Humanistic Psychology
Take Home Final Exam
Instructions: Type all of your responses. For the short answers, use your own words (no quoted material). For the essays, cite sources but keep quotations to a minimum. You can consult with your fellow students but must turn in your own responses.
Part I: Short Answers (5 points each) (100 points total)
Briefly explain (in 1-3 sentences) ALL 20 of the following phenomena, concepts, definitions, theories, and techniques:
1. May’s definition of anxiety
2. Vygotsky’s definition of the zone of proximal development
3. Vontress and Epp’s view of concentric cultures
4. Gendlin’s technique of focusing
5. Maslow’s definition of plateau experiences
6. Heidegger’s concept of Dasein
7. Gergen’s view of social construction
8. The phenomenological concept of life-world
9. Moustaka’s understanding of heuristic research
10. The Gestalt concept of figure/ground
11. The hermeneutic circle
12. The narrative research approach to contextuality
13. The postmodern view of meta-narratives and grand discourses (Lyotard)
14. Perls’ concept of creative pre-commitment
15. Lakoff and Johnson’s view of the embodied mind
16. Rogers’s understanding of congruence
17. Frankl’s view of self-transcendence
18. The phenomenological concept of intuitive contact
19. Welwood’s two types of unfolding experience
20. Wilber’s concept of the Atman Project.
Part II: Two Essays (40 points each) (80 points total)
Write two essays (250-350 words each). Choose two of the following.
21. Compare and contrast Rogers’ and Perls’ approaches to psychotherapy. Be sure to address the aims of therapy, the assumptions about human nature and growth, the desired qualities of the therapist, the roles of therapist and client, as well as the therapeutic climate, techniques, and process.
23. Discuss key postmodern concepts and approaches and how they have been incorporated into humanistic research and therapies.
24. Discuss the application of humanistic concepts and practices to higher education. Be sure to discuss the assumptions behind these approaches as well as their educational effectiveness.
25. Compare and contrast heuristic research with phenomenological research.
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