Humanistic Approach

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  • Created by: Bham369
  • Created on: 14-11-17 11:13

Assumptions

  • All about the individual
  • Idea of free will 
  • Choices that directly affect our behaviour
  • Two main psychologists are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rodgers 
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Abraham Maslow: Self-actualisation

  • Definition: To realise or fulfil a talent/potential which is considered to drive the individual
  • It is an innate tendency that we all possess 
  • It drives us to become the best we possibly can in all aspects of our lives 
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Abraham Maslow: Hierarchy of needs

  • Each level must be passed before you are able to move on the next one. 
  • There are five levels: 

1.Physiological 
2.Safety
3.Love/belonging
4.Esteem
5.Self-actualisation 

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Hierarchy of Needs Examples

  • Example of physiological needs being met in a health and social care setting is a healthcare worker helping a person with daily activities e.g. eating and going to the toilet 
  • Example of safety needs being met is to communicate in a way that the patient knows that they are not going to be hurt and that everything that is being done is for the best e.g. speak to them in a soft voice without using jargon
  • Example of love needs being met is to allow family and friends to visit a patient whenever they need to 
  • Example of esteem needs being met is to use supportive and positive communication techniques to help them to develop their self-esteem e.g. compliment the patient when you see them 
  • Example of self-actualisation needs being met is when activities like drawing are offered up for patients to do in a hospital 
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Carl Rodgers

  • Focused on self-concept
  • Definition of self-concept: What you think about yourself and the attributes that you possess 
  • Self-concept is developed at an early age as children begin to realise what others think of them 
  • A way that we can help a child have positive thoughts about themselves in a nursery setting is to compliment when they do something e.g. telling them that they have done a nice painting and putting it up on a wall 
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Ideal-Self

  • Definition: What you would like to be and so see yourself in that way
  • When we can not see ourselves becoming our ideal selves or any sort of familiarity between the two images then we can feel anxious and hopeless
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Evaluation: Positives

  • Promotes personal responsibility and shows that we have the ability to change the situation we are in e.g. to go through self-actualisation you need to pass through each stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 
  • It is holistic as it takes into account the person and their current situation this means that we will be able to tailor treatment to the needs of the person and treat the cause 
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Evaluation: Negatives

  • Automatically assumes that humans want to become better people and are hardwired to be nice/good whereas some don’t want that and abuse free will and the right to choose 
  • As it is such an abstract concept it is difficult to test and this in turn makes it expensive to train psychologists to use this treatment 
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