The Humanistic Approach Essay Example
THE HUMANISTIC APPROACH
HUMANISM is a school of thought that believes human beings are different from other species and possess capacities not found in animals. Humanists give primacy to the study of human needs and interests. They also believe that it is necessary to study the person as a whole, especially as an individual grows and develops over the lifespan. The study of the self, motivation and goal settings are also areas of special interest. The origin of humanistic psychology can be traced as far back as the Middle Ages. The basic belief of this philosophy is that every person has worth and the right to achieve self-realization through reason and rational thought. The early humanism movement began in 15th century Europe as a protest against the closed-minded religious dogma of the church’s scholars and philosophers. Modern humanistic psychology emerged in about the mid 1950s as a reaction by clinical psychologists, social workers, and counsellors against behaviourism and psychoanalysis. Although behaviourism and psychoanalysis contributed to the understanding of human behaviour, it did not include a holistic view of the individual. Humanistic psychology emerged in the mid 1950s and complemented behaviourism and psychoanalysis with its focus on the individual as a whole person. Unlike behaviourism and psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology studies humans as organized wholes who are best understood within the context of their environment. Humanistic psychology developed into a vital field of psychology during the second half of the 20th century.
There are FIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES of humanistic education:
1. SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING. Students should be able to choose what they want to learn. Humanistic teachers believe that students will be motivated to learn a subject if it is something they need and want to know. i.e. when they have developed the skills of analysing what is important to them and why as well as the skills of directing their
HUMANISM is a school of thought that believes human beings are different from other species and possess capacities not found in animals. Humanists give primacy to the study of human needs and interests. They also believe that it is necessary to study the person as a whole, especially as an individual grows and develops over the lifespan. The study of the self, motivation and goal settings are also areas of special interest. The origin of humanistic psychology can be traced as far back as the Middle Ages. The basic belief of this philosophy is that every person has worth and the right to achieve self-realization through reason and rational thought. The early humanism movement began in 15th century Europe as a protest against the closed-minded religious dogma of the church’s scholars and philosophers. Modern humanistic psychology emerged in about the mid 1950s as a reaction by clinical psychologists, social workers, and counsellors against behaviourism and psychoanalysis. Although behaviourism and psychoanalysis contributed to the understanding of human behaviour, it did not include a holistic view of the individual. Humanistic psychology emerged in the mid 1950s and complemented behaviourism and psychoanalysis with its focus on the individual as a whole person. Unlike behaviourism and psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology studies humans as organized wholes who are best understood within the context of their environment. Humanistic psychology developed into a vital field of psychology during the second half of the 20th century.
There are FIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES of humanistic education:
1. SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING. Students should be able to choose what they want to learn. Humanistic teachers believe that students will be motivated to learn a subject if it is something they need and want to know. i.e. when they have developed the skills of analysing what is important to them and why as well as the skills of directing their