Pun's IB Psychology HL Blog

Monday, November 27, 2006

Assumptions of the Humanistic Perspective

The humanistic perspective assumed that each person is a unique and inherently good being. One that can understand the person best is he himself. Therefore, behavior must be understood in terms of the subjective experience of the individual. Furthermore, behavior is not determined by either past experience, environmental influencess, or biological factor, but by the choice or free will of the person - our choice are independent from the external factors. To understand the behavior of each unique person, the humanistic perspective thinks that the person should be studied as a whole individual in the context of their lives. Lastly, it assumed that psychology should be meaningful and applicable to all human beings.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Existentialism

I like the ideas of Existentialism a lot more than the ideas of the first and second force psychology. What I especially like is its ideas of existence precedes essence and the ideas that every person is a unique being. We are the one who really determine who we really are, not our biology or the environment around us. I think these ideas can also encourage people to be independent and love themselves more. I also agree with its ideas on the negative sides of life - anxiety, angst, absurdity, death, and alienation. These are the facet of life which are inevitable.