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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. VICTOR FRANKL'S THEORIES OF PERSONALITY AND MOTIVATION
Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), a psychiatrist of Jewish origin, lived in Vienna during the Nazi take-over of Austria. He lost his wife, parents and all his belongings when shipped to Nazi concentration camps from 1942 to 1945, first to Auschwitz and later to Dachau. Frankl’s experiences are documented in “Man's search for meaning” (Frankl, 1984a). It was first published as "From death-camp to existentialism" in 1946, selling more than nine million copies in 24 languages since the original publication (Washburn, 1998). In total, Frankl wrote 32 books, translated into 26 languages. Apart from being an existentialist, Frankl remained a psychiatrist, and spent most of his life as the Head of the Neurological Department of the Vienna Polyclinic Hospital. As an academic, Frankl received 29 Honorary Doctorates, and held five part time Professorships in the USA (Universities of Harvard, Stanford, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and San Diego) (Das, 1998). By the 1980s, more than 90% of all books published in the field of abnormal psychology acknowledged the importance of Frankl's ideas (Sahakian, 1985).
Although Frankl initially was a personal student of Freud, he formed his own theory of human behaviour, called logotherapy. Frankl's concentration camp experiences had a strong influence in shaping the course of his thinking, though he formulated many of his ideas before being imprisoned (Das, 1998). Frankl was able to test his theories under the brutal conditions that prevailed in concentration camps.
Before Frankl, the main views were that man's actions could be explained by certain driving forces. For instance, Freud distinguished a "will to pleasure" and unconscious driven behaviour as the major driving force of behaviour, whereas both Nietzsche and Adler emphasised a "will to power". Contrary to this focus on drives, hedonism or behaviourism, Frankl (1967) argues that man is more than just a body and a psyche. In addition to the physiological, psychosocial and psychological dimensions,
there is a spiritual dimension to human life, the noös (Greek for mind). Frankl (1967) notes that most of the time, human beings live in the physical or in the psychological dimensions, but humans have the capacity to transcend or rise above these dimensions. It is only when they rise above their physical and psychological nature that they enter the spiritual dimension (Frankl, 1967). Frankl does not think of the spiritual dimension in a religious sense. He thinks of it as the realm of human existence in which one encounters meanings and values, the very essence of man, and the deepest level of his being (Frankl, 1984a). Frankl (1969, 1970, 1975, 1984a) regard meaning to be distinctly part of, and related to, this spiritual dimension of a person.
In addition to the biological, historical, and sociological factors, Frankl (1970) notes that there are some universal experiences characterising human existence that threaten meaning. Frankl (1970) calls these experiences the tragic triad: suffering, guilt, and transitoriness. Frankl (1970) accepts that no human life is free of suffering. Grief and anguish cause one to question the meaning of the events that bring about such suffering. Guilt arises from not having made the best use of the time that has gone by. Frankl (1970) describes that the transitoriness of human life lends urgency to the task of discovering and fulfilling the purpose of one's life.
Frankl (1970) contends that in every person’s search for meaning, he has the ability to take a stand against adversity, against his emotions, and against his fears. If this is true, one can postulate that this also applies to one’s situations in the workplace. Two terms are used in this regard, namely self-detachment and self-transcendence. Frankl (1970) uses the terms self-detachmen t as the ability to realise that one has done wrong, and the ability to decide to learn from a mistake. S elf-transcendence refers to the ability to look away from one's own pain, and reach out to someone else who also needs help (Frankl, 1975, 1984a). Frankl (1984b) describes that when a person is thinking too much about his problems, concentrating too much on that which is lacking in his life, then he is hyperreflecting. Hyperreflection worsens the matter, resulting in psychosomatic illnesses. Dereflection is not to think about the negatives dominating one's life, and putting something better in its place. Frankl (1992) experienced that by focussing outside himself in the concentration camps, he
2.1.1. Frankl’s concept of freedom of will
Frankl’s first premise in his theory of personality is that man has the freedom of will; he can choose his actions and attitudes, although this might not always be easy under certain circumstances. People are subject to a wide variety of limiting conditions and influences - biological, psychological, and socio-cultural. However, Frankl (1969) contends that no matter what these conditions are, an individual can take a stand against them. According to Frankl (1969), human beings have the capacity to resist not only external circumstances but also their physical and psychological drives. In doing so, they essentially open up an advanced dimension of existence, namely the spiritual dimension, the dimension of meaning (Frankl, 1984a).
Frankl (1984a, p. 86) reasons that the experiences from the “living laboratory” of the concentration camps offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from man but one thing: “to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way”. Frankl (1984a, p. 86) reports that in the concentration camps he witnessed how some behaved like “swine while others behaved like saints”. Frankl (1984a) is adamant that man has both potentialities within himself; which one is actualised depends on decisions, not on conditions (Frankl, 1984a). He observed that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone: man does have a choice of action. Fundamentally, any person can decide what shall become of him mentally and spiritually, even under such circumstances (Frankl, 1984a). Frankl (1984a) concludes that as a human being, man’s freedom is restricted. A person is not free from restricting conditions, but free to take a stand toward the conditions.
However, O'Connel (1970) releases a strong attack on Frankl’s conclusions and interpretations based on his concentration camp experiences. O’Connel (1970) argues that Frankl becomes excessive in his praise of himself, and fails to extrapolate his concentration camp experiences into the modern feudal social system. O’Connel (1970) refers to Frankl’s theory as a "bootstrap" spirituality whereby one lifts himself to a new ontological position by pulling himself up on his own bootstraps.
In contrast to O’Connel, Gordon Allport comments in the preface of “Man’s search for meaning” (Frankl, 1984a) that Frankl’s theories and books are more than the story of Victor Frankl’s triumph. He describes it as a remarkable blend of science and humanism and an introduction to the most significant psychological movement of the day. Similarly, The American Journal of Psychiatry is cited on the cover of “Man’s search for meaning” (Frankl, 1984a), considering the book as “the most significant thinking since Freud and Adler”.
2.1.2. The will to meaning as motivation theory
He who has a “why” to live, can bear with almost any “how”. Nietzsche (Frankl, 1984a)
Frankl’s second premise is that the essence of human motivation is the "will to meaning." According to Frankl the primary motivational force in man is a striving to realise, or find meaning in his life; it is not a secondary rationalisation of instinctual drives. Frankl (1969) calls this a "will-to meaning". Frankl (1969) contends that man needs something or someone to live for. Man has the desire to live a life that means something, a life that has a purpose, a meaning. This meaning is unique to each and everybody and one has to discover, or uncover, the specific meaning of one's own unique life (Frankl, 1970).
Frankl (1970) argues that the will to meaning may arouse inner tension rather than inner equilibrium. He emphasises that tension is an indispensable prerequisite for mental health. There is nothing in the world that so effectively helps one to survive even the worst conditions, as the knowledge that there is a meaning in one's life (Frankl, 1970). Thus, having meaning should also provide the motivation to execute one’s daily work, even if the work itself does not particularly stimulate the individual.
On the other hand, the unfulfilled inner tension, or will to meaning, can be frustrated in which case logotherapy speaks of existential frustration. Frankl (1969) explains that existential frustration arises if a person is unable to find a purpose. The
find meaning in his work or through his work. Furthermore, the benefits of having found meaning outside the workplace in aspects such as mentioned above may also overspill into the workplace with positive effects on work motivation and commitment.
Frankl sees a drastic change in the problems of modern society. Frankl (1984b) comments that psychiatrists increasingly have to deal with existential frustration. He notes that young people visit advisory centres increasingly because of existential questions about the meaning of life, and connected with it problems of suicide (Frankl, 1984b). He says that young people see life, work and the future closely linked. If they see no meaning in life, they have no future, with strong implication for their work situations (Frankl, 1992). If someone cannot find meaning in life, it is difficult to see how such a person can be motivated to work, or be committed to the work facets of his life.
2.1.4. The relationship between meaning in life and work
A man, who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. Jones (1997).
Frankl's personality theory suggests that there is no irreducible will to work (Frankl, 1970). What is irreducible in man is his will to meaning. Although for most people much of the meaning during the working years comes from their jobs, Frankl (1975) argues that working - having a job - is not a sufficient, nor even a necessary condition for attainment of meaning. He reasons that people without work can live more meaningful lives than those who cling neurotically to jobs in order to gain a false sense of self-worth or security. However, he notes that work can be the epitome of truly meaningful human activity (Frankl, 1975).
People's natural relationship to their employment as the area for possible actualisation of creative values and self-fulfilment is often distorted by prevailing conditions of work (Frankl, 1969). For instance, Frankl (1984b) sees the unemployed as being in particular danger of existential neuroses. He notes that even
if individuals are protected by social security, they still experience psychological distress. He suggests that the principal cause of depression and despair is not unemployment, but a faulty interpretation of being unemployed. People equate unemployment with being useless, and therefore with a meaningless life. Frankl (1984b) describes how he succeeded in placing jobless clients as volunteers to help in welfare organisations without remuneration. Although their economic situation remained unchanged, depression caused by their feeling of meaninglessness vanished as soon as they were given a chance to fulfil tasks they considered meaningful (Frankl, 1984b). Frankl (1984b) cautions that similar problems in psychological health arise from the trend toward increasingly shorter work hours.
Not only do the unemployed suffer from a frustrated longing for meaning but so could workers and managers. Workers demand work they consider meaningful. Frankl (1992) cites reports from psychiatrists of patients who, despite good pay and external success, see no meaning in their work. Frankl (1992) also cites a report that indicates that people would work very long hours if they knew their work had meaning, but they don't want to work at all if they don't see any meaning in it.
Frankl (1984b) reasons that the belief that managers become sick from stress, caused by too much responsibility (distress) (Ivancevich & Matteson, 1980; Matteson & Ivancevich, 1989), is false. He argues that contrary to general opinion, there is little danger in an overload of responsibility and stress for managers. This holds true as long as the person has found meaning, and experiences that his work plays a role in fulfilling that meaning. He emphasises that eustress (Ivancevich & Matteson, 1980; Matteson & Ivancevich, 1989) is psychologically healthy in the correct quantity. It represents the tension between what people are and what they could be; the stress between their actuality and their potential (Frankl, 1984b).
Frankl (1992) posits that managers who want efficiency from workers must offer meaning to their work. Because management cannot dictate what the employees' work meaning should be, they can only provide them with a freedom of responsible choices. Frankl (1992) notes that this has had far-reaching effects in management theory. He cites examples in Yugoslavia and China, where absenteeism was reduced to 1% compared with the "normal" 5% as a result of management using
Similarly, to understand the human nature, one should not only select one theory of personality, but should look at all types as they all represent different angles of viewing mankind. Together they probably explain the human nature comprehensively.
2.2. MEANING IN RELATION TO OTHER THEORIES ON MOTIVES FOR
BEHAVIOUR
There is no psychotherapy without foundation in philosophy. The contemporary psychotherapist has to be a philosopher, consciously or not, methodically or haphazardly, in earnest or not, spontaneously or following contemporary fashions. Jaspers (Kovacs, 1985)
The natural starting point for any theory of motivation or commitment is the nature of the individual himself (Steers & Porter, 1979). All theories on work motivation are based on one or more theories of personality, each with his own implicit philosophy of the nature of man (Locke & Latham, 1990). The different theories of human nature all view the sources, origins, reasons for motivation, and motives of behaviour differently.
It is essential to study the different theories and their motivational in order provide the context in which Frankl's theory fits. This will enable comment on the reality and applicability of Frankl's theory in relation to the other theories. Section 2.1 provides an overview of Frankl’s theories and perspectives. Section 2.2 is an overview of some of the other perspectives on human nature, and causes of human behaviour, specifically with reference to Frankl’s theories and postulations.
2.2.1. Meaning and psychoanalytical and psychodynamic theories
Many of the well-known work motivation theories have their roots in Freud’s theories (Mackay, 1989). Freud viewed the mind as an entity containing primitive and sophisticated elements, in a hierarchical order (Giovacchini, 1977). The primitive end
of the hierarchy (the unconscious or “id”), has biologically based instincts striving for expression against more structured reality based elements (the preconscious or “ego”), which strive to make instinctual gratification consonant with internalised moral standards (the conscious or “superego”) (Giovacchini, 1977). In other words, in Freud’s view, an individual’s consciousness is determined by the unconscious which influences everything that a person says and does (Mackay, 1989).
In contrast, Frankl (1984a) argues that man does not always obey unconscious drives. People are able to live and even to die for the sake of much higher order ideals and values. Frankl (1984a) cites a public opinion poll in France indicating that 89% of the respondents admitted that a person needs "something" for the sake of which to live for. Moreover, 61% indicated that there was something or someone for whose sake they were even ready to die for (Frankl, 1984a). One can argue that this should also hold true for the workplace: people need “something” to work for. Having a purpose in one’s daily activities will solicit different motivations for work behaviour, than being driven through unconscious instincts or needs.
Freud reasoned that unconscious drives or instincts result in internal tension in the human being who then acts or reacts to get into a condition of homeostasis (Wrightsman, 1992). This unconscious striving towards homeostasis is, according to Freud, the prime motivational force for man (Buhler, 1959; Sartain, North, & Strange 1973). Contrary to Freud, Frankl (1972) reasons that mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish. Frankl (1975) argues that the will to meaning arouses inner tension rather than equilibrium. Das (1998) adds that contemporary neuroses are characterised not so much by the seeking of homeostasis, as they are characterised by a lack of a sense of purpose and meaning. If these postulations holds true, then the inner tension should lead to higher intensities of work motivation and work commitment.
Another fundamental postulation of Freud is that behaviour has its roots to some extent in the pleasure principle (hedonism), having pleasure and sensuous gratification just for the sake of enjoying life (Mackay, 1989). Urges for immediate gratification of pleasure are, accoriding to Freud, basic to human nature
Jung (1960) maintains that meaninglessness inhibits the fullness of life, and is therefore equivalent to illness. Jung (1969) observes that when conscious life has lost its meaning and promise for an individual, it is as though panic breaks loose. Jung (1969) estimates that approximately one third of his psychiatric cases suffer from a lack of meaning or purpose in their lives rather than any other identifiable psychiatric syndrome.
It is obvious that Jung's observations as a psychiatrist and his resulting theories are related and complementary to Frankl's theories of a will to meaning, and life having meaning under all circumstances. He even prescribed similar treatments for psychiatric patients resulting to similar success as Frankl. Jung, therefore, provided much support for the theories and postulations of Frankl as used, applied and tested in the present study.
2.2.2. Meaning in relationship with behaviourism and social learning theories
The behaviourism theory of B.F. Skinner and Konrad Lorenz are based on stimulus- response, and reinforcement theories (Locke & Latham, 1990). Skinner (1953) claimed that the environment determines the individual, and that a person can be conditioned to display certain behaviour by changing the environment. In behaviour modification, desired behaviour is maintained and strengthened by positive reinforcers, or inhibited through negative reinforcement (punishment) following given responses (Lunden, 1977). Likewise, behaviour can be altered when reinforcement is withdrawn. Skinner (1953) thus saw a limited number of standard behaviours according to different behaviour modification activities (Locke & Latham, 1990).
In contrast, Frankl (1970) concludes that the human personality remains essentially unpredictable. Frankl (1975) emphasises that every human being has the ability to be self-determining. In support of Frankl, Locke and Latham (1990) explained that reinforcers do not change behaviour unless people want or value them, are aware of the connection between the response and the reinforcers, and believe they can make the required responses (Locke & Latham, 1990). With the inherent shortcomings of behaviourism, it is obvious that there is a need for theories of motivation that cater for the higher order motives of behaviour that cannot be
explained through mechanistic predictions. Frankl and Jung’s theories are obvious candidates to fill this gap in the theories of work motivation.
Some theorists explain motivation as a function of the interaction of the individual with his social environment (Battista & Almond, 1973). These theories of motivation can be regarded as a variant of behaviourism: modify the environment and you modify the personality (Corsini, 1977). For instance, Karl Marx believed that the kind of person one is, and the kind of things one does, are determined by the kind of society in which one lives (Appignanesi, 1994).
One of the more prevalent social learning theories is that of Albert Bandura. Bandura's (1977, 1986) theory of social learning suggests that socialisation form people’s personalities through observation and through imitation, which in turn influence behaviour. Frankl (1975) accepts that the conditions of social life under which people live impose certain kinds of limitations on them, and bring to bear a host of determining forces that shape and mould them. However, Frankl (1975) contends that despite all these diverse forces and influences that act on a person and mould him, a person has the freedom to decide what he wants to do in a given situation.
In terms of work, it seems that social learning plays an important role, as it appears that work centrality is being shaped by the socialisation of the individual (Kanungo, 1982). People learn to value work through their families, friends, religion, or culture. Paullay et al. (1994) and Sverko (1989) comment that work involvement is produced by cultural conditioning or socialisation which leads to the internalisation of norms and values associated with work. One can therefore expect that work commitment and motivation will be influenced somewhat through social learning.
Another construct closely related to social learning theory is values, in particular work values. Ambrose and Kulik (1999) comment that PWE has become conceptualised as a key variable that influences work attitudes and behaviours. They report from their study of motivation research that studies since the 1970s demonstrated that individuals who score highly on the PWE were more satisfied with their jobs, more involved with their jobs, and more committed to their organisations
misunderstood and that self-actualisation actually implies actualisation outside and beyond oneself. Maslow (1966) agrees with Frankl that man's primary concern is his will to meaning. Maslow (1963) calls it "highest concern". Secondly, he agrees with Frankl's notion that people, who seek self-actualisation directly, or selfishly, do not achieve it. Maslow (1966) explains that self-actualising people practically always have a mission in life, a task which they have identified with and which becomes a defining-characteristic of the self. Maslow (1966) puts it that self-actualisation can best be carried out via a commitment to an important job.
It is obvious from the debate between Maslow and Frankl that some of the aspects of Maslow’s humanistic theory are actually very close and complementary to Frankl’s existential theories of motivation. However, the stronger internal focus of humanism, the lack of focus of humanism on the noögenic dimension and the emphasis of Frankl on self-transcendence still maintain a difference between these conceptualisations. Although humanism cannot be ignored in any theory of work motivation, it needs to be complemented by other theories of motivation such as that of Frankl.
2.2.4. Meaning in relation to cognitive theories of motivation
Sechrest (1977) describes George Kelly's theory of personal constructs as a unique motivational theory consisting almost entirely of a way of looking at how people cognitively construe life, how they organise, perceive, evaluate, structure and predict events. As such, it is almost entirely a cognitive theory and gives practically no attention to learning, emotions, objective motivations, or needs (Holdstock & Rogers, 1977; Sechrest, 1977). Yalom (1980) contests that existential concerns seem to be weighted with greatest importance when people make cognitive decisions and take subsequent actions. These existential concerns include fear of death, fear of isolation, purposefulness and meaning in life.
In a similar direction as Kelly’s cognitive theory of personal constructs, Albert Ellis argued that behaviour is not the result of events, but due to the interpretation of events (Corsini, 1977). That is, consequences (behaviour) are not a function of
activators (stimuli), but rather of beliefs (interpretations and perceptions). Direct decision theory, introduced by Greenwald (Corsini, 1977) is closely related to both Kelly’s cognitive view of personality, and Ellis’ perceptional view. Direct decision theory states that people operate in terms of their perceptions of the payoffs of anticipated actions. Perception is the process by which individuals selectively screen, organise and interpret stimuli from the environment, in order to give meaning to their environment (Robbins, 1989). What matters in determining a person's behaviour and his cognitive decisions is not necessarily the situation in which he finds himself, but his perception of the situation (Saari, 1991). Cognitive decision- making is therefore based on perception of reality, and not reality itself (Munitz, 1993). Thompson and Janigian (1988) argue that meaning plays an important role in how people interpret and react to their environment. Finding meaning is therefore a process of firstly changing one's perception of events, so that feelings of order and purpose are restored.
Frankl’s theories accommodate most of the cognitive based theories of motivation. Frankl (1967) supports the view that it is not the actual event that influences people, but their interpretation and perception of the event. He also adds that it is based on the interpretation of the event or the situation that man has the ability to decide cognitively what his attitude will be towards it. However, Frankl (1984b) argues that in addition to the cognitive psychological dimension, there is also a spiritual dimension to human life. He argues that cognitive based psychological theories do not take account of the spiritual dimension and can therefore not account for the whole spectrum of behaviour, which sometimes include “irrational” or non-predictable behaviour.
The present study takes a different approach, it attempts to provide new insights into causes of positive functioning, especially in the workplace. It is postulated that the will to meaning plays a significant role in work motivation and work commitment, yet this role has been neglected in the literature and scientific studies. Due to the vast scope of these fields, this study can merely be an exploratory study, to be followed by much more research to understand relationships more thoroughly.
2.3. MEANING IN LIFE AS A SCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSTRUCT
You can live as if life has meaning and you are part of the web of life, or you can live as if life is chaotic and you are a victim of its whims. Fabry (1988). 2.3.1. The context of meaning
It was shown in the previous sections that having a personal meaning and a personal sense of purpose are fundamental to Frankl's theories, and his views of human nature. This section investigates whether personal meaning and purpose in life is a mere speculative philosophical notion, or whether it can be substantiated as a scientific construct.
Throughout history people have been grappling with existential and spiritual issues: What is the meaning of life and death? What is the meaning of suffering and evil? How do we find personal significance in a hostile world? Why is it that progress and prosperity have not yet satisfied the yearnings for meaning and purpose? Increasingly, individuals are experiencing a lack of meaning in their lives (King & Nicol, 1999). Western philosophy and psychology historically concentrated almost exclusively on man's unconscious and on his rational nature (Misiak & Sexton, 1973). It has bypassed man's existential questions. The individual with his unique personal problems of everyday existence and the basic existential problems has been left out of the philosophical enquiries. Reacting to this deficiency, existentialism centres on man as he exists in the world, and his relation to the world
and his fellow men. Existentialism as a psychology has put itself in opposition to materialistic reductionism and rationalism (Misiak & Sexton, 1973).
Not everyone view meaning in life, or meaning of existence the same way. For instance, Freud argued that one must be mentally ill to question the meaning of life (Munitz, 1993). On the other hand, Einstein argued that a person is hardly fit for life if he thinks that life is meaningless (Munitz, 1993). Many psychologists and psychiatrists consider purpose in life to be a crucial factor for successful psychological functioning, with meaninglessness often resulting in pathologies (Doerries, 1970; Frankl, 1972; Maddi, 1967; Maslow, 1963).
Despite an increasing concern in modern society with the meanings and values of life, the construct of meaning in life has received marginal attention in mainstream psychology (Battista & Almond, 1973; Chamberlain & Zika, 1988). The construct of meaning has tended to be ignored in empirical work, perhaps because of difficulty in conceptualisation, and also because questions relating to meaning are regarded as more philosophical than psychological - vague and boundless for the purposes of empirical psychology (Baumeister, 1991; Debats, 1999; Debats & Drost, 1995). This is especially true for the field of organisational behaviour as virtually all empirical work on meaning was conducted in the fields of psychiatry and clinical psychology.
The existence of the construct of meaning in life as a real psychological phenomenon rather than a mere philosophical notion was confirmed by Chamberlain and Zika (1988). They applied three different measuring instruments that was designed by other researchers (described in the next section) to measure the construct of meaning in life. A preliminary principal components analysis of all three instruments (N = 194) indicated factor loadings ranging from 0.68 to 0.90 on the three different measures. These results suggest that a general meaning in life dimension does exist that underlies and describes the specific components of meaning as conceptualised by the authors of the instruments. Most of the other research on meaning focused on the relationship of meaning with a person's psychological and physiological health and quality of existence.
