what are the problems concerned with the humanistic approach?

Question

humanistic approach to pyschology, abraham maslow

Answer 1

The humanistic approach, which I consider to be Rogerian in nature is, in general a good approach. However, I think that it takes a certain kind of client in order for 'client-centred therapy' to work. It doesn't focus on specific problems, but on the person. Yet, people usually enter therapy with problems that they want to solve. The counsellor must also be 'non-directive', which many clients find frustrating and unhelpful. So, there can be client/therapist clash. Plus, any client with a serious mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar, etc.) would not be helped at all by the Humanistic 'we'll help you to help yourself' model.

Answer 2

The main concern comes from religious people who want to prioritize God over human existence. Humanism makes human existence the primary standard of right/wrong, reality/unreality, etc. Those who believe in God obvious tend to take issue with this. I will probably come back and add some more thoughts to this later when I have more time.

Oops, I didn't notice I was in the psychology section, not the philosophy section. But, for what it's worth, the humanistic approach is rooted in existentialist thought (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, etc), so I suspect there would be religious issues as I suggested, but that is not the psychological criticism.

Getting more specific to your real question:

Criticism of humanism has come from Isaac Prilleltensky, who argues that humanistic psychology affirms the social/political status quo, and thus remains mostly silent about social change. I think this relates to criticism of Maslow and other early humanistic psychologists – the claim that they encouraged self-centeredness or narcissism. I guess the ideas is that there is not much emphasis on changing the world if you are overly focused on just your own personal growth. This (if it were accurate) would be a problem from the perspective of those who see mental/emotional issues as being partly caused by unhealthy social structures.

There were also some claims that early versions of humanistic psychology lacked a solid history of empirical support, but I don't know if anyone argues that any more.

Answer 3

all other approaches to personality can measure personality. this one doesnt because it belives we cannot be measured and that we choose who we are. theories such as the pschodynamic approach (freud) do tend to put this out of the window. surely our early childhood experiences affect who we are in later life. and the cognitive approach which says our enviroment shapes who we are. our enviroment is a major part of shaping our personality too. maybe our personality cannot be measured but the humanistic approach is sometimes described as too vague.

Answer 4

Could you be more specific in your question? Humanistic approach in what context?