Approaches:Humanistic Approach

Question 1

What are the 4 key assumptions of the humanistic approach?

Answer 1

-every individual is unique so generalisations shouldn’t be made
-everyone has free will to determine behaviour
-people should be viewed holistically
-scientific methods shouldn’t be used to study behaviour

Question 2

What is meant by Self Actualisation?

make 2 more points about it

Answer 2

the drive all individuals have to reach their full potential
-if achieved we experience the ultimate feeling of satisfaction
-Roger and Maslow believe we all achieve this in our own unique way

Question 3

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need:
how is self actualisation achieved?
(2 points)

What are the 5 stages in the hierarchy in order?

Answer 3

can be achieved by meeting all our needs in stages
individuals must satisfy each level to achieve self actualisation

1.Self actualisation
2.Self esteem
3.Belonging and love
4.Safety
5.Physiological needs

Question 4

Rogers focus on the self:
Name and describe the 3 selves that Roger stated we have
What do we need to do with them in order to self actualise?

Answer 4

1.self concept-way we see ourselves
2.ideal self-way we wish to be
3.real self-way we actually are

we must integrate these to self actualise

Question 5

Rogers focus on the self:
What is meant by congruence?
make 3 points

Answer 5

when the self concept and ideal self are the same/similar

we need to be congruent to self actualise
important part of achieving congruence is unconditional positive regard

Question 6

What is meant by unconditional positive regard?

What are conditions of worth?

Answer 6

when a person is loved for who they are

the requirements we feel we need to meet in order to be loved/feel worthy
these are often boundaries set by our parents

Question 7

What has humanistic psychology led to the development of?

Describe this(3 points)

Answer 7

councelling

-the client to therapist relationship is important
-it encourages unconditional positive regard
-allows client to be honest and reveal the barriers to becoming congruent

Question 8

What are the 2 strengths of the humanistic approach?

Answer 8

+less deterministic than the PD approach
it allows for personal development as considers a persons free will to change and determine their behaviour

+prac apps
led to development of councelling
(Elliott 2002) did a meta analysis of 86 studies and found that humanistic therapy is more effective than no treatment
-this adds validity and external validity to the approach as an explanation

Question 9

What are the 3 weaknesses of the approach?

Answer 9

-ideas can’t be scientifically tested
the approach believes that its inappropriate to study humans scientifically and make generalisations meaning there is a lack of objective evidence to support the approach

-subjective
experiences of the individual are hard to measure which further adds to the lack of scientific evidence support

-culturally bound theory
only explains behaviour in individualistic cultures where the focus is on the self
means it has limited explanatory power in collectivist cultures where the focus isn’t on the self