Human Potential Movement

Roots

The emergence of HPM is linked to humanistic psychology. The movement is strongly influenced by Abraham Maslow's theory of self-actualization as the supreme expression of a human's life.

In the middle of the 1960s, George Leonard did research across the United States on the subject of human potential for the magazine Look. In his research, he interviewed 37 psychiatrists, brain researchers, and philosophers on the subject of human potential. He found that "Not one of them said we were using more than 10% of our capacity", which should not be misconstrued as an endorsement of the ten percent of the brain myth but which is a more general claim.

During the course of this research, Leonard met Michael Murphy, the founder of the nascent Esalen Institute that at the time was running educational programs for adults on the topic of "human potentialities". Leonard and Murphy became close friends and together put forth the idea that there should be a human potential movement.

Social influence

HPM was regarded by some as being related to Psychedelic culture such as hippies and Summer of Love. It had not been defined what was "human potentialities", but LGAT (large-group awareness training) such as Lifespring and "est" taught self-awareness and consciousness expansion under HPM. They themselves came to be called not only "New Age" but also "new religion". The concept of HPM was also used in multi-level marketing through Mind Dynamics, precursor to LGAT.

As Elizabeth Puttick writes in the Encyclopedia of New Religions:

"The human potential movement (HPM) originated in the 1960s as a counter-cultural rebellion against mainstream psychology and organised religion. It is not in itself a religion, new or otherwise, but a psychological philosophy and framework, including a set of values that have made it one of the most significant and influential forces in modern Western society."

Authors and essayists

Abraham Maslow published his concept of a hierarchy of needs in a paper in 1943. He argued that as people's basic survival needs are met, so their desire to grow in mental and emotional dimensions increases. He also coined the term 'metamotivation' to describe the motivation of people who go beyond the scope of the basic needs and strive for constant betterment.

Michael Murphy and Dick Price founded the Esalen Institute in 1962, primarily as a center for the study and development of human potential, and some people continue to regard Esalen as the geographical center of the movement today.

In 1964, Virginia Satir became Esalen's first Director of Training, which required her to oversee the Human Potential Development Program. At the time, Satir was well established as an author, trainer and consultant. Twenty years later, Satir actively encouraged therapists to shift their focus to relationship education to help clients discover "more joy, more reality, more connectedness, more accomplishment and more opportunities for people to grow."

Aldous Huxley gave lectures on the "Human Potential" at Esalen in the early 1960s. His writings and lectures on the mystical dimensions of psychedelics and on what he called "the perennial philosophy" were foundational. Moreover, his call for an institution that could teach the 'nonverbal humanities' and the development of the 'human potentialities' functioned as the working mission statement of early Esalen.

Christopher Lasch notes the impact of the human potential movement via the therapeutic sector: "The new therapies spawned by the human potential movement, according to Peter Marin, teach that "the individual will is all powerful and totally determines one's fate"; thus they intensify the "isolation of the self".

George Leonard, a magazine writer and editor who conducted research for an article on human potential, became an important early influence on Esalen. Leonard claims that he coined the phrase "Human Potential Movement" during a brainstorming session with Michael Murphy, and popularized it in his 1972 book The Transformation: A Guide to the Inevitable Changes in Mankind. Leonard worked closely with the Esalen Institute afterwards, and in 2005 served as its president.

Human Potential in Europe

Human Potential concepts found in Europe a growing interest thanks to training courses aimed at managers, graduate students, and unemployed, mainly funded by the European Union in public development courses in the 80's and 90's. In these courses, modules such as communication skills, marketing, leadership and others in the "soft skills" area were embedded in the programs, and enabled the familiarization of most of the Human Potential concepts. A key role was played by "EU Strategic objective 3, 4, and 5" that explicitly included transversal key competences such learning to learn, a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship, and cultural awareness".

These training programs, lasting as much as 900 to 1200 hours, aimed at enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship, and contained at all levels of education and training Human Potential concepts. One of the core concepts, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs, became popular in Europe in the 80s mainly as a support to understanding consumer's needs, and only after its use as key marketing concept. Philip Kotler's book "Marketing Management" was particularly influential in the 80's in popularizing several human potential concepts that where "embedded" in the book and entered in the working and management community.

Specifically targeted book on Human Potential have emerged in Europe and can be found in the work of specific authors. For the "Anglo" cultural area, the work of John Whitmore that contains a harsh critique to mainstream approaches to human potential as a fast cures for self-improvement: "Contrary to the appealing claims of The One Minute Manager, there are no quick fixes in business, Whitmore, 2010".

For the "Latin" cultural area, an early approach to Human Potential can be found in the work of Maria Montessori. Montessori's theory and philosophy of education were influenced by the work of Jean Marc Gaspard Itard, Édouard Séguin, Friedrich Fröbel, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, and her model emphasized autonomous learning, sensory exploration and training children in physical activities, empowering their senses and thoughts by exposure to sights, smells, and tactile experiences, and later, problem solving.