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Get To Know Humanistic Psychology study
You have always been yourself in spite of
what anyone thinks
or says. You have always aimed to succeed, attain your goals in life,
self
actualization is your ultimate goal.
The is what humanistic psychology study is all about, the study
you and
the likes of you, how you go about achieving your goals, how you behave
because
of what you think etc.
This article gives an in-depth view of the humanistic psychology study.
Enjoy.
Humanistic Psychology Study
The main focus of Humanistic psychology study is based on
conscious consciousness, morals and theoretical thinking. These include
the spiritual experiences and the beliefs that people live by. Emerging
in the 1950's and 1960's, humanism is about rewarding yourself, and
places great importance on the individual and their own individuality.
Personality depends on what people believe and how they perceive the
world and a major factor in this learning theory is that people are
seen as freely exercising choice over how to behave. They are the
architects of their own lives and 'personal agents' in their own
psychological growth.
There
are many objectives of the humanistic view of education, as described
by Gage and Berliner. These include a promotion of positive
self-direction and independence, the ability to take responsibility for
what is learned, an emphasis on student centered teaching, and the
development of social skills and respect for students feelings and
aspirations, thus allowing them the right to self-determination.
Feelings are as important as facts and the current and future welfare
of students is foremost. In order to develop these objectives certain
principles must be in place. Students will learn best what they want
and need to know. Self directed learning increases knowledge. Rogers
says that self directed learning in schools increases curiosity,
encourages students to take responsibility for their own development
and promotes personal and academic growth. However, knowing how to
learn is more important than acquiring a lot of knowledge and
self-evaluation is the only meaningful judgment of a student's work.
The worth and rights of individuals needs to be respected and there has
to be openness, honesty and selflessness in order for trust to be
gained.
Humanistic psychology is sometimes referred to as the 'Third
Force' in psychology. As mentioned earlier, it is often said that this
was a backlash against the Behaviorist emphasis on scientific method,
which was seen as losing sight of the human being. Scientific method is
largely inappropriate for studying human experience, or at least, it
does not go far enough. As the name suggests, Humanistic psychology
focuses on the subjective experience of living rather than observable
behavior.
There
are a number of theories, which qualify as being Humanistic, two of the
best known being those of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Rogers became
probably the most influential of humanistic psychologists. He said that
human nature is basically good and that people have a natural drive
towards Self-Actualization, meaning the achievement of their full
potential. This is the fundamental incentive behind the development of
personality.
To promote human welfare, Rogers maintains that people should
relate to one another with an 'unconditional positive regard', which is
the complete acceptance of another person as he or she is, much like
the love of a parent for a child.
Abraham Maslow, another founder of humanistic psychology,
proposed that people have a hierarchy of needs. The highest of these
being self-actualization.
Although we are not fully aware of these needs, they are
rather like mental vitamins and if we are denied them, we can never be
fully mentally healthy. He observed that if we are lacking in any of
these needs, then difficult behavior is often the result. If the needs
are met, then mentally healthy behavior is the outcome. A child learns,
according to Maslow because he or she is inwardly driven and gains
reward from a sense of achievement that learning something difficult
provides. He also said that learning is not an end in itself but the
means to progress towards the height of self-development, which he
terms 'self actualization'. After the basic needs of physical survival
and safety, Maslow places the needs of belonging and love. The next
highest group of needs is covered by the term 'esteem', and at the top
of the hierarchy is the need for self-actualization (man's desire for
self-fulfillment).
Beginning at an early age, children evaluate themselves and
their own actions. They learn that what they do is sometimes good and
sometimes bad. They develop a self-concept, an image of what they
really are, and an ideal self, an image of what they would like to be.
The primary focus of humanistic education is placed on the development
of the whole child placing a major emphasis on the regulatory and the
affective/emotional system. Huitt described this in his systems model
of human behavior.
Humanism concentrates upon the development of the child's
self-concept. It is important for a child to feel good about itself,
and this involves them understanding their own strengths and weaknesses
and having a belief in their ability to improve. The humanistic
approach states that education is about creating a need within the
child and instilling self-motivation.
Because a child's behavior is continuously being evaluated by
parents and others, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively, he
soon learns to distinguish between those thoughts and actions that are
considered good and those that are not. The poor experiences become
excluded from the self-concept, even though they may be quite valid or
natural and the good ones remain.
Obviously there must be certain restrictions on behavior and
Rogers suggests that the best approach is for the parents to recognize
children's feelings as valid, while explaining any reasons for
restraint. With children, a high priority is placed on the development
of their personal growth and a sense of respect for oneself and other.
They need to be are taught to recognize their responsibility to the
community. A child's growth in these areas prepares them for continued
success in future academic, personal and social situations.
Humanistic schools believe that emotional factors, personal
growth and development are of the highest values. They argue that these
are ignored in a society, which is unduly materialistic, objective and
mechanistic. Humanistic psychologists believe that society, schools and
colleges exist to meet the needs of the individual learner and not the
other way around. They believe that learners should be allowed to
pursue their own interests and talents in order to develop themselves
as fully as possible in
their own unique direction. Rogers said that 'no-one should
ever try to learn something for which he sees no relevance' and that
learning should be its own reward. The main principles suggested by
humanistic psychologists have been highly influential, especially in
adult education and training. A humanistic teacher aims for good things
and the approaches are highly dependent on the capabilities of the
teacher.
There are a variety of ways in which teachers can implement
the humanistic view towards education. Some of these include allowing
students to have a choice in the selection of tasks and activities
whenever possible and helping them to set realistic goals for
themselves. It is important to have students participating in group
work, in order to develop social and affective skills. Teachers need to
act more as facilitators in the classroom and available when
appropriate and they need to be role models constantly working on
themselves to become better people. This is often known as 'Open
education'.
The humanistic curriculum is based on establishing productive
social and working relationships with others. It is a part of
everything the child does within the school setting. The expectations
and consequences are age appropriate. Just as the academic curriculum
responds to the developing cognitive skills of the children so too does
the social curriculum. It encourages growth in responsibility,
independence and decision making. Children are allowed and actually
encouraged to make choices and accept the consequences for their
actions, and mistakes are treated as opportunities for learning. The
children learn to care about themselves and others and to value the
quality of their work. By placing emphasis on the positive, a classroom
environment is created whereby children are encouraged and become
self-reliant. They care about doing their best and value the quality of
their work. The emphasis is on co-operation and not competition and
this has a positive effect on classroom behavior whilst also improving
academic learning. Skills such as listening, decision making and
problem solving all need to be discussed, modeled and practiced in
order for children to be successful in their groups.
A large commitment of time is required to implement the social
curriculum. Learning
social skills and nurturing moral growth is a developmental
process. The development of interpersonal skills is also taught in
order for children to recognize the feelings of others and deal with
hurt and misunderstanding through the use of language. Opportunities
are provided for children to develop and to be taught listening,
communication and leadership skills and opportunities are provided for
teamwork. Children are assisted to become conscious of their own
feelings and they are helped to develop a vocabulary with which to
express these feelings. This then has the effect of making them become
self-confident, focused and independent.
The Montessori school uses humanistic learning theories to
teach pupils, promoting knowledge, beauty and fulfillment.
Dr Maria Montessori was the founder of these schools and many
of her ideas have now been adapted into 'mainstream' education. The
Montessori school was founded in 1965 and its education encourages
intellectual, social, physical, creative and moral development,
preparing students for academic excellence, and responsible, caring
lives. A child attending these schools will be exposed to methods of
teaching, which promote the development of the whole child,
facilitating the growth of the inner discipline and cultivating the
child's own natural joy in learning. Montessori takes advantage of each
child's unique sensitivities and offers exercises in language
development, sensorimotor development, reading, mathematics, physical
and natural sciences, geography and cultural studies, music, art, drama
and body movements. These are all activities used in practical life.
The materials and activities are designed to help the child to progress
at their own rate. Young children do not have to join in on group
activities if they do not wish, as they have a right to keep working at
their own exercises. They may also observe instead of joining in if
they wish but must not interfere or become disruptive. They are not
forced to share with another child if they wish to work by themselves.
As mentioned earlier, many of the ideas of Maria Montessori have been
adapted and are used in 'mainstream' schools but not without their
problems. Children are still compelled to attend and there are still
rules to abide by. There is little choice in the curriculum content,
and the sharing of teacher's time and resources with other students'
could cause problems for children with differing
abilities and experience. Also pupils have to put up with an
instructional tempo that is often either too fast or too slow.
Humanistic learning styles are all based on intrinsic learning
principles. Intrinsic learning is learning that fructifies in
self-actualization or growing to full humanness. Intrinsic learning is
learning to be a person. In opposition, must of classroom teaching is
of the extrinsic variety. Pleasing the teacher or aiming for certain
grades. Once rewards terminate then learning ceases. In intrinsic
learning, learning continues despite the presence or absence of
external rewards because growth towards psychological health and the
satisfaction gained from self actualization is an intrinsic reward.
In concluding, I can only say that the purpose of humanistic
education is to provide a foundation for personal growth and
development so that learning will continue throughout life in a self
directed manner
I have discussed the theoretical approach of humanism and have
evaluated its principles, assumptions and methods used for teaching
child learners. I have brought in the contributions of two individual
theorists, Maslow and Rogers and have discussed their work.
Rogers developed client centered therapy putting the client
and facilitator on a more equal footing and Maslow developed a
hierarchy of needs giving us ideas about personal growth.
Humanism for the individual means that we must accept
responsibility for our own lives and that we should enjoy life to the
full in ways that respect the well being of others.
Humanistic psychology has given us a new, global model of
human behavior that is refreshingly different from the dominant
deterministic approaches of behaviorism and psychoanalysis.
We can see the self-initiated learning is the most lasting and
pervasive. We can also see that significant learning takes place when
the subject matter is relevant to the personal interests of the student.
Humanistic techniques have wide applications after schooling
and a good, solid foundation in an educational setting will provide a
basis for the future when in the workplace, personal relationships and
in further education. Humanism has helped us to a better understanding
of such diverse things as how people experience joy or face
death, and with children, has developed self confident, focused and
independent learners who continue to learn in a self directed manner,
following their own intrinsic interests growing to their full potential.
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