humanistic

• humanistic approach 


  + recognises human experience

  -largely at the expense of being non-scientific in its methods and ability to provide evidence
• humanistic 


  concerns issues to do with your self concept
• free will 


  full conscious control over their destiny
• maslow hierarchy of needs

  1 self actualisation

  2 esteem

  3 love and belongingness

  4 safety

  5 philosophical needs
• who was the humanistic approach developed by

  Abraham, Maslow and Carl Rogers in the 1950s
• what does the humanistic approach focus on

  • conscious experience rather than behaviours

  • personal responsibility and free will rather than determinism

  • discussion of experience rather than experimental methods
• what is rogers theory (1951)

  focus on the self
• congruence 


  when there is a similarity between a persons ideal self and how they perceive themselves to be in real life
• strengths of the humanistic approach

  • use of client centred therapy which is widely used today

  • better insight into an individuals behaviour through the use of qualitative methods such as unstructured interviews
• weaknesses of the humanistic approach

  • not much empirical research

  • belief in free will is in direct opposition to the deterministic laws of science

  • not generalisable
• self actualisation

  an individuals drive to fulfil their potential and achieve personal growth and self improvement
• conditions of worth

  describe the expectations and demands placed upon individuals by others, often starting in childhood
• counterpoint - hard to scientifically test effectiveness of humanistic counselling

  • can't be done in an experimental context
  • since a cause and effect relationship cannot be established between the treatment and outcome, the client may have recorded without the counselling
  • scientific certainty about the validity of the theory is almost impossible