Pengertian Itu Humanistic Approach : Penjelasan Lengkap--
THE HUMANISTIC APPROACH
a.
What assumptions do humanistic psychologists make?
Humanistic
psychologists start from the assumption that every person has their own unique
way of perceiving and understanding the world and that the things they do only
make sense in this light. Consequently, the kinds of questions they ask about
people differ from those asked by psychologists from other approaches. Whereas
other approaches take an objective view of people, in essence asking about
them, ‘what is this person like?’ humanistic psychologists’ priority is
understanding people’s subjectivity, asking ‘what is it like to be this
person?’ As a result, they reject the objective scientific method as a way of
studying people. Humanistic psychologists explicitly endorse the idea that
people have free will and are capable of choosing their own actions (although
they may not always realize this). They also take the view that all people have
a tendency towards growth and the fulfillment of their potential. Much of their
research has focused on how people can be helped to fulfill their potential and
lead more contented lives.
b. How do humanistic psychologists
explain behaviour?
Carl
Rogers’ idea about behaviour centre on the self, which is the person’s
consciousness of their own identity. Rogers believed that people could only
fulfill their potential for growth if they had a basically positive view of
themselves (positive self regard). This can only happen if they have the
unconditional positive regard of others – if they feel that they are valued and
respected without reservation by those around them. The problem that most
people have, as Rogers saw it, was that most people don’t perceive the positive
regard of others as being unconditional. Rather, they think they will only be
loved and valued if they meet certain conditions of worth (e.g. behaving well,
passing lots of exams etc.) These conditions of worth create incongruity within
the self between the real self (how the person is) and the ideal self (how they
think they should be). The person tries to close the gap between the real and
idea self but most people do this in unhelpful ways, possibly by chasing
achievements that won’t actually make them content or by distorting their view
of themselves or the world. For example a student who believes they are only
worth anything if they get perfect exam scores may deal with a grade ‘B’ either
by dismissing it as outright failure, there by robbing themselves of an
achievement, or by blaming their teachers, thereby preventing hemselves from taking action that might
improve their grades. Abraham Maslow’s view of human needs was more complex
than Rogers’. Whilst Rogers believed that people needed unconditional positive
regard, Maslow acknowledged that people have a variety of needs that differ in
immediacy and which need satisfying at different times. He arranged these needs
in a hierarchy, whereby the more basic needs towards the bottom take precedence
over those higher up (e.g. everyone needs to have their achievements
recognized, but will put this need to one side if they are starving hungry).
Maslow believed that those who satisfied all their needs might become self-actualisers:
rare, remarkable people who fulfill their potential completely. However, he
also thought that prolonged periods where a particular need was not satisfied
could result in a sort of fixation. For example, a person who grew up in
poverty might continue to be dominated by anxiety about food even if they were
lucky enough to escape poverty later.
c.
How do humanistic psychologists study human behaviour?
Humanistic psychologists favour research methods that
will allow them to understand other people’s subjectivity. Consequently, they
avoid methods that study people objectively, including experimentation and
non-participant observation. They generally think that reducing people’s
experience to numbers robs it of its richness and meaning, so they also avoid
quantitative approaches. Therefore, qualitative methods are preferred,
particularly unstructured interviewing as it allows access to other
people’s views and experiences without imposing on them the researcher’s ideas
about what is important. Where observation is used it is likely to be participant
observation, with the researcher taking part in what they are studying in
order to understand how the participants perceive it. Humanistic psychologists
may also analyse all sorts of other qualitative materials that allow them
insight into how people understand their world, including diaries, letters
and biographies. An example of this type of research is Maslow’s
(1973) analysis of the characteristics of self actualisers. He selected
probable self-actualisers from public and historical figures and used
biographical and other documentary evidence to analyse what they had in common.
He found that they tend to be unconventional and original, accepting of themselves
and others, capable of deep and intimate relationships and that they have a
wonder at and enjoyment of life.
d. Evaluation of the humanistic
approach
The
apparent lack of objectivity and rigour in humanistic methods is a
significant criticism of the humanistic approach. Other approaches would regard
their methods as unscientific, vague and open to bias and their
attempt to ‘get inside’ other people’s way of perceiving the world as misguided
and quite possibly pointless. Humanistic psychologists would reject these
criticisms because they, in turn, would view the objective, scientific method
as inappropriate for understanding people. Other critics take issue with the positive
view of human nature that the humanistic approach endorses. Whilst it is
flattering to view ourselves as basically good entities striving to fulfill our
potential, the humanistic approach is at a loss to explain the horrors that
people are capable of inflicting on each other. Faced with a world afflicted
with warfare, genocide, runaway greed, domestic violence and so on, humanistic
talk about potential, growth and positive regard seems trite at best. Some
would even say that, with its focus on meeting our needs and fulfilling our
growth potential, the humanistic approach reflects an individualistic,
self-obsessed outlook that is part of the problem, not the solution. On the
other hand, the counselling approaches developed by Rogers and other
humanists have helped many people overcome difficulties they face in life,
which is a significant contribution to improving people’s lives.