- The Fertile Crescent
- Civilization
- Abraham Maslow
- Numbering Years
- Waterfront Living
- The Sumerians
- Writing
- Gilgamesh
- Hammurabi
- The Assyrians
- The Hebrews Learn even more
- Time and Space
- Prehistory
- Mesopotamia
- Ancient Egypt
- African History
- India and the Himalayas
- Chinese History
- Ancient Greece
- Ancient Rome
- The Middle Ages
- The Renaissance
- The World Wars
- Western Religions
- The Middle East and North Africa
- Conflicts in the Middle East
- The Caribbean
Abraham Maslow and Self-Actualization
Psychologists study mental processes and behavior. Most early psychologists studied people who had problems, but Abraham Maslow (born 1908 – died 1970) studied people who were satisfied with their lives. Maslow decided that people want to be happy and loving, but often there are particular needs that keep people from happiness.
Maslow believed most people want more than they have. Once a person meets their most basic needs, they develop higher needs. Maslow said, "As one desire is satisfied, another pops up in its place."
Maslow created a Hierachy of Needs; a pyramid with five levels. Maslow argued that once the lower level of needs were met, people develop higher levels until they reach a stage he called "self-actualization." Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs include these five levels:
Physiological needs
Biological necessities such as food, water, and oxygen. These needs are the strongest because a person would die if they were not met.
Safety needs
People feel unsafe during emergencies, or times of disorder like rioting. Children more commonly do not have this need met when they feel afraid.
Love and belonging needs
The need to escape loneliness and alienation, to give and receive love, and a have sense of belonging. These needs are usually met within a family.
Friendship and Esteem needs
The need to feel valuable, to have self-respect and the respect of others. If a person does not fulfill their esteem needs, they feel inferior, weak, helpless, and worthless.
Self-actualization needs
Maslow taught that a very small group of people reach a level called self-actualization, where all of their needs are met. Maslow described self-actualization as a person's finding their "calling." He said, "a musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write."
Many people confuse self-actualization with fame or fortune, but often this is not the case. While wealthy or celebrated people might reach self-actualization, many people who have reached the highest level of happiness are unknown beyond their circle of family and friends.
According to Maslow's theory, civilization developed because people wanted more and sought to improve their circumstances. Once people meet their physiological needs and they feel safe, they begin to develop a culture and an advanced civilization.
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Dowling, Mike. "Abraham Maslow and Self-actualization" www.mrdowling.com. Updated March 18, 2013 . Web. Date of Access. <http://www.mrdowling.com/603-maslow.html>