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

2. 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

3. 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 1930-1934

4. 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 1967-68 o Was professor at Brandeis University 1951 to 1969, was chairman of the department of psychology

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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)

11. 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

12. 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

13. Works Consulted Author not listed. www.pbs.org. PBS, n.d. Internet. September 30 th, 2013.www.pbs.org Cherry, Kendra. psychology.about.com. About.com, n.d. Internet. September 30 th, 2013 Author not listed. www.nndb.com. NNDB, n.d. Internet. September 30 th, 2013www.nndb.com Author not listed. www.maslowtoffler.com n.d. Internet. September 30 th, 2013www.maslowtoffler.com McLeod, Saul. www.simplypsychology.org. Published 2007, updated 2013. Internet. October 1 st, 2013www.simplypsychology.org Peasblossom, Daisy. everydaylife.globalpost.com. Demand Media, n.d. Internet. October 1 st, 2013 Author not listed. theliterarylink.com. n.d. Internet. October 1 st, 2013