Humanistic approach

• The humanistic approach is based on the idea that people have free will, which means they can make choices about their own lives.
• According to the humanistic approach, everyone is unique and we should all be treated as different people. The theory suggests it is pointless to generalise people in groups as each individual is so different, instead we should be idiographic and consider people as unique individuals
• Humanists believe everyone has free will, we have the ability to choose what we do and we are in control of our own behaviour
• Humanists argue people should be viewed holistically (their entire character) as we must consider the whole person, rather than a specific characteristic
• Humanists believe behaviour is subjective and cannot be measured objectively and so the scientific method is not appropriate, thoughts and feelings of a person are important to consider
• The humanistic approach believes we have an innate driver to be the best person we can possibly be and fulfill our potential, reaching self-actualisation. Self-actualisation is the ultimate feeling of well-being and fulfillment. Everyone drives towards self actualisation but Maslow believes only 1% actually reach it
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs states there are five levels of need in order to reach self-actualisation; physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualisation. These needs build upon one another and once one level is met then the next becomes more prominent
• Physiological needs include food, water, shelter and sleep, this is the first tier of Maslow's hierarchy of needs

  
• Safety needs include security, stability and freedom from fear or harm, this is the second tier of Maslow's hierarchy of needs
• Love and belongingness needs include intimacy with others, friendship, family and sexual relationships, this is the third tier of Maslow's hierarchy of needs
• Esteem needs includes confidence, achievement, respect and status, this is the fourth tier of Maslow's hierarchy of needs
• Self-actualisation needs include realising ones full potential, creativity and morality, this is the fifth tier of Maslow's hierarchy of needs
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs

  
• Rogers identified 2 focuses on self:

  • The perceived self (or self-concept): the self that you feel you are, it is similar to self-esteem and is affected by it. For example, if you have a low self-esteem you will have a poor self-concept, your self concept can be distorted
  • The ideal self; the self you wish to be, who you are aiming to be. Not who you are but who you want to be.
• To achieve self-actualisation someone needs to be congruent, this is when the perceived self and the ideal self are the same/similar - more consistent. If there is a large gap between the perceived self and ideal self, someone is incongruent.
• In order to achieve congruence:

  • A person needs to close the gap between their ideal and perceived self by having a more positive and healthy view of themselves or by having a more realistic/achieve ideal self
  • The person needs "unconditional positive regard", being loved without any other expectations in return. This may come from family, friends or partners. It is necessary to come from a therapist
• If an individual has conditional positive regard, an individual feels there are requirements they need to meet in order to be loved, this conditions may be real (e.g "i will only love you if you get good grades") or perceived by the individual

  If love is given freely, without conditions this is called unconditional positive regard and people develop a healthy sense of self-worth and can recognise their abilities and difficulties.
• Humanism has a major influence on client-centered therapy, which is a type of therapy that focuses on the client's needs and wants.

  • The client-therapist relationship is extremely important so clients feel comfortable and accepted, ensuring unconditional positive regard
  • The client is encouraged to develop positive self-regard and overcome their incongruence
  • The client should feel they can talk to their therapist in total honesty, so they can work to become congruent
  • Used to treat conditions such as anxiety and low self-worth
  • Focuses on the present rather than the past
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  Links to economic development

  Maslow's hierarchy may be important for more than just individual growth

  Hagerty (1984) looked at the relationship between economic growth & Maslow's hierarchy in 88 countries over 34 years

  • Countries in early stages of economic development were only concerned with lower levels of needs; physiological and safety.
  • As these countries were only able to fulfill these needs, and focused on them, people we unable to reach self-actualisation, this increases the validity of the humanistic approach as it proves all tiers are needed to reach self-actualisation.
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  Research support for conditions of worth

  Research with adolescents has shown evidence for Rogers' ideas of conditions of worth

  • Individuals who experience conditional positive regard are likely to display "false self behaviour" to meet others expectations and feel loved, even if they don't agree with the actions
  • Harter et Al found teens who felt they had to fufill certain conditions to gain their parent's approval ended up disliking themselves and were more likely to develop depression

  This increases the validity of Rogers' humanistic theory as the results demonstrate what he predicted
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  Research methods do not establish causalty


  Most research to support the approach fails to establish a causal relationship between variables

  • Rogers in particular was in favour of non-scientific/experimental methods, arguing science cannot be applied to verify results of counselling
  • Most psychologists argue it is impossible to establish the effectiveness of humanistic counselling without experimental proof

  Studies cannot be used to proove humanistic psychology counselling is beneficial, decreasing validity
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  Humanistic approach is unrealistic


  An overly idealised and unrealistic view of human nature

  Humans arguably aren't as "good" and "growth oriented" as the humanistic theory suggests, the approach does not recognise people's capacity for pessimism and self-destructive behaviour

  The idea human personality & development is directed only by an innate drive for growth is simplistic as is saying all problems arise from blocked self-actualisation

  Approach may not be appropriate or realistic in modern society
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  Cultural differences in the hierarchy of needs

  Some people's needs may appear in a different order or be absent all together

  In 1983, Nevis did a study in China and found needs of belonging were seen as more fundamental than physiological needs & self-actualisation was defined more by community contributions rather than individual development.

  Different cultures define self-concept differently, this questions the appropriateness of using the hierarchy for self-actualisation for all people as it may not be applicable for everyone