humanistic approach

Question 1

What does the humanistic approach focus on?

Answer 1

-conscious experience, rather than on behaviour
- personal responsibility and free will, rather than on determinism
-discussion of experience, rather than on use of the experimental method
-striving towards personal growth and fulfilment

Question 2

What are the key assumptions of the humanistic approach?

Answer 2

Every individual is unique and should be treated as such

Humans have free will

people should be viewed holistically

the scientific method is not an appropriate measure of behaviour

Question 3

develop on the key assumption : every individual is unique and should be treated as such

Answer 3

• generalising findings to groups of people fails to recognise the vast number of differences within each group

Question 4

develop on the key assumption: humans have free will

Answer 4

-‘free will’ means we have choice and are in control of our own behaviour, in therms of how we develop and progress through life
- there are no social rules and biological influences that restrict the extent to which we act on our free will- humanists recognise that we are able to make significant personal choices within these constraints.

Question 5

develop the assumption: people should be viewed holistically

Answer 5

• by looking at just one aspect of an individual, much of what might be affecting them could be missed
• e.g we should not simply focus on childhood in therapy - the whole life course should be considered , so factors are not overlooked

Question 6

develop the assumption: the scientific method is not an appropriate measure of behaviour

Answer 6

• humanistic psychology does not describe itself as scientific
  -it argues that the scientific method tries to be too objective and yet humans are subjective beings in the way that they think and behave , therfore the subjective experience of the individual should be recognised

Question 7

What is the definition of free will?

Answer 7

we can decide and choose our course of action

Question 8

What is self- actualisation

Answer 8

achieving one’s full potential

Question 9

What happens when someone achieves self- actualisation?

Answer 9

• when self-actualisation is achieved , it can be described as the ultimate feeling of well-being, satisfaction and ‘completeness’
• the feelign is described as ecstasy, peak experience, religious or spiritual experience

Question 10

What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

Answer 10

Maslow considered that self-actualisation could be achieved in a series of stages called the hierarchy of needs 1) physiological 2) safety 3) love/belonging 4) esteem 5) self-actualisation

Question 11

What is Carl Rogers theory?

Answer 11

Focus on the self. He believes we have three selves which need to integrate to achieve self - actualisation

Question 12

What are the two main selves of the Focus on the self theory:

Answer 12

the self concept/ perceived self : the self you feel you are (affected by self-esteem (low self- esteem leads to poor self-concept)
the ideal self: the self you wish to be

Question 13

What is congruence?

Answer 13

congruence is necessary to achieve self-actualisation: it is where the ideal self and self-concept are the same or very similar

Question 14

What is an important part of achieving congruence?

Answer 14

unconditional positive regard whereby an individual has to be loved for who they are and accepted without proviso by someone else

Question 15

What is conditions of worth?

Answer 15

Rogers- when an indiviual experiences conditional positive regard from significant others (e.g paretns or a spouse)
- these are the requirements that the individual feels they need to meet to be loved and accepted
- these can be either real or perceived

Question 16

What influence on counselling psychology di Carl roger develop

Answer 16

client - centred therapy. where the therapist should treat the client as an individual
the therapist should take a holistic approach e.g not focusing purely childhood influecnes, but all aspects of their life
clients should feel comfortable and accepted to ensure feelings od unconditional positive regared - leads to honest and eventual congruence
therapists should act in a non-directive way

Question 17

Strength of the humanistic approach

Answer 17

Maslows hierarchy is linked to ecnomic development

there is research support for the role of conditions of worth in mental well-being

Question 17

limitations of the humanistic apporach

Answer 17

the ideas are hard to test scientifically and support with empirical evidence

cultural differences exist in the hierarchy of needs

the humanistic approach is overly idealised

Question 18

PEC:There is research support for the role of conditions of worth in mental well-being.

Answer 18

Harter et al. (1996) discovered that teenagers who feel that they have to fulfil certain conditions in order to gain their parents’ approval frequently end up not liking themselves.
- Adolescents who create a ‘false self’, pretending to be the kind of person his or her parents would love, were also found to be more likely to develop depression and a tendency to lose touch with their own true self.
This has implications for parents and significant others to show unconditional positive regard, which can help the process of self-actualisation

Question 18

PEC: The humanistic approach is overly idealised.

Answer 18

Critics argue that people are not as inherently good and ‘growth-oriented’ as humanistic theorists suggest and that the approach does not recognise people’s capacity for pessimism and self-destructive behaviour.

The view that personality development is directed only by an innate potential for growth is seen as an oversimplification, as is the assumption that all problems arise from blocked self-actualisation.Encouraging people to focus on their own self-development rather than on situational forces may be neither realistic nor appropriate in modern society