Humanistic Theory

1. Humanistic Theory Cooper, Carson Dent, Chassidy Pincock, Bryan

2. Important Terms • Self-actualizing tendency: The human motive toward realizing our inner potential. • Self-actualization: The need to be good, to be fully alive, and to find meaning in life.

3. Background Developed in the 1950’ and 1960’s as an optimistic option to the more pessimistic views of psychoanalysis and behaviorism. • Emphasized a positive, optimistic view of human nature that highlights people’s inherent goodness and their potential for growth.

4. Major thinkers in humanistic psychology • Abraham Maslow(1908 – 1970) • A Theory of Human Motivation - Hierarchy of needs • Carl Rogers (1902 – 1987) • Client-Centered Therapy – Describes humanistic theory

5. Theory • Humanist Psychologists explain individual personality differences as arising from the various ways that the environment facilitates/blocks attempts to satisfy psychological needs. • Research indicated that when people shape their goals that do not match their true nature and capabilities they are less likely to be happy than those whose lives and goals do match them.

6. Theory • Humanistic therapies assume that human nature is generally positive, and they emphasize the natural tendency of each individual to strive for personal improvement. • According to Humanistic Psychologists, problems stem from feelings of alienation and loneliness, and these feelings can be traced to failures to reach one's potential.

7. Therapy • One therapy used today is the Person-Centered Therapy: Assumes that all individuals have a tendency toward growth and that this growth can be facilitated by acceptance and genuine reactions from the therapist.

8. Criticism • How can we objectively tell if someone is self-actualized? The answer, of course, is that we cannot. We can only rely upon the individual's own assessment of their experience. • Another major criticism is that observations are unverifiable; there is no accurate way to measure or quantify these qualities.

9. Strengths • One of the major strengths of humanistic psychology is that it emphasizes the role of the individual. This school of psychology gives people more credit in controlling and determining their state of mental health. • It also takes environmental influences into account. Rather than focusing solely on our internal thoughts and desires, humanistic psychology also credits the environment's influence on our experiences. • Humanistic psychology helped remove some of the stigma attached to therapy and made it more acceptable for normal, healthy individuals to explore their abilities and potential through therapy.

10. Question • Who is one of the main theorists behind humanistic psychology? • Abraham Maslow or Carl Rogers