Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Humanistic Approach: Theory, Application, and Assessment
The Humanistic Approach: Theory, Application, and Assessment
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Roots of Humanistic
Psychology
The rapid growth of humanistic psychology
was in part a reaction against the research-
oriented approaches
people cannot be reduced to a set of numbers
finding a person’s place along a trait continuum
erases that person’s uniqueness and
individuality
was developed to attend to the “human”
element
started in the 1950s.
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reerved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 5
Roots of Humanistic
Psychology
1. Existential philosophy
Addresses the meaning of human existence, role of
free will, and uniqueness of each human being
Existential psychotherapists works of the great
existential philosophers:Nietzsche, Sartre
focuses on existential anxiety
the feelings of dread and panic that follow the realization that
there is no meaning to one’s life
Therapy often emphasizes the freedom to choose and develop
a lifestyle that reduces feelings of emptiness, anxiety, and
boredom
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product orservice or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 5
Roots of Humanistic
Psychology
Humanism assumes people are basically good,
existentialism assumes people are neither good nor
bad (human nature has no inherent quality).
Humanistic psychology is concerned with the
search for self (and man's estrangement from
one's own self)
existential psychology is concerned with the search for
meaning (and man's estrangement from the world),
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 5
Roots of Humanistic
Psychology
2. Ideas promoted by Carl Rogers and
Abraham Maslow
were writing about their personal transitions
from traditional psychology theories to a
humanistic perspective
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 5
Key Elements of the
Humanistic Approach
1. Personal responsibility
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 6
Key Elements of the
Humanistic Approach
3. Experience of the individual
4. Personal growth
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 6
Carl Rogers
pioneered humanistic psychotherapy and
was the first therapist to popularize a
“person-centered” approach
Believed in every individual’s potential to
for a fulfilling and happy life
we naturally strive to reach an optimal sense
of satisfaction with our lives
Fully functioning person: who strive and
reach an optimal sense of satisfaction in their
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 7
Carl Rogers
Fully functioning person:
are open to their experiences
try to live each moment as it comes
learn to trust their feelings
sensitive to the needs of others,
are less prone to conform to the roles dictated
by societal expectations
accept and express their feelings
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 7
Carl Rogers
If we all have the potential to be fully functioning, why is
there so much unhappiness in the world?
we experience anxiety and respond with various
psychological defenses
Anxiety is the result of acquiring knowledge that
is inconsistent with the way we think of ourselves
If you were fully functioning, you would accept the
information.
If the information is excessively threatening to your
self-concept, the anxiety will be difficult to manage
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 7
Carl Rogers
if it contradicts our self-concept, we’ll rely on
defenses to keep the information from entering
consciousness
Distortion and denial
we can also become anxious when encountering
positive information if that information is inconsistent
with our self-concept
When the gap between self-concept and reality is so
large, people may experience disorganization
protective barrier against threatening information collapses,
and the result is extreme anxiety
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 8
Carl Rogers
Most parents love their children as long as the children
do what is expected of them
Conditional positive regard: Atmosphere when
admiration is gained when accepted behavior is
portrayed
When parents disapprove of their children’s behavior,
they withhold their love.
children learn to abandon their true feelings and
desires
Resolved through unconditional positive regard
knowing we will be accepted and loved no matter
what we do.
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 8
Abraham Maslow
Maslow wondered what psychology could
do for the happy, healthy side of personality
Motives identified by Maslow
Deficiency motives: Results from a lack of
needed object
Satisfied when obtained (e.g., hunger and thirst)
Growth needs: Not satisfied by finding the
object of need
Satisfied by expressing the motive (e.g., giving of
love to others)
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 9
Hierarchy of Needs
Categories of needs identified and arranged
by Maslow
Physiological needs - Hunger, thirst, air, and
sleep
Must be satisfied before moving to higher level
needs
Safety needs - Security, stability, protection,
structure, order, and freedom from chaos
Prominent when the future is unpredictable
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 10
Motivation and the Hierarchy
of Needs
Belongingness and love needs
Satisfaction of lower level needs does not guarantee
happiness, the need for friendship and love soon
emerges
Esteem needs
Need to perceive oneself as competent and achieving
the need for admiration and respect
Need for self-actualization
Satisfied when people identify their true self and
reach full potential
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 11
Figure 11.1 - Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 12
Misconceptions About
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy
Assumption that lower needs must be
satisfied before turning to higher needs
Description that need hierarchy is universal
Means of satisfying a particular need varies
across cultures
Oversimplification that any behavior is
motivated by a single need
Behavior is the result of multiple motivations
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 13
Optimal Experience
What makes people happy?
Csikszentmihalyi opportunities for
happiness lie all around us in the everyday,
routine activities that fill our lives
when he asked people to describe the
experience, he found they used surprisingly
similar terms
Flow: Moments in which a person’s
attention is entirely focused on a activity
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 15
Optimal Experience
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 16
Optimal Experience
Csikszentmihalyi True happiness comes
when we take personal responsibility for
finding meaning and enjoyment in our
ongoing experiences
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Application: Person-Centered
Therapy
Application of Rogerian therapy makes
clients more fully functioning and happier
Involves creating a proper relationship with
clients
Open and genuine
Unconditional positive regard
Reflection - Helping clients understand
their own thoughts and feelings
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 17
Application: Job Satisfaction
Spending several hours a week at a job that
pays well but doesn’t allow for development
of personal potential is a tragic waste.
Occupations should provide opportunities
for personal growth and satisfaction of
higher order needs
Jobs can satisfy people’s need for
belongingness, self-esteem, and respect for
others
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 18
Application: Job Satisfaction
Eupsychian Management: Rearranging an
organization to help employees satisfy
higher level needs
Employers can structure jobs so that workers
take pride in their performance and thereby
develop a sense of self-worth about what they
do for a living
Careers provide an avenue for personal growth
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 19
Assessment: Q-Sort
Technique
Basic procedure used to assess a wide
variety of psychological concepts
California Q-Sort
Requires the client to sort a deck of 100 self-
descriptive cards into nine categories according to
his/her real and ideal self
A self-descriptive phrase is printed on each card,
such as “is a talkative individual,” “seeks reassurance
from others,” or “has high aspiration level for self.”
Allows the clients to describe themselves
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 20
Assessment: Q-Sort
Technique
On the first sort, you
would be asked to
place the cards into
nine categories
according to how
much you believe the
description on the
card applies to you.
2nd ideal self
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 21
Strengths of the Humanistic
Approach
Emphasis on the healthy side of personality
Several aspects have been adopted by
therapists from other theoretical
perspectives
Growth of encounter groups
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 23
Strengths and Criticisms of
the Humanistic Approach
Humanistic psychology adopted in
education, communication, and business
Organizations promote job satisfaction by
taking care of employees’ higher needs
Teachers and parents have adopted Rogers’
suggestions for education and child rearing
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 24
Criticisms of the Humanistic
Approach
Reliance on the concept of free will to
explain human behavior
Key concepts are poorly defined
Self-actualization
Fully functioning
Limited applicability of psychotherapy
techniques
Naive assumptions about human nature
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 11 - 25