In our time, only the lazy has not heard of Maslow's pyramid, or the pyramid of needs. This symbol shows in which hierarchy the needs of the average person are located: first there are physiological needs, then safety, the desire to be loved, and so on.
The meaning of this theory is that when a person is full and has a roof over his head, he has other, less material needs, even highly spiritual ones. Some psychologists dispute this theory, many are guided by it in their work.
Biography
Abraham's parents are from Russia. First, his father came to the United States and started doing business. And when things went well for him, he invited his girlfriend to his place, and they got married already in America. The future psychologist was born in New York in 1908.
Since childhood, he was a shy, notorious, nervous boy. He had great learning abilities, but due to shyness, he did not show them very much. He considered himself unworthy to travel with other people in the same carriage, because he considered himself very ugly.
So Abraham spent his school years, and then he entered City College to become a lawyer. This was the desire of his father, but in college the future psychologist did not like it so much that he did not even finish the first year.
Then he became a student at Cornell University and got acquainted with psychology within its walls.
After transferring to the University of Wisconsin, Harry Harlow became Maslow's scientific advisor, who had been researching primates for a long time. At this time, Abraham became interested in behaviorism - the theory of a person's reaction to the environment, to negative and positive events in his life. Now many psychologists know terms such as "reinforcement", "punishment" and others. And at that time, scientists conducted experiments on rats and monitored their reactions to certain actions in relation to them.
Scientist career
Maslow showed great success in his work, and already in 1930 he became a bachelor. And four years later he became a doctor of sciences.
The young scientist dreamed of continuing his research, he wanted to do science. Therefore, he went to New York, which at that time was a real center of science. Scientists who were persecuted by the Nazis came there, and there were many great minds of our time in the city.
It was during this period that Maslow met such celebrities as Alfred Adler, Eric Fromm, Karen Horney. Most of all he had a chance to communicate with Max Wertheimer, one of the founders of Gestalt psychology, and Ruth Benedict, a wonderful specialist in cultural anthropology.
In New York, Abraham went to test at Columbia University, to psychologist Edward Thorndike. He had a special test to test the mental abilities of applicants, and the young scientist passed it just brilliantly - this has not happened before. Of course, Thorndike was happy to have such a specialist as his assistant.
And soon Maslow began working as a teacher at Brooklyn College. In this educational institution, he worked for fourteen years and received a huge amount of material for his scientific work.
In his student years, the future scientist was engaged in behaviorism, and this interest remained with him for the rest of his life. When he became acquainted with the writings of Freud, he agreed that he paid special attention to sexuality. And so he devoted his dissertation to sexual behavior in primates. And having received a specialized education and a scientific degree, he devoted part of his time to the study of human sexual behavior. And he believed that if everyone understands the influence of sexuality on their lives, life will become easier.
When the Second World War began, the scientist realized that psychology is powerless when it comes to international conflicts. Then all his attention shifted to social and personal psychology. He decided to study the problem of negotiating and channeling them into a peaceful channel.
Whatever the scientist did, he translated everything into the field of research. So, one day he became very ill and had to quit his job. During this time, he helped his father in his work - making barrels. During this time, he made ingenious conclusions about production management, which are still used today.
Since 1951, Maslow began working at Brandes University. He was invited as the head of the department of the first psychological faculty. It is recorded in the history of the university that he made a great contribution to the development of the entire university.
The scientist died of myocardial infarction when he was sixty-two years old.
Personal life
When Abraham studied at Cornell University, he met his cousin Bertha. As he later recalled, it was love at first sight. He did not hope for reciprocity, but he often went to visit his family in order to see Bertha for at least a few minutes. Once, when they were alone, he decided to hug her, and she kissed him. For the first time in his life, Abraham experienced a feeling that he never experienced again.
His fear of being rejected was not confirmed, and this instilled confidence in the young man - he proposed to Bertha. The girl agreed, and a year later they became husband and wife.
Later Maslow recalled that marriage and acquaintance with psychology happened almost simultaneously, and these were the most significant events in his life.
During his lifetime, Maslow's research and scientific work was heavily criticized and considered to be outside the scientific framework. And he himself said that he does not recognize any framework, and that they limit the living mind and abilities of a person.
Now the scientist's work is cited as an example as scientific, and his pyramid is considered as an example of positive human behavior.
