Maslow

I am wholeheartedly grateful to this compassionate observer of mankind.  I believe that 

his motivation theory and understanding the first stage of human needs is the very 

reason we have the school lunch programs today for our impoverished children.  

Innately, when I see a student enter in my class lacking motivation, I'd immediately ask 

if they had eaten and if not, I would send them off to the cafeteria.  If not it, I 

further holistically reach into their comfort predicament.   No doubt, the next stage; 

safety,  which today, our children are protected by the courts of law to ensure what 

necessitates transition onto the next stages so that every child is fully equipped 

to reach their highest potential for success. I feel that these are Maslow's greatest 

contribution through his work from his theories on motivation.  

I like that Maslow's belief of individuals is shaped by both biology and society and that 

the two cannot be separated.  Therefor, humans all have the possibilities to reach the 

highest level toward self-actualization, the dimension into consciousness.  It is reached 

upon satisfaction of love and belongingness.  It is the stage where one is fully aware of 

themselves and how they deal with their lives with care for others versus the 

unconscious, where the complexities of motivation is revealed.  It is evident in how 

some people just never are satisfied with meeting their most basic 

needs, for example the 'Bernie Madoff' hedge-fund family.  An extreme opposite of 

all these Jewish intellectuals that are amazingly the forerunners  in psychotherapy. 

This early development in 1940's, Maslow's personality, humanistic, transpersonal 

theory, which he appropriately called, the holistic-dynamic theory reverberates forever 

in societal contributions to American children and our society.  It 

costs more today to jail individuals than to to school them, the very reason government 

ensures the social and welfare programs for children.

It is valuable for me to list the 5 needs, in which Maslow has 

shown evidence in it's complexities whereby needs may be satisfied in hierarchical 

order, or, it may be reversed. The lower level needs, 1) physiological needs, 2) Safety 

needs, to the higher level needs 3) Love and belonging needs, 4)Esteem needs, and

Highest level, 5) self-actualizing needs.  It is important to know that it is in attaining the 

first or lower needs, only then can one move onto to attain the next level.  Upon 

reaching the highest level, one has attained self-fulfillment.  A complete lack of 

satisfaction of above may lead to less than fulfilled individuals;  inferiority complex, 

personality defects, promiscuity, and psychological dilemmas.

Knowledge of Maslow's research on self-actualization, is important that I use methods 

of cognitive therapy with tad of confrontational,  existential therapy with 'what-if' 

questioning, holistic therapy  with empathic listening and rephrasing to empower people 

needing help in these areas, 'to grow, to develop, to be capable' of  reaching their 

highest self-actualizing needs.