CONTEXT

The emphasis on scientific methods that came to prominence in the post-war period reduced the person to the status of an "object" of scientific enquiry.  There is an inherent danger that the person can be viewed as little more than an input-output device; or as just another cog in the social machine.  Humanist psychology seeks to reaffirm the human qualities of the person.

BASIS

Humanist thinking focuses on how we acquire emotions, attitudes, values and social/interpersonal skills.  Carl Rogers (a psychotherapist) believed that something akin to the therapist-client relationship could be adopted within the context of education.  This implies that the learner is self-directed and that the teacher's role is that of learning-facilitator.  Abraham Maslow, in presenting his "hierarchy of needs", proposes that self-actualisation is the pinnacle of education (when viewed from a humanistic perspective).

ASSOCIATED THEORISTS

Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939)

Carl Rogers (1902 - 1987)

Abraham Maslow (1908 - 1970)

Malcolm Knowles (1913 - 1997)

Paulo Freire (1921 - 1997)