Tapping the humanistic potential of self-determination theory: Awakening to paradox.

DeRobertis, Eugene M.; Bland, Andrew M.

doi:10.1037/hum0000087

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 69 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, the self-determination theory provides a parsimonious and well-established empirical foundation for a humanistic approach to psychological well-being, which remains consistent and supportive of the seminal work of humanistic theorists such as Maslow and Carl Rogers (Patterson and Joseph, 2007;Deci et al, 2013;DeRobertis and Bland, 2018). At the core of the theory is an appreciation for human motivation that is primarily oriented toward realization of its innate potential, grounded in an organismic wisdom, which can nevertheless be derailed or thwarted by the adoption of extrinsic motivations based on external pressures.…”

Section: Psychological Need Satisfaction and Self-actualizationmentioning

confidence: 63%

The Joyful Life: An Existential-Humanistic Approach to Positive Psychology in the Time of a Pandemic

Robbins

2021

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the midst of a global pandemic, psychology has a duty to identify dispositional or character traits that can be cultivated in citizens in order to create resiliency in the face of profound losses, suffering and distress. Dispositional joy holds some promise as such a trait that could be especially important for well-being during the current pandemic and its consequences. The concept of the Joyful Life may operate as bridge between positive psychology and humanistic, existential, and spiritual views of the good life, by integrating hedonic, prudential, eudaimonic and chaironic visions of the good life. Previous phenomenological research on state joy suggests that momentary states of joy may have features that overlap with happiness but go beyond mere hedonic interests, and point to the experience of a life oriented toward virtue and a sense of the transcendent or the sacred. However, qualitative research on the Joyful Life, or dispositional joy, is sorely lacking. This study utilized a dialogical phenomenological analysis to conduct a group-based analysis of 17 volunteer students, who produced 51 autobiographical narrative descriptions of the joyful life. The dialogical analyses were assisted by integration of the Imagery in Movement Method, which incorporated expressive drawing and psychodrama as an aid to explicate implicit themes in the experiences of the participants. The analyses yielded ten invariant themes found across the autobiographical narrative descriptions: Being broken, being grounded, being centered, breaking open, being uplifted, being supertemporal, being open to the mystery, being grateful, opening up and out, and being together. The descriptions of a Joyful Life were consistent with a meaning orientation to happiness, due to their emphasis on the cultivation of virtue in the service of a higher calling, the realization of which was felt to be a gift or blessing. The discussion examines implications for future research, including the current relevance of a joyful disposition during a global pandemic. Due to the joyful disposition’s tendency to transform suffering and tragedy into meaning, and its theme of an orientation to prosocial motivations, the Joyful Life may occupy a central place in the study of resiliency and personal growth in response to personal and collective trauma such as COVID-19.

show abstract

Section: Psychological Need Satisfaction and Self-actualizationmentioning

confidence: 63%

The Joyful Life: An Existential-Humanistic Approach to Positive Psychology in the Time of a Pandemic

Robbins

2021

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To summarize, the COVID-19 pandemic poses far-reaching challenges in almost all aspects of life. Following existential-humanistic psychology’s focus on dialectics and paradox [ 28 ], the Chinese idiom reminds us that “crisis” does not only refer to danger but also an opportunity [ 1 , 3 ]. A large-scale crisis, such as a pandemic, takes mankind out of the routines and brings individuals to reflect on what they take for granted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Changes the Subjective Perception of Meaning Related to Different Areas of Life in Austrian Psychotherapists and Patients

Humer

Schimböck

Kisler

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We assessed psychotherapists’ and patients’ ratings of their subjective perception of meaning related to different areas of life before the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to the time during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a quantitative cross-sectional study, Austrian psychotherapists (N = 222) were recruited by e-mail, who in turn recruited their patients (N = 139). Therapists and patients were asked to rate the meaning of different areas of life before as well as during the COVID-19 crisis. The psychotherapists showed an overall higher rating of the importance of areas of life compared to their patients (p < 0.001). The rating of the importance of the domains of living was differently affected by the COVID-19 situation (p < 0.001). While the meaning of physical and mental health during COVID-19 was rated higher than before, the opposite was observed for work (p < 0.001). No differences were found for relationships and friends, as well as for hobbies. As no interactions between perspective (therapists vs. patients), area of life, and time point (before vs. during COVID-19) were observed, it can be concluded that the COVID-19 situation changed the subjective attribution of meaning concerning different aspects of life similarly in therapists as well as patients. While mental and physical health gained subjective importance, the opposite was observed for work.

show abstract

“…Even if the more radical ideas inherent to the humanistic revolution were ignored, humanistic psychology did have a notable and lasting impact on areas throughout the discipline (e.g., personality, psychotherapy, motivation, pathology, qualitative research, etc.). Moreover, through a combination of direct and indirect influence, certain aspects of humanistic psychology that were once held to be radical have now become accepted truths in areas like positive psychology (Seligman, 2019), albeit in narrow-band form (Schneider, 2011; see also DeRobertis & Bland, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Humanistic Revolution in Psychology: Its Inaugural Vision

DeRobertis

2020

Journal of Humanistic Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article presents a textual analysis of the inaugural issue of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. The analysis culminated in the creation of a composite narrative that expresses the character of the humanistic vision for psychological science, a historical snapshot of the evolving humanistic revolution circa 1961. The analysis showed humanistic psychology to have proposed a nonreactionary, inclusive, integrative approach to psychology. This approach was anchored in a radicalized image of humanity, one that would not rely wholly on theories and methods of research designed for nonhuman beings. The findings further indicate that, from its inception, humanistic psychology was envisioned to be a unique amalgam of what would today be considered cultural psychology, cognitive psychology, and developmental psychology, without being reducible to any one of these subfields. It was and remains an effort in earnest to do justice to a truer self, engaged in the process of becoming, operating within biological and cultural parameters.

show abstract

Tapping the humanistic potential of self-determination theory: Awakening to paradox.

Cited by 18 publications

References 69 publications

The Joyful Life: An Existential-Humanistic Approach to Positive Psychology in the Time of a Pandemic

The Joyful Life: An Existential-Humanistic Approach to Positive Psychology in the Time of a Pandemic

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Changes the Subjective Perception of Meaning Related to Different Areas of Life in Austrian Psychotherapists and Patients

The Humanistic Revolution in Psychology: Its Inaugural Vision

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About