Chapter 9 Maslow: Holistic-Dynamic Theory 277business or professional field. Those healthy people studied by Maslow felt uneasy
and embarrassed by this veneration, preferring instead relationships that were
mutual rather than one-sided.
The Democratic Character Structure
Maslow found that all his self-actualizers possessed democratic values. They could
be friendly and considerate with other people regardless of class, color, age, or gender,
and in fact, they seemed to be quite unaware of superficial differences among people.
Beyond this democratic attitude, self-actualizers have a desire and an ability
to learn from anyone. In a learning situation, they recognize how little they know
in relation to what they could know. They realize that less healthy individuals have
much to offer them, and they are respectful and even humble before these people.
However, they do not passively accept evil behavior in others; rather, they fight
against evil people and evil behavior.
Discrimination Between Means and Ends
Self-actualizing people have a clear sense of right and wrong conduct and have
little conflict about basic values. They set their sights on ends rather than means
and have an unusual ability to distinguish between the two. What other people
consider to be a means (e.g., eating or exercising), self-actualizing people often see
as an end in itself. They enjoy doing something for its own sake and not just because
it is a means to some other end. Maslow (1970) described his self-actualizing peo-
ple by saying that “they can often enjoy for its own sake the getting to some place
as well as the arriving. It is occasionally possible for them to make out of the most
trivial and routine activity an intrinsically enjoyable game” (p. 169).
Philosophical Sense of Humor
Another distinguishing characteristic of self-actualizing people is their philosophi-
cal, nonhostile sense of humor. Most of what passes for humor or comedy is basi-
cally hostile, sexual, or scatological. The laugh is usually at someone else’s
expense. Healthy people see little humor in put-down jokes. They may poke fun
at themselves, but not masochistically so. They make fewer tries at humor than
others, but their attempts serve a purpose beyond making people laugh. They
amuse, inform, point out ambiguities, provoke a smile rather than a guffaw.
The humor of a self-actualizing person is intrinsic to the situation rather than
contrived; it is spontaneous rather than planned. Because it is situation-dependent, it
usually cannot be repeated. For those who look for examples of a philosophical sense
of humor, disappointment is inevitable. A retelling of the incident almost invariably
loses its original quality of amusement. One must “be there” to appreciate it.
Creativeness
All self-actualizing people studied by Maslow were creative in some sense of the
word. In fact, Maslow suggested that creativity and self-actualization may be
one and the same. Not all self-actualizers are talented or creative in the arts, but
all are creative in their own way. They have a keen perception of truth, beauty,
and reality—ingredients that form the foundation of true creativity.