Humanistic Theory

The Individual and the Struggle for Meaning

Diana Frank & Jonathan Green

Maslow, Rogers and The Development & Significance of the Third Force
Humanistic Theory divides the history of psychology into three forces: The First Force is behaviorism which measures human response to stimuli. The Second Force is psychoanalysis which says that the unconscious mind determines conscious behavior. The Third Force is humanistic theory which is based on the concept that human beings have an inherent value above and beyond their ability to be exploited.

Abraham Maslow
Was Born of Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn NY 1908. He studied to become a lawyer to conform with his parents wishes. Against his parents wishes he married his first cousin Bertha and studied psychology.

Carl Rogers
Was born in 1902 in Oak Park, Illinois to strict Protestant parents.

He studied agriculture, then history and eventually decided to become a minister.

After taking Psychology classes at the Teachers College of Columbia University while a seminary student, he transferred to Teachers College and studied Psychology

Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Human Needs

Physiological Needs
The base of the pyramid is made up of the basic human needs for existence:

Food Water Air Sleep

Safety Needs
Then come the needs for:

Security Stability Freedom from fear and chaos Freedom from anxiety and threats

Belongingness and love

Followed by the needs for Intimacy and affection provided by:

friendship family lover.

Self Esteem
At the top of the pyramid are the needs for:

Self respect Respect of others Achievement Attention Appreciation

Self Actualization
After all the previous needs are met a person strives for self actualization. The question now is what are the motivations of selfactualizing people, asked Maslow. When all your physical and emotional needs are met. What motivates you to you move forward as a human being? The answer: A person discovers a mission in life and the rewards of that mission. The mission is not necessarily something they want to do but something they feel responsibility to do.

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Approaches to Counseling

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Carl Rogers Client Centered Therapy Rollo Mays Existential Psychology

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Client Centered Therapy

Carl Rogers

Core Conditions to promoting change: Genuineness Acceptance/Trust Empathetic Understanding (Reflected in professional social work values)

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Client Centered Therapy, continued

Goals: Promote the clients understanding of their development. Empowerment Self-directed change

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Existential Therapy
Rollo May

Existentialist theory stems from Humanistic style of thought, but differs in this way: Humanists see people as basically good; existentialists see human nature as neutral. Whether the person becomes good or evil is a matter of personal choice. One can decide to be good or evil. (White) Disregard the clients past and focus on their present and future choices. Past choices can be used for reflection, but ultimate goal is to experience the present.

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Mays Stages of Development

Innocence The Infant. Innocence is neutral, but has a drive to fulfill basic needs. Rebellion - Childhood and Adolescence. The rebel wants to be free but does not understand that freedom comes with responsibility. Ordinary - Normal adult. The normal adult has learned responsibility, but avoids it and finds comfort in conforming to traditional values. Creative - Authentic adult. The Existential stage is beyond self actualizing. The person faces anxiety/destiny with courage.

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May says that we have lost our values and need to create new ones. To help us do this we need new myths that will support us, to replace the myths of the past that only serve to make us feel inadequate. Ex: The Horatio Alger Myth Work hard, live right and you will achieve success.

What is work?
According to Maslow

Any job is mostly made up of a series of chores. What are the great rewarding moments that make the chores worthwhile? The motivational life of self-actualizing people is not only quantitatively different but also qualitatively different from that of ordinary people. Maslow writes in Motivation and Personality.

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What do you love about your work?

Of a lawyer he asks, where are the thrills? Where are the rewarding moments? The lawyer answers, I love the law. Then he says I love justice. WHY?, Maslow asks. I hate when things are unfair. he says. Why do you care?, Maslow asks. The lawyer responds, I hate injustice, I love justice. The love of justice is an end value which is not a means to an end but a value unto itself.

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Characteristics of a Self Actualized Person according to Maslow

Acceptance of human nature as it is: our own and others. Acceptance and enjoyment of the world around us. Lack of defensiveness. Distaste for artificiality and hypocrisy. Guilt for personal shortcomings: Laziness, loss of temper, hurting others. Guilt for cultural shortcomings: What is, as opposed to what should be. Spontaneity, simplicity, consciousness of which battles to fight and when to accept convention. Ethical behavior. Concern with basic issues and philosophical questions. Working within a broad, universal framework looking at a broader period of time, not the immediate. (Seeing the forest not just the trees.)

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How Do We Get There?

As a therapist Carl Rogers found the best way to help a person is: To be aware of your feelings and to be willing to express them. To be real. To accept the person as a separate individual. To have respect. To understand the persons feelings. To have empathy so they are free of judgment and free to explore.
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Finding the Capacity for Growth Within

According to Rogers

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The individual has the capacity and tendency to change. In a safe psychological environment the tendency to become self-actualized, to mature, to move forward will be released. This theory can be applied to all human relationships. In becoming aware of ourselves and making a conscious attempt to be real, respectful and to have empathy for others forming a helping relationship with ourselves we will be more able to form helping relationships with others.

Eupsychian Management
Having a good (eu) mind (psyche) or soul

In the summer of 1962, Maslow spent time at NonLinear Systems Inc. a manufacturer of digital electric measuring instruments that had never been unionized. This resulted in his Eupsychian Management Policy in which he applied self-actualization to the workplace. Several assumptions are necessary for the theory to be workable. There are 36 assumptions so I will just list a few of them.
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Eupsychian Assumptions For the Workplace or

Is that how it works in your neighborhood, Chester?

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Trust everyone. Everyone knows all the facts. No hierarchical relationships. Good will of everyone at any level. [No sociopaths at the top. -Ed.] (Cannon) Goal of self actualization by making friends, making mistakes and learning from them. Everyone enjoys teamwork, friendship, belonging and love. Everyone would rather love the boss than hate him and have respect rather than disrespect for him.

Criticism Of Eupsychian Management

In his 1975 article, The Non-Linear Systems Experiment in Participative Management, Erwin Malone examines the experiment and why it failed. Some of the changes that were implemented at the factory were: All employees were paid $100 a week regardless of age or seniority. (changed after older workers complained.) No deductions were made for late arrival or leaving early. Breaks were taken at the employees discretion. No records were kept of time. Time clocks were eliminated.

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More Criticism Of Eupsychian Management

Because higher employee satisfaction was observed the closer the worker was to the finished product the production lines were dismantled. Each work cell was manned by 3-12 people. The group assembled, inspected, calibrated and packed each unit. Employee training began at the factory where the worker was made aware of internal policies and received on the job training. After initial training any employee could receive any type of training inside or outside the plant at company expense.

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Why the experiment failed

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Market conditions changed. More competition. Overall productivity remained the same. Sales volume did not favorably balance sales and administrative costs. While worker satisfaction was high, middle management morale was low. (I went to college for this?) Creativity among the workers did not blossom as hoped.

What is our Human Potential?

Have we evolved enough? Is this as far as we can go? Are we tapped out ?

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Antonio Gramsci: The Concept of the Organic Intellectual

1891-1937 (died in prison)

Italian Communist imprisoned by the fascists

Workers are educated by themselves and each other as producers as opposed to wage earners (wage slaves). Skilled, unskilled, administrative, engineers, technical directors will cooperate with each other to understand themselves as a part of the entire production process in order to become conscious of their power in the workplace and in society as a whole.

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All people have the potential to be organic intellectuals if they participate in building a new society as class conscious workers white collar or blue collar. If you work for pay, you are a worker.

Where are we now?

Putting Theory into Practice

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We are now in 2010, 112 years after the United Mine Workers won the right to an 8 hour work day. All employers did not agree with this and the struggle for it continued in the form of a nationwide general strike on May 1, 1886. A few days later at a rally in Haymarket Square in Chicago a bomb was thrown. Four men, Albert Parsons, Albert Spies, Adolph Fischer & George Engle were hanged for the crime. (They were posthumously pardoned.) The 8 hour day did not become standard until 1935.

Where are we now?

According to Public Radio International the real unemployment rate is 16.5% What would it be if we worked a 4 hour day? What would it be like if we worked with each other making what we need?

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Who decides?
THEM?

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Or Us?
Self actualize! Self actualize! Self actualize! Self actualize!

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References

Kinnes, T. (2009-2010). Rollo May and existentialism. The gold scales. Retrieved from http://oaks.nvg.org/rollo-may.html Smith, M. K. (1997, 2004). Carl Rogers and informal education. The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rogers.htm association for humanistic psychology overview, (nd.) Retrieved from http://www.ahpweb.org/index.html Boeree, C. (2006). Personality theories, abraham maslow Retrieved 10/25/10 http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html Rothman, M. (2002). Psyography: Carl Rogers Retrieved 10/25/10 http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/carlrogers.html Pyramid Image from Bunny got blog. Retrieved http://bunnygotblog.com/taking-care-ofbusiness/maslows-hierarchy-of-human-needs

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References

Kirst-Ashman, K. & Zastrow, C. (2010). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment. Belmont CA: Brooks-Cole,.

Maslow, A. (1970). Motivation and personality. New York, NY: Harper & Rowe
Maslow, A. (1966). Self actualization. audio Retrieved from http://www.abrahammaslow.com/audio.html

Rogers, C. (1961). On becoming a person. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Boston.

Boeree, C. (2006). Personality theories, rollo may. retrieved http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/may.html

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References

White, I. (n.d.) The existential theories of rollo may retrieved from http://facultyfp.salisbury.edu/iewhite/Rollo%20May.htm Seams like old times. dir. Jay Sandrich. With Chevy Chase & Goldie Hawn. Columbia Pictures, 1980 Cannon, S. ed. (n.d.) These assumptions underlie eupsychian management philosphy, retrieved from http://www.maslow.org/sub/assumptions.htm Maslow, A. (1965). Eupsychian management, Richard Irwin Inc. & The Dorsey Press. Homewood, IL. Malone, E. (1975). The Non-linear systems experiment in participative management, The Journal of Business 48, 52-64

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References

Mayo, p. (2008). Antonio gramsci and his relevance for the education of adults, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 40, (3) Retrieved from http://www.pri.org/business/economic-security/the-real-unemploymentrate2118.html The Illinois Labor History Society, (n.d.) The haymarket martyrs, Retrieved from
http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/haymkmon.htm Mayday image retrieved from http://kasamaproject.org/interviews/the-origins-of-may-first Norman, Irving, (1977). The meeting of the elders 3 Retrieved from http://www.irvingnorman.com/master_image_htmls/1977_elders_3.htm US Federation of Worker Cooperatives Retrieved from http://www.usworker.coop/about Conference Poster for Fire the Boss, The worker control solution from buenos aires to chicago Retrieved from http://www.naomiklein.org/meet-naomi/tour-dates/2009-05-15-fire-bosses

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