The Humanistic Approach
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The Humanistic Approach
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The Humanistic Approach
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The Humanistic Approach
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The Humanistic Approach
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The Humanistic Approach
Questions
1. Brief description of the Humanistic Approach.
2.
What was the Q-sort Method?
3.
Explain Maslow’s theory of motivation.
4.
List the procedure in the study of Humanistic Approaches.
5.
Positive aspects of the Humanistic approach.
6.
Negative aspects of the Humanistic approach.
7.
OUTLINE counselling.
8.
What is epistemology?
9. Define Humanistic perspective.
10. Define self-actualisation.
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Answers
1. Humanistic psychology is a school of psychology that emerged in the 1950s in reaction to both behaviorism and
psychoanalysis. It is explicitly concerned with the human dimension of psychology and the human context for the
development of psychological theory. These matters are often summarized by the five postulates of Humanistic Psychology
given by James Bugental (1964), mainly that:

Human beings cannot be reduced to components.

Human beings have in them a uniquely human context.

Human consciousness includes an awareness of oneself in the context of other people.

Human beings have choices and non desired responsibilities.

Human beings are intentional; they seek meaning, value and creativity.
The humanistic approach has its roots in existentialist thought (see Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre). It is also
sometimes understood within the concept of the three different forces of psychology; behaviorism, psychoanalysis and
humanism. Behaviorism grew out of Ivan Pavlov's work with the conditioned reflex, and laid the foundations for academic
psychology in the United States associated with the names of John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner. This school was later called
the science of behavior. Abraham Maslow later gave behaviorism the name "the first force". The "second force" came out of
Freud's research of psychoanalysis, and the psychologies of Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney,
Otto Rank, Melanie Klein, Harry Stack Sullivan, and others. These theorists focused on the depth of the human psyche, which
they stressed, must be combined with those of the conscious mind in order to produce a healthy human personality.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanistic_psychology
2. The Q-Sort Method is a psychometric technique which produces reliable and valid interval measurements of people's
perceptions of landscape visual quality as depicted in photographs. It is readily understood by participants across a wide
range of age groups and cultural backgrounds, and it provides data which can be mapped within a region and/or statistically
compared to various social and physical dimensions.
Source: http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/27583
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3. Abraham Maslow is considered to be the father of Humanistic Psychology, also known as the "Third Force". Humanistic
Psychology incorporates aspects of both Behavioral Psychology and Psychoanalytic Psychology. Behaviorists believe that
human behavior is controlled by external environmental factors. Psychoanalytic Psychology is based on the idea that human
behavior is controlled by internal unconscious forces. Though he studied both Behavioral and Psychoanalytic Psychologies,
Maslow rejected the idea that human behavior is controlled by only internal or external forces. Instead, Maslow's motivation
theory states that man's behavior is controlled by both internal and external factors. In addition he emphasizes that humans
have the unique ability to make choices and exercise free-will.
Maslow showed little interest in animal or laboratory studies of human behavior. He chose instead to collect data for his
theories by studying outstanding individuals. His studies led him to believe that people have certain needs which are
unchanging and genetic in origin. These needs are the same in all cultures and are both physiological and psychological.
Maslow described these needs as being hierarchal in nature, meaning that some needs are more basic or more powerful than
others and as these needs are satisfied, other higher needs emerge.
Source: http://facultyweb.cortland.edu/andersmd/MASLOW/THEORY.HTML
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4. The procedure in Humanistic Psychology is done by the following protocol:
1) Identifying the researchable problem
2) Deriving a Hypothesis
3) Literature review of all research
4) Methodology
5) Data collection
6) Analysis
7) Results and conclusions
8) Interpretation
It is known as the Lindblom protocol.
5. Positive Aspects:

Encourages psychologists to accept the view that behaviour is not just about discoverable facts.

It promotes a positive behaviour towards human behaviour.

Emphasises individual Responsibility.

Has made increased the popularity of Counselling.
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6. Negative Aspects:

A lot of criticisms are made towards the humanistic approach.

Only concerned about conscious awareness.

It is vague.

Unscientific

Un-testable

Lacks Falsifiability (cant be proved wrong nor right)
7. Counselling was basically founded by Carl Rogers, this is a very good example of Humanistic psychologist. He had a different
view of human development. He saw it as personal growth was only achievable with unconditional positive regard from
significant others. This could include parents or family members. With this people could seek self-actualisation rather than
surviving only on social approval.
Counselling provides a safe place, separate from your daily life, where you can explore issues or feelings which are causing you
difficulty. The counsellor will aim to relate to you in a supportive and purposeful manner and assist you in the task of finding
your own way forward.Your use of counselling remains confidential to the service within the limits agreed with your counsellor.
Source: http://www.hull.ac.uk/counselling/what_is_counselling/index.html
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8.
Epistemology, in a most general way, is that branch of philosophy which is concerned with the value of human knowledge.
The name epistemology, is of recent origin, but especially since the publication of Ferrier's "Institutes of Metaphysics: the
Theory of Knowing and Being" (1854), it has come to be used currently instead of other terms, still sometimes met with, like
applied logic, material or critical logic, critical or initial philosophy, etc. To the same part of philosophy the name criteriology
is given by the authors of some Latin textbooks and by the Louvain School.
The exact province of epistemology is as yet but imperfectly determined, the two main views corresponding to the two
meanings of the Greek word epistéme. According as this is understood in its more general sense of knowledge, or in its more
special sense of scientific knowledge, epistemology is "the theory of the origin, nature and limits of knowledge" (Baldwin,
"Dict. of Philos. and Psychol.", New York, 1901, s.v. "Epistemology", I, 333; cf. "Gnosiology",I,414); or "the philosophy of the
sciences", and more exactly, "the critical study of the principles, hypotheses and results of the various sciences, designed to
determine their logical (not psychological) origin, their value and objective import" ("Bulletin de la Société fran¸aise de
Philos.", June, 1905, fasc. no. 7 of the Vocabulaire philosophique, s.v. "Epistémologie", 221; cf. Aug., 1906, fasc. 9 of the
Vocabul., s.v. "Gnoséologie", 332). The Italian usage agrees with the French. According to Ranzoli ("Dizionario di seienze
filosofiche", Milan, 1905, s.v. "Epistemologia", 226; cf. "Gnosiologia", 286), epistemology "determines the objects of every
science by ascertaining their differentiating characteristics, fixes their relations and common principles, the laws of their
development and their special methods".
Source: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05506a.htm
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9.
Humanistic Perspective: This is the psychological perspective popularized by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow (hierarchy of
needs) that emphasizes the human capacity for choice and growth. The overriding assumption is that humans have free will
and are not simply fated to behave in specific ways or are zombies blindly reacting to their environments. So, the Humanists
stated that the subject matter or psychology (what psychology should focus on) is the human subjective experience of the
world - how humans experience things, why they experience things, etc.
Source: http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.cfm?term=Humanistic%20Perspective
10. These are needs that do not involve balance or homeostasis. Once engaged, they continue to be felt. In fact, they are likely
to become stronger as we “feed” them! They involve the continuous desire to fulfill potentials, to “be all that you can be.”
They are a matter of becoming the most complete, the fullest, “you” -- hence the term, self-actualization.
Source: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html
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