approaches - the humanistic approach Flashcards
key term - free will
the notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour and thoughts are not determined by internal or external forces
how is free will important to humanistic psychology?
the approach claims that humans are essentially self-determining and have free will
what approach do humanistic psychologists take?
reject scientific models for establishing general laws
take a person-centred approach by focusing on the subjective experience
key term - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
a five-levelled hierarchal sequence in which basic psychological needs must be satisfied before higher psychological needs can be achieved
how does Maslow’s hierarchy of needs work?
the four ‘deficiency needs’ need to be met before self-actualisation (‘growth need’) can be achieved
what is the order of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
psychological needs (bottom)
safety and security
love and belongingness
self-esteem
self-actualisation (top)
key term - self-actualisation
the desire to grow psychologically and fulfil one’s full potential
how is self-actualisation important to humanistic psychology
humanistic psychologists view personal growth as an essential part of what it is to be human
it is the upper-most level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
key term - congruence
the aim of Rogerian therapy, when the self-concept and ideal self are seen to broadly match
key term - conditions of worth
when a parent placed limits on their love of their children
what did Rogers believe was necessary for self-actualisation?
congruence between their concept of self and their ideal self
if the gap is too big, the individual experiences incongruence and self-actualisation isn’t possible
what did Rogers claim was the cause of issues such as low self-esteem
lack of unconditional positive regard from parents as they set conditions of worth for the child, which creates psychological problems in the future
what does Rogers’ client-centred therapy involve?
aims for the individual to achieve congruence so they can self-actualise
Rogers views it as his role to provide the client with unconditional positive regard
strength - not reductionist
rejects attempts to break up behaviour and experience into smaller concepts
advocated holism as subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person
limitation - less scientific
reductionist approaches are often more scientific as they use experiments that reduce behaviour to independent and dependent variables
concepts in humanistic psychology can’t be broken down to single variables and measured
strength - optimistic
promotes positive image of the human condition as it views people as free to work towards achievement of their potential and in control of their lives
in contrast, Freud saw human beings as prisoners of their past
limitation - cultural bias
central ideas are more associated with individualist cultures (e.g self-actualisation)
collectivist cultures emphasise the needs of the group rather than the needs of the self so ideas such as self-actualisation may be viewed as self-indulgent
