Humanistic Psychology

• Maslow's hierarchy of need

  Physiological - Food, water, sleep

  Safety - Safe from danger, employment, good health and home

  Love and belonging - Friendship, intimacy

  Self esteem - Confidence, achievement, respected by others

  Self actualisation

  Lower needs must be met first as there will be an efficiency if they r not met

  There is a 6th layer - self transcendence
• Self - actualisation


  Desire for self fulfilment

  Desire to become everything you are capable of

  Reach your potential

  Motivated by needs

  Personal growth - developing and changing as a person
• Free will


  Humans are self determining

  We have the ability to determine our own development

  Person centred approach - we are all unique
• Conditions of worth


  A parent who sets boundaries or limits on their love for their child is setting up psychological issues for their child in the future

  Issues such as: worthlessness and low self esteem roots in childhood due to a lack of unconditioned positive regard.
• Rogers


  For personal growth to be achieved an individual's concept of self must have congruence with ideal self
• Counselling Psychology


  Client rather than patient

  Non - directive therapy

  Client is encouraged towards the discovery of their own solutions within a therapeutic atmosphere

  Aim: to increase self worth, reduce the level of incongruence between the self concept and the ideal self
• Strength


  Not reductionist - holistic

  More validity as it considers meaningful human behaviour in its real life context

  However it is not scientific in its approach
• Strength


  It is optimistic.

  Humanistic psychologists have been praised for bringing the person back into psychology and promoting a positive image of the human condition.

  Freud saw human beings as prisoners of their past and claimed all of us existed between unhappiness and despair

  In contrast, humanistic psychologists see all humans as good and in control of their lives.
• Limitation


  It is culturally biased

  Individualist culture: associated with autonomy and personal growth

  Collectivist culture: emphasise the needs of the group and interdependence self actualisation may not be as important.