Discuss Allport's concept of the psychologically healthy person.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A. Allport believed that conscious processes motivate psychologically healthy people and that healthy people are more flexible and autonomous than unhealthy people. They are proactive, which means that they are capable of acting on their environment to cause the environment to react to them. In short, they feel secure and in charge of their lives.

B. Allport identified six criteria for the mature personality. The first criterion is an extension of the sense of self. Healthy people are not self-centered but are capable of identifying with their fellow humans.

C. They also possess a warm relating of self to others; that is, they have the capacity to love others in a non-self-centered way.

D. Third, these people have emotional security or self-acceptance. They are not overly troubled when things do not go their way.

E. They possess a realistic perception of their environment, and they do not live in a fantasy world. They are problem oriented rather than self-centered.

F. Psychologically healthy people possess both insight and humor. They have a nonhostile sense of humor, which gives them the capacity to laugh at themselves.

G. These healthy individuals also have a unifying philosophy of life and a clear vision of the purpose of life. This philosophy of life may or may not be religious, yet it is usually characterized by a mature conscience and a strong desire to serve other people.