the humanistic approach

Question 1

what is the humanistic approach?

Answer 1

an approach to understanding behaviour that emphasises the importance of subjective experience and each persons capacity for self- determination

Question 2

what are the assumptions of the humanistic approach?

Answer 2

•every individual is unique
•humans have freewill- we have full, conscious control over our behaviour
•the scientific approach is not appropriate- being human is fundamentally subjective
•human behaviour should be viewed holistically- it should be seen as a ‘whole’ rather than breaking it into single components

Question 3

what is free will?

Answer 3

the notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces

Question 4

what does having free will suggest humans are?

Answer 4

self-determining
we are active agents who have the ability to determine our own development

Question 5

what approach is the humanistic approach often referred to as?

Answer 5

a ‘person-centred approach’

Question 6

what is self-actualisation?

Answer 6

the desire to grow psychologically and fulfil one’s potential- becoming what you are capable of

Question 7

who are the two psychologists in the humanistic approach?

Answer 7

Maslow and Rogers

Question 8

what did Maslow introduce?

Answer 8

the hierarchy of needs

Question 9

what is the hierarchy of needs? (definition)

Answer 9

a five levelled hierarchical sequence in which basic needs (such as hunger) must be satisfied before higher psychological needs (such as esteem and self-actualisation) can be achieved

Question 10

what is the 5th level of the hierarchy of needs?

Answer 10

physiological needs-
breathing, food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep

Question 11

what is the 4th level of the hierarchy of needs?

Answer 11

safety and security-
health, employment, property, family and social stability

Question 12

what is the third level of the hierarchy of needs?

Answer 12

love and belonging-
friendship, family, intimacy, sense of connection

Question 13

what is the second level of the hierarchy of needs?

Answer 13

self-esteem
confidence, achievement, respect of others, the need to be a unique individual

Question 14

what is the first level of the hierarchy of needs?

Answer 14

self- actualisation
morality, creativity, spontaneity, acceptance, experience, purpose, meaning and inner potential

Question 15

how did Rogers say that personal growth could be achieved?

Answer 15

if an individuals sense of self was congruent (similar to) their ideal self

Question 16

what is the case when the gap between our two ‘selves’ is too wide?

Answer 16

self-actualisation will not be possible due to the negative feelings of self-worth that arise from incongruence

Question 17

what did Rogers develop to help reduce the gap between the self-concept and the ideal self?

Answer 17

client-centred therapy to help people cope with the problems of everyday living

Question 18

what does Rogers argue that many issues in adulthood are caused by?

Answer 18

issues (such as worthlessness and low self esteem) have their roots in childhood and can often be explained by a lack of unconditional positive regard (unconditional love)
Rogers saw one of his roles as an effective therapist as being able to provide his clients with the unconditional positive regard that they had failed to receive as children

Question 19

what do we all have an innate tendency to do?

Answer 19

to achieve our full potential- self actualisation

Question 20

what are the three broader needs in maslow’s hierarchy? (bottom to top)

Answer 20

•self-fulfilment needs
•psychological needs
•basic needs

Question 21

carl rogers ‘fave terms’

Answer 21

•self
•ideal self
•congruence
•conditions of worth

Question 22

what can incongruence lead to?

Answer 22

low feelings of self worth and even anxiety and depression

Question 23

what did rogers develop to measure the congruence between a persons perceived self and their ideal self?

Answer 23

the Q sort
it’s used as a tool in counselling

Question 24

evaluation points:

Answer 24

•application to counselling
•it takes a positive view of humans
•it is holistic rather than reductionist
•a limitation of the humanistic approach is that it’s unscientific
•it can be considered culturally biased to western cultures

Question 25

strength: positive applications to therapy

Answer 25

this is because it has revolutionised counselling techniques, Rogers developed a client-centred therapy which aims to increase the clients self-worth by providing unconditional positive regard
•however, this approach has limited impact within the discipline of psychology as a whole as the approach is not based on solid evidence

Question 26

strength: positive view of humans

Answer 26

•this is because it sees humans as fundamentally good and trying to achieve personal growth to become the best versions of themselves
•this in contrast to the psychodynamic approach which focuses on the more negative aspects of humans (like our innate tendency to be selfish and aggressive). the humanistic approach also emphasises the fact that humans have free will in their behaviour

Question 27

strength: holistic rather than reductionist

Answer 27

•this is because humanists reject any attempt to break up behaviour and experiences into smaller components
•believes that experiences can only be understood by considering the whole person
•this means that this approach has more validity by considering meaningful human behaviour within real-life contexts

Question 28

limitation: unscientific

Answer 28

•this is because concepts such as ‘self-actualisation’ and ‘congruence’ would prove problematic to assess under experimental conditions, meaning there is no solid evidence of their existence
•this means that the humanistic approach is short on empirical evidence to support its claims
•however, the humanistic approach may argue that using scientific methods to study human behaviour is inappropriate

Question 29

limitation: culturally biased to western cultures

Answer 29

•this is because many of the ideas (such as individual freedom, autonomy and personal growth) are more associated with individualist cultures. collectivist cultures which emphasise the needs of the group and community may not identify with the ideas of the humanistic approach
•this means that this approach could not be applied to a variety of cultures and is a product of the cultural context within which it was developed