2013 International Conference on Advances in Social Science, Humanities, and Management (ASSHM 2013) The Beauty of the Transcending of the Humanity --Research on Maslow’s Self-actualization Theory Liu Hongyu1 Han Lu2 1The School of Psychology and Cognitive Science of East China Normal Unversity 2The School of Art and Design of Wuhan Textile University Abstract： but also the highest value goal of the entire Abraham Harold Maslow is a world-renowned psychology and ethics. Maslow's psychology social psychologist, personality theorist and an and ethics are built around one center, i.e., man expert at comparative psychology. Maslow has or humanity. It is human-centered and based on also made great achievements in philosophy and humans’ needs with full realization of human literature. potential as its final goal. Maslow's theory can Maslow is a well-known scholars with his be expressed by a simple formula: human → study of self-realization in the West.The concept need (motivation) →behavior → realization of of self-realization is complex and rich in value or humanity (self-actualization is the connotation.He completed the research on the vertex). Maslow suggests that self-actualization self-fulfilling the original intention of those who is based on people's needs system rooted in are very specific,such as,to identify human genetic gene like instinct, namely the intrinsic beings,to make outstanding contributions to requirement of the realization of five needs society of people of common personality (physiology, safety, love/belonging, self-esteem, characteristics,to identify some of the positive self-actualization) from the bottom to the top, human potential value of the goal. and ultimately reaching “self- actualization”. Based on his posthumous masterpiece The The driving force to reach self-actualization Topmost Degree of the Human Nature, this comes from the inherent human nature of article studies origins of the core theories in meeting the needs driven by primitive impulse. Maslow’s humanistic psychology with Self-actualization is the basic need, the ultimate consideration of his literature, philosophy and goal and a continual process of growth for childhood experiences. Meanwhile, the article human beings, and demonstrates itself in the also tries to analyze self-actualization and peak form of peak experience in psychology. experience from the prospective of humanity. 1. Maslow 's upbringing and the creation of Keywords: humanistic psychology, humanity, the self-actualization theory self-actualization, peak experience Maslow’s theories like “hierarchy of In the 1950s, humanistic psychology was needs”, “self-actualization”, “peak experience”, created by a group of American psychologists “fulfillment of potentials” and “human centered” led by Abraham Maslow. It was regarded as “the are well-acquainted by people, and some of his third force” after Sigmund Freud's psycho thoughts have even become part of human analytic theory and B.F. Skinner's behaviorism awareness in the current world. Renowned by by academics, and Maslow himself was called his self-actualization theory, Maslow is naturally “father of humanistic psychology”. questioned by many: “Is Maslow himself a “Self-actualization" is the theoretical symbol of self-actualized person?”, “How does he exploit Maslow’s humanistic psychology and the core of his own potentials?”. In order to explore the his theories on ethics. What is more, it is not sources of Maslow's theory, it is necessary to only at the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, focus on the psychology master's upbringing. © 2013. The authors - Published by Atlantis Press 229 In 1908, Abraham Maslow was born in a positively directed by the mentos, he began to Jewish family, which had moved to Manhattan trace the roots of their excellent qualities and to in USA when they gave birth to Maslow. His explore the question, “Why are they so early memory primarily was about his mother, different?”And hence, he put his hands to a with whom he had developed very unhappy relatively profound research on “excellent relationship. Being excessively religious and figures” and gradually pushed it forward to the cruel in nature, Maslow’s mother would theory of “self-actualization”. He started to make immediately shouted at the children for some a deep analysis of outstanding people and tiny mistakes and said: “You’ll be severely gradually developed the "self-actualization" punished by God!” Although he can’t forgive his study until he completed his marvelous work mother even in his adulthood, the Motivation and Personality in 1954, putting disadvantageous childhood experiences, though forward the exciting transformation from adverse in his growth, spurred him to overcome traditional psychological research to the the difficulties, to spur himself forward and to combination of scientific and ethical research compensate for those miserable experiences. It mode, which represented the pioneering, creative was the transformation from soul torture in and positive features that are typical of childhood to scientific inquiry did young American styles. Maslow gradually develop a strong suspicion to Maslow put forward the concept of “similar religion and respect for atheism. To avoid the instinct” on the basis of his criticism of two tensions at home, he immersed himself in books irreconcilable theories of traditional instinct and even when he was five, and could always find behavioral environment that dominated the area refuge in library and books, which nurtured his of psychology before him. He pointed out, “ the intense interest in study. When he was in lower early theorist on instinct had made a severe grades learning American history, Thomas mistake to overstress the continuity between Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln became his human and the animal world, but not the heroes. When he was 14, for the first time in his profound differences between human and other life, he was attracted by his cousin, Bertha species.” [1] “and thus instinct is strong, firm, Goodman, and thereafter spent their lives unchangeable, uncontrollable and together. The first kiss with Betha had been the irrepressible”[1]. The mistake lies in the most important moment in Maslow’s life, which comparison between animal and human. Maslow enabled him to have a real “peak experience”. disagreed with early instinct theories on that they Several years later, when starting the research of regarded all behaviors as the results of biological self-actualization theory, Maslow employed instinct drive, yet he believed that human needs these people and experiences as the basic and behavior were decided by biological researching examples. He directly pointed out in organisms and environmental culture. The Topmost Degree of the Human Nature, Contrastive to the traditional instinct theorists, “Self-actualization means to fully, lively, Maslow has tempted to distinguish the essential spontaneously experience life, totally absorbed, characteristics from that of the non-essential forgetting everything else.”. ones and he saw more of the complexity of In the 1930s, Maslow met Harry Harlow human needs and the plasticity of human and Thorndike, the two most important mentors behaviors. in his life in psychological research. With their The Topmost Degree of the Human Nature help, Maslow grew quite fast in this research elaborates on the exploration of humanity, field. At the same time, deeply influenced and theories of self-fulfillment, transcendence, 230 creativity and many others. By understanding could only be left with individuals’ and analyzing Maslow's upbringing, we can see self-actualization, and that was not adequate to that humanistic psychology advocates explain the lofty spirit and actions for human people-oriented psychology studies, and the sacrifice for seeking truth. In his later years research of ideological source of normal people Maslow had seen this conflict and he suggested with good health, dignity and self-actualization. that a highest layer of needs should be added It is closely associated with Maslow's struggle above self -actualization, namely transcendence and unyielding strength in his terrible childhood needs. In 1967, Maslow published environment, his efforts of seeking and “Self-Realization and its Transcendence” and cherishing better sides of life, the unremitting “Transcendent Motivation: the Biological pursuit of scientific proof and faith in humanity. Foundations of Value and Life”. He stressed that everyone is a perfect person and Maslow suggest that motivation of human each person should dominate themselves instead behaviors originates from their needs[2]. As a of by others. Just like numerous excellent people complex organism, human beings express their he has studied, his own upbringing is the very needs in different ways and levels, which can be individual practical and theoretical proof of divided into five categories: physiological needs, "self- actualization". safety needs, love/belonging needs, esteem 2. Maslow’s Transcendence of Personality needs and self-actualization needs. and the Birth of Ultra-individualism Self-actualization needs are the highest level that Psychology people can reach, which provide people the In 1954, Maslow put forward the famous impulse to bring out their personalities, hierarchy of needs theory in Motivation and potentials or abilities and represent a tendency or Personality, and first proposed the concept of state of “desiring to become of what he can be humanistic psychology, but they failed to gain and then become