Novice Counselor's blog

The two conceptual issues that are of interest to the Novice Counselor in regards to the study of personality are the motivations of behavior and the issue of self-concept or sense of self and how self-concept forms and changes.

As far as the motivations for certain individual behaviors, the Novice Counselor has often wondered what motivates people to act a certain way in particular situations. For example, what motivates an individual to pursue a certain path in their life and abandon other paths.

Foster and TrimmIV, (2008), indicate that most individuals are motivated by behavior toward desirable outcome (approach) and away from undesirable outcome (avoidance). In other words, most people act in such a way as to get some positive benefits from their actions and steer clear of actions that have negative consequences. Narcissists, however, according to Foster and Trimm IV, (2008), tend to act impulsively and without regard to any negative consequences. They are motivated by short term positive rewards and tend to disregard long-term negative consequences.

As far as the concept of the self, the Novice Counselor has found that certain situations make her feel as though her self-concept is disappearing, as though she is losing her sense of self. These are usually stressful situations or occassions where the Novice Counselor has had to compromise her sense of self in some way. Thus, these experiences piqued the Novice Counselor’s interest in how the sense of self is developed and maintained.

According to Bergner and Holmes, (2000), an individual’s self-concept is conceived as that individual’s summary formulation of his or her status. The self-concept is at the source of a wide array of many clients’ problems in living, and changes in self-concept result in profound and pervasive changes in the quality of peoples’ lives. However, one’s self-concept is notoriously resistant to change, even in the face of seemingly disconfirming evidence. One’s self-concept sets limits on one’s behavioral possibilities. For example, people who assign themselves statuses such as “unlovable,” “irrational,” “inadequate,” “incompetent,”"worthless,” or “inferior,” limit themselves to various degrees from participation in certain aspects of life. To believe oneself “unlovable,” for example, is to appraise oneself as ineligible for the love of another person. To believe oneself “irrational” is to appraise oneself as ineligible to render logical, well-grounded judgments and decisions. These self-labels have a vast behavioral influence.

In light of the effects of motivation and self-concept, the Novice Counselor is interested in those two issues when studying the theories of personality.

References:

Bergner, R. M., Holmes, J. R., (2000); Self-Concepts and Self-Concept Change: A Status Dynamic Approach. Journal of Psychotherapy, Volume 37, Number 1.

Foster, J. D., Trimm IV, R. F., (2008); On Being Eager and Uninhibited: Narcissism and Approach Avoidance Motivation; Personal and Social Psychology Bulletin; 34; 1004; DOI: 10.1177/0146167208316688; http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/34/7/1004

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