topic 7 - the humanistic explanation of the self

Question 1

what is the humanistic approach?

Answer 1

it is the approach that studies a person as a whole. It looks at a persons own personal experiences and interpretation about what is going on around them.

Question 2

who took a humanistic view?

Answer 2

Carl Rogers (1951)

Question 3

what was Roger’s humanistic theory?

Answer 3

he thought that humans are good by nature and that all individuals naturally aim for personal growth in order to reach fulfillment or self-actualisation

Question 4

what did Rogers aim to do?

Answer 4

Rogers aimed to help individuals raise self-worth and self-esteem in order to achieve a state of congruence and move towards self-actualisation.

Question 5

what is the goal in the humanistic approach?

Answer 5

self-actualisation

Question 6

define ‘self-worth’

Answer 6

it is the evaluation of own worth, giving judgement of self-esteem

Question 7

what are the two types of regards?

Answer 7

unconditional positive regard and conditional positive regard.

Question 8

define unconditional positive regard

Answer 8

where a person is accepted and supported no matter what they do

Question 9

define conditional positive regard

Answer 9

where there are conditions put in place for someone to be accepted or loved

Question 10

explain unconditional positive regard and how it works

Answer 10

someone is valued for who they are with ‘no conditions’ attached. This improves a persons self esteem and self-esteem as a person is allowed to make mistakes but is still valued.

Question 11

explain conditional positive regard and how it works

Answer 11

someone is being valued but only according to certain conditions ie when they get good grades or when they act a certain way. This lowers a persons self-esteem.

Question 12

explain how the state of incongruence affects a person

Answer 12

Roger feels that if a persons self-image and self-esteem do not match then they experience a state of incongruence. This means that the person is unable to work towards self-actualisation.

Question 13

what is one way to achieve congruence?

Answer 13

tackling their conditions of worth

Question 14

what are conditions of worth?

Answer 14

conditions of worth is where people feel they must meet certain conditions to be worthy of being loved. This can lead to a state of incongruence because a person can feel as through they are ‘never good enough’ and in turn not allow self-actualisation. To achieve congruence a person has to have their worth shown to them so that they believe in it.

Question 15

Explain how conditions of worth can be damaging to an individual’s self-esteem.

Answer 15

Because they learn to act a certain way to be worthy of the love of others. So if they act differently then they are not accepted by others. This makes people feel as though they aren’t good enough which may lead to a state of incongruence in their self-esteem and self image.

Question 16

Explain how unconditional regard can help and individual self-actualise. Use key terms in your answer.

Answer 16

Unconditional regard means that a person is valued for who they are without any conditions, so no matter what they say or do, they are always accepted and loved. This improves their self-esteem as they are taught to value themselves for who they are and in return others value them for who they are so they are more confident with themselves. Having unconditional regard also improves someone’s self-worth as in order to feel worthy a person experiences conditions of worth but this is not the case for someone with unconditional regard. In order for someone to achieve self-actualisation they must have congruence between their self image and ideal self, to achieve this a person’s worth must be shown to them so they believe it so that their view of their ideal self is more achievable.

Question 17

what are strengths of the humanistic theory?

Answer 17

1. One strength, Practical applications. Counsellors use different approaches such as CBT but still focus on unconditional positive regard and using empathy so there is a wide application in therapy.
2. Another strength, Rogers personality theory is positive and focuses on the individual so it can be used to help someone to move towards a better mental health state.

Question 18

what are weaknesses of the humanistic theory?

Answer 18

1. One weakness, His concepts are hard to measure so it makes studies less scientific and evidence harder to gather. It is difficult to distinguish the independent variable as it takes into account multiple experiences and it may not be the same for everyone.
2. Another weakness is it only suits certain situations, such as low self esteem but does not include medical conditions or disorders. For example, someone with schizophrenia may not benefit from this type of therapy.

Question 19

who came up with the theory of the hierarchy of needs?

Answer 19

Abraham Maslow (1943)

Question 20

what type of approach is Maslow’s theory?

Answer 20

Humanistic

Question 21

what is Maslow’s theory?

Answer 21

It is an explanation of personality that includes biological aspects of people and sees them as whole individuals.

Question 22

how many stages are there in Maslow’s theory?

Answer 22

5

Question 23

what is the first stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 23

Physical/ basic needs. This includes: breathing, food, sleep, sex and shelter

Question 24

what is the second stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? ?

Answer 24

security needs. This includes: work, physical, family property and moral security needs

Question 25

what is the third stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 25

love and belonging needs. This includes relationships, family and friendships.

Question 26

what is the fourth stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 26

esteem needs. This includes: confidence, achievement, respect for others etc.

Question 27

what is the fifth stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 27

self-actualisation. This is the overall goal and symbolises that the person is the best person they can be.

Question 28

is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs supposed to be followed in order?

Answer 28

Yes. The idea of the hierarchy of needs is the underlying needs must be met before the next need can be achieved. The first four needs are referred to as deficiency needs so if they are not met then the person will be anxious and tense. However, needs can be focused on at any time so the individual can achieve a need while completing another but there are dominant needs.

Question 29

what are strengths of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 29

1. One strength is Maslow’s theory is positive psychology so it helps a society build a positive culture and helps with health and business needs. It can help managers to understand workers and vise versa.

Question 30

what are the weaknesses of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 30

1. One weakness is Malsow’s ideas focus on Western culture. For example, the needs of the USA in the 1900’s were not the same as those found in the Middle East over the same period. This limits the generalisability of the theory.
2. Another weakness, Maslows theory states that concepts are not measurable in a general sense. They vary depending on the individual so the theory is unable to be tested scientifically.
3. The last weakness of the humanistic approach is its claim that humans are good people which needs evidence. For example van Ijzendoorn et al (2010) found 7 year old children did not show moral behaviour because of inborn temperment.