Abraham Maslow

ABRAHAM MASLOW
April 1, 1908 June 8, 1970
1 of 7 children Jewish, parents uneducated Married Bertha Goodman, first cousin Received BA (1930), MA (1931) and PhD (1934) all from University of Wisconsin Professor at Brooklyn College (1937-51) and Brandeis University (1951-61) Considered to be the founder of humanistic psychology.

Hierarchy of Needs
Instinctoid:

hereditary component Activate and direct human behavior We are not driven by all needs at the same time

Maslows
Hierarchy Of Needs
SelfActualization
Esteem Needs Belongingness & Love Needs Safety Needs Physiological Needs

Hierarchy of Needs
The hierarchy has five levels:

Physiological Needs: oxygen, water, protein, salt, sugar, calcium and other minerals and vitamins, shelter and sleep etc.
Safety Needs: security, stability, protection from physical and emotional harm

Belongingness & Love Needs: affection, belonging, acceptance, friendship, community

Esteem Needs: (Internal ones are need for self-respect, confidence, autonomy, and achievement. External ones are need for respect of others, status, fame, glory, recognition and attention.) Maslow feels these are the roots to many, if not most of our psychological problems. Self-actualization: (doing that which maximizes ones potential and fulfills ones innate aspirations)

DEFICIT (D-NEEDS)

If you dont have enough of something you have a deficit (need)

Maslow's hierarchy seems to follow the life cycle. A baby's needs are almost entirely physiological. As the baby grows, it needs safety, then love. Toddlers are eager for social interaction, attention and affection. Teenagers are anxious about social needs, young adults are concerned with esteem and only more mature people transcend the first four levels to spend much time self-actualizing.

Under stressful conditions, or when survival is threatened, we can regress to a lower level need.

Safety Needs
Second

from bottom of hierarchy Structure, order, stability, predictability More important to children than normal adults

Belongingness and Love Needs

Middle

of hierarchy Intimate and social relationships

Esteem Needs
Fourth

from bottom of hierarchy 2 forms of esteem needs:

From ourselves: feelings of self-worth From others: status, recognition, social success

BEING NEEDS (SELFACTUALIZATION)

Needs that do not involve balance

Once engaged, they continue to be felt Continuous desire to fulfill potentials (be all you can be) You need to have lower needs taken care of, at least to a considerable extent

Only a small percentage of the population is truly, self-actualizing (approximately 2%)

Self-Actualization Needs
Pinnacle

of hierarchy Maximum realization of potentials, talents, abilities Fullest personality development Even if satisfy all other needs, person will feel restless and discontent if not selfactualizing

Conditions for Self-Actualization

Free

of constraints Not distracted by lower needs Secure self-image and relationships Realistic knowledge of strengths and weaknesses

Characteristics of SelfActualizers
Efficient

perception of reality Acceptance of selves, others, nature Spontaneity, simplicity, naturalness Focus on problems outside of themselves Social interest Creativeness

Characteristics of SelfActualizers
Peak

experiences: religious, mystical experiences Profound interpersonal relationships Resistance to enculturation Extremely rare- seen in less than 1% of the population

Research in Malsows Theory

Negative

correlation between high selfactualizing scores and alcoholism, mental disorders, neuroticism Meeting esteem needs: greater feelings of self-worth, self-confidence, competence (similar to Baduras self-efficacy)

Criticisms of Maslows Theory

Weak

research methodology

Small sample size Lack of empirical methods

Vague

terms (peak experiences)

Contributions of Maslow
Further

development of humanism in psychology Applicable to variety of disciplines (teaching, religion, business) Very optimistic- may be more appealing to some than behavioral or psychoanalytic approaches