What is Humanistic Psychology and why is it called the third force in Psychology Essay Sample

and Ivan Pavlov were every bit every bit successful in showing the potency of classical conditioning ( larning by association ) . During the controversial Little Albert survey conducted in 1920 John Watson conditioned an 11 month old kid to fear a little white rat by striking a steel saloon with a cock while the kid was playing with the rat. Ivan Pavlov conditioned Canis familiariss to salivate at the sound of a bell by tie ining this sound with their eating over a period of clip.

Both experiments show how a impersonal stimulation can arouse a conditioned response when paired with an innate stimulation.Psychoanalysis and behaviorism both came approximately in the 1890’s and were for a long clip the merely major schools of idea in psychological science. Approximately 60 old ages subsequently. nevertheless. Carl Rogers.

Abraham Maslow and Clark Moustakas decided a more holistic attack was required. They believed that the human head should be studied as a whole unit instead than as the amount of its single parts and after several meetings in Detroit. Michigan they began to develop a new force that they called humanistic psychological science. Humanistic psychological science is a modern manner of looking at psychological issues and arguments that focuses on human facets and contexts for the development of its theories. It is sometimes referred to as the 3rd force in psychological science since it originated as a reaction to Sigmund Freud’s aforementioned depth psychology theory and Ivan Pavlov.

John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner et al’s behaviorist theory. Humanistic psychological science has been officially recognised by the American Psychological Association since 1971.

Whereas behavioral psychological science attempted to

explicate its theories with empirical surveies and experiments. such as Watson’s Little Albert experiment and Pavlov’s research with Canis familiariss. humanistic psychological science takes a more qualitative attack. This means that fact-finding methods such as interviews are hence preferred as they give richer and more elaborate information ( albeit from by and large smaller samples ) that focus on the ‘why’ and ‘how’ as opposed to any numerical informations that could be expressed with charts or graphs. Qualitative research can assist avoid the job of developing reductionist theories since such in deepness informations is gathered.In add-on to smaller samples.

the samples are seldom random when carry oning qualitative research. alternatively the research worker will normally manus pick the participants of a survey seeking to purposefully take those which typify a mark sample ( for illustration. a specific societal category or cultural background ) . However. this does intend that the samples are likely to be biased and hence the findings from any qualitative research can non be extrapolated beyond the limited sample. which greatly restricts the utility of the research.

Freud’s work with extremely educated in-between category Viennese adult females suffered from the same defects. However. despite the drawbacks of qualitative research it can be a really utile method of roll uping informations. peculiarly when paired with quantitative methods to traverse examine findings ( which is besides known as informations triangulation ) .

Aside from differences in the methods used to research these positions there are of class differences in the positions themselves. The psychodynamic attack for illustration focal points on interior struggles and how these struggles affect human development. whereas the humanistic attack sees mental

and personal growing as “natural conditions of human life” . Furthermore.

humanist psychologists argue mental growing is subjective instead than shaped by the environments as behaviorists do. or childhood experiences as protagonists of psychodynamic theory do.Another clear difference between psychodynamic and humanistic psychological science exists in that Sigmund Freud developed his theories by working with clinically sick patients ( which Maslow saw as slightly foolish as these people would non be a good representative sample ) . Maslow hence developed his theories on the survey of successful. healthy people.

However. the chief difference between humanistic psychological science and the other schools of idea is that humanitarianism believes all people are basically good. Freud would hold strongly contested this sentiment as he believed worlds to be basically bad. invariably looking out for themselves over others and seeking merely to feed and copulate. Humanist psychologists of class can non disregard the facts that slaying and larceny are more common today than most would wish.

but alternatively explicate these behaviors in footings of those people holding failed to happen significance in their lives or accomplish their true potency.Despite being born in a really spiritual society humanistic psychological science tried to travel off from doctrine and bury about faith in order to concentrate more on the human facets of psychological science. However religious elements do still stay. and the belief isn’t atheist. merely that the human sides are more of import.

Humanist psychological science Teachs that every homo has self-respect and should be respected and treated ethically. Harmonizing to Abraham Maslow. the male parent of humanitarianism. we all have a possible that we can accomplish and psychology can assist

convey this possible out.

This accomplishment is known as self-actualisation and Maslow proposed a hierarchy of demands in his paper ‘Theory of Human Motivation’ . These demands start with basic physiological demands such as H2O. external respiration. nutrient. sex.

slumber. homeostasis and elimination so travel up to safety demands such as security of organic structure. of employment. of resources. of morality. of the household.

of wellness and of belongings.Next the demand to love and belong is characterised by friendly relationships. household and sexual familiarity. followed by the regard needs for self-pride. assurance.

accomplishment and regard ( both of others and by others ) . Finally. self-actualisation is characterised by morality. creativeness. spontaneousness. deficiency of bias.

credence of facts and job resolution. Maslow studied people who he saw as holding self-actualised such as Albert Einstein. Jane Addams. Frederick Douglass and Eleanor Roosevelt. The chief job with the hierarchy of demands is that it is rather clearly a typology.

whereas humanistic psychological science claims to be against reductionist typologies. Furthermore. since there is ever room for people to better themselves. can we of all time be to the full self-actualised? Maslow subsequently suggested that there was another degree above self-actualisation which he referred to as self-transcendence ( 5 ) .Clinical psychological science is a subdivision of psychological science that has been invariably endeavoring to go more utile to people in assisting them with their jobs ( such as phobic disorders or mental unwellnesss ) since the gap of the first clinic at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896. Naturally the three forces of psychological science all have different ways in which they attempt to accomplish this same

end.

First. with his psychodynamic theory Freud devised what he called ‘the speaking cure’ ( besides known as depth psychology ) which was intended to acquire to the root of jobs by researching the unconscious head. At the clip of his composing many people believed dreams either to be messages from the Gods or to hold no significance at all. nevertheless Freud argued that they were in fact a window into the unconscious head.

The manifest content of dreams was what was overtly presented and the latent content was the unconscious motive. Freud tried to place what the latent content could be so that his patients could cover with the underlying jobs in their wakeful life.Although holding some success this intervention was limited in that it required the patient to hold a slightly learned vocabulary so that they would be able to show themselves good plenty for Freud. or another psychoanalysist. to understand the full experience and significance of the dream. Second.

behavioral therapies have been shown to work good for the treating of phobic disorder. depression and anxiousness upsets. They work merely by positively reenforcing the desirable behavior and/or negatively reenforcing the unwanted behavior. In the instance of deluging as a intervention for phobic disorder. a patient will frequently be locked in a room with the stimulation he or she is afraid of.

Initially there will be much anxiousness. nevertheless after a while the patient will get down to quiet down and re-associate the stimulation with this feeling of composure as opposed to the original fright.Rather than analyze the behavior of an person in an effort to understand their motives. humanistic psychologists would merely

interview the person and inquire them what was incorrect. Maslow’s brooding hearing therapy for illustration focal points on feelings and experiences. and is a common humanistic therapy for depression.

It involves merely listening to a patient and on occasion reiterating or paraphrasing their ain words in a quiet and impersonal voice tone. while avoiding inquiring inquiries. The thought being that this would give them clip to clear up their feelings and reassure them that they were being listened to in a non-judgemental manner.They would experience that they were being understood and that there was person traveling through their thought procedures with them. Brooding hearing has gained a just sum of support late nevertheless as a therapy on it’s own it could go highly frustrating for the patient who isn’t acquiring any helpful advice. Brooding hearing has its roots in person-centered therapy ( besides known as client-centered therapy ) which was developed by humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers.

Much like brooding hearing. PCT involves demoing empathy and “unconditional positive regard” towards a individual in order to make a supportive environment in which the patient can make their full potency.In decision. humanistic psychological science has therefore been highly utile as an extra manner to look at the universe of psychological science.

It is more qualitative than behaviorism and was developed from better samples than Freud’s psychodynamic theory. Humanistic research has produced new therapies that have offered much to the countries of self-help and guidance and Maslow’s hierarchy of demands is by and large seen as an betterment over old theories of personality. In decision. the 3rd force of psychological science has been merely that – another force driving

psychological science forwards to new and better finds.Bibliography1. Moore BE.

Fine BD ( 1968 ) . A Glossary of Psychoanalytic Footings and Concepts. Amer Psychoanalytic Assn. p. 78.2.

Stengel E ( 1953 ) . Sigmund Freud on Aphasia ( 1891 ) 3. Freud. Sigmund.

( 1915 ) Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis. p50-108.4. Encyclopaedia Britannica. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. britannica.

com/EBchecked/topic/547685/Skinner-box5. Theory Z. The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. New york: Viking.

( 1972 )