Examples Of Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic psychology views humans as holistic individuals capable of determining their own behaviors and goals. Four fundamental Assumptions:
1. All humans have free will and not all behavior is determined by unconscious forces or stimulus response. They can make conscious choices and decisions. They can change their action and environment for their own personal improvement. For example, Brandon is feels like there is nothing going well in his life. He goes to work and goes to school but he doesn’t do much of anything else. He doesn’t spend a lot of time with friends or going out and is very bored most of the time. As a result, his life seems to be very unfulfilling. He wants to do something about this but isn’t sure where he should start. The idea that Brandon wants to change things in his life in order to get rid of the bored feeling is another point in favor of the humanistic perspective. He wants to make changes so that he can get the benefits of a happy and fulfilling life. The changes he makes will increase his self-esteem as well as his self-actualization.

2. All individuals are unique and have an innate drive to achieve their maximum potential. They are essentially good and grow psychologically, if given positive regards all the time.

She is trying to get a degree in nursing because she really wants to become a nurse. She has always felt like she could really help others and like she should try everything possible to become a better person. When she does become a nurse she plans to fulfill her dream of working with underprivileged people. Margaret is working towards self-actualization and achieving her full potential. She is also working on helping her own self-esteem as well as her feeling of belonging. She wants to feel important but she really wants to make sure she’s helping other