Humanistic Psychology

• Identify three basic assumptions of humanistic psychology


  Humans have free will i.e. make conscious choices on how to behave.

  Each individual is unique and so should be studied as a whole.

  Individuals have an innate need to self-actualise which they can only achieve by progressing through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

  Removing conditions of worth improves psychological health by making the perceived and ideal selves more congruent.
• Outline Humanistic Psychology’s focus on free will


  Humanistic Psychology differed to the earlier approaches of the psychodynamic and behaviourist approaches when it came to the free will vs determinism debate.

  The earlier approaches proposed determinism in that behaviour is caused by factors outside of our control.

  E.g. behaviourist approach proposes environmental determinism as it believes our behaviour is determined by stimulus-response, environmental learning.

  Humanistic psychology, on the other hand, proposes humans have free will i.e. we make conscious choices on how to behave.
• Evaluate Humanistic Psychology’s focus on free will


  Better implications on the criminal justice system than determinism. This is because it would mean that criminals have chosen to commit crimes and so should take responsibility over their behaviour, rather than claiming it was out of their control e.g. due to it being a result of their genetics.

  This is a strength because it has meant that criminals can be punished (e.g. with a prison sentence) without raising ethical questions as to whether they should be punished or not. Therefore adds credibility.
• Evaluate Humanistic Psychology’s focus on free will. 


  It is unscientific. This is because science relies on determinism to better establish cause and effect.

  This is a limitation as it means that humanistic psychology cannot establish cause and effect and, as a result, general laws that enable the prediction of behaviour are more difficult to establish. Therefore questions credibility.
• Evaluate Humanistic Psychology’s focus on free will.

  Research suggests that it may just be an illusion. E.g. brain scanning studies into decision making have found that brain activity related to the decision as to whether to press a button with the left or right hand occurred in the brain 10 seconds before participants reported being consciously aware of making such a decision.

  This is a limitation as it suggests that even basic experiences of ‘free will’ (such as what hand to use when pressing a button) is determined in the brain before conscious awareness. Therefore questions credibility.
• Outline Maslow’s hierarchy of needs including reference to self-actualisation.

  Maslow proposed that humans have an innate need to achieve self-actualisation.

  The needs are: physiological, safety, love and belonging, and esteem before finally reaching self-actualisation.

  Physiological needs include food and water. Safety needs include property and employment. Love/belonging needs include family and friendships. Esteem needs include high self-esteem and confidence.

  Each of these levels must be fulfilled before progressing to a higher need and finally reaching self-actualisation.
• Explain what is meant by ‘self- actualisation’.

  Refers to when an individual reaches their full potential.

  It is considered the highest level of psychological development as it is at the top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

  Self-actualisation can only be achieved by meeting the more basic needs first (e.g. physiological, safety, love/belonging, and esteem needs).

  A person who has self-actualised can be described as spontaneous, creative, autonomous etc.
• Evaluate Maslow’s hierarchy of needs including the idea of self-actualisation.


  Positive applications in schools. E.g. students’ physiological needs can be met through access to free school meals. Students’ safety needs can be met by maintaining safe classroom environments. Students’ love/belonging needs can be met by incorporating group projects. Finally, students’ esteem needs can be met by recognising and praising their progress e.g. by giving them certificates. This is a strength because, by using these strategies, schools have helped students to reach their full potential.
• Evaluate Maslow’s hierarchy of needs including the idea of self-actualisation.


  The proposal that every individual has an innate need to self-actualise is too unrealistic. This is because people can be pessimistic and self- destructive e.g. as seen in criminal behaviour. This is a limitation because this everyday evidence suggests that people are not as growth-orientated as this theory suggests. Therefore questions credibility.
• Evaluate Maslow’s hierarchy of needs including the idea of self-actualisation.


  Self-actualisation is an unscientific concept. This is because it is difficult to assess what an individual’s full potential is and whether they have met it. This is a limitation because it means that research into self-actualisation relies on subjective assumptions. Therefore questions credibility.
• Outline Humanistic Psychology’s focus on the self and congruence.


  Humanistic psychologists have focused on the self as they propose that each individual is unique.

  According to humanists, there are two selves: the perceived self and the ideal self.

  The perceived self refers to how you see yourself whereas the ideal self refers to how you wish to be.

  Congruence refers to when the two selves match. This leads to good psychological health.
• Identify ways in which congruence can be achieved


  Develop a healthier view of the perceived self or have a more realistic ideal self.

  Replace conditions of worth with unconditional positive regard whereby the individual will feel accepted and supported regardless of what they say or do. This can be provided by a therapist during counselling.
• Evaluate Humanistic Psychology’s focus on the self.


  Led to a big influence on counselling psychology. This is because humanists proposed that conditions of worth create incongruence between the perceived and ideal selves. In turn, this can cause psychological problems and so counselling psychology aims to help an individual achieve congruence by providing unconditional positive regard. This is a strength because counselling has been found to be effective for many psychological problems such as depression. Therefore adds credibility.
• Evaluate Humanistic Psychology’s focus on the self.


  A limitation of the focus on the self is that it has resulted in detailed data. This is because the focus on individuals as unique beings has resulted in qualitative data collection through methods such as interviews. This is a strength because such detailed data means that conclusions about the self are more likely to be valid. Therefore adds credibility.
• Evaluate Humanistic Psychology’s focus on the self.


  There are alternative theories for psychological problems other than incongruence between the perceived and ideal selves. For example, biological psychologists propose that psychological problems result from biological factors such as neurochemistry abnormalities (e.g. depression is caused by too little serotonin). This is a limitation because these alternative theories can be more objectively tested and so are considered more scientific. Therefore questions credibility.
• Outline the influence of Humanistic Psychology on counselling Psychology.


  Humanistic Psychology proposes that each individual is unique. Counselling Psychology therefore utilises client-centred therapy whereby the therapy is tailored around the uniqueness of the client.

  Humanistic Psychology proposes that each person has an innate tendency to self-actualise. Counselling Psychology therefore helps individuals achieve personal growth.
• Outline the influence of Humanistic Psychology on counselling Psychology.


  Humanistic Psychology proposes that conditions of worth can create incongruence between the perceived and ideal selves, and this can lead to psychological problems. Counselling Psychology therefore aims to help individuals achieve congruence and, in turn, positive psychological health. They do this by replacing conditions of worth with unconditional positive regard (i.e. the counsellor provides the client with a non-judgemental and supportive environment).
• Outline how Humanistic Psychology has contributed to our understanding of human behaviour.


  Humanistic Psychology proposes that individuals have free will i.e. conscious choice over how to behave).

  This meant that Humanistic Psychology differed to the earlier deterministic approaches of the psychodynamic approach (which proposed psychic determinism) and the behaviourist approach (which proposed environmental determinism).
• Outline how Humanistic Psychology has contributed to our understanding of human behaviour.



  Humanistic Psychology also proposed that every person has an innate tendency to self-actualise (i.e. reach their full-potential).

  This can only be achieved by progressing through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs including physiological needs (e.g. food and water), safety needs (e.g. property and employment), love/belonging needs (e.g. friends and family) and esteem needs (e.g. confidence and self-esteem).
• Outline how Humanistic Psychology has contributed to our understanding of human behaviour.




  Humanistic Psychology has also been influential in proposing that each individual is unique so should be studied as a whole.

  This has resulted in the study of individuals’ unique selves and how incongruence between them (caused by conditions of worth) can lead to psychological problems.
• Evaluate the Humanistic Psychology’s contributions to our understanding of human behaviour.


  Research suggests free will may be an illusion. For example, brain scanning studies into decision making have found that brain activity related to the decision as to whether to press a button with the left or right hand occurred in the brain 10 seconds before participants reported being consciously aware of making such a decision. This is a limitation as it suggests that even basic experiences of ‘free will’ is determined in the brain before conscious awareness. Therefore questions credibility.
• Evaluate the Humanistic Psychology’s contributions to our understanding of human behaviour.


  Concepts are unscientific. This is because it proposes free will when science relies on determinism to better establish cause and effect. The idea of self-actualisation is also subjective in that nobody truly knows what a person’s full potential is and whether they have met it. This is a limitation as the lack of cause and effects means that general laws, that enable the prediction of behaviour, are more difficult to establish. Therefore questions credibility.
• Evaluate the Humanistic Psychology’s contributions to our understanding of human behaviour.


  Focus on the self led to a big influence on counselling psychology. This is because humanists proposed that conditions of worth, which lead to incongruence (a mismatch) between the perceived and ideal selves cause psychological problems and so counselling psychology aims to help an individual achieve congruence by providing unconditional positive regard. This is a strength because counselling has been found to be effective for many psychological problems such as depression. Therefore adds credibility.