the humanistic approach

Question 1

what is humanistic psychology?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

what is free will?

Answer 2

the idea that we have choice in relation to how we think, feel and act and are not determined by external biological forces

Question 3

why do humanistic psychologists such as rogers and maslow reject more scientific models that attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour?

Answer 3

• humanistic psychology claims that human beings are essentially self-determining, but also are active agents who can determine their own development
• as active agents, we are all unique, and psychology should concern itself with the study of subjective experience rather than general laws
• this is often referred to as a person-centred approach in psychology

Question 4

what is maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 4

• about what motivates us
• in order to reach our primary goal of self-actualisation, other deficiency needs must be met first
• a person is only able to progress through the hierarchy once the current need in the sequence has been met

Question 5

describe the five needs in maslow’s hierarchy

Answer 5

1. self-actualisation: personal growth, fulfilment
2. self-esteem needs: achievement, status, responsibility
3. belonging and love needs: family, affection, relationships, work groups
4. safety needs: protection, security, order, law, limits, stability
5. physiological needs: air, water, food, drink, warmth, sleep, sex

Question 6

describe self-actualisation

Answer 6

• represents the uppermost level of maslow’s hierarchy of needs
• all 4 lower levels (‘deficiency needs’) must be met before the individual can work towards self-actualisation (‘growth need’)
• this applies to early development when a baby is first focused on physiological needs and applies throughout life

Question 7

what is personal growth?

Answer 7

• human psychologists regard it as an essential part of what it is to be human
• it is concerned with developing and changing as a person to become fulfilled, satistied and goal-orientated
• not everyone will manage this, however, as there are important psychological barriers that may prevent a person from reaching their potential

Question 8

what did rogers argue was needed for personal growth to be achieved?

Answer 8

an individual’s concept of self (the way they see themselves) must be congruent with their ideal self (the person they want to be)

Question 9

what happens if too big a gap exists between the two ‘selves’?

Answer 9

• the person will experience a state of incongruence
• self-actualisation will not be possible due to the negative feelings of self-worth that arise from incongruence

Question 10

what is the aim of client-centred therapy?

Answer 10

• to reduce the gap between the self-concept and the ideal self
• to help people cope with the problems of everyday living

Question 11

how did rogers explain many of the issues we experience as adults?

Answer 11

• having roots in childhood
• can be explained by a lack of unconditional positive regard from our parents
• a parent who sets boundaries on their love for their child is storing up psychological problems for that child in the future
• thus, 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 12

how is roger’s therapy client-centred?

Answer 12

• rogers referred to those in therapy as ‘clients’ rather than ‘patients’
• he saw the individual as the expert on their own condition
• thus, therpay is not directed by the therapist, and the client is just encouraged towards the discovery of their own solutions within a therapeutic atmosphere that is warm, supportive and non-judgemental

Question 13

what 3 things did rogers say an effective therapist should provide?

Answer 13

• genuineness
• empathy
• unconditional positive regard

Question 14

evaluation: rejects attempts to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components (not reductionist)

Answer 14

• humanistic psychologists advocate holism, the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person
• this approach may have more validity than its alternatives by considering meaningful human behaviour within its real-world context

Question 15

evaluation: reductionist approaches may be more scientific

Answer 15

• the idea of science is the experiment, and experiments reduce behaviour to independent and dependent variables
• one issue with humanistic psychology is that, unlike behaviourism, there are relatively few concepts that can be broken down into single variables and measured
• this means that humanistic psychologist in general is short on empirical evidence to support its claims

Question 16

evaluation: optimistic, positive approach

Answer 16

• 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 prisoners of their past and claimed all of us existed somewhere between ‘common unhappiness and absolute despair’
• in contrast, humanistic psychologists see all people as basically good, free to work towards the achievement of their potential and in control of their lives
• this suggests that humanistic psychology offeres a refreshing and optimistic alternative to other approaches

Question 17

evaluation: may be culturally-biased

Answer 17

• many of the ideas that are central to humanistic psychology, such as individual freedom, autonomy and personal growth, would be much more readily associated with countries that have more individualist tendencies (eg. US)
• countries with collectivist tendencies emphasise more the needs of the group and interdependence
• in such countries, the ideals of humanistic psychology may not be as important as in others (eg. self-actualisation)
• therefore, it is possible that this approach does not apply universally and is a product of the cultural context within which it was developed

Question 18

evaluation: limited application

Answer 18

• critics have argued that humanistic psychology has bad a relatively little impact in psychology or little practical application in the real world, in comparison with other approaches, such as behaviourism or the biological approach
• the approach has been described, not as a comprehensive theory, but as a loose set of abstract ideas