Keesha Holden-White
Marie Laramee
Wilmington University
Spring 2010
BACKGROUND
RESEARCH
 Born April 1, 1908 in Brooklyn, NY  First to study the
 One of seven siblings
Psychology of Health
 Married to first cousin
 Human Sexuality
 Died June 8, 1970
 Humanistic Psychology
Education
City College of New York
 Studied Law
University of Wisconsin
 Bachelor of Arts Degree in
Psychology- 1930
 Master of Arts Degree in
Psychology – 1931
 PhD Psychology- 1934
(newworldencyclopedia.org, 2008)
“What a man
can be, he
must be.”
1941
-
~ Influenced by Kurt Goldstein who introduced him to the idea of self-actualization
~His own close encounter with death had an impact on his outlook on life and self-actualization
~ Maslow’s humanistic psychology focused on the development of healthy people
Description of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
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Maslow’s theory is based on the idea that some needs, physical as well as
psychological, take precedence over others.
The needs are placed in a pyramid with the most important making the base
If the basic needs are not met, the base of the pyramid is not formed and the rest of
the needs are not achieved.
The first levels of needs are the deficiency needs, those that if not met cause a
deficiency, or lack that motivates a person to strive to achieve the need.
The fifth level, the actualization level, is a growth level.
Few people ever reach the growth level and spend their lives going up and down the
pyramid meeting the lower level needs.
(Learning-Theories.com, 2008)
As an individual
becomes more
self-actualized, one
becomes wiser and
automatically knows
what to do in a wide
variety of situations
Self-Transcendent
Self-Actualization
Needs
Problem-Solving,
Art, Beauty, Freedom
Personal Fulfillment, Creativity
Social Needs
Friendship, Family Belonging, Identity
Esteem Needs
Self-Esteem
Confidence, Justice, Respect, Recognition
Safety Needs
Security of the body, Health and Property
Physiological Needs
Food, Water, Sleep
Maslow’s Theory
A hierarchy of important processes
that are critical for development and growth
of the total person (McEwen & Wills, 2007).

Lights! Camera! Action!
YouTube Video on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxdNzOVRAmA&feature=fvw
According to McEwen (2007),
Maslow’s theory has been utilized in
research on humanistic psychology:
1999
Daly, Jackson ,and Davidson described
how humanistic psychology added the
concept of hope to nursing.
2000
Acton and Malathum examined promotion
of self-care behaviors in adults
2003
Hendry and Douglas examined enhancing
quality of life for clients diagnosed with
dementia
2003
Benson and Dundis researched how to
motivate employees
Current research has been conducted based on
different operationalizations of Maslow’s
concepts.
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Maslow was the first to study
“healthy self-actualizers” rather
than to focus on abnormal
“psychology”
Maslow organized the Journal of
Humanistic Psychology and the
Journal of Transpersonal Psychology
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is easily applied to nursing practice.
 The theory focuses on human potential, “gives hope a chance”.
 The theory allows the nurse to highlight the person’s strengths
instead of focusing on one’s deficits (McEwen & Wills, 2007).
 Basic needs such as air, food, drink and warmth , are the basic
needs of human survival and health.
 Safety, be it with ambulation or in taking medication, is very
important to nursing.
 Social needs are met with visiting hours and through the nursepatient (care-giver) relationship
 Esteem and self-actualization may or may not be met in the
hospital setting.
 The theory provides the blueprint for prioritizing client care
according to a hierarchy of needs (McEwen & Wills, 2007).
Personal Nursing Practice
Marie~
“I don’t use Maslow as much in my nursing practice. The basic
needs of my patients are not met in the office setting. The
safety needs are addressed in relation to health. The esteem
and higher levels are not touched upon in the office setting. “
Keesha~
“I utilize Maslow’s Hierarchy while caring for patients in the
hospital setting. It’s imperative in this line of work to address
our patient’s individual needs (all of which are listed n
Maslow’s hierarchy). As nurses, our nursing care encompasses
finding the inherent goodness in people. By assisting patients
in meeting their needs, there’s a sense of achievement and
satisfaction had by all. As we satisfy our physiological needs
including food, shelter, water we can better address our
safety and emotional needs. When we meet our esteem
needs we are better communicators, listeners, educators,
therefore satisfy our social needs. Self-actualization needs
appear to be more complex for some patients and nurses, but
with time are attainable.”
There are many criticisms to Maslow’s theory
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There is no explanation for those that put themselves in danger to help another.
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There are some cultures that put social needs above other basic needs.
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There is no explanation for the “starving artist”, the person who will give up food and drink in
deference to their art.
(NetNBA, 2002-2007)
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There’s minimal evidence to suggest that Maslow’s needs are in a hierarchical order

Wahba & Bridwell (1976) claim that Maslow’s definition of self-actualization is difficult to test
scientifically and found little evidence for the ranking of Maslow’s needs or any existence of a definite
hierarchy
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Maslow’s theory has been challenged by other theorists who hypothesize that there are only three
levels of human needs
1968
“I had a vision of a peace table, with people sitting around it, talking
about human nature and hatred, war and peace, and brotherhood. I
was too old to go into the army (1941). It was at that moment I
realized that the rest of my life must be devoted to discovering a
psychology for the peace table. That moment changed my whole life.
Since then, I've devoted myself to developing a theory of human
nature that could be tested by experiment and research. I wanted to
prove that humans are capable of something grander than war,
prejudice, and hatred. I wanted to make science consider all the
people: the best specimen of mankind I could find. I found that many
of them reported having something like mystical experiences.”
- Abraham Maslow
(www.newworldencyclopedia.com)
Abraham Maslow. (2008, April 3). New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Abraham_Maslow?oldid=686870
Abraham Maslow Father of modern management. (2009). Maslow's Hierarchy of
Needs . Retrieved April 11, 2010, from Abraham Maslow Father of modern management:
http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp
Boeree, D. C. (2006). Abraham Maslow. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from Personality Theories:
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.htmL
Businessballs.com. (1995-2010). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Retrieved April 11, 2010,
from businessballs.com: http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm
Learning-Theories.com. (2008). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved April 12, 2010,
from Learning-Theories.com:
http://www.learning-theories.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs.html
McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2007). Theoretical basis for nursing (2nd ed.). Pennsylvania:Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
NetNBA. (2002-2007). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from NetNBA
Business knowledge center: http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/ma
Wahba, M. A. & Bridwell, L. G. (1976) Maslow reconsidered; A review of research on the need hierarchy theory.
Organization Behavior and Human Performance, 15, 212-240.