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HEALTHY PERSONALITY
Presented by
CONTINUING PSYCHOLOGY EDUCATION
7.2 CONTACT HOURS
“I wanted to prove that human beings are capable of something grander than war and prejudice and hatred.”
Abraham Maslow, Psychology Today, 1968, 2, p.55.
Course Objective Learning Objectives
The purpose of this course is to provide an Upon completion, the participant will understand
understanding of the concept of healthy personality. the nature, motivation, and characteristics of the
Seven theorists offer their views on the subject, healthy personality. Seven influential
including: Gordon Allport, Carl Rogers, Erich psychotherapists-theorists examine the concept
Fromm, Abraham Maslow, Carl Jung, Viktor of healthy personality allowing the reader to
Frankl, and Fritz Perls. integrate these principles into his or her own life.
Accreditation Faculty
Provider approved by the California Board of Neil Eddington, Ph.D.
Registered Nursing, Provider # CEP 14008, for Richard Shuman, MFT
7.2 Contact Hours.
In accordance with the California Code of
Regulations, Section 2540.2(b) for licensed
vocational nurses and 2592.2(b) for psychiatric
technicians, this course is accepted by the Board
of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
for 7.2 contact hours of continuing education credit.
Mission Statement
Continuing Psychology Education provides the
highest quality continuing education designed to
fulfill the professional needs and interests of nurses.
Resources are offered to improve professional
competency, maintain knowledge of the latest
advancements, and meet continuing education
requirements mandated by the profession. Copyright © 2006 Continuing Psychology Education
1 Continuing Psychology Education P.O. Box 9659 San Diego, CA 92169 FAX: (858) 272-5809 phone: 1 800 281-5068
www.texcpe.com
HEALTHY PERSONALITY
INTRODUCTION personality offered by Gordon Allport, Carl Rogers, Erich
The study of healthy personality was ignored for a long time Fromm, Abraham Maslow, Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, and Fritz
in psychology, instead, mental illness was extensively Perls. These theories are selected because they are fully
examined. In the past several decades, however, a growing developed and are contemporary in their appeal. Each
number of researchers have recognized the capacity for growth describes a level of personality development which is beyond
and change in the human personality. These “growth normality leading to healthy personality.
psychologists” (most prefer to be called humanistic The health of personality is considered important for
psychologists) have taken a new and fresh look at human happiness, peace of mind, personal adjustment, and success in
nature and have observed a different type of person from that living. To examine ways of becoming what we are capable of
described by behaviorism and psychoanalysis, the traditional being is a worthwhile venture as Maslow (1967) stated by the
schools of psychology. Whereas behaviorists see individuals as following: “If you deliberately plan to be less than you are
passive responders to external stimuli and psychoanalysts see capable of being, then I warn you that you’ll be unhappy for
people as victims of biological forces and childhood conflicts, the rest of your life.”
the humanistic psychologists believe we can strive to become
all we are capable of becoming and in the process transform GORDON ALLPORT
from “normality” to healthy personality. THE MATURE PERSON
Healthy personality has proven to be a difficult and elusive
concept to define. There are thought to be enough definitions Allport believed healthy individuals function on a rational
, aware and in control of the forces that
ous level
of healthy personality to fill a small book. Jahoda (1958), and consci
however, observed that “positive mental health” includes one guide them. Mature persons are directed by the present and by
or more of the following six aspects of individuals: their intentions toward the future. The outlook is forward
1. The degree of personal integration achieved by the toward contemporary and future events, not backward to
individual. childhood traumas and conflicts as with neurotics. He saw a
2. The degree of autonomy achieved by the person. gap or dichotomy between neurosis and healthy personality
3. The adequacy of the person’s perception of reality. with neither type displaying any similar characteristics. The
4. The degree of environmental mastery achieved by the neurotic reveals infantile conflicts and experiences and the
person. healthy person functions on a different and higher plane.
5. The attitudes shown by a person toward his or her Allport only studied mature, healthy adults and had little to say
own self. about neurotics, hence, his system is truly health oriented.
6. The style and degree of a person’s self-actualization.
Schultz (1977) assessed components of healthy personality THE MOTIVATION OF THE HEALTHY PERSONALITY
ated the following characteristics to be agreed upon by
and st Allport stated that adult motives are f
most theorists: unctionally
1. Capability to consciously and rationally direct one’s autonomous of childhood meaning they are independent of
behavior. original circumstances. Rather than being pushed from behind
2. Being in charge of one’s own destiny. by motivating forces in the past, we are pulled ahead by our
3. Knowing who and what one is and being accepting intentions for the future.
of strengths and weaknesses. Central to this model is the importance of future goals and
4. Being firmly anchored in the present. intentions as indicated by Allport (1955): “The possession of
5. Pursuit of challenge through new goals and new long-range goals, regarded as central to one’s personal
experiences. existence, distinguishes the human from the animal, the adult
As can be seen, any single definition of healthy personality from the child, and in many cases the healthy personality from
will be inadequate to some degree, yet it will be beneficial to the sick.”
have a working model, hence, the formulation by Jourard The intentional nature of the individual - striving toward the
(1963) will be used: future - unifies the total personality by integrating all its
Healthy personality is manifested by individuals who have components toward the achieving of goals and intentions. The
been able to gratify their basic needs through acceptable intentional nature of the personality also increases the tension
behavior such that their own personality is no longer a level of the person as he or she takes risks and explores new
problem to their self. They can take their self more or less for things. Allport believed that only through these new tension-
granted and devote energies and thoughts to socially producing experiences and risks can human beings grow.
meaningful interests and problems beyond security, or Interestingly, this view differs from tension-reduction models
lovability, or status. of motivation (including Freud’s) which profess that people are
This course investigates those conceptions of healthy motivated to reduce tensions and thus maintain a state of
homeostasis.
2 Continuing Psychology Education
Copyright © 2006 Continuing Psychology Education
HEALTHY PERSONALITY
In Allport’s view, happiness is not a goal in itself; it may be a for his or her welfare. The love of healthy persons is
by-product of pursuing aspirations and goals. In fact, he unconditional.
believed the healthy person’s life could be grim with pain and Compassion, the second kind of warmth, relates to an
sorrow. understanding of the basic human condition and a sense of
Another paradox within this model states that the goals which kinship with all people. Empathy for others results from an
are pursued by the healthy personality, in the final analysis, are “imaginative extension” of one’s own feelings to humanity. In
unattainable. As an example, he used the explorer Roald turn, the mature person is tolerant and non-judgmental of
Amundsen, who discovered the South Pole. After each new people’s frailties, understanding they share the same
discovery, Amundsen would immediately plan for the next. He weaknesses.
was motivated by the goal of continuing exploration, but this
goal could never be fully realized so long as there were Emotional Security
unexplored territories. To this end, Allport (1955) wrote:
“Salvation comes only to him who ceaselessly bestirs himself This characteristic of healthy personality includes
in the pursuit of objectives that in the end are not fully self-acceptance, frustration tolerance and emotional control.
attained.” Self-acceptance is the most im
Allport acknowledged the need to invent motives should portant and involves accepting
ng ones become insufficient, hence, he proposed the all aspects of one’s being, including weaknesses and failings,
existi without being resigned to them. Mature persons live with their
principle of organizing the energy level. The woman whose shortcomings with little conflict within themselves. They try to
goal was to raise children must find new goals and redirect do their best and improve when possible.
energy once the children reach adulthood. Mature, healthy Frustration-tolerance relates to tolerating stress and the
persons constantly need motives of adequate strength to thwarti
ng of wants and desires. Healthy people devise
consume their energy. different, less frustrating ways of reaching the same or
Allport’s theory of motivation of the healthy personality also substitute goals. Frustration is not crippling as it may be for
includes the principle of mastery and competence which neurotics.
proposes that mature, healthy persons desire not to perform at Emotional control pertains to an individual’s control of
mediocre levels but at high levels of competence and mastery em i
personal ot ons so they do not disrupt social functioning.
in striving to satisfy their motives. The control is not repression, but a redirecting of the emotions
into more constructive channels.
CRITERIA OF THE MATURE PERSONALITY Mature persons exhibit these three traits because they have a
basic sense of security. They deal with life’s fears and ego-
The following seven criteria of maturity represent Allport’s th a sense of proportion understanding that such
threats wi
characteristics of healthy personality. stressors are often manageable.
Extension of the Sense of Self
The self evolves from being focused onl Realistic Perception
y upon itself to a
widening range of people and activities. Allport believed that Healthy persons regard their world objectively and they
the person needed to extend the self into activities with a accept reality for what it is. Mature people do not distort
feeling of genuine personal involvement and participation. The reality to make it compatible with their wants and fears.
self then becomes invested in meaningful activities and they Contrarily, neurotics may have a personal preconception of
become extensions of the sense of self. This sense of authentic reality placing people and situations into compartments which
participation applies to work, family, leisure and all aspects of may not reflect the reality of the situation.
living. The more an individual is fully involved with various
activities, people, or ideas, the more psychologically healthy he Skills and Assignments
or she will be.
Allport believed in the importance of work and the necessity
Warm Relating of Self to Others of losing oneself in this activity. He did not think it possible to
find mature, healthy persons who have not directed their skills
Allport reported two kinds of warmth in relation to other o eaning
people: the capacity for intimacy and the capacity for toward their work. W rk and responsibility provide m
and a sense of cont
com inuity to life. Allport (1961) quoted the
passion. famous brain surgeon, Harvey Cushing, on this point: “The
hy person can display intimacy (love) for a parent,
The healt only way to endure life is to have a task to complete.”
child, spouse, or cl
ose friend. A well-developed sense of self-
extension brings forth this capacity for intimacy as the person
displays authentic participation with the loved one and concern
ontinui
3 C ng Psychology Education
HEALTHY PERSONALITY
Self-objectification Gordon Allport’s strength was his ability to detect common
The individual who possesses a high level of themes in the lives of psychologically healthy people and to
self-objectification - meaning self-insight - achieves a higher state these themes with clarity.
level of sel
f-understanding. Knowledge of self requires insight CARL ROGERS
into the relation between what one thinks one is and what one THE FULLY FUNCTIONING PERSON
actually is. Allport suggested that those with greater self-
insight are more intelligent than those who possess less self- Rogers felt that our perception of the present is more
insight. mportant than past childhood events in attaining healthy
i
personality. In working therapeutically with clients, he
A Unifying Philosophy of Life emphasized that personality must be examined and understood
Healthy personalities are forward-looking, and motivated by through the client’s personal point of view, his or her own
long-range goals of accomplishment. This way of being subjective experiences. What is real for clients is their unique
provides continuity to their personalities. Allport called this perception of reality. Rogers developed a method of therapy
unifying motivation directedness which guides all aspects of a which places the main responsibility for personality change on
person’s life toward a goal (or series of goals) and gives a the client as opposed to the therapist, hence, the term client-
reason for living. Thus, within this model, having a healthy centered therapy. He believed that reality is subject to each
personality is contingent upon aspirations and direction toward person’s perceptual experiences, in turn, it will differ from one
the future. individual to the next, however, he sensed a common and basic
Values are vital to the development of a unifying philosophy motivational force for all: the tendency or striving to actualize.
ic’s values are thought to not be strong
of life. The neurot THE MOTIVATION OF THE HEALTHY PERSON
enough to unify all aspects of life.
Another contributing factor to a unifying philosophy of life is Rogers indicated a single motivation - “one fundamental
conscience which involves a sense of duty and responsibility to need”- in his model of personality: to maintain, actualize, and
itself and to others. The mature person’s conscience suggests, enhance al he individual. All aspects of human
“I ought to behave this way,” whereas the neurotic’s verbiage l aspects of t
is “I must behave this way,” based on childhood obedience and growth and development operate within this actualizing
restrictions. tendency, including physical maturation such as the body’s
organs and physiological processes developing. The
actualizing tendency at the physiological level is irresistible as
CONCLUSION it thrusts the individual forward from one stage of maturation to
Allport was the first personality theorist to study mature, the next, forcing one to adapt and grow. Rogers (1963) knew
normal adults instead of neurotics. He challenged several this process to be true for all living things as described by the
established theories of personality in developing his model. following, “Here in this palm-like seaweed was the tenacity of
For example, he is rare in his emphasis that there are no life, the forward thrust of life, the ability to push into an
functional similarities between neurotic and healthy incredibly hostile environment and not only hold its own, but to
personalities, that they are separate entities. His view that the adapt, develop, become itself.” The goal of life is not
healthy personality, once formed, is free of past childhood maintaining homeostasis, tension-reduction, or ease and
experiences differs from Freud and other personality theorists. comfort but movement toward increased complexity of
Additionally, Allport’s focus on increasing rather than functioning allowing us to become all that we are capable of
decreasing the tension level as a means of positive change is becoming. At this biological level, Rogers saw no differences
noteworthy. between the mentally healthy and ill, but significant differences
Psychological health is forward not backward-looking in this appear regarding psychological aspects of actualization. The
model. The outlook is toward what the person hopes to emphasis in actualization shifts from physiological to
become, not to what has already happened and cannot be psychological beginning in childhood and is completed in
changed. Hence, Allport’s model of personality is optimistic adolescence.
and hopeful. This model defines self-actualization as the process of
becoming oneself, of devel
The mature person is actively involved and committed to oping one’s unique psychological
e hing or someone beyond the self. They are immersed in characteristics and potentialities, is life-long and continual, and
som t is the most important goal in a person’s life. Rogers believed
life. The healthy person is able to love and extend the self into that humans have an inherent urge to create and that the most
deep relationships with others. Mature persons know who they important creative product is one’s own self.
are, in turn, they are secure in their relationships with self and
others.
4 Continuing Psychology Education
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