On Wed, 12 Dec 2012 08:24:20 -0800, Annette Taylor wrote:
[snip]
[A colleague asked Annette:]
Would you mind posting to the board this question: "Does Maslow believe he
was
self-actualized? Can you provide a scholarly reference for the answer?"
---------------------------------------
Since I also find the question interesting I am more than happy to post for
her
and to read the answers.
First, I have to admit to not being much of a Maslow fan, though
I am loathe to bad-mouth NYC born psychologists (then again,
given the NYC born psychologists that have gone on to fame,
I may have to change my policy about bad-mouthing them) and
only know some basic aspects about Maslow (actually, I may
know more than I care to know, such as his connection to
nude psychotherapy).
Second, a quick Google search has turned up some lecture notes by
a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Two key points
made in the notes:
(1) Maslow considered only about 2% of the general population to be
"self-actualized".
(2) The Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), which apparently was
developed by Everitt Shostrom, has been used to measure the degree
to which a person is "self-actualized". Quoting from the notes:
|Ironically, when Maslow completed the POI, it showed that he
|had only a slight self-actualizing tendency. He scored much lower
|than individuals who were identified as self-actualizers.
http://homepages.rpi.edu/~verwyc/MASLOWOH.htm
NOTE: there is no citation for the quote above.
Now, did Maslow believe that he was self-actualized while he was
alive? Perhaps there is some specific source where he argues
for or against the position but that will take someone who is a
Maslow scholar/groupie/whatever to produce/find.
I think a better question is "Can self-actualization be reliably and
validly measured and how did Maslow score?" If he never was tested,
well, what difference does it make what Maslow thought? A lot
of people think that they are smart while being as dumb as a bag
of hammers.
If self-actualization can't be reliably and validly measured, well,
Maslow could have thought that he was self-actualized but how
would you "prove" or provide evidence for it? Given that Maslow
seemed to think that only 2% of the population was self-actualized,
just betting on the baserate, I'd bet that Maslow was not self-actualized.
I'm interested in seeing what more knowledgeable people have to say.
-Mike Palij
New York University
[email protected]
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