Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Journal Summaries

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Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Kristina Stemple Liberty University Abstract Abraham Maslow is known for his humanistic views as well as his hierarchy of human needs which was conceptualized based on his theory on motivation. The hierarchy of needs is an organized set of human needs which infers that lower needs are met before individuals advance to next higher need, eventually leading to the final need for self-actualization. The hierarchy needs has raised some questions and challenges, however, it has established some reliability. Maslow’s theory on motivation has been an influence on employees within the workplace as well as with learning systems. His humanistic views and his concepts continue to be relevant in motivating employees and learning. Abraham Maslow, born in New York City in 1908, conceived the popular concept of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and was also well-known for his theories on synergy, motivation, and self-actualization (Hoffman, 1988). During his youth Maslow only worked occasionally leaving him with much spare time in which he spent most of it reading. Developing idealistic notions, he decided to dedicate himself to bettering the world through science and went on to major in psychology. Maslow was trained in experimental psychology and did some research studies before he went on to conduct a field study on Canada’s Blackfoot Indians which drew conclusions that would guide his research on emotional security as a trait that has a profound impact on social relations (Hoffman, 1988). During the 1940’s Maslow developed a new explanation for human nature based on his theory on motivation, which came to be known as the hierarchy of needs. Maslow believed that when our very basic needs are met a higher need emerges, and once these are satisfied still another new and higher need surfaces and so on (Hoffman, 1988);
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