The other self-actualization: What's the difference between Maslow and Rogers?

a post by Matt Davis for the Big Think blog

Most of us have heard of Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs, but Maslow doesn't have a monopoly on self-actualization.

• Along with Maslow, Carl Rogers helped pioneer the field of humanistic psychology.
• Although most associate the term "self-actualization" with Maslow, it's a concept that's frequently found in humanistic psychological literature.
• What's the difference between Maslow's and Rogers' versions of self-actualization, and what can we learn from Rogers?

One could be forgiven for thinking that the term "self-actualization" was developed entirely by Abraham Maslow. Today, there are very few contexts where one can hear the term outside of Maslow's famous hierarchy of needs. But in fact, the twentieth century featured many humanistic psychologists who used the term to mean one thing or another. It was first coined by psychologist Kurt Goldstein, who used it to refer to something very similar to what Maslow would later focus on: the tendency for human beings to become all that they can, that "what a man can be, he must be."

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Wait for it: how schizophrenia illuminates the nature of pleasure

a post by Ann M Kring for the Big Think blog

Pleasure is not just about experiencing an enjoyable moment. It also involves anticipation – a connection between one's present and future selves.

Schizophrenia is one of the most widely misunderstood of human maladies. The truth of the illness is far different from popular caricatures of a sufferer muttering incoherently or lashing out violently. People with schizophrenia are, in fact, not more likely to be violent than people without schizophrenia. About one per cent of the worldwide population has schizophrenia, affecting men and women, rich and poor, and people of all races and cultures. It can be treated with medication and psychosocial treatments, though the treatments don't work well for every person and for every symptom. Most of all, it impacts everything that makes us human: the way one thinks, the way one behaves, and the way one feels – particularly the ability to experience pleasure.

Three-quarters of people with schizophrenia suffer from anhedonia: the decreased pleasure from events or activities that were once enjoyed. Friends will no longer be fun to be around, and once-tasty meals can come to taste bland. (It is also a core symptom of depression.) [my highlight] From a clinical perspective, anhedonia is assessed via an interview with a mental-health professional in which a person is asked about pleasure and enjoyment in various life activities such as socialising, eating, working or participating in hobbies.

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I have not been diagnosed with schizophrenia nor do I think I have schizoid tendencies but I can empathise with everything in this article about pleasure and anticipation. Standing in the Vatican looking at that marvellous painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and thinking, “That’s nice”.

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Illegitimate tasks as a source of work stress

an article by Norbert K. Semmer, Nicola Jacobshagen, Laurenz L. Meier, Achim Elfering and Wolfgang Kälin (University of Bern, Switzerland), Terry A. Beehr (Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, USA) and Franziska Tschan (University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland) published in Work & Stress: An International Journal of Work, Health & Organisations Volume 29 Issue 1 (2015)

Abstract

Illegitimate tasks represent a task-level stressor derived from role and justice theories within the framework of “Stress-as–Offense-to-Self” (SOS; Semmer, Jacobshagen, Meier, & Elfering, 2007).

Tasks are illegitimate if they violate norms about what an employee can properly be expected to do, because they are perceived as unnecessary or unreasonable; they imply a threat to one’s professional identity. We report three studies testing associations between illegitimate tasks and well-being/strain.

In two cross-sectional studies, illegitimate tasks predicted low self-esteem, feelings of resentment towards one’s organization and burnout, controlling for role conflict, distributive injustice and social stressors in Study 1, and for distributive and procedural/interactional justice in Study 2.

In Study 3, illegitimate tasks predicted two strain variables (feelings of resentment towards one’s organization and irritability) over a period of two months, controlling for initial values of strain.

Results confirm the unique contribution of illegitimate tasks to well-being and strain, beyond the effects of other predictors. Moreover, Study 3 demonstrated that illegitimate tasks predicted strain, rather than being predicted by it. We therefore conclude that illegitimate tasks represent an aspect of job design that deserves more attention, both in research and in decisions about task assignments.

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Homelessness and identity: a critical review of the literature and theory

an article by Lindsey McCarthy (Sheffield Hallam University, UK) published in People, Place and Policy Volume 7 Number 1

Summary

Within the news media and literature, alike, people experiencing homelessness are often categorised into various stereotypes revolving around their lack of abode. In such a practice a ‘homeless identity’ becomes the defining feature of a person’s character. Very few theoretical studies have critically addressed this discursive construction and its implications.

This paper contributes to the few existing debates around the 'homeless identity' by arguing that such constructions are binding and misguided. The paper takes insight from the many and varied theories of ‘identity’ – how different approaches have theorised it and what might be borrowed from them to (re)conceptualise the ‘homeless identity’.

After outlining several approaches to identity, the paper asks how someone experiencing homelessness might resist or challenge prescriptive identities and how the literature and research around homelessness might progress.

It concludes that an intersectional approach will enrich a literature which tends to focus on a singular 'homeless identity'. Such an approach will address the intersection of lines of difference and recognise that the identity of any individual is multiple and fluid.

Full text (PDF 13pp)

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