Humanistic Flashcards
(19 cards)
What distinguishes humanistic psychology from other approaches in terms of free will?
Humanistic psychology is quite different in this respect, claiming that human beings are essentially self-determining and have free will. People are still affected by external and internal influences, but are also active agents who can determine their own development.
Why do humanistic psychologists reject scientific models?
For this reason, humanistic psychologists such as Rogers and Maslow, reject more scientific models that attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour. As active agents we are all unique, and psychology should concern itself with the study of subjective experience rather than general laws. This is often referred to as a person-centred approach in psychology.
What was Maslow’s interest and how did he describe motivation?
One of his main interests was in what motivates people. He described a hierarchy of needs that motivate our behaviour. In order to achieve our primary goal of self-actualisation, a number of other deficiency needs must first be met.
What are some examples of deficiency needs at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy?
At the bottom are physiological needs such as food and water. Imagine you wanted to produce the best psychology essay you had ever written, this would be very difficult if you were hungry or tired.
What are the four levels of deficiency needs before self-actualisation?
Moving up the hierarchy, the next deficiency need is safety and security followed by love and belongingness and then self-esteem. A person is only able to progress through the hierarchy once the current need in the sequence has been met.
What is self-actualisation and its place in Maslow’s hierarchy?
At the top is self-actualisation. Most people have an innate desire to achieve their full potential - to become the best they can possibly be. Self-actualisation represents the uppermost level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
When can a person work towards self-actualisation?
All four lower levels of the hierarchy (deficiency needs) must be met before the individual can work towards self-actualisation (a growth need) and fulfil their potential.
How do humanistic psychologists view personal growth?
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.
What can prevent a person from reaching self-actualisation?
Not everyone will manage this, however, and there are important psychological barriers that may prevent a person from reaching their potential.
What is congruence, according to Carl Rogers?
Carl 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).
What happens if there is too big a gap between the self and ideal self?
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.
What is client-centred therapy and why did Rogers develop it?
In order to reduce the gap between the self-concept and the ideal self, Rogers developed client-centred therapy - also called ‘counselling’ to help people cope with the problems of everyday living.
What causes low self-esteem or worthlessness in adults according to Rogers?
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.
What are ‘conditions of worth’ and how can they be harmful?
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.
How did Rogers view the role of an effective therapist?
Thus, 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.
PEEL: Not ReductionistWhat is one strength of the humanistic approach in terms of reductionism?
Point: One strength of the humanistic approach is that it rejects attempts to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components (reductionism).Evidence: Behaviourists explain human and animal learning in terms of simple stimulus-response connections. Supporters of the cognitive approach see human beings as little more than information-processing ‘machines’. Biological psychologists reduce behaviour to its basic physiological processes. Freud described the whole of personality as a conflict between three things: Id, Ego and Superego.Explanation: In contrast, humanistic psychologists advocate holism, the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person. This approach may have more validity than its alternatives by considering meaningful human behaviour within its real-world context.Link: Therefore, the holistic focus of humanistic psychology gives it strength in capturing the richness of human experience.
PEEL: Scientific Limitations What is one scientific limitation of the humanistic approach?
Point: A limitation of the humanistic approach is that it may lack scientific credibility.Evidence: The ideal of science is the experiment, and experiments reduce behaviour to independent and dependent variables.Explanation: Humanistic psychology has relatively few concepts that can be broken down to single variables and measured. This means that humanistic psychology in general is short on empirical evidence to support its claims.Link: Therefore, the approach may be seen as less rigorous or scientific than other psychological perspectives.
PEEL: Positive Approach What is another strength of the humanistic approach regarding its view of human nature?.
Point: Another strength of the humanistic approach is that it is optimistic.Evidence: Humanistic psychologists have been praised for bringing the person back into psychology and promoting a positive image of the human condition.Explanation: Freud saw human beings as prisoners of their past and claimed all of us existed somewhere between common unhappiness and absolute despair. In contrast, humanistic psychologists see all people as basically good, free to work towards the achievement of their potential and in control of their lives.Link: This suggests that humanistic psychology offers a refreshing and optimistic alternative to other approaches.
PEEL: Cultural BiasWhat is a cultural limitation of the humanistic approach?
Point: One limitation of the approach is that it may be culturally biased.Evidence: Many of the ideas that are central to humanistic psychology, such as individual freedom, autonomy and personal growth, would be much more readily associated with countries that have more individualist tendencies (e.g. the US).Explanation: Countries with collectivist tendencies emphasise more the needs of the group and interdependence. In such countries, the ideals of humanistic psychology may not be as important as in others (e.g. self-actualisation).Link: Therefore, it is possible that this approach does not apply universally and is a product of the cultural context within which it was developed.
