Abraham Harold Maslow: An Autobiography - Research Paper Example

?Abraham Harold Maslow: An Autobiography Perhaps one of the psychologist who was equally known in the field of business management in the same mannerthat he is known in the field of psychology is Abraham Harold Maslow. His theory of human motivation on his “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” became prevalent not only in the study among psychologists but also among business managers. Abraham Harold Maslow was born April 1, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York.  He was the eldest of the seven children and born to a Jewish immigrant parents from Russia. His father came in America in age 15 and had no formal education. Although his parents were uneducated, they pushed hard Maslow for academic success. He initially heeded his parents’ wishes to study law at the City College of New York (CCNY) but after two years, he quit law school and transferred back to Cornell University only to return back to CCNY. Against his parents’ wishes, he married his first cousin Bertha Goodman. He was 20 and Bertha was 19. Their marriage produced two daughters (Anon., 1981). Abe (as Maslow was fondly called) and Bertha later moved in to Wisconsin for Maslow to pursue a study of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin. It was in University of Wisconsin that Maslow first became interested in Psychology which later would earn him great success. He excelled in his study in Psychology and spent time working with another famous psychologist Harry Harlow, known for his experiments with baby rhesus monkeys and attachment behavior. In 1930 he graduated Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in the University of Wisconsin. A year later, he earned his MA and in 1934, his PhD, all in the same university (University of Wisconsin). His dissertation was about the Role of Dominance in the Social and Sexual Behavior of Infra-human Primates (Kermally,2005). In University of Wisconsin, he was acquainted with John B. Watson’s work and became fascinated with behaviorism and decided to pursue its path. After a year, he moved back to New York to collaborate with E.L. Thorndike at Columbia University. He taught full time at Brooklyn College from 1937 to 1951. As an academician, he had the chance to come in contact with the many intellectuals in the field of psychology which includes Adler, Fromm, Horney, and a number of Freudian and Gestalt Psychologists. He became the chair of the psychology department at Brandeis from 1951 to 1969. He was 51 years old and stayed there until 1961. It is during his chairmanship at Brandeis where he met Kurt Goldstein where he got the idea of self-actualization in his famous work, The Organism (1934) which was the pinnacle of his famous theory “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. As a psychologist, Maslow was preoccupied with filling the gaps he found in the other approaches of human personality. This can be best exemplified when he wondered about what psychology can do for the happy and healthy side of psychology because according to him, Sigmund Freud already supplied the sick half of human psychology. So he directed his works to the filling of the other half which he wanted to be the healthy half. Contrary to Freud’s pessimistic and darker assessment of the human nature, Maslow provided his with optimism and uplifting nature of Man such as his theory of Self-Actualization. Although Maslow was also aware of the existence of the unconscious, he preferred to work with the conscious dimension of the human personality (Burger, 2008). During Maslow’s last interview with Hoffman (1992), Maslow articulated his humanity and his desire for goodness to prevail by understanding human behavior and man himself. He thought that had we understood each other better, there could have been no war, no division and no conflict. In his studies, he wanted to prove that humans are capable of something grander than war, prejudice and hatred. He wanted to create system of thought that can bind mankind together. But he knew then that his ideas will only serve as a seed for future generations to build upon. His last years were spent in California until his death in June 8, 1970 due to heart attack and after years of an ailing health. And true to his wishes, his concept of hierarchy of needs became an integral part of learning of most students not only in psychology but also in business to understand human nature better. His Works Abraham Maslow’s motivation model was contained in his book Motivation and Personality. He described the five basic human motivations which are placed in a hierarchical order which progresses when one is satisfied in the hierarchy. Of these, Maslow was more amazed with the positive human capacity to transcend with the phenomenon of self-actualization. He knew that this construct of his suffered from methodological flaws but is convinced of its intuitive validity. He hailed the last trait of self-actualization as the pinnacle of human characteristic’s highest inner traits such as our capacity to love, spirituality, to create and to have compassion. Although this was not empirically verified by Maslow himself, this theory of his still stands today. The five levels of motivation which is also used in the field of management are (Goodman); 1 Physiological need — the first level of motivation is the desire to satisfy physiological needs. These needs, which include hunger and personal comfort, are reflected in the work situation by such concepts as the desires for a dry, warm place of work, a comfortable body position on the job, a tolerable noise level in the work area, etc. This represents the first level of the hierarchy, the primary needs which must be satisfied before behavior can begin to react to higher needs. 2 Safety need— the next level of motivation that man seeks to satisfy is that of safety. In relating this need to the work situation both personal safety and personal security concepts must be considered. The employee desires to be able to safely walk the aisles of the work area as well as to feel a measure of assurance against layoff. Subsidiary to these items is the interest in the fringe benefits such as a medical programme and disability programme. 3 Social need- The third level of motivation is social. In the work context this level includes the need to belong to the organization, to the work group, or to a local clique. This, also, includes the need to have friends at work, and to have social interrelationships with those around you. 4 Esteem need- The fourth level of this hierarchy is the esteem or ego needs. To satisfy this, a man must feel that other people respect him, that others think he is someone. Satisfaction of this need leads to self-confidence, strength, and a feeling of adequateness. 5 Self-Actualization need - This is the highest level of the hierarchy. The level represents the need to be what one potentially is. This desire may be realized by some workers in the work situation if their potentialities lie in that direction. In some workers self-actualization is solely an off-the-job satisfaction (1968:51-52). References: Anon., (2002). Abraham Maslow.Workforce, Vol. 81 Issue 1, p49, 1/3p Burger, Jerry M (2008). Personality (7th ed). Wadsworth Publishing. Goodman, R. A (1968). ON THE OPERATIONALITY OF THE MASLOW NEED HIERARCHY. British Journal of Industrial Relations. Vol. 6 Issue 1, p51-57, 7p Hoffman, E (1992). The Last Interview of ABRAHAM MASLOW. Psychology Today. Vol. 25 Issue 1, p68-89, 7 Kermally, Sultan (2005). CHAPTER FOUR: Abraham Maslow (1908-1970). Gurus on People Management. p25-34, 10p Read More