Abraham Maslow
Also known as Abraham Harold Maslow
American psychologist (1908 to 1970) of the hierarchy of needs and self-actualisation.
At a glance
Main ideas
Hierarchy of needs, Self-actualisation, Peak experiences …
See all 4Criticism
Lack of rigour, Cultural bias, Selection bias
See all 3Books to start with
Motivation and Personality, Toward a Psychology of Being, The Psychology of Science …
See all 4Connections
Thomas Kuhn and Toward a Psychology of Being
See all 2
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Maslow was a psychologist and a leading figure in humanistic psychology, best known for his hierarchy of needs culminating in self-actualisation.
- He studied healthy, self-actualising people rather than the ill, and described peak experiences.
- He taught at Brooklyn College and then Brandeis University.
- In 2002 a survey ranked him the tenth most cited psychologist of the 20th century.
Why it matters
- His hierarchy of needs is one of the most widely known ideas in psychology, used far beyond it in management and education.
Key facts
- Born
- 1 Apr 1908, Brooklyn, New York1
- Died
- 8 Jun 1970, Menlo Park, California, of a heart attack, aged 621
- Education
- City College of New York; graduate school at the University of Wisconsin1
- Career
- Brooklyn College from 1937 to 1951; Brandeis University from 1951 to 19691
- Offices
- President of the American Psychological Association (1968)1
- Founded
- The Journal of Humanistic Psychology, with Tony Sutich, in 19611
- Honour
- Humanist of the Year (1967)1
Main ideas
-
Hierarchy of needs1
Pressing needs must be mostly met before attention turns to higher ones, up to self-actualisation; he said the order is not rigid.
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Self-actualisation1
Studying healthy people shows what optimal psychological health looks like.
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Peak experiences1
Moments of love, understanding and rapture, more common among self-actualisers.
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Maslow's hammer1
"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."
Criticism
-
Lack of rigour1
Critics, including Christina Hoff Sommers and Sally Satel, said his ideas lack empirical support.
-
Cultural bias1
Cultural psychologists say the hierarchy reflects Western values; Ed Diener and Louis Tay's 123-country data found needs met in parallel.
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Selection bias1
David Myers noted he studied people who lived out his own values.
Books to start with
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Connections
Links
Sources
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