'Cos I'm
good enough, I'm strong enough, and gosh darn it, people
like me.

"To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance."
Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband

The
humanistic theory of personality is by far the most unscientific
- or I should say untestable - of the five basic theories. It is
usually referred to as "free to be you and me hug a tree
crap", or more realistically, "pop
psycology". It thrives on the idea that every human being
has the potential to be a good, contibuting, lovable member of
society if their "pyramid of needs" is filled. It also
houses the idea of self - image and esteem.

The
humanistic movement is led by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, as
a response to Freud's brutally negative view of humans in
general, picturing them as "bad" people motivated only
by sex and violence. The humanistic psychologists point to self-
determination and realisation as true human motives, and
emphasise human potential and seeing the world through the
patient's eyes.

Abraham
Maslow (1908 - 1970) believes humans had a heiarchy of needs to
fulfill before becoming a self - actualised, fully able person.
After the basic needs such as food and shelter are met, humans
need to feel safe and seek love and acceptance, and only then can
they love themselves. Only after all these things are done can a
person fulfill their potential.

Maslow
came up with this theory by studying healthy, creative,
productive people's lives rather than those plagued by mental
illness, namely such figures as Abraham Lincoln, Thomas
Jefferson, and Eleanor Roosevelt. He noticed that all high-
achieving people share characteristics such as openess,
self-acceptance, and love for others.

Carl
Rogers (1902 - 1987) agreed with most of Maslow, but added that
for a person to "grow", they need an environment that
provides them with genuinness (openness and self-disclosure),
acceptance (being seen with unconditional positive regard), and
empathy (being listened to and understood). Without these
relationships and healthy personalities will not develop as they
should, much like a tree will not grow without sunlight and
water.

One
more much-used theory group together with humanism is self
examination. What one thinks of themself is the self-concept,
what one wants to be is the self-image, and how others
see the person is the actual self. The more alike these
three things are, the happier and healthier the person is.

While
humanism is often seen as the softer, non-scientific side of
psychology, it was the first, and in a way, the only theory so
far that sees humans as truly special, individual things. It
focuses on the entire population, rather than only those who are
plagued with mental illness, and doesn't compare them to any
machine as the behavioural or cognitive tend to do.