Beauty in Waiting

Posted: July 27, 2009 
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It is part of human nature to strive to adapt to ones environment and eventually become as best suited for that environment as possible, or self-actualize, a principle component of Maslownian humanistic psychology.  Without a desire to do so, our species could not have survived.  But efficiency is key, and the plasticity of the human mind allows it to nourish itself with experience and sense and improve itself.  Part of the uplifting beauty of a flower, any flower picture that is dripping with water, is the abundance of nourishment that surrounds it.  We imply that flower has everything it needs to thrive and become the best that it can be, especially with a vibrant green background sparkling with clues of even more water in reserve; and, this implied, subliminal recognition hits home in human perception as it reminds us of our own struggle and reminds us of what resources we have at our disposal to grow into the best we can become.

That is not to say that the human is always striving to be better.  This quest is slow and arduous and we only have the willpower to walk it occasionally.  The rest of the time, most of us are just trying not to be any worse than we are now, to break even.  But, when we see other people hoisted up on high as we would like to be, put into a life where all the resources we could possibly want are at our disposal, then we move again.  This is a process called social comparison theory, which consists of two different kinds of social comparison.  When we compare ourselves with someone who is “below” us, downward social comparison, we make ourselves feel better about how we are now for we can see all the advantages we have over this other person.  This feeling is not a sufficient motivation to improve oneself; rather, it is the opposite, a feeling that would lead to stagnation if it is not properly balanced with the second type of social comparison: upward social comparison.  It is by this feeling of distress and discomforting envy, after comparing ourselves with someone who is better than us, that spurns us into becoming something more than we currently are.  Other things in human nature are built with these same mechanics: a baby’s cry, physical pain, low self-esteem, depression, and other aversive states to the human condition.  A baby’s cry is meant to be aversive so that the mother is more inclined to comfort and soothe the baby.  Baby’s whose cries would have sounded pleasing may not have been attended to with the same regularity as the demanding cry of a wailing baby.  Pain, congruently, is meant to tell the body something is damaging its outer shell or inner core, and that a reaction must be performed, such as pulling ones hand out of the fire, before more damage is incurred.  Low self-esteem is designed to signal one that he/she is not in a sufficient social status, or is otherwise not conforming to some social demand.  As the human species is a social animal and thus a hunting group would rely on its collective ability, internalizing guilt in this way makes sure that every human component of society is striving toward a common ideal goal.  Thus our low self-esteem is a flag that comes up when we stray from this (though, there are several pragmatic functions and causes for low self-esteem that will diverge from this philosophy, but, in very general, this is a broad view of self-esteem from an evolutionary perspective.  There are also cognitive, learning, and social perspectives as well).

For more information about self-esteem, visit http://www.self-esteem-nase.org/

For more information about Abraham Maslow and his groundbreaking psychology theories, born from the destitution and anguish he suffered at the hands of Nazi’s in concentration camps during WWII, visit http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/maslow.html.

For more information on Carl Rogers, fellow humanistic psychologist and revolutionary theorist, whose ideas include the invaluable concept of unconditional positive self-regard and client-based therapy sessions which employ a clever Socratic method of counselling, visit http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/rogers.html

For a virtual tour of the human brain, visit http://www.medtropolis.com/VBody.asp