13 - Maslow's Holistic-Dynamic Theory

assumption of Holistic-Dynamic theory

assumption is always motivated by needs

* dynamically rolling towards self-actualization, psychological health, and balance

third force psychology

another name for human psychology, as Maslow and Rogers were reacting to two forces (psychoanalysis and behaviourism) and wanted to come up with a different version of psychology

basic assumptions of Maslow’s theory

HUNCH

* holistic
* universal
* need-focused
* complex
* hierarchical

holistic (basic assumption regarding motivation)

no zonal motivations, the whole person is motivated

complex (basic assumption regarding motivation)

a number of motivations coming together

* ex., hunger is motivated by physiological desire by food, emotions, desire for communication/belonging
* \

need-focused (basic assumption regarding motivation)

constantly motivated by needs

* when one need is satisfied, it loses it’s power, then replaced by anotheer

universal (basic assumption regarding motivation)

needs are the same wherever you are, thus motivations are the same

* might look different in how they are fulfilled

hierarchal (basic assumption regarding motivation)

some needs have to be met before others

hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s view that needs are ordered in such a manner that those on a lower level must be satisfied before higher level needs become activated

conative needs

needs that pertain to willful and purposive striving

* all 5 needs are conative needs and motivational in nature

prepotency

needs that have prepotency must be satisfied or mostly satisfied before high level needs become activated

physiological needs

the most basic level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

* water, food, air, etc.
* most prepotent
* if not satisfied, you live from them

how do physiological needs differ from other needs

1. only needs that can be completely satisfied or overly satisfied
2. recurring


1. \

safety needs

physical security, protection, and freedom from danger

* can never be overly satiated
* children more motivated, more unknown
* adults fixated on safety needs suffer from basic anxiety, stems from fear of parental punishment
* \

basic anxiety

anxiety arising from the inability to satisfy physiological and safety needs

love and belongingness needs (and the three childhood outcomes)

include the need to give and receive love

* if satisfied in childhood, don’t feel threatened from future denial
* if unsatisfied in childhood, incapable of love later
* cold, distant, socially stunted
* love in small doses, have had a taste so strongly motivated
* stronger need than if received healthy dose
* adults complete in sideways fashion (ex., self-defeating behaviours to obtain sympathy from others)

esteem needs (and it’s two levels)

self-respect, competence, and perceived esteem of others

* **reputation:** *perception* of prestige, recognition, fame that someone achieved in the eyes of other people
* want others to like us
* **self-esteem:** own feelings of worth, confidence, and value
* rooted in desire to be strong, to achieve, master something, and confidence
* based on *real* competence

self-actualization needs

need to fully develop all of one’s psychological capacities

* most complex need
* not always completed
* fully human when self-actualized
* natural in expressing basic needs
* don’t suppress, make space to enjoy, maintain self-esteem when rejected, not dependent on satisfaction of others

aesthetic needs

needs for art, music, beauty, etc.

* related to basic conative needs, but separate
* not universal
* want to be surrounded by beautiful things
* feel sick when not

cognitive needs

needs for knowledge and understanding; related to basic or conative needs yet operating on a different dimension

* desire to know, to understand, and be curious about the world
* if threatened, threaten our conative needs
* overlap, meet cognitive and basic needs at the same time
* all healthy people have cognitive needs
* when not met leads to **skepticism, cynicism, disillusionment**
* \

neurotic needs

nonproductive needs that are opposed to the basic needs and that block psychological health whether or not they are satisfied

* only leads to negative outcomes, unhealthy lifestyles, pathologies
* reactive
* stifles self actualization
* compensation for not being able to meet a lower need

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general considerations for needs

* average person does not have needs fully satisfied
* occasionally needs achieved in reverse order, but that is more apparent than real
* believed all behaviours have a cause, some unmotivated (**expressive behaviour)**
* \

percentages of average satisfaction of needs

85% - physiological

70% - safety

50% - love

40% - esteem

10% - self-actualization

expressive behaviour

serves no other purpose than to be

* unconscious, no goals or aims, occurs naturally
* determined by forces within us in response to the world
* gait, gestures, voice, smile

coping behaviours

ways we meet needs

* conscious, effortful, learned, determined by external environment
* serves aim or goal, even if unconscious

metapathology

illness characterized by absence of values, lack of fulfillment, and loss of meaning that results from deprivation of self-actualization needs

* most people have it

instinctoid needs

needs that are innately determined but that can be modified through learning

* frustration of instinctoid needs leads to various pathology
* **classification of needs**
* includes all conative needs
* \

four criteria of instinctoid needs

1. level of pathology upon not meeting need


1. ex., not getting food = malnutrition or not getting starbucks = fine
2. persistence, need to be met


1. if met, psychologically healthy
2. non-instinctoid is temporary
3. species-specific


1. most important aspect
2. animal behaviour cannot be used as model for human motivation
3. only humans are motivated by esteem and self-actualization
4. can be molded, inhibited, altered by environment, difficult to change but weaker than culture

differences between higher needs and lower ones are those of ----- and not of kind

degree


1. higher level needs are later on phylogenetic or evolutionary scale
2. higher level needs produce more happiness and more peak experiences, although satisfaction of lower level needs may produce a degree of pleasure

four criteria for self-actualizing people

1. free from psychopathology: neither neurotic nor psychotic nor tendency toward psychological disturbances
2. self-actualizing people had progressed through the hierarchy of needs and therefore lived above the subsistence level of existence, no ever-present threat to safety
3. embracing of the B-values, feel comfortable demanding truth, beauty, justice, simplicity, humour, and other B-values
4. fulfilled their needs to grow, develop, and to increasingly become what they were capable of becoming

B-values

values of self-actualizing people, including beauty, truth, goodness, justice, wholeness, etc.

* metaneeds, ultimate level of needs, underly all other needs
* eternal verities
* indicators of psychological health
* 14 of them
* \

metamotivation

the motives of self-actualizing people, including the B-values

* characterized by expressive behaviour
* explains why all other needs can be satisfied and we still don’t achieve self-actualization
* their lives are meaningless and lack B-values
* automatic, stylized

deprivation of B-values results in -------

metapathology, the lack of meaningful philosophy of life

more efficient perception of reality

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

ability to detect phoniness

* comfortable with the unknown, seeking ambiguity

acceptance of self, others, and nature

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

accept who they are as they are, not defensive, phony, or self-defeating guilt

* meet their needs naturally
* recognize human struggles, weaknesses, strengths
* don’t expect perfection

spontaneity, simplicity, and naturalness

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

unconventional, ethical, non-conforming

* unpretentious
* not ashamed to express emotions to others
* \

problem-centering

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

concerned about social issues beyond self

* live from personal mission, have a calling

need for privacy

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

comfortable being alone without feeling lonely, self mover

autonomy

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

depend on self, confidence in self to meet needs as required

continued freshness of appreciation

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

capacity to appreciate the simplicity of everyday life

* don’t take blessings for granted

peak experience

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

an intense, mystical experience, often characteristic of self-actualizing people but not limited to them

* self-actualizers have more than the average person
* humbling, empowering, emotional, awe, overwhelming, disorienting
* feeling of being part of everything, interconnectedness of world

gemeinschaftgefuhl

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

social interest, oneness with everyone, community feeling

profound interpersonal relations

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

nurturing to others, few close friends but deeper relationships

democratic character structure

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

valuing democracy, non-discriminatory, humble, desire to learn from everyone around them

discrimination between means and ends

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

strong moral sense, little conflict about basic values

* set sights on ends rather than means of end
* enjoy doing things for their own sake
* \

philosophical sense of humour

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

non-hostile sense of humour, non-sexual jokes, not at others’ expense, don’t put self down

* humour as tool to draw attention to a situation
* \

creativeness

(one of the 15 characteristics of self-actualizing people)

keen perception of truth, beauty, and reality

* find outlets for creativity

resistance to enculturation

live in accordance with norms in calculated and thoughtful way

* don’t push boundaries of certain domains
* aren’t antisocial, live according to standards of own conduct
* autonomous, live from different centre
* more individualized than others
* \

d-love

deficiency love or affection based on the lover’s specific deficiency and the loved one’s ability to satisfy that deficit

* self-actualizing people not motivated by d-love

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b-love

love between self-actualizing people and characterized by the love for the being of the other

* mutually felt and shared
* not motivated by deficiency or incompleteness within the lover
* automatic state of being
* unselfish
* \

desacrilization

process of removing respect, joy, awe, and rapture from an experience, which then allegedly purifies or objectifies that experience

resacralization

process of returning respect, joy, awe, and rapture to an experience in order to make that experience more personal

* maslow called for scientists to do this

taoistic attitude

non-interfering, passive, receptive attitude that includes awe and wonder toward that which is observed

Maslow’s view on science

* objective, value-free science is not possible
* scientists should care about the people and topics they investigate
* more emphasis on the study of the individual
* psychologists need to be healthy
* never certainty in psychology
* \

jonah complex

the fear of being or doing one’s best

* attempts of running away from one’s destiny
* appears in everyone
* being the best version of ourself is risky

reasons why people run (jonah complex)

1. human body can’t endure ecstasy of success for too long


1. shying away from strong emotions
2. people have private ambition to be great, but lower aspirations when comparing self to other successful people


1. self-defeating humbleness

psychotherapy

aim for clients to embrace the B-values, they must be free from their dependency on others so that their natural impulse toward growth and self-actualization could become active

* most people seeking therapy are at love and belongingness level
* therapist must model accepting relationships
* \

positive psychology

new field of psychology that combines an emphasis on hope, optimism, and well-being with scientific research and assessment

* re-experiencing positive experiences associated with enhanced coping to alter or accommodate one’s perception of the world

awe

experiencing the feelings of vastness and expansiveness while at the same time needs to alter or accommodate one’s perceptions of the world

Rudd and colleagues finding about awe

awe expands sense of having time, willingness to donate time for social causes, increases overall satisfaction for life

* does not increase willingness to donate money

critique

* therapeutic utility
* universality