Answer to Question of a theory of personality

A theory of personality which I am essentially in agreement with is Maslow’s Theory of Human Motivation. Maslow emphasized the healthy aspect of personality. Maslow theorized that human needs are common to us and therefore they have a biological basis. However, we are only minimally influenced by biological instincts. Behaviors depend on a person’s unique biological and environment experiences. Maslow indicated that there are five levels of basic human needs. These needs from weakest needs to strongest needs are Self-Actualization, Esteem, Belongingness and Love, Safety and physiological needs. The lower a need is in the hierarchy; the more basic it is in terms of survival. Lower needs exert a more powerful influence on behavior. The higher the need, the less basic it is, and therefore weaker in its potential influence and more human. As people satisfy their needs at one level of the hierarchy they can progress to the next level. The needs at one level do not need to be completely satisfied to go on to the next level. Usually, needs at one level have to be at least partially satisfied though. There are always exceptions to this rule that a spiritual care-giver needs to keep in mind. Physiological Needs: this includes food, water, oxygen, elimination, and rest. Because these needs are directly related to survival, it is the most powerful need. Lack of food for example can consume a person’s life until it is satisfied. Starving people rarely move beyond the physiological level. This is evident in Haiti now but it is also evident here in Toronto where a meal is becoming a luxury for more people. An exception to the rule would be the cliché of the starving artist. He may forgo basic needs such as food or sleep in order to persevere at some work. Safety Needs: includes physical well being as well as psychological security. This involves the need for stability, order and structure in our lives. Most of our needs at this level are met in Western Cultures bi-laws, and by police, and fire departments. It can be met by purchasing insurance and having a savings account. However, safety needs are dominant in children, especially infants. They will respond as if in danger by rough handling, loud noises, disturbed or dropped (esp. infants). Children also need undisrupted routines such as having meals at a set time. An adult too may exhibit abnormal behavior similar to the child’s desire for safety. The adult may see the world as hostile, threatening and overwhelming. An example is people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. They will try frantically to order and stabilize the world so that no unmanageable, unexpected or unfamiliar dangers will ever appear. Belongingness and Love needs : When physiological and safety needs are substantially met, needs related to affiliation, affection and love emerge. Individuals experience deep feelings of loneliness when friends, family and other loved ones are absent. This is a problem in Western Culture. Esteem Needs: Maslow distinguished two types of esteem needs: Esteem from others: This includes the desire for appreciation, attention, reputation and status. Individuals need to feel respected by other people. This is something I incorporate in my spiritual care for others. Self esteem: includes a desire for competency, mastery, achievement, strength, confidence, adequacy, independence and freedom. When these are met, people feel worthwhile, confident, useful and capable. If inadequate people will feel inferior, weak and helpless. Self-Actualization Needs: Maslow’s definition is the desire to become more and more what idiosyncratically is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. Self-actualization is a goal that is never fully achieved. First, it is the weakest in the of the instinctoid needs. Second, Maslow believed that people fear self-knowledge necessary for self-actualization. Accurate self knowledge is threatening since it may alter one’s self concept. Third, this level needs requires freedom to express oneself, to explore and to act without restriction (without harming) and to pursue such values such as truth, justice and values. Maslow theorized that that the first four levels of needs motivate people by deficit. There are two types of motivation: Deficit motivation - is reducing tension or filling a temporary lack such as drinking because we are thirsty; and Growth Motivation - process orientated. This is a process of continued enhancement or growth with self-actualization tendency. Satisfying growth motives often increases tension. Satisfying deficit motives often decreases tension. There is much more than can be said regarding this theory of personality but I think I have covered the basics without the necessity of breaking it down further. Each client that comes to us may be hungry, or lost, or lack self-esteem. Understanding the stage that she may be in helps the care-giver understand what she may be lacking and needing. If someone needs food, we may be able to find resources to fulfill that need. If someone has suffered a sexual assault we may be there for him and fulfill that need, keeping in mind that being a presence of support is a very powerful tool in our clients fulfilling their hierarchal needs.