Relevance of Humanistic Psychology in the 21st Century

Humanistic psychology asserts that human beings are unique beings and as such, should be studied as a whole (Schneider et al., 2015). This implies that the actions of a human being should not only be viewed from the perspective of others but also from the perspective of the doer. Humanistic psychology is an evolving concept that has changed throughout the 21st century. Contrary to popular beliefs, humanistic psychology continues to have great relevance in modern day society and the 21st century as a whole. Towards the end of the 20th century, concepts of humanistic psychology were borrowed and integrated into other disciplines such as mental health, where patients were viewed from a holistic and both objective and subjective perspective (Schneider et al., 2015). This meant that at the start of the 21st century, humanistic psychology evolved from not only being viewed as a psychological branch but as a multifaceted discipline that can be applied in other areas like medicine as well. It follows that the 21st century has seen a tremendous growth in economic and social factors that any other century. As such, the idea of studying human beings, their interactions, and operations continues to rely on emerging social and economic facts. As a result of this, humanistic psychology has incredible relevance and application as it evolves to encompass the economic and social domains of human life.

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         The pivotal points in the history of humanistic psychology are its transformative role and integrative aspects such as multiculturalism. The transformative role has made it possible for other domains of care, therapy, and others to borrow concepts of humanistic psychology and integrate them into normal practices. Multiculturalism can also be considered as pivotal in the history of humanistic psychology because culture is a universal concept that cannot be eluded and must be considered when studying human beings or understanding their behaviors. The major founders of humanistic psychology are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Maslow established an order of needs in an order of decreasing priority and higher sophistication. Through Maslow’s suggestion that humans are inclined to fulfill specific needs, it became apparent that each individual is unique and their actions should not be judged from a sole consequential perspective but also from the subjective view of the doer. Rogers pioneered a person-centered psychotherapeutic approach and unconditional positive regard. By doing this, he influenced humanistic psychology because he prioritized human needs and advocated viewing issues from the perspective of the human and not only that of other parties.

In general, humanistic psychology is a relevant concept, especially in today’s society. I agree with the discipline’s view on the importance of appreciating the uniqueness of each individual and embracing the need to view human actions and behaviors from a holistic perspective. The major part I disagree with is unconditional positive regard where a human’s actions must be considered unique from an individualistic perspective. This is because certain actions are bad and deliberately cause harm to others. In this view, humanistic psychology tends to protect the wickedness of humanity by prioritizing their needs. Nonetheless, humanistic psychology has brought more historical relevance, particularly where it embraced the transformative role of integration into other disciplines for the overall good of humanity.

References

Schneider, K. J., Pierson, J. F., & Bugental, J. F. T. (2015). The handbook of humanistic psychology : theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.