Biological and Humanistic Approaches to Personality Term Paper

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Biological & Humanistic Approach to Personality

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs follows two distinct categories: deficiency motive, which include needs that must be fulfilled in order to move a person towards self-actualization (Burger, 2008). An example of deficiency needs would be basic needs like hunger or being safe. The second category is growth needs, which include a person progressing towards their unique potential, as well as giving love in an unselfish manner (Burger, 2008). For the purposes of this essay, growth needs will be discussed at length. The official hierarchy of needs follows a pyramid, with the bottom need being physiological needs like hunger and thirst; and up the pyramid with safety needs like protection or structure; belongingness and love needs like finding a mate or being close to someone; esteem needs like finding respect in ones work; and, lastly, the need for self-actualization, where a person fulfills their true potential (Burger, 2008).

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is considered a "humanistic approach" to personality, which focuses mainly on the "personal responsibility and feelings of self-acceptance as the key causes of differences in personality," (Burger, 2008). Since the hierarchy moves through time in a fluid manner (i.e. At any one time in a person's life one or more needs may be fulfilled or not), it stands to reason that during childhood and adolescence the hierarchy can be influential in the formation of personality. The basic premise of the humanistic model approach to personality is that environment, not biology, is responsible for the formation of personality (Burger, 2008). So if, for example, a child grows up in an environment where all his deficiency motives are met, and as he grows he makes close friends at school, feels esteem in his studies, and has some semblance of an idea of what he wants to do with his life; it makes sense that this individual would develop a healthy personality, removed from abnormal reactions to the world around him. However, if that same child were to grow up in a totally different environment where his basic needs were not met, he struggles in school to fit in or is even perhaps bullied, leading to no pride in his studies, he may have a harder time deciding what he wants to do with his life, which may lead to an unstable personality.

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Of course, that is only one approach to personality. Earlier it was mentioned that the humanistic view differs from biology in that it focuses solely on environment. Biology takes the other end of the spectrum, which posits that biology is the sole influence over personality, that humans are not born as blank slates, but come into this world with a distinct personality free from environmental influences (Burger, 2008).

Unlike Maslow's theory, which breaks down the environment and assesses personality based on being healthy or unhealthy, biology breaks down personality even further into 3 distinct personality traits, through which all individuals can be categorized (Burger, 2011). These traits stem from the "Hans Eyesenck description of personality," which are really broken down into three distinct temperaments: extroversion-introversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism (Burger, 2011). Using twin studies, it has been found that generally genes do influence whether a person is introverted or extroverted, regardless of environment (Burger, 2008). Eyesenck supports his theory of biology as the main formation of personality due to its stability over time; due to his numerous studies and observations those who are reported as extroverted remain so throughout their lives, as well as those who are introverted (Burger, 2011). Eyesenck also argued his theory as valid because his traits remained consistent within different cultures (Maslow's theory also remains consistent over different cultures, although within different contexts) (Burger, 2011, 2008). The findings of David M. Buss, 1990, supports the idea that….....

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