Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Theory of positive disintegration and personal growth
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Overview
[edit | edit source]The Theory of Positive Disintegration (TPD) is a theory of personality initially developed by Polish Psychologist Kazimierz Dąbrowski, in which psychological stress, such as anxiety, Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (see Figure 1.), and tense events act to build a more complete personality. Dąbrowski theorized that for personality to develop in full, integrated aspects of personality based on instinct and social learning must be broken down, or disintegrated.
He believed that an individual must develop their own hierarchy of values and emotional reactions to develop their personality, as well as recognition, appreciation and utilisation of their own autonomy. The majority of psychological theories surrounding personality and individual differences do not consider emotional reaction and response to play a key role in its production, where TPD does. TPD proposes that the way one reacts to emotional stimuli contributes greatly to the creation of their individual personality ideal, which acts as the end-goal of self-development. The individual is required to analyse themselves in order to do so. TPD draws upon existential philosophy, stating that only the individual can make decisions, and examine the decision as less me or more me, emphasizing decisions which elicit the latter, and inhibiting decisions which elicit the former. This means that the goal-posts are constantly being moved in order to shape their authentic and ideal personality.
Dąbrowski ideated Development Potential (DP), a way of measuring a response to stimuli. Whether positive or negative, a strong DP will mean that the environment will play little role in the personality development. A weak DP will mean that the environment plays a more significant role. Dąbrowski highlights three major aspects of development potential as Overexcitability, Abilities and Talents, and the 'Third Factor' - an increased drive for autonomous growth.
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Headings
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(OVEREXCITABILITY__)
[edit | edit source](ABILITIES_AND_TALENTS__)
[edit | edit source](THIRD_FACTOR__)
[edit | edit source]Key points
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Known to self | Not known to self | |
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Known to others | Open area | Blind spot |
Not known to others | Hidden area | Unknown |
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Conclusion
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See also
[edit | edit source]- Psychological Trauma (Book chapter, 2022)
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References
[edit | edit source]Nelson, K. C. (1989). Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration. Advanced Development, 1, 1-14.
Schläppy M. L. (2019). Understanding Mental Health Through the Theory of Positive Disintegration: A Visual Aid. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1291. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01291
Weckowicz, T. E. (1988). Kazimierz Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration and the American Humanistic Psychology. Counseling and Values, 32, 2. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-007X.1988.tb00706.x
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External links
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