HUMANISTIC THEORIES – INDIVIDUALITY
Humanistic, or phenomenological, theories of personality present a positive and optimistic view of human behaviour. In complete contrast to theories from the psychodynamic tradition, people are viewed as experiencing beings rather than victims of their unconscious motivations and conflicts. So the emphasis here is on individual experiences, relationships and ways of understanding the world. Fundamental to these theories are the beliefs that everyone’s experience is unique, and the individual’s perception of the world is critical to their understanding and behaviour. Humanistic theories have formed the basis of many therapeutic procedures on which modern counselling techniques are based.
THE DRIVE TO FULFIL POTENTIAL
Approval and self-actualization Carl Rogers (1902–87) saw humans as intrinsically good and as having an innate desire for self-improvement. He believed that self-concept is critical to our experience of the world, and that this develops from the child’s perceptions of his parents’ approval. Rogers believed that all people have a basic need for positive regard – approval and love. How we feel about ourselves is determined by how others react to or approve of us, and we tend to be unhappy if we feel that others are not happy with us. According to Rogers, children develop conditions of worth – criteria for what we must or must not do in order to gain approval. Although this is essential to the socialization of children, Rogers also argued that conditions of worth may interfere with personal development if our sole objective is to gain approval from others. Experiencing unconditional positive regard – love and affection – enables us to grow and to satisfy our core tendency, which is to fulfil our potential by de eloping our capacities and talents to the full. This is called self-actualization. Activities that are self-actualizing are perceived as satisfying, says Rogers, whereas activities that are incompatible with self-actualization are frustrating. From a scientific perspective, the tendency to self-actualize is vague and untestable. While we may all have the same capacity to self-actualize, the form that actualization takes will be unique to each individual, making it impossible to establish objective criteria for measurement. Client-centred therapy Rogers developed a therapeutic approach known as client-centred therapy, which gives a central role to the therapist’s unconditional positive regard for the client. The therapist has to be trusting, accepting and empathic. Rogers argued that this helps the individual in therapy to recognize and untangle her feelings and return to an actualizing state. One of Rogers’ most important contributions to psychology was his attempt to evaluate this method of herapy. Rogers and Dymond (1954) set out to examine changes in the discrepancy between present self-concept and the ideal self (the person the client would like to be). This was done using a Q-sort technique (devised by Stephenson, 1953), whereby the client is given a range of cards on which there is a descriptive statement, such as:
‘I don’t trust my own emotions’ and ‘I have a warm emotional relationship with others.’
The client is asked to sort these cards in order, from ‘most like me’ to ‘least like me’ under the headings ‘Self’ and ‘Ideal’. From this, Rogers and Dymond produced a numerical discrepancy between real and ideal self. By administering the Q-sort at different times during therapy, the effectiveness of the therapy sessions can be assessed
Humanistic, or phenomenological, theories of personality present a positive and optimistic view of human behaviour. In complete contrast to theories from the psychodynamic tradition, people are viewed as experiencing beings rather than victims of their unconscious motivations and conflicts. So the emphasis here is on individual experiences, relationships and ways of understanding the world. Fundamental to these theories are the beliefs that everyone’s experience is unique, and the individual’s perception of the world is critical to their understanding and behaviour. Humanistic theories have formed the basis of many therapeutic procedures on which modern counselling techniques are based.
THE DRIVE TO FULFIL POTENTIAL
Approval and self-actualization Carl Rogers (1902–87) saw humans as intrinsically good and as having an innate desire for self-improvement. He believed that self-concept is critical to our experience of the world, and that this develops from the child’s perceptions of his parents’ approval. Rogers believed that all people have a basic need for positive regard – approval and love. How we feel about ourselves is determined by how others react to or approve of us, and we tend to be unhappy if we feel that others are not happy with us. According to Rogers, children develop conditions of worth – criteria for what we must or must not do in order to gain approval. Although this is essential to the socialization of children, Rogers also argued that conditions of worth may interfere with personal development if our sole objective is to gain approval from others. Experiencing unconditional positive regard – love and affection – enables us to grow and to satisfy our core tendency, which is to fulfil our potential by de eloping our capacities and talents to the full. This is called self-actualization. Activities that are self-actualizing are perceived as satisfying, says Rogers, whereas activities that are incompatible with self-actualization are frustrating. From a scientific perspective, the tendency to self-actualize is vague and untestable. While we may all have the same capacity to self-actualize, the form that actualization takes will be unique to each individual, making it impossible to establish objective criteria for measurement. Client-centred therapy Rogers developed a therapeutic approach known as client-centred therapy, which gives a central role to the therapist’s unconditional positive regard for the client. The therapist has to be trusting, accepting and empathic. Rogers argued that this helps the individual in therapy to recognize and untangle her feelings and return to an actualizing state. One of Rogers’ most important contributions to psychology was his attempt to evaluate this method of herapy. Rogers and Dymond (1954) set out to examine changes in the discrepancy between present self-concept and the ideal self (the person the client would like to be). This was done using a Q-sort technique (devised by Stephenson, 1953), whereby the client is given a range of cards on which there is a descriptive statement, such as:
‘I don’t trust my own emotions’ and ‘I have a warm emotional relationship with others.’
The client is asked to sort these cards in order, from ‘most like me’ to ‘least like me’ under the headings ‘Self’ and ‘Ideal’. From this, Rogers and Dymond produced a numerical discrepancy between real and ideal self. By administering the Q-sort at different times during therapy, the effectiveness of the therapy sessions can be assessed
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