Emma Asta
PSYC 251
Nebel-Schwalm
15 September 2016 The Humanistic and Behavioral Theories The Humanistic Theory was developed by Carl Rogers around the nineteenth century. Unlike most personality theories that existed at the time, the humanistic approach shed a much more positive light on behavior by focusing on human existence overall, claiming that “human beings are born with a natural tendency to be friendly, cooperative, and constructive” (Comer 65). In addition, all humans have the potential, and strive, to reach a stage called self-actualization, a term defined by Abraham Maslow. In his model, Maslow depicts a four-tier hierarchy of needs, progressing the most basic essentials (food, water, sleep) to more complex ones, the last one …show more content…
It can be argued that the because the humanistic approach focuses on such a large concept (human existence), it is too general; others criticize its lack of objectivity and effective treatment of individuals with extreme behavior disorders, such as dementia. Lastly, the time-tested debate of “inherent good versus evil” debate brings attention to the humanistic approach’s assumption that humans are on one end. Unfortunately, there is little evidence or research that can be done to prove either side, greatly weakening the reliability and validity of this approach. The text states that this approach has “lost some of [its] popularity” (Comer 65), which may be due to some of the weaknesses named …show more content…
Skinner, who believed only observable behavior should be studied and human behavior (both internal and external) is shaped by environment. Behaviorists place a strong emphasis on the “principles of learning, the processes by which these behaviors change in response to the environment” (Comer 58). Learning is an entire psychological concept in itself, but in short, there are two types of learning or conditioning. Operant conditioning, developed by Skinner himself, was based on rewards. For example, children are willing to do chores for praise or allowance and students do their homework to receive points. In contrast, classical conditioning is based on repetition and association, as developed by Russian psychologist Pavlov. In his famous experiment, Pavlov was able to classically condition a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell. Strong evidence has been found for both types of learning in a variety of research, experiments, and even daily
PSYC 251
Nebel-Schwalm
15 September 2016 The Humanistic and Behavioral Theories The Humanistic Theory was developed by Carl Rogers around the nineteenth century. Unlike most personality theories that existed at the time, the humanistic approach shed a much more positive light on behavior by focusing on human existence overall, claiming that “human beings are born with a natural tendency to be friendly, cooperative, and constructive” (Comer 65). In addition, all humans have the potential, and strive, to reach a stage called self-actualization, a term defined by Abraham Maslow. In his model, Maslow depicts a four-tier hierarchy of needs, progressing the most basic essentials (food, water, sleep) to more complex ones, the last one …show more content…
It can be argued that the because the humanistic approach focuses on such a large concept (human existence), it is too general; others criticize its lack of objectivity and effective treatment of individuals with extreme behavior disorders, such as dementia. Lastly, the time-tested debate of “inherent good versus evil” debate brings attention to the humanistic approach’s assumption that humans are on one end. Unfortunately, there is little evidence or research that can be done to prove either side, greatly weakening the reliability and validity of this approach. The text states that this approach has “lost some of [its] popularity” (Comer 65), which may be due to some of the weaknesses named …show more content…
Skinner, who believed only observable behavior should be studied and human behavior (both internal and external) is shaped by environment. Behaviorists place a strong emphasis on the “principles of learning, the processes by which these behaviors change in response to the environment” (Comer 58). Learning is an entire psychological concept in itself, but in short, there are two types of learning or conditioning. Operant conditioning, developed by Skinner himself, was based on rewards. For example, children are willing to do chores for praise or allowance and students do their homework to receive points. In contrast, classical conditioning is based on repetition and association, as developed by Russian psychologist Pavlov. In his famous experiment, Pavlov was able to classically condition a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell. Strong evidence has been found for both types of learning in a variety of research, experiments, and even daily