UNIT II Reading: Humanistic Psychology: Approach & Carl Rogers

RS: 12. Domain Specific, Analysis, Argument, Synthesis, Critique, Primary Source Excerpt

For a person to "grow", they need an environment that provides them with genuineness (openness and self-disclosure), acceptance (being seen with unconditional positive regard), and empathy (being listened to and understood).Without these, relationships and healthy personalities will not develop as they should, much like a tree will not grow without sunlight and water. –Carl Rogers.

Humanistic psychology is an approach in psychology that emerged in the 1950s as an alternative to both Behaviorism and Psychoanalytic psychology. It seeks to understand human beings as unique among other living beings, with consciousness, free will, and responsibility for our choices. The goal of Humanistic psychology is to understand the whole person, and to aid each person to develop their potential to the fullest, and thus be able to contribute most effectively to the larger society.

  1. Human beings cannot be reduced to components
  2. Human beings have in them a uniquely human context
  3. Human consciousness includes an awareness of oneself in the context of other people
  4. Human beings have choices and responsibilities
  5. Human beings are intentional, they seek meaning, value, and creativity

Carl Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an influential American psychologist, who, along with Abraham Maslow, founded the humanistic approach to psychology. In his approach Rogers emphasized a person-to-person relationship between the therapist and the client. It is the client who determines the course, speed, and length of treatment. work has had many positive results and achieved significant popularity. Rogers believed that every person can achieve their goals, wishes and desires in life. He believed in “Unconditional Positive Regard”

Unconditional positive regard is where parents, significant others (and the humanist therapist) accepts and loves the person for what he or she is. Positive regard is not withdrawn if the person does something wrong or makes a mistake. The consequences of unconditional positive regard are that the person feels free to try things out and make mistakes, even though this may lead to getting it worse at times. People who are able to self-actualize are more likely to have received unconditional positive regard from others, especially their parents in childhood. When, or rather if they did so, self actualization took place.(i.e. to fulfill one's potential and achieve the highest level we can. Like a flower that will grow to its full potential if the conditions are right, but which is constrained by its environment, so people will flourish and reach their potential if their environment is good enough.) Self-image is how we see ourselves, which is important to good psychological health. Self-image includes the influence of our body image on inner personality. At a simple level, we might perceive ourselves as a good or bad person, beautiful or ugly. Self-image has an affect on how a person thinks feels and behaves in the world.

  • Ideal self – This is the person who we would like to be. It consists of our goals and ambitions in life, and is dynamic – i.e. forever changing. The ideal self in childhood is not the ideal self in our teens or late twenties etc.
  • Rogers describes an individual who is actualizing as a fully functioning person. The main determinant of whether we will become self-actualized is childhood experience.
  • Where a person’s ideal self and actual experience are consistent or very similar, a state of congruence exists.Rarely, if ever does a total state of congruence exist; all people experience a certain amount of incongruence. incongruenceis if some of the totality of their experience is unacceptable to them and is denied or distorted in the self-image. Ex. Child abuse, dysfunction, environmental factors.
  1. Do you believe that living in an environment of “Unconditional Positive Regard” is or is not the best possible preparation for life? Explain.
  1. Are there any discrepancies or “incongruence” in your own experiences that limit your potential ability to reach self actualization?