The Symbolic Growth Experience
Paradigm for a Humanistic-Existential Learning Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9020649 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Willard B Frick (Albion College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1987 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 406-423 |
| Publication date | 1987-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Humanistic Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-1678 • E-ISSN: 1552-650X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022167887274003 |
| OpenAlex | W2153973085 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 7 |
The Symbolic Growth Experience (SGE) refers to those significant moments in life when we create personal meaning by symbolizing our immediate experience in the interest of heightened awareness and personal growth. As we perceive the symbolic dimensions of our immediate experience, we become creative agents in our own learning and growth. Using the SGE as a paradigm, the present article explores its significance for the development of a humanistic-existential theory of learning with a major emphasis on the creation of meaning. Traditional psychology treats learning as change in behavior. Learning from a perceptual orientation is defined as the discovery of meaning. (Combs, Richards, & Richards, 1976, p. 197) Genuine learning and growth are self-initiated responses to life, expressions of one's voice, experience, desire, preference, feeling. (Moustakas, 1974, p. 81) By significant learning I mean learning which is more than an accumulation of facts. It is learning which makes a difference in the individual's behavior, in the course of action he chooses in the future, in his attitudes and in his personality. It is a pervasive learning which is not just an accretion of knowledge, but which interpenetrates with every portion of his existence. (Rogers, 1961, p. 280)
Action (physics · Epistemology · Existentialism · Feeling · Humanism · Meaning (existential · Perception · Personal development · Personality · Preference · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · The Symbolic · Education and Critical Thinking Development · Education Methods and Practices · Educational Challenges and Innovations · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,26 |
| Citation span | 1988 - 2024 (37) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 10 |