Rather than concentrating on dysfunction, humanistic psychology strives to help people fulfill their potential and maximize their well-being.
However, it is not necessary to think of these threeschools of thoughtas competing elements.
Eachbranch of psychologyhas contributed to our understanding of the human mind and behavior.
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Humanistic psychology added yet another dimension that takes a moreholistic viewof the individual.
Humanism places human values and dignity front and center.
According to this approach, people can resolve problems through science and reason.
Religious Humanism
Some religious traditions incorporate elements of humanism as part of their belief systems.
Examples of religious humanism include Quakers, Lutherans, and Unitarian Universalists.
Secular Humanism
Secular humanism rejects all religious beliefs, including the existence of the supernatural.
Uses for Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic psychology focuses on each individual’s potential.
Concepts like personal growth andself-actualizationare hallmarks of the humanistic approach.
The need for fulfillment and personal growth is a key motivator of all behavior.
Thisschool of psychologygives people more credit for controlling and determining their state of mental health.
It also considers environmental influences.
For example, the humanist approach 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 individual’s assessment of their experience.
This can make it more difficult to conduct research and design assessments to measure hard-to-measure concepts.
Other prominent humanist thinkers included Rollo May and Erich Fromm.
In 1951,Carl Rogerspublished “Client-Centered Therapy,” which described his humanistic, client-directed approach to therapy.
In 1961, theJournal of Humanistic Psychologywas established.
The first and second forces were behaviorism and psychoanalysis, respectively.
For example,transpersonal psychologyandpositive psychologyboth draw heavily on humanist influences.
Schneider KJ, Pierson JF, Bugental JFT.The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Theory, Research, and Practice.
Thousand Oaks: CA: SAGE Publications; 2015.
Lessons in positive psychology from Carl Rogers' person-centered approach-It’s the social environment that must change.Front Psychol.
