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Humanistic Perspective. Carl Rogers & Abraham Maslow. The Humanistic Perspective. Humanistic Perspective. A perspective that focuses the individual’s self awareness and freedom to choose.
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Humanistic Perspective Carl Rogers & Abraham Maslow
Humanistic Perspective • A perspective that focuses the individual’s self awareness and freedom to choose. • Believe people are free to choose what to do with their lives are responsible for the choices they make. • Interested in how people try to reach self-fulfillment. • Sees people as innately good. • Studies fulfilled and healthy individuals rather than troubled people
Humanistic Measures • Humanistic measures of personality center on evaluating a person’s self concept--all of our thought and feelings about ourselves • Answer the question “Who Am I?”
The Humanistic Perspective:Abraham Maslow and Self-Actualization
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) • Humanistic psychologist who developed the hierarchy of needs • Believed that self-actualization (reaching your full potential) is the ultimate psychological need
Hierarchy of Needs • Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs, proceeding through safety needs and then to psychological needs • Higher-level needs won’t become active until lower-level needs have been satisfied.
Self-Actualization • According to Maslow, the need to live up to one’s fullest and unique potential • Characteristics include: • Self aware and self accepting • Open, spontaneous, loving, and caring • Not paralyzed by other’s opinions • Focused on a particular task
The Humanistic Perspective:Carl Rogers and the Person-Centered Approach
Carl Rogers (1902-1987) • Humanistic psychologist who stressed the importance of acceptance, genuineness, and empathy in fostering human growth • Believed a person must know their genuine feelings and act upon them.
Carl Rogers • Self-concept—The impression you have of yourself as an individual. • This is formed by recognizing what you value and through you relationships with others. • Congruence – Key to happiness. When your view of yourself what you experience from others is consistent or the same. • See yourself as outgoing and you have good relationships with others then you are congruent and happy. • Incongruence is when these don’t match. It will cause you to be anxious and upset.
Our Need for Self-Esteem • Rogers said we all need to believe in our self and have self respect. • This self respect depends largely on how others treat us. • Two things that influence our self-esteem • Conditional Positive Regard • Unconditional Positive Regard
Conditional Positive Regard • Person is valued and loved only when the he/she behaves in a way that is acceptable to others. • Rogers felt we cannot live up to the wishes of others and remain true to ourselves. We’ll only end up disappointed and incongruent.
Unconditional Positive Regard • An attitude of total acceptance toward another person despite their faults and failings • This leads to high self esteem and confidence in oneself. • However, Rogers did not believe in permissive parenting. He said parents can disapprove of a behavior without completely rejecting the child.
Genuineness • Freely expressing one’s feelings and not being afraid to disclose details about oneself
Empathy • Sharing thoughts and understanding • Listening and reflecting the other person’s feelings
Unconditional Positive Regard will help to create… • Congruence – A person’s sense of self is consistent with their emotions & experiences.
Comparing Rogers to Freud • Rogers – Viewed people as positive, forward-moving, constructive, realistic and trustworthy. • People are innately good • Humans will choose to act in ways that serve to improve society and perpetuate the human race. • Freud – Pessimistically viewed humans as hostile, antisocial, destructive & evil • We need society restraints/laws to keep humans in line and prevent the destruction of the human race.
Evaluating Humanistic Perspective • Humanistic Approach focuses on the consciousness and stresses human freedom. • Critics argue that because it focuses on consciousness that it can never be a science because what a person thinks and feels cannot be scientifically studied. • Critics also point out that it does not explain the development of traits and personality types.