Psychology – Theories of Personality
Study Guide
Western Mindanao State University
I. Overview of Maslow’s Holistic-Dynamic Theory
Abraham Maslow’s holistic-dynamic theory holds that people are continually motivated by one
or more needs, and that, under the proper circumstances, they can reach a level of psychological
health called self-actualization.
II. Biography of Abraham H. Maslow
Abraham H. Maslow was born in New York in 1908, the oldest of seven children of Russian
Jewish immigrants. After two or three mediocre years as a college student, his work improved
at about the time he was married. He received both a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. from the
University of Wisconsin where he worked with Harry Harlow conducting animal studies/ Most
of his professional career was spent at Brooklyn College and at Brandeis University. Poor
health forced him to move to California where he dies in 1970 at age 62.
III.Maslow’s View of Motivation
Maslow’s theory rests on five basic assumptions about motivation: (1) the whole organism is
motivated at any one time; (2) motivation is complex, and unconscious motives often underline
behavior; (3) people are continually motivated by one need or another; (4) people in different
cultures are all motivated by the same basic needs; and (5) needs can be arranged on a
hierarchy.
A. Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow held that lower level needs have prepotency over higher level needs; that is, they must
be satisfied before higher needs become motivators. Maslow’s hierarchy includes (1)
physiological needs, such as oxygen, food, water and so on; (2) safety needs, which include
physical security, stability, dependency, protection and freedom from danger, and which result
in basic anxiety if not satisfied; (3) love and belongingness needs, including the desire for
friendship, the wish for a mate and children, and the need to belong; (4) esteem needs, which
follow from the satisfaction of love needs and which include self-confidence and the
recognition that one has a positive reputation; and (5) self-actualization needs, which are
satisfied only by the psychologically healthiest people. Unlike other needs that automatically
are activated when lower needs are met, self-actualization needs do not inevitably follow the
satisfaction of esteem needs. Only by embracing such B-values as truth, beauty, oneness, and
justice, can people achieve self-actualization. The five needs on Maslow’s hierarchy are
conative needs. Other needs include aesthetic needs, cognitive needs and neurotic needs.
B. Aesthetic Needs
Aesthetic needs include a desire for beauty and order, and some people have much stronger
aesthetic needs than the others. When people fail to meet their aesthetic needs, they become
sick.
C. Cognitive Needs
Cognitive needs include desire to know, to understand, and to be curious. Knowledge is a
prerequisite for each of the five conative needs. Also, people who are denied of knowledge and
kept in ignorance become sick, paranoid and depressed.
Study Guide
Western Mindanao State University
I. Overview of Maslow’s Holistic-Dynamic Theory
Abraham Maslow’s holistic-dynamic theory holds that people are continually motivated by one
or more needs, and that, under the proper circumstances, they can reach a level of psychological
health called self-actualization.
II. Biography of Abraham H. Maslow
Abraham H. Maslow was born in New York in 1908, the oldest of seven children of Russian
Jewish immigrants. After two or three mediocre years as a college student, his work improved
at about the time he was married. He received both a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. from the
University of Wisconsin where he worked with Harry Harlow conducting animal studies/ Most
of his professional career was spent at Brooklyn College and at Brandeis University. Poor
health forced him to move to California where he dies in 1970 at age 62.
III.Maslow’s View of Motivation
Maslow’s theory rests on five basic assumptions about motivation: (1) the whole organism is
motivated at any one time; (2) motivation is complex, and unconscious motives often underline
behavior; (3) people are continually motivated by one need or another; (4) people in different
cultures are all motivated by the same basic needs; and (5) needs can be arranged on a
hierarchy.
A. Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow held that lower level needs have prepotency over higher level needs; that is, they must
be satisfied before higher needs become motivators. Maslow’s hierarchy includes (1)
physiological needs, such as oxygen, food, water and so on; (2) safety needs, which include
physical security, stability, dependency, protection and freedom from danger, and which result
in basic anxiety if not satisfied; (3) love and belongingness needs, including the desire for
friendship, the wish for a mate and children, and the need to belong; (4) esteem needs, which
follow from the satisfaction of love needs and which include self-confidence and the
recognition that one has a positive reputation; and (5) self-actualization needs, which are
satisfied only by the psychologically healthiest people. Unlike other needs that automatically
are activated when lower needs are met, self-actualization needs do not inevitably follow the
satisfaction of esteem needs. Only by embracing such B-values as truth, beauty, oneness, and
justice, can people achieve self-actualization. The five needs on Maslow’s hierarchy are
conative needs. Other needs include aesthetic needs, cognitive needs and neurotic needs.
B. Aesthetic Needs
Aesthetic needs include a desire for beauty and order, and some people have much stronger
aesthetic needs than the others. When people fail to meet their aesthetic needs, they become
sick.
C. Cognitive Needs
Cognitive needs include desire to know, to understand, and to be curious. Knowledge is a
prerequisite for each of the five conative needs. Also, people who are denied of knowledge and
kept in ignorance become sick, paranoid and depressed.
