2-4: Humanist, Cognitive, and Evolutionary Psychology

Question 1

Define

Humanist psychology

Answer 1

Holds a hopeful, constructive view of human beings and of their substantial capacity to self-determining.

Question 2

What do modern humanistic psychologists strive for?

Answer 2

To enhance the human qualities of choice, creativity, the interaction of the body, mind, and spirit, and the capacity to become more aware, free, responsible, life-affirming, and trustworthy.

Question 3

What did early humanistic psychologists sought to do?

Answer 3

Restore the importance of consciousness and offer a more holistic view of human life.

They wanted to find a way to work around medication.

Question 4

Where did humanistic psychology originate?

Answer 4

It originated from Freud, but took on a different perspective. Freud had the idea, but humanistic psychologists thought he might have been focusing on the wrong thing (sexuality).

Question 5

Who were the most influential people in humanist psychology, and what were they responsible for?

Answer 5

Carl Rogers – Client-centered Therapy
Abraham Maslow – Hierarchy of Needs
Rollo May – Existential Psychotherapy
Fritz Perls – Gestalt Therapy

Question 6

What is Carl Rogers known for?

Answer 6

Founding client-centered therapy.

Question 7

What is Abraham Maslow known for?

Answer 7

Creating the Hierarchy of Needs.

Question 8

What is Rollo May known for?

Answer 8

Founding Existential Psychotherapy.

Question 9

What is Fritz Perls known for?

Answer 9

Founding Gestalt Therapy.

Question 10

Define

Client-Centered Therapy

Answer 10

Relies on clients’ capacity for self-direction, empathy, and acceptance to promote clients’ development.

Provides a supportive environment in which clients can re-establish their true identity.

The therapist relies on the techniques of unconditional positive regard and empathy, in order to build trust and create a nonjudgmental and supportive environment for the client.

Question 11

Define

Existential Therapy

Answer 11

The counsellor and the client may reflect on how the client has answered life’s questions in the past, but attention ultimately emphasizes the choices to be made in the present and future.

This enables a new freedom and responsibility to act.

By accepting limitations and mortality, a client can overcome anxieties and instead view life as moments in which he or she is fundamentally free.

Question 12

Define

Gestalt Therapy

Answer 12

Focuses on the skills and techniques that permit an individual to be more aware of their feelings.

It is much more important to understand what patients are feeling and how they are feeling rather than to identify what is causing their feelings.

Focuses on the present.

Question 13

Define

Hierarchy of Needs

Answer 13

A psychological theory that organizes human needs into a hierarchical structure, with basic or deficiency needs at the lower levels and growth needs at the higher levels. It is often depicted as a pyramid, with each level representing a different category of need.

Question 14

What are the sections of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

List from the base to the top

Answer 14

1. Physiological Needs
2. Safety and Security Needs
3. Love and Belongingness Needs
4. Esteem Needs
5. Self-Actualization

Question 15

Define

Physiological needs

Answer 15

The most fundamental and essential for survival. These include food, water, shelter, sleep, and other basic bodily requirements. When these needs are unmet, they create a deficiency that strongly motivates behavior to satisfy them.

The lowest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Question 16

Define

Safety and security needs

Answer 16

This includes the need for physical safety, financial security, health, and protection from harm. When people feel threatened or insecure in these areas, they will focus on addressing these deficiencies.

Above physiological needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Question 17

Define

Love and belonging needs

Answer 17

Involve the desire for love, affection, friendship, and a sense of belonging. People seek social connections and relationships, and a lack of these can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Above safety needs are social needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Question 18

Define

Esteem needs

Answer 18

Encompass both self-esteem and the esteem of others. This includes the desire for self-respect, self-confidence, recognition, and respect from others. People strive for accomplishments and recognition to satisfy these needs.

Directly below self-actualization needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Question 19

Define

Self-actualization needs

Answer 19

Represents the need for personal growth, self-fulfillment, and reaching one’s full potential. It involves pursuing creativity, personal development, and meaningful life experiences. Unlike deficiency needs, self-actualization is more about personal growth and fulfillment than addressing deficiencies.

Highest level in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Question 20

Define

Growth need

Answer 20

Enables a person to self-actualize or reach his or her fullest potential as a human being.

Includes self-actualization in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Question 21

Define

Deficiency needs

Answer 21

A person does not feel anything if they are met, but becomes anxious if they are not.

Includes physiological, safety, love and belonging, and esteem needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Question 22

Define

Motivation theory

Answer 22

During the industrial revolution, it was thought all work consisted largely of simple, uninteresting tasks, and that the only viable method to get people to undertake these tasks was to provide incentives and monitor them carefully.

Question 23

Define

Carrot-and-stick approach

Answer 23

In order to get as much productivity out of workers as possible, it was believed that a person must reward the desired behaviour (carrot) and punish the rejected behaviour (stick).

Question 24

Define

Biological drive

Answer 24

A biological drive, also known as a biological need or biological urge, refers to an innate, biologically determined physiological state or condition that prompts an organism to engage in specific behaviors or seek particular experiences to satisfy that need. These drives are essential for the survival and well-being of the organism and are closely linked to the maintenance of homeostasis, which is the body’s ability to maintain internal stability and equilibrium.

Examples include hunger, thirst, and intimacy.

Question 25

Define

Reward-punishment drive

Answer 25

Refers to the influence of rewards and punishments on motivating behavior. It suggests that individuals are motivated to engage in certain actions or behaviors based on the expectation of receiving rewards or avoiding punishments.

Question 26

Define

Reward drive

Answer 26

Often associated with positive reinforcement, this is the motivation to perform a behavior because it leads to a desirable outcome or reward. When individuals expect a pleasurable or beneficial consequence as a result of their actions, they are more likely to engage in those actions. Rewards can take various forms, such as praise, money, food, recognition, or any other positive outcome.

Question 27

Define

Punishment drive

Answer 27

Related to negative reinforcement and positive punishment, this drive is the motivation to avoid or escape undesirable consequences or punishments. When individuals anticipate negative outcomes or punishments for their behavior, they are motivated to avoid those actions or modify their behavior to prevent those consequences. Punishments can include reprimands, fines, loss of privileges, or any other negative outcome.

Question 28

Define

Extrinsic motivation

Answer 28

Motivated to perform an activity to earn a reward or avoid punishment.

Question 29

Define

Intrinsic motivation

Answer 29

Motivated to perform an activity for its own sake and personal rewards.

Question 30

Define

Positive psychology

Answer 30

Combines emotion and intuition with reason and research.

Emphasizes empathetic listening (similar to client-centered therapy).

Rather than analyze the psychopathology underlying alcoholism, for example, positive psychologists might study the resilience of those who have managed a successful recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous.

Question 31

Define

ABCDE Model

Answer 31

When faced with adversity (A)—such as criticism or failure—a person might form the belief (B) that he or she is underperforming or incapable, and consider the consequence (C) of quitting. However, disputation (D) would challenge the underlying assumptions or beliefs that have formed. The person would then form a new belief in his or her capacity to grow from the critique or learn from the failure. From there, the person would become energized (E) as he or she pursues a new performance path.

Adversity, Belief, Consequence, Disputation, Energization

Disputation is defined as a debate or argument.

Question 32

Define

Theory of Flow

Answer 32

Flow is a state of optimal performance.

A flow state can be entered while performing a task or activity for intrinsic purposes.

Three conditions must be met to achieve a flow state:
* Activity must involve a clear set of goals and progress
* Task must have clear and immediate feedback
* Person must have a good balance between the task challenges and their skill level

Question 33

Define

Cognitive psychology

Answer 33

The study of mental processes such as attention, memory, perception, language use, problem solving, creativity, and thinking.

Question 34

Which type of psychology include developmental, cultural, neural, computational, and moral perspectives?

Answer 34

Cognitive psychology

Question 35

What are some areas of study for cognitive psychology?

Answer 35

• Attention
• Memory
• Perception
• Language Use
• Problem Solving
• Metacognition

Question 36

Define

Evolutionary psychology

Answer 36

Seeks to develop and understand ways of expanding the emotional connection between individuals and the natural world.

The main premise of evolutionary psychology is that while today the human mind is shaped by the modern social world, it is adapted to the natural environment in which it evolved.

Evolutionary psychologists sometimes present their approach as potentially unifying, or providing a foundation for, all other work that aims to explain human behaviour.

Question 37

What are the core premises behind evolutionary psychology?

Answer 37

• The brain is an information-processing device, and it produces behaviour in response to external and internal inputs.
• The brain’s adaptive mechanisms were shaped by natural selection.
• Different neural mechanisms are specialized for solving problems in humanity’s evolutionary past.
• The brain has evolved specialized neural mechanisms that were designed for solving problems that recurred over deep evolutionary time, giving modern humans stone-age minds.
• Most contents and processes of the brain are unconscious; and most mental problems that seem easy to solve are actually extremely difficult problems that are solved unconsciously by neural mechanisms.
• Human psychology consists of many specialized mechanisms, each sensitive to different classes of information or inputs. These mechanisms combine to produce manifest behaviour.

Question 38

What did Carl Rogers identify as the five principles of a fully functioning person?

Answer 38

Open, present, trusting, creating, and fulfilled.

Question 39

Which type of psychology relies on subjective factors and utilizes qualitative methods of study?

Answer 39

Humanistic psychology

Question 40

Define

Flow

Answer 40

A state of optimal performance that can be entered when a person is wholeheartedly performing a task or activity for intrinsic purposes.

Question 41

What is the main premise of evolutionary psychology?

Answer 41

While today the human mind is shaped by the modern social world, it is adapted to the natural environment in which it evolved.