Humanistic approach Flashcards
What is the humanistic approach?
Understanding behaviour that emphasises the importance of subjective experience and each person’s capacity for self-determination
Who are the key humanistic psychologists in this approach?
Rogers and Maslow
Give an assumption of the humanistic approach
That people are still affected by external and internal influences, but are active agents who determine their own development
The humanistic approach is often referred to as a what?
A person-centred approach
Give the order of Maslow’s heirarchy of needs, from bottom to top
physiological needs, safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem and self-actualisation
What was Maslow’s main interest?
What motivated people and our innate drive for wanting to achieve our full potential and become the best we can be
What did Karl Rogers argue?
That personal growth requires an individual’s concept of self (the way they see themselves) to be congruent (in agreement/harmony) with their ideal self (the person they want to be)
What does incongruence mean?
When there is a large gap between your actual self and your ideal self
Maslow characterised life as a series of what?
Peak experiences - moments of great achievement, ecstasy or elation when all deficiency needs are satisfied
Roger’s client-centred therapy is an important form of what?
Modern-day psychotherapy, which has led to things like helplines
What is the aim of Rogerian therapy?
To increase the person’s feelings of self-worth, reduce the level of incongruence between the self-concept and the ideal self, and help the person become a more fully functioning person
Give 2 strengths of the humanistic approach
- Positive/ optimistic approach - been praised for bringing the person back into psychology and promoting a positive image on the human condition
- Not reductionist - rejects breaking up behaviour and experiences into smaller components (reductionism). In contrast, they advocate holism, the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person
Give 2 weaknesses of the humanistic approach
- Short on empirical evidence - reductionism approaches are more scientific. There are relatively few concepts that can be broken down to single variables and measured
- Cultural bias - ideas that are central to humanistic psychology (individual freedom, autonomy, personal growth) would be more associated with countries that have more individualistic tendencies (eg USA)
