Abraham Maslow: The Humanistic School Of Thought In Psychology

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Self-actualization is an idea originating from the Humanistic psychological theory and particularly created by Abraham Maslow. The humanistic school of thought in psychology is the third force in psychology that attempts to regain the self, supporting that individuals do have free will and has the power to change for the better. Humanistic psychology was developed as a response to psychoanalysis and behaviorism focusing on individuality, personal growth and the concept of self-actualization. While early schools of thought were mostly concentrated on abnormal human behavior, humanistic psychology is different because of its emphasis on helping individuals achieve and fulfill their potential. The two main contributors to this school of thought …show more content…

However, the main distinction is that Freud worked on the unconscious mind while Rogers and Maslow worked on the conscious mind. Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who was not satisfied with the way things had always been done and he did not like the way other psychologists viewed people. He believed that individuals have great potential and thought that there had to be more to humans than simply rewards, punishments, and subconscious urges. To Maslow, people were full of positive potential. He developed humanistic psychology, which focuses on the potential of people to become all that they can be. Other psychologists helped develop different elements in humanistic psychology, but Maslow is largely considered to be the father of the humanist movement in psychology. Weiten (2013) mentioned that Maslow argued that humans have an innate drive towards personal growth that is, evolution toward a higher state of being (p. 377). Maslow wanted to understand what motivates an individual, believing that individuals possess a motivational system unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires. Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to attain certain needs. When one need is fulfilled, an individual seeks to fulfill the next one. Maslow 's greatest

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