fei75766_ch09_271-308.indd 282  02/06/20 12:09 PM
Part III    Humanistic/Existential Theories282
People whohavereached thelevelof
self-actualization become fullyhuman, 
satisfying theneeds thatothers merely 
glimpse ornever viewatall.They are
natural inthesame sense thatanimals 
andinfants are;thatis,theyexpress 
theirbasic human needs anddonot
allow them tobesuppressed byculture.
Self-actualizing people main -
taintheirfeelings ofself-esteem even
when scorned, rejected, anddismissed 
byother people. Inother words, self-
actualizers arenotdependent onthe
satisfaction ofeither loveoresteem 
needs; theybecome independent from 
thelower levelneeds thatgavethem 
birth. (Wepresent amore complete 
sketch ofself-actualizing people inthe
section titled Self-Actualization.)
Inaddition tothese fiveconative 
needs, Maslow identified three other 
categories ofneeds— aesthetic, cogni -
tive,andneurotic. Thesatisfaction of
aesthetic andcognitive needs isconsistent withpsychological health, whereas the
deprivation ofthese twoneeds results inpathology. Neurotic needs, however, leadto
pathology whether ornottheyaresatisfied. 
Aesthetic Needs
Unlike conative needs, aesthetic needs arenotuniversal, butatleastsome people in
every culture seem tobemotivated bytheneed forbeauty andaesthetically pleasing 
experiences (Maslow, 1967). From thedaysofthecavedwellers down tothepresent 
time, some people haveproduced artforart’ssake.
People withstrong aesthetic needs desire beautiful andorderly surroundings, 
andwhen these needs arenotmet,theybecome sickinthesame waythatthey
become sickwhen theirconative needs arefrustrated. People prefer beauty tougli-
ness, andtheymayevenbecome physically andspiritually illwhen forced tolivein
squalid, disorderly environments (Maslow, 1970).
Cognitive Needs
Most people haveadesire toknow, tosolve mysteries, tounderstand, andtobecurious. 
Maslow (1970) called these desires cognitive needs. When cognitive needs areblocked, 
allneeds onMaslow’s hierarchy arethreatened; thatis,knowledge isnecessary tosat-
isfyeachofthefiveconative needs. People cangratify theirphysiological needs by
knowing howtosecure food, safety needs byknowing howtobuild ashelter, loveneeds 
byknowing howtorelate topeople, esteem needs byknowing howtoacquire some 
levelofself-confidence, andself-actualization byfullyusing theircognitive potential. 
Although notnecessarily artistic, self-actualizers are
creative intheirownways. 
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