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IAS1162 – Humanistic Approach

Personal Responsibility The Here And Now The Phenomenology of the Individual Personal Growth

Key Elements to Humanistic Approach

We are ultimately responsible for what

happens to us Our behaviors represent personal choices of

what we want to do at a particular moment People choose to be in a situation or a

relationship that they do not have to

Personal Responsibility

Humanistic psychologists view that the moment you spend time

thinking about something in the past is just a waste of time You waste your time of not doing something useful to your life We can’t become fully functioning individuals until we learn to live

our lives as they happen “Today Is The First Day of the Rest of Your Life”

We need not be victims of our past Our past experience shape and influence who we are and how we

behave These experiences should not dictate what we can become You need not be forever shy and unassertive just because “you have

always been that way” You need not be in an unhappy relationship simply because you don’t

know what else to do Your past guides you to be what you are today, but it should not be

an anchor

The Here and Now

No one knows you better than yourself Friends and family may give advices if you

have problems, but allowing someone else decides what is best for you is unsatisfying and ineffective

Usually you listen to the many advices, but you decide what is the next course of action

The Phenomenology of the Individual

There is more to life than simply having all your

immediate needs met People are not content when their immediate needs

have been met They are motivated to continue their development in

a positive manner Carl Rogers (1902-1987) maintained that we

naturally strive to reach an optimal sense of satisfaction with our lives – “Fully Functioning”

As we grow, our needs change and we need to become a ‘better person’

Personal Growth

Introduced by Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) He identified five basic categories of needs

Physiological Needs Safety Needs Belongingness and Love Needs Esteem Needs Need for Self-Actualization

Hierarchy of Needs

Includes hunger, thirst, air and sleep The most demanding

The must be satisfied before we can move to higher level needs

Finding enough food and water for survival takes priority over concerns about gaining respect of peers

Physiological Needs

Only comes after Physiological Needs have

been met Includes the need for security, stability,

protection, structure, order and freedom from fear and chaos

Most evident when future is unpredictable or when stability of the political or social order is threatened E.g. Malaysian students in Egypt Job security vs Higher pay but only as a

contract

Safety Needs

Most middle class American and possibly

Malaysian adults have the need for food, water, security, stability fairly well satisfied

But lower-level needs does not guarantee happiness

Need for friendship and love Some people become slaves to their work, but

most become unsatisfied without friends and loved ones

Belongingness and Love Needs

More to life than love Two basic types:

Need to perceive oneself as competent and achieving

Need for admiration and respect But the respect must be deserved – no cheating

or lying your way into positions of honor and authority

Esteem Needs

When all the lower levels are satisfied, people

turn to developing themselves What we want for our life, where it is heading,

what we want to accomplish Very few people reach this state of self-

actualization, the point that every potential is fully developed

Need for Self-Actualization

You may be different, but you are part of the team

ENJOY THE COMPANY WHILE YOU CAN! You may even be the cutest…