Comparison Of Skinner's Psychodynamic And Humanistic Perspective

Founded by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers in the 1960’s. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Researched as a response to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytical perspective and B.F. Skinner’s behavioristic perspective. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Humanism or the humanistic perspective focuses on how things that happen externally affect us. It delved into the idea of free-will and self-actualization. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) It focused on how people direct the way they live their own lives. In present day this perspective is used as a form of psychotherapy. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015)

This first topic is free will, which is having the ability to decide what is best for yourself.(Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Founded on the concept of being in control of deciding

what happens next and in the future, one’s complete destiny. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Being able to live the life he or she wants without everyones elses input weighing on their mind. The idea of freedom re-sounds well with Americans because that is what we grow up being told we are guaranteed. Then growing up we are put in boxes and told what to do, we do not have the freedom that was promised. In high school it is almost like students are given a free trial run on free-will, but it is closely supervised and is heavily influenced by the elders around them. When free-will is discussed in therapy it is done in a very hands-off way, discussing what a patient wants to do with his or her life. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Free-will is diving into being able to do your own thing based on decisions made solely by yourself. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015)

The second topic is self-actualization which is emphasizing one’s sense of self. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) It is the striving to fulfill one’s own capabilities and capacities, and trying to reach your full potential,based on the personality traits unique to every specific person. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Looking into one’s outward characteristics and comparing them to the characteristics the patient thinks should describe them.(Ciccarelli & White, 2015) A person’s real self versus their ideal self presents an internal power struggle. This struggle pushes the patient to either change for his or her own betterment in life and health or he/she will stay stagnant. Staying stagnant does nothing to further one’s own journey and the exploration into his or her mind. This self-concept stems from the interactions that take place with the people that hold the most significance in one’s own life. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015)
The third topic is based on how people direct their own lives, one’s self-efficacy. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Self-efficacy is how effective the efforts to complete a goal are, goals like making decisions for themselves. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Inherently people are good; it is the decisions people make that paint them as bad or evil. Under the right conditions, specific to each person, he or she will flourish and grow. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) But making it to that point has to do with making the right decision when presented with a choice. Life is a series of choices and taking an educated guess on these choices is the only way to get through life without worrying about choosing wrong.