Emphasizing the significance of connecting with fellow humans and advocating for a humanistic worldview, the humanistic perspective highlights the notion that people possess comparable needs and values irrespective of their individual circumstances. This stands in opposition to extreme manifestations of national, religious, racial, and gender identities. During the late 19th century, a management perspective arose with the objective of comprehending human behavior in work environments by examining their needs and attitudes.
Mary Parker Follett and Chester Barnard were early proponents of a humanistic management approach that focused on comprehending human behaviors, needs, attitudes, as well as social interactions and group processes in the workplace. This perspective encompasses various subfields such as the human relations movement, the human resources perspective, and the behavioral sciences approach. Overall, the humanistic perspective presents a favorable outlook on human nature and potential.
From this standpoint, it is believed that each person possesses intrinsic value and holds accountability for their own joy and welfare as human beings. It is thought that all individuals have the inherent capacity to attain their utmost potential and realize self-actualization. Humanistic scholars like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow also explore the quest for significance and personal satisfaction by the human spirit. Adherents of this perspective live life to the fullest, remain grounded in the present moment, and depend on their own emotions.
According to Rogers, individuals possess an inherent drive to achieve full functioning, but encounter obstacles along the way. The humanistic perspective centers around the self, which pertains to “YOU” and how you perceive your experiences. This viewpoint argues that rather than merely reacting to stimuli and reinforcements from the environment, you have the freedom to select your behavior. It emphasizes self-esteem, self-fulfillment, and needs as crucial elements of personal development. Rogers maintains that each person operates from a distinct frame of reference when cultivating their self-regard or self-concept; how they view themselves. These beliefs are influenced by unconditional positive regard and conditional positive regard. Unconditional positive regard refers to love shown without conditions, often demonstrated by parents towards their children. Conditional positive regard only occurs under specific conditions being met. According to Rogers’ theory, mentally healthy individuals fully embrace life and are considered fully functioning persons.
Abraham Maslow believes that individuals have a hierarchy of needs that must be fulfilled in a specific order, starting from the most basic to the highest. These needs include physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, achievement needs, and ultimately, Self-Actualization. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs states that these needs must be satisfied sequentially. For example, one cannot meet their safety needs unless their physiological needs are met. PSYCOANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVE The psychoanalytic approach emphasizes the significance of the unconscious mind (as opposed to the conscious mind).
In summary, the psychoanalytic perspective suggests that behavior is influenced by past experiences stored in the unconscious mind, of which individuals are unaware. This perspective originates from Freud’s belief in the profound impact of early experiences on present-day behavior. A key aspect is recognizing defense mechanisms as coping strategies employed by the ego to handle anxiety. These defense mechanisms can operate unconsciously and distort or falsify reality. However, excessive use or extreme application of these defense mechanisms can lead to pathology.
Psychoanalysis acknowledges that individuals may not always be aware of the factors influencing their behavior and emotions, both in therapy and in understanding the mind. These unconscious elements can lead to unhappiness, which may manifest as challenging personality traits, difficulties in forming relationships, or disruptions in self-confidence or overall demeanor.
Psychoanalysis is a broad theory that explores individual human behavior and experience. It has influenced and been enhanced by various other fields. Psychoanalysis aims to understand the intricate connection between the body and the mind, shedding light on the role of emotions in medical health and illness. Furthermore, it serves as the foundation for numerous therapeutic approaches. The revelations from psychoanalytic treatment have shaped programs in child psychiatry, family therapy, and general psychiatric practice.
Freud’s 1949 work delves into the fundamental principles of psychoanalytic theory. He outlines the psychical apparatus, which comprises three forces: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id encompasses unconscious thoughts and includes inherited traits, innate qualities, and instincts. Conversely, the ego encompasses conscious thoughts and is responsible for regulating the desires and instincts of the id. Furthermore, it facilitates awareness of stimuli while serving as a link between the id and the external world.
Additionally, the ego reacts to stimulation through either adaptation or flight, regulates activity, and strives to achieve pleasure while avoiding unpleasure (Finally, the superego, whose demands are managed by the id, is responsible for restricting satisfactions and represents the influence of others, such as parents, teachers, and role models, as well as the impact of racial, societal, and cultural traditions. According to Freud, the instincts are the fundamental cause of all behavior. There are two primary instincts – Eros (love) and the destructive or death instinct. The purpose of Eros is to establish and maintain unity through relationships.
On the other hand, the purpose of the death instinct is to undo connections and unity via destruction. The two instincts can either operate against each other through repulsion or combine with each other through attraction. The four main phases in sexual development are as follows:
- The oral phase: During this phase, the individual focuses on satisfying the needs of the mouth, which is considered the first erotogenic zone.
- The sadistic-anal phase: This phase involves seeking satisfaction through aggression and in the xcretory function.
- The phallic phase: In this phase, young boys go through the Oedipus phase, where they fear their fathers and castration while also fantasizing about sexual relations with their mothers. In contrast, young girls enter the Electra phase, experiencing penis envy and often turning away from sexual life altogether.
- The period of latency: This is a phase of sexual development where it comes to a halt.
- The genital phase: Finally, in this phase, the sexual function is completely organized and the coordination of sexual urge towards pleasure is completed.
According to Freud, homosexuality and sexual perversions are caused by errors in the development of sexual function. The main goal of psychoanalysis is to cure patients by restoring the damaged ego to its normal state and removing neuroses. Throughout the lengthy process of analysis, patients share both important and seemingly unimportant information with their analysts. Transference, a component of analysis that has both positive and negative consequences, occurs when patients perceive their analysts as parental figures, role models, or individuals from their past.
Transference leads patients to prioritize pleasing their analysts, causing them to lose sight of their main objective of recovery. The process of psychoanalysis encompasses various crucial stages. Initially, analysts collect information through patients’ free associations, the analysis of transference, dream interpretation, and observations of slips and parapraxes. Subsequently, analysts develop hypotheses regarding the patients’ past experiences and current situations in their everyday lives.
It is crucial for analysts to wait until patients reach their own conclusions before sharing their own observations. If analysts reveal their conclusions too early, it can lead to resistance caused by repression. Overcoming this resistance requires both analysts and patients to invest more time and effort.
