Humanistic Psychology

The Humanistic Approach

Introduction To Humanistic Psychology

Carl Ransom Rogers

Abraham Maslow

1902-1987

1908-1970

Biography

• Lived from 1902-1987
• Oak park, Illinois he was closer to his mother than to his father

• Humanistic psychology emerged in the 1950’s as a reaction to the psychoanalysis and behaviorism.
• Focuses on the person as a whole and takes into account personal choice.
• Stressed importance of growth & self-actualization
• Fundamental belief is people are naturally good & social problems result from this tendency.
• Focused on self-actualization creativity and individuality.
• It is subjective; considers individual experiences.
• It also credits the environments influence on our character as individuals.
• Gave a major contribution to psychology today by removing the stigma attached to therapy.

• Born 1 April 1908
• Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York
• Oldest of seven children
• His parents were from Russia; poor & not intellectually oriented
• Attended City College after High school

Maslow`s original Hierarchy of needs

Expanded Hierarchy of Needs

• He attended school with Ernest Hemingway

• He was a loner and a sensitive boy

• Attended university of Wisconsin with Agriculture as his major

• He was a religious men during his college years

• Was influenced by the ideas of Otto Rank (one of Freud’s closest associates)

• He wrote his first book The Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child(1939)

• Went to University of Wisconsin to study psychology; earned all his three degrees in psychology
• In 1928 Maslow married Bertha, his first cousin
• In 1937 he began teaching in Brooklyn College: influenced by Gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer and anthropologist Ruth Benedict
• He became one of the founders of humanistic school of thought around the 1950`s
• Maslow died June 8, 1970 due to a heart attack

1. Physiological needs

2. Safety needs

3. Love and Belongingness

4. Esteem needs

5. Cognitive needs

6. Aesthetic needs

7. Self-actualization needs

8. Transcendence needs

Weaknesses

Strengths

Person Centered Theory

Maslow`s Hierarchy Of Needs

Self-actualization

• Non-Scientific approach makes humanism unreliable and difficult to verify.
• Difficult to study scientifically.
• Scientific limitations bring lack of empirical evidence.
• Difficult to objectify.
• Too subjective.
• Vague.
• Contributions to psychology limited to therapy, motivation and personality.

• Use of qualitative methods give better insight into an individual's behavior.
• Provides a more holistic, positive view of human behavior.
• Emphasizes free-will, responsibility, human potential and the need to strive.
• Provides researchers with a flexible environment.

The formative tendency- A propensity of all matter to evolve from simpler to more complex forms

The actualizing tendency- The inclination of all human beings to move towards completion or fulfillment of potentials.

Self-actualizing tendency- People differentiate and evaluate positive and negative experiences.

• Maslow wanted to understand what motivates people

• People possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards or consciousness but to achieve certain needs

• Came up with five motivational needs, often presented in a hierarchical pyramid

• These are divided into two; deficiency needs & growth needs

Two Basic Needs

Deficiency needs

Growth needs

• Human motivation is based on people seeking fulfillment and

change through personal growth

• Growth of self-actualization

• People are unique and the motivation for self-actualization leads people in different directions

• Self-actualization measured through the concept of peak experiences

• Self-actualization is a continual process of `becoming` rather than a perfect state one reaches of a happy ever after

• It refers to the person’s desire for self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what he is potentially.

Positive self-regard- acquired from other people(ideal self) and self-worth (unconditional self-worth; real self) or experiences, this way we can achieve self-actualization.

Unconditional positive regard-loving someone and accepting them for who they are.

The distance between the ideal self and the real self determine actualization.

• Motivate people when they are unmet e.g. hunger

• The longer the duration they are denied, the longer the stronger the need to fulfil the need

• Classified under the physiological, safety, love and esteem needs

• One must satisfy the lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs

• When one is satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization

• All have the capability to reach the highest level. Disruptions caused by failure of satisfaction of lower level

Incongruence- results from anxiety and fear when ideal and real self are too far apart.

Characteristics of a Self-actualized

Person

• Perceive reality efficiently; tolerate uncertainty

• Accept themselves & others for what they are

• Spontaneous in thought and action

• Unusual sense of humor

• Able to look at life objectively

• Highly creative

• Peak experiences

• Need for privacy

Humanistic Psychology