humanistic approach

• focuses on healthy growth in individuals and more positive psychology
• rogers and maslow claim humans are self determining and have free will
• individual uniqueness - person centred approach in psychology
• reject scientific models that attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour
• maslow - hierarchy of needs

  1. self actualisation - achieving full potential
  2. esteem - prestige and feelings of accomplishment
  3. belongingness and needs - intimate friends and relationships
  4. safety needs - security, safety
  5. physiological needs - food, water, rest etc
• esteem, belongingness, safety needs and physiological needs need to be met before one can work towards self actualisation and achieve full potential
• self actualisation achieved through congruence - ideal and real self balanced
• incongruence - gap between real self and ideal is too big = self actualisation not possible due to negative feelings of self worth
• client centred therapy - roger’s developed it to reduce gap between real and ideal self and to help people cope with life problems
• X cultural bias - individual freedom, personal growth etc associated with individualistic cultures
• X immeasurable concepts
• X not reductionist - self actualisation can’t be scientifically observed
• ✔️ not reductionist - consider behaviour as a whole
• ✔️ valid - holistic approach so considers all aspects of human behaviour
• ✔️ promotes a positive image - optimistic view of self

  • freud saw people as ‘slaves of their past’