My portion of PSY/405 team Humanistic and Existential Personality Theories paper (week 3)

Person-Centered Theory and Personality Development and Interpersonal Relationships

Roger’s postulated there were two subsets of self, the self-concept and the ideal self.  The individual begins to form a concept of self during infancy through perceiving various experiences.  The ideal self, differs from the concept of self in that it is what the individual wishes to be.  Individual personalities are deemed healthy when there is little divergence between their self-concept and their ideal self.  Roger’s own interpersonal relationships may have struggled during childhood, but he “grew to become a leading proponent of the notion that the interpersonal relationship between two individuals is a powerful ingredient that cultivates psychological growth within both persons” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 312).  To become a person, Roger’s theory requires contact between persons, whether it is positive or negative.

Existential Theory and Personality Development and Interpersonal Relationships

Existential theorist’s explanation of individual personalities is focused on two areas, the search for meaning in one’s life and every individual is responsible for who they are and who they become.  People ask themselves important questions, consciously and unconsciously, when they are searching for meaning within their lives, questions like “Who am I?” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p.347).  Existential theorists believe people cannot blame others for who they are and what they become.  One makes the choice of who they are and who they want to be, no one else is to blame or can hold influence because ultimately every individual is alone.  Existentialists referred to the relationship one has with their selves as Eigenwelt.  This term gives reference to the awareness individuals have of being human and the meaning they find through the relationships they build with the world of people and things that surround them.  Rollo May believed the relationships one builds with the other people can have a freeing or an enslaving result.  Unhealthy relationships can inhibit personal growth and make it challenging for individuals to partake in healthy encounters with others.  If one cannot relate to others, life becomes meaningless and a sense of alienation from others and one’s self occurs (Fesit & Feist, 2009).