Humanistic

• Humanistic Approach -

  • emphasises the study of the whole person (holistic)and looking at subjective experiences, feelings and thoughts of a person
  • rejects the scientific method and principles and models that explain behaviour through a nomothetic approach.
  • humans have free-will and are active agents in their development, we make choices that effect our growth and development
  • people are good
  • take a person-centred approach.
• Self-actualisation = everyone has an innate tendency to achieve their full potential. This will be different for everyone however, personal growth and fulfilment is essential and we are motivated to self-actualise.
• Maslow's - Hierarchy of Needs

  • Physiological: breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion.
  • Safety: security of body, employment, resources, morality, family, health and property.
  • Love/Belonging: friends, family and sexual intimacy.
  • Esteem: self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of and by others.
  • Self-actualisation: morality, creativity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts.
• Rogers Humanistic Theory -

  The self = our perception of oneself, 'what am I' & 'what can I do'

  Congruence =similarity between ideal self and actual self in reality, the more similar the better your feelings of self worth.

  Incongruence = big differences between self and ideal self, self-actualisation is not possible.

  Conditions of worth = unconditional positive regard or conditional positive regard.

  ~ unconditional = feel valued and respected without having to meet any conditions.

  ~ conditional = only feel loved/valued if they meet the conditions of worth.
• • Influence on counselling psychology: client-centred therapy created. The aim is to reduce incongruence and teach the individual unconditional positive regard, genuineness and empathy (AO1 or AO3 depending on how it's used!)
  • AO3 - RLA - client-centred therapy improved patients issues especially with the health & social care industry improving patients quality of life. However, may have limited effectiveness for severe disorders e.g. schizophrenia as sufferers may not have a 'realistic' self as they may suffer from delusions and believe they hold extreme power.
• • Considers freewill & subjective experiences, takes a holistic approach as it uses real-life context to understand behaviour
  • Not scientific, concepts such as self-actualisation can't be measured, subjective and based off interpretation which reduces the scientific credibility of psychology as a science.
  • Culture bias, based on individual achievement which is Western ideology as it doesn't apply to collectivist cultures e.g. China which focus on the groups needs rather than oneself. This leads to imposed etic, the humanistic approach should use cultural relativism to be able to generalise.