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Overview: This assignment is the third
milestone of the final project theoretical analysis. In previous milestones,
you drafted other sections of the final project.
Be sure to consider and implement any feedback from those
milestones as you draft this section of your paper. This assignment will be
your first draft of Section II, Parts B and C of the final project. Submit
Milestone Three for grading and feedback from the instructor. Use the feedback
you receive on this draft to improve your final submission.
Prompt: For this assignment, you will
write a draft of Section II, Parts B and C of the final project. In this
assignment, you will continue your analysis of your selected theory. You will
be tasked with defending the theory’s position in a number of ways, including
defending it against alternative theoretical positions and showing its value
for real-world problems.
B. Alternative Theoretical
Positions: For this section, you will select two or more alternative theories
in personality psychology and address the following.
(Be sure to review Part Two of your research table to
support this section.)
i. Compare the theory to alternative theoretical positions that are currently used by researchers in personality psychology. For instance, how do their key concepts compare? challenge the validity, weaknesses, or biases of your chosen theory. Be sure to cite specific examples from published research in your response.
iii.
Defend the contemporary use of the
theory against the challenges you identified. Be sure to support your defense
with relevant research.
C. Application
i.
Apply your selected theory in explaining a real-world
problem (e.g., PTSD) or phenomenon (e.g., social media use). How would your
theorist understand this problem or phenomenon in terms of its root cause and
key characteristics? Be sure to cite relevant research in your response.
ii.
Assess published secondary research for solutions with the potential to address
this problem or phenomenon. Does the contemporary use of your theory provide
viable approaches to this problem? What are they? iii. Explain how this application relates to the theory’s
larger contemporary relevance. In other words, how does this application
demonstrate your theory’s potential to advance knowledge in personality
psychology?
Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy Theory
Name
Institution/Affiliation
Date
Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy
Introduction
This paper is the
third milestone of the final project on the analysis of Viktor Frankl’s
Logotherapy. As elaborated in the
previous milestones Viktor Frankl developed logotherapy as a psychological
based therapeutic approach that involves existential analysis complemented by the
search of purpose and meaning. Razaei (2016) opines that psychologists utilize
this approach in their sessions so that to ensure their clients experience
moments of peace and happiness. Viktor Frankl developed this approach after
discovering that people are often inspired by the desire to make sense and
discern reason in their lives. According to Faramazi and Bavali (2017), Viktor
Frankl believed that human beings end up developing mental problems due to the
lack of meaning thus the approach will help in solving such issues. This
section outlines Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy while defending the position held
by the theory regarding alternative theoretical positions and explaining its
application to real-world problems.
Alternative Theoretical Positions
By focusing on the
fundamental concepts, Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy can be compared to other
alternative theoretical positions such as Alfred Alder’s Individual Psychology,
Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis, and Rollo May's Existential Psychology. In
logotherapy, human beings are psyched by the need to discover meaning this
differs from the thinking of Alfred Alder and Sigmund Freud who believed they
are motivated by the desire to achieve power and pleasure, respectively. Thir and Batthyány (2016)
explain that logotherapy differed from Alfred Alder’s Individual
Psychology by stating that human beings are not only interested in understanding
their existence but discovering the purpose of their lives. Viktor Frankl
criticized individual psychology for lacking the element of meaning and
psychoanalysis for ignoring the human aspect. Besides, logotherapy differs from
Rollo May's Existential Psychology. Unlike Viktor Frankl, Rollo May believed
that psychoanalysts violate social ethics of patients due instances of
detachment.
The other
alternative theories of psychotherapy have challenged Viktor Frankl’s
Logotherapy. In 1961, Rollo May published a book titled Existential Psychology where he questions the therapeutic
techniques recommended by Viktor Frankl. Rollo May highlights the weakness of
logotherapy by arguing that the approach was highly authoritarian. For example,
if patients failed to discover meaning and purpose of life the psychologist had
to intervene therefore taking responsibility of their lives while diminishing
them as human beings (Girmenia, Andrissi, & Tambone, 2014). Alfred Alder’s
Individual Psychology and Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis exposed the weaknesses
of logotherapy. However, these shortcomings can also be termed as the positive
areas of the theory. The frustrations Viktor Frankl experienced from the works
done by Alder and Sigmund highlight the flexibility of logotherapy. For
example, as approach logotherapy suits the different needs of patients as
opposed to the earlier theories of the Viennese psychotherapy (Razaei, 2016).
In the contemporary setting, logotherapy is being used in personality psychology because the approach does not disagree with psychotherapy but focuses on purpose (Faramazi and Bavali, 2017). Logotherapists believe that if patients fail to discover meaning or purpose, they increase chances of developing mental issues. Therefore, it is the responsibility of logotherapists to help patients explore the purpose of life using techniques such as attitudinal and experiential values as well as paradoxical intention. According to Girmenia, Andrissi, & Tambone (2014), logotherapy is highly flexible...
