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How Humanistic Psychology Can Help You Live a Better Life

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Summary

Table of Contents

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Hallmarks include an emphasis on free will and human potential

Woman outdoors with both arms outstretched

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While many approaches to psychology tend to focus on problematic behaviors and mental health conditions, one approach takes a more positive approach. Humanistic psychology is a perspective that emphasizes looking at the whole individual and stresses concepts such as free will, self-efficacy, and self-actualization.1

Rather than concentrating on dysfunction, humanistic psychology strives to help people fulfill their potential and maximize their well-being.

Keep reading to learn more about the historical roots of this perspective, as well as some of the important concepts that have emerge from humanistic psychology. We'll also explore some ways that you can use the humanistic approach to help life a more positive and fulfilling life.

A Brief Background of Humanistic Psychology

This area of psychology emerged during the 1950s as a reaction to psychoanalysis and behaviorism, which had dominated psychology during the first half of the century. Psychoanalysis was focused on understanding the unconscious motivations that drive behavior, while behaviorism studied the conditioning processes that produce behavior.

Humanist thinkers felt that both psychoanalysis and behaviorism were too pessimistic, either focusing on the most tragic of emotions or failing to take into account the role of personal choice.

However, it is not necessary to think of these three schools of thought as competing elements. Each branch of psychology has contributed to our understanding of the human mind and behavior.

Humanistic psychology added yet another dimension that takes a more holistic view of the individual.

Other Types of Humanism

Humanism is a philosophy that stresses the importance of human factors rather than looking at religious, divine, or spiritual matters. Humanism is rooted in the idea that people have an ethical responsibility to lead lives that are personally fulfilling while at the same time contributing to the greater good of all people.

Humanism places human values and dignity front and center. According to this approach, people can resolve problems through science and reason. Rather than looking to religious traditions, humanism focuses on helping people live well, achieve personal growth, and make the world a better place.

The term "humanism" is often used more broadly, but it is also significant in several different fields, including psychology.2

Religious Humanism

Some religious traditions incorporate elements of humanism as part of their belief systems. Examples of religious humanism include Quakers, Lutherans, and Unitarian Universalists.

Secular Humanism

Secular humanism rejects all religious beliefs, including the existence of the supernatural. This approach emphasizes the importance of logic, the scientific method, and rationality in understanding the world and solving human problems.

Uses for Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic psychology focuses on each individual's potential. Concepts like personal growth and self-actualization are hallmarks of the humanistic approach.

The fundamental belief of humanistic psychology is that people are innately good and that mental and social problems result from deviations from this natural tendency.

Humanistic psychology also suggests that people possess personal agency and that they are motivated to use this free will to pursue things that will help them achieve their full potential as human beings.

The need for fulfillment and personal growth is a key motivator of all behavior. People are continually looking for new ways to grow, to become better, to learn new things, and to experience psychological growth and self-actualization.

Some of the ways that humanistic psychology is applied within the field of psychology include:

Humanistic therapy: Several different types of psychotherapy have emerged rooted in humanist principles. These include client-centered therapy, existential therapy, and Gestalt therapy.

Personal development: Because humanism focuses the importance of self-actualization and reaching one's full potential, it can be used as a tool of self-discovery and personal development.

Social change: Another important aspect of humanism is improving communities and societies. For individuals to be healthy and whole, it is important to develop societies that foster personal well-being and provide social support.

Impact of Humanistic Psychology

The humanist movement had an enormous influence on the course of psychology and contributed new ways of thinking about mental health. It offered a new approach to understanding human behaviors and motivations and led to the development of new techniques and approaches to psychotherapy.

Some of the major ideas and concepts that emerged as a result of the humanistic psychology movement include an emphasis on things such as:

Client-centered therapy: An approach to therapy in which a therapist takes a non-directive, non-judgmental role

Free will: The ability to act autonomously to make independent choices that are freely chosen

Fully functioning person: An individual who has reached their full potential and is living an open and authentic life

Hierarchy of needs: A theory that describes five levels of needs that motivate human behavior

Peak experiences: Transcendent moments marked by feelings of awe, joy, and wonder

Self-actualization: Reaching your full potential as an individual

Self-concept: The image we have of ourselves, including our unique characteristics, behaviors, and talents

Unconditional positive regard: Showing total acceptance for another person without judgment

How to Apply Humanistic Psychology

Some tips from humanistic psychology that can help people pursue their own fulfillment and actualization include:

Discover your own strengths

Develop a vision for what you want to achieve (having a vision board can help!)

Consider your own beliefs and values

Pursue experiences that bring you joy and develop your skills

Learn to accept yourself and others

Focus on enjoying experiences rather than just achieving goals

Keep learning new things

Pursue things that you are passionate about

Maintain an optimistic outlook

One of the major strengths of humanistic psychology is that it emphasizes the role of the individual. This school of psychology gives people more credit for controlling and determining their state of mental health.

It also considers environmental influences. Rather than focusing solely on our internal thoughts and desires, humanistic psychology also credits the environment with influencing our experiences.

Humanistic psychology helped remove some of the stigma attached to therapy and made it more acceptable for normal, healthy individuals to explore their abilities and potential through therapy.

Potential Pitfalls of Humanistic Psychology

While humanistic psychology continues to influence therapy, education, healthcare, and other areas, it has not been without some criticism.

For example, the humanist approach is often seen as too subjective. The importance of individual experience makes it difficult to objectively study and measure humanistic phenomena. How can we objectively tell if someone is self-actualized? The answer, of course, is that we cannot. We can only rely upon the individual's assessment of their experience.

Another major criticism is that observations are often unverifiable; there is no accurate way to measure or quantify these qualities. This can make it more difficult to conduct research and design assessments to measure hard-to-measure concepts.

History of Humanistic Psychology

The early development of humanistic psychology was heavily influenced by the works of a few key theorists, especially Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Other prominent humanist thinkers included Rollo May and Erich Fromm.

In 1943, Abraham Maslow described his hierarchy of needs in "A Theory of Human Motivation" published in Psychological Review.3 Later during the late 1950s, Abraham Maslow and other psychologists held meetings to discuss developing a professional organization devoted to a more humanist approach to psychology.

They agreed that topics such as self-actualization, creativity, individuality, and related topics were the central themes of this new approach. In 1951, Carl Rogers published "Client-Centered Therapy," which described his humanistic, client-directed approach to therapy. In 1961, the Journal of Humanistic Psychology was established.

It was also in 1961 that the American Association for Humanistic Psychology was formed, and by 1971, humanistic psychology became an APA division.

In 1962, Maslow published "Toward a Psychology of Being," describing humanistic psychology as the "third force" in psychology. The first and second forces were behaviorism and psychoanalysis, respectively.

Takeaways

Today, the concepts central to humanistic psychology can be seen in many disciplines including other branches of psychology, education, therapy, political movements, and other areas. For example, transpersonal psychology and positive psychology both draw heavily on humanist influences.4

The goals of humanism are just as relevant today as they were in the 1940s and 1950s, Humanistic psychology continues to empower individuals, enhance well-being, push people toward fulfilling their potential, and improve communities all over the world.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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