Biological and Humanistic Approaches to Personality

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1. Use Maslow's hierarchy of needs to discuss the extent to which growth needs influence personality formation.

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, personality develops through meeting our basic needs through choices that we make, although the environment can also impact our personality development if these needs do not get met because we meet our needs through others.

More specifically, this theory is based on the premise that we are born with certain needs. In order to continue to grow our personality, we need to meet these needs. And, without meeting these initial needs, we will not be able to move up the hierarchy, or continue growing in our life. For example, if our basic needs do not get met (i.e. food, water, etc.) sufficiently, our personality will not develop further beyond trying to get our basic needs met. The first level of needs includes our physiological needs, or our basic needs for survival. Without food, water, sleep, and oxygen, a person cannot focus on anything else. Sometimes people living in poverty get stuck in the survival mode and do not develop their other needs as all their attention is focused on meeting their basic survival needs.
(allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/maslow.html)

Once these needs are met, however, a person can move to the next level, which consists of our need for safety and security. People meet these needs, according to Maslow, through seeking out safety through interacting with other people and striving to find a world that will protect them and to keep them free from harm. When these needs are not met however, a person finds is very difficult to think about higher level needs and therefore, the person remains at that level and does not continue to grow or develop their personality to become their true authentic self (allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/maslow.html).

However, when a person feels safe and secure, they move to the next level and begin to seek friendships to meet their belonging needs, They feel a sense of belonging. This is Maslow's third level, the need for belonging and love. It basically focuses on to need to be accepted by other, to fit in, and to feel like she or he has a place in the ...