Humanistic Approach

Question 1

What are the assumptions of humanistic psychology?

Answer 1

1) emphasises the importance of subjective experience as humans are self-determining and have free will
2) humans are all striving towards self-actualisation

Question 2

What is free will?

Answer 2

Notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by internal biological or external forces

Question 3

What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 3

1) a series of stages based on having certain types of needs fulfilled where personal growth is the central idea
2) we should be changing and developing in order to fully realise our potential
3) all lower needs must be met in order to progress to the next level and reach self-actualisation
4) self-actualisation is a feeling of extreme satisfaction and achieving one’s full potential

Question 4

What are the main needs in Maslow’s hierarchy?

Answer 4

1) physiological needs (bottom)
2) safety needs
3) belongingness/love needs
4) esteem needs
5) self-actualisation

Question 5

What did Carl Rogers argue?

Answer 5

1) Personal growth can only be achieved it an individual has congruence
2) congruence is when the self-concept and ideal self are seen to broadly accord or be the same

Question 6

What is ‘focussing on the self’?

Answer 6

1) How we regard ourselves as individual
2) the self is ideas and values that characterise ‘I’ and ‘we’

Question 7

What role do ‘conditions of worth’ play in our psychological health?

Answer 7

1) conditions an individual thinks they have to meet in order to be loved and valued/when a parent sets boundaries for their love
2) many problems of low self worth arise from others giving conditional instead of unconditional love

Question 8

What is the influence on counselling psychology?

Answer 8

1) client-centred therapy has been developed from ideas of the approach
2) relationship between client and therapist is central to nature of therapy
3) therapist responds to client with total acceptance, genuineness, and empathy, and unconditional positive regard
3) aims to improve congruence

Question 9

What are the strengths of humanistic psychology?

Answer 9

1) not reductionist as it advocates holism and rejects any attempt to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components meaning it has more validity
2) positive approach and is praised for ‘bringing the person back into psychology’, sees all people as good, free to work towards achievement of potential and in control of their lives
3) Rogerian therapy revolutionised counselling techniques and Maslow’s hierarchy has been used to explain motivation

Question 10

What are the limitations of humanistic psychology?

Answer 10

1) it has a limited impact within the discipline of psychology as a whole
2) lack of empirical evidence as it includes a number of vague ideas that ate abstract and difficult to test
3) culturally bias as some cultures may not identify so easily with ideas and values (eg. self-actualisation) and emphasise the needs of group, community and interdependence