Humanistic approach Flashcards
What is the focus of the humanistic approach
- focuses on person as a whole
- believes that all people are inherently good and they’re drive to achieve their full potential
- takes into account feelings of the individual. Treats every person as being unique
- assumes that a person’s behaviour is caused by their subjective feelings and their thoughts about themselves (their self concepts), especially about how they can become better people
- disagrees with the deterministic ideas. Instead it believes human behaviour is determined by free will- people can choose how to behave and their behaviour isn’t caused by external or biological factors
How does humanistic psychology suggest we use our free will
- humanistic psychology suggests that people are motivated to use their free will to allow them to reach their fullest potential
- people can be motivated by lots of things- some needs are shared by others are individual
What is the concept behind the hierachy of needs
- Maslow (1943) came up with a ‘need theory’ of motivation- he devised a hierachy to show how human needs can be categorised and prioritised
- he believed we spend our lives trying to reach the top of the hierachy. If lower needs are met, you can’t attempt to rsatisfy your higher needs
- however humanistic psychology is a westernised concept- encourages individual growth
- humanistic psychology assumes everyone has the ability to self actualised but this may be limited to the most well educated people
Explain the hierachy of needs from bottom to top
1) physiological needs related to survival- at this level you soruce basic needs e.g. water
2) need for safety- at this level you strive to feel safe
3) need for love and belonging- at this level you consider affection, acceptance and belonging important
4) need for esteem- at this level you’re focused on achievement and gaining respect
5) self actualisation- at this level you’ve realise your fullest potential
According to Maslow, once people have achieved all their previous needs, they are ready for self actualisation. What characteristics do a self actualised person shoq
- a strong sense of self awareness
- fully accepting view of themselves and others for who they are
- the ability to deal with uncertainty and the unknown
- strong sense of creativity
How can self actualisation be masured
- measured with ‘peak experiences’
- These are times where the person feels wonder to the world around them
- after this, people feel inspired and have a renewed sense of self awareness
Evaluation of the hierachy of needs
- little evidence or research to support it
- Maslow supported his hierachy with biological evidence of famours ‘self actualisers’. But the theory doesn’t explain why some people with the characteristics of a self actualised person deprive themselves of basic needs
Aronoff (1967)- tested whether the higher levels of the hierachy are only satisfied once the lower levels have been satisfied- briefly explain
- Aronoff compared people in 2 jobs in the British West Indies. Cane cutters got paid according to how much cane was cut by the whole group. They had job security but wages were low
- fisherman worked alone doing challenging work. They were less secure but had higher pay
- more cane cutters were at the lower levels of the hierachy, still trying to achieve safety and security
- the men who had satisfied lower levels chose to become fisherman to develop hgih self esteem
What did Carl Rogers believe
- believed all people try to achieve self actualisation
- all people are inherently good and they’re motivated to achieve their fullest potential
- Rogers didn’t believe the route to self actualisation was as strict
- Rogers thought that people move towards self actualisation depending on their own thoughts about themselves and the way they’re treated by others
- develop in a psychologically healthy way if your path to self actualisation is not blocked
- blocked paths can lead to psychological problems
- everyone has a need to be regarded by others and show love, attention and respect. Important to children who want to seek approval from their parents
What are the two parts of the self decribed by Rogers
- Rogers outlined the differences between how someone sees themselves and how they would like to be
- he suggested their self concept is created and develops in a way which depends on whether they receive UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD or whether CONDITIONS OF WORTH are set for them
Two parts of the self by Rogers- unconditional positive regard
- where the person gets affection and support no matter what their behaviour is like
- we need unconditional positibe regard to have a positive self concept
- if they have unconditional positive regard and then recieve love and acceptance for their behaviour, they will experience congruence and become a fully functioning person
Two parts of the self by Rogers- conditions of worth
- where approval and affection is given as a result of behaving in a certain way
- Rogers believed that this could stop them from reaching self actualisation
- this is because the person may focus on keeping other people happy rather than developing their own personality
- if they are set conditions of worth then their ideal self becomes somethine different to the self concept, the person will experience incongruence
How did Roger’s develop his ideas into a form of therapy
- he believed that many people’s psychological problems were caused by incongruence. His therapy was to remove incongruence
- client centred therapy
Explain Roger’s therapy
- fouses on client. They’re in charge of what’s talked about- its their responsibility to eventually solve their own problems
- therapist’s job is to make the client aware of their thoughts, actions and behaviours- do this by rephrasing the question and repeating it back
- unconditional positive regard, genuiness and empathy are important in person centred therapy. The therapist is supportive so the client will value themselves
Research support for Roger’s therapy- Gibbard and Hanley (2008)
- studied the impact of person centred therapy on a group of pateints suffering from common mental health disorders
- studies 700 people over 5 years
- questionnaire used to measure the extent of their condition before and after therapy
- nearly 70% of the pps showed a significant improvement in their mental health
