Humanistic Psychology | AQA A-Level Psychology Revision
- Revision Notes
- Aug 3
- 14 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
For 7182 specification, first teach in September 2025
AQA A-Level Psychology | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 45 minutes
These Humanistic Psychology A-Level Psychology revision notes examine an approach that emphasises personal choice, individual development and the fulfilment of human potential. You will explore free will, self-actualisation, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, congruence and conditions of worth. Humanistic Psychology contrasts sharply with unconscious and deterministic explanations, making it especially useful when preparing to compare the assumptions of the major psychological perspectives. The AQA specification names each of these humanistic concepts as required content.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Define free will within Humanistic Psychology.
Explain self-actualisation as a humanistic goal.
Describe the general structure and purpose of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Explain congruence.
Explain how conditions of worth may affect personal development.
Apply humanistic concepts to unfamiliar situations.
Revision Notes 📚
Humanistic Psychology A-Level Psychology revision overview
Humanistic Psychology focuses on the individual as a whole person with the capacity for choice, personal development and self-actualisation.
Its key concepts in the AQA specification are:
Free will
Self-actualisation
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Congruence
Conditions of worth
The approach differs from explanations that present behaviour as being determined entirely by biological processes, environmental learning or unconscious conflict.
Instead, Humanistic Psychology gives an important role to:
Personal choice
Subjective experience
Individual goals
Personal growth
The way a person understands themselves
The lesson plan places Humanistic Psychology immediately before comparing the assumptions of all approaches.
Free will
Free will is the view that individuals can make conscious choices about their behaviour.
From a humanistic perspective, people are not simply controlled by:
Their genetic inheritance
Biological structures
Reinforcement
Environmental stimuli
Unconscious conflicts
Earlier experiences
These factors may influence a person, but the individual is still viewed as capable of choosing how to respond.
For example, two people may experience a similar setback but make different choices about what to do next. A humanistic psychologist would be interested in each person’s interpretation, goals and decisions rather than assuming that the same external event must produce the same behaviour.
Free will and personal responsibility
The humanistic emphasis on free will means that people have an active role in directing their lives.
Individuals may:
Make choices.
Reflect on their experiences.
Set personal goals.
Change direction.
Take responsibility for their actions.
Work towards personal development.
This creates a very different view of human behaviour from strict determinism.
A deterministic explanation searches for causes that control behaviour. Humanistic Psychology emphasises the person’s ability to act rather than merely react.
The distinction between choice and causal explanation is studied in more depth through free will, hard determinism and soft determinism.
Free will does not mean behaviour has no influences
Free will should not be confused with the claim that behaviour occurs without any influence.
A person’s choices may be affected by:
Their circumstances.
Previous experiences.
Other people.
Available opportunities.
Personal beliefs.
Their current needs.
The humanistic claim is that these influences do not necessarily remove the individual’s capacity to choose.
For example, a student may experience pressure from family members when selecting a career. The pressure is an influence, but a humanistic explanation would still examine how the student understands the situation and what they choose to do.
Humanistic and deterministic explanations
Humanistic emphasis | Deterministic emphasis |
People can make choices | Behaviour has identifiable causes |
The individual actively directs development | Behaviour is produced by prior influences |
Personal responsibility is important | Behaviour may be outside conscious control |
Subjective experience matters | General causal explanations are emphasised |
Different people may choose differently | Similar causes may be expected to produce similar effects |
Humanistic Psychology therefore provides an important contrast with:
Environmental determinism in the behaviourist approach.
Biological determinism in the biological approach.
Psychic determinism in the psychodynamic approach.
What is self-actualisation?
Self-actualisation refers to the fulfilment of a person’s potential.
It is the process of developing towards what the individual is capable of becoming.
Self-actualisation may involve:
Personal growth.
Developing abilities.
Pursuing meaningful goals.
Becoming more fully oneself.
Making choices consistent with personal values.
Fulfilling individual potential.
Self-actualisation does not mean becoming perfect or superior to other people.
It is an individual process. Different people may have different abilities, values and goals, so self-actualisation will not look identical for everyone.
Self-actualisation is personal
A humanistic explanation does not assume that everyone should pursue the same life.
For one person, fulfilling potential may involve academic development. For another, it may involve creativity, relationships, work, caring responsibilities or another personally meaningful goal.
The important point is that the goal reflects the individual’s own development rather than simply meeting expectations imposed by somebody else.
This individual focus creates a useful connection with idiographic investigation of unique experience.
Free will and self-actualisation
Free will and self-actualisation are closely connected.
A person needs some capacity for choice if they are to direct their own development.
The relationship can be represented as:
Capacity to choose → personally meaningful decisions → movement towards fulfilling potential
This is not a mathematical equation. It shows the proposed relationship between the concepts.
Free will allows the individual to make choices. Self-actualisation describes the direction of personal development towards their potential.
For example:
A student chooses a course that reflects their interests and abilities rather than selecting the course other people expect them to take.
A humanistic psychologist might interpret this as an exercise of free will that supports movement towards self-actualisation.
Barriers to self-actualisation
Humanistic Psychology recognises that a person may not always be able to develop freely.
Personal growth may be affected when:
Important needs remain unmet.
The person feels required to behave in a particular way to gain approval.
Their view of themselves does not match who they would like to be.
Choices are guided mainly by external expectations.
The person rejects parts of their experience.
Maslow’s hierarchy, congruence and conditions of worth help explain these possible barriers.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs organises human needs into a hierarchy.
The hierarchy represents the idea that human development involves different types of need and that the fulfilment of needs is connected with progression towards self-actualisation.
Self-actualisation is placed at the highest point of the hierarchy because it represents the fulfilment of potential.
The general relationship is:
Needs requiring satisfaction → continued personal development → self-actualisation
The AQA specification names Maslow’s hierarchy of needs but does not list or define its individual levels.
The provided source material does not contain enough information to complete a detailed level-by-level description accurately.
For this reason, these revision notes do not add named levels or detailed stage descriptions that are not contained in the specification source.
How a hierarchy works
A hierarchy is an arrangement in which elements are placed at different levels.
Within Maslow’s model:
Needs are organised rather than treated as unrelated.
The fulfilment of needs supports personal development.
Difficulties at one point in the hierarchy may interfere with progress.
Self-actualisation represents the fulfilment of potential.
The hierarchy should not be described as a checklist that every individual completes in an identical way.
The central humanistic idea is that personal growth may be restricted when important needs are not sufficiently met.
Applying Maslow’s hierarchy
Consider the following scenario:
Dev wants to devote more time to developing his artistic abilities, but he is currently focused on dealing with serious unmet needs in his everyday life.
A humanistic explanation might state that:
Dev has the potential to develop his artistic abilities.
His artistic development could contribute to self-actualisation.
Important unmet needs may currently restrict his ability to concentrate on that development.
Progress towards self-actualisation may therefore be delayed.
A strong application answer should identify both the unmet need described in the scenario and the person’s potential for growth.
Do not merely state that “Dev is lower in the hierarchy”.
Maslow’s hierarchy and individual development
The hierarchy connects motivation with personal growth.
People may be motivated to satisfy needs and continue developing.
However, self-actualisation remains personal rather than identical for everyone.
Two individuals may have:
Different abilities.
Different personal goals.
Different circumstances.
Different views of a meaningful life.
Humanistic Psychology therefore combines a general account of needs with an individual focus on potential.
What is congruence?
Congruence refers to agreement or consistency between how a person sees themselves and the person they would ideally like to be.
The comparison involves:
The person’s current view of themselves.
Their view of the person they would like to become.
When these two views are reasonably consistent, the person experiences congruence.
When there is a substantial mismatch, the person experiences incongruence.
Congruence and incongruence
Congruence | Incongruence |
The person’s current view of themselves is consistent with their desired self | There is a mismatch between the person’s current and desired self |
The individual accepts their experience more openly | The individual may struggle to accept parts of their experience |
Supports personal growth | May interfere with development |
Can support movement towards self-actualisation | May act as a barrier to self-actualisation |
Congruence does not mean that a person believes they have no weaknesses or areas for development.
A person can recognise that they want to change while still having a reasonably accepting and coherent view of themselves.
Applying congruence
Consider this scenario:
Amara sees herself as thoughtful and dependable. These qualities are also central to the person she wants to become.
There is consistency between Amara’s current view of herself and her desired self. This suggests congruence.
Now consider:
Noah sees himself as unsuccessful and incapable, but believes that he must appear confident and highly successful to be acceptable.
There is a large difference between Noah’s current self-view and the person he believes he should be. This suggests incongruence.
A strong application answer should describe both sides of the comparison rather than simply naming congruence or incongruence.
Congruence and self-actualisation
Congruence supports movement towards self-actualisation because the person can develop from a more accepting and consistent understanding of themselves.
The relationship can be shown as:
Greater congruence → fewer internal barriers to growth → movement towards self-actualisation
Incongruence may make development more difficult because the person may:
Reject parts of themselves.
Pursue goals that do not reflect their own potential.
Focus on meeting external expectations.
Experience conflict between their actual experience and desired identity.
What are conditions of worth?
Conditions of worth are requirements that a person believes they must meet to be accepted or valued by others.
The individual may learn that approval depends on behaving, achieving or presenting themselves in a particular way.
For example, a person may come to believe:
“I am valued only if I achieve highly.”
“I am acceptable only when I agree with other people.”
“I must hide certain feelings to receive approval.”
“I am worthwhile only if I meet someone else’s expectations.”
The person’s sense of worth has become conditional.
How conditions of worth may develop
Conditions of worth involve approval being linked to particular requirements.
The sequence may be:
Approval is experienced when a condition is met.
Approval is reduced or withheld when the condition is not met.
The person learns that acceptance depends on satisfying the condition.
The person may shape their behaviour or self-view around that expectation.
This can interfere with free personal development because the person may make choices mainly to obtain approval rather than to pursue personally meaningful growth.
Conditions of worth and incongruence
Conditions of worth may contribute to incongruence.
The person may develop an ideal based on what others require rather than on their own experience or potential.
The process can be represented as:
External conditions for approval → pressure to become a particular person → mismatch within self-view → incongruence
For example:
A student enjoys creative subjects but believes that their family will value them only if they pursue a different type of career.
The student may begin to judge their own interests negatively because they conflict with the condition attached to approval.
Their current interests, desired development and the person they feel required to become may no longer match.
Conditions of worth and free will
Conditions of worth do not necessarily remove free will, but they may restrict how freely a person feels able to choose.
A person may technically have several options but believe that only one will preserve approval or acceptance.
The individual may therefore:
Ignore personal goals.
Hide genuine feelings.
Make choices mainly to satisfy others.
Reject parts of themselves.
Move away from self-actualisation.
Humanistic Psychology would examine whether the choice genuinely reflects the person’s own development.
Conditions of worth and self-actualisation
Conditions of worth may act as a barrier to self-actualisation because the person is encouraged to fulfil external requirements rather than their own potential.
Development towards self-actualisation | Development shaped by conditions of worth |
Choices reflect personal potential | Choices are made mainly to gain approval |
The individual can accept their experience | Parts of experience may be rejected |
Greater congruence is possible | Incongruence may develop |
Goals are personally meaningful | Goals may be imposed by others |
Free will is exercised more openly | Choice may feel restricted |
Bringing the humanistic concepts together
The main humanistic concepts form a connected explanation.
People possess free will and can make choices.
They are motivated towards self-actualisation.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains how the fulfilment of needs relates to personal development.
Congruence supports growth because the person’s self-views are consistent.
Conditions of worth may create pressure to meet external expectations.
These conditions may produce incongruence.
Incongruence may interfere with movement towards self-actualisation.
A complete examination answer should explain these relationships rather than treating each term as an isolated definition.
Applying the complete explanation
Consider the following scenario:
Layla enjoys designing and making clothes. She would like to develop these abilities, but believes that she will receive approval from her family only if she follows a different career. Layla begins describing her creative interests as pointless, although she remains unhappy with the career she is pursuing.
A humanistic explanation could state that:
Layla has the potential to develop her creative abilities.
Developing these abilities could contribute to self-actualisation.
Her family’s approval appears to involve a condition of worth.
Layla believes she must pursue a particular career to be valued.
She rejects part of her genuine experience and interests.
A mismatch develops between her current choices and the person she wants to become.
This represents incongruence.
The condition of worth may therefore interfere with free choice and movement towards self-actualisation.
A method for answering application questions
Use the following steps:
Identify the person’s own goal or potential.
Identify the choice available to them.
Look for an external condition attached to approval.
Compare how the person sees themselves with who they want to be.
Decide whether the scenario shows congruence or incongruence.
Explain how this supports or blocks self-actualisation.
⚠️ Application requires details from the scenario. Definitions alone are not enough.
Humanistic Psychology and the psychodynamic approach
Humanistic Psychology and the psychodynamic approach both consider internal psychological experience, but they present very different views of human behaviour.
Humanistic Psychology | Psychodynamic approach |
Emphasises free will | Emphasises psychic determinism |
Focuses on personal growth | Focuses on unconscious conflict |
Views people as able to direct development | Suggests behaviour may have hidden causes |
Emphasises present choices and potential | Gives an important role to early experience |
Focuses on congruence and self-actualisation | Focuses on the Id, Ego, Superego and defence mechanisms |
Humanistic Psychology presents a more choice-focused account of the individual.
Humanistic Psychology and the cognitive approach
Both approaches recognise that a person’s internal experience matters.
However:
The cognitive approach studies information processing, schemas, models and inference.
Humanistic Psychology focuses on personal meaning, choice, self-view and fulfilment of potential.
The cognitive approach often aims to identify general processes that can be investigated scientifically. Humanistic Psychology places greater emphasis on the individual’s unique experience.
You can revisit schemas and internal mental processes before comparing these perspectives.
Humanistic Psychology and the biological approach
The biological approach explains behaviour through genetic inheritance, evolution, biological structures and neurochemistry.
Humanistic Psychology instead emphasises:
Personal choice.
Individual goals.
Self-understanding.
Development towards potential.
A biological explanation may search for physical causes, while a humanistic explanation asks how the person experiences the situation and what they choose to do.
This contrast is developed further in similarities and differences between psychological explanations.
Writing an effective explanation of Humanistic Psychology
A strong answer should connect the concepts clearly.
For example:
Humanistic Psychology emphasises free will, meaning that individuals can make conscious choices about their behaviour. People are motivated towards self-actualisation, which involves fulfilling their potential. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs links the fulfilment of needs with progress towards self-actualisation. Congruence occurs when a person’s current view of themselves is consistent with the person they would like to be. Conditions of worth may create external requirements for acceptance, producing incongruence and restricting personal growth.
This answer:
Defines free will.
Explains self-actualisation.
Links Maslow’s hierarchy with development.
Explains congruence.
Connects conditions of worth with incongruence.
Links the concepts to personal growth.
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
Humanistic Psychology | An approach emphasising personal choice, individual experience, growth and the fulfilment of potential. | Outline the central assumptions of the approach. |
Free will | The capacity to make conscious choices about behaviour. | Compare Humanistic Psychology with deterministic approaches. |
Self-actualisation | The fulfilment of an individual’s potential. | Explain the main goal of personal development. |
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs | A hierarchical account linking the fulfilment of needs with progress towards self-actualisation. | Describe how needs relate to personal growth. |
Hierarchy | An arrangement in which needs or concepts are organised at different levels. | Explain the structure of Maslow’s account. |
Potential | The abilities or possibilities that a person may be capable of developing. | Explain what the individual seeks to fulfil through self-actualisation. |
Personal growth | Development towards greater fulfilment of individual potential. | Link free choice with self-actualisation. |
Congruence | Consistency between how a person sees themselves and the person they would ideally like to be. | Apply the approach to a person with a consistent self-view. |
Incongruence | A mismatch between a person’s current self-view and desired self. | Explain a possible barrier to personal growth. |
Conditions of worth | Requirements a person believes they must meet to receive acceptance or approval. | Explain how external expectations can shape self-worth. |
Subjective experience | The individual’s personal understanding and experience of a situation. | Explain why two people may respond differently. |
Determinism | The view that behaviour is caused by factors that may be outside personal control. | Contrast other approaches with humanistic free will. |
Idiographic approach | An approach focused on understanding the individual and their unique experience. | Connect Humanistic Psychology with individual-focused investigation. |
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Describing free will as behaviour without any influences.
Why this is incorrect:People may be influenced by circumstances, previous experiences and other people while still having some capacity to choose.
How to improve:Explain that Humanistic Psychology gives the individual an active role rather than claiming that choices occur without context.
Mistake: Treating self-actualisation as being better than everybody else.
Why this is incorrect:Self-actualisation concerns fulfilling individual potential, not achieving superiority over other people.
How to improve:Refer to personal growth and becoming what the individual is capable of becoming.
Mistake: Describing self-actualisation as identical for everyone.
Why this is incorrect:People have different abilities, goals and values.
How to improve:Explain that fulfilment of potential is individual and personally meaningful.
Mistake: Treating Maslow’s hierarchy as a list of unrelated needs.
Why this is incorrect:The needs are organised hierarchically and connected with progression towards self-actualisation.
How to improve:Explain the relationship between need fulfilment, development and self-actualisation.
Mistake: Adding named levels of Maslow’s hierarchy that are not contained in the provided specification source.
Why this is incorrect:The specification names Maslow’s hierarchy but does not provide a detailed list of its levels.
How to improve:Remain within the available material unless an additional approved content source is provided.
Mistake: Confusing congruence with conformity.
Why this is incorrect:Congruence concerns consistency within a person’s self-view. Conformity concerns changing behaviour or beliefs in response to social influence.
How to improve:Remember that congruence is a humanistic concept about the self.
Mistake: Saying congruence means a person has achieved every goal.
Why this is incorrect:Congruence concerns consistency between current and desired self-views, not completion of every personal aim.
How to improve:Explain the relationship between how the person sees themselves and who they would like to be.
Mistake: Describing conditions of worth as goals freely selected by the individual.
Why this is incorrect:Conditions of worth involve requirements associated with receiving approval or acceptance.
How to improve:Identify the external condition and explain how it influences the person’s choices or self-view.
Mistake: Naming incongruence without identifying the mismatch.
Why this is incorrect:An application answer must explain which two aspects of the person’s self-view do not agree.
How to improve:State how the person currently sees themselves and who they believe they should or would like to be.
Mistake: Explaining each concept separately without showing the relationships.
Why this is incorrect:Humanistic concepts form a connected account of personal development.
How to improve:Link free will, needs, congruence and conditions of worth to movement towards or away from self-actualisation.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Which one of the following best describes self-actualisation?
A. Learning behaviour through reinforcement
B. Fulfilling an individual’s potential
C. Acting according to unconscious wishes
D. Reducing behaviour to biological processes
[1 mark]
Question 2
Define free will.
[2 marks]
Question 3
Explain the relationship between free will and self-actualisation.
[4 marks]
Question 4
Describe the general purpose of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs within Humanistic Psychology.
[4 marks]
Question 5
Distinguish between congruence and incongruence.
[4 marks]
Question 6
Ari believes that he will receive approval from his family only if he enters a particular career. He would prefer to develop his abilities in a different area but dismisses these interests because they do not meet his family’s expectations.
Using Humanistic Psychology, explain Ari’s behaviour.
[6 marks]
Question 7
Read the following descriptions.
Person | Description |
A | Sees herself as patient and hopes to continue developing this quality |
B | Believes he must hide his interests to gain approval |
C | Chooses a goal that reflects her own abilities and values |
D | Sees himself as incapable but believes he must appear completely successful |
For each person, identify the humanistic concept most clearly illustrated.
[4 marks]
Question 8
Explain how conditions of worth may interfere with movement towards self-actualisation.
[6 marks]
Question 9
Explain Humanistic Psychology.
Refer to free will, self-actualisation, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, congruence and conditions of worth in your answer.
[8 marks]
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