Approaches: Humanistic

Question 1

what are the assumptions of the humanistic approach?

Answer 1

• that each individual is unique
• that humans have free will
• that science should not be used to explain behaviour
• that humans should be viewed holistically and not reduced to their parts

Question 2

what did carl roger identify as the three selves

Answer 2

ideal self= self you wish you were
real self= self you actually are
self concept= self you feel you are (affected by self esteem)

Question 3

What is free will?

Answer 3

Free will assumes that humans can make choices that are not determined by biological or external factors.
(It is in direct opposition to the behaviourist and the biological approaches which see behaviour as a response to either internal biological processes or to external conditioning by the environment)

Question 4

What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 4

Maslow (one of the founders of the humanistic approach) described a hierarchy of needs that motivated people.
In order to achieve self-actualisation a number of deficiency needs have to be met.
At the bottom of the diagram are psychological needs (eg. food water) then safety needs (eg. security), love and belonging(eg. friends and love) , esteem needs(eg. positive self image), self actualisation.

mnemoic: please seek love even socially

Question 5

what did carl rogers argue?

Answer 5

He argued that for personal growth to be achieved an individuals concept of self concept (the way they see themselves) must have congruence with their ideal self(the person they want to be)
to help achieve congurence we need unconditional positive regard

Question 6

what is unconditional positive regard

Answer 6

the total acceptance from another person, loving someone without requirements needed to be met.

Question 7

what is conditions of worth

Answer 7

requirements an individual believes they must need to be loved. ( this conditional positive regard may be real or imagined. This can prevents self actualisation)

Question 8

what happens if the gap between someones real self and ideal self is too big?
how do you reduce the gap?

Answer 8

• The person will experience a state of incongurence and self actualisation will not be possible due to the negative feeling of self worth.
• To reduce this gap Rogers developed a client-central therapy to help ppl cope with everyday problems.
• Rogers believed many of the issues we face in adulthood such as low self esteem comes from out childhood and is explained as unconditional positive regard (aka lack of love) from parents.
  A parent who sets limits of love from their child (conditions of love) is storing psychological problems for the future.
  In the therapy rodgers provides his clients with unconditional love, the love they didnt recieve in childhood.

Question 9

what is client centralised therapy? (counselling)

Answer 9

1. provides uncodnitonal positive regard (the counsellor makes them feel safe to share their feeling)
2. provides empathy (counsellor shows them theyve understood their emotions and difficulties)
3. promotes congurence ( counsellor would say that they have potenial to become more like their ideal self )
4. promotes free will ( the counsellor avoid giving direct instruction because they want them to show free will)

Question 10

what did elliot (2002) find on humanistic therapy?

Answer 10

• studied 86 meta-analysis (secondary data) and found that the humanistic therapy (e.g. client centred therapy) promotes significant improvement in clients compared to those not receiving treatment. The successful out come of the therapy was influenced from concepts in the humanistic approach.

Question 11

what is self actualisation?

Answer 11

the desire to grow psychologically and fulfils one full potenial.

Question 12

what is congurence?

Answer 12

when your self concept and ideal self are the same

Question 13

Evaluate the Humanistic Approach

Answer 13

1. Not Reductionist
   Point: The humanistic approach rejects reductionism by considering the whole person.
   Evidence: Unlike behaviourists (who break behaviour into stimulus-response), humanists focus on subjective experiences of the individual as a whole.
   Explain: This makes the approach more valid as it considers human behaviour within its real-world context.
   Link: Therefore, it provides a holistic understanding of behaviour.

Counterpoint: Reductionist approaches (e.g., behaviourism) are more scientific because they isolate variables and measure behaviour in controlled experiments.

2. Positive Approach
   Point: The humanistic approach is praised for its optimistic view of human nature.
   Evidence: Humanists see humans as having free will and the ability to achieve personal growth.
   Explain: This promotes a positive image of humans as capable of overcoming past difficulties.
   Link: Therefore, humanistic psychology offers a refreshing alternative to more deterministic approaches.
3. Cultural Bias
   Point: The humanistic approach may be culturally biased.
   Evidence: It focuses on individualism and personal growth, which are more relevant in Western cultures.
   Explain: In collectivist cultures, where community and interdependence are emphasized, the humanistic approach may lack relevance.
   Link: This limits the generalizability of the approach across different cultural contexts.