The Psychology of the Person

Chapter 11 Humanistic Approach

Naomi Wagner, Ph.D
Lecture Outlines
Based on Burger, 8th edition

The Third Force

The Humanistic approach has emerged in the
late 1960s, primarily as a reaction to the two
major views of humanity popular at that time
The Freudian perspective and its emphasis on
unconscious sexual and aggressive instincts
The behavioral perspective, and its emphasis
on the mechanical nature of responses to stimuli
in the environment. The humanistic perspective,
thus, as been called the third force.

Deterministic Perspective of Human

Nature
The role of the unconscious is a
hypothetical concept that cannot be
empirically validated
The manipulation of human beings on the
basis of classical and operant conditioning
was an ideas based on studies of rats that
learned to run in a maze to find food.
The food was the reward that affected the
learning

Roots of the Humanistic Approach

1. Existential Philosophy
Existential philosophy addresses many of the
questions that later became the cornerstone of
the Humanistic approach, such as, the
meaning of our existence, the role of free will,
and the uniqueness of each individual.
The existentialists, such as Rollo May, focused
on existential anxiety- the feeling of dread
associated with the realization that there is no
meaning to ones life.

Existential Anxiety- What is there to life?

2. The clinical experiences of Carl

Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
The founders of the Humanistic Approach, Carl
Rogers and Abraham Maslow, were both
therapists
At that time, the Freudian model of therapy was
popular, viewing the therapist as an expert who
tells the client what is the problem
Rogers maintained that it was only the client that
is responsible for the therapeutic direction
The therapist can create conditions for selfexploration.

The Freudian Model of Psychotherapy

The therapist as the know- al expert

Viktor Frankl
All of Frankls family died in the Nazi
concentration camp
Frankl survived, and struggled to search for
meaning in the face of horrible adversity
He believed the examining the finiteness of
our existence and inevitable mortality adds
meaning to life, as we ask ourselves- Why
do we exist? What do we want from life?

What is the best way to spend the time that

is left?

Frankl concludes that the meaning of life

is found in every moment of living; life
never ceases to have meaning, even in
suffering and death
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man
%27s_Search_for_Meaning

From the Ashes to Hope

Viktor Frankl Conclusion

Love is the highest and ultimate goal to
which man can aspire
The Salvation of man is in love and through
love
A man who has nothing left in this world still
may know bliss, if only for a brief moment in
the contemplation of the beloved
Frankl's meaning in life is to help others find
theirs.

Cognitive-Restructuring
Frankls ideas have been translated into
the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Key Elements of the Humanistic

Approach
The Humanistic Perspective has not
presented a comprehensive
framework, but rather a collection of
major principles that can be seen as
directive to life.

Key Elements of the Humanistic

Perspective
Emphasis on personal responsibility (You
dont have to do your homework, you
have chosen to do so). You are not a
victim of circumstances!

Key Elements (cont-d)

Emphasis on functioning in the here and
now Do not be a captive of your past!

Key Elements (cont-d)

Acknowledging the phenomenology of the
individual- - the fact that it is only the client
(in therapy) that can make decision for
him/herself.

Key Elements (cont-d)

Emphasis on personal growthRogers
called this becoming a fully functioning,
while Maslow referred to this idea as selfactualization.

Self-Actualization- What is it?

There is more to life than the absence of
problems
The Humanistic perspective maintain that
we all have a drive toward selfactualization
To become that best we can become, in
the context of our life (you do not have to
receive the Nobel Prize).

Carl Rogers and Person-Centered

Therapy
The role of the therapist is to create an
atmosphere of unconditional positive regard
to enable the clients self-exploration and
becoming fully functioning.
Paraphrasing and reflection of feelings were
methods to facilitate self-exploration
Rogers described the fully- functioning
person as an ideal for healthy personality.
Rogers saw anxiety as resulting from our
inability to incorporate information that is
inconsistent with our self-image

Rogers (cont-d)
Note his emphasis on socialenvironmental causes of emotional
maladjustment (in contrast to the
biological approach), when he sees
parental conditional acceptance.
The Rogerian therapist would say to a
client: I do not like what you did, but I still
respect you as a human being.

Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow was interested in
exploring the sources of happy, healthy
personality.
His approach was optimistic, regarding
human beings as free-willed individuals,
and not as captive by unconscious drives
His contribution is in the hierarchy of
needs, and in the study of the
psychologically-healthy individuals.

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow distinguished between D
(deficiency) needs and B (being) needs.
Physiological needs
Safety needs
Love and Belongingness needs
Esteem needs (you value yourself, and
others also value you)
Self-Actualization needs

Hierarchy of Needs

Misconceptions about Maslow Hierarchy

You do not have to fulfill all the needs in
one level to climb to the next level
Some people who starve for their loved
one, or for their life work
Te needs in each level are never fully
satisfied
There are cultural differences in the ways
the needs are regarded and are fulfilled

The psychologically-Healthy People

Maslows study of the psychologicallyhealthy people was Not empirically-based
He examined his friends, whom he judged
to be psychologically healthy, as well as
historical figures
His analysis was holistic and subjective
Yet, it was relevant that he called attention
to the healthy aspects of human nature

Attributes of the PsychologicallyHealthy people

Sense of humor
Creativity- not in artistic talent, but in
being able to perform mundane tasks in
a non-routine manner.
Open to new experiences
Having peak experiences- which
involve the transcendence of time and
place.

The Psychology of Optimal Experience and

Positive Psychology
The legacy of the Humanistic Approach is
in the emergence of the new branch of
psychology, Positive Psychology
This branch focuses of human virtues,
strengths, resilience, and coping with
adversity
An important topic is the pursuit of
happiness- What is happiness?

The Psychology of Optimal Experience

In searching for the meaning of happiness,
Csikszentmihlyi introduced the concept of
flow, quite similar to Maslows Peak
Experience
It involves being totally absorbed in an activity
that requires your full attention and utilizes
your skills to the utmost
You have a feeling you are in a state of flow
There are 8 components of the flow (see
textbook).

Applications
Rogers applied his ideas into a system of
therapy that emphasizes the creation of the
right conditions to allow the client to accept
him/herself, and to achieve personal growth.
Extending to the client unconditional positive
regard facilitates this goal.
Maslows hierarchy of needs has been applied
into understanding job satisfaction and
vocational choices.

Current Status
Though the Humanistic Approach was
quite popular when it first came out, and
though it introduced therapeutic strategies
that are still applied today, its popularity
had waned.
The positive tone of the approach, that is
seen as the forerunner of Positive
Psychology, is certainly a plus.

Limitations of the Humanistic Approach

Many of the concepts do not lend
themselves for operational definitions
and for scientific study.
A great deal of the studies conducted by
Maslow and Rogers to support their
ideas were based on their own
subjective impressions and intuition.
The concept of free will has been
challenged.

(cont-d)
Some researchers questioned the effectiveness
of the Rogerian therapy (how do you measure
success in therapy?). It may be more
appropriate for people in life transitions than for
deep-seated psychological disorders
The appropriateness of relying on the client to
make accurate appraisals of themselves has
been questioned.
The nave assumptions about the goodness of
individuals.