An Analysis of Feral Children Using Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Introduction to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow is someone I consider to be one of the most renowned psychologists known to my generation today. Even those who have never studied psychology or participated in ASB have likely heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow’s approach to psychology was problem-centered rather than method-centered, meaning he focused more on the problem at hand than on the methodology. At the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy is self-actualization. Traits of self-actualized people include an efficient perception of reality, acceptance, spontaneity, autonomy, deep relationships, humor, the ability to hold both sides of a dichotomy, strong ethics, and values.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is shaped like a triangle, with a wide base at the bottom and a narrow point at the top. This shape is purposeful, not merely aesthetic. Maslow believed there were essential levels of needs on the journey to self-actualization. These levels were like stepping stones rather than levels in a game. One's position on these levels could vary; it was not necessary to completely fulfill one level before moving to the next. The base level included basic physiological needs essential for life, such as food, water, sleep, and sex. The subsequent levels, in ascending order, included safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and finally, self-actualization. It was evident to Maslow, and seems self-explanatory, why the needs are arranged in this order. If someone is starving due to lack of food and water, they would not be concerned with their own esteem but only with survival.

Maslow's Hierarchy and Feral Children

An Analysis of Feral Children Using Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Being a lover of documentaries, when we first started discussing Maslow’s triangle, I recalled one about feral children. Feral children are those who have lived in isolation from a young age and have had little to no human contact. This is a very rare and unfortunate situation, yet it has occurred more than once. These children, once found, resembled wild animals in behavior. Most of these children do not survive, but those who do often lack fulfillment of their basic physiological needs or most of their safety needs. For instance, they may have had difficulty accessing food and shelter, which significantly hampers their development and integration into society.

Maslow's Hierarchy in Everyday Life

For more common examples of how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs fits into everyday life, I provide two examples of people in my life. I have a roommate, let’s call her Kayleigh. Kayleigh has a condition called panic disorder, an anxiety disorder characterized by a pattern of extreme panic attacks. Much of this disorder stems from the stress of fearing another episode, which paradoxically can trigger another attack. In terms of physiological needs, most of them have been met; she has access to food and drink without stress. However, I suspect she does not always sleep well. Recently, she was prescribed a new medication that resulted in seizures. This, combined with her existing fear of the disorder, likely results in less sleep than the average 'healthy' student.

Because the levels work as stepping stones rather than actual levels, we move up to the third level, which is love and belongingness needs. I know her parents and close family love her, as do I and my other roommates. Recently, her pre-college friends have been less than friendly toward her. Because of this, she sometimes feels lonely and as though she has no friends. Although we have accepted her into our group, it’s evident that she is still upset about the way her friends who came here with her are acting. Consequently, there is an obvious deficiency in the fourth 'level' of the hierarchy, esteem. Her self-esteem and confidence are areas that I would consider malnourished.

My other friend, my best friend from back home, is named Rachel. Rachel is a very closed-off person and does not make friends easily. Truthfully, I don’t think she wants to make more friends, even though she always jokes that she needs more. Rachel’s mom passed away a few years ago when we were both in high school. Her sister is much older than her and has not lived at home for a long time. Her father, Kevin, has never been very attentive to her and gave her much freedom throughout her life. Although her father is a good man, he had some other relationships while being married to her mother. Rachel has always been somewhat alone, in her own realm of reality. After her mother died, we truly became inseparable friends; we even refer to each other as “twin,” and her sister thinks of me the same way. She recently got a boyfriend and tends to move, in my opinion, quickly in relationships. I believe she has completed the first two levels of Maslow’s hierarchy, but the third is deficient. Due to the absence of attention and losing her mother, I believe her love and belongingness needs have been suffering. I have always believed that she was closed off due to the loss of her mother and the lack of attention from her remaining family.

Conclusion: Limitations of Self-Actualization

In the case of the feral children, as well as in both of my friends’ cases, Maslow would argue that they would not be able to achieve self-actualization or progress much further up the ladder. Maslow believed that only one percent of people actually reach self-actualization, but that we are all striving to get there. An interesting article I came across was actually a critique of Maslow’s work; it questioned why Maslow placed constraints on self-actualization. Everything in the world has the biological goal to grow. If the entire world is constantly evolving and growing, then why “limit it to something only two percent of the human species achieves?” This argument seems valid to me. However, with so many characteristics of a self-actualized person, I do not believe that one needs all of these qualities. I believe that you can be a mentally healthy, free soul without possessing every single quality he listed. For example, I do not believe that a ‘self-actualized’ person needs to have strong beliefs or values; not everyone thinks this way. Perhaps someone could hold flexibility and open-mindedness as their highest qualities. I also do not believe that spontaneity must be present in a ‘self-actualized’ person; perhaps being patient and well-thought-out is equally valuable.

References:

• Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396.
• Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and Personality (2nd ed.). Harper & Row.
• Critique of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. (n.d.). In Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/