Critical Evaluation of Humanistic Theory

Critical Evaluation

            Maslow’s person-centered humanistic theory has been applied to fewer areas of psychology in comparison to other theories (McLeod, 2007). Because of this, its contributions are limited to areas like therapy, abnormality, motivation, and personality (McLeod). The possible reason for the lack of influence on academic psychology can be attributed to the fact that humanistic approaches purposely adopted a non-scientific approach to the study of human behavior and personality (McLeod). An example of this would be the belief in free-will, which is in direct contrast to the deterministic laws of science (McLeod).

            Another limitation of the humanistic approach is the areas of study. Consciousness and emotion are two very subjects to study in a scientific manner (McLeod). The result of these scientific limitations produces little to no empirical evidence to support the key theories of humanistic approach (McLeod). The positive aspects of the humanistic approach is the ability to gain better insight into individual behavior by using qualitative methods like unstructured interviews (McLeod). The humanistic approach also provided a more holistic approach to how researchers view human behavior, and contrasts the reductionist approach to scientific study (McLeod). The humanistic approach has provided researchers with alternate methods of studying individual behavior by focusing on the entire person and emphasizing individualistic and idiographic methods of study (McLeod).

Reference:

McLeod, S. (2007). Simply Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/humanistic.html