Evaluation

• Not reductionist


  One strength of the humanistic approach is that it rejects attempts to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components (reductionism):

  • Humanistic psychologists advocate holism; the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person
  • Other approaches don't do this and instead reduce human behaviour to its basics
  • Therefore, this approach may have more validity than its alternatives by considering human behaviour within a real-world context
• Counterpoint to 'Not reductionist'


  Reductionist approaches may be more scientific:

  • The ideal of science is the experiment, which reduces behaviour to dependent and independent variables.
  • One issue with humanistic psychology is that, unlike behaviourism, there are few concepts that can be broken down into variables and measured.
  • This means that humanistic psychology in general is short on empirical evidence to support its claims.
• Positive approach


  One strength of the humanistic approach is that it is optimistic:

  • Humanistic psychologists have been praised for bringing the person back into psychology and promoting a positive image of the human condition
  • Freud claimed all humans existed somewhere between 'common unhappiness and absolute despair'
  • Humanistic psychologists see all people as basically good, free to work towards the achievement of their potential and in control of their lives
• Cultural bias

  One limitation of the humanistic approach is that it may be culturally-biased:

  • Many of the central ideas, such as individual freedom, autonomy and personal growth, are more closely associated with individualist countries (e.g. the US).
  • Countries with collectivist tendencies emphasise more the needs of the group and interdependence.
  • In these countries, the ideals of humanistic psychology may not be as important as others.
  • Therefore, this approach may not apply universally and is a product of the cultural context within which it was created