Overview of Humanistic Psychology

Overview of Humanistic Psychology History and Biographies Print Overview of Humanistic Psychology By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial policy Kendra Cherry Updated on June 25, 2019 serts / Getty Images More in Psychology History and Biographies Psychotherapy Basics Student Resources Theories Phobias Emotions Sleep and Dreaming In This Article Table of Contents Expand Key Focus Brief History Impact Strengths and Criticisms View All Back To Top Humanistic psychology is a perspective that emphasizes looking at the whole individual and stresses concepts such as free will, self-efficacy, and self-actualization.    Rather than concentrating on dysfunction, humanistic psychology strives to help people fulfill their potential and maximize their well-being. Humanistic psychology, also often referred to as humanism emerged during the 1950s as a reaction to the psychoanalysis and behaviorism that dominated psychology at the time.  Psychoanalysis was focused on understanding the unconscious motivations that drive behavior while behaviorism studied the conditioning processes that produce behavior. Humanist thinkers felt that both psychoanalysis and behaviorism were too pessimistic, either focusing on the most tragic of emotions or failing to take into account the role of personal choice. However, it is not necessary to think of these three  schools of thought  as competing elements. Each  branch of psychology  has contributed to our understanding of the human mind and behavior. Humanistic psychology added yet another dimension that takes a more holistic view of the individual. Key Focus As it developed, humanistic psychology focused on each individuals potential and stressed the importance of growth and self-actualization. The fundamental belief of humanistic psychology is that people are innately good and that mental and social problems result from deviations from this natural tendency. Humanism also suggests that people possess personal agency and that they are motivated to use this free will to pursue things that will help them achieve their full potential as human beings. This need for fulfillment and personal growth is a key motivator of all behavior. People are continually looking for new ways to grow, to become better, to learn new things, and to experience psychological growth and self-actualization. Brief History The early development of humanistic psychology was heavily influenced by the works of a few key theorists, especially Abraham  Maslow and Carl Rogers. Other prominent humanist thinkers included Rollo May and Erich Fromm. In 1943, Maslow described his hierarchy of needs in A Theory of Human Motivation published in  Psychological Review. Later during the late 1950s, Abraham Maslow, and other psychologists held meetings to discuss developing a professional organization devoted to a more humanist approach to psychology. They agreed that topics such as self-actualization, creativity, individuality, and related topics were the central themes of this new approach. In 1951, Carl Rogers published  Client-Centered Therapy, which described his humanistic, client-directed approach to therapy. In 1961,  Journal of Humanistic Psychology  was established. It was in 1962 that the  American Association for Humanistic Psychology  was formed and by 1971, humanistic psychology  become  an APA division. In 1962, Maslow published Toward a Psychology of Being, in which he described humanistic psychology as the third force in psychology. The first and second forces were behaviorism and psychoanalysis respectively. Impact The humanist movement had an enormous influence on the course of psychology and contributed new ways of thinking about mental health. It offered a new approach to understanding human behaviors and motivations and led to developing new techniques and approaches to psychotherapy. Some of the major ideas and concepts that emerged as a result of the humanist movement include an emphasis on things such as: Self-conceptHierarchy of needsUnconditional positive regardFree willClient-centered therapySelf-actualizationFully functioning personPeak experiences Strengths and Criticisms 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 environments 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. While humanistic psychology  continues to influence therapy, education, healthcare, and other areas, it has not been without some criticism. Humanistic psychology is often seen as too subjective; the importance of individual experience makes it difficult to objectively study and measure humanistic phenomena. How can we objectively tell if someone is self-actualized? The answer, of course, is that we cannot. We can only rely upon the individuals own assessment of their experience. Another major criticism is that observations are unverifiable; there is no accurate way to measure or quantify these qualities. A Word From Verywell Today, the concepts central to humanistic psychology can be seen in many disciplines including other branches of psychology, education, therapy, political movements, and other areas. For example, transpersonal psychology and positive psychology both draw heavily on humanist influences. The goals of humanistic psychology remain as relevant today as they were in the 1940s and 1950s. Humanistic psychology strives to empower individuals, enhance well-being, push people toward fulfilling their potential and improve communities all over the world.