Introduction Psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanistic, transpersonal, and existential (HTE) psychology are the three primary movements in the study of the human experience. Each of these movements uses different research methodologies and epistemologies, and each focuses on different aspects of the human experience. Moreover, each of these movements presents unique therapeutic interventions and goals in the field of psychology. With each having contributed tremendously to the social sciences, psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanistic psychology can also be integrated for a richer understanding of human consciousness and the human condition. Historical context of the science and practice of psychology helps illuminate the field’s core values.

Historical Context and Rationale

Although inquiries into the human experience can be traced through the disciplines of philosophy and religion, the first scientific, empirical studies of human nature and behavior began more concertedly in the nineteenth century. William Wundt opened the first real laboratory dedicated exclusively to psychology in 1879, signifying the birth of the scientific study of psychology prior to its fragmentation into different empirical disciplines (Baker & Sperry, 2018). Following initial forays into structural and functional analyses of the human mind, researchers began to take varying approaches including those that focused on the internal or subjective experiences of people, such as psychoanalysis, and those that focused more on measurable outcomes such as behaviorism.

Behaviorism and psychoanalysis dominated the field of psychology for much of the early twentieth century. Both of these movements evolved relatively concurrently, with behaviorism assuming the mantle of scientific, empirical approaches to measuring and controlling human behavior and psychoanalysis concentrating more on emotions and consciousness. Sigmund Freud is the founder of the psychoanalytic movement, and his theories continue to influence psychology. Neo-Freudians such as Adler, Horney, and Erikson are also among the most influential thinkers in the psychoanalytic movement. Skinner, Watson, and Pavlov are the dominant historical figures in the realm of behaviorism, which went on to influence other branches of psychology that rely heavily on the scientific method. Humanistic, transpersonal, and existential psychology evolved from the 1960s onward and is a radical response to both behaviorism and to psychoanalysis. May, Maslow, and Rogers are the three most important figures in HTE psychology. These three movements share surprisingly little in common in spite of their all falling under the rubric of psychology.

Each of these movements has been essential in evolving the field of psychology. Psychoanalysis offered unique insights into the nature of human personality and the origins of pathological thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Freud’s theory divides the human mind into the superego, ego, and id. Psychoanalytic theory also emphasizes the importance of unconscious psychic content, which a psychotherapist can help coax from a patient through the analysis of dreams. Freud and other psychoanalytical theorists also focused on the formative years, during which children progress through psychological stages. Therefore, Freud also promoted developmental psychology. Psychoanalysis influenced many other movements within psychology, including more modern revisions of Freudian theory like psychodynamics. Finally, psychoanalysis has been critical for various therapeutic interventions based on talk therapy and therapies...

Whereas psychoanalysis is all about the subjective experiences of the human being, behaviorism is about what is objective or observable. Behaviorists like Pavlov, Skinner, and Watson conducted experiments showing how stimuli evoke responses in the human being, contributing much to theories of human learning. Behaviorism is historically significant because of its ongoing contributions to empirical clinical psychology, to cognitive-behavioral psychology, and branches of the field dealing that focus on how to eliminate undesirable behaviors or motivate desirable behaviors.
HTE psychology is unlike either behaviorism or psychoanalysis. However, HTE approaches do share in common with psychoanalysis an emphasis on subjective experiences and phenomena: “psychoanalysis and humanism have certain compatible features, but that they generally represent opposing vantage points in the study of subjectivity,” (Hansen, 2011, p. 21). HTE approaches to the human experience tend to include spirituality as part of the human experience (Elkins, Hedstrom, Hughes, et al., 1988). While humanism, transpersonal, and existential psychology have their own unique stances, they all tend to focus on goals like self-actualization, self-fulfillment, identity, and personal growth (Williams, 2017). As influential as psychoanalysis and behaviorism, HTE “seeks to bring psychology back to the source, to the psyche,” (Matson, 1971, p. 7).

Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud is the father of psychoanalysis, the movement of psychology focused mainly on the subconscious and unconscious mind, its inner or repressed urges, and how those urges may manifest as neuroses, conflict, or problematic behaviors and experiences. Also central to psychoanalysis is the process of psychotherapy, led by a trained analyst who leads the client through a long-term process of unearthing the root causes of emotional trauma. Techniques like dream analysis are used to delve into the less literal elements of the human experience, while an assessment of childhood experiences helps to reveal the sources of maladaptive behaviors. One of the core tenets of psychoanalysis is that sexual urges are latent in the human being since birth, impacting relationships with parents, peers, and the self (Jasiurkowski, 2018). Repressed or unprocessed sexual urges towards the parents can result in problematic psychological development.

Another tenet of psychoanalysis is that the human psyche is divided into three related components: the id, ego, and superego. The id represents childlike desires and the longing for instant gratification and pleasure. The ego represents the main self one constructs throughout their life span, and the superego is the repository of social conditioning, norms, and societal rules. Conflicts between these three structures of the self can cause personality disorder or dysfunctional relationships. Other central principles in psychoanalysis include the death wish, accounting for self-destructive behaviors, and the concept of coping mechanisms like transference and repression, which are unconscious processes.

Critiques of Freudian theory helped to expand and develop the tenets of psychoanalytic theory. Neo-Freudians like Jung, Erikson, and Horney were less fixated on early childhood sexuality, while still retaining the core elements of Freudian theory. For instance, Erik Erikson…