Abraham Maslow's Self-Actualization Theory Or Motivation Theory

Motivation is having a reason or reasons to act/behave in a particular way. It creates “drive” in people whether it is in pursuit of a goal, or the need to complete an activity. It produces enthusiasm and a willingness to achieve in both a work environment and in your personal life. Motivation can be increased and decreased in line with the incentives on offer.

Maslow’s theory of motivation is called the “hierarchy of needs”. Maslow believes that people have five main needs in the following order of importance;

Abraham Maslow theorized the concept of self-actualization which is the term used to describe the state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potentials in their own unique way. Maslow’s theory includes sublevels that must be achieved before reaching self-actualization. In this paper, I will explain how each of his previous levels have affected my life, and give an idea of when I may hope to achieve self-actualization. Self-actualization is the term that Abraham Maslow used to describe the state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potentials in their own unique way. The personal reflections accommodate to my perspective of the Maslow’s Theory.

“All the evidence that we have indicates that it is reasonable to assume in practically every human being, and certainly in almost every newborn baby, that there is an active will toward health, an impulse towards growth, or towards the actualization.” Abraham Maslow stated this as a way of explaining human nature and its need for growth. In 1943, Abraham Maslow proposed that there were a “hierarchy of needs” that was responsible for human motivation. In his paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation”, Maslow lays out a hierarchy system of human needs that must be met so that one can become the best version of one’s self.

What is motivation? Process that accounts for an individuals intensity, direction & persistence of effort towards attaining a goal.

Motivation is defined as a want or need which directs towards a goal or something that someone wants. Motivation is an inherent response; it comes from inside and cannot be imposed from the outside, and comes from

Abraham Maslow is one of the many names that comes up the most in psychology. His theoretical had a very humanistic leaning, and he proposed focusing on an individual’s positive qualities rather than simply treating the patient as a “big bag of symptoms” (Hoffman, 1988). Maslow’s most famous contribution to the field was his “Hierarchy of Needs”, which laid out a structured example of the needs that must be met prior to the achievement of self-actualization — achieving one’s full potential, (McLeod, 2007). One level of the pyramid can stand, only if the level beneath it is strong and resilient. If one of the lower, basic levels is removed, then self-actualization can never be achieved.

Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ (McLeod, 2007) consists of seven basic needs that all contribute towards human motivation, once they are fulfilled. These needs are: physiological, safety, social, self-esteem, self-actualisation, cognitive and aesthetic (McLeod, 2007). These needs can all be met through nurture, stimulation and suitable expectations, which are implemented in schools, by teachers (Moore and Zaff, 2002).

In my English 101 class, we as a class were asked to read the passage, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” by Abraham Maslow, and then write an analysis of the film, Homeless to Harvard: The Lizz Murray Story (The Analysis Assignment Instructions). We were told to use Maslow’s theory as an analytical tool and apply what he states in regards to human motivation to the characters in the film (201-205). Mr. Barrera, my English professor, helped with additional amplification and illustration in showing the connection of the film to Maslow’s theory. The study of this film has become a trigger in how I am able to compare Maslow’s theory in showing what motivates us and how to achieve it. The film did show me that there is nothing ever too impossible to achieve as long as we stay persistent in reaching our final levels of self-actualization and transcendence. By sharing this with you my hopes is to show that even though some claim that this is a failed theory, it may not work for the many, but it has proven to work for the few.

Motivation is an initiative behaviour that provides guidance and goal orientation. Motivation can be divided into two types, extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation (Ryan 2016). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory can be used clearly to identify the issue of motivation to affect individual’s behaviour. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory is divided in to five stages consisting of Physiological needs, Safety needs, Social needs also refers to basic needs, growth needs are refer to as Esteem needs and Self-Actualization. “Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When need is fulfilled a person seeks to fulfil the next one, and so on” (McLeod 2007). Basic needs must be satisfy before moving to a higher level which is growth needs and once growth needs is satisfy, one would be able to achieve self-actualization at the top.

Maslow’s self-actualization was developed from his hierarchy of needs. In the hierarchy of needs there are seven stages. Maslow did not feel that self-actualization determined one's life; rather, he felt that it gave the individual a desire, or motivation to achieve budding ambition (Gleitman and Reisberg). As a person moves up Maslow's hierarchy of needs, eventually they may reach the summit self-actualization (Gleitman and Reisberg). The first stage is physiological needs, which are where an individual will find food and water; also they will be able to use basic functions such as sleeping and breathing.

During his lifetime, Abraham Maslow 's work revolved around studying motivation and needs. He was the creator of the theory of motivation. This theory was originated off of the idea of having self-actualizing needs that have to be fulfilled. There is a difference in classification of these needs, with there being lower and higher needs. This difference created what is known as the hierarchy of needs (Sheehy, Chapman, & Conroy, 1997; Wilson, 1972). These include physiological, safety, belongingness and love, esteem, self-actualization- holistic dynamic theory (Dobbert & Mackey, 2015; Maslow, 1971; Sheehy, Chapman, & Conroy, 1997). The lowest needs have to be satisfied to reach the higher needs (Sheehy, Chapman, & Conroy, 1997). These lower needs are known as basic needs, and they are what drive humans to self-actualize (Dobbert & Mackey, 2015; Wilson, 1972). The first of these lower needs is physiological needs, such as hunger and thirst. Next is safety needs, or desire to feel secure and free from harm. After comes love needs, which are also known as belongingness needs. These needs are met when one feels as though they have people who need them. Next, esteem needs are fulfilled when they are able to gain a satisfying image of themselves. Finally, the last need is self-actualization, or the desire to reach one 's fullest capacity in life (Sheehy, Chapman, & Conroy, 1997; Taormina & Gao, 2013; Wilson, 1972).

Each person has a reason for the actions and behaviors they execute daily, those reasons are their motivations. These motivations are unique to the individual, as Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, wrote in his 1943 paper, A Theory of Human Motivation, in which he describes the hierarchy of needs, generalizing what every human requires for life. He describes these needs as a five-tiered hierarchy system and are what motivates each human in their life and is structured so that an individual cannot reach the next tier unless the lower one(s) have been fulfilled, though not necessarily at 100 percent fulfillment. Maslow believed that every person has the desire to reach self-actualization, the fifth tier in his hierarchy, though not

Abraham Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of needs is an arrangement of the innate needs that motivate behavior, from the strongest needs at the bottom to the weakest needs at the top. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has five levels. The bottom level is Psychological in which you worry about getting enough food, sex, sleep,homeostasis, breathing, water, and excretion. The second bottom level is Safety in which you mostly need safety of house, employment, body, morality, family, health, resources, and property. The middle level is love/belonging in which you need friendship, family, and sexual intimacy. The second top level is esteem in which you need self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, and respect by others. The top most level is self actualization in which you need morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, and acceptance of facts. Self-actualization is the fullest realization of a person’s potential. As you move up in the hierarchy, the needs become more human and less basic.

Motivation is what gives a person that drive or desire to take on a task and complete it while actual enjoying preforming the task. The textbook had several different theories of motivation the one that I related to the most is Maslow’s five needs that consist of levels from lowest to highest. What Maslow believed drove a person to be motivated was physiological such as food or shelter, safety and security, belongingness or friendship, esteem for yourself or