2. ABRAHAM MASLOW
• April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970
• 1 of 7 children
• Jewish, parents uneducated
• Married Bertha Goodman, first cousin
• Received BA (1930), MA (1931) and
PhD (1934) all from University of
Wisconsin
• Professor at Brooklyn College (1937-51)
and Brandeis University (1951-61)
• Considered to be the founder of
humanistic psychology.
3. Read the following statements
and tick those that apply to you.
There are no right or wrong answers.
__ A I am successful in life and/or work, and I’m recognized by
my peers for being so. I’m satisfied with the responsibility and
role that I have in life and/or work, my status and
reputation, and my level of self-esteem.
__ B I am part of, and loved by, my family. I have good
relationships with my friends and colleagues - they accept me
for who I am.
__ C My aim is self-knowledge and enlightenment. The most
important thing to me is realizing my ultimate personal
potential. I seek and welcome ‘peak’ experiences.
__ D I generally feel safe and secure - job, home, etc - and
protected from harm. My life generally has routine and
structure - long periods of uncontrollable chaos are rare or non-
existent.
__ E Aside from dieting and personal choice, I never starve
through lack of food, nor lack of money to buy food. Aside from
the usual trauma of moving house, I have no worry at all about
having somewhere to live - I have ‘a roof over my head’.
4. MASLOW‟S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Self
Actualisation
Esteem
Belongingness
Safety and
Security
Physiological
5. DEFICIT (D-NEEDS)
• If you don‟t have enough of something you
have a “deficit” (need)
– Maslow's hierarchy seems to follow the life
cycle. A baby's needs are almost entirely
physiological. As the baby grows, it needs
safety, then love. Toddlers are eager for
social interaction, attention and affection.
Teenagers are anxious about social needs,
young adults are concerned with esteem and
only more mature people transcend the first
four levels to spend much time self-
actualizing.
– Under stressful conditions, or when survival is
threatened, we can “regress” to a lower level
need.
9. Esteem
Self-Respect
Esteem Needs Self-Esteem
Respected by
Others
10. SELF-ACTUALIZATION
Self-Actualization Achieve full
potential
Fulfillment
11. CRITICISMS
• Maslow created his hierarchy
of needs from an individualistic
perspective, being that he was
from the United States, a
highly individualistic nation.
• Maslow‟s hierarchy has also
been criticized as being
individualistic because of the
position and value of sex on the
pyramid.
12. Read the following statements and
tick those that apply to you.
There are no right or wrong answers.
__ E Aside from dieting and personal choice, I never starve through
lack of food, nor lack of money to buy food. Aside from the usual
trauma of moving house, I have no worry at all about having
somewhere to live - I have „a roof over my head‟.
(PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS)
__ D I generally feel safe and secure - job, home, etc - and protected
from harm. My life generally has routine and structure - long
periods of uncontrollable chaos are rare or non-existent.
(SAFETY NEEDS)
__ B I am part of, and loved by, my family. I have good relationships
with my friends and colleagues - they accept me for who I am.
(BELONGINGNESS & LOVE NEEDS)
__ A I am successful in life and/or work, and I‟m recognized by my
peers for being so. I‟m satisfied with the responsibility and role
that I have in life and/or work, my status and reputation, and my
level of self-esteem. (ESTEEM NEEDS)
__ C My aim is self-knowledge and enlightenment. The most important
thing to me is realizing my ultimate personal potential. I seek and
welcome „peak‟ experiences. (SELF-ACTUALIZATION NEEDS)
13. References
• A.H. Maslow‟s Hierarchy of Needs. (n.d.).
Information accessed May 16, 2004, from
http://www.temple.edu/CETP/temple_teach/c
m-needs.html
• Daniels, V. (2004, March). Notes on Abraham
Maslow. Information accessed May
18, 2004, from
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/d/daniels/Maslo
w_summary.html
• Warder, D. (n.d.). What is Abraham Maslow's
theory of motivation and is it useful to the
field of education? Teaching Portfolio.
Information accessed May 16, 2004, from
http://www.mumstudents.org/~dwarder/resear
ch.htm
