Humanistic

• What are the basic approaches in humanistic approach


  -focuses on conscious experience (thoughts and feelings) rather than behaviours

  -on personality responsibility and free will rather than on determinism

  -on discussion of experience rather than on experimental method

  -the HA rejects the scientific method for studying humans
• What does the humanistic theory empahsise

  -that people have full conscious control over their own destiny.

  -however we are subjected to many other forces including biological and societal influences

  -however humanistic psychologists believe that human beings are able to make significant personal choices within the constraints imposed by those forces
• What did Maslow call the humanistic approach


  -the third force with behaviourism and the psychodynamic approach being the other two

  -unlike psychoanalysts maslow was not interested in what went wrong with people but rather he was interested in what could go right with them
• Outline the hierarchy of needs


  -most basic psychological needs are at the bottom and more advanced at the top

  -each level must be fulfilled before a person can move up to a higher need

  -Maslow believed the more basic the need the more powerfully it is experienced and therefore cannot be ignored
• What is the order from BOTTOM UP of the hierarchy of needs needs

  -physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self actualisation
• What are some examples of physiological needs


  -breathing food water homeostasis and sex
• What are some examples of safety


  -security of body employment family and health
• What are some examples of love/belonging


  -friendship family sexual intimacy
• what are some examples of esteem


  -confidence achievement respect of and by others
• what are some examples of self actualisation


  -morality, creativity, problem solving, lack of prejudice
• Define self actualisation


  -a concept regarding the process by which an individual reaches his or her full potential
• what did Maslow find about those who attained self actualisation


  -they tended to be creative, accepting of people and had an accurate perception of the world around them.

  -Maslow believed that such individuals experienced SA in the form of peak experiences.

  -These are moments of extreme inspiration and ecstasy during which they felt able to leave behind all doubts fears and inhibitions
• What is a weakness of this approach

  -Maslow's hierarchy may have relevance on a larger stage than individual growth.

  -e.g Hagerty(1999) examined the relationship between economic growth and measures of Maslow's needs in 88 diff countries over a period of 34 years.

  -He found that countries in early stages of economic growth were characterised by lower needs (basic needs such as safety as demonstrated by higher murder rates)
• What is this research a weakness for the approach then?

  -only in advanced stages of economic development did the later needs in the hierarchy become important.

  -it was argued that enrolment rates to education are a significant indication of a drive for self actualisation as people want to better themselves
• What is another criticism of Maslow's hierarchy


  -devised by western psychologists and one could argue that it can only be applied to western societies.

  -however Maslow did later recognise that in some cultures of the hierarchy may be in a different order to the one he suggested

  -this was evidenced by Nevis (1983) who found that the feeling of belonging was as important as the need for food in China
• Why does further research mean the theory is a weakness

  -FR also supports this cultural variation it has been found that Americans focus more on personal identity and self concept whereas Chinese Japanese and Koreans define self concept more in terms of social relationship
• What is a strength of this approach/Rogers


  -This approach is not determinstic as other theories such as biological approach are. It takes a more holistic stance with the idea that subjective experience can be understood by considering the whole person

  -This may therefore mean the humanistic approach has more validity than the alternatives such as behaviourism or cognitive approaches as it considers meaningful human behaviours within its context
• What is another strength of this approach/Rogers


  -HA has been praised for "bringing the human back into psychology".

  -Freud stated that we are all slaves to our past that we all exist between common happiness and absolute misery

  -The humanistic approach offers a refreshing alternative where people are regarded as having free will to work towards their full potential
• What is another weakness criticism of the HA/rogers


  -unrealistic as it represents an idealised view of human nature

  -critics argue that humans are not as inherently good as this approach suggests

  -the theory fails to recognise that people can have a capacity for self destruction and that encouraging people to focus on their own self development rather than on situational factors may not be realistic in our society or constructive to the individual in question