Abraham Maslow and His Hierarchy of Needs - Research Paper Example

Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs Introduction: Motivation can in very simple terms be defined as the “why” of behavior. If we think about the everyday life of a student who wakes up in the morning, goes to school, enjoys some classes more than others and works hard to stand out in comparison to his classmates, we will find that it is motivation which drives him to do all these things. Motivation can therefore be defined as: “Forces either within or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action” (Huffman) Biography: Abraham Harold Maslow was born in Brooklyn, New York on 1st April 1908. His parents had migrated from Russia and were very dominating by nature. Maslow was often made to study long hours by his father who was determined to drive young Abraham with the ambition to succeed in life. He had to find solace in books while growing up because he had almost no friends to play with. Initially he joined the City College of New York to study law in order to fulfill his parents’ wishes but with the passage of time he rebelled and decided to take up something he was interested in i.e. Psychology. He also chose to rebel against his parents in his quest for a life partner and married his cousin Bertha Goodman. With his wife Maslow moved to Wisconsin where he found stability and success in life. It was in Wisconsin that he completed his Bachelors, Masters and his doctorate. He later returned to New York to work with E. L. Thorndike at Columbia. This was where he developed his interest in researching about human sexuality. He also taught at Brooklyn College as a full time teacher. From 1951 to 1969, he served as the chair of the department of psychology at Brandeis. During his tenure at Brandeis, he met Kurt Goldstein who had coined the concept of Self Actualization in his legendary 1934 book Organism. It was also during his time at Brandies that he became interested in pushing for a humanistic psychology, something which he later claimed was much more important to him than his own theorizing. He spent his final years in California and died of a heart attack on 8th June, 1970. (Boeree) The Hierarchy of Needs theory: Maslow holds a unique position amongst psychologists and theorists of the twentieth century because of his theories which revolutionized, amongst many other things, modern organizational behavior. And out of all his theories, the hierarchy of need is perhaps the best known. The hierarchy of needs theory to this day remains one of the most popular theories of motivation and still makes intuitive sense to most people. Another reason for the popularity of this theory is the fact that it was one of the first theories of motivation which recognized interactionism. Before Maslow’s theory came, there had been two views about motivation. Some psychologists argued that the basis for motivation was biological and some scientists argued that the basis for motivation comprised of psychosocial factors. Maslow’s theory was based on interactionism i.e. it argued that the basis for motivation comprised of both biological and psychosocial factors. (Huffman) Maslow believed that all humans have numerous needs that compete for fulfillment. And it is discernable here that since all needs cannot be fulfilled at once, some human needs are more important than others and are automatically prioritized to be fulfilled first. In order to better describe this process of process of prioritization Maslow developed a hierarchy of human needs. In this hierarchy he placed survival needs at the bottom and self-actualization needs at the top. The five levels of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in ascending order are: 1. Physiological Needs 2. Safety Needs 3. Love and Belonging Needs 4. Self esteem Needs 5. Self Actualization Needs This hierarchy has been depicted in the form of a pyramid below: 1 Physiological Needs: Physiological needs in very simple terms can be described as basic human needs such as food, water, sleep etc. According to the hierarchy of needs theory these needs are the ones that need to be satisfied first and foremost. (Envision Software) Safety Needs: Maslow firmly believed that all human beings have an innate and compelling need to move up the hierarchy i.e. they have a need to improve and grow. Therefore, once our physiological needs are met we move up to the safety needs level in order to rid ourselves from the threat of emotional and physical harm. Safety needs might be fulfilled by job security, living in a safe area, living in an area where medical facilities are easily accessible etc. (Envision Software) Belonging and Love Needs: Once our safety needs are met we move to belonging and love needs. These needs are related to our need to interact with other human beings and to give and receive affection and love from them. Belonging and Love needs basically describe the human need for friendship and affiliation with a group etc. (Envision Software) Self Esteem Needs: Self Esteem needs need to be met once we meet our belonging and love needs. Self Esteem needs pertain to the human desire to be appreciated, respected, and to excel in life. Self Esteem needs can be categorized into two broad categories: 1. External Motivators 2. Internal Motivators Internal motivators include self-esteem, self-respect and accomplishment while external motivators include recognition and reputation. (Envision Software) Self Actualization: Although Maslow’s original theory had only five hierarchical levels, he later improved his hierarchy of needs theory to include an extra level between self esteem needs and self actualization. He called this level the need for knowledge and aesthetics. According to the original theory, however, a person moves on to self actualization needs level once his self esteem needs have been met. The Self Actualization stage can be described as the summit of Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. Self actualization is a need which is never really satisfied as one always finds new opportunities to grow and develop as one continues to grow psychologically. The Self Actualization stage pertains to the human quest to reach his full potential as a person. Relevant motivators at this stage are truth, justice, wisdom etc. (Envision Software) Limitations and Criticisms of Maslow’s theory: Maslow’s theory intuitively makes sense to most people but evidence contrary to the hierarchy prescribed by Maslow has been found in many researchers conducted on this subject. Many psychologists have questioned the order in which Maslow has placed the needs. For example, in many cultures love and belonging needs are placed above safety and sometimes, even physiological needs. The original theory put forward by Maslow also fails to explain what is generally described as the “starving aesthetic” scenario. It fails to answer why an aesthetic refuses basic human needs such as food and water to himself in his quest for spiritual knowledge and goals. Another criticism often leveled on Maslow and his hierarchy of needs is that Maslow has placed perhaps too much emphasis on a vague concept such as Self Actualization. Self Actualization is a concept that has been described very differently by different scientists and theorists. Carl Rogers and Kurt Goldstein used the term Self Actualization to refer to something what every living being does i.e. to grow, develop and fulfill its biological destiny. Maslow, on the other hand, has limited the concept of Self Actualization to something only a few humans ever achieve. (Boeree) Works Cited Boeree, Dr. C. George. Abraham Maslow. 11 October 2011 . Envision Software. Maslows Theory of Motivation - Hierarchy of Needs. 20 September 2011. 11 October 2011 . Huffman, Karen. Psychology in Action. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2008. Read More