ABRAHAM MASLOW

Abraham Maslow

Biography
Abraham Harold Maslow was born on April 1st 1908 in Brooklyn, New York as the oldest of 7 children. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. He faced heavy discrimination in his neighborhood as he was the only Jewish boy in an all white neighborhood so he became shy and reserved and retreated to his books. He went on to study Psychology at the University of Wisconsin from where on he was mentored by many eminent psychologists including Henry Harlow, Alfred Adler, Ruth Benedict and Max Wertheimer. Maslow became the leader of the humanistic school of psychology that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1967, the American Humanist Association named him Humanist of the Year. He died in 1970.

Maslows Hierarchy Of Needs

O Abraham Maslow developed a model in which

basic, low-level needs such as physiological requirements and safety must be satisfied before higher-level needs such as selffulfillment are pursued. O In this hierarchical model, when a need is mostly satisfied it no longer motivates and the next higher need takes its place.

O The Hierarchy of Needs is a pyramid depicting the levels of human

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needs, psychological and physical. When a human being ascends the steps of the pyramid he reaches self-actualization. At the bottom of the pyramid are the Basic needs or Physiological needs of a human being, food and water and sex. The next level is Safety Needs: Security, Order, and Stability. These two steps are important to the physical survival of the person. Once individuals have basic nutrition, shelter and safety, they attempt to accomplish more. The third level of need is Love and Belonging, which are psychological needs; when individuals have taken care of themselves physically, they are ready to share themselves with others. The fourth level is achieved when individuals feel comfortable with what they have accomplished. This is the Esteem level, the level of success and status (from self and others). The top of the pyramid, Need for Self-actualization, occurs when individuals reach a state of harmony and understanding.

Physiological needs are obvious they are the literal requirements for human survival. If these requirements are not met, the human body simply cannot continue to function. O Breathing O Nutrition O Water O Sex O Sleep O Homeostasis O Excretion According to Maslow's theory, if such needs are not satisfied then one's motivation will arise from the quest to satisfy them. Higher needs such as social needs and esteem are not felt until one has met the needs basic to one's bodily functioning.

Once physiological needs are met, one's attention turns to safety and security in order to be free from the threat of physical and emotional harm. The individual's safety needs take precedence and dominate behavior. These needs have to do with people's yearning for a predictable orderly world in which unfairness and inconsistency are under control, the familiar frequent and the unfamiliar rare.
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Personal security Financial security, Job security Health and well-being Safety net against accidents/illness and impacts, Medical insurance O Living in a safe area
According to Maslow's hierarchy, if a person feels that he or she is in harm's way, higher needs will not receive much attention.

O The third layer of human needs are social and involve feelings of

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belonging. This aspect of Maslow's hierarchy involves emotionally based relationships in general, such as: Need for friends and family Need for belonging Need to give and receive love In the absence of these elements, many people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety, and depression. Maslow states that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation by both giving and receiving love and affection. Humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments and families help fulfill this need for companionship as does involvement in social, community or religious groups.

O Once a person feels a sense of "belonging", the need to feel

important arises. Esteem needs may be classified as internal or external. Internal esteem needs self respect strength competence External esteem needs social status recognition fame

independence
freedom achievement

prestige
attention reputation

O Imbalances at this level can result in low self-esteem or an

inferiority complex weakness and helplessness. O People with low self-esteem need respect from others. They may seek fame or glory, which again depends on others. However, many people with low self-esteem will not be able to improve their view of themselves simply by receiving fame, respect, and glory externally, but must first accept themselves internally. O Psychological imbalances such as depression can also prevent one from obtaining self-esteem on both levels.
O Maslow later refined his model to include a level between

esteem needs and self-actualization: the need for knowledge and aesthetics.

O Self-actualization is the summit of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It

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is the quest of reaching one's full potential as a person. Unlike lower level needs, this need is never fully satisfied; as one grows psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow. Self-actualized people tend to have needs such as: Truth Justice Wisdom Meaning

O What a man can be, he must be. O This forms the basis of the perceived need for self-

actualization. This level of need pertains to what a person's full potential is and realizing that potential. O Maslow describes this desire as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. O For example one individual may have the strong desire to become an ideal parent, in another it may be expressed athletically, and in another it may be expressed in painting, pictures, or inventions. O Self-actualized persons have frequent occurrences of peak experiences, which are energized moments of profound happiness and harmony. According to Maslow, only a small percentage of the population reaches the level of selfactualization

Limitations of Maslow's Hierarchy

O While Maslow's hierarchy makes sense from an intuitive

standpoint, there is little evidence to support its hierarchical aspect. In fact, there is evidence that contradicts the order of needs specified by the model. For example, some cultures appear to place social needs before any others. O Maslow's hierarchy also has difficulty explaining cases such as the "starving artist" in which a person neglects lower needs in pursuit of higher ones. O Finally, there is little evidence to suggest that people are motivated to satisfy only one need level at a time, except in situations where there is a conflict between needs. O Even though Maslow's hierarchy lacks scientific support, it is quite well-known and is the first theory of motivation to which many people they are exposed.

THE END.