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
o
o
o
Study law at city college of New York
Went to Cornell very briefly
Later switched to University of Wisconsin
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
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
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, selfactualization 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 selfactualization
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
Works Consulted
Author not listed. www.maslowtoffler.com n.d. Internet. September 30th, 2013
Author not listed. www.nndb.com. NNDB, n.d. Internet. September 30th, 2013
Author not listed. www.pbs.org. PBS, n.d. Internet. September 30th, 2013.
Author not listed. theliterarylink.com. n.d. Internet. October 1st, 2013
Cherry, Kendra. psychology.about.com. About.com, n.d. Internet. September 30th, 2013
McLeod, Saul. www.simplypsychology.org. Published 2007, updated 2013.
Internet. October 1st, 2013
Peasblossom, Daisy. everydaylife.globalpost.com. Demand Media, n.d. Internet.
October 1st, 2013