Assignment 8: Skinner, Freud and Rogers To compare Skinner, Freud, and Rogers, is to compare three of the greats in the field of Psychology. Behaviorism, psychoanalysis, and humanism comprise the garden from which all other theories have grown. While vast differences have historically been observed in these three men and their theoretical perspectives; for those who choose to see, a few startling similarities may be found as well. For someone with little psychological background, who is just beginning to delve into Freud’s theories, it might seem that his beliefs about human behavior are based in cognitive process like Carl Rogers’s humanistic beliefs. It quickly becomes clear, however, that Freud’s theories have little in common with Roger’s
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Skinner’s theory bore the mark of true Behaviorism by rejecting anything to do with the effect of internal or biological processes with regard to human behavior. Thus, it is surprising that Geir Overskeid found so many similarities between Skinner and Freud, noting similar career paths, and parallels in positivist and feministic assumption, along with their emphasis that that human behavior was subject to forces beyond conscious control (Overskeid, 2007). It is also noted by Geir Overskeid that Skinner referenced Freud quite regularly in his writings, indicating an admiration for him, if nothing more. However, in various writings, it became apparent that Skinner was not oblivious of the possibility of cognitive control, such as Rogers supported. This is evidenced in Skinner’s recognition that human beings may become more self-actualized by conquering the fear of being controlled, when responding to Carl Rogers’s comments on control of human behavior (Schustack & Friedman, …show more content…
Where neither Freud nor Skinner found any kind of use for the cognitive process, Rogers felt this is where the core of human behavior was found. Believing fully in free will and the ability of the person to ultimately make a decision, rather than being bound by unconscious or external stimuli, Rogers developed an entirely new approach to psychotherapy that centered entirely on a person’s free will to influence or control their own behavior by choice (Schultz & Schultz, 2013). However, Rogers does not discard the theories of Freud and Skinner, but rather proposes that there is a third process that overrides them; the self. His approach to psychotherapy focuses on empowering that self to modify behavior by an individual’s own choice, rather than relying trying to modify Skinner’s learned behavior, or pry open Freud’s chests of childhood experiences in an effort to affect the future through the past. Unlike Freud or Skinner, Rogers completely believed that a person’s destiny was completely under his or her control. As different as Rogers may sound in comparison to Skinner and Freud, research has, in fact, found parallels in the theories of Freud and Rogers, relating Rogers’s concepts of self-regard and conditions of worth to Freud’s superego. Additionally, Roger’s himself admits to congruent thinking with Skinner in terms of the threat posed by the ability of science, and therefore society,
Skinner’s theory bore the mark of true Behaviorism by rejecting anything to do with the effect of internal or biological processes with regard to human behavior. Thus, it is surprising that Geir Overskeid found so many similarities between Skinner and Freud, noting similar career paths, and parallels in positivist and feministic assumption, along with their emphasis that that human behavior was subject to forces beyond conscious control (Overskeid, 2007). It is also noted by Geir Overskeid that Skinner referenced Freud quite regularly in his writings, indicating an admiration for him, if nothing more. However, in various writings, it became apparent that Skinner was not oblivious of the possibility of cognitive control, such as Rogers supported. This is evidenced in Skinner’s recognition that human beings may become more self-actualized by conquering the fear of being controlled, when responding to Carl Rogers’s comments on control of human behavior (Schustack & Friedman, …show more content…
Where neither Freud nor Skinner found any kind of use for the cognitive process, Rogers felt this is where the core of human behavior was found. Believing fully in free will and the ability of the person to ultimately make a decision, rather than being bound by unconscious or external stimuli, Rogers developed an entirely new approach to psychotherapy that centered entirely on a person’s free will to influence or control their own behavior by choice (Schultz & Schultz, 2013). However, Rogers does not discard the theories of Freud and Skinner, but rather proposes that there is a third process that overrides them; the self. His approach to psychotherapy focuses on empowering that self to modify behavior by an individual’s own choice, rather than relying trying to modify Skinner’s learned behavior, or pry open Freud’s chests of childhood experiences in an effort to affect the future through the past. Unlike Freud or Skinner, Rogers completely believed that a person’s destiny was completely under his or her control. As different as Rogers may sound in comparison to Skinner and Freud, research has, in fact, found parallels in the theories of Freud and Rogers, relating Rogers’s concepts of self-regard and conditions of worth to Freud’s superego. Additionally, Roger’s himself admits to congruent thinking with Skinner in terms of the threat posed by the ability of science, and therefore society,