Abraham Maslow BiographyUSA Flag

Abraham Maslow, Psychologist
Born asAbraham Harold Maslow
Occup.Psychologist
FromUSA
SpouseBertha Goodman
BornApril 1, 1908
Brooklyn, New York, USA
DiedJune 8, 1970
Menlo Park, California, USA
CauseHeart Attack
Aged62 years
Abraham Maslow was a renowned American psychologist known for his foundational work in humanistic psychology and development of the "Hierarchy of Needs". Born on April 1, 1908, in Brooklyn, New York, to Samuel and Rose Maslow, he was the oldest of seven siblings.

Maslow grew up in a Jewish family and experienced considerable antisemitism, which some believe spurred his interest in understanding human behavior, motivation, and mental well-being. He attended the City College of New York (CCNY) and then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned his bachelor's (1928), master's (1930), and Ph.D. (1934) degrees in psychology. Afterward, Maslow taught at Brooklyn College from 1937 to 1951.

Influenced by the work of psychologists such as Alfred Adler, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney, and Harry Stack Sullivan, Maslow developed his own theory of human motivation, culminating in the influential 'Hierarchy of Needs.' This pyramid of human needs has five levels, with the most basic being physiological needs such as food and shelter, followed by safety and security, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Maslow believed that as individuals meet their lower-level needs, they can strive to achieve the higher-level ones. His work shaped the field of humanistic psychology, which emphasizes a holistic view of the human experience and the potential for personal growth.

In 1951, Maslow joined the faculty at Brandeis University, where he established the psychology department and served as its chairman for ten years. He was known as an innovative educator who inspired students, including Abraham Schutz and Paul Goodman, to further explore human nature and focus on human potential. Maslow became president of the American Psychological Association in 1967, where he continued to advocate for the humanistic approach.

Throughout his career, Maslow authored several influential books, including "Motivation and Personality" (1954) and "Toward a Psychology of Being" (1962), which expanded on his humanistic perspective and significantly impacted counseling and therapeutic methods. His ideas produced a range of measurement scales to assess individuals' self-actualization, and he is considered a leading figure in the development of the "human potential movement" during the 1960s.

In the late years of his career, Maslow turned his focus from self-actualization to concepts like self-transcendence and the "peak experience", exploring the potential for individuals to connect with something larger than themselves, leading to greater wisdom, empathy, and creativity.

Abraham Maslow died on June 8, 1970, at the age of 62, in Menlo Park, California, after suffering a heart attack. His groundbreaking work has left a lasting impact on the fields of psychology, business, education, and mental health, as many continue to explore and apply the ideas he pioneered.

Our collection contains 18 quotes who is written / told by Abraham.

Related authors: Harry Stack Sullivan (Psychologist), Erich Fromm (Psychologist), Alfred Adler (Psychologist), Karen Horney (Psychologist)

Source / external links:

18 Famous quotes by Abraham Maslow

Small: Abraham Maslow: What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself
"What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself"
Small: Abraham Maslow: What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization
"What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization"
Small: Abraham Maslow: We may define therapy as a search for value
"We may define therapy as a search for value"
Small: Abraham Maslow: We fear to know the fearsome and unsavory aspects of ourselves, but we fear even more to know
"We fear to know the fearsome and unsavory aspects of ourselves, but we fear even more to know the godlike in ourselves"
Small: Abraham Maslow: The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short
"The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short"
Small: Abraham Maslow: The fact is that people are good, Give people affection and security, and they will give affec
"The fact is that people are good, Give people affection and security, and they will give affection and be secure in their feelings and their behavior"
Small: Abraham Maslow: The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness
"The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness"
Small: Abraham Maslow: Ones only rival is ones own potentialities. Ones only failure is failing to live up to ones ow
"One's only rival is one's own potentialities. One's only failure is failing to live up to one's own possibilities. In this sense, every man can be a king, and must therefore be treated like a king"
Small: Abraham Maslow: If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy
"If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life"
Small: Abraham Maslow: If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail
"If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail"
Small: Abraham Maslow: If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles
"If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I'd still swim. And I'd despise the one who gave up"
Small: Abraham Maslow: I was awfully curious to find out why I didnt go insane
"I was awfully curious to find out why I didn't go insane"
Small: Abraham Maslow: Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth
"Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth"
Small: Abraham Maslow: Classic economic theory, based as it is on an inadequate theory of human motivation, could be
"Classic economic theory, based as it is on an inadequate theory of human motivation, could be revolutionized by accepting the reality of higher human needs, including the impulse to self actualization and the love for the highest values"
Small: Abraham Maslow: But behavior in the human being is sometimes a defense, a way of concealing motives and though
"But behavior in the human being is sometimes a defense, a way of concealing motives and thoughts, as language can be a way of hiding your thoughts and preventing communication"
Small: Abraham Maslow: All the evidence that we have indicates that it is reasonable to assume in practically every h
"All the evidence that we have indicates that it is reasonable to assume in practically every human being, and certainly in almost every newborn baby, that there is an active will toward health, an impulse towards growth, or towards the actualization"
Small: Abraham Maslow: A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately
"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself"
Small: Abraham Maslow: A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting
"A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting"