Humanistic Existential Approaches

Question 1

What is a central focus of humanistic and existential approaches?

1) Deterministic factors shaping behaviour
2) Free will, responsibility, and present-focused awareness
3) Unconscious conflicts and early childhood experiences
4) Behavioural conditioning and reinforcement

Answer 1

Free will, responsibility, and present-focused awareness

Question 2

What distinguishes humanism from existentialism?

1) Humanism focuses on creating meaning, while existentialism focuses on self-actualisation
2) Humanism emphasises self-actualisation, while existentialism addresses human limitations
3) Existentialism rejects the importance of free will, while humanism embraces it
4) Humanism relies on phenomenology, while existentialism does not

Answer 2

Humanism emphasises self-actualisation, while existentialism addresses human limitations

Question 3

What is a key feature of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

1) It identifies self-actualisation as the primary human drive
2) It divides needs into deficiency and growth categories
3) It prioritises unconscious drives over conscious motivations
4) It assumes that needs are universally achieved in a fixed order

Answer 3

It divides needs into deficiency and growth categories

Question 4

What is Carl Rogers’ view of human nature?

1) Humans are inherently selfish and aggressive
2) Humans are inherently good with an actualising tendency toward growth
3) Humans are shaped solely by environmental experiences
4) Humans are driven primarily by unconscious sexual instincts

Answer 4

Humans are inherently good with an actualising tendency toward growth

Question 5

What is the “actualising tendency” according to Rogers?

1) A biological drive limited to survival needs
2) A directional drive toward maintaining, enhancing, and fulfilling potential
3) A conscious process of overcoming external obstacles
4) A learned behaviour reinforced through environmental rewards

Answer 5

A directional drive toward maintaining, enhancing, and fulfilling potential

Question 6

What is “organismic valuing” in Rogers’ theory?

1) Judging experiences based on external validation
2) Weighing experiences by their ability to satisfy an individual’s unique needs
3) Rejecting subjective experiences in favour of universal truths
4) Accepting conditions of worth imposed by others

Answer 6

Weighing experiences by their ability to satisfy an individual’s unique needs

Question 7

What are “conditions of worth”?

1) External expectations that distort self-concept and diminish authenticity
2) Internal beliefs that guide self-actualisation
3) Social norms that facilitate congruence between self and experiences
4) Objective criteria for achieving personal success

Answer 7

External expectations that distort self-concept and diminish authenticity

Question 8

What leads to maladjustment according to Rogers?

1) Excessive reliance on external support
2) Incongruence between self-concept and experiences
3) Failure to develop conditional positive regard
4) An overly flexible self-concept

Answer 8

Incongruence between self-concept and experiences

Question 9

What is the primary goal of person-centred therapy (PCT)?

1) Correcting faulty thought patterns
2) Supporting self-actualisation by creating a therapeutic relationship
3) Teaching clients coping mechanisms for external stressors
4) Providing direct advice to achieve personal growth

Answer 9

Supporting self-actualisation by creating a therapeutic relationship

Question 10

Which condition is NOT part of Rogers’ “necessary and sufficient conditions” for therapy?

1) Congruence or genuineness in the therapist
2) Unconditional positive regard for the client
3) Interpretation of the client’s unconscious conflicts
4) Empathic understanding of the client’s internal frame of reference

Answer 10

Interpretation of the client’s unconscious conflicts

Question 11

What does “congruence” mean in the context of PCT?

1) The therapist’s ability to guide the client toward growth
2) Authenticity and openness in the therapist’s interactions
3) Alignment between client and therapist goals
4) The client’s acceptance of their past experiences

Answer 11

Authenticity and openness in the therapist’s interactions

Question 12

How does Rogers define “unconditional positive regard”?

1) Valuing the client only when they meet specific expectations
2) Accepting the client without judgement, regardless of their actions
3) Encouraging the client to adopt societal norms
4) Supporting the client’s ideal self-concept

Answer 12

Accepting the client without judgement, regardless of their actions

Question 13

What is the role of empathy in person-centred therapy?

1) Offering solutions to the client’s problems
2) Understanding and resonating with the client’s feelings and experiences
3) Minimising the importance of the client’s subjective experiences
4) Highlighting inconsistencies in the client’s thoughts

Answer 13

Understanding and resonating with the client’s feelings and experiences

Question 14

What did Rogers believe about the role of the therapist in PCT?

1) Therapists should focus on providing direct interventions and advice
2) Therapists should create conditions for growth and trust the actualising tendency
3) Therapists should challenge the client’s maladaptive thoughts
4) Therapists should maintain professional distance and avoid emotional involvement

Answer 14

Therapists should create conditions for growth and trust the actualising tendency

Question 15

What is a key critique of Rogers’ approach to therapy?

1) It places too much emphasis on unconscious processes
2) The concept of actualising tendency is difficult to observe directly
3) It focuses too heavily on symptom reduction
4) It dismisses the client’s responsibility for growth

Answer 15

The concept of actualising tendency is difficult to observe directly

Question 16

What benefit does PCT provide from a diversity perspective?

1) It imposes a universal standard for therapy
2) It values the client’s belief system without imposing a “correct” way of being
3) It requires clients to adopt Western ideals of self-actualisation
4) It focuses exclusively on individualistic cultural norms

Answer 16

It values the client’s belief system without imposing a “correct” way of being

Question 17

What did Watson (2002) find about empathy in therapy?

1) It is the least significant factor in determining client progress
2) It is a key determinant of positive therapeutic outcomes
3) It is only effective in specific cultural contexts
4) It is secondary to unconditional positive regard

Answer 17

It is a key determinant of positive therapeutic outcomes

Question 18

How does PCT view the source of psychological problems?

1) They result from unresolved unconscious conflicts
2) They arise from incongruence between self-concept and experience
3) They are caused by genetic predispositions
4) They stem from lack of behavioural reinforcement

Answer 18

They arise from incongruence between self-concept and experience

Question 19

What is one strength of PCT mentioned in the document?

1) It relies on structured techniques for symptom management
2) It has precise, testable hypotheses and a strong empirical foundation
3) It avoids imposing a universal therapeutic approach
4) It provides direct advice for achieving client goals

Answer 19

It avoids imposing a universal therapeutic approach

Question 20

What did Strauman et al. (1991) find about self-concept and anxiety?

1) A discrepancy between actual and ideal self-concept is unrelated to anxiety
2) A mismatch between self-concept and external expectations increases vulnerability to anxiety
3) Anxiety arises only from negative self-perceptions
4) Self-concept is irrelevant to emotional well-being

Answer 20

A mismatch between self-concept and external expectations increases vulnerability to anxiety