Humanistic approach

Question 1

what are the 4 basic assumptions of the humanistic approach?

Answer 1

-every individual is unique
-free will
-people should be viewed holistically
-the scientific method isn’t appropriate to measure behaviour

Question 2

what is meant by ‘every individual is unique’ as an assumption?

Answer 2

all people are different and should be treated as such, no point trying to generalise
(idiographic)

Question 3

what is meant by ‘people should be viewed holistically’ as an assumption?

Answer 3

-there is no point in trying to look at just one aspect of a person, as things might be missed
-don’t agree with looking at childhood experiences in therapy, as they believe the whole life course is important

Question 4

why do humanists argue that the scientific method isn’t appropriate for measuring human behaviour?

Answer 4

says the scientific method is too objective, but humans have a subjective way of thinking, so it ignores the subjective experience

Question 5

what do humanists have to say about free will?

Answer 5

-unlike most other approaches, humanism argues we have free will over our behaviour
-hard to prove, but proof isn’t important to humanists
-means the legal system is correct in holding people autonomous
-acknowledge that there are constrains on the choices available sometimes, so we can’t always act the way we want

Question 6

what is self-actualisation?

Answer 6

an innate drive to reach your full potential
-rogers and maslow
-measured with the personal orientation inventory (Shostrum)

Question 7

what is the theory of flow?

Answer 7

-developed by Csikszentmihalyi
-‘flow’ is a state when someone is completely caught up in a task/sport/ activity eg running
-seen as increasing personal growth because the person is driven to improve their performance

Question 8

how does attitude relate to self-actualisation?

Answer 8

-an outward positive attitude means self-actualisation is more attainable, as they see things in a better light

Question 9

what is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 9

-a series of stages that lead to self-actualisation
-if all 5 aren’t met a person cannot achieve self-actualisation

Question 10

what are the 5 stages of maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 10

1-physiological needs (food, sleep etc)
2-safety needs (shelter, security etc)
3-belonging and love needs (friends, partner etc)
4-self-esteem needs (status, self-respect etc)
5-self-actualisation needs (realising full potential)

Question 11

research on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Answer 11

-Maslow 1950 - examined personality structure of 60 friends and historical figures that had reached self-actualisation, finding 15 characteristics necessary for self-growth eg autonomy
-Yates 2011 - data from p’s in 150 countries, found the happiest were those who fulfilled various levels

Question 12

what is the focus on the self?

Answer 12

-Roger
-we have three selves that need to integrate to achieve self-actualisation
-a person must be fully functioning to achieve self-actualisation (not something that occurs by chance)

Question 13

what are the three ‘selves’ put forward by roger?

Answer 13

-the self-concept (what you feel you are, similar to self-esteem and affected by it)
-the ideal self (who you wish to be eg ‘i wish i was…’)
-the real self (who you actually are, subjective and difficult to demonstrate, so its problematic as an explanation)

Question 14

what is congruence?

Answer 14

-part of the theory of the self
-necessary for the self-concept and the real self to be the same for self-actualisation (or very similar)
-difficult to achieve
-unconditional positive regard is essential for congruence (someone has to be loved for who they are by someone else)

Question 15

what is the role of conditions of worth?

Answer 15

-conditions of worth = requirements an individual feels they need to meet to be loved (also called conditional positive regard)

Question 16

research on Roger’s focus of the self

Answer 16

-Akrivou 2013 - reviewed research, found evidence that congruence between elements of the self positively correlated with higher psychosocial development
-Flannagan et al 2015 - over time levels of unconditional positive self-regard predicted changes in personal growth and increases well-being in p’s who had trauma

Question 17

what is the influence of counselling psychology?

Answer 17

-rogers client-based therapy
-client-therapist relationship is important to make sure client feels accepted (unconditional positive regard)
-feeling accepted leads to total honesty, helping them realise potential barriers

Question 18

how has humanistic psychology in counselling been used over the years?

Answer 18

-extensive use throughout the 1960’s-70’s
-declined in the 1970’s
-returned in the 1990’s
-decline was due to the establishment of psychology as a science, and humanist approach doesn’t see it as scientifically measurable

Question 19

research on counselling psychology

Answer 19

-elliot 2002 - meta-analysis of 86 studies, found humanistic therapies prompted a significant improvement

Question 20

evaluate the humanistic approach

Answer 20

-argument that everyone’s unique is supported by research that finds differences within a group to be greater than differences between groups
-Hyde 2005 - differences within groups of men vs women were bigger than differences between men and women
-can’t measure scientifically (although humanists don’t see a problem with this)
-subjective experiences are difficult to test, but acknowledges the effect it has on behaviour
-vague concepts
-criticised for being culture-specific, doesn’t relate to collectivist cultures
-allows for personal development and acknowledges we can change due to out environment

Question 21

nature or nurture?

Answer 21

doesn’t see the debate as valid, as it tries to make generalisations to large numbers

Question 22

useful?

Answer 22

practical applications in counselling

Question 23

reductionist or holistic?

Answer 23

holistic
doesn’t believe in reducing behaviour to specific elements

Question 24

deterministic or free-will?

Answer 24

only approach to fully advocate free-will, choosing our own path

Question 25

scientific?

Answer 25

no
doesn’t believe you can measure behaviour scientifically

Question 26

idiographic or nomothetic?

Answer 26

idiographic
sees no merit in trying to generalise behaviour

Question 27

extrapolation?

Answer 27

no
doesn’t believe in measuring scientifically