Kurt Maslow 's Concept Of Self Actualization

Carl Rogers is among the small group of enlightened, visionary individuals that stand as giants in the field of psychology. Due to the theories that Rogers developed not only in psychology but in theories of education, he is considered, as Constance Holden writes, "…one of the grand old men of American psychology and a leading figure in the postwar development of humanistic psychology" (Holden, 1997, p. 31). This paper reviews his theory of personality, his approach to therapy and the contributions he made to the field of psychology as a whole.

Another strong influence of Rogers' model was Maslow's theory of self- actualisation. Maslow (1943) believed people are motivated to achieve certain needs that are not related to rewards. He developed a theory that people strive to ‘self-actualise’, to become the best they can be.

In using Maslow 's theory of self actualization and definition of religious experience types (confirming, responsive, ecstatic, and revelational), found no differences between type of religious experience and self actualization. The concern itself is only with the incidence and centrality of a person 's self defined spiritual experience. It is hypothesized that the more people get older the more he or she finds his or her spiritual experience to be a central part of his or her life, the higher they will score on the self-actualization measure.

This approach not only ask that you to recognize a problem that brings you distress, but to acknowledge that the problem exists within your self-perception. A huge benefit to Rogers approach is that you move towards self-actualization by reducing those inconsistencies between actual and ideal selves. However, I believe Rogers approach lacks a very important element. I don’t think he clearly differentiates between actual feelings of oneself from temporary feelings of oneself. How will I know if my currently feeling of myself are a temporary feeling of who I think I am or if they are actual feeling of who I actually am? Rogers approach leaves a large gray area about the self that still remains unclear to

Self-actualization refers to the desire to achieve one’s greatest potential or as Maslow writes “what a man can be, he must be” (Maslow). Abraham Maslow, a researcher and a pioneer in the field of psychology, strongly believed that people can control their own behavior and have the abilities to reach their full potential. Maslow is perhaps best known for his “Hierarchy of Needs” that culminates in self-actualization. This hierarchy begins with so-called “basic needs” - psychological, safety, social, and esteem - and concludes with the “growth need”. Among other characteristics, Maslow describes self-actualized people as highly creative, independent, genuine individuals who are resistant to enculturation and accept themselves for who

The humanistic ideas of Carl Rogers is what differentiates him from other psychologists. Carl strongly believed in Abraham Maslow’s idea of self-actualization. Self-actualization is the idea that there is a stage in a person’s life where they realize all of their greatest talents while still being aware of their limitations.

Carl R. Rogers constructed the person-centered theory by his influences of Elizabeth Davis and Frederick Allen who studied under Jessie Taft as well as Otto Rank and John Dewey (Patterson, 2007; Walsh, 2010). Influenced by Jessie Taft, Rogers adopted an optimistic view of people, individuals are capable of recreating themselves and are not the end products of their past (Patterson, 2007; Walsh, 2010). Otto Rank advocated that treatment of a client be centered around that client and that therapist be more emotionally involved within the process. Third Rogers was influenced by John Dewey who helped him understand and develop his position that self-actualized people live in harmony rather then conflict

Abraham Maslow was also a humanist and Carl Rogers agreed with his ideas of humanism. They both believed in self-actualization which is the inherent tendency of an organism to develop all of its capacities in ways which serve to maintain or enhance the organism. In other words, that each individual strives to reach their full potential in life. Reaching your full potential didn't come instructions or a certain steps that you had to do to get to that point. Rogers described this as a fluid process.

We are always in a state of 'being and becoming'. Rogers believed that the 'actualising tendency' is the only motive needed to account for all our behaviour, whether to fill an empty stomach, to produce children or to become independent and happy.

Carl Roger’s self-centered theory was accredited through a humanistic approach. A humanistic approach in psychology emphasizes empathy and stresses the greater good in an individual’s behavior. Carl Rogers is considered one of the founders to the humanistic approach in psychology. Rogers constructed his research through Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s research on self-actualization was the point in a person’s life where he/she has overcome his/her difficulties and are able to move forward in life. This influenced Roger’s research he expanded what Maslow called self-actualization into a self-concept. This meant our self- concept was congruent with ideas about his/herself match his/her actual experiences.

Carl Rogers is the father of the humanistic movement in psychotherapy His core theme in therapy is non-judgmental listening & acceptance of the client, better known as unconditional positive regard His therapeutic approach is known as the Person Centered Therapy, which is based on the concepts of humanistic psychology & shares many of the concepts of Existentialism Both of these concepts share the idea that the client can make positive & constructive choices His approach is also based on the theory that people are "trustworthy" and can solve their own problems without direct intervention from the therapist

Maslow believes that the only reason that people would not move well in direction of self-actualisation is because of obstacles placed in their way by society. One of the barriers is education. Therefore he states that educators should teach the children:

Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was an influential humanistic psychologist, who built off the foundation laid by Maslow (McLeod, 2007). As set out below, Rogers established nineteen propositions that form the foundation of his theories (Guide, n.d.):

Key concept # 2 actual self making progress towards ideal self is self actualization, the basic motivation for all human behavior. Versus maslow, who saw self-actuaization as a need rather than a drive. The praise and love from others of certain behaviors is conditional positive regard. Unconditional positive regard accept and value