Humanistic psychology: basic principles and methods, representatives, interesting facts. Humanistic approach in psychology
Humanistic psychology is a direction in psychology, the subject of study of which is the whole person in his highest, human-specific manifestations, including the development and self-actualization of the individual, its highest values and meanings, love, creativity, freedom, responsibility, autonomy, experiences of the world, mental health, “deep interpersonal communication”, etc.
Humanistic psychology emerged as a psychological movement in the early 1960s, opposing itself, on the one hand, to behaviorism, which was criticized for its mechanistic approach to human psychology by analogy with animal psychology, for considering human behavior as completely dependent on external stimuli, and, on the other hand, psychoanalysis, criticized for the idea of human mental life as completely determined by unconscious drives and complexes. Representatives of the humanistic movement strive to build a completely new, fundamentally different methodology for understanding man as a unique object of research.
The basic methodological principles and provisions of the humanistic direction are as follows:
> a person is whole and must be studied in his integrity;
> each person is unique, therefore the analysis of individual cases is no less justified than statistical generalizations;
> a person is open to the world, a person’s experiences of the world and himself in the world are the main psychological reality;
> human life should be considered as a single process of human formation and existence;
> a person has the potential for continuous development and self-realization, which are part of his nature;
> a person has a certain degree of freedom from external determination thanks to the meanings and values that guide him in his choice;
> man is an active, intentional, creative being. The main representatives of this direction are
A. Maslow, W. Frankl, S. Bühler, R May, F. Barron, etc.
A. Maslow is known as one of the founders of the humanistic movement in psychology. He is best known for his hierarchical model of motivation. According to this concept, seven classes of needs consistently appear in a person from birth and accompany his/her growing up:
1) physiological (organic) needs, such as hunger, thirst, sexual desire, etc.;
2) security needs - the need to feel protected, to get rid of fear and failure, from aggressiveness;
3) the need for belonging and love - the need to belong to a community, to be close to people, to be recognized and accepted by them;
4) needs of respect (honor) - the need to achieve success, approval, recognition, authority;
5) cognitive needs - the need to know, be able to, understand, explore;
6) aesthetic needs - the need for harmony, symmetry, order, beauty;
7) self-actualization needs - the need to realize one’s goals, abilities, and develop one’s own personality.
According to A. Maslow, physiological needs lie at the base of this motivational pyramid, and higher needs, such as aesthetic and the need for self-actualization, form its top. He also believed that the needs of higher levels can only be satisfied if the needs of lower levels are first met. Therefore, only a small number of people (about 1%) achieve self-actualization. These people have personal characteristics that are qualitatively different from the personality traits of neurotics and people who have not reached such a degree of maturity: independence, creativity, philosophical worldview, democracy in relationships, productivity in all areas of activity, etc. Later, A. Maslow abandoned the rigid hierarchy of this model , distinguishing two classes of needs: need needs and development needs.
V. Frankl believed that the main driving force of personality development is the desire for meaning, the absence of which creates an “existential vacuum” and can lead to the most tragic consequences, including suicide.
Humanistic psychology - a direction in Western (mainly American) psychology that recognizes personality as its main subject, as a unique integral system, which is not something given in advance, but an “open possibility” of self-actualization, inherent only to man. In humanistic psychology, the main subjects of analysis are: highest values, self-actualization of the individual, creativity, love, freedom, responsibility, autonomy, mental health, interpersonal communication. Humanistic psychology emerged as an independent movement in the early 60s of the 20th century as a protest against the dominance of behaviorism and psychoanalysis in the United States, receiving the name of the third force. A. Maslow, K. Rogers, W. Frankl, S. Bühler, R. May, S. Jurard, D. Bugental, E. Shostrom and others can be included in this direction. Humanistic psychology relies on existentialism as its philosophical basis. The manifesto of humanistic psychology was the book edited by R. May “Existential Psychology” - a collection of papers presented at a symposium in Cincinnati in September 1959 as part of the annual convention of the American Psychological Association.
Main features
In 1963, the first president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, James Bugental, put forward five fundamental principles of this branch of psychology:
Man as a whole being is greater than the sum of his parts (in other words, man cannot be explained by the scientific study of his partial functions).
Human existence unfolds in the context of human relationships (in other words, a person cannot be explained by his partial functions, in which interpersonal experience is not taken into account).
A person is aware of himself (and cannot be understood by psychology that does not take into account his continuous, multi-level self-awareness).
A person has a choice (a person is not a passive observer of the process of his existence: he creates his own experience).
A person is intentional (a person is oriented towards the future; his life has a purpose, values and meaning).
Some areas of psychotherapy and humanistic pedagogy are built on the basis of humanistic psychology. The healing factors in the work of a humanistic psychologist and psychotherapist are, first of all, unconditional acceptance of the client, support, empathy, attention to internal experiences, stimulation of choice and decision-making, authenticity. However, despite its apparent simplicity, humanistic psychotherapy is based on a serious phenomenological philosophical basis and uses an extremely wide range of therapeutic technologies and methods. One of the basic beliefs of humanistic-oriented specialists is that every person contains the potential for recovery. Under certain conditions, a person can independently and fully realize this potential. Therefore, the work of a humanistic psychologist is aimed, first of all, at creating favorable conditions for the reintegration of the individual in the process of therapeutic meetings.
It puts at the center of its methodology the client's personality, which is the controlling center in the penologist's decision-making. This distinguishes this direction from psychodynamic theory, which emphasizes how the past 1 affects the present, and from behaviorist theory, which uses the influence of the environment on the personality.
Humanistic, or existential-humanistic*| Some direction in psychology was developed by K. Rogers! F. Perls, V. Frankl. ;|
Their main methodological position is that|| The purpose of man is to live and act, defining | his destiny, the concentration of control and decisions is within the person himself, and not in his environment.
The main concepts in which this branch of psychology analyzes human life are the concept of human existence, decision-making or choice and the corresponding action that alleviates anxiety; the concept of intentionality - an opportunity that states that a person, acting in the world, must be clearly aware of the impact of the world on him.
The task of the client and the psychologist is to understand the client’s world as fully as possible and support him while making a responsible decision.
The revolution, which in practical psychology is associated with the works of K. Rogers, is that he began to emphasize the responsibility of the person himself for his actions and decisions. This is based on the belief that every person has an initial desire for maximum social self-actualization.
The psychologist supports the client's mental health, giving the person the opportunity to get in touch with his inner world. The main concept with which psychologists of this direction work is the worldview of a particular client. Working with the client’s world requires the psychologist to have the skills of attention and listening, and high-quality empathy. A psychologist must be able to work with the contradiction between the real and ideal image of the client’s “I”, establishing a relationship with the client. In this process, the psychologist must achieve congruence with the client during the interview. To do this, the psychologist must have authenticity during the interview and treat the client in a deliberately positive and non-judgmental manner.
During the interview, the psychologist uses open and closed questions, reflection of feelings, retelling, self-disclosure and other techniques that allow the client to express his worldview.
Using interaction methods in communication with the client that allow the client to relieve anxiety and tension, the psychologist shows the client how to communicate with people. A client, heard and understood by a psychologist, can change.
In the humanistic direction of psychology, Gestalt therapy (F. Perls) occupies a special place, characterized by a variety of techniques and microtechniques that influence the client. Let us list some of the techniques of Gestalt therapy: perception of “here and now”, directiveness; speech changes;
empty chair method: conversation with part of your “I”; dialogue between the “top dog” - authoritarian, directive, and the “bottom dog” - passive with a sense of guilt, seeking forgiveness; fixed sensation; working with dreams.
In addition, thanks to the work of V. Frankl, attitude change techniques are used in humanistic psychology! nia; paradoxical intentions; switching; escape method."| Denia (call). Implementation of these techniques requires psi*.| chologist of eloquence, precision of verbal formulations/! orientation to the client's worldview. |
The humanistic direction of practical psychology^ constantly focuses on the individual growth of the client. SCH
A practical psychologist working with a client contributes | in an interview with him his own worldview. If the psycho-Dologist is inclined to impose his point of view on the client, then this may lead to an inability to hear the client, which is disparate. ruins the interaction situation. Psychologist to work| If you want to be effective, you shouldn’t start work with a preconceived idea!” ideas about how his client's world should be structured.! The practical work of a psychologist is working with specific | individuality of a person. Including with itself! individuality is an integral part of his professionalism"| new position. ,.<|
A psychologist needs to constantly study his personality, | ny and professional opportunities to avoid rigidity or excessive freedom in the development of personal concepts^!
The psychologist and the client - two different people - meet in | interview time. Regardless of its success, both will participate! as a result of interaction, they change. . l|
Supporters of humanistic theories of individuality primarily interested in how a person perceives, understands and explains real events in his own life. They describe the phenomenology of individuality, rather than looking for an explanation for it, because theories of this type are periodically called phenomenological. Descriptions of an individual and events in her life here are mainly concentrated on present life experiences, and not on the past or future, and are given in terms such as “meaning of life”, “values”, “life goals”, etc.
The most famous representatives of this approach to individuality are American specialists A. Maslow and K. Rogers. We will specifically consider A. Maslow’s concept further, and now we will briefly dwell only on the characteristics of C. Rogers’ theory.
Creating his own theory of individuality, Rogers proceeded from the fact that every person has the desire and ability for personal self-improvement. Being a being endowed with consciousness, he determines for himself the meaning of life, his goals and values, and is the supreme expert and supreme judge. The central concept in Rogers' theory was the concept of "I", which includes perceptions, ideas, goals and values through which a person characterizes himself and outlines the prospects for his growth. The main questions that any person poses and must solve are the following: “Who am I?”, “What can I do to become who I want to be?”
The image of “I”, which develops as a result of personal life experience, in turn influences a given person’s perception of the world, other people, and the assessments that a person gives of his behavior. The self-concept can be positive, ambivalent (contradictory), negative. An individual with a positive self-concept sees the world differently than a person with a negative or ambivalent one. The self-concept may incorrectly reflect reality, be distorted and fictitious. What does not agree with a person’s self-concept may be repressed from his consciousness, rejected, but in fact may be true. The degree of a person’s satisfaction with life, the degree of completeness of the joy he feels, depends precisely on the extent to which her experience, her “real self” and “ideal self” are consistent with each other.
The main need of a person, according to humanistic theories of individuality, is self-actualization, the desire for self-improvement and self-expression. Recognition of the main role of self-actualization unites all representatives of this theoretical direction in the study of the psychology of individuality, despite significant differences in views.
According to A. Maslow, the psychological characteristics of self-actualizing individuals include:
Active perception of reality and the ability to navigate it well;
Acceptance of yourself and other people as they are;
Spontaneity in actions and spontaneity in expressing one’s own thoughts and feelings;
Focusing on what happens outside, as opposed to focusing only on the inner world, and focusing consciousness on your feelings and experiences;
Possessing a sense of humor;
Developed creative abilities;
Rejection of conventions, but without ostentatiously ignoring them;
Concern for the well-being of other people and failure to provide only for one’s own joy;
The ability to deeply understand life;
Humanistic psychology
Humanistic psychology - A direction in psychology in which the main subjects of analysis are: highest values, self-actualization of the individual, creativity, love, freedom, responsibility, autonomy, mental health, interpersonal communication.
Representatives
A. Maslow
K. Rogers
V. Frankl
F. Barron
S. Jurard
Subject of study
A unique and inimitable personality, constantly creating himself, aware of his purpose in life. He studies health, harmonious individuals who have reached the pinnacle of personal development, the pinnacle of “self-actualization.”
Self-realization.
Consciousness of self-worth.
Social needs.
Reliability needs.
Stages of personality degradation.
Search for the meaning of life.
Physiological basic needs.
The unsuitability of animal research for human understanding.
Theoretical provisions
a person is whole
Not only general, but also individual cases are valuable
The main psychological reality is human experiences
Human life is a holistic process
A person is open to self-realization
A person is not determined only by external situations
Contributions to psychology
Humanistic psychology opposes the construction of psychology on the model of the natural sciences and argues that a person, even as an object of research, should be studied as an active subject, assessing the experimental situation and choosing a method of behavior.
Humanistic psychology - a number of directions in modern psychology that are focused primarily on the study of human semantic structures. In humanistic psychology, the main subjects of analysis are: highest values, self-actualization of the individual, creativity, love, freedom, responsibility, autonomy, mental health, interpersonal communication. Humanistic psychology emerged as an independent movement in the early 60s. gg. XX century as a protest against behaviorism and psychoanalysis, receiving the name "third force". A. Maslow, K. Rogers, W. Frankl, S. Bühler can be attributed to this direction. F. Barron, R. May, S. Jurard and others. The methodological positions of humanistic psychology are formulated in the following premises:
1. A person is whole.
2. Not only general, but also individual cases are valuable.
3. The main psychological reality is a person’s experiences.
4. Human life is a single process.
5. A person is open to self-realization.
6. A person is not determined only by external situations.
Some areas of psychotherapy and humanistic pedagogy are built on the basis of humanistic psychology.
One of the leading trends in modern foreign psychology is humanistic psychology, which defines itself as the “third force” in psychology, opposed to psychoanalysis and behaviorism. The emergence of the name and the formulation of the basic principles is associated with the name of the American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970); this took place in the 60s of our century. At the center of humanistic psychology is the concept of personality formation, the idea of the need for maximum creative self-realization, which means true mental health.
Let us outline the main differences between humanistic psychology and the first two “forces”.
Individuality in humanistic psychology is viewed as an integrative whole; as opposed to behaviorism, which is focused on the analysis of individual events.
Humanistic psychology emphasizes the irrelevance (unsuitability) of animal research to understanding humans; this thesis also opposes behaviorism.
Unlike classical psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology argues that man is inherently good or, at most, neutral; aggression". violence, etc. arise due to the influence of the environment.
The most universal human characteristic in Maslow’s concept is creativity, i.e. a creative orientation that is innate to “everyone, but is lost by the majority due to the influence of the environment, although some manage to maintain a naive, “childish” view of the world.
Finally, Maslow emphasizes humanistic psychology's interest in the psychologically healthy individual;
Before analyzing illness, you need to understand what health is (in Freud's psychoanalysis the path is the opposite).
These principles generally apply to other humanistic concepts, although in general humanistic psychology does not represent a unified theory;
It is united by some general provisions and a “personal” orientation in the practice of psychotherapy and pedagogy.
We will look at humanistic psychology using the views of A. Maslow and C. Rogers as an example.
The “heart” of Maslow’s concept is his idea of human needs. Maslow believed that a person’s needs are “given” and hierarchically organized into levels. If we imagine this hierarchy in the form of a pyramid or ladder, then the following levels are distinguished (from bottom to top):
1. Basic physiological needs (food, water, oxygen, optimal temperature, sexual need, etc.).
2. Needs related to security (confidence, structure, order, predictability of the environment).
3. Needs related to love and acceptance (the need for affective relationships with others, for inclusion in a group, to love and be loved).
4. Needs related to respect for others and self-esteem.
5. Needs associated with self-actualization, or needs for personal consistency.
The general principle proposed by Maslow for the interpretation of personality development: lower needs must be satisfied to some extent before a person can move on to the realization of higher ones. Without this, a person may not be aware of the presence of higher-level needs. In general, Maslow believed, the higher a person can climb the ladder of needs, the more health and humanity he will show, the more individual he will be.
At the “top” of the pyramid are the needs associated with self-actualization. Maslow defined self-actualization as the desire to become all that one can be; This is the need for self-improvement, for realizing one’s potential. This path is difficult; it is associated with the experience of fear of the unknown and responsibility, but it is also the path to a full, internally rich life; By the way, self-actualization does not necessarily imply an artistic form of embodiment: communication, work, love, and also forms of creativity.
Although all people seek inner consistency, only a few reach the level of self-actualization (which is not a state, but a process!) - less than 1%. Most, according to Maslow, are simply blind to their potential, do not know about its existence and do not know the joy of moving towards its disclosure. This is facilitated by the environment: bureaucratic society tends to level the individual (remember the similar ideas of “humanistic psychoanalysis” by E. Fromm). This also applies to the family environment: children growing up in friendly conditions, when the need for security is satisfied, have a greater chance of self-actualization.
In general, if a person does not reach the level of self-actualization, this means “blocking” a lower level need.
A person who has reached the level of self-actualization (“self-actualizing personality”) turns out to be a special person, not burdened by many small vices such as envy, anger, bad taste, cynicism;
He will not be prone to depression and pessimism, selfishness, etc. (By the way, one of the examples of self-actualizing personality A, Maslow considered the Gesttelt psychologist Max Wertheimer, already known to you, whom he met after his emigration to the USA). Such a person is distinguished by high self-esteem, he accepts OTHERS, accepts nature, is unconventional (i.e., independent of conventions), simple and democratic, has a sense of humor (and a philosophical one), is prone to experiencing “peak feelings” such as inspiration, etc. ;
So, the task of a person, according to Maslow, is to become what is possible - and therefore to be oneself - in a society where conditions are not conducive to this. A person turns out to be the highest value and is ultimately responsible only for becoming successful.
The concept of self-actualization is at the center of the concept of one of the most popular psychologists of the 20th century (mainly among practitioners, therapists and teachers) - Carl Rogers (1902-1987). For him, however, the concept of self-actualization turns out to be a designation of the force that forces a person to develop at a variety of levels, determining both his mastery of motor skills and the highest creative heights.
Man, like other living organisms, Rogers believes, has an innate tendency to live, grow, and develop. All biological needs are subject to this tendency - they must be satisfied for the purpose of positive development, and the development process proceeds despite the fact that many obstacles stand in its way - there are many examples of how people living in harsh conditions not only survive, but continue to progress.
According to Rogers, man is not what he appears to be in psychoanalysis. He believes that a person is inherently good and does not need control from society; Moreover, it is control that makes a person act badly. Behavior that leads a person down the path to unhappiness is not consistent with human nature. Cruelty, antisociality, immaturity, etc. are the result of fear and psychological defense; The task of a psychologist is to help a person discover his positive tendencies, which are present at deep levels in everyone.
The actualizing tendency (this is how the need for self-actualization is designated in the dynamics of its manifestation) is the reason that a person becomes more complex, independent, and socially responsible.
Initially, all experiences, all experiences are evaluated (not necessarily consciously) through a tendency towards actualization. Satisfaction comes from those experiences that correspond to this tendency; they try to avoid opposite experiences. This orientation is characteristic of a person as the leading one until the structure of the “I” is formed, i.e., self-awareness.
The problem, according to Rogers, is that along with the formation of the “I,” the child develops a desire for a positive attitude towards himself from others and a need for a positive self-attitude; however, the only way to develop a positive self-regard is to adopt behaviors that elicit positive attitudes from others. In other words, the child will now be guided not by what corresponds to the actualizing tendency, but by how likely it is to receive approval. This means that in the child’s mind the values in life will not appear as those that correspond to his nature, and the idea of himself will not allow that which contradicts the acquired system of values; the child will reject and not allow into knowledge about himself those of his experiences, manifestations, and experiences that do not correspond to the ideals that “came from outside.” The child's "self-concept" (i.e., self-image) begins to include false elements that are not based on what the child really is.
This situation of abandoning one’s own assessments in favor of someone else creates an alienation between a person’s experience and his self-image, their inconsistency with each other, which Rogers denotes by the term “incongruence”; this means, at the level of manifestations, anxiety, vulnerability, lack of integrity of the individual. This is aggravated by the unreliability of “external reference points” - they are unstable; from here Rogers derives a tendency to join groups that are relatively conservative in this regard—religious, social, small groups of close friends, etc., since incongruence is characteristic of a person of any age and social status. However, the ultimate goal, according to Rogers, is not the stabilization of external assessments, but loyalty to one’s own feelings.
Is it possible to develop on the basis of self-actualization, and not an orientation toward external evaluation? The only way of non-interference in a child’s self-actualization, Rogers believes, is an unconditional positive attitude towards the child, “unconditional acceptance”; the child must know. that he is loved no matter what he does; then s the needs for positive regard and self-regard will not be in conflict with the need for self-actualization; Only under this condition will the individual be psychologically whole, “fully functioning.”
As a practitioner, Rogers proposed a number of procedures to mitigate incongruity; they are reflected primarily in individual and group psychotherapy. Rogers initially designated his psychotherapy as “non-directive,” which meant a refusal to make prescriptive recommendations (and this is what is most often expected of a psychologist) and faith in the client’s ability to solve his problems himself if an appropriate atmosphere of unconditional acceptance is created. Rogers subsequently labeled his therapy as “client-centered therapy”; Now the therapist’s tasks included not only creating an atmosphere, but also the openness of the therapist himself, his movement towards understanding the client’s problems and the manifestation of this understanding, i.e. both the client’s feelings and the therapist’s feelings are important. Finally, Rogers developed “person-centered” therapy, the principles of which (the main focus is on the individual as such, not on social roles or identity) spread beyond psychotherapy in the traditional sense of the word and formed the basis of meeting groups, covering problems of learning, family development, interethnic relations, etc. In all cases, the main thing for Rogers is the appeal to self-actualization and emphasizing the role of unconditional positive regard as what allows a person to become a “fully functioning person.” The properties of a fully functioning personality, in Rogers’ understanding, are in many ways reminiscent of the properties of a child, which is natural - a person seems to return to an independent assessment of the world, characteristic of a child before reorienting to the conditions for receiving approval.
The position of Viktor Frankl (born in 1905), the founder of the 3rd Vienna School of Psychotherapy (after the schools of Freud and Adler), is close to humanistic psychology (although largely based on psychoanalysis). His approach is called “logotherapy”, i.e. therapy focused on finding the meaning of life. Frankl bases his approach on three basic concepts: free will, the will to meaning, and the meaning of life. Thus, Frankl indicates disagreement with behaviorism and psychoanalysis: behaviorism essentially rejects the idea of human free will, psychoanalysis puts forward ideas about the pursuit of pleasure (Freud) or the will to power (early Adler); As for the meaning of life, Freud believed that a person asking this question thereby exhibits mental ill-being. According to Frankl, this question is natural for modern man, and it is the fact that a person does not strive to achieve it, does not see the paths leading to this, that is the main cause of psychological difficulties and negative experiences such as a feeling of meaninglessness, worthlessness of life. The main obstacle is a person’s centering on himself, the inability to go “beyond himself” - to another person or to meaning; meaning, according to Frankl, exists objectively in every moment of life, including the most tragic ones; a psychotherapist cannot give a person this meaning (it is different for everyone), but he can help him see it. Frankl refers to “going beyond one’s limits” as “self-transcendence” and considers self-actualization to be only one of the moments of self-transcendence.
In order to help a person with his problems, Frankl uses two basic principles (they are also therapy methods): the principle of dereflection and the principle of paradoxical intention. The principle of dereflection means the removal of excessive self-control, thinking about one’s own difficulties, what is commonly called “soul-searching.” (Thus, a number of studies have shown that modern youth suffer more from thoughts about what “complexes” they carry, rather than from the complexes themselves). The principle of paradoxical intention suggests that the therapist inspires the client to do exactly what he is trying to avoid; at the same time, various forms of humor are actively used (although this is not necessary) - Frankl considers humor a form of freedom, similar to how in an extreme situation heroic behavior is a form of freedom.
Direction being developed. V. Frankl, like humanistic psychology or Gestalt therapy, can hardly be called a theory in the strict sense of the word. Frankl's statement is characteristic that the main argument confirming the legitimacy of his position is his own experience as a prisoner in fascist concentration camps. It was there that Frankl became convinced that even in inhuman conditions it is possible not only to remain human, but also to rise, sometimes to the point of holiness, if the meaning of life is preserved.
Humanistic psychology- a number of directions in modern psychology that are focused primarily on the study of human semantic structures. In humanistic psychology, the main subjects of analysis are: highest values, self-actualization of the individual, creativity, love, freedom, responsibility, autonomy, mental health, interpersonal communication.
Humanistic psychology, which emerged as an alternative direction to the psychological schools of the mid-century, primarily behaviorism and psychoanalysis, formed its own concept of personality and its development.
The center of this trend was the USA, and the leading figures were K. Rogers, R. May, A. Maslow, G. Allport. American psychology, Allport noted, has few original theories of its own. But it has done a great service in helping to disseminate and refine the scientific contributions that have been made. The influence of existentialist philosophy on a new direction in psychology does not mean that the latter was only its psychological duplicate. As a specific scientific discipline, psychology solves its own theoretical and practical problems, in the context of which the circumstances of the emergence of a new psychological school should be considered.
Each new direction in science defines its program through opposition to the attitudes of already established schools. In this case, humanistic psychology saw the inferiority of other psychological trends in the fact that they avoided confrontation with reality as a person experiences it, and ignored such constitutive features of personality as its integrity, unity, and uniqueness. As a result, the picture of personality appears fragmented and is constructed either as a “system of reactions” (Skinner), or as a set of “dimensions” (Guilford), agents such as the ego, id and superego (Freud), and role stereotypes. In addition, the personality is deprived of its most important characteristic - free will - and appears only as something determined from the outside: by stimuli, “field” forces, unconscious aspirations, role prescriptions. Her own aspirations come down to attempts to defuse (reduce) internal tension, to achieve balance with the environment; her consciousness and self-awareness are either completely ignored or seen as a disguise for the “rumblings of the unconscious.”
Humanistic psychology made a call to understand human existence in all its immediacy at a level that lies below the gulf between subject and object that was created by the philosophy and science of modern times. As a result, humanistic psychologists argue, on one side of this abyss there was a subject reduced to “rationality”, to the ability to operate with abstract concepts, on the other - an object given in these concepts. Man disappeared in all the fullness of his existence, and the world as it was given in human experiences also disappeared. Psychological “technology” also correlates with the views of the “behavioral” sciences on personality as an object that does not differ either in nature or in cognition from other objects in the world of things, animals, mechanisms: various kinds of manipulations related to learning and eliminating anomalies in behavior ( psychotherapy).
The main provisions of the new direction - the humanistic school of personality psychology, which is currently one of the most significant psychological schools, were formulated by Gordon Allport.
G. Allport (1897-1967) considered the concept of personality he created as an alternative to the mechanism of the behavioral approach and the biological, instinctive approach of psychoanalysts. Allport also objected to the transfer of facts associated with sick people, neurotics, to the psyche of a healthy person. Although he began his career as a psychotherapist, he very quickly moved away from medical practice, focusing on experimental studies of healthy people. Allport considered it necessary not just to collect and describe observed facts, as was practiced in behaviorism, but to systematize and explain them. “Collecting “naked facts” makes psychology a headless horseman,” he wrote, and he saw his task not only in developing methods for studying personality, but in creating new explanatory principles of personal development.
One of the main postulates of Allport's theory was that the individual is open and self-developing. Man is, first of all, a social being and therefore cannot develop without contacts with the people around him, with society. Hence Allport’s rejection of the position of psychoanalysis about the antagonistic, hostile relationship between the individual and society. At the same time, Allport argued that communication between the individual and society is not a desire to balance with the environment, but mutual communication and interaction. Thus, he sharply objected to the postulate generally accepted at that time that development is adaptation, the adaptation of man to the world around him, proving that man is characterized by the need to explode the balance and reach more and more new heights.
Allport was one of the first to talk about the uniqueness of each person. Each person is unique and individual, as he is the bearer of a unique combination of qualities and needs, which Allport called trite - trait. He divided these needs, or personality traits, into basic and instrumental. Basic traits stimulate behavior and are innate, genotypic, while instrumental traits shape behavior and are formed in the process of life, i.e., they are phenotypic formations. The set of these traits constitutes the core of personality.
Important for Allport is also the position about the autonomy of these traits, which develops over time. The child does not yet have this autonomy, since his features are still unstable and not fully formed. Only in an adult who is aware of himself, his qualities and his individuality, traits become truly autonomous and do not depend on either biological needs or social pressure. This autonomy of a person’s traits, being the most important characteristic of his personality, gives him the opportunity, while remaining open to society, to preserve his individuality. Thus, Allport solves the problem of identification-alienation, which is one of the most important for all humanistic psychology.
Allport developed not only his theoretical concept of personality, but also his methods for systematic research of the human psyche. For this purpose, he creates multifactorial questionnaires. The most famous is the University of Minnesota Questionnaire (MMPI), which is currently used (with a number of modifications) to analyze compatibility, professional suitability, etc. Over time, Allport came to the conclusion that an interview provides more information and is a more reliable method than a questionnaire, because it allows you to change questions during the conversation and observe the state and reaction of the subject. The clarity of the criteria, the presence of objective keys for decoding, and consistency distinguish all the methods of personality research developed by Allport from the subjective projective methods of the psychoanalytic school.
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a PhD in psychology in 1934. His own theory, which the scientist developed by the 50s of the 20th century, appeared on the basis of a detailed acquaintance with the basic psychological concepts that existed at that time (as well as the very idea of the need to form a third way, a third psychological direction, alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism).
In 1951, Maslow was invited to Branden University, where he served as chairman of the psychological department almost until his death. During the last years of his life, he also served as president of the American Psychological Association.
Speaking about the need to form a new approach to understanding the psyche, Maslow emphasized that he does not reject old approaches and old schools, is not an anti-behaviorist or anti-psychoanalyst, but is an anti-doctrinaire, i.e. opposes the absolutization of their experience.
One of the biggest shortcomings of psychoanalysis, from its point of view, is not so much the desire to downplay the role of consciousness, but the tendency to consider mental development from the point of view of the organism’s adaptation to the environment, the desire for balance with the environment. Like Allport, he believed that such equilibrium is death for the individual. Balance and rootedness in the environment negatively affect the desire for self-actualization, which makes a person an individual.
Maslow was no less active in opposing the reduction of all mental life to behavior, which was characteristic of behaviorism. The most valuable thing in the psyche - its selfhood, its desire for self-development - cannot be described and understood from the standpoint of behavioral psychology, and therefore the psychology of behavior should not be excluded, but supplemented by the psychology of consciousness, a psychology that would explore the “Self-conception” of the individual.
Maslow almost did not conduct global, large-scale experiments that are characteristic of American psychology, especially behaviorism. His small, pilot studies did not so much groping for new paths as confirming what he had arrived at in his theoretical reasoning. This is exactly how he approached the study of “self-actualization” - one of the central concepts of his concept of humanistic psychology.
Unlike psychoanalysts, who were primarily interested in deviant behavior, Maslow believed that the study of human nature must be "by studying its best representatives, and not by cataloging the difficulties and errors of average or neurotic individuals." Only in this way can we understand the limits of human capabilities, the true nature of man, which is not fully and clearly represented in other, less gifted people. The group he chose for the study consisted of eighteen people, nine of them were his contemporaries, and nine were historical figures (A. Lincoln, A. Einstein, W. James, B. Spinoza, etc.).
These studies led him to the idea that there is a certain hierarchy of human needs, which looks like this:
physiological needs - food, water, sleep, etc.;
need for security - stability, order;
need for love and belonging – family, friendship;
need for respect - self-esteem, recognition;
the need for self-actualization - development of abilities.
One of the weaknesses of Maslow's theory was that he argued that these needs are in a once and for all given rigid hierarchy and higher needs (for self-esteem or self-actualization) arise only after more elementary ones are satisfied. Not only critics, but also Maslow’s followers showed that very often the need for self-actualization or self-esteem was dominant and determined a person’s behavior despite the fact that his physiological needs were not satisfied, and sometimes prevented the satisfaction of these needs. Subsequently, Maslow himself abandoned such a rigid hierarchy, combining all needs into two classes: the needs of need (deficit) and the needs of development (self-actualization).
At the same time, most representatives of humanistic psychology accepted the term "self-actualization" introduced by Maslow, as well as his description of the "self-actualizing personality."
Self-actualization is associated with the ability to understand oneself, one’s inner nature and learn to “attune” in accordance with this nature and build one’s behavior based on it. This is not a one-time act, but a process that has no end, it is a way of “living, working and relating to the world, and not a single achievement.” Maslow identified the most significant moments in this process that change a person’s attitude towards himself and the world and stimulate personal growth. This can be an instantaneous experience—a “peak experience”—or a long-term one—a “plateau experience.”
Describing a self-actualizing personality, Maslow said that such a person is characterized by acceptance of himself and the world, including other people. These are, as a rule, people who adequately and effectively perceive the situation, centered on the task, and not on themselves. At the same time, they are also characterized by a desire for solitude, autonomy and independence from the environment and culture.
Thus, Maslow’s theory includes the concepts of identification and alienation, although these mechanisms have not been fully disclosed. However, the general direction of his reasoning and experimental research gives us the opportunity to understand his approach to the mental development of the individual, his understanding of the connections between the individual and society.
The scientist believed that it was conscious aspirations and motives, and not unconscious instincts, that constitute the essence of human personality. However, the desire for self-actualization, for the realization of one’s abilities, encounters obstacles, lack of understanding of others and one’s own weaknesses. Many people retreat in the face of difficulties, which does not leave its mark on the individual and stops his growth. Neurotics are people with an undeveloped or unconscious need for self-actualization. Society, by its very nature, cannot help but hinder a person’s desire for self-actualization. After all, any society strives to make a person its stereotyped representative, alienates the personality from its essence, makes it conformal.
At the same time, alienation, while preserving the “self”, the individuality of the individual, puts it in opposition to the environment and also deprives it of the opportunity to self-actualize. Therefore, a person needs to maintain a balance between these two mechanisms, which, like Scylla and Charybdis, guard him and seek to destroy him. Optimal, Maslow believed, are identification on the external plane, in communication with the outside world, and alienation on the internal plane, in terms of the development of self-awareness. It is this approach that gives a person the opportunity to communicate effectively with others and at the same time remain himself. This position of Maslow made him popular among intellectuals, as it largely reflected the views of this social group on the relationship between the individual and society.
Assessing Maslow's theory, it should be noted that he was perhaps the first psychologist to pay attention not only to deviations, difficulties and negative aspects of personality. He was one of the first to explore the achievements of personal experience, revealing ways for self-development and self-improvement of any person.
Carl Rogers (1902-1987) graduated from the University of Wisconsin, abandoning the priestly career for which he had been preparing since his youth. He became interested in psychology, and work as a practicing psychologist at the Children's Help Center gave him interesting material, which he summarized in his first book, Clinical Work with Problem Children (1939). The book was a success, and Rogers was invited to a professorship at Ohio University. This is how his academic career began. In 1945, the University of Chicago gave him the opportunity to open a counseling center, where Rogers developed the foundations of his non-directive "client-centered therapy." In 1957, he moved to the University of Wisconsin, where he taught courses in psychiatry and psychology. He writes the book “Freedom to Learn,” in which he defends the right of students to independence in their educational activities. However, a conflict with the administration, which believed that the professor gave too much freedom to his students, led to Rogers leaving public universities and organizing the Center for the Study of Personality, a loose association of representatives of the therapeutic professions, in which he worked until the end of his life.
In his personality theory, Rogers developed a certain system of concepts in which people can create and change their ideas about themselves and their loved ones. Therapy is also deployed in the same system, helping a person change himself and his relationships with others. As with other representatives of humanistic psychology, the idea of the value and uniqueness of the human person is central to Rogers. He believes that the experience that a person has in the process of life, which he called the “phenomenal field,” is individual and unique. This world created by man may or may not coincide with reality, since not all objects included in the environment are conscious of the subject. Rogers called the degree of identity of this field of reality congruence. A high degree of congruence means that what a person communicates to others, what is happening around him, and what he is aware of is more or less the same. Violation of congruence leads to an increase in tension, anxiety and, ultimately, to neuroticism of the individual. Neuroticism also leads to a departure from one’s individuality, a rejection of self-actualization, which Rogers, like Maslow, considered one of the most important needs of the individual. Developing the foundations of his therapy, the scientist combines the idea of congruence with self-actualization.
Speaking about the structure of the self, Rogers attached particular importance to self-esteem, which expresses the essence of a person, his self.
Rogers insisted that self-esteem should not only be adequate, but also flexible, changing depending on the situation. This constant change, selectivity in relation to the environment and a creative approach to it when selecting facts for awareness, which Rogers wrote about, proves the connection of his theory not only with the views of Maslow, but also with the concept of the “creative self” of Adler, which influenced many personality theories second half of the 20th century. At the same time, Rogers not only talked about the influence of experience on self-esteem, but also emphasized the need for openness to experience. Unlike most other concepts of personality, which insist on the value of the future (Adler) or the influence of the past (Jung, Freud), Rogers emphasized the importance of the present. People must learn to live in the present, to be aware of and appreciate every moment of their lives. Only then will life reveal itself in its true meaning and only then can we speak of full realization, or, as Rogers called it, the full functioning of the personality.
Rogers, accordingly, had his own special approach to psychocorrection. He proceeded from the fact that the psychotherapist should not impose his opinion on the patient, but lead him to the right decision, which the latter makes independently. During the therapy process, the patient learns to trust himself, his intuition, his feelings and impulses more. As he begins to understand himself better, he understands others better. As a result, that “insight” occurs, which helps to rebuild one’s self-assessment, “restructure the gestalt,” as Rogers says. This increases congruence and makes it possible to accept yourself and others, reduces anxiety and tension. Therapy occurs as a meeting between a therapist and a client or, in group therapy, as a meeting between a therapist and several clients. “Encounter groups” or meeting groups created by Rogers are one of the most widespread technologies of psychocorrection and training at present.
Principles of Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic psychology is a direction that emerged in the early 60s. XX century in the USA and positioned by its founders as a “third force” in psychology, an alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism. It is based on the philosophy of existentialism, which opposed itself to the extrapersonal “objective” method of scientific knowledge. On its basis, A. Maslow formulated a number of basic principles of humanistic psychology.
The first of them - the principle of formation - assumes that the development potential remains unexhausted throughout human life - every time a certain goal is achieved, new opportunities open up, implicitly embedded in the personality itself. Because of this, a person is largely independent of external conditions and is free to choose these opportunities, while simultaneously bearing full responsibility for their implementation.
The second principle - the principle of the uniqueness of each individual and human nature - emphasizes the paramount importance of studying the subjective experience of a particular individual as an alternative to the search for general patterns and theoretical generalizations of analytical approaches in psychology. In this aspect, humanistic psychology merges with the ideas of G. Allport. In addition, in the same logic, a person is a completely special type of living being, radically different from animals. Therefore, using data obtained from animal experiments to explain human behavior, as is the case in behaviorism, is completely inappropriate.
The third principle - the principle of holism - proclaims an approach to man as a single whole. From this point of view, the differentiation of the human body and psyche and the study of individual components of the latter (mental processes, behavioral acts, etc.) are unjustified and distort reality.
According to the fourth principle - the principle of a positive attitude towards human nature - all people are by nature predisposed to virtue and every person is inherent in creativity. It is this, from the point of view of humanistic psychology, that is the main driving force of personality, and not unconscious and destructive impulses, as S. Freud believed.
The fifth principle - the psychology of mental health - justifies the need to concentrate the attention of psychologists on the study of a healthy person, since, according to A. Maslow, the study of exclusively mental pathology, to which representatives of other schools were limited, can only provide a one-sided, “crippled” psychology. Moreover, without clear and distinct ideas about mental health, truly effective treatment for mental disorders is impossible.
Despite the fact that the stated principles certainly correspond to the idea of humanism and indeed allow one to overcome the mechanistic nature inherent in behaviorism and the excessive concentration on the unconscious processes of orthodox Freudianism, in their pure form they seem too idealistic and abstract. It is no coincidence that, declaring his commitment to these principles, A. Maslow concentrated on studies of motivation, as a result of which he developed the concept of the hierarchy of needs.
Humanistic psychology is a direction of modern psychology that studies a healthy creative personality who reveals his potential in the process of self-actualization (or self-realization).
It arose in the 50s of our century, and took shape as a scientific movement in the early 60s. In 1961, the Association for Humanistic Psychology was created and the Journal of Humanistic Psychology was founded. In 1964, the first conference of humanistic psychology took place.
The main representatives of humanistic psychology: Charlotte Buhler, K. Goldstein (1902-1987), Rollo May (born 1909) and others.
The main philosophical provisions of humanistic psychology are associated with existentialism (or philosophy of existence), i.e. with the teachings of Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980), Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), Albert Camus (1913-1960) and others.
From the point of view of M. Heidegger, it is necessary to distinguish between existing and being. Existence is the subject of science, and being is the subject of philosophy. Being is not comprehended through thinking, i.e. indirectly, but through personal existence, i.e. existence. A person, having realized his existence, becomes free, i.e. responsible for their existence.
According to S. Buhler, humanism from a psychological point of view involves the study of a person as an integrity, and not as a set of his qualities and actions. From an ethical point of view, humanism is the establishment of such rules of life that are based on the needs of man, and not on the needs of lower animals, the covenants of God or the laws of inanimate nature. Humanistic psychology contrasts itself with psychoanalysis and behaviorism. The object of her study was love, creativity, “I,” the development and realization of a person’s capabilities, the highest values of being, mental health, experience, etc.
Basic principles of humanistic psychology:
1. Although human existence has a limit, a person always has freedom and the independence necessary to realize this freedom.
2. The most important source of information is the existential state of a person, his subjective experience.
3. Human nature can never be completely defined, because she always strives for continuous development.
4. Man is one and complete. In his psyche it is impossible to separate the organic and the mental, the conscious and the unconscious, feeling and thought.
5. Each person is unique, so the analysis of individual cases is no less justified than statistical generalizations.
6. Self-realization is an integral part of human nature.
7. Man is focused on the future; he is an active creative being.
Moral life principles flow from these provisions of humanistic psychology:
a person's responsibility for his actions. He is not a tool of the unconscious, not a slave of formed habits;
relationships between people should be based on mutual recognition and respect for each other’s experiences;
Every person should feel in the present, “here and now.”
The humanistic approach in psychology has not lost its relevance for more than fifty years. Probably the main reason for this is the special perception of each individual as a unique system that provides excellent opportunities for self-realization. But first things first.
The general characteristics of humanistic psychology, a brief history of its origin and main representatives, as well as the method of psychotherapy that was born thanks to this direction - these are the main aspects of our conversation today.
General information
Personality in humanistic psychology is not only a subject of research, but also a special value that must be treated with attention and respect. Self-realization, the desire for knowledge, mental health, duty, personal choice and responsibility for it are the most important elements of a full-fledged personality in humanistic psychology.
Humanistic psychology considers unacceptable the attitude towards the subject of research characteristic of the natural sciences, which was shared by some psychological schools. In such sciences, objects are studied that are devoid of reason and their own vision of the world, incapable of forming connections with other people and filling space and time with their own content.
A person has the power to evaluate each new situation, choose a model of behavior that suits it - in general, actively create and transform his own life. If a researcher does not take into account these fundamental differences between humans and other living organisms, then he significantly limits himself and cannot present a complete picture of the functioning of the human psyche.
Of course, humanistic psychology has been and is being criticized. First of all, the subjectivity of the direction raises questions, because, putting at the forefront the individual experience and individual judgment of the individual about himself, it is difficult to give an objective assessment of a person’s mental processes, and it is completely impossible to measure them quantitatively. Nevertheless, as the basis for a highly sought-after method of psychotherapy, humanistic psychology continues to remain relevant.
"Third Force"
In the West (and primarily in the USA, which was the main center of influence in the world of psychology at that time) after the Second World War, two psychological schools dominated: and (more precisely, later versions of these directions - neo-behaviorism and neo-Freudianism). Humanistic psychology developed as a response to these trends, whose approach to man it considered too simplistic. What kind of approach was this?
In most cases, behavior is determined by the expectation of positive reinforcement (gratitude, financial reward, positive reaction from others), but it can also be dictated by the desire to avoid negative things. Neobehaviorists have complicated this three-component structure and introduced intermediate factors that slow down, enhance or block reinforcement. Thus, not only the observed manifestations of behavior began to be analyzed, but also the mechanisms that regulate it.
Neo-Freudianism is a complex of movements that developed based on the ideas of Freud and his psychoanalytic theory. As is known, in classical literature unconscious drives were considered the driving force of human actions, with sexual energy playing the main role. Neo-Freudians did not deny the influence of the unconscious, but they considered the main source of personal conflicts not its confrontation with consciousness, but the influence of society.
The basic principles of humanistic psychology were formulated in 1963 by the first president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, James Bugental:
- A person is not a passive observer, but an active transformer of his life, possessing freedom of choice. The personality initially has development potential.
- The individual's experience is unique and valuable and cannot be analyzed through simple descriptions of behavior and generalizations.
- The study of individual mental processes does not provide a complete picture. Man must be studied as a whole that is greater than the sum of his parts.
- Man is naturally endowed with positive qualities, but displays negative ones because he has not revealed his true essence.
Client-centered therapy
The humanistic direction in psychology was initially focused more on practice than on theoretical research. This closeness to everyday life, to the needs of people, as well as a special attitude towards people, have become the main reasons for the popularity of the destination among a large number of people.
This attitude follows from the basic principles proclaimed by Bugental, but its active implementation in real consulting practice began with another specialist. Carl Rogers is the name with which humanistic psychology and humanistic psychotherapy acquired those fundamental features that to this day form their basis.
Back in 1951, when humanistic psychology was just beginning to make itself known, American psychologist Carl Rogers’ book “Client-Focused Therapy” was published. In it, Rogers expressed ideas that were seditious for that time: a directive approach to psychotherapy is ineffective, it is not the psychologist who acts as an expert and mentor for the person, but the person for himself.
What does this therapy involve? As already noted, humanistic psychology proceeds from the fact that man is a being by nature good, and not evil. However, all his positive qualities become visible in a special atmosphere of support and attention, which helps him reveal his positive essence. The psychotherapist must provide such an atmosphere, but the client helps himself, finds the answers himself and makes his own decisions.
How does the session work?
What principles, according to Rogers' ideas, should form the basis of the work of a psychotherapist?
- The most important thing is non-judgmental acceptance, in which the therapist allows the person to be himself, responds emotionally to what the client says, but does not give him any judgment.
- , that is, the ability to recognize what the client feels and put oneself in his place.
- The psychotherapist and the client are equal participants in the dialogue, and a strong psychological contact is established between them.
- - openness and spontaneity, honesty and sincerity, self-expression without fear. This manner of behavior should be characteristic of both the consultant and (after some time) the person being consulted.
Psychotherapy, which arose on the basis of the humanistic direction in psychology, still remains one of the most popular and sought-after areas of psychological counseling. It is especially indicated for people suffering from loneliness and experiencing an acute lack of understanding and empathy.
The client-centered approach helps in solving both internal and interpersonal problems. Its important feature is that the person himself makes a conclusion about whether he has achieved the desired goal, and, accordingly, he himself determines the duration of treatment. Author: Evgenia Bessonova
