Maslow

Abraham Maslow immigrated from Russia as a young child to Brooklyn, New York. He grew up a hard working student, and was often described as a lonely child who turned only turned to books.

WHAT?

• Hierarchy of Human Needs
• Humanistic Psychology
• Research on human dominance and sexuality.
• Theory of Self-Actualization

WHERE?
After obtaining his BA, MA, and PhD in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin, Maslow relocated back to New York and began researching at Columbia University, which is where he did his work on the pyramid of human needs. Eventually he began teaching Psychology at Brooklyn College.

WHen?

• Abraham Maslow was born in 1908 
• Through the 30's, 40's, and 50's 
• His research took place partly during the Great Depression
• It was also largely in the aftermath of World War II

Why?

• His interest in human psychology sparked from childhood neglect.
• Psychologist Eric Fromm (a humanist) was one of his influences.
• Worked off the "hunch" that deep down, all humans are good.

How?

• Maslow was more of a theorist than research scientist.
• Inspired other researchers such as Shostrom, who invented the POI
• Caused other psychologists to focus on the "positive"
• A huge contributor to Humanistic Psychology

SO WHAT?
Maslow's reseach on human dominance has in many ways influenced our stereotypes on mutual attractions. His research shows that most of the time, dominant personalities are attracted to other dominant personalities, while less dominant personalities are attracted to other less dominant personalities. This is not always the case, and, in my own opinion, causes us to put labels on pairings that aren't considered "normal" or "natural".

WOW
Maslow was different than other psychologists in that he focused largely on human improvement vs. the faults of the human body or mind.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bhmasl.html

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/Maslow.html

http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/maslow.htm

http://www.sofia.edu/about/history/transpersonal-pioneers-abraham-maslow/

https://www.carpenters.org/todays_ubc_top_nav/history_copy1/1930-1950.aspx

http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe/pedagogy/meta/mod5/cult_hist.pdf

http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/maslow.html