Self-Actualization: Definition & Examples

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November 13, 2017

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The concept of self-actualization is best known in the field of psychology in the context of
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The decades-old idea is certainly an area of
interest in modern psychology research, but many still only know it as the top of Maslow’s
motivational pyramid.

This article will discuss self-actualization as it was first outlined, where self-actualization
research stands today, and why self-actualization is relevant to both the positive
psychology movement and the average person.

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What is Self-Actualization? A Definition
Self-actualization is a term “first coined by Kurt Goldstein” that most often refers to
Abraham Maslow’s use of the term while outlining his hierarchy of needs. In his seminal
paper about human motivation where he first introduced his hierarchy of needs, Maslow
defined self-actualization by claiming that “[w]hat a man can be, he must be. This need we
may call self-actualization” (Maslow, 1943).

Self-actualization has also been described as:

“the psychological process aimed at maximizing the use of a person’s abilities and resources.
This process may vary from one person to another” (Couture et al., 2007).

In other words, for our purposes, self-actualization can be thought of as the full realization
of one’s creative, intellectual, or social potential.

Since self-actualization is based on leveraging one’s abilities to reach their potential, it is a

very personal process and can greatly differ from person-to-person. As we will see, this
recognition of individual motivations is a key part of Maslow’s work, and what he felt
differentiated it from the contemporary motivational psychology of his early career.

Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow was a psychologist most affiliated with humanistic psychology. His
interests in human motivation and self-actualization stemmed from his experiences both
early on as a timid child, and later on as a father witnessing the horrors of World War Two
(Frick, 2000; Hoffman, 2008). His hierarchy of needs is still taught as a critical part of
motivational psychology, despite first being outlined over 70 years ago. In fact, some of
Maslow’s work is even thought to cover similar ground as the positive psychology
movement (Goud, 2008).

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The Theory of Self-Actualization and the Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s idea of self-actualization must first be contextualized within his hierarchy of
needs. Maslow felt that human motivation needed to be studied beyond the contemporary
scope of behaviorism because the study of “[m]otivation should be human-centered rather
than animal-centered” (Maslow, 1943).

With this goal in mind, he first outlined his

hierarchy of needs in his seminal 1943 paper
on human motivation.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is made up of

“physiological [needs], safety [needs], love
[needs], esteem [needs], and self-
actualization” in a pyramid from bottom to top.
Each level of needs must be taken care of
before the next one can be taken care of, so
ensuring one’s physiological needs (like food
and water) is a prerequisite to ensuring their
safety needs (like shelter), ensuring one’s
safety needs is a prerequisite to ensuring
one’s love needs, and so on.

The final level is self-actualization, so that once one’s physiological, safety, love, and
esteem needs are taken care of one can start thinking about self-actualization.

Examples of Self-Actualization
This raises the question, what does self-actualization actually look like? When first
describing self-actualization, Maslow described the top of his hierarchy of needs by
remarking that:

“[a] musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be
ultimately happy” (Maslow, 1943).

Aside from naming general types of people, Maslow (1970) also once named a few people
who he considered to have reached a level of self-actualization in their lifetimes. These
included:

Abraham Lincoln
Thomas Jefferson
Albert Einstein
Eleanor Roosevelt
Jane Addams
William James
Albert Schweitzer
Aldous Huxley
Baruch Spinoza

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In that same book, Maslow (1970) also listed a few other potential cases of self-
actualization, without weighing in on whether or not they reached the same level of self-
actualization as the above nine examples. These included Eugene Debs, Frederick
Douglas, Ida Tarbell, Harriet Tubman, George Washington, George Washington Carver,
and Walt Whitman. While all of the above names were public figures in one way or another,
it is interesting to note that Maslow listed a wide variety of people, from abolitionists and
authors to philosophers, politicians, and poets.

A recent study conducted by Krems et al. (2017) was interested in how non-psychologists
viewed self-actualization. The authors found that “lay perceptions of realizing one’s full
potential are linked to the fundamental motive of achieving status and esteem”.

In other words, participants most associated realizing their potential (and the drive to do so)
with reaching some level of internally-recognized success (esteem, which is notably on
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs itself) and some level of externally-recognized success
(status).

This conflicts with Maslow’s (1943) initial separation of status/esteem and self-actualization.
The authors, however, point out that “a functional reading” of Maslow’s work, such as the
one discussed by Kenrick et al. (2010), indicates that “many of the behaviors involved in
pursuing one’s full potential are linked to status, both directly and indirectly” (Krems et al.,
2017). This relation between status-seeking and self-actualization also fits in with the fact
that the most obvious examples of self-actualization are of public figures who have
achieved high levels of status.

Self-Actualization and Positive Psychology

Aside from Goud (2008) claiming that Maslow would have approved of the positive
psychology movement’s goals, the concept of self-actualization is further related to positive
psychology. According to Bernard et al. (2010), the work of another humanistic
psychologist, Albert Ellis, indicated that “self-actualization involves the pursuit of
excellence and enjoyment; whichever people choose to desire and emphasize”.

This focus on reaching excellence and enjoyment (even more than a focus on the
realization of potential) prioritizes well-being, and shows the relation between self-
actualization and positive psychology. Recently, multiple studies have even examined self-

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actualization as a component of well-being (Compton, 2001; Kim et al., 2003). As the
examination of well-being is a main feature of positive psychology, this shows the
importance of recognizing how self-actualization and well-being relate to each other.

Another interesting study examined the effects of a positive psychology course on well-
being, and found that college students who took a course on positive psychology reported
increased levels of happiness, hope, mindfulness, and self-actualization, further
highlighting the relationship between positive psychology and self-actualization (Maybury,
2013).

Aside from well-being, one of the main drives behind outlining positive psychology was the
reinstatement of a “fundamental [misson] of psychology” that Martin Seligman felt had
been too long ignored by contemporary psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, M.,
2000). This mission that Maslow highlighted was the goal of “nurturing genius”. Since self-
actualization and striving to reach one’s potential are certainly related to nurturing genius,
this shows that self-actualization is certainly an aspect of positive psychology.

A Take Home Message

While Abraham Maslow’s groundbreaking theory of motivation and hierarchy of needs are
still taught today, it is important to contextualize his idea of self-actualization within the
positive psychology movement. Self-actualization is actually related to positive psychology
in two distinct ways: as a component of well-being and as a way to measure the nurturing
of genius.

Since these were both aspects of psychology that Martin Seligman had felt were long
ignored in psychology, and were both driving factors behind the outlining of positive
psychology, the study of self-actualization can be a valuable tool within the field of positive
psychology.

So what relevance does self-actualization hold for the average person? At the end of the
day, realizing one’s potential is a personal endeavor that depends on where one’s creative,
intellectual, or social potential lies. In other words, self-actualization is not about making the
most money, or becoming the most famous person in the world. Instead, self-actualization
is about reaching one’s personal potential, whether that means becoming a painter, a
politician, a philosopher, a teacher, or anything else.

That is, at risk of sounding like a cliché, self-actualization is truly about achieving your
dreams.

References
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About the Author
Joaquín is a writer who was first introduced to psychology through
behavioral neuroscience research. This research experience was focused
on addiction with the hopes of ultimately helping people change their
habits. Joaquín was born in Nicaragua, now lives in the United States, and
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believes positive psychology teachings can improve people’s lives in both
countries.

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