Humanistic

• Humanistic Psychology


  The Aamunt approach to psychology, developed mainly by Carl Rogers and Abram Maslow during the 1950s
• Humanistic Psychology


  • Focuses on the person as a whole
  • Believes that all people are inherently good and driven to achieve their full potential
  • Takes into account the feelings of the individual rather than just their observable behaviour
  • Has an idiographic approach rather than a nomothetic approach, focusing on studying the individual rather than producing general rules
• Behaviour


  Caused by subjective feelings and thoughts about themselves, their self-concept, and how they can become better people and learn new things
• Humanistic psychology disagrees with the strictly deterministic ideas of other approaches, which assume that human behaviour occurs in cause and effect relationships
• Humanistic psychology believes that human behaviour is determined by free will, and that people can choose how to behave
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs


  A theory of motivation developed by Maslow, which categorises and prioritises human needs
• Levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

  • Physiological needs
  • Safety needs
  • Need for love and belonging
  • Need for esteem
  • Self-actualisation
• Self-actualised people


  • Have a strong sense of self-awareness
  • Fully accept themselves and others for who they are
  • Can deal with uncertainty and the unknown
  • Have a strong sense of creativity
• Peak experiences

  Times where a person feels wonder and euphoria towards the world around them, often leading to a renewed sense of self-awareness
• There is little evidence or research to support the hierarchical nature of Maslow's hierarchy of needs
• Maslow supported his hierarchy with biographical evidence of famous 'self-actualisers', but the hierarchy doesn't explain why some people with the characteristics of a self-actualised person deprive themselves of basic needs
• Rogers' view of self-actualisation


  Rogers believed that all people have a need to be regarded by others in a good light and to be shown love and affection, and that blockage of this can lead to psychological problems
• Self-concept

  How someone sees themselves
• Ideal self


  How someone would like to be
• Unconditional positive regard


  Affection and support given no matter what the person's behaviour is like
• Conditions of worth


  Approval and affection given as a result of behaving in a certain way
• Congruence


  When someone's self-concept and ideal self are aligned, allowing them to become a fully-functioning person
• Incongruence


  When there is a mismatch between someone's self-concept and their ideal self
• Person-centred therapy


  • Focuses on the client, who is in charge of what is talked about and responsible for solving their own problems
  • The therapist's job is to make the client aware of their thoughts, actions and behaviours by carefully rephrasing and repeating back what the client says
  • Unconditional positive regard, genuineness and empathy are important