Hummanistic Approach

Question 1

What are the 3 assumptions of the Humanistic approach?

Answer 1

1. Humans have free will and are able to control and determine their own development
2. Humans strive towards achieving self-actualisation
3. To be psychologically healthy your ideal and perceived self have to be congruent

Question 2

What are the 5 stages on Maslow’s hierarchy in order?

Answer 2

1. Physiological
2. Safety
3. Love and belongingness
4. Esteem
5. Self-actualisation

Question 3

What are the deficiency needs?

Answer 3

Motivate people when they are incongruent- physiological, safety, love/ belongingness and esteem

Question 4

What are the growth needs?

Answer 4

Self- actualisation

Question 5

What is incongruence?

Answer 5

When your perceived and ideal self are very different

Question 6

What is unconditional positive regard?

Answer 6

A parent loving a child no matter what

Question 7

What are conditions of worth?

Answer 7

A parent placing limits on their love of their children

Question 8

What leads to incongruence?

Answer 8

Experiencing conditional positive regard and parents placing conditions of live on the child

Question 9

What are the 3 traits a Rogerian therapist must know?

Answer 9

Empathy, Genuineness and unconditional positive regard

Question 10

What are the 2 strengths of the humanistic approach?

Answer 10

Positive approach- Humanistic psychologists ‘bring the person back into Psychology’ and promote a positive image of the human condition. Freud saw human beings as slaves to their past. Humanistic psychology offers a refreshing and optimistic alternative; it sees all people as basically good, free to work towards the achievement of their potential and in control of their lives.
Counter- Some critics argue that Humanistic Psychology represents an overly idealised and unrealistic view of human nature- the view that personality development is directed only by an innate potential for growth is seen as an oversimplification. Encouraging people to focus on their own self-development rather than on situational forces may be neither realistic nor appropriate in modern society.

Research support for conditions of worth- Individuals who experience conditional positive regard are likely to display more ‘false self behaviour’- doing things to meet others’ expectations even when they clash with their own values. Harter et al. (1996) à teenagers who created a ‘false self’ and pretended to be the kind of person his or her parents would love, were more likely to develop depression and a tendency to lose touch with their true self. These results are consistent with Roger’s theories.

Question 11

What are the two limitations for the humanistic approach?

Answer 11

Culture bias- Many of the ideas that are central to humanistic psychology would be more associated with individualist cultures in the Western world (US). Collectivist cultures such as India and China, which emphasise the needs of the groups, community and interdependence, may not identify so easily with the ideals and values of humanistic psychology. E.g. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs doesn’t apply easily to collectivist cultures. Nevis (1983) – found in China belongingness needs were seen as more fundamental than physiological needs and that self-actualisation was defined more in terms of contributions to the community than in terms of individual development.

Untestable concepts- Humanistic Psychology does include a number of vague ideas that are abstract and difficult to test. Concepts such as ‘self-actualisation’ and ‘congruence’ may be useful therapeutic tools but would prove problematic to assess under experimental conditions.
Counter- Rogers did attempt to introduce more rigour into his work by developing the Q-sort- an objective measure of progress in therapy.