Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 Neuroscience in Your Life: 
Wired for Thrills—
The Biological Underpinnings of Personality
FIGURE 5 
Research suggests that personality characteristics may be related to diff erences in 
brain structure. Scientists used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look for relationships 
between personality traits such as novelty-seeking and diff erences in the number of neurons 
in various parts of the brain. In this MRI, the red areas of the frontal and posterior cingulate 
are related to novelty-seeking. This MRI helps us understand that those who are more likely 
to seek novel experiences have a greater number of neurons in the highlighted areas of the 
brain. 
(Source: Gardini et al., 2009, Figure 1.)
humanistic approaches to personality 
Theories that emphasize people’s 
innate goodness and desire to achieve 
higher levels of functioning.
feL82795_ch13_436-469.indd Page 457 8/6/10 7:25 PM user-f465
feL82795_ch13_436-469.indd Page 457 8/6/10 7:25 PM user-f465
/Users/user-f465/Desktop
/Users/user-f465/Desktop

---

458 Chapter 
13 
Personality
conscious, self-motivated ability to change and improve, 
along with people’s unique creative impulses, that human-
istic theorists argue make up the core of personality. 
ROGERS AND THE NEED 
FOR SELF-ACTUALIZATION 
The major proponent of the humanistic point of view is 
Carl Rogers (1971). Along with other humanistic theorists, 
such as Abraham Maslow, Rogers maintains that all people 
have a fundamental need for
self-actualization,
a state of 
self-fulfi llment in which people realize their highest poten-
tial, each in a unique way. He further suggests that people 
develop a need for positive regard that refl ects the desire 
to be loved and respected. Because others provide this 
positive regard, we grow dependent on them. We begin to 
see and judge ourselves through the eyes of other people, relying on their values and 
being preoccupied with what they think of us. 
According to Rogers, one outgrowth of placing importance on others’ opinions is 
that a confl ict may grow between people’s experiences and their self-concepts , the set of 
beliefs they hold about what they are like as individuals. If the discrepancies are minor, 
so are the consequences. But if the discrepancies are great, they will lead to psycho-
logical disturbances in daily functioning, such as the experience of frequent anxiety. 
Rogers suggests that one way of overcoming the discrepancy between experience 
and self-concept is through the receipt of unconditional positive regard from another 
person—a friend, a spouse, or a therapist.