UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
College of Human Sciences
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
PYC2611: Personality Theories in Context
Assignment 1 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
PYC2611
Module Code:
Personality Theories in Context
Module Name:
Mind Map: Maslow’s Humanistic Theory
Assignment Topic:
[Student Name]
Student Name:
[Student Number]
Student Number:
Assignment 1
Assignment Number:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for Personality Theories in Context — UNISA 2026
, UNISA | PYC2611 Personality Theories in Context
Selected Theory: Maslow’s Humanistic Theory of Personality
Abraham Maslow (1943) built one of psychology’s most enduring frameworks for understand-
ing what drives human behaviour and shapes personality. His theory, rooted in the humanis-
tic tradition, holds that people are not simply pushed by unconscious drives or shaped entirely
by external rewards. Instead, Maslow argued that human motivation follows a structured hi-
erarchy of needs, and that personality develops through the process of striving to meet those
needs at progressively higher levels (Maslow, 1943, 1970).
Humanistic psychology rejected both the determinism of psychoanalysis and the narrow stimulus-
response logic of behaviourism. It placed the whole, experiencing person at the centre of in-
quiry. Maslow formalised this into a five-level model: physiological needs, safety needs, love
and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualisation (Maslow, 1943). His later revisions
introduced self-transcendence as an apex above self-actualisation (Maslow, 1970; Koltko-Rivera,
2006).
This theory was selected because its structure maps naturally onto a visual mind map, its lev-
els connect directly to everyday South African experiences, and its core ideas have proved
durable across nearly eight decades of psychological debate.
Page 2 of 10
College of Human Sciences
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
PYC2611: Personality Theories in Context
Assignment 1 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
PYC2611
Module Code:
Personality Theories in Context
Module Name:
Mind Map: Maslow’s Humanistic Theory
Assignment Topic:
[Student Name]
Student Name:
[Student Number]
Student Number:
Assignment 1
Assignment Number:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for Personality Theories in Context — UNISA 2026
, UNISA | PYC2611 Personality Theories in Context
Selected Theory: Maslow’s Humanistic Theory of Personality
Abraham Maslow (1943) built one of psychology’s most enduring frameworks for understand-
ing what drives human behaviour and shapes personality. His theory, rooted in the humanis-
tic tradition, holds that people are not simply pushed by unconscious drives or shaped entirely
by external rewards. Instead, Maslow argued that human motivation follows a structured hi-
erarchy of needs, and that personality develops through the process of striving to meet those
needs at progressively higher levels (Maslow, 1943, 1970).
Humanistic psychology rejected both the determinism of psychoanalysis and the narrow stimulus-
response logic of behaviourism. It placed the whole, experiencing person at the centre of in-
quiry. Maslow formalised this into a five-level model: physiological needs, safety needs, love
and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualisation (Maslow, 1943). His later revisions
introduced self-transcendence as an apex above self-actualisation (Maslow, 1970; Koltko-Rivera,
2006).
This theory was selected because its structure maps naturally onto a visual mind map, its lev-
els connect directly to everyday South African experiences, and its core ideas have proved
durable across nearly eight decades of psychological debate.
Page 2 of 10
