Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBackgroundOther Types of HumanismUsesImpactHow to Use ItPossible PitfallsHistory
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Background
Other Types of Humanism
Uses
Impact
How to Use It
Possible Pitfalls
History
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While many approaches to psychology tend to focus on problematic behaviors and mental health conditions, one approach takes a more positive approach. Humanistic psychology is aperspectivethat 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.
Keep reading to learn more about the historical roots of this perspective, as well as some of the important concepts that have emerge from humanistic psychology. We’ll also explore some ways that you can use the humanistic approach to help life a more positive and fulfilling life.
A Brief Background of Humanistic Psychology
This area of psychology emerged during the 1950s as a reaction to psychoanalysis and behaviorism, which had dominated psychology during the first half of the century.Psychoanalysiswas focused on understanding the unconscious motivations that drive behavior, whilebehaviorismstudied 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 threeschools of thoughtas competing elements. Eachbranch of psychologyhas contributed to our understanding of the human mind and behavior.
Humanistic psychology added yet another dimension that takes a moreholistic viewof the individual.
Humanism is a philosophy that stresses the importance of human factors rather than looking at religious, divine, or spiritual matters. Humanism is rooted in the idea that people have an ethical responsibility to lead lives that are personally fulfilling while at the same time contributing to the greater good of all people.
Humanism places human values and dignity front and center. According to this approach, people can resolve problems through science and reason. Rather than looking to religious traditions, humanism focuses on helping people live well, achieve personal growth, and make the world a better place.
The term “humanism” is often used more broadly, but it is also significant in several different fields, including psychology.
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. This approach emphasizes the importance of logic, the scientific method, and rationality in understanding the world and solving human problems.
Uses for Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic psychology focuses on each individual’s potential. Concepts like personal growth andself-actualizationare hallmarks of the humanistic approach.
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.
Humanistic psychology also suggests that people possess personal agency and that they aremotivatedto use this free will to pursue things that will help them achieve their full potential as human beings.
The 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.
Some of the ways that humanistic psychology is applied within the field of psychology include:
Impact of Humanistic Psychology
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 the development of new techniques and approaches topsychotherapy.
Some of the major ideas and concepts that emerged as a result of the humanistic psychology movement include an emphasis on things such as:
How to Apply Humanistic Psychology
Some tips from humanistic psychology that can help people pursue their own fulfillment and actualization include:
One of the major strengths of humanistic psychology is that it emphasizes the role of the individual. Thisschool of psychologygives people more credit for controlling and determining their state of mental health.
It also considers environmental influences. Rather than focusing solely on our internal thoughts and desires, humanistic psychology also credits the environment with influencing our experiences.
Humanistic psychology helped remove some of thestigmaattached to therapy and made it more acceptable for normal, healthy individuals to explore their abilities and potential through therapy.
Potential Pitfalls of Humanistic Psychology
While humanistic psychology continues to influence therapy, education, healthcare, and other areas, it has not been without some criticism.
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.
Another major criticism is that observations are often unverifiable; there is no accurate way to measure or quantify these qualities. This can make it more difficult to conduct research and design assessments to measure hard-to-measure concepts.
History of Humanistic Psychology
In 1943,Abraham Maslowdescribed his hierarchy of needs in “A Theory of Human Motivation” published inPsychological Review.Laterduring 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 Rogerspublished “Client-Centered Therapy,” which described his humanistic, client-directed approach to therapy. In 1961, theJournal of Humanistic Psychologywas established.
In 1962, Maslow published “Toward a Psychology of Being,” describing humanistic psychology as the “third force” in psychology. The first and second forces were behaviorism and psychoanalysis, respectively.
Takeaways
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 psychologyandpositive psychologyboth draw heavily on humanist influences.
The goals of humanism are just as relevant today as they were in the 1940s and 1950s, Humanistic psychology continues to empower individuals, enhance well-being, push people toward fulfilling their potential, and improve communities all over the world.
The Origins of Psychology
4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Schneider KJ, Pierson JF, Bugental JFT.The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Theory, Research, and Practice. Thousand Oaks: CA: SAGE Publications; 2015.Thibault GE.Humanism in medicine: What does it mean and why is it more important than ever?Acad Med. 2019;94(8):1074-1077. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000002796Maslow AH.A theory of human motivation.Psychological Review.1943;50(4):370-396. doi:10.1037/h0054346Joseph S.How humanistic is positive psychology? Lessons in positive psychology from Carl Rogers' person-centered approach-It’s the social environment that must change.Front Psychol. 2021;12:709789. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.709789
4 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Schneider KJ, Pierson JF, Bugental JFT.The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Theory, Research, and Practice. Thousand Oaks: CA: SAGE Publications; 2015.Thibault GE.Humanism in medicine: What does it mean and why is it more important than ever?Acad Med. 2019;94(8):1074-1077. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000002796Maslow AH.A theory of human motivation.Psychological Review.1943;50(4):370-396. doi:10.1037/h0054346Joseph S.How humanistic is positive psychology? Lessons in positive psychology from Carl Rogers' person-centered approach-It’s the social environment that must change.Front Psychol. 2021;12:709789. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.709789
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Schneider KJ, Pierson JF, Bugental JFT.The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Theory, Research, and Practice. Thousand Oaks: CA: SAGE Publications; 2015.Thibault GE.Humanism in medicine: What does it mean and why is it more important than ever?Acad Med. 2019;94(8):1074-1077. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000002796Maslow AH.A theory of human motivation.Psychological Review.1943;50(4):370-396. doi:10.1037/h0054346Joseph S.How humanistic is positive psychology? Lessons in positive psychology from Carl Rogers' person-centered approach-It’s the social environment that must change.Front Psychol. 2021;12:709789. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.709789
Schneider KJ, Pierson JF, Bugental JFT.The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Theory, Research, and Practice. Thousand Oaks: CA: SAGE Publications; 2015.
Thibault GE.Humanism in medicine: What does it mean and why is it more important than ever?Acad Med. 2019;94(8):1074-1077. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000002796
Maslow AH.A theory of human motivation.Psychological Review.1943;50(4):370-396. doi:10.1037/h0054346
Joseph S.How humanistic is positive psychology? Lessons in positive psychology from Carl Rogers' person-centered approach-It’s the social environment that must change.Front Psychol. 2021;12:709789. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.709789
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