Maslow, Rogers and Humanistic Psychology. Their work into the self-actualisation principle paved the way for further insight into the holistic development of the human psyche.

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Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers are two of the founding fathers of modern day Humanistic Psychology. Their work into the self-actualisation principle paved the way for further insight into the holistic development of the human psyche. Although they have been heavily criticised for their lack of empirical and theoretical evidence, this can be largely attributed to a misinterpretation of their works. More modern day research has suggested that their theories are of strong theoretical basis that just needs further development.

Humanistic psychology, or the "third force" of psychology, constantly comes under scrutiny for it's holistic view of human development. Unlike psychoanalytical Freudian psychology, which predominantly focuses on mental illness and the negative aspects of human behavior, and behaviorism, which tends to "reduce human behavior to statistical correlations between different kind of stimuli, responses and personality traits" (Rule, 1991), humanists acknowledge the human as inherently 'good' and as active participants capable of shaping their own healthy development. In particular, humanistic psychologists recognize the humans potential for goodness, creativity, insight and freedom. Maslow and Roger's are typically acknowledged as the founders of this particular branch of psychology, which brought with it a much-needed holistic look into the human psyche. Maslow is