Abraham Maslow
1908-1970
"The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short."
– Abraham Maslow
Maslow's Theory of Motivation
Maslow was focused on how to make the average person happier and healthier. He thought of human beings to have instinctive ideals of healthy growth and development. He named this internal and instinctive drive as instinctoid tendencies. Maslow believed that these instinctoid tendencies were easily forced aside by negative environmental influences to the individual.
He believed that children depending on how these tendencies were nourished either positively or negatively would develop accordingly. A child whose instinctoid tendencies were nourished would display characteristics of kindness and generosity developing into a healthy individual. Dissimilar to this a child who's tendencies were malnourished in an unhealthy environment would develop into individuals with aggressive and self-destructive qualities.
Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow developed the Hierarchy of Needs which is a pyramid of five sets of needs which come in a particular order. Maslow believed that in order for a person to reach their higher-order needs such as self-actualisation, that they must first satisfy their survival needs.
The first set is our basic physiological needs which include food, water, sleep, excretion and sex. After this comes the desire to be safe, which includes physical, economic, social, vocational and psychological safety. When we have met both of those needs our need for love and belongingness becomes a more important motivator of our behaviour. As we are social beings we like to feel like we are accepted by others. Interactions with friends, family and loved ones helps us get through the hard times in life and keep us motivated to be a part of a community.
Maslow believed that there was a strong connection between love and belongingness and esteem. He felt that the ability to have a good self-esteem and uniqueness came from being loved and embraced by your family and communities. The qualities of a person with a high self-esteem are confidence, achievement, respect of others and respect by others. The final stage Maslow labelled ‘self-actualisation’. Self-actualised people have a grounded sense of well-being and gratitude for life, they are focused on maximising their talents and reaching their full potential so that they can be in peace with themselves.
Safety Needs
Social Needs
Physiological Needs
Esteem Needs
Self-Actualisation
Characteristics of Self Actualisers
Maslow believed only 2% of the population was self-actualised. He based his theories on his own assumptions and interviews he undertook with people who appeared to be self-actualised. He also conducted studies using historical figures he believed reached self-actualisation levels such as, Einstein, Mother Theresa, Ghandi, Beethoven, Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Eleanor Roosevelt (Kremer, 2013).
When self-actualised people reach their basic needs, they are then motivated to reach their full potential by needs that Maslow referred to as metaneeds. These include; Wholeness, Perfection, Completion, Justice, Richness, Simplicity, Liveliness, Beauty, Goodness, Uniqueness, Playfulness, Truth, Autonomy and Meaningfulness.
Maslow believed that people who were self-actualised thought differently and engaged more often in what he called being cognition (B-cognition). B-cognition is a non-judgemental form of thought and is about being able to accept oneself as one and with the world. When these moments of B-cognition occur for self-actualised people they are known as peak experiences.
Peak experiences were described by Maslow as “tremendous intensification of any of the experiences in which there is loss of self or transcendence of [self]". The intense feelings of happiness that comes with peak experiences does not last long but do occur more often for self-actualised people. ‘Self-actualising people enjoy life in general and practically all its aspects, while most other people enjoy only stray moments of triumph’.
When it comes to personality, the self-actualised person tends to be more creative in everyday life, have a higher level of self-acceptance and also accept others more easily as they are less judgmental. They also perceive reality more accurately as they are more in touch with themselves, have well developed ethical and moral standards and are greatly concerned about the welfare of others.