MASLOW, ABRAHAM HAROLD

Abstract
This article presents an overview of Abraham Maslow’s life and contributions to psychology. It provides an overview of his theories, including his hierarchy of needs and his self-actualization theory, as well as his contributions to humanistic psychology. The article concludes with a discussion of Maslow’s continuing influence on modern psychology.

Introduction
Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-1970) was one of the foremost American psychologists of the twentieth century. He was a founder of humanistic psychology and is best known for his development of the Hierarchy of Needs, a theory of human motivation. Maslow’s view of human behavior and psychological development has had a lasting influence on modern psychology.

Life and Work
Maslow was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1908 to an immigrant Jewish family. He was an academically gifted child and attended City College of New York, where he completed his undergraduate studies in 1928. He went on to study psychology at the University of Wisconsin, where he earned his PhD in 1934.

Maslow’s early research focused on primates, but he eventually moved away from this area of study and became interested in human behavior and motivation. He began teaching at Brooklyn College in 1937 and later moved to Brandeis University, where he served as chair of the psychology department from 1951 to 1969.

Theory of Human Motivation
Maslow is best known for his Hierarchy of Needs, a theory of human motivation. This theory proposes that people have a hierarchy of needs that must be met in order for them to be truly satisfied. The most basic needs are physiological, such as air, water, and food. Once these needs are met, people move on to higher needs such as safety, love, and self-esteem. At the top of the hierarchy is self-actualization, which is the need to reach one’s full potential.

Maslow also proposed that people have a need for self-actualization which is the desire to reach one’s full potential. He believed that this need could only be met when the lower needs in the hierarchy were met first. He also believed that people have a need for self-transcendence, which is the desire to transcend one’s own needs and connect with something greater than oneself.

Contributions to Humanistic Psychology
In addition to his work on motivation, Maslow was also a founder of humanistic psychology. This approach to psychology emphasizes the importance of understanding the individual’s subjective experience. It also seeks to understand the individual’s potential for growth and development.

Maslow’s work on motivation and self-actualization has been influential in humanistic psychology. He argued that it is only when a person’s basic needs are met that they can become truly self-actualized, and he believed that this could be achieved through personal growth and development.

Conclusion
Abraham Maslow was an influential American psychologist whose theories and ideas about human motivation and self-actualization have had a lasting impact on modern psychology. His work has been foundational in the development of humanistic psychology, and his Hierarchy of Needs remains an important concept in psychology today.

References
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396.

Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Casserly, M. (2019). Abraham Maslow: Biography, facts, & contributions to psychology. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/abraham-maslow-biography-2795585