Individual Perceptions of Self-Actualization: What Functional Motives Are Linked to Fulfilling One’s Full Potential?

Abstract

Maslow's self-actualization remains a popular notion in academic research as well as popular culture. The notion that life's highest calling is fulfilling one's own unique potential has been widely appealing. But what do people believe they are doing when they pursue the realization of their full, unique potentials? Here, we examine lay perceptions of self-actualization. Self-actualizing, like any drive, is unlikely to operate without regard to biological and social costs and benefits. We examine which functional outcomes (e.g., gaining status, making friends, finding mates, caring for kin) people perceive as central to their individual self-actualizing. Three studies suggest that people most frequently link self-actualization to seeking status, and, concordant with life history theory, what people regard as self-actualizing varies in predictable ways across the life span and across individuals. Contrasting with self-actualization, people do not view other types of well-being-eudaimonic, hedonic, subjective-as furthering status-linked functional outcomes.

Content analysis and exploratory factor analysis of relationship goals among young adults:converging data from instagram and offline surveys

“…However, at the same time, they add to the weight of a self-realization goal in today's relationship. These findings are in line with the findings of Krems, Kenrick, and Neel [52] which suggested that -participants anticipate their self-actualizing to involve not only finding a desirable mate, but also retaining him or her‖ (p. 8), and that -even these lofty outcomes (i.e., pursuing self-actualization) may be linked to biologically and socially relevant payoffs‖ (p.13).…”

“…This present study suggests that self-actualization is not a new element that becomes a sufficient condition complementing sexual activity (Factor 2) in order to get relationship satisfaction. Already since 1978, Paxton and Turner [53, p.66] explained that -certain types of sexual attitudes and behaviors may be characteristic of self-actualizing females.‖ Thus, in line with the predictions and the results of previous studies [52], self-actualization does not stand independent and become the ultimate relationship goal especially in the romantic one. Rather, on the contrary, through regression analysis (with sexual satisfaction as the dependent variable), selfactualization is found to be devoted to sexual activity [53], which has been robustly proved pivotal as a contributor to relationship satisfaction [54,55].…”

Family Matters: Rethinking the Psychology of Human Social Motivation

“…"self-actualization, which is about fully realizing your own potential," and 3) "hedonic wellbeing, which is about maximizing the amount of pleasure in your life (and minimizing the amount of pain)" (Krems et al, 2017). Those participants (N = 565, Mage = 37.97, SD = 13.00)…”

“…18 Figure 7. Results from Krems, Kenrick, & Neel (2017) Study 2, displaying which motives participants said they would be focused on right now if they were pursuing one of three different types of well-being; (A) Eudaimonic well-being (i.e., finding meaning and purpose in life), (B)…”

Evolution and human motivation: A fundamental motives framework

“…Finally, although these evolved motivational systems are characterized as “fundamental” because of their evolutionary origins and not because of their consequences for subjectively valued psychological states, they may nonetheless guide individuals' pursuit of happiness and personal fulfillment. This is because reward mechanisms (e.g., neurochemical regulation of affective states) are integral to the suites of psychological adaptations that characterize these fundamental motives—with the consequence that many things that make people feel happy or fulfilled correspond to the successful pursuit of fundamental motives (Buss, ; Krems, Kenrick, & Neel, in press; Nesse & Ellsworth, ). That said, it is important to remember that an evolutionary perspective on human motivation is not defined by questions about what makes us healthy or happy; it focuses more fundamentally on what makes us human.…”