Maslow`s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs
Abraham Maslow, meet Holden Caulfield
Hierarchy: a system in which people or
things are ranked in order of
importance.
Abraham Maslow’s pyramid
Is this familiar?
Fig. 1
Basic Needs:
What else?
Fig. 2
Safety and Security Needs:
What else?
A pre-European Maori family dwelling (my
daughter Sophie is 12 in this picture).
Social Needs:
Fig.3
Fig. 5
Fig. 4
Esteem Needs:
• Respect of those around us
• Recognition for a job well done
• Independence
• anything else?
Self-Actualization
Reaching your full…
A sense of...
How did Abraham Maslow come up
with this pyramid?
Maslow was a psychologist who studied exemplary people such as Albert
Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Frederick Douglas, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham
Lincoln, William James, Aldous Huxley, Gandhi, and Beethoven rather than
mentally ill people. Instead of focusing on what goes wrong with people,
Maslow created a more positive account of human behavior that focuses on
what goes right. He was interested in human potential, and how we fulfill
that potential.
In 1954, Maslow’s book
Motivation and Personality
introduced his hierarchy of
needs. When was Catcher
in the Rye published?
Fig. 6
Where is Holden on the pyramid?
One of Maslow’s theories is that a
person who thinks he is hungry may
actually be feeling a lack of love,
security, or some other need. He also
found that the absence of love stifles
growth and development. How does
this apply to Holden?
Fig. 7
Characteristics of self-actualizers:
By studying 18 people he considered to be self-actualized, Maslow identified 15
characteristics of a self-actualized person.
1. They perceive reality efficiently and
can tolerate uncertainty
2. Accept themselves and others for
what they are
3. Spontaneous in thought and action
4. Problem-centered (not self-centered)
5. Unusual sense of humor
6. Able to look at life objectively
7. Highly creative
8. Resistant to enculturation, but not
purposely unconventional
9. Concerned for the welfare of humanity
10. Capable of deep appreciation of basic
life-experience
11. Establish deep satisfying interpersonal
relationships with a few people
12. Peak experiences (when you feel
interconnected and happy)
13. Need for privacy
14. Democratic attitudes
15. Strong moral/ethical standards
Behavior leading to self-actualization:
(a) Experiencing life like a child, with full absorption and concentration
(b) Trying new things instead of sticking to safe paths
(c) Listening to your own feelings in evaluating experiences instead of the voice
of tradition, authority, or the majority
(d) Avoiding pretense ('game playing') and being honest
(e) Being prepared to be unpopular if your views do not coincide with those of
the majority
(f) Taking responsibility and working hard
(adapted from http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2012/03/29/what-maslow-missed/)
Image Sources:
Fig. 1http://boomerhighway.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Picture-4.jpg
Fig. 2 http://www.cleanwateraction.org/files/images/ca/Front%20image_drinking-water.jpg
Fig. 3http://happyfriendshipdayquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Happy-Friendship-day-2013.jpg
Fig. 4http://images.elephantjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/holding-hands-on-beach-1024x656.jpg
Fig. 5 http://www.myhousemyrules.com/wp-content/uploads/brushstroke-heart.jpg
Fig. 6 http://www.rugusavay.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Abraham-Maslow-Quotes-1.jpg
Fig. 7 http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs38/i/2009/286/3/7/holden_caulfield__finished_by_westwolf270.jpg