Humanistic Psychology and the Cognitive Movement - Essay Example

Humanistic Psychology, Positive Psychology, and the Cognitive Movement Humanistic psychology is a branch of psychology dealing with the holistic approach to humanity. It studies the whole aspects of the human nature, including aspects such as creativity, the potential in human and their free will (Sternberg, 2003). This concept of psychology emphasizes on the development of a person in a way that enhances his creativity and health, pointed towards the concept of self-actualization of an individual (Leahey, 1992). This concept arose because of the analysis of human psychology and behaviorism, where it came in to fill in the gaps left by psychoanalysis and behaviorism aspects of psychology. These aspects were perceived to concentrate more on the negative emotions, while studying human behaviors and attitude. The pessimistic aspect of these concepts of psychology, which did not create a room for human choice in the analysis of human behavior, called for another aspect of psychology that would cater for such. This gave birth to humanistic psychology (Maslow, 1968). This branch of psychology emphasizes on the human potential, and their way to achieving self-actualization. The fundamental of this concept of psychology is that people are innately good, thus, any problem that is either of a social or mental character results from the deviation of humans from this natural course of goodness (Leahey, 1992). However, this branch of psychology did not seek to compete with the previous schools of psychology such as Behaviorism and psychoanalysis. Rather, it sought to enhance the study of humanity in a more optimistic perspective. Thus, human individuality, creativity, and achievements form the basis of this concept of psychology (Sternberg, 2003). Positive psychology on the other hand is the most recently developed branch of psychology, which seeks to address the positive functioning of humans, through seeking to elicit necessary interventions that will build thriving individuals, families and communities (Maslow, 1968). This branch of psychology seeks to make human life more fulfilling, by nurturing their talents and genius in them. The concept of psychology is built on the premise that more can be done, other than just seeking for ways to treat mental illness. If a happy and thriving society were effectively established, it would help a great deal in avoiding the cure of mental illnesses that are caused by stress and depressions, derived from the unhappy life of man (Leahey, 1992). Thus, this branch of psychology seeks to fill in the gaps left by other branches of psychology, which has mostly dealt with the negative aspects of human behaviors. The branch of psychology seeks to help individuals and consequently the whole society live to their best potential, through the development and nurturing of such aspects of humanity as values, strengths, talents and virtues (Sternberg, 2003). It seeks to build on the positive experiences of individuals to grant them more happiness, while establishing in them the psychological virtue of enduring. This branch of psychology also seeks the establishment of positive relationships, which are believed to be the basis of happier individuals and by extension society (Leahey, 1992). The establishment of positive institutions that cares for the happiness of all individuals is also within the fundamentals of this branch of psychology (Maslow, 1968). Cognitive movement on the other hand is an intellectual movement that arose in the 20th century, seeking to unify and combine the concepts of psychology with philosophy and linguistics, thorough a greater interdisciplinary research (Maslow, 1968). With the development of the computer technology, it becomes possible to test inferences, about the mental process of humans (Leahey, 1992). This movement sought to complement the behaviorism branch of psychology, through an interdisciplinary study and evaluation of human behavior. According to the proponents of the cognitive movement, the mental world can be integrated into the physical world through communication and feedbacks. The movement observes the mind as a complex system, which when given a combination of some programs, can give rise to a chain of infinite variable behaviors (Maslow, 1968). This branch of psychology sought to respond to behaviorism, which theorized that psychology could only become a subjective field of science, studying the human behavior. Behaviorism psychologists argued that since the mind and the mental processes cannot be observed, then they ought to be opted out of psychology, which needs to study only the observable human behaviors. The development of cognitive movement therefore, as a branch of psychology, sought to counter this viewpoint, by requiring that psychology should include the study of internal events (Sternberg, 2003). Thus, the cognitive movement did not seek to transform behaviorism into a better study of psychology, but a mere inclusion of the aspect of mentalism in the psychological perspective (Leahey, 1992). The three theories relate to each other historically, in that behaviorism was an earlier theory, seeking to study the behaviors of humanity, how they are developed, and how they affect the life of individuals and the society. Since behaviorism psychology sought to refute the use of mind and the mental process in psychology, another theory, cognitive movement, developed to counter this rejection, through the integration of the mental processes in psychology. Positive psychology on the other hand developed to fill in the gaps that were left by these two earlier theories, which concentrated more on the negative aspect of human behavior, through the introduction of the positive aspects of human behavior in psychology, which can help individuals and the wider society live a more fulfilling life (Maslow, 1968). These theories affected the development of the psychology of the 21st century America through widening the scope of study of the field of psychology. There have been many researches undertaken in support of these theories, having some criticize the theories, based on some fundamental differences they portray from each other (Leahey, 1992). In my opinion, positive psychology will have a lasting impact on psychology in the 21st century. This is so because, the branch of psychology seeks to establish ways through which the society can be happy, and where individuals, families and the community can live a more fulfilling life (Sternberg, 2003). Since the objectives born by this branch of psychology are more significant to help solve the problems faced by humanity such as stress, depressions, and mental illnesses, then, it is sure that it will have a lasting impact. References Leahey, T. H. (1992). The mythical revolutions of American psychology. American Psychologist. Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand. Sternberg, R.D. (Ed). (2003). The anatomy of impact: What makes the great works of psychology great. Read More