Abraham Maslow

(1908-1970)

Holistic-Dynamic theory of human behavior

Champion of Self-Actualization

Interested in human potential, and how we

fulfill that potential.
Sometimes called "The Third Force" in
psychology (Freud & Behaviorism are 1 &
2)

A brief biography of Abraham Maslow

1st of seven children, born and raised in
Brooklyn.
Mother was devoutly religious.
Briefly studied law at CCNY, and briefly
attended Cornell.
Married 1st cousin at age 20.
Worked with Harry Harlow
Graduated from Wisconsin

Taught at Brandeis University

President of the APA from 1967-1968
Published Motivation and Personality in
1970.

The Holistic - Dynamic Theory of Maslow

Maslows theory of personality is based
upon his understandings of human
motivations towards action.
5 basic assumptions of Motivation in the
Maslow model.
1. The whole person is motivated, requiring
a holistic approach.

(This is in marked contrast to Freud, who

discussed the roles each mental structure
plays in producing behavior)
2. Motivation is usually complex: several
sources can contribute to the eventual
appearance of some behavior.
For example, the desire for sexual union
may reflect needs for dominance,
companionship, love and self-esteem.

Maslow Motivation assumptions

(continued)

Additionally, certain motivations may be

unconscious. For example, using a
telephone as a way to feel love and
belongingness.

3A. People are continually motivated by

one need or another. Satisfying one need
only results in the individual trying to satisfy
other needs.
4A. People are universally motivated by the
same basic needs.
Maslow believes in the fundamental
similarity of the human experience.
Although we may achieve needs in a
culturally specific (or culturally proscribed)
manner which is idiosyncratic, the needs
which must be satisfied are universal in
nature.
5A. Needs can be arranged in a
hierarchical fashion.
The Hierarchy of Needs
Certain human needs are more
fundamental than others, and satisfaction of

these "basic" needs is necessary before

"higher" needs can be addressed.
Theory of prepotent needs : Lower needs
must be satisfied (and take precedence
over) higher order needs.
The Basic (or conative) Needs :
Physiological Needs : The most basic
needs of oxygen, food, water, and
maintenance of body temperature (food,
shelter, & clothing)
Commonly satisfied in first world countries.
Physiological needs are the only needs
which can be completely or even over
satisfied.
Physiological needs are continually
recurring, so we must seek satisfaction of
this basic need on a daily basis.

Basic (conative) Needs (level 2)

Safety Needs : protection from harm, the
need for law and order.
Safety needs can never be over satisfied.
When children due not have their safety
needs met, they develop basic anxiety and
may become neurotic adults.
In peaceful societies, safety needs are
relatively easy to satisfy.
Safety needs become highly important
during natural disasters, fires, accidents,
and other life threatening situation.

If both our physiological needs and are

safety needs are satisfied, than we can turn
our energy toward our "Higher" needs.

Higher Order Basic Needs of Maslow

Higher order needs are needs which
develop after early childhood, and
represent a more "phylogenetically" recent
need. (Evolved need)
First level of higher order needs :
Need for Love and Belongingness :
Maslow states that this level is what the
majority of the population remains at. The
desire for friendship, the search for a mate
and the desire to be part of a family are all
reflections of this need. According to
Maslow, 3 situations can exist:
A person who has never experienced love
and closeness will eventually devalue love
and not be particularly worried over their
inability to find it.

A person who has received love and

closeness during childhood will be able to
love others, and not be devastated by the
occasional rejection.
A person who has experienced just a little
love and affection will be strongly motivated
to meet these needs, and might go about
satisfying the need for love and
belongingness in a pathological way.

Maslow states that children need love in

order to grow psychologically.

If people find a way to satisfy their needs

for love and belongingness, than they can
concentrate on satisfying the next level of:

Esteem Needs : The need for self-respect,

confidence, competence, and the respect of
others.
Maslow distinguished between two levels of
esteem needs : Reputation and SelfEsteem.

If people are fortunate enough to meet their

esteem needs, then they are ready to try to
satisfy the highest level of needs in
Maslows hierarchy.
A major difference between people who
dont progress farther than the esteem
needs stage is due to the adoption of core
B-Values.

B-values (Being-values) : Are what

distinguishes the truly enlightened person
(one who is self-actualized) from an
individual who has satisfied all basic needs,
yet still lives a life without purpose.
Maslow believes it is fundamentally
important to find meaning within your life.
People who embrace B-values will live a life
of meaning and fulfillment.
The B-Values are : truth, goodness, beauty,
wholeness, Aliveness, Uniqueness,
Perfection, Completion, Justice, Simplicity,
Totality, Effortlessness, Humor, & Autonomy
If you hold these B-values to be an
important determinant of your behavior,
than you may be able top satisfy your :
Self - Actualization needs : the desire for
self-fulfillment, to realize ones potential.

People who reach this level are "fully

human"
Maslow stated that only 2% of the general
population and .1% of the college
population is self-actualized .
The self-actualized individual represents
the future of human kind (similar to Rogers
idea of "People of Tomorrow")

In addition to the 5 conative needs, there

are other needs which dont fit into the
hierarchical structure of conative needs.

Cognitive Needs : the desire to know, to

solve mysteries, to be curious.
Cognitive needs must be constantly
satisfied before any other needs can be
satisfied. We need knowledge in order to
satisfy our conative needs, and our
cognitive needs motivates us to find
answers which will satisfy our other needs.
Aesthetic Needs : Not thought to be
universal, but reflective of the idea that
some people are motivated by the need for
beauty and order.

Neurotic Needs : nonproductive needs

which perpetuate an unhealthy style of life.
Neurotic needs are seen as compensatory
reactions to a failure to fulfill one or more
basic needs.
Examples: If safety needs are not satisfied
early in life, an individual might develop the
need to hoard material possessions.
If you fail to satisfy the need for love and
belongingness, you might become overly
aggressive and hostile.

Maslow estimated the degree to which all of

these needs are satisfied within the general
population :
Physiological Needs : 85 %
Safety Needs 75 %
Love & Belongingness 50 %
Esteem Needs 40 %
Self-Actualization Needs10 %
A self-actualized individual would satisfy
100% of the first four conative needs, and a
majority of self-actualization needs.
The Self-actualized person
Show "expressive" behavior, rather than
Coping Behavior.

Coping Behavior is behavior specifically

aimed at need satisfaction. Coping behavior
is motivated by need deficiencies.
Expressive Behavior is more indicative of
"free will" and encompasses how someone
walks, talks, gestures, and smiles.
Expressive behavior is motivated by
internal forces, rather than external stimuli.
Self-actualizes have metamotivation
(motivation based on B-values) which
propels them towards self-actualization.
When an individual can not meet their selfactualization needs, metapathology can
develop.
Metapathology : the lack of a meaningful
philosophy of life.
Other Characteristics of Self-Actualized
People

More efficient perception of reality : Selfactualizers are better able to distinguish

fact from fiction.
Greater acceptance of self, others, and
nature.
Live with spontaneity and without
artifice.
Problem-Centered, instead of egocentered.
Have a higher need for privacy.
Are more independent and autonomous.
Renewed appreciation for the world.
Can have "peak experiences"
Gemeinschaftsgefuhl : Social Interest
Profound Interpersonal Relations :
serious relations are few, yet deep.

Have a democratic character structure :

Self-actualizers are friendly to people
without regard to race, gender, age,
ethnicity, or social status.
Clear Sense of Right and Wrong
Philosophical Sense of Humor
High Creativity
Resistant to enculturization : Although
self-actualizers typically fit in, they can go
against prevailing wisdom when the
accepted cultural practice violates their own
sense of right and wrong.
Self-Actualizers are more likely to
experience B-Love : love for the essence
or being of the other. This type of love is
qualitatively distinct from

D-Love (deficiency love) In which you love

another person because you are driven to
satisfy your needs for love and
belongingness.
Measuring Self Actualization
Two tests have been developed which
attempt to tap Maslows conception of selfactualized people.
The Personal Orientation Inventory (POI)
150 forced choice items, such as:
(Shostrom, 74)
A. Two people will get along best if each
concentrates on pleasing the other person.
B. Two people will get along best if each
person feels free to express themselves.
The POI has 2 major scales, and 10
subscales

The first major scale measures "present

orientation", or the degree to which the
individual embraces as existential approach
to life. The second major scale measures
"self" vs "other" orientation. (Ego-centrism)
The ten subscales examine Maslows
character traits of self-actualized
individuals.
The second test of self-actualizing tendency
is the Short Index of Self-Actualization
developed by Jones & Crandell (1986)

The Short Index uses 15 items from the

POI to which the subject must state
agreement on a 6 point likert scale
(Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree)
Much easier to administer and grade than
the POI.

Also, reduces irritability due to the forced

choice format of the POI.

Ironically, when Maslow completed the POI,

it showed that he had only a slight selfactualizing tendency. He scored much lower
than individuals who were identified as selfactualizers.

How Maslow developed his conception

of the self-actualized person.

Maslow interviewed people he both knew

and admired.
He would :

1. Interview a sample of people he thought

were self-actualized.
He would write down a list of traits he felt
each person possessed. (Common traits)
2. He would use the trait list from 1 and
then see how a second sample of selfactualized individuals matched up with the
key traits.
By refining his trait list again and again, he
eventually came up with what he felt was a
stable list of attributes which would define
the self-actualized individual.

Famous People which Maslow felt were

self-actualized :
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln

Albert Einstein
Jane Addams
Willliam James
Albert Schweitzer
Aldous Huxley
Elanor Roosevelt

Basic Criterion of the self-actualized

individual

Remember, Maslow thought that only 2 %

of the population were fully self-actualized.
Self Actualized People must be free from
psychopathology.
This rules out Van Gogh as a self actualized
individual.
Self-Actualized individuals have progressed
through the hierarchy of basic needs.
The third criterion for becoming selfactualized is to realize your need to grow
and develop, and to increasingly strive to
become who you are fully capable of
becoming.
Self-Actualizers are not static beings who
embrace the status quo -- rather, than
embrace change, because change is
necessary for growth.

Development of Psychopathology

Maslow realized human beings are capable

of terrible things.
He believed neurosis and psychotic
behavior arises from need deficiencies
If you can not satisfy your basic needs,
pathology is the result.
The pathology may take the form of a
neurotic need.
Maslow states that everyone is born with a
will toward health, and a tendency to grow
towards self-actualization.
Jonah Complex : A fear of success which
keeps people from becoming selfactualized.

Maslow believes the Jonah Complex arises

due to a) the need for humility, and b)the
emotional surge that fulfillment brings with
us is too draining to experience on a
constant basis.
Maslow and Psychotherapy
Although he did not have traditional
"clients",
Maslow felt his holistic - dynamic theory did
have practical applications.
Since he believes most people never move
past the stage of satisfying needs of love
and belongingness, he felt that the therapist
must develop an open, warm relationship
with the client.
Acceptance within a clinical relationship will
hopefully lead to more healthy relationships
outside of therapy.

For Maslow, the aim of therapy is to

decrease the reliance on others and
encourage the systemic urge toward
psychological growth and self-actualization.

The Critique of Maslow

Criticism of Maslow focuses (primarily) on
two major points.
One, Was Maslow practicing a rigorous
scientific study of personality?
The answer is a resounding "sometimes"
Many researchers feel that Maslows work,
while important, relied too heavily on case

studies, and not enough experimental work

was done on the construct of selfactualization.
Second Criticism : Maslows recognition of
self-actualized individuals was almost
exclusively limited to Highly Educated
White Males.
Can an analysis of personality based upon the upper
stratum of the dominant culture truly be a universal
description of personality ?
These critics charge that implicit sexism, racism, and
classism stem from Maslows work and therefore do not
represent a valid way of understanding basic human
personality.

Worksheet # 3 is posted online now.

Www.rpi.edu/~verwyc
This worksheet is due on April 10 (in two
weeks)
Maslow notes are also on the web site.

Next Week : Grand Marshall Week

No Class will be held
Participate in the GM week festivities,
interact with your fellow students, and dont
forget to have a great time !!
April 10th : We will look at James Cattell.
April 17th: Cover the "Big Five" Personality
Dimensions
April 24th 2nd Exam On Rogers, Maslow,
Cattell, and the "Big Five".