Humanistic Psychology & Behavioral Psychology

Posted on Feb 27, 2025 in Psychology and Sociology

Humanistic Movement: Carl Rogers

One of the key figures in humanistic psychology, Carl Rogers, developed his theories based on his extensive clinical experience. A central work in his theory is his book, Client-Centered Therapy. In 1961, the American Psychological Association recognized humanistic psychology. Key tenets of Rogers’ approach include:

  • The subjective importance of individual experience.
  • A belief that every living being strives towards positive goals.
  • Emphasis on personal responsibility for one’s actions.
  • Rejection of the concept of mental disorder.
  • Importance of empathy in understanding others, asserting that therapy should focus on the present problem.

Key Concepts in Rogerian Theory:

  1. Actualizing Tendency: Everyone possesses an innate drive to develop and reach their full potential.
  2. Organismic Valuing Process: We inherently know what is good or bad for us.
  3. Need for Positive Regard: We need care and affection throughout our lives (self-care).
  4. Positive Self-Regard: We grow as individuals and value the care that others provide, making us feel good.
  5. The Self: There are two aspects of the self:
    • Real Self: Who we truly are.
    • Ideal Self: Who others want us to be, which we can never fully attain.
  6. Defenses: Used in threatening or uncomfortable situations, defenses increase inconsistency. The self-concept becomes threatened when there’s a large gap between the real and ideal self.

Society’s Influence:

  1. Societal Values: Influence our development.
  2. Conditions of Worth: Characteristics that all humans possess and that help us develop.
  3. Conditional Positive Regard: The care we receive from others is often conditional.
  4. Conditional Positive Self-Worth: We begin to value ourselves based on what we have done for others.
  5. Incongruence: The distance between the real self and the ideal self.

Rogerian Therapy:

Rogers believed that therapists are born, not made, and should cultivate these qualities:

  • Congruence: Being genuine and honest with the patient.
  • Empathy: Understanding the patient’s perspective.
  • Respect: Valuing the patient as an individual.

Techniques used in Rogerian therapy include reflection, two-chair dialogue, and the empty chair technique.

Personality Features and Factors: Eysenck

Hans Eysenck studied how the brain functions. His theory is behavioral, emphasizing learned behaviors, and is based on Darwinian principles. He proposed that personality is 75% inherited. He was a pioneer in discussing arousal and the cerebral cortex.

Arousal: Cortical excitation observed in response to any stimulus.

Cerebral Cortex: Responsible for controlling and censoring the activities of nerve centers.

Personality Patterns Influenced by:

  1. Intelligence
  2. Character
  3. Temperament
  4. Constitution

Levels of Personality:

  1. Specific Responses: Reactions that occur only once in a lifetime.
  2. Habitual Responses: Similar responses in different but similar situations.
  3. Personality Traits: Interactions of several habitual responses.
  4. Dimensions of Personality: Broad personality factors.

Dimensions and Subdimensions:

The primary dimensions are psychoticism, extraversion-introversion, and neuroticism-stability. Subdimensions of the latter two include:

  • Stable-Extravert
  • Extraverted-Neurotic
  • Introverted-Stable
  • Introverted-Neurotic

Behavioral Model:

The behavioral model was shaped by two historical events: World War II and the subsequent care for veterans. Behavioral therapy was founded on the principles of classical and operant conditioning.

Tenets:

  • Behavior is manifested through motor actions and verbalizations.
  • Interventions are based on behavior modification.
  • Behavior therapy involves an active patient role.
  • The therapist focuses on overt behavior.
  • The present is more important than the past.

Paradigms:

  1. Classical Conditioning: The association of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to create a conditioned stimulus.
  2. Operant Conditioning: Behavior is more likely to be established if followed by positive reinforcement.
  3. Vicarious Conditioning: Learning through observation.