- A brief summary of the Abraham Maslow Personality Theory
Abraham Maslow personality theory gives an insightful explanation about why people behave in certain ways. The theory suggests that internal and external factors control people’s behavior and that each of us is motivated by their needs (Maslow, 1943). Abraham Maslow introduced his idea for the first time in 1943 in his book, “A theory of Human Motivation”. He argues that people have an inborn desire to be self-actualized, and this desire is unchanging and genetic in nature. One has to meet a number of basic needs for him/ her to gain self-actualization. These needs are the same to all cultures, and they are both psychological and physiological. The theory represents these needs using a pyramid, starting from the needs that are most basics at the bottom, to the most complex needs at the top. Examples of the needs at the bottom include things such as water, warmth, sleep, and food. These needs become more social and psychological as one progresses up the pyramid. These needs have to be satisfied starting from the bottom. It is only after satisfying the lower order needs of emotional and physical well-being that one gets concerned with the higher order needs of personal development and influence (Maslow, 1943). If one is unable to satisfy lower order needs, then it becomes impossible to satisfy or maintain the higher order needs. It is only after all the needs are fulfilled that a person can pursue self-actualization (becoming what one has for long desired to be).
- How does Abraham Maslow personality theory address differences in gender and culture?
- Differences in Gender
Different studies analyze Abraham Maslow personality theory based on motivation and behavioral differences both in men and women. The theory shows differences between genders based on what interests them. Men are less likely than women to regard social status as a need or necessity in a mate (Linsenmeier, 2002). It is a common phenomenon for men to be more motivated by esteem needs than women and their sense of self-esteem to be more strongly linked to intra-sexual competition success than in women. In addition, men are more likely to show off in a number of ways when mating motives are activated. They include desires for higher paying jobs; to become more creative; opt for money now rather than later; and to consume expensive goods.
Moreover, there are differences in gender, based on the character traits that motivate and attract a person to the opposite sex. The theory indicates that men are more selective than women about the character traits they desire in a long-term partner. Unlike women, men do not seem to select their soul mates based on the partner’s relative competitive success. Instead, they tend to select a woman based on her looks (beauty and age) and fertility, and who demonstrates traits such as warmth and kindness. These traits are indicative of successful parentage ability. Female esteem is mainly linked to physical appearance and to those clues that suggest that they are cooperative and likable. On matters pertaining spouse relationships and offspring care across societies, the theory suggests that women are expected to devote more of their time and energy to parentage efforts than to intimacy. In addition, whereas men have a lower threshold than women for initiating sexual interest, women are expected to be less interested in casual mating opportunities. Moreover, men may perceive sexual arousal mistakenly in the faces of good looking women due to an enhanced mating motive, but these effects are not expected in women.
- Culture
This theory indicates that the conscious motivational content between individuals of different societies is not the same. However, most individuals who study social relationship and origins of human beings suggest that people from diverse societies are more alike that how ordinary individuals may imagine (Maslow, 1943). It is only interacting and staying together that people find more of this commonness. Differences between people of different cultures are superficial rather than basic such as teases in food, clothes, and hair dress styles. In basic need classification, no claim made is universal or ultimate for all culture. This classification rather uses words such as relatively more universal, more ultimate, closer approach to common human characteristics, and more basic.
- Does this theory present a comprehensive explanation on how personality develops?
Yes, it does. This theory explains how personality develops based on how different individuals are capable of fulfilling their needs. There are some physiological needs and personalities that everyone possesses such as food, shelter, rest, and drink. Everyone has the desire and capability to move up to the self-actualization level. However, failure to meet lower level needs may disrupt this progress. Examples of life experiences that may cause a person to fluctuate between the hierarchy levels include loss of job, divorce, and others. Safety is the second need, as is especially important for infants. In this stage, personality development depends on how infants receive protection from those taking care of them such as parents. What follows is the social need, which includes the need for love, belongingness, and affection (Wahba & Bridewel, 1976). In personality development, people always seek to overcome the feelings of alienation and loneliness. It is the reason people need friends and affectionate relationship.
Esteem needs comes after fulfillment of the needs for love and belongingness. These needs include desire for achievement, confidence, adequacy, personal wealth, and social recognition. Everyone desires a firmly based, stable and high level of self-respect and from others. The person feels valued and self-confident when these needs are respected, thus developing a personality in that area. The same person may develop a weak, worthless, inferior, and helpless personality when these needs are frustrated. Self-actualization is the next, highest and last level. It is the need that Maslow describe as becoming whatever one was born to be. It is the need for development and utilization of potentials, growth, and self-fulfillment (Wahba & Bridewel, 1976). The theory states that people develop different personalities depending on the level they are at some time in their lives.
- How does the theory address changes over the lifespan?
The theory states that the needs of a newborn baby are almost entirely physiological (Yahaya, n. d). As this baby grows, he/she needs care and safety. It is because children display the signs of insecurity. An example of insecurity is illnesses. The next need that this baby requires is love particularly from the parents. As this baby becomes a teenager, he/she is much anxious about social needs such as romantic attachment and friendship. During his/her young adult stage, he/she is now concerned with esteem. It is only more mature individuals that transcend the first four Maslow levels to spend much time self-actualizing.
- What do you think of this theory?
In the real world, different people from different places behave differently. According to this theory, different disruptors like loss of job cause these differences. Maslow research suggests that only one out of ten people undergo through the processes successful until they reach self-actualization level. I think this reason qualifies to explain differences in the development of personality in different people. However, research indicates that Maslow research on self-actualization is very shallow since it bases its argument on a very limited sample of people. In addition, this sample represents famous individuals and other few people that Maslow knew such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, and Frederick Douglass. He ignored the study from stunted, crippled and other minorities (Mittelman, 1991). This argument suggests that this theory has some limitations, and it is through an in-depth study that includes all groups of people that the reason people behave in various ways will be better understood.
References
Maslow, A. (1943). “A Theory of Human Motivation”. Psychological Review 50 (4), 370-
390.
Mittelman, W. (1991). "Maslow's study of self-actualization: A reinterpretation". Journal of Humanistic Psychology 31, (1), 114–135.
Linsenmeier, J.A. (2002). The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: Testing the trade-offs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 82, 947–955.
Wahba, A, & Bridewel, L. (1976). Maslow Reconsidered. A review of research on the need hierarchy theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 15, 212-240.
Yahaya, A. (n. d). Abraham Maslow: The Needs Hierarchy. Faculty of Education, University Technology Malaysia
