Articles Analysis Essay on Humanistic and Existentialism

"Psychological Data and Human Values" by Maslow

The main argument of this article is that the majority of humanistic theories do not reflect the reality. Maslow (1962, p. 141) appreciates the progress in made in psychological theories but adds that despite the general mass knowledge of the subject, very few people have sufficient understanding to explain the intricacies of the human condition. Most assumptions that have been held in the past fail to help us identify our roles in the world and how we can adapt to such a reality.

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Maslow does not completely refute the premise of humanistic theory; he rather acknowledges that they give a good sketch of human behavior, albeit with incomplete reality for most people. Moreover, Maslow (1962, p. 144) expresses the belief that the milestones that had been made in psychology at the time suggested that with sufficient hard work, it was possible to decrypt the intricacies of the human condition.

Maslow developed the Hierarchy of needs as a new theory system that focuses on the place of a person in the world. Contrary to how the preceding theories outlined the human mind, Maslow's model is more positive and motivational. It explains how universal human needs and the desire for self-improvement dictate our thought process. The model has five successive levels of human subconscious desires and motivational rewards (Maslow, 1962, p. 152). Needs in the higher steps of the tier do not come to the conscious mind until the lower ones are fulfilled.

At the basic level, it begins with physiological, followed by safety needs. Physiological needs are necessary for a human to stay alive. They are water, shelter, and food. Safety need has to do with being secure from danger, which is also necessary for survival. The next level comprises of psychological needs which have to do with the sense of belonging and esteem. The need to belong is what makes people want to be in intimate relationships and make friendships. Esteem is the feeling prestige or of being accomplished, At the highest level is the need for self-actualization which is the motivation to pursue the highest potential.

"The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions of Therapeutic Personality Change" by Rogers

The article seeks to precisely present and describe the essential elements necessary for psychotherapeutic change to occur. Being a psychotherapist, Rogers uses his professional experience with distressed individuals to identify the principles behind the positive change in personality. The author states that the conditions are necessary because constructive personality change requires the existence of each one of them. The six conditions must also be sufficient, meaning that each of them must meet the minimum level (Rogers, 1957, p. 93). At the same time personality change requires that the conditions go on for some time.

The first condition is that two individuals be in psychological contact. Secondly, one of the two people involved in this contact should not be integrated into the relationship due to anxiety or vulnerability. The person in this state is normally the client (Rogers, 1957, p. 94). Thirdly, the second individual, who is the therapist, fits in the in the relationship. The fourth condition is that the therapist unconditionally regards the client positively. Fifth, the therapist has to understand the psychological state of the client empathically and let him or her know about this experience. Lastly, the client must attain the minimum level of awareness that the therapist's unconditionally positively regards him/her and empathically understands his/her psychological state.

Logotherapy and Existentialism" by Frankl

The article explains how the rise of existentialism has influenced the current psychotherapy situation. Existentialism is an emerging school of psychiatry that emphasizes a holistic, analytical approach that views mental disorders as deviations from human normalcy as opposed to outcomes of cultural and biological factors (Frankl, 1967, p.139). Besides, he explains that Existentialism is also an important characteristic of the current psychotherapy. Notably, there are many existentialisms because of the existence of many existentialists with different nomenclature and versions. For example, a term like existence can have different meanings depending on the writer.

The only common thing among existential authors is the repeated use of the phrase, "being in the world" (Frankl, 1967, p.140). Existentialists use the phrase so commonly that they often misuse it. It seems like many of them perceive the application of this phrase as a credential of their school of thought. Appreciating the proper meaning of the phrase requires recognition of the fact that being human is about being confronted with a subjective world and getting involved in a situation.

Furthermore, Frankl acknowledges the common position of most of the psychotherapists that logotherapy is part of existential psychiatry. Although it has been included under existential psychiatry, logotherapy has been applauded by most authors in this area as the only category of psychotherapy that has successfully developed a real technique (Frankl, 1967, p.142). The literal meaning of logotherapy can be taken as using meaning to heal. However, that is an oversimplified perspective that is only applied for informative purposes. The will to meaning is a very key concept in logotherapy. It is the fact that psychotherapists search for in the phenomenological analysis. It represents the meaning and purpose of life, which man endeavors to not only find but also fulfill.

How Humanistic and Existentialism could be Utilized Today

Both humanistic and existentialism are still used in counseling and psychotherapy to help the client find a subjective solution to their unique problems and experiences. Moreover, since the two theories stress that humans have unique experiences and aspirations, they can be used in many areas outside psychology (DeRobertis, 2013, p. 420). For example, in business, the schools of thought in market research to determine product preferences among market segments. According to Jingna, (2012, p. 35), in education, the theory is applied in learning by allowing students choose their preferred courses and majors so that they can get the maximum benefit from the learning process.

References

DeRobertis, E. M. (2013). Humanistic Psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 53(4), 419-437. doi:10.1177/0022167812473369

Frankl, V. E. (1967). Logotherapy and existentialism. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 4(3), 138-142. doi:10.1037/h0087982

Jingna, D. U. (2012). Application of humanism theory in the teaching approach. Higher Education of Social Science, 3(1), 32-36.

Maslow, A. H. (1962). Psychological data and human values. Toward a psychology of being, 141-156. doi:10.1037/10793-011

Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), 95-103. doi:10.1037/h0045357