ABRAHAM

MASLOW
Chairperson: Dr P. HIMAKAR, Professor And Head Of Department
Department Of Psychiatry, AMC
Presenter: DR SNIGDHA AWASTHI, Junior Resident
Department Of Psychiatry, AMC
SCHEME OF PRESENTATION
 INTRODUCTION
 HUMANISTIC THEORY OF PERSONALITY- HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
 SELF ACTUALISATION
 CRITICISM OF MASLOW’S THEORY
 IMPACT OF MASLOW’S THEORY ON SOCIETY
 OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS OF MASLOW
 RESEARCH ON MASLOW’S THEORY
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION

 ABRAHAM MASLOW- the founder and spiritual leader of the

humanistic psychology movement- 3rd force in psychology
 Objected to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis, particularly to
Freud’s approach to personality
 A frequently quoted statement sums up his position on human
personality studies: “The study of crippled, stunted, immature, and
unhealthy specimens can yield only a cripple psychology”
 His theory does not derive from case histories of clinical patients but
from research on creative, independent, self-sufficient, fulfilled
adults.
THE LIFE OF MASLOW (1908–1970)
 Eldest of seven children born to
poor immigrant parents, Maslow
had a particularly difficult childhood
with deeply set hatred for his
mother and inferiority complex due
to his physical appearance. These
experiences would later shape his
work in the field of psychology
 Earlier works included behavior
psychology experiments on primate
sexuality and dominance at the
University of Wisconsin
 Started to drift away from
behaviorism after the birth of his
first child and the events of the
World War II
 Analysed the written biographies
of self-actualizers (defined as
men and women who had made
extraordinary use of their
potential) for similarities
 Later, extended his study to a
population of college students-
based on interviews, free
association and projective tests,
selected students who fit his
definition of self-actualizers
HUMANISTIC THEORY OF PERSONALITY:
THE HEIRARCHY OF NEEDS
 Also called as THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Maslow interpreted personality in motivational terms i.e. The
individual's whole life—perceptions, values, strivings, and goals—is
focused on the satisfaction of a set of needs, and the needs
themselves are arranged in a universal hierarchy.
 The needs are arranged in order from strongest to weakest. Lower
needs comprise the basic biological needs and must be at least
partially satisfied before the higher, more complex, psychological
needs become influential.
CHARACTERISTICS OF NEEDS
1. The lower the need is in the hierarchy, the greater are its strength,
potency, and priority. The higher needs are weaker needs.
2. Higher needs appear later in life. Physiological and safety needs
arise in infancy. Belongingness and esteem needs arise in
adolescence. The need for self-actualization does not arise until
midlife.
3. Because higher needs are less necessary for actual survival, their
gratification can be postponed. Failure to satisfy a higher need
does not produce a crisis WHEREAS failure to satisfy a lower need
does.
For this reason, Maslow called lower needs
DEFICIT OR DEFICIENCY NEEDS: failure to
satisfy them produces a deficit or lack in the
individual.
4. Although higher needs are less necessary
for survival, it leads to improved health
and longevity and is also beneficial
psychologically as it leads to
contentment, happiness, and fulfillment.
For this reason, Maslow called higher
needs growth or being needs.
5. Gratification of higher needs requires better external circumstances
(social, economic, and political) than does gratification of lower needs.
6. A need does not have to be satisfied fully before the next need in the
hierarchy becomes important. Maslow proposed a declining percentage
of satisfaction for each need. In general, only one need will dominate
our personality.
7. Maslow described these needs as ‘instinctoid’, meaning that they have
a hereditary component. However, these needs can be affected or
overridden by learning, social expectations, social circumstances and
fear of disapproval.
PHYSIOLOGICAL/ SURVIVAL NEEDS
When the basic needs for
food and shelter are
unsatisfied, the higher needs,
such as esteem and self
actualization, are of less
importance.
 SAFETY NEEDS
 important drives for infants and
neurotic adults.
 Visible indication of safety needs
is preference for a structure or
routine, for an orderly and
predictable world
 Maslow pointed out that although
most normal adults have satisfied
the safety needs, those needs
may still have an impact on
behavior.
 LOVE AND BELONGING NEEDS
 Expressed through a close
relationship with a friend, lover, or
mate, or through social relationships
formed within a group.
 The need to belong has grown more
difficult to satisfy in our increasingly
mobile society.
 Maslow suggested that failure to
satisfy the need for love is a
fundamental cause of emotional
maladjustment.
 ESTEEM NEEDS
 2 forms of the need for esteem-
 From ourselves, in the form of
feelings of self-worth, and
 From other people, in the form
of status, recognition, or social
success.
 When we lack self-esteem, we
feel inferior, helpless, and
discouraged with little confidence
in our ability to cope.
 COGNITIVE NEEDS
 Refers to the innate needs to
know and to understand.
 Appears in late infancy and early
childhood and are expressed by
children as a natural curiosity.
 Knowing and understanding—
essentially, finding meaning in our
environment—are basic to
interacting with the environment
in an emotionally healthy, mature
way to satisfy other needs
SELF-ACTUALIZATION
 Refers to the maximum
realization and fulfillment of our
potentials, talents, and abilities.
 The self-actualizing process may
take many forms as each person,
regardless of occupation or
interests, is capable of
maximizing personal abilities and
reaching the fullest personality
development.
 The following conditions are necessary in order for us to satisfy the self-
actualization need:
✓We must be free of constraints imposed by society and by ourselves.
✓ We must not be distracted by the lower-order needs.
✓We must be secure in our self-image and in our relationships with
other people;
✓We must be able to love and be loved in return.
✓We must have a realistic knowledge of our strengths and weaknesses,
virtues and vices.
 Many people experience what Maslow called Peak Experiences:
transient moments of self-actualization which may occur in different
intensities and in various contexts, such as creative activities, intimate
relationships, aesthetic perceptions, or athletic participation.
A STUDY OF SELF- ACTUALIZERS
 Maslow proposed a distinct type of motivation for self-actualizers
called METAMOTIVATION (sometimes called B-MOTIVATION OR
BEING): involves maximizing personal potential towards the state of
“being” rather than striving for a particular goal object i.e. the goals
are said to develop from within
 The motivation of people who are not self-actualizers was named D-
MOTIVATION or DEFICIENCY. D-motivation involves striving for
something specific to make up for something that is lacking within us.
 Maslow proposed a list of METANEEDS toward which self-actualizers
evolve.
 METANEEDS are states of being-
such as goodness, uniqueness, and
perfection—rather than specific
goal objects. These are often
referred to as BEING VALUES or B-
VALUES.
 Failure to satisfy metaneeds is
harmful and produces a kind of
METAPATHOLOGY, which
thwarts the full development of
the personality.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SELF- ACTUALIZERS
WHY IS EVERYONE NOT A SELF- ACTUALISER?

1. As the highest need, self-actualization is the least potent. Thus, it

can easily be inhibited.
2. The JONAH COMPLEX: This idea is based on the biblical tale of
Jonah and refers to the fear that maximizing our potential will lead
to a situation with which we will be unable to cope. Thus, the Jonah
Complex refers to our doubts about our own abilities.
CRITICISM OF MASLOW’S THEORY

1. Maslow did not use case studies or the experimental or correlational

methods in his research:
 The sample from which the data were derived is too small for
generalization to the population at large.
 The ways information was collected about the subjects are
inconsistent and vague.
 No description on how test results were interpreted or analyzed or
on how free associations and interview responses were used to
identify those particular persons as self-actualizing.
2. For his subjects Maslow selected people he admired, according to his
own criteria for self-actualization. These criteria were not specified at
the time. Thus, the descriptions may actually reflect Maslow’s own
ideal of the worthy and emotionally healthy individual.
3. Definitions of concepts such as metaneeds, metapathology, peak
experiences and self-actualization and their use have been charged to
be inconsistent and ambiguous.
4. Other critics have questioned the basis on which Maslow presumed self
actualization to be innate
5. Humanistic psychologists are criticized for building their theories solely
on observations of relatively healthy people- The applicability of these
theories to people with mental disorders or disadvantaged individuals
is less apparent.
IMPACT OF MASLOW’S THEORY IN SOCIETY
1. Few theories have had such a
broad impact beyond the
discipline: Teachers and
counselors, business and
government leaders, health care
professionals, and many people
trying to cope with everyday
hassles have found Maslow’s
views compatible with their
needs and useful in solving
problems.
2. Most humanistic psychologists
emphasize on the individual’s own
role in defining and creating his or
her destiny. Such assumptions
have political implications: From
this perspective, anything that
retards the fulfillment of individual
potential i.e. becoming all he or she
can be – should be challenged. It is
therefore, no accident that the
rhetoric of liberation movements –
such as LGBT rights – echoes the
language of humanistic psychology
3. CHILD REARING PRACTICES AND ADULT PERSONALITY:
✓Maslow recognized the importance of early childhood experiences in
fostering or inhibiting adult development: Inadequate education and
improper child-rearing practices can thwart the drive for self-
actualization in adulthood.
✓He emphasized that the ideal situation in childhood is a balance of
permissiveness and regulation. Sufficient love in childhood with
satisfaction of physiological and safety needs in the first two years of
life is a prerequisite for self-actualization.
✓If children feel secure and confident in the early years, they will
remain so as adults. If children are overprotected or are given too
much freedom, they are likely to be inhibited as adults, unable to
express themselves fully, with issues of anxiety and insecurity.
OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS OF MASLOW
1. FOUNDATION FOR HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY AND
THERAPIES
 Maslow placed emphasis on the whole person in his work thus,
laying the foundation for the development of new therapeutic
approaches
 encourage direct expression of emotions, and exploration of
individual history and of unconscious motivation to the feelings
and thought processes of the clients in the here and now.
 Its emphasis on the interconnectedness of the psyche and the body
and overcoming of the taboo against touching was a decisive shift
from the exclusively verbal strategies of traditional psychotherapy
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF HUMANISITIC THERAPIES:
1. Emphasis on the present instead of the past or future- here, the
patient’s present functioning is the point of focus
2. To be mentally healthy, individuals must take personal responsibility for
their actions, regardless of whether the actions are positive or negative.
3. Each person, simply by being, is inherently worthy. While any given
action may be negative, these actions do not cancel out the value of a
person.
4. The ultimate goal of living is to attain personal growth and
understanding. Only through constant self-improvement and self-
understanding can an individual ever be truly happy.
➢Some of the examples include-
1. Positive Psychotherapies
2. Fritz- Perlz- Gestalt Therapy
3. Alexander Lowen’s
bioenergetics and other
neo-Reichian approaches,
4. encounter groups, and
5. marathon sessions etc.
2. POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY:
 Maslow’s view of personality is
humanistic and optimistic-
focused on psychological health
rather than illness, growth rather
than stagnation, virtues and
potentials rather than weaknesses
and limitations.
 For this reason, he’s often
regarded as one of the first few
proponents of POSITIVE
PSYCHOLOGY.
 Since 1999, Maslows work enjoyed
a revival of interest and influence
among leaders of the positive
psychology movement such
as Martin Seligman.
 Positive psychology spends its
research looking at the positive
side of things and how they go
right rather than the pessimistic
side.
3. TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY:
 By the late 1960s, Maslow had concluded that humanistic psychology was
incapable of explaining all aspects of human experience.
 He identified various mystical, ecstatic, or spiritual states known as "peak
experiences" as experiences beyond self-actualization: characterized by a
temporary, non-striving, non-self-centered state of goal attainment.
Maslow called these experiences "a fourth force in psychology"
 In 1967, Abraham Maslow, Anthony Sutich, Stanislav Grof, James
Fadiman, Miles Vich, and Sonya Margulies founded what is now called
“TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY” - a new branch of psychology that
includes the entire spectrum of human experience, including various non-
ordinary states of consciousness and spirituality.
 "empirical, scientific study of, and
responsible implementation of the
finding relevant to, becoming,
mystical, ecstatic, and spiritual
states" (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2011).
 addresses some major
misconceptions of mainstream
psychiatry and psychology
concerning spirituality and religion
RESEARCH ON MASLOW’S THEORY
1. Correlational studies and the PERSONAL ORIENTATION
INVENTORY (POI):
 A self-report questionnaire consisting of 150 pairs of statements,
 developed by psychologist Everett Shostrom (1964, 1974)
 measures self-actualization.
 The POI is scored for 2 major scales and 10 subscales.
 The major scales are:
 time competence, which measures the degree to which we live in the
present, and
 inner directedness, which assesses how much we depend on ourselves
rather than on others for judgments and values.
2. The Hierarchy Of Needs
a) Need Satisfaction Inventory, a self-report questionnaire designed
to measure how well a person satisfies Maslow’s needs, correlated
test scores of college students with their scores on the Eysenck
Personality Inventory. Results showed that those who were higher
in need satisfaction were lower in neuroticism (Lester, 1990)
b) Self-esteem can affect political views and voting behavior- Studies
during the United States’ 2008 presidential election found that
people were much more likely to vote for candidates they believed
had greater self-esteem (Ziegler-Hill & Myers, 2009).
c) Cultural and ethnic differences have also been documented in self-
esteem- College students in Japan consistently scored the lowest in
self-esteem among all the nations surveyed
3. Self Determination Theory:
 A contemporary outgrowth of the essence, of Maslow’s self-
actualization theory which suggests that people have an innate
tendency to express their interests, exercise and develop their
capabilities and potentials, and overcome challenges
 Self-determination is facilitated by a person’s focus on intrinsic
motivation, such as engaging in an activity because of the interest
and challenge of the activity itself, just like how Maslow’s theory
emphasizes on the inner drive of self actualisation
 Self-determination theory specifies three basic needs; only through the
satisfaction of these needs can a person reach a state of well-being.
 1. Competence—the need to feel that one can master difficult tasks
 2. Autonomy—the freedom to base one’s course of action on one’s
own interests, needs, and values
 3. Relatedness—the need to feel a close connection with other people
 Studies have shown that the satisfaction of these needs, and the
corresponding focus on intrinsic motivation, is positively associated
with high self-esteem and self-actualization
CONCLUSION
➢Abraham Maslow proposed that there is a hierarchy of needs which
drives our personality development- ascending from the basic biological
needs to the more complex psychological motivations that become
important only after the basic needs have been satisfied. The needs at
one level must be at least partially satisfied before those at the next level
become important motivators of action.
➢Self-actualizers constitute less than 1% of the population and share
certain characteristics. However, not everyone becomes self-actualizing
because self-actualization is the weakest need in the hierarchy and easily
interfered with. Also, some people fear realizing their highest potential,
what Maslow termed as the Jonah Complex.
➢Some research supports the characteristics of self-actualizers, the
relationship between self-esteem and self-competence, the order of
the needs in the hierarchy, and the greater concern with higher than
lower needs. A contemporary outgrowth of Maslow’s work is self-
determination theory, which posits three needs: competence,
autonomy, and relatedness.
➢Maslow has been criticized for using too small a sample as the basis
for his theory and for not making explicit his criteria for selecting self-
actualizing subjects.
➢His theory has had a broad impact on education, counseling, health
care, business, and government. It has proven to be a stimulus for the
positive psychology movement and transpersonal psychology, both of
which focus on the overall subjective well-being.
REFERENCES
1. THEORIES OF PERSONALITY, 10th Edition; Diane P Schultz and Sydney Ellen
Schultz; Wadsworth Cengage Learning; 2013
2. ATKINSON & HILGARD’S INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY, 15TH EDITION;
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Barbara L. Fredrickson, Geoff R. Loftus And Willem A.
Wagenaar; CENGAGE LEARNING; 2009
3. Kaplan & Saddock’s COMPREHENSIVE TEXTBOOK OF PSYCHIATRY; 10th
Edition; Wolters & Kluwers Publications
4. INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY, 7th Edition; Morgan & King; Mc- Graw Hill
Education (India) Private Limited; 48th Reprint Edition; 2014
5. BRIEF HISTORY OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY; Stanislav Grof;
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 27, 2008, pp. 46-54