evaluation of humanistic approach

Question 1

evaluation points for humanistic approach

Answer 1

• strength from holism
• strength from everyone being unique
• weakness from vague ideas
• weakness from cultural validity

Question 2

strength of humanistic approach from holism

Answer 2

• Humanistic psychology rejects reductionism, opposing the breakdown of behaviour into smaller components.
• Instead, it supports holism—understanding the whole person and their subjective experience.
• Humanists argue that meaningful behaviour can only be understood in real-life context, not in isolated parts.
• This holistic view may give the approach greater validity than more reductionist alternatives.

Question 3

weakness of humanistic approach from vague ideas

Answer 3

-Humanistic psychology includes vague and abstract concepts (e.g. self-actualisation, congruence) that are hard to test scientifically.

• These ideas may be helpful in therapy but are difficult to study under controlled, experimental conditions.
• As a result, the approach lacks strong empirical evidence to support its claims.
• It struggles to establish cause and effect, a key requirement in scientific psychology.
• Therefore, it is seen as less credible and scientific compared to other approaches.

Question 4

weakness of humanistic approach from cultural validity

Answer 4

• Key ideas in the humanistic approach (e.g. autonomy, freedom, personal growth) reflect values of individualistic Western cultures.
• In collectivist cultures (e.g. India), which prioritise community and interdependence, these ideals may be less relevant or valued.
• This suggests the humanistic approach may be culturally biased and not universally applicable.
• Therefore, it may be more a product of the cultural context in which it was developed, limiting its global relevance.

Question 5

strength of humanistic approach from everyone being unique

Answer 5

• each person is unique
• so it brings the human experience back into psychology as we’re attempting to understand each individual’s behaviour based on their own subjective experiences and unique context
• instead of scientific approaches which focus on developing general and universal laws