Humanistic Apporach Flashcards
(7 cards)
What is the humanistic approache
It was developed as al alternative to the psychodynamic and behavioural approaches, as Maslow and Rogers made a number of criticisms about the other approaches.
This approach suggests that humans are self-determining and have free will. It does consider that we are affected by internal and external factors, but overall states that we are active agents who can determine our own behaviour.
The humanistic approach arugued that a proper understanding of human behaviour can only come from:
Studying humans (and not animals)
Studying the individual in their natural environment.
What did Maslow suggest
He suggested that psychology should aim to investigate the uniquely human aspects of experience and believed that humans are motivated by needs. This lead him to create his hierarchy of needs, which suggests you cant move up it, until you you meet the criteria of the stage below
1.self actualisation
2. Esteem needs
3. Belongingness and love
4. Safety needs
5. Physiological needs
For example, he said someone who is in pain will be seeking relief for that pain (a physiological needs) rather then planning what ot do at the weekend with your friends (belongingness and love).
According to Maslow, fundamental of human behaviour is the desire to grow and develop to achieve our full potential, however thid doesn’t mean that everyone will reach their full potential.
What did Rogers suggest
Similar to Maslow, he considered self actualisation to be the built in motivation present in everyday life, to develop our potentials to the fullest. He believed that it’s in our nature to do the very best we can. Rogers said that growth and development is reliant on having positive self-esteem concept and high self-esteem concept.
How do we develop positive self-esteem
Rogers says that our parents should show children unconditional positive regard to achieve good self-esteem
This doesn’t mean that parents should let their children get say with things that they shouldn’t and shouldn’t reward them, but it does mean that parents should communicate with their child that they will always be valued regardless of the event.
However many children learn at a young age age that they will only be valued by there families if they meet the demands that their family make of them and that if you aren’t successful you aren’t valued (conditional positive regard). This will limit our potential growth ans lead to low self-esteem.
How can you reduce the gap of self-image and the ideal self
This is through client-cantered counselling. Through providing unconditional positive regard, empathetic understanding and accurate insight to the clients life. The therapist will encourage the client to use their free will to make choices that make them closer to the person they want to be.
Strength evaluation
P- practical applications
E- rogers transformed psychotherapy which lead to the introduction to new counselling techniques, such at treating clients with empathy and unconditional positive regard to increase their self-worth
E- help clients become a more fully functioning person
P- argues humans have free will
E- other approaches, see the individual as a result of past learnt responses to environmental stimuli and the humanistic approach questions this.
E- it sees us having control over our lives
Limiation evaluation
P- culturally bias and ethnocentric
E- Many humanistic ideas, like self-actualisation, are rooted in individualistic Western cultures, while collectivist cultures, which emphasise
community and interdependence, may not identify with these values. Christopher & Hickinbottom (2008) note that collectivism dominates 70% of the world’s population.
E- this approach doesn’t apply universally
