Final answer:
Humanistic psychologists like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers promote self-actualization and personal growth, emphasizing free will, personal control, and the potential for innately good behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
Humanistic psychologists encourage self-actualization and personal growth, focusing on the innate potential for good in all humans. These psychologists, like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, promoted theories that championed free will and the drive towards realizing one's fullest potential.
Humanistic psychology emerged as a third force in the field, in reaction to the deterministic perspectives of both psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Unlike those schools of thought, humanism emphasizes personal control, intentionality, and the idea that people are innately predisposed towards goodness. Humanistic theories like Maslow's hierarchy of needs underscore the importance of meeting basic needs in order to pursue higher levels of psychological growth, culminating in self-actualization.
Moreover, the humanistic approach challenged the view of humans as passive reactors to their environment, which was prevalent in behaviorism, and questioned the focus on unconscious conflicts underscored in psychoanalysis. Instead, it presented an optimistic view of humanity, underscoring the capacity for self-directed change and personal evolution towards becoming the best version of oneself.