Humanistic Approach (APPROACHES 5/6) Flashcards
key assumptions
individuals are unique and should be treated as such - no point trying to generalise to groups - many differences between each group (idiographic rather than nomothetic approach)
people should be viewed holistically, considering all aspects, not individual elements
scientific method not appropriate to measuring behaviour - humans are subjective in thoughts and behaviour
have free will - in control of behaviour and progress in life
free will
humans are self-determining and have free will - have full conscious control over destiny
does not mean not affected by internal or external influences - active agents - with ability to determine own development (not free to do anything as subject to other forces e.g. biological and societal influences, but can make significant personal choices within constraints)
should concern study of subjective experience than general laws - Maslow and Rogers reject scientific models that attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour
person-centred approach
humanistic approach strengths
praise for bringing the person back into psychology and promoting positive image of the human condition
Freud saw humans as slaves to their past
offer optimistic alternative, seeing people as intrinsically good and having free will to work towards achievement
offers hope and optimism to people suffering from childhood trauma, can become better person and not controlled by past events
more valid than other approaches
considers meaningful human behaviour within real-life context
advocate holism in trying to understand person as a while and different factors that may motivate them
increases validity
humanistic approach weaknesses
little real-world application
other than in counselling and in workplace
little impact within psychology as whole
not based on scientific evidence
only applicable to individualistic cultures in Western world
free will and personal growth not as relevant or applicable to collectivist cultures e.g. India where emphasise needs of group, community and interdependence
lacks cross-cultural relevance
self-actualisation
desire to grow psychologically and fulfil one’s potential - becoming what you are capable of, satisfied and goal-orientated
believe that we are intrinsically good and have innate tendency to achieve this
personal growth essential part of humanity
self-actualisation characteristics (Maslow)
people who achieve self-actualisation share certain characteristics
creativity, acceptance of others, accurate perception of world around them
experience it in form of peak experiences - moments of extreme inspiration and ecstasy and feeling that they can leave behind all doubts, fears and inhibitions
represents highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
arranged in five-levelled pyramid
basic needs must be satisfied before higher psychological and fulfilment needs can be achieved
main interest was in what motivates people
in order to meet primary goal of self-actualisation, other deficiency needs must be met
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs structure
SELF-ACTUALISATION: achieving full potential, creative abilities
ESTEEM NEEDS: prestige, accomplishment
BELONGINGNESS AND LOVE NEEDS: intimate relationships, friends
SAFETY NEEDS: security, safety
PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS: food, warmth, water, rest
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs strengths
based on detailed, rich evidence
formulated characteristic of self-actualised individuals from undertaking a qualitative method called biographical analysis
looked at biographies and writings of 18 people identified as being self-actualised and developed list of qualities that seemed characteristic of that group
theory based on rich, in-depth data, providing credibility and validity
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs weaknesses
androcentric characteristics of self-actualised person
biographical analysis focused on biased sample of highly educated white males
Maslow did study self-actualised females, but only comprised small proportion of sample
limited sample size, androcentric, not easily generalised to other populations
Maslow pointed out in later development that original theory did not acknowledge that for some people, needs may appear in different order or absent altogether
Nevis’ study in China found that belonginess needs were more fundamental than physiological needs + self-actualisation was defined more in terms of contributions to community rather than individual development
not applicable to everyone, limits validity and usefulness
some may argue that encouraging people to focus on self-development rather than situational factors is unrealistic and inappropriate in modern society
personality development directed only by innate potential for growth is oversimplistic, since does not account for external factors preventing self-actualisation
reductionist, lacks validity
the self
self-image/self-concept refers to how we percieve ourselves as a person
Roger’s two basic needs = positive regard from others + feeling of self-worth (what we think about ourselves)
feelings of self-worth develop in childhood and are formed through interactions with parents + later with significant others
important in determining psychological health
congruence
exists when there is similarity between person’s ideal self and self-image (how percieve self irl)
if there is difference, experience state of incongruence
closer self-image and ideal-self, greater feelings of self-worth and better psychological health
rare for complete state of congruence
conditions of worth
more often that others hinder self-actualisation
development of conditions of worth - conditions we percieve significant others put open us, believe have to be in place of we are to be accepted by others and see ourselves positively
unconditional positive regard
when love and acceptance from others is unconditional
accepted for who they are and what they do
conditional positive regard
accepted only by others if they do what others want them to do
conditions of worth only develop when someone is given CPR
conditions of self-acceptance
may only experience self-acceptance if they meet expectations others have set as conditions of self-acceptance
the self, congruence, conditions of worth strengths
supporting evidence
people experiencing conditional positive regard display more ‘false-self’ behaviour - doing things to meet others expectations even when clash with own values
Harter discovered that teenager who feel they have to fulfil expectations to gain parents’ approval end up not liking themselves
adolescents with a false-self, pretending to be the person their parents would love, are more likely to develop depression and lose touch with true self
supports Rogers’ idea that people who are incongruent are more likely to have mental health issues
the self, congruence, conditions of worth weaknesses
humanistic psych includes vague, abstract ideas difficult to test
self-actualisation and congruence may be useful therapeutic tools but are difficult to test under experimental conditions
lacks scientific evidence to support claims
self-report methods (questionnaires, interviews) not always giving accurate data (social desirability), lack validity
culturally biased
Europeans and Americans focus more on personal identity in defining self-concept, whereas Asians define more in social relationships
different cultures define self-concept differently, makes it hard to measure in standardised way
cannot be applied universally
influence on counselling psychology
Rogers claimed that individual’s psychological problems were direct result of conditions of worth and CPR from others
with counselling, people could solve own problems in constructive ways to become more fully functioning
humanistic therapists regard themselves as guides or facilitators to help people understand themselves and find ways to enable potential for self-actualisation
therapists provide empathy and UCPR - express acceptance and understanding regardless
offer supportive environment to dissolve client’s conditions of worth
client becomes more authentic and more true to self
influence on counselling psychology strengths
application of concepts in counselling psychology
client-centred therapy allows patients to take control of their own lives and build up state of congruence
shows usefulness of counselling therapy in helping people live a more normal life
Elliott carried out meta-analysis of 180 studies
very effective - people having therapy improved more than people on waiting list - effect lasted at least a year
shows usefulness, beneficial long term
based off lots of data - valid
used Q sort method as objective measure of progress in therapy
data collection procedure used in personality measurement, sorts stimuli into categories
general categories used to reflect normal distribution, fewer stimuli to extreme categories
attempt to make more scientific - based on numerical data
influence on counselling psychology weaknesses
Glass meta-analysis of psychotherapy effectiveness (400 studies) - client-centred therapy was least effective
no more effective than placebo
not useful for everyone - limits applicability and usefulness of approach
difficult to establish cause and effect - non-experimental methods
personal growth due to counselling - does not show therapy causes change
only link between counselling and better psychological health - not sufficient in telling us whether it is useful in helping people get better
other variables not controlled e.g. family members may be more supportive if know having therapy, more optimistic patient
