Abraham Maslow - Humanistic Psychology and Hierarchy of
Needs
Abraham Maslow (1908-70)
American psychologist (pictured right).
Famous for his Hierarchy of Needs (see point 1)
Founder of humanistic psychology (see point 2).
His most famous book
is...
Motivation and Personality (1954).
What did he tell us?
1. Hierarchy of Needs
Everyone has five needs that are satisfied in this order:
Physiological
Physical needs (food, water, air, sleep, sex and warmth).
Safety
Physical and psychological security.
Love (or Social)
(including affection, friendship and belongingness).
Esteem
Self-actualization (at the top of the hierarchy)
- realizing your potential (see point 2).
Maslow didn’t say (as is sometimes thought) that a particular need will always be
completely satisfied before you move on to the next one.
Instead the average person’s satisfaction levels will decrease as he (or she) goes up the
hierarchy.
(from perhaps 85% for physiological needs to only 10% for self-actualization).
Only unsatisfied needs can motivate you.
2. Humanistic psychology
This believes that everyone has a strong desire for self-actualization through:
- realizing your potential.
- maximizing your performance and happiness (in what Maslow called
“peak experiences”).
To achieve self-actualization you must:
- focus on life’s difficulties as problems to be solved (“problem centred”) – see point
3.
- base your decisions on what’s real and genuine (“reality centred”).
- find spiritual satisfaction in creative achievement
- value humility, openness and respect towards others and
their ideas.
3. Maslow’s Hammer
He said, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a
nail”.
In other words. with inadequate training and knowledge of solutions, you opt for the most familiar
solution, even though it isn’t the most effective.
Key quotes on
motivation
Man is a perpetually wanting animal.
What a man can be, he must be.
Gratified needs are not active motivators.
Humans live by bread alone – when there is no bread.
Key quote on
success
One’s only failure is failing to live up to one’s possibilities.
Key quote on
society
The good society is one in which virtue pays.
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