Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic Psychology Basis Humanistic Psychology is so named due to its core belief in the basic goodness present in and respect for humanity. Its core is founded upon existential psychology, or the realization and understanding of one's existence and social responsibility. The two psychologists, Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow initiated the movement with this new perspective on understanding people's personality and improving their overall life satisfaction. When war broke out in the 1960s, the world felt compelled to better understand the nature of humanity.Humanistic theory provides an understandable mechanism for examining an individual's need for conflict in order to create peace. This simplistic theory has become a favorite and popular topic throughout self-help literature. Additionally, the struggle for mankind to gain greater understanding and meaning for life and existence is a timeless cornerstone conflict in entertainment and literature. The premise behind humanistic psych ology is simple. So simple, in fact, that naysayers believe it to be excessively simple. Humanists adhere to these beliefs: 1. The present is the most signficant aspect of someone.As a results humanists emphasize the here and now instead of examining the past or attempting to predict the future. 2. To be mentally healthy, individuals must take personal responsibility for their actions, regardless if those actions are positive or negative. 3. Each person, simply by being, is inherently worthy. While any given action may be negative, these actions do not cancel out their value as a person. 4. The ultimate goal of living is to attain personal growth and understanding. Through constant self-improvement and self-understanding can an individual ever be truly happy.Abraham Maslow provided the best known and mostly widely understood precept in humanistic psychology. Abraham Maslow believed that Watson and the other behaviorists' ideas about control were lacking. He saw human life as more th an simply external reinforcement, disputing the assumption that humanity was born without value or direction. When he was studying psychology, the prevalent ideas were psychoanalysis and behaviorism. These theories were covered by most courses and a great deal of energy was used for each psychologist to identify the theory aspiring psychologists would subscribe to.Maslow did not follow either of these paths. He condemned behaviorism, eventually taking the same perspective with Freud's works as well. Even though Maslow accepted the existence of an unconscious being within us, Maslow refuted Freud's idea that the bulk of our being is hidden far from our consciousness. Maslow purported that humanity is aware of motivation and drives on the whole. Without life's obstacles, all of humanity would become healthy psychologically, attaining a deep self-understanding and acceptance of society and the world around them.Maslow reinforced his energy on realizing the positive aspects of mankind, while Freud saw mostly negativity. One might summarize the distinction between humanism and psychoanalytic thought in this way – psychoanalysis is founded upon acceptance determinism, or acceptance of aspects of our lives outside of control, while humanistic thought bases itself on the concept of free will. Maslow's best known contribution to Humanistic psychology is his Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow's Needs Hierarchy is frequently used to sum up the humanistic psychology belief system. The fundamental premise of his hierarchy is that everyone is born with specific needs.If we do not meet those base needs, we are unable to survive and focus upward within the hierarchy. The first stratum consists of ;b;physiological needs;/b;, or survival needs. Unable to obtain oxygen, sleep, water, and food, all else is irrelevant. After we meet these needs, we can shift our focus to the next stratum, the need for security and safety. When pursuing safety needs, we attempt to secure safety in o thers and yearn to create an environment that protects us, keeping us free from harm. Until these goals are met, it is unlikely that someone would consider higher order needs, and their growth is then stifled.When someone feels safe and secure, we attempt to build friendships and establish a sense of belonging to a greater whole. Maslow's third level of needs, the social needs of belonging and love, focus on our desire to be belong to a group and have a place in a larger whole. Meeting social needs get us one step closer to the top of the triangle — the fourth level: esteem needs. Those attempting to fulfill esteem needs channel their energy on respect from others, self-esteem, self-respect, and gaining recognition for our accomplishments in life.We push further and further to excel in our careers, to expand our knowledge, and to constantly increase our self-esteem. The final level in the hierarchy is called the need for self-actualization. According to Maslow, many people ma y be in this level but very few, if anybody, ever masters it. Self-actualization refers to a complete understanding of the self. To be self-actualized means to truly know who you are, where you belong in the greater society, and to feel like you are accomplishing all that you are meant to be.It means to no longer feel shame or guilt, or even hate, but to accept the world and see human nature as inherently good. Against Scientific Basics At its onset, Humanistic theory was not researched easily. To start with, since the fundamental belief of Humanism is in the goodness of people, treatment should focus on the positive, instead of negative. This leaves very few tests upon which to build the case of Humanism. Then, through assessment, the assessor is essentially trying to say that the tester knows more about the client's emotion, thought, and behavior.To do something so presumptuous is a flagrant contradiction of the belief principles of Humanism. As a result, most theorists, specifica lly behaviorists, refuted humanistic theory since it was not easily researched. However, as with psychoanalysis, it was possible to aggregate meaningful data on the effectiveness of applying Humanistic theories. Actually, just as with psychoanalysis, innovative testing needed to be designed to accentuate the exact theory and the intended application of the theory. Psychoanalysis use tests like TAT and Rorschach — humanists use the Q-Sort.Humanistic Theory – Weaknesses and Strengths Humanistic Theory Strengths Just as with every theory, some find humanistic psychology to be relevant, as others can only see the flaws. A couple of humanistic theory's strengths are the focus on the positivitity and goodness of humanity, as well as the free will related to change. Contrasting Freud's and biological approaches, focusing on the belief that human behavior and cognition are causally determined by prior events and actions, such that we lack self-control, Maslow and Humanistic ps ychology believe that the individual is quite powerful.Another strength of humanistic theory is how easily many aspects of the theory integrate with other schools of thought. A number of therapists adopt humanistic undertones when working with their clients. While the individual may believe that humanistic theory doesn't cover the distance, they understand the benefit of the core values and beliefs in changing people's lives for the better. Ultimately, humanism has benefits which carry over into a number of other professions. In a business class, you will probably cover Maslow's hierarchy.When studying finance or economics, the course will no doubt cover the concept of moving up financially and physically, to eventually become more enlightened and aware of who we are and our place in the world. This principle is similarly present in other professions such as criminology, history, and literature, since the core of humanistic thought rings true in everything that deals with what it me ans to be considered human. Humanistic Theory Weaknesses For every yin, there is also the yang. Humanistic theory has its share of flaws as well.The most significant criticism of humanistic psychology centers around its lack of specific approaches to treatment aimed at precise problems. Since the core belief behind Humanistic theory is that of free will, it is very complicated to both innovate a technique for treatment as well as a means to study the efficacy of this treatment technique. Additionally, it is believed that humanistic theory falls is unable to help people with severe personality or mental health disorders. While Carl Rogers' Theory of Personality may have positive effects on a minor abberation, using it as treatment for schizophrenics is laughable.Lastly, humanistic theory applies some human nature generalizations which are widely believed to be complete. Are all people good at the core of their being, or are some people just not there? Can we effectively position that Maslow's needs hierarchy, as explained, applies to everyone universally? Or is it possible that each individual can impose their own belief system or their order of attainment, or even their very definition? Why is it that some individuals appear to consciously take negative alternatives while positive choices are right in front of them?These doubts huant humanistic psychology and the complexity associated with performing measurable research of the theory further exacerbates the issue. However, regardless of these trials, humanistic theory is incorporated into nearly every opposing school of psychotherapy and improvement of the human condition. It is widely believed that treatment with humanistic undertones creates a nice environment for positive change. While, alone, humanistic theory may be insufficient, the groundwork it lays might be a necessity for to effect significant changes of personality.

Create a strategy for the college of business in university of sharjah Term Paper

Create a strategy for the college of business in university of sharjah - Term Paper Example e areas that the university specializes in are entrepreneurship training, administration in business, research portfolio and a simulator in the financial market (University of Sharjah, 2014). A number of dynamics continue to arise in the teaching and learning environment not to mention the job market. The diversification requires that an elaborate plan be established to ensure that there is the institution is within in meeting the predetermined objectives (University of Sharjah, 2014). The university, therefore, seeks to establish itself as a world-class institution in business and management programs. To this end, there is a need to establish a strategic plan that will enable the institution becoming an organization of choice not just locally, but internationally (Sutton & Obst, 2011). To become an institution of choice where excellence is derived and dreams realized. The institution also seeks to produce the best business professionals to be able to satisfy the market needs as appropriate. An institution of learning where civilizations meet. One of the major drives is to be a world-class business university capable of attracting students and professionals from all over the world. The strategic positioning of the university makes it easy for the dream to be achieved. Make the university a professional hub where careers can be developed and skills developed. The University seeks to be the only institution where people can come and develop their skills and go out to the field confident of making an impact in the market. The institution also seeks to be a key consultant in matters concerning business and management strategies. Consulting services are to be made for every individual with particular interest in venturing into management or people who have a need to learn more about business issues. The business seeks to partner with other institutions to broaden the mandate of the university to providing quality services to the people and the clients in this case

Global issues Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global issues - Assignment Example It had proved to be rather tenable, when used partially, as it was in the post-war Britain, where sacred nature of private property and private enterprises were combined with nationalized industries; in other words, in the mixed economy. Keynes’ purpose, to the contrary, was to subject economy to the governmental central planning. His position implied that the government should take control over the key industrial and economy sectors, regulating them – particularly, via price control. However, this purpose wasn’t achieved to the full extent, as the ideas began to collapse with growth of inflation, unemployment, poverty and extreme forms of governmental control – totalitarian, like in Nazis’ Germany – posing a threat to democracy. His theory had proved to be efficient for wartime but ineffective in the time of peace. However, Keynes remained among the most influential economists of the 20th century. The term â€Å"Commanding Heights† was first mentioned in the speech pronounced by Lenin regarding the key sectors of economy that should be run by the government. To my thinking, governments should own commanding heights only partially to avoid excessive control over economy. There is a huge plus in the global economy, which is absence of boundaries in mutual help, and this is illustrated by operation of numerous international economic organizations like International Monetary Fund. However, there should still be at least partial control over the national economies to prevent negative side effects of globalization; therefore, mixed economy seems the most tenable

Answering Questions #2 (Anthropology) Assignment

Answering Questions #2 (Anthropology) - Assignment Example Sociocultural Anthropology, in focusing on patterns of socialization and culture across nations, has enabled us to understand different societies with regards to cultural differences in philosophical problems such as truth and justice, as well as practical concerns such as environmental studies and social changes to societies (American Anthropological Association, 2012). Biological Anthropology, in studying how people have adapted to different environments, has contributed to human relations through their study of evolutionary theories and how people have taken their place as a whole throughout the world (American Anthropological Association, 2012). Archaeology, due to its study of the past, has helped societies not only understand their individual histories, but how each culture has come to affect other cultures (American Anthropological Association, 2012). Finally, Linguistic Anthropology has contributed to human relations by assisting in understanding areas such as social identity , large-scale cultural beliefs, and group membership through their focus on languages and the ways in which they have helped and affected different societies and cultures (American Anthropological Association, 2012). 2. Describe the typological and population models. Both the typological model and the population model are methods of classifying the human race as a whole. Both methods have been found to possess several flaws, albeit for different reasons (O’Neil, 2011). The typological model classifies people into groups based on traits that can be observed from a distance, and assumes that people can be classified based on this reason alone, which is an inherent flaw in its logic (O’Neil, 2011). The typological model is also flawed due to the fact that it assumes that all races have the same inherent traits, which is simply untrue, as humans cannot be classified as â€Å"homogenous† by any sense of the word (O’Neil, 2011). Due to these flaws, the populati on model was developed, which was based on the idea that certain groups of people were the product of ancestors who had mated more or less only with each other for the previous time period (O’Neil, 2011). It works in almost a completely opposite manner of the typological model, as instead of classifying traits and then determining who has them, instead mating patterns are discerned first, and then considers the traits that make them unique (O’Neil, 2011). However, this too has an inherent flaw; humans do not stay in one place long enough to form concrete classifications for using this method (O’Neil, 2011). Thus both of these models, while serving their uses for classification purposes, have flaws that make them unusable as one type of classification alone. 3. Describe the impact of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution on studies of divisions of humans. Charles Darwin had a rather dramatic impact on studies of divisions of humans due to his theory of evol ution, and literally caused everything to change with his views. The former classifications of humans, both from Aristotle and Carolus Linnaeus, had used principles that, while logical, were at their core quite arbitrary and had no grounded basis at all (Blamire, 1998). Darwin made the point that humans evolved from something else, and likewise anything could therefore evolve, and change (Blamire, 1998). It soon became obvious that new divisions were needed for humans, because traits that resided as a part of humans could be both seen and unseen, and classifying them

Capital Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Capital Punishment - Essay Example However, it should be noted that crime rates in countries where capital punishment prevail, are almost similar to that other countries where capital punishment is illegal. â€Å"Capital punishment never allows a criminal to change his behaviour as in the case of other forms of punishments†(10 Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment, 2010). Correction is the ultimate objective of every punishment. Capital punishment provides no opportunity to the criminal for correcting his antisocial behaviour. In other words, capital punishment cannot be considered a punishment, but it is an act of killing. By providing capital punishment to a killer, criminal justice system is also doing the same mistake as committed by the criminal. In other words, the activities of the criminal justices system and that of the criminal may not be different while providing capital punishment. Both are doing the same act; taking the life of another person. American criminal justice system believes that â€Å"partisan advocacy of both sides on a case will promote the ultimate objective that the guilty be convicted and the innocent go free† (Ferdic et al, 2008, p.37). There are chances of wrongly punishing an innocent person because of the circumstantial evidences or the fabricated evidences. The ultimate aim of every criminal justice system is that no innocent should be punished even if thousands of criminals escaped. Capital punishment is an irreversible act and nobody can return the life of a person if that person found innocent later. â€Å"One of the studies has shown that capital punishment is around 70% expensive compared to non death penalty cases or life imprisonment cases† (Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty (Capital  Punishment), 2009). Compared to other types of punishment, capital punishment is an expensive act. Life terms are cheaper than capital punishment. Capital punishment

Enzymes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Enzymes - Essay Example Then we will utilize acquired information to examine a given experiment. type of organic molecule that contained gene makeup in biological existence (pg. 50, Barrick, Scientific American). DNA seemed to be an evolved trend later down the centuries. DNA now possesses all information concerning the constructs of the human body, including the structure of enzymes. Enzymes In comparison to DNA, RNA differs in nucleic acid component such as To understand the process of creating enzyme RNA proliferation, we have to explore how they are produced and pinpoint theirpurpose in modern cells. The process commences when RNA polymerase, an enzyme, attaches to DNA strands and copies portions of it. RNA polymerase unwinds and opens the double stranded DNA and reads the nucleotides and matched them up with composite nucleotides that fit. After transcription is done, the messenger RNA (mRNA) is released and capped on each side of the strand to prevent the enzymes outside the nucleus from disintegrating it. These mRNA are photocopies of the DNA. Now when the strand reaches outside, it is quickly read by ribosomes. Ribosomes are composed of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) that essentially deals with the synthesis of proteins. The ribosomes read the nucleotides assembled in sets of three called codons. Each codon sequence has a specific amino acid it pairs up with. Each amino acid is distributed tRNA or transfer RNA. After each codon is translated, the appropriated amino acid are assembled in the order of the codons on the mRNA and fused to together through the process of dehydration synthesis. Then that protein will leave the ribosome while the mRNA disintegrates for its extended exposure to the catalytic enzymes outside the nucleus. The components of the disintegrated mRNA are recycled. That protein can be an enzyme fit for meta bolic activity. For a catalytic activity, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called substrates, and the enzyme breaks them down into different molecules, the products. Almost all processes in the cell need enzymes in order to occur at significant rates. Since enzymes are extremely selective for their substrates and speed up only a few reactions from among many possibilities, the set of enzymes made in a cell determines which metabolic pathways occur in that cell. Enzymes work by lowering the activation energy for a reaction, thus dramatically increasing the

Living As If God Does Not Exist Essay Example for Free

Living As If God Does Not Exist Essay Since ancient times, alongside society’s development is the widespread proliferation of the religious consciousness of mankind. Although primitive small-scale societies had always been depicted as animists and polytheists, the concept of the High God is a common theme that has already been discovered. Studies of ancient societies have revealed in the belief of a Supreme Being, although this was also coupled with worship of lesser spiritual entities since the Supreme God seems distant and uninvolved in daily concerns of men. Compared with modern men, people of the ancient past were mainly agricultural communities. They are basically more aware of their natural surroundings and the different forces which affect his sustenance and survival. Many of these forces are beyond his control and understanding. Early man was therefore more inclined to acknowledge the existence of a Great Being who is responsible for the existence of the world and the one who is in complete control over all. Worship, whether to God or lesser spirits, has often been closely associated with receiving favour and positive results, or to ward off negative conditions like sickness. But current mode of attitudes and perspectives that pervade modern men has increasingly being held under the spell of beliefs that exclude God and the invisible world from the realm of reality and day to day living. Such an approach to life however, is not entirely exclusive in modern times. This was already present in the distant past where there were critics of religious beliefs for instance among some of the ancient Greek philosophers and the Roman Lucretius; in India, where most see it as a rich place of religious practices, materialism has already flourished at the time of the Buddha and for many centuries afterward which basically rejected all belief in a transcendent world; and in China, rationalist Confucianism often involved a rejection of religious doctrine. But these protests against the existence of and reliance of a Supreme Being or of spirituality in general, are only sporadic and never gained majority allegiance during its time. But this is now greatly pronounced in the modern period than ever before, since the powerful restatements of atheism and agnosticism have found a wide success in acceptance and following. The rise of the scientific discoveries and inventions, as well as the increase of intellectuals has made it more ideal to reject the existence of God and other religious values. Man sees himself as the ultimate controller of his destiny, as he experiences more control of the things that affect him. As greater understanding of the world around him is achieved, man sees a greater lack of importance in relying on an unseen and somewhat ‘distant’ God. Modern man is also pressed with many concerns. The large masses of manual workers that were born of out of industrialization in the big cities of northern Europe have caused them to become largely alienated from the faith of their fathers. It is both the social and intellectual forces which have thus combined to promote a widespread practical atheism. There are mainly anti-religious ideologies of modern man which has come to influence modern day thinking. First, was the growth of liberal humanism that principally influenced the western world. This philosophy is rooted in the scepticism of the eighteenth century; it received a greater momentum from the religious controversies of the nineteenth century. Second, was the spread of German type of atheism which were popularized by the writings of Feuerbach, Marx, and Nietzsche. Nietzsche even pronounced the death of God in one of his writings. He announced the death of God, as man is ‘awakened’ to the ‘reality’ that God is only a creation of the human mind. Today’s society is very much influenced, although mostly indirectly, by the banner of humanism that fiercely denounces the existence of God and His requirements. Humanism passionately proclaims that the acknowledgement of God is a declaration of war against life, against nature, against the will to live; and that Christianity is the formula for every slander against this present world and guilty of proliferation of ‘lies’ of a world beyond or afterlife. Out of this, came the atheistic Communist ideologies, which for some time in the past, has pronouncedly divided the world. Then, there were also the philosophical movement known as Existentialism, which ironically had Christian origins through the work of Kierkegaard, has nurtured within it a newer type of atheism, popular since the Second World War. Such a deluge of assault on the Christian faith would seem overwhelming and puzzling to those who profess faith in it. God and Christianity seem to have often called down upon strong denunciations. But it is not entirely out of reason. There has been the spectacle of inter-denominational strife, the growing cynicism towards the authenticity of those who were key figures of the Christian faith as against their extravagant lifestyles, memory of persecutions, and the political conservatism of many Christians all these must be taken into consideration. However, what could be considered a more major reason for rejection is because of the more common association of Christianity with Puritanism. There have, indeed, always been pronounced ascetic elements in the Christian experience, although they are considerably less than in most other of the world religions. It can be said though, that Puritanism and ascetism obviously have important place in certain kinds and phases of different religions. Puritanism demands the population at large to conform to it. Central to the Christian belief is the submission to the Supreme Being, and His instructions. The world, as symbolized by Nietzsche, continuous to express a strong reaction against such beliefs. God and his laws are often received as restrictive, since man’s experience show that he possess desires and instincts which often goes in conflict to what God approves, and must therefore contend with it for most of his time. For most men, this seems to constitute a kind of conspiracy to confine human self-expression and freedom. It is not surprising then, to see an abundance of decay in wide areas of society, since unwillingness to submit to God’s authority is more appealing in order to gratify the self. God is therefore seen as an enemy against the fulfilment of the desires and plans of the self. In addition to this, many simply suspect that those â€Å"kill-joy† Christians, do make those impositions on others condemning jollification and gaiety, as an unconscious repressions and anxieties which stems from Freudian influence. The rejection of the divine and supernatural is not just a mere intellectual scepticism about the truth of God and Christian beliefs; it has also been an emotional rebellion as well. Social factors have contributed. As we have seen, the dislocations caused by industrialism in many Western countries, have produced the alienation of much of the working masses from Christianity. In addition, social forces have brought a distrust of the older forms of authoritarianism. This was already demonstrated between the World Wars, the rejection of being ruled by a higher force. Moreover, this has been heightened after the war where many younger folks have opportunities of work and spending that often creates a sense of being relatively independent. This new found independence rewards man’s desire to be the sole controller of his own life. Such an attitude was already displayed since man’s creation. Self-rule, the rebellion against God’s authority has become the norm. With this development, the traditional forms of Christian teaching and preaching and the presentation of the ethical side of Christianity as something fixed and God-given have not had a widespread effectiveness. What is more popular in many folks of today’s generation is the adherence to anti-authoritarianism and which continuous to stimulate anti-Church feeling, even to the political level. Various advocacies that are being presented with much militancy and following today (i. e. same sex-marriage) run in complete opposition to God- declared laws. It is therefore not an unexpected condition that those who support such advocacies will reject God’s authority and existence. God’s ‘in-existence’ would mean that man can do whatever seems right in his own eyes. Truth and right is therefore relative. Also, aside from the agnostics and anti-religious atheism, are those within the so-called Christian societies, are a large number of people who simply do not attend church or religious ceremonies (Smart, pp. 558-573). They are not necessarily lacking in religious belief, but nevertheless they do not feel themselves called upon to belong to any religious organization. They are people who live in a large, gentle twilight zone between religiousness and agnosticism. They have inherited much of the humanist movement, but they do not share the intellectual presuppositions. They include many, therefore, who, when asked, profess belief in God or more vaguely in a Power which controls the cosmos. But they are not convinced of actively participating in worship of such a Being as something essential of one’s existence. They are not inclined to pray, seek God, read the Bible, though they might possibly do so in times of stress or great danger. They are, for the most part, alienated from the fellowship with God and the fellow believers. They are aware of the differences of teachings in different denominations, and are thus mistrustful of dogma. They have no wish to deny God’s existence outwardly, but they do not desire to seek and know Him. They have reverence for a Creator; but they feel that God is distant and detached. They respect Christian moral values, but they reject Puritanism. They do not have much sense of sin, but they admire saintliness. They are worried by death, and they hope to live for a better afterlife. But the division between heaven and hell they do not feel. Such people far outnumber the committed atheists and the explicit agnostics. For many members of society today, science possess greater prestige derived from the practical benefits of technology and the awesome mumbo-jumbo surrounding the expert, has superseded that of religion. The current civilization can be depicted in such a state. Although the blatant atheists and agnostics have been relatively few, the influence of their thinking has been formidable. Despite the ‘advancement’ in knowledge, man has generally been ignorant of God and His ways. What is generally esteemed as ‘wise’, those who reject God, does not see the pointlessness of their argument. Creation itself speaks as a witness to His superiority and existence. What is evident in creation is the presupposition of a Creator. If the world and the universe came out of chaos, scientific discoveries show that everything in it has a purpose and held with much order, which could not basically flow in congruence with the ‘accident’ theory. Also, the amazing functions of the human body, also defy such a premise that man was created by chance. For man to reject his Creator and His authority is one of the most miserable and worse thing that has occurred to man. Man indeed is very much in need of redemption from the futility of his own way of thinking. Reference: Smart, Ninian. (1984). Contemporary Religious Experience. The Religious Experience of Mankind. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons