Humanistic perspective

Humanistic perspective

1. Humanistic Perspective Instructor: Rustam Ali

2. Schools and Perspectives in Psychology Structuralism Functionalism Behaviorism Gestaltism Psychodynamic Biological Perspective Cognitive Perspective Existential Perspective Humanistic Perspective Cultural Perspective Islamic Perspective

3. Humanistic Perspective Humanistic perspective focus on the uniqueness of each individual . A humanistic perspective is an approach to psychology that emphasizes empathy and stresses the good in human behavior. Focus on human potential and achievement Emphasizes that people are inherently good and pays special attention to personal experiences and creativity. Attributes human characteristics and actions to free will and an innate drive for the self actualization .

4. Main Key points Humanistic psychologists believe that an individual's behavior is connected to his inner feelings and  self-image . The humanistic perspective centers on the view that each person is unique and individual, and has the free will to change at any time in his or her life. The humanistic perspective suggests that we are each responsible for our own happiness and well-being as humans. We have the innate (inborn) capacity for self-actualization, which is our unique desire to achieve our highest potential as people. Major thinkers of humanistic perspective are Abraham Maslow & Carl Roger.

5. History of Humanistic Perspective Humanistic perspective emerged during the 1950's as a reaction to the psychoanalysis and behaviourism that dominated psychology at the time. Psychoanalysis was focused on understanding the unconscious motivations that drive behavior while behaviorism studied the conditioning process that produce behaviour . Influence came from early Greek philosophers who believed human beings were unique. Humanistic psychology was popularized After world war 2 and the cold war.

6. Major Contributors 1943_Abraham Maslow described his hierarchy of needs in " Theory of Human Motivation" published in "Psychological Review". 1951_Carl Rogers published " Client Centred Therapy " which described his huministic , client_centred approach to therapy. 1961_ The "Journal of Huministic Psychology" was established. 1962 _American Association for Huministic Psychology was formed. 1971 _Huministic Psychology becomes an APA division.

7. Spiritual father of humanistic psychology

8. Abraham Maslow ( 1908-1970 ) Abraham Harold Maslow was an American psychologist Best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, A theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization.

9. Carl Rogers (1902 – 1987) Carl Ransom Rogers was an American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach in psychology Self Actualization " The organism has one basic tendency and striving - to actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism ” (Rogers, 1951, p. 487).

10. Self-concept Self-concept is  how you perceive your behavior, abilities, and unique characteristics. For example, beliefs such as "I am a good friend" or "I am a kind person" are part of an overall self-concept

11. Self concepts Personality of a person revolve around the self concepts which we made Childhood experiences Evaluation by others For a healthy growth of the personality of an individual he needs an environment which gives him Genuineness Positive Regards Empathy These 3 factors lead to Self Actualization

12. Positive Regards create Self Worth Unconditional Regards Leads to healthy personality Society accept person Self confidence Express his feelings freely Conditional Regards Leads to unhealthy personality Low self esteem Dependent

13. Equilibrium For achieving self actualization a person must be in equilibrium with his ideal self and self images Behaviour of a person depends upon the consistency of the idael self and self image Ideal image=self image > stage congruence A person’s  ideal self  may not be consistent with what actually happens in life and experiences of the person. Hence, a difference may exist between a person’s ideal self and actual experience. This is called incongruence.

14. Fully functioning person Open to experience Live in present Creative Trust feeling Fulfilled Happy life

15. Merits of Humanistic Perspective Shifted the focus of behavior to the individual/whole person rather than the unconscious mind , genes,observable behavior etc. Satisfies most people's idea of what being human means because it's values personal ideals and self-fulfillment. Qualitative data gives genuine insight and more holistic information into behavior. Highlights the values of more individualistic and idiographic methods of study.

16. Demerits of Humanistic Perspective Unscientific-subjective concepts (can't objectively measure self -actualization) Qualitative data is difficult to compare. Ignores the unconscious mind. Behaviourism -Human and animal behavior can be compared.