Humanistic psychology

What is humanistic psychology?

• Claims that humans are 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.

• ‘We are all unique’

• Psychology should concern itself with the study of subjective experience rather than general laws.

• Person-centred approach

What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Ranges from basic needs to higher level psychological and actualisation needs. All 4 levels of the hierarchy must be met before an individual can work towards self-actualisation.

1. Self-actualization

2. Esteem

3. Love and belonging

4. Safety needs

5. Physiological needs

The bottom 4 levels of the hierarchy are ‘deficiency needs’. If these were not met, Maslow said that we would experience having something important missing in our lives

The top level is a ‘being’ need. Maslow said that everyone has the desire for personal fulfilment (aka Self actualisation)

What is self actualisation?

The desire to grow and develop to achieve our full potential 

It is fundamental to human nature

How can self-actualisation be achieved?

Rogers argue that for personal growth to be achieved, an individual’s concept of self must be congruent with their ideal self. 

What is incongruence?

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 negative feelings of self-worth that arise from incongruence

How did Roger’s reduce the gap between the self-concept and ideal self?

To reduce the gap between the self-concept and the ideal self, Roger’s developed client-centred therapy (counselling) to help people cope with the problems of everyday living

What are conditions of worth?

Rogers claimed that many of the adult issues we face (e.g. low self esteem) stem from childhood and can be explained by a lack of unconditional positive regard from our parents.

A parent who sets boundaries on their love for their child (conditions of worth) by claiming ‘I will only love you if..’ is creating future psychological problems for their child.

Thus, Roger said that an effective therapist provides clients with unconditional positive regard that they failed to receive as a child.

What is a strength of the humanistic approach?

It is NOT REDUCTIONIST (breaking up behaviour and experience into smaller components)

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.

What is another strength of the humanistic approach?

It is optimistic

Humanistic psychologists have been praised for bringing the person back into psychology and promoting a positive image of the human condition.

It sees all people as good, free to work towards the achievement of potential and in control of their lives.

WHEREAS, Freud saw humans as prisoners of their past.

This suggests that humanistic psychology offers a refreshing and optimistic alternative to other approaches.

What is a limitation of the humanistic approach?

It may be culturally biased

Humanistic psychology ideas such as individual freedom, autonomy and personal growth are associated with individualist countries.

Countries with collectivist countries emphasise the needs of the group and interdependence. 

Therefore, it is possible that this approach does not apply universally and is a product of the cultural context within which it was developed.

What is another limitation of the humanistic approach?

Limited application

Humanistic psychology has little impact in psychology and little practical application in the real world.

Compared to Rogerian therapy which revolutionised counselling techniques.