Moscow began teaching at Brooklyn College in 1937 where he was heavily influenced by Gestalt psychologist Max Worthier and anthropologist Ruth Benedict. Moscow believed that they were such exceptional people and so began to analyses and take notes on their behavior. This analysis served as the foundation for his theories and research on human potential.
As a result, during the sass’s Moscow became one of the founders and driving forces behind the school of thought known as “humanistic psychology’. Mason’s theory “Hierarchy of Needs” Is one that we students studying psychology use in order to explain “Human Development” in pictorial form. The hierarchy however can be separated and understood better when categorized into 2 categories, basic needs e. G. Love, safety… And growth needs e. G. Cognitive and self- actualization. Moscow ascertained that every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy towards a level of self-actualization. Referring back to
Mascots hierarchy in which is also known as Mason’s Pyramid, the lowest levels are made up of the most basic needs I. E. Food, water whereas the more complex needs are located at the top, I. E. Meaning and inner potential. “Mason’s Hierarchy of Needs basically states that humans need to satisfy their most basic needs before attempting to satisfy more sophisticated needs” (Moreno, page 346). Consequently, Mascots theory was further In 1951 by another Humanistic Psychologist known as “Carl Rogers”. Rogers was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and is best known as the founder of ;client-centered’ or ;non-directive’ therapy.
Rogers as a young man studied clinical and educational psychology at Teachers’ College of Columbia university. Rogers agreed with most of what Moscow believed and developed but also added his own perception. Rogers ascertained that “for an individual to “grow’ they need an environment that provides them with genuineness (openness and self- disclosure), acceptance (being seen with unconditional positive regard), and empathy (being listened to and understood Saul McLeod – 2007. Walkout the existence of these relationships, healthy personalities will fail to develop correctly effecting lifespan human development.
Rogers went on to further develop this Idea of “self- actualization”. Unlike Moscow, he ascertained that every person In life can achieve their goals wishes and full desires. When this occurs the process of “Self Actualization” takes place. Rogers perception of a fully functioning individual is one actuality, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism” (Rogers 1951 – p. 487). In terms of human development, Rogers regarded the fully functioning person as ideal and one that people do not ultimately achieve. In other words, human development for each individual is different and not the same.
Based on his perceptions, Rogers went on to identify 5 characteristics of a fully functioning individual: Open to experience whereby both negative and positive experiences are accepted, existential living whereby the individual refrains from prejudging and preconceptions and trust feelings which involves gut instincts being paid attention to. Creativity is another which includes creative thinking and risk taking in everyday life. Lastly, Rorer’s believes in the idea of fulfillment in life. He ascertains that a fully developed individual will feel happy and satisfied with life.
They will always look and strive to discover new experiences in life that will give them this satisfied feeling. Around the same time 1959, Rogers developed further upon personality development, an area that is of utmost interest for all humanistic psychologists. Central to personality development is this idea of “self-concept” self being the humanistic term for who we really are as a person. The self is our inner personality and is influenced by our experiences in life and how we interpret them. Two primary sources that influence our self-concept are childhood experiences and evaluation by others.
According to Rogers (1959), we want to feel experience and behave in ways which are consistent with our self-image and which reflect what we would like to be like, our ideal-self. The closer our self-image and ideal-self are to each other, the more consistent or congruent we are and the higher our sense of self-worth. A person is said to be in a state of incongruence if some of the totality of their experience is unacceptable to them and is denied or distorted in the self- image” (Cosmologically. Org). Subsequently, Humanistic Psychologists maintain that “the self” consists of 3 components.
Self-Worth also referred to as “Self Esteem”. This is the way in which we define ourselves as an individual. Rogers ascertains that this idea of Self-Worth develops early in childhood where interactions from the primary caregivers take place (the mother and father). The 2nd component of “the self” is self-image. This is how we see ourselves, which is important to good psychological health. Self-image includes the influence of our body image on inner personality. I. E. A person may perceive themselves as ugly and stupid, smart and pretty. The self-image is all about how a person thinks feels and behaves in life.
Lastly, the 3 component of “the self” is the ideal-self. From a humanistic perspective the ideal-self is all about the person we would like and hope to be. It includes our goals and desires in life I. E. A child may say “when I grow up I want to be a teacher”. The child then grows into a teenager, their ideal self has changed, and they no longer want to fulfill a career as a teacher. The ideal-self is all about change; at different stages in human development our perceptions change. Rogers argued that in human development from as early on as childhood there are two basic needs, positive regard from other people and self-worth.
From Rorer’s perspective an individual who has high self-worth has confidence and positive feelings about themselves, faces challenges in everyday life and accepts failures and unhappy events that occur. That life can be painful and unhappy at times I. E. Breaking up with a long term partner. The individual will also become defensive and shut out people around them who want to help I. E. Refusing counseling therapy. Rogers also determines that feelings of self-worth are developed in early childhood and were formed from the interaction of the child with the primary caregivers.
As a child grows older, interaction with others I. E. Friends will affect the feelings of self-worth. Rogers believed that we need to be regarded positively by others, we need to feel valued and respected and treated with affection and love. Positive regard is to do with how other people evaluate and Judge us in social interaction. Rogers believes that unconditional positive regard and conditional positive regard shapes human development from as early on as childhood. Unconditional Positive Regard is where the parents and other important individuals in love and accept the child for whom he or she is.
Rogers ascertains that positive regard is not withdrawn if the person does something wrong or makes a mistake. As a result, individuals who are able to self-actuality are more likely to have received unconditional positive regard from their parents in childhood. With unconditional positive regard comes conditional positive regard. This is where praise and approval, depending upon the child’s behavior I. E. Behaving accordingly to the parents rules. Most likely the child is not loved for who he or she is but on condition that he or she behaves only in ways approved by the parents.
A person who constantly seeks approval from other people is likely only to have experienced conditional positive regard as a child” Cosmologically. Org. Equally, the above is a brief summary with regards to the views and theories of Human Development by humanistic psychologists such as Moscow and Rogers. Other psychologists such as Ken Wilier 1948, Satanists Grog 1931 also has their views and perceptions based on human development. As mentioned above however, the humanistic approach is one of very few approaches who in which developed theories and concepts constructing human development.
Another approach is the psychodrama approach. The psychodrama approach includes all the theories in psychology that see human functioning based upon the interaction of drives and forces within an individual. Sigmund Fraud’s psychodrama theory proves to be most popular explaining human development. Sigmund Freud was born 6th May 1886 Beriberi, Moravia. In 1873, Freud began to study medicine at the University of Vienna. After graduating, he worked at the Vienna General Hospital. In 1885, Freud went to Paris as a student of the neurologist Jean Chariot.
One year later Freud cited to return to Vienna here he set up his own private practice that specialized in nervous and brain disorders. A few years later, Freud developed a theory known as the “Psychoanalytic Theory’ that was preoccupied with sexuality as a central issue in human life. He believed in 2 major instincts Eros (sexual drive) and secondly Destructive (Biological demands on the mind). Freud intended that throughout one’s life span, the basic instincts may either work together or oppose one another. Freud himself had his own perception of the mind and it structures.
With reference to unman development, Freud produced this idea of mind systems. The ID, EGO AND SUPEREGO. “Poor ego has a still harder time of it; it has to serve three harsh masters, tyrants are the external world, the superego, and the ID” He ascertained that from birth to the age of 5 we go through 3 processes. Beginning with ID, he argued that we are born with this primitive drive, a survival instinct. He perceives that we must meet certain needs in order to survive e. G. Food, drink (a newborn screaming for milk). According to Braun & Damn (IPPP) the ID is, “A pool of instinctual biological drives present in every individual birth”
Equally, Freud claimed that as a child grows he/ she interacts with the world more and understands that it has 2 most influential figures in life mum and dad who will teach from right and wrong and punish or reward when necessary. He named this the “ego system”. The stage in life in which adult functioning can now be balanced alongside the ID and superego. Lastly Freud explains this idea of the Super Ego. At this stage in life according to Freud, the ID, EGO and Superego are balancing one another. He claims that from the age of 5 and so on we develop morals that clarify the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong.
According to Shuttlecock, in order to maintain a healthy mind, the three parts of the brain must find a balance which will determine ones actions; Freud strongly ascertains that this “superego’ should be the strongest part of the personality. Consequently, the question is “How does the ego balance between the ID and Superego’? According to Freud himself, we develop this idea of Ego defended mechanisms. This occurs when the ego deals with the demands of reality, the id, and the superego as best as it can. But when anxiety becomes overpowering, the ego must defend itself E. G.
Denial, a person may choose to argue against an anxiety and convince oneself that it does not exist. An example of this may be a person who may have received a diagnosis of a critical illness, the person may refuse to listen argue and remain in denial until a 2nd or 3rd opinion is confirmed. Another example of using a defended mechanism is the idea of “Repression” also known by the daughter of Freud as “motivated forgetting”. This is where a person pushes feelings or emotions far away into the unconscious, a place that Freud argues most of our thoughts and feelings are stored.
This defended mechanism in particular can lead on to an unhealthy functioning. Subsequently, this idea of unhealthy functioning, Freud ascertains that fixation at the early stages results in unhealthy human development. Another psychodrama psychologist who has developed theories and concepts based on “Human Development” is Erik Erikson. Erik Erikson 15 June 1902 – 12 May 1994 born in Frankfurt was a German-born American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory “psychosocial development of human beings”.
Erikson recognized the basic concepts of the Freudian theory, but believed that Freud misjudged some important dimensions of human development. Erikson ascertained that humans develop throughout their life span, whereas Freud claimed that the personality is fully shaped by the age of five. “It is human to have a long childhood; it is civilized to have an even longer childhood. Long childhood makes a technical and mental virtuoso out of man, but it also leaves a life-long residue of emotional immaturity in him” (Erik Erikson 1902-1994).
Erikson developed eight psychosocial stages that humans encounter throughout their life The stages are Trust vs… Mistrust, Autonomy vs… Shame & Doubt, Initiative vs… Guilt, Industry vs… Inferiority, Identity vs… Role Confusion, Intimacy vs… Isolation, Generatively vs… Occurs approximately from birth to one year. He believed that a child who is fed when hungry and comforted when needed, the child will develop trust. He also ascertained that some mistrust is necessary in order to learn to distinguish between an honest and dishonest person.
If mistrust wins over trust in this stage, this could result in the child ending up frustrated, withdrawn, suspicious, and lacking self- confidence. The second stage Autonomy vs… Shame & Doubt occurs between the age of two and three. During this period it is important that the primary caregivers of he child create a supportive atmosphere in which the child can develop a sense of self-control without a loss of self-esteem. Shame and doubt based upon the child’s self-control and independence occur if basic trust was inadequately developed. At this stage in human development, Erikson believed that the child has rules enforced upon them I. . Not to leave the garden when playing. After Autonomy vs.. Shame & Doubt comes Initiative vs… Guilt. This stage occurs between the age of four and five. This is the stage in which the child must find out what kind of person he/she is aspiring to be. The child develops a sense of responsibility which increases initiative during this period. If the child is irresponsible and is made to feel frightened, this will result in the child feeling guilty and uneasy. Erikson believed that “most guilt is quickly compensated for by a sense of accomplishment”. Erosion’s fourth stage, Industry vs…
Inferiority, occurs between the age of six and puberty. This is the period in which the child wants to enter the larger world of knowledge and work. One of the great events of this stage in human development is the child has entered the school environment. The learning process does not only occur in the classroom according to Erikson, but also at home, a friend’s houses, and when playing on the street. Erikson claims that “successful experiences give the child a sense of industry, a feeling of competence and mastery, while failure gives them a sense of inadequacy and inferiority, a feeling that one is a good-for-nothing”.
Components of Erosion’s prior four stages contribute to the fifth stage, Identity vs.. Identity Confusion. This occurs during the adolescence stage of human development. During this period the identity concern reaches peak. According to Erikson this is the time when adolescents seek their true selves. With reference to the sixth stage Intimacy vs… Isolation, this occurs during the stage of young adulthood. According to Erikson, Intimacy with other individuals is possible only if a reasonably well integrated identity emerges from stage five.
The main concern of Erosion’s seventh stage, Generatively vs… Stagnation, is to assist the younger generation in developing and leading valuable lives. When the individual feels that they have done nothing to help the next generation then they experience a lack of progress. Lastly, the final stage, Integrity vs.. Despair occurs during late adulthood. At the stage, human development should almost be complete. This is the time in which the individual looks back and evaluates their life. If the previous stages have developed properly then they will experience integrity.
Sadly, If the previous stages have not developed in a positive way it will result in the individual feeling worthless and empty. Equally Erikson ascertained that development is primarily qualitative because changes are stage like, but also quantitative as one’s identity becomes stronger. He insinuated that nature determines the arrangement of human each individual must pass through one stage in order to enter another. TO conclude the above, one main theory of humanistic psychology is that deep down inside people are primarily good as opposed to Psychodrama Perspective in which suggest that individuals are bad.
Humanist generally believes that abnormal behavior is a result of failure off person to find meaning of their life and fulfill his or her own potential. Humanistic Psychologists such as Moscow emphasis this idea of basic and physical needs as the foundation for human development. On the other and psychodrama psychologists such as Freud emphasis the idea of babies being born with this innate sex drive and aggression. Other psychodrama psychologists focus on the idea of social upbringing during childhood, I. E. The ID, EGO and so on.
Critics have criticized the psychodrama approach for relying too much on theoretical constructs such as the conscious mind. Something that is quite hard to prove. According to Sell McLeod 2007 “the psychodrama perspective is unfeasible as the theories cannot be empirically investigated. ” The humanistic approach makes the criticism that the psychodrama perspective is too deterministic – leaving little room for the idea of personal agency (I. E. Free will). The term “Nature vs… Nurture” has been one of the oldest debates in psychology for many years.
The debate focuses on the relative contributions of genetic inheritance and environmental factors to human development. Some philosophers such as Plato suggest that certain qualities are inborn and they simply occur naturally regardless of environmental influences. First we have Nurture, which states that an individual’s development is based off of his or her experiences and environment I. E. Where they grow up or who they interact with as they grow up. This should shape the kind of person they will turn out to be. I. E. Growing up around a farm you will want to be a farmer.
The other side of the debate is Nature, which states that an individual’s development is based off of his or her genetic heredity. This means that any characteristics and personality traits an individual has can be compared to other family members I. E. Like father like son. “Although these are considered as supposedly separate influences, the truth is that they are closely intertwined Router (2002) (p. 1)”. Focusing on the nature nurture debate, humanistic psychologists favor the idea of nurture because of the influence of experiences on an individual’s way of perceiving and understanding the world.
In contrast with the psychosocial approach, humanistic psychologists have a more holistic attitude towards human life and refrain from breaking down human behavior in order to explain its meanings I. E. Sigmund Fraud’s theory of the “Hidden Personality’. Individuals have the power to intervene and change their future, humanism is all about change. In contrast, psychosocial theorists argue that psychological and social aspects of human development are more important psychical and biological aspects. They also focus on the idea that development focuses on stages.
As Erikson ascertains, each individual must pass through one stage in order to enter another. Subsequently, the key to human development is the interaction of both nature and nurture together and not one working alone. Linking the above to a health and social care setting, it is vitally important for a health care worker to aware of changing social roles particularly in different social environments. A social role can be defined as the each social role you adopt, your behavior changes to fit the expectations both you and others have of that role. Saul McLeod 2008.
A person may well be used to the comfort of their own home but when their setting is changed if it may involve the admittance into hospital, a persons behavior and reactions will change. Looking at a care home setting, patients rely on the care workers to care and look after them as they are no longer able to do it themselves. The patient may not feel as old as they look; this is known as social age. For a health and social care worker, they must not expect a patient to be able to do something e. G. Be mobile because of their age. Individuals age in different ways,
