Humanistic Perspective
Brooke Dahl
Nancy Lindgren
Definition
Human capacity for choice and growth.
Humans have free will
Not fated to behave in specific ways.
Subjective experience of the world--how
humans experience things, why they
experience things, etc.
Humanistic Psychology
Emphasizes the study of the whole
person.
Behavior is determined by perception of
world around him.
Not a product of their environment
Internally directed an motivated to fulfill
their potential.
According to humanistic
psychologists, we are motivated
not merely to survive, but to
become better and better.
This process is called selfactualization.
Origins
Middle ages
Began in the 15th century
Modern humanistic psychology
emerged in the mid-1950’s.
Evolution
Humanistic psychology emerged in the
mid-1950’s and complemented
behaviorism and psychoanalysis with its
focus on the individual as a whole
person.
Continued to grow in the second half of
the 20th century
Development of the field
Motivation and Personality -1954
Humanistic Psychology – 1958
Journal of Humanistic Psychology-1961
American Association for Humanistic Psychology was
organized- 1962
First position paper presented in US-1963
First graduate program was instituted at Sonoma State College,
CA – 1963
APA subdivision called Humanistic Psychology was created 1970.
First international conference in Holland - 1970
Key components of selfunderstanding
Self-actualization
Self fulfillment
Self-realization
Carl Rogers
Taught at University
of Chicago
Taught at the
University of
Wisconsin
Believes that a fully
adjusted person
can symbolize any
experience in the
conscious
verbalization.
Carl Rogers
1902-1987
Intersubjective Verification
Interest in counseling
Wrote The Clinical Treatment of the
Problem Child (1939)
Abraham Maslow
1908-1970
Attended University
of Wisconsin
Taught at Brooklyn
College
1951 served as the
chair of the
psychology dept.
“Is this it? Is this selfactualization?”
Metaneeds & Metapathologies
Truth, rather than dishonesty
Goodness, rather than evil
Beauty, not ugliness or vulgarity.
Unity, not arbitrariness or forced choice
Aliveness, not deadness or the mechanization of life
Uniqueness, not bland uniformity
Perfection and necessity, not sloppiness, or accident
Completion, rather than incompleteness
Justice & order, not injustice and lawlessness
Simplicity, not unnecessary complexity
Richness, not environmental impoverishment
Effortlessness, not strain
Playfulness, not grim, humorless, drudgery
Self-sufficiency, not dependency
Meaningfulness, rather than senselessness
Erich Fromm
1900-1980
Autobiography:
Beyond the Chains
of Illusion.
Moved to US in
1934
Erich Fromm
2 significant events that started him
along his path.
12 years old
14 years old
Moved to Mexico to teach. He had done
research into relationship between
economic class and personality types.
Theory
Combination of Freud and Marx
Freedom
Transcend the determinism of Freud
and Marx.
FROMM'S ORIENTATIONS TEST
How well does each word apply to you? 5 (very well), 4, 3, 2, 1
(not at all).
tender:
captivating:
orderly:
witty:
gullible:
arrogant:
stubborn:
indifferent
optimistic:
gracious:
reserved:
curious:
cowardly:
conceited:
suspicious:
unprincipled:
idealistic:
assertive:
economical:
youthful:
submissive:
exploitative:
unimaginative:
opportunistic:
sentimental:
seducing:
obsessive:
silly:
loyal:
self-confident:
steady:
tolerant:
wishful:
rash:
cold:
tactless:
sensitive:
proud:
careful:
open-minded:
unrealistic:
aggressive:
stingy:
childish:
devoted:
active:
practical:
purposeful:
The Social Unconscious
Orientation
Society
Family
Receptive
Peasant society Symbiotic
(passive)
Authoritarian
(Masochistic)
Exploitative
Aristocratic
society
Symbiotic
(active)
Authoritarian
(Sadistic)
Hoarding
Bourgeois
society
Withdrawing
(puritanical)
Perfectionist to
destructive
Marketing
Modern Society Withdrawing
(infantile)
Automaton
conformists
Productive
Humanistic
communitarian
socialism
Freedom &
Responsibility
acknowledged
and accepted.
Love and
reasoning
Escape from
Freedom
Choice v. Determination
CHOICE
Characteristics-Healthy Personality
HEALTHY
Authenticity
Congruence
Freedom
Being
Search for meaning
Characteristics-Unhealthy Personality
UNHEALTHY
Conformity
Alienation
Fragmentation
Having
Search for happiness
Guidelines for assessing
personality
“Non-directive” counseling
Play therapy
Assessment of self concept through
rating scales
Q-sort Techniques
Interviews
Roots of the Humanistic
Movement in Education
A. S. Neill is recognized as the first
modern humanistic educator.
Neill founded the Summerhill school, an
open education program in England.
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow laid
the psychological framework for the
open education movement in the US.
Humanistic Movement in
Education
The basic objectives of humanistic
education are to encourage students to:
Be self-directed and independent
Take responsibility for their learning
Be creative and interested in the arts
Be curious about the world around them.
Principles of Humanistic
Education
5 basic principles of humanistic education
are:
Student’s learning should be self-directed
Schools should produce students who want &
know how to learn.
Only form of meaningful evaluation is selfevaluation.
Feelings, as well as knowledge, are important to
the learning process.
Students learn best in a non-threatening
environment.
Humanistic Education in
Practice
Characteristics of open classrooms
Freedom of choice in study
Ability to move freely around classroom
Access to wide variety of learning material
Emphasis on individual and small group instruction.
Relationship with the teacher as a facilitator rather than a lecturer
Evaluation about academic achievement that is meaningful to the
student.
Research on open classrooms has concluded that
they may encourage a better attitude toward
school while only slightly lowering academic
achievement.
Guidelines for intervention
Provide options
Help gain perspectives
Gain self esteem
Unconditional positive regard
Non-directive
Uses reflection and paraphrase back to
client.
Assets of perspective
Person as a whole
Goes to the root of the problem
Leads to genuine self-knowledge
Offer a sense of hope
Respect of patient’s point of view
Limitations of perspective
Too simple and unscientific
Fail to offer explicit theory of
development
Romantically naïve.
Cannot be tested
Terms are vague
Case Studies
A PHENOMENOLOGICAL CASE STUDY OF THE SOCIAL COGNITION OF ONE
GIFTED ADOLESCENT IN SCHOOL Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, Spring97,
Vol. 8 Issue 3, p137, 12p
Student Centered Teaching and Web design.
Group counseling with Chronically Obese Students.
References
Abnormal Psychology, Current
perspectives. By Richard R. Bottzin and
Joan Ross Acocella. Random House
1988
The Assessment of Child And
Adolescent Personality. By Howard
Knoff. The Guildord Press. 1986