Humanistic Approach. Flashcards
How does humanistic psychology differ from most other approaches?
Focuses on conscious experience rather than on behaviour
personal responsibility and free will than determinism
Free will
The concept of free will is central to the humanistic approach. Theories in this approach stress people possess full conscious control over their destiny - and have free will.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The hierarchy of needs is a triangular model divided into five levels that stresses that you must have everything in one level before moving up to the next. Humanistic psychologists see everyone as working towards self actualisation
What is at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
psychological needs
-food
-shelter
-warmth
What is second in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Safety needs
-security
-safety
What is third in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Belongingness and love needs
-intimate relationships
-friends
What is fourth in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Esteem needs
-prestige
-feelings of accomplishment
What is at the top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Self actualisation
-achieving full potential
The ‘‘Focus on the self ‘’
This is an important feature of the approach and therapy. Includes perception of ‘what i am’ and ‘what i can do’
Aim of therapy
Rogers said that for personal growth to be achieved an individual’s concept of ‘self’ must be equivalent to their ‘ideal self.’ If the gap is too big a person will experience in-congruence and self actualisation will not be possible due to poor self esteem
What is in-congruence?
When a gap exists between a persons self concept and their ideal self
What is congruence
When your own self concept is similar to your ideal self
Rogers’ cliented therapy aim
To increase feelings of self esteem and reduce in congruence between self concept and ideal self
Rogers’ cliented therapy
This is an important form of modern-day psychotherapy. An effective therapist provides clients with three things
1)genuineness
2)empathy
3)unconditional positive regard
Feelings of self worth
What we think about ourselves. Develop in childhood and form as a result of parental interaction. Interactions with ‘significant others’ (friends, spouse etc.) further influence feelings of self-worth.
How do congruence and self-worth relate to each other?
The closer our self-image and ideal self are to each other, the greater the congruence and the higher feelings of self-worth.
Conditions of worth
A parent who sets boundaries or limits on their love for their child (conditions of worth) by claiming ‘i will only love you if…’ is storing up psychological problems for the child in the future
Unconditional positive regard
An example is when a person is accepted for who they are or what they do
Conditional positive regard
An example is when a person is accepted only if they do what others want them to do.
How do psychological problems tie in with the approach?
Rogers claimed an individual’s psychological problems directly resulted from conditions of worth and the conditional positive regard given from others.
Evaluation strengths
This approach advocates holism, the idea that experiences can only be understood by understood by considering the whole person. This increases validity as it considers meaningful behaviour in real life context
Evaluation limitation
Has limited applications in psychology because it lacks a sound evidence-base, so it is described as a rather loose set of abstract concepts
