Chapter 14 Humanistic Psychology A History of Psychology

Chapter 14: Humanistic Psychology A History of Psychology (3 rd Edition) John G. Benjafield

Humanistic Psychology • Both a movement within academic psychology and an essential part of cultural trends that characterized the 1960 s – Founders became well-known by the general public • Combined influences from European existentialism and American optimism • Distinguished themselves from psychoanalysis and behaviourism = The ‘Third Force’

Existentialism • Existentialism: A doctrine that concentrates on the existence of the individual, who, being free and responsible, is held to be what he/she makes of him/herself

Søren Kierkgaard (1813– 1855) • Preoccupied with the nature of human choice • Either/Or – Presented two ways of living one’s life: • The aesthetic – Searching for sophisticated forms of pleasure • The ethical – Living by a rigorous set of idealistic principles – Both ways of living equally justifiable • One’s choices are one’s own • Subjective nature of human choice

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844– 1900) • Observed emergence of nihilism: notion that there are no absolute truths or values – Marked the end of Christianity • Perspectivism: notion that there any number of interpretations of reality, all of which are equally valid – Rejects the superiority of a scientific understanding of the world • Will to power

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905– 1980) • Influenced by Edmund Husserl (student of Franz Brentano) – Adopted their concept of intentionality: consciousness is always directed at something other than itself – Intentions are revealed by our choices • Being and Nothingness (1943) • Refused the Nobel Prise for literature in 1964 – Attitude of disdain for established cultural institutions

Martin Heidegger (1899– 1976) • Existential psychotherapy: an alternative to the psychoanalytic psychotherapy provided by existentialism • Student of Husserl’s; influenced Sartre • Dasein: Being – A person is fundamentally concerned with the fact that he or she is a being-in-the-world – Phenomenological method only way to investigate nature of being-in-the-world

Ludwig Binswanger (1881– 1966) • Developed an existential approach to psychotherapy – Built on Heidegger’s basic ideas • People are spiritual as well as biological creatures • Psychotherapy requires a total commitment

The Emergence of Humanistic Psychology • • Rollo May Abraham Maslow Carl Rogers Symposium on existential psychology at the 1959 convention of the American Psychological Association

The Emergence of Humanistic Psychology 1959 convention: 1. American psychologists believed that existentialism added important dimensions to psychology 2. American psychologists disagreed with the anti -scientific attitude expressed by many European existentialists 3. In general, the Americans believed that the Europeans had been too pessimistic

The Emergence of Humanistic Psychology • First Invitational Conference on Humanistic Psychology (November 1964, Old Saybrook, Connecticut) • Central question: Can the scientific functions of a humanistic psychological science be set forth? • Theme of the papers: – Be critical of both behaviourist and psychoanalytic approaches to psychology

Charlotte Malachowski Bühler (1893– 1974) Central characteristics of humanistic psychology: 1. Humanistic psychology studies the person as a whole 2. A person cannot be understood within a single time frame, but only by considering the person’s entire life history 3. Intentionality underlies the processes by which a person sets their goals and values

Rollo May (1909– 1994) • The Meaning of Anxiety – Elaborated on the nature and importance of anxiety as a modern phenomenon – Neurotic vs. normal anxiety • Love and Will – Conveys his approach to finding meaning in the modern world – Love and will represent those aspects of ourselves that have been pushed aside

Abraham H. Maslow (1908– 1970) • Studied with Harry Harlow at the University of Wisconsin • Employed by E. L. Thorndike at Columbia Teacher’s College • 1935– 1940: New York – Studied with Adler, Horney, Goldstein, Wertheimer, Koffka • Influenced by anthropologist Ruth Benedict – Spent a summer doing fieldwork on a Northern Blackfoot reservation in Alberta

Synergy • Synergy: the degree to which the needs of the individual are consistent with the demands of the culture – High-synergy culture: being selfish also promotes the welfare of others – Low-synergy culture: the needs of the individual conflict with how the culture wants the individual to behave

The Hierarchy of Needs • Needs may be organized hierarchically in the order in which they must be satisfied – Physiological needs – Safety needs – Love needs – Esteem needs – Self-actualization

The Self-actualizing Person • Self-actualizing person: has managed to satisfy their basic needs to a very great extent • Metamotivations: motives beyond or above ordinary motives • Deficiency motives: that of which we are deprived • Being values (B-values)

Peak Experiences • Much in common with mystical experiences of a oneness with the world • From peak experiences people become aware of the centrality of B-values in their lives • Intrinsically valuable • Similar to a childlike way of being-in-theworld

The Psychology of Science • Response to his critics • Critique of orthodox science • Advocated a science with a number of features not always associated with scientific psychology – Taoistic science – Problem-centred approach – Experiential methods

Lightner Witmer (1867– 1956) • First person in the United States to define area of ‘Clinical Psychology’ • Developed conception of clinical psychology while working in schools – Was to be used to diagnose and treat deficiencies • 1896: founded the first psychological clinic • Developed courses in clinical psychology

Clinical Psychology • Clinical psychology: a scientific and professional field that seeks to increase our understanding of human behaviour and to promote the effective functioning of individuals – Not defined by any single approach

Carl R. Rogers (1902– 1987) • 1919– 1924: University of Wisconsin – Originally in agriculture; graduated in history • Union Theological Seminary, NY – Took some courses at Columbia University with Leta Hollingworth • 1940: Ohio State University – Established a practicum in counselling and psychotherapy • University of Chicago – Established a counselling centre • 1947: elected president of APA

Client-Centred Therapy = non-directive psychotherapy • Unconditional positive regard: openness and receptiveness on the part of therapist • Self-concept: view a person has of themselves • Ideal self: the way the person wishes to be • Discrepancy between the person’s self-concept and their ideal self is a source of discomfort • Card sorting technique

Eugene T. Gendlin (1926–) • Student of Carl Rogers • First editor of the journal Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice • Experiencing: the flow of feeling to which you can attend inwardly at every moment – Key concept • Felt meanings: when we attend to our experiencing directly

Encounter Groups • Lewin’s T-groups renamed encounter groups • Vehicles for enabling people to realize their full human potential – Setting in which people discussed themselves as freely and openly as possible → Human potential movement

What Happened to Humanistic Psychology? • Fit well with Zeitgeist of American popular culture in 1960 s and 1970 s • 1970 s: increasing criticism • Contributing factor to decline: – Leaders moved out of universities • Theories left unstudied • No students

George A. Kelly (1905– 1967) • Approach shared some of the characteristics of humanistic psychology but was still distinctive • Kelly’s psychology explored implications of notion that people are scientists

The Psychology of Personal Constructs • People ultimately seek to anticipate real events • To predict events, we need to be able to represent them – Constructs: a way in which two events are alike but different from a third event – Personal constructs: dimensions that may be unique to that individual

The Repertory Test • Method of eliciting an individual’s personal constructs • Allows one to get an idea of how a person thinks about her or his acquaintances

Research in Personal Construct Theory • Kelly’s approach taken up by psychologists in Britain – Don Bannister • Flexibility of repertory grid methodology made it broadly useful in applied setings