Psychological Perspectives - Humanistic Approach

Core Self

Self Concept

Ideal Self

This is who we are when we are born.

This is how we see ourselves and the conditions of our worth.

This is who we want to be.

Humanistic psychologists believe that an individual’s behaviour is connected to their inner feelings and self image. A poor self image impacts how we interact with the world. Our core self is the aspect primarily focussed on when people have a low self esteem, whereas a predominant ideal self is linked with a high self esteem. Self actualisation is a process from our core self to ideal self.

Carl Rogers’s theory of the humanistic approach consists of several key points, such as, humans have free will and not all behaviour is determined. That all individuals are unique and have an innate desire and drive to achieve their maximum potential. He also believes that a proper understanding of human behaviour can only be achieved by studying humans, and not animals.

"The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction not a destination" (Rogers, 1967)

One of the greatest strengths of humanistic psychology is that it emphasizes individual choice and responsibility. Humanistic psychology satisfies most people's idea of what being human means because it values personal ideals and self-fulfilment. Finally, humanistic psychology provides researchers with a flexible framework for observing human behaviour because it considers a person in the context of his environment and in conjunction with his personal perceptions and feelings.

The other key theorist is Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) was an American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization. He developed his theory from Carl Rogers’s theory and expanded on it. He believed that without the first step, you couldn’t or had no desire to progress to the next one. Safety comes before Love and Belonging. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg/450px-Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg.png

Maslow's (1968) hierarchy of needs theory has made a major contribution to health and social care setting, particularly schools. Maslow adopted a holistic approach to education and learning. Maslow looks at the entire physical, emotional, social, and intellectual qualities of an individual and how they impact on learning. Before a student's cognitive needs can be met they must first fulfil their basic physiological needs. For example a tired and hungry student will find it difficult to focus on learning. Students need to feel emotionally and physically safe to reach their full potential.