Dr.
Abraham Maslow's
Theory Of The Development Of Your Personality
A road map of the individual's growth,
development, and evolution in personality, character &
integrity
An Introduction To Human Personality Development |
| Latest
dates of Revisions, Up-dates, and/or Additions is 10-18-99 |
In our "Road To Success"
chapter you learned that when you start any journey (physical,
mental, or spiritual) and before you can leave you must know
the answers to three vital pieces of information:
1. Where you are
2. Where you are going
3. How to get there
The "Decision Making" chapter taught
you that whether you decide or don’t decide upon a direction
today you still made a choice and it will lead you to somewhere.
And by now you are aware of the fact that most riders forget
to take the time to figure out where they are. Dr. Maslow has
clearly marked out and illustrated an easy to follow road map
for your own individual personality development. He points out
that as your perception and awareness upgrade so does your individual
character and integrity. Education and personal experiences
seem to be the underlying factors which influences each individual’s
own growth patterns. In other words where you chose to stop
learning is where you reside and begin to stagnate. And with
education and personal experiences comes the development and
evolution of you own personal worth. Learn this chapter well.
And be careful not to get locked in and stagnate at the "Self-Esteem"
(ego) level of your own growth.
Even though history reveals that "Humanistic Psychology"
(study of human behavior and development) had no single founder
Dr. Abraham Maslow is described as its spiritual father. He
was an articulate and persuasive writer and described humanist
psychology as an "underlying force"
in the study and directing influence in the behavior of Americans.
He criticized both psychoanalysis and radical behaviorism for
their limited, narrow minded and applied negative directions
in the study of human nature. He points out that "The study
of crippled, stunted, immature; and unhealthy specimens only
lead to a crippled psychology". And eventually creates
a sick society.
The study of human nature as a machine is less than ridiculous
in somebody’s thinking process. But even more ridiculous
is its study in negativity and diseased directions of life.
Typical studies of radical and negative behaviorism cannot even
begin to comprehend the whole person or even provide acceptable
positive directions, which give meaning to life. Dr. Maslow
offered his views as positive steps in the right direction concerning
the above two negatively directed healing arts. He felt that
the body is not a separate collection of many parts to be dealt
with, but rather to be considered all together, holistically,
and directed in a positive direction. He does not de-emphasize
the smaller collections of these parts offered by Psycho Analysis
and Behaviorism, but he firmly believed that the complete picture
of human nature and its needs must be view and treated as a
whole in its environment. Dr. Maslow focused on the positive
directions of human nature rather than the negative ones. His
concepts and road maps on the "Self-Actualized"
individual are without question the brighter side of a positive
human behavior. Dr. Maslow’s work is the underlying foundation
and format, which is used by all success teachers of today,
including Anthony Robbins. |
| Abraham Maslow
"The Spiritual Father of Humanistic Psychology" |
Abraham Maslow was born in 1908 in the
Jewish district of Brooklyn, New York. He was the oldest of
seven brothers and sisters. His parents were Russian immigrants.
His father made and repaired wooden casks and tubs, which
enabled the Dr. Maslow family to move to a better neighborhood.
As a result, young Abraham found himself within a different
ethnic group, where each individual groups are know to be
prejudice and bigoted. Feeling alone and isolated from his
friends he began to spend a lot of his time in the library
with his newly found friends known as "Books".
In the 1920s and 30s family life was a lot different by today’s
standards. His father was ambitious and taught his children
to be so, as well. With a great desire to succeed in life
young Abraham to a job delivering newspapers. And as time
went by he began working with his father and the family business
during the summer months. Because of his busy working schedule
young Abraham grew apart from his parents. He liked his father
but was afraid of him. And his mother clearly favored his
younger brothers and sisters. Because of this he wound up
spending a lot more time with his uncle. So he felt that his
uncle was the stabilizing factor in his growth and development.
But despite all of the difficulties he encountered as a youth
he marveled at how well his life turned out.
Abraham attended New York City schools through the eighth
grade and then moved to Brooklyn where he attended Brooklyn
Borough High School. At eighteen he entered the New York City
College. He first started studying law, at his father’s
request but dropped it due to his major lack of interest.
This was a turning point in Abraham’s life. He felt
that he wanted to make his own decisions and be responsible
for his own life. He knew he was undecided about what he truly
wanted to become but he also knew that he needed to at least
take that first step. During this time he met and fell in
love with a beautiful young lady and, as you may have guest,
was not approved of by his parents. So he decided to move
out on his own and ended up at the University of Wisconsin.
Within a short time after this he and his lady were happily
married.
In later years he commented that he felt that his life had
began when he was married and began his studies at U of W.
His wife was a very unique and special individual who fully
supported him, his studies, and his efforts. He began by studying
"Behaviorism" and loved it. He immediately recognized
that Behaviorism as a great solution for improving both yourself
and society. During his under graduate and graduate studies,
Dr. Maslow worked in the laboratories where he built a solid
grounding in empirical research. He became an assistant to
and worked with Dr. William Sheldon. But as time went on he
found that he was not very inspired towards Dr. Sheldon's
work on "Varieties of Temperament". So, he began
to study and research rhesus monkey animal behavior, working
with Dr. Harry Harlow. And coming as no surprise, Dr. Maslow's
doctoral research was on the "Sexual and Dominance Characteristics
of Monkeys".
After completing his Ph.D. from Wisconsin in 1934, Dr. Maslow
returned home to New York City where he began working as a
research assistant to Dr. Edwin L. Thorndike. And, at the
same time, began teaching at Brooklyn College. He would remain
in Brooklyn for the next 14 years. However, if you were a
psychologist in the 30s New York City was the place to be.
All the great and well-known European psychologists, wanting
to escape Nazism, come to New York City. Dr. Maslow knew that
he was in the right spot at the right time. He met with and
began associating with many of these great European individuals
allowing their mentorship influences. Five of these unique
individuals influenced him the most. They were:
Dr. Max Wertheimer (a founder of the Gestalt school)
Dr. Erich Fromm
Dr. Karen Horne
Dr. Alfred Adler
And Dr. Ruth Benedict
Both Dr. Karen Horne and Dr. Ruth Benedict inspired him with
their optimism and positive directions about the potentialities
of society. And because of this new exciting avenue of uncharted
knowledge Dr. Maslow’s life took another change and
he let go of his studies of behaviorism in favor of this newly
found direction in psychology.
It was the birth of his first daughter that sharply redirected
his thinking and his thought-action processes. He discovered
that rats and lower primate experimentation did not prepare
him adequately, or anyone else for that matter, to properly
rise a child. He found that behaviorism fell short when it
came down to the knowledge required to properly raise a child.
Scientific formatting and guideline for "Behaviorist
Theory" explained what was observed in the laboratory,
but fell short when it came to accounting for learned human
experiences. History has repeatedly shown that science has
always lags far behind what is going on in the world but yet
wants the people to believe that they have the only acceptable
answers. When you read the history books you will learn that
the truly great individuals who offered many new and great
technologies to us were suppressed by the politics of large
businesses. In your search for who these great individuals
were, including Abraham Maslow, look up Nikola Tesla, Royal
Raymond Rife, Wilhelm Reich, George Lakhovsky, Yull Brown,
and Edgar Cayce. The politics of large businesses only let
the public know what they want you to know. They only pay
for and support the directions beneficial for them. This is
a main reason why science is so misdirected and going down
the negative road. Let’s continue with Dr. Maslow.
World War II was another turning point in Dr. Maslow life.
Disgusted with those individuals and governments who pursued
the negativity such as war, destruction, and death he focused
his attentions on elevating and up-lifting man’s way
of thinking and behaving. So he began to research "Human
Personality" to discover and identify those
qualities responsible for turning negative individuals and
society into positive ones. He became very dedicated to this
quest greatly wanting to share his findings and methods to
all. These findings and methods would allow any individual,
who wanted to, to elevate themselves above the influences
of negativity, including prejudice, bigotry, hatred, and war.
And it should come as no surprise that his theories on "Personality
Development" become very popular with the world
and remain so today. Dr. Maslow had finally found his niche
in life.
He moved again in 1951 to Brandeis University. At Brandeis
he began to refine, fine-tune, and clarify all of his theories
on human personality development. In late 1969 and early 1970
he started putting together a fellowship, which would allow
him to study American as a whole. That is to say he would
specifically study economics, politics, and ethics on the
larger-scale. The results from this research would have provided
a scientific basis and philosophy on all negative humanistic
directed thoughts and behaviors and how to redirect them into
positive ones. And with this knowledge he would behave been
able to provide an evolutionary highway for the growth, development,
and evolution of all mankind back to a positive direction
of loving and caring peaceful way of life. This study of politics
and government would have changes our world to a peaceful
and loving way of life. I don’t think the politics of
government wanted their characters and behaviors exposed to
the people or wanted to see a new and positive way of life
in directing the people. He died in 1970 before this could
happen. Maybe some day another true pioneer will complete
this so needed and necessary task. So, for now, let’s
return to the great knowledge he brought forth and gave to
us. |
| Personality
Theories - An Introduction
by Barbara Engler
Union Country College |
| Human Motivation: A Hierarchical
Theory |
Dr. Maslow believed that human beings are
more interested in growing rather than just simply restoring
balance or avoiding frustration. He described the man as a "wanting
animal" who is almost always desiring something. Indeed,
as one human desire is satisfied, another arises to take its
place. In the drive to self-actualize, the individual moves
forward toward growth, happiness, and satisfaction.
He starts his map by distinguished between motivation and metamotivation.
Motivation refers to reducing tension by satisfying deficit
states or lacks. It entails "Deficiency Needs" (D-needs),
which arise out of the organism's requirements for physiological
survival or safety, such as the need for food or rest, and motivates
the individual to engage in activities that will reduce these
drives. Motivation to grow tendencies. These growth tendencies
known as "Being Needs" (B-needs),
which arise out of the organism's drive to self-actualize and
fulfill his or her inherent potentials. B-needs do not stem
from a lack or deficiency; but rather, they push forward to
"Self-Fulfillment". Their goal is to enhance life
by enriching it. Rather than reduce tension, they frequently
heighten it in their quest for ever-increasing stimuli that
will bring a life lived to the fullest.
Motivation and the D-needs take precedence over metamotivation
and the B-needs. The deficiency needs must be satisfied first.
An individual who is wondering where the next mouthful of food
is going to come from can hardly be concerned with spiritual
goals like truth or beauty. Thus, the needs may be arranged
in a hierarchy, in that the needs of lower levels or at the
bottom must be satisfied before those of higher levels or at
the top can be fulfilled (see the below diagram). |
Self-Actualization
(Highest Level of Development)
Self-Esteem
Ego Dominated
Belonging and love
B-Needs
(Intermediate Level of Development)
Safety
Physiological needs
D-need
(Lower Level of Development)
Dr. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs |
Dr. Maslow suggests that human needs may
be conceived of as a hierarchy in which the needs that stand
at the bottom must be satisfied before those at the top can
be fulfilled.
In his hierarchy of needs, Dr. Maslow described five basic needs.
In order of their strength they are physiological needs, safety
needs, belonging and love needs, self-esteem needs, and self-actualization
needs. Each lower need must be satisfied before an individual
can become aware of or develop the capacity to fulfill the needs
above it. As each need is satisfied, the next higher order need
attains importance. Some individuals, because of their circumstances,
find it very difficult to satisfy even the lowest needs. The
higher one is able to go, however, the greater psychological
health and self-actualization one will demonstrate. |
| 1. Physiological
Needs |
| The strongest needs of all are the physiological
ones that pertain to the physical survival and biological maintenance
of the organism. They include the need for food, drink, sleep,
oxygen, shelter, and sex. For many Americans, physiological
needs are satisfied almost automatically. However, if biological
needs are not met for a protracted period of time, an individual
will not be motivated to fulfill any other needs. The person
who is really starving has no other interest than obtaining
food. Several experiments and real-life experiences have demonstrated
'the overwhelming behavioral effects produced by a lack of food,
sleep, or other life sustaining needs. Gratification of these
needs renders them less important and permits other needs to
appear. |
| 2. Safety Needs |
| Safety needs refer to the organism's requirements
for an orderly y, stable, and predictable world. These can be
seen clearly in young children, neurotics, or individuals that
live in unsafe environments. The young child, who is helpless
and dependent, prefers a certain amount of structured routine
and discipline. The absence of these elements makes the child
anxious and insecure. The neurotic frequently behaves like the
insecure child, compulsively organizing the world and avoiding
strange or different experiences. Individuals who live in unsafe
environments or suffer from job insecurity may need to spend
a great deal of time and energy trying to protect themselves
and their possessions. |
| 3. Belonging
And Love Needs |
| Once the physiological and safety needs
are met, needs for love and belonging arise. The individual
seeks affectionate and intimate relationships with other people,
needing to feel part of various reference groups, such as the
family, neighborhood, gang, or a professional association. Dr.
Maslow noted that such needs are increasingly more difficult
to meet in our technological, fluid, and mobile society. Such
problems may account for new styles of living together. Love,
rather than being physiological or simple sexual, involves a
healthy, mutual relationship of trust, in which each person
is deeply understood and accepted. |
| 4. Self-esteem
Needs |
| Dr. Maslow described two kinds of esteem
needs - the need for respect from others and the need for self-respect.
Self-esteem entails competence, confidence, mastery, achievement,
independence, and freedom. Respect from others entails recognition,
acceptance, status, and appreciation. When these needs are not
met an individual feels discouraged, weak, and inferior. Healthy
self-esteem is a realistic appraisal of one's capacities and
has its roots in deserved respect from others. For most people,
the need for regard from others diminishes with age because
it has been fulfilled and the need for self-regard becomes more
important. |
| 5. Self-actualization
Needs |
If the foregoing needs have been met, the
needs for self-actualization may emerge if the individual has
the courage to choose them. These needs are difficult to describe
because they are unique and vary from person to person. In general,
self-actualization refers to the desire to fulfill one's highest
potential. The individual on this level who does not fully exploit
his or her talents and capacities is discontented and restless.
In Dr. Maslow's words, "A musician must make music, an
artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be at peace
with himself".
Self-actualization is possible only if the lower needs have
been sufficiently met so that they do not detract from or engross
a person's basic energies. Rather than organize their behavior
toward tension reduction, individuals whose deficiency needs
are satisfied may in fact, seek states of increased optimal
tension in order to enhance their opportunities for self-actualization.
Higher needs may become as compelling as food to the hungry.
In short, those who are living on a B-level have a radically
different motivation from those who are still striving to satisfy
deficit states
A number of prerequisites are necessary for a person to be motivated
on a B-level. Cultural, economic, and social conditions must
be such that the individual does not need to be preoccupied
with physiological or safety needs. Employment settings must
consider the growth needs of employees. Emotional needs for
interpersonal relationships and self-esteem must be met. This
may be very difficult in periods of economic recession or in
a climate that emphasizes productivity over human relations.
The decade of the 1990s is an era of intense downsizing, where
management rather than leadership is encouraged and employees
receive their layoff notices through the fax machine. While
Dr. Maslow's theory could yield many fruitful applications in
a highly technological society leading to both increased productivity
and the fulfillment of human needs, unfortunately it is not
being given much consideration in today's business world.
In addition to the hierarchy just outlined, Dr. Maslow posited
the important human needs (1970). These form a small but powerful
hierarchy of their own, in which the need to know is more potent
than and prior to the need to understand. Children, by nature,
are curious; when their cognitive impulses are satisfied, they
seek further comprehension and understanding. Clinical studies
also convinced Dr. Maslow that in some individuals aesthetic
needs are very important: "They get sick [in special ways]
from ugliness, and are cured by beautiful surroundings; they
crave actively, and their cravings can be satisfied only by
beauty" (1970). Some people actually become ill when they
are confronted by ugliness. These needs are not sharply delineated
from the needs of the earlier hierarchy; they overlap with them
and are interrelated.
Dr. Maslow described all human needs as being inherent (instinctoid)
in human nature. He found that man cannot be said to have instincts
in the same sense that animals do because whatever "instincts"
humans possess are heavily overlaid with learning. Still, humans
have tendencies that need to be nourished and cultivated. They
are instinctoid or basic in that unless the needs are met, illness
develops, just as a lack of vitamin C leads to illness. Xu (1985)
has reviewed genetic and psychological research that directly
or indirectly supports the concept of instinctoid needs.
A number of clinical experiments have demonstrated that the
needs that Dr. Maslow described are essential for optimal human
life and development. Studies of children in institutions who
do not receive adequate love and attention show that these children
do not develop normally, although all of their physical needs
are met. Dr. Maslow's own clinical experience showed that individuals
who satisfy their basic needs are happier, healthier, and more
effective, where as those whose needs are frustrated display
neurotic symptoms. To support this finding clinically we have
found that when given an appropriate choice, the individual
will chose to move forward and grow over stagnate and die. |
| The Process
Of Studying Self-Actualized Individuals |
Dr. Maslow has been described as being preoccupied
with healthy persons rather than with diseased individuals.
But I have always found that you will always go in the direction
you are inspired. If you chose to study disease you will experience
it, as well. And if you chose to study health the same is true.
As you have learned from earlier chapters "You become what
you think about and do". Why would anyone be foolish enough
to want to study disease and suffer their consequences? Sickness
is not the solution, health is. I trust you can see this logical
outcome. In my opinion he chose wisely.
He conducted an extensive study on a group of individuals who
he considered to be self-actualized. His studies were initially
private and motivated solely by his own creative intuitive inspiration.
His studies generated a great sparks a tremendous interest among
his fellow psychologists. Because of this unexpected interest
he felt it was in everyone’s best interest to publish
his initial findings. He stated that although his initial findings
were a collection of facts gathered from his proposed idea of
studying "Optimum Health" rather than sickness he
felt like this was the single best choice of directions to pursue.
Studying health, rather than disease, is definitely the right
choice in benefiting mankind, he added. The persistent study
and practice of sickness and disease in our great nation has
only shown to lowered the quality and standards of its health
care. And, these initial findings could very well serve as a
new focus in health care for any additional research studies
that follow it.
Dr. Maslow defined the self-actualizing person as the one who
are "fulfilling themselves and doing the best that they
are capable of doing". His subjects consisted of friends
and personal acquaintances, public figures living and dead,
and selected college students. Some of the figures included
in his study are well known. Others are not as well known and
several of them were never identified publicly. In his initial
study of three thousand college students, Dr. Maslow found only
one individual who could be termed self-actualized. He hypothesized
that self-actualizing tendencies probably increases with age.
Thereafter, he limited his studies of the college population
to the most well adjusted 1 percent of the Brandeis College
population. Not all of his subjects were deemed fully actualized.
Studying these individuals, their personalities, characteristics,
habits, and abilities enabled Dr. Maslow to develop his definition
of optimal mental health. |
| Pioneering Techniques
For His Research |
Venturing into new and unexplored territories
as the studying the self-actualized individuals, Dr. Maslow
was required to used techniques that appeared to be inappropriate,
at first, in his gathering methods. In dealing with deceased
individuals, Dr. Maslow decided to use past records, which clearly
showed their performances and thought-action processes. That
is to say he used historical figures and analyzed their biographical
materials and written records. In the cases where the individuals
were living, he created an in-depth interviewing process and
psychological profile testing. He also used a slightly diverged
method of interviewed the subject's friends and acquaintances.
This diverged method proved to be difficult, at times, because
there were no scientific guidelines or protocol set forth for
this intrusive process into the private life of an individual
or his or her friends and acquaintances, yet. And as you might
expect, required him to be very diplomatic, understanding, and
careful with his subjects and their friends.
Dr. Maslow was first to acknowledge that his investigation was
not conducted under strict scientific guidelines. As a pioneering
scientist adventuring into new frontiers it is often times very
difficult to follow the strict guidelines, standardized testing,
and controlled experimental situations set-forth and established
by the scientific community. Scientific methods and its collection
of evidence are, at best, like the tail end of a dog. That is
to say they are more times than not behinds the times and lacking
in the evidence but never the less expect others to follow their
lead. This expected process is like asking the head to follow
the tail. This is not a wise idea for anyone to do yet it happens
more times than you might initially think. However, for the
unsuspecting it is remarkably easy to locked into belief pattern.
Adventuring into new and unexplored ground required Dr. Maslow
to initially define a "Self-Actualized Individual"
more subjectively rather than the usual expected way of objectively.
He initially defined the self-actualized individual as one who
felt, from within, it necessary to become self-actualized in
finding and expressing his or her true self. Dr. Maslow also
pointed out that present scientific parameters and procedures
did not encompass nor permit research into these new areas that
he was studying, yet. However, it is to be noted that the beginning
of all scientific research starts with the process of observation
and advances on from there. The initial collection of data he
presented was his observations and attempts to study the qualities
of health rather than the usual methods of studying the non-productive
processes of disease and neurosis. We have seen the non-performance
records of this method. America has been studying disease and
neurosis for many years now and we are more worst off than ever
before. Our country is the sickest in the entire world. Dr.
Maslow hoped that future studies in the positive direction of
health would yield much more information as to the holistic
and natural ways of self-actualization and would confirm or
deny his inspired and intuitive expectations. |
| Dr. Maslow's
Qualities of "Self-Actualized Individuals" |
1. They are realistically oriented
2. They accept themselves, other people
3. They have a great deal of spontaneity
4. They are problem-centered rather than self-centered.
5. They have an air of detachment and a need for privacy.
6. They are autonomous and independent.
7. Their appreciation of people and things is fresh rather than
stereo typed.
8. Most of them have had profound mystical or spiritual experiences
although not necessarily religious in character.
9. They identify with mankind.
10. Their intimate relationship with a few specially loved people
tend to be profound and deeply emotional rather than superficial.
11. Their values and attitudes are democratic.
12. They do not confuse means with ends.
13. Their sense of humor is philosophical rather than hostile.
14. They have a great fund of creativeness.
15. They resist conformity to the culture.
16. They transcend the environment rather than just coping with
it. |
| Characteristics
of The "Self-Actualized Individual" |
Dr. Maslow listed several characteristics
of self-actualized individuals that emerged from his studies.
To simplify these characteristics they are grouped into four
key qualities of personal character development:
Awareness
Honesty
Freedom
Trust
Let’s discuss each one, one at a time. |
| 1. Awareness |
Self-actualized individuals are characterized
by having a clearer sense of perception and awareness.
They are very aware of the inner truth and rightness found
within everyone and follows its guidance. Their keen awareness
surfaces as an efficient perception of what is and is
not real. Self-actualized individuals are accurate in
their perception of the world and work to remain comfortable
in it. They can see through phoniness and assess the real
motives and motivations of other people. They have a clearer
perception of reality and realism in areas such as politics
and religion, which permits them to cut through false
fronts and extraneous issues and recognize the true issues.
They have a higher acuity or sharpness of perception.
Colors appear brighter and more vibrant to them than the
average person. They have a more efficient sense of smell,
their hearing is more precise, and their eye do not miss
much about what is going on around them.
Self-actualizers display a continued freshness of appreciation.
Each sunrise and sunset refreshes them anew, and each
new flower is an event that never loses its miraculous
quality. Self-actualizers have no preconceptions of what
things ought to be. They are open to experience and let
each experience speak for itself.
The self-actualized person frequently experiences what
Dr. Maslow called a peak experience. A peak experience
is an intensification of any experience to the degree
that there is a loss of or transcendence of self. These
kinds of experiences are often termed mystical or religious,
but Dr. Maslow emphasized that they do not necessarily
entail traditional religious labels or interpretations.
A peak experience may be provoked by a secular event as
well. Events that may be mundane and ordinary to others,
such as, viewing a work of art or reaching a sexual climax,
may be the sparks that trigger a peak experience.
During a peak experience, the individual experiences not
only an expansion of self but also a sense of unity and
meaningfulness in life. For that moment, the world appears
to be complete and the person is at one with it. After
the experience is over, and the person has returned to
the routine of everyday living, the experience lingers
on. It has an illuminating quality that transforms one's
understanding so that things do not seem to be quite the
same afterwards. Research using a questionnaire about
peak experiences has confirmed the characteristics Dr.
Maslow described (Privette, 1986). Dr. Maslow believed
that all human beings, not only self-actualizers, are
potential peakers. People at any stage can have peak experiences,
though they are what Dr. Maslow considered a moment of
self-actualization. Dr. Maslow distinguished between "transcenders"
and the "merely healthy": Transcenders are inclined
to have peaks, the merely healthy tend not to. Some people
have peak experiences but they suppress them and therefore
do not recognize them when they occur. In other cases,
one may inhibit a peak experience, thereby preventing
its occurrence.
Stimulated by Dr. Maslow's concept, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
(1975, 1990) talked with people from many different cultures,
backgrounds, vocations, and avocations and discovered
that they describe a comparable experience that he terms
"flow" and "optimal experience" in
which they become so totally involved in what they are
doing that they forget all sense of time and awareness
of self. In this condition, people are very focused and
concentrated on what they are doing. Csikszentmihalyi
believes that flow occurs when people are doing something
that they are good at but are also being appropriately
challenged. Their goals are clear and they are being given
immediate feedback. Flow has also been characterized by
play and the significance of other people (Privette &
Bundrick, 1991).
Self-actualizers show a high degree of ethical awareness.
They are clear about the distinction between good and
evil. Self-actualizers have definite ethical standards,
although their standards are not necessarily the conventional
ones; rather, they know what for them is right and do
it.
Self-actualizers are able to distinguish between the goal
that they are staving for and the means by which they
are accomplishing it. For the most part, they are focused
on ends rather than means. At the same time, they often
consider as ends activities that are simply means for
other people. They can enjoy and appreciate the journey
as well as the destination. |
| 2. Honesty |
Self-actualizers are characterized
by honesty, which permits them to know their feelings
and to trust them. They can trust the wide range of feelings
- love, anger, and humor - present in interpersonal relations.
SeIf-actualizers have a philosophical sense of humor rather
than a ordinary one.
Most common jokes and wisecracks express hostility, superiority,
or rebellion against authority. The self-actualizer's
humor is more closely allied to philosophy. It is essentially
an ability to laugh at the ridiculousness of the human
situation and to poke fun at our shared human pretensions.
Such humor was characteristic of Abraham Lincoln, whose
jokes were not at other peoples' expense. Such humor is
spontaneous rather than planned. Often it cannot be repeated
or retold. Dr. Maslow suggests that he once felt this
humor in a room full of kinetic art, sculptures having
mechanical parts that can be set into motion. It seemed
to him to be a "humorous parody of human life, with
the noise, movement, turmoil, hurry and bustle, all of
it going no place" (1970).
Self-actualizers experience social interest or a deep
feeling of kinship with humanity. Dr. Maslow borrowed
Adler's term Gemeinschaftsgefuhl, which means ":community
feeling," to describe the identification with humanity
that is experienced. Although on occasions they may experience
feelings of anger, impatience, or disgust, self-actualizers
have a general sense of identification, sympathy, and
affection for the human race and all its members.
Self-actualizers form deep interpersonal relations. However,
they are highly selective and therefore have a small but
close circle of friends. They have no need for admirers
or large groups of disciples although at times they may
attract such followers, creating a situation that they
try to handle with tact. Their love of others involves
the being of the other person rather than having the love
of a person who cares for them. This love stems from a
fullness of being rather than a state of deprivation and
need.
Their love is not indiscriminate. At times they are quick
to anger; they can speak harshly to others and express
righteous indignation where a situation calls for it;
yet their attitude is one of pity rather than attack.
They react to the behavior rather than to the person.
Self-actualizers display a democratic character structure.
They are free of prejudice, tolerant, and accepting of
all people regardless of their background. They listen
and they learn from those who are able to teach them.
Self-actualizers experience a high degree of freedom,
which permits them to withdraw from the chaos that surrounds
others. They are free to be independent, creative, and
spontaneous.
Self-actualizers show a high degree of detachment and
a need for privacy. Many of us avoid being alone and compulsively
seek company of other people. Self-actualizers relish
and require times when they can be by themselves. They
are not secretive but they often stand apart from other
people. Dr. Maslow discovered that many of them did not
particularly welcome his questions because they considered
such activities a violation of their privacy.
This ability to a be detached extends to other areas as
well. It permits the self-actualizer to concentrate to
a greater degree than the average person. Whereas others
may become excited and involved in the storm of things
around them, self-actualizers remain above the battle,
calm and unruffled.
Free to be themselves, self-actualizers are also free
to let other people be. As parents, this means they have
the ability to refrain from meddling with a child, because
they like the way the child is growing. They can permit
the child to experience the consequences of behavior without
overprotecting.
Self-actualizers are autonomous and independent of their
physical and social environment. Motivated by growth rather
than by deficiency, they do not need to depend on the
world or others for their real satisfaction. Their basic
needs and gratification's have been met; therefore, they
are free to depend on their own development.
Autonomy also entails the ability to choose freely and
to govern oneself. Many people let other people such as
advertisers make up their minds, but self-actualizers
come to their own decisions and assume responsibility
for them.
Dr. Maslow found that without exception all of his self-actualizers
demonstrated creativity, originality, or inventiveness.
This is not to say that they possess a special talent
akin to that of a Mozart or a Picasso, but that they have
a drive and a capacity to be creative. They do not necessarily
write books, compose music, or produce art; instead, their
creativeness is projected onto and touches whatever activity
they undertake., The carpenter or clerk works creatively,
adding a personalized touch to whatever she or he does.
SeIf-actualizers even perceive the world creatively, as
a child does, envisioning new and different possibilities.
Self-actualizers are spontaneous, simple, and natural.
They are free to be what they are at any given moment.
Although their behavior is often conventional, they do
not allow conventionality to hamper or prevent them from
doing the things that they deem important. They are acutely
aware of their feelings, thoughts, and impulses and do
not hide them unless their expression would hurt others.
Their codes of ethics are autonomous and individual, based
on fundamentally accepted principles rather than on social
prescriptions. |
| 3. Trust |
Self-actualizers demonstrate a high
degree of trust. They trust themselves, their mission
in life, others, and nature.
Self-actualizers are generally problem centered rather
than focused on themselves. They have a high sense of
mission in life. They are task oriented and commit themselves
to important tasks that must be done. They live and work
within a wide frame of reference that does not permit
them to get bogged down in what is petty or trivial. Problems
outside themselves enlist most of their attention.
Self-actualizers demonstrate acceptance of self, others,
and nature. They accept themselves without disappointment
or regret. This is not to say that they are smug or self-satisfied
but rather that they accept their weaknesses and frailties
as given. They are not embarrassed about the bodily processes
that humans share with animals. The needs to eat, defecate,
and express their sexuality do not distress them. They
feel guilty about characteristics that they could and
should improve on, but they are not overrun with neurotic
guilt. As Dr. Maslow pointed out, they are not disturbed
by the shortcomings of human nature but accept them in
the way that one accepts other natural things, such as
the fact that water is wet, rocks are hard, and grass
is green. Healthy people do not feel bad about what is
per se but about differences between what is and what
might realistically be.
Self-actualizers are not well adjusted in the normal since
of the term, which entails conformity with one's culture:
they show resistance to enculturation. Essentially, they
live in harmony with their culture, yet they remain somewhat
detached from it. Often they are labeled "oddball,"
as they do not always react in the expected fashion. They
generally conform in matters of dress, speech, and food,
and other matters that are not of primary concern to them.
But where an issue is important they are independent in
their thought and behavior. This resistance to enculturation
leads to their transcendence of any one particular culture.
Thus their identification is with humanity as a whole
rather than any one particular group.
Dr. Maslow acknowledged that the picture he drew of the
self-actualized person is a composite. No one person that
he studied possessed all of the above qualities. Each
of them demonstrated the characteristics to varying degrees.
Furthermore, Dr. Maslow emphasized that self-actualizers
are not perfect. They show many lesser human failings.
They frequently have silly, wasteful, or thoughtless habits.
At times they are vain and take too much pride in their
achievements. They may sometimes lose their tempers. Because
of their concentration on their work, they may appear
absent minded, humorless, or impolite. At times their
kindness toward others leads them to permit others to
take undue advantage of them. At other times they may
appear to be ruthless and inconsiderate in their relations
with other people. Sometimes they are boring, even irritating.
In short, they are not perfect; yet, Dr. Maslow's definition
of self-actualization did not imply perfection but a higher
level of functioning.
The principles and values of self-actualizers differ from
those of the average person. Perceiving the world in an
essentially different manner, they are not threatened
by it and do not need to adopt a morality of self-protection.
Dr. Maslow suggests that a great deal of that which passes
for moral and ethical standards may simply be "by-products
of the pervasive pathology of the average" (1970).
Maintenance at the level of self-actualization requires
meeting the previous needs continuously, but self-actualizers
are able to satisfy them routinely so that they can devote
themselves to the values that concur with the B-needs.
Thus, at one and the same time, their values are universal
and reflect shared humanity but are also distinct, individual,
and unique.
Dr. Maslow concluded that self-actualization entails the
ability to transcend and resolve dichotomies. The usual
oppositions between heart and head, reason and emotion,
body and mind, work and play that fragment most of us
do not exist as antagonists, because they are seen as
functioning together simultaneously. For example, the
distinction between being selfish and unselfish is no
longer bothersome. SeIf-actualizers can recognize that
every act is at one and the same time selfish and unselfish.
That which is done for the benefit of others is frequently
that which benefits the self. Dr. Maslow suggested that
in the self-actualized individual the id, ego, and superego
work cooperatively together.
Dr. Maslow suggested that the number of people who achieve
self-actualization is relatively small, less than one
percent of the entire population. Concepts such as "the
self-actualized person" may apply to only a select
few. Obviously, the possibility of self-actualization
is limited or even closed to large numbers of the human
population, whose environment and life-style have yet
to meet the lesser needs depicted in Dr. Maslow's hierarchy,
let alone the higher needs. This is not to say, however,
that some groups of people are by nature unable to self-
actualize. Dr. Maslow did point out that some people can
be healthier than their environment. He concluded that
they have some kind of inner freedom but did not specify
how or why.
Contemporary research on competent children from high-risk
environments is seeking to clarify why children are more
or less vulnerable to the effects of their environment.
Heylighen (1992) has constructed a cognitive systemic
reconstruction of Dr. Maslow's theory redefining self-actualization
as perceived competence that one is able to meet one's
needs. Childhood poverty or ineptitude may cause feelings
of incompetence that inhibit the development of self-
actualization.
Some critics suggest that Dr. Maslow's view of the self-actualized
individual is based on American values of individual achievement.
Because of cultural training, many people in Western societies
tend to believe that personality is best rooted on a high
sense of positive self-esteem. Thus parents in middle-class
America are encouraged to take steps to develop positive
self-esteem in their children, especially their sons (Markus
& Katayama, 1991; Josephs, Markus, & Tafarodi,
1992), and psychological disorders such as anxiety and
depression are often seen as a failure to develop such
autonomy, achievement, and feeling of self-worth. However,
people in many non-Western cultures cultivate very dissimilar
personalities. In Japan and China, an autonomous self
is not stressed and children are taught to cooperate and
not to demonstrate their superiority so as to avoid diminishing
other people. The expression tiqau in Japanese denotes
both "different" and "wrong" (Markus
& Kitayama, 1991, and Kitayama & Marcus, 1992).
Japanese children are encouraged to be extremely modest
about any personal accomplishment so that they will adapt
to the more important social and group environment. Thus
activities that American children are more apt to engage
in individually, such as painting, in Japan are more likely
to be group projects (Kitayama & Marcus, 1992). As
a result, people perceive themselves to be part of a whole
and define themselves in terms of the group.
When Kitayama and his coworkers compared the responses
of Japanese and American university students asked to
indicate the frequency and origin of certain emotions,
Japanese students associated positive feelings with good
interpersonal relations rather than personal achievements,
whereas the opposite was true of the Americans (Kitayama
& Marcus, 1992).
Likewise, even within the same culture gender differences
may apply. Thus in North America a woman's self-esteem
tends to be based on interpersonal relations whereas a
man's tends to be based on personal accomplishments Josephs
et al., 1992). Lerman (1992) reminds us that Dr. Maslow
did not demonstrate how the environment frequently fails
to permit the gratification of basic needs of women and
other subjugated groups. She believes, however, that there
is a place in his and other humanist theories for contributions
from a feminist examination of the environment and its
potential impact on the well-being of humanity. Such an
inquiry would require the elimination of sexism and careful
examination of blind spots.
However, others (such as Chang & Page, 1991) believe
that cross-cultural comparisons between Rogers, Malsow,
Lao Tzu, and Zen Buddhism point more toward a universality
of human experience in that they all share the assumption
that people have an actualizing tendency that fosters
positive growth. Miller (1991) suggests that placing self-actualization
in the context of transpersonal psychology removes its
elitism and fosters cross-cultural comparisons with Eastern
concepts. Rather than emphasize one concept of an ideal,
Coan (1991) suggests we look at the diverse ways in which
people can realize their potential.
It is to Dr. Maslow's credit that he has turned the attention
of psychologists to those qualities that constitute optimal
human health and functioning rather than represent human
life gone awry. The example of the self-actualized individual
suggests and inspires us to improve our human condition.
Therapeutic Relationships
Abraham Maslow was not a practicing therapist. He did
not develop any new theory or method of therapy. However,
he made several comments about therapy (1970) that are
worth attention. Dr. Maslow made a distinction between
basic needs therapy and insight therapy. Basic needs therapy
refers to therapeutic procedures that meet the primary
needs of people: safety, belonging, love, and respect.
Insight therapy refers to the deeper, more protracted
effort of self-understanding that leads to profound motivational
changes.
The first and primary criterion for both forms of therapy
is a relationship between human beings. On this point
Dr. Maslow concurred with Rogers. Both Dr. Maslow and
Rogers point out that the kind of relationship that satisfies
our basic needs is not a unique relationship but one that
shares the fundamental qualities found in all good human
relationships. The relationship of therapy is not at its
base unique, because it shares the primary characteristics
of all good human relationships.
What is needed, Dr. Maslow suggests, is a more careful
study of all relationships that foster and fulfill the
satisfaction of our needs of safety, belongingness, love,
respect, and, ultimately, self-actualization. A constructive
marriage, close friendship, or healthy parent-child relationship
permits these satisfactions to occur. Thus, every human
relationship is potentially a therapeutic one. New studies
show good relations may "protect the human immune
system from stress" (Goleman, 1992). One task of
psychology is to try to identify those qualities that
make for good human relations as opposed to poor ones.
We can then foster those relationships that enable us
to grow.
Dr. Maslow criticized Freud for limiting his discussion
of the relationship that emerges in analysis to the elements
of transference. By failing to recognize the underlying
relationship between analyst and patient and by focusing
almost entirely on the elements of transference, Freud
failed to perceive the healthy character of the relationship.
In effect, Freud suggested that the only feelings a patient
could have toward the analyst were those of a positive
or negative transference. In return, the only emotions
an analyst could have toward the patient were those of
counter transference. Thus, in Freud's discussion of analysis,
the only feelings that emerge in the relationship are
neurotic ones. Freud failed to articulate the fact that
it is only because a basic healthy relationship underlies
the process of analysis in the first place that elements
of transference can arise and be sustained, analyzed,
and worked through.
If the qualities of relationship that emerge in psychotherapy
are the qualities that are found in any good, healthy
relationship, we should look more closely at those everyday
therapeutic happenings that occur in good marriages, good
friendships, and good jobs. We ought to try to expose
ourselves and others to these kinds of situations. It
also follows that each human being is potentially a therapist
who can function in a therapeutic way by entering into
these kinds of relationships that are based on love and
respect. We should approve of, encourage, and teach these
fundamentals of sound human relationships and foster the
development of lay psychotherapy.
There are times when the constructive therapeutic processes
of life fail and insight therapy is called for. A person
who is severely ill may not be able to benefit from basic
needs therapy, having given up trying to satisfy those
needs in favor of satisfying neurotic ones.
Insight therapy is not only valuable for those neurotics
for whom basic needs therapy is no longer helpful; it
is also a valuable method by which relatively healthy
persons can acquire insight and facilitate their own self-actualization.
Unfortunately, psychoanalysis and psychotherapy have not
become as effective or active forces of individual and
cultural self-understanding as they have the potential
to be. The emphasis, particularly in America, on therapy
as a medical method of treatment has prevented its entrance
into other fields. Interestingly, Freud did not originally
conceive of analysis as simply a method for treating neurotics.
That, he wrote, "is only one of its applications,
the future will perhaps show that it is not the most important
one" (1926b). Freud also recommended that since it
would be impossible to analyze each and every parent,
teachers might undergo analysis in order to avoid passing
on unconscious conflicts to children. Dr. Maslow picked
up this suggestion, pointing out that if relatively healthy
people are deeply touched by therapy, it is all the more
important to invest our energies in them, particularly
if they happen to be in key therapeutic positions, as
teachers, social workers, and physicians. |
|
| Dr. Maslow's
Theory: Philosophy, Science, and Art |
He reminded us that all too frequently we
conceive of science as an autonomous method that exists in and
of itself, governed by its own distinct rules and totally divorced
from human beings or human values. We forget that human beings
create science, establish its goals, and use its technology
for their own purposes. Dr. Maslow believed that it is misleading
to think science is value free, since its procedures are employed
for human purposes. We may use science to create mechanistic
robots out of human nature or we may use it to increase human
freedom and potential. Dr. Maslow suggested that we conceive
of science as a problem-solving activity rather than a specific
technology. Only the goals of science can dignify or validate
its methods.
Theories that entail self-actualization deal primarily with
issues of moral philosophy rather than psychological science
(Daniels, 1988). This is a fact that we have wanted to ignore
because in our postmodern individualistic society, we have no
logically recognized way of agreeing on morals and ethics. Instead,
value judgments are commonly seen as simply personal preferences.
This moral relativism stems from the loss of a teleological
point of view (Maclntyre, 1984). Daniels (1988) suggests that
we develop a myth (or "mode of being in the world,"
Eliade, 1983) of actualization in which life "becomes a
shared quest for the human good" as we move beyond ego
to community.
Dr. Maslow's study of self-actualized persons lack the rigor
and distinct methodology characteristic of strict empirical
science. Nevertheless, his work underscores the fact that the
canons of rigorous scientific procedures do not necessarily
encompass or permit research into important human questions.
The tension between the demands of the subject matter of psychology
and the requirements of good science continues to concern psychologists.
Dr. Maslow suggested the need for a broader definition of science
and the development of methodologies appropriate for the human
subject. His "third force" became a very powerful
force in psychology and its impact was reflected in the creation
of a new division of the American Psychological Association,
called Humanistic Psychology. A separate Association for Humanistic
Psychology was also formed; it published the Journal Of Humanistic
Psychology. Centers for personal growth have sprung up across
the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. Two of the best
known are the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, and the
Center for the Study of the Person in La Jolla, California.
These centers encourage the development of ways in which individuals
can further their growth and self-actualization.
Dr. Maslow's portrayal of the self-actualized person is similar
to that of Carl Rogers optimistic, generating much confidence
in human potential. Yet some critics suggest that his picture
may be simplistic, neglecting the hard work and pain that is
involved in growth and development and ignoring the phenomenon
of tragedy (Daniels, 1988). It is important to note that Dr.
Maslow's research originated in an era of growth and prosperity
accompanied by a seemingly limitless view of human potential.
But is this picture realistic? In fact, the likelihood of self-actualization
may be more remote than Dr. Maslow indicated. Perhaps it is
naive to hope to reduce all conflict and more justified to assume
that we can merely strengthen the ego, enabling it to be more
effective in its executive functions. Freud, we recall, was
pessimistic about reducing human conflict.
More attention needs to be given to the processes within the
individual and various cultures and societies that permit self-actualization
and creativity to flower. In Dr. Maslow's words, "How good
a human being does society permit?" (1970). In what instances
can an individual overcome and compensate for needs that have
not been met in life? As it stands, Dr. Maslow's discussion
of self-actualization is descriptive rather than functional.
He describes the characteristics of the self-actualizer but
does not tell how these characteristics may be concretely acquired.
Near the end of his life, Dr. Maslow urged the promotion of
a "fourth force" to deal with spiritual and religious
issues. By articulating the concept of peak experiences, Dr.
Maslow believed that he had brought all major religions under
the rubric of the natural science of psychology. He felt that
a study of positive forces that foster self-actualization and
an improved culture should be a primary focus of psychology. |
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