2013 Reprint of 1943 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. This is the article in which Maslow first presented his hierarchy of needs. It was first printed in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation." Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories of human developmental psychology, some of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans. Maslow described various needs and used the terms "Physiological, Safety, Belongingness and Love, Esteem, Self-Actualization and Self-Transcendence" needs to describe the pattern that human motivations generally move through. Maslow studied what he called exemplary people such as Albert Einstein, Jane Addams, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frederick Douglass rather than mentally ill or neurotic people.

Essential Reading For Psychology Students
A Theory of Human Motivation by Abraham H. Maslow is one of the most famous psychology articles ever written. Originally published in 1943, it was in this landmark paper that Maslow presented his first detailed representation of Self-Actualization - "the desire to become everything that one is capable of becoming" - at the pinnacle of a hierarchy of human needs.
Bonus Content:
In A Theory of Human Motivation Maslow draws upon some of his earlier published work. Three of these key references, "Conflict, Frustration And The Theory of Threat," "The Dynamics of Psychological Security-Insecurity" and "Preface To Motivation Theory" are also presented in full.
A Theory of Human Motivation has been produced as part of an initiative by the website All About Psychology to make important psychology publications widely available.
www.all-about-psychology.com

2011 Reprint of 1962 First Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In this compelling book, Professor Maslow uses studies of psychologically healthy people and of the healthiest experiences and moments in the lives of average people to demonstrate that human beings can be loving, noble and creative, that they are capable of pursuing the highest values and aspirations. A classic text in the field of humanistic psychology.

2010 Reprint of 1962 First Edition. In this compelling book, Professor Maslow uses studies of psychologically healthy people and of the healthiest experiences and moments in the lives of average people to demonstrate that human beings can be loving, noble and creative, that they are capable of pursuing the highest values and aspirations. A classic text in the field of humanistic psychology.

The present paper is an attempt to formulate a positive theory of motivation which will satisfy these theoretical demands and at the same time conform to the known facts, clinical and observational as well as experimental. It derives most directly, however, from clinical experience. This theory is, I think, in the functionalist tradition of James and Dewey, and is fused with the holism of Wertheimer, Goldstein, and Gestalt Psychology, and with the dynamicism of Freud and Adler. This fusion or synthesis may arbitrarily be called a 'general-dynamic' theory. It is far easier to perceive and to criticize the aspects in motivation theory than to remedy them. Mostly this is because of the very serious lack of sound data in this area. I conceive this lack of sound facts to be due primarily to the absence of a valid theory of motivation. The present theory then must be considered to be a suggested program or framework for future research and must stand or fall, not so much on facts available or evidence presented, as upon researches to be done, researches suggested perhaps, by the questions raised in this paper.

This book is a continuation of my Motivation and Personality, published in 1954. It was constructed in about the same way, that is, by doing one piece at a time of the larger theoretical structure. It is a predecessor to work yet to be done toward the construction of a comprehensive, systematic and empirically based general psychology and philosophy which includes both the depths and the heights of human nature. The last chapter is to some extent a program for this future work, and serves as a bridge to it. It is a first attempt to integrate the "health-and-growth psychology" with psychopathology and psychoanalytic dynamics, the dynamic with the holistic, Becoming with Being, good with evil, positive with negative. Phrased in another way, it is an effort to build on the general psychoanalytic base and on the scientific-positivistic base of experimental psychology, the Eupsychian, B-psychological and metamotivational superstructure which these two systems lack, going beyond their limits. It is very difficult, I have found, to communicate to others my simultaneous respect for and impatience with these two comprehensive psychologies. So many people insist on being either pro-Freudian or anti-Freudian, pro-scientific-psychology or anti-scientific-psychology, etc. In my opinion all such loyalty-positions are silly. Our job is to integrate these various truths into the whole truth, which should be our only loyalty. Wilder Publications is a green publisher. All of our books are printed to order. This reduces waste and helps us keep prices low while greatly reducing our impact on the environment. Contributors

An unabridged edition to include all notes and references from the 1943 publication, with footnotes -