AO3

• Furthermore, the approach may be culturally biased to individualistic Western cultures that prioritise success and achievement, so not apply well to collectivist cultures where group success is more important. Humanistic psychologists may therefore view individuals from collectivist cultures as less able to self-actualise and thus view them as inferior.
• Links to economic development

  • Research suggests that the Maslow's hierarchy may have relevance on a much larger stage than individual growth
  • Hagerty looked at the relationship between economic growth and measures of Maslow's level in 88 countries over a 34 year period. Countries in the early staged of economic development were characterised by lower level needs (e.g. physiological needs such as food )
  • As would be predicted by Maslow's model, it was only in the advanced stages of economic development that self-actualisations become important
• Untestable and subjective concepts = As with Freud’s psychodynamic approach, humanism suffers from a lack of empirical evidence and no possibility of systematically observing and measuring the processes which it describes. Self-actualisation cannot be objectively measured, due to individual differences and a lack of a universal measuring scale. Similarly, congruence may also be up to personal judgement, especially as opinions of whether one has is their ‘ideal self’ will differ. This does little to improve the scientific credibility of both humanism and Psychology.