Pros And Cons Of Humanism

Although humanism has several different meanings, especially for those who consider themselves humanists, this definition in my opinion best explains humanism as it is applied in our class. In a journal entry written by Robert L Sinsheimer, titled “Humanism and Science”, he explains that humanists are concerned with

Humanistic theories emerged in 1950s. We have two types of humanistic theories, the first one is Person-centred theory by Carl Rogers which is based on how people see them-selves in relation to their personal experience and the second theory is Self-actualisation by Abraham Maslow which is based on the needs that motivate people. In this paper both theories will be described in detail and also they will be evaluated.

Humanistic perspective is a psychological perspective popularized by Carlo Rogers and Abraham Maslow that emphasizes the human capacity for choice and growth. This perspective offers a very positive viewpoint of human nature and potential. It suggests that we are each responsible for our own happiness and well-being as humans. “The humanistic approach emphasizes the personal worth of the individual, the centrality of human

Humanistic perspective is the approach that suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop, and be in control of their lives and behavior. This perspective is based on free will where an individual has the ability to make his or her own decisions and is determined to go above and beyond their control. Also, this perspective limits a person from relying on society in how they should act or what they should do with their life. For example, some parents have strict standards and have already planned out their children's’ future for them

This perspective examines the patient’s motivation behind their thoughts and actions, emphasizing the individuality of the patient. Instead of using medication to treat a patient, the humanistic perspective in psychology would encourage the patient to seek out their own happiness by examining their own individual needs and focus on the positive aspects of their life rather than the negative parts.

Unlike Freud and the psychodynamic approach that concentrated on the unconscious mind, the concern of the humanistic psychologists was to do justice to people’s conscious experience and their role in direction their own lives. The humanistic approach in psychology developed as a rebellion against what some psychologists saw as limitations of the behaviourist and psychodynamic psychology. The humanistic approach is thus often called the “third force” in psychology after psychoanalysis and behaviourism (Maslow, 1968).( Saul McLeod. (2007). Humanism. Available: http://www.simplypsychology.org/humanistic.html. Last accessed 13th Nov 2013.) Humanism rejected the assumption of the behaviourist perspective which is characterised as deterministic, focused on reinforcement of stimulus-response behaviour and heavily dependent on animal research. Humanistic psychology also rejected the psychodynamic approach because it also is deterministic, with unconscious irrational and instinctive forces determining human thought and behaviour.  Both behaviourism and psychoanalysis are regarded as dehumanizing by humanistic psychologists. (Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370-96.) The two most prominent figures in the field of humanistic psychology are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Their focus in humanistic psychology was to emphasize that which helps individuals reach

It was within the 1960’s when Humanism developed as a rebellion against the behaviorist perspective, further expanding its influence into the 1980’s. Instead of considering psychology as a science and determining the patient’s behavior and thinking patterns as a cause of environmental factors, Humanism looks at human behavior not only through the eyes of the observer, but through the eyes of the person doing the behaving. Humanism rejected the assumptions of the behaviorist perspective (focused on reinforcement of stimulus-response behavior), along with the psychodynamic approach (unconscious irrational and instinctive forces determining human thought and behavior), which are both characterized as deterministic. Both are regarded as dehumanizing

This perspective assumes that we all thrive for personality growth, through mental processes and behaviors.. This perspective is different in its methodology compare to the biological approach, and the psychodynamic approach. Both these perspectives assume that human beings are controlled by internal or external forces. There are deterministic in nature. The humanistic perspective, promotes free will, and people can be, whatever, they envision themselves. This perspective was influence by humanists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, who emphasizes on the importance of individual potentials.

During the 1950s the humanistic approach was established, this was because of the growing panic therapists started to experience due to the limitations of psychoanalysis. The man who started this approach was Carl Rogers; he had no faith in psychoanalysis due to his belief that psychoanalysis had fallen short in handling the nature of healthy growth in the individual. Rather than just looking at behaviour from an observer’s point of view, Humanism looks at behaviour from the eyes of the person in question. Due to the fact that this approach centres on personal experiences and subjective concepts, humanists do not deem scientific practices as justified or acceptable. This perspective proposes that each and every one of us is liable for our own euphoria. In modern day psychotherapy an extensive field of efficient methods are at our disposal due to the impact of humanistic

The humanistic perspective on personality deals exclusively with human behavior. Humanistic psychologists believe that human nature includes a natural drive towards personal growth, that humans have the freedom to choose what they do regardless of environmental factors, and humans are mostly conscious beings and are not controlled by unconscious needs and conflicts. They also believe that a person's subjective view of the world is more important than objective reality. Two of the humanistic theorists that have made an impact of humanism are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.

The humanistic approach to psychology is an organization of different thoughts in which the interests of humans and their values and/or beliefs are of main importance (Schultz & Schultz, 2009). The term humanistic relays the notion that all human beings have the potential for growth and that no one is purposely bad or unworthy (Carver & Scheier, 2012). In contrast to psychoanalytical psychologists, humanistic psychologists tend to focus on the strengths of human behavior and not the aspects that make an individual’s

The humanistic-existential perspective is both a reaction to and an outgrowth of the psychodynamic perspective. These thinkers refer to psychodynamic theory as inadequate, many were repulsed with its tendency to break down the "whole" person into discrete components, and, the idea of adapting to one's society, however questionable its values. Most importantly, they disagree that human action is beyond the individuals control, in fact they believe that if we could develop with out constraints, we would be rational and socialized. Humanists and existentialists also think psychology should be converted into a human science, different from psychological theories with more focus on natural science.

It is said that humanistic psychology was developed upon the limitations of behaviourism. The humanistic approach is often referred to as the “third force” in psychology coming after psychoanalysis and behaviourism; it is an alternative approach to psychology (Maslow, 1968). It offered a more wholesome approach to psychology at the time in comparison to behaviourism and psychoanalysis. This essay will compare and contrast behaviourism and humanistic psychology; it will focus on their contributions to psychological theory and their applications in the real world.

Without knowing it, we have all experienced humanism within out lives: working with counselors, psychologists and even teachers. Most of them want to help us find the good within ourselves. A teacher, when one was younger, tried to show one right from wrong; a counselor tries to help people work through problems, such as showing one that he/she is a person that is good. Even a friend can make a comment that makes one feel proud for something kind that one did. These are all humanistic approaches to life, perhaps not practiced all the time by these people, but practiced nonetheless.

It begins by studying the whole person, not only through the eyes of an observer, but through the eyes of the person performing the behavior. The humanistic approach is also called the phenomenological approach in some circumstances. In these cases, the personality is looked at from the view of a person’s individual subjective experience. This approach arose as a rebellion of sorts