Humanistic Approach

• Who brought forward the humanistic approach?

  Brought forward in the 1950s by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
• What did the humanistic approach focus on?

  It challenged the behaviourist and psychodynamic approaches and focused on the whole of the individual's experiences in order to understand their psychology.
• What is free will?

  Refers to personal autonomy- independence in mind and behaviour without the influence of external forces.
• Label Maslow's hierarchy of needs

  .

  A) Self-actualisation

  B) Esteem

  C) Love/Belonging

  D) Safety

  E) Physiological

  
• What was Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

  .

  1. Self actualisation: achieving one's full potential
  2. Esteem: Having respect from others and yourself; confidence
  3. Love/Belonging: Sexual intimacy, friendship and family
  4. Safety: Financial security and well being
  5. Physiological: Basic human needs to survive, food/water/shelter/reproduction
• What did Carl Rogers believe?

  That all people are innately programmed to strive for personal growth, however the way we perceive ourselves or the experience we have with others can sometimes interfere with this.
• What did Roger's ideas lead to?

  His ideas have been incredibly influential, Person-centred counselling is based on Roger's humanistic principles and is the dominant approach used by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
• What is congruence?

  If a person's self-concept and their ideal self are very close.
• What are conditions of worth?

  It is when people set boundaries on their love. Their love and affection is conditional on certain conditions being met.
• What is self-concept?

  Refers to how we perceive ourselves to be. It develops in early childhood and is dependant on how others treat and reflect back on us.
• What is unconditioned positive regard?

  A parent who accepts and loves their child for who and what they are is said to be offering unconditioned positive regard.
• What is ideal self?

  Reflects the person that we would like to be; traits and characteristics which we value and don't yet feel we have fully achieved.
• what is conditioned positive regard?

  When a person experiences conditions of worth, illustrated by a child who experiences that their parent only loves them if they are good, or if they are clever.
• What is self-esteem?

  Is based on how much they value themselves. It is calculated by observing the difference between a person's self-concept and their ideal self.
• What is incongruence?

  If there is a big difference with their self-concept being lower than the ideal self, the person is said to experience incongruence.
• What are the three main elements to Rogerian counselling?

  Concepts

  1. Unconditioned positive regard
  2. Empathy
  3. Congruence
• What is unconditioned positive regard in relation to counselling?

  The counsellor does not give instructions; they just show they understand what the client is saying by offering reflections.
• What is empathy in relation to counselling?

  The counsellor shows empathy to the client and aims to understand the reality of the client's experiences. They need to 'walk a mile in their shoes' to demonstrate an empathetic mindset.
• What is congruence in relation to counselling?

  The counsellor must be in touch with their own feelings to ensure they are not in some way influencing their client. It is common practice for counsellors to be in therapy themselves in order to process their own emotions and experiences and to release some of the tensions caused by empathising with their clients.
• What are the strengths of the humanistic approach?

  Strengths

  • Unlike the other approaches the humanistic approach takes the whole person into account when discussing behaviour.
  • May mean it has higher validity compared to other approaches in terms of considering behaviour in a more meaningful way within a real world context
  • It is optimistic which paints humans and our behaviour in a positive light
  • Humanism is refreshing and an optimistic alternative
• What are the weaknesses of the humanistic approach?

  Weaknesses

  • Reductionist approaches may be more scientific
  • Humanism can struggle in terms of empirical evidence
  • Perhaps it is over idealistic and unrealistic
  • People likely are not as good or growth oriented as made out to be
  • Ignores pessimism and self-destructive behaviour