humanistic Flashcards
(12 cards)
AO1 outline : humanistic approach
Free will
Maslow’s theory
- hierarchy of needs
-self-actualisation
Focus on self
Congruence
Conditions of worth
Influence on counselling psychology
AO1 humanistic app: free will
= the ability to act on one’s own discretrion
Humanistic theories emphasise that people have full conscious control over their own destiny .
This does not mean that we are free to do anything at all (there are still constraints on our behaviour, such as biological and societal influences), but we are able to make significant personal choices within the constraints imposed by these other forces.
AO1 humanistic app: Maslow’s theory
1943
Maslow was interested in interested in finding out what could go right with people
Emphasised importance of personal growth and fulfillment
hierarchy of needs
Psychological needs are represented in a hierarchy.
Each level must be fulfilled before a person can move up to a higher need, and the more basic the need, the more powerfully it is experienced.
(BOTTOM) 1. Physiological needs: Breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion.
- Safety needs: Security of body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health, of property.
- Love/belonging needs: Friendship, family, sexual intimacy.
- Esteem needs: Self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others.
(TOP) 5. Self-actualisation: Morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem-solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of fact.
self-actualisation
Maslow found that most of those who attained this level shared certain characteristics.
They tended to be creative, accepting of other people and had an accurate perception of the world around them.
Maslow believed that such individuals experienced self-actualisation in the form of peak experiences. These are moments of extreme inspiration and ecstasy during which they felt able to leave behind all doubts, fears and inhibitions.
AO1 humanistic app: focus on self
The self (or self-concept) refers to how we perceive ourselves as a person.
Rogers claimed people have two basic needs: positive regard from other people and a feeling of self-worth.
Feelings of self-worth develop in childhood and are formed as a result of interactions with parents. Further interactions with significant others (e.g., friends, spouses) also influence the person’s feelings of self-worth. How we think about ourselves, and our feelings of self-worth, are important in determining our psychological health. The closer our self-concept and our ideal self (i.e., who we feel we should be or would like to be) are to one another, the greater our feelings of self-worth and the greater our psychological health.
AO1 humanistic app: congruence
When there is similarity between a person’s ideal self and how they perceive themselves to be in real life, a state of congruence exists
. However, if there is a difference between the ideal self and real self, the person experiences a state of incongruence.
The closer our self-image and ideal self are to each other, the greater the congruence and the higher our feelings of self-worth.
AO1 humanistic app: conditions of worth
Conditions of worth: conditions imposed on an individuals behaviour and development that are considered necessary to earn positive regard from significant others
The issue of other people may help or hinder the process of self-actualisation.
Rogers believed that other people hinder this process if they place conditions on their positive regard.
A person is accepted for who they are or what they do (conditional positive regard), rather than unconditional positive regard.
When people experience conditional positive regard they develop conditions of worth.
These are the conditions they perceive significant others (e.g., parents or spouse) put upon them, and which they believe have to be in place if they are to be accepted by others and see themselves positively. An individual may experience a sense of self-acceptance only if they meet the expectations that others have set as conditions of acceptance.
AO1 humanistic app: The influence on counselling psychology
Rogers believed that, with counselling, people would be able to solve their own problems in constructive ways, and move towards becoming a more fully functioning person. Instead of acting in a directive way, humanistic therapists regard themselves as ‘guides’ or ‘facilitators’ to help people understand themselves and to find ways to enable their potential for self-actualisation.
Therapists provide empathy and unconditional positive regard, expressing their acceptance and understanding, regardless of the feelings and attitudes the client expresses.
By doing this, a therapist is able to offer an appropriately supportive environment to help dissolve the client’s conditions of worth. This results in the client moving towards being more authentic and more true to self, i.e., able to behave in a way that is true to the person they are, rather than the person others want them to be.
AO3: humanistic approach
str: economic developments
str: research support
lim: causality
lim: cultural diffs
AO3 hum app str: links to economic development
Research suggests that Maslow’s hierarchy may have relevance on a much larger stage than individual growth
Hagerty: looked at relationship between economic growth and measures of Maslow’s levels in 88 countries over a 34 year period. Countries in the early stages of economic development were characterised by lower level needs (eg physiological needs like food, safety)
As would be predicted by Maslow’s model, it was only in the advances stages of economic development that self-actualisation became important (eg using levels of educational enrolment as a measure of people’s desire to better themselves)
AO3 hum app str: research support
Research support for conditions of worth with adolescents has shown evidence consistent w Rogers’ view
Individuals who experience conditional positive regard are likely to display more ‘false self behaviour’- doing things to meet others’ expectations even when they clash w their own values.
Harter: discovered that teenagers who feel that they have to fulfil certain conditions in order to gain their parents’ approval frequently end up not liking themselves
Consistent w Rogers’ predictions, adolescents who created a ‘false self’ pretending to be the kind of person their parents would love, were more likely to develop depression
This shows the value in this research as it shows how parenting styles can be adapted to prevent mental health issues
AO3 hum app lim: causality
Humanistic research methods do not establish causality
Evaluating the humanistic approach scientifically is difficult bc most of the evidence used to support this approach fails to establish a causal relationship between variables
Rogers was an advocate of non-experimental research methods, arguing that the requirements of experimental methods make it impossible to verify the results of counselling.
Most psychologists would argue that wo the experimental evidence, evaluation of a therapy, or the theory that underlines it, becomes v difficult.
Although some studies have shown personal growth as a result of recieving humanistic counselling, these do not show that the therapy caused the changes, a fundamental requirement of scientific psychology
Lack of causality established means we cannot truly determine the effectiveness of humanistic psychology which limits the importance of this in psychology
AO3 hum appr lim: cultural difference
cultural differences in the hierarchy of needs
in a later development to his theory, Maslow did acknowledge that needs may appear in a different order or may even be absent altogether
This is borne out by cross-cultural evidence
Eg: a study carried out in China found that belongingess needs were seen as more fudamental than physiological needs and that self-actualisation was defineds more in terms of contributions to the community than in terms of individual development
Many studies have confirmed that Europeans and Americans focus more on personal identity in defining their self-concept, whereas Chinese, Japanese and Koreans define self-concept in terms of social relationships
Maslows hierarchy is a rigid construct that is not universally applicable and is more of a Western view. However he has acknowledged this.
