The Humanistic Approach

Humanistic App

Humanistic - Far more positive approach and facing a growth paradigm (paradigm model of science), focuses on goals and how actions shape growth and development

 

Humanistic approach is more positive when understanding human behaviour, whereas psychoanalysis focuses on neuroses and mental illness.

 

Humanistic approach focuses on how we grow in a healthy way when nothing is going wrong.

 

Person centred approach = focuses on subjective experience and an individuals innate drive to achieve their full potential. Humans are inherently driven towards growth and self actualisation.

Free Will (1)

All the previous approaches are determinist to some degree, they suggest that behaviour is entirely or at least partly shaped by forces over which we have no control.

 

Humanist psychology = is quite different in this respect, it claims that all human beings are essentially 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.

Free Will (2)

Humanist psychologists such as Roger’s and Maslow rejected more scientific models that attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour.

As active agents we are all unique, and psychology should concern itself with the study of subjective experience rather than general laws. This is often referred to as a person centred approach in psychology.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1)

Abraham Maslow was one of the founders of the humanistic movement in psychology.

 

A key interest for him was to find out what motivates people, he created a hierarchy of needs to show what motivates our behaviour (in developing this he was probably influences by his interactions with the black food (siksika) peoples knowledge and wisdom)

In order to achieve our primary goal of self actualisation, a number of other deficiency needs must first be met first. At the bottom of the hierarchy are psychological needs such as food and water.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (2)

Moving up the heirarchy, the next deficiency need is safety and security followed by love and belongingness and then self esteem.

 

A person is only able to progress through the heirarchy if the lower needs have been met. At the top is self actualisation.

Maslow characterised life as a series of peak experiences - moments of great achievement, ecstasy or elation when all deficiency needs are satisfied.

He also identified and research a number of self actualises - people who, for whatever reason, were fulfilled in life and has used their abilities to the fullest

Self Actualisation (1)

Humanistic psychologists regard personal growth as an essential part of what it is to be human.

 

Personal growth is concerned with developing and changing as a person to become fulfilled, satisfied and goal orientated.

 

Most people have an innate desire to achieve their full potential, that doesn’t mean you have to be the top student in your school or the most successful prime minister since 1900, or the most scary zombie ever.

It means you feel contented with your achievements and satisfied that you have done your best (or nearly your best).

However, not everyone will manage this. There are important psychological barriers that prevent a person reaching their potential.

Congruence and conditions of worth (1)

One of the founders of humanistic psychology (CARL ROGERS), argued that personal growth depends on congruence between an individuals concept of self (the way they see themselves) and their ideal self (the person they want to be).

 

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 because the incongruence leads to a low self worth.

 

Roger’s claimed that many of the issues we experience as adults, such as anxiety or low self esteem, have roots in childhood.

• Parents are supposed to accept and love their children unconditionally, but many parents place limits on their love (they set conditions of worth)

This kind of conditional love reduces an individuals sense of worth leading to psychological problems for the child in the further.

ROGERS DEVELOPMENT OF CLIENT CENTRED THERAPY

Client centred therapy - ROGERS DEVELOPED

 

• To help people reduce the gap between their self concept and their ideal self, producing a state of congruence.

Roger’s also saw one of his roles as an effective therapist as being able to provide his clients with the unconditional positive regard that they had failed to receive as children. 

A03 - Link to economic development

Hagerty (1999) looked at the relationship between economic growth and measures of maslows levels in 88 countries over a 34 year period.

 

Countries in the early stages of economic development were characterised by lower level needs (physiological needs such as access to food and safety needs)

As would be predicted by Maslow’s model, it was only in the advanced stages of economic development that self actualisation became important (using levels of educational enrolment as a measure of people’s desire to better themselves)

A03 - Humanistic approach is unrealistic

Humanistic psychology represents an overly idealised and unrealistic view of human nature.

 

Critics argue that people are not as inherently good and ‘growth oriented’ as humanistic theorist suggest, and the approach does not adequately recognise peoples capacity for pessimism an self destructive behaviour.

 

The view that personality development is directed only by an innate potential for growth is seen as an oversimplification, as is the humanistic assumption that all problems arise from blocked self-actualisation.

This suggests that encouraging people to focus on their own self development rather than on situational forces may be neither realistic nor appropriate in modern society.

A03 - Cultural differences in the hierarchy of needs (1)

In a later development of his theory, Maslow did acknowledge that for some people needs may appear in a different order or may even be absent all together.

This is borne out by cross cultural evidence. For example, a study carried out in China by Nevis found that belongingness needs were seen as more fundamental than physiological needs and that self actualisation was defined more in terms of contributions to the community than in terms of individual development.

A03 - Cultural differences in the hierarchy of needs (2)

The humanistic approach can ultimately be associated with more individuals tendencies than collectivist as they emphasise the needs of the group and independence. So in such countries the ideals of humanistic psychology may not be as important as others.

Cultural differences in the definition and importance of specific needs in the hierarchy means that Maslow’s approach is not universally applicable to all cultures.