Self-actualization, self-expression according to Maslow, manifests itself through. Abraham Maslow and the psychology of self-actualization

In psychology, the term “Self-actualization” means a person’s complete discovery and disclosure of one’s self, the implementation of one’s skills and talents in all spheres of life, the use of all existing inclinations and inclinations.

Thus, we can say that this mechanism manifests itself in the form of a desire for any identification and external expression by the individual of his capabilities. It should be noted that the possibility of self-actualization largely depends on environmental conditions, social conditions and other factors, but at the same time it can in no way be imposed or transformed from the outside.
It is also noteworthy that this desire does not have any external goal and is determined purely by the internal positive nature of a person. Self-actualization often underlies humanistic trends in psychology, seen as a complex of personal freedom, the desire for the development of the individual, the realization of all human potentials and desires.

Self-actualization of personality

It should be noted that specialists such as K. Rogers and A. Maslow were more interested in the problem of self-actualization. Thus, the very essence this concept comes from the classical directions of humanistic psychology. Moreover, the formation of the term is directly related to the formation of humanistic psychotherapy in the middle of the 0th century, when it took one of the leading places along with psychoanalysis, which was already popular by that time.

Taking themselves as a basis, the movement is seen as a direction based on the belief that each individual has the capacity for absolute unfoldment if given the freedom and necessary conditions for this. In this case, the subject will be able to fully determine and direct his own destiny.

Some experts, in particular A. Maslow himself, believed that precisely such mechanisms as self-realization and self-actualization of the individual represent absolutely leading human needs, capable of replacing even food and sleep.
Experts also identified a number of qualities, some common features character traits of individuals who are very successful in self-actualization or have already reached great heights in it:

Such people often do what they love throughout their lives.
They are not subject to outside influence and are in complete control of their lives.
The individual strives for constant improvement and development. Likes to receive new information through reading.
Typically these are highly creative individuals. They are also often prone to positive thinking.
Open in the emotional sphere. It is much faster and easier to forgive yourself for any breakdowns or incontinence in a sensitive person.

To summarize, we can say with confidence that such an approach is the “golden key” to happy life, because such people are in complete harmony with myself.

Self-actualization Maslow

A. Maslow became known as the founder of the movement of humanistic psychology. Unlike his contemporaries, colleagues and specialists, he sought to study the psychological norm. That is, he paid much more attention to healthy individuals, creatively developed, and also, subsequently, to those who reached certain peaks within the framework of self-actualization.
Maslow's self-actualization, or rather, his theory regarding this psychological process, is based on the internal experience of the individual. From the point of view of a specialist, this was an absolute experience, liberated, alive and pure, that is, not burdened with “teenage shyness.”

Maslow also proposed his list of characteristic traits that he identified as leading for a person striving for self-actualization:

Such a person has a more accurate and effective perception of the surrounding reality and is able to more adequately contact it.
Absolute acceptance of yourself and your personality, environment, other people.
Such people are somewhat spontaneous, they are open, never cheat, and at the same time they always clearly know their goal and move towards it.
They are autonomous. Independent of the surrounding society and any cultural conventions. At the same time, they often need a certain solitude and isolation.
They are capable of deeper and stronger interpersonal relationships. They are also able to separate the ends from the means and separate the concepts of “good” and “evil.”
Quite often they experience a feeling of union with those around them; they are rarely impartial.
As a rule, these are creative people.

Maslow's main assumption regarding self-actualization was that in order to achieve set goals and avoid disappointment in human nature, an individual must first of all abandon the illusions imposed on him about it. That is, such people initially perceive themselves and those around them as they really are.

Need for self-actualization

In humanistic psychology, the need for self-actualization is considered as the main internal manifestation of the individual’s desire for development.
For example, K. Rogers in his concept assumed that self-actualization is based on a quality or even a whole phenomenon inherent in any living being, which literally pushes it to move forward. That is, this theory is based on the assumption of the existence of a certain innate quality, which, according to K. Rogers, always exists and only waits for certain positive conditions in order to manifest itself.
At the same time, if we consider the theory of A. Maslow, the main motivating force for human development can be a strong sense of the individual’s experience, aimed at his internal self-awareness and personal experience. This nature also assumes that self-actualization is reflected in the mechanisms of hedonism, that is, the enjoyment of the highest goods, being reflected in a feeling of absolute satisfaction with life, inner harmony, and enlightenment.

Development of self-actualization

Today, in the modern world, the development of self-actualization is not only a pressing issue, but also very problematic. The rapid pace of life, the development of technology, the constant new conditions that our century dictates - all this poses before each person the task of adapting to these conditions.
Very often, self-actualization is perceived as a psychological new formation, a kind of complex. Which is very strongly associated with achieving maximum peaks, opportunities and skills in all areas of his life that are relevant to an individual.

Success in this direction sets the further pace of development of the subject. The process of self-actualization ensures the preservation of the integrity of the inner world, its balance. At the same time, the harmony of the psychological organization of the individual largely determines the individual’s motivation for further actions and development of himself as a unique personality.

Self-actualization has always remained and remains a pressing issue for any person - it has a great positive impact on the positive experience and foundation in the external world and manifestations of a person, which steadily leads to his internal positive experience and growth of self-esteem.

What is self-actualization? Placing this need at the very top of the hierarchy, Abraham Maslow gave it the following definition. “A person must be what he can be. We can call this need the need for self-actualization... It refers to the desire for self-realization, namely, the desire to realize in reality the possibilities that are inherent in it. The definition for this tendency can also be formulated as the desire to become more and more oneself, to become what a person is generally capable of becoming.”
Although the theory is generally presented as a fairly rigid hierarchy, Maslow noted that the order in which needs can be satisfied is not always the same. For example, for some people the need for self-esteem may be more important than the need for love. For others, the need for creative self-realization can crowd out even the most basic, physiological needs.

Characteristics of a self-actualized personality

In addition to his definition of self-actualization, Maslow also identified several key characteristics of self-actualized people:

Acceptance and realism. Typically, self-actualized people have realistic views of themselves, others, and the world around them.
Focus on the problem. Self-actualized people focus on solving problems outside of their inner world—including helping others and finding solutions to problems in the outer world. These people are often driven by a sense of personal responsibility or ethics.
Spontaneity. Self-actualized people are spontaneous in both their thoughts and their behavior. Their behavior generally conforms to the rules and expectations of society, although they can still be called open-minded and non-standard.
Autonomy and loneliness. Another characteristic of self-actualized people is the need for independence and privacy. They do not depend on the opinions of others. Yes, they are able to enjoy the company of others, but despite this, these people sometimes need privacy - they need time to focus on their own individual capabilities.
A lasting feeling of gratitude. Self-actualized people tend to view the world with a constant sense of gratitude, wonder, or even awe. Even simple experiences can serve as a source of inspiration and pleasure for a long time.
Peak Experiences. Such people often experience what Maslow called peak experiences are moments of intense joy, surprise, awe and delight. After these experiences, people feel inspired, renewed, or even completely changed, and also receive a boost of energy.

Humanistic psychology, as a special direction of modern psychological science, arose in the early 60s in the USA. Its founders and recognized leaders were Abraham Maslow, Rollo May, Carl Rogers, Gordon Allport and others. Originating as an opposition to psychoanalysis and behaviorism, humanistic psychology very quickly gained recognition large number professionals and has become a truly real “third force” in modern psychology.

Abraham Maslow(1908-1970) graduated from the University of Wisconsin, receiving a Doctor of Science degree in psychology in 1934. His own theory, which the scientist developed by the 50s of the 20th century, appeared on the basis of a detailed acquaintance with the basic psychological concepts that existed at that time (as well as the very idea of the need to form a third way, a third psychological direction, alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism).

In 1951, Maslow was invited to Branden University, where he served as chairman of the psychological department almost until his death. Last years In his lifetime he was also president of the American Psychological Association.

Speaking about the need to form a new approach to understanding the psyche, Maslow emphasized that he does not reject old approaches and old schools, is not an anti-behaviorist or anti-psychoanalyst, but is an anti-doctrinaire, i.e. opposes the absolutization of their experience.

One of the most big shortcomings psychoanalysis, from his point of view, is not so much a desire to belittle the role of consciousness as a tendency to consider mental development from the point of view of the organism’s adaptation to the environment, the desire for balance with the environment. Like Allport, he believed that such equilibrium is death for the individual. Balance and rootedness in the environment negatively affect the desire for self-actualization, which makes a person an individual.

Maslow was no less active in opposing the reduction of all mental life to behavior, which was characteristic of behaviorism. The most valuable thing in the psyche - its selfhood, its desire for self-development - cannot be described and understood from the standpoint of behavioral psychology, and therefore the psychology of behavior should not be excluded, but supplemented by the psychology of consciousness, a psychology that would explore the “I concept” of the individual.

Maslow almost did not conduct global, large-scale experiments that are characteristic of American psychology, especially behaviorism. His small, pilot studies did not so much groping for new paths as confirming what he had arrived at in his theoretical reasoning. This is exactly how he approached the study of “self-actualization” - one of the central concepts of his concept of humanistic psychology.

Unlike psychoanalysts, who were primarily interested in deviant behavior, Maslow believed that the study of human nature must be "by studying its best representatives, and not by cataloging the difficulties and errors of average or neurotic individuals." Only in this way can we understand the limits of human capabilities, the true nature of man, which is not fully and clearly represented in other, less gifted people.

The group he chose for the study consisted of eighteen people, nine of them were his contemporaries, and nine were historical figures(A. Lincoln, A. Einstein, W. James, B. Spinoza, etc.). These studies led him to the idea that there is a certain hierarchy of human needs, which looks like this:

physiological needs - food, water, sleep, etc.;
need for security - stability, order;
need for love and belonging – family, friendship;
need for respect - self-esteem, recognition;
the need for self-actualization - development of abilities.

One of the controversial parts of Maslow's theory was that he argued: these needs are in a once and for all given rigid hierarchy and higher needs (for self-esteem or self-actualization) arise only after more elementary ones are satisfied. Not only critics, but also Maslow’s followers showed that very often the need for self-actualization or self-esteem was dominant and determined a person’s behavior despite the fact that his physiological needs were not satisfied, and sometimes prevented the satisfaction of these needs. Subsequently, Maslow himself abandoned such a rigid hierarchy, combining all needs into two classes: the needs of need (deficit) and the needs of development (self-actualization).

At the same time, most representatives of humanistic psychology accepted the term "self-actualization" introduced by Maslow, as well as his description of the "self-actualizing personality." Self-actualization is associated with the ability to understand oneself, one’s inner nature and learn to “tune in” in accordance with this nature and build one’s behavior based on it. This is not a one-time act, but a process that has no end, it is a way of “living, working and relating to the world, and not a single achievement.” Maslow identified the most significant moments in this process that change a person’s attitude towards himself and the world and stimulate personal growth. This can be an instantaneous experience—a “peak experience”—or a long-term one—a “plateau experience.”

Describing a self-actualizing personality, Maslow said that such a person is characterized by acceptance of himself and the world, including other people. These are, as a rule, people who adequately and effectively perceive the situation, centered on the task, and not on themselves. At the same time, they are also characterized by a desire for solitude, autonomy and independence from the environment and culture.

Thus, Maslow’s theory includes the concepts of identification and alienation, although these mechanisms have not been fully disclosed. However, the general direction of his reasoning and experimental research gives us the opportunity to understand his approach to mental development personality, his understanding of the connections between the individual and society.

The scientist believed that it was conscious aspirations and motives, and not unconscious instincts, that constitute the essence of human personality. However, the desire for self-actualization, for the realization of one’s abilities, encounters obstacles, lack of understanding of others and one’s own weaknesses. Many people retreat in the face of difficulties, which does not leave its mark on the individual and stops his growth. Neurotics are people with an undeveloped or unconscious need for self-actualization. Society, by its very nature, cannot help but hinder a person’s desire for self-actualization. After all, any society strives to make a person its stereotyped representative, alienates the personality from its essence, makes it conformal.

At the same time, alienation, while preserving the “self”, the individuality of the individual, puts it in opposition to the environment and also deprives it of the opportunity to self-actualize. Therefore, a person needs to maintain a balance between these two mechanisms, which, like Scylla and Charybdis, guard him and seek to destroy him. Optimal, Maslow believed, are identification in the external plane, in communication with the outside world, and alienation in internally, in terms of developing self-awareness. It is this approach that gives a person the opportunity to communicate effectively with others and at the same time remain himself. This position of Maslow made him popular among intellectuals, as it largely reflected the views of this social group on the relationship between the individual and society.

Assessing Maslow's theory, it should be noted that he was perhaps the first psychologist to pay attention not only to deviations, difficulties and negative aspects of personality. He was one of the first to explore the achievements of personal experience, revealing ways for self-development and self-improvement of any person.

Eight paths of self-actualization according to Maslow:

1. Self-actualization means a complete, living and selfless experience with complete concentration and absorption, that is, an experience without teenage shyness. At the moment of self-actualization, the individual is entirely human. This is the moment when the Self realizes itself... The key to this is selflessness...

2. It is necessary to imagine life as a process of constant choice. At every moment there is a choice: advance or retreat. Either a movement towards even greater protection, security, fear, or a choice of advancement and growth. Choosing development instead of fear ten times a day means ten times moving towards self-actualization...

3. The very word “self-actualization” implies the presence of a Self that can be actualized. A person is not a “blank slate” or malleable wax. He is always already something... Most of us most often listen not to ourselves, but to the voice of mom, dad, to the voice government system, superiors, authorities, traditions, etc...

4. When you doubt something, try to be honest... Turning to yourself, demanding an answer, means taking responsibility...

5. In order to express an honest opinion, a person must be different, independent from others, must be a nonconformist.

6. Self-actualization is not only the final state, but also the process of actualizing one’s capabilities. Self-actualization is work in order to do well what a person wants to do...

7. Higher experiences are moments of self-actualization... What Maslow means here is the same “inner insight”, “joy from self-knowledge”, “sudden surprise from understanding”.

8. Finding yourself, revealing what you are, what is good and bad for you, what is the purpose of your life - all this requires exposing your own psychopathology. To do this, you need to identify your defenses and then find the courage to overcome them. This is painful, because defenses are directed against something unpleasant. But giving up protection is worth it. Repression is not The best way solving your problems.

A. Maslow's theory of self-actualizing personality

The founder of humanistic psychology is A. Maslow. Humanistic psychology is a third force psychology that arose as an opposition to behaviorism and introspection. Representatives of humanistic psychology criticized behaviorism for transferring the results of experiments on animals to people, and psychoanalysis for the fact that from this position a person acts as an irrational, aggressive and asocial being, and all productive forms of behavior are a sublimation of sexual energy.

Humanistic psychology says that the essence of man - the desire for self-actualization - is the highest human need. It manifests itself in a person’s desire to realize his inner potential in his life, to be and become himself, to realize his abilities.

A. Maslow relied on an analysis of the behavior of a mentally healthy, creative person (his teachers).

Personality structure – A. Maslow’s hierarchy of motives (Fig.).

Rice. A. Maslow's pyramid of needs

General characteristics of the motivational sphere according to Maslow:

1. All needs are inherent in a person by his nature, i.e. have an innate or instinctoid character.

2. All needs form a hierarchical structure based on the principle of dominance or priority, i.e. the lower the need is located in the general hierarchy. It is all the more important and priority for the individual.

3. The transition from one level of need to another occurs only if the underlying needs are satisfied. If the needs of a certain level are not met, then a return to lower levels is carried out. The hierarchy of needs is universal.

Later, A. Maslow introduced meta-needs into the pyramid, or needs that are built on top of the others. These are B-motives, existential motives or growth motives. Meta-needs include spiritual needs: truth (cognitive needs), beauty (aesthetic), goodness (ethical), justice, meaningfulness of life, perfection, self-sufficiency or autonomy, etc. Metaneeds are represented by 15 varieties.

Metaneeds, just like deficiency ones, are innate in nature. But unlike deficiency needs, they are non-hierarchized, i.e. have equal significance for a person. They are less conscious to humans. Satisfaction of deficiency needs is aimed at relieving (reducing) tension, and the desire to satisfy meta-needs makes a person’s life more stressful, because these needs are directed towards distant goals.

Mental maturity is achieved by those people who reach the level of meta-needs and self-actualization needs. Awareness of higher needs is hampered by defense mechanisms. Ion complex – refusal of the individual to self-actualize, conscious reduction own level claims.

What is the cause of neuroses? Neurosis is a failure of personal growth. The cause of neurosis is not the suppression of lower needs, but the dissatisfaction of higher ones, i.e. their deprivation. Internal deprivation is associated with the ion complex.

A special type of neurosis is associated with the dissatisfaction of meta-needs - existential neurosis (this is a type of metapathology). Metapathologies arise when meta-needs are not met. Metapathology most often affects fairly prosperous people who have all their basic needs satisfied.

Types of metapathologies:

Apathy is indifference to everything;

Boredom, which is often combined with melancholy;

Persistent depression;

Alienation from other people;

Excessive selfishness;

A feeling of meaninglessness and uselessness of one’s own existence - loss of the meaning of life;

Death wish;

Loss of self and identity (the person feels constantly changing and anonymous).

Criteria for mental maturity(characteristics of a self-actualizing personality):

I.Creativity, i.e. creativity. Maslow understands creativity not as a new contribution to science or art, but as a person’s desire and ability to do exactly what he does, i.e. achieve mastery in your craft. This is the leading characteristic.

II.Direction centeredness– this is passion for one’s work, devotion to it. Self-actualizing individuals live in a sphere of complete competence; they are professionals. They live to work, not work to live.

III.Distinguishing between means and ends. Using only those means that comply with moral standards. A manifestation of this feature is a person’s passion for the process of activity itself, and not for the final result.

IV.Objective perception of reality– intellectual maturity, when a person, when assessing events, relies on facts, and not on his emotions generated by the event.

V.Acceptance of yourself and others just the way they are. Self-actualizing individuals are characterized by high tolerance and tolerance. This is the lack of psychological defense mechanisms.

VI.Spontaneity of behavior– simplicity and naturalness, absence of posturing, desire to “show off.” High need for privacy. They protect their inner world from outside interference, but loneliness does not bother them, because the motto of such a person is: I am best friend themselves, and remaining alone, they remain alone with themselves.

VII.Autonomy. The individual is the master of his own destiny, he chooses who to be. This is a manifestation of a high level of self-sufficiency. Such people do not strive for honors, fame, external honor; internal growth and self-improvement, in which they rely on self-approval, are important for them.

VIII.Resistance to acculturation– non-conformism, low susceptibility to other people’s influence.

IX.Depth interpersonal relationships . Such people are not prone to wide contacts; they are characterized by communication in a narrow circle of a deep nature. Communication is built on kinship of souls, unity of values and interests. The circle of people is small and very limited.

X.Democratic character- respectful attitude towards other people. A mentally mature person shows respect towards everyone. Lack of authoritarian tendencies.

XI.Public interest. People are concerned not only with their own fate, but with the fate of their country and its citizens.

XII.Freshness of perception: Every event is perceived as if it were the first time.

XIII.Summit or mystical (peak) experiences– this is a state of ecstasy, peace, harmony, a special kind of bliss.

XIV.Sense of humor(philosophical).

Phenomenological theory of personality by C. Rogers (self theory)

The leading and only motive of behavior is the tendency to actualization, and all other motives are only the embodiment of this tendency.

Update– is to preserve and develop oneself, i.e. realize the qualities, abilities, and inner potential inherent in us by nature. Trend of actualization- This is the tendency inherent in the body to develop all its abilities in order to preserve and develop personality. That. Human behavior is motivated by the need to develop and improve. Man is governed by the process of growth.

Final goal, which the trend of actualization is aimed at, is achieving autonomy and self-sufficiency, i.e. self-actualization. The need for self-actualization (according to Maslow) is the main manifestation of the self-actualization tendency. To realize this need (i.e. realize one’s inner potential), a person needs to know himself well. The central concept of Rogers’ personality theory is the concept of I (self, self-concept) - this is a person’s generalized and consistent idea of himself.

The concept of personality comes down to self-awareness or self-concept.

Personality(or Self) is a differentiated part of the phenomenal field (the entire human experience), which consists of conscious perception and assessments of Self, i.e. a person's awareness of himself and his experience.

The self-image includes ideas about what we can become, so the self-concept is divided into 2 types: the ideal self and the real self. For the harmonious development of personality, coordination between the real Self and the ideal Self is important. A sharp gap between them can give rise to neurosis or increase the need for self-improvement.

Rogers focuses on the issue of the formation of self-concept and its role in the life of each of us. Self-concept is a product of socialization and is formed under the influence of a person’s experience. To form a positive self-esteem, it is important for the child to receive approval from an adult.

Normal harmonious development of personality is possible only in the case of correspondence (congruent relationships) between experience and self-concept. If there is a contradiction between experience and the self-concept, a conflict arises and, as a consequence, a threat of destruction of the self-concept or self-esteem. This threat can be either conscious or unconscious. A perceived threat, when we understand that our behavior does not correspond to our image of ourselves, causes feelings of guilt, internal emotional discomfort and tension, and remorse. If a person is not aware of the discrepancy between experience and self-concept, then he is filled with anxiety.

Anxiety from Rogers’s position, it is a person’s emotional reaction to a threat that signals personality. That the formed self-concept is in danger of destruction (disorganization). Unlike guilt, anxiety occurs when a person feels threatened but is not aware of it. The frequent occurrence of anxiety associated with a mismatch between experience and self-concept leads to neurosis.

To get rid of anxiety, a person develops psychological defense mechanisms. Defenses are a behavioral response to a threat. the main objective– preserve and support the existing self-concept.

Highlight 2 types of protection :

1. Distortion of perception(rationalization): the incongruent experience is allowed into consciousness, but in a form that makes it compatible with the self-concept. An interpretation of the event occurs that makes it possible to harmonize with the self-concept.

2. Denial is ignoring negative experiences.

The purpose of defense is to eliminate the conflict between experience and self-concept. If defense mechanisms turn out to be weak and ineffective, then neurosis begins.

The main condition for the harmonious development of personality and the achievement of mental health is the flexibility of the self-concept.

Criteria for mental health (fully functioning personality):

Openness to experience or experiences. This manifests itself in the fact that a person is subtly and deeply aware of his entire experience. Lack of psychological defense mechanisms.

The existential way of life is the desire to live fully and richly, to lead such a way of life when the Self-concept follows from experience, and not experience is transformed to please the Self-concept.

Flexibility of self-concept.

Organismic trust is the independence of the individual, the desire of a person to rely on himself in everything, trust in himself, autonomy.

Empirical freedom is freedom of choice, which is combined with ultimate responsibility.

Creativity or creativity combined with non-conformity and adaptability.

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Introduction

What kind of person was conceived, how would he behave, how would he relate to his fellow men, to his work, how would he understand the world, if he had the best mental traits?

These are the questions that troubled the American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908 -1970) all his life when he discovered that traditional psychology and psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, which dealt with pathology, could not help here. In 1943, he published the article The Theory of Human Motivation, which began the new humanistic psychology. That’s what they began to call her later. Its object is a mentally healthy person. For many years, Maslow studied people who were in a certain harmony with themselves, enjoying life as such in all its aspects. As a rule, these people achieved significant success in life. Although mental health, as noted by scientists, does not depend on social status, level of education and income. Main indicator there is self-sufficiency and independence.

The starting point of humanistic psychology is the concept of motivation of behavior, the desire of the individual to satisfy the needs inherent in it. In essence, the entire wealth of human behavior is determined by two main models of motivation: the desire to overcome deficits and the desire to develop.

All my psychological work Maslow connects with the issues of personal growth and development, considering psychology as one of the means of promoting social and psychological well-being. He made significant theoretical and practical contributions to creating an alternative to behaviorism and psychoanalysis. His works are more a collection of thoughts, points of view and hypotheses than a developed theoretical system.

1. Origins of the study of self-actualization

Maslow's study of self-actualization was not planned as Scientific research, and it didn’t start out as such. It all began with a young intellectual's attempts to understand two of his teachers, whom he admired, whom he loved and adored, and who were wonderful people. Maslow tried to understand why these two people, Ruth Benedict and Max Wertheimer, were so different from most people in the world. Maslow had the impression that they were not only different from other people, but that they were more than people. His research began as a non-scientific activity. He began making notes about Max Wertheimer and Ruth Benedict. As he tried to understand them, think about them and write about them in his diary and in his notes, he suddenly realized that these two images could be generalized as a certain type of people, and not two incomparable individuals. This was an incentive for further work.

This was not research at all. Maslow made his generalizations based on the specific type of people he chose.

The people he chose for his study were already elderly, having lived most their lives and have achieved significant success. Maslow believed that by selecting beautiful, healthy, strong, creative, virtuous, insightful people for careful study, a different view of humanity begins to emerge.

Maslow selected samples for his first study based on two criteria. Firstly, these were people relatively free from neurosis and other significant personality problems. Secondly, these were people who possible way using their talents, abilities and other data.

2. Basic presentation

Maslow defines self-actualization as the full use of talents, abilities, opportunities, etc. Self-actualization is not the absence of problems, but the movement from temporary and unreal problems to real problems.

2.1 Self-actualization theory

Maslow described eight ways in which an individual can self-actualize, eight types of behavior leading to self-actualization.

1. First of all, self-actualization means a complete, living, selfless experience, with complete concentration and complete absorption, complete concentration and absorption, i.e. experience without teenage shyness. At the moment of self-actualization, the individual is entirely human. This is the moment when the Self realizes itself. The key to this is selflessness. Usually we are relatively little aware of what is happening in us and around us (for example, when it is necessary to obtain testimony about a certain event, most versions differ). However, we do have moments of heightened awareness and intense interest, and these moments are what Maslow calls self-actualizing.

2. If you think of life as a process of choices, then self-actualization means: in every choice, decide in favor of growth. At every moment there is a choice: advance or retreat. Either a movement towards even greater protection, security, fear, or a choice of advancement and growth. Choosing development over fear ten times a day means ten times moving towards self-actualization. Self-actualization is a continuous process; it means multiple separate choices: to lie or remain honest, to steal or not to steal. Self-actualization means choosing from these opportunities opportunities for growth. This is what the self-actualization movement is.

3. To actualize means to become real, to exist in fact, and not just in potentiality. By self, Maslow means the core, or essential nature of an individual, including temperament, unique tastes and values. Thus, self-actualization is learning to tune into one's own inner nature. This means, for example, deciding for yourself whether you yourself like a certain food or movie, regardless of the opinions and points of view of others.

4. Honesty and taking responsibility for one’s actions are essential aspects of self-actualization. Maslow recommends looking within for answers rather than posing, trying to look good, or trying to please others with your answers. Every time we look within for answers, we are in touch with our inner self. Whenever a person takes responsibility, he self-actualizes.

5. The first five steps help you develop the ability to make better life choices. We learn to trust our judgments and instincts and act on them. Maslow believes this leads to better elections in art, music, food, as well as in serious problems life, such as marriage or profession.

6. Self-actualization is also a constant process of developing one’s capabilities and potential. This, for example, is the development of mental abilities through intellectual activities. This means using your abilities and intelligence and working to do well what you want to do. Great talent or intelligence is not the same as self-actualization. Many gifted people have not been able to fully utilize their abilities, while others, perhaps with average talent, have done incredible things.

7. “Peak experiences” - transitional moments of self-actualization. At these moments, a person is more whole, more integrated, more aware of himself and the world at the “peak” moments. These are the times when we think, act, and feel most clearly and accurately. We love and accept others more, we are more free from internal conflict and anxiety are more able to use our energy constructively.

8. The further step of self-actualization is the discovery of one’s “defenses” and the work of abandoning them. Finding yourself, discovering what you are, what is good and what is bad for you, what is the purpose of your life - all this requires exposing your own psychopathology. We need to become more aware of how we distort images of ourselves and images of the external world through repression, projection and other defense mechanisms.

2.2 "Peak Experience"

“Peak experiences” are especially joyful and exciting moments in the life of every person. Maslow notes that "peak experiences" are often caused by strong feeling love, works of art, experiencing the exceptional beauty of nature. “The term “peak experiences” is a generalization for the best moments human existence, for the happiest moments of life, for the experience of ecstasy, delight, bliss, the greatest joy." Most of us have experienced our fair share of “peak experiences,” although we don’t call them that. A beautiful sunset or a particularly impressive piece of music are examples of a “peak experience.”

According to Maslow, “peak experiences” are caused by intense, inspiring events. Most people's lives are filled with long periods of comparative inattention, lack of engagement, even boredom. In contrast, “peak experiences,” in the broadest sense of the word, are those moments when we become deeply involved, excited, and connected to the world. The most significant “peak experiences” are relatively rare. Poets have described them as moments of ecstasy, people of religion - as deep mystical experiences.

2.3 "Plateau experience"

“Peak experiences” are peaks that can last several minutes or several hours, rarely longer. Maslow also describes more stable and long-term experiences, calling them “plateau experiences.” They represent a new and deeper way of seeing and experiencing the world. This involves a fundamental change in attitude towards the world, changing perspective and creating new appreciation and heightened awareness of the world. Maslow himself experienced this late in life, after his first heart attack.

2.4 Hierarchy of needs

desacralization Maslow self-actualizing

Maslow defines neurosis and psychological maladjustment as “diseases of deprivation,” that is, he believes that they are caused by deprivation of certain fundamental needs, just as the lack of certain vitamins causes physical illness. Examples of fundamental needs are physiological needs such as hunger, thirst, or the need to sleep. Failure to satisfy these needs definitely leads ultimately to illness, which can only be cured by satisfying them.

Fundamental needs are inherent in all individuals. The extent and manner of their satisfaction varies in different societies, but fundamental needs (such as hunger) can never be completely ignored.

A complete absence of wants and needs, when (and if) it exists, is short-lived at best. If one need is satisfied, another one rises to the surface and controls the person's attention and effort. When a person satisfies her, another noisily demands satisfaction. Human life is characterized by the fact that people almost always want something.

Hierarchy of fundamental needs, according to Maslow:

1. physiological needs (food, water, sleep, etc.);

2. need for security (stability, order);

3. need for love and belonging (family, friendship);

4. need for respect (self-esteem, recognition);

5. self-actualization needs (development of abilities).

The underlying assumption of this framework is that the dominant needs located below must be more or less satisfied before a person can become aware of and be motivated by the needs located above. Consequently, needs of one type must be fully satisfied before another, higher need, manifests itself and becomes active. Satisfaction of needs located at the bottom of the hierarchy makes it possible to recognize needs located higher in the hierarchy and their participation in motivation.

Thus, physiological needs must be sufficiently satisfied before safety needs arise; physiological and safety and security needs must be satisfied to some extent before they arise and will require satisfaction of the needs of belonging and love. According to Maslow, this sequential arrangement of basic needs in a hierarchy is the main principle underlying the organization of human motivation. He proceeded from the fact that the hierarchy of needs applies to all people, and that the higher a person can rise in this hierarchy, the great individuality, human qualities and mental health he will demonstrate.

Maslow admitted that there may be exceptions to this hierarchical arrangement of motives. He recognized that some creative people can develop and express their talent despite serious difficulties and social problems. There are also people whose values and ideals are so strong that they are willing to endure hunger and thirst, or even die, rather than give them up.

Finally, Maslow suggested that some people can create their own hierarchy of needs due to characteristics of their biography. For example, people may give higher priority to esteem needs over love and belonging needs. Such people are more interested in prestige and career advancement rather than intimate relationships or family. In general, however, the lower the need is located in the hierarchy, the stronger and more priority it has.

The key point in Maslow's hierarchy of needs is that needs are never satisfied on an all-or-nothing basis. Needs overlap, and a person can be motivated at two or more levels of needs at the same time.

Maslow suggested that the average person satisfies his or her needs to approximately the following extent:

85% - physiological;

70% - safety and protection;

50% - love and belonging;

40% - self-esteem;

10% - self-actualization.

In addition, the needs that appear in the hierarchy arise gradually. People not only satisfy one need after another, but simultaneously partially satisfy and partially unsatisfy them. It does not matter how high a person has moved in the hierarchy of needs: if the needs of a lower level are no longer satisfied, the person will return to this level and remain there until these needs are satisfied. sufficiently satisfied.

As an example, the following list of specific values for a person can be given:

Health

Education

Trips

2.5 Complaints and meta-complaints

Maslow believes that there are different levels of complaints corresponding to levels of frustrated needs. At the factory, for example, complaints lower level may relate to lack of safety precautions, arbitrariness of management, lack of guarantee of work the next day, etc. These are complaints regarding the failure to meet the most fundamental needs of physical safety and security. Higher-level complaints may relate to lack of job-appropriate recognition, threats of loss of prestige, lack of group solidarity; these complaints concern needs for belonging or esteem.

Meta-complaints concern the frustration of meta-needs, such as the needs for justice, beauty and truth. This level of complaints is a good indicator that things are going relatively well. When people complain about an unsightly environment, it means that in terms of more fundamental needs they are more or less satisfied.

Maslow believes that there can be no end to complaints: one can only hope for their level to increase. Complaints about the imperfection of the world, the lack of perfect justice, etc. are healthy indications that, despite a fairly high level of fundamental satisfaction, people strive for further improvement and growth.

In fact, Maslow suggests that the level of complaints can be an indicator of how enlightened a society is.

2. 6 Deficit and existential motivation

Maslow points out that most psychologists deal only with deficit motivation, i.e. behavior aimed at satisfying some need that is not satisfied or frustrated. Hunger, pain, fear are primary examples of deficit motivation.

However, a careful look at the behavior of people and animals reveals a different kind of motivation. When the body does not experience hunger, pain, or fear, new motivations appear, such as curiosity or the desire to play. Under such conditions, activity can bring satisfaction and joy as such, and not just as a means of satisfying some underlying need.

Existential motivation refers primarily to pleasure and satisfaction in the present or to the desire to seek positive value goals (growth motivation or meta-motivation).

Deficit motivation consists of the need to change a given state of affairs because it is perceived as unsatisfactory or frustrating.

Peak experiences generally relate to the world of being, and the psychology of being seems to be most applicable to self-actualizing people. Maslow distinguishes between B- and D- (existential and deficit) cognition, B- and D-values, B- and D-love.

2.7 Deficit and existential cognition

In deficit cognition, objects are viewed solely as satisfying needs, as means to other ends. This is especially true when needs are strong. Strong needs tend to channel thought and perception so that the individual is aware only of those aspects of the environment that are relevant to need satisfaction. A hungry man notices only food, a beggar only notices money.

B-cognition is more accurate and effective because the perceiver is less likely to distort his or her perceptions to suit needs and desires. B-cognition does not judge, evaluate, or compare. The fundamental attitude here is the perception of what is and the ability to appreciate it. Stimuli elicit full attention. The perception seems richer and more complete.

2.8 Scarcity and existential values. Scarcity and existential love

Maslow believes that there are certain values inherent in every individual: truth, goodness, beauty, integrity, overcoming dichotomy, vitality, uniqueness, perfection, necessity, completeness, justice, order, simplicity, richness, ease without effort, play, self-sufficiency.

Deficit love is love for others because they satisfy some need. The greater the satisfaction, the more this kind of love increases. This is love out of a need for self-esteem or sex, or out of fear of loneliness, etc.

Existential love is love for the essence, for the “being” or “being” of another. Such love does not strive for possession and is occupied more with the good of the other than with selfish satisfaction. Maslow often described B-love as the ability to let things go as they are and to appreciate what is without trying to “improve” anything.

B-love of nature is expressed in the ability to appreciate flowers, observe their growth, leaving them alone. D-love is rather expressed in picking flowers and arranging bouquets of them.

B-love is the ideal of unconditional love from a parent to a child, which may even include love for the child's little imperfections. Maslow argues that B-love is richer, more satisfying, and more lasting than D-love. It remains alive and fresh, while D-love loses its freshness and spice over time. B-love can be the cause of "peak experiences" and is often described in the same exalted words used to describe religious experiences.

2.9 Eupsyche

With this term, which he himself created, Maslow called an ideal society, in contrast to “utopia,” the idea of which seemed visionary and impractical to him. He believed that an ideal society could be created as a union of psychologically healthy, self-actualizing individuals. All members of such a society strive to both personal development, and to the fulfillment of one’s work and excellence in one’s life.

3 . Dynamics

3.1 Psychological growth

Maslow views psychological growth as the consistent satisfaction of increasingly “higher” needs. The movement towards self-actualization cannot begin until the individual is freed from the dominance of lower needs, such as the needs for safety or esteem. According to Maslow, early need frustration can fix an individual at a certain level of functioning.

Striving for higher goals in itself indicates psychological health. Maslow emphasizes that growth occurs through the work of self-actualization. Self-actualization implies long-term, constant engagement in the work of growing and developing one's abilities to the maximum possible, rather than settling for less out of laziness or lack of self-confidence. The work of self-actualization involves choosing worthy creative tasks. Maslow writes that self-actualizing individuals are attracted to the most difficult and intricate problems that require the greatest and most creative effort. They tend to deal with certainty and ambiguity and prefer difficult problems to easy solutions.

3.2 Obstacles to growth

Maslow points out that growth motivation is relatively weak in relation to physiological needs and the needs of safety, respect, etc.

The process of self-actualization can be limited by 1) the negative influence of past experiences and resulting habits that lock us into unproductive behavior; 2) social influences and group pressure, which often acts against our tastes and judgments; 3) internal defenses that tear us away from ourselves.

Bad habits often hinder growth. According to Maslow, they include addiction to drugs and alcohol, poor diet and others that affect health and productivity. In general, strong habits hinder psychological growth because they reduce the flexibility and openness needed to function most productively and effectively in different situations.

Maslow adds two more types of defenses to the traditional psychoanalytic list: desacralization and the “Jonah complex.”

Desacralization is the impoverishment of one's life by refusing to treat anything with deep seriousness and involvement. As an example of desacralization, Maslow often cites modern views on sex. A lighter attitude towards sex, really; reduces the possibility of frustration and trauma, but at the same time, sexual experience loses the significance that inspired artists, poets, and simply lovers.

The “Jonah complex” is a refusal to try to realize the fullness of one’s abilities. Just as Jonah tried to avoid the responsibility of prophecy, so most people are actually afraid of using their abilities to the maximum extent. They prefer the security of averages that do not require much achievement, as opposed to goals that require the fullness of their own development. This is also common among students who are content to “pass” a course that requires only a fraction of their talents and abilities. This can also be found among women who fear that successful professional work is incompatible with femininity or that intellectual achievements will make them less attractive.

4. Structure

4.1 Body

Maslow does not describe in detail the role of the body in the process of self-actualization. He believes that when physiological needs are satisfied, the individual is freed up for needs higher in the hierarchy. However, he writes that it is necessary that the body be given its due.

Maslow notes the importance of intense stimulation of the physical senses in the "peak experiences" that are often caused natural beauty, art or sexual experience. He points out that teaching dance, art, etc. physical means expressions are an important complement to traditional, cognitively oriented education and that physical and sensory-oriented learning subjects require the active involvement of students, which can be included in all forms of education.

4.2 Social relations

According to Maslow, love and respect are fundamental needs that are essential for everyone and precede self-actualization in the hierarchy of needs. Maslow often laments that most psychology textbooks do not even mention the word “love,” as if psychologists consider love to be something unreal that should be reduced to other concepts, such as projection or sexual reinforcement.

4. 3 Will

Will is an important ingredient in the long process of self-actualization. Maslow shows that self-actualizing individuals work long and hard to achieve their chosen goal.

“Self-actualization means working to do well what one wants to do. Becoming a second-rate doctor is not the path to self-actualization. A person wants to be a first-class or as good doctor as possible."

Because of his belief in health and goodness in human nature, Maslow did not set the will the task of overcoming unacceptable instincts and impulses. According to Maslow, a healthy individual is relatively free from internal conflict, except perhaps the need to overcome bad habits. Will is needed in order to develop abilities and achieve difficult, time-consuming goals.

4.4 Emotions. Intelligence. Self

Maslow emphasizes the importance of positive emotions for self-actualization. He believes it is necessary to explore such states as happiness, equanimity, joy, laughter, games, etc. He believes that negative emotions, tensions and conflicts drain energy and interfere with effective functioning.

Maslow emphasizes the need for holistic thinking, focusing on relationships and the whole rather than the individual parts. He discovered that "peak experiences" are often striking examples of thinking that breaks through the dichotomies in which we usually perceive reality. In such cases, they often talk about experiencing the past, present and future in unity, seeing life and death as parts of a single process, realizing good and evil in unity.

Holistic thinking is also characteristic of creative thinkers who overcome the past and go beyond conventional categories to explore possible new relationships. This requires freedom, openness and the ability to deal with the uncertain and ambiguous. This uncertainty, which may frighten some, is the essence of joy for others. creative solution Problems.

Maslow defines the self as the inner nature or core of an individual - his or her own tastes, values and goals. Understanding one's inner nature and acting in accordance with it is essential for the actualization of the self.

“Self-actualizing people who have reached the highest levels of maturity, health and accomplishment have so much to teach us that sometimes it just seems like they are a different breed.”

Maslow approaches the understanding of the self by studying those individuals who live most in harmony with their own nature, who represent best examples self-expression and self-actualization.

However, Maslow does not specifically discuss the self as a specific structure in personality.

5. Characteristics of self-actualizing people

Self-actualizing people represent "color" human race, its best representatives. These people have reached the level of personal development that is potentially inherent in each of us.

Each person strives to realize their inner potential in their own way. Therefore, any attempt to apply Maslow's criteria for self-actualization must be tempered by the understanding that each person must consciously choose his own path of self-improvement, striving to become all he can be in life.

Maslow concluded that self-actualizing people have the following characteristics.

1. The highest degree of perception of reality.

It means increased attention, clarity of consciousness, balance of all ways of perceiving reality. It is hardly possible to describe this property more accurately.

2. A more developed ability to accept yourself, others and the world as a whole as they really are.

This property does not at all mean reconciliation with reality, but speaks of the absence of illusions regarding it. A person is guided in life not by myths or collective ideas, but, if possible, by scientific and, in any case, sober opinions about the environment dictated by common sense.

3. Increased spontaneity.

In other words, to be, not to seem. This means revealing your personality, freely expressing it, the absence of inferiority complexes, fear of seeming funny, tactless, profane, etc. In other words, simplicity, trust in life.

4. Greater ability to focus on a problem.

It seems that this ability is more understandable: stubbornness, perseverance, digging into a problem and the ability to consider and discuss it with others and alone.

5. More pronounced detachment and a clear desire for solitude.

A mentally healthy person needs mental concentration; he is not afraid of loneliness. On the contrary, he needs it because it supports his continuous dialogue with himself and helps his inner life. A person must work within himself, educate his soul, must be able to talk with God if he is a religious person.

6. More pronounced autonomy and resistance to joining any one culture.

The continuous feeling of being part of some culture, family, group, some society is generally a sign of mental inferiority. In general, in important things in life, a person should not represent anyone, not be anyone’s delegate. This means that he must draw from all sources, be able to perceive all cultures and not be subordinate to any of them. The regulator of the behavior of a healthy person is not the opinion of others, not their views, not their approval and not their rules, but a code of conduct developed in dialogue with a higher principle within oneself.

7. Great freshness of perception and richness of emotional reactions.

Probably, this characteristic does not need further explanation. If a person is a unity of the emotional, intellectual and physiological spheres, then he must take the best of all of them.

8. More frequent breakthroughs to the “peak experience.”

This quality just needs comment. Maslow calls “peak experiences” moments of awareness, insight, revelation. This is the time of highest concentration, when a person joins the truth, something beyond his strength and abilities. At such moments, he seems to move to a higher level, the secrets and meanings of existence suddenly become clear to him, the secrets and meanings of existence are revealed.

Such experiences do not necessarily include, for example, scientific discoveries or the joy of artistic inspiration of the creator. They can be caused by a moment of love, the experience of nature, music, merging with a higher principle. The main thing is that at such moments a person does not feel detached, but connected with higher powers.

9. Stronger identification with the entire human race.

All-humanity, a sense of unity is much greater than what separates us all. The uniqueness and dissimilarity of people is the basis for closeness, and not for their enmity.

10. Changes in interpersonal relationships.

A mentally healthy person is self-sufficient and independent, she is less dependent on other individuals. And this means that she has no fear, envy, need for approval, praise or affection. She has no need to lie and adapt to people, does not depend on their preferences and social institutions. She is generally indifferent to signs of encouragement and censure, she is not carried away by orders and glory, they find rewards within, and not outside, themselves.

11. More democratic character structure.

A self-realizing personality does not need any social hierarchy, authorities or idols. She also has no desire to rule over others, to impose her opinions on them. She creates islands of cooperation around herself, rather than the execution of instructions; for her, the team is not a hierarchically structured organization, but a collection of irreplaceable specialists.

In the social structure, such a person corresponds to a democratic social structure. In general, such people, no matter what position and no matter what public place they occupy, even the most inconspicuous one, have no superiors. They know how to arrange themselves everywhere so as not to have controllers and people financially dependent on them over them.

12. High creative abilities.

In some higher sense, the concepts of man and creator coincide. If we don’t see this, if there are, as it seems to us, gray, insignificant, unnoticeable people around, it means that this society is poorly structured, it does not give a person the opportunity, the scope for self-actualization.

13. Certain changes in the value system.

People who have achieved a certain degree of self-realization have a very high opinion of others. They believe in people, in humanity, in its destiny, in its better future, although they cannot necessarily articulate it in words. In other words, they have a positive attitude, they are not only friendly towards others, but they have a certain and, as a rule, strong positive attitude. life philosophy, a system of interconnected values.

14. Creativity.

Maslow discovered that all self-actualizing people, without exception, have the ability to be creative. However, the creative potential of his subjects did not manifest itself in the same way as outstanding talents in poetry, art, music or science. Maslow spoke, rather, about the same natural and spontaneous creativity that is inherent in unspoiled children. This is the creativity that is present in Everyday life as a natural way of expressing an observant, perceptive and invigoratingly simple personality.

15. Resistance to cultivation.

Self-actualizing people are in harmony with their culture, while maintaining a certain internal independence from it. They have autonomy and self-confidence, and therefore their thinking and behavior are not subject to social and cultural influence. This resistance to enculturation does not mean that self-actualizing people are unconventional or antisocial in all areas of human behavior. For example, in matters of dress, speech, food and behavior, if this does not cause obvious objections to them, they are no different from others. Likewise, they do not waste energy fighting existing customs and rules. However, they can be extremely independent and unconventional if any of their core values are affected. Therefore, those who do not take the trouble to understand and appreciate them sometimes consider self-actualizing people to be rebellious and eccentric.

Conclusion

Self-actualizing people are not angels. The above may lead to the conclusion that self-actualizing people are a select group of “superstars”, approaching perfection in the art of living and standing at a height unattainable for the rest of humanity.

Maslow unequivocally refuted such conclusions. Being flawed by human nature, self-actualizing people are also subject to foolish, unconstructive and unhelpful habits, just like us mortals. They may be stubborn, irritable, boring, contentious, selfish or depressed, and under no circumstances are they immune to unreasonable vanity, excessive pride and partiality towards their friends, family and children. Temperamental outbursts are not that unusual for them.

Maslow also found that his subjects were able to exhibit a certain “surgical coldness” in interpersonal conflicts. For example, one woman, realizing that she no longer loved her husband, divorced him with a determination bordering on ruthlessness. Others recovered from the death of people close to them so easily that they seemed heartless. Further, self-actualizing people are not free from feelings of guilt, anxiety, sadness and self-doubt. Due to excessive concentration, they often cannot tolerate empty gossip and easy conversation. In fact, they may speak or behave in ways that suppress, shock, or offend others. Finally, their kindness to others can make them vulnerable to interactions that are not helpful to them. Despite all these imperfections, self-actualizing people were considered by Maslow to be excellent models of mental health. At the very least, they remind us that the potential for human psychological growth is much greater than what we have achieved.

Literature

1. Gennady Butyrtsev. What is a free person? , 1999.

2. Humanistic theory of personality by Abraham Maslow (based on the book by L. Kjell and D. Ziegler “Theories of Personality”), 2001.

3. Abraham Maslow. Self-actualization, 2000.

4. Fadiman J., Frager R. Abraham Maslow and the psychology of self-actualization, 1993.

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