Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective that arose in the mid-20th century in answer to two theories:
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
's
psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory is the theory of the innate structure of the human soul and the dynamics of personality development relating to the practice of psychoanalysis, a method of research and for treating of Mental disorder, mental disorders (psych ...
and
B. F. Skinner's
behaviorism
Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...
.
Thus,
Abraham Maslow
Abraham Harold Maslow ( ; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actua ...
established the need for a "third force" in psychology. The school of thought of humanistic psychology gained traction due to Maslow in the 1950s.
Some elements of humanistic psychology are
* to understand people, ourselves and others
holistically (as wholes greater than the sums of their parts)
* to acknowledge the relevance and significance of the full life history of an individual
* to acknowledge the importance of intentionality in human existence
* to recognize the importance of an end goal of life for a healthy person
Humanistic psychology also acknowledges
spiritual aspiration as an integral part of the
psyche. It is linked to the emerging field of
transpersonal psychology
Transpersonal psychology, or spiritual psychology, is an area of psychology that seeks to integrate the spiritual and transcendent human experiences within the framework of modern psychology.
Evolving from the humanistic psychology movement, ...
.
[Aanstoos, C. Serlin, I., & Greening, T. (2000). "A History of Division 32 (Humanistic Psychology) of the American Psychological Association". In D. Dewsbury (Ed.), ''Unification through division: Histories of the divisions of the American Psychological Association'', Vol. V. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.]
Primarily, humanistic therapy encourages a
self-awareness
In philosophy of self, philosophy, self-awareness is the awareness and reflection of one's own personality or individuality, including traits, feelings, and behaviors. It is not to be confused with consciousness in the sense of qualia. While ...
and
reflexivity that helps the client change their state of mind and behavior from one set of reactions to a healthier one with more productive and thoughtful actions. Essentially, this approach allows the merging of
mindfulness
Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through exercises, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. The term ''mindfulness'' derives from the Pali ...
and behavioral therapy, with positive social support.
In an article from the
Association for Humanistic Psychology, the benefits of humanistic therapy are described as having a "crucial opportunity to lead our troubled culture back to its own healthy path. More than any other therapy, Humanistic-Existential therapy models democracy. It imposes ideologies of others upon the client less than other therapeutic practices. Freedom to choose is maximized. We validate our clients' human potential."
["Humanistic Therapy." CRC Health Group. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. http://www.crchealth.com/types-of-therapy/what-is-humanistic-therapy ]
In the 20th century, humanistic psychology was referred to as the "third force" in psychology, distinct from earlier, less humanistic approaches of
psychoanalysis
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...
and
behaviorism
Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...
.
Its principal professional organizations in the
US are the
Association for Humanistic Psychology and the Society for Humanistic Psychology (Division 32 of the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
). In Britain, there is the UK Association for Humanistic Psychology Practitioners.
Differences with psychoanalytic theory and behaviorism
Through disagreement with the predominant theories at the time, developed by Freud and Skinner, Maslow was able to formulate the main points of humanistic theory.
Maslow had the following criticisms of the two main theories at the time:
# Freud's theory was
deterministic
Determinism is the metaphysical view that all events within the universe (or multiverse) can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping mo ...
, meaning that it attributed the behavior of people to unconscious desires.
# Freud and Skinner's theories focused on individuals with mental conflicts (pathological) rather than all individuals.
# The other two theories focused too much on the negative traits of human beings, rather than focusing on the positive power Maslow believed individuals to have.
As a result, when Maslow developed his theory, he decided to focus on the
conscious
Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, a ...
(rather than the unconscious) and decided to develop a new theory to explain how all individuals could reach their highest potential.
Origins
One of humanistic psychology's early sources was the work of
Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and was known especially for his person-centered psychotherapy. Rogers is widely considered one of the f ...
, who was strongly influenced by
Otto Rank
Otto Rank (; ; né Rosenfeld; 22 April 1884 – 31 October 1939) was an Austrian psychoanalyst, writer, and philosopher. Born in Vienna, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, ...
, who broke with Freud in the mid-1920s. Rogers' focus was to ensure that the developmental processes led to healthier, if not more creative, personality functioning. The term 'actualizing tendency' was also coined by Rogers, and was a concept that eventually led
Abraham Maslow
Abraham Harold Maslow ( ; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actua ...
to study
self-actualization as one of the needs of humans.
Rogers and Maslow introduced this positive, humanistic psychology in response to what they viewed as the overly pessimistic view of psychoanalysis.
The other sources of inspiration include the philosophies of
existentialism
Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...
and
phenomenology
Phenomenology may refer to:
Art
* Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties
Philosophy
* Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839� ...
.
Conceptual origins

Whilst origins of humanistic psychology date back to the early 1960s, the origins of humanism date back to the classical civilizations of China, Greece, and Rome, whose values were renewed in the European Renaissance.
The modern humanistic approach has its roots in
phenomenological and
existentialist
Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...
thought (see
Kierkegaard,
Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...
,
Heidegger
Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art, and language.
In April ...
,
Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty. ( ; ; 14 March 1908 – 3 May 1961) was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. The constitution of meaning in human experience was his main interest ...
and
Sartre).
Eastern philosophy
Eastern philosophy (also called Asian philosophy or Oriental philosophy) includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philoso ...
and psychology also play a central role in humanistic psychology, as well as Judeo-Christian philosophies of
personalism
Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleie ...
, as each shares similar concerns about the nature of human existence and consciousness.
For further information on influential figures in
personalism
Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleie ...
, see:
Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev,
Emmanuel Mounier
Emmanuel Mounier (; ; 1 April 1905 – 22 March 1950) was a French philosopher, Catholic theologian, teacher and essayist.
Biography
Mounier was the guiding spirit in the French personalist movement, and founder and director of '' Esprit'', the ...
,
Gabriel Marcel,
Denis de Rougemont,
Jacques Maritain
Jacques Maritain (; 18 November 1882 – 28 April 1973) was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised as a Protestant, he was agnostic before converting to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive Thomas Aqui ...
,
Martin Buber
Martin Buber (; , ; ; 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian-Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism centered on the distinction between the I and Thou, I–Thou relationship and the I� ...
,
Emmanuel Levinas
Emmanuel Levinas (born Emanuelis Levinas ; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the rel ...
,
Max Scheler
Max Ferdinand Scheler (; 22 August 1874 – 19 May 1928) was a German philosopher known for his work in phenomenology, ethics, and philosophical anthropology. Considered in his lifetime one of the most prominent German philosophers,Davis, Zacha ...
and
Karol Wojtyla.
As behaviorism grew out of
Ivan Pavlov's work with the conditioned reflex, and laid the foundations for academic psychology in the United States associated with the names of
John B. Watson
John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878 – September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who popularized the scientific theory of behaviorism, establishing it as a List of psychological schools, psychological school.Cohn, Aaron S. 2014.Watson, J ...
and
B. F. Skinner;
Abraham Maslow
Abraham Harold Maslow ( ; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actua ...
gave behaviorism the name "the first force", a force which systematically excluded the subjective data of consciousness and much information bearing on the complexity of the human personality and its development. Behavioral theory continued to develop to both account for simple and complex human behavior through theorists such as Arthur Staats,
Steven Hayes, and other post-Skinnerian researchers. Clinical behavioral analysis continues to be widely employed in anxiety disorder treatments, mood disorders, and even personality disorders.
The "second force" arose out of Freudian psychoanalysis, which were composed by psychologists like
Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler ( ; ; 7 February 1870 – 28 May 1937) was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. His emphasis on the importance of feelings of belonging, relationships within the family, a ...
,
Erik Erikson
Erik Homburger Erikson (born Erik Salomonsen; 15 June 1902 – 12 May 1994) was a German-American child psychoanalyst and visual artist known for his theory on psychosocial development of human beings. He coined the phrase identity crisis.
...
,
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...
,
Erich Fromm
Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and set ...
,
Karen Horney
Karen Horney (; ; ; 16 September 1885 – 4 December 1952) was a German psychoanalyst who practiced in the United States during her later career. Her theories questioned some traditional Freudian views. This was particularly true of her theories ...
,
Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein (; ; Reizes; 30 March 1882 – 22 September 1960) was an Austrian-British author and psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst known for her work in child analysis. She was the primary figure in the development of object relations theory. Kl ...
,
Harry Stack Sullivan, and
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
himself.
[AHP History]
About Humanistic Psychology
Maslow then emphasized the necessity of a "third force" (even though he did not use the term), saying that "it is as if Freud supplied us the sick half of psychology and we must now fill it out with the healthy half", as a critical review towards the cold and distant approach of the psychoanalysis and its deterministic way of viewing the human being.
In the late 1930s, psychologists, interested in the uniquely human issues, such as the
self
In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes.
The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...
,
self-actualization,
health
Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
,
hope
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large.
As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...
,
love
Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
,
creativity
Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable Idea, ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, Literature, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physica ...
,
nature
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
,
being
Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing. Existence is often contrasted with essence: the essence of an entity is its essential features or qualities, which can be understood even if one do ...
,
becoming,
individuality
An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...
, and meaning—that is, a concrete understanding of human existence—included
Abraham Maslow
Abraham Harold Maslow ( ; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actua ...
,
Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and was known especially for his person-centered psychotherapy. Rogers is widely considered one of the f ...
, and
Clark Moustakas, who were interested in founding a professional association dedicated to a psychology focused on these features of
human capital
Human capital or human assets is a concept used by economists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a subs ...
demanded by
post-industrial society
In sociology, the post-industrial society is the stage of society's development when the service sector generates more wealth than the manufacturing sector of the economy.
The term was originated by Alain Touraine and is closely related t ...
.
The humanistic psychology perspective is summarized by five core principles or ''postulates'' of humanistic psychology first articulated in an article written by
James Bugental in 1964
[Bugental, J. (1964). "The Third Force in Psychology". ''Journal of Humanistic Psychology'', 4(1), 19–26. .] and adapted by Tom Greening, psychologist and long-time editor of the ''
Journal of Humanistic Psychology''. The five basic principles of humanistic psychology are:
# Human beings, as human, supersede the sum of their parts. They cannot be reduced to components.
# Human beings have their existence in a uniquely human context, as well as in a cosmic ecology.
# Human beings are aware and are aware of being aware—i.e., they are conscious. Human consciousness always includes an awareness of oneself in the context of other people.
# Human beings have the ability to make choices and therefore have responsibility.
# Human beings are intentional, aim at goals, are aware that they cause future events, and seek meaning, value, and creativity.
While humanistic psychology is a specific division within the American Psychological Association (Division 32), humanistic psychology is not so much a ''discipline'' within psychology as a ''perspective'' on the human condition that informs psychological research and practice.
Practical origins
WWII created practical pressures on military psychologists, they had more patients to see and care for than time or resources permitted. The origins of group therapy are here. Eric Berne's progression of books shows this transition out of what we might call pragmatic psychology of WWII into his later innovation,
Transactional Analysis
Transactional analysis is a psychoanalytic theory and method of therapy wherein social interactions (or "transactions") are analyzed to determine the id, ego, and superego, ego state of the communicator (whether parent-like, childlike, or adult- ...
, one of the most influential forms of humanistic
Popular Psychology of the later 1960s-1970. Even though transactional analysis was considered a unique methodology, it was challenged after Berne's death.
Orientation to scientific research
Humanistic
psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
s generally do not believe that we will understand human
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
and behavior through mainstream scientific research.
The objection that humanistic psychologists have to traditional research methods is that they are derived from and suited for the physical sciences
[Harman, W. W. (1965). The humanities in an age of science. In F. T. Severin (Ed.), Humanistic viewpoints in psychology: A book of readings (pp. 282-91). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. (Original work published 1962)] and not especially appropriate to studying the complexities and nuances of human
meaning-making
In psychology, meaning-making is the process of how people (and other living beings) Construals, construe, Understanding, understand, or make sense of life events, relationships, and the self.
The term is widely used in Constructivism (psychologi ...
.
[Rogers, C. R. (1965). The place of the person in the new world of the behavioral sciences. In F. T. Severin (Ed.), Humanistic viewpoints in psychology: A book of readings (pp. 387-407). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.][Welch, I. D., & Rodwick, J. R. (1978). Communicating the sciences: A humanistic viewpoint. In I. D. Welch, G. A. Tate, & F. Richards (Eds.), Humanistic psychology: A source book (pp. 335-42). Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.][Polkinghorne, D. E. (1993). Research methodology in humanistic psychology. The Humanistic Psychologist, 20(2-3), 218-242.]
However, humanistic
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
has involved scientific research of human behavior since its inception. For example:
* Abraham Maslow proposed many of his theories of human growth in the form of testable hypotheses,
[Maslow, A. H. (1967). A theory of metamotivation: The biological rooting of the value-life. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 7(2), 93-127. doi:10.1177/002216786700700201][Maslow, A. H. (1962). Notes on being-psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 2(2), 47-71. doi:10.1177/002216786200200205][Maslow, A. H. (2000). Theory Z. In D. C. Stephens (Ed.), The Maslow business reader (pp. 277-80). New York, NY: Wiley.] and he encouraged scientists to put them to the test.
* Shortly after the founding of the American Association of Humanistic Psychology, its president, psychologist
Sidney Jourard, began his column by declaring that "research" is a priority. "Humanistic Psychology will be best served if it is ''undergirded with research'' that seeks to throw light on the qualities of man that are uniquely human" (emphasis added)
[Jourard, S. M. (1963, December). Objectives outlined. Phoenix: Newsletter of the American Association for Humanistic Psychology, 1(1), 2.]
* In May 1966, the AAHP release a newsletter editorial that confirmed the humanistic psychologist's "allegiance to meaningfulness in the selection of problems for study and of research procedures, and an opposition to a primary emphasis on objectivity at the expense of significance."
[AAHP Newsletter; May 1966; 3(1) p. 2 ssociation for Humanistic Psychology (AHP)/ref> This underscored the importance of research to humanistic ]psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
s as well as their interest in special forms of human science investigation.
* Likewise, in 1980, the American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
's publication for humanistic psychology (Division 32 of APA) ran an article titled, ''What makes research humanistic?''[Polkinghorne, D. (1980). What makes research humanistic? Newsletter of the American Psychological Association - Division 32. Fal-Win. pp. 4-8.] As Donald Polkinghorne notes, "Humanistic theory does not propose that human action is completely independent of the environment or the mechanical and organic orders of the body, but it does suggest that, within the limits of experienced meanings, persons as unities can choose to act in ways not determined by prior events...and this is the theory we seek to test through our research" (p. 3).
A human science
Human science (or human sciences in the plural) studies the philosophical, biological, social, justice, and cultural aspects of human life. Human science aims to expand the understanding of the human world through a broad interdisciplinary approa ...
view is not opposed to quantitative methods, but, following Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (; 8 April 1859 – 27 April 1938) was an Austrian-German philosopher and mathematician who established the school of Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology.
In his early work, he elaborated critiques of histori ...
:
# favors letting the methods be derived from the subject matter and not uncritically adopting the methods of natural science,[ Giorgi, Amedeo (2009). ''The descriptive phenomenological method in psychology: A modified Husserlian approach''. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press. ] and
# advocates for methodological pluralism. Consequently, much of the subject matter of psychology lends itself to qualitative approaches (e.g. the lived experience of grief), and quantitative methods are mainly appropriate when something can be counted without leveling the phenomena (e.g. the length of time spent crying).
Research has remained part of the humanistic psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
agenda, though with more of a holistic than reductionistic focus. Specific humanistic research methods evolved in the decades following the formation of the humanistic psychology movement.[Bugental, J. F. T. (1967). Research areas and methods. In J. F. T. Bugental (Ed.), Challenges of humanistic psychology (pp. 79-81). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.][Polkinghorne, D. E. (1992). Research methodology in humanistic psychology. The Humanistic Psychologist, 20(2), 218-242. doi:10.1080/08873267.1992.9986792][Sargent, S. S. (1967). Humanistic methodology in personality and social psychology. In J. F. T. Bugental (Ed.), Challenges of humanistic psychology (pp. 127-33). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.][Giorgi, A. (2005). The phenomenological movement and research in the human sciences. Nursing Science Quarterly, 18(1), 75-82. doi:10.1177/0894318404272112][Taylor, E. (2009). The zen doctrine of “no-method”. The Humanistic Psychologist, 37(4), 295-306. doi:10.1080/08873260903113576]
Development of the field
Saybrook Conference
In November 1964 key figures in the movement gathered at Old Saybrook (CT) for the ''first invitational conference on Humanistic psychology''.[Ryback, D. A More Human Psychology at the Crossroads. ''American Psychologist'', 1990, Vol. 45, No. 11, 1271–1272][Taylor, E. An Intellectual Renaissance of Humanistic Psychology. ''Journal of Humanistic Psychology'', Vol. 39 No. 2, Spring 1999 7-25.][Elkins, D.N. ''A Humanistic Approach to Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy'', in L. Sperry and E. P. Shafranske, editors (2005) Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy, American Psychological Association.] The meeting was a co-operation between the Association for Humanistic Psychology (AHP), which sponsored the conference, the Hazen Foundation, which provided financing, and Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
, which hosted the meeting. In addition to the founding figures of Humanistic psychology; Abraham Maslow, Rollo May, James Bugental and Carl Rogers, the meeting attracted several academic profiles from the humanistic disciplines, including: Gordon Allport
Gordon William Allport (November 11, 1897 – October 9, 1967) was an American psychologist. Allport was one of the first psychologists to focus on the study of the personality, and is often referred to as one of the founding figures of personali ...
, George Kelly, Clark Moustakas, Gardner Murphy
Gardner Murphy (July 8, 1895 – March 18, 1979) was an American psychologist who specialized in social and personality psychology and parapsychology.Martin Seymour-Smith, Andrew C. Kimmens. (1996). ''World Authors, 1900-1950, Volume 3''. H.W. W ...
, Henry Murray, Robert W. White, Charlotte Bühler, Floyd Matson, Jacques Barzun
Jacques Martin Barzun (; November 30, 1907 – October 25, 2012) was a French-born American historian known for his studies of the history of ideas and cultural history. He wrote about a wide range of subjects, including baseball, mystery novels, ...
, and René Dubos. Robert Knapp was chairman and Henry Murray gave the keynote address.
Among the intentions of the participants was to formulate a new vision for psychology that, in their view, took into consideration a more complete image of the person than the image presented by the current trends of Behaviorism
Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...
and Freudian psychology. According to Aanstoos, Serlin & Greening the participants took issue with the positivistic trend in mainstream psychology at the time. The conference has been described as a historic event that was important for the academic status of Humanistic psychology and its future aspirations.
Major theorists
Several key theorists have been considered to have prepared the ground for humanistic psychology. These theorists include Otto Rank
Otto Rank (; ; né Rosenfeld; 22 April 1884 – 31 October 1939) was an Austrian psychoanalyst, writer, and philosopher. Born in Vienna, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, ...
, Abraham Maslow
Abraham Harold Maslow ( ; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actua ...
, Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and was known especially for his person-centered psychotherapy. Rogers is widely considered one of the f ...
and Rollo May. This section provides a short-handed summary of each individual's contributions for the theory.
Abraham Maslow: In regards to humanistic theory, Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a conceptualisation of the needs (or goals) that motivate human behaviour, which was proposed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow. According to Maslow's original formulation, there are five sets of basic ...
. This is a pyramid which basically states that individuals first must have their physiological needs met, then safety, then love, then self-esteem and lastly self-actualization. People who have met their self-actualization needs are self-aware, caring, wise and their interests are problem centered. He theorized that self-actualizing people are continuously striving, thinking broadly and focusing on broader problems. He also believed however, that only 1% of people actually achieved self-actualization.
Carl Rogers: Rogers built upon Maslow's theory and argued that the process of self-actualization is nurtured in a growth promoting climate. Two conditions are required in order for a climate to be a self-actualizing growth promoting climate: the individual must be able to be their genuine self, and as the individual expresses their true self, they must be accepted by others.
Counseling and therapy
The aim of humanistic therapy is usually to help the client develop a stronger and healthier sense of self, also called self-actualization. Humanistic therapy attempts to teach clients that they have potential for self-fulfillment. This type of therapy is insight-based, meaning that the therapist attempts to provide the client with insights about their inner conflicts.[Myers, D. G. (2014). Psychology: Tenth edition in modules. New York, NY: Worth Publishers]
Approaches
Humanistic psychology includes several approaches to counseling and therapy. Among the earliest approaches we find the developmental theory of Abraham Maslow
Abraham Harold Maslow ( ; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actua ...
, emphasizing a hierarchy of needs
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a conceptualisation of the needs (or goals) that motivate human behaviour, which was proposed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow. According to Maslow's original formulation, there are five sets of basic ...
and motivations; the existential psychology of Rollo May acknowledging human choice and the tragic aspects of human existence; and the person-centered or client-centered therapy of Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and was known especially for his person-centered psychotherapy. Rogers is widely considered one of the f ...
, which is centered on the client's capacity for self-direction and understanding of his or her own development.[Clay, Rebecca A. (September 2002). "A renaissance for humanistic psychology. The field explores new niches while building on its past." '' American Psychological Association Monitor'', 33 (8).] Client-centered therapy is non-directive; the therapist listens to the client without judgement, allowing the client to come to insights by themselves. The therapist should ensure that all of the client's feelings are being considered and that the therapist has a firm grasp on the concerns of the client while ensuring that there is an air of acceptance and warmth. Client-centered therapist engages in active listening during therapy sessions.
A therapist cannot be completely non-directive; however, a nonjudgmental, accepting environment that provides unconditional positive regard will encourage feelings of acceptance and value.
Existential psychotherapies, an application of humanistic psychology, applies existential philosophy, which emphasizes the idea that humans have the freedom to make sense of their lives. They are free to define themselves and do whatever it is they want to do. This is a type of humanistic therapy that forces the client to explore the meaning of their life, as well as its purpose. There is a conflict between having freedoms and having limitations. Examples of limitations include genetics, culture, and many other factors. Existential therapy involves trying to resolve this conflict.
Another approach to humanistic counseling and therapy is Gestalt therapy
Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes Responsibility assumption, personal responsibility and focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist–client relationship, the environmental and social c ...
, which puts a focus on the here and now, especially as an opportunity to look past any preconceived notions and focus on how the present is affected by the past. Role playing also plays a large role in Gestalt therapy and allows for a true expression of feelings that may not have been shared in other circumstances. In Gestalt therapy, non-verbal cues are an important indicator of how the client may actually be feeling, despite the feelings expressed.
Also part of the range of humanistic psychotherapy are concepts from depth therapy, holistic health
Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices ...
, encounter groups, sensitivity training, marital and family therapies, body work, the existential psychotherapy
Existential therapy is a form of psychotherapy based on the model of human nature and experience developed by the Existentialism, existential tradition of European philosophy. It focuses on the psychological experience revolving around universal h ...
of Medard Boss, and positive psychology
Positive psychology is the scientific study of conditions and processes that contribute to positive psychological states (e.g., contentment, joy), well-being, Positive psychology of relationships, positive relationships, and positive institutio ...
.[Duckworth, A. L., Steen, T. A., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Positive psychology in clinical practice. ''Annual Review of Clinical Psychology 1'', 629-651.]
Empathy and self-help
Empathy
Empathy is generally described as the ability to take on another person's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. There are more (sometimes conflicting) definitions of empathy that include but are ...
is one of the most important features of humanistic therapy. This idea focuses on the therapist's ability to see the world through the eyes of the client. Without this, therapists can be forced to apply an external frame of reference where the therapist is no longer understanding the actions and thoughts of the client as the client would, but strictly as a therapist which defeats the purpose of humanistic therapy. Included in empathizing, unconditional positive regard is one of the key elements of humanistic psychology. Unconditional positive regard refers to the care that the therapist needs to have for the client. This ensures that the therapist does not become the authority figure in the relationship allowing for a more open flow of information as well as a kinder relationship between the two. A therapist practicing humanistic therapy needs to show a willingness to listen and ensure the comfort of the patient where genuine feelings may be shared but are not forced upon someone. Marshall Rosenberg, one of Carl Rogers' students, emphasizes empathy in the relationship in his concept of Nonviolent Communication.
Self-help
Self-help or self-improvement is "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems" —economically, physically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis.
When ...
is also part of humanistic psychology: Sheila Ernst and Lucy Goodison have described using some of the main humanistic approaches in self-help groups {{short description, None
This is a list of self-help organizations.
Twelve-step programs
Recovery programs using Alcoholics Anonymous' twelve steps and twelve traditions either in their original form or by changing only the alcohol-specific ref ...
. Humanistic Psychology is applicable to self-help because it is oriented towards changing the way a person thinks. One can only improve once they decide to change their ways of thinking about themselves, once they decide to help themselves. Co-counselling, which is an approach based purely on self-help, is regarded as coming from humanistic psychology as well. Humanistic theory has had a strong influence on other forms of popular therapy, including Harvey Jackins
Carl Harvey Jackins (June 28, 1916 – July 12, 1999) was the founder, leader and principal theorist of Re-evaluation Counseling (or RC).
Early life
Jackins was born in Northern Idaho on June 28, 1916.
During the 1930s he was a member of the ...
' Re-evaluation Counselling and the work of Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and was known especially for his person-centered psychotherapy. Rogers is widely considered one of the f ...
, including his student Eugene Gendlin
Eugene Tovio Gendlin (born Eugen Gendelin; 25 December 1926 – 1 May 2017) was an American philosopher who developed ways of thinking about and working with living process, the bodily felt sense and the "philosophy of the implicit". Though he had ...
; (see Focusing) as well as on the development of the Humanistic Psychodrama by Hans-Werner Gessmann
PeepeeDino ( talk) 17:41, 13 June 2025 (UTC)
Hans-Werner Gessmann (24 March 19503 October 2023) was a German psychologist and university teacher. He founded humanistic psychodrama and taught in Russia, India, and Africa.
Career
Gessm ...
since the 80s.
Ideal and real selves
The ideal self and real self involve understanding the issues that arise from having an idea of what you wish you were as a person, and having that not match with who you actually are as a person (incongruence). The ideal self is what a person believes should be done, as well as what their core values are. The real self is what is actually played out in life. Through humanistic
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
therapy, an understanding of the present allows clients to add positive experiences to their real self-concept
In the psychology of self, one's self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity, self-perspective or self-structure) is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question ''"Who am I? ...
. The goal is to have the two concepts of self become congruent. Rogers believed that only when a therapist was able to be congruent, a real relationship occurs in therapy. It is much easier to trust someone who is willing to share feelings openly, even if it may not be what the client always wants; this allows the therapist to foster a strong relationship.
Non-pathological
Humanistic psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
tends to look beyond the medical model of psychology in order to open up a non-pathologizing view of the person. This usually implies that the therapist downplays the pathological aspects of a person's life in favour of the healthy aspects. Humanistic psychology tries to be a science of human experience, focusing on the actual lived experience of persons. Therefore, a key ingredient is the actual meeting of therapist and client and the possibilities for dialogue to ensue between them. The role of the therapist is to create an environment where the client can freely express any thoughts or feelings; he does not suggest topics for conversation nor does he guide the conversation in any way. The therapist also does not analyze or interpret the client's behavior or any information
Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpretation (perhaps Interpretation (log ...
the client shares. The role of the therapist is to provide empathy and to listen attentively to the client.
Societal applications
Social change
File:VirginiaSatir4.jpg,
File:Erich Fromm.jpg,
File:Ronald D. Laing.jpg,
File:AlfredAdler.jpg,
File:Wilhelm Reich in his mid-twenties.JPG,
While personal transformation may be the primary focus of most humanistic psychologists, many also investigate pressing social, cultural, and gender issues.[Hoffman, Louis, et al. (2009). ''Existential psychology East-West''. University of the Rockies Press. ] In an academic anthology from 2018, British psychologist Richard House and his co-editors wrote, "From its very outset, Humanistic Psychology has engaged fulsomely and fearlessly with the social, cultural and political, in a way that much of mainstream scientific, 'positivistic' psychology has sought to avoid".[House, Richard; Kalisch, David; Maidman, Jennifer, eds. (2018). ''Humanistic Psychology: Current Trends and Future Prospects''. Routledge, p. 73 (introduction to Part II, "Socio-Political-Cultural Perspectives"). .]
Some of the earliest writers who were associated with and inspired by psychological humanism explored socio-political topics. For example:
* Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler ( ; ; 7 February 1870 – 28 May 1937) was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. His emphasis on the importance of feelings of belonging, relationships within the family, a ...
argued that achieving a sense of community feeling is essential to human development.[Moss, Donald. "The Roots and Genealogy of Humanistic Psychology". In Schneider, Kirk J.; Pierson, J. Fraser; Bugental, James F. T., eds. (2015). ''The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Theory, Research, and Practice''. Sage Publications, 2nd ed., pp. 9–14 ("The Twentieth Century" section). .]
* Medard Boss defined health as an openness to the world, and unhealth as anything in the psyche or society that blocked or constricted that openness.
* Erich Fromm
Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and set ...
argued that the totalitarian impulse is rooted in people's fear of the uncertainties and responsibilities of freedom – and that the way to overcome that fear is to dare to live life fully and compassionately.
* R. D. Laing analyzed the political nature of "normal", everyday experience.
* Rollo May said that people have lost their values in the modern world, and that their health and humanity depends on having the courage to forge new values appropriate to the challenges of the present.
* Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich ( ; ; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian Doctor of Medicine, doctor of medicine and a psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst, a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. The author of several in ...
argued that psychological problems are often caused by sexual repression, and that the latter is influenced by social and political conditions – which can and should be changed.
* Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and was known especially for his person-centered psychotherapy. Rogers is widely considered one of the f ...
came to believe that political life did not have to consist of an endless series of winner-take-all battles, that it could and should consist of an ongoing dialogue among all parties. If such dialogue were characterized by respect among the parties and authentic speaking by each party, compassionate understanding and – ultimately – mutually acceptable solutions could be reached.
* Virginia Satir was convinced that her approach to family therapy would enable individuals to expand their consciousness, become less fearful, and bring communities, cultures, and nations together.
Relevant work was not confined to these pioneer thinkers. In 1978, members of the Association for Humanistic Psychology (AHP) embarked on a three-year effort to explore how the principles of humanistic psychology could be used to further the process of positive social and political change. The effort included a "12-Hour Political Party", held in San Francisco in 1980, where nearly 1,400 attendees discussed presentations by such non-traditional social thinkers as ''Ecotopia'' author Ernest Callenbach
Ernest William Callenbach (April 3, 1929 – April 16, 2012) was an American author, film critic, editor, and simple living adherent. Having many connections with a group of noted creative individuals in Northern California, Callenbach's influen ...
, ''Aquarian Conspiracy'' author Marilyn Ferguson, ''Person/Planet'' author Theodore Roszak, and ''New Age Politics'' author Mark Satin. The emergent perspective was summarized in a manifesto by AHP President George Leonard. It proffered such ideas as moving to a slow-growth or no-growth economy, decentralizing and "deprofessionalizing" society, and teaching social and emotional competencies in order to provide a foundation for more humane public policies and a healthier culture.[Leonard, George (May 1980). ]
Sketch for a Humanistic Manifesto
". ''AHP Newskletter'', pp. 5-7. Retrieved April 12, 2013
There have been many other attempts to articulate humanistic-psychology-oriented approaches to social change. For example, in 1979 psychologist Kenneth Lux and economist Mark A. Lutz called for a new economics based on humanistic psychology rather than utilitarianism
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...
. Also in 1979, California state legislator John Vasconcellos published a book calling for the integration of liberal politics and humanistic-psychological insight. From 1979 to 1983 the New World Alliance, a U.S. political organization based in Washington, D.C., attempted to inject humanistic-psychology ideas into political thinking and processes; sponsors of its newsletter included Vasconcellos and Carl Rogers.
In 1989 Maureen O'Hara, who had worked with both Carl Rogers and Paulo Freire
Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (19 September 1921 – 2 May 1997) was a Brazilian educator and philosopher whose work revolutionized global thought on education. He is best known for ''Pedagogy of the Oppressed'', in which he reimagines teaching ...
, pointed to a convergence between the two thinkers. According to O'Hara, both focus on developing critical consciousness of situations which oppress and dehumanize.[O'Hara, M. (1989). Person-centered approach as conscientização: The works of Carl Rogers and Paulo Freire. ''Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 29''(1), 11-35. .] Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Institute of Noetic Sciences president Willis Harman
Willis W. Harman (August 16, 1918 – January 30, 1997) was an American engineer, futurist, and author associated with the human potential movement. He was convinced that late industrial civilization faced a period of major cultural crisis whic ...
argued that significant social change cannot occur without significant consciousness change. In the 21st century, influenced by humanistic psychology, people such as Edmund Bourne, Joanna Macy, and Marshall Rosenberg continued to apply psychological insights to social and political issues.
In addition to its uses in thinking about social change, humanistic psychology is considered to be the main theoretical and methodological source of humanistic social work.[Stefaroi, P. (2012). Humanistic Paradigm of Social Work or Brief Introduction in Humanistic Social Work. ''Social Work Review'', 1, pp. 161-174.]
Social work
After psychotherapy
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...
, social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
is the most important beneficiary of the humanistic psychology's theory and methodology.[Ellenhorn, R. (1988). Toward a Humanistic Social Work: Social Work for Conviviality, '' Humanity & Society'', Vol. 12, Issue 2, p.166.] These theories have produced a deep reform of the modern social work practice and theory,[Payne, M. (2005). ''Modern Social Work Theory'' (3rd ed.), Chicago: Lyceum Books.] leading, among others, to the occurrence of a particular theory and methodology: Humanistic Social Work. Most values and principles of the humanistic social work practice, described by Malcolm Payne in his book ''Humanistic Social Work: Core Principles in Practice'', directly originate from the humanistic psychological theory and humanistic psychotherapy practice, namely creativity
Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable Idea, ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, Literature, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physica ...
in human life and practice, developing self
In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes.
The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...
and spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
, developing security and resilience, accountability, flexibility and complexity
Complexity characterizes the behavior of a system or model whose components interact in multiple ways and follow local rules, leading to non-linearity, randomness, collective dynamics, hierarchy, and emergence.
The term is generally used to c ...
in human life and practice.[Payne, M. (2011). ''Humanistic Social Work: Core Principles in Practice. Chicago: Lyceum, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan''.]
Furthermore, the representation and approach of the client (as ''human'' being
Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing. Existence is often contrasted with essence: the essence of an entity is its essential features or qualities, which can be understood even if one do ...
) and social issue
A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...
(as ''human'' issue) in social work is made from the humanistic psychology position. According to Petru Stefaroi, the way humanistic representation and approach of the client and their personality
Personality is any person's collection of interrelated behavioral, cognitive, and emotional patterns that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life. These interrelated patterns are relatively stable, but can change over long time per ...
is realized is, in fact, the theoretical-axiological and methodological foundation of humanistic social work.[Stefaroi, P. (2009). Humanistic Perspective on Customer in Social Work, ''Social Work Review'', 1-2, pp. 9-34.]
In setting goals and the intervention activities, in order to solve social/human problems, there prevail critical terms and categories of the humanistic psychology and psychotherapy, such as: self-actualization, human potential, holistic approach, human being, free will
Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...
, subjectivity
The distinction between subjectivity and objectivity is a basic idea of philosophy, particularly epistemology and metaphysics. Various understandings of this distinction have evolved through the work of countless philosophers over centuries. One b ...
, human experience, self-determination
Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage.
Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
/development, spirituality, creativity, positive thinking, client-centered and context-centered approach/ intervention, empathy
Empathy is generally described as the ability to take on another person's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. There are more (sometimes conflicting) definitions of empathy that include but are ...
, personal growth, empowerment
Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process of becoming strong ...
.[Humanistische Akademie. (1998). ''Humanistische Sozialarbeit'', Berlin: Humanistische Akademie. Series: Humanismus aktuell, H. 3. Jg. 2.] Humanistic psychology has been utilised as a framework for theorizing the African philosophy of Ubuntu in social work practice. In addition, humanistic social work calls for the pursuit of social justice, holistic service provision, technological innovation and stewardship, dialogue and cooperation as well as professional care and peer support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Foreign language learning, teaching and teacher education
Another field that has benefited from humanistic psychology is that of foreign language learning and language teacher education. Educators such as Earl Stevick and Gertrude Moskowitz applied student-centered methods in their language classes and teacher education courses, emphasizing interaction and participation, personal motivation, engagement and self evaluation. Their publications in turn have influenced generations of teachers interested in humanistic methods.
Creativity in corporations
Humanistic psychology's emphasis on creativity
Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable Idea, ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, Literature, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physica ...
and wholeness created a foundation for new approaches towards human capital
Human capital or human assets is a concept used by economists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a subs ...
in the workplace stressing creativity and the relevance of emotional
Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...
interactions. Previously the connotations of "creativity" were reserved for and primarily restricted to, working artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
s. In the 1980s, with increasing numbers of people working in the cognitive-cultural economy, creativity came to be seen as a useful commodity and competitive edge for international brands. This led to corporate creativity training in-service trainings for employees, led pre-eminently by Ned Herrmann at G.E. in the late 1970s.
See also
References
Further reading
Arnold, Kyle. (2014). Behind the Mirror: Reflective Listening and its Tain in the Work of Carl Rogers. ''The Humanistic Psychologist'', 42:4 354-369.
* Bendeck Sotillos, S. (Ed.). (2013). ''Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy: Studies in Comparative Religion''. Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom. .
* Bugental, J. F. T. (Ed.). (1967). Challenges of humanistic psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
* Bugental, J.F.T (1964). "The Third Force in Psychology". Journal of Humanistic Psychology 4 (1): 19–25. .
* Buhler, C., & Allen, M. (1972). Introduction to humanistic psychology. Monterey CA: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co.
* Chiang, H. -M., & Maslow, A. H. (1977). The healthy personality (Second ed.). New York, NY: D. Van Nostrand Co.
* DeCarvalho, R. J. (1991). The founders of humanistic psychology. New York, NY: Praeger Publishers.
* Frick, W. B. (1989). Humanistic psychology: Conversations with Abraham Maslow, Gardner Murphy, Carl Rogers. Bristol, IN: Wyndham Hall Press. (Original work published 1971)
* Fromm, E. (1955). The sane society. Oxford, England: Rinehart & Co.* Fromm, E. (1955). The sane society. Oxford, England: Rinehart & Co.
* Gessmann, H.-W. (2012). Humanistic Psychology and Humanistic Psychodrama. - Гуманистическая психология и гуманистическая психодрама. Москва - jurpsy.ru/lib/books/id/25808.php
Gunn, Jacqueline Simon; Arnold, Kyle; Freeman, Erica. (2015). The Dynamic Self Searching for Growth and Authenticity: Karen Horney's Contribution to Humanistic Psychology. ''The Forum of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry'', 59: 2 20-23.
* Human Potentialities: The Challenge and the Promise. (1968). Human potentialities: The challenge and the promise. St. Louis, MO: WH Green.
*
Kress, Oliver (1993). "A new approach to cognitive development: ontogenesis and the process of initiation". Evolution and Cognition 2(4): 319-332.
* Maddi, S. R., & Costa, P. T. (1972). Humanism in personology: Allport, Maslow, and Murray. Chicago, IL: Aldine·Atherton.
* Misiak, H., & Sexton, V. S. J. A. (1973). Phenomenological, existential, and humanistic psychologies: A historical survey. New York, NY: Grune & Stratton.
* Moss, D. (1999). Humanistic and transpersonal psychology: A historical and biographical sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
* Moustakas, C. E. (1956). The self: Explorations in personal growth. Harper & Row.
* Murphy, G. (1958). Human potentialities. New York, NY: Basic Books.
* Nevill, D. D. (1977). Humanistic psychology: New frontiers. New York, NY: Gardner Press .
* Otto, H. A. (1968). Human potentialities: The challenge and the promise. St. Louis, MO: WH Green.
* Rogers, CR, Lyon, HC Jr, Tausch, R: (2013
On Becoming an Effective Teacher - Person-centered teaching, psychology, philosophy, and dialogues with Carl R. Rogers and Harold Lyon.
London: Routledge
* Rowan, John (2001). Ordinary Ecstasy: The Dialectics of Humanistic Psychology (3rd ed.). Brunner-Routledge.
*
* Schneider, K., Bugental, J. F. T., & Pierson, J. F. (2001). The handbook of humanistic psychology: Leading edges in theory, research, and practice. London: SAGE.
* Schneider, K.J., ed (2008). Existential-integrative Psychotherapy: Guideposts to the Core of Practice. New York: Routledge.
* Severin, F. T. (1973). Discovering man in psychology: A humanistic approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
* Singh, J. (1979). The humanistic view of man. New Delhi, India: Indian Institute of Public Administration.
* Sutich, A. J., & Vich, M. A. (Eds.). (1969). Readings in humanistic psychology. New York, NY: Free Press.
* Welch, I., Tate, G., & Richards, F. (Eds.). (1978). Humanistic psychology: A source book. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.
* Zucker, R. A., Rabin, A. I., Aronoff, j., & Frank, S. (Eds.). (1992). Personality structure in the life course. New York, NY: Springer.
External links
What Is Humanistic Psychology?
Association for Humanistic Psychology
Society for Humanistic Psychology, Division 32 of the American Psychological Association
University of West Georgia's Humanistic Psychology Program
All about Humanistic Psychology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Humanistic Psychology
Existential therapy