HUMANISTIC APPROACH

Assumptions

• people areborn with free will and a wish to grow to their full potential (self-actualise)

• Personal agency is the choices we make in life and the paths we go down and their consequences

• People are good and have an innate need to make themselves and the world better

• Less scientific as it relies on subjective judgements difficult to measure empirically

• Very holistic, addresses all factors influencing behaviour

Free will

• in control of out own behaviour

• Acknowledges constraints on free will due to social laws

• Everyone is different and you can't generalise one behaviour to the population

Self actualise

• Fulfilling potential and being the best you can be

• brief moment of enlightenment when you have accomplished everything

• Difficult to achieve

Maslows hierarchy of needs

• 5 tiers,

• 1. Self-actualisation: morality, creativity, problem solving

• 2. esteem: confidence, self esteem, achievement, respect of others

• 3. love/belonging: friendship, family

• 4. safety: security of body, employment, resources, health

• 5. physiological: breathing, food, water, homeostasis

• Top tiers not as operationalised and is ambiguous

• Starts from the bottom and climbing up if you meet all needs

• If you lack one quality you are capped at that level

Maslows hierarchy evaluations

Strengths

• practical applications: widely accepted, used in sports/business/education, societal contribution

Weaknesses

• refuting research, Nevis

• Very subjective, not scientific, not observable

• Metholodical issues, difficult to measure, doesn't promote psych as a pseudo science

The self

1. Ideal self: what you aim to become

2. Actual self: reality of who you are, will be different for everyone

3. Perceived self: what you perceive yourself as, similar to self esteem, usually distorted as people see themselves as higher

Congruence

When there is a reasonable consistency between the ideal self and the actual self, leading to a healthy sense of well-being. The higher the gap between the ideal and actual, the higher the incongruence is.

Counsellors can prevent incongruence by closing the gap between the actual self towards the ideal self

Conditions of worth

• Conditions imposed on an individuals character or behaviour that are considered necessary to earn positive regard from significant others

• Real and perceived boundaries

• Must satisfy certain needs for positive regard

• Prolonged incongruence prevents self-actualisation

Research support

Epley and Whitchurch 2008

• ppts shown morphed images of themselves ranging from more and less attractive/symmetrical than normal

• Individuals more likely to identify with more attractive version of the image

• Pots chose the face that was 15% more attractive

Refuting research

Nevis 1983

• found that belongingness was much more fundamental than physiological needs

Humanistic approach evaluations

Strengths

• practical applications in counselling, unconditional positive regard needed

• Hollistic

• Research support, maslow

Weaknesses

• Abstract concepts, free will difficult to measure, fails promoting psych as a pseudoscience

• Culturally biased, less applicable universally