Humanistic Psychology

• Parts of Humanistic psychology:

  • Free will
  • Maslow's theory
  • Hierarchy of needs
  • Self-actualisation
  • Focus on the self
  • Congruence
  • Conditions of worth
• Humanistic psychology:

  • Hierarchy of needs - most basic ( physiological )are at the bottom, higher needs ( self-actualisation ) are at the top
  • People at self-actualisation are more creative & had accurate perceptions of the world around them
  • Focus on the self - Rogers claimed people have two basic needs: positive regard from others & a feeling of self worth which is developed in childhood
  • Congruence - when there's similarity between one's ideal self & how they perceive themselves in real life
  • Conditions of worth - conditions that significant others put on us & which need to be in place if we are to be accepted by others
• Humanistic psychology AO3:

  • ❌ Unrealistic - highly idealised portrayal of humans, fails to recognise people's capacity for self-destruction
  • ❌ Research methods - can't establish cause & effect, no experimental evidence
  • ✅ Research support for conditions of worth - teens who had conditional positive regard & who created a 'false self' were more likely to develop depression ( negative psychological health)
  • ❌ Cultural differences - in China, belongingness needs were seen as more fundamental than physiological & self-actualisation was based in terms of contribution to community - only applicable to individualistic cultures
• Humanistic Psychology AO3:

  • ❌ Unrealistic
  • ❌ Research methods
  • ✅ Research Support for conditions of worth
  • ❌ Culture differences