Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences
Cover of the first edition
AuthorAbraham Maslow
LanguageEnglish
SubjectPsychology
PublisherOhio State University Press
Publication date
1964
Media typePrint

Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences is a 1964 book about psychology by Abraham Maslow. Maslow addressed the motivational significance of peak experiences in a series of lectures in the early 1960s, and later published these ideas in book form.[1]

Overview

In contrast with the preoccupation of Freudian psychopathology, Maslow insisted on a "psychology of the higher life" which was to attend to the question "of what the human being should grow toward."[2] In his work, Maslow described the experience of one's life as meaningful as being based on a feeling of fulfillment and significance.[3]

Maslow's theory of "peak-experiences" has been compared to William James' "healthy-minded" religion.[4] Maslow hypothesized a negative relationship between adherence to conventional religious beliefs and the ability to experience peak moments.[5]

In Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences, Maslow stated that the peak experience is "felt as a self- validating, self-justifying moment which carries its own intrinsic value with it." Furthermore, the person is the "creative center of his (or her) own activities."[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Koltko-Rivera, Mark E. "Rediscovering the later version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Self-transcendence and opportunities for theory, research, and unification." Review of General Psychology 10, no. 4 (2006): 302.
  2. ^ O'Connor, Dennis, and Leodones Yballe. "Maslow revisited: Constructing a road map of human nature." Journal of Management Education (2007).
  3. ^ Battista, John, and Richard Almond. "The development of meaning in life." Psychiatry 36, no. 4 (1973): 409-427.
  4. ^ Burris, Christopher T., and W. Ryan Tarpley. "Religion as being: Preliminary validation of the Immanence scale." Journal of Research in Personality 32, no. 1 (1998): 55-79.
  5. ^ Breed, George, and Joen Fagan. "Religious dogmatism and peak experiences: A test of Maslow's hypothesis." Psychological Reports 31, no. 3 (1972): 866-866.
  6. ^ Yeagle, Ellen H., Gayle Privette, and Frances Y. Dunham. "HIGHEST HAPPINESS: AN ANALYSIS OF ARTISTS'PEAK EXPERIENCE." Psychological Reports 65, no. 2 (1989): 523-530.


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