Humanistic approach
The humanistic approach was created as an alternative to Freud’s overly determinist
psychodynamic approach. It focuses on the concept of free will. Humans have full conscious
control and can change their destiny. It recognizes the importance of biological and societal
factors on behaviour. However, humanist psychologists believe that people are able to
make significant personal choices within these parameters. Humanist psychologists assume
that all humans strive to fulfill their potential and reach the state of self-actualization.
Humanists avoid using quantitative methods as this reduces individuals to numbers. Instead
qualitative methods are used such as unstructured interviews as they provide rich detail.
Humanist psychologists reject the use of animal studies, and they believe to fully
understand human behaviour, humans must be studied. They also believe in studying
humans on a case-by-case basis rather than determining the means of certain groups.
Carl Roger’s believed that to reach the state of self-actualization, people had to have
positive self-regard and the unconditional positive regard of others. People who have
conditions of worth (needing to fulfill a certain criterion in order to deserve the positive
regard of others) develop an incongruence between their real self and ideal self. This
prevents a person from interpreting themselves and the world accurately and inhibits their
growth.
Maslow believed that for a person to reach self-actualization, a variety of needs must be
met. These needs were arranged into a hierarchy with the most basic needs at the bottom
and more advanced needs at the top. Physiological needs such as water, food, and air made
up the base pyramid. The next level was safety needs such as employment and shelter. The
next level was love and belonging needs like friendship, intimacy, and family. The
penultimate tier of the pyrimaid is esteem needs: self-respect, confidence, respect for
others. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualization. The needs in each level of the pyramid
need to be fulfilled before moving onto the next level.
There is lots of research support for Roger’s theory of conditions of worth. One researcher
found that adolescents who believe that their parent’s affection is conditional were more
likely to have incongruence between their ideal self and real self. These teenagers often
created a false (ideal) self to please their parents. This ideal self will fulfill their parents’
desires: good grades etcetera. However, the researcher also found that these children are
more likely to suffer from low self-esteem and depressive disorders. This research supports
Maslow’s theory and thus the humanistic approach.
The humanistic approach may suffer from beta cultural bias. Humanist psychologists assume
that all people strive for personal achievements like confidence and self-esteem.Whislt this
may be true in many individualistic cultures, it isn’t true in many collectivist cultures.
Collectivist cultures focus on co-operation and the success of the group rather than the
individual. In fact, when asked, members of collectivist cultures viewed belongingness needs
as more important than physiological needs. They also defined self-actualization in terms of
group contribution rather than personal growth. Maslow later stated that certain needs may
be in a different order or completely absent in some cultures.
The humanistic approach was created as an alternative to Freud’s overly determinist
psychodynamic approach. It focuses on the concept of free will. Humans have full conscious
control and can change their destiny. It recognizes the importance of biological and societal
factors on behaviour. However, humanist psychologists believe that people are able to
make significant personal choices within these parameters. Humanist psychologists assume
that all humans strive to fulfill their potential and reach the state of self-actualization.
Humanists avoid using quantitative methods as this reduces individuals to numbers. Instead
qualitative methods are used such as unstructured interviews as they provide rich detail.
Humanist psychologists reject the use of animal studies, and they believe to fully
understand human behaviour, humans must be studied. They also believe in studying
humans on a case-by-case basis rather than determining the means of certain groups.
Carl Roger’s believed that to reach the state of self-actualization, people had to have
positive self-regard and the unconditional positive regard of others. People who have
conditions of worth (needing to fulfill a certain criterion in order to deserve the positive
regard of others) develop an incongruence between their real self and ideal self. This
prevents a person from interpreting themselves and the world accurately and inhibits their
growth.
Maslow believed that for a person to reach self-actualization, a variety of needs must be
met. These needs were arranged into a hierarchy with the most basic needs at the bottom
and more advanced needs at the top. Physiological needs such as water, food, and air made
up the base pyramid. The next level was safety needs such as employment and shelter. The
next level was love and belonging needs like friendship, intimacy, and family. The
penultimate tier of the pyrimaid is esteem needs: self-respect, confidence, respect for
others. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualization. The needs in each level of the pyramid
need to be fulfilled before moving onto the next level.
There is lots of research support for Roger’s theory of conditions of worth. One researcher
found that adolescents who believe that their parent’s affection is conditional were more
likely to have incongruence between their ideal self and real self. These teenagers often
created a false (ideal) self to please their parents. This ideal self will fulfill their parents’
desires: good grades etcetera. However, the researcher also found that these children are
more likely to suffer from low self-esteem and depressive disorders. This research supports
Maslow’s theory and thus the humanistic approach.
The humanistic approach may suffer from beta cultural bias. Humanist psychologists assume
that all people strive for personal achievements like confidence and self-esteem.Whislt this
may be true in many individualistic cultures, it isn’t true in many collectivist cultures.
Collectivist cultures focus on co-operation and the success of the group rather than the
individual. In fact, when asked, members of collectivist cultures viewed belongingness needs
as more important than physiological needs. They also defined self-actualization in terms of
group contribution rather than personal growth. Maslow later stated that certain needs may
be in a different order or completely absent in some cultures.
