humanistic approach

• outline the main assumption of the humanistic approach


  Behaviour is a result of an individuals free will, personal experiences and the innate drive for self actualisation
• what is meant by free will?


  the notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological factors or external forces
• what is meant by self-actualisation?


  the desire to grow psychologically and fulfil one's full potential - becoming what you are capable of
• what is meant by conditions of worth?


  when a parent places limits or boundaries on their love of their children, eg. I will only love you if...

  an individual may only experience a sense of self-acceptance only if they meet the expectations that others have as a set as conditions of acceptance
• outline Maslow's hierarchy of needs


  - a five-levelled hierarchical sequence in which basic 'deficiency needs' needs must be satisfied before higher psychological needs can be achieved

  - the hierarchy emphasises the importance of personal growth and fulfilment

  
• what is meant by congruence?


  when there is a similarity between a person's ideal self and self image
• outline the influence of humanistic psychology on counselling psychology

  - Roger claimed that an individual's psychological problems were a direct result of their conditions of worth --> he believed that with counselling people would be able to solve their own problems in constructive ways

  
  

  - therapy is non-directive + clients are encouraged towards the discovery of their own solutions within a therapeutic atmosphere that is warm, supportive and non judgemental

  
  

  - aim of Rogerian therapy is to increase feelings of self-worth , reduce the level of incongruence between the self-concept and the ideal self and help the person become a more fully functioning person

  
  

  - Rogers' work transformed psychotherapy and introduced a variety of counselling techniques --> client-centered therapy has been praised as a forward looking and effective approach that focuses on present problems rather than dwelling on the past
• name one strength of the humanistic approach


  HOLISTIC APPROACH:

  - rejects any attempt to break down human behaviour into smaller components

  - advocates holism - the idea that the subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person

  --> GIVES THE APPROACH MORE VALIDITY THAN THE ALTERNATIVES BY CONSIDERING MEANINFUL HUMAN BEHAVIOUR WITHIN ITS REAL LIFE CONTEXT
• name one limitation of the humanistic approach


  UNTESTABLE AND SUBJECTIVE CONCEPTS:

  - humanism suffers from a lack of empirical evidence and no possibility of systematically observing and measuring the processes which it describes

  - eg. self-actualisation or congruence can not be objectively measured

  --> does little to improve the scientific credibility of humanism