Free Will, Self-actualisation & Maslow's Hierarchy (AQA A Level Psychology)

Assumptions of the humanistic approach

• The key assumptions of the humanistic psychology approach are

  • that each individual is unique 

  • that humans have free will 

  • that science should not be used to explain behaviour 

  • that humans should be viewed holistically and not reduced to their parts 

• Free will assumes that humans are self-determining beings who can exercise control over their behaviour and that choice is a key part of this

  • It is in direct opposition to the behaviourist and the biological approaches which see behaviour as a response to either internal biological processes or to external conditioning by the environment

• The humanistic approach sees the individual at the heart of their destiny, actively making decisions, and shaping their life rather than allowing external forces to shape it for them

• The humanistic approach incorporates theories and ideas rooted in free will

  • Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

  • Roger’s client-centred therapy

  • Unconditional positive regard

  • Self-actualisation

Self-actualisation & Maslow's hierarchy of needs

• Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was one of the founders of humanistic psychology

• He was interested in what motivated people and how to achieve self-actualisation

  • This process is referred to as phenomenology - the focus on the individual, their dreams, goals, ambitions and their 'personal journey'

• Maslow devised a hierarchy of needs, which outlines the path that must be taken to achieve self-actualisation 

• The hierarchy is presented as a pyramid, with the larger, lower platforms encompassing the basic needs that all humans require for life at the level of 'existence' rather than 'excellence'

• The higher the person ascends the pyramid, the richer and more fulfilling their life is likely to be

• Level 1: Physiological needs

  • This level covers all life-supporting, essential elements e.g. clean water, food, clean air, shelter, sleep

  • It is almost impossible to ascend any further up the pyramid without these in place

• Level 2: Safety needs

  • This level includes security, protection, a degree of predictability, freedom from persecution 

  • It would be very difficult to pursue a goal if life was chaotic and subject to change at any moment

• Level 3: Social needs

  • This level acknowledges the importance of having a supportive network, friendship, love, intimacy, and a feeling of belonging

  • One may be doing well and earning good money in a job but without friends or a sense of community they are unlikely to feel truly fulfilled

• Level 4: Esteem needs

  • These include positive self-image, achievement, mastery of a skill, reputation, autonomy

  • A person may be the best violin player in the world but may feel worthless based on a history of parental disinterest

• Level 5: Self-actualisation

  • The achievement of a person's full potential, becoming the best version of themselves 

  • This level includes feelings of self-fulfilment, transcendence, personal growth, being in a 'flow' state, the ultimate achievement

  • It is only possible to reach self-actualisation once all of the previous levels have been scaled

  • The process of reaching self-actualisation may be continual, as new goals are reached and new ambitions set

  • Although self-actualisation is the ultimate, aspirational goal, not everyone will achieve it for a variety of reasons e.g.

    • unexpected life events, personality factors, socioeconomic status, illness etc.

Evaluation of free will, self-actualisation & Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Strengths

• The humanistic approach is the only approach in psychology which takes a truly holistic view of the individual

  • This is a strength as it reflects the fact that reality is experienced on a subjective level by every single person (i.e. one's reality is unique to them, even the aspects of it that they share with other people)

  • By focusing on individual experience and meaning, the humanistic approach acknowledges the great diversity and richness of the human experience (i.e. we are not machines)

  • Thus this idiographic approach is high in ecological validity

• Maslow's hierarchy has application to a range of fields e.g.

  • it can be applied to business settings to help set goals and priorities for staff and to encourage upward mobility

  • it can be applied to educational settings to encourage progress and attainments in terms of exam success and/or mastery of specific tasks

Limitations

• One of the main issues with the humanistic approach is its sense of vagueness and lack of scientific rigour

  • The ideas behind the approach are difficult to operationalise and measure (e.g. at what point exactly has self-actualisation been reached and how can this be recorded or marked?)

    • this means that the approach lacks reliability and is too open to interpretation

• Maslow's hierarchy is generally only applicable to individualistic cultures

  • This means that the theory has only limited relevance and generalisability