Humanistic Approach Flashcards
Assumptions of the Humanistic Approach
- Emphasis is on the study of the whole person (HOLISTIC).
- Humanistic Psychologists look at human behaviour through the eyes of the observer and also through the eyes of the person behaving.
- Personality is studied from the point of view of the individual’s subjective experience (Idiographic).
- Concerns itself with explanations of ‘healthy’ growth in individuals (unlike Freud).
Free Will to the Humanistic Psychologist
Humans are self determining and have free-will. This doesn’t mean that we are not affected by external and internal influences but we are ACTIVE AGENTS who have the ability to determine our own development.
Humanistic Psychologists (Maslow) say we are all unique and psychology should concern itself with the study of subjective experience and not general laws.
- Person-centred approach.
What is Self Actualisation to the Humanistic Psychologist
Each person has an innate tendency to achieve their full potential (to become the best they can possibly be).
- Maslow and Rogers are both Humanistic Theorists, they differ in their belief of how to achieve Self-actualisation.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Definition
Maslow was interested in what motivates people.
- To achieve Self-actualisation, a number of other deficiency needs must be met first.
- A person is only able to progress up the hierarchy once the current need in the sequence has been met.
- Maslow believed that life was a serious of peak experiences (e.g. moments of great achievement).
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: The Stages (characteristics of each stage).
- Self Actualisation - morality, creativity, spontaneity, acceptance, experience purpose, meaning and inner potential.
- Self Esteem - confidence, achievement, respect of others, the need to be a unique individual.
- Love and Belonging - friendship, family, intimacy, sense of connection.
- Safety and Security - health, employment, property, family and social stability.
- Physiological Needs - breathing, food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep.
Carl Rogers: Focus on the self and congruence.
Congruence = A state in which a person’s ideal self and actual self are consistent or very similar.
- For personal growth to be achieve, an individual’s concept of SELF (the way they see themselves) must be broadly equivalent to or have CONGRUENCE with IDEAL SELF (person they want to be).
If a bigger gap exists between the 2 selves, the person will experience a state of INCONGRUENCE; SELF-ACTUALISATION will not be possible due to the negative feelings of self-worth that arise.
Definition: Conditions of Worth
- The conditions we think we must meet in order for other people to accept us as worthy of their love or positive regard.
How to reduce gap between self-concept and ideal self (Incongruence)? - Conditions of Worth.
In order to reduce the gap between self-concept and ideal self, Rogers developed a CLIENT-CENTRED THERAPY to help people cope with the problems of everyday living.
Rogers claimed that many of the issues we experience by lack of unconditional positive regard/love from parents.
- Rogers believed effective therapists could provide clients with the UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD they had failed to receive as children.
The Influence on Counselling Psychology - Rogers’ Client-Centred Therapy
- Client-centred therapy is important form of Psychotherapy.
- Rogers referred to patients as ‘clients’ rather than patients.
- Therapy = non-directive: the client is encouraged towards discovering their own solutions within a therapeutic atmosphere that is warm, supportive and non-judgemental.
- Effective therapist should provide: genuineness, empathy and Unconditional positive regard.
- Aims to increase self-worth, reduce incongruence and helps person fully function.
Contributions of Humanistic Approach: To understanding Human Behaviour
Application: Developed person-centred counselling which was the first therapy to put the client at the heart of the therapeutic process.
Theory: Emphasises on importance of self-determination and free-will.
Methodology: Idiographic = people studied as unique, each with their own subjective experiences, motivations and values.
Strength of Humanistic Approach
P - It portrays a positive image of the human condition.
E - Praised for promoting positive image of the human condition, seeing people as in control of their lives and having freedom to change.
E - This is important because Freud saw humans as ‘slaves to their past’ and presented a negative view of human nature, this has implications for treatment as it assumes the individual has no influence over how they behave.
L - This means the Humanistic Approach has provided a refreshing and optimistic alternative.
Criticism of Humanistic Approach
P - Limitation is that is includes untestable concepts.
E - Includes a number of vague ideas that are abstract and difficult to test. E.g. concepts such as ‘self-actualisation’ and ‘congruence’
E - Although Rogers did attempt to introduce more rigour developing the Q-sort Technique.
L - This means the Humanistic Approach is considered unscientific and humanism lacks empirical evidence to support its assumptions.
Practical Application of Humanistic Approach
P - A strength is its Practical Application of a person centred approach.
E - Rogers work transformed Psychotherapy with the introduction of ‘Client-Centred Therapy’.
E - Furthermore, counselling techniques are practical not only in clinical settings, but through education, health, social work and industry.
L - This means the Humanistic Approach has has a broad application to many setting increasing its value.
