PERSONALITY THEORY OF ABRAHAM MASLOW
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
Abraham Maslow is a psychologist who was the founder of humanistic psychology.
Maslow decided to establish a new understanding because Maslow realized that the
psychoanalysis popularized by Freud and the behavioristic promoted by Watson focused too
much on negative things and pathological conditions. In addition, Maslow also argues that
these theories ignore the potentials and sides of creativity in humans. The theory developed by
Maslow focuses more on maximizing the well-being of individuals as well as developing
potential towards the maximum level.
Maslow is a figure who develops a hierarchy of needs, self-actualization, and peak
experiences. Maslow's personality theory is included in the traits paradigm because in his
theory Maslow emphasizes the importance of the role of needs in the formation of personality.
Jung explained that the variety of human needs is divided into several groups which form a
hierarchy or tiered which is then referred to as the hierarchy of needs. This hierarchy of needs
is shaped like a pyramid where each level of needs must be met first if you want to move to a
higher level.
1.2 PROBLEM FORMULATION
1. Who was Abraham Maslow?
2. What is the structure of personality according to Maslow?
3. What are the personality dynamics according to Maslow?
4. How is the development of personality according to Maslow?
5. What is the therapeutic technique of Maslow?
6. What is the latest research on Maslow's theory?
1.3 PURPOSE
1. To know who Abraham Maslow was.
2. To know the structure of Maslow's personality.
3. To know the dynamics of Maslow's personality.
4. To know the development of Maslow's personality.
5. To know how the technique is terputic according to Maslow's theory.
6. To find out the latest research on Maslow's theory.
CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
2.1 BIOGRAPHY
Abraham Harold Maslow or often called Maslow was born in Brooklyn, New York, United
States on April 1, 1908. He died on June 8, 1970 of a heart attack in California. Maslow was
the first of seven children who grew up in a Jewish family. Both of Maslow's parents were
immigrants originally from Russia. The young Maslow felt that he was unhappy and lonely.
He spends much of his time reading books in the library rather than playing with children his
age.
At first, Maslow majored in law at the City College of New York (CCNY). But when he
realized his interest in psychology, Maslow decided to change majors to psychology at the
University of Wisconsin. While studying at the University of Wisconsin, Maslow met Harry
Harlow who was his mentor during his studies in psychology. Maslow completed his studies
in psychology until earning his doctorate at the University of Wisconsin.
In 1937, Maslow decided to become a lecturer at Brooklyn University until 1951. During
his time as a lecturer at the University of Brooklyn, Maslow met Max Wertheimer and Ruth
Benedict. Maslow at the time was heavily influenced by gestalt and anthropology. In 1951,
Maslow became chair of the psychology department at Brandeis University until 1969. During
this time, Maslow began to develop concepts regarding humanistic psychology. He also began
writing books on psychology, namely "Motivation and Personality" which was released in
1954 and "Toward a Psychology of Being" which was released in 1962.
Maslow is one of the biggest contributors in the realm of psychological science. This
humanistic psychology is considered the third largest school after psychoanalysis and
behaviorism. Maslow contributed a lot in the development of psychological science, an
example of which is humanistic psychology focused more on the positive aspects of the
individual which at that time, most psychologists focused more on abnormalities in humans. In
addition, with Maslow's theory, it also makes us more extinguished by the condition of human
mental health which later from this thought also developed into several new psychological
concepts, such as positive psychology.
2.2 PERSONALITY STRUCTURE
1. Motivation: Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Maslow was of the view that human beings have a variety of needs arranged in the form of
levels or hierarchies. Any variation of needs within each level can be achieved when the needs
of the previous level have been met.
Based on the picture above, Maslow (1970) stated that there are five kinds of basic needs (basic
needs) of human beings. The five levels of needs are conative needs which means influencing
desires or motivating.
o Physiological needs :
The most basic human needs are homeostasis needs, such as eating, drinking, breathing,
sleeping, and so on. At this level, a person will continuously try to meet his needs. A person
who is very starving will focus on food and will do anything to get it (Keys, Brozek, Henschel,
Mickelsen, & Taylor, 1950 in Fiest & G. Fiest, 2005).
o The need for a sense of security (Safety needs):
Human needs at the second level are a sense of security that includes physical security and
stability, freedom from threats, and the need for laws or orders. Children are more motivated
to achieve this need because they live with many fears (such as dark, animals, and strangers).
Therefore they will expend more energy to produce a sense of security. But when their efforts
are unsuccessful, there will arise what is called basic anxiety (Maslow, 1970 in Fiest & G.
Fiest, 2005)
o The need for love and existence (Love and belongingness needs):
At this level human beings will have a desire to make friends, couples and families, a
group, a neighborhood, or a country. Human beings will feel a thirst for affection and
relationships with others in general as well as positions in their group.
o Esteem needs:
Maslow (1970) divided human needs at this stage into two areas. The first area includes the
desire for strength, appreciation, and confidence before the world. The second area includes
reputation or appreciation from others, such as recognition, attention, and appreciation.
Self-Actualization needs:
The highest level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs cannot always be reached when one can meet
needs at the previous level, namely self-esteem. Self-actualization needs include self-
fulfillment, realizing all your potential and being fully creative. According to Maslow (1970),
a person who has reached this level will become fully human.
To complete the five conative needs above, Maslow added three categories of additional needs,
namely aesthetic, cognitive, and neurotic needs.
o Aesthetic Needs:
Aesthetic needs are not universal, but may be motivated in some people by beauty needs
and aesthetic pleasurable experiences (Maslow, 1967). A person with strong aesthetic needs
wants a beautiful and orderly environment. If those needs are not met it can result in the
person getting sick.
o Cognitive Needs:
Human beings who have cognitive needs have a desire to solve mysteries, understand
things, and are curious. If these needs are hampered, then all five basic needs will be
threatened, hence knowledge is required to meet all five conative needs. When a person's
cognitive needs cannot be met, then that person can experience skepticism (suspicion),
disappointment, and cynicism.
o Neurotic Needs :
Neurotic needs are not productive. They have a bad lifestyle and have no value of struggling
to self-actualize. Usually neurotic needs are reactive, and appear to be compensatory when
the needs of the other are not met. In contrast to conative, aesthetic, and cognitive needs,
when these needs are not met, it will interfere with physical and mental health and can lead
to disease. When neurotic needs are not met, then there will only arise disturbances and
stuttering (Maslow, 1970 in Fiest & G. Fiest, 2005).
2.3 PERSONALITY DYNAMICS
In 1954, when Maslow published a book entitled "motivation and personality". There
are two great theories that are influential among psychologists in America. Although there are
many small theories, most psychiatrists, psychologists and scholars in the field of behavioral
sciences can trace the source of their thoughts from Sigmun Freud or John B. Watson. The
strong influence of the two figures with their thinking, Abraham Maslow appeared. Maslow
introduced a method of psychology called psychology of the third school or known as
humanistic psychology (psychology of being). An attempt to develop a new, more positive
psychological approach regarding human beings, the highest values, ideals, growth and
actualization of human potential.
In the view of humanistic psychology, behaviorism and psychoanalysis are too negative and
deterministic in looking at human beings. The humanistic approach was raised as an attempt to
center the positive aspects of the human being. The humanistic approach emphasizes thinking,
creative imagination and not merely the influence of circumstances. Thus, the humanistic
approach assumes that the human being can be understood through stimulus conditions alone,
but internal psychological processes also have an influence on thinking, feeling and action.
In this school's view, man is inherently good and that human potential is limitless. This view
is very optimistic and that it is too optimistic about efforts to develop human resources so that
humans are seen as determinants who are able to play god (the role of god). Because of the
high level of trust in humans, it is very likely that there is an attitude of "allowing" towards any
behavior carried out by others.
The humanistic school also stirs psychologists to realize the importance of the basic
psychological needs of human beings, namely the need for affection, love, self-esteem,
recognition from others, a sense of belonging, self-actualization, and the need for creativity.
According to this school, all those needs are as important to humans as they are to biological
needs, eating and drinking and so on.
Humanistics views man as a being who is free to determine his development into a mentally
healthy human being if he gets the opportunity, so that he can behave optimally according to
his potential. Human beings are considered dignified and responsible beings who have some
potentials that need to be actualized. Its ultimate goal is for the individual to be able to fully
develop his humanity. Humanistic psychology complements the basic aspects of the school of
psychoanalysis and behaviorism by incorporating positive aspects such as love, creativity,
values, meaning and personal growth. The basic assumption of this school that distinguishes it
from other schools is that it views that humans are not players but seekers of the meaning of
life.
2.4 PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
In the development of his theory, Maslow received some quite serious criticism of his work.
The research carried out by Maslow regarding people who can self-actualize this was not done
scientifically because the criteria in identifying people who are able to self-actualize this are
only the opinions of Maslow himself. Then according to Rogers, Maslow has a false optimism
about the nature of human beings and ignores the negative side of human experience.
In addition, Engler (1999), also criticizes Maslow's view of man's strenuous efforts for
personal achievements/achievements that are too associated with culture and too attached to
the individualistic culture that exists in the United States. Meanwhile, research conducted by
Kitayama and Markus (1992) on cross-cultural research, shows that there are positive feelings
from students in the United States that are associated with personal achievements/
achievements. In contrast to students in Japan who have a tendency to associate their positive
feelings with establishing good relationships with others. This shows us that Maslow's thinking
about self-actualization as an individual achievement is not so effective if it is used to explain
the various experiences of society in cultures that exist outside the United States.
Meanwhile, there is a test kit compiled based on Maslow's theory called POI (Persona
Orientation Inventory), which aims to measure the behavior of self-actualizing people. This
measurement tool was developed by Everett L. Shostrom and consists of 150 items and consists
of statements where the person filling them out will be faced with statements (a) and (b) and
then they are asked to choose which statement best suits themselves. But they may not choose
between the two statements if they do not match themselves or do not know at all about the
statement in question.
POI has 2 main scales and 10 subscales, where a high score on the 12 scales indicates
a high level of self-actualization of a person while a low score indicates a deficiency in values
and behaviors that cause a person to experience obstacles in achieving self-actualization.
Shostrom said that when Maslow filled out the POI honestly, he got a score of "being on track
to self-actualization" and was not comparable to the score of the person who achieved self-
actualization.
2.5 THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES
Humanistic existential therapy is a therapy based on the humanistic theory of Abraham
Maslow and other humanistic figures. Humanistic existential therapy focuses on the human
condition. This approach emphasizes understanding the human being rather than a system of
techniques used to influence the client. The problems that humanistic existential therapy
addresses include: the problem of emptiness, the problem of loneliness, the problem of anxiety.
The humanistic existential counseling process describes a form of therapeutic alliance
between counselor and counselor. Existential counselors encourage freedom and responsibility,
encourage clients to deal with anxiety, hopelessness, and encourage the emergence of efforts
to make meaningful choices. To maintain an emphasis on personal freedom, counselors need
to express their own values and beliefs, give direction, use humor, and give suggestions and
interpretations and still give the client the freedom to choose for himself which of the
alternatives has been given.
To be able to fully understand the counsellor's feelings and thoughts about the issues of
death, isolation, despair and guilt, such a counselor, must communicate genuine empathy,
respect, or appreciation, support, encouragement, openness, and caring, throughout the
counseling process. The counselor must listen carefully so that they can understand the
counsellor's views and then help him express fears and take responsibility for his or her own
life. The program can be ended if the counselor is able to implement awareness of themselves
and direct themselves to achieve a more meaningful life. This condition allows counsellors to
find easy ways to self-actualize.
When the therapist discovers the entirety of the client, then that is when the therapeutic
process is at its best. A therapist's creativity arises from bonding with clients who trust and
work together.
CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
3.1 CONCLUSION
Maslow is one of the greatest contributors to the realm of psychology. This humanistic
psychology is considered the third largest school after psychoanalysis and behaviorism.
Maslow held the view that humans have a variety of needs arranged in the form of levels or
hierarchies. Any variation in needs within each level can be achieved when the needs at the
previous level have been met. Maslow stated that there are five kinds of basic human needs.
The five levels of needs are conative needs, which means influencing desires or motivating. To
complete the five conative needs above, Maslow added three additional categories of needs,
namely aesthetic, cognitive, and neurotic needs. In the view of humanistic psychology,
behaviorism and psychoanalysis are too negative and deterministic in viewing humans. The
humanistic approach was presented as an attempt to focus on the positive aspects of human
beings. The humanistic approach emphasizes thinking, creative imagination and not merely the
influence of circumstances.
3.2 ADVICE
The paper we have compiled together still does not discuss all of Maslow's theories of
thought and its developments. Therefore, this paper cannot be used as a benchmark to directly
assess and fully understand Maslow's theory. In addition, we recommend doing the latest
research related to Maslow's personality theory so that it always fits the current conditions.
