Criticisms of Ibrahim Maslow’s theory of Motivation

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is a psychological theory introduced by Ibrahim Maslow in 1943. As a humanistic psychologist, Ibrahim Maslow introduced and published Motivation and Personality, which clarified how people satisfy their needs from their work-life (Joseph E and Gawel, 1996). In his theory, Maslow said that people have five types of needs that are activated hierarchically, such that the lowest- order need must be fulfilled before the next order need is triggered and this processed continues (Kaur, 2013). This theory was considered to be the first and foremost content theory of motivation which was developed in 1953. In this theory, individuals move in a unique order based on physiological and physiological needs Maslow (1987). He believed that every person has a strong want to reach a level of ‘self- actualization’ and that change the model of the development whose main point was to emphasize the positive potential of human beings (Schacter et al. 2012).

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is a psychological theory introduced by Ibrahim Maslow in 1943. As a humanistic psychologist, Ibrahim Maslow introduced and published Motivation and Personality, which clarified how people satisfy their needs from their work-life (Joseph E and Gawel, 1996). In his theory, Maslow said that people have five types of needs that are activated hierarchically, such that the lowest- order need must be fulfilled before the next order need is triggered and this processed continues (Kaur, 2013). This theory was considered to be the first and foremost content theory of motivation which was developed in 1953. In this theory, individuals move in a unique order based on physiological and physiological needs Maslow (1987). He believed that every person has a strong want to reach a level of ‘self- actualization’ and that change the model of the development whose main point was to emphasize the positive potential of human beings (Schacter et al. 2012).

Each individual is superiorly motivated by any one of five basic needs, which in ascending order, are the need for basic physiological necessities, the need for safety, the need for love and belongingness, the need for esteem, and finally the need for self-actualization (Maslow, 1970). These needs are basic in terms of the speculation that they are separate entities and are operative to a lesser or greater extent in all individuals. Whether they need for self-actualization can be considered basic is questionable however, as Maslow (1964) maintained that satisfied individuals evidence no cravings of a particular need. Nonetheless, Maslow (1971) also pointed out that the need for self-actualization could never be satisfied; rather, once the four lower-order needs are satisfied, the need for self-actualization increases as it is fulfilled. In terms of this speculation, it is doubtful whether the self-actualization need is "basic". 

Once a need is satisfied, it no longer serves as the current motivator of the individual's behavior, who then moves on to be motivated by the next highest need in the hierarchy. Which is self-actualization is the highest need according to which an individual can be motivated. In terms of the application of this theory to the industrial situation, Maslow (1965) suggested that should an individual be motivated by this need, his productivity should be developed both qualitatively and quantitatively. An examination of the literature reveals that this crucial, yet basic assumption has not been empirically evaluated, which is essential if the ultimate utility of this theory in the organizational context is to be established.

Sommers and Satel (2005) stated that, due to the lack of practical support, Maslow's ideas have fallen out of fashion and are no longer taken actually in the world of theoretical psychology. Even with such fundamental criticism, the work remains standard literature in management studies and other fields and is part of standard curricula and textbooks for secondary education students.

House and Aditya (1997) showed in their leadership study over 3,000 studies that 98% of the actual evidence for imaginative development is rather distinctly American in character. Although Maslow’s theory is educated as an explaining universal model, Maslow’s theory is not validated in contexts or environments other than those where the theory was created. This validation outside of a western framework is important, given that Maslow’s theory emerged from an American cultural setting, characterized by individualism. In this cultural context, the individual is the point of reference and the realization of the ‘individual’ is the highest goal.

This theory of human motivation is globally applicable as it is important, as much of the world that Galtung refers to as “the Periphery” does not resonate with putting the ‘individual’ as the point of human motivation (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner 2011). In many parts of the world, it is the group or the community, and ‘the quality of the group reflects upon its members’ that are central and considered worthy to be pursued.  As an example, in Southern Africa, the belief of Ubuntu is at the center of all human activities, whether economic, political, religious, or cultural. It is the group and not a single person that motivates daily, behave and design  (Mawere and Mubaya 2014; Ramose 2009, van Stam 2014) 

Reference

·         House, R. J., & Aditya, R. N. (1997). The Social Scientific Study of Leadership: Quo Vadis? Journal of Management, 409–473.

·      Joseph E and Gawel, 1996. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. Herzberg's Theory of Motivation and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, [online] 5(1/11). Available at: <https://scholarworks.umass.edu/pare/vol5/iss1/11>.

·       Kaur, A., 2013. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory: Applications and Criticisms. Global Journal of Management and Business Studies, [online] 3(10). Available at: <http://www.ripublication.com/gjmbs.htm>.

·         Maslow, A. H. (1987). Motivation and Personality (3rd Ed.). Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.

·         Maslow, A.H. Criteria for judging needs to be instinctoid. Acta Psychologia, 1964, 23, 86-87.

·         Maslow, A.H. Eupsychian Management - A Journal. Homewood, I11.: Irwin-Dorsey, 1965.

·         Maslow, A.H. Motivation and Personality. (2nd ed.) Harper and Row Publishers, 1970.

·         Maslow, A.H. On eupsychian management. In A.H. Maslow (Ed.). The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. Pelican Books, 1971.

·         Mawere, M., & Mubaya, T. R. (Eds.). (2014). African Cultures, Memory and Space: Living the Past Presence in Zimbabwean Heritage. Bamenda: Langaa

·         Ramose, M. B. (2009). Ecology through Ubuntu. In M. F. Murove (Ed.), African Ethics: An Anthology of Comparative and Applied Ethics. Pietermaritzburg: University of Kwazulu-Natal Press.

·         Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2012). Psychology (Second). New York, NY:Palgrave Macmilla

·         Sommers, C. H., & Satel, S. (2005). One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture Is Eroding Self-Reliance. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.

      

·        Trompenaars, F., & Hampden-Turner, C. (2011). Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business (Second). London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

·         Van Stam, G. (2014). Ubuntu, Peace, and Women: Without a Mother, there is no Home. In M. van Reisen (Ed.), Women’s Leadership in Peace-Building: Conflict, Community and Care. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.

·  Wahba, M.A. & Bridwell, L.G. Maslow reconsidered: A review of research on need hierarchy theory. Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance, 1976, 15, 212-240.