Approaches: Humanistic Approach Flashcards
What are the main points of summary of the humanistic approach
• it’s a person centred approach
• claims we are self-determining and have free will (deterministic)
• We are affected by nature and nurture but we can determine our own development
• Reject scientific models that attempt to establish human behaviours of human behaviour and are concerned with the study of subjective experiences
What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
In order to achieve our primary goal of self actualisation, a number of other deficiencies needs to be met first
What are the levels of maslow’s hierarchy of needs
• Physiological needs (air, water, food, shelter, sleep, clothing, reproduction)
• safety needs (personal security, employment resources, health, property)
• love and belonging (friendship, intimacy, family, sense of connection)
• esteem (respect, self-esteem, status, recognition, strengths, freedom)
• self actualisation (desire to be the most one can be)
What is self actualisation & personal growth
• Innate desire to achieve full potential
• Self actualisation level is a growth need while other levels are deficiency needs
• Humanistic psychologists say personal growth is essential for being human
• personal growth is developing and changing to be fulfilled, satisfied and goal oriented
What did roger argue regarding personal growth
For personal growth to be achieved, the individual’s self concept must be broadly equivalent to (have congruence with) their ideal self
If the gap between the 2 selves is too big the person experiences a state of incongruence and self actualisation will be impossible due to negative self worth
What did rogers develop to reduce the gap between self concept and ideal self
client centred therapy
Help with low self esteem and worthlessness which can be rooted from childhood
• known as lack of unconditional positive regard (unconditional love)
• parents who set limits of their love (conditions of worth) will create psychological issues for the child in the future
• a good therapist gives clients UPR
• during therapy client is encouraged to discovering own solutions in a therapeutic non judgemental atmosphere
What does congruence mean
To be fairly similar to something
Making the self concept equivalent to the ideal self
What is a strength of the humanistic approach
P: rejects reductionism - attempt to break up behaviours & experiences into smaller components
E: behaviourists explain learning in terms of simple stimulus- response connections. Supporters of the cognitive approach see humans an information processing machines. Biological psychologists reduce behaviours to its basic psychological processes and Freud describes personality as 3 types
E: humanistic psychology holism where we can understand people by considering the whole person- so it might have more validity in real world context
Provide a strength of the humanistic approach
praised for being optimistic as it promotes a positive image of The human condition. Freud saw us as prisoners of our past. But humanistic psychology sees us as good and free to work to achieving potential
What is a limitation of the humanistic approach
It suffers from cultural bias. Individual freedom, autonomy and personal growth are more associated with countries that have more individualistic tendencies whereas collectivist tendencies emphasise interdependence and the needs of the group
