In general, human nature consists of three main parts: the mind (intellect), the body (biological makeup) and the spirit (emotional makeup). As the mind and the body are being well explored in behaviorism and psychoanalysis, the spirit of a person has been increasingly popular from the mid-20th century. In the early 1960s, a movement named third-force psychology started as a reaction to the defect of behaviorism and psychoanalysis to deal fully with the human condition (Hergenhahn, 2008). This third-force movement is humanistic psychology, which refers to the combination of the philosophy of romanticism and existentialism. Humanistic psychology instead paid more attention to each individual's potentials and highlighted the importance of self-actualization. In addition, humanists believe that human’s uniqueness and their positive position need to be focused more in the future study.
According to Hergenhahn (2008), the other two forces in psychology neglected a number of important human attributions. The major reason was that behaviorism just concentrated on human behavior rather than something unique about human, and that psychoanalysis concentrated mainly on the disorder of the human and the treatment of these disorders. However, something positive and the humans’ spirit also needed to be emphasized, therefore humanistic psychology was developed. I am not surprised that humanistic psychology becomes a new field of psychology because a human being is different from other animals or objects. Humans have their own mind and abilities to create many things which did not exist before, such as electricity and computers. I think this is the uniqueness of humanity and it should become a subject to be deeply studied.
Humanistic ...
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...ation in life is self-actualization. The human being is different from other objects, such as animals, because human being pursues spiritual life and fulfills his/her potentials. Besides, the freedom and unconditional positive regard is also highlighted in humanistic psychology.
From my point of view, people need to focus more on the mind than other things, because this is the uniqueness of human and we need to make good use of it. The spiritual life also needs to be emphasized in our life. Nowadays, more and more people tend to pay more money and energy on the material life than the spiritual life. Although they are rich in the natural world, they are poor in the inner world. Therefore, I think humanism should be emphasized in the 21st century.
Works Cited
Hergenhahn, B. R. (2008). An introduction to the history of psychology (6th ed). Belmont: Wadsworth
D. Brett King, Wayne Viney, & William Douglas Woody, (2013). A History of Psychology, Ideas & Context. 3rd ed. United States: Pearson.
In Psychology, various different explanations of behaviour and the intellect have been presented and debated over the years such as the psychodynamic, behavioral, biological and humanistic approach. The biological approach aims to provide explanation is concerned with how behaviour is affected by physiological systems and mechanisms (Barnes, 2013). This approach assumptions usually explore physiological and evolutionary explanations to behaviour. In opposition to this, the Psychoanalytic approach presents an explanation to psychological occurrence by exploring
There are numerous advantages and complication in the humanistic approaches to the study of psychology. Numerous individuals sent out messages to each other, non-explicitly, thus, influencing the actions exhibited. As it was stated in the first letter written by Rilke, addressed to Kappus:”Things aren’t all so tangible and sayable as people would usually have us believe; most than all other things are works of art, those mysterious existences, whose life endures beside our own small, transitory life” (Rilke 8). People are able to understand each other in the normal process since gestures have been popular among our societies. In addition, individuals would not have to waste so much time verbalizing everything in our today’s fast-paced societies. The only complication in this process had been individuals with difficulty processing cognitive information had struggling experiences adapting to this usual humanistic approach.
The study of psychology began as a theoretical subject a branch of ancient philosophy, and later as a part of biological sciences and physiology. However, over the years, it has grown into a rigorous science and a separate discipline, with its own sets of guidance and experimental techniques. This paper aims to study the various stages that the science of psychology passed through to reach its contemporary status, and their effects on its development. It begins with an overview of the historical and philosophical basis of psychology, discusses the development of the various schools of thought, and highlights their effects on contemporary personal and professional decision-making.
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The humanistic perspective on personality deals exclusively with human behavior. Humanistic psychologists believe that human nature includes a natural drive towards personal growth, that humans have the freedom to choose what they do regardless of environmental factors, and humans are mostly conscious beings and are not controlled by unconscious needs and conflicts. They also believe that a person's subjective view of the world is more important than objective reality. Two of the humanistic theorists that have made an impact of humanism are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
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Humanistic and Existential Psychology are influential of each other, both include the “meaning of our existence, the role of free will, and the uniqueness of each human” (Burger, 2015) This paper will review three articles written by influential psychologists of their time, Maslow, Rogers, and Frankl. The review of each will include a summary, how well the contents connects to the humanistic or existential psychology, and if their ideas still have a relevant application in today’s environment.
Self-actualization is an idea originating from the Humanistic psychological theory and particularly created by Abraham Maslow. The humanistic school of thought in psychology is the third force in psychology that attempts to regain the self, supporting that individuals do have free will and has the power to change for the better. Humanistic psychology was developed as a response to psychoanalysis and behaviorism focusing on individuality, personal growth and the concept of self-actualization. While early schools of thought were mostly concentrated on abnormal human behavior, humanistic psychology is different because of its emphasis on helping individuals achieve and fulfill their potential. The two main contributors to this school of thought
This psychology perspective emphasizes individuals ' inherent drive towards self-actualization, the process of realizing and expressing one 's own capabilities and creativity. It helps the client gain the belief that all people are inherently good. It adopts a holistic approach to human existence and pays special attention to such phenomena as creativity, free will, and positive human potential. It encourages viewing ourselves as a "whole person" greater than the sum of our parts and encourages self exploration rather than the study of behavior in other people. Humanistic psychology acknowledges spiritual aspiration as an integral part of the human psyche. It is linked to the emerging field of transpersonal psychology. As per usual, there are advantages and limitations to this particular theory. One of the greatest strengths of humanistic psychology is that it emphasizes individual choice and responsibility. Humanistic psychology satisfies most people 's idea of what being human means because it values personal ideals and self-fulfillment. Finally, humanistic psychology provides researchers with a flexible framework for observing human behavior because it considers a person in the context of his environment and in conjunction with his personal perceptions and feelings. As with any viewpoint, humanistic psychology has its critics. One major criticism of humanistic psychology is that its concepts are too vague. Critics