Maslow was born on April 1, 1908, in Brooklyn, New York ( Maslow, 2014 ). In a household of seven children, he was the first born child. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. As a result of his lonely and unhappy childhood, he sought refuge in books to become one of the most prominent psychologists in the 20th century. Maslow died in 1970 at Menlo Park in California when he was 62 years old. His demise was brought as a result of a heart attack.
Abraham Maslow developed theories and philosophies that centered in the field of human psychology. By studying behavioral sciences based on the cognitive development of the human brain, the American psychologist was able to unveil the factors that drive humanity. He explored this subject as a means of understanding human behavior.
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In 1951, Maslow was appointed to become the head of the psychology department at Brandeis University where he remained until 1969 ( Maslow, 2014 ). He is one of the main contributors to humanistic psychology, which in some contexts is also referred to as the third force. He also published major works such as Motivation and Personality in 1954 and Toward a Psychology of Being in 1962. In these works, he focused on developing the hierarchy of needs, which became one of the most famous theory to be developed to date. Maslow was also the founder of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology .
This American psychologist is best known for developing the hierarchy of needs. In this theory, Maslow notes that human beings are driven by a sense of self-actualization. He believed that Skinner’s behavioral theory and Freud’s psychoanalytic theory were too engrossed in the negative aspects of humanity. They, therefore, neglected the creativity and potential capabilities of social existence. In addition to this, he was also referred to as the founder of the humanistic theory under which he developed the hierarchy of needs, self-actualization and peak experiences.
The hierarchy of needs theory can be applied in organizations to improve profitability and performance based on the satisfaction of employee needs ( Maslow, 2014 ). By using this ideology, companies have seen the need to focus on workforce motivation as a means of achieving long-term productivity. Human resource departments strive to ensure that they satisfy an employee’s self-actualization needs for effective management. The cultural framework of many organizations, therefore, reflects an environment where employees feel as if their organization cares about their developmental status. Satisfaction of these needs will yield the best effort from the workforce to the benefit of the organization.
Abraham Maslow endured a very difficult childhood based on the fact that he came from a poor family where food and shelter was a very big concern ( Maslow, 2014 ). Living as a Jewish boy in a non-Jewish community was very challenging and as such, he was depressed and unhappy. His parents were not supportive in any way considering his father’s command that he becomes a lawyer. His mother, on the other hand, hated him and hurled insults almost every time. Maslow, however, rose above these challenges and hardships to become a renowned social scientist and human psychologist during the 20th century. According to Bain (2002), social changes serve as a very important element as far the study of human psychology is concerned. These social changes greatly influenced his interest in doing more research in human psychology. The hierarchy of needs was therefore developed as a means of covering aspects of social science that had not been covered in the field of psychology. His personal life and experiences, therefore, shaped his ambition to venture into a field where social scientists had not fully explored.
One of the most interesting facts about Abraham Maslow comes from the fact that his psychological ideas were influenced by his personal life experiences. After the Second World War, he began to question other psychologists and their approaches when it came to the development of social theories. It is imperative to note that even though he did not completely disagree with their ideologies, Maslow believed that he could formulate his own philosophies on how the human mind works. Another interesting fact about him is that instead of using mentally ill people in his research, Maslow studied some of the most brilliant minds as participants for his research ( Maslow, 2014 ).
I think that Abraham did a very comprehensive research while developing the theory of self-actualization. His work was very detailed and as such, it provides a good insight into the factors that drive individuals to achieve set goals in life. By using a different approach, he was able to discover a unique aspect of humanity that has been used by other psychologists in the field. This research paved way to the development of a motivational theory that has been applied in different fields to achieve intuitional success. Based on the hierarchy of needs, individuals are also able to identify human needs, their importance and order of satisfaction. This knowledge, therefore, helps a person to gain more knowledge on his or her psychology by shedding light on the things that need to be accomplished for self-actualization to be achieved. In addition to this, contemporary psychologists still explore his theories as they try to revise and incorporate them into the latest developments in social science.
References
Bain, C. M. (2002). Transitions in society: The challenge of change . Don Mills, Ont: Oxford University Press.
Maslow, A. H. (2014). Toward a psychology of being . Bensenville, IL: Lushena Books.
