Preface: Unrealized Potentials, Anomalous Experiences, and Humanistic Psychology

Abstract

For half a century, mainstream psychology had been proposing that human experiences, such as ecstasy and anguish, are effects of neurophysiological processes. The major topics of psychology classes were neuron networks, genetic effects, the behavior of rodents, and statistical tables. Early humanistic psychologists asked, “Where is the experience in all of this? Where is the human in all of this? What does it all mean? And what will be the impact on my life?” Mainstream psychology had developed useful tools to describe, measure, and explain human conduct, with explanations ranging from Freudian psychodynamics to Skinnerian operant conditioning. But exploration of the existential issues of human life, of meaning and intention, were sidelined. It took a “humanistic revolution” to deepen and broaden the scope of psychology to include humanistic psychology (and existential psychology in Europe).