The Humanistic Approach
Keeping the Person in Personality
• Origins of humanistic approach are traced to
desire to aid those in distress
• “It is the meaning of the decision, which is
essential to understanding the act” (Rogers,
1969)
– Behavior is based on choices and the meaning we
assign to choices
– The meanings are created by the individual and
not an outside viewer as Freud would believe
Birth of the Perspective
• Originates in 1950’s
• Blending of variety of
theories including:
– Existential
– Phenomenological
• Maslow-”Third Force”
– Alternative to
behaviorism and
psychoanalysis
• Dominant forces in
Psychology at the time
Common Characteristics that make
Humanistic Approach
• Subjective experience
of individual key to
understanding their
behavior
– Phenomenological
Approach
• Past experience and
current circumstances
are not the only causes
of behavior
Major Difference from Behaviorism
and Psychoanalysis
•
Both of these perspectives share two details that are rejected by the Humanistic Approach
– Determinism
• Assumption all behavior has specific causes
– Behaviorism- Environment (reinforcers)
– Psychoanalysis- Unconscious innate drives
• Individual is seen as being controlled by outside forces outside of their control
– Lack of value for Subjective Experience
• Psychologists have always traditionally been weary of subjective reports
– Behaviorism- What people say or think is irrelevant to behavior only
environment matters
– Psychoanalysis-Behavior can not be explained because the causes are largely
unconscious and any conscious understanding will be distorted by
rationalization
• Explanation of behavior ends up in the hands of the observer instead of the person
behaving
Humanistic Answers to These
Concepts
• Determinism
– Immediate situations and past experiences can influence
behavior
– Crucial element rests in individuals ability to respond
based on subjective assessment of a situation (Can make
choices=Free Will)
– The way we think effects our behavior, independently of
external factors
• Value of Subjective Experience
– Only individual can explain the meaning of a behavior
– Subjective experience can be studied scientifically
– All data being gathered by humans is subjective so there is
not need for a third-party observer
How Can Subjectivity be Used in a
Social Science?
• Notion of Subjectivity establishes new criteria
for scientific observation according to Rogers
– Any observation agreed upon by two observers is
valid despite each person operating under their
own subjectivity
• Called intersubjective verification
• Basis for all human interaction including the scientific
method
Meaning and its Importance in the
Humanistic Perspective
• Arises from concepts of choices and subjective
look at behavior in approach
• Meaning- the purpose or value that an individual
attaches to their actions or experience
• Traditionally Psychology has ignored the notion of
meaning
– Helps to keep ‘value-free’ environment of science
• We have gotten to the point of acknowledging
meaning post WWII, but many question whether
Humanists have developed a framework for
Understanding it.
Carl Rogers’ Theory
• Built from his early
experience and interest
in counseling and
treatment
• Found that he was
moving in a different
direction than
Psychoanalysis and
Freudian Concepts in
practice
Rogers and Self Theory
• Based his practices on Self Theory as defined
by G.H. Mead
– Focus on self concept and subjective view of
world
• Develops Client-Centered Therapy
– Person seeking treatment directs the process of therapy
– Called a client rather than patient
» Gets rid of notion of superior and inferior
• While ideas develop in clinical context, his
theory is intended as a general theory of
behavior
Notions of the Organism and the
Actualizing Tendency
• Most fundamental aspect of human experience is
the cycle of life
• We have needs that arise from our biological
being as organisms (food, water, shelter)
• We also have a broader motive that directs our
lives called the actualizing tendency
– Reflects our desire to grow, develop, and enhance our
capacities
– Our connection to our actualizing tendency is our
center for growth and creativity
The Phenomenal Field
• Phenomenal Field- our unique perception of the
world
– Perceptions are based on our cognitive schema which
allows us to see the world based on past experiences,
needs, and expectations
– The external world does not shape our lives, our
perceptions of it actually guide our behavior
– Often times people perceive external events
differently which leads to conflict, or distort external
events causing inappropriate behavior
– It is important to note what someone perceives is
their reality (This makes empathy key)
The Self
• A fluid entity, not stable as we often think
• Rogers definition of self-”an organized consistent
gestalt, constantly in the process of forming and
reforming”
– Much different than the permanent construct assigned by
many other theorists
• Reflects our view of who we are at any given moment
– Past is not central to this notion as in Psychoanalysis
– Past is only as important as we perceive it to be
• The individual can change the perception of the self
through conscious choice
The Ideal Self
• Refers to the aspect of our phenomenal field
that deals with who we would like to be.
• Can be similar to actual self or quite different
• Constantly fluid just like the present notion of
self
• We are in harmony when the ideal self
matches the actual self
– Congruence-self and ideal self all lined up
– Incongruence-self and ideal self out of whack
Personality Development and
Conditions for Growth
• Incongruence based on unhealthy growth
• Development based on kind of social
interactions an individual has
• Essentials to human growth are social contact
and positive relationships
– Called Positive Regard
Conditions of Worth
• Conditions of worth our restrictions that we
put on our self-expression to earn positive
regard
– Can be created by self or others
• Lead to people being out of touch with their
emotions because they have internalized
conditions of worth into the ideal self
Introjection of Values
• When we accept others values via conditions
of worth into our ideal self
• Basis for incongruence
• Pleasing others become more important than
satisfying our own actualizing tendency
Would-Should dilemma
• Begins when we internalize the values of
others as part of our internal self (They then
become our own)
• Sometimes we face conflicts between our
needs expressed through the actualizing
tendency and the demands of others
expressed through the ideal self
– Leads to statements such as “I would like
to______, but I should________
Conditional and Unconditional Positive
Regard
• Unconditional Positive Regard- extended to us simply
because we are a human being
• Conditional Positive Regard- when regard is only given
for meeting certain standards
• Too often we make statements that demonstrate lack
of regard for the person and not for their actions.
(Important to take note of)
• Too much conditional positive regard can lead to
incongruence as well. ( I am only valued when I…….)
Congruence and Conditions for
Growth
• Incongruence occurs through life experience
• Congruence can be maintained through three
things:
– Unconditional Positive Regard
– Openness
– Empathy
Unconditional Positive Regard
• Requires that no external demands be put on
the individual
• A person is fundamentally trustworthy
• Rogers felt everyone needed at least one
person to provide this
• Allows you to take chances with feeling and
behavior and explore your sense of self
Openness
• A person freely expresses their self without
playing a role
• When we are open we free ourselves from
social constraints and all parties gain
• Teachers are not particularly good at this
according to Rogers
Empathy
• The ability to fully understand another’s point
of view
• When we assess behavior as personality
driven rather than attributing to situational
factors we are guilty of fundamental
attribution error
Blending the Three Together
• We can only be real about ourselves
• We do not know the reality of others
• The best way to gain a clear reality for all is to
be open about oneself and how what is going
on is being perceived by you
Human Potential and the Fully
Functioning Person
• Personality development naturally moves
towards healthy growth, only negative external
factors lead to distortions in personality
• Fully Functioning Person is the norm not the
exception
– Completed by achieving congruence
– Brings all of the benefits we think of with healthy
personality traits (Self-esteem, Self- confidence which
trigger openness central to growth)
Aggression
• Is created by too much conditioned positive
regard
• Not a fundamental part of personality
Major Downfall
• Does not show Cross-Cultural Support
• Collectivist cultures view the world very
differently
– Change conception of self based on situation
• A potential wrench in the engine
Abraham Maslow
Maslow’s Background
• Born in New York
• Studied at the University of Wisconsin under Harlow
– Original focus on primate behavior
– Focus shifted after WWII like all Humanists to social
psychology and personality
– Met many famous European Scholars (Adler, Horney,
Fromm) while teaching in New York
• Became Psych Chair of newly founded Brandeis in 1951
• Chaired APA in 1967-68
Maslow’s Theory
• Internal force which directs human
development towards its highest potential
– Called Self Actualization-the full utilization of a
person’s talents and capacities
• The “Third Force” or the “Healthy Half”
• Strives to understand and describe the limits
of human potential
• Felt psychology should be focused on the
betterment of human life
Motivation
• Core of Theory is a description of basic human needs
– Influence every aspect of our behavior
• Reflects a psychodynamic influence on Maslow’s
thinking
• Unlike Freud and others Maslow felt there was a
plethora of needs that could influence our behavior
• Only the individual can determine what course of
action will best fulfill their needs
– Lottery Example
•
Hierarchy of Needs
• A hierarchical structure of different types of needs
• Most basic are those linked to survival
– Physiological
– Nothing else matters if we don’t have these
• Next in line are safety needs
– Both Physical and Psychological
• If Safety needs met we focus on love and belongingness
– Giving and receiving acceptance and affection
• If these needs met we move to esteem needs
– Sense of self-respect and being competent at what you do as
well as receiving regard
– Interesting that love comes before self-esteem
Hierarchy of Needs
• All of these needs contain Deficiency motives
– We are driven to satisfy them because of the
absence of underlying requirements
• Similar to behaviorists and psychodynamic
concepts who state all behavior fulfills a
deficiency
• Maslow rejected this notion believing there
were metaneeds, which were based on a
growth motive called self-actualization
Self Actualization
• Based on using capacities to the fullest
• Expression of the potential for growth which is
a part of all life
• Can never be fully satisfied because it is not
based on a deficiency
• It is a process not a goal
Is the Hierarchy Rigid?
• No
• Once people have moved on to a higher level
of need they may become salient for it
• Leads to them looking out for that need over
all others
• Most people will rarely if ever experience a
strong need for self actualization
– So hard to get through the other needs
Needs and Self-Development
• Understanding Needs is an important part of selfdevelopment according to Maslow
• Our perception of the world is based on our dominant need
at that moment
• Our frustrations are based on which needs are dominant
• Aggression is a response to frustration
– Should not occur in a healthy person living in a benign
environment
• Relationship between needs and environment essential to
understanding behavior.
– Only by identifying what needs are not being met can a person
find a workable solution
Cultural-Conditioning
• Can interfere with recognizing and satisfying
needs
– Western Society focus on Material Sources of
satisfaction/leads to focus on base of pyramid of
needs
Self Actualization and Peak
Experiences
• Self-Actualizaton
– Reaching for the capacity of your ability
• Can be a difficult journey
– Maslow felt only 1% of world reached this state
• Peak Experiences
– Moments of deep intensity in which we feel ourselves most fully alive
– Moments of insight into the potential of life
• Plateau Experiences
– Longer lasting form of heightened experience according to Maslow
– Main characteristic is a change in perception of the world
– “Live each day like its your last” You come to full understanding in this
time
Maslow’s Concept of Healthy Growth
• Based his description on 18 individuals, 9
historical and 9 contemporary
• Self-Actualization is a process to which there is
no end
• Its about what you do not where you end up
• 15 characteristics which no human being
could attain
Criticism of Maslow
• Did he look for individuals who exhibited the
traits he felt were important creating bias
• Looking for a universal ideal while admitting
variability exists among individuals
• Ideas more influential for capacity to inspire
rather than for empirical foundation
Extending the Humanistic Approach
• Maslow and Rogers best known, but there are
other theorists
• Share assumptions
– Behavior only understood through subjective
experience
– Choice over determinism
Existential Psychology
• Roots in WWI
• Philosophers “Does life have any obectively definable purpose or
meaning?”
– Work of Jean Paul Satre influences a number of psychologists
• Life has no purpose, unless given to it by an individual through their actions
• Individuals have ability to make choices, choices create meaning
• Primary difference from humanism is based on emphasis
existentialists place on meaning
– Human capacity for awareness makes us capable of reflecting on own
lives and world around us
• Creates 2 realizations
–
–
–
–
Both we and those we love will inevitably die
Suffering is an unavoidable part of life
Conclusion (Essential Question for Existentialists): What then makes life worth living?
Goal: Come to terms with this in our own way. There is no universal answer, but we kid
ourselves by pretending there is. (Finding Meaning leads to healthy development)
Frankl and Logotherapy
• Followed similar path to Freud, but rejected his
assumptions about behavior
• Instead behavior based on desire to find the meaning
of life
• Framework comes from a book he published about
experiences in concentration camp
– Called LOGOTHERAPY
• Assumptions:
– Man is not fully conditioned and determined but rather determines
himself
– The meaning of human experience can only be determined by the
individual having the experience
– There is only a specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment
Frankl and Logotherapy
• The Search for Meaning leads to a certain degree of tension
– Separates him from Rogers Self/Ideal Self Concept
– Fits in with Maslow and Self Actualization, but Self Actualization is a side effect
of seeking meaning to him
• Meaning or its absence has a profound effect on a person’s life
– Noogenic neuroses- conflicts within an individual based on existential
frustrations
– Can lead to pathology
• Work with poor during economic downturn in 1930’s and belief regarding hand outs
• Clinical study, but correlational in nature.
• Life has meaning only in terms of how we relate to our surroundings
– The more we lose our self in surroundings the more we actualize
– Surroundings can also be the source of our problem
• Cultural beliefs can negatively influence the search for meaning
– Western Culture and Determinism
• Human Values are completely subjective
– Only individual can determine answers to questions surrounding responsibility
– Leaves no fixed value system to defend
Frankl 3 ways meaning can be
discovered in life
• Achievement
• Transcendent Experience
• Attitude one takes to unavoidable suffering