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Current methods of humanistic psychology. General information

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Counseling, Principle, Theory, Direction, Psychology, Human, Humanistic, Theoretical

  1. Introduction
  2. Basic principles of humanistic psychology
  3. Methodological platform of humanistic direction in psychological counseling
  4. Practical Application of Humanistic Psychology
  5. General characteristics of psychocounseling concepts based on the humanistic direction in psychology
  6. Conclusion

Introduction

Psychological counseling
is an applied branch of modern psychology. In the system of psychological science, its task is to develop theoretical foundations and applied programs for providing psychological assistance to mentally and somatically healthy people in situations where they are faced with their problems. These theoretical foundations and programs are developed, on the one hand, on the basis of an analysis of the current state of psychological knowledge, achievements in the fields of empirical and theoretical research. Among the currently existing psychological schools and directions, humanistic psychology is of particular interest, firstly, because it arose relatively recently (in the middle of the 20th century), when most psychological schools had exhausted their research potential, and matured in polemics with behaviorism and psychoanalysis as the “third force” in psychology, accumulated the experience of studying personality in previous and contemporary psychological trends and schools. Currently, it is an influential scientific direction that has formed a new research program in general, social, educational psychology, influencing the theory and practice of education, the psychology of industrial relations and, in recent years, the problems of resolving group political conflicts.

Understanding the client’s personal problems and his problems in relationships significantly depends on what theoretical positions the consultant adheres to. This especially affects the nature of the therapeutic relationship, the methods and techniques used. We will consider in detail the direction in the theory of personality (A. Maslow)»> the humanistic direction in psychological counseling.

19 pages, 9446 words

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF COUNSELING

... Topic 2. Theoretical foundations of counseling Types of psychological counseling. Depth psychology as one of the approaches to the practice of psychological counseling. Behavioral direction in psychological counseling. Approaches to the practice of psychological counseling and correction...

"Third Force"

In the West (and especially in the USA, which was the main center of influence in the world of psychology at that time) after the Second World War, two psychological schools dominated: behaviorism and Freudianism (or rather, later versions of these directions - neo-behaviorism and neo-Freudianism). Humanistic psychology developed as a response to these trends, whose approach to man it considered too simplistic. What kind of approach was this?

The first concept argued that the subject of psychology research is human behavior, not his consciousness, and this behavior is built according to the “stimulus-response” formula. “Stimulus,” “response,” and “reinforcement” are the basic concepts of behaviorism. By setting a certain stimulus (that is, influence from the environment), it is possible to achieve the desired reaction (human actions), which means it is possible to predict behavior and even control it. The connection between these two components becomes especially strong if there is a third element in the chain - reinforcement.

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In most cases, behavior is determined by the expectation of positive reinforcement (gratitude, material rewards, positive reactions from others), but it can also be dictated by the desire to avoid negative things. Neobehaviorists have complicated this three-component structure and introduced intermediate factors that slow down, enhance or block reinforcement. Thus, not only the observed manifestations of behavior began to be analyzed, but also the mechanisms that regulate it.

Neo-Freudianism is a complex of movements that developed based on the ideas of Freud and his psychoanalytic theory. As is known, in classical psychoanalysis, unconscious drives were considered the driving force of human actions, with sexual energy playing the main role. Neo-Freudians did not deny the influence of the unconscious, but they considered the main source of personal conflicts not its confrontation with consciousness, but the influence of society.

And in the 50s and 60s of the twentieth century, as a counterbalance to these two trends, a humanistic school of psychology emerged, which wanted (and was able) to become the third force in the American psychological community. This scientific approach took shape thanks to the famous American psychologist, creator of the hierarchical model of needs Abraham Maslow; he became the founder of the movement, and he also coined the expression “third force.”

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The basic principles of humanistic psychology were formulated in 1963 by the first president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, James Bugental:

  • A person is not a passive observer, but an active transformer of his life, possessing freedom of choice. The personality initially has development potential.
  • The individual's experience is unique and valuable and cannot be analyzed by simply describing behavior and making generalizations.
  • The study of individual mental processes does not provide a complete picture. Man must be studied as a whole that is greater than the sum of his parts.
  • Man is naturally endowed with positive qualities, but displays negative ones because he has not revealed his true essence.


Basic principles of humanistic psychology

Humanistic psychology, which is the theoretical basis of the humanistic direction in psychological counseling, is a special direction that differs from other schools in a number of fundamentally important provisions for understanding human nature. It traditionally includes such concepts as G. Allport’s theory of personality traits, A. Maslow’s theory of self-actualization, K. Rogers’ theory and instructive psychotherapy, S. Buhler’s ideas about the life path of an individual, R. May’s ideas.

Each of these theories uses its own conceptual apparatus, creates original ideas about the inner world of a person and its development in the process of life, verifies and substantiates data obtained in the course of empirical research and in the process of psychotherapeutic work with clients. The differences that exist between theories, however, are not an obstacle that would not allow us to consider them from the perspective of general methodological principles.

These principles are:

Humanistic school of psychology

Content

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3

1. History of formation…………………………………………………………………………………..4

2. The main representatives of humanistic psychology……………………………..6

3. Principles of humanistic psychology…………………………………………………….14

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………16

References…………………………………………………………………………………..17

Introduction

Humanistic psychology is a direction in Western (mainly American) psychology that recognizes as its main subject the personality, as a unique integral system, which is not something given in advance, but an “open possibility” of self-actualization, inherent only to man. This movement emerged as an independent movement in the early 60s of the 20th century. It contains a number of areas of modern psychology, which are focused primarily on the study of human semantic structures. The main subjects of analysis are: highest values, self-actualization of the individual, creativity, love, freedom, responsibility, autonomy, mental health, interpersonal communication.

Humanistic psychology insists, first of all, on the importance of self-actualization (i.e., satisfying the individual’s inherent need to identify and develop his own human personality traits) as a condition for the formation of personality. Another important principle is the need to analyze the personality as a whole (holism). Humanistic psychologists reject reductionism, that is, the description of human properties in the language of natural sciences (the example they use is the reduction of love to “sexual chemistry” or to biological instincts).

1. History of formation

In the first half of the 20th century, many schools of psychology emerged, each of which tried to explain all psychological phenomena in terms of a single, all-encompassing system. Humanistic psychology, which emerged in the USA in the late 1950s, in its desire to build a new methodology for human cognition, was directed, first of all, against the dominance of the natural science mechanistic approach in American psychology at that time. She clearly opposed herself to the scientific tradition, which sought to reduce psychology to the study of primitive mechanisms of reflex functioning. During the same period, a number of European psychologists developed concepts that were close in essence to humanistic ones, but it was in the USA, in addition to ideological and theoretical discourse, that they were transformed into a broad social movement that went beyond the scope of psychology itself. With the creation in 1961-1962. The American Association for Humanistic Psychology (AHP) and the journal “Humanistic Psychology” formulate this movement as an independent official branch of psychology, focused on the highest essential manifestations of man. In part, this dramatic development of humanistic psychology in the United States is due to the general social trends of that period: the peak of the civil rights movement, mass demonstrations, and protest marches.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s. Humanistic psychology in the United States is experiencing its heyday. In 1971, it was possible to organize a performance by Stanley Krippner at the USSR Academy of Sciences. In his report, he notes points of view and approaches common to Soviet psychology in the study of consciousness and potential human creative capabilities. In 1972, with a group of AGP members, he again visited Moscow.

In Russia during this period, one of the main directions of Soviet psychology was actively developing - the activity approach. He is not alien to humanistic problems, as, indeed, are other Soviet scientific schools that are open to it. It is in their vein that domestic humanistic concepts are formed, not in opposition to other schools and directions, as in America, but by developing and transforming existing approaches.

2. Main representatives of humanistic psychology

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Humanistic psychology, which emerged as an alternative direction to the psychological schools of the mid-century, primarily behaviorism and psychoanalysis, formed its own concept of personality and its development.

Each new direction in science defines its program through opposition to the attitudes of already established schools. In this case, humanistic psychology saw the inferiority of other psychological trends in the fact that they avoided confrontation with reality as a person experiences it, and ignored such constitutive features of personality as its integrity, unity, and uniqueness. As a result, the picture of personality appears fragmented and is constructed either as a “system of reactions” (Skinner), or as a set of “dimensions” (Guilford), agents such as the Ego, It and Superego (Freud), and role stereotypes. In addition, the personality is deprived of its most important characteristic - free will - and appears only as something determined from the outside: by stimuli, “field” forces, unconscious aspirations, role prescriptions. Her own aspirations come down to attempts to defuse (reduce) internal tension, to achieve balance with the environment; her consciousness and self-awareness are either completely ignored or seen as a disguise for the “rumblings of the unconscious.”

The main provisions of the new direction - the humanistic school of personality psychology, which is currently one of the most significant psychological schools, were formulated by Gordon Allport.

One of the main postulates of Allport's theory was that the individual is open and self-developing. Man is, first of all, a social being and therefore cannot develop without contacts with people around him, with society. Hence Allport’s rejection of the position of psychoanalysis about the antagonistic, hostile relationship between the individual and society. At the same time, Allport argued that communication between the individual and society is not a desire to balance with the environment, but mutual communication and interaction. Thus, he sharply objected to the postulate generally accepted at that time that development is adaptation, the adaptation of man to the world around him, proving that man is characterized by the need to explode the balance and reach more and more new heights.

Allport was one of the first to talk about the uniqueness of each person. Each person is unique and individual, as he is the bearer of a unique combination of qualities and needs, which Allport called trite - trait. He divided these needs, or personality traits, into basic and instrumental. Basic traits stimulate behavior and are innate, genotypic, while instrumental traits shape behavior and are formed in the process of life, i.e., they are phenotypic formations. The set of these traits constitutes the core of personality.

Important for Allport is also the position about the autonomy of these traits, which develops over time. The child does not yet have this autonomy, since his features are still unstable and not fully formed. Only in an adult who is aware of himself, his qualities and his individuality, traits become truly autonomous and do not depend on either biological needs or social pressure. This autonomy of a person’s traits, being the most important characteristic of his personality, gives him the opportunity, while remaining open to society, to preserve his individuality. Thus, Allport solves the problem of identification-alienation, which is one of the most important for all humanistic psychology.

Another prominent American psychologist, the founder of humanistic psychology, was Abraham Maslow. His own theory, which the scientist developed by the 50s of the 20th century, appeared on the basis of a detailed acquaintance with the basic psychological concepts that existed at that time (as well as the very idea of ​​​​the need to form a third way, a third psychological direction, alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism).

Speaking about the need to form a new approach to understanding the psyche, Maslow emphasized that he does not reject old approaches and old schools, is not an anti-behaviorist or anti-psychoanalyst, but is an anti-doctrinaire, that is, he opposes the absolutization of their experience.

One of the biggest shortcomings of psychoanalysis, from its point of view, is not so much the desire to downplay the role of consciousness, but the tendency to consider mental development from the point of view of the organism’s adaptation to the environment, the desire for balance with the environment. Like Allport, he believed that such equilibrium is death for the individual. Balance and rootedness in the environment negatively affect the desire for self-actualization, which makes a person an individual.

Maslow was no less active in opposing the reduction of all mental life to behavior, which was characteristic of behaviorism. The most valuable thing in the psyche - its self, its desire for self-development - cannot be described and understood from the standpoint of behavioral psychology, and therefore the psychology of behavior should not be excluded, but supplemented by the psychology of consciousness, a psychology that would explore the “Self-conception” of the individual.

Maslow almost did not conduct global, large-scale experiments that are characteristic of American psychology, especially behaviorism. His small, pilot studies did not so much groping for new paths as confirming what he had arrived at in his theoretical reasoning. This is exactly how he approached the study of “self-actualization” - one of the central concepts of his concept of humanistic psychology.

Unlike psychoanalysts, who were primarily interested in deviant behavior, Maslow believed that human nature must be explored by “studying its best representatives, rather than cataloging the difficulties and errors of average or neurotic individuals.” Only in this way can we understand the limits of human capabilities, the true nature of man, which is not fully and clearly represented in other, less gifted people. The group he chose for the study consisted of eighteen people, nine of them were his contemporaries, and nine were historical figures (A. Lincoln, A. Einstein, W. James, B. Spinoza, etc.).

These studies led him to the idea that there is a certain hierarchy of human needs, which looks like this:

· physiological needs - food, water, sleep, etc.;

· need for security – stability, order;

· need for love and belonging – family, friendship;

· need for respect – self-esteem, recognition;

·need for self-actualization – development of abilities.

One of the weaknesses of Maslow's theory was that he argued that these needs are in a once and for all given rigid hierarchy and higher needs (for self-esteem or self-actualization) arise only after more elementary ones are satisfied. Not only critics, but also Maslow’s followers showed that very often the need for self-actualization or self-esteem was dominant and determined a person’s behavior despite the fact that his physiological needs were not satisfied, and sometimes prevented the satisfaction of these needs. Subsequently, Maslow himself abandoned such a rigid hierarchy, combining all needs into two classes: the needs of need (deficit) and the needs of development (self-actualization).

At the same time, most representatives of humanistic psychology accepted the term "self-actualization" introduced by Maslow, as well as his description of the "self-actualizing personality."

Self-actualization is associated with the ability to understand oneself, one’s inner nature and learn to “attune” in accordance with this nature and build one’s behavior based on it. This is not a one-time act, but a process that has no end, it is a way of “living, working and relating to the world, and not a single achievement.” Maslow identified the most significant moments in this process that change a person’s attitude towards himself and the world and stimulate personal growth. This can be an immediate experience—a “peak experience”—or a long-term experience—a “plateau experience.”

Describing a self-actualizing personality, Maslow said that such a person is characterized by acceptance of himself and the world, including other people. These are, as a rule, people who adequately and effectively perceive the situation, centered on the task, and not on themselves. At the same time, they are also characterized by a desire for solitude, autonomy and independence from the environment and culture.

Thus, Maslow’s theory includes the concepts of identification and alienation, although these mechanisms have not been fully disclosed. However, the general direction of his reasoning and experimental research gives us the opportunity to understand his approach to the mental development of the individual, his understanding of the connections between the individual and society.

The scientist believed that it was conscious aspirations and motives, and not unconscious instincts, that constitute the essence of human personality. However, the desire for self-actualization, for the realization of one’s abilities, encounters obstacles, lack of understanding of others and one’s own weaknesses. Many people retreat in the face of difficulties, which does not leave its mark on the individual and stops his growth. Neurotics are people with an undeveloped or unconscious need for self-actualization. Society, by its very nature, cannot help but hinder a person’s desire for self-actualization. After all, any society strives to make a person its stereotyped representative, alienates the personality from its essence, makes it conformal.

At the same time, alienation, while preserving the “self”, the individuality of the individual, puts it in opposition to the environment and also deprives it of the opportunity to self-actualize. Therefore, a person needs to maintain a balance between these two mechanisms, which, like Scylla and Charybdis, guard him and seek to destroy him. Optimal, Maslow believed, are identification on the external plane, in communication with the outside world, and alienation on the internal plane, in terms of the development of self-awareness. It is this approach that gives a person the opportunity to communicate effectively with others and at the same time remain himself. This position of Maslow made him popular among intellectuals, as it largely reflected the views of this social group on the relationship between the individual and society.

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Assessing Maslow's theory, it should be noted that he was perhaps the first psychologist to pay attention not only to deviations, difficulties and negative aspects of personality. He was one of the first to explore the achievements of personal experience, revealing ways for self-development and self-improvement of any person.

Rogers' theory of personality. In his theory of personality, Rogers developed a certain system of concepts in which people can create and change their ideas about themselves and their loved ones. As with other representatives of humanistic psychology, the idea of ​​the value and uniqueness of the human person is central to Rogers. He believes that the experience that a person has in the process of life, which he called the “phenomenal field,” is individual and unique. This world created by man may or may not coincide with reality, since not all objects included in the environment are conscious of the subject. Rogers called the degree of identity of this field with reality congruence. A high degree of congruence means that what a person communicates to others, what is happening around him, and what he is aware of is more or less the same. Violation of congruence leads to an increase in tension, anxiety and, ultimately, to neuroticism of the individual. Neuroticism also leads to a departure from one’s individuality, a rejection of self-actualization, which Rogers, like Maslow, considered one of the most important needs of the individual. Developing the foundations of his therapy, the scientist combines the idea of ​​congruence with self-actualization.

Methodological platform of the humanistic direction in psychology

The general methodological platform of Humanistic psychology is implemented in a wide range of different approaches. The problem of the driving forces of the formation and development of personality, human needs and values ​​was disclosed in the works of A. Maslow, W. Frankl, S. Bühler. F. Barron, R. May and V. Frankl analyzed the problem of freedom and responsibility. Man's transcendence of his being is considered as a specifically human essential feature (S. Jurard, W. Frankl, A. Maslow).

The problems of interpersonal relationships, love, marriage, sexual relationships, self-disclosure in communication are considered in the works of K. Rogers, S. Jurard, R. May and others.

The basic methodological principles and provisions of Humanistic psychology boil down to the following: man is integral and must be studied in his integrity; each person is unique, therefore the analysis of individual cases is no less justified than statistical generalizations; a person is open to the world, a person’s experience of the world and himself in the world is the main psychological reality; human life should be considered as a single process of human formation and existence; a person has the potential for continuous development and self-realization, which are part of his nature; a person has a certain degree of freedom from external determination due to the meanings and values ​​that guide his choice; man is an active, intentional, creative being. The origins of these ideas are in the philosophical traditions of the humanists of the Renaissance, the French Enlightenment, German romanticism, the philosophy of Feuerbach, Nietzsche, Husserl, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, as well as in modern existentialism and Eastern philosophical and religious systems.

8 pages, 3674 words

The role of psychology in human life

... in general, a psychologist is a representative of science, a professional researcher of the laws of the psyche and consciousness, the characteristics of psychology and human behavior. But... - a site about existential and humanistic psychology) 1Petukhov V.V., Stolin V.V. Psychology, M.: Moscow State University, 1989 2Petukhov V.... in connection with the structure of the organization of interaction between the client and the psychotherapist. They also express a paradoxical view of...

Main principles of humanistic psychotherapy

This type of psychotherapy is characterized by certain categories that distinguish it from other areas, such as:

  • adherence to universal moral values ​​that are not associated with any historical period;
  • the need to accept the cultural heritage of civilization;
  • development of abilities, thanks to which a person can independently make analysis and conclusions, as well as give an independent assessment of current events;
  • fruitful interpersonal communications.

Before Sigmund Freud began to work on mental problems by analyzing the needs of the individual, only drug treatment was widely used. The scientist believed that the origins of all troubles and troubles are hidden within the person himself. But this approach was not always justified. His student, Erich Frome, a German philosopher and psychoanalyst, stated that the very essence of a person is initially expressed in a positive attitude towards oneself and others. However, the opposition of society leads to the fact that not every member of it can satisfy the desire for beauty. In many cases, this is the reason for the manifestation of selfishness and aggression.

Practical Application of Humanistic Psychology

The main area of ​​practical application of Humanistic psychology is psychotherapeutic practice, in which many of the ideas that form the theoretical foundation of Humanistic psychology today were born and developed. In the works of A. Maslow, S. Jurard, F. Barron, K. Rogers, ideas about a psychologically healthy, fully functioning personality were developed. Non-directive psychotherapy by K. Rogers and logotherapy by V. Frankl are among the most popular and widespread psychotherapeutic systems.

Another important area of ​​practical application of Humanistic psychology is humanistic pedagogy, which is based on the principles of non-directive interaction between teacher and student and is aimed at developing the creative abilities of the individual. The third area of ​​practical application of humanistic psychology is socio-psychological training, one of the founders of which was K. Rogers. The successes of Humanistic psychology in these applied areas largely determined the social platform of Humanistic psychology, which is based on the idea of ​​​​improving society by improving individuals and interpersonal relationships (A. Maslow).

General information

Personality in humanistic psychology is not only a subject of research, but also a special value that must be treated with attention and respect. Self-realization, the desire for knowledge, mental health, duty, personal choice and responsibility for it are the most important elements of a full-fledged personality in humanistic psychology.

Humanistic psychology considers unacceptable the attitude towards the subject of research characteristic of the natural sciences, which was shared by some psychological schools. In such sciences, objects are studied that are devoid of reason and their own vision of the world, incapable of forming connections with other people and filling space and time with their own content.

A person has the power to evaluate each new situation, choose a model of behavior that suits it - in general, actively create and transform his own life. If a researcher does not take into account these fundamental differences between humans and other living organisms, then he significantly limits himself and cannot present a complete picture of the functioning of the human psyche.

This belief system places certain demands on the methods of science, which must be able to demonstrate the uniqueness of people. The most adequate methods of humanistic psychology were defined in different ways by the followers of this direction. Some, for example, spoke about the admissibility of the methods of cognitive psychology, others suggested developing our own ways of knowing. In general, this problem remains one of the vulnerabilities of this scientific school.

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Of course, humanistic psychology has been and is being criticized. First of all, the subjectivity of the direction raises questions, because, putting at the forefront the individual experience and individual judgment of the individual about himself, it is difficult to give an objective assessment of a person’s mental processes, and it is completely impossible to measure them quantitatively. Nevertheless, as the basis for a highly sought-after method of psychotherapy, humanistic psychology still remains relevant.

Literature

  • May R., et al. Existential psychology / Translation from English by L. Ya. Dvorko. — Lviv: Initiative; M.: Institute of General Humanitarian Research, 2005. - 160 p. — (Psychologia Vera Series) ISBN 966-7172-10-4 ISBN 5-88230-164-5
  • Shekhovtsova L.F.
    Worldview foundations of humanistic and transpersonal psychology //
    Shekhovtsova L.F.
    Christian worldview as the basis of psychological counseling and psychotherapy. - St. Petersburg: Society of Orthodox Psychologists of St. Petersburg, 2009. - P. 24-32[3]. — 168 p. — 250 copies. — ISBN 5-85991-021-5 (4).
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