ABRAHAM mASLOW By Elanna Urschel, Ashley McNeill and Rawa Al-Thibeh

Who Was He? o Maslow’s parents were Russian Jewish immigrants o Was the first of seven children o Was a very shy, young boy who kept to himself and preferred the company of books to that of people o Grew up in Brooklyn o Became one of the most influential and respected psychologist of his time

Education o Study law at city college of New York o Went to Cornell very briefly o Later switched to University of Wisconsin o Originally started with studying primate dominance behavior and sexuality o This was where he developed an interest in psychology and found a mentor in psychologist Harry Harlow, was also mentored later by Alfred Adler, one of Freud’s early followers o Very much admired anthropologist Ruth Benedict and psychologist Max Wertheimer o He received all three of his degrees from the University of Wisconsin; bachelor degree, master’s degree and doctorate degree within span of

Career o Began teaching at College of Brooklyn in 1937 and continued to work there as member of faculty until 1951 (14 years) o Was referred to as the third force in the 1950’s and 1960’s behind Freund and Skinner o Most Notable books are Motivation and Personality (1954) and Toward a Psychology of Being (1964), Toward a Psychology Psychology of Being(1962), and Farther Reaches of Human Nature (1971) o Was also president of the American psychological association from o Was professor at Brandeis University 1951 to 1969, was chairman of the department of psychology

Beginning of Theories o During 1950’s was when he backed up school of thought known as humanistic psychology o Humanistic Psychology: psychological perspective that emphasizes individual’s need for self-actualization and creativity. Theory derived from work of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and Skinner’s behaviorism o Maslow was noted for being different as he looked at positive mental health instead of studying abnormal behavior as many psychologists did of the time o "Human nature is not nearly as bad as it has been thought to be.“ –Abraham Maslow

Hierarchy of needs o Best known for his hierarchy of needs, self- actualization theory and peak experiences o Hierarchy of needs starts with the basics such as food, water, sex, shelter, clothing, etc. o Bottom of pyramid is considered “deficiency needs” o Then security and stability o Then social needs such as acceptance and love from those around you o Then esteem which is self-respect, respect for others, confidence in one’s self o Then self-actualization which is feeling fulfilled in one’s life and feeling as if individual’s life had held purpose

Theory of self- actualization o Tragic or discouraging events in one’s life may prevent them from moving up the levels of the pyramid o Individuals must do what truly makes them happy in order to reach the level of self-actualization o People who are close or at the top of pyramid are considered self-actualizing individuals- they tend to focus on problems around them and have a clear vision of the world. They are creative, innovative, spontaneous and not too bound by social conventions

Peak experiences o Peak experiences are described as profound moments of love, understanding or rapture o When a person feels more alive or aware of situation or surroundings o His theory of mental health was that individuals possess the resources for growth and healing and that therapy is used to remove any obstacles that may inhibit this growth o That individuals possessed a set of motivation systems completely unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires

Methodology o However Maslow did not associate self-actualization with perfection o Maslow was criticized for his methodology of obtaining information (biographical analysis) only studying 18 people that he felt had reached this level of self-actualization o These individuals were Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, William James, Aldous Huxley, Eleanor Roosevelt

Criticism o His definition of self-actualization must not be accepted blindly as a fact o Study group was not very diverse race, class, even gender o Criticism also of the level system in hierarchy of needs due to countries like India and those that live in poverty that still manage to hold relationships and belongings o Also there are people who lived in great poverty in their life yet still arguably achieved self-actualization (Van Gough, Rembrandt)

Connection to development of children o What levels of the pyramid are children concerned with after they have their basic needs met? o Children who live in countries with a lower standard of living are concerned with the lower levels of the pyramid o At what ages are children concerned with these levels? Example: children as earliest as the age of one might become distressed by being separated by their mother indicating that they form intimate bonds o Signs in children that they are on the way to self-actualization o Children with a past of traumatic events will have a lower chance of becoming self actualized

It is quite true that man lives by bread alone- when there is no bread. But what happens to man’s desires when there is plenty of bread and when his belly is chronically filled? –Abraham Maslow

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