Assessing the Realism and Impact of Humanistic Psychology- Analyzing Criticisms and Positive Contributions

Assessing the Realism and Impact of Humanistic Psychology- Analyzing Criticisms and Positive Contributions

Human psychology is primarily grounded on the perspectives that believe that individuals are innately good. Through this school of thought, in the context of psychology, it is believed that it holds that morality, ethical values, and good intentions are the core values of behavior. On the other hand, the absence of psychological or social experiences is closely associated with various tendencies that lead to deviations from natural tendencies. According to humanism, there are various therapeutic techniques that may be incorporated, including Rogerian therapy, which points toward the goals of self-actualization.

Humanism is grounded on the principles of humanistic psychology. On the other hand, these principles focus on an individual in the aspect that they are more informative and beneficial as a sole unit rather than as a group of individuals that possess similar characteristics (Aceved, 2018). Additionally, the reality of humanism stresses the importance and fundamental values of subjective reality as a guide to appropriate behavior. Notably, the medical model assumes that behavioral, emotional, and psychological issues emanate from physical challenges that prompt medical attention (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2013). However, this may be the actual reason for some complications that, in turn, result from physical damage, including traumatic brain injury.

This school of thought is credible, to some extent, because the psychological condition or well-being of an individual is dependent on various factors. However, the pros and cons depend on which side the argument is being made from since inclining to physical trauma may be different from arguing from the normal functioning of an individual. Accordingly, an individual may be targeting self-actualization, but the previous stages of the hierarchy of needs impede their achievement.

References

Acevedo, A. (2018). A personalistic appraisal of Maslow’s needs theory of motivation: From “humanistic” psychology to integral humanism. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(4), 741-763. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2970-0

Hergenhahn, B. R., & Henley, T. (2013). An introduction to the history of psychology. Cengage Learning.

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Unit 5 Discussion
Humanistic psychology has been criticized for describing humans more positively than the facts warrant and for minimizing or ignoring the positive contributions of other schools of thought, such as psychoanalysis.

What do you think of this statement? Is this school of thought unrealistic in its positivity? What are the pros and cons of this positive approach? Choose and discuss at least two concepts from the concept sheet in your answer.