Invitation to Psychology

514 Chapter 14 The Major Motives of Life: Food, Love, Sex, and work

at the next level were security needs, for shelter

and safety; at the third level were social needs, for

belonging and affection; at the fourth level were

esteem needs, for self-respect and the respect of

others; and at the top, when all other needs had

been met, were those for self-actualization and

self-transcendence.

Maslow’s theory became immensely popular,

and motivational speakers still often refer to it,

using colorful pictures of the pyramid. But the

theory, which was based mostly on Maslow’s ob-

servations of people he personally decided were

self-actualized, has had little empirical support

(Sheldon et al., 2001; Smither, 1998). The main

reason, as we have seen in this chapter, is that

people have simultaneous needs for comfort and

safety and for love, intimacy, and competence.

Higher needs may even supersede lower ones.

History is full of examples of people who would

rather die of torture or starvation than sacrifice

their convictions, or who would rather explore,

risk, or create new art than be safe and secure

at home.

3

Approach–avoidance conflicts occur when a sin-

gle activity or goal has both a positive and

a negative aspect. In culturally diverse nations,

differing cultural values produce many approach–

avoidance conflicts, as students have told us. A

Chicano student says he wants to become a lawyer,

but his parents, valuing family closeness, worry

that if he goes to graduate school, he will become

independent and feel superior to his working-class

family. A black student from a poor neighborhood,

in college on scholarship, is torn between wanting

to leave his background behind him forever and re-

turning to help his home community. And a white

student wants to be a marine biologist, but her

friends tell her that only nerdy guys and dweebs go

into science.

Explore the Concept Types of Conflicts

at MyPsychLab

Years ago, humanist psychologist Abraham

Maslow (1970) envisioned people’s motives as

forming a pyramid. At the bottom level were

basic survival needs for food, sleep, and water;

Recite & Review

Recite: We hope you don’t feel any conflict over the goal of learning this material. Recite what you

know about the misprediction of emotion, findings about money and happiness, the three kinds of

conflict, and Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs.

Review: Next, read this section again.

Now Take This Quick Quiz:

1. Max has applied for a junior year abroad, but couldn’t get into his first choice, a drama school
   in London. He is feeling so miserable about the rejection that he is thinking of staying home.
   “Why should I go to a second-rate school somewhere else?” he reasons. What is the matter
   with his reasoning?


2. A Pakistani student says she desperately wants an education and a career as a pharmacist,
   but she also does not want to be disobedient to her parents, who have arranged a marriage
   for her back home. Which kind of conflict does she have?


3. Letitia just got her law degree. She wants to take a job in environmental law, but a corporate
   firm specializing in real estate contracts has offered her a job with an enormous salary. Why
   should she think carefully and critically in making a decision?
   Answers:

Study and Review at MyPsychLab

Max assumes that how he feels now is how he will feel in the future. He can’t imagine the more likely scenario, that he will 1.

She should think critically because taking a job 3. approach–avoidance2. find things to like about any program he enters.

exclusively for its extrinsic benefits might lower her intrinsic satisfaction in the work. Also, people who are motivated solely to

acquire money often have poorer psychological adjustment and lower well-being than people who are motivated by work they

enjoy. Of course, money provides material benefits, but psychological needs such as autonomy, competence, self-esteem, and

connection to others are also important.