Humanistic Psychology

Question 1

What are the core 6 points of humanistic psychology?

Answer 1

1) focuses on the person as a whole,
2) Believes that all people are inherently good and that they’re driven to achieve their full potential,
3) Unlike other types of psychology, takes into account the feelings of the individual rather than just their observable behaviour. It treats every person as being unique,
4) It has an idiographic approach rather than a nomothetic approach; focuses on studying the individual rather than producing general rules which come from summarising a group of people,
5) Assumes that a person’s behaviour is caused by their subjective feelings and their thoughts about themselves, especially how they can become better people and learn new things,
6) Disagrees with the deterministic ideas of other approaches, believes that human behaviour is determined by free will. People choose how to behave, and their behaviour isn’t caused by external or biological factors.

Question 2

What are the 5 stages of Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs?

Answer 2

1) Physiological needs related to survival (bottom),
2) Need for safety (physically, psychologically and economically),
3) Need for love and belonging,
4) Need for esteem,
5) Self-actualisation, realisation of your fullest potential (top).

Question 3

Aronoff (1967), method

Answer 3

• Compared people in two jobs in the British West Indies, fishermen and cane cutters,
• Cane cutters get paid according to how much cane was cut by the whole group, even when they were off sick; had high job security, although wages were low,
• Fishermen worked alone, doing more challenging work, they were less secure in their job, but earned more overall,
• Both groups were assessed to see which level they were at on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Question 4

Aronoff (1967), results

Answer 4

• More cane cutters were at the lower levels of the hierarchy, still trying to achieve safety and security than fishermen, many of whom had satisfied the lower levels of the hierarchy.

Question 5

Aronoff (1967), conclusion

Answer 5

• Only those men who had satisfied the lower levels of the pyramid would choose to become fishermen, allowing them to develop high self-esteem,
• Suggests that people cannot reach the higher levels until they have satisfied the lower levels of the hierarchy.

Question 6

Aronoff (1967), evaluation

Answer 6

• Study supports Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,
• Has ecological validity as it studied people in their natural environment,
• Only studied people from one culture; results can’t be generalised to the wider population.

Question 7

What are the two parts of the self according to Rogers?

Answer 7

1) Self-concept, how they see themself,
2) Ideal self, how they want to be seen.

Question 8

How is the self-concept created and developed?

Answer 8

1) Unconditioned positive regard, where a person gets affection and support no matter what their behaviour is like. We need unconditioned positive regard to have a positive self-concept,
2) Conditions of worth - where approval and affection is given as a result of behaving in a certain way. Although this treatment can help someone learn to fit in with the rules of social life, Rogers believed it would stop them from reaching self-actualisation. This is because the person may focus on keeping other people happy rather than developing their own personality.

Question 9

Gibbard and Hanley (2008), method and findings (person-centred therapy)

Answer 9

• Studied the impact of person-centred therapy on a group of patients suffering from common mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression,
• Studied almost 700 people over 5 years,
• A questionnaire was used to measure the extent of their condition before and after therapy,
• It was found that nearly 70% of the participants showed a significant improvement in their mental health after taking part in person-centred therapy.