Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic psychology
• Emphasizes the uniquely human aspect of
the person, stressing that behavior and
choices come from within
– Psychoanalysis: somewhat negative outlook
– Behaviorism: you are what you learn
• Both of these dehumanized people
Three Basic Principles of
Humanistic Psychology
1. Phenomenology: the study of subjective
mental experiences
– We behave according to our mental
interpretation of reality (phenomenological
reality)
– Our self-concept—the set of beliefs one has
about oneself—determines how we behave
– We control our actions through conscious
decision-making
Three Basic Principles of
Humanistic Psychology
2. Holism: A person is not made up of
parts (id, ego, instinct, memory, etc.) but
is a single unified entity that works
toward goals of the whole person
Three Basic Principles of
Humanistic Psychology
3. Self-Actualization: the purpose of
individuals is to become what they are
capable of becoming
– Rejects psychoanalytic emphasis on the
tendency of the mind to protect itself from
anxiety
– We are oriented to overcome obstacles
Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
• Rogers believed we all have a tendency to
self-actualize
– “Self Theory”: the concept of the self is an
important part of our phenomenological
reality. Goal: to “become your real self”
Obstacles to Self-Actualization
• Incongruence: a discrepancy between
one’s self-concept and one’s actual
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
VALUES ≠ ACTIONS
• Conditions of Worth: conditions (usually
judgments from others) that distort the self
concept and lead to incongruence.
– Conditional Positive Regard: an attitude of
conditional acceptance toward another
person.
Humanistic Therapy
• Rogers’ goal: to allow clients to lose their
dependence on other people’s judgments
and find congruence
– Parents, teachers, etc. should not impose
conditions of worth, but should allow for selfactualization
• Unconditional Positive Regard: an attitude
of total acceptance toward another person.
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
• Focused on psychologically healthy
people
– To reach self-actualization, one must
(relatively) satisfy a series of hierarchical
needs:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
SelfActualization
Esteem
Love
Safety
Physiological Needs
Adler (inferiority)
Freud
(Sex & Aggression)