Humanistic Psychology

The humanistic approach to psychology emphasizes that each individual has great freedom in directing his or her future, a large capacity for achieving personal growth, a considerable amount of intrinsic worth, and enormous potential for self-fulfillment. This is the definition of the humanistic approach to psychology per Rod Plotnick’s book, “Introduction to Psychology: Sixth Edition.” In laymen’s terms, each person has the power to be what they want to be. You can do anything you want if you just work hard and put your mind to it. Personal realization is the key to success.
One of the most influential figures associated with humanistic psychology was Abraham Maslow. He was extremely dissatisfied with the behavioral and psychoanalytic approaches to psychology. In the early 1960’s, Maslow publicized the “Journal of Humanistic Psychology.” In this journal, Maslow said that the humanistic approach was to be a new way of perceiving and thinking about the individu...