to providing psychological assistance to personal growth using group methods. His concept of "encounter groups", focusing on the search for authenticity in the expression of feelings, thoughts and behavior, is closely related to his work in client-centered psychotherapy.

When conducting classes in training groups, it is believed that the group is the real world in miniature. She has the same life problems interpersonal relationships, behavior, decision making, conflict resolution, etc. The only difference from reality is that in this “laboratory” everyone can be both an experimenter and the subject of an experiment. First of all, the training group human relations(T-group) teaches how to learn. All group members are involved in a common process of mutual learning, and they learn to rely more on each other than on the leader. Learning how to learn involves first and foremost a process of self-discovery (expanding one's self-image). The most effective model for understanding this process is the Joghari window, named after its inventors Joseph Luft and Harry Ingram.

Joghari Window

IN compliance With Using the Jogari model, we can imagine that each person contains four personal zones:

1) “Arena” is what others know about me and I know myself, or
personal space open to everyone;

2) “Visible” is something that is known only to me (for example, my
fears or love affairs), I carefully hide it from others
vayu;

3) “Blind spot” is what those around me know about me, I
it is not visible (as in the proverb: “In someone else’s eye a sliver is visible, but in your own
the log doesn't notice");

4) “The unknown” is hidden from everyone (the subconscious zone), in
including latent reserve resources for personal growth.

The Joghari Window clearly demonstrates the need to expand contacts and expand the arena. At the beginning of classes, the “arena” is usually small, but as cohesion and mutual understanding in the group increases, it increases, and all the best personal resources are activated. By receiving feedback signals from each other, group members can adjust their own behavior and become more natural in expressing their feelings. An important condition for the group’s work is to focus on the “here and now” principle. What is relevant in a group is only what happens in it. The creation of various experimental group situations will allow you to apply the acquired knowledge and skills of social interaction in real life (in the family, at work).

American psychologist A. Maslow (1907-1970), one of the founders of humanistic theory, considered the main characteristic of personality to be the drive towards self-actualization, self-expression, creativity and love, which are based on the humanistic need to bring good to people. He argued that humans do not have innate instincts of cruelty and aggression, as Z. Freud believed. On the contrary, they have an instinct to preserve their population, which forces people to help each other. Need for self-actualization of its capabilities and abilities is inherent in a healthy person, and to the greatest extent - outstanding people. A society can prosper if it finds ways to develop healthy, strong, mentally competent individuals. The progress of society occurs not through revolutionary means, not through social transformations, but through the satisfaction of human humanistic needs.

According to A. Maslow, the core of personality is formed by humanistic needs for goodness, morality, benevolence, with which a person is born and which he can realize under certain conditions. However, these needs for self-actualization are satisfied only by satisfying other needs, primarily physiological ones. Most people fail to achieve satisfaction of even the lowest needs. Hierarchy of needs, according to Maslow, includes:

Physiological needs;

Security needs;

Needs for love and affection;

Needs for recognition and appreciation;

Needs for self-actualization - the realization of abilities and talents.

1. Physiological needs. The needs of this level are the needs of physical survival: food, water, oxygen, sleep, activity, protection from extreme temperatures, sensory stimulation. These are the basic, most powerful and urgent needs. If a person does not satisfy these needs at some minimum level, she will not be interested in the needs of the higher levels of the hierarchy. These needs also have the following characteristic feature: if one of these needs remains unsatisfied, it very quickly becomes so dominant that all other needs fade into the background.

2. Safety and security needs. This level includes the needs for organization, law and order, predictability of events, and the absence of threatening forces such as chaos, disease, and fear. It should be emphasized that conditions of stability, reliability, and predictability are extremely important for the development of a child’s personality. Safety needs are no less important for healthy adults. Healthy man strives for reliability in work and salary conditions. The search for security motivates such actions of people as creating savings accounts and purchasing insurance policies.

3. Needs for belonging and love People acutely experience the pangs of loneliness, lack of friends and loved ones, or social alienation. For a person to have a healthy sense of self-worth, it is very important to be recognized by others and considered worthy of respect. Love is the basic prerequisite for healthy personality development. Maslow concluded that there is a significant correlation between a happy childhood and adult mental health.

4. Self-esteem needs. Maslow divided self-esteem needs into two groups: self-esteem and respect for others. It is important for a person to realize that he is worthy of self-respect and can cope with the tasks and demands of life. The second type of needs is characterized by such categories as prestige, recognition, reputation, status, evaluation, acceptance in the social environment. In this case, it is important for the individual to know that what he does is recognized and appreciated significant people. Satisfying the needs of this level generates a sense of self-confidence, develops self-esteem and the awareness that the individual is useful and necessary in this world. Maslow emphasized that healthy self-esteem is based on the earned respect of others, not on fame, adulation, or social status.

5. Self-actualization needs, or needs for personal self-improvement. Self-actualization is defined by Maslow as a person’s desire to develop his abilities to the maximum, to fully develop the potential inherent in nature. In the process of self-actualization, a person becomes exactly what he can be and reaches the peak of his capabilities.

One of the weakest provisions in Maslow’s theory is that these needs are in a given hierarchy and “above” the need (for example, for self-actualization) arise only after more elementary, for example, physiological needs are satisfied. Not only critics, but also followers of Maslow prove that very often the need for self-actualization dominates and determines the behavior of an individual, despite the fact that her physiological needs remain unsatisfied.

Self-actualization reaches only small quantity people, says Maslow. A self-actualized personality has the following traits:

o complete approval of reality and a comfortable attitude towards it (not to hide from life, but to know and understand it);

o approval of others and yourself (“I do my thing, and you do yours. I am not in this world to meet your expectations. And you are not in this world to meet my expectations. I am me, you are you . I respect and accept you for who you are ");

* Professional passion for what you love, orientation to the task, to the cause;

* Autonomy, independence from the social environment, independence of judgment;

* Ability to understand other people, attention, goodwill towards people;

* Constant novelty, freshness of assessments;

* Differences between goals and means, evil and good (whether the means are suitable for achieving the goal);

* Spontaneity, natural behavior;

* Self-development, manifestation of abilities, potential, self-actualizing creativity in work, love, life;

* Willingness to solve new problems, to understand one’s own experience, to truly understand one’s capabilities.

The fundamental position of humanistic psychology is the recognition of the priority creative potential person. Maslow was the first to put forward the thesis that creativity is a universal characteristic of man, his essential essence. Creative abilities are inherent in humans from birth. It is natural for humans to fly, just as it is natural for trees to become covered with leaves. The ability to create is inherent in each of us; creativity does not require any special talents or skills. To be creative, there is no need to write books, pictures or compose music. Only a small number of people do this. Creativity is a universal human function and provides for all types of self-disclosure. People of any profession can be creative in their activities and everyday life. However, most people lose the ability to be creative over the course of their lives. Particularly destructive factors of creativity are associated with formal education. Psychological and social factors contribute to personality degradation. Stages of personality degradation according to Maslow’s theory:

o the formation of a “pawn” psychology, a global sense of one’s dependence on other forces (the phenomenon of “helplessness”);

o creating a shortage of goods, as a result of which they become the primary needs for food and survival;

o creating “purity” of the social environment - dividing people into “good” and “bad”, “us” and “strangers”, a feeling of guilt and shame for oneself;

o creation of a cult of “self-criticism”;

o preservation of “sacred foundations” (it is forbidden to even think about the leading ideology)

o the formation of a specialized language (complex problems are compressed into short, very simple expressions that are easy to remember).

Maslow's theory meets the needs modern man, his desire for creativity, to unlock his potential, she takes into account the positive aspects of personal life and argues that every person has the potential for internal development and self-improvement.