Abraham Maslow

ABRAHAM MASLOW April 1, 1908 – June 8, 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 ( ) and Brandeis University ( ) 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

Hierarchy Of Needs Maslow’s Safety Needs Belongingness & Love Needs Physiological Needs Esteem Needs Self- Actualization

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 one’s potential and fulfills one’s innate aspirations) Hierarchy of Needs

 If you don’t 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. 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. Under stressful conditions, or when survival is threatened, we can “regress” to a lower level need. DEFICIT (D-NEEDS)

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

BEING NEEDS (SELF- ACTUALIZATION)  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 self- actualizing

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 Self- Actualizers  Efficient perception of reality  Acceptance of selves, others, nature  Spontaneity, simplicity, naturalness  Focus on problems outside of themselves  Social interest  Creativeness

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

Research in Malsow’s Theory  Negative correlation between high self- actualizing scores and alcoholism, mental disorders, neuroticism  Meeting esteem needs: greater feelings of self-worth, self-confidence, competence (similar to Badura’s self-efficacy)

Criticisms of Maslow’s Theory  Weak research methodology Small sample size Small sample size Lack of empirical methods 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