humanistic psychology

an approach to psychology that flourished between the 1940s and the early 1970s and that is most visible today as a family of widely used approaches to psychotherapy and counseling. It derives largely from ideas associated with existentialism and phenomenology and focuses on individuals’ capacity to make their own choices, create their own style of life, and actualize themselves in their own way. Its approach is holistic, and its emphasis is on the development of human potential through experiential means rather than the analysis of the unconscious or the modification of behavior. Leading figures associated with this approach include Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Rollo May. Also called humanistic theory. See also fulfillment model; human-potential movement.

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Psychology term of the day

April 25th 2024

dyssomnia

n. any of various sleep disorders marked by abnormalities in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep. In DSM–IV–TR, for example, dyssomnias include primary insomnia, primary hypersomnia, narcolepsy, circadian rhythm sleep disorder, breathing-related sleep disorder, and dyssomnia not otherwise specified, which may be due to excessive noise, light, or other environmental factors; ongoing sleep deprivation; Ekbom’s syndrome; or nocturnal myoclonus.