Humanistic Model

A humanistic model, stemming from American psychologist
Carl Rogers (1902-1987) and others, emphasizes that mental disorders
arise when people are blocked in their efforts to grow and achieve
self-actualization. According to this view, the self-concept is all-important
and people have personal responsibility for their actions and the power to
plan and choose their behaviors and feelings.

The humanistic model stresses that humans are basically good and have
tremendous potential for personal growth. Left to their own devices, people
will strive for self-actualization. However, people can run into roadblocks.
Problems will arise if people are prevented from satisfying their basic needs
or are forced to live up to the expectations of others. When this happens,
people lose sight of their own goals and develop distorted self-perceptions.

They feel threatened and insecure and are unable to accept their own feelings
and experiences. Losing touch with one’s own feelings, goals, and perceptions
forms the basis of abnormality. For example, parents may withhold
their love and approval unless a young person conforms to their standards.

In this case, the parents are offering conditional positive regard. This causes
children to worry about such things as, “What if I do not do as well on the
next test?”, “What if I do not score in the next game?”, and “What if I forget
to clean my room?” In this example, the child may develop generalized anxiety
disorder, which includes chronically high levels of anxiety. What the
child needs for full development of maximum potential, according to the
humanistic view, is unconditional positive regard.

American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and other humanistic
theorists stress that all human activity is normal, natural, rational, and
sensible when viewed from the perspective of the person who is performing
the behavior. According to this model, abnormality is a myth. All abnormal
behavior would make sense if one could see the world through the eyes of
the person who is behaving abnormally.

The humanistic model has made useful contributions to the practice of
psychotherapy and to the study of consciousness. However, the humanistic
model restricts attention to immediate conscious experience, failing to recognize
the importance of unconscious motivation, reinforcement contingencies,
future expectations, biological and genetic factors, and situational
influences. Further, contrary to the optimistic self-actualizing view of people,
much of human history has been marked by wars, violence, and individual
repression.