Psychology is the scientific study of how we think, feel and behave. In this lesson, you'll get an overview of the five major perspectives that have guided modern psychological research.
Why do you act the way you do? Have you ever wondered why some people are the life of the party and others prefer to curl up with a good book? Or why you remember certain events but not others? People have studied the mind and how it works since the time of the ancient Greeks, but the scientific study of psychology only dates back to a little over a hundred years ago.
Since Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology lab in 1879, psychologists have studied various aspects of human behavior, such as personality, brain functions and socio-cultural influences. As psychology progressed, it began to tackle the question of why we do what we do from different angles, including: biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive and humanistic perspectives. Let's look at each of these five main approaches that guide modern psychological research.
Biological Approach
Biopsychologists look at how your nervous system, hormones and genetic makeup affect your behavior. Biological psychologists explore the connection between your mental states and your brain, nerves and hormones to explore how your thoughts, moods and actions are shaped.
So what does that mean? It means that for the biological approach, you are the sum of your parts. You think the way you do because of the way your brain is built and because of your body's needs. All of your choices are based on your physical body. The biological approach attempts to understand the healthy brain, but it also examines the mind and body to figure out how disorders like schizophrenia develop from genetic roots.
Psychodynamic Approach
The psychodynamic approach was promoted by Sigmund Freud, who believed that many of our impulses are driven by sex. Psychologists in this school of thought believe that unconscious drives and experiences from early childhood are at the root of your behaviors and that conflict arises when societal restrictions are placed on these urges.
There are a lot of jokes about Freud and his now mostly outdated theories. But have you ever thought that something about who you are today comes from your experiences as a child? Say, you blame your smoking habit on an oral fixation that stems from being weaned from breastfeeding too early as a baby. Well, that also comes from Freud's theories, and it was an idea that revolutionized how we see ourselves.
Behavioral Approach
Behavioral psychologists believe that external environmental stimuli influence your behavior and that you can be trained to act a certain way. Behaviorists like B.F. Skinner don't believe in free will. They believe that you learn through a system of reinforcements and punishment.
The behavioral approach is really effective when you don't care what someone thinks, as long as you get the desired behavior. The influence of these theories affects us every day and throughout our lives, impacting everything from why we follow the rules of the road when driving to how advertising companies build campaigns to get us to buy their products.
Cognitive Approach
In contrast to behaviorists, cognitive psychologists believe that your behavior is determined by your expectations and emotions. Cognitive psychologist Jean Piaget would argue that you remember things based on what you already know. You also solve problems based on your memory of past experiences.
So, with this approach, we turn away from people as machines without free will and delve back into thoughts and feelings. How you act is based upon internal processes, and there is much more stress upon individuals. From a cognitive perspective, your expectations of an upcoming party will affect how you feel and act while you're there and will color your memory of the night after you return home.
Humanistic Approach
Humanistic psychologists believe that you're essentially good and that you're motivated to realize your full potential. Psychologists from this camp focus on how you can feel good about yourself by fulfilling your needs and goals. The prominent humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers called his patients 'clients' and offered a supportive environment in which clients could gain insight into their own feelings.
In contrast to the behavioral approach, the humanistic approach works on individual empowerment. Whether you are right or not, in a larger sense, you are motivated to be the best person you can be. All your choices come from trying to improve your life. So, if you're trying to cut back on your nightly wine consumption, a humanistic therapist would be encouraging and supportive but won't directly advise you to quit or try to analyze why you drink in the first place.
Quick Review:
- Psychology is the scientific study of human thought, feelings and behavior.
- The five major perspectives in psychology are biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive and humanistic.
- Each perspective provides its own view on the roots of why you do what you do.
Humanism incorporates a variety of therapeutic techniques, including Rogerian (person-centered) therapy, and often emphasizes a goal of self-actualization.
The Development of Humanistic Psychology
Humanism arose in the late 1950s as a “third force” in psychology, primarily in response to what some psychologists viewed as significant limitations in the behaviorist and psychoanalytic schools of thought. Behaviorism was often criticized for lacking focus on human consciousness and personality and for being deterministic, mechanistic, and over-reliant on animal studies. Psychoanalysis was rejected for its strong emphasis on unconscious and instinctive forces and for being deterministic, as well.
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In 1957 and 1958, Abraham Maslow and Clark Moustakas met with psychologists who shared their goal of establishing a professional association that emphasized a more positive and humanistic approach. The discussions revolved around the topics they believed would become the core tenets of this new approach to psychology: Self-actualization, creativity, health, individuality, intrinsic nature, self, being, becoming, and meaning.After receiving sponsorship from Brandeis University, The American Association for Humanistic Psychology was founded in 1961. Other major contributors to the development of humanistic psychology were Carl Rogers, Gordon Allport, James Bugental, Charlotte Buhler, Rollo May, Gardner Murphy, Henry Murray, Fritz Perls, Kirk Schneider, Louis Hoffman, and Paul Wong.
Some fundamental assumptions of humanistic psychology include:
- Experiencing (thinking, sensing, perceiving, feeling, remembering, and so on) is central.
- The subjective experience of the individual is the primary indicator of behavior.
- An accurate understanding of human behavior cannot be achieved by studying animals.
- Free will exists, and individuals should take personal responsibility for self-growth and fulfillment. Not all behavior is determined.
- Self-actualization (the need for a person to reach maximum potential) is natural.
- People are inherently good and will experience growth if provided with suitable conditions, especially during childhood.
- Each person and each experience is unique, so psychologists should treat each case individually, rather than rely on averages from group studies.
Humanistic Psychology vs. the Medical Model
One of the basic principles of humanistic psychology is the belief that focus on an individual is more beneficial and informative than a focus on groups of individuals with similar characteristics. Humanism also stresses the importance of subjective reality as a guide to behavior.
The medical model assumes that behavioral, emotional, and psychological issues are often consequences of physical problems; thus, a medical approach to treatment should be taken. While this may be true of some conditions that result from physical damage, such as a traumatic brain injury, it can be problematic to apply a medical model to all mental health concerns.
Some of the most obvious differences between mental and physical health issues lie in the nature and treatment of concerns. Mental health difficulties, unlike physical problems, often improve when the individual experiencing the difficulty speaks about what is wrong or talks through the issue. Further, physical illness may occur as a result of physiochemical interactions or the activity of pathogens, while mental health issues are often closely linked to interpersonal relationships.
Supporters of the medical model might view individuals experiencing mental health concerns as “patients” who have an “illness” that can be “diagnosed” and “cured” after specific “symptoms” are identified. However, humanistic psychologists believe that each individual is a unique, valuable social being who is often best assisted through genuine person-to-person relationships. Rather than focusing on specific symptoms, supporters of the humanistic approach emphasize issues such as self-understanding, positive self-regard, and self-growth, with the aim of helping each individual by addressing and treating the whole person.
Humanistic Psychology in Therapy
Humanistic psychologists typically refrain from using techniques that foster objective study, such as non-participant observation and scientific experimentation. As humanistic therapists tend to believe that reducing human nature to mere numbers robs it of its richness, they are more likely to use qualitative methods of study, such as unstructured interviews and participant observation.
Unstructured interviews allow the therapist to gain access to an individual’s thoughts and experiences without directing the session toward any particular topics or ideas. Participant observation, which requires that the therapist take part in the study, facilitates the formation of personal relationships and allows the therapist the opportunity to get direct feedback from the person in therapy. Other forms of qualitative data collection include the analysis of biographies, diaries, and letters.
Humanistic psychology integrates multiple therapeutic techniques, such as Carl Rogers' person-centered therapy, which is also known as "Rogerian therapy." Humanism suggests that a person is created with a distinct priority of needs and drives and that each person must rely on a personal sense of inner wisdom and healing. Psychologists who practice this method of therapy take a non-pathological approach, targeting productive, adaptive, and beneficial traits and behaviors of an individual in treatment.
Humanism’s Contributions to Psychology
The humanistic approach has made several significant contributions to the field of psychology. It presented a new approach to understanding human nature, new methods of data collection in human behavioral studies, and a broad range of psychotherapy techniques that have been shown to be effective. Some of the major concepts and ideas that emerged from the humanistic movement include:
- Hierarchy of needs
- Person-centered therapy
- Unconditional positive regard
- Free will
- Self-concept
- Self-actualization
- Peak experiences
- Fully-functioning person
Humanism has inspired many contemporary modes of therapy, and most therapists value Rogerian principles such as unconditional positive regard, even if they do not identify themselves as proponents of the humanistic approach. This value-oriented approach views humans as inherently driven to maximize their creative choices and interactions in order to gain a heightened sense of liberty, awareness, and life-affirming emotions, and the therapist and person in therapy cooperate in order to set therapeutic goals and work to reach the established milestones that may help promote positive change. Self-actualization is often considered to be central to this approach.
Humanistic psychology stresses the inherent value of human beings and focuses on their ability and willingness to maintain dignity while growing in self-respect and competence. This value orientation is considered to be responsible for the creation of various other therapy models that utilize interpersonal skills for the purpose of maximizing one’s life experience.
Limitations of Humanistic Psychology
Humanism’s reliance on the subjective experiences of individuals may make it difficult to objectively measure, record, and study humanistic variables and features. The emphasis on gathering qualitative data makes it almost impossible to measure and verify any observations made in therapy. Not only might it be challenging to compare one set of qualitative data with another, the overall lack of quantitative data means that key theories cannot be supported by empirical evidence.
Other criticisms of the approach include its lack of effectiveness in treating severe mental health issues and the generalizations made about human nature, as well as the complete rejection of some important behaviorist and psychoanalytic concepts. For example, although humanistic psychology holds that animal studies are useless in the study of human behavior, some animal studies have led to concepts that are applicable to people. Additionally, humanistic psychology focuses exclusively on free will and the conscious mind, but research does show that the unconscious mind plays a significant role in human psychology.
References:
- Association of Humanistic Psychology. (1991). Historic review of humanistic psychology. Retrieved from //www.ahpweb.org/about/history/what-is-humanistic-psychology.html
- Sammons, A. (n.d.). The humanistic approach: The basics. Retrieved from //www.psychlotron.org.uk/newResources/approaches/AS_AQB_approaches_HumanisticBasics.pdf
- University College London. (n.d.). Basic competencies for humanistic psychological therapies. Retrieved from //www.ucl.ac.uk/clinical-psychology/CORE/Humanistic_Competences/basic_humanistic_competences.pdf
- Wong, P. T. P. (2014). Humanistic theories. Retrieved from //www.drpaulwong.com/humanistic-theories-2
Last Update: 03-08-2018