humanistic approach Flashcards
what is humanistic psychology?
an approach to understanding. behaviour that emphasises the importance of subjective experience & each person’s capacity for self-determinism
what is free will?
the notion that humans can make choices & are not determined by internal biological or external forces
what is the hierarchy of needs?
a 5 levelled hierarchical sequence in which basic physiological needs must be satisfied before higher psychological needs can be achieved
what is self-actualisation?
the desire to grow psychologically & fulfil one’s full potential - becoming what you are capable of
what is the ‘self’?
the self refers to the ideas & values that characterise ‘i’ & ‘me’ & includes perception of ‘what am i’ & ‘what can i do’
why is the aim of therapy to establish congruence?
Rogers argued that personal growth requires an individual’s concept of self to be congruent not with their ideal self,
if too big a gap, the person will experience a state of incongruence & self-actualisation isn’t possible
what is congruence?
the aim of Rogerian therapy, when the self-concept & ideal self are seen to broadly accord or match
what are conditions of worth?
when a person places limits or boundaries on their love of their children, for e.g. a parent saying ‘i will only love you if… you study medicine’ or ‘if you split up with that boy’
how does parents who impose conditions of worth prevent personal growth?
issues such as worthlessness & low self esteem have their roots in childhood & are due to a lack of unconditional positive regard from our parents
how does the humanistic approach have a lasting effect on counselling psychology
in Rogers’ client-ventured therapy an effective therapist should provide the client with 3 things:
genuineness,
empathy,
unconditional positive regard.
the aim is to increase feelings of self-worth & reduce incongruence between the self-concept of the idea self,
his techniques are practised not only in clinical settings but throughout education, health, social work & industry
what is on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
- psychological needs (water, food, shelter etc)
- safety & security (personal security, employment, health etc)
- love & belongingness (friendship, intimacy, family etc)
- esteem (respect, self-esteem, status, freedom etc)
- self-actualisation (desire to become the most that one can be).
what is the anti-reductionist strength?
-the approach is anti-reductionist,
-humanistic psychologists reject any attempt to break up behaviour & experience into smaller experience into smaller components,
-they advocate holism - the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person (their relationships, past, present, future etc),
-this approach may have more validity by considering meaningful human behaviour within its real-world context.
what is the counterpoint to anti-reductionist?
-however, humanistic psychology, unlike behaviourism, has relatively few concepts that can be reduced to single variables & measured,
-this means that humanistic psychology in general is short on empirical evidence to support it claims.
what is the positive approach strength?
-this approach is a positive one,
-humanistic psychologists have been praised for promoting an image of the human condition - seeing people as in control of their lives & having the freedom to change,
-Freud saw human beings as prisoners of their past & claimed all of us existed somewhere between ‘common unhappiness and absolute despair’,
-therefore humanistic psychology offers a refreshing & optimistic alternative.
what is the cultural bias limitation?
-may be guilty of a cultural bias,
-many humanistic ideas (e.g. self-actualisation) would be more associated with individualist cultures such as the US,
-collectivist cultures such as India, which emphasise the needs of the group, may not identify so easily with the ideals & values of humanistic psychology,
therefore, it is possible that the approach does not apply universally & is a product of the cultural context within which is was developed.
