humanistic approach

• Who are the two founding figured of the humanistic approach?

  Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
• How is humanistic psychology is different from the other approaches in psychology?

  It is intensively focused on discovering what it means to be fully human
• What does the humanistic approach assume?

  That every individual can assert free will and have a choice in how they behave
• What does free will mean?

  Everyone can consciously control and influence their own personal destiny, even within the constraints that exist in life from outside forces
• What does the humanistic approach argue?

  People should be studied holistically and therefore, the scientific method is not appropriate for studying human behaviour
• Why did Maslow develop the hierarchy of needs?


  As a way for employers to get the best out of their employees by understanding their needs
• How many layers does the hierarchy of needs have?

  5
• This hierarchy is in the shape of what?


  A pyramid
• How is the hierarchy of needs structured?

  The most basic needs are at the bottom and the more complex needs are at the top.
• What did Maslow propose about fulfilling the hierarchy of needs?

  You have to fulfil the bottom layers first before you can achieve the ones at the top
• What is the first layer of the hierarchy of needs?

  Physiological
• What is the second layer of the hierarchy of needs?

  Safety
• What is the third layer of the hierarchy of needs?

  Love/belonging
• What is the fourth layer of the hierarchy of needs?

  Esteem
• What is the fifth layer of the hierarchy of needs?

  Self-actualisation
• What is self-actualisation?


  Fulfilment of the true potential of the self
• What is the humanist belief about self-actualisation?

  Everyone has an innate drive to achieve this and individuals self-actualise in their own way
• What can achieving self-actualisation be described as?

  The ultimate feeling of well-being and satisfaction
• What did Carl Rogers believe was necessary for fulfilling potential for personal growth?

  Positive self-regard
• What are the two basic needs according to Rogers (1951)?

  Positive regard from others and a feeling of self worth
• How do feelings of self-worth develop?

  In childhood and are formed as a result of the child's interaction with parents. Further interactions with significant others also influence the persons feelings of self worth
• For Rogers, unhappiness and dissatisfaction are the outcomes of what?

  A psychological gap between self-concept (the way you think you are) and the ideal self (the way you would like to be)
• The self-concept and ideal self being similar is called what?

  Congruence
• What does congruence create?

  Feelings of self worth
• What did Rogers develop to reduce the gap between the self-concept and the ideal self?

  Client-centred therapy
• What are conditions of worth?

  Requirements that individual feels they need to meet to be loved
• What are conditions of worth also known as?

  Conditional positive regard
• What are two things conditions of worth can be?

  Real of perceived
• If someone feels these conditions of worth then what don't they experience?

  Unconditional positive regard
• Why is unconditional positive regard important?

  To self-actualise
• What is the purpose of client-centred therapy?

  To close the gap of incongruence between self-concept and the ideal self, and thus allow an individual to recognise both their psychological limits and their strengths, and achieve a realistic balance between them
• What did Rogers believe that taking a client-centred (person-centred) approach to counselling would lead to?

  An individual would be helped to make positive steps towards resolving their issues, learn a deeper understanding of themselves and, ultimately, achieve self-actualisation.
• What is the role of the therapist in client-centred therapy?

  To provide unconditional positive regard
• How does the therapist provide unconditional positive regard?

  By expressing acceptance, empathy and understanding of their condition
• What happens when the client feels sufficiently supported?

  Their conditions of worth affecting their self-concept will dissipate enabling them to move towards their ideal self and how they want to behave, rather than how they feel that they should
• What are three evaluation points for the humanistic approach?

  Supporting evidence

  Real life applications

  Culturally biased
• Who conducted supporting evidence for the humanistic approach?

  Harter et al. (1996)
• What did Harter et al. (1996) find?

  Teenagers who feel that they have to fulfil certain conditions in order to gain their parents' approval frequently ended up not liking themselves.
• What else did Harter et al. (1996) find?

  They also found that adolescents who create a "false self", pretending to be the kind of person their parents would love, are also more likely to develop depression and a tendency to lose touch with their own true self.
• How does Harter et al. (1996) support the humanistic approach?

  It supports the idea that conditions of worth do decrease mental health outcomes as Rogers in particular stated.