Biological And Humanistic Approaches Personality Assessment

By Author: Henry Ford
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Personality is a pattern of comparatively permanent dispositions, characteristics or traits. It gives constancy to individual’s manners and behaviors. Biological and humanistic approaches can be used in assessing individual’s personality. The humanistic approach is celebrates liberated will while biological approach is a deterministic. However, biological approach is for a time condemned for being pessimistic and too negative. Both approaches are very different but can be of important use when assessing the personality of an individual.
Differences and Similarities between Biological and Humanistic Theories
The basic ideas and concepts of biological and humanistic theories vary deeply. The major concepts in humanistic psychology are. First, present is the mainly significant feature of a person. Humanists look at the present and do not focuses on the past or even what will happen in the coming future. Secondly, healthy individuals have to take liability for themselves, in spite of the events. Third, every person possesses intrinsic value. Even depressing acts do not work against the worthiness of a person. Fourth, ...
... the accomplishment of personal development and positive is the solitary purpose of life. That only through self knowledge and self enhancement can some one be actually happy. Biological theories put more weight on the thought rather than feelings for self value. To start with, biological philosophers strongly believe that genetic make up decides an individual’s personality. The basic ideas say that even though, biology plays indirect task in personality, the behavior an individual appears influences how he or she sees him or herself and how other people relate to him or her. This indirect task has an effect on how a person grows into an adult. Biological approaches also edify that aptitude and genetic material are determining factors for an individual’s personality. Character and mental disability are also thought to be dogged by biology. Biological theories are more complex, whereas humanistic theories appear to be more simplified.
Not only do biological and humanistic theories vary, the philosophers in each model also vary. Carl Rogers initiated humanistic psychoanalysis and was the first psychoanalyst to popularize an individual centered model. The main idea in Rogers’s assumption is that every person struggle for self actualization, and request for enhancing understanding. He came up with an idea of the ‘fully functioning’ individual. He alleged that human being struggle for the best logic of contentment, satisfaction, happiness, and becomes completely functioning. Once completely functioned, the person is capable of trusting his own emotions and experience an improved life. When parents condemn the behavior of a child, love is suspended. Therefore, children are skilled to conceal their weaknesses and faults instead of than accepting them. Roger then anticipated that only through unrestricted affirmative regard can people recognize that they are loved regardless of whatever they do.

Both Rogers and Maslow theories consider in self actualization and completely functional individuals, they vary concerning an individual’s early days. Rogers’ thought that an individual’s early days occurrences could stop personal actualization, while Maslow overlooked the part of an individual’s childhood. Maslow thought that by meeting an individual needs, an individual’s childhood have no part to play on the road to self actualization. However, Eysenck a biological theorist deliberated the personality of an individual by the behavior and social characteristics and dogged that these characters, traits, and manners infrequently change. Therefore, the chief disparities between humanistic philosophers like Maslow and Rogers, and Biologic philosophers like Eysenck. Humanistic philosophers consider that prolific, productive, and fertile life is a self actualization life which one can attain only by meeting the requirements or needs. Biologic theorists believe otherwise, that personality characters or traits are genetic, inherited and thereby inevitable. Biological and humanistic theories encompass many disparities and a number of similarities, both theories concentrate on the subject of personality. Both biological and humanistic theories make outstanding argument. However, they both possess narrow view concerning the whole issue of personality (Dietrich, 2004).

Abraham Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchy
Maslow thinks that each trait of human functioning transmits to the whole individual. He therefore referred to these functions as hierarchy of needs. He said in his theory that there are five major categories of individual needs. The first category is physiological needs (food, shelter, oxygen, clothing, water, and sleep). Before realizing or meeting the needs on the first level it becomes impracticable to even think of the next category. The second category is safety, which integrates the need for security and safety. The third category includes needs, such as sense of belonging and love. It is logical because once an individual is secure he can now demand for love and sense of belonging. The fourth category is needs to do with self esteem, which encompass need for education, achievement, respect, and self-competence. This is a vital level of needs to individual personality, where an individual focuses his energy to feeling proficient, respecting others, and respecting himself. The ultimate category is need for self actualization, which utilizes the full potential of an individual (Cullen, 2000). According to this theory, needs influence individual personality in the sense that before achieving the highest need in the hierarchy one feels demoralized thus affecting his personality. Those individual on first category do not believe in themselves and lack motivation in life, implicating different personality with those on the highest category of needs. Those on first category of needs will tend to lack confidence in whatever they do as opposed to those who have achieved self- actualization.

Self-Actualization
(Self actualization)
Esteem Needs
( Proficient, respect)
Social Needs
(Sense of belonging and love needs)
Safety Needs
(Security and safety)
Physiological Needs
(Food, shelter, oxygen, clothing, water, and sleep)

Biological Factors That Influence the Formation of Personality
There are two biological factors that influence the formation of personality of an individual, heredity and environment factor. Inheritance of a trait is pertinent to individual’s personality. Basically, individuals inherit a propensity towards a definite structure and propensity to function in definite ways, thus influencing the individual personality development. On the environmental factor, the contact between the mother and a child for biological fulfillment play an important function in personality growth. Care and love enhance a sense of protection and security. The level of indulgence of mother in feeding the child would influence the ‘oral’ personality and strictness on toilet guidance would lead to ‘anal’ personality. My personality is best described by humanistic theories, more especially Abraham Maslow’s Theory of hierarchy of needs.
Conclusion
Though, humanistic and biological approaches to personality assessment occasionally appear to be conflicting, they are also as admiring. From the discussion neither biological nor humanistic approach is better, as both approaches can substantial explain the personality assessment. Assessing personality helps in understanding as to why definite areas come easily in life, and others call for great efforts.

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