AO1 Humanistic

• What is the humanistic approach?

  An approach that emphasises the important of subjective experience and each person’s capacity for self determinism
• What is holism?

  The belief that a person should be viewed as a whole, rather than as a collection of individual parts.
• Assumptions of the humanistic approach

  Assumes that we all have free will and are ‘mistresses’ and ‘masters’ of our own development, so we can ignore the influence of internal and external factors on our behaviour.
• What can we do because we have free will?

  Progress through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and better ourselves
• Why is the humanistic approach idiographic?


  Focus on individual experiences.
• What is ‘self’?

  A term to describe all the ideas and values we have about ourselves, including perceptions of our abilities.
• What is the ‘ideal self’?


  Describes our perception of the best versions of ourselves
• What do we experience if the gap between the self and the ideal self is too large?

  Incongruence
• The consequent negative feelings of low self worth and low self esteem prevent us from progressing through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and so we cannot achieve self actualisation.
• When there is little or no gap between the self and the ideal self, then we have achieved congruence, allowing us to progress up the hierarchy, with the aim of achieving self actualisation.
• What is self actualisation?

  The innate desire we all have to become the best version of ourselves, through personal and psychological growth i.e. “achieving one’s full potential”
• What does the green show?

  Safety needs

  
• What does the yellow show?

  Belongingness and love needs (intimate relationships, friends)

  
• What does the blue show?

  Esteem needs (prestige and feeling of accomplishment)

  
• What does the orange show?

  Self actualisation : achieving one’s full potential

  
• What can Maslow‘s hierarchy be divided into?

  Basic needs, Psychological needs, self fulfilment needs
• What are the basic needs in Maslow’s hierarchy?

  Physiological needs (food water) and safety needs (security)
• What are the psychological needs in Maslow’s heirarchy?

  Belongingness and love needs, esteem needs
• What are the self fulfilment needs in Maslow’s heirarchy?

  Self actualisation
• What is the aim of Rogerian therapy?

  To reduce the gap between the self and the ideal self, thus increasing the likelihood of achieving congruence and subsequently, self actualisation.
• According to Rogers and Maslow, where do conditions of worth originate from?

  Childhood, where adults restrict the love they show towards their children, by imposing conditions of worth. This represents a lack of unconditional positive regard
• What is the most important factor of a good therapist, according to Rogers?

  Providing unconditional positive regard, which the patient most likely lacked during childhood
• Rogerian therapies view patients as ‘experts’ of their conditions, and so they are encouraged to arrive at their own solutions to these problems, with the help of a therapist.
• What does the purple show?

  Physiological needs