Introduction
Time and again, humans have tried to explain the root causes of behavior that is unacceptable in the human society. As a result, they have come up with various schools of thought that have been developed from one stage to the other. Among the most common attempted explanations of human behavior are psychoanalysis, behaviorism and humanistic psychology. These explanations have tried establish the root cause of certain behavior defects. Consequently, this paper intends to highlight the arguments of the first two and explain how they differ from humanistic psychology.
Humanistic psychology is a branch of psychology that was a reaction to psychoanalysis and behaviorism during the 1950s. Psychoanalysts were driven by the desire to understand how behavior is derived unconsciously. Psychoanalysis was founded more on the mental processes that shaped behavior while behaviorism had its argument hued in the environmental factors that influenced behavior. As a point of contention, humanistic psychologists felt that failure to consider personal choice by the psychoanalysts was not proper (Cherry, K. 2010 par. 1). Cherry writes that humanistic psychology embraces the view that people are naturally good but can fail to achieve self-actualization when this nature is corrupted in any way (2010). This is the view that was developed by the major scholars and proponents of humanistic psychology. This paper will examine the details of the relevance of the topic to psychology and discuss the views that major scholars have written concerning it, specifically Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.
The main players in Humanistic psychology and their views
Abraham Maslow in Toward a Psychology of Being, argues that “humanistic psychology is the “third force” in psychology. The first and second forces were behaviorism and psychoanalysis respectively” (Cherry, 2010, par. 3). Maslow’s focus was on the healthy individual. To achieve the status of a healthy individual through motivation, people must gratify their basic needs for “safety, love, belongingness, respect, and self-esteem” all geared towards self-actualization of the individual (1955). For Maslow, a healthy individual is one who exhibits characteristics such as “superior perception of reality, increased acceptance of self, others and nature, greater freshness of appreciation, and richness of emotional reaction, improved interpersonal relations and creativeness and changes in the value system” among others (1956). The positive development of all these characteristics is what he refers to as growth. Unhealthy people tend to yearn for their gratification persistently thus become sickened and withered (Maslow, 1957). That means that any person who does not have the characteristics that promote self-actualization doesn’t grow.
Carl Rogers has a similar view about the healthy individual. “He sees mental health as the normal progression of life, and he sees mental illness, criminality, and other human problems, as distortions of that natural tendency” (Boeree, 2006). He regards “conditioning” by both the society and the individual self as to blame for bringing about elements that cause a living being to lack health. The society makes it conditional to prove to be worthy to receive what we need rather than just receiving it because we need it. Thus one ends up not appreciating themselves because of the “conditional positive self-regard” standards that the society has set for us. It makes us as a person seek the gratification of those setting the standards rather than your individual gratification (Boeree, 2006). When a person fails to justify himself before the society, such a person is likely to develop some sense of inadequacy and low self-esteem because of the lesser feeling than what others expect him to be.
Rollo May’s writing and teachings focused on the “positive aspects of human potential and on the will of individuals toward self-fulfillment.”(Robbins, 1999) All these writers, though with different ways of approach towards humanistic psychology all have the same direction of thought: human satisfaction in life.
Importance of Humanistic Psychology
Psychology generally refers to the study of the human mental processes and behavior. It is a wide subject that is divided into experimental and applied areas (Gregory, 2010 para.1). The process is geared towards treating patients of mind and behavioral problems in the human being. Humanistic psychology helps a patient learn to appreciate the importance of an individual’s choice as well as satisfaction. However, the three views of psychoanalysis, behaviorism and humanistic psychology are not in competition with each other. (Cherry, 2010) Since they are all trying to explain human behavior, they are in fact more interdependent for many therapists who may want to integrate their values during a counseling process.
Humanistic psychology is relevant since it enables an individual to take control of and determine his mental state (Cherry, 2010). This is so achieved by the therapist letting the patient to take the lead or be the director of the therapy, a process Rogers refers to as client-centered therapy (Boeree, 2006 par. 35). This kind of therapy is currently referred to as the Rogerian therapy where the therapist focuses on supportive rather than a reconstructive kind of therapy (Boeree, 2006 par. 36). Humanistic psychologists believe that when a client does not take the initiative from a personal level, then the counselor guiding him is simply reconstructing him into a different person based on the eyes of the therapist. It is important when the patient realizes the position he is occupying himself through guidance instead of the therapist trying to heap him into a particular corner. It helps the patient to achieve a sense of independence, a position they will not be able to achieve if they remain dependent on the therapist’s views (Boeree, 2006 par. 38)
Another important aspect of humanistic psychology is that it takes into account the environmental factors that could have impacted on ones experiences. (Cherry, 2010) Unlike psychoanalysis that focuses on the mind only, humanistic psychology examines broadly how the surrounding affects thought and behavior of an individual. The probability of the world around us influencing our perceptions towards it and other people is very high thus modifies the behavior that shall be assumed by an individual henceforth.
Cherry notes that: Humanistic psychology helped remove some of the stigma attached to therapy, and made it more acceptable for normal, healthy individuals to explore their abilities and potential through therapy (Cherry, 2010, para. 5).
It is a more interactive session where the therapist gets involved and empathizes with the clients feelings (Boeree, 2006, par. 39). The therapist’s role is to relate with the human experience that a client may have gone through so that the client may be relieved. The client does not feel pressed down to go through a traumatic narration of experiences as humanistic psychology is not authoritarian in approach. It takes into consideration the fact that any human being should take charge of his destiny. Though it is not perfect, the therapeutic relationship offered by humanistic psychology is a positive experience (Mega Essays LLC 2001).
Humanistic approach helps a person achieve self-determination and self-awareness, leading to the realization of self-esteem. A person will overcome the “conditioning” that has been adapted in trying to please others in the surrounding environment and instead start focusing on who they are how they can achieve self-satisfaction. They will start thinking positively about themselves rather than be pegged down by what others think or say about them. Humanists believe that a “client’s behavior can only be understood from the client’s point of view and effective therapy occurs only when a client modifies his or her behavior, not when the therapist manipulates it”(Mega Essays LLC 2010).
Conclusion
While behavioral psychology focuses on the concept that human behavior is a direct result of interaction with the environment, and psychoanalysis has its foundation in the belief of the mental processes as the factor for human behavior, humanistic psychology manages to integrate both the mental processes and the environmental factors in explaining human behavior. It is noteworthy that humanistic view is a fundamental concept in psychology that cannot be wished away. However, humanistic psychology has its shortcomings too in that the process becomes more self-oriented and subjective (Cherry, 2010) There is no way to weigh the humanistic phenomena and discover whether a person achieved self-actualization since there is over-reliance on an individual’s own assessment of their experiences. One may claim that they have reached a point of self-discovery but that is as far as that individual analyses himself. However, it remains the most therapeutic process in the counseling arena. Despite all these, it is without debate that the desire to understand the root cause of human behavior is very important in the treatment of human diseases whose symptoms are founded on this. It is therefore proper that more research is done so as to ascertain the real cause of behavioral complications. The study of the relationship between psychoanalysis, behaviorism and humanistic psychology should be increased so that an establishment is made on whether combination of the various perceptions of defects in human behavior could be used to come up with one solution. If well studied, the chances of a solution to defects of human behavior is very likely to be found.
Reference
Boeree, C. (1998) Carl Rogers: 1902-1987. Web.
Cherry, K (2010) Humanistic Psychology: The “Third Force” in Psychology. Web.
DeCarvalhos, R. (1991). The Founders of Humanistic Psychology. Web.
Gregory, R. (2010) Psychology: The definition. Web.
Mega Essays LCC, (2001) Psychoanalysis vs. Humanistic. Web.
Maslow, A. (1955) Towards a Psychology. Web.
Robbins, B. (1999) Rollo May. Web.