Humanist Planning & Psychology

This assignment delves into the concept of 'humanist planning' by examining its theoretical underpinnings, drawing connections with relevant psychological concepts like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, social cognitive theory, and cognitive dissonance. It analyzes how these psychological insights can inform planning practices and guide a more human-centered approach to problem-solving and decision-making.

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Occupation of a person has a big role to play in the emotional and physical
wellbeing of an individual. It has been generally seen that a person with an occupation
that suits him or her the most is in the best emotional and physical state. When a
person starts professional life after deciding on a particular career, a lot of changes are
brought into his or her life. This necessarily means that a number of psychological
effects are experienced by that person. Starting from the settling on one career option to
continuing in that profession in a particular way and changing the career in the future, all
these stages include psychological processes and cognitive decision making stages
which can be explained by various theories. The occupational choices also depend on
the age of the person. The younger population of the workforce known as the
Millennials usually keep on changing jobs in order to look for better options, on the other
hand the employees with families and responsibilities usually do not change workplaces
because they cannot take risks. Choosing an occupation is subjective but psychological
theories can help understand the personal factors contributing to this choice. The
Humanist Theory and the Cognitive Theory analyze the occupational choice and both
these theories are comprehended and analyzed to evaluate the process of influence
they have on the aspect of determining and choosing a particular occupation. However,
both these theories are important for understanding the dynamics behind the preference
of a person for choosing a specific profession. The essay comprises of three parts with
the first part emphasizing on the need to understand and discuss the relevant
psychological theories because it is important to understand and comprehend these
theories in order to have an idea about the decision of the people to choose a particular
profession. The second part will emphasize on the need to assess and investigate the

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importance of the psychological theory in relation to the decision to opt for a particular
occupation. The third part involves the attempt to evaluate and examine the relevance
of the approaches to understanding people’s occupational choices. Theoretical
understanding of psychological processes helps in analysing the past decisions made
by the person and the possible future decisions that may be taken by the person.
Therefore it occupational choices and behaviours constitute a part of that process. In
the above mentioned stages the theoretical aspects of the psychological behaviour
towards making career choices and occupational preferences will be analysed.
Studying the whole person and considering every unique individual, the
Humanistic approach is also referred to as the phenomenological approach (Barry,
2017). According to Carl Rogers, who is considered as the founder of the Humanist
psychology, Personality is assessed from the subjective analysis of an individual. The
assessment of the personal traits is done by analysing the personality of an individual
and this is important for the advancement of the Humanist theories. (Ewen and Ewen,
2014). Contrary to Psychoanalytical theory and behaviourist theory, humanistic
psychology attempts to help people realize their potential and improve their well-being
(Good et al., 2017). The reactions to the limitations of psychoanalysis and
behaviourism, which took place in the 1950s, led to the development of the humanistic
psychology (Hamilton, 2015). According to the inherent belief in humanist psychological
analysis which was propounded by Carl Rogers, the overall nature of human beings is
essentially good and the deviance in the mental and the social aspects emanate from
deviating from this inherent quality. According to Niemela and Kim (2014), humanist
psychology was developed by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Niemela and Kim

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(2014) also mention Rollo May and Erich Fromm as eminent psychologists who have
contributed to the development of Humanist Psychology.
Abraham Maslow propounded the hierarchy of needs in his Theory of Human
Motivation and along with other psychologists, developed humanist psychology. The
key aspects explained by Maslow included self-actualization, individuality and creativity,
which help achieve objectives in life (Robertson, 2016). According to Miller and Moyers
(2017), Carl Rogers is credited with presenting the humanist approach in his Client-
Centered Therapy Theory. The influence of humanist movement on psychology has
been immense, and Millers and Moyers (2017) credited the humanist approach with
introducing innovative ways of thinking regarding the mental health.
In particular, the Humanist method helps better understand the human
behaviours regarding the way in which motivation enables a person achieve his or her
objectives. Smith (2017) points out that the critics of humanistic psychology state that
humanistic psychology is subjective, precisely because the definition of happiness
varies from one person to another, and that self-actualization is a completely subjective
aspect of psychology. Therefore, to objectively study the self- actualization process from
the humanistic aspect becomes an important process to understanding human
behaviour. The positive aspect about the humanistic approach is that it gives
importance to the role played by individuals and their mental state. Importantly, instead
of emphasizing an individual’s inherent thought process, the humanist method gives
due credit to external factors influencing the experience of an individual such as
environment.

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A person’s choice of occupation is subjective. When this choice is analysed with
the help of the Humanistic Approach, it appears that a person chooses an occupation
that will enable him/ him or her to achieve self-actualization goals and lead to overall
personal satisfaction. If the person chooses to pursue the occupation of a tennis player
then it can be explained as the accumulation of the satisfaction which the person
derives from the sport, and the passion which the person has for the profession.
Similarly, the occupation of cooking is chosen by a person mainly because it might
enable the person to exercise his/ her creativity and other learnt skills.
There appears to be a certain motivation which works in the individual when
finalizing the occupation he or she is going to pursue. The person who chooses tennis
as a profession is motivated to be able to perform the best of his/her potential in the
tennis court. The person who chooses cooking does so because, cooking itself is a form
of motivation for the person and he/she uses this motivation to achieve the objective of
realizing the self-actualization goals because the person is able to perform to his/her
true potential and therefore is able to derive happiness and satisfaction.
The motives for choosing tennis as an occupation can be many. According to the
Humanistic approach, the person might have been inspired by watching tennis players
perform on the tennis courts and this inspiration acts as a motivation which induces the
person to pursue this occupation. Similarly, the motive for choosing cooking might be
that the person might have been influenced by a family member who cooks excellent
food, has social contact with a professional chef or might have been inspired by a world-
renowned chef. Inspiration therefore acts as a form of excellent motivation for the
people, especially the children when they are in their adolescent years (Cottrell, 2015).

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The means to achieve an occupation can be many. The person who chooses
tennis as a profession might join a tennis-coaching centre and the person who chooses
cooking might enrol himself/ herself in cooking classes. There appears to be a
correlation between the motivational aspect and the will to act (Maslow, 1943).
Motivation acts as a catalyst, which induces humans to act accordingly in order to
realize their self-actualization goals. There appears to be another factor which might
play an important role in determining individual behaviour, and this is the individuality of
the person. The person might be choosing an occupation wherein he/ she feel that
his/her individuality and individual aspects are recognized.
The methods to be applied include the ability to use the motivation and the
feeling of contentment as necessary tools to move forward in life and to realize self-
actualization. The person who chooses tennis uses contentment which he/she derives
from this sport. Similarly, the person who chooses cooking might use the satisfaction
which her or she derives from the activity to excel in his/ her profession.
The evaluation by the Humanist Approach of occupational choice reveals that the
intrinsic factors inherent in a person such as motivation, individuality and contentment
play a dominant role in determining occupational preference. The Humanist Approach
also lays emphasis upon the value of the self-actualization process, and how it affects
the choice. The Humanist Approach suggests that the feelings such as motivation, self-
drive, individuality, intrinsic in a person who is mostly positive in nature, are the driving
agents in making a choice and inspire the person to strive for excellence and
performance. Based on these feelings, the person chooses a profession which best
suits him or her to realize his self-actualization and realize his or her individuality. The

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Humanist Approach, therefore, helps understand the psychological factors that compel
a person to choose a particular occupation.
While several philosophers and theorists contributed to the development of
cognitive theories in psychology, the Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget is traditionally
considered as its founding father. Cognitive theories help in understanding the factors
which influenced the person to think in a particular manner and they can be well used
together with the Humanist approach to understand the factors contributing to
occupational. According to Resnick (2017), Cognitive development refers to the process
which involves the accumulation of thoughts, perceptions and opinions from infancy
through the adolescent years to adulthood. Resnick (2017) also mentions that Jean
Piaget propounded the theory of cognitive development and stated that it comprises
four stages that the person progresses through as he or she matures and gathers
experience. These four stages are: 1. Sensorimotor, which ranges from the ages of 18-
24 months, 2. Preoperational, which continues until the early childhood of until 7 years,
3. Concrete operational, from the ages 7-12, 4. Formal operational, which is the stage
from adolescence to adulthood (Bandura, 2014). Piaget stated that children have active
learning abilities and they integrate the information received with the retained
information and uses both the information to react and base their behaviours. The ability
to collect new information is known as the ability to assimilate while the ability to
accommodate means the juxtaposing of the newly acquired information to the
previously retained information. The process of assimilation and accommodating
information is known as Cognitive abilities. Cognitive theory can be divided into two sub
theories, which are Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), and Cognitive Behavioural Theory

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(CBT). Social Cognitive Theory states that the person acquires information based on
the person’s interaction in society, from which interactions and observations the person
gathers information and experience. Information and experience shape his/her opinions
regarding the particular preference for an occupation (Estes, 2014).
Lev Senenovich Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, developed the Sociocultural
Theory of Cognitive Development. Vygotsky stated that children who are habituated in
living under different sociocultural contexts are more mentally capable in terms of
cognitive development (Beck and Haigh, 2014). These children have enhanced
cognitive and mental skills due to their social interaction with mentally skilled people.
Vygotsky stated that a person’s cognitive development is influenced by several factors
such as the ability to accumulate the knowledge fast provided they are exposed to a
range of complex cognitive abilities. Children who are exposed to complex cognitive
processes are more likely to have an enhanced cognitive development (Clark and
Purdon, 2016).
There are many occupations which a person can choose but for the sake of
simplicity the two occupations of sports and cooking have been chosen in the present
essay. Due to the preoperational cognitive developments which shape the children’s
intuitions, the reason for choosing a certain occupation in adulthood can be varied.
Maybe the child was fascinated by some athlete or had an association with a renowned
chef. The changes occurring as a result of childhood experiences help shape children’s
opinions and the perceptions, and they later help them choose an occupation. The
Behavioural patterns which were changed after the Operational stage enabled the

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adolescent to realize that his or her chosen profession is his best choice and he or she
pursues that occupation passionately (Petty, Ostrom and Brock, 2014).
When investigating the reasons of occupational choice, the possibility of people
taking up a profession due to their family’s tradition of pursuing the same profession
cannot be ruled out. In addition to passion and dedication personal family history might
also contribute (Harmon-Jones, Haslam and Bastian, 2017). Cognitive behavioural
theory assumes that a person’s perceptions and opinions might be shaped by
interactions with external sources, such as a close family member who pursues the
profession of their future choice and act as a motivation (Martin and Santos, 2016).
The motives of choice can be different for different individuals. Analysing the
motives of a person from the perspective of the cognitive theory reveals the fact that
motives are shaped by a person’s inherent mental and cognitive attributes. The
cognitive mental processes shape the motive of a person to choose a particular
profession or job, such as football, for instance, might be that the person in the midst of
a tennis match has the ability to make important decisions changing the course of the
match, or the person has been able to passionately follow tennis and it had a great
influence in his/ her life from the childhood. Similarly, the occupation of cooking might
have been chosen by the person because her or she feels passionate about cooking
and derives both satisfaction and motivation from cooking.
There can be numerous means to attain one’s desired occupation. According to
cognitive theory, a person’s social cognitive skills enable them to interact with the

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people with relevant skills and from these interactions, the person learn how to achieve
their desired outcome.
The person who chooses tennis might utilize his/ her cognitive skills to acquire
and assimilate relevant information. Similarly, the person choosing cooking may utilize
the relevant cognitive skills to learn and mature in the profession by engaging in
complex cognitive associations with the people who are already employed in the
profession.
The evaluation of the aspect of choosing an occupation using the Cognitive approach
has revealed the fact that the cognitive aspects of a person, such as the imprints that
are formed in the mind of the person from early childhood, play an important role in
determining a person’s behavioural as well as their ability to choose an occupation
(Young et al., 2014). The occupation which the person chooses might also be
determined by the amount of exposure the person has with the people of similar skill
sets. The more the number of complex cognitive relations with the people, the more the
level of cognitive development of the child (Kaminsky and Behrend, 2015). Occupational
preferences might be decided from a young age mainly because of the influenced by
people who perform excellently in a profession.
It is possible to suggest on the basis of the above analysis that a child’s cognitive
development enables the child to form judgments and opinions from a nascent stage.
The humanist approach states that the behavioural aspects of a person, which are
positive in nature such as motivation and individuality, can inspire a person to move
towards his/ her goals and to achieve the goals of self-realization. The person chooses

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an occupation where they feel they will achieve self-realization. In the past, choosing an
occupation was easier as there were not much division of labour and choices among
the employment opportunities were few (Hoffman, 2014). The sophistication of society
has made the task of choosing an occupation increasingly difficult, as there is now a
wide array of professions to choose from (Kaminsky and Behrend, 2015). A person is
likely to opt for a job wherein he/she feels most satisfied, and this satisfaction can be
the amalgamation of a number of psychological factors as suggested by psychoanalytic
theories, the self-actualization of humanism theories and by theories of cognitive
development. If the current trend of understanding occupational choice by examining
factors such as job satisfaction and passion continues, then it will be possible to
suggest that these psychological factors also play a determining role in young people’s
job selection.

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