Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Contemporary Psychology9Carl RogersHumanistic PsychologyFor several decades, behaviorism and psychoanalysiswere the perspectives that most influenced the thinkingof American psychologists. In the 1950s, a newschool of thought emerged, called humanistic psychology.Because humanistic psychology was distinctlydifferent from both psychoanalysis and behaviorism,it was sometimes referred to as the “thirdforce” in American psychology (Cain, 2002).Humanistic psychology was largely founded byAmerican psychologist Carl Rogers (Kirschenbaum, Carl Rogers (1902–1987)2004). Like Freud, Rogers was influenced by his experienceswith his psychotherapy clients. However, rather than emphasizing unconsciousconflicts, Rogers emphasized the conscious experiences of his patients, including eachperson’s unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction. In contrast to thebehaviorists, who saw human behavior as being shaped and maintained by externalcauses, Rogers emphasized self-determination, free will, and the importance of choicein human behavior (Bozarth & others, 2002; Kirschenbaum & Jourdan, 2005).Abraham Maslow was another advocate of humanistic psychology. Maslowdeveloped a theory of motivation that emphasized psychological growth, whichwe’ll discuss in Chapter 8. Like psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology included notonly influential theories of personality but also a form of psychotherapy, which we’lldiscuss in later chapters.By briefly stepping backward in time, you’ve seen how the debates among thekey thinkers in psychology’s history shaped the development of psychology as awhole. Each of the schools that we’ve described had an impact on the topics andmethods of psychological research. As you’ll see throughout this textbook, that impacthas been a lasting one.From the founding of Wundt’s laboratory in 1879, psychology has evolved to itscurrent status as a dynamic and multidimensional science. In the next section, we’lltouch on some of the more recent developments in psychology’s evolution. We’llalso explore the diversity that characterizes contemporary psychology.Abraham Maslow (1908–1970)Two Leaders in the Development ofHumanistic Psychology Carl Rogers andAbraham Maslow were key figures in establishinghumanistic psychology. Humanisticpsychology emphasized the importance ofself-determination, free will, and humanpotential. The ideas of Carl Rogers havebeen particularly influential in modernpsychotherapy. Abraham Maslow’s theory ofmotivation emphasized the importance ofpsychological growth.Contemporary PsychologyKey Theme• As psychology has developed as a scientific discipline, the topics it investigateshave become progressively more diverse.Key Questions• How do the perspectives in contemporary psychology differ in emphasisand approach?• What are psychology’s major specialty areas?Since the 1960s, the range of topics in psychology has become progressively morediverse. And, as psychology’s knowledge base has increased, psychology itself hasbecome more specialized. Rather than being dominated by a particular approach orschool of thought, today’s psychologists tend to identify themselves according to(1) the perspective they emphasize in investigating psychological topics and (2) thespecialty area in which they have been trained and practice.