The Psychology of the Person Chapter 11 Humanistic Approach

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The Psychology of the PersonChapter 11
Humanistic Approach

• Naomi Wagner, Ph.D
• Lecture Outlines
• Based on Burger, 8th edition

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The Third Force

• The Humanistic approach has emerged in the
  late 1960s, primarily as a reaction to the two
  major views of humanity popular at that time
• The Freudian perspective and its emphasis on
  unconscious sexual and aggressive instincts
• The behavioral perspective, and its emphasis on
  the mechanical nature of responses to stimuli in
  the environment. The humanistic perspective,
  thus, as been called the third force.

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Deterministic Perspective of Human Nature

• The role of the unconscious is a hypothetical
  concept that cannot be empirically validated
• The manipulation of human beings on the basis of
  classical and operant conditioning was an ideas
  based on studies of rats that learned to run in
  a maze to find food.
• The food was the reward that affected the
  learning

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Roots of the Humanistic Approach 1. Existential
Philosophy

• Existential philosophy addresses many of the
  questions that later became the cornerstone of
  the Humanistic approach, such as, the meaning of
  our existence, the role of free will, and the
  uniqueness of each individual.
• The existentialists, such as Rollo May, focused
  on existential anxiety- the feeling of dread
  associated with the realization that there is no
  meaning to ones life.

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Existential Anxiety- What is there to life?
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2. The clinical experiences of Carl Rogers and
Abraham Maslow.

• The founders of the Humanistic Approach, Carl
  Rogers and Abraham Maslow, were both therapists
• At that time, the Freudian model of therapy was
  popular, viewing the therapist as an expert who
  tells the client what is the problem
• Rogers maintained that it was only the client
  that is responsible for the therapeutic direction
• The therapist can create conditions for
  self-exploration.

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The Freudian Model of Psychotherapy

• The therapist as the know- al expert

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Viktor Frankl

• All of Frankls family died in the Nazi
  concentration camp
• Frankl survived, and struggled to search for
  meaning in the face of horrible adversity
• He believed the examining the finiteness of our
  existence and inevitable mortality adds meaning
  to life, as we ask ourselves- Why do we exist?
  What do we want from life?

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What is the best way to spend the time that is
left?

• Frankl concludes that the meaning of life is
  found in every moment of living life never
  ceases to have meaning, even in suffering and
  death
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man27s_Search_for_Me
  aning

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From the Ashes to Hope
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Viktor Frankl Conclusion

• Love is the highest and ultimate goal to which
  man can aspire
• The Salvation of man is in love and through love
• A man who has nothing left in this world still
  may know bliss, if only for a brief moment in the
  contemplation of the beloved
• Frankl's meaning in life is to help others find
  theirs.

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Cognitive-Restructuring

• Frankls ideas have been translated into the
  Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

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Key Elements of the Humanistic Approach

• The Humanistic Perspective has not presented a
  comprehensive framework, but rather a collection
  of major principles that can be seen as directive
  to life.

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Key Elements of the Humanistic Perspective

• Emphasis on personal responsibility (You dont
  have to do your homework, you have chosen to do
  so). You are not a victim of circumstances!

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Key Elements (cont-d)

• Emphasis on functioning in the here and now Do
  not be a captive of your past!

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Key Elements (cont-d)

• Acknowledging the phenomenology of the
  individual- - the fact that it is only the client
  (in therapy) that can make decision for
  him/herself.

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Key Elements (cont-d)

• Emphasis on personal growthRogers called this
  becoming a fully functioning, while Maslow
  referred to this idea as self-actualization.

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Self-Actualization- What is it?

• There is more to life than the absence of
  problems
• The Humanistic perspective maintain that we all
  have a drive toward self-actualization
• To become that best we can become, in the context
  of our life (you do not have to receive the Nobel
  Prize).

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Carl Rogers and Person-Centered Therapy

• The role of the therapist is to create an
  atmosphere of unconditional positive regard to
  enable the clients self-exploration and becoming
  fully functioning.
• Paraphrasing and reflection of feelings were
  methods to facilitate self-exploration
• Rogers described the fully- functioning person
  as an ideal for healthy personality.
• Rogers saw anxiety as resulting from our
  inability to incorporate information that is
  inconsistent with our self-image

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Rogers (cont-d)

• Note his emphasis on social-environmental causes
  of emotional maladjustment (in contrast to the
  biological approach), when he sees parental
  conditional acceptance.
• The Rogerian therapist would say to a client I
  do not like what you did, but I still respect you
  as a human being.

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Abraham Maslow

• Abraham Maslow was interested in exploring the
  sources of happy, healthy personality.
• His approach was optimistic, regarding human
  beings as free-willed individuals, and not as
  captive by unconscious drives
• His contribution is in the hierarchy of needs,
  and in the study of the psychologically-healthy
  individuals.

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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

• Maslow distinguished between D (deficiency) needs
  and B (being) needs.
• Physiological needs
• Safety needs
• Love and Belongingness needs
• Esteem needs (you value yourself, and others also
  value you)
• Self-Actualization needs

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Hierarchy of Needs
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Misconceptions about Maslow Hierarchy

• You do not have to fulfill all the needs in one
  level to climb to the next level
• Some people who starve for their loved one, or
  for their life work
• Te needs in each level are never fully satisfied
• There are cultural differences in the ways the
  needs are regarded and are fulfilled

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The psychologically-Healthy People

• Maslows study of the psychologically- healthy
  people was Not empirically-based
• He examined his friends, whom he judged to be
  psychologically healthy, as well as historical
  figures
• His analysis was holistic and subjective
• Yet, it was relevant that he called attention to
  the healthy aspects of human nature

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Attributes of the Psychologically-Healthy people

• Sense of humor
• Creativity- not in artistic talent, but in being
  able to perform mundane tasks in a non-routine
  manner.
• Open to new experiences
• Having peak experiences- which involve the
  transcendence of time and place.

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The Psychology of Optimal Experience and Positive
Psychology

• The legacy of the Humanistic Approach is in the
  emergence of the new branch of psychology,
  Positive Psychology
• This branch focuses of human virtues, strengths,
  resilience, and coping with adversity
• An important topic is the pursuit of happiness-
  What is happiness?

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The Psychology of Optimal Experience

• In searching for the meaning of happiness,
  Csikszentmihlyi introduced the concept of flow,
  quite similar to Maslows Peak Experience
• It involves being totally absorbed in an activity
  that requires your full attention and utilizes
  your skills to the utmost
• You have a feeling you are in a state of flow
• There are 8 components of the flow (see
  textbook).

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Applications

• Rogers applied his ideas into a system of therapy
  that emphasizes the creation of the right
  conditions to allow the client to accept
  him/herself, and to achieve personal growth.
  Extending to the client unconditional positive
  regard facilitates this goal.
• Maslows hierarchy of needs has been applied into
  understanding job satisfaction and vocational
  choices.

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Current Status

• Though the Humanistic Approach was quite popular
  when it first came out, and though it introduced
  therapeutic strategies that are still applied
  today, its popularity had waned.
• The positive tone of the approach, that is seen
  as the forerunner of Positive Psychology, is
  certainly a plus.

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Limitations of the Humanistic Approach

• Many of the concepts do not lend themselves for
  operational definitions and for scientific study.
• A great deal of the studies conducted by Maslow
  and Rogers to support their ideas were based on
  their own subjective impressions and intuition.
• The concept of free will has been challenged.

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(cont-d)

• Some researchers questioned the effectiveness of
  the Rogerian therapy (how do you measure success
  in therapy?). It may be more appropriate for
  people in life transitions than for deep-seated
  psychological disorders
• The appropriateness of relying on the client to
  make accurate appraisals of themselves has been
  questioned.
• The naïve assumptions about the goodness of
  individuals.