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Biological and Humanistic Approaches to Personality

In: Philosophy and Psychology

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Biological and Humanistic Approaches to Personality

Cecil A. Shelton

Psy/250

3/20/14
Nicole Jack

Biological and Humanistic Approaches to Personality

Our environment defines the needs and the order that we require those necessities to be met. Dr. James D. Watson “claims that who we are is there in our genes.” –unless you were African whom Watson felt had an inferior genetic code (the latter remark resulted in dismissal from a prestigious research laboratory) (Friedman & Schustack, 2011). Biologically, we are destined to exist in a manner that is predetermined by our ancestors however; humanistic factors suggest that our environmental influences create a personality unrelated to our needs. Mind, body, and soul collide in these two worlds of biological and humanistic approaches and evaluating the basic aspects shall reveal either the truth or just create more questions. According to Friedman and Schustack, biological factors combine with the other aspects of personality in complex ways to produce patterns of behavior. A human beings temperament plays a very significant role in developing traits that are used to bridge childhood to adult formation. Abraham Maslow states, ``Self-actualizing people are gratified in all their basic needs of belongingness, affection, respect, and self-esteem (Norwood, 2014). These essentials require a person to be extremely honest with the person in the mirror because not doing so can lead to not identifying the minimum goals to be attained to satisfy the psyche. Maslow believed our desires are driven by the five basic elements of survival: Physiological, safety, belongingness and love needs, self-esteem , and self-actualization. Physiological needs such as food, shelter, water, sleep, and health is the beginning before all else coincides. Not meeting these basic requirements can lead to further transgressions

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