Humanistic Perspective and Psychoanalytic Perspective - Essay Example

The Humanistic Perspective to psychology emerged in the 1950s in response to the Behavioral and Psychodynamic Perspectives, which were the dominant schools of thought at that time. The Humanistic Perspective is based on ‘holism’, which involves the study of the individual as a whole rather than studying any one element of human behavior in isolation. It takes into account the standpoint of both the observer and the portrayer of behavior when forming conclusions about human behavior. It portrays individuals in a positive light, stating that humans have the ability, spontaneity, and creativity to make rational decisions, and therefore individuals are themselves responsible for each decision made.

It stresses on the fact that humans have the inbuilt capacity to achieve self-actualization which is an internal drive to reach their highest potential as individuals. It is because of the subjectivity of the approach itself that the humanists disagree with experimental methods of studying human behavior. (Psychology Perspectives). According to James Bugental (1964), Humanistic Psychology relies on the following five principles; human beings cannot be reduced to components, each individual is unique, individuals are aware of their existence in context of other people, each human has choices and responsibilities and humans are intentional, they seek to achieve value, creativity or meaning. . Two other dominant names in the field of humanistic psychology are of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.

Abraham Maslow is well known for his ‘hierarchy of needs’ approach to human psychology. This includes physiological needs, safety needs, belonging and love needs, esteem needs and lastly the need for self actualization. According to Maslow a lower level need has to be satisfied for an individual to progress to a higher level need. (Personality Synopsis). Carl Rogers another psychologist was also supportive of Maslow’s conclusions about human psychology; however he did add some elements to it.

According to him humans need an environment of genuineness, empathy and acceptance to help them develop and grow. Furthermore he said that humans can achieve their desires and set out goals, and it’s this achievement of goals which leads to self actualization. (Carl Rogers). The Psychoanalytic Perspective: Founded by Sigmund Freud, the psychoanalytic perspective possesses one of the most controversial theories of psychology. According to Freud our mind is divided in two parts; the conscious and the unconscious.

The conscious mind includes all our acts, decisions that we are aware of and about which we can think or talk rationally. This is includes our memory, which though not a part of the conscious mind but can be accessed when required. This memory was termed as preconscious by Freud. The unconscious mind comprises of our thoughts, emotions, memories that we are not aware of. These are usually of unpleasant or painful nature. According to Freud it is our unconscious mind, our childhood experiences and interpersonal relationships that tend to influence our behavior unknowingly.

Furthermore Freud identified three elements of individuals that affect human behavior. These include the id, ego and superego. The id is the element of human personality that works on the pleasure principle or