Organismic theories in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

are a family of

holistic Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book '' Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED On ...

psychological theories which tend to stress the organization, unity, and integration of human beings expressed through each individual's inherent growth or developmental tendency. The idea of an explicitly "organismic theory" dates at least back to the publication of

Kurt Goldstein Kurt Goldstein (November 6, 1878 – September 19, 1965) was a German neurologist and psychiatrist who created a holistic theory of the organism. Educated in medicine, Goldstein studied under Carl Wernicke and Ludwig Edinger where he focused on ne ...

's ''The organism: A holistic approach to biology derived from pathological data in man'' in 1934. Organismic theories and the "organic" metaphor were inspired by

organicist Organicism is the philosophical position that states that the universe and its various parts (including human societies) ought to be considered alive and naturally ordered, much like a living organism.Gilbert, S. F., and S. Sarkar. 2000. "Embra ...

approaches in biology. The most direct influence from inside psychology comes from

Gestalt psychology Gestalt-psychology, gestaltism, or configurationism is a school of psychology that emerged in the early twentieth century in Austria and Germany as a theory of perception that was a rejection of basic principles of Wilhelm Wundt's and Edward ...

. This approach is often contrasted with

mechanistic The mechanical philosophy is a form of natural philosophy which compares the universe to a large-scale mechanism (i.e. a machine). The mechanical philosophy is associated with the scientific revolution of early modern Europe. One of the first expo ...

and reductionist perspectives in psychology.

Examples of organismic theories and theorists

's organismic theory *

Ludwig von Bertalanffy Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy (19 September 1901 – 12 June 1972) was an Austrian biologist known as one of the founders of general systems theory (GST). This is an interdisciplinary practice that describes systems with interacting components, app ...

's organismic psychology within his

general systems theory Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structu ...

Jean Piaget Jean William Fritz Piaget (, , ; 9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemolo ...

theory of cognitive development Piaget's theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of human intelligence. It was originated by the Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980). The theory deals with the nature of k ...

* Heinz Werner's orthogenetic principle of development *

Andras Angyal Andras Angyal ( hu, Angyal András; 1902–1960) was an American psychiatrist, known for a holistic model for a theory of personality. Work His 1939 work on "The Structure of Wholes" was seen as a precedent to systems theory in books in the 1960s� ...

's biospheric model of personality * Abraham Maslow's holistic-dynamic theory *

Carl Rogers Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach (and client-centered approach) in psychology. Rogers is widely considered one of the founding fathers of ps ...

person-centered therapy Person-centered therapy, also known as person-centered psychotherapy, person-centered counseling, client-centered therapy and Rogerian psychotherapy, is a form of psychotherapy developed by psychologist Carl Rogers beginning in the 1940s and ex ...

and

actualizing tendency The actualizing tendency is a fundamental element of Carl Rogers' theory of person-centered therapy (PCT) (also known as client-centered therapy). Rogers' theory is predicated on an individual's innate capacity to decide his/her own best directi ...

Fritz Perls Friedrich Salomon Perls (July 8, 1893 – March 14, 1970), better known as Fritz Perls, was a Germany, German-born psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and psychotherapist. Perls Neologism, coined the term "Gestalt therapy" to identify the form of psychoth ...

and

Laura Perls Laura Perls (née ''Lore Posner''; 15 August 1905 in Pforzheim – 13 July 1990 in Pforzheim) was a noted German-born psychologist and psychotherapist who helped establish the Gestalt school of psychotherapy. She was the wife of Friedrich (F ...

Gestalt therapy Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes personal responsibility and focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist–client relationship, the environmental and social contexts of a person's life ...

* Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan's

self-determination theory Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality that concerns people's innate growth tendencies and innate psychological needs. It pertains to the motivation behind people's choices in the absence of extern ...

* Murray Bookchin's

dialectical naturalism Murray Bookchin (January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. A pioneer in the environmental movement, Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social e ...

Notes

References

* Hall, Calvin & Lindzey, Gardner. (1970). ''Theories of Personality''. (Second Edition) * Maslow, Abraham. ''Motivation and Personality'' (1st ed.: 1954, 2nd ed.: 1970) * Perls, F., Hefferline, R., & Goodman, P. (1951). ''Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality''. * Rogers, Carl. (1951). ''Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory''. London: Constable. . * Werner, H. (1957). The concept of development from a comparative and organismic point of view. In D. Harris (Ed.), ''The concept of development.'' Minneapolis, Minn: University of Minnesota Press

Examples of organismic theories and theorists

See also

Notes

References

Further reading