Toward a Psychology of Being

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Toward a Psychology of Being

01 Jan 1962-

TL;DR: The need to know and the fear of knowing are two major obstacles in the development of a growth and self-actualization psychology as discussed by the authors, as well as the need to be validated.

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Abstract: A LARGER JURISDICTION FOR PSYCHOLOGY. Introduction: Toward a Psychology of Health. What Psychology Can Learn from the Existentialists. GROWTH AND MOTIVATION. Deficiency Motivation and Growth Motivation. Defense and Growth. The Need to Know and the Fear of Knowing. GROWTH AND COGNITION. Cognition of Being in the Peak-Experiences. Peak-Experiences as Acute Identity-Experiences. Some Dangers of Being-Cognition. Resistance to Being Rubricized. CREATIVENESS. Creativity in Self-Actualizing People. VALUES. Psychological Data and Human Values. Values, Growth, and Health. Health as Transcendence of Environment. FUTURE TASKS. Some Basic Propositions of a Growth and Self-Actualization Psychology. Appendices. Bibliography. Additional Bibliography. Index.

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Journal Article•DOI•

The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.

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Roy F. Baumeister¹, Mark R. Leary•Institutions (1)

Case Western Reserve University¹

01 May 1995-Psychological Bulletin

TL;DR: Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation, and people form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds.

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Abstract: A hypothesized need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships is evaluated in light of the empirical literature. The need is for frequent, nonaversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond. Consistent with the belongingness hypothesis, people form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds. Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes. Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being. Other evidence, such as that concerning satiation, substitution, and behavioral consequences, is likewise consistent with the hypothesized motivation. Several seeming counterexamples turned out not to disconfirm the hypothesis. Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation.

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17,492 citations

Cites background from "Toward a Psychology of Being"

...Maslow (1968)ranked “love and belongingness needs” in the middle of his motivational hierarchy; that is, belongingness needs do not emerge until food, hunger, safety, and other basic needs are satisfied, but they take precedence over esteem and self-actualization....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being.

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Carol D. Ryff¹•Institutions (1)

University of Wisconsin-Madison¹

01 Jan 1989-Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the relationship between self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth, and found that these aspects are not strongly tied to prior assessment indexes.

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Abstract: Reigning measures of psychological well-being have little theoretical grounding, despite an extensive literature on the contours of positive functioning. Aspects of well-being derived from this literature (i.e., self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth) were operationalized. Three hundred and twenty-one men and women, divided among young, middle-aged, and older adults, rated themselves on these measures along with six instruments prominent in earlier studies (i.e., affect balance, life satisfaction, self-esteem, morale, locus of control, depression). Results revealed that positive relations with others, autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth were not strongly tied to prior assessment indexes, thereby supporting the claim that key aspects of positive functioning have not been represented in the empirical arena. Furthermore, age profiles revealed a more differentiated pattern of well-being than is evident in prior research.

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10,548 citations

Cites background from "Toward a Psychology of Being"

...The extensive literature aimed at defining positive psychological functioning includes such perspectives as Maslows (1968) conception of self-actualization, Rogerss (1961) view of the fully functioning person, Jungs (1933; Von Frenz, 1964) formulation of individuation, and Allports (1961) conception of maturity....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Conservation of resources. A new attempt at conceptualizing stress.

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Stevan E. Hobfoll¹•Institutions (1)

Kent State University¹

01 Mar 1989-American Psychologist

TL;DR: A new stress model called the model of conservation of resources is presented, based on the supposition that people strive to retain, project, and build resources and that what is threatening to them is the potential or actual loss of these valued resources.

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Abstract: Major perspectives concerning stress are presented with the goal of clarifying the nature of what has proved to be a heuristic but vague construct. Current conceptualizations of stress are challenged as being too phenomenological and ambiguous, and consequently, not given to direct empirical testing. Indeed, it is argued that researchers have tended to avoid the problem of defining stress, choosing to study stress without reference to a clear framework. A new stress model called the model of conservation of resources is presented as an alternative. This resource-oriented model is based on the supposition that people strive to retain, project, and build resources and that what is threatening to them is the potential or actual loss of these valued resources. Implications of the model of conservation of resources for new research directions are discussed.

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9,782 citations

Cites background from "Toward a Psychology of Being"

...Maslow (1968) also proposed that people seek physical resources, then social resources, then psychological resources, in a hierarchical manner....
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Journal Article•DOI•

The structure of psychological well-being revisited

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Carol D. Ryff, Corey L. M. Keyes

01 Oct 1995-Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

TL;DR: A theoretical model of psychological well-being that encompasses 6 distinct dimensions of wellness (Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, Personal Growth, Positive Relations with Others, Purpose in Life, Self-Acceptance) was tested with data from a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 1,108), aged 25 and older, who participated in telephone interviews.

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Abstract: A theoretical model of psychological well-being that encompasses 6 distinct dimensions of wellness (Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, Personal Growth, Positive Relations with Others, Purpose in Life, Self-Acceptance) was tested with data from a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 1,108), aged 25 and older, who participated in telephone interviews. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the proposed 6-factor model, with a single second-order super factor. The model was superior in fit over single-factor and other artifactual models. Age and sex differences on the various well-being dimensions replicated prior findings. Comparisons with other frequently used indicators (positive and negative affect, life satisfaction) demonstrated that the latter neglect key aspects of positive functioning emphasized in theories of health and well-being.

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5,610 citations

Cites background from "Toward a Psychology of Being"

...Clinical psychologists offer further descriptions of well-being through Maslows (1968)conception of self-actualization, Allports (1961)formulation of maturity, Rogers (1961)depiction of the fully functioning person, and Jungs (1933)account of individuation....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Bad is Stronger than Good

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Roy F. Baumeister¹, Ellen Bratslavsky², Ellen Bratslavsky¹, Catrin Finkenauer³, Kathleen D. Vohs¹ - Show less +1 more•Institutions (3)

Case Western Reserve University¹, Ohio State University², VU University Amsterdam³

01 Dec 2001-Review of General Psychology

TL;DR: The authors found that bad is stronger than good, as a general principle across a broad range of psychological phenomena, such as bad emotions, bad parents, bad feedback, and bad information is processed more thoroughly than good.

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Abstract: The greater power of bad events over good ones is found in everyday events, major life events (e.g., trauma), close relationship outcomes, social network patterns, interpersonal interactions, and learning processes. Bad emotions, bad parents, and bad feedback have more impact than good ones, and bad information is processed more thoroughly than good. The self is more motivated to avoid bad self-definitions than to pursue good ones. Bad impressions and bad stereotypes are quicker to form and more resistant to disconfirmation than good ones. Various explanations such as diagnosticity and salience help explain some findings, but the greater power of bad events is still found when such variables are controlled. Hardly any exceptions (indicating greater power of good) can be found. Taken together, these findings suggest that bad is stronger than good, as a general principle across a broad range of psychological phenomena.

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5,340 citations

Cites background from "Toward a Psychology of Being"

...The same problem is found in Maslow's (1968) motivational theories....
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...The same problem is found in Maslow's (1968) motivational theories. Although he did not explicitly speak of the superior power of bad over good, he did propose that the most basic and primary motivations involve escaping from aversive states, such as hunger, deprivation, cold, and danger. The more positive motivations of seeking esteem, love, belongingness, and self-actualization only begin to direct behavior when the negative or deficiency (his term) motives have been satisfied. As with Wright's (1991) perception-based theory, Maslow's motivation-based theory can effectively explain why affect, cognition, and behavior give precedence to escaping the bad, insofar as these responses depend on motivation....
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Toward a Psychology of Being

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Cites background from "Toward a Psychology of Being"

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