Humanistic approach ‘third force in psychology’ Lesson 3

Specification details Objectives You will be able to Outline the main assumptions of the humanistic approach Outline and evaluate humanistic qualitative methods Evaluate the contribution of humanistic approach in terms of strength, limitations and practical applications. All students should be able to explain the assumptions and methods of the humanistic approach including reference to individual/subjective experience, free will and the rejection of scientific methods. All students should be able to outline Maslow’s theory of motivation and hierarchy of needs. More able students should be able to discuss Maslow’s contribution to humanistic psychology. All students should be able to describe self-actualisation and the behaviours which lead to it. Specification details Humanistic Psychology: free will, self-actualisation and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, focus on the self, congruence, the role of conditions of worth. The influence on counselling Psychology

Starter Free will Determinism Where do the following approaches fall on the freewill vs. determinism spectrum. Justify your reason. (Cognitive, psychodynamic, Biological, Behaviourist) Free will Determinism

All approaches so far are deterministic Hard determinism is the view that forces outside of our control (e.g. biology or past experience) shape our behaviour. Biological determinism refers to the idea that all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes. Environmental determinism is the view that behaviour is determined or caused by forces outside the individual. Environmental determinism posits that our behaviour is caused by previous experience learned through classical and operant conditioning. Psychic determinism: claims that human behaviour is the result of childhood experiences and innate drives Soft determinism: behaviour is constrained by the environment or biological make- up, but only to a certain extent. Cognitive: choose our own thoughts but constrained to limits of our cognitive system (soft determinism)

What is free will? Free will is the idea that we have choices in how we act. This is the notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces Humanistic psychology is quite different from the other approaches by claiming that human beings are 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 Active agents – ability to determine our own development. Free will separates out what is the intention of an individual from what has been created by other causes. This means that we are ‘self-determining’ and free from the causal influences of the past. How far does everyone have the ability to reach their full potential, be the best they could possibly be and self actualise?

Main assumptions Read pages 2-3 and identify the main assumptions of the humanistic approach

The Humanistic Approach It assumes that a healthy psychological attitude is dependant on taking personal responsibility, recognising the existence of free will, and striving towards personal growth and fulfilment. The uniqueness of human beings – (concerned with one individual). The importance of subjective experience – human behaviour is best understood from the perspective of the individual. Humans have free will – we have the ability to make our own choices and these are driven by the need to self-actualise. A proper understanding of human behaviour can only be achieved by studying humans - not animals. Psychology should study the individual case (idiographic) rather than the average performance of groups (nomothetic). What methods do Humanistic psychologists use?

Humanistic Psychologists HATE Science! By using science can you… Exercise free will? Resist the influence of overriding forces? (Determinism) Measure viewpoints and perspectives openly and subjectively? (Science usually requires objectivity & falsification) Study the whole person rather than a part? (Holism) Look at unique cases rather than groups of people and establishing general laws? Main humanist theorists reject scientific models that attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour. We are all unique – more about the subjective experience rather than general laws (person centered approach)

Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) An American Psychologist who in 1940-1950 developed the Hierarchy as a way for employers to get the best out of their employees by understanding their needs. motivational theory five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. Maslow stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs and that some needs take precedence over others. https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/blog/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-with-paper-cups There are 5 key ‘needs’ alongside a description of what they include. Can you organise the 5 needs in order of importance – basic needs at the bottom. you need to be able to justify your order

Abraham Maslow Maslow believes humans are motivated by needs beyond those of basic biological survival. Fundamental to human nature is the desire to grow and develop to achieve our full potential - referred to as ‘self-actualisation’. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs ranges from basic needs to higher level psychological and actualisation needs. All four levels of the hierarchy (deficiency needs) must be met before an individual can work towards self actualization Maslow’s theory emphasises uniquely human motivational factors - higher level needs are a later evolutionary development of the human species

Motivation - Maslow Personal growth is concerned with developing and changing as a person to become fulfilled, satisfied and goal-orientated Not everyone will mange this, however, and there are important psychological barriers that may prevent a person from reaching their potential

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 7 stage model Self-Actualisation Personal growth , fulfilment Aesthetic needs Beauty, prettyness, appreciation Cognitive needs Able to think for ourselves, solve problems Self-esteem needs Achievement, status, responsibility Belonging and love needs Family, affection, relationships, work groups Safety Needs Protection, security, order, law, limits, stability Physiological needs Air, water, food, drink, warmth, sex, sleep

Limitations It is not always the case that the lower needs must be satisfied before a person can achieve their potential and self-actualize. Through examining cultures in which large numbers of people live in poverty (such as India), it is clear that people are still capable of higher order needs such as love and belongingness. However, this should not occur, as according to Maslow, people who have difficulty achieving very basic physiological needs (such as food, shelter, etc.) are not capable of meeting higher growth needs. Also, many creative people, such as authors and artists (e.g., Rembrandt and Van Gogh) lived in poverty throughout their lifetime, yet it could be argued that they achieved self-actualization.

Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was a humanistic psychologist who agreed with the main assumptions of Abraham Maslow, but added that for a person to "grow", they need an environment that provides them with genuineness (openness and self-disclosure), acceptance (being seen with unconditional positive regard), and empathy (being listened to and understood).

Carl Rogers Carl Rogers added that for a person to "grow", they need an environment that provides them with genuineness (openness and self- disclosure), acceptance (being seen with unconditional positive regard), and empathy (being listened to and understood). Humans have a basic need to feel nurtured and valued by significant people in their lives, such as parents (love, praise and acceptance). If this is given freely, without conditions (unconditional positive regard), then people will develop a healthy sense of self-worth, recognising their abilities and difficulties. Children who receive negative regard, such as criticism and blame, develop low self-esteem. To avoid this, the parent’s should blame the behaviour not the child.

A sense of well-being A healthy sense of wellbeing is established if an individual maintains a reasonable consistency between ideal self and actual self. This is known as congruence. The greater the gap between the ideal self and the actual self, the greater the incongruence. Incongruence can lead to low self-worth and maladjustment. Defence mechanisms (distortion, denial, blocking) can stop the self from growing and changing, and widen the gulf between our ideal self and true self. Central to Rogers personality theory is the notion of self or self-concept. This is defined as ‘the organised, consistent set of perception and beliefs about oneself’. The self is influenced by the experiences a person has in his or her life, and our interpretations of those experiences.

Methods of investigation The Q-Sort assessment was developed by Stephenson (1953) and it was quickly adopted into Client Centered Therapy by Carl Rogers. The measurement of a person’s congruence/ incongruence is measured by a Q-SORT. A q-sort is a series of cards, each containing a personal statement. For example, “needs recognition from others” or “is self-defeating” or “is personally charming”. The person sorts this statement into a forced distribution under two sets of conditions: A) to describe their “real self”, B) to describe their “ideal self”.

Task You each have a pack of cards with different adjectives. 1) Pick the 10 which most describe you, then rank these in order. 2)Write these down under the title ‘Actual self’ in the correct ranking. 3) Shuffle the cards again, pick the 10 which most describe how you would like to be, then rank these in order. 4) Write these down under the title ‘Ideal self’ in the correct ranking.

Calculating your congruence score

Your congruence score

Assumptions In order to reduce the gap between the self-concept and the ideal self, Rogers developed client-centered therapy (CCT). Conditions of worth: a parent who sets boundaries or limits on their love for their child is storing up psychological problems for that child in the future An effective therapist is able to provide clients with the unconditional positive regard they had failed to receive as children The whole person should be studied in their environmental context and Psychology should study the individual case (idiographic approach) rather than the average performance of groups (nomothetic)

Consolidation: Describe Extension: Evaluate the humanistic approach. Compare the humanistic approach to another approach that we have looked at. Free-will Maslow hierarchy of needs Focus on the self Personal growth Congruence Conditions of worth

Exam focus(4 marks) Self/peer assess – mark scheme flies in – question underneath.

Exam focus (4 marks) Self/peer assess – mark scheme flies in – question underneath.

Apply It Exam focus: Apply (A02) Joyce is a successful teacher and is well liked by her colleagues. However, Joyce has always dreamed of becoming a ballroom dancer. She spends much of her spare time with her partner practicing elaborate lifts, and can often be seen twirling around in the classroom during break times.   Joyce is considering leaving teaching and becoming a professional dancer. Her colleagues have described her plans as ‘ridiculous’, and her parents, who are very proud of the fact that their daughter is a teacher, have told Joyce that they will not talk to her again if she does. Joyce is beginning to feel sad and miserable. Referring to features of humanistic psychology, explain how Joyce’s situation may affect her personal growth.

Starter: Exam question Exam focus Referring to two assumptions of the humanistic approach, explain why humanistic psychologists have rejected the scientific method. (Total 4 marks) Self/peer assess

Up to two marks for two assumptions of the humanistic approach. Referring to two assumptions of the humanistic approach, explain why humanistic psychologists have rejected the scientific method. (Total 4 marks) Up to two marks for two assumptions of the humanistic approach. Up to two marks for explaining why each assumption is at odds with the scientific method. One mark for each explanation. Each person can exercise free will –determinism Each person is a rational and conscious being and not dominated by unconscious primitive instincts A person’s subjective experience and understanding of the world is of greater importance to understanding the person than objective reality Humans should be viewed as a whole and not reduced to component parts Humans strive towards achieving self-actualisation Each person is unique Self/peer assess

Task 4: Expand on the evaluation point Evaluate the contribution of humanistic approach in terms of strength, limitations and applications Task 4: Expand on the evaluation point Reductionism? Practical Application? Culture Bias? Testability? Alternative Approaches? Free-will vs. determinism Positive approach

Not Reductionist Humanists refuse to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components. They believe to understand human behaviour fully we need to understand all elements of the persons experience (according to their own view/interpretation). They advocate a holistic approach. This approach has more validity than its alternatives as it considers human behaviour as meaningful within its real life context.

Application The humanistic approach’s primary application has been to therapeutic treatment. Client-centered therapy (CCT), whereby the client is encouraged to develop positive self-regard and overcome the mismatch between their perceived self, true self and ideal self. Gestalt therapy - the aim is to help the client become a ‘whole’ (gestalt) person by getting them to accept every aspect of themselves. Techniques of gestalt therapy include confrontation, dream analysis, and role playing.

Limited Application The humanistic approach is unlike any of the other mainstream approaches that we have covered so far. It has had an impact on counselling and helping it develop further as a field. HOWEVER, the humanistic approach has had little to no influence on psychology as an overall discipline. This could be due to the Humanistic approach lacking in empirical evidence, which means it can often be seen as abstract rather than a comprehensive theory.

Limited Application Hierarchy of needs – influential. However, it is criticised as being culture-specific (individualistic vs. collectivist cultires)

Positive Approach Humanistic psychologists are praised for bringing the person back into psychology – as often other approaches have negative views on the person (Freud e.g. a person is a slave of their past and claimed all of us existed between common unhappiness and absolute despair). Humanistic psychologists offer a refreshing and optimistic alternative to these views and sees a person as basically good, free to work towards the achievement of their potential and in control of their lives.

Untestable Concepts Humanistic psychology does include a number of vague ideas that are abstract and difficult to test. Concepts such as self-actualisation and congruence may be useful therapeutic tools but would prove problematic to assess under experimental conditions. Rogers did attempt to introduce more rigour into his work by developing the Q-sort in therapy. However humanists do not see this as an issue as they do not feel measurement is appropriate. Nevertheless, as would be expected of an approach that describes itself as anti-scientific, humanistic psychology is short on empirical evidence to support its claims. This can be seen as a strength of the approach – rejects the scientific measurement does not try to be objective.

Cultural Bias The ideas promoted by the Humanistic approach can arguably only be seen within individualist cultures ( E.g. USA). Whilst collectivist cultures offer an alternative emphasis on the individual ( interdependency etc.) therefore it would not fit in the humanist values Therefore, we are able to draw the conclusion that this approach would not travel well and is a product of the cultural content it is based on.

16 mark exam questions Discuss the ………approach Compare and contrast ……… and ……… approach Discuss and apply to the stem Discuss the contribution of…..in explaining human behaviour

Compare and Contrast Essays The compare and contrast essays rely on you having a clear knowledge on the fundamental elements of each approach. What you can identify are similarities and differences between each approach .. A common Problem is: you fail to gain marks in the exam because when asked to ‘refer to another theory/approach’ you simply describe a different one without making comparisons or contrasts. Solution: structure your comparisons around key debates and research methods. Use these as the basis for pointing out similarities and differences between theories and approaches.

Pattern to use to structure your answer. 1.Write a sentence explaining how the theories/approaches are similar /different. 2. Add a further sentence or two explaining the similarity or difference by pointing out the features of each theory/approach that relate to the difference/similarity you are discussing. 3. Write a further sentence or two explaining a consequence or implication of the similarity/difference. 4. If appropriate, identify a difference/similarity that relates to the one you have discussed but which contrasts with it (i.e. a similarity within a difference or a difference within a similarity).

Example One similarity between the biological and behaviour is that they both use nonhuman animals in their research. (1) For example, behaviourists used rats in Skinner boxes to investigate operant conditioning and bio psychologists did neurosurgical studies on many species to discover how the nervous system works. (2) The approaches use animal subjects in different ways, however. Behaviourists focus on how the animal responds to changes in its external environment whereas bio psychologists focus on how it responds to changes in its internal structure. (4) In either case a consequence of this is that critics have attacked both approaches on ethical grounds and because the findings they produce may not generalise to humans. (3)

Exam focus Humanistic Approach It has been claimed that the humanistic approach has little to offer psychology. Outline and evaluate the humanistic approach in psychology. Refer to at least one other approach in your answer. (Total 16 marks)

Do you think psychology is a science? Plenary Do you think psychology is a science?

Linked to economic development Hagerty (1999) looked at the relationship between economic growth and measures of Maslow’s need levels in 88 countries over a 34-year period. He found that countries in the early stages of economic development were characterised by lower level needs whereas only in the advanced stages of economic development

Conditions of worth Harter et al (1996) found that teenagers who feel that they have to fulfil certain conditions in order to gain their parents approval frequently end up not liking themselves. The researchers also found that those who create a false self are more likely to develop depression and a tendency to lose touch with their true self.

Unrealistic It represents an overly idealistic and unrealistic view of human nature. It could be argued that people are not as inherently good and growth orientated as humanistic theorists propose. Personality development directed by our own innate potential for growth is seen as an oversimplification.