Humanism and humanistic psychology.

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Jo Devanny                Psychology

Humanism

 The term ‘humanistic psychology’ originates from J. Cohen in 1958. Maslow (1968) called this approach to psychology ‘the third force’, the first being Freudian and the second behaviourism. This theory focuses on the intrinsic values within people rather than the behaviourist approaches. Freud and Skinner believed that people’s behaviour is dependant on outside factors and the unconscious, which opposes the humanist-phenomological view of behaviour being examined from the subjective experience of the individual.  

 Humanists believe that every person has the power to decide how they behave, and it is not always deterministic. Maslow hoped to merge these approaches to create subjective and objective explanations of behaviour to create one complete psychology.

 Maslow’s (1968) Hierarchy of Needs shows what he believes people aspire to. These things include basic physiological needs such as food and water, and the feeling of being loved and safe. When all the things he has outlined are met, he describes this as ‘self-actualization’, Maslow also believed it was only a small number of people who would actually self-actualize as not all needs are met at the same time.

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 Carl Rogers (1968) believed that people’s perception of the world around them affected their behaviour and not extrinsic factors, and that everyone seeks approval and have a need for positive regard. He believed that how people perceive us affects how we feel about our selves and can is the basis for mental illness. The term ‘conditions of worth’ was coined by Rogers and describes the stages of children’s feelings regarding seeking approval, although he believed that development could be hindered if our sole purpose was to be approved of.

  It could be said that the practices of therapy ...

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