Hergenhahn's Humanistic Psychology (PDF)

Hergenhahn’s An Introduction to the History of Psychology Eighth Edition Chapter 17 Humanistic (Third- Force) Psychology © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Learning Objectives (1 of 2) After...

Hergenhahn’s An Introduction to the History of Psychology Eighth Edition Chapter 17 Humanistic (Third- Force) Psychology © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Learning Objectives (1 of 2) After reading and discussing Chapter 17, students should: Be aware of the zeitgeist and ideas that contributed to the development of humanistic psychology Be familiar with the direct antecedents of humanistic psychology Be able to discuss the theories of Abraham Maslow Be acquainted with Carl Rogers’s theory of personality and views of the fully functioning person Be familiar with comparisons of existential and humanistic psychology © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Learning Objectives (2 of 2) Be familiar with criticisms of humanistic psychology Be familiar with the contributions of humanistic psychology © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  The Mind, the Body, and the Sprit We can divide human nature into three major components: the mind (our intellect), the body (our biological makeup), and the spirit (our emotional makeup). Third-force psychology – Subjective reality © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Antecedents of Third-Force Psychology (1 of 6) History – By the mid-20th century, structuralism, functionalism, and Gestalt psychology had lost their distinctiveness as schools of thought. – Only behaviorism and psychoanalysis remained influential. – In the troubled times of the 1960s, the views of humans provided by behaviorism and psychoanalysis were viewed by many as incomplete, distorted, or both. – Many were looking for a new view, one that emphasized the human spirit rather than strictly the mind or body. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Antecedents of Third-Force Psychology (2 of 6) Third-force Psychology – In the early 1960s, a group of psychologists led by Abraham Maslow started a movement referred to as third-force psychology. ▪ This was a reaction to the shortcomings (as they saw them) of behaviorism and psychoanalysis to deal fully with the human condition. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Antecedents of Third-Force Psychology (3 of 6) – According to these psychologists, what was needed was a model of humans that emphasized their uniqueness and their positive aspects. ▪ This third force combines the philosophies of romanticism and existentialism and is called humanistic psychology. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Antecedents of Third-Force Psychology (4 of 6) Phenomenology – Focuses on cognitive experience as it occurs; in intact form not reduced to component parts ▪ Brentano o Focused on psychological acts such as judging, recollecting, expecting, doubting, fearing, hoping, or loving, and including the concept of intentionality within the acts. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Antecedents of Third-Force Psychology (5 of 6) ▪ Husserl o Believed that phenomenology could create an objective bridge between the outer, physical world and the inner, subjective world. o He developed what he called pure phenomenology with the purpose of discovering the essence of conscious experience—the person inward. ▪ This pure phenomenology soon expanded into modern existentialism. However, the existentialists were interested in the nature of human existence. ▪ In philosophy, the study of existence or what it means to be is called ontology. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Antecedents of Third-Force Psychology (6 of 6) ▪ This pure phenomenology soon expanded into modern existentialism. However, the existentialists were interested in the nature of human existence. ▪ In philosophy, the study of existence or what it means to be is called ontology. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Existential Psychology (1 of 13) Existentialism – Concerned with two ontological questions: ▪ What is the nature of human nature? ▪ What does it mean to be a particular individual? – Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus ▪ Won Nobel Prize in Literature based on their writings in ▪ existentialism © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Existential Psychology (2 of 13) Existentialism – Martin Heidegger ▪ Postulated that humans are always becoming something other than what they were; to exist it to change. ▪ The Dasein refers to that place in space and time where existence takes place; existence is a complex, dynamic, and uniquely human phenomenon. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Existential Psychology (3 of 13) ▪ The authentic life o With the realization that we must someday die, the person gets busy and exercises his or her freedom to create a meaningful existence, an existence that allows for almost constant personal growth, or becoming. ▪ If we do not exercise our personal freedom, we experience guilt. o Acceptance of the fact that at some time in the future we will be nothing causes anxiety; thus such acceptance takes courage. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Existential Psychology (4 of 13) ▪ The concept of throwness o We are thrown into our own personal circumstances and this is beyond our control. For example, whether we are male or female, short or tall, rich or poor, and so on. This determines the conditions under which we exercise our freedom. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Existential Psychology (5 of 13) Existentialism – Ludwig Binswanger ▪ Three modes of existence: o Around world (the Umwelt) The world of things and events o With world (the Mitwelt) Interactions with other humans o Own world (the Eigenwelt) Person’s private, inner, subjective experience. The world-design is how an individual views and embraces the world. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Existential Psychology (6 of 13) ▪ Ground of existence o The circumstances into which one is thrown is defined as the conditions under which one exercises one’s personal freedom. o He or she always tries to transcend one’s personal circumstances. Everyone seeks being-beyond-the-world, which is the way people try to transform their circumstances by exercising free will. ▪ One must always find his/her own meaning of life no matter what the personal circumstances. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Existential Psychology (7 of 13) – Rollo May ▪ The human dilemma o Humans are both objects and subjects of experience. Objects in the sense that we exist physically, therefore things happen to us. o Subjects in the sense that we do not simply have experiences, we interpret, value, and make choices regarding our experience. o We give experience meaning. o This dual aspect of human nature is what May meant by human dilemma. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Existential Psychology (8 of 13) ▪ For May and other existentialists, the most important fact about humans is that they are free. ▪ Freedom brings with it responsibility and, therefore, anxiety. ▪ The healthy person exercises freedom to approach his or her full potential, to go beyond what one previously was. ▪ All this causes anxiety, but it is normal, healthy anxiety because it is conducive to personal growth. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Existential Psychology (9 of 13) ▪ Neurotic anxiety is not conducive to personal growth because it results from fear of freedom. o The person living with neurotic anxiety lives his or her life in such a way that reduces or eliminates personal freedom. ▪ Self-alienation occurs whenever people accept values dictated by society rather than those personally attained. ▪ Exercising free will may lead to normal anxiety; otherwise we feel guilty. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Existential Psychology (10 of 13) ▪ According to May, myths provide the major vehicle for giving meaning in life, saying, “Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence.” ▪ Myths serve four functions: o Provide a sense of identity o Provide a sense of community o Support our moral values o Provide a means of dealing with the mysteries of creation ▪ Most important, however, is the providing a sense of community. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Existential Psychology (11 of 13) ▪ May was not opposed to studying humans scientifically, but he was opposed to using physical science methods to do it. ▪ The emerging field of positive psychology is moving toward the direction May suggested. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Existential Psychology (12 of 13) – George Kelly ▪ The cornerstone of Kelly’s position is whether or not a person has a psychological problem is mainly a matter of how that person views things. ▪ The goal of all humans is like the major goal of scientists, which is to reduce uncertainty. o Scientists create theories to attempt to predict future events Nonscientists create construct systems to predict future events. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Existential Psychology (13 of 13) ▪ Kelly’s concept of constructive alternativism aligned him with the existentialists. o People are free to choose the constructs they use in interacting with the world o They can view and interpret events in an almost infinite number of ways because construing them is an individual matter. ▪ Kelly often began therapy by having clients write a self- characterization, which gave information about how he/she viewed him/herself, the world, and others. o Kelly also had clients engage in fixed-role therapy. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Humanistic Psychology (1 of 12) Abraham Maslow – Usually recognized as the one most responsible for making humanistic psychology a formal branch of psychology. – Basic tenets of humanistic psychology ▪ Little of value can be learned about humans by studying nonhuman animals. ▪ Subjective reality is the primary guide for human behavior. ▪ Studying individuals is more informative than studying what groups of individuals have in common. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Humanistic Psychology (2 of 12) ▪ A major effort should be made to discover those things that expand and enrich human experience. ▪ Research should seek information that will help solve human problems. ▪ The goal of psychology should be to formulate a complete description of what it means to be a human being. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Humanistic Psychology (3 of 12) – Hierarchy of needs ▪ Human needs are arranged in a hierarchy o The lower the needs are in the hierarchy, the more basic and similar to animals’ needs they are. o The higher the needs in the hierarchy, the more distinctly human they are. ▪ The order of the hierarchy is: o physiological needs → safety needs → belonging and love needs → esteem needs → self-actualization © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Humanistic Psychology (4 of 12) – Self-actualization meant to reach one’s full, human potential. – Some characteristics of the self-actualized: ▪ They perceive reality accurately and fully ▪ They demonstrate a great acceptance of themselves and others ▪ They have a need for privacy ▪ They tend to have only a few friends ▪ They are creative, etc. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Humanistic Psychology (5 of 12) Transpersonal psychology – Focused on the mystical, ecstatic, or spiritual aspects of human nature Carl Rogers – Theory of personality ▪ Postulated an innate human drive toward self- actualization o If people use this actualizing tendency as a frame of reference in living their lives, they are said to be living according to the organismic valuing process. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved. Humanistic Psychology (6 of 12) ▪ A problem usually arises because in childhood we have a need for positive regard, but we receive this only if we act or think in certain ways. o This sets up conditions of worth. This stunts the organismic valuing process. The only way to avoid imposing conditions of worth on people is to give them unconditional positive regard. ▪ Only people who receive unconditional positive regard can become a fully functioning person. ▪ An incongruent person is someone who is no longer true to his/her own feelings. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Humanistic Psychology (7 of 12) – Roger’s person-centered psychology has been applied to such diverse areas as religion, medicine, law enforcement, ethnic and cultural relations, politics, and organizational development. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Humanistic Psychology (8 of 12) Similarities between existential and humanistic psychology – Humans have free will and are responsible for their actions. – The most appropriate method to study humans is phenomenology. – Humans must be studies as a whole in order to be understood. – Living an authentic life is better than living an inauthentic one. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Humanistic Psychology (9 of 12) Differences between existential and humanistic psychology – Humanists assume that humans are basically good, while the existentialists view human nature as essentially neutral. – Humanists believe the major motivation in life is the actualizing tendency, while existentialists believe that the only motivational force is the “will to meaning.” © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Humanistic Psychology (10 of 12) Criticisms – Equates behaviorism with Watson and Skinner even though there were other behaviorists that stress purpose in behavior – Overlooks the cumulative nature of science by insisting that scientific psychology does not care about the loftier human attributes – The description of humans is like the more favorable ones found in poetry and literature, which represents a type of wishful thinking that is not factually correct. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Humanistic Psychology (11 of 12) – Criticizes behaviorism, psychoanalysis, and scientific psychology in general ▪ However, all three have made significant contributions to the betterment of the human condition – Rejects traditional scientific methodology, but offers nothing to replace it of any substance – Rejects animal research ▪ Turns their backs on a valuable source of knowledge about humans – Many terms and concepts that humanistic psychologists use defy clear definitions and verification. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.  Humanistic Psychology (12 of 12) Contributions – Expansion of psychology’s domain – Development of positive psychology ▪ Explores positive human attributes – Positive psychologists and early humanistic psychologists agree that mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. ▪ Flourishing is used to describe people who are not only free from mental illness, but who are filled with vitality and are functioning optimally. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.