Humanistic Approach Flashcards
What is ‘free-will’ ?
The humanistic approach emphasises that people have full conscious control over their destiny and development
Argues that people are not limited by past experiences or their present circumstances, and can shape their own life
What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
It emphasised the importance of personal grown and fulfilment.
-Basic psychiological needs are at the bottom, with advanced needs at the top
-Each stage must be completed in order to reach the next
What is the order of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? (Top to bottom)
5) Self Actualisation
- achieving full potential
4) Esteem needs
- self-esteem, confidence
3) Love and belongingness needs
- friends, family, intimacy
2) Safety needs
- health, safety, security
1) Physiological needs
- food, water, sleep, sex, breathing etc.
What is Self Actualisation?
(What is felt, what are the characteristics, when is it experienced?)
People who reached ‘self actualisation’ all shared similar characteristics:
-Creativity
-Acceptance of other people
-Accurate perception of the world around them
These people experienced self actualisation in ‘peak experiences’:
-Moments of ecstacy and aspiration
-Allows them to leave doubts and inhibitions behind
What is ‘The Self’?
Refers to how we perceive ourselves
Rogers claimed we have 2 basic needs : Positive Regard and Self-worth
-Self worth develops in childhood as a result of interactions with parents, but is also influenced later by others.
-It is important for our psychological health
The closer our ideal-self and self-concept are, the greater self worth that person has
What is Congruence?
When ideal-self and how a person perceives themself (self-concept) are similar. Higher congruence means higher self-worth
If there is a difference between ideal self and self-concept, the person experiences a state of incongruence
Most people are at least slightly incongruent, however they may use defense mechanisms to reduce the inconsistencies between ideal self and self concept
What are conditions of self worth?
Happens when a person receives conditional positive regard from peers.
Conditions of self worth are when a person believes that certain conditions have to be in place if they are to be accepted by others and have a high self-worth
Individuals will only experience self-acceptance if they meet the conditions that others have set
AO3 +
Holistic Approach
It focusses on individuals experiences as a whole to measure behaviour
-This allows researchers to assess a number of factors that could have caused a behaviour
-High ecological validity as it does not attempt to blame one small factor (reductionist) for a broad behaviour
AO3 +
Application in therapy
Allows patients to acknowledge that they can change the way they are due to free will
- Advantages over psychodynamic approach, which is deterministic and believes that behaviour and mental issues are because of past events which are out of their control - gives patients less opportunity to believe that they can change the way they are
The humanistic approach therefore gives patients a positive outlook, and motivation to improve themselves
AO3 -
Cultural differences in the hierarchy of needs
Humanism may be more accepted by Western cultures
-The hierarchy of needs is based on Western needs
-For example, in China it may nor be relevant. Personal growth is seen as selfish, and considering the groups needs is more important
AO3 -
Untestable and subjective
Lacks empirical evidence
-Therefore can’t systematically measure the processes described
-E.G self-actualisation can’t be objectively measured due to individual differences and lack of a measuring scale for it.
-Congruence also cannot be measured as whether or not someone has reached their ‘ideal-self’ is subjective
