Knowra Rollo May Rollo May Rollo May (1909–1994) was an American existential psychologist and author whose books brought existential and humanistic psychology to a broad audience.
Existential psychology : An approach to psychology that examines human existence, freedom, responsibility, meaning, and anxiety. May helped establish this approach in American psychology.
Courage : The capacity to act in the face of fear, danger, or uncertainty. May described courage as necessary for creating and becoming oneself.
Paul Tillich : A German-American theologian and philosopher whose work addressed faith, anxiety, and existence. Tillich was May’s friend and intellectual influence, and helped shape his account of anxiety.
The Meaning of Anxiety : Rollo May’s 1950 book examining anxiety through psychology, philosophy, and existential thought. It presents his early account of normal and neurotic anxiety.
Psychoanalysis : A psychological theory and treatment tradition emphasizing unconscious processes and their influence on thought and behavior. May drew on psychoanalysis while challenging accounts that reduce people to instinctual or deterministic forces.
Existentialism : A philosophical movement concerned with existence, freedom, responsibility, and the creation of meaning. May adapted existentialist themes into a psychology of lived experience.
Creativity : The capacity to produce ideas, works, or actions that are both novel and meaningful. May understood creativity as a way people encounter and shape their world.
Alfred Adler : An Austrian physician and psychotherapist who founded individual psychology. May trained in Adlerian psychotherapy at the Alfred Adler Institute in New York.
Love and Will : Rollo May’s 1969 book on the relationships among love, will, and contemporary psychological life. It applies his existential framework to intimacy, desire, and the capacity to choose.
Humanistic psychology : A psychological movement emphasizing agency, subjective experience, personal growth, and human potential. May is associated with the movement, though his existential emphasis gave it a distinctive focus on limits and anxiety.
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