the humanistic approach Flashcards
what is the outline of humanistic psychology?
humanistic psychologists regard personal growth as an essential part of what it is to be human, becoming fulfilled, satisfied and goal-orientated.
Determinism vs. Free Will (human)
not a deterministic approach, but based on free will: humans are self-determining and have the ability to act on their own desicisions
Unique vs. Generalisation (human)
the humanistic approach rejects scientific models which attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour. humans are all unique and so psychology should study subjective experience rather than general laws. a person-centred approach
what are Maslow’s views in humanistic psychology?
All individuals have a heirarchy of needs; ensure survival by satisfying most basic needs and self actualisation is the highest level. there are psychological barriers preventing you from reaching self actualisation. when times are hard, you regress to lower levels and become fixated. however, when you reach self actualisation, you are creative, accepting of
others and have an accurate perception of the world
rogers’ view in humanistic psychology? (the self)
people have 2 basic needs: positive regard from others and a feeling of self worth.
our self concept and ideal self need to be congruent for psychological health and self worth. experiencing incongruence can be threatening, and widen the gap between self concept/ideal self. this can create confusion and vulnerability and if the gap is too big, we cannot reach self actualisation.
rogers’ view in humanistic psychology? (positive regard)
parents who set conditions of worth on their children are likely to cause psychological harm in the future. conditions of worth are requirements set an individual has to meet in order to earn positive regard from others. (i.e. ‘I will only love you if….’). an individual may only achieve self acceptance if they meet expectations set set as conditions of worth
what is a strength of humanistic psychology? (support)
Research support for conditions of worth: teenagers who experience conditions of worth are more likely to do things that clash with their own values. Harter et al found that teenagers who were trying to achieve their parents conditions of worth were more likely to develop depression and not like themselves. evidence for Roger’s view of the need for positive regard from others
what is a strength of humanistic psychology? (economic)
the heirarchy of needs can be linked to economic development. Hagerty looked at the relationship between economic development and Maslow’s needs in 88 countries over 34 years. he found that countries in early stages of economic development are characterised by lower level needs (i.e. physiological and safety) and countries with higher stages of economic development were showing signs of esteem (female emancipation) and self actualisation. (levels of education enrolment)
evidence/support for heirarchy of needs. practical applications
what is a limitation of humanistic psychology? (subjective)
it does not use scientific methods and so causal conclusions cannot be drawn between needs and later behaviours. produces subjective, unreliable data (i.e. questionaires)
what is a limitation of humanistic psychology? (unrealistic)
development and personality cannot only be caused by desire for self-actualisation. this is oversimplified and it cannot explain aspects of human behaviour, such as pessimism and self-destruction. Basic and unrealistic. encouraging people to focus on self development rather than situational factors isnt relevent or appropriate in society
what is a limitation of humanistic psychology? (cultural)
there are cultural differences in the heirarchy of needs. for example, collectivist cultures (such as china) would place love/belonging before physiological needs. Maslow did not acknowledge this and couldn’t explain why. can’t be applied/generalised. Lack of ecological validity
how has humanistic psychology influenced councelling psychology?
Roger wanted people to overcome conditions of worth, and this influenced the aim of councelling to become helping people reach self-actualisation. humanistic psychology places importance on person-centred, and this has influenced it to become solely client based; this helps them to become more true to themselves and overcome conditions of worth. the client is asked to arrange cards with statements on in an order of very characteristic-not characteristic of me. these are correlated to determine the incongruence of self concept and ideal self. this is designed to help the person gain a better sense of their own self and let it come closer to their ideal self.
