Damien Stone

PSY-356

Fall 2021

Dr. Shriner

Psychobiography Paper
 The person I have chosen for the psychobiography analysis is my girlfriend, Joanna.

Joanna is currently a Doctor of Chiropractic student at Life University and she is originally from

Louisville, Kentucky. She has many stressors in her life, and self-admittedly does not handle

stress well. We have been dating for about two and a half years. I chose her for this analysis

because she is the person I know the best in the entire world, so I feel as if I will be able to

complete this analysis accurately. I also chose her because there are several things that I have

learned in this class that have explained the way that she acts and her perspective on things, so I

think it would be a natural flow to draw connections to those things from the text. The

personality theory that I will be using to analyze her will be the utilizing the humanistic

approach, specifically in the light of male-female gender differences as discussed in Chapter 11

of Friedman and Schustack’s book Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research.

The humanistic approach is focused on looking at the person as a whole in terms of what

creates their personality. This approach is holistic in that it analyzes the self-efficacy, self-

actualization, and free will of the individual (McLeod, 2020). The humanistic approach was

created essentially in a response to behaviorist theories to combat the idea that personality is

formed after a stimulus response.

The self-actualization aspect of the humanistic approach, especially in the male-versus-

female sense, has surpassed the gender norms of male and female personalities (Friedman,

Schustack, 2016, p. 268). Joanna almost always lives in this space. She combats most female

gender norms: that they are timid, shy, palatable, homemakers. Joanna is driven, outspoken, and

ferociously independent. As Maslow has asserted, she falls under the category of being assertive

and a drive to be successful (Friedman, Schustack, 2016, p. 268). This could be due to the fact
that she has always wanted to be self-sufficient, and has been forced to be as she was an only

child. While she had parents to rely on, she also relied heavily on herself as she did not have any

siblings to share the experience with. Her parents were very hard on her as a child and expected a

lot from her academically, so she has grown to have a driven mindset.

The most basic component of humanistic psychology is that the individual has free will

(McLeod, 2020). Given this free will, from the humanistic perspective, individuals have an

innate tendency to try to have personal growth and improve themselves (Friedman, Schustack,

2016, p. 291). Joanna absolutely exemplifies this trait of humanistic psychology. She is focused

constantly on what she can do better, almost to a fault. She is very critical of herself due to this

fact. She took time to carefully choose a career path that she was not only passionate about, but

that would push her academically and mentally. Even when she does not have schoolwork to do,

she is constantly consuming research that can help her treat patients as a future healthcare

practitioner. Joanna is concerned about the health of her future patients and those around her in a

holistic sense; meaning she is worried about their physical, mental, and emotional health instead

of simply one aspects. That is why she will be such a great care provider for her future patients.

The idea that overall health is important to an individual is aligned greatly with Rogerian

therapy (Friedman, Schustack, 2016, p. 292). Rogerian therapy assists individuals in dissecting

their feelings and combining them with their own unique experiences to formulate their self

identity or self concept (Friedman, Schustack, 2016, p. 292). Oftentimes when I am discussing

difficulties in my own life, Joanna tries to relate to me by telling me about the outcomes of a

similar situation in her own life. At first this frustrated me as it felt like she was trying to solve

my problems while I was just trying to vent them, but after learning about the humanistic

approach, I think she likely was coming from this perspective. From her perspective, these
challenges are seen as opportunities and have some source of meaning. Although it is hard for

most people to find the good or meaning in difficult situations, in Joanna’s mind it likely makes

her stronger as she knows that she will find a solution or a way to overcome them.

Another aspect of the humanistic psychological perspective is altruism in social situations

(Friedman, Schustack, 2016, p. 293). Altruism is typically seen as a characteristic that is more

common in females than males, as care is a characteristic that is ‘given’ more to women (Bondi,

2008, p. 249). Caregivers typically have more emotional labor which in turn means that the care

they give can be exhausting for them. In many senses Joanna is a caregiver. Inherently she is a

caregiver as a woman as previously discussed, but also in a more literal sense she is also a

caregiver because of her profession. As a healthcare provider, and one in a profession that is as

personal as chiropractic, it is essential that she truly and deeply cares for her patients. I

frequently hear her talk passionately about improving others lives, and I have seen it firsthand

that she has a vested interest in making others lives better that she cares about. For example, on

days where I am not feeling well or am not myself she picks up my slack in whatever way

possible. That could look like making our meals for the day, taking care of my side of the chores,

or spending more time with me when I am not having a good day. Although in many ways she

does not maintain the stereotypical gender roles of a woman, she absolutely is very caring

because she has a big heart. I know at times this altruistic attitude can create a stress on herself as

she will sacrifice her own time and relaxation to help others.

Rogers details several guidelines (or as he calls them, conditions) that caregivers must

ascribe by, one of which includes ‘unconditional positive regard’ (Bondi, 2008, p. 253). This

means that the caregiver cares for the patient while allowing them to be their own people with

their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This can oftentimes be hard for a caregiver to do,
as they are typically deeply invested in their client’s well-being. I know Joanna struggles with

this, as I have seen it in our own personal relationship. I have relied on her to keep me on track

with school, and sometimes when she knows I could and should be doing other things to put

myself in a better position academically she can get frustrated that I am not doing it. She will

become a little critical of how I am using my time if she does not think I am using it effectively.

From this perspective, it is because she is not accepting the ‘unpleasant aspect’ of my time

management (Bondi, 2008, 253). Although this does not happen all the time, I know it is an

aspect of caregiving that she struggles with.

I have learned from this assignment, and frankly this class, that many aspects of an

individual’s personality that I may not understand could be explained through the humanistic

perspective, or at the very least another perspective that was discussed throughout the class. It

has given me an opportunity to analyze parts of Joanna that I did not originally understand, and

see them through a lens that explains her potential thought process. I also learned that it is

extremely important to understand the altruistic aspect of the humanistic approach. In my

opinion, that is the most important aspect of the entire psychological approach. I did not

necessarily understand the influence of altruism in the caregiving aspect, as personally I have

been taking care of myself for a very long time. After being in this relationship long term, I

definitely have noticed that although Joanna enjoys taking care of me and others, it can

absolutely take a toll on her. I had never considered the emotional component or emotional toll

that caregiving could take on others, although now I can absolutely understand how this

‘caregiving paradox’ could be a problem.

All in all, I really have appreciated this class. It has allowed me to open up my worldview

and understanding of the formation of my own personality as well as where others may be
coming from. This in turn has allowed me to be more open to other’s perspectives and not judge

them as harshly as I previously did. I can honestly say that before this class I had a hard time

seeing other people’s perspectives, as I have had many hardships in my life that have caused me

to be somewhat closed off. However, with this new information in mind, I will absolutely try to

be more cognizant of how and why certain people may act the way that they do.
Sources:

Bondi, Liz. “On the Relational Dynamics of Caring: A Psychotherapeutic Approach to

Emotional and Power Dimensions of Women's Care Work.” Taylor & Francis,

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09663690801996262?

scroll=top&needAccess=true. 

Mcleod, Saul. “Humanistic Approach.” Humanistic Approach | Simply Psychology, 1 Jan. 1970,

https://www.simplypsychology.org/humanistic.html. 

Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (6th edition) by Friedman, H. & Schustack,

M., Pearson Books (2015).