Healthy Personality

The study of healthy personality was ignored for a long time in psychology, instead, mental illness was extensively examined. In the past several decades, however, a growing number of researchers have recognized the capacity for growth and change in the human personality. These "growth psychologists" (most prefer to be called humanistic psychologists) have taken a new and fresh look at human nature and have observed a different type of person from that described by behaviorism and psychoanalysis, the traditional schools of psychology. Whereas behaviorists see individuals as passive responders to external stimuli and psychoanalysts see people as victims of biological forces and childhood conflicts, the humanistic psychologists believe we can strive to become all we are capable of becoming and in the process transform from "normality" to healthy personality.

Healthy personality has proven to be a difficult and elusive concept to define. There are thought to be enough definitions of healthy personality to fill a small book. Jahoda (1958), however, observed that "positive mental health" includes one or more of the following six aspects of individuals: 1. The degree of personal integration achieved by the individual. 2. The degree of autonomy achieved by the person. 3. The adequacy of the person's perception of reality. 4. The degree of environmental mastery achieved by the person. 5. The attitudes shown by a person toward his or her own self. 6. The style and degree of a person's self-actualization. Schultz (1977) assessed components of healthy personality and stated the following characteristics to be agreed upon by most theorists: 1. Capability to consciously and rationally direct one's behavior. 2. Being in charge of one's own destiny. 3. Knowing who and what one is and being accepting of strengths and weaknesses. 4. Being firmly anchored in the present. 5. Pursuit of challenge through new goals and new experiences.

As can be seen, any single definition of healthy personality will be inadequate to some degree, yet it will be beneficial to have a working model, hence,  the formulation by Jourard (1963) will be used: Healthy personality is manifested by individuals who have been able to gratify their basic needs through acceptable behavior such that their own personality is no longer a problem to their self. They can take their self more or less for granted and devote energies and thoughts to socially meaningful interests and problems beyond security, or lovability, or status.

This course investigates those conceptions of healthy personality offered by Gordon Allport, Carl Rogers, Erich Fromm, Abraham Maslow, Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, and Fritz Perls. These theories are selected because they are fully developed and are contemporary in their appeal. Each describes a level of personality development which is beyond normality leading to healthy personality. The health of personality is considered important for happiness, peace of mind, personal adjustment, and success in living. To examine ways of becoming what we are capable of being is a worthwhile venture as  (1967) stated by the following: "If you deliberately plan to be less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you'll be unhappy for the rest of your life."...Read full story