“They spend so much time on so much crap. Why not spend some time on something critically important? I just don’t understand it. My motivation theory was published 20 years ago, & in all that time nobody repeated it, or tested it, or really analyzed it or criticized it. They just used it, swallowed it whole with only the most minor modifications. “
Abraham Maslow, 1962 Journal Entry
(Cited in Lowry, 1979, p. 190)
Abraham Maslow authored the theory of human motivation now generally recognized as “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.” Originally published in 1943, his actual title for the paper is “A Theory of Human Motivation.” (Maslow, 1943) 20 years after first publication of the theory, writing in his personal journal Maslow wrote the passage seen here. At that time, despite the popularity of the theory (he had recently granted permission for its eleventh reprint) and its contribution to his own rising fame, he still suspected something amiss in the audiences’ reception of or reactions to the theory. If an inadequate response on the part of the audience had to do with something being missed, then what about our understanding of the theory has changed between then, 20 years after publication, and now, 70 years after publication? If something had gone missing at that time, and our understanding hasn’t changed appreciably in the meantime, what might we still be missing? If Maslow never did gain his own clarity regarding a misconnection between his theory and its audiences, he would never have been able to coach us to a remedy.
I suggest a miscommunication of massive proportion and significant consequence between Maslow and his audiences. Admittedly, the consequences present as opportunity costs, or potential benefits forgone, and those are hard to estimate. Now more than 70 years after initial publication of his theory, 55 years following the journal entry seen here, and almost 40 years since that entry was first published, MindingMaslowsMystery.com is offered as an early stage remedy to his conundrum. Let’s see if we can begin to iron out at least some of the multifaceted confusion.
References
Lowry, R. J. (Ed.). (1979). The journals of A. H. Maslow (Vol. 1, p. 190). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396.