The Humanistic Approach
Free will
The humanistic approach emphasises that people have full conscious control over their own
destiny.
Humanistic psychologists believe that human beings are able to make significant personal
choices.
Maslow’s theory (1943)
Hierarchy of needs
The most basic, physiological needs are represented at the bottom and the most advanced needs
are at the top.
Each level must be fulfilled before a person can move up to a higher need.
Maslow believed that we start at the bottom of the hierarchy of needs, but we have an innate drive
to move up the hierarchy and fulfil our potential. We can’t move up the hierarchy until lower-level
needs are met.
Self actualisation:
Morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of fact
Maslow argued that this is at the top of the hierarchy of needs. Someone who has self actualised
has actually fulfilled their potential in each area of life.
Esteem:
Self-esteem, confidence, achievement respect of others, respect by others
Love/belonging:
Friendship, family, sexual intimacy
Safety:
Security of body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health, of property
Physiological:
Breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion
, Carl Rogers
Focuses on the self
Rogers (1951) claimed that people have two basic needs: positive regard from other people and a
feeling of self-worth.
He argued that feelings of self-worth develop in childhood and are formed as a result of the
child’s interactions with parents.
Rogers argued there are 3 ways to treat others / be treated by others
1. Unconditional positive regard (UPR)
Means that we are given love, support, praise and encouragement no matter what. We
don’t have to achieve anything to receive this.
2. Conditional positive regard (CPR)
Means that we are given love, support, praise and encouragement, but only if we meet our
conditions of worth e.g., academic success, career success etc.
3. Negative regard (NR)
We don’t receive love, support, praise and encouragement.
Rogers argued that UPR is vital for children to develop high self-esteem.
Equally, he argued that CPR and NR are damaging to a child’s development because they produce
low self-esteem.
Congruence
Two more concepts from Rogers are the perceived ideal self (PIS) and the perceived actual self
(PAS).
Perceived ideal self is an idealised version of you. It is how you want to be / who you aspire to be.
Perceived actual self is how you see yourself in reality / as you actually are.
If your perceived ideal self and perceived actual self are close together this is called congruence
and leads to high self-esteem.
If your perceived ideal self and perceived actual self are not close together this is called
incongruence and leads to low self-esteem.
Counselling
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. He believed that
counselling would be able to solve people’s problems if therapists (who regard themselves as
‘guides’) provide empathy and unconditional positive regard. This helps dissolve the client’s
conditions of worth, resulting in the client moving towards being truer to themselves.
The link between Rogers and Maslow is as follows:
If we are treated with unconditional positive regard, we will have congruence between the
Free will
The humanistic approach emphasises that people have full conscious control over their own
destiny.
Humanistic psychologists believe that human beings are able to make significant personal
choices.
Maslow’s theory (1943)
Hierarchy of needs
The most basic, physiological needs are represented at the bottom and the most advanced needs
are at the top.
Each level must be fulfilled before a person can move up to a higher need.
Maslow believed that we start at the bottom of the hierarchy of needs, but we have an innate drive
to move up the hierarchy and fulfil our potential. We can’t move up the hierarchy until lower-level
needs are met.
Self actualisation:
Morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of fact
Maslow argued that this is at the top of the hierarchy of needs. Someone who has self actualised
has actually fulfilled their potential in each area of life.
Esteem:
Self-esteem, confidence, achievement respect of others, respect by others
Love/belonging:
Friendship, family, sexual intimacy
Safety:
Security of body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health, of property
Physiological:
Breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion
, Carl Rogers
Focuses on the self
Rogers (1951) claimed that people have two basic needs: positive regard from other people and a
feeling of self-worth.
He argued that feelings of self-worth develop in childhood and are formed as a result of the
child’s interactions with parents.
Rogers argued there are 3 ways to treat others / be treated by others
1. Unconditional positive regard (UPR)
Means that we are given love, support, praise and encouragement no matter what. We
don’t have to achieve anything to receive this.
2. Conditional positive regard (CPR)
Means that we are given love, support, praise and encouragement, but only if we meet our
conditions of worth e.g., academic success, career success etc.
3. Negative regard (NR)
We don’t receive love, support, praise and encouragement.
Rogers argued that UPR is vital for children to develop high self-esteem.
Equally, he argued that CPR and NR are damaging to a child’s development because they produce
low self-esteem.
Congruence
Two more concepts from Rogers are the perceived ideal self (PIS) and the perceived actual self
(PAS).
Perceived ideal self is an idealised version of you. It is how you want to be / who you aspire to be.
Perceived actual self is how you see yourself in reality / as you actually are.
If your perceived ideal self and perceived actual self are close together this is called congruence
and leads to high self-esteem.
If your perceived ideal self and perceived actual self are not close together this is called
incongruence and leads to low self-esteem.
Counselling
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. He believed that
counselling would be able to solve people’s problems if therapists (who regard themselves as
‘guides’) provide empathy and unconditional positive regard. This helps dissolve the client’s
conditions of worth, resulting in the client moving towards being truer to themselves.
The link between Rogers and Maslow is as follows:
If we are treated with unconditional positive regard, we will have congruence between the
