Difference Between Humanism and Behaviorism

Humanism and behaviors are important schools in the area of psychology; due to this, understanding the difference between humanism and behaviorism is essential for every individual who has an appeal in psychology. Psychology, which is the scientific research of human mental procedures and conduct, possesses several strategies that are as well regarded as schools of psychology. These have been important for the advancements in the area of psychology. These two kinds of schools have to do with humanism and behaviorism. Every technique provides an incredible pattern of knowing the human intellect and conduct.

Simply put, behaviorism focuses on the outer conduct of humans and dismisses the cognitive procedures which are not noticed. On the other hand, humanism focuses on the person as a whole. The primary difference between humanism and behaviorism, which are the two schools of thought, is the modification of direction from outer conduct to the whole being. This article will explain these two techniques and point out the differences.

Table of Contents

What is Behaviorism?

Behaviorism is described as a school of thought that was initiated in the 1920s. Some famous persons, such as Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B. F. Skinner, are accountable for developing behaviorism. It was regarded concerning the outer conduct of persons and dismissed the importance of the mind since it could not be scrutinized. They acknowledged behavior to be accurate, analyzed, and as a reaction of an organism to stimuli that created a way for the knowledge of human psychology. Behaviorists offered popularity to laboratory studies and paid attention to practicals. Behaviorism is founded on the primary beliefs of determinism, anti-mentalism, optimism, experimentalism, and the notion of nurture against nature. When discussing behaviorism, the hypotheses of classical conditioning by Pavlov and operant conditioning by Skinner are substantial. Classical conditioning clarifies that some understanding can result from spontaneous expressive and psychological reactions. On the contrary, operant conditioning applies the activity of voluntary, controllable behaviors. The behaviorist points out that human conduct is understood and can be modified via support and penalty.

What is Humanism?

Contrary to behaviorism, humanism uses various techniques in psychology where they view the person as a whole. They assumed that every human is unique and are free mechanisms that possess the capacity to accomplish its inner possibilities to the brim. When observing the person, they embrace their point of view of the individual within the condition instead of the viewer’s point of view. When it comes to counseling, this is also described as empathy, which is the situation where the viewer gets into the viewpoint of the individual going through the condition. Some of the well-known figures in this school of thought have to do with Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, who have created a massive donation to its growth. Mainly, Maslow’s ranking of requirements offers a picture of the person as possessing the capacity to get to a status of self-actualization, which is the most significant state that a person can accomplish. Hence, for an individual to get to this, humans have to obtain specific requirements, which have to do with safety requirements, physical requirements, love and belonging requirements, self-esteem requirements, and, eventually, self-realization. Another substantial theory is the individual-centered theory by carl rogers, which we used in counseling. It offers the picture of the person as an inner positive individual. The theory justifies a notion of self that is consisted of the person’s actual self and ideal self. Rogers acknowledged that when these two selves are near and in accordance, it produces a favorable situation for self-advancement. As one can observe, the attention of humanism is varied from that of behaviorism.