Humanistic approach AO3

Question 1

Limitation of humanistic psych cultural bias

Answer 1

Developed in 1960s America, Humanistic psychology may be culturally biased towards Western individualism. It emphasises self-actualisation through personal success, which contrasts with the collectivist values of many cultures, where group harmony and family are prioritised, even at the expense of individual needs. This suggests a superiority of Western individualistic norms, implying people in collectivist societies are less capable of achieving self-actualisation.

Question 2

How can holism be positive ()

Answer 2

A holistic, humanistic approach to explaining behaviour could be more accurate, capturing the complexity of human experience.
- Simple explanations often face criticism for overlooking
multiple contributing factors.
-For example, both environmental and biological elements interact, as demonstrated by diathesis-stress responses.

Question 3

Limitation of humanistic psych due to its reliance on non experimental qualitative methods (4)

Answer 3

-One limitation of the humanistic approacj is that Humanistic psychology is considered non-scientific due to its reliance on non-experimental qualitative methods.
- This leads to a lack of empirical evidence for many of its claims.
- Concepts central to
humanistic psychology, such as self-actualisation, are criticised for their vague definitions and
lack of operationalisation, meaning they aren’t defined in
measurable terms.
-This characteristic makes it challenging to test the validity of humanistic theories.

Question 4

Non reductionist

Answer 4

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; Freud described
the whole of personality as a conflict between three things: id, ego
and superego; biological psychologists reduce behaviour to its basic
physiological processes and supporters of the cognitive approach see
human beings as little more than information processing ‘machines’.
In contrast, humanistic psychologists advocate holism, the idea that
subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole
person. This approach may have more validity than its alternatives by
considering meaningful human behaviour within its real-life context.

Question 5

Limited application

Answer 5

Limited application
Unlike some of the other approaches we have come across, humanistic
psychology has relatively little real-world application. It is true that
Rogerian therapy has revolutionised counselling techniques (see right),
and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been used to explain motivation
(see below left), particularly in the workplace. However, it remains the
case that the approach has had limited impact within the discipline of
psychology as a whole. This may in part be due to humanistic psychology
lacking a sound evidence-base (see below) 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.

Question 6

Positive approach

Answer 6

Positive approach
Humanistic psychologists have been praised for ‘bringing the person
back into psychology’ and promoting a positive image of the human
condition. Freud saw human beings as slaves to their past and claimed all
of us existed somewhere between ‘common unhappiness and absolute
despair’. Humanistic psychology offers a refreshing and optimistic
alternative; it sees all people as basically good, free to work towards the
achievement of their potential and in control of their lives.