humanistic approach Flashcards
give 2 pieces of background history behind the humanistic approach
developed in the 1950’s as a response to psychodynamic and behavioural approaches
therefore it is regarded as a third force in psychology
give 4 key assumptions humanistic psychologists make
- humans each have their own unique way of perceiving and understanding the world so they can’t be compared to each other
- they have the priority of understanding peoples subjectivity and reject the objective scientific method
- endorse the idea people have free will and capable of choosing their own actions (though they may not realise this)
- take the view that everyone has a tendency towards growth and fulfilment of their potential (research focuses on how people can be helped to fulfil their potential and live a content life)
briefly explain Rogers’ explanation of behaviours from his humanistic approach
believed people could only fulfil their potential for growth if they had a positive self regard which can only happen if they had an unconditional positive regard of others.
he believed the problem many have is they don’t perceive positive regard of others as being unconditional because they think they’ll only be loved and valued if they meed certain conditions of worth (e.g. passing lots of exams).
these conditions of worth create incongruity within the real self and the ideal self, so they try to close the gap between the 2 self’s in unhelpful ways through defence mechanisms that won’t actually make them content or by distorting their view of themselves or the world
congruence
a healthy sense of wellbeing is established if an individual maintains a reasonable consistency between ideal self and actual behaviour
incongruence
when there’s a greater gap between ideal and actual self
- can lead to low self worth and maladjustment
real self (Rogers)
how the person actually is
ideal self (Rogers)
how they think they should be
briefly explain Maslow’s view of human needs as part of his humanistic approach to explain behaviour
acknowledged people have a variety of needs that differ in immediacy and need satisfying at different times.
he arranged these in a hierarchy in which the more basic needs take precedence over those higher up (so you couldn’t move up the hierarchy before satisfying needs below)
he believed those who satisfied all their needs might become self-actualisers
he thought if for prolonged periods a particular need wasn’t satisfied it could result in a fixation.
self-actualisers (Maslow)
rare and remarkable people who fulfil their potential completely
state the arrangement of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs from bottom ti top of the hierarchy
physiologial needs, safety needs, love/belongingness needs, esteem needs, self-actualisation
briefly explain research methods favoured by humanistic psychologists
favour research methods which allow them to understand peoples subjectivity (therefore dislike non-participant observations)
prefer qualitative methods as they believe people can’t be reduced down to a number:
- Particularly like unstructured interviews and participant observations (allows access to personal views and opinions)
- also use secondary data of diaries and letters that shows insight into how they understand the world
give one strength of the humanistic approach
it is optimistic.
- promotes a positive image of the human condition, sees everyone as free to work towards achievement of their potential and in control of their own lives
- suggests this approach offers a refreshing and optimistic alternative to other approaches
give one limitation of the humanistic approach
may be culturally biased.
- main ideas of this approach associated with countries with individualist tendencies (e.g. ideas of freedom and personal growth)
- countries with collectivist tendencies emphasise more on the needs of group and interdependence and less on the ideals of this approach (e.g. self-actualisation)
- therefore this approach possibly doesn’t apply universally and is a product of cultural context within which it was developed
3 key debates of humanistic approach
in the nature-nurture debate they favour nurture, because of the influence of experiences on a person’s way of perceiving and understanding the world.
ideographic approach to psychology due to their belief in the uniqueness of each individual
holisitic approach to psychology (rather than reductionist), because they believe human experience must be engaged with and don’t attempt to break down behaviour into a more fundamental process
humanistic psychology led to the development of counselling as a form of therapy. briefly explain client centred therapy
aims to allow personal growth by providing unconditional positive regard (client is accepted for who they are without judgement)
