6_Humanistic Psychology (The Humanistic Approach).pptx

Humanistic Psychology (The Humanistic Approach) Focuses on…. - Conscious experience, rather than on behaviour; - Personal responsibility and free will, rather than on determinism; - Discussion of experience, rather than on use of the experim...

Humanistic Psychology (The Humanistic Approach) Focuses on…. - Conscious experience, rather than on behaviour; - Personal responsibility and free will, rather than on determinism; - Discussion of experience, rather than on use of the experimental method; - Striving towards personal - Carl Rogers; Abraham Maslow (1950s) growth and fulfilment.  Humanistic Psychology: Key Assumptions 1) Every individual is unique and should be treated as such. Generalising findings to groups of people fails to recognise the vast number of differences within each group - there is no point doing this. Viewing people as unique individuals is called idiographic. 2) Humans have free will ‘Free will’ means we have choice and are in control of our own behaviour, in terms of how we develop and progress through life. However, there are social rules, laws and biological influences that restrict the extent to which we act on our free will – humanists recognise that we are able to make significant personal choices within these constraints.  Humanistic Psychology: Key Assumptions 3) People should be viewed holistically By looking at just one aspect of an individual, much of what might be affecting them could be missed. E.g. we should not simply focus on childhood in therapy - the whole life course should be considered, so factors are not overlooked. 4) The scientific method is not an appropriate measure of behaviour Humanistic psychology does not describe itself as scientific. It argues that the scientific method tries to be too objective (free from opinion and bias) and yet humans are subjective beings in the way that they  Free Will Free will = We can decide and choose our course of action. How does this set the Humanistic Approach apart from the other approaches in psychology? The other key approaches believe that thought and behaviour is determined i.e. that we have no choice/free will. e.g. the biological approach assumes that behaviour is determined by physical factors, such as genes and biochemistry – it is considered deterministic. Why is free will a difficult concept to prove? It is not directly observable – it is therefore difficult to test empirically. What do humanists rely on as evidence of its existence? Proof is not important to humanists. Humanists believe that we should consider the subjective experience of the individual, therefore it is evidence enough if a person feels they have chosen a course of action. What are the implications of free will from a legal perspective? In terms of the legal system, this places responsibility with the individual – individuals should be held accountable for their actions.  Self-Actualisation Both Rogers and Maslow believed that individuals self-actualise in a way that is unique to them. Self-actualisation is achieving one‘s full potential When self-actualisation is achieved, it can be described as the ultimate feeling of well- being, satisfaction and ‘completeness’. The feeling is described as ecstasy, peak experience, religious or spiritual experience. Theorists argue it is a drive we all have, but  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Maslow considered that self-actualisation could be achieved in a series of stages called the hierarchy of needs. The 5 needs a person has to meet are: i. Physiological The drive to achieve full potential ii. Safety means that we are working through iii. Love/Belonging these needs in an attempt to self- iv. Esteem actualise. v. Self-actualisationOur physiological needs are considered our most basic needs and must be met before advancing to higher needs. Self-actualisation is not permanent and if all five needs do not remain in place, an individual can move out of the state until all the needs have been fulfilled. For example, being hungry/tired, even temporarily, will mean that the person is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Self-fulfilment Realising full needs potential, self- fulfilment Self- actualisation Self-esteem, self-respect, achievement, confidence Estee Psychological m Friendship, Family needs intimate relationships Love/ Belonging Stability, protection, freedom from fear, security of property and health Safet Basic Food, water, y oxygen, sleep, needs warmth, excretion Physiologic al  Focus on the Self Carl Rogers Carl Rogers' work focuses on the self, or rather the 'selves', of the individual. He suggested that we have three selves which need to integrate to achieve self-actualisation. The two main selves are as follows: The Self-Concept/Perceived Self: the self you feel you are. - Affected by self-esteem (low self-esteem  poor self-concept) The Ideal Self: the self you wish to be.  Congruence Congruence is necessary to achieve self-actualisation: Congruence is where the ideal self and self-concept/perceived self are the same or very similar. NB. It is rare for a complete state of congruence to exist, with most people experiencing some degree of incongruence. An important part of achieving congruence is unconditional positive regard… …..whereby an individual has to be loved for who they are and accepted without proviso by someone else.  Conditions of Worth Rogers (1959) believed that other people may hinder the process of self-actualisation…. Conditions of Worth is when an individual experiences conditional positive regard from significant others (e.g. parents or a spouse). These are the requirements/conditions that the individual feels they need to meet to be loved and accepted. These can be either real or perceived. In pairs, come up with some examples to illustrate this idea… For example, a child who feels they need to attain Consequently, high grades inan school individual mightparents for their only experience to accept self- and acceptance love them. if they meet the expectations that others have set as conditions of worth. This therefore makes it more difficult for individuals to self-  The Influence on Counselling Psychology Rogers (1959) claimed that an individual’s psychological problems were a direct result of their conditions of worth and the conditional positive regard they receive from others. Carl Rogers developed client-centred therapy, based on the humanistic approach. Why do you think Rogers referred to those in therapy as 'clients', not 'patients‘? The client-therapist relationship is important: The therapist should treat the client as an individual. The therapist should take a holistic approach e.g. not focusing purely on childhood influences, but all aspects of their life. Clients should feel comfortable and accepted to ensure feelings of unconditional positive regard  leads to honesty and eventual congruence. Therapists should act in a non-directive way - this means they should act as ‘facilitators’ to help people understand themselves and solve their own problems constructively, to find The Influence on Counselling Psychology   Evaluation: Strength P Maslow’s hierarchy is linked to economic development. A longitudinal study of 88 countries (Hagerty, 1999) found that countries in the early stages of economic development E were characterised by lower level needs (e.g. physiological needs, such as access to food and safety needs, demonstrated by higher murder rates). Esteem needs and self-actualisation were important in those countries in the advanced stages of economic development. This supports the notion that higher level needs (and eventual C self-actualisation) can only be met once an individual has achieved their most basic needs.   Evaluation: Strength P There is research support for conditions of worth. Harter et al. (1996) discovered that teenagers who feel that they have to fulfil certain conditions in order to gain their E parents’ approval frequently end up not liking themselves. - Adolescents who create a ‘false self’, pretending to be the kind of person his or her parents would love, were also found to be more likely to develop depression and a tendency to lose touch with their own true self. C This has implications for parents and significant others to show unconditional positive regard, which can help the process of self-actualisation.   Evaluation: Limitation The ideas of the approach are hard to test scientifically P (some of the concepts are vague e.g. self-actualisation) and support with empirical evidence, because experimental research methods are rejected in favour of non- experimental For example, Rogers methods. advocated the use of non-experimental research methods, arguing that the requirements of E experimental methods make it impossible to verify the results of counselling. Other concepts like ‘free will’, ‘perceived self’ and ‘ideal self’ are also Most difficult of the to test evidence usedin to ansupport objective way, this as theytherefore approach rely on subjective reports. C example, some studies have shown personal growth as a result fails to establish a causal relationship between variables. For of receiving humanistic counselling (Elliott, 2002) but these do   Evaluation: Limitation P Cultural differences exist in the hierarchy of needs; it has been criticised for being culture-specific. Maslow later acknowledged that for some people needs may appear in a different order, which appears to be the case cross- culturally…. E Nevis (1983) found that in China, 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. Self-actualisation seems to relate well in individualist cultures (where the focus is on the self), but not so well in collectivist cultures (where the focus is on the well-being of others). C Therefore, the hierarchy of needs is difficult to generalise   Evaluation: Additional Limitation P The humanistic approach is overly idealised. Critics argue that people are not as inherently good and ‘growth-oriented’ as humanistic theorists suggest and that the E approach does not recognise people’s capacity for pessimism and 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 assumption that all problems arise from blocked self- Encouraging people to actualisation. C focus on their own self-development rather than on situational forces may be neither realistic nor appropriate in modern society.