Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

The Humanistic Perspective on Personality433The Humanistic Perspective on PersonalityKey Theme• The humanistic perspective emphasizes free will, self-awareness, andpsychological growth.humanistic psychologyThe theoretical viewpoint on personalitythat generally emphasizes the inherentgoodness of people, human potential, selfactualization,the self-concept, and healthypersonality development.Key Questions• What role do the self-concept, actualizing tendency, and unconditionalpositive regard play in Rogers’s personality theory?• What are key strengths and weaknesses of the humanistic perspective?By the 1950s, the field of personality was dominated by two completely differentperspectives: Freudian psychoanalysis and B. F. Skinner’s brand of behaviorism (seeChapter 5). While Freud’s theory of personality proposed elaborate and complexinternal states, Skinner believed that psychologists should focus on observablebehaviors and on the environmental factors that shape and maintain those behaviors(see Rogers & Skinner, 1956). As Skinner (1971) wrote, “A person does notact upon the world, the world acts upon him.”The Emergence of the “Third Force”Another group of psychologists had a fundamentally different view of humannature. In opposition to both psychoanalysis and behaviorism, they championed a“third force” in psychology, which they called humanistic psychology. Humanisticpsychology is a view of personality that emphasizes human potential and suchuniquely human characteristics as self-awareness and free will (Cain, 2002).In contrast to Freud’s pessimistic view of people as being motivated by unconscioussexual and destructive instincts, the humanistic psychologists saw people as being innatelygood. Humanistic psychologists also differed from psychoanalytic theorists bytheir focus on the healthy personality rather than on psychologically troubled people.In contrast to the behaviorist view that human and animal behavior is due largelyto environmental reinforcement and punishment, the humanistic psychologistsbelieved that people are motivated by the need to grow psychologically. They alsodoubted that laboratory research with rats and pigeons accurately reflected theessence of human nature, as the behaviorists claimed. Instead, humanistic psychologistscontended that the most important factor in personality is the individual’sconscious, subjective perception of his or her self (Purkey & Stanley, 2002).The two most important contributors to the humanistic perspective were CarlRogers and Abraham Maslow. In Chapter 8, on motivation, we discussed AbrahamMaslow’s famous hierarchy of needs and his concept of self-actualization. LikeMaslow, Rogers emphasized the tendency of human beings to strive to fulfill theirpotential and capabilities (Kirschenbaum, 2004; Kirschenbaum & Jourdan, 2005).Carl RogersOn Becoming a PersonCarl Rogers (1902–1987) grew up in a large, close-knit family in Oak Park, Illinois,a suburb of Chicago. His parents were highly religious and instilled a moraland ethical atmosphere in the home, which no doubt influenced Rogers’s earlydecision to become a minister. After studying theology, Rogers decided that theministry was not for him. Instead, he turned to the study of psychology, ultimatelyenjoying a long, productive, and distinguished career as a psychotherapist, writer,and university professor.At bottom, each person is asking,“Who am I, really? How can I get intouch with this real self, underlying allmy surface behavior? How can Ibecome myself?”CARL ROGERS (1961)