Humanistic Approach

• Studying unique subjective human experiences ( case studies/self report methods) (Phenomenological, the study of humans) - as opposed to objectivve methods.
• People have freewilland are in control of their behaviour - as oppsoed to behaviour being dtermind.

• Emerged in the 1950s
• 'Third foce' in psychology
• Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, rejected other approaches.

• Humans are slef determining and have freewill, not effected be external or internal forces.
• Unigue individuals, ecah woth their owsn needs.
• Need to consider a person's life experiences and feeling regading the 'here and now' to understand someone.
• Wundt - introspection.

Believed all people are 'good' and human nature is postive, and people need to be givenresourcesz to acieve personal growth and potential in life.Key parts

Fully Functioning person

• When someone achieves their own personal goals,wishes and desires in life.
• Characteristics: Open to ecperiences - both + and - emoltions are accepted. 
  • Existential living - diffferent experiences in life, prejudgements and                                             preconceptions arent made.
  • Trust Feelings - Pay attention to feeeling insticts and gut resctons.
  • Creativity - Creative thiking and risk taking are undertaken.
  • fulfilled life - happiness and satisfaction.

Conditions of Worth (conditions we thick we must meet in order for other to accept us., could result in low self esteem and neediness)

Two basic needs:

• Uncondtional positive regard - people accept and love another for who they are despit any faults which they may have. this comes from parents in childhood, which is esstential for proprer deveopment.
• Self worth - a person feels confident and positive about themselves and faces challenges in life and accepts failuer ad unhappiness.

A persons concept of themself must be similar to their ideal self.

This congruency allows personal growth, incongruence amy occur if tre is descrepancy between idal self and self which may prevent personal growth.

• Human motivation is based on seeking personal growth and fullfillment.
• Humans are always in a state of wanting things.
• Hierarchyof needs:
• 
• Needs loer down need to be statisfied first, the higher up the more difficult. Only 1-2% of the population reach the top and other life event may stop people reachng it.

Holistic approach

• Subject experiences can only be understood bu considering the 'whole' person.
• Consider how the mind and body work together.
• Constrat to the behavoural approach, which reduces behaviour to stimulus-response connections and the psychodynamic which reduces behaviour to the unconscious mind.
• More validity expain behaviour in real life experiences.

Developed modern-day psychotherapy

• Clinets in charge of their own recovery.
• .Therapy focuses on listening, accepting and understandin clinets and thier problems.
• Increases a person feeling of self worth, reduce slef incongruency and help a persn become more fully functoning.
• Person-centred therapy is very effective in treating mild psychological disorders.

Unscientific

• Reject experimental methods.
• Vague, abstract and difficult to test ideas.
• Cant objectively test.
• Shouldnt be practiced if psychology is wantign to be considered as a science.

Culturally bias.

• Key ideas are only important in individualistic cultures only.
• Collectivists dont place importance on these concept so cant have their behaviour explained in terms of these ideas.
• Cant be generalised to other cultures.