humanistic

• Self-actualisation: The desire to grow psychologically and fulfil one's full potential - becoming what you are capable of.
• Hierarchy of needs:

  A five-levelled hierarchical sequence in which basic physiological needs (such as hunger) must be satisfied before higher psychological needs (such as self-esteem and self-actualisation) can be achieved.
• Self: The ideas and values that characterise 'I' and 'me' and includes perception and valuing of 'what I am' and 'what I can do'.
• Congruence: The aim of Rogerian therapy, when the self-concept and ideal self are seen to match
• Conditions of worth: When a parent places limits or boundaries on their love of their children. For instance, a parent saying to a child, 'I will only love you if you study medicine' or 'if you split up with that boy'
• Physiological needs: food and water
• Moving up the hierarchy is

  • physiological needs
  • safety and security
  • love and belongingness
  • self-esteem
  • self-actualisation
• A person is only able to progress through the hierarchy once the current need in the sequence has been met.
• Humanistic psychologists regard personal growth as an essential part of what it is to be human.
• Personal growth is concerned with developing and changing as a person to become fulfilled, satisfied and goal-orientated.
• Not everyone will personal growth, however, and there are important psychological barriers that may prevent a person from reaching their potential.
• Rogers argued that for personal growth to be achieved 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 due to the negative feelings of self-worth that arise from incongruence.
• To reduce the gap between the self-concept and the ideal self, Rogers developed client-centred therapy - also called 'counselling'
• Rogers claimed that many of the issues we experience as adults, such as worthlessness and low self-esteem, have their roots in childhood and can often be explained by a lack of unconditional positive regard (or lack of unconditional love) from our parents.
• A parent who sets boundaries or limits on their love for their child (conditions of worth) by claiming 'I will only love you if...' is storing up psychological problems for that child in the future.
• Rogers saw one of his roles as an effective therapist as being able to provide his clients with the unconditional positive regard that they had failed to receive as children.