Evaluation Of Humanistic Approach

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  • Created by: Mel_Allen
  • Created on: 27-04-19 15:30
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  • Evaluation Of Humanistic Approach!
      • On strength of the humanistic approach is that it is holistic.
        • This means that it attempts to understand behaviour by considering the whole person, rather than breaking it down into smaller components.
          • For example, Maslow’s hierarchy considers how a person’s physical, emotional and social needsaffect their behaviour, whereas other approaches oversimplifyconcepts like ‘personality’ and ‘learning’ into basic components or processes.
            • This is a strength because it provides a more completeand meaningful view of human behaviour, within its real-life context.
      • Another strength is that there is research supportfor some of the humanistic concepts
        • For example, Harter et al. (1996)found that adolescents who experience conditional positive regard(feel they have to meet certain conditions to gain their parents approval) frequently end up with a negative self-view.
          • This means that they created a ‘false self’andactedlike the person their parents would love and approve of.
            • This supports the concept that conditions of worthaffect our self-conceptand therefore our behaviour.
      • One strength of humanistic psychology is that is has useful practical applications.
        • For example, not only has Rogerian therapy has revolutionised counselling techniques, but Maslow’s hierarchy has been applied to explain motivation, particularly in the workplace.
          • However, some argue that humanistic psychology has had little influence within the discipline of psychology as a whole. This is because it is regarded as a loose set of abstract concepts rather than comprehensive theories
      • Another weakness is that this approach can be seen as culturally biased.
        • This is because many of the ideas central to humanistic psychology are mostly associated with individualistic cultures and values.
          • For example, personal growth and individual freedomare valued more in Westernisedculture, whereas interdependence and the needs of the communityare valued in collectivist cultures
            • This is a weakness because the theories must be generalised with caution when explaining behaviour in non-Western cultures.This means that humanistic concepts and explanations lack population validity.
      • One weakness of this approach is that it is not scientific,
        • This is because it involves many untestable concepts; they are difficult to manipulate and measure objectively.
          • For example, concepts such as ‘self-actualisation’and ‘congruence’can be considered vague and abstract.
            • This means that testing the concepts in experimental conditions is impossible; Rogers himself was actually an advocate of non-experimental methods.This is a weakness because there is therefore little empirical evidence to support the theories or therapies, which does not meet the criteria of psychology as a science.

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