Humanistic Psychology

Origin of Humanistic Psychology

What is the origin of humanistic psychology?

In the early 20th century, behaviourism was on the rise. The behaviourist perspective claims behaviour is the scientific approach related to mental processes. It was the sole area with which psychology concerned itself. Behaviourists did not believe studying thoughts, memory, emotion, or other non-objective processes was valuable. Psychoanalysis was developed simultaneously as behaviourism and studied phenomenons like impulses of the unconscious mind.

Humanism is a blend of these dominant forces; its foundation is the Classical and Renaissance philosophy that emphasises self-realisation. Similar philosophical movements in Europe, such as developments in phenomenology and existentialism, supported the development of humanism.

Fig. 1 School of Athens

The humanistic approach interconnects concepts initiated in the mid-20th century in response to two theories — the psychodynamic theories created by Sigmund Freud and the behaviourism theory developed by B.F. Skinner. The blending of both was considered the "third force" in psychology.

Abraham Maslow and Clark Moustakas made enormous contributions to igniting the humanistic approach as a discipline in psychology. They showed their interest in establishing a professional association that emphasised humanistic psychology development, creating a professional resource to designate personal attributes that were considered helpful to the production process demanded by a post-industrial society.

Carl Rogers' work was considered one of the first humanistic psychology sources; Otto Rank heavily influenced him. Rogers believed that focusing on developmental processes would lead his clients to a healthier, more creative personality; he created an "actualising tendency," which led Abraham Maslow to research self-actualisation and introduced positive humanistic psychology.

Additionally, Rogers' works also emphasised self-worth and unconditional positive regard.

For Rogers, unhappiness and dissatisfaction result from a conflict between self-concept (the idea you have about yourself) and the ideal self (the idea of how you would like to be). Incongruence is the contrast between our real and ideal selves.

When an individual is in congruence, the self-concept aligns with the ideal self. However, it is not common to be in unity all the time. For this reason, most individuals will experience some level of incongruence. According to Rogers, uniting our real and ideal selves is a vital step towards becoming a fully functioning (self-actualisation) individual.

Humanistic Approach Psychology

Humanistic approach psychology posits that everyone is unique and has their perspective towards the world. It believes that humans are good at heart and capable of making the right choices.

Humanism highlights that embracing your true self leads you to a fulfilling life. The humanistic psychology perspective insists that behaviourist and psychodynamic approaches are reductionist and deterministic. Its results cannot explain the holistic (holism focuses on understanding all aspects of human experience and interaction) complexity of human behaviour.

Basic Principles of Humanistic Psychology

Claimed by James Bugental in 1964 and later adapted by Tom Greening. Five core principles outline the humanistic approach in psychology (Association for Humanistic Psychology, 2006)¹:

Abraham Maslow Humanistic Psychology

Abraham Maslow firmly believed in the importance of studying positive human traits and virtues. Abraham Maslow's humanistic psychology, or humanism, highlights that people are good at heart and that reaching one's full potential is essential. His humanistic view of psychology also reflected his individual and collective emphasis on the importance of people.

In disagreement with behaviourism's focus on animal studies and psychoanalysis's focus on people with mental health conditions, Maslow sought to challenge these two schools of thought in psychology. Instead, he thought that to apply to the general population, people with no mental health conditions should be the basis of theories.

Working closely with other humanistic psychologists like Alfred Adler helped him in his humanistic research on self-actualisation. This led him to publish an essay in 1943 describing his humanistic ideas, which helped lay the foundation of humanistic psychology. His essay, entitled 'A Theory of Human Motivation,' states that humans naturally seek and value growth, development, and moral standards, which influence their behaviour.

His humanistic theory also agrees that personal growth is a core component of human behaviour and that self-actualisation is integral to a functional society.

Maslow also believed that humans have a hierarchy of needs that motivate them. Beginning with physiological and safety needs as the most important, moving up to love and belongingness, then esteem needs, until one reaches self-actualisation.

The most basic needs centre on the basic needs of life or the physiological needs — air, food, water, and shelter, for example.

When people move up the hierarchy, these needs become centred on esteem and self-actualisation. Self-actualisation can be a rare achievement, but it provides the possibility of genuine self-awareness and an honest relationship with the realities of an imperfect world.

Humanistic Psychology Example

Humanistic views and ideas did not just remain a theory in psychology; one can find a humanistic psychology example in many areas, such as therapy and education. Here are some examples of humanistic psychology in practice.

According to Maslow², the 'ultimate goal of all therapy' (Abraham Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 1970) is to help a client move from basic needs towards self-actualisation.

Fig. 2 The client-centred approach is usually carried out in a similar setting to usual talk therapies.

Additionally, Maslow conceptualised a humanistic tenet in psychotherapy, which includes the following:

• Accountability for one's actions.
• Acknowledging others' perspectives.
• Living in the moment and adopting a mindset that emphasises this.
• The practice of allowing one's emotions to be felt and recognised as part of human life rather than trying to suppress them.
• People who live by humanistic morals all want to have experiences that help them grow.

Another essential contributor to humanistic psychotherapy is Carl Rogers, who first conceptualised a humanistic working relationship between client and therapist. He developed the humanistic client-centred approach, where he described the therapist's role as a facilitator. As a facilitator, the therapist actively shows the client how they can make meaningful changes. However, the client will always be the most powerful person in their life, and the therapist can only acknowledge and support that.

According to Maslow, learning doesn't just take place in the classroom but throughout life. Learning is an ongoing process that causes changes in how you see yourself, feel, act, and relate to your surroundings.

Humanistic education concepts include:

• Each person is responsible for their learning and growth as an individual.
• Considering and bolstering the importance of a person's desire for affection and self-esteem.
• The role of the teacher as the primary organiser in an open classroom.
• Encouraging collaborative learning, such as working in groups and interactive learning between students.

Here are examples of activities implemented and reviewed on an ongoing basis by school districts as part of programs designed to apply Maslow's hierarchy of needs to enhance their schools' learning environment and outcomes.

• Physiological needs: free meals
• Safety needs: emergency drills and other safety measures
• Love and belonging needs: workshops and therapy sessions
• Esteem and self-actualisation: involvement in special performances and activities and appreciation of student accomplishments through rewards and recognition

Problems with Humanistic Psychology

Even with the significant applications of humanistic approaches in different sectors and recognition within the field of psychology, there are also several problems with humanistic psychology.

Here are a few problems with humanistic psychology raised by critics:

• The term "humanistic" has had different meanings dating back to the Renaissance. There is no consensus on what exactly is meant by the term, as there are other approaches that can also pass as humanistic, causing contradictions within humanistic psychology. B. F. Skinner once received the 1972 Humanist of the Year award given by the American Humanist Association, an example of that contradiction within the school of thought.

• Critics also claim that humanistic psychology is simplistic. As pointed out by Rollo May³ (1982), one support for this argument is the humanistic view's failure to adequately discuss evil due to its emphasis on good qualities in people.

• Humanistic psychology's demand for relevance in its studies can negatively impact the process of scientific discovery. Critics have noted that studies from the past have laid the groundwork for more recent groundbreaking research, despite possibly not being relevant according to the humanistic approach.

• Because of the centrality of free will to humanistic psychology, its practitioners risk providing a superficial analysis that gets in the way of scientific inquiries. Emphasis on free will may overlook valid yet unnoticeable findings that can deepen understanding of intricate phenomena.

• Behaviourists like Skinner asserted that humanistic psychology is unscientific because it uses introspection. In addition, some in the field of psychology believe that the humanistic approach was an attempt to distance psychology from the empirical research conducted by experimental psychologists.