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Humanistic Psychology: Abraham Maslow
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The second influential theory of humanistic psychology was developed by Abraham Maslow. Maslow believed that people are innately good and naturally driven to develop their potential or to achieve "self-actualization." He believed... that people were driven by a hierarchy of needs that must be fulfilled in a particular sequence in order for self-actualization to occur. First, physiological and safety needs must be met. Then people need to feel a sense of belonging. Once this is achieved, people work on their self-esteem needs and then finally self-actualization. Maslow believed that psychological problems result from a difficulty in fulfilling the self-esteem needs, which therefore block self-actualization.
There were many aspects to humanistic psychology. There was a dialectic relationship between the Europe-oriented human scientists and existential psychoanalysts on the one hand, and the American self psychologists, including Maslow, Rogers, Clark Moustakas, and James F. T. Bugental on the other. There was a thoroughgoing revolution in the practice of psychotherapy, which added a wide range of group process, somatic, and non-verbal approaches to the therapist's repertoire. From the point of view of the social sciences, there were three essential characteristics to the humanistic movement:
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Humanistic psychology includes several approaches to counseling and therapy. Among the earliest approaches we find the developmental theory of Abraham Maslow, emphazising a hierarchy of needs and motivations; the existential psychology of Rollo May acknowledging human choice and the tragic aspects of human existence; and the person-centered or client-centered therapy of Carl Rogers, which is centered around the clients' capacity for self-direction and understanding of his/her own development (Clay, 2002).
The influence of humanistic psychology is not limited only to college and university students and academic circles, but ... extends to the Communist Party of China. In a thick book titled The Science of Socialist Spiritual Civilization published in 1988 the author pointed out that the basic aim of socialist spiritual civilization construction is to cultivate healthy personality. When defining healthy personality, the author quoted Maslow's descrip-tion of self-actualizing people.
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The psychology major at Burlington College is grounded in humanistic psychology. Differentiated from behavioral and biologically-based psychology programs by its emphasis on a holistic, non-compartmentalized approach, humanistic psychology affirms the inherent value and dignity of every human being, viewing all individuals as intrinsically good, motivated by an instinct and capacity for growth. The work of such theorists as Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and Viktor Frankl contributes to this perspective.
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The major theorists considered to have prepared the ground for Humanistic Psychology are Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and Rollo May. The work of Wilhelm Reich, who postulated an essentially 'good', healthy core self, in contrast to Freud, was an early influence, especially his
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