Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIII. Humanistic/Existential
Theories- Maslow: Holistic
Dynamic Theory
© The McGraw−Hill^305
Companies, 2009self-actualization score. Items on the Short Index are on a 6-point Likert scale (from
strongly disagreeto strongly agree). Research (Compton, Smith, Cornish, & Qualls,
1996; Rowan, Compton, & Rust, 1995; Runco, Ebersole, & Mraz, 1991) on the
Short Index of the POI has indicated that it is a useful scale for assessing self-
actualization.
A third measure of self-actualization is the Brief Index of Self-Actualization,
developed by John Sumerlin and Charles Bundrick (1996, 1998). The original Brief
Index (Sumerlin & Bundrick, 1996) comprised 40 items placed on a 6-point Likert
scale and thus yields scores from 40 to 240. Factor analysis yielded four factors of
self-actualization, but because some items were placed in more than one factor, the
authors (Sumerlin & Bundrick, 1998) revised the Brief Index of Self-Actualization
by eliminating eight items so that no single item was found on more than one factor.
This inventory yields four factors: (I) Core Self-Actualization, or the full use of
one’s potentials; (II) Autonomy; (III) Openness to Experience; and (IV) Comfort
with Solitude. Typical items include “I enjoy my achievements” (Core Self-
Actualization), “I fear that I will not live up to my potential” (a reversed scored item
measuring Autonomy), “I am sensitive to the needs of others” (Openness to Experi-
ence), and “I enjoy my solitude” (Comfort with Solitude). The reliability, validity,
and usefulness of the Brief Index have not yet been fully determined.
The Jonah Complex
According to Maslow (1970), everyone is born with a will toward health, a tendency
to grow toward self-actualization, but few people reach it. What prevents people
from achieving this high level of health? Growth toward normal, healthy personal-
ity can be blocked at each of the steps in the hierarchy of needs. If people cannot pro-
vide for food and shelter, they remain at the level of physiological and safety needs.
Others remain blocked at the level of love and belongingness needs, striving to give
and receive love and to develop feelings of belongingness. Still others satisfy their
love needs and gain self-esteem, but do not advance to the level of self-actualization
because they fail to embrace the B-values (Maslow, 1970).
Another obstacle that often blocks people’s growth toward self-actualization is
the Jonah complex,or the fear of being one’s best (Maslow, 1979). The Jonah com-
plex is characterized by attempts to run away from one’s destiny just as the biblical
Jonah tried to escape from his fate. The Jonah complex, which is found in nearly
everyone, represents a fear of success, a fear of being one’s best, and a feeling of
awesomeness in the presence of beauty and perfection. Maslow’s own life story
demonstrated his Jonah complex. Despite an IQ of 195, he was only an average stu-
dent, and, as a world-famous psychologist, he frequently experienced panic when
called on to deliver a talk.
Why do people run away from greatness and self-fulfillment? Maslow (1971,
1996) offered the following rationale. First, the human body is simply not strong
enough to endure the ecstasy of fulfillment for any length of time, just as peak ex-
periences and sexual orgasms would be overly taxing if they lasted too long. There-
fore, the intense emotion that accompanies perfection and fulfillment carries with it
a shattering sensation such as “This is too much” or “I can’t stand it anymore.”
Chapter 10 Maslow: Holistic-Dynamic Theory 299