Humanism, as the name suggests, is built on optimistic views concerning human nature. This school of thought lays its emphasis on the innate goodness of humans and their yearning to attain a higher purpose in life. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, the key architects of this approach, claimed that all humans have a free will and a tendency to actualize their full potential. The humanistic approach was developed to overcome the limitations of psychodynamic and behaviorist perspectives as it highlights the uniqueness of each individual and views them as whole rather than operating on the unconscious instincts or stimulus-response associations. Thus, it arose in the late 1950s as a “third force” in psychology.
Key Concepts
- Carl Rogers explained the Self Concept in terms of ‘Ideal Self’ and ‘Real Self’. Ideal Self is what a person aspires to be and Real Self is what a person already is. Rogers stated that self-actualization will be difficult if there is only a little overlap between the two.
- The deed and doer are viewed as two separate entities which means that an evil deed does not render the doer evil.
- The root cause of maladaptive behaviour as per humanistic school is the unrealistic demands that people place on themselves.
Rogerian Therapy
The therapeutic technique that Carl Rogers designed is named after him and is essentially client-centred. It is believed that the person is in the best control of his life. The client-therapist relationship is one of equals and it is assumed that the client is aware of his internal conflicts. The role of the therapist is just to “Be there” for the client and aid him to see through the positive traits of his personality and build upon them. To spark a feeling of acceptance within the client, he is showered with unconditional positive regard and empathy so that it isn’t as hard for him to accept himself outside the therapeutic realm. Hence, the humanistic approach emphasises on the ‘here-and-now’ more than it does on the past experiences. Once the person accepts his bizarre emotions and thoughts as part of himself, self-acceptance automatically follows.
Strengths
- Humanistic school believes that individuals are capable enough to deal with their problems.
- It values individuals for who they are.
- It does not view individuals as victims to the circumstances.
- It paints a holistic image of humans and puts great emphasis on their inherent goodness.
Limitations
- Humanistic school lacks a clear scientific approach to address human issues and is based on little empirical evidence. It is so because the humanistic psychologists find it dehumanizing to reduce the richness of conscious experience into subsets of emotions, cognition, and behaviour.
- Humanistic school draws a very saintly image of humans. This viewpoint has been criticized as it does not justify heinous crimes like homicides, rapes, etc.
Conclusion
Humanistic psychology is a perspective that considers looking at an individual holistically rather than breaking down complex behaviors into simpler components. The humanistic movement introduced us to certain core concepts like free will, self concept, self-actualization, fully functioning person, unconditional positive regard, empathy, etc. Back in those times, this perspective was particularly helpful in breaking the stigma attached to mental health as it became acceptable for people to explore their untapped potential through therapy. To this day, it holds great practical significance in the real world as everyone is consumed with self-doubt and is critical of others. Seeing oneself and others through the eyes of humanism can add value to life and blossom interpersonal ties. Hence, modern day therapies have been greatly influenced by some of the humanistic principles and make extensive use of them.
-Smriti Saini
