Definitions of Terms

HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY

ADA 1500
Division of Social and Behaviorial Sciences
Sullivan County Community College
Loch Sheldrake, New York
Compiled by Thomas Rue, M.A., Asst. Prof..
December 1989, 2004. All rights reserved.

1. Psychology - (a) A discourse or treatise on the human soul; or the doctine of man's spiritual nature (Webster, 1857.)

(b) An academic discipline, a profession, and a science dealing with the study of mental processes and behavior of people and animals (APA, 1988.)

2. Humanistic - (a) [Humanism] A system of thinking in which man, his interests and development are made central and dominant, tending to exalt the cultural and practical rather than the scientific and speculative (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970.)

[Humanistic psychology] A psychological approach that emphasizes the uniqueness of human beings; it is concerned with subjective experience and human values. Often referred to as a third force in psychology in contrast to behaviorism and psychoanalysis. (Hilgard & Atkinson, 1978.)

3. Human - (a) Pertaining to or characterizing man or mankind. See synonyms under humane (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970.)

(b) Humanity is the mold to break away

from, the crust to break through,

the coal to break into fire,

the atom to be split. (Robinson Jeffers, 1887- )

And, when summoned, monarchs must obey. (John Dryden, 1861-1700)

(Bartlett, 1955)
4. Consciousness - The power of self-knowledge, internal perception. The aggregate of the conscious states in an individual or a group of persons. The awareness of some particular object, state, agency, or influence; an intution. Any form of intellectual activity or its product in direct and convincing knowledge, whether of external or internal objects. See synonyms under feeling and mind (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970.)

(b) Consciousness can no more modify the working mechanism of the body or its behavior than can the whistle of a train modify its machinery or where it goes. Moan as it will, the tracks have long ago decided where the train will go. Consciouss is the melody that floats from the harp and cannot pluck its strings, the foam that floats from the river that cannot change its course, the shadow that loyally walks step for step beside the pedestrian, but is quite unable to influence his journey (Janes, 1976.)

[Conscious] The content of mind or mental functioning of which one is aware. In neurology, awake, alert. See also unconscious; [Unconscious] That part of the mind or mental functioning of which the content is only rarely subject awareness. It is a repository for data that have never been conscious (primary repression) or that may have become conscious briefly and later repressed (secondary repression) (APA, 1988.)

5. The human condition - See #2 and #3 above; discuss as a class.

6. Objective - Of or belonging to an objective; having the nature of an object or being that which is thought or perceived as opposed to that which thinks or perceives; outside the mind (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970.)

7. Subjective - Relating to, or conditioned by, mental states or the ego; proceeding from or taking place within the thinking subject (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970.)

8. Essential isolation - The truth is... there is no such thing as loneliness... It's just that some of us are more dissatisfied with our solitude than others. ("Eek & Meek" cartoon by Hank Schneider, United Feature Syndicates, 05-31-1986.]

9. Archetype - (a) The original pattern or model of a work; or the model from which a thing is made, a tree is the archetype or pattern of our idea of that tree. Among minters, the standard weight by which others are adjusted (Webster, 1857.)

(b) An archetype is to the psyche what an instinct is to the body... Archetypes are the psychic instincts of the human species... Archetypes are perceived and experienced subjectively through certain universal, typical, recurring mythological motifs and images... These archetypal images, symbolically elaborated in various ways, are the basic contents of religions, mythologies, legends and fairy tales of all ages. Such images also emerge from the collective unconscious of individuals through dreams and visions in cases of deep psychological analysis, profound subjective experience or major mental disorder. The experience of encountering an archetypal image has a strong sense of divine or suprapersonal power transcending the individual ego. Such an experience often transforms the individual and radically alters his outlook on life (Edinger, 1968.)

(d) An original or standard pattern or model; a prototype. See synonyms under example, idea, ideal, model [L. archetypum, Gk. archetypon pattern, model arche- first + typos stamp, pattern -- archetypal, archetypical, archetypic] (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970.)

10. Group consciousness - See #10 above; discuss.

11 and 12. Yin and Yang - Terms appearing in Chinese thought from remote times, standing for two opposed and yet complementary principles of the universe. Yin stands for the feminine, negative, passive, weak, and destructive [waning] element. Yang is the masculine, positive, active, constructive [waxing] element. All that happens is said to be a product of these two elements (Reese, 1980.)

13. Androgyny - (a) A combination of male and female characteristics in one person (APA, 1988.)

(b) The acceptance and integration of traditionally "masculine" and "feminine" personality traits in order to achieve a flexibility of behavior, as situationally appropriate (Bem, 1974.)

14. Eclecticism - (a) [Eclectic] Selecting or made by selection from different systems or sources; having broad views; liberal. Composed of selections. One who practices selection from all systems or sources, as in philosophy or medicine (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970.)

(b) This book's theoretical underpinning is healthily eclectic. It does not follow one theoretical school, but it is not a hodgepodge of bits and pieces of theory thrown together as mortar to support the author's ideas. The theoretical consistency underlying the text is guided by a prudent and ethical pragmatism. In other words, the book holds that counselors should use what works and discard what does not work rather than adhere to a particular theoretical model despite the fact that the person in counseling can not be bent to fit it (Cavanaugh, 1982 [preface].)

R E F E R E N C E S

American Psychiatric Association (1980), American Psychiatric Glossary, Washington DC: APA Press.

Bem, S. (1974), The measurement of psychological androgny, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 2, 155-162.

Cavanaugh, M. (1982), The Counseling Experience: A theoretical and practical approach, Monterey, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing.

Funk & Wagnalls (1970), Standard Dictionary of the English Language, New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

Hilgard, E., Atkinson, R. & Atkinson, R. (1979), Introduction to Psychology, New York: Harcourt-Brace-Javanovich, Inc.

Hubbard, E. (1914), The Roycroft Dictionary, private printing.

Jaynes, J. (1976), The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, Boston: Houghton/Mifflin.

Mattoon, M. (1981), Jungian Psychology in Perspective, New York: The Free Press.

Reese, W. (1980), Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, New Jersey: Humanities Press, Sussex: Harvester Press.

Webster, N. (1857), An American Dictionary of the English Language (2nd ed.), Springfield, Massachusetts: George and Charles Merriam.

As taught 1987 to 1989 in Woddbourne and Sullivan state correctional facilities. This version dated September 17, 1989.

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