• Humanistic psychology: free will, self-actualisation and Maslow's hierarchy of needs, focus on the self, congruence, the role of conditions of worth. The influence on counselling psychology.

What do humanistic theories think about free will?

Humanistic theories emphasise that people have full conscious control over their own destiny i.e they have free will. Humanistic psychologists believe that human beings are able to make significant personal choices within the constraints imposed by other forces (biological and social influences).

Define free will

The ability to act at one's own discretion i.e being able to choose how to behave without external influences.

Define self-actualisation in relation to Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow used the term to describe the final stage of the hierarchy of needs.

What do people who have reached self-actualisation tend to be like?

They tend to be creative, more accepting of other people and have an accurate perception of the world around them.

What did Maslow believe about self-actualisation?

Maslow believed that such individuals experienced self-actualisation in the form of peak experiences. These are moments of extreme inspiration and ecstasy during which they felt able to leave all doubts, fears and inhibitions.

Define the hierarchy of needs

The motivational theory proposed by Abraham Maslow often displayed as a pyramid. The most basic needs are at the bottom and higher needs at the top.

What does 'the self' refer to?

It refers to how we perceive ourselves as a person, our personal identity if you like.

What did Rogers (1951) claim about the focus on the self?

He claimed that people have two basic needs: positive regard from other people and a feeling of self-worth.

How do feelings of self-worth develop?

They develop in childhood and are formed as a result of the child's interaction with parents. Further interactions with significant othes also influence the person's feelings of self-worth.

What did Rogers believe about the self?

He believed how we think about ourselves, and our feelings of self-worth, are important in determining or psychological health. The closer our self-concept and our ideal self are to each other, the greater our feelings of self-worth and the greater our psychological health.

Define a state of congruence

When the self and ideal self are similar or the same, a state of congruence is reached. The closer our self-image and ideal self are to each other, the greater the congruence and the higher our feelings of self-worth.

Define a state of incongruence

If there is a difference between the self and ideal self, the person experiences a state of incongruence.

What may people use when there is a state of incongruence?

People may use defence mechanisms in order to feel less threatened by inconsistencies between how they would like to be and how they really are.

Define conditions of worth

Conditions put on an individual in order to be accepted by significant others.

What types of conditions of worth are there?

The love and acceptance given by others may be unconditional (unconditional positive regard), when a person is accepted for who they are or what they do, or conditional when they are accepted only if they do what others want them to do.

What happens if people experience conditional positive regard?

They develop conditions of worth- these are conditions that they percieve significant others put upon them, and which they believe have to be in place if they are to be accepted by others and see themselves positively.

What did Rogers (1959) believe about counselling psychology?

He claimed that an individual's psychological problems were a direct result of their conditions of worth and the conditional positive regard they recieve from other people.

What did he say we could do to fix that?

He believed that, with counselling, people would be able to solve their own problems in constructive ways and move towards becoming a fully functioning person.

What do humanistic therapists refer themselves as?

Guides or facilitators to help people understand themselves and to find ways to enable their potential for self-actualisation.

What do therapists do when counselling?

They provide empathy and unconditional positive regard, expressing their acceptance and underaranding, regardless of the feelings and attitudes the client expresses. By doing this, the therapist able to offer an appropriate environment to help remove the client's conditions of worth. This results in the client moving towards being moe authentic and more true to self.

AO3 strengths

P- Research suggests that Maslow's hierarchy may have relevance n a much larger scale than individual growth.
E- Hagerty (1999) looked at the relationship between economic growth and measures of Maslow's needs in 88 countries over a 34 year period.
E- He found that countries with a lower economic development were characterised by lower level needs e.g food and safety needs. Only those in the advanced stages of economic development did esteem needs e.g female emancipation and self-actualisation become important.

P- Research with adolescents has shown evidence consistent with Roger's view i.e those who experience conditional positive regard are likely to display 'false self behaviour'.
E- False self behaviour refers to doing things to meet others' expectations even when they clash with their own values.
E- E.g Harter et al (1996) discovered that teenagers who felt that they have to fulfil certain conditions in order to gain their parents' approval frequently end up not liking themselves. The researcher found that adolescents showing false self, are also more likely to develop depression and a tendency to lose touch their own true self.

AO3 limitations

P- A weakness of Maslow's hierarchy is the argument that it may be culturally biased and based on the assumptions of western society.
E- For example, Maslow's hierarchy does not appear to apply to eastern countries such as China. Nevis (1983) found belongingness needs were more important than physiological needs and self-actualisation meant what contributions people could make to their community rather than individual improvement.
E- Subsequent studies have confirmed that Europeans and Americans focus more on personal identity in defining their self-concept whereas Chinese, Japanese and Koreans define self-concept more in terms of social relationships. Therefore the humanistic approach is culturally biased as it doesn't translate accurately across different societies.

P- Another weakness of the humanistic approach is it unrealistically assumes people are inherently good and interested in personal growth.
E- The theory ignores the fact that people can be pessimistic or self-destructive and the view that the development of personality is direct simply by personal growth is oversimplified
E- The approach also assumes problems arise due to people being unable to self-actualise and encouraging people simply to focus on their own personal development may be unrealistic when situational factors may be the true cause..