Humanistic

• The Humanistic Approach

  • Developed in 1950s by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

  • unique approach that focuses on personal choice (free will) rather than behaviour being determined

  • Approach therefore focuses on conscious human experience rather that causes of behaviour

  • Also known as the “person centred approach “
• How do humanists experiment

  • it’s hard to experiment ’free will’

  • Humanists will use qualitative methods such as interviews diaries letters and biographies
• What is Manslows hierarchy of needs (1943)

  • 1943

  • motivational Theory demonstrating personal growth and fulfilment

  • instead of focusing on what’s wrong with people Maslow focused on what’s right

  • he created his “hierarchy of needs”where he examined what motivates people

  • He believed that humans are motivated by needs beyond those of basic biological survival

  • Fundamentals to human nature is desire to grow - Self-actualisation
• What are the 4 levels of Manslows hierarchy of needs

  • physiological

  • safety

  • love / belonging

  • esteem

  all 4 must be met before reaching the final tier

  • self- actualisation
• What is Rogers (1951)

  • Humanistic psychologists focus on ‘the self ‘

  • rogers claimed there were two basic needs in terms of the self

  • positive regard from other people
  • feelings of self worth
  • our feelings of self worth develop in child hood as a result of interactions with parents
• What is ideal self ?

  • the ideal self is how we want to be . it is an idealised image that we have developed over time based on what we have learned and experienced . The ideal self could include components of what our parents have taught us, what we admire in others , what our society promotes and what we think is in our best interests
• What is your actual self

  The actual self is who we actually are . it is how we think, how we feel, look and act. The real self can be seen by others but because we have no way of truly knowing how others view us , the real Self in our self-image
• What is Congruence

  When there is similarity between a persons ideal self and how they are perceived by others
• According to Rogers if we experience incongruence we cannot achieve self-actualisation this causes a negative feeling of self worth
• Advantages of the humanistic approach

  Its holistic approach to explaining behaviour could be more accurate, capturing the complexity of human experience. Other simple reductionist explanations often face criticism for overlooking multiple contributing factors
• Advantages of the humanistic approach

  The humanistic view that humans act with free will has face validity; people have a subjective experience of autonomy and self-direction and like to believe their actions are based on their own free choices
• Advantages of the humanistic approach

  Humanistic ideas have had practical application to the real world. Maslow's hierarchy of needs has been widely applied; it has improved performance in sports and enhanced employee satisfaction and motivation in the business world
• Disadvantages of the humanistic approach

  It is considered non-scientific due to its reliance on non-experimental qualitative methods, which results in a lack of empirical evidence for its claims. Additionally, contol concepts such as self-actualisation lack operationalism
• Disadvantage of the humanistic approach

  Developed in 1960s America, Humanistic psychology may be culturally biased towards western individualism. It emphasises self-actualisation through personal success, which contrasts with the collectivist values of many different cultures