Biological and Humanistic Approaches to Personality

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In this paper I will explain the use of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, describe biological factors that influence the formation of personality. Compare and contrast the biological factors to Maslow’s theory of personality, compare and contrast the humanistic theories that are incompatible with biological explanations of personality. Abraham Maslow hierarchy of needs explain how these needs motivate us all, our most basic needs are inborn having evolved over years. He states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious need for survival itself. Only when the lower order needs a physical and emotional well-being are satisfied we considered with a higher order needed have influence and personal development. It the things that satisfy our lower order needs are swept away, we are no longer concerned about that maintenance of our higher order needs. In 1990s adapted hierarchy of needs including transcendence needs, instead of only five needs now we have eight, biological and psychological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, cognitive needs, aesthetic needs, self-aesthetic needs, and transcendence needs. Personality development is thought to be primarily governed by the biological maturation of the individual, whether it be through environmental influences on development of viewed as largely under the influence of biologically based dispositions and characteristics. Personality develop mentalists holding a strong biological orientation argue that environmental factors do not play a significant role in the development of individual differences, except in the case of extreme environmental deficiencies. Biologically oriented personality theorists argue that specific environments cannot be required for species-typical developments such as individual differences. As described above biologically

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