humanistic approach Flashcards
what are the main aspects of humanistic psychology
conscious experience
personal responsibility
free will
discussion of experience
explain free will
- people have full conscious control over their destiny
- we are not free to do anything at all though as we are subject to other forces like biological and social influences.
- we are able to make significant personal choices within the constraints imposed by these other factors
what was Maslow interested in
unlike the psychoanalysts, he was not interested in what went wrong with people, but rather he was interested in finding out what could go right with them.
What did Maslow’s hierarchy of needs emphasis ?
the importance of personal growth and fulfilment. It opened the door for later movements in psychology, such as positive psychology and happiness.
explain how the order of the hierarchy of needs works
- the most basic physiological needs are represented at the bottom of the pyramid and the most advance needs at the top.
- each level much be reached before a person can move up to a higher need.
- Maslow beloved that the more basic the need, the more powerfully it is experience and the more difficult it is to ignore.
describe physiological (hierarchy of needs)
- 5th in pyramid
- breathing, food, water, sex, homeostasis and excretion.
describe safety (hierarchy of needs)
- 4th
- security of body, of employment, of resources, or morality, of the family, of health and property.
describe love/belonging (hierarchy of needs)
- 3rd
- friendship, family, sexual intimacy
describe esteem (hierarchy of needs)
- 2nd
- self esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others and respect by others.
describe self actualisation (hierarchy of needs)
- 1st
- morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice and acceptance of facts.
- people who reach this level are often creative, accepting of people and have a clear perception of the world (according to Maslow)
- such individuals would experience this level in the form of peak experiences. These are moments of extreme inspiration during which they could leave behind all doubts. (according to Maslow)
what is the self
refers to how we perceive ourselves as a person
what did Rogers claim on the focus on the self
we have two basic needs; positive regard from other people and self worth
how do feelings of self worth develop?
- through childhood and are a result of the child’s interaction with parents.
- interactions with friends and other family members also
when does a state of congruence exist?
when there is a similarity between a persons ideal self and how they perceive themselves to be in real life
when does a state of incongruence exist
when there is a difference between the self and ideal self
when may people use defence mechanisms
since most people prefer to see themselves in ways that are consistent with their self-image, they may use defence mechanisms in order to feel less threatened by inconsistencies between how they would like to be and how they really are.
what is unconditional positive regard
when a person is accepted for who they are or what they do
what is conditional positive regard
when they are accepted only if they do what others want them to do.
what happens when people experience conditional positive regard and why ?
- they develop conditions of worth
- these are the conditions that they perceive significant others have put up them
- they belle they have to be in place if they are to be accepted by others and see themselves positively.
Rogers claimed that an individual’s psychological problems were a direct result of what
their conditions of worth and the conditional positive regard they receive from other people.
what do humanistic therapists regard themselves as
guides to help people understand themselves and to find ways to enable their potential for self actualisation instead of acting in a direct way
explain how counselling psychology works
- therapist provides empathy and unconditional positive regard
- by doing this, the therapist is able to offer an appropriately supportive environment to help dissolve the clients conditions of worth.
- this results in the client being more able to behave in a way that is true to the person they are, rather than the person others want them to be.
explain the strength that Maslow’s hierarchy is linked to economic depression
- Hagerty looked at the relationship between economic growth and measures of Maslow’s need levels.
- found that countries in the early stages of economic depression were characterised by lower level needs.
- only in the advanced stags of economic depression did self actualisation and esteem needs become Important.
explain the research support for conditions of worth
- research with adolescents has shown evidence consistent with Rogers view.
- Harter discovered that teenagers who feel that they have to fulfil certain conditions in order to gain their parents approval frequently end up not liking themselves.
- these people are also more likely to develop depression and lose touch with their true self
explain the limitation of the humanistic research methods
- evaluating the approach scientifically is difficult as the evidence used to support the approach fails to establish a casual relationship between variables.
- Rogers was an advocate of non experimental research methods, arguing that the requirements of experimental methods make it impossible to verify the results of counselling.
explain why the humanistic approach is unrealistic
- it represent an overly idealised and unrealistic view of humans.
- critics argue that we are not as good and growth oriented as the theory suggests and it doesn’t recognise people’s ability for pessimism and self destructive behaviour.
- encouraging people to focus on their self development rather than on situational forces may be neither realistic not appropriate in modern society
explain the cultural differences in the hierarchy of needs
- Maslow later realised that for some people the needs may appear in a different order or not at all.
- a study carried out in China found that belongingness needs were seen as more fundamental than physiological needs and the self actualisation was defined more in terms of contributions the community rather than individual differences.
- Europeans and Africans focus more on personal identity in defining their self concept , whereas Chinese and Japanese and Koreans define self concept more in terms of social relationships
Key terms and key evaluation points
- Maslow
- hierarchy of needs
- self actualisation
- congruence
- unconditional positive regard
- conditions of worth
- idiographic
- drew will
- application - humanistic therapy
- cultural bias
