4.3 Humanistic + Existential Approaches Flashcards
rogers
the self + experience
existentialism
father: kierkegaard (19th cent philosopher)
* emphasises freedom of choice
* primacy of subjectivity
* reason cannot explain everything,science cannot explain what it is to be human
phenomenology
fathers: husserl + heidegger
* focus on human experience: nature of consciousness
* phenomena of human experienc
shared assumptions
- process that is more than sum of parts, SHOULDN’T BE DIVIDED
- cannot be discovered scientifically - against biological reductionism
- only discovered through experience
- individuals free, self-determining agent
- search for meaning is absurd - death is inevitable
KEY CONCEPTS: EXISTENTIALISM
- personal growth
- personal experience
- now + here
- personal responsibility
- people can be good or bad
KEY CONCEPTS: HUMANISM
- personal growth
- personal experience
- now + here
- personal responsibility
- inherent goodness of humans
existentialist ‘self’
self is response toexistence - full of challenges, musg be embraced to be worth living
- can choose how we respond to life (free will) - choices good or bad, NOT hostage to past conflicts/situational constraints
mental illness in existentialism
rejects medical model
- arises from incongruence - disharmony, discrepancy between one’s EXPERIENCES and SELF-CONCEPT leads to anxiety
- existential guilt + anxiety
HUMANISM + MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS (start at bottom then to top_
basic: physiological (food, water, rest), safety (security)
psychological: belongingness + love (intimate relationships, friends), esteem (prestige, feeling accomplishment)
self-fulfilment: self-actualisation(achieving one’s full potential)
KEY DIFFERENCES BTWN EXISTENTIALISM + HUMANISM
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY:
* ex: make good choices, search for meaning
* hum: active role shaping, autonomy, pursuit personal goals
PPL GOOD/BAD
* ex: ppl are who they are cos of choices made
* hum: innate capacity for growth, compassion, OPTIMISTIC view
EX + HUM CONTRIBUTIONS
- first HOLISTIC personality + psychological theories
- capitalise on free will, personal responsibility, CHOICE (rather than biological systems + subconscious functioning)
- rise to POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
- person-centred therapy, humanitarian interventions, treatment of substance + relation problems
CRITICISM
- posits society as bad, ppl as good
- too much reliance on individual self-reported conscious experience + introspection - subjectivity
- methodology vauge, unscientific, untestable
- function best as llife guides
