Humanistic Psychology

Question 1

What were the reasons that the third force psychology opposed behaviourism and psychoanalysis?

Answer 1

• Behaviorism applied methods from natural sciences to human study, reducing humans to lower animals or machines and neglecting their unique qualities and positive aspects.
• It focused solely on observable behaviors, overlooking the richness of human nature.
• Psychoanalysis primarily targeted emotionally disturbed individuals, aiming to make abnormal people normal.
• It lacked a focus on promoting the growth and development of already healthy individuals to help them reach their full potential.
• Both behaviorism and psychoanalysis were criticized for their narrow focus and failure to address the holistic aspects of human experience and development.

Question 2

How does Heidegger distinguish between authentic life and inauthentic life?

Answer 2

• Heidegger distinguishes between authentic and inauthentic life based on the recognition of mortality as a crucial factor.
• Authentic living involves confronting the reality of death and using this awareness to shape a meaningful existence characterized by continuous personal growth.
• Acknowledging mortality may induce anxiety initially but ultimately fuels a sense of urgency and excitement in living authentically.
• Inauthentic living arises when individuals deny or evade the inevitability of death, leading to a shallow understanding of oneself and limited potential for growth.
• Inauthenticity manifests in various forms, including pretending, blindly adhering to societal norms, or prioritizing present pleasures over future consequences.

Question 3

Explain Heidegger’s concept of anxiety and why is it necessary.

Answer 3

• Heidegger’s concept of anxiety is essential for understanding the necessity of living authentically.
• Accepting the inevitability of our eventual nonexistence generates anxiety but also requires courage.
• Anxiety is integral to authentic living as it signifies the willingness to explore life, take risks, and evolve.
• The unknown nature of these ventures contributes to the anxiety inherent in authentic living.
• Anxiety serves as a reminder of the inseparable connection between freedom and responsibility in authentic living.

Question 4

Describe May’s concepts of normal anxiety and neurotic anxiety.

Answer 4

• Normal anxiety arises from exercising freedom, promoting personal growth, and creativity.
• It involves willingness to go beyond societal expectations and traditions.
• Although uncomfortable, normal anxiety promotes personal development and creativity.
• Neurotic anxiety stems from fear of freedom, leading to conformity and self-alienation.
• Neurotic individuals may experience guilt, apathy, and despair.
• May emphasizes tension between anxiety and guilt as fundamental.
• Individuals can embrace their freedom and experience normal anxiety or suppress it and feel guilty for not exercising their autonomy.
• Navigating this tension is crucial for personal growth and creativity.

Question 5

How does Kelly’s concept of constructive alternativism closer align him with existentialists?

Answer 5

• Kelly’s concept of constructive alternativism emphasizes individual freedom in choosing constructs for engaging with the world.
• This aligns with existentialist views on freedom and responsibility.
• Individuals, akin to scientists, aim to reduce uncertainty about the world.
• Personal construct systems are created to predict future events and reduce uncertainty.
• Systems are empirically tested and revised based on real-world outcomes.
• Constructive alternativism allows for a multitude of interpretations of events.
• This aligns with existentialist notions of subjective interpretation.

Question 6

What was Maslow’s main criticism of the use of the scientific method to study people and of psychoanalysis?

Answer 6

• Humanistic psychologists, like Maslow, reject predicting and controlling human behavior, seeing humans as more than physical objects.
• They deem methods of physical sciences irrelevant to human studies.
• Maslow criticizes psychoanalysis for focusing on psychologically disturbed individuals, neglecting exceptional people who do not possess mental health dilemmas.
• Psychoanalysis, according to Maslow, creates a ”crippled” psychology by overlooking broader human experiences.
• Maslow argues that scientific and psychoanalytic approaches offer only a partial understanding of human nature.

Question 7

What is the reason(s) given by Maslow for why so few persons self-actualise?

Answer 7

• As one progresses up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the higher needs for love, esteem, and self-actualization become more fragile because they lack a strong biological foundation.
• Maslow noted that the inner nature driving self-actualization is not as strong or unmistakable as animal instincts but is delicate and easily overcome by habit, cultural pressure, and wrong attitudes.
• Additionally, self-actualization requires honest self-knowledge, which many individuals are fearful of attaining.
• Therefore, although all humans possess an innate drive for self-actualization, achieving it is rare due to the fragility of higher needs and the fear of self-knowledge.

Question 8

Explain Rogers’ concept of self-actualisation and why might some people never achieve this.

Answer 8

• Rogers proposed self-actualization arises from an innate human drive, achieved by following the actualizing tendency.
• Living authentically involves aligning experiences with true feelings, guided by the organismic valuing process.
• Childhood experiences with conditional positive regard often prevent authentic living.
• Conditional positive regard associates love, acceptance, and warmth to adherence to others’ values.
• Individuals adopt these values, replacing their own feelings as a guide.
• This results in living according to others’ values, suppressing authentic experiences.

Question 9

Critically evaluate the weaknesses of humanistic psychology.

Answer 9

• Humanistic psychology’s rejection of traditional scientific methodology raises questions about the validity of its findings and the methods used for evaluation.
• By minimizing animal research, humanistic psychology overlooks a valuable source of knowledge about human behaviour, limiting its scope and depth of understanding.
• Many terms and concepts used by humanistic psychologists lack clear definitions and verification, leading to confusion and ambiguity.
• This lack of clarity extends to the definition of humanistic psychology itself, as evidenced by the difficulty in finding a consistent definition in scholarly sources.

Question 10

How has humanistic psychology expanded the understanding of human behaviour?

Answer 10

• Humanistic psychology aims to redefine the scope of human science while retaining scientific methods.
• There’s an expansion of psychology’s domain, emphasizing studying the whole person, including cognitive, emotional, and existential aspects.
• This holistic approach encompasses learning, thinking, goal formulation, finding life meaning, and experiencing emotions.
• Humanistic psychology has revitalized psychology, giving rise to positive psychology.
• Positive psychology, like humanistic psychology, explores positive human attributes and experiences.
• Overall, humanistic psychology broadens the understanding of human behavior through a comprehensive examination of human nature.