PS210 Unit 8 Humanistic Psychology Paper Example

Course	PS210 History of Psychology
Unit	Unit 8
Paper type	Humanistic psychology paper
Length	About 480 words, 4 pages double-spaced
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Purdue University Global
Program	BS in Psychology
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for PS210 Unit 8

The Third Force and the Therapist's Chair: A PS210 Unit 8 Humanistic Psychology Paper

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

PS210: History of Psychology

Unit 8 Humanistic Psychology Paper

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The thread connecting humanistic psychology to modern therapy is the writer's own; the sources cited are real.

What this part is doingNaming what each founder contributed and where it survives in the lead shows the paper argues influence.

Why a Third Force

By the 1950s, American psychology offered two main pictures of people. Psychoanalysis saw them as driven by unconscious conflicts; behaviorism saw them as shaped by reinforcement. Both, critics argued, left out what people experience as most human: choice, meaning and the drive to grow. Humanistic psychology presented itself as a third force that took those experiences seriously (Schultz & Schultz, 2016).

Maslow and Motivation

Maslow (1943) ordered human needs in levels, arguing that hunger, thirst and safety usually press harder until they are reasonably met, after which needs for belonging, esteem and finally self-actualization become important. The hierarchy has been criticized because its strict ordering has weak empirical support, and Maslow himself described it as more flexible than the familiar pyramid suggests. Its lasting contribution was to treat growth and fulfillment as legitimate subjects for psychology rather than only the removal of symptoms.

Rogers and the Relationship

Carl Rogers, a counseling psychologist, developed client-centered therapy on the principle that clients have the capacity to understand and change themselves when a therapist provides the right conditions. Rogers (1957) stated those conditions precisely: a therapist who is genuine, who accepts the client without conditions, and who grasps the client's inner world and shows it.

What made Rogers unusual among therapists of his time was his willingness to test his ideas. He was among the first to record therapy sessions and study transcripts, opening psychotherapy to research.

Rogers made the relationship itself something that could be recorded, studied and taught.

What this part is doingHighlighting Rogers's research habit shows why his ideas survived in evidence-based therapies.

Criticism

Humanistic psychology was criticized for concepts that were hard to measure, such as self-actualization, and for an optimism about human nature that some found unrealistic. Its research base, apart from Rogers's work on the therapeutic relationship, remained thin compared with behavioral and cognitive approaches.

What It Left to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Following the course thread, humanistic psychology left cognitive behavioral therapy its relationship. Beck and his colleagues described a collaborative partnership in which therapist and client work as a team to examine the client's thoughts, and they stressed warmth, accurate empathy and genuineness as necessary conditions for the techniques to work (Beck et al., 1979). That list echoes Rogers's conditions closely. Cognitive behavioral therapy is often described as technique-driven, but its manuals assume the relationship Rogers defined. The history explains why a structured therapy still begins with listening. Beck and his colleagues added one qualification Rogers would not have accepted: the relationship is necessary but not sufficient, and change also requires the specific techniques the therapy teaches. That difference marks where the humanistic inheritance ends and the cognitive one begins.

What this part is doingMarking where cognitive therapy departed from Rogers shows the paper traces influence without overstating it.

References

Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. Guilford Press.

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-396. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346

Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), 95-103. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045357

Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). A history of modern psychology (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.

The Purdue Global PS210 Unit 8 instructions

Unit 8 in PS210 usually asks how humanistic psychology emerged and what it contributed to counseling and therapy. Explain why psychologists in the 1950s sought an alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Describe Maslow's and Rogers's main ideas accurately, including what Rogers claimed about the conditions for change and how he studied them. Evaluate the movement fairly, including criticisms of its concepts and evidence. Trace at least one contribution into a later practice, showing where it survives and where later approaches departed from it. Cite Maslow's and Rogers's original articles, which are short and widely available, along with a history text, and avoid the common simplification of Maslow's hierarchy as a rigid pyramid.

Inside the PS210 Unit 8 example

The paper explains the two pictures of people that humanistic psychology rejected. Maslow's hierarchy is described with its levels and the criticism of strict ordering, along with his own more flexible view. Rogers's three conditions are paraphrased from the 1957 article, followed by his practice of recording sessions, under a highlighted line that he made the relationship something that could be studied and taught. A criticism section covers vague concepts and optimism. The final section shows Beck and colleagues adopting warmth, accurate empathy and genuineness, and marks the difference that technique was also required, which is where the humanistic inheritance stops. Each section ends by naming what the movement left behind for therapists working today, so the history keeps its link to practice.

PS210 Unit 8 rubric: what earns full points

Credit in this paper comes from accurate accounts of the founders and fair evaluation. Instructors look for Maslow's hierarchy described with appropriate caution and Rogers's conditions stated as he stated them, not as general kindness. Noting Rogers's research on recorded sessions shows awareness that humanistic psychology was not purely philosophical. Criticisms should be specific and balanced. Tracing a contribution into a later therapy, and marking where that therapy departed, demonstrates the course's emphasis on influence. Original articles cited correctly show engagement with primary sources. An argument about lasting impact scores better than two summaries placed side by side. Marking where a later approach went beyond humanistic ideas earns more than asserting simple continuity.

PS210 Unit 8 help: mistakes that cost points

The most frequent slip presents Maslow's hierarchy as a pyramid people climb in strict order, which oversimplifies it. Another is describing Rogers's conditions loosely, for example as being nice to clients, without the precise terms he used. Students often treat humanistic psychology as unscientific without mentioning Rogers's research. Contributions to later practice are frequently asserted without evidence. Some papers confuse client-centered therapy with any therapy that is friendly. Before submitting, quote or closely paraphrase Rogers's three conditions, note one criticism of Maslow's hierarchy, name a later therapy that adopted something from humanistic psychology and state where that therapy went beyond it. Those four checks catch most of the errors instructors mark in this unit.

Get a PS210 Unit 8 example written to your instructions

Send the instructions and the rubric. A custom paper explains Maslow and Rogers and their influence. The first is free, delivered within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

More PS210 papers and BS in Psychology samples

PS210 Unit 8 questions, answered

Why was it called the third force?

It positioned itself as an alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism.

What did Carl Rogers contribute?

Client-centered therapy, with empathy, genuineness and unconditional positive regard.

Was humanistic psychology scientific?

Rogers studied therapy sessions systematically, though critics questioned some concepts' testability.

Where can I find a free PS210 Unit 8 sample paper?

The full PS210 Unit 8 paper is on this page, tracing Maslow and Rogers to the therapeutic relationship in cognitive behavioral therapy.

What did cognitive therapy borrow from Rogers in the PS210 Unit 8 sample?

Warmth, accurate empathy and genuineness, which Beck and colleagues treated as necessary but not sufficient for change.