Which statement best describes a common limitation of humanistic psychology?

Which statement best describes a common limitation of humanistic psychology?

• A. Limited empirical testing and subjective measures; potential cultural bias.
• B. The approach has robust generalizability across cultures.
• C. It has strong experimental control in most studies.
• D. Findings are derived from large-scale randomized trials.

Answer: (A)

Humanistic psychology centers on subjective experience, personal meaning, and viewing the person as a whole. Because it emphasizes qualitative understanding and personal self-reports rather than controlled experiments, it often has limited empirical testing and relies on subjective measures, which can be less reliable and harder to generalize. It also tends to reflect Western, individualistic perspectives, introducing potential cultural bias and further limiting applicability across different cultures. The other statements describe features like broad cross-cultural generalizability, strong experimental control, or large randomized trials, which don’t align with how humanistic psychology typically gathers evidence. So, the idea of limited empirical testing with subjective measures and possible cultural bias best captures a common limitation.

Humanistic psychology centers on subjective experience, personal meaning, and viewing the person as a whole. Because it emphasizes qualitative understanding and personal self-reports rather than controlled experiments, it often has limited empirical testing and relies on subjective measures, which can be less reliable and harder to generalize. It also tends to reflect Western, individualistic perspectives, introducing potential cultural bias and further limiting applicability across different cultures. The other statements describe features like broad cross-cultural generalizability, strong experimental control, or large randomized trials, which don’t align with how humanistic psychology typically gathers evidence. So, the idea of limited empirical testing with subjective measures and possible cultural bias best captures a common limitation.