Brief introduction to life

Abraham maslow (1908- 1970) was born in Brooklyn, new york. American social psychologist, personality theorist and comparative psychologist, the main advocate and theorist of humanistic psychology, and the third force of psychology. 1926 entered Cornell University and transferred to the University of Wisconsin to study psychology three years later. Under the guidance of the famous psychologist Harlow, he received his doctorate in 1934. After that, I stayed in school to teach. 65438-0935, research assistant of Thorndike's learning psychology at Columbia University. 1937 Associate Professor, Brooklyn College, new york. 195 1 was employed as professor and head of the psychology department of brandeis university. 1969, he left his job and became the first resident assessor of Lawgreen Charity Foundation in California. After World War II, he transferred to brandeis University as a professor and head of psychology department, and began to study the psychological characteristics of healthy personality or self-realization. He used to be the president of the American Society of Personality and Social Psychology and the president of the American Psychological Society (1967). & gt and> the first editors of two magazines.

His main works are: Motivation and Personality (1954), Exploration of Existentialist Psychology (1962), Religion, Values and Peak Experience (1964), and Psychology of Science (1962).

Dual personality self-realization theory

(a) hierarchy of needs

According to Maslow's theory, the internal strength of individual growth and development is motivation. Motivation is composed of many different needs, which are divided into sequence and high and low levels; Every level of needs and satisfaction will determine the realm or degree of individual personality development.

1 physiological needs

Basic physiological needs necessary for survival, such as food, water, sleep and sex.

2 safety need (safety need)

Including a safe and predictable environment, can be relatively free from physical and psychological anxiety.

3 The need for love and belonging.

Including being accepted, cared for, cared for, encouraged and supported by others, such as making friends, pursuing love and joining groups.

4 respect for needs (esteem need)

Including respect for others and self-esteem.

5 self-realization need (self-realization need)

Including realizing one's potential.

In psychology, hierarchy of needs theory is an important theory to explain personality and motivation.

(2) Self-realization

Self-realization is the core of Maslow's personality theory. He believes that it can be defined as "the continuous realization of potential, intelligence and talent, the completion of vocation or days, fate or temperament, a fuller understanding and understanding of human inner nature, and the process of individual's continuous unification, integration or coordinated action". In other words, the reason why individuals exist and have the meaning of life is to realize themselves. Maslow conducted a sample survey of his students, and made case studies on famous figures who were still alive in history and at that time, such as Spinoza, Beethoven, Goethe, Einstein, Lincoln, Jefferson and Roosevelt, and summed up the common personality characteristics of self-fulfilling people.

1, more effective insight into reality, more comfortable relationship.

2. Accept yourself, others and nature.

3. Natural expression of behavior

4. Focus on the problem

5. Transcendental independence: the need to live alone.

6. Autonomy: independence from culture and environment; Yes; An active actor

7. Experience is always new.

8. Social emotion

9, the interpersonal relationship of self-actualizers

10, democratic personality structure

1 1. Distinguish between means and ends, good and evil.

12, a philosophical and well-meaning sense of humor

13, creativity

14, the confrontation of cultural adaptation

(3) Peak experience

Peak experience is a brief moment of self-realization. Only when there are frequent peak experiences in life can we realize ourselves smoothly.

When expounding the peak experience, Maslow thinks: "This experience is an instant and overwhelming awe, or it may be a fleeting and extremely strong sense of happiness, or even a feeling of ecstasy, ecstasy and joy." Many people claim that they have glimpsed the ultimate truth, the meaning of life and the mystery of the world in this experience. It seems that people have reached their destination through long-term efforts and fierce struggles.

"These beautiful moments come from love, from the combination with the opposite sex, from aesthetic feeling, from the impulse and passion of creation, from great understanding and discovery, from women's natural childbirth and love for their children, from the blending with nature ..."

This peak experience may occur in the family relationship between parents and children, at the moment of successful career or dedication to justice, or at the moment of "harmony between man and nature" when enjoying nature and wandering mountains and rivers.

Third, educational psychology thought.

Maslow's thought is based on the premise that human nature is good. Emphasizing the function of education, the purpose of education-the purpose of human beings and the purpose of humanism, in the final analysis, is the self-realization of human beings and the highest development that human beings can achieve, that is, helping people achieve the best state they can achieve. In Maslow's view, people have an innate potential, and it is the most basic requirement for people to exert their potential and surpass themselves. Environment has the function of promoting the realization of potential. However, not all environmental conditions are conducive to the realization of potential. Only in a harmonious atmosphere, in the relationship of sincerity, trust and understanding, can the potential get enough sunshine and water like plants. In order to make children grow up healthily, we should fully trust them and trust the natural process of growth, that is, don't interfere too much, encourage or force them to complete the expected design, let them grow up naturally, and help them grow up in a Taoist way, not in an authoritarian way.

Maslow regards perfecting human nature education as the basic content of humanistic education. Usually, people pursue the satisfaction of advanced needs after the low-level needs are met. The content of self-realization is to realize people's "intrinsic value", including truth, beauty, novelty, uniqueness, justice, strictness, simplicity, kindness, efficiency, love, honesty, simplicity, improvement, order, elegance, growth, cleanliness, tranquility and equality. If we can realize these values, we can get the greatest happiness and happiness in life. Maslow's thoughts on educational principles can be roughly summarized into five aspects:

1 principle of self-identity

Education should enable students to seek inner identity and reduce or eliminate inner contradictions and schizophrenia. And help students realize the unity of self and non-self, that is, the unity of individual, society and nature.

2 Heuristic principle

This principle is mainly to stimulate and cultivate students' creativity. Not only should we cultivate students' rational control and logical thinking through knowledge education, but more importantly, we should stimulate students' non-intellectual factors through emotional communication, the formation of a beautiful personality and the full and free expression of self.

3 aesthetic education principle

Attach importance to art education such as music, dance and art.

4 Transcendence principle

Transcending self means transcending selfishness and egocentrism, thus achieving the state of no self. In addition, there is the transcendence of culture, so it is necessary to cultivate a person with critical spirit and examine the culture he was born with a detached and objective attitude.

5 value principle

Education should give students a sense of value, explore and stimulate students' intrinsic value, and give the educated the meaning of survival.

Fourth, people-oriented management

Maslow noticed the human factor very early. When the American management masters Drucker and McGregor set their eyes on the industrialized workplace in the 1960s, Maslow first realized the importance of people-oriented management. He said, "The industrial field may be used as a new laboratory for psychodynamic research, advanced human development research and human thought ecology research." He believes that the management problems of any organization can be solved by a new method, and certain environmental conditions can be established to combine personal goals with organizational goals. That is, no matter what kind of management should be people-oriented.

First of all, he respects individuals, emphasizes self-realization, and advocates proper management of human labor, life and livelihood in the simplest way. He believes that proper management is an idealized or revolutionary skill.

Secondly, he believes that in order to promote health management and collaborative management, it is necessary to modify the obedient behavior that has been playing a role in large organizations, so that people can maintain their own personality in a company and make work their favorite entertainment instead of work.

Thirdly, he advocates coordination, advocates a person who pursues his own interests and helps others automatically at the same time; People who help others selflessly also get the benefits of self-need.

Finally, he urged not to give power to "those who pursue power for the sake of power".

Maslow's viewpoint is subversive, penetrating and accurate. Decades have passed, and his thoughts on demanding self-fulfilling employees, cultivating customer loyalty, establishing leadership style and taking uncertainty as the source of creativity have painted a very profound picture of our digital age today.

Five evaluations

The limitations of humanistic thought are mainly reflected in:

The theoretical system of 1 is not rigorous enough, lacking clear objectives and sufficient demonstration of basic viewpoints, and some concept descriptions are also vague.

2 overemphasizing self-realization and self-choice, thinking that this is an innate natural tendency, ignoring the influence and restriction of social environment and acquired education on human growth.

The research method of personality problem has its positive significance, but as a methodology system, it also has defects that cannot be ignored. Excluding overall analysis and experience description, it is not enough to explain the interrelationship and causality of people's spiritual life simply by natural science experiments and analysis methods.

Although humanistic psychology has its shortcomings, it explores human nature and value and tries to provide psychological proof, which not only expands the field of psychology and enriches the study of human spiritual life, but also strengthens the connection between empirical science and normative science and promotes the advanced development of psychology.

Maslow's humanistic psychology has created a new world for us to know and improve our lives. The problems it studies are closely related to social life, and it puts forward thought-provoking social problems. Although it is not perfect, it is positive and beneficial to the improvement of individuals, countries and even the whole human life.

(Abraham.h.maslow) proposed that people have a series of complex needs, which can be arranged in a trapezoidal hierarchy according to priority, including four basic assumptions:

Satisfied needs are no longer an incentive. People are always trying to meet a certain demand. Once a demand is met, there will be another demand to replace it.

Most people's needs are complex, and there are many needs that affect their behavior at any time.

Generally speaking, only when the lower-level needs are met can the higher-level needs have enough vitality to drive behavior.

There are more ways to meet higher-level needs than lower-level needs.

Maslow's theory divides needs into five categories: physiological needs, security needs, social needs, respect needs and self-realization needs, which are arranged from low to high.

Physiological needs: The needs for food, water, air and housing are all physiological needs, and the level of this demand is the lowest. People always try their best to meet such needs before turning to higher-level needs. When a person is hungry, he is not interested in anything else. His main motive is to get food. Even today, many people can't meet these basic physiological needs. Managers should understand that if employees are still busy with their physical needs, what they really care about has nothing to do with the work they do. When trying to motivate subordinates by meeting such needs, we are based on the assumption that people work for pay, mainly about income and comfort, so we try to motivate employees by increasing wages, improving working conditions, giving more spare time and rest time, and improving welfare benefits.

Security needs: Security needs include personal safety, life stability and freedom from pain, threat or disease. Like physiological needs, the only thing people care about before the safety needs are met is this demand. For many employees, security needs are manifested in security and stability, as well as medical insurance, unemployment insurance and retirement benefits. People whose main motivation is safety demand mainly regard it as a guarantee that they will not lose their basic needs when evaluating their career. If managers think that safety requirements are the most important for employees, they will pay attention to using this requirement in management, emphasizing rules and regulations, occupational safety and welfare, and protecting employees from unemployment. If employees have a strong demand for safety, managers should not be unconventional when dealing with problems, but should avoid or oppose risks, and employees will complete their work according to the rules.

Social needs: Social needs include the need for friendship, love and belonging. When the physiological needs and safety needs are met, the social needs will be highlighted, which will have an incentive effect. In Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, this hierarchy is completely different from the first two. If these needs are not met, it will affect the spirit of employees, leading to high absenteeism rate, low productivity, dissatisfaction with work and low mood. Managers must realize that when social needs become the main source of power, work is regarded as an opportunity to find and establish warm and harmonious interpersonal relationships, and occupations that can provide opportunities for social interaction between colleagues will be valued. When managers feel that subordinates are trying to meet such needs, they usually adopt a supportive and approving attitude, emphasize that they can be accepted by their colleagues, hold organized sports competitions and group gatherings, and abide by the collective behavior norms.

Respect for needs: Respect for needs includes not only personal feelings about achievements or self-worth, but also others' recognition and respect for themselves. People who need respect want others to accept it according to their actual image and think that they are capable and capable. What they care about is achievement, reputation, status and promotion opportunities. This is because others are aware of their talents. When they get these, they not only win people's respect, but also feel confident because they are satisfied with their values. Failure to meet such needs will make them feel depressed. If the honor given by others is not based on their real talent and knowledge, but only in name, it will also pose a threat to their own psychology. When motivating employees, we should pay special attention to managers who have respect needs, and adopt the way of public reward and praise. Special emphasis should be placed on the arduousness of the work and the superb skills required for success. Awarding medals of honor, publishing praise articles in company publications and publishing honor lists of outstanding employees can all enhance people's pride in their work.

Self-realization demand: the goal of self-realization demand is self-realization or development potential. People who reach the realm of self-realization accept themselves and others. The ability to solve problems is enhanced, the consciousness is improved, I am good at doing things independently, and I am required to be alone without being disturbed. To meet this demand for talent, he should have partially met other needs at some point. Of course, people who realize themselves may pay too much attention to the satisfaction of this highest-level demand, so that they consciously or unconsciously give up meeting lower-level needs. People who realize that demand points are dominant will be inspired to use the most creative and constructive skills in their work. Managers who pay attention to this demand will realize that innovation can be carried out in any kind of work, and creativity is not unique to managers, but what everyone expects. In order to make the work meaningful, managers who emphasize self-realization will consider using strategies that adapt to complex situations when designing their work, assigning special tasks to people with unique skills to display their talents, or leaving room for employees when designing work procedures and making implementation plans.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs assumes that people are motivated to meet one or more important needs in their lives. In addition, the strength of any particular demand depends on its position in the demand hierarchy and the degree to which it and all other lower-level needs are satisfied. Maslow's theory holds that the process of motivation is dynamic, gradual and causal. In this process, a set of ever-changing "important" needs control people's behavior, and this hierarchical relationship is not the same for everyone. This is especially true for middle-level needs such as social needs and respect needs, and their ranking order varies from person to person. But Maslow also clearly pointed out that people always give priority to meeting their own physiological needs, and self-realization needs are the most difficult to meet.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory clarifies that people will pay attention to those goals, and also explains that those types of behaviors will affect the satisfaction of various needs, but rarely involves why needs arise. These theories also point out that most people have higher-level needs, and these needs can inspire most people as long as the environment does not hinder the emergence of these higher levels.

Many studies show that senior managers can meet their higher-level needs better than basic managers, because senior managers are faced with challenging jobs in which they can realize themselves. On the other hand, grass-roots managers are more engaged in routine work, so it is relatively difficult to meet the needs of higher levels. In addition, the satisfaction degree of demand varies according to one's work in the organization, age, company size and cultural background of employees.

Managers of production command system are more satisfied with safety, socialization, respect and self-realization than department employees, and the gap between them is the biggest.

In terms of respect and self-realization, young employees (aged 25 or below) have stronger requirements than older employees (aged 36 or above).

Low-level management departments and managers in small companies are more likely to feel that their needs have been met than managers working in large companies.

Facts show that events in individuals and organizations can and do change demand. Customary practices in organizations will strongly affect the generation and satisfaction of many high-level needs. For example, promotion based on past abilities can stimulate employees' demand for respect. Moreover, with the development of managers in the organization, the demand for security is gradually weakened, while the demand for socialization, respect and self-realization is correspondingly enhanced. The following is a summary of the main findings of the hierarchy of needs theory:

Demand can be regarded as a wish that individuals strive to realize.

Only by meeting the needs of lower levels can high-level needs play an incentive role.

In addition to self-realization, other needs may be met, and then the importance to individuals decreases.

In a certain period of time, people may be motivated by various needs. Anyone's demand level will be affected by personal differences and will change with the passage of time.