UNDERGRADUATE COURSE SUBJECT: Psychology PAPER: Basic Psychological Processes TOPIC: Personality LESSON: Humanistic Approach
Humanistic Approach Assumptions of Human Nature The present is the most important aspect of the person and therefore humanists focus on the here and now rather than looking at the past or trying to predict the future. Humanistic theory is reality based and to be psychologically healthy people must take responsibility for themselves, whether the person's actions are positive or negative. The individual, merely by being human, possess an inherent worth. Actions may not be positive always but this does not negate the value of the person. The goal of life should always be to achieve personal growth and understanding. Only through self- improvement and self- knowledge can one truly be happy. The most well known contributions to humanistic psychology were made by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Hierarchy of Needs Maslow's most well known contribution is the Hierarchy of Needs. The basic premise behind this hierarchy is that we are born with certain needs. Without meeting these initial needs, we will not be able to continue our life and move upward on hierarchy. The first level consists of our physiological needs, or our basic needs for survival. Without food, water, sleep, and oxygen, nothing else in life matters. Once these needs are met, we can move to the next level, which consists of our need for safety and security. At this level we seek out safety through other people and strive to find a world that will protect us and keep us free from harm. Without these goals being met, it is extremely difficult to think about higher level needs and therefore we cannot continue to grow.
When we feel safe and secure in our world then we begin to seek out friendships in order to feel a sense of belonging. Maslow's third level, the need for belonging and love, focuses on our desire to be accepted, to fit in, and to feel like we have a place in the world. Getting these needs met propels us closer to the top of this pyramid and into the fourth level, called esteem needs. At this level we focus our energy on self- respect, respect from others, and feeling that we have made accomplishments in our life. We strive to move upward in careers, to gain knowledge about the world, and to work toward a sense of high self- worth. The final level in the hierarchy is called the need for self- actualization. According to Maslow, many people may be in this level but very few if anybody ever masters it. Self- actualization refers to a complete understanding of the self. To be self- actualized means to truly know who you are, where you belong in the greater society, and to feel like you have accomplished all that you have set out to accomplish. It means to no longer feel shame or guilt, or even hate, but to accept the world and see human nature as inherently good. Maslow described several characteristics that self- actualizing people share: Awareness and acceptance of themselves Openness and spontaneity The ability to enjoy work and see work as a mission to fulfill The ability to develop close friendships without being overly dependent on other people A good sense of humor The tendency to have peak experiences that are spiritually or emotionally satisfying Some of the examples of self actualisers are Eleanor Roosevelt Gandhi Jefferson Lincoln Mother Theresa
Swami Vivekananda Carl Rogers Personality Development Central to Rogers' personality theory is the notion of self or self - concept. Self concept is defined as "the organized, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs about oneself". In Rogers s view, the self- concept is the most important feature of personality, and it includes all the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs people have about themselves. Rogers believed that people are aware of their self- concepts. The self is influenced by the experiences a person has in his life, and interpretations of those experiences. Two primary sources that influence our self- concept are childhood experiences and evaluation by others. According to Rogers, we want to feel experience and behave in ways which are consistent with our self- image and which reflect what we would like to be like, our ideal- self. The closer our self- image and ideal- self are to each other, the more consistent or congruent we are and the higher our sense of self- worth. A person is said to be in a state of incongruence if some of the totality of their experience is unacceptable to them and is denied or distorted in the self- image. The humanistic approach states that the self is composed of concepts unique to ourselves. The self- concept includes three components: Self worth (or self- esteem) what we think about ourselves. Rogers believed feelings of self- worth developed in early childhood and were formed from the interaction of the child with the mother and father. Self- image How we see ourselves, which is important to good psychological health. Self- image includes the influence of our body image on inner personality. At a simple level, we might perceive ourselves as a good or bad person, beautiful or ugly. Self- image has an effect on how a person thinks feels and behaves in the world.
Ideal self It refers to the person whom we would like to be. It consists of our goals and ambitions in life, and is dynamic i.e. forever changing. The ideal self in childhood is not the ideal self in our teens or late twenties etc. Congruence and Incongruence Rogers said that people s self- concepts often do not exactly match reality. For example, a person may consider himself to be very honest but often lies to his boss about why he is late to work. Rogers used the term incongruence to refer to the discrepancy between the self- concept and reality. Congruence, on the other hand, is a fairly accurate match between the self- concept and reality. According to Rogers, parents promote incongruence if they give their children conditional love. If a parent accepts a child only when the child behaves a particular way, the child is likely to block out experiences that are considered unacceptable. On the other hand, if the parent shows unconditional love, the child can develop congruence. Adults whose parents provided conditional love would continue in adulthood to distort their experiences in order to feel accepted. Results of Incongruence Rogers thought that people experience anxiety when their self- concepts are threatened. To protect themselves from anxiety, people distort their experiences so that they can hold on to their self- concept. People who have a high degree of incongruence are likely to feel very anxious because reality continually threatens their self- concepts. Self Worth and Positive Regard Carl Rogers viewed the child as having two basic needs: positive regard from other people and self- worth. How we think about ourselves, our feelings of self- worth are of fundamental importance both to psychological health and to the likelihood that we can achieve goals and ambitions in life and achieve self- actualization. Self- worth may be seen as a continuum from very high to very low. For Carl Rogers, a person who has high self- worth, that is, has confidence and positive
feelings about himself, faces challenges in life, accepts failure and unhappiness at times, and is open with people. A person with low self- worth may avoid challenges in life, not accept that life can be painful and unhappy at times, and will be defensive and guarded with other people. Rogers believed feelings of self- worth developed in early childhood and were formed from the interaction of the child with the mother and father. As a child grows older, interactions with significant others will affect feelings of self- worth. Rogers believed that we need to be regarded positively by others; we need to feel valued, respected, treated with affection and love. Positive regard is to do with how other people evaluate and judge us in social interaction. Rogers made a distinction between unconditional positive regard and conditional positive regard. Unconditional positive regard is where parents, significant others (and the humanist therapist) accepts and loves the person for what he or she is. Positive regard is not withdrawn if the person does something wrong or makes a mistake. The consequences of unconditional positive regard are that the person feels free to try things out and make mistakes, even though this may lead to getting it worse at times. People who are able to self- actualize are more likely to have received unconditional positive regard from others, especially their parents in childhood. Conditional positive regard is where positive regard, praise and approval, depend upon the child, for example, behaving in ways that the parents think correct. Hence the child is not loved for the person he or she is, but on condition that he or she behaves only in ways approved by the parents. At the extreme, a person who constantly seeks approval from other people is likely only to have experienced conditional positive regard as a child. Self Actualization: "The organism has one basic tendency and striving - to actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism
Rogers believed that every person can achieve their goals, wishes and desires in life. When, or rather if they did so, self actualization took place. This was one of Carl Rogers most important contributions to psychology and for a person to reach their potential a number of factors must be satisfied. Rogers believed that people are inherently good and creative. They become destructive only when a poor self- concept or external constraints override the valuing process. Carl Rogers believed that for a person to achieve self- actualization they must be in a state of congruence. This means that self- actualization occurs when a person s ideal self (i.e. who they would like to be) is congruent with their actual behavior (self- image). Rogers describes an individual who is actualizing as a fully functioning person. This means that the person is in touch with the here and now, his or her subjective experiences and feelings, continually growing and changing. The main determinant of whether we will become self- actualized is childhood experience. In many ways Rogers regarded the fully functioning person as an ideal and one that people do not ultimately achieve. It is wrong to think of this as an end or completion of life s journey; rather it is a process of always becoming and changing. Five characteristics of the Fully Functioning person: Open to experience: It means both positive and negative emotions are accepted. Negative feelings are not denied, but worked through (rather than resort to ego defense mechanisms). Existential living: It means to be in touch with different experiences as they occur in life, avoiding prejudging and preconceptions.
Being able to live and fully appreciate the present, not always looking back to the past or forward to the future (i.e. living for the moment). Trust feelings: It means feeling; instincts and gut- reactions are paid attention to and trusted. People s own decisions are the right ones and we should trust ourselves to make the right choices. Creativity: Creative thinking and risk taking are features of a person s life. Person does not play safe all the time. This involves the ability to adjust and change and seek new experiences. Fulfilled life: Person is happy and satisfied with life, and always looking for new challenges and experiences. For Rogers, fully functioning people are well adjusted, well balanced and interesting to know. Often such people are high achievers in society. Critics claim that the fully functioning person is a product of Western culture. In other cultures, such as Eastern cultures, the achievement of the group is valued more highly than the achievement of any one person. The Person- Centered Approach While Maslow was more of a theorist, Carl Rogers was more of a therapist. His professional goal was more on helping people change and improve their lives. He was a true follower of humanistic ideation and is often considered the person who gave psychotherapy its basic humanistic undertones. Rogers believed in several key concepts that he believed must be present in order for healthy change to take place. His approach to treatment is called Client or Person- Centered- Therapy because it sees the individual, rather than the therapist or the treatment process as the center of effective change. The basic concepts include: Unconditional Positive Regard
He believes that people are basically good and we must demonstrate his belief in our interactions towards others. Without unconditional positive regard, people will not disclose certain information, could feel unworthy, and may hold onto negative aspects of the self. Accepting the person as innately worthwhile does not mean accepting all actions that they exhibit. Disclosure: Disclosure refers to the sharing of personal information. Unlike Psychoanalysis and many other approaches to therapy, Roger's believed that in order for the client to disclose, the therapist must do the same. Therefore, remaining secretive as a therapist encourages the client to hold back important information. Reflection: Rogers believed that the key to understanding the self was not interpretation, but rather reflection. By reflecting a person's words in a different manner, you can accomplish two things. First, it shows the client that you are paying attention, thinking about what he or she is saying, and also understanding the underlying thoughts and feelings. Second, it allows the client to hear their own thoughts in a different way. Many people have said that their beliefs become more real once they are presented back to them by someone else. Non- Judgmental Attitude: Along with seeing the person as worthy, the therapist should never pass judgment on the individual. Roger's believed that people are competent in seeing their mistakes and knowing what needs to change even if they may not initially admit it. He also believed that by judging a person, you are more likely to prevent disclosure. By following these concepts, therapy becomes a self- exploration where the therapist is the guide rather than the director. The client, according to Rogers, has the answers and the direction. It is the therapist's job to help them find it. Criticisms of Humanistic Theories Humanistic theories are too naïvely optimistic and fail to provide insight into the
evil side of human nature. Humanistic theories, like psychodynamic theories, cannot be easily tested. Many concepts in humanistic psychology, like that of the self- actualized person, are vague and subjective. Some critics argue that this concept may reflect Maslow s own values and ideals. Humanistic psychology is biased toward individualistic values. Despite the limitations, humanistic theory has been incorporated into many differing views on psychotherapy and human change. Many argue now that a humanistic undertone in treatment provides a good foundation for change. While it may not be sufficient, it may still be necessary for a significant personality change to occur.