Personality and Individual Differences

Personality and Individual Differences

Max is an individual who has long been interested in acting. He gained this interest when he took part in a school play at age 12. After Max completed his secondary schooling, he wanted greatly to enroll in a local arts college, but his parents protested. They communicated to him that they desired him to gain a "real career," or in other words, follow in their footsteps and become an engineer. Max relented and kept his interest in theatrical arts strictly as a hobby. Through the years, Max studied hard. He rarely complained, and eventually he graduated with an engineering degree. Max now got along with his parents and the three maintained a stable relationship. However, Max sometimes felt empty and wondered if a different life may be awaiting him. Two years into Max's first engineering job, Max learned that his close friend had been diagnosed with cancer and was given an estimated on year to live. Since this point in time, Max has devoted more time to theatrical arts by volunteering at a local theatrical studio and taking up acting classes during his free time. Max now feels more at ease with himself and tells others that he finally feels as though he is doing what is meant to do.

Humanistic Theory Analysis

In viewing Max's initial decision to study engineering and his recent increased devotion to theatrical arts, one can utilize the humanistic theories of psychology in order to account for certain aspects of Max's personality. Under these theories, individuals are emphasized to have free will, which plays an active role in determining how they will behave in the different aspects of their personalities and their lives. Humanistic psychology as described by many prominent psychologists in the field asserts that the subjective experiences of a person, as opposed to forced experiences are definitive factors that determine their behavior. Much of these theories focus on the capacity for internal growth and "self-actualization" in terms of personal growth, happiness and satisfaction, and upon searching for these goals, individuals began to demonstrate a trend that sheds light on the deeper dimensions of his or her personality.

In understanding these facets of the psychological theories at play, one must also include the basis of humanistic psychology in order to better gauge Max's situation. Humanistic Psychology roots itself in the belief that humanity maintains a basic goodness and respect for one's fellow man that cannot be denied. In combining this facet with the aforementioned facet of Max's personality that led him to eventually accept his true wants, one can better garner an understanding of Max's path in becoming an engineer who only later in life got back to his rooted love of the arts.

As behavior connects with inner feelings and self-image in this theory, Max's path from unhappy individual to fulfilled individual can be traced in a manner parallel to the decisions throughout his life. His initial decision to align with his parents' wishes and place his own dreams and passions on the back-burner did not allow Max to identify with the identity he had formed for himself in his own mind, which caused him unhappiness despite an outward appearance of ease and success. This issue can further be seen in Max's dealings with his own parents. His parents' happiness and pride for their son's successes was consistently overshadowed in Max's own mind as he likely felt some type of harbored resentment toward him despite his status as a successful engineer.