humanistic Flashcards
What must be included in the humanistic approach- SPECIFICATION?
- free will
- self-actualisation
- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
- focus on the self
- congruence
- the role of conditions of worth
- influence on counselling Psychology.
Outline the humanistic approach.
- rejected other approaches, believing that they failed to account for subjective experiences, feelings and thoughts of each unique person by creating general theories
- rejected scientific study of the mind, believing in holism; all individuals should be studied as a whole (not parts).
- idiographic approach, believing each individual innately strives for their full potential and personal growth in self-actualisation
- IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE SELF-ACTUALISATION, YOU MUST PROGRESS UP Maslow’s 5-LEVELLED hierarchy of needs and motivations IN WHICH ALL BASIC PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS MUST BE SATISFIED BEFORE HIGHER PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS AND SELF-ACTUALISATION CAN BE ACHIEVED.
- basic physiological needs at the bottom (food, water, shelter, sleep) then safety/security needs (job) and health), then need for love and belonging and next, the need for esteem, both self-esteem and respect from others.
- If all prior needs are met, self-actualisation can be reached, including creativity and acceptance of the world as it is.
- He characterised self-actualisation as a series of peak experiences of elation and ecstasy when all deficiency needs are satisfied.
ROGERS’ BELIEVED THAT THERE ARE ‘2 SELVES’; THE PERCEIVED AND THE IDEAL SELF. - focused on the concept of the self and self-acceptance.
- CONGRUENCE IS THE CONSISTENCY BETWEEN THE PERCEIVED SELF-CONCEPT (HOW YOU SEE YOURSELF) AND IDEAL SELF (THE SELF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE).
- If there is a large gap between the 2 selves, the person experiences incongruence and will not achieve self-actualisation due to negative feelings of self-worth.
- CHILDHOOD HAS A LARGE IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-ESTEEM.
- If a child receives unconditional positive regard (love) they will develop into a healthy adult and reach self-actualisation
- However, if the parent sets up conditions of worth that limit their love, the child will become incongruent.
- Rogers applied this to therapy to provide the patient with unconditional positive regard that they failed to receive as children.
- IN CLIENT-CENTRED THERAPY, THE CLIENT IS AT THE CENTRE OF SOLVING THEIR OWN PROBLEMS, HELPING THEM DEVELOP HIGHER SELF-ESTEEM AND REDUCE THE GAP BETWEEN THE 2 selves
- FREE WILL MEANS PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO DETERMINE THEIR OWN ACTIONS AND BE AUTONOMOUS.
Evaluate the humanistic approach.
+ praised for ‘bringing the person back into psychology’.
+ positive view of humans, optimistically suggesting that we are able to change/determine our own development.
- However, this may simply be untrue and idealistic, ignoring the innate biological influence of genes on behavioural development.
+ not reductionist like the other approaches, so behaviour is not analysed in simple components eg. biological psychologists reduce behaviour to basic physiological processes, behaviourists view behaviour as environmentally determined by S-R links and cognitive psychologists see humans as simply information-processing ‘machines’.
+ In stark contrast, humanistic psychologists put forward a holistic view of behaviour, that subjective experience is only understood by considering the whole person.
+ gives the approach more validity as it considers behaviour in real-life context and sensitively considers all aspects of human nature (not reductionist)
+ positive real-world applications to client-centred therapy like self-esteem counselling in the workplace, reducing absenteeism due to ‘mild’ psychological anxiety. This may benefit the economy as less sick-pay is provided.
- Vague and abstract ideas of ‘self-actualisation’ and ‘congruence’ are not operationalised and difficult to test and falsify under experimental conditions.
- Rogers attempted to measure therapeutic progress objectively using the Q-sort test but, as humanistic psychologists dispute the validity of nomothetic research, it relies on biased qualitative techniques which has been criticised for rejecting scientific credibility. Thus, providing empirical, objective support for these abstract ideas is impossible.
- culturally relative as self-actualisation is a Westernised, individualist concept valuing independence and personal growth. This may not be applicable to collectivist cultures, where the individual is less important than the interdependent social group. Therefore, self-actualisation may be viewed negatively in such cultures-we should not judge others on our Western standards.
Positives of the humanistic approach?
+ praised for ‘bringing the person back into psychology’.
+ positive view of humans, optimistically suggesting that we are able to change/determine our own development.
- However, this may simply be untrue and idealistic, ignoring the innate biological influence of genes on behavioural development.
+ not reductionist like the other approaches, so behaviour is not analysed in simple components eg. biological psychologists reduce behaviour to basic physiological processes, behaviourists view behaviour as environmentally determined by S-R links and cognitive psychologists see humans as simply information-processing ‘machines’.
+ In stark contrast, humanistic psychologists put forward a holistic view of behaviour, that subjective experience is only understood by considering the whole person.
+ gives the approach more validity as it considers behaviour in real-life context and sensitively considers all aspects of human nature (not reductionist)
+ positive real-world applications to client-centred therapy like self-esteem counselling in the workplace, reducing absenteeism due to ‘mild’ psychological anxiety. This may benefit the economy as less sick-pay is provided.
Negatives of the humanistic approach?
- Vague and abstract ideas of ‘self-actualisation’ and ‘congruence’ are not operationalised and difficult to test and falsify under experimental conditions.
- Rogers attempted to measure therapeutic progress objectively using the Q-sort test but, as humanistic psychologists dispute the validity of nomothetic research, it relies on biased qualitative techniques which has been criticised for rejecting scientific credibility. Thus, providing empirical, objective support for these abstract ideas is impossible.
- culturally relative as self-actualisation is a Westernised, individualist concept valuing independence and personal growth. This may not be applicable to collectivist cultures, where the individual is less important than the interdependent social group. Therefore, self-actualisation may be viewed negatively in such cultures-we should not judge others on our Western standards.
