Personality and Growth: A Humanistic Psychologist in the Classroom

by Abraham H. Maslow, Saul Steinberg (Illustrator)

Overview

In the winter of 1963-’64, American psychologist Abraham H. Maslow taught “Experiential Approaches to Personality” at Brandeis University. An exercise in experiential learning, the course explored ways to recover neglected and often repressed aspects of personality and become aware of the unconscious and preconscious operating within the psyche. In practice, Maslow’s unconventional class became a remarkably stimulating blend of lectures and far-reaching discussions that often reflected the conflicting viewpoints and tumultuous events of an America on the cusp of major social changes. Maslow encouraged students to think for themselves, to engage with and challenge his views and their own, and to accept the mantle of responsibility that life thrusts upon us all.

Now, for the first time, readers can take their own front-row seat in this groundbreaking course. Personality & Growth: A Humanistic Psychologist in the Classroom contains the transcribed recordings of Maslow’s remarkable work with his students. With a contextualizing introduction by Maslow’s graduate student assistant, annotations, and an extensive bibliography of the works discussed in class, Personality & Growth is a rich resource for psychologists, students, and anyone interested in the “farther reaches of human nature.” What shines throughout these compelling transcripts is a unique picture of “Abe” Maslow: teacher, psychologist, scientist and human being—a creative and compassionate thinker possessing a unique and lively genius.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781600250781
Publisher:	Maurice Bassett
Publication date:	08/01/2019
Pages:	518
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.04(d)

About the Author

Abraham H. Maslow is known for his pioneering work on human potential, motivation, and self-actualization. He was a co-founder of humanistic psychology and a former president of the American Psychological Association.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments............................................................................ ix

Foreword........................................................................................ xiii

Introductory Note: Contextualizing and Editing the Transcripts... xix

Introduction: A Humanistic Psychologist in the Classroom........ xxiii

Part I: Lecture & Lab Summaries................................................... 3

September 30, 1963........................................................................... 5

October 7, 1963................................................................................. 8

October 14, 1963............................................................................. 12

October 21, 1963............................................................................. 15

Part II: The Transcripts.................................................................. 17

Introduction to the Transcripts....................................................... 19

October 28, 1963

Lecture.......................................................................................... 21

Laboratory for Self‑Knowledge.................................................... 53

November 4, 1963

Lecture.......................................................................................... 73

Laboratory for Self‑Knowledge.................................................. 102

November 11, 1963: Armistice Day............................................. 123

November 18, 1963

Lecture........................................................................................ 125

Laboratory for Self‑Knowledge.................................................. 139

December 2, 1963

Lecture........................................................................................ 159

Laboratory for Self‑Knowledge.................................................. 191

December 9, 1963

Lecture........................................................................................ 223

Laboratory for Self‑Knowledge.................................................. 254

December 16, 1963

Guest Speaker: Richard G. Abell, M.D...................................... 279

January 6, 1964

Lecture........................................................................................ 323

Laboratory for Self‑Knowledge.................................................. 351

January 13, 1964

Lecture........................................................................................ 373

January 22, 1964: Final Exam....................................................... 393

Appendices...................................................................................... 395

Appendix A: Experiential techniques and experiments................. 397

Appendix B: Notes and questions for

Psychology 150b (Utopian Social Psychology)......................... 407

Appendix C: Notes on Classroom Recordings.............................. 415

Endnotes.......................................................................................... 417

Bibliography................................................................................... 439

Index................................................................................................ 449

Editorial Reviews

“We have long been gifted by the legacy of Abraham Maslow’s foundational writings in humanistic psychology, but Personality and Growth is a new genre of his work that yields fresh insights into his remarkable talks in the classroom. With this work Bassett has unearthed a treasure-trove of heretofore unpublished presentations Maslow made to his Brandeis students highlighting an experiential understanding of personality development. This understanding covered self-actualization, love, transcendence, being-motivation vs. deficit motivation, and so on. I highly recommend this book to any readers, academic or otherwise, who value Maslow’s key illuminations of what it means to be fully, experientially human, and who relish, as I do, the enlivening seminars he held on these matters.”

~ Kirk J. Schneider, Ph.D., Adjunct Faculty, Saybrook University and Teachers College, Columbia University, and author of The Spirituality of Awe, The Polarized Mind, and (with Fraser Pierson and James Bugental) The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology

“Personality and Growth offers a fascinating, detailed, and unprecedented picture of this brilliant thinker in the college classroom during the 1963-1964 period. The unabridged transcriptions of the classes particularly reveal Maslow’s evolving ideas on peak-experiences, strengthening positive emotional expression, and the importance of self-awareness in forging close relationships with others. I strongly recommend this book to all interested in Maslow’s work and its legacy for the 21st century.”

~ Edward Hoffman, Ph.D., author of The Right to Be Human: A Biography of Abraham Maslow

“After reading Personality and Growth you may recognize changes in yourself and your perspective. In fact, I have good reason to believe you will never be the same again. How can I make this prediction with such assuredness? Simple: I took the same class with ‘Abe’ three years after these recordings were made. It changed my life in ways I never imagined possible, profoundly and for the good. This book is more than an historic account of events occurring over half a century ago. It is a powerful retelling of those Maslowian concepts that, when actualized, can change both you and your world.”

~ Louis Ari Kopolow, M.D., DLFAPA, ACP, Asst. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at George Washington University, President Emeritus Suburban Maryland Psychiatric Society, and author of the forthcoming book Reaching Your Peak: Following Maslow’s Path to Self-Actualization and Happiness

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