Abraham Maslow
Abraham Harold Maslow
Abraham Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was born to Jewish parents who emigrated from Russia. He was the oldest of seven children. His parents were poor and uneducated but pushed their son to thrive in his academic studies, specifically his father desired for his son to pursue a career in law. Maslow described his childhood to be distraught and chaotic as he was the only “Jewish boy in a non-Jewish neighborhood” (Hoffman, 1992, p. 70). As a result, he spent much time in the library reading books and without friends where he became very passionate about learning. At 16 years of age, Maslow knew he was truly in love with his first cousin Bertha Goodman. They married shortly after moving to Wisconsin when he was 20 years-old and she was 19 years-old. Abraham and Bertha had two daughters, Ann and Ellen. He stated his life didn’t begin until he married and becoming a father changed his entire perspective on life.
In Wisconsin, Abraham started to attend graduate school at the University of Wisconsin because of his intrigue into Behaviorism. He worked as Harry Harlow’s first doctoral student and graduated with his PhD in 1934. His research in those years involved sex and dominance in Rhesus monkeys and attachment behavior.
In later years, Maslow worked at Brandeis serving as the chair of the psychology department. His interactions with Kurt Goldstein, who coined the idea of self-actualization, led Maslow to flourish his own ideas and create an immense impact in Humanistic Psychology.
A few main works that have contributed to his legacy and distinguish him from other prominent psychologists include concepts such as self-actualization and peak experiences. Maslow's Needs theory grew out of his belief that humans are capable of good and overcoming hatred, racism, prejudice, and war. He believed salvation comes out of the advancement of knowledge and mystical experiences can be studied scientifically, such as through psychedelic therapy (Hoffman, 1988, p. 277). Interestingly, congruent to Maslow’s belief, we find more and more scholars delving into researching the power of mysticism and related subjects.
See Also
References
Hoffman, E. (1988). The right to be human: A biography of Abraham Maslow. Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher Inc.
Hoffman, E. (1992). The last interview of Abraham Maslow. Psychology Today, 25, 68-89.
