Choice Theory | Achievement Corp.

What is Choice Theory psychology?

A practical psychology that unravels the mechanisms of human behavior.

Choice Theory psychology is a practical psychology that unravels the mechanism of human behavior. It is a new psychology advocated by American psychiatrist Dr. William Glasser. Since its publication 40 years ago, it has been widely disseminated in various countries around the world, and has been highly evaluated as a method for building better human relationships in environments involving various human relationships such as counseling, school education, organizations, and home environments.
In particular, counseling method “Reality Therapy” based on choice theory has spread mainly in the United States and Canada.

The History of Choice Theory and Achievement.

Achievement had invited Dr. William Glasser, the founder of Choice Theory, to Japan for the first time and conducted lectures and study groups. Since then, the company continues to promote Choice Theory through seminars and books to this day. In addition, we have appointed Professor Masaki Kakitani, former professor at Rissho University, as a special advisor working on developing seminar programs. Professor Kakitani is the first Japanese instructor certified by the William Glasser Institute in the United States, using Reality Therapy, a counseling approach based on Choice Theory. He has been a pioneer in introducing and promoting Choice Theory in Japan, organizing the first certified courses in Japan.

Characteristics of Choice Theory

Choice Theory is a psychology that considers all behavior to be a product of one’s own choices.

Choice Theory Psychology

Choice Theory Psychology holds that only individuals can choose their own actions, and that their actions are not chosen by others nor can they make others choose their actions.
Therefore, when problems arise, they can be resolved by accepting the other person and negotiating differences with them. Choice Theory believes that this approach can lead to building positive relationships.

External Control Psychology

In traditional psychology (External Control Psychology), human behavior has been considered a response to external stimuli.
As a result, when problems arise, one may try to solve them by giving the other person strong stimuli such as anger or punishment to make them act the way one wants. However, this approach often leads to the destruction of relationships.

Basic Concepts of Choice Theory

The 5 Basic Needs

The 5 Basic Needs are the need for Survival, which is a physical need, and the psychological needs of Love and Belonging, Power, Freedom, and Fun, which are innate desires that we all have genetically.

Need of Survival: The desire for all things necessary for survival, such as air, water, food, shelter, and sleep.

Need of Love and Belonging: The desire to belong and maintain human relationships of love and being loved by belonging to family, friends, companies, etc.

Need of Power: The desire to obtain what one wants in one’s own way, to be of service to others, and to be recognized for one’s worth.

Need of Freedom: The desire to act freely according to one’s own thoughts and emotions, to choose and make decisions without being bound by anyone, and to be free from any constraints.

Need of Fun: The desire to do something willingly and proactively, without feeling constrained by a sense of duty or obligation, and to take pleasure in doing it.

The five basic needs are universal, but the strength and ways of fulfilling them vary from person to person. For example, people with a strong need for power may think ‘I must be the best’ or ‘I must not lose’, while those with a weak need for power may not have such thoughts.
In terms of ways of fulfillment, some may satisfy their need for power by studying hard and getting a perfect score on a test, while others may fulfill it by excelling in sports and receiving praise from others.

Of these five basic needs, the most difficult to fulfill is the need for love and belonging, because it is the only need that cannot be satisfied by oneself alone. Additionally, the need for power is often difficult to fulfill because people may use external control to satisfy it, sometimes leading to the destruction of their relationships.

Quality World

The quality world is a world of memory in our brain. Here, images of things that fulfill one or more of the five basic needs are displayed. We choose actions that we believe are the best to realize these images in the real world. We have a strong interest in things that are in our quality world, but we are not interested in things that are not related to it.

The images in our quality world include people, things, and beliefs that fulfill one or more of the five basic needs. For example, a spouse or a close friend, favorite food or desired possessions, places to go or hobbies, religion or philosophy, etc.
Our quality world is not fixed and is constantly changing. For example, a married couple usually put each other in their quality world when they first get married. However, if they continue to use external control on each other, they gradually remove each other from their quality world.