Humanistic approach Flashcards
Not reductionist
Humanists reject any attempt to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components. Behaviourists explain human and animal learning in terms of simple stimulus-response connections. Other approaches such as the psychodynamic approach describe the whole personality as a conflict between three things; id, superego and ego. Biological approach reduce behaviour to its basic physiological processes. However the humanistic psychologists advocate holism, the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person . supports as this approach may have more validity as it considers meaningful human behaviour within its real life context
Limited application
Humanistic psychology has little real world application. however the Rogerian therapy has revolutionised counselling techniques and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been used to explain motivation in workplaces. But it remains the case that the approach as limited impact within psychology as a whole. This maybe because it lacks sound based evidence and also due to the fact that the approach has been described not as a comprehensive theory but as a loose set of rather abstract concepts
Positive approach
Humanistic approach have been praised for bringing the person back into psychology and promoting a positive image of the human condition. Freud saw humans as slaves to their pasts but humanistic psychology offers a refreshing and optimistic alternative. This is a strength as it sees people as basically good, free to work towards the achievement of their potential and in control of their own lives.
Cultural differences in the hierarchy of needs (cultural bias)
Maslow did acknowledge that for some people, needs may appear in a different order or may even be absent together. For example Nevis found that in China belongingness needs were seen more fundamental than physiological needs and that self actualisation was defined more in terms of contributions to the community than in terms of individual development. This is a problem as the hierarchy of needs doesn’t apply to everyone as in European counties and America they focus more on personal identity in defining their self- concept whereas Chinese, Japanese and Koreans define self-concept more in terms of social relationships.
Untestable concepts
Humanistic psychology includes a number of vague ideas that are abstract and difficult to test. Such as self actualisation and congruence may be useful therapeutic tools but would prove problematic to assess under experimental conditions. Rogers did attempt to introduce more rigour by developing the Q-sort which was an objective measure of progress in therapy. However this is a problem as this approach is short on empirical evidence to support its claim and it anti-scientific.
