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Self-actualization and Heroism
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The author revisits neuropsychiatrist Kurt Goldstein’s (1934/1995, 1963) concept of self-actualization. It is argued that the interdisciplinary field of biosemiotics (Emmeche & Kull, 2011; Hoffmeyer, 2003/2009) provides contemporary language and examples to understand Goldstein’s concept, and expands the breadth of its application to include all living things (not only humans). The introduction to biosemiotics also provides an opportunity for humanistic psychology to form a meaningful collaboration with the naturalistic sciences. Self-actualization is defined through 3 important aspects. The first is that of individuation or the process of becoming a self. The second is that of holism, or the recognition that the organism and environment comprise a meaningful whole. Finally, the third is that self-actualization is the only motivating drive. With the expansion of application that a biosemiotic view provides, it is maintained that all life is governed by biosemiosis.
Across a sample of 123 countries, we examined the association between the fulfillment of needs and subjective well-being (SWB), including life evaluation, positive feelings, and negative feelings. Need fulfillment was consistently associated with SWB across world regions. Life evaluation was most associated with fulfilling basic needs; positive feelings were most associated with social and respect needs; and negative feelings were most associated with basic, respect, and autonomy needs. Societal need fulfillment predicted SWB, particularly for life evaluation, beyond individuals' fulfillment of their own needs, indicating the desirability of living in a flourishing society. In addition, the associations of SWB with the fulfillment of specific needs were largely independent of whether other needs were fulfilled. These trends persisted when household income was taken into account. The emergent ordering of need fulfillment for psychosocial needs were fairly consistent across country conditions, but the fulfillment of basic and safety needs were contingent on country membership.
The focal point of this article is Abraham Maslow's famous study of self-actualizing people. Maslow was profoundly correct in perceiving that there was something special and admirable about the individuals whom he selected for study. In calling his subjects self-actualizing, however, Maslow failed to capture just what was special about them. I propose that the individuals whom Maslow studied were not distinguished from others by the fact that they were self-actualizing, but rather by the fact that they were very open. I will explain both what I mean by openness and why we should speak of openness rather than self-actualization. I will also use the idea of openness, along with Maslow's description of his "self-actualizing" people, to delineate an ideal of human character.
This article develops a theme discussed in a previous publication, where I argued that cultivating awareness of humans’ multidimensional capacities enables a fluid engagement of creative adaptations within occupations and identity. In this article I go on to explore Abraham Maslow's theory of self‐actualisation and his suggestion that intelligence is an important factor in the self‐actualisation process. I discuss how human intelligence and occupations are vital elements of the “operational meaning” of the process of self‐actualisation. Maslow suggested that self‐actualisation is an expression of full humanness. I propose that expressing full humanness requires awareness of the multidimensional capacities and intelligences of human beings. I argue that through developing awareness of their multidimensional capacities and intelligences, humans as occupational beings can engage their ‘occupational intelligence’ towards the meta‐goal of self‐actualisation. A case vignette of CG Jung explains the theoretical position taken in this article.
The uncritical acceptance of Maslow's need hierarchy theory despite the lack of empirical evidence is discussed and the need for a review of recent empirical evidence is emphasized. A review of ten factor-analytic and three ranking studies testing Maslow's theory showed only partial support for the concept of need hierarchy. A large number of cross-sectional studies showed no clear evidence for Maslow's deprivation/domination proposition except with regard to self-actualization. Longitudinal studies testing Maslow's gratification/activation proposition showed no support, and the limited support received from cross-sectional studies is questionable due to numerous measurement problems. The difficulties with testing the theory are discussed and the conceptual, methodological, and measurement problems of the studies reviewed are detailed. The implications of the findings and future directions for research are outlined.
• This book notes that an understanding of the relations of mind and body is difficult due to many seemingly paradoxical facts. The controversies over localization of functions, reflex and organismal theories, mechanism and vitalism express the inconsistency of the results of investigations. This author considers the problem of neural and behavioral organization from a broadly biological point of view. Goldstein's investigations of visual disorders and of aphasia revealed fundamental disturbances of thought and personality of which the recognized symptoms are only a superficial expression. From these studies has grown the conception of behavior as a result of a unified activity of the organism, which is the theme of this book. The data presented go far toward a solution of the apparent contradictions between the facts of elementary nervous activity and those derived from the study of cerebral function by showing that functions of parts are dependent in large measure upon the total setting in which they occur. The author's interpretation avoids many of the difficulties of both reflexology and vitalism and provides an alternative view for those whose scientific aims are satisfied neither by extreme oversimplification of facts nor by postulation of forces which cannot be investigated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
• This book notes that an understanding of the relations of mind and body is difficult due to many seemingly paradoxical facts. The controversies over localization of functions, reflex and organismal theories, mechanism and vitalism express the inconsistency of the results of investigations. This author considers the problem of neural and behavioral organization from a broadly biological point of view. Goldstein's investigations of visual disorders and of aphasia revealed fundamental disturbances of thought and personality of which the recognized symptoms are only a superficial expression. From these studies has grown the conception of behavior as a result of a unified activity of the organism, which is the theme of this book. The data presented go far toward a solution of the apparent contradictions between the facts of elementary nervous activity and those derived from the study of cerebral function by showing that functions of parts are dependent in large measure upon the total setting in which they occur. The author's interpretation avoids many of the difficulties of both reflexology and vitalism and provides an alternative view for those whose scientific aims are satisfied neither by extreme oversimplification of facts nor by postulation of forces which cannot be investigated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Rehabilitation is influenced by the individual's abilities and resources and extent to which they are used. This study explored self-actualization (capacity to maximize use of one's abilities and resources) in 37 individuals attending in-patient rehabilitation following a stroke by (1) comparing the level of self-actualization of the participants to the level of self-actualization of 562 healthy community-dwelling individuals without stroke; (2) assessing changes in the level of self-actualization during rehabilitation (admission vs. discharge); and (3) exploring the relationships between self-actualization and changes in functional independence during rehabilitation, length of stay in the rehabilitation unit and change in living environment at discharge. Self-actualization was assessed with the measure of actualization of potential. The results showed that individuals with stroke had significantly lower self-actualization levels (P<0.001) than community-dwelling individuals without stroke. Self-actualization levels remained stable during rehabilitation (P=0.07). No significant relationships were found between self-actualization and changes in functional independence (P=0.36), length of stay (P=0.82) or change in living environment (P=0.65). This study suggests that many individuals with stroke are poorly actualized and self-actualization levels do not improve during rehabilitation. Further studies are needed to explore the relationship between self-actualization and other outcome measures in poststroke rehabilitation such as depressive symptoms or social participation.
Critical analysis of Maslow’s hierarchy of need
- Sophie King-Hill
- S King-Hill