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HUMANISTIC EVALUATION - Coggle Diagram
HUMANISTIC EVALUATION
However, cultural differences exist, as shown from cross-cultural studies.
This means that for some people, needs may appear in a different order or be absent altogether, which isn't apparent in Maslow's initial hierarchy.
Therefore, this initial theory can't be applied to all cultures, as they value different things.
Many others studies have confirmed that Europeans and Americans focus more on personal identity in defining their self-concept, whereas Chinese, Japanese and Korean people define self-concept in terms of social relationships.
However, in a later development Maslow did acknowledge that needs may appear in different orders or be absent, and this more flexible hierarchy fits the evidence better.
For example, a study carried out in China (Nevis, 1983) found that belongingness needs were seen as more fundamental than physiological needs and that self-actualisation was defined in terms of contributions to the community rather than in terms of individual development.
There is research support for Rogers' view that individuals who experience conditional positive regard are more likely to display 'false self-behaviour'.
This suggests these adolescents were doing things to meet others' expectations, even though it clashed with their own values, so they had a tendency to lose touch with their own true self.
Therefore, Rogers' 'conditions of worth' theory has real-world applications, as people do suffer because of the expectations other people put on them.
Also found that adolescents who create a 'false self' to pretend to be the kind of person their parents would love are more likely to develop depression.
Harter et al (1996) discovered that teenagers who feel they have to fulfil certain conditions to gain their parents' approval frequently end up disliking themselves.
Maslow's hierarchy is linked to economic development, as well as individual growth.
He found that countries in the early stages of economic development were characterised by lower level needs (physiological), whereas in countries with advanced stages of economic development esteem and self-actualisation were important.
This means his hierarchy can be used to explain differences between different countries, so can outline the importance of a strong economy. Educational enrolment rates are a significant indication of the drive to self-actualisation because education is seen as a measure of people's desire to benefit themselves.
Hagerty (1999) looked at the relationship between economic growth and measures of Maslow's need levels in 88 countries over a 34-year period.
Therefore, Maslow's hierarchy has relevance on a much larger stage than individual growth, which increases its validity as it can be applied to more areas.
Evaluating the approach scientifically is difficult because most of the evidence used to support this approach fails to establish a causal relationship between variables.
This is because Rogers was an advocated of non-experimental research methods, arguing that the requirements of experimental methods make it impossible to verify the results of counselling.
This undermines the approach, as other researchers cannot test the theory, so changes can't be made to fit in with the adapting world.
This means that the studies aren't objective, systematic or replicable, which is a fundamental requirement of scientific psychology.
Studies have shown personal growth as a result of humanistic counselling, but these don't show that the therapy caused the changes.