Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology that Abraham Maslow proposed in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation, which he subsequently extended. His theory contends that as humans meet their basic needs, they seek to satisfy successively higher needs that occupy a set hierarchy. Maslow studied exemplary people such as Albert Einstein, Jane Addams, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frederick Douglas rather than mentally ill or neurotic people, writing that "the study of crippled, stunted, immature, and unhealthy specimens can yield only a cripple psychology and a cripple philosophy" (Motivation and Personality, 1987).

Counterpositions

While Maslow's theory may be regarded as an improvement over previous theories of personality and motivation, it has its detractors. For example, in their extensive review of research that is dependent on Maslow's theory, Wabha and Bridwell (1976) found little evidence for the ranking of needs that Maslow described, or even for the existence of a definite hierarchy at all.

Related Topics:
Personality - Motivation

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The concept of self-actualization is considered vague and psycho-babble by some behaviourist psychologists. The concept is based on an aristotelian notion of human nature that assumes we have an optimum role or purpose. Self actualization is a difficult construct for researchers to operationalize, and this in turn makes it difficult to test Maslow's theory. Even if self-actualization is a useful concept, there is no proof that every individual has this capacity or even the desire to achieve it.

Related Topics:
Psycho-babble - Aristotelian - Operationalize

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Other counterpositions suggest that not everyone ultimately seeks the self-actualization that a strict (and possibly naive) reading of Maslow's hierarchy of needs appears to imply:

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• Viktor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning describes his psychotherapeutic method (logotherapy) of finding purpose in life.
• Albert Einstein was actually drawn toward the sense of mystery in life. See Abraham Pais' Subtle is the Lord.
• Others seek to perform good works.
• Others are drawn toward the dark side of the human condition.

Maslow might respond that these are just examples of ways people self-actualize. This illustrates the difficulty in using and operationalizing the term.

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