Contents

Unit Topics Page

Five Personality 2

Six Motivation 20

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 Personality

Defining Personality

Personality can be defined as a person‟s characteristics and enduring

patterns of thought, emotion and behaviour. Personality is what makes you
to be different from your friend and others.

Approaches to the study of Personality

1. Psychodynamic Approach

The psychodynamic approach assumes that behaviour can be motivated

by unconscious, often irrational forces, and that personality and
personality development are influenced by intra psychic events.

Psychoanalysis theory (Sigmund Freud)

The term psychoanalysis is used to refer to many aspects of Freud‟s work and
research, including Freudian therapy and the research methodology he used
to develop his theories. Freud relied heavily upon his observations and case
studies of his patients when he formed his theory of personality development.

Before we can understand Freud's theory of personality, we must first

understand his view of how the mind is organized.

According to Freud, the mind can be divided into two main parts:

1. The conscious mind includes everything that we are aware of. This is
the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about
rationally. A part of this includes our memory, which is not always part
of consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and brought into
our awareness. Freud called this ordinary memory the preconscious.
2. The unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and
memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of
the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain,
anxiety, or conflict. According to Freud, the unconscious continues to
influence our behavior and experience, even though we are unaware of
these underlying influences.

The Id, Ego and Superego

The Structural Model of Personality

According to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality,

personality is composed of three elements. These three elements of

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personality--known as the id, the ego and the superego--work together to
create complex human behaviors.

The Id

The id is the only component of personality that is present from birth. This
aspect of personality is entirely unconscious and includes of the instinctive
and primitive behaviors. According to Freud, the id is the source of all psychic
energy, making it the primary component of personality.

The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for immediate

gratification of all desires, wants, and needs. If these needs are not satisfied
immediately, the result is a state anxiety or tension. For example, an
increase in hunger or thirst should produce an immediate attempt to eat or
drink. The id is very important early in life, because it ensures that an
infants needs are met. If the infant is hungry or uncomfortable, he or she will
cry until the demands of the id are met.

However, immediately satisfying these needs is not always realistic or even

possible. If we were ruled entirely by the pleasure principle, we might find
ourselves grabbing things we want out of other people's hands to satisfy our
own cravings. This sort of behavior would be both disruptive and socially
unacceptable. According to Freud, the id tries to resolve the tension created
by the pleasure principle through the primary process, which involves
forming a mental image of the desired object as a way of satisfying the need.

The Ego

The ego is the component of personality that is responsible for dealing with
reality. According to Freud, the ego develops from the id and ensures that the
impulses of the id can be expressed in a manner acceptable in the real world.
The ego functions in both the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind.

The ego operates based on the reality principle, which strives to satisfy the
id's desires in realistic and socially appropriate ways. The reality principle
weighs the costs and benefits of an action before deciding to act upon or
abandon impulses. In many cases, the id's impulses can be satisfied through
a process of delayed gratification--the ego will eventually allow the behavior,
but only in the appropriate time and place.

The ego also discharges tension created by unmet impulses through the
secondary process, in which the ego tries to find an object in the real world
that matches the mental image created by the id's primary process.

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The Superego

The last component of personality to develop is the superego. The superego is

the aspect of personality that holds all of our internalized moral standards
and ideals that we acquire from both parents and society--our sense of right
and wrong. The superego provides guidelines for making judgments.
According to Freud, the superego begins to emerge at around age five.

There are two parts of the superego:

1. The ego ideal includes the rules and standards for good behaviors.
These behaviors include those which are approved of by parental and
other authority figures. Obeying these rules leads to feelings of pride,
value, and accomplishment.
2. The conscience includes information about things that are viewed as
bad by parents and society. These behaviors are often forbidden and lead
to bad consequences, punishments, or feelings of guilt and remorse.

The superego acts to perfect and civilize our behavior. It works to suppress all
unacceptable urges of the id and struggles to make the ego act upon idealistic
standards rather that upon realistic principles. The superego is present in
the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious.

The Interaction of the Id, Ego, and Superego

With so many competing forces, it is easy to see how conflict might arise
between the id, ego, and superego. Freud used the term ego strength to refer
to the ego's ability to function despite these dueling forces. A person with
good ego strength is able to effectively manage these pressures, while those
with too much or too little ego strength can become too unyielding or too
disrupting.

According to Freud, the key to a healthy personality is a balance between the

id, the ego, and the superego.

Freud‟s theory of drives evolved throughout his life and work. He initially
described a class of drives known as the life instincts and believed that these
drives were responsible for much of behavior. Eventually, he came to believe
that these life instincts alone could not explain all human behavior. Freud
determined that all instincts fall into one of two major classes: the life
instincts or the death instincts.

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Life Instincts (Eros)

Sometimes referred to as sexual instincts, the life instincts are those that
deal with basic survival, pleasure, and reproduction. These instincts are
important for sustaining the life of the individual as well as the continuation
of the species. While they are often called sexual instincts, these drives also
include such things as thirst, hunger, and pain avoidance. The energy created
by the life instincts is known as libido.

Behaviors commonly associated with the life instinct include love,

cooperation, and other prosocial actions.

Death Intincts (Thanatos)

Initially described in his book Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Freud proposed
that “the goal of all life is death” (1920). He noted that after people
experience a traumatic event (such as war), they often reenact the
experience. He concluded that people hold an unconscious desire to die, but
that this wish is largely tempered by the life instincts.

In Freud‟s view, self-destructive behavior is an expression of the energy

created by the death instincts. When this energy is directed outward onto
others, it is expressed as aggression and violence

Defense Mechanisms

When anxiety occurs, the mind first responds by an increase in problem-

solving thinking, seeking rational ways of escaping the situation. If this is
not fruitful (and maybe anyway), a range of defense mechanisms may be
triggered. In Freud's language, these are tactics which the Ego develops to
help deal with the Id and the Super Ego.

All Defense Mechanisms share two common properties:

 They often appear unconsciously.

 They tend to distort, transform, or otherwise falsify reality.

In distorting reality, there is a change in perception which allows for a

lessening of anxiety, with a corresponding reduction in felt tension.

Freud's Defense Mechanisms include:

 Denial: claiming/believing that what is true to be actually false.

 Displacement: redirecting emotions to a substitute target.
 Intellectualization: taking an objective viewpoint.

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  Projection: attributing uncomfortable feelings to others.
 Rationalization: creating false but credible justifications.
 Reaction Formation: overacting in the opposite way to the fear.
 Regression: going back to acting as a child.
 Repression: pushing uncomfortable thoughts into the subconscious.
 Sublimation: redirecting 'wrong' urges into socially acceptable actions.

What is Psychosexual Development?

According to Sigmund Freud, personality is mostly established by the age of

five. Early experiences play a large role in personality development and
continue to influence behavior later in life.

Freud's theory of psychosexual development is one of the best known, but

also one of the most controversial. Freud believed that personality develops
through a series of childhood stages during which the pleasure-seeking
energies of the id become focused on certain erogenous areas. This
psychosexual energy, or libido, was described as the driving force behind
behavior.

If these psychosexual stages are completed successfully, the result is a

healthy personality. If certain issues are not resolved at the appropriate
stage, fixation can occur. A fixation is a persistent focus on an earlier
psychosexual stage. Until this conflict is resolved, the individual will remain
"stuck" in this stage. For example, a person who is fixated at the oral stage
may be over-dependent on others and may seek oral stimulation through
smoking, drinking, or eating.

The Oral Stage

During the oral stage, the infant's primary source of interaction occurs
through the mouth, so the rooting and sucking reflex is especially important.
The mouth is vital for eating, and the infant derives pleasure from oral
stimulation through gratifying activities such as tasting and sucking.
Because the infant is entirely dependent upon caretakers (who are
responsible for feeding the child), the infant also develops a sense of trust and
comfort through this oral stimulation.

The primary conflict at this stage is the weaning process--the child must
become less dependent upon caretakers. If fixation occurs at this stage, Freud
believed the individual would have issues with dependency or aggression.
Oral fixation can result in problems with drinking, eating, smoking, or nail
biting.

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The Anal Stage

During the anal stage, Freud believed that the primary focus of the libido
was on controlling bladder and bowel movements. The major conflict at this
stage is toilet training--the child has to learn to control his or her bodily
needs. Developing this control leads to a sense of accomplishment and
independence.

According to Freud, success at this stage is dependent upon the way in which
parents approach toilet training. Parents who utilize praise and rewards for
using the toilet at the appropriate time encourage positive outcomes and help
children feel capable and productive. Freud believed that positive experiences
during this stage served as the basis for people to become competent,
productive, and creative adults.

However, not all parents provide the support and encouragement that
children need during this stage. Some parents' instead punish, ridicule, or
shame a child for accidents. According to Freud, inappropriate parental
responses can result in negative outcomes. If parents take an approach that
is too lenient, Freud suggested that an anal-expulsive personality could
develop in which the individual has a messy, wasteful, or destructive
personality. If parents are too strict or begin toilet training too early, Freud
believed that an anal-retentive personality develops in which the individual
is stringent, orderly, rigid, and obsessive.

The Phallic Stage

During the phallic stage, the primary focus of the libido is on the genitals.
Children also discover the differences between males and females. Freud also
believed that boys begin to view their fathers as a rival for the mother‟s
affections. The Oedipus complex describes these feelings of wanting to
possess the mother and the desire to replace the father. However, the child
also fears that he will be punished by the father for these feelings, a fear
Freud termed castration anxiety.

The term Electra complex has been used to described a similar set of feelings
experienced by young girls. Freud, however, believed that girls instead
experience penis envy.

Eventually, the child realizes begins to identify with the same-sex parent as a
means of vicariously possessing the other parent. For girls, however, Freud
believed that penis envy was never fully resolved and that all women remain
somewhat fixated on this stage. Psychologists such as Karen Horney disputed
this theory, calling it both inaccurate and demeaning to women. Instead,
Horney proposed that men experience feelings of inferiority because they
cannot give birth to children.
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The Latent Period

During the latent period, the libido interests are suppressed. The
development of the ego and superego contribute to this period of calm. The
stage begins around the time that children enter into school and become more
concerned with peer relationships, hobbies, and other interests.

The latent period is a time of exploration in which the sexual energy is still
present, but it is directed into other areas such as intellectual pursuits and
social interactions. This stage is important in the development of social and
communication skills and self-confidence

The Genital Stage

During the final stage of psychosexual development, the individual develops

a strong sexual interest in the opposite sex. Where in earlier stages the focus
was solely on individual needs, interest in the welfare of others grows during
this stage. If the other stages have been completed successfully, the
individual should now be well-balanced, warm, and caring. The goal of this
stage is to establish a balance between the various life areas.

Evaluating Freud‟s Psychosexual Stage Theory

 The theory is focused almost entirely on male development with little

mention of female psychosexual development.
 His theories are difficult to test scientifically. Concepts such as the
libido are impossible to measure, and therefore cannot be tested. The
research that has been conducted tends to discredit Freud's theory.
 Future predictions are too vague. How can we know that a current
behavior was caused specifically by a childhood experience? The length of
time between the cause and the effect is too long to assume that there is a
relationship between the two variables.
 Freud's theory is based upon case studies and not empirical research.
Also, Freud based his theory on the recollections of his adult patients, not
on actual observation and study of children.

2. Dispositional Approach to Personality

In psychology, Trait theory is a major approach to the study of human

personality. Trait theorists are primarily interested in the measurement of
traits, which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and
emotion.[1] According to this perspective, traits are relatively stable over time,
differ among individuals (e.g. some people are outgoing whereas others are
shy), and influence behavior.

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The trait approach to personality is one of the major theoretical areas in the
study of personality. The trait theory suggests that individual personalities
are composed broad dispositions. Consider how you would describe the
personality of a close friend. Chances are that you would list a number of
traits, such as outgoing, kind and even-tempered. A trait can be thought of as
a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain
ways.

Gordon Allport‟s Trait Theory

In 1936, psychologist Gordon Allport found that one English-language

dictionary alone contained more than 4,000 words describing different
personality traits.1 He categorized these traits into three levels:

 Cardinal Traits: Traits that dominate an individual‟s whole life,

often to the point that the person becomes known specifically for
these traits. People with such personalities often become so
known for these traits that their names are often synonymous
with these qualities. Consider the origin and meaning of the
following descriptive terms: Freudian, Machiavellian, narcissism,
Don Juan, Christ-like, etc. Allport suggested that cardinal traits
are rare and tend to develop later in life.2
 Central Traits: The general characteristics that form the basic
foundations of personality. These central traits, while not as
dominating as cardinal traits, are the major characteristics you
might use to describe another person. Terms such as intelligent,
honest, shy and anxious are considered central traits.
 Secondary Traits: Traits that are sometimes related to attitudes
or preferences and often appear only in certain situations or
under specific circumstances. Some examples would be getting
anxious when speaking to a group or impatient while waiting in
line.

Raymond Cattell‟s Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire

Trait theorist Raymond Cattell reduced the number of main personality

traits from Allport‟s initial list of over 4,000 down to 171,3 mostly by
eliminating uncommon traits and combining common characteristics. Next,
Cattell rated a large sample of individuals for these 171 different traits.
Then, using a statistical technique known as factor analysis, he identified
closely related terms and eventually reduced his list to just 16 key
personality traits. According to Cattell, these 16 traits are the source of all
human personality. He also developed one of the most widely used
personality assessments known as the Sixteen Personality Factor
Questionnaire (16PF).

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 Cattell‟s Sixteen Source Traits

1. Less Intelligent-------------More Intelligent

2. Reserved --------------------Outgoing
3. Affected by Feelings-------Emotionally Stable
4. Submissive------------------Dominant
5. Serious----------------------Happy-go-lucky
6. Expedient-------------------Conscientious
7. Timid------------------------Venturesome
8. Tough-minded---------------Sensitive
9. Trusting---------------------Suspicious
10. Practical---------------------Imaginative
11. Forthright-------------------Shrewd
12. Self-assured----------------Apprehensive
13. Conservative-----------------Experimenting
14. Group-dependent-----------Self-sufficient
15. Uncontrolled-----------------Controlled
16. Relaxed----------------------Tense

Eysenck‟s Three Dimensions of Personality

British psychologist Hans Eysenck developed a model of personality based

upon just three universal trails:

1. Introversion/Extraversion:
Introversion involves directing attention on inner experiences,
while extraversion relates to focusing attention outward on other
people and the environment. So, a person high in introversion
might be quiet and reserved, while an individual high in
extraversion might be sociable and outgoing.
2. Neuroticism/Emotional Stability:
This dimension of Eysenck‟s trait theory is related to moodiness
versus even-temperedness. Neuroticism refers to an individual‟s
tendency to become upset or emotional, while stability refers to
the tendency to remain emotionally constant.
3. Psychoticism:
Later, after studying individuals suffering from mental illness,
Eysenck added a personality dimension he called psychoticism to
his trait theory. Individuals who are high on this trait tend to
have difficulty dealing with reality and may be antisocial, hostile,
non-empathetic and manipulative.4

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The Five-Factor Theory of Personality

Both Cattell‟s and Eysenck‟s theory have been the subject of considerable
research, which has led some theorists to believe that Cattell focused on too
many traits, while Eysenck focused on too few. As a result, a new trait theory
often referred to as the "Big Five" theory emerged. This five-factor model of
personality represents five core traits that interact to form human
personality.5 While researchers often disagree about the exact labels for each
dimension, the following are described most commonly:

1. Extraversion
2. Agreeableness
3. Conscientiousness
4. Neuroticism
5. Openness

Assessing the Trait Approach to Personality

While most agree that people can be described based upon their personality
traits, theorists continue to debate the number of basic traits that make up
human personality. While trait theory has objectivity that some personality
theories lack (such as Freud‟s psychoanalytic theory), it also has weaknesses.
Some of the most common criticisms of trait theory center on the fact that
traits are often poor predictors of behavior. While an individual may score
high on assessments of a specific trait, he or she may not always behave that
way in every situation. Another problem is that trait theories do not address
how or why individual differences in personality develop or emerge.

3. Social Learning Approach to Personality

In contrast to both psychodynamic approach and trait approach social

learning approach emphasizes the importance of environmental, or
situational, determinants of behavior. For this approach, behavior is the
result of a continuous interaction between personal and environmental
variables. Environmental conditions shape behavior through learning; a
person‟s behavior, in turn, shapes the environment. To predict situations
other reciprocally, we need to know how the characteristics of the
individual interact with the characteristics of the situation. This approach
is the contemporary descendent of behaviorism and its outgrowth,

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stimulus-response psychology, which were dominant in the first half of
this century. Like the psychoanalytic approach, social learning approach
to personality is very deterministic. In contrast to the psychoanalytic
approach, however, it pays very little attention to biological determinants.
Like its parent, behaviorism, the social learning approach has been
strongly influenced by the ideas of Darwin. The processes of learning
shape the individual‟s behavioral repertoire to be adaptive to his or her
environment. Through its emphasis on specifying the environmental
variables that evoke specific behaviors, social learning theory has made a
major contribution to both clinical psychology and personality theory. It
has led us to see human actions as reactions to specific environments, and
it has helped us to focus on the way in which environments control our
behavior and how they can be changed to modify behavior. The careful
application of learning principles has proved successful in changing
maladaptive behavior. S.C. theorists have also challenged the notion that
individuals are cross-situanionally consistent, forcing other personality
theorists to reexamine the fundamental assumptions of their approaches.
Social learning theorists have been criticized for overemphasizing the
importance of situational influences on behavior and thus losing the
person in personality psychology. Many personality theorists are
unwilling to concede that personality has as little cross-situational
consistency as social learning implies.

Albert Bandera‟s Theory

Observational learning or Modeling

Of the hundreds of studies Bandura was responsible for, one group stands out
above the others -- the bobo doll studies. He made of film of one of his
students, a young woman, essentially beating up a bobo doll. A bobo doll is
an inflatable, egg-shape balloon creature with a weight in the bottom that
makes it bob back up when you knock him down.

The woman punched the clown, shouting “sockeroo!” She kicked it, sat on it,
hit with a little hammer, and so on, shouting various aggressive phrases.
Bandura showed his film to groups of kindergartners who, as you might
predict, liked it a lot. They then were let out to play. In the play room, of
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course, were several observers with pens and clipboards in hand, a brand new
bobo doll, and a few little hammers.

And you might predict as well what the observers recorded: A lot of little
kids beating the daylights out of the bobo doll. They punched it and shouted
“sockeroo,” kicked it, sat on it, hit it with the little hammers, and so on. In
other words, they imitated the young lady in the film, and quite precisely at
that.

This might seem like a real nothing of an experiment at first, but consider:
These children changed their behavior without first being rewarded for
approximations to that behavior! And while that may not seem
extraordinary to the average parent, teacher, or casual observer of children,
it didn‟t fit so well with standard behavioristic learning theory. He called the
phenomenon observational learning or modeling, and his theory is usually
called social learning theory.

Bandura did a large number of variations on the study: The model was
rewarded or punished in a variety of ways, the kids were rewarded for their
imitations, the model was changed to be less attractive or less prestigious,
and so on. Responding to criticism that bobo dolls were supposed to be hit, he
even did a film of the young woman beating up a live clown. When the
children went into the other room, what should they find there but -- the live
clown! They proceeded to punch him, kick him, hit him with little hammers,
and so on.

All these variations allowed Bandura to establish that there were certain
steps involved in the modeling process:

1. Attention. If you are going to learn anything, you have to be paying

attention. Likewise, anything that puts a damper on attention is going to
decrease learning, including observational learning. If, for example, you are
sleepy, groggy, drugged, sick, nervous, or “hyper,” you will learn less well.
Likewise, if you are being distracted by competing stimuli.

Some of the things that influence attention involve characteristics of the

model. If the model is colorful and dramatic, for example, we pay more
attention. If the model is attractive, or prestigious, or appears to be
particularly competent, you will pay more attention. And if the model seems
more like yourself, you pay more attention. These kinds of variables directed
Bandura towards an examination of television and its effects on kids!

2. Retention. Second, you must be able to retain -- remember -- what you

have paid attention to. This is where imagery and language come in: we
store what we have seen the model doing in the form of mental images or
verbal descriptions. When so stored, you can later “bring up” the image or
description, so that you can reproduce it with your own behavior.

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3. Reproduction. At this point, you‟re just sitting there daydreaming. You
have to translate the images or descriptions into actual behavior. So you
have to have the ability to reproduce the behavior in the first place. I can
watch Olympic ice skaters all day long, yet not be able to reproduce their
jumps, because I can‟t ice skate at all! On the other hand, if I could skate, my
performance would in fact improve if I watch skaters who are better than I
am.

Another important tidbit about reproduction is that our ability to imitate

improves with practice at the behaviors involved. And one more tidbit: Our
abilities improve even when we just imagine ourselves performing! Many
athletes, for example, imagine their performance in their mind‟s eye prior to
actually performing.

4. Motivation. And yet, with all this, you‟re still not going to do anything
unless you are motivated to imitate, i.e. until you have some reason for doing
it. Bandura mentions a number of motives:

a. past reinforcement,
b. promised reinforcements (incentives) that we can imagine.
c. vicarious reinforcement -- seeing and recalling the model being reinforced.

Notice that these are, traditionally, considered to be the things that “cause”
learning. Bandura is saying that they don‟t so much cause learning as cause
us to demonstrate what we have learned. That is, he sees them as motives.

Of course, the negative motivations are there as well, giving you reasons not
to imitate someone:

d. past punishment.
e. promised punishment (threats).
d. vicarious punishment.

Like most traditional behaviorists, Bandura says that punishment in

whatever form does not work as well as reinforcement and, in fact, has a
tendency to “backfire” on us.

Self-regulation

Self-regulation -- controlling our own behavior -- is the other “workhorse” of

human personality. Here Bandura suggests three steps:

1. Self-observation. We look at ourselves, our behavior, and keep tabs on it.

2. Judgment. We compare what we see with a standard. For example, we

can compare our performance with traditional standards, such as “rules of
etiquette.” Or we can create arbitrary ones, like “I‟ll read a book a week.” Or
we can compete with others, or with ourselves.
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3. Self-response. If you did well in comparison with your standard, you give
yourself rewarding self-responses. If you did poorly, you give yourself
punishing self-responses. These self-responses can range from the obvious
(treating yourself to a sundae or working late) to the more covert (feelings of
pride or shame).

A very important concept in psychology that can be understood well with self-
regulation is self-concept (better known as self-esteem). If, over the years,
you find yourself meeting your standards and life loaded with self-praise and
self-reward, you will have a pleasant self-concept (high self-esteem). If, on
the other hand, you find yourself forever failing to meet your standards and
punishing yourself, you will have a poor self-concept (low self-esteem).

Recall that behaviorists generally view reinforcement as effective, and

punishment as fraught with problems. The same goes for self-punishment.
Bandura sees three likely results of excessive self-punishment:

a. compensation -- a superiority complex, for example, and delusions of

grandeur.
b. inactivity -- apathy, boredom, depression.
c. escape -- drugs and alcohol, television fantasies, or even the ultimate
escape, suicide.

These have some resemblance to the unhealthy personalities Adler and

Horney talk about: an aggressive type, a compliant type, and an avoidant
type respectively.

Bandura‟s recommendations to those who suffer from poor self-concepts come

straight from the three steps of self-regulation:

1. Regarding self-observation -- know thyself! Make sure you have an

accurate picture of your behavior.

2. Regarding standards -- make sure your standards aren‟t set too high.
Don‟t set yourself up for failure! Standards that are too low, on the other
hand, are meaningless.

3. Regarding self-response -- use self-rewards, not self-punishments.

Celebrate your victories, don‟t dwell on your failures.

4. Humanistic Approach to Personality

The Humanistic Approach began in response to concerns by therapists

against perceived limitations of Psychodynamic theories, especially
psychoanalysis. Individuals like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow felt
existing (psychodynamic) theories failed to adequately address issues like the
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meaning of behavior, and the nature of healthy growth. However, the result
was not simply new variations on psychodynamic theory, but rather a
fundamentally new approach.

Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

The idea that we are responsible for our own lives, embodied in
existentialism, is exemplified in the work of Carl Rogers. However Rogers
approach was extremely OPTIMISTIC. Rogers believed that “The organism
has one basic tendency and striving- to actualize, maintain, and enhance the
experiencing organism” (1951, p. 487).

Rogers believed that all people have a tendency toward growth =

„Actualization‟. The need to maintain and enhance life. The goal of existence
is to satisfy this need. This desire to preserve and enhance oneself is on one
level:

Physical = staying alive by eating, keeping warm, avoiding physical danger

etc. On a higher level:

Psychological = self-actualization is about testing and fulfilling our

capabilities: seek out new experiences, master new skills, quit boring jobs
and find more exciting ones etc.

In the course of pursuing self-actualization, people engage in what Rogers

called the organismic valuing process. Experiences that are perceived as
enhancing to oneself are valued as good and are therefore sought after.
Experiences perceived as not enhancing are valued as bad and are avoided.
In other words, we know what‟s good for us!

Rogers used the term Fully Functioning Person for someone who is self-
actualizing. These people are OPEN TO EXPERIENCING THEIR
FEELINGS, don‟t feel threatened by those feelings no matter what they are.
They trust their own feelings. They are open to the experiences of the world.
They live lives full of meaning, challenge and fulfillment.

According to Rogers, the main determinant of whether we will become self-

actualized is childhood experience. Rogers believed that it is crucial for
children to receive positive regard, that is affection and approval from the
important people in their lives, particularly their parents. Rogers believed it
is important for us to receive unconditional positive regard, that is affection
and acceptance with no strings attached. Often however, according to Rogers
this regard is conditional, it comes with strings attached. To be loved and
approved the child must be well-mannered, quiet, assertive, boyish, girlish,
whatever. These things are incorporated as conditions of worth. If the
conditions are few and reasonable then the child will be fine but if the
conditions of worth are severely limiting then self-actualization will be
severely impeded. According to Rogers, external conditions of worth come to
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control more and more of a person's behaviour. We even start to apply these
conditions to ourselves. This pattern of self-acceptance and self-rejection is
called conditional self-regard. Eventually, a gap opens between a person‟s
actions and his or her true self. The person automatically covers over the
split with perceptual distortions, denying the conflict between self and
reality. Rogers felt that theses distortions can become so severe that they
may lead to personality breakdown.

Rogers: Self congruence

Rogers is sometimes called a self-theorist. He assumed that the self doesn't

exist at birth but that infants gradually differentiate self from non-self. The
self is constantly evolving.

One way of looking at the self is to look at the ideal self and the actual self:

The ideal self is the person you‟d like to be

The actual self is what you are now or even what you THINK you are because
remember from this perspective it‟s all about subjective perceptions.

When you are self-actualized then there is congruence (i.e. harmony or

agreement) between the real and the actual selves. That is you become more
like the self you want to be.

There‟s a second kind of congruence and that is between the actual self and
experience. That is the experiences in life should fit with the type of person
you think you are. So there will be incongruity if you think you‟re generous
but find yourself being mean to someone or if you think your ruthless and you
find yourself being soft and mushy. If you think you‟re clever and do badly in
a test there will be incongruence.

Incongruence is bad and means there is a breakdown in your unitary sense of

self. Incongruence leads to anxiety, whether the incongruence is between
actual & real self or between actual self and experience. Rogers believed we
defend ourselves against incongruence or even the perceptions of
incongruence.

Rogers: Incongruence and Defenses

This concept of defenses is very similar to the psychodynamic concept. Rogers

assumes 2 main categories of defenses:

1. DISTORTION OF EXPERIENCE: An example is rationalization: creating

a plausible but untrue reason for why something is the way it is. OR another
distortion of experience is when you try to change you perception of an event
from what you really know it to be: you go out with someone other than your

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partner but tell yourself that it doesn‟t matter because your partner won‟t
mind.

2. PREVENTING THREATENING EXPERIENCES FROM REACHING

AWARENESS AT ALL: Denial serves this function.

Ultimately, defenses are there to maintain the congruity or integrity of self.

Defenses protect and enhance our self-esteem.

Maslow (1970, 1987) - Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow began his psychological research studying basic

motivations of animals, but then shifted his focus to the higher motivations of
human beings. Abraham Maslow, like Rogers, focussed on the positive. He
was interested in the qualities of people who get the most out of life. He was
interested in what motivates them (but his view of motivation was very
different from what we looked at in the dispositional perspective).

Hierarchy of Needs

He viewed human needs or motives as forming a hierarchy.

1. PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS: At the bottom are the basic, primitive needs

for air, food, water - those things we HAVE to have to survive

2. SAFETY AND PHYSICAL SECURITY NEEDS: shelter from weather,

protection against tigers etc. Very important but not QUITE as important as
the physiological needs.

3. LOVE AND BELONGINGNESS NEEDS: Companionship, acceptance from

others (like Rogers‟ positive regard), affection.

4. ESTEEM NEEDS: needs for a sense of mastery and power. Need for
appreciation from others.

5. SELF ACTUALIZATION: similar use of the term to the way Rogers used
it. “The tendency to become whatever you‟re capable of becoming”: The
highest of human motives. In trying to describe the process of self-
actualization, Maslow focused on moments when self actualization was
clearly occurring. Maslow used the term “peak experiences” to refer to
moments of intense self-actualization. At these moments people feel
connected to their surroundings and aware of all the sounds and colours
around them. There‟s a loss of a sense of time as the experience flows around
you. You may feel awe, wonder or even ecstasy. This is similar to what
Csikszentmihalyi (chick-sent-me-high) calls “flow” but he sees it not so much
as joy or ecstasy but rather as a period of intense concentration, with a
slightly elevated mood when time flows by very quickly.

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Motives WEAKEN as go from the more primitive to the higher needs (up the
pyramid). In general you need to deal with lower level needs before you can
move onto other needs.

Maslow: Self-Actualizing People

Characteristics of self-actualized people according to Maslow (1968):

 efficient and accurate in perceiving reality

 are accepting of themselves, of other people and of nature
 are spontaneous in thought and emotion, rather than artificial
 are problem-centred - are concerned with the eternal philosophical
questions of humankind
 are independent and autonomous
 have a continued “freshness of appreciation” of ordinary events
 often experience “oceanic feelings” that is a sense of oneness with
nature
 identify with all of humanity and are democratic and respectful of
others
 form very deep ties but only with a few people
 appreciate for its own sake the process of doing things
 have a philosophical, thoughtful, non-hostile sense of humour
 have a childlike and fresh creativity and inventiveness
 maintain an inner detachment from the culture in which they live
 may appear temperamental or ruthless as they are strong and
independent people guided by their own inner visions

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 Motivation

The word motivation is coined from the Latin word "movere", which means to
move. Motivation is defined as an internal drive that activates behavior and
gives it direction. The term motivation theory is concerned with the processes
that describe why and how human behavior is activated and directed. It is
regarded as one of the most important areas of study in the field of
organizational behavior. There are two different categories of motivation
theories such as content theories, and process theories.

Definitions, Types and Theories of Motivation.

Definitions. Motivation (motus, movere = to move) has been defined

variously by psychologists as: 'the phenomena involved in a person's drives
and goal-seeking behaviour'; 'the tendencies to activity which commence
with a persistent stimulus (drive) and end with an appropriate adjustive
response'; 'the arousal, regulation and sustaining of a pattern of behaviour';
'the internal state or condition that results in behaviour directed towards a
specific goal' (Curzon, 1990). The term will be used in this site as a general
sense to refer to a person's aroused desire for participation in a learning
process. Dewey speaks of the teacher in their role of guide and director as
steering a boat, '. . . but the energy that propels it must come from those who
are learning'. The arousal, regulation and sustaining of the student's
enthusiasm for learning, that is, the utilization of his power of motivation in
the service of the lesson, constitute an important task for the teacher. The
harnessing of the learner's drive is to be seen as of paramount importance in
learning, for drive is the basis of self-motivation in the classroom.

Types of motivation. Some psychologists concerned with understanding

learning have attempted to formulate 'categories of motivation', i.e. groupings
of students' motives for learning. Categories have been presented under four
headings: instrumental motivation; social motivation; achievement
motivation; and intrinsic motivation. It should be noted that more than one
category may dominate learner motivation at a given time (Biggs and Teller,
1987.)

Instrumental motivation: This type of motivation, which is purely extrinsic,

is in evidence where students perform tasks solely because of the
consequences likely to ensue, e.g. the chance of obtaining some tangible
reward or avoiding a reprimand. It is in total contrast to intrinsic motivation
(see below). In the face of motivation of this nature, the teacher should ensure
that the task to be performed is placed in a context perceived as pleasant.

Social motivation: Students influenced by this type of motivation tend to

perform tasks so as to please those they respect, admire, or whose opinions
are of some importance to them. Rewards are of limited significance even if
tangible; the reward here is nonmaterial and is related in direct measure to
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the perceived relationship between the student and the person whose
reinforcement activity (praise or approval, for example) is considered
important.

Achievement motivation: This is involved where students learn 'in the hope of
success'. Ausubel suggests that there are three elements in motivation of this
type:

(a) cognitive drive—the learner is attempting to satisfy a perceived 'need to

know';

(b) self enhancement—the learner is satisfying the need for self-esteem;

(c) affiliation—the learner is seeking the approval of others.

Intrinsic motivation: In this case there are no external rewards; the task is
undertaken for the pleasure ind satisfaction it brings to the student. It seems
to be central to 'high quality involvement' in a task and to be self-maintaining
and self-terminating. Curiosity and a desire to meet challenges may
characterize the learning of students motivated in this style.

Theories of Motivation

A Humanist Approach to Motivation; Self-Actualisation.

Maslow saw motivation in terms of an individual's striving for growth; he

sought to explain it by reference to a 'hierarchy of human needs'. People are
'wanting animals'. He believed that at any given moment a person's
benaviour is dominated by those of his needs which have the greatest
potency. As their 'lower', physiological needs are adequately satisfied,
motives at a 'higher' level in the hierarchy come into play. The hierarchy is
made up as follows:

1. Physiological needs, e.g. hunger, thirst, leading to a desire tor food and
water.

2. Safety needs, e.g. security.

3. Belonging needs, e.g. friendship and love.

4. Esteem needs, e.g. success, approval from others.

5. Self-actualization needs, e.g. desire for self-fulfilment.

These needs are hierarchical; high-level needs will be attended to only after
low-level needs are satisfied. Maslow's basic needs (physiological, safety and
belonging) are termed deficiency because they motivate (lead to behavior)
when the organism has a deficiency with respect to a need (for example, lacks

21
food or water). The metaneeds (esteem and self-actualisation) are termed
growth needs because they motivate behaviors that do not result from
deficiencies but from a natural human tendency toward growth. The growth
needs will be attended to only after the basic needs are reasonably satisfied.
The ultimate need is that of self-actualisation. Self-actualization is a difficult
concept to explain. Leclerc et al (1998) in their survey of 26 "experts"
indicates a general consensus that self-actualization is a process rather than
a state. It is a process of growth—of becoming—evident in the unfolding and
fulfillment of self. In a sense it is trying to become the best we can, as
individuals, become.

For Maslow, true motivation is intrinsic. In other words, it comes from

within, and the more that extrinsic motivators (money, rewards, etc) are used
to encourage learning the less our intrinsic motivation to learn will be
present. Thus the use of external/extrinsic motivators to encourage learning
will ultimatley demotivate the student, because when they are no longer
present, or become meaningless there will be little desire to learn. The
extrinsic motivators will have replaced the innate intrinsic desire to learn.

Application to education:

The essential point is that from Maslow's persepctive, no learning will take
place unless the students basic needs are met. Thus they need to have their
physiological needs met along with feelings of safety and also experience a
sense of belonging. This makes intutive sense (has face validity) because a
student who is hungry will never work well, nor will a student who is being
bullied (lack of safety) and neither will the student who feels that they are an
'outsider' and that they have no friends. If these basic needs are met then
motivation to learn should be present, especially if the student gains some
esteem from their efforts. Indeed, for Malsow, the best motivation for
learning will occur when we are attempting to self-actualise, for this is when
we will be truly experiencing growth and development. Ultimately any factor
which prevents us from self-actualising will be a hinderence to our
motivation to learn.

A Cognitive Approach to Motivation;Self-efficacy.

Bandura informs us that self-efficacy has to do with our own estimates of our
personal effectiveness. "Perceived self-efficacy," he writes, "refers to beliefs in
one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to
produce given attainments" (1997, p. 3). The most efficacious people are those
who are most competent. Accordingly, self-efficacy has two related
components: The first has to do with the skills—the actual competencies—
required for successful performance; the second concerns the individual's
personal estimates of competence.

Personal estimates of competence are extremely important in education. As

Zimmerman, Bandura, and Martinez-Pons put it, "Numerous studies have
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shown that students with a high sense of academic efficacy display greater
persistence, effort, and intrinsic interest n their academic learning and
performance" (1992, p. 664). Our beliefs about how likely we are to succeed in
a given subject or endeavor (our notions of self-efficacy for that subject or
activity) profoundly influence what we choose to do, how much effort we are
willing to put into it, and how persistent we will be. For example, following a
study of 246 students at the end of their eighth and tenth years of school
(USA schools) Marsh and Yeung (1997) found that positive self-concepts in
specific subjects (the extent to which students expected to do well) were
among the best predictors of what students subsequently choose to study. In
fact, this research showed academic self-concept he to be a better predictor of
future course selections than actual grades in various subjects.

A Behaviourist Approach to Motivation; Reinforcement/Extrinsic Motivation.

Skinner demonstrated how positive reinforcement increases the probability of

a behavior when it follows as a consequence of the behavior. Negative
reinforcement also increases the probability of a response, but it does so as a
function of being removed as a consequence of behavior. See the material on
Behaviourist approaches to learning for more detail.

Positive and negative reinforcement are used in virtually all classrooms; teachers
praise and admonish students, they give high and low grades, they smile and frown.
These and a thousand other indicators of approval or disapproval are examples of
reinforcement. When reinforcement is used judiciously and systematically, it can have
profound effects on behavior. However we are not simply hungry rats in a Skinner box. If
we look into a classroom, we will see that behaviour is not simply driven by external
rewards like chocolate bars or gold stars or high marks. Rather behaviour is driven by
cognitions and by emotions. It is not surprising that current applications of behavioursit
principles to the classroom take thinking into account. As Stipek (1988) notes, the most
powerful reinforcers for students are stimuli such as praise, and that given that the
effectiveness of these stimuli clearly depend on a student's interpretations of the teacher's
behavior, it is apparant that cognition is central to understanding how reinforcement
works as a motvator. Thus a simplistic stimulus-response reading of behaviouristic
principles will not offer an adequate understanding of the use of reinforcement in the
classroom.

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