Sigmund Freud believed that the unconscious level of mental life, containing all the feeling, urges or instinct that are beyond our awareness, but it affects our expression, feeling, action, is the source of our motivation.
Maslow refined the definition of self-actualization, studied other people, and changed the syndrome until he was satisfied that he had a clear definition of self-actualization.
The Jonah complex is often characterized by a person seemingly running away from their destiny, based on the Biblical Jonah, who tried to escape his fate.
Just as the fear of achieving a personal worst can motivate personal growth, the Jonah complex can also hinder achievement, and prevent self-actualization.
Other researchers have developed personality inventories for measuring self-actualization, the most widely used of which is Everett Shostrom's Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), a 150-item forced-choice inventory that assesses a variety of self-actualization facets.
Sigmund Freud believed that the preconscious level of mental life, where facts are stored in a part of the brain, which are not conscious but are available for possible use in the future, is a crucial part of the mind.
Sigmund Freud believed that the conscious level of mental life, which is the awareness of our own mental process, is the only level of mental life that is directly available to us.
The Id, which is the part of the unconscious that seeks pleasure, is the part of the mind, which holds all of human’s most basic and primal instincts, and is the impulsive, unconscious part of the mind that is based on desire to seek immediate satisfaction.
Vygotsky claimed that infants are born with the basic abilities for intellectual development called 'elementary mental functions' (Piaget focuses on motor reflexes and sensory abilities).
Socio-Cultural Theory (Lev Vygotsky) views human development as a socially mediated process in which children acquire their cultural values, beliefs, and problem-solving strategies through collaborative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society.
The B values, which stand for beliefs, values, and assumptions, are a key factor in whether or not someone steps over the threshold from esteem to self-actualization.
Love and belongingness needs, including the desire for friendship, the wish for a mate and children, and the need to belong, can also include the need to give and receive love, and those who have had these needs fulfilled at an early age do not panic when denied love.
Maslow's theory of motivation rests on five assumptions: a holistic approach, complex motivation, continual motivation, the same basic needs for all people, and a hierarchy of needs.
Self-actualization needs include self-fulfillment, the realization of all one's potential, and the desire to become creative in the full sense for the word, and can also be described as self-discovery, self-realization, self-exploration and self-reflection.
Esteem needs, which result from the satisfaction of love needs and include self-confidence and the recognition that we have a positive reputation, are real confidence opposed to others’ opinions, and once people meet their esteem needs, they stand on the threshold of self-actualization.