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Summary Humanistic approach
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Notes on the humanistic approach
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Humanistic psychologyKey terms
- Humanistic psychology: an approach to understanding behaviour that emphasises the
importance of subjective experience, and each person’s capacity for self-determination
- Free will: the notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological
or external forces
- Self-actualisation: the desire to grow psychologically and fulfill one’s potential -
becoming what you are capable of
- Hierarchy of needs: a five-levelled hierarchical sequence in which basic needs (such as
hunger) must be satisfied before higher psychological needs (such as esteem and self-
actualisation) can be achieved
- Self - the ideas and values that characterise ‘I’ and ‘me’ and includes perception and
valuing of ‘what I am’ and ‘what I can do’
- Congruence: the aim of Rogerian therapy, when the self concept and ideal self are seen
to broadly accord or match
- Conditions of worth: when a parent places limits of boundaries on their love of their
children: for instance, a parent saying to a child ‘I will only love you if you study
medicine’ or ‘if you split up with that boy’
Humanistic psychology
Free will
Humanistic psychology claims that human beings are essentially self-determining and have free
will
- This does not mean that people are not affected by external or internal influences, but
we are active agents who have the ability to determine our own development
For this reason, humanistic psychologists, such as Rogers and Maslow, reject scientific models
that attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour
- As active agents we are all unique, and psychology should attempt to concern itself with
the study of subjective experience rather than with general laws
- This is often referred to as a person-centred approach to psychology
Self-actualisation
Every person has an innate tendency to achieve their full potential
- Self-actualisation represents the uppermost level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
- All four lower levels of the hierarchy (‘deficiency needs’) must be met before the
individual can work towards self-actualisation (a ‘growth need’) and fulfill their
potential
- 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-oriented
- Not everyone will manage this, however, and there are important psychological
barriers that may prevent a person from reaching their potential
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