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| Abraham Maslow |
Abraham Maslow : Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow was born April 1, 1908 in Brooklyn, New
York.
He died in California on June 8, 1970 due to a heart
attack.
Early Life:
Abraham Maslow grew up in Brooklyn, New York, the first
of seven children born to his Jewish parents who emigrated from Russia. Maslow
later described his early childhood as unhappy and lonely, and he spent much of
his time in the library immersed in books.
Eventually, Maslow went on to study law at City College
of New York (CCNY) and married his first-cousin Bertha Goodman. He later
switched to the University of Wisconsin where he developed an interested in
psychology and found a mentor in psychologist Harry Harlow who served as his
doctoral advisor. Maslow earned all three of his degrees in psychology from the
University of Wisconsin: a bachelor's degree in 1930, a master's degree in 1931
and a doctorate in 1934.
Career:
Abraham Maslow began teaching at Brooklyn College in 1937
and continued to work as a member of the school's faculty until 1951. During
this time, he was heavily influenced by Gestalt
psychologist Max Wertheimer and anthropologist Ruth Benedict. Maslow believed
that they were such exceptional people that he began to analyze and take notes
on their behavior. This analysis served as the basis for his theories and
research on human potential.
During the 1950s, Maslow became one of the founders and
driving forces behind the school of thought known as humanistic
psychology. His theories including the hierarchy
of needs, self-actualization
and peak
experiences became fundamental subjects in the humanist movement.
Contributions to
Psychology:
At a time when most psychologists focused aspects of
human nature that were considered abnormal, Abraham Maslow shifted to focus to
look at the positive sides of mental health. His interest in human potential,
seeking peak experiences and improving mental health by seeking personal growth
had a lasting influence on psychology. While Maslow’s work fell out of favor
with many academic psychologists, his theories are enjoying a resurgence due to
the rising interesting in positive
psychology.
Hierarchy of Needs
The Five Levels
of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
What motivates behavior? According to
humanist psychologist Abraham Maslow, our actions are motivated in order
achieve certain needs. Maslow first introduced his concept of a hierarchy of
needs in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" and his
subsequent book Motivation and Personality. This hierarchy suggests that
people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more
advanced needs.
This hierarchy is most often displayed as a
pyramid. The lowest levels of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs,
while the more complex needs are located at the top of the pyramid. Needs at
the bottom of the pyramid are basic physical requirements including the need
for food, water, sleep, and warmth. Once these lower-level needs have been met,
people can move on to the next level of needs, which are for safety and
security.
As people progress up the pyramid, needs
become increasingly psychological and social. Soon, the need for love,
friendship, and intimacy become important. Further up the pyramid, the need for
personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment take priority. Like Carl
Rogers, Maslow emphasized the importance of self-actualization, which is a
process of growing and developing as a person in order to achieve individual
potential.
Types of Needs
Abraham
Maslow believed that these needs are similar to instincts and play a major
role in motivating behavior. Physiological, security, social, and esteem needs
are deficiency needs (also known as D-needs), meaning that these
needs arise due to deprivation. Satisfying these lower-level needs is important
in order to avoid unpleasant feelings or consequences.
Maslow termed the highest-level of the
pyramid as growth needs (also known as being needs or B-needs).
Growth needs do not stem from a lack of something, but rather from a desire to
grow as a person.
Five Levels of the Hierarchy of Needs
There are five different levels in Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs:
Physiological Needs
These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, such as the need for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.
These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, such as the need for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.
Security Needs
These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health care, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.
These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health care, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.
Social Needs
These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. Maslow described these needs as less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments, and families help fulfill this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community, or religious groups.
These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. Maslow described these needs as less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments, and families help fulfill this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community, or religious groups.
Esteem Needs
After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.
After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.
Self-actualizing Needs
This is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential.
This is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential.
Criticisms of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
While some research showed some support for
Maslow's theories, most research has not been able to substantiate the idea of
a needs hierarchy. Wahba and Bridwell reported that there was little evidence
for Maslow's ranking of these needs and even less evidence that these needs are
in a hierarchical order.
Other criticisms of Maslow's theory note
that his definition of self-actualization is difficult to test scientifically.
His research on self-actualization was also based on a very limited sample of
individuals, including people he knew as well as biographies of famous
individuals that Maslow believed to be self-actualized, such as Albert Einstein
and Eleanor Roosevelt. Regardless of these criticisms, Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs represents part of an important shift in psychology. Rather than focusing
on abnormal behavior and development, Maslow's humanistic psychology was
focused on the development of healthy individuals.
While there was relatively little research
supporting the theory, hierarchy of needs is well-known and popular both in and
out of psychology. In a study
published in 2011, researchers from the University of Illinois set out to put
the hierarchy to the test. What they discovered is that while fulfillment of
the needs was strongly correlated with happiness, people from cultures all over
the reported that self-actualization and social needs were important even when
many of the most basic needs were unfulfilled.
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