Humanistic psychology begins with the existential assumptions that phenomenology is central and that people have free will. [source]

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Humanistic psychologists believe that:

• An individual's behavior is primarily determined by his perception ofthe world around him.
• Individuals are not solely the product of their envirnment.
• Individuals are internally directed and motivated to fulfill their humanpotential.

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Modern humanistic psychology emerged in about the mid-1950s as areaction by clinical psychologists, social workers, and counselors against behaviorism and psychoanalysis. [source]

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Some key points in the development of the field are includedin the following list:

• Abraham Maslow's Motivation and Personality written in 1954.
• The first book on humanistic psychology was written in 1958 by John Cohenand entitled, Humanistic Psychology.
• In 1961, the Journal of Humanistic Psychology was founded andedited by A. J. Sutich.
• In 1962, the American Association for Humanistic Psychology was organized.
• In 1963, the first position paper on humanistic psychology in the UnitedStates was presented by James F. T. Bugental.
• Also in 1963, the first humanistic psychology graduate program was instituted at Sonoma State College, California.
• In 1970, a subdivision of the American Psychology Association called Humanistic Psychology was created.
• Also in 1970, the American Association for Humanistic Psychology expandedinto an international organization called the Association for HumanisticPsychology. In 1970, the Association for Humanistic Psychology held its firstinternational conference in Holland.

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The following is a list of some basic viewpoints with which most humanisticpsychologists agree:

1. A person is more than just a sum of his parts. A person should be viewed holistically.
2. A person does not live alone. People are social by nature and their interpersonal interactions are a part of their develpment.

3. A person is aware. People have an awareness of theirexistence and themselves. How a person reacts to a situation is in partinfluenced by previous events. Future responses will be influenced by past andpresent experiences.
4. A person has free will. People are aware ofthemselves; therefore, they make conscious choices. Animals, unlike humans, are driven by instincts and do not reach a conscious level of choice.
5. A person is consciously deliberate. A person seeks certain things for himself such as value or meaning in his life. How a person seeks meaning or value for himself results in a personal identity. This personal identity is what distinguishes one person from another.

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