Charlotte Bühler’s Existential-Humanistic Contributions to Child and Adolescent Psychology

Abstract

Charlotte Malachowski Bühler was a founder of humanistic psychology. This article reviews her theories of child and adolescent development. One purpose is to provide college instructors with material introducing a humanistic theory of development to students of child psychology. Bühler’s ideas are compared to other developmental theories, especially psychoanalytic and behavioral theories. This is followed by a presentation of her ideas as they relate to specific stages of development inherent within her descriptions of human growth prior to adulthood. The article concludes with a summative account of Bühler’s thoughts on the development of the self and some critical remarks regarding her work.