Humanistic approach

• What is the humanistic approach?

  A psychological perspective that emphasises the importance of individual experiences, self-actualisation, and free will (self-deterministic), rejecting more scientific approaches as they generalise the population into categories
• Who developed the humanistic approach?

  Rogers and Maslow
• When was the humanistic approach developed?

  1950s
• Why is the humanistic approach subjective?

  Because it only focuses on individual experiences, which is not measurable
• What are key assumptions of the humanistic approach?

  • Humans have full conscious control over their own destiny (free will)
  • Ideal self and real self must be congruent to be psychologically healthy
  • All humans strive towards self-actualisation
  • Self-actualisation can only happen when we see ourselves as being loved and accepted unconditionally
• What is the difference between free will and determinism?

  Free will is the belief that individuals have the ability to make choices and decisions freely, while determinism is the belief that all events, including human actions, are determined by external factors and cannot be altered
• Free will in humanistic approach

  We make choices that are no determined by biological or external forces, we are active agents who have the ability to determine our own development
• Who developed the 7-stage model?

  Abraham Maslow
• What was Maslow's beliefs?

  • Humans are motivated by needs beyond those of basic biological survival
  • We have the desire to grow and develop to achieve our full potential (self-actualisation)
  • Four basic needs (has to be met before working upwards) and then higher level psychological needs
  • Higher level needs are an evolutionary development of the human species
• What is the 7-stage 'hierarchy of needs' model from the bottom?

  1. Psychological needs
  2. Safety needs
  3. Belongingness and love needs
  4. Esteem needs
  5. Cognitive needs
  6. Aesthetic needs
  7. Self-actualisation needs
• What are psychological needs?

  Basic human needs of survival, e.g. hunger, thirst
• What are safety needs?

  To feel secure and safe, out of danger
• What are belongingness and love needs?

  To affiliate with others, be accepted, and belong
• What are esteem needs?

  To achieve, be competent, and gain approval and recognition
• What are cognitive needs?

  To know, understand, and explore
• What are aesthetic needs?

  Symmetry, order and beauty
• What are self-actualisation needs?

  To find self-fulfilment, and realise one's potential
• What was Carl Rogers' ideas?

  • Individuals strive to achieve their ideal selves because they are motivated towards self improvement
  • He believes the humanistic approach uses a positive image to explore healthy growth in individuals
• Unconditional positive regard

  Feeling nurtured and valued by significant people in their lives (e.g. parents) without conditions -> makes people develop a healthy sense of self-worth, recognising their abilities and difficulties
• What happens when children receive negative regard?

  Criticism and blame directly can make children develop low self-esteem
• What is congruence in psychology?

  Consistency between ideal self and actual behaviour
• What is incongruence in psychology?

  When there is a gap between ideal self and actual self, the greater the gap the greater the incongruence
• What can incongruence lead to?

  Low self-worth and maladjustment
• What contributes to incongruency?

  Defence mechanisms (distortion, denial, blocking) -> stop the self from growing and changing widening the gulf between our ideal self and true self
• What form of therapy did Rogers develop?

  Client-centered therapy
• What happens during client-centered therapy?

  • Assumes conditions of worth was set up as a child
  • Therapist works to provide clients with unconditional positive regard that they failed to receive as children
  • Idiographic approach
• What are conditions of worth?

  Boundaries or limits on love that are set, leading people to not feel fully valued
• Idiographic approach

  Studying a person in their environmental context as an individual case
• Nomothetic approach

  Studying a person by looking at the average performance of groups
• What are some contributions of society of the humanistic approach?

  • Therapeutic treatment
  • CCT (client-centered therapy -positive self-regard, overcome mismatch between perceived, true and ideal self)
  • Gestalt therapy (becoming a 'whole' person by accepting every aspect of themselves, techniques include confrontation, dream analysis and role playing)
  • Emphasis on individual potential and personal growth
• What was the Q-sort assessment?

  Developed by Stephenson (1953), later adopted into CCT by Rogers

  • Measures a person's congruence / incongruence by a series of card (Q-sort) containing personal statements
  • Statements are sorted into a forced distribution under two conditions -> real self / ideal self
• What are some strengths of the humanistic approach?

  • Emphasises choice (free will and responsibility)
  • Considers subjective conscious experience
  • Values personal ideals and self-fulfilment
  • More sensitive with the human existence -> not reductionist
  • Effective in treatment of certain disorders
• What are some limitations of the humanistic approach?

  • Less impact on mainstream psychology
  • Qualitative techniques are questionable
  • Loose set of abstract ideas - unable to formulate general laws of behaviour
  • Untestable concepts of 'self-actualisation'
  • Not culturally valid