Describe and evaluate the Humanistic Approach in psychology. Refer to evidence in your answer (12 marks)
The Humanistic approach’s main focus is on the individual’s subjective view and experience of the world and conscious experience. This approach is the a third force in psychology steering away from the psychoanalysis sector and focused more onto the client-centred therapy.
The whole purpose of the Humanistic approach is for one to reach their full potential and is a more holistic approach compared to the biological which is more experimental. An individual is considered to have free will, and strives for self-actualisation. Roger’s felt that unconditional positive regard is necessary for one to reach their full potential (self-actualisation). A healthy sense of wellbeing will lead to a balance and consistency in an individual’s congruence e.g. ideal self and actual self. The bigger the gap between these two the more likely the congruence will be greater.
An individual is said to be able to reach their full potential if they are given unconditional positive regard increasing their sense of value and respect. The only negativity of this is that people don’t consider the positive regard as unconditional – conditions of worth. This is when the person will only valued if they meet certain conditions (e.g. passing exams, cleaning their room etc.) There the three ideal selves that individual develops; the perceived self – is how we see ourselves, real self – how we are and ideal self is how we’d like to be. Children, who receive negative regard such as criticism and blame, develop self-esteem as they grow older.
Abraham Maslow claimed that it’s fundamental to human nature is to grow and develop to achieve our full potential. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs ranges from basic needs to higher level of psychological needs to actualisation needs. Roger’s developed a