humanistic approach

• Humanistic psychology is quite different from other approaches in that it claims human beings are essentially self-determining and have free will
• Humanistic psychologists


  Reject more scientific models that attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour
• Humanistic psychology


  Concerns itself with the study of subjective experience rather than general laws
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs


  A hierarchy of needs that motivate our behaviour, with self-actualisation at the top
• Self-actualisation


  • The uppermost level of Maslow's hierarchy, representing the innate desire to achieve one's full potential
  • All four lower levels of the hierarchy (deficiency needs) must be met before the individual can work towards self-actualisation
• The self, congruence and conditions of worth


  • For personal growth, an individual's concept of self (the way they see themselves) must be broadly equivalent to, or have congruence with, their ideal self (the person they want to be)
  • If too big a gap exists between the two selves, the person will experience a state of incongruence and self-actualisation will not be possible
• Client-centred therapy


  1. Therapist provides the client with genuineness, empathy and unconditional positive regard

  2. Aims to increase the person's feelings of self-worth, reduce the level of incongruence between the self-concept and the ideal self, and help the person become a more fully functioning person
• Client-centred therapy has been praised as a forward-looking and effective approach that focuses on present problems rather than dwelling on the past
• Client-centred therapy is best applied to the treatment of 'mild psychological conditions, such as anxiety and low self-worth
• Counselling would be less effective in treating more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia


  Because client-centred therapy is best applied to mild psychological conditions
• Jeung is a student who has always dreamed of being a dancer, but her colleagues have pressured her to become a teacher instead, which she is not proud of
• Cultural differences can affect behaviour and values, as individualistic cultures may value self-actualisation more than collectivist cultures