Practical Mindfulness

 

Abraham Maslow

Discussion of Maslow's Theory

Maslow developed an interest in the field of personality, and through the study of theorists and motivational concerns attempted to develop a comprehensive theory of personality and personality structure.  His basic theory and its subsequent revision is set out in Motivation and Personality (Maslow, 1970).  He further pushed into uncharted areas of personality, in particular into the realm of transcendence and the religious or noetic, prior to his death in 1970.  Much of his last thinking has been compiled into the book The Farther Reaches of Human Nature (Maslow, 1970).

 

 Maslow's aim was to develop a theory of personality structure with a common thread contained in a wide field of dissimilar motives and drives.  He asserted that each of these seemingly dissimilar motives and drives was a variation on a common theme that was being acted out or experienced.  He also saw the collective field of motive as organically related and interdependent, part of a gestalt of personality, rather than distinct parts or "types."  These motives could be expressed in any order.  Maslow arranged these motives organically in an ascending hierarchy consisting of five need or motivational levels:

 

1.  Physiological

2.  Safety

3.  Love and Belonging

4.  Self Esteem

5.  Self Actualization

 

There is an extensive chart of the needs and behavior patterns of these five types in the section on interpretation.

 

Maslow asserted that each of the lower needs had to be met before a person could begin to function on the next level.  This linear view of his theory has come under much criticism. This was even softened by Maslow himself in his later work.  The more appealing use of this structural system is that of a dynamic field of behavioral/personality tendency manifested under certain environmental circumstances.  A personality structure or profile might reflect or react with various degrees of dominance in multiple areas, and could depend on stress, somatic and psychological health, as well as environmental/social context.  This certainly seems to be supported by recent research, including this study.  (Mathes, et al, 1978; Mathes, et al, 1978; Wuthnow, 1978).

 

Masey comments in his book, Personality Theories:

 

For most people, the order of these five needs remain fixed, but some are exceptions.  Some people value self-assertive esteem more than love and belongingness.  For others, creativity overrides all other urges.  Determinants other than these needs and desire, such as environmental pressures, also affect behavior.  When people are severely deprived in their early years, some needs may be deadened.  However, early enriched gratification, especially in the first two years, may raise one's frustration level so that one can pursue higher needs at some personal sacrifice. As one ascends the hierarchy, each need requires relative, not absolute, satisfaction before the next one asserts itself.  These basic needs are not necessarily conscious or unconscious, but are probably unreflective in most people.  The healthy person makes use of unconsciousness, rational processes, fantasies, mythological thinking, and the conscious as a source of creativeness, art, love, humor, play and truth.  (Massey, 1981).

 

A number of studies have been performed to show the correlation between specific needs and Maslow's types in regard to the satisfaction of needs, for example: the physiological (Cofer and Appley, 1964),  safety (Maslow, Bicsen, Honigmann, McGrate, Plasm and Stein, 1952), belongingness (Rogers and Dymond, 1955) and esteem needs (Maslow, 1939, 1940, 1942), and show that these facilitate self actualization.  The hierarchy itself was studied by Mathes and Edwards (1978) whose report suggests significant ambiguity in the hierarchical relationship of the types but supports the types themselves.

 

Maslow, in his later work, in particular in his article "Theory-Z" (Maslow, 1969), seems to begin to identify a sixth personality category, that of the transcending or transcendent self-actualizer.  This type is, according to Maslow, more likely to transcend the self and to be in accord with the mystical and transpersonal, both on the ego and the ethical levels.  Maslow makes several descriptive assertions about this type or tendency of personality that are particularly interesting and relevant to the religious person and the professional religious.  The transcender is, in his eyes, a more mature personality and the acme of human nature.  An excellent study of this hypothesis was done by Breslauer in 1976.

 

As I stated earlier, my tendency is to view Maslow's theory as useful in its descriptive sense, but to discount the linear hierarchical aspect of it.  That is not to discount the value of a hierarchy of behavior, but rather to recognize that personality tends to demonstrate a dynamic field of behavior that includes more than one characteristic simultaneously and under certain conditions.  In other words, a person can demonstrate strong self-actualization and even transcendent characteristics, while having deficiencies in the safety or self-esteem categories.  This view is supported strongly by the work of Viktor Frankl (Frankl, 1969)

 

Maslow and Personality

 

Abraham Maslow developed an interest in the field of personality, and through the study of theorists and motivational concerns attempted to develop a comprehensive theory of personality and personality structure.  His basic theory and its subsequent revision is set out in Motivation and Personality (Maslow, 1970).  He further pushed into uncharted areas of personality, in particular into the realm of transcendence and the religious or noetic, prior to his death in 1970.  Much of his last thinking has been compiled into the book The Farther Reaches of Human Nature (Maslow, 1970).

 

Maslow's aim was to develop a theory of personality structure with a common thread contained in a wide field of dissimilar motives and drives.  He asserted that each of these seemingly dissimilar motives and drives was a variation on a common theme that was being acted out or experienced.  He also saw the collective field of motive as organically related and interdependent, part of a gestalt of personality, rather than distinct parts or "types."  These motives could be expressed in any order.  Maslow arranged these motives organically in an ascending hierarchy consisting of five need or motivational levels:

1.       Physiological (Autocratic or Controlling)

2.       Safety (Conservative or Tenacious)

3.       Love and Belonging (Supportive or Thoughtful)

4.       Self Esteem (Adaptive or Flexible)

5.       Self Actualization (TRANSCENDING  or Idealistic/accepting)

Maslow asserted that each of the lower needs had to be met before a person could begin to function on the next level.  This linear view of his theory has come under much criticism and was even softened by Maslow himself in his later work.  The more appealing use of this structural system is that of a dynamic field of behavioral/personality tendency manifested under certain environmental circumstances.  A personality structure or profile might reflect or react with various degrees of dominance in multiple areas, and could depend on stress, somatic and psychological health, as well as environmental/social context.  This certainly seems to be supported by recent research, including this study.  (Mathes, et al, 1978; Mathes, et al, 1978; Wuthnow, 1978).

Masey comments in his book, Personality Theories:

For most people, the order of these five needs remain fixed, but some are exceptions.  Some people value self-assertive esteem more than love and belongingness.  For others, creativity overrides all other urges.  Determinants other than these needs and desire, such as environmental pressures, also affect behavior.  When people are severely deprived in their early years, some needs may be deadened.  However, early enriched gratification, especially in the first two years, may raise one's frustration level so that one can pursue higher needs at some personal sacrifice. As one ascends the hierarchy, each need requires relative, not absolute, satisfaction before the next one asserts itself.  These basic needs are not necessarily conscious or unconscious but are probably unreflective in most people.  The healthy person makes use of unconsciousness, rational processes, fantasies, mythological thinking, and the conscious as a source of creativeness, art, love, humor, play and truth.  (Massey, 1981).

A number of studies have been performed to show the correlation between specific needs and Maslow's types in regard to the satisfaction of needs, for example: the physiological (Cofer and Appley, 1964),  safety (Maslow, Bicsen, Honigmann, McGrate, Plasm and Stein, 1952), belongingness (Rogers and Dymond, 1955) and esteem needs (Maslow, 1939, 1940, 1942), and show that these facilitate self-actualization.  The hierarchy itself was studied by Mathes and Edwards (1978) whose report suggests significant ambiguity in the hierarchical relationship of the types but supports the types themselves.

 

Maslow, in his later work, in particular in his article "Theory-Z" (Maslow, 1969), seems to begin to identify a sixth personality category, that of the transcending or transcendent self-actualizer.  This type is, according to Maslow, more likely to transcend the self and to be in accord with the mystical and transpersonal, both on the ego and the ethical levels.  Maslow makes several descriptive assertions about this type or tendency of personality that are particularly interesting and relevant to the religious person and the professional religious.  The transcender is, in his eyes, a more mature personality and the acme of human nature.  An excellent study of this hypothesis was done by Breslauer in 1976.

As I stated earlier, my tendency is to view Maslow's theory as useful in its descriptive sense, but to discount the linear hierarchical aspect of it.  That is not to discount the value of a hierarchy of behavior, but rather to recognize that personality tends to demonstrate a dynamic field of behavior that includes more than one characteristic simultaneously and under certain conditions.  In other words, a person can demonstrate strong self-actualization and even transcendent characteristics, while having deficiencies in the safety or self-esteem categories.  This view is supported strongly by the work of Viktor Frankl (Frankl, 1969).