HUMAN PERSPECTIVE

Introduction

The humanistic perspective is a way of evaluating an individual as a whole, rather than looking at them

only through a smaller aspect of their person. It is a branch of psychology that relates to the idea of

being entirely unique and your own individual.

What is the Humanistic Perspective?

This perspective relates to the way that an individual acts or behaves as well as the way that they think

or feel related to those acts and behaviors. Psychologists under this perspective feel that a complete

understanding of the needs of an individual is extremely important to understanding the reasons that an

individual will continue acting in any particular way.

The humanistic perspective considers the hierarchy of needs that an individual has and then considers

which are the most important. There are a number of different needs that an individual will have. Each

of the needs listed below are important to the overall needs and wants of any member of the human

race. They are listed below in order from the least important to the most important according to this

hierarchy. These needs include:

1. Physiological

2. Safety

3. Belonging/love

4. Esteem

5. Self-actualization

Who Founded the Humanistic Perspective?

The humanistic perspective was founded by Abraham Maslow as well as Carl Rogers. Maslow is best

known for creating the hierarchy of needs which is used as a basis for the humanistic perspective. This

theory was founded in 1943 and was actually published in a paper titled, A Theory of Human Motivation.

This paper introduced the basic foundation of this theory.

Next, Carl Rogers considered the ideal of self-concept which pushes an individual to work towards self actualization, the last step in the hierarchy of needs as founded by Abraham Maslow. The therapy

aspect of this theory relates to focusing on unconditional positive regard and support of the client no

matter what is said during the session. In this way, an individual is better able to feel self-actualized and

better about themselves.

Abraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and James F. T. Bugental have been recognised as the developers of

humanistic learning theory. Maslow influenced the field earlier in the movement, while Rogers and

Bugental added to the psychology later down the line.As such, humanistic learning theory can be seen as an umbrella term for humanistic psychology in the

learning and development space. It covers various humanistic learning models. One of the most famous

models is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

It categorises and prioritises human needs within a five-tier model, often presented as a pyramid. The

top-level consists of true self-actualisation. If you would like to learn more, we have an awesome article

covering the theory in-depth!

Today, Maslow’s research into hierarchical needs forms a major part of this learning theory. In fact,

humanistic learning theory views learning as a personal act to fulfil one’s potential.

As an approach to learning, humanism focuses on freedom, choice, learner potential and authority.

Indeed, unlike other philosophies, humanistic education assigns your learners as the source of authority.

This means that your learners themselves determine their learning needs, methods and materials.

Therefore, humanistic learning theory focuses on individuals’ potential instead of specific learning

materials or courses

Similarly, humanistic learning theory stresses the importance of human factors rather than looking at

religious, divine or spiritual matters.

As such, it is rooted in people having an ethical responsibility to live lives that are personally fulfilling while contributing to the greater good.

Key Assumptions

According to humanistic psychology, people act with intentionality and values. This is in contrast to

behaviourism and cognitivism. These philosophies focus on conditioning and believe in uncovering

information by interacting with the world around us.

Understanding this helps to shape the key assumptions related to humanistic learning theory. The

theory can be summarised as follows:

1. Learners can be trusted to find their own goals and should have choices in what they learn at

school.

2. Learners should set their standards and evaluate their work and progress themselves.

3. Learning experiences should help learners to develop positive relations with their peers.

4.

1. Idiographic Research

According to humanistic psychology, learners need to be considered as a ‘whole’. After all, all individuals

are unique, and we grow and develop over the years.

Similarly, humanistic psychology emphasises that research should focus on the idiographic case rather

than a nomothetic case. In other words, people should be studied as individuals instead of inferences

being formed from the performance of groups.

2. Free Will

According to humanistic approaches all humans have free will. This means we are free to do and think

about whatever we want. Our behaviour isn’t all determined.

Learners are encouraged to take control of their education. As such, they use their free will to make

decisions on what activities they complete, with what methods and when. This learner choice is central

to humanistic learning theory and humanistic psychology.

3. Positive Emotions

Humanistic psychology proposes that knowledge and feelings go hand-in-hand in the learning process.

Our emotions impact what, when and how we learn and should not be separated.

Therefore, learning activities need to focus on both the learner’s intellect and feelings, not one or the

other.

In addition, humanistic psychology proposes that learners need to feel positive, relaxed and comfortable

to achieve the best results. A positive emotional state will make them ready to learn.

4. Intrinsic Motivation

Individuals have an internal desire to become their best selves. As a result, our desire to learn is guided

by intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation means that learners have a genuine passion for whatever they are doing. As such,

learners are motivated from within and are driven by their desire to achieve a genuine sense of

fulfilment.

Humanistic educators focus on fostering engagement in order for learners to become self-motivated to

further their development. After all, the effectiveness of humanistic learning is based on learners feeling

engaged and intrinsically motivated to complete training.

5. Innate Goodness

Humanistic psychology argues that no individual is born with evil intentions. We all want the best for

ourselves and for those close to us. In fact, according to the theory, we only do bad things if our

fundamental needs are not fulfilled.

As a result, humanistic educators tend to see the good in their learners. Instead of providing negative

feedback, they focus on determining what needs aren’t being met for learners not to be able to reach

their full potential.

6. Self-Evaluation

According to humanistic learning theory, self-evaluation is the most meaningful way to evaluate how

learners are progressing.

Self-evaluation ensures learners complete training material for their own satisfaction and excitement,

compared to working towards achieving high grades or test results.

The theory suggests that routine testing and information memorisation won’t lead to meaningful

learning.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Humanistic Learning

All learning theories come with strengths and weaknesses, and humanistic learning theory is no

exception.

Strengths

Using humanistic psychology in education can be very beneficial for your learners. The strengths of this

approach include:

• Humanistic psychology sees the best in everyone and works hard to promote positivism. This is

unique to the philosophy, as most other theories focus on identifying weaknesses.

• Young people are seen as powerful and capable. Humanistic learning theory empowers them to

find motivation within themselves.

• Unlike many other theories, humanistic learning theory considers learners’ emotional states and

how they impact learning.

• Similarly, humanistic psychology is a holistic approach that looks at all cognitive, social and

emotional aspects.

• Humanistic learning theory satisfies most individuals’ idea of what it means to be a human, as it

values self-fulfilment and personal ideals.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses, on the other hand, include:

• Humanistic psychology promotes learner authority and freedom. As a result, humanistic

learning theory doesn’t follow a set curriculum, which is against most traditional training

approaches.

• Due to the choice-based learning approach, humanistic learning theory is not beneficial for

learners who desire structure and routine to learn effectively.

• Similarly, we aren’t always the best judge of what’s good for us. Intrinsic motivation can

sometimes lead us to distraction.

• Every learner will end up with different knowledge because every individual has different

intrinsic desires and ways to gather knowledge.