The Humanistic Approach

Question 1

strengths:
the hierarchy is linked to economic development
Hagerty (1999)

Answer 1

looked at the relationship between economic growth and measures of Maslow’s needs in 88 countries and found that less developed countries were characterised by lower levels of needs eg physiological and safety whereas in more developed countries esteem and self-actualisation were more important. SHOWS: the order of the hierarchy cannot be generic and it doesn’t apply to every person/country

Question 2

strength:
research support for conditions of worth
Harter et al. (1996)

Answer 2

individuals who experience ‘conditional positive regard’ are more likely to display ‘false self behaviour’. Harter: found that teenager who have to fulfull certain conditions for their parents approval usually end up not liking themselves and thus more likely to experience depression and lose touch with their true self

Question 3

limitation:

humanistic research methods

Answer 3

evidence used to support the research fails to establish a causal relationship between variables. Without experimental evidence, evaluation of a therapy is difficulty. eg personal growth is seen as a result of humanistic counselling however it doesn’t show that the therapy CAUSED the changes which is a fundamental requirement = lack of reliability/internal validity

Question 4

limitation:

the humanistic approach is unrealistic

Answer 4

it represents an overly idealised and unrealistic view of human nature because people aren’t naturally ‘growth-orientated’ and the approach doesn’t recognise people’s capacity for pessimism and self-destructive behaviour. External situational factors may affect self-development too