Psychology

Many ideas have been developed by historical and modern personality theorists in a bid to try and understand human development and as such, what constitutes a healthy human being.  Freud is the main proponent of the psychodynamic theory, a scientific approach to the understanding of the development of human beings. Carl Rogers and Maslow on the other hand are stated to be the main proponents of the psychodynamic theory and their theory is less scientifically based. It proposes that how well a person understands their behavior is what makes them healthy. This scholarly paper will look at the two theoretical approaches and in addition, the role of personality in situational behavior as regards the two theories.

Role of personality in affecting situational behavior
A situation can be defined as a position or status with regard to both conditions and circumstances. Theorists of personality theory assert that personality is really dynamic in that it is dependent on situations, time, place and moods. Personality changes can also arise as a result of more non-direct situations for example change of diet or even medical effects. Theorists have come up with five categories that bring out philosophical assumptions that draw conclusions on personality vis--vis situation. (Schneider, Bugental  Pierson, 2001)

a).Freedom vs. determinism
Freedom perspective looks at individuals having control over their own behavior with clearly postulated motives while on the other hand, determinism is where an individuals behavior is determined by some forces that are beyond the control of the individual (Bienenfeld, 2005).

b). Uniqueness vs. Universality
Gordon Allport and Abraham Maslow advocated for the uniqueness aspect in individuals as opposed to the assumption that humans are basically similar, a reinforcement of the importance of universal principles.

c). Heredity vs. Environment
Some researchers depict that personality traits are majorly based on the influence of genetics and biology, and also environment in a combined fashion. (Schneider et al. 2001)

d). Optimism vs. Pessimism
This assumption revolves around the question on whether individuals change their personalities or are they destined to remain the same for life.

e). Active vs. Reactive
Behavioral theorists believe that humans react to the outside stimuli in contrast to humanistic theorists who believe that individuals act through their own initiative.

Psychodynamic Theoretical Approach
The major proponent of the psychodynamic theoretical approach was Sigmund Freud. This perspective is mostly centered on inner conflicts and their effects on human development. The psychodynamic theoretical approach emphasis the importance of early childhood experiences in human development the existence of unconscious and preconscious motivation the existence of the ego which assists in rational action and the existence of defense mechanisms. (Bienenfeld, 2005) The theory emphasizes that the above concepts are important in understanding human development and in addition, what motivates human beings.

Freud in this theory also asserted that the concept of creativity arises from the tension between the conscious reality and unconscious drives. The end product or result is the way to express the unconscious wishes in an accepted manner. (Bienenfeld, 2005)

He believed that the motivation of creativity could be generalized in the concept of wish-fulfillment and also psychological processes both primary and secondary. Consequently, he argued that civilization was a result of the diversion of energy from the urge to pursue goals that were unattainable to struggles that were approved socially.

Besides the concept of creativity, Freud was also involved in developing another important concept of inspiration. He approved of geniuses on the basis of biological energies within an individual rather than an external force. Freud conducted psychoanalytic case studies on famous individuals such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Dostoevsky. (Bienenfeld, 2005)

Humanist Approach
The Humanistic approach had its beginnings from concerns by the likes of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers that the psychodynamic theory failed to adequately address issues to do with human behavior and the healthy lifestyle of human beings. Thus these two came up with the humanistic approach theory which was not a build up of the psychodynamic theory, but it in itself was a new concept altogether. The humanistic approach is distinguished by its emphasis on subjective meaning, free will, personal growth, resilience and the achievement of human potential. (Schneider et al., 2001)
Most renowned psychologists believe that behavior can only be understood objectively. This is to mean that as a person, one cannot understand their own behavior, but that only an impartial outside observer can understand anothers behavior. This to Carl and Maslow was incorrect thinking. They proposed that human behavior is personal and subjective. This is to mean that each individual can understand their own behavior. Carl especially emphasized on the idea of healthy development he stated that healthy development largely depended on an individuals perception of themselves. Carl noted that a healthy person will tend to see congruence between their sense of who they are and who they feel they ought to be. The humanistic approach says that while no one tends to experience congruence at all times, the degree to which they experience this determines their health. This approach argues that abnormalunhealthy behavior in individuals arises from a person lacking to find meaning in their life.  (Schneider et al., 2001)

Another fundamental idea in the humanistic approach has to do with the conditions required for health growth in human beings. According to this theory, a therapist plays a key role in the health growth of a person. Humanists emphasized on the idea of a person-centered therapy. This is whereby the therapist in charge seeks to provide empathy, openness, and unconditional positive regard. The therapist encourages openness in their client by encouraging them to talk about past events that shaped their life in order to be able to determine the impact those past events have on their future. (Schneider et al., 2001)

Conclusion
As seen above, the humanistic theories are positive and optimistic proposals with their end result leading personality towards growth and self-actualization. The understanding of oneself is essential to the humanistic approach as this understanding is what fosters healthy growth in a human being. In respect to Maslow, as a quoted founding father of this theory to him, motivation was key to understanding human behavior. This is somehow in likeness to Freuds theory which also emphasized on motivation, the difference between the two only being in the motivating factor. The humanist approach also emphasizes on mental growth and its proponents argue that it is when circumstances force individuals to loose their drive that mental illness occurs.

The Psychodynamic approach is seen to be more scientific, speculative in nature and dogmatic. Its main proponent being Sigmund Freud, it unlike the humanist approach emphasized that a person cannot really understand their own behavior. It mainly states that the experiences of a person in childhood largely determine their adult behavior. In addition, it stated that the conscious and the unconscious play a big role in the understanding of human behavior.