Models of Maturity are the ideas of how people develop well, live well and actualizing themselves to the max. Across the years, many different psychologists had developed different models of maturity in the sense of biology or psycho-physiology. In this essay, my focus is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This hierarchy can be treated as a model of maturity because the highest level of this is self-actualization which is matched with the board concept of maturity. So, I will first explain Maslow’ Hierarchy of Needs and its expansion with some examples, followed by my criticism towards the hierarchy.
The original Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was developed in 1943. This five stage model can be divided into deficiency needs and growth needs. The first four model including physiological needs (e.g. air, food, shelter, sex), safety needs (e.g. security), belongingness and love needs (e.g. intimate relationships, family, friends) and esteem needs (e.g. achievement and self-respect) are referred to deficiency needs. While the final stage which is self-actualization is defined as growth needs, such that the person can achieve his/her full potential. After going through all the stages and reach the top level, the person is said to be mature. Maslow (1943) noted that one must fulfill the level step by step through satisfying the low level first before progressing on to meet the next level. Also, everyone are able and motivated to move to the ultimate level of self-actualization but different life experiences, such as accidents, family problems and unemployment always disrupt people from achieving this. That means, people are not just going through this hierarchy to maturity in one direction, they move back and forth between different stages instead.
Later, in order to consummate the hierarchy of needs, Maslow further expanded the model in to seven stages and finally eight stages. At first, Maslow included cognitive needs and aesthetic needs (Maslow, 1970a) as level 5 and level 6, thus moving self-actualization needs to level 7. Maslow (1970a) believed that human have to increase their knowledge and through exploration and openness to experience, which form the cognitive needs in the hierarchy. I particularly agree to this amendment. This is because the original 5-stage model is rather shallow which just included how the person satisfy their basic needs, have good relationship with others, and finally gain some achievement and reach self-actualization. However, when the society continued to develop, there were different kinds of industrialization or urbanization and economic development, people cannot just satisfied and grew through the 5-stage model. Instead they have to gain more knowledge and explore the world in order to increase their competitiveness in the society, make different achievement in their job or interest, and finally try to reach self-actualization. So, I think it is very proper for Maslow to include cognitive needs in the hierarchy and expanded it to 7-stage model.
However, the 7-stage model was not the end. Maslow (1970b) further expanded the hierarchy to 8-stage model by adding transcendence needs as the ultimate level. Transcendence needs can also be referred to spiritual needs. Through helping others, people can gain satisfaction and feelings of integrity, thus reaching another level of self-actualization. I also appreciate Maslow a lot as he added this stage in the Hierarchy of needs. The previous 7-stage model was just limited to a person himself, limited to how he maximize his potential and actualize himself in his world. But by adding the final stage which is the transcendence needs, after the person has self-actualized, they can also spread their love or cares to those who are in need and are unprivileged, so the person can reach a higher level of self-actualization. We can proof this by real world example. When the world become more and more developed and people gain more knowledge about the world, they can see the needs of the unprivileged population around them or around the world, so different Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are established, such as World Vision, Red Cross and Orbis. Regardless of your gender, age, job and economic status, if you have a helping heart, you can also help others to actualize your role of being in this global village. Therefore, the level of transcendence needs in the Hierarchy of Needs proposed by Maslow reminded us that, a person cannot fully actualized if he just grow inside his own world. A true maturity concept is that how you devote into the society and recognize the needs of other and help them, then the person can be said to live well, develop well and maximizing his potential. This is how a mature person is formed.
Although I agree that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is very comprehensive and it can included all the needs that human need, I doubt about the uni-directional manner of going through the hierarchy. I disagree that the lower level should be satisfied before proceeding to a higher level. For example, many people who live in poor countries, although they may not have enough food or good shelter such that the basic needs are not well satisfied, they can still live a simple live happily with their friends and family. Mother Teresa is another significant example. She satisfied his basic needs to devote totally into helping the poor and patients in the slums of India. Also, Tay and Diener (2011) revealed that all the needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs work independently and the needs should not be in an order.
To conclude, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs shows us a pathway towards maturity. Although I don’t believe the needs should be satisfied one by one, the hierarchy comprehensively presents all the criteria we need to become self-actualized and a mature person. In my opinion, a totally matured person should be one who can devote himself to the world and willing to help others in the society.
References:
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-96.
Maslow, A. H. (1970a). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row.
Maslow, A. H. (1970b). Religions, values, and peak experiences. New York: Penguin. (Original work published 1964)
Tay, L., & Diener, E. (2011). Needs and subjective well-being around the world. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(2), 354.
Models of Maturity 