The humanistic approach Flashcards
What is the humanistic approach?
An approach to understanding behaviour that emphasis the importance of subjective experience and each person’s capacity for self determinism.
What is free will?
Free will is the idea that we have choices in how we act
Free will separates out what is the intention of an individual from what has been created by other causes
This means that we are self-determining and and free from the casual influences of the past
What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is divided into 7 stages, each stage progresses to the top where if completed, an individual can reach the goal of self actualisation
The stages are:
- psychological needs (air, water, food, warmth, sex, sleep)
- safety needs (protection, law, order, safety, limits, stability)
- belonging and love needs (family, affection, relationships, work groups)
- self esteem needs (achievement, status, responsibility)
- cognitive needs (ability to think for ourselves, solve problems)
- aesthetic needs (beauty, prettiness, appreciation)
- self actualisation (personal growth, fulfilment)
What is the ‘self’?
The ideas and values that characterise ‘I’ and ‘me’ and includes perception and valuing of ‘what I am’ and ‘what I can do’
What is congruence?
The aim of the Rogerian therapy, when the self concept and ideal self are seen to broadly accord pr match
What is conditions of worth?
When a parent places limits or boundaries on their love for their children, for instance, a parent saying to a child ‘I will only love you if..’
What are the strengths of the humanistic approach?
Not reductionist - humanists reject any attempt to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components. Humanists advocate holism, the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person. This approach therefore may have more validity than other approaches as it considers meaningful human behaviour within its real-life context.
Positive approach - humanistic psychologists have been praised for ‘bringing the person back into psychology’ and promoting a positive image of the human condition. Freud saw human beings as slaves to their pasts and claimed all of us existed somewhere between ‘common unhappiness and absolute despair’ . The humanistic psychology offers a refreshing and optimistic alternative where it sees all people as basically good, free to work towards the achievement of their potential and control of their lives.
What are the weaknesses of the humanistic approach?
Limited application - unlike some of the other approaches, humanistic psychology has relatively little real-world application. The Rogerian theory has revolutionised counselling techniques and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been used to explain motivation, particularly within the workplace. However it remains the case that the approach has limited impact within the discipline of psychology as a whole.
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. Therefore the humanistic approach is short on empirical evidence to support its claims.
