Maslow's Theory of Human Motivation Essay

In 1943 Humanistic Psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed his Theory of Human Motivation. In this paper he outlines what he believes to be a humans hierarchy of needs. Maslow suggests in his journal that one must meet the needs of the previous level before moving on to meet the needs of the next one on the hierarchy. According to Maslow there are 5 tiers of human needs: physiological, security, belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. In Welch, West Virginia Jeanette and her siblings must adjust their lifestyles in order to meet their human needs according to Maslow’s hierarchy.

In the 1940s/50s psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a model that explained human motivation. This was the hierarchy of needs, which can be shown as a pyramid that has different levels of the needs of a human. At the bottom are basic needs for survival, and the higher levels are psychological needs. The highest level is self-actualization; the ability to reach one’s full potential and become the best person they can be (Adler, 8). All humans are capable and motivated to fulfill all of these needs, and one level of needs must be met before the next can be (Hockenbury, 341). To reach self-actualization, one must first meet all of the needs below it on the hierarchy of needs.

Imagine a girl with a heart of compassion but a past filled with adversity. Imagine living in a childhood filled with sexual abuse and neglect; a home so broken there wasn’t enough tape and glue out there to put it back together. Picture laying in bed at night as a little girl shivering with fear and wondering if the struggle would ever end. Now picture her as an adult driving to a local mental health clinic on any given weekday. She gracefully walks into the building and saunters down the hall to a quaint little office in the corner of the building. She enters a room with walls that have heard experiences and stories of hundreds of others. These walls have seen enough tears to fill up an ocean with waves of anxiety and depression that can take you under in a single swoop. She proceeds to sit down in her office chair and gathers her schedule of clients she has to see for the day. She isn’t the client like you most likely expected. She is the clinician; a wounded healer. A past of adversity does not have to equate to perpetual anguish. I believe that life is about turning trials into triumph.

Maslow dealt with the psychological growth process, considered man as a biological organism, and began his study with the theory of motivation based on a holistic approach. The holistic approach paints a multidimensional whole picture of a person integrating the physical, mental, and spiritual through a growth perspective. According to Sengupta (2011), “Maslow defines growth as the continuous development of talents, capacities, creativity, wisdom and character, the various processes, which bring the person toward ultimate self-actualization” (p. 102). Maslow did not ignore the spiritual dimension, but mainly focused on the biological nature of man. He believed the entire person, not just part of him is motivated. “Maslow’s motivational theory is based on the idea that human behavior is controlled through a number of developing fundamental needs that operates in a fixed sequence and needs are defined as a condition of deficit” (Sengupta, 2011, p. 102). Needs are not always caused by shortfalls, however, they may be founded on an individual’s understanding of inner strength and high ethical standards in order to understand their maximum potential.

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.

Neurobiologists have also studied this topic and agree that the cortex, medial insula, anterior cingulate, hippocampus, and reward system are all activated while looking at one’s lover. They explain love as, “feelings of exhilaration and euphoria, of a happiness that is often unbearable and certainly indescribable” (Zeki). Zeki, in his article, “The Neurobiology of Love” explains that romantic feelings of love are in response to high concentration of dopamine, which is linked to addiction and euphoric feeling, desire, and reward, oxytocin which is produced by the hypothalamus, and vasopressin, which is associated with social behavior. Zeki also explains that the hypothalamus is not activated in maternal love but is activated in both romantic feelings

Abraham Harold Maslow was born on April 1, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the oldest of seven children born to his parents, who were uneducated Jewish immigrants from Russia. His parents, wanting the best for their children in the “new world”, pushed him hard in his academic studies. He was smart but shy, and remembered his childhood as being lonely and rather unhappy. He sought refuge in his books and studies. His father hoped he would study as a lawyer, and Maslow enrolled in the City College of New York. After three semesters at CCNY, he transferred to Cornell and then back to CCNY again. He married his first cousin Bertha, against his parent’s wishes and moved to Wisconsin, where

Several key concepts and strengths of the Leininger’s theory that I can use to improve my practice through culturally competent care are described below (Masters, 2011):

Maslow identified behaviors that he believed lead to self-actualization which many relate to the experiences and choices Wright Performative supports. “Experiencing life like a child, with full absorption and concentration,” relates to the One Decision to live life to the fullest and our level two of the Wright Developmental Model, living out the Existential principle of play. Maslow’s behavior of “Trying new things instead of sticking to safe paths,” is a One Decision I have often gravitated towards when taking risks and stepping into the unknown.

Abraham Harold Maslow, the founder of humanistic psychology, was born in New York City on April 1, 1908 and died at home in California in 1970 (Maslow, Abraham Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Biography, 2010) (Abraham H. Maslow: a Bibliography: Professional biography, 1970). He received his AB, MA, and PhD in psychology from the University of Wisconsin (1970). His work as a United States (U.S.) psychologist started in 1932 after he started working as a teaching fellow (1970). Maslow also taught at Brooklyn College from 1937 to 1951 and at Brandeis University from 1951 to 1961, where he was appointed Chairman of the Psychology department (2010). He made research contributions in psychology every year until his death

In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow published his famous work “Need Hierarchy” often displayed as a pyramid. Maslow listed the lowest levels of the pyramid as the most basic needs, while the more complex needs are located at the top of the pyramid. At the top of his hierarchy is self-actualization. Maslow suggests that when the other needs at the bottom of the pyramid is met, the individual can then focus their attention on the other needs at the top. For many, self-actualization is a fulfillment of

The subject of happiness is a very broad and general topic for everybody. The definition of happiness is different for everybody. What one person finds to be happiness, may not be the same for someone else. But once someone achieves happiness, there are many benefits that come out of that. But one has to achieve happiness first in order to enjoy the benefits of it. The difficult part is finding out what makes people happy. Many models have been developed to try and track someone 's happiness, but it is almost impossible to accomplish. A strong theory of the pursuit of happiness is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs by Abraham Maslow. Besides this theory, there are also many philosophical views of happiness that one can discuss. After achieving this, the benefits that come out of being happy are quite beautiful.

In order to understand a person motivation you have to understand individuals basic needs and whether are not they are being met. A good manager has to know how those need interact with a person’s motivation and Maslow Theory is the good example. Maslow’s theory is that needs are arranged in a hierarchy, the lowest level needs physiological needs to the highest levels or self-actualization needs (Ivancevich et al., 2011). Physiological is the lowest level and it is the need for food and shelter (Ivancevich et al., 2011). The next level in Maslow’s theory is safety. This is when a person feels they are free from threating events or from their surroundings (Ivancevich et al., 2011). Belongingness is the need for friendships and

Maslow classified the basic needs into 5 different levels, which are ranked from highest to lowest according to their level of influence on motivation as follows: The first level is made up of physiological needs, which are the first to importance and whose prolonged deprivation can be potentially fatal to humans. An example of the manifestation of these needs is the hunger and thirst that occur when the body needs food or fluids to maintain normal operation. The needs of second level are those related to security, such requirements are explained in the text by a number of examples in which the author uses the behavior of infants to show the way in which these needs influence the motivation of individuals. An observation of great importance made in the text in relation to the needs located on this level is the fact that people tend to protect themselves from the unknown (which is considered a potential source of threats) using routine, order or any element that provides them with a basis on which to stand and security threats of the environment; thus the adoption d is associated with the emergence of a variety of psychological disorders. The need for self-esteem and self-image form the fourth level, these are related to both the image that people have of themselves as to the image .The other individuals have of accomplishments, skills, respect others give the individuals are some ways in which these needs are met and as a result it produces feelings of confidence, strength,

In our everyday lives, we go through certain needs and behaviors. Abraham Maslow’s article of Theory of Human Motivation begins with the explanation of the Basic Needs of behavior. He goes over how our basic needs are safety, love, self-esteem, and self-actualization. (Physiological needs tend to go along with the other four needs.) When it comes to craving violence, four of the above needs apply to the given behavior.