Humanistic Theory Summary and Analysis

Humanistic Theory

Humanist, humanistic theory, and humanism are psychological approaches that aim to study the structure of the whole person pinpointing the various uniquenesses found in each person. The psychological approach aims to investigate and comprehend why human beings pose certain behavioral attributes in various circumstances. The theory offers an explanation of the behavioral counts of the human beings based on the unique attributes that a human being possesses that separates each person. The following write-up will offer close study to the discoveries made from the humanistic theory, along with the latest developments in the theory that continually justify as to why human pose various behavioral differences.

Humanism is a psychological standpoint that studies the entire human being. The study emphasizes on the human behavior not only through the person observing the behavior but also through the individual portraying the behavior. The theory may sometimes be termed as being phenomenological, meaning that the personality under scrutiny is from the point of reference of the person’s subjective experiences (Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning,645). Humanism is hugely imperative in the study of the human behavior because it does not focus on the behavior, consciousness, or the thinking process of the individual or the workability of the human brain. The humanistic theory places emphasis on learning how a certain individual perceives and construes the events in question. There is a huge proportionality of the theory that directs application of the psychology towards the self, which is important is understanding the varied behavior displayed by humans.

The inception of the theory followed after certain psychologists expressed profound limitations of the psychodynamic and behaviorist theories. The limitations of the behaviorist perspective to study the human behavior were that the theory focused on reinforcing the stimulus-response performance and that the theory was hugely dependent on animal research. Humanist psychology faulted the psychodynamic theory in that the latter was deterministic, offering unconscious instinctive and irrational forces that influenced the human behavioral and thought process. Over the 1970s and the 1980s, the humanistic theory of approach to the human behavior expanded tremendously, and its impacts could easily be understood through various ways. The theory presented the users with a broad approach to more efficient methods to enable the professional study and understanding of the human behavior (Fiske, 286). Additionally, the theory offered an increased horizon of the inquiry methods that necessitated the study of the human behavioral aspects. More so, the humanism theory presented a new set of values that would be used to investigate and comprehend the nature of human beings through their behavioral conditions (Fiske, 290).

The central existential operational assumption of the theory is that all the human beings have free will. The free will of the human being under study is termed as a personal agency. Through the personal agency, there is an explanation of the choices we make, the ways we chose to walk and the results and consequences of our actions (Scholl, 315). An additional assumption used to try and understand the human behavior is that people operate through and innate need to be good and makes themselves and the world better. The theory perceives the human being as being noble, together with being optimistic that the human behavior portrays itself in a struggle to overcome despair, pain, and hardships. Self-actualization is a central motive among humans, and the theory expresses that people behave in ways that reflect fulfillment and personal growth. In meaning, every human being thrives on growing psychosomatically and enhancing themselves while seeking satisfaction from life (Scholl, 118). Humanism rejects scientific psychology as a means of comprehending the varied human behaviors. This is because the central factors component to the humanistic theory is the consciousness experiences of the person, which are subjective. Hence, the objective reality has lesser meaning to the person as compared to the subjective perception of the individual towards the world.

Darren is a mellow guy and loved by everyone, which is why when he is arrested for destroying property and injuring people in a mob, his family and friends are surprised. Explain his behavior.

To all people, Darren is a darling, and his behavior is the best example there is, at least according to his family and friends. The family would never associate Darren with property destruction and human injuries at a mob. To them, their Darren is incapable of such violence, let alone mob engagements. Using the humanistic theory to approach Darren’s behavior, there is the unseen need of self-actualization in Darren that no one in his family and friends circle can recognize. He has perfected the outward expression as being lovable and mellow for the outward appearance. To the family and friends, there is the satisfaction that Darren is most content as being mellow; hence, the easy interpretation that he is lovable and incapable of harming anyone or destroying property. However, the humanistic approach focuses also on the perception of the individual portraying the specific behavior. Darren participated in the mob activity as a directive towards self-actualization. His quest to seek what he feels he is missing from his life drove him to the mob. By engaging in the mob, he thought he would seek that missing link he feels would lead to self- satisfaction. Understanding that Darren is not content with being mellow and lovable to the family and friends may be imperative especially to the family to come to terms with Darren’s behavior. His behavior models a distraught reaction to the world, subjecting himself in activities that he feels will avail him the needed satisfaction.

Works Cited    

Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning: 1. New York: Springer, 2012. Print.

Fiske, Susan T, Daniel T. Gilbert, Gardner Lindzey, and Arthur E. Jongsma. Handbook of Social Psychology. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2010. Print.

Scholl, Mark B., A. Scott McGowan, and James T. Hansen, eds. Humanistic perspectives on contemporary counseling issues. Routledge, 2013.