PSYCH 2B03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: American Humanist Association, Abraham Maslow, Humanistic Psychology
25 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Abraham Maslow
Lecture 4
Humanistic Theories
• Humanistic psychology works off the Self, which was introduced by Jung
• Not concerned about personality development (like Freud & Jung), more concerned about
the meaning/purpose of life for individuals (what their goals are, what they think their
meaning in life is)
• Desire to help person achieve self-actualization: understanding, wholeness, meaning.
Humanism is about reaching one’s full potential, recognizing their skills & talents,
becoming everything that one has the built-in ability to become
• Focus on individual’s unique perception of the world – understands each individual’s
unique outlook on life
• Avoid reductionism – against the idea of breaking down personality into pieces that make
up personality. Sees individuals as a unified whole, rather than behaviours, defense
mechanisms, etc. Unable to understand personality has units it arises from, must be
holistic
• More idiographic than other theories - takes an idiographic view, requires understanding
the individual to help the individual
Humanistic Principles (American Humanist Association)
• These principles form the foundation of humanistic beliefs
1. “The primary study of psychology should be the experiencing person” – we want to
study humans (the person) rather than animals. Looks at each individual separately as
they go through their experiences
2. “Choice, creativity & self-realization are the concerns of the humanistic
psychologist” – goals of humanistic psychologists are interested in helping people
realizing their potential
3. “Only personally & socially significant problems should be studied” – ignores q’s
that aren’t focused on society & helping people’s personal problems
4. “The major concern of psychology is the dignity & enhancement of people”
“Instinctoid” Motivation
• Believed motivation is built in (like Freud & Jung). They are not instinctive, but
instinctoid
o Similar to Freud, he believed there are a number of instinctoid motivations
• Not dominating/uncontrollable – unlike animal instincts which can’t be stopped no matter
how inappropriate it is. As long as trigger is in external enviro, animal instincts take
control
• Can be controlled & repressed – human beings can guide and control their instincts
• Overlain by learning, cultural expectations, etc. – can be influenced by external factors
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Maslow’s theory is based on the idea that human motivation consists of a hierarchy of
needs
• Needs move from bottom to top
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o Evolutionarily old needs → recent needs (bottom needs are shared w/ all
organisms but top ones are purely human)
o Needs developing early in life → those developing later (order in which they
appear in lives)
o Needs primarily biological/physiological → needs primarily psychological (as it
moves up, more concerned about psychological needs rather than the
physical/biological needs)
• Needs (D-motives):
o Physiological – air, water, food, etc. Most demanding & powerful of all the needs
we have. Sex is not one of these needs
o Safety – needs for protection, security, etc. Not just physical safety, but also
structure (predictability & order – having a stable job), being able to predict what
will happen in life
o Love & belongingness
▪ Belongingness – desires social contact & belonging to social groups
▪ Love – both giving & receiving love
▪ Maslow believed failure in this level was the single cause for human
misery & suffering
o Esteem – recognition & respect from others and from ourselves (have to love self)
o The above are all deficiency motives (D-motives), things we have to have to
function adequately as a complete human being
o Self-actualization – when all needs are met, sometimes self-actualization will be
achieved
▪ Achieved by very few people, < 5-10%
▪ Ongoing actualization, fulfillment of destiny (becoming all you can be),
fuller acceptance of inner nature
▪ Not a D-motive – don’t need it for psychological/physiological fulfillment.
It can be added to enrich the individual
▪ D-perception/D-cognition – the way we perceive the world when we
have not reached self-actualization
• Active – we are actively trying to achieve & fulfill needs,
searching for things in enviro to do this
• Focused – only on things in enviro that meet our needs (will only
notice things r/t food if you’re hungry)
• No longer shown when self-actualization is reached b/c no longer
motivated by deficiencies
▪ B-perception/B-cognition - when self-actualization is reached
• Passive – taking things as they come calmly
• Broad – notice lots more things in environment, openly receives
info from the world
• Additional Needs:
o Not a part of the hierarchy, but seem to be continuously present from a very early
age (birth)
o Cognitive Needs – need to understand, explore, investigate the world. The desire
to think deeply about things. Can be high in some individuals and low in others
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Sees individuals as a unified whole, rather than behaviours, defense mechanisms, etc. Unable to understand personality has units it arises from, must be holistic: more idiographic than other theories - takes an idiographic view, requires understanding the individual to help the individual. Humanistic principles (american humanist association: these principles form the foundation of humanistic beliefs, the primary study of psychology should be the experiencing person we want to study humans (the person) rather than animals. Instinctoid motivation: believed motivation is built in (like freud & jung). They are not instinctive, but instinctoid: similar to freud, he believed there are a number of instinctoid motivations, not dominating/uncontrollable unlike animal instincts which can"t be stopped no matter how inappropriate it is. As long as trigger is in external enviro, animal instincts take control: can be controlled & repressed human beings can guide and control their instincts, overlain by learning, cultural expectations, etc. Most demanding & powerful of all the needs we have.
