Peak experience

Last updated

A peak experience is an altered state of consciousness characterized by euphoria, often achieved by self-actualizing individuals.[ citation needed ] The concept was originally developed by psychologist Abraham Maslow in mid-1940s [1] [2] and term was coined by him in 1956 (see "History" below). According to T. Landsman, "Maslow described them [peak experiences] as rare, exciting, oceanic, deeply moving, exhilarating, elevating experiences that generate an advanced form of perceiving reality, and are even mystic and magical in their effect upon the experimenter." [3] There are several unique characteristics of a peak experience, but each element is perceived together in a holistic manner that creates the moment of reaching one's full potential. [4] Peak experiences can range from simple activities to intense events; [5] however, it is not necessarily about what the activity is, but the ecstatic, blissful feeling that is being experienced during it. [6]

Contents

History

Peak experiences were originally presented by Abraham Maslow in September, 1956 at annual American Psychological Association convention [1] and published in his first and principal paper [7] on the subject, [8] which were later reprinted in the book. [6]

This paper is an attempt to generalize in a single description some of these basic cognitive happenings in the B-love experience, the parental experience, the mystic or oceanic, or nature experience, the aesthetic perception, the creative moment, the therapeutic or intellectual insight, the orgasmic experience, certain forms of athletic fulfillment. These and other moments of highest happiness and fulfillment I shall call the peak-experiences. [9]

— Maslow A.H.

By choosing term Maslow attempted to denominate those experiences which have generally been identified as religious experiences and whose origins have, by implication, been thought of as supernatural. He emphasized importance of this even before the exact term was introduced: [10]

It is quite important to dissociate this experience from any theological or supernatural reference, even though for thousands of years they have been linked. None of our subjects spontane ously made any such tie-up, although in later conversation some semireligious conclusions were drawn by a few, e.g., “life must have a meaning,” etc. Because this experience is a natural experience, well within the jurisdiction of science, it is probably better to use Freud’s term for it, e.g., the oceanic feeling . [a]

— Maslow A.H.

In book Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences (1964) Maslow demonstrated that every "known high religion" is necessary associated with peak experiences: [13]

The high religions call themselves revealed religions and each of them tends to rest its validity, its function, and its right to exist on the codification and the communication of this original mystic experience or revelation from the lonely prophet to the mass of human beings in general. But it has recently begun to appear that these "revelations" or mystical illuminations can be subsumed under the head of the "peak-experiences" or "ecstasies" or "transcendent" experiences which are now being eagerly investigated by many psychologists.

— Maslow A.H.

Maslow's assertions about peak experience, along with his famous hierarchy of needs, were widely celebrated due to the theories' focus on the psychology of healthy people, which stood out in a time where the bulk of psychology research focused on psychological disorders. [14]

In original peak experience research, Maslow utilized interviews and questionnaires to gather participants' testimonies of peak experience. These early studies suggested common triggers for peak experience including art, nature, sex, creative work, music, scientific knowledge, and introspection. [15]

Characteristics

According to Maslow, often-reported emotions in a peak experience include "wonder, awe, reverence, humility, surrender, and even worship before the greatness of the experience", [16] and reality is perceived with truth, goodness, beauty, wholeness, aliveness, uniqueness, perfection, completion, justice, simplicity, richness, effortlessness, playfulness, and self-sufficiency. [17]

An individual in a peak experience will perceive the following simultaneously:

Peak experience and self-actualization

Self-actualization is a concept developed by Abraham Maslow that is "to develop one’s potential, to become the person one was meant to be". [18] During research on self-actualized people Maslow found that many subjects reported a similar unusual set of feelings, which prompted him to investigate peak experiences. After listing all 19 "characteristics of the cognition found in the generalized peak-experience" in his 1959 paper Maslow resumes interrelation between peak experience and self-actualizion:

In other words, any person in any of the peak experiences takes on temporarily many of the characteristics which I found in self-actualizing individuals. That is, for the time they become self-actualizers. [...]

This makes it possible for us to redefine self-actualization [...] We may define it as an episode, or a spurt in which the powers of the person come together in a particularly efficient and intensely enjoyable way, and in which he is more integrated and less split, more open for experience, more idiosyncratic, more perfectly expressive or spontaneous, or fully functioning, more creative, more humorous, more ego-transcending, more independent of his lower needs, etc. He becomes in these episodes more truly himself, more perfectly actualizing his potentialities, closer to the core of his Being.

— Maslow, Cognition of Being in the Peak Experiences (1959) [19]

Peak experience and flow

A common phenomenon to the peak experience called flow, was proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 1975 book Beyond Boredom and Anxiety, partially based on Maslow's findings:

In my search for answers, three main fields of psychological literature seemed most promising. [...] The first field was writings on self-actualization and peak experiences: the work of psychologists like Abraham Maslow or accounts of ecstatic experiences such as provided by Marghanita Laski. These works contain detailed descriptions of the subjective feelings with which I had become familiar through the reports of artists. But these writings do not provide concrete explanations of what makes peak experiences possible.

— Csikszentmihalyi, Beyond Boredom and Anxiety (1975) [20]

Flow has been described as a state of mind when one is completely immersed in their current activity:

Flow is defined as a subjective state that people report when they are completely involved in something to the point of forgetting time, fatigue, and everything else but the activity itself. In states of flow, a person is functioning at his or her fullest capacity. While flow experiences are somewhat rare, they occur under specific conditions; there is a balance between the person’s skills and the challenges of the situation, there is a clear goal, and there is immediate feedback on how one is doing. The experience of flow itself can be a powerful motivating force and can be an indication that, at least for the moment, one is experiencing self-actualization.

— Larsen & Buss, Personality Psychology: Domains of knowledge about human nature (2009) [21]

Flow processes and peak experiences share several key characteristics (e.g. intense concentration, "centering of attention on a limited stimulus field", "altered time sense", "self-forgetfulness" and "need no goals or rewards external to itself"), [22] but there are also some essential differences: e.g., while peak experience denotes a high level of stimulation or euphoria, flow is not associated with an increased level of stimulation. [15]

Examples

Most of the peak experiences had occurred during athletic, artistic, religious, or nature experiences, or during intimate moments with a friend or family member. [5]

— Polyson J.

Think of the most wonderful experience of your life: the happiest moments, ecstatic moments, moments of rapture, perhaps from being in love, or from listening to music or suddenly 'being hit' by a book or painting, or from some creative moment. [6]

— Maslow A.H.

Specific examples of when peak experiences often occur:

Implications

Abraham Maslow considered the peak experience to be one of the most important goals of life, as it is an indication of self-actualization. [6] This moment of feeling wholly and completely the true self makes the peak experience an essential component of identity. [6] The aftereffects of the peak experience leave the individual to see himself and the world in a new way. He views himself more positively, he views life as worthwhile and meaningful, and most importantly, he seeks to repeat the experience. [6]

Plateau experience

Maslow also recognized a related but distinct phenomenon of plateau experience. [26] [27] He wrote: [28]

This is serene and calm rather than a poignantly emotional, climactic, autonomic response to the miraculous, the awesome, the sacralized, the Unitive, the B-values. So far as I can now tell, the high plateau-experience always has a noetic and cognitive element, which is not always true for peak experiences, which can be purely and exclusively emotional. It is far more voluntary than peak experiences are. One can learn to see in this Unitive way almost at will. It then becomes a witnessing, an appreciating, what one might call a serene, cognitive blissfulness which can, however, have a quality of casualness and of lounging about.

— Maslow A.H.

After Maslow's death, investigation into the nature of plateau experience per se "largely fizzled into obscurity." [29] However research into the related phenomenon of self-transcendence [30] is potentially increasing.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In 2nd edition of Motivation and Personality (1970) Maslow replaced Freud's term "oceanic feelings" with "peak experiences" in this chapter. [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Rogers</span> American psychologist (1902–1987)

Carl Ransom Rogers was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and was known especially for his person-centered psychotherapy. Rogers is widely considered one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research and was honored for his research with the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1956.

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that examines personality and its variation among individuals. It aims to show how people are individually different due to psychological forces. Its areas of focus include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maslow's hierarchy of needs</span> Theory of developmental psychology

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a conceptualisation of the needs that motivate human behaviour, which was proposed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow. According to Maslow’s original formulation, there are five sets of basic needs that are related to each other in a hierarchy of prepotency. Typically, the hierarchy is depicted in the form of a pyramid although Maslow was not himself responsible for the iconic diagram. The pyramid begins at the bottom with physiological needs and culminates at the top with self-actualization needs. In his later writings, Maslow added a sixth level of ‘meta-needs’ and metamotivation.

According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations, thoughts, or images evoking them". The term feeling is closely related to, but not the same as, emotion. Feeling may, for instance, refer to the conscious subjective experience of emotions. The study of subjective experiences is called phenomenology. Psychotherapy generally involves a therapist helping a client understand, articulate, and learn to effectively regulate the client's own feelings, and ultimately to take responsibility for the client's experience of the world. Feelings are sometimes held to be characteristic of embodied consciousness.

Positive psychology is the scientific study of conditions and processes that contribute to positive psychological states, well-being, positive relationships, and positive institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Maslow</span> American psychologist (1908–1970)

Abraham Harold Maslow was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization. Maslow was a psychology professor at Brandeis University, Brooklyn College, New School for Social Research, and Columbia University. He stressed the importance of focusing on the positive qualities in people, as opposed to treating them as a "bag of symptoms". A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Maslow as the tenth most cited psychologist of the 20th century.

Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective that arose in the mid-20th century in answer to two theories: Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and B. F. Skinner's behaviorism. Thus, Abraham Maslow established the need for a "third force" in psychology. The school of thought of humanistic psychology gained traction due to Maslow in the 1950s.

Psychosynthesis is a framework and approach to psychology developed by Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli. It is "one of the prime forces in transpersonal psychology." It "stretches beyond the boundaries of personal psychology and individuality by postulating a deeper center of identity: the Self, our essential Being. The Self includes, but transcends, our personal day-to-day consciousness, leading to an enhanced sense of life direction and purpose." Along with the idea of a spiritual or transpersonal Self, Psychosynthesis emphasizes "the value placed upon exploration of creative potential, and the hypothesis that each individual has a purpose in life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flow (psychology)</span> Full immersion in an activity

Flow in positive psychology, also known colloquially as being inthe zone or locked in, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one's sense of time. Flow is the melting together of action and consciousness; the state of finding a balance between a skill and how challenging that task is. It requires a high level of concentration. Flow is used as a coping skill for stress and anxiety when productively pursuing a form of leisure that matches one's skill set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi</span> Hungarian-American psychologist (1934–2021)

Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi was a Hungarian-American psychologist. He recognized and named the psychological concept of "flow", a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity. He was the Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University. Earlier, he served as the head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College.

Theory Z is a name for various theories of human motivation built on Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. Theories X, Y and various versions of Z have been used in human resource management, organizational behavior, organizational communication and organizational development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Goldstein</span> German neurologist and psychiatrist

Kurt Goldstein was a German neurologist and psychiatrist who created a holistic theory of the organism. Educated in medicine, Goldstein studied under Carl Wernicke and Ludwig Edinger where he focused on neurology and psychiatry. His clinical work helped inspire the establishment of The Institute for Research into the Consequences of Brain Injuries. Goldstein was forced to leave Germany when Hitler came to power because of his Jewish heritage. After being displaced, Goldstein wrote The Organism (1934). This focused on patients with psychological disorders, particularly cases of schizophrenia and war trauma, and the ability of their bodies to readjust to substantial losses in central control. His holistic approach to the human organism produced the principle of self actualization, defined as the driving force that maximizes and determines the path of an individual. Later, his principle influenced Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. He was the co-editor of Journal of Humanistic Psychology.

Dependency need is "the vital, originally infantile needs for mothering, love, affection, shelter, protection, security, food, and warmth."

Self-actualization, in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, is the highest personal aspirational human need in the hierarchy. It represents where one's potential is fully realized after more basic needs, such as for the body and the ego, have been fulfilled. Long received in psychological teaching as the peak of human needs, Maslow later added the category self-transcendence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Daniels</span>

Dr Michael Daniels is a British transpersonal psychologist and parapsychologist. A Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, he was formerly a senior lecturer in Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University and Editor of Transpersonal Psychology Review.

Metamotivation is a term coined by Abraham Maslow to describe the motivation of people who are self-actualized and striving beyond the scope of their basic needs to reach their full potential. Maslow suggested that people are initially motivated by a series of basic needs, called the hierarchy of needs. Maslow states, "Self-actualizing people are gratified in all their basic needs ". Once a person has successfully navigated the hierarchy of needs thus satisfying all their basic needs, Maslow proposed they then travel "a path called growth motivation".

Reverence is "a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration". Reverence involves a humbling of the self in respectful recognition of something perceived to be greater than the self.

Self-transcendence is a personality trait that involves the expansion or evaporation of personal boundaries. This may potentially include spiritual experiences such as considering oneself an integral part of the universe. Several psychologists, including Viktor Frankl, Abraham Maslow, and Pamela G. Reed have made contributions to the theory of self-transcendence.

<i>Motivation and Personality</i> 1954 book by Abraham Maslow

Motivation and Personality is a book on psychology by Abraham Maslow, first published in 1954. Maslow's work deals with the subject of the nature of human fulfillment and the significance of personal relationships, implementing a conceptualization of self-actualization. Underachievers have a need for social love and affection, but a self-actualized person has these "lower" needs to be gratified and is able to pursue his or her own path towards self-actualization.

<i>Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences</i> Book by Abraham Maslow

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Hoffman & Ortiz (2009).
  2. ↑ Hoffman 1988, pp. 223–224.
  3. ↑ Landsman (2002) p. 1156
  4. 1 2 Maslow (1968).
  5. 1 2 Polyson (1985).
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Maslow (1962).
  7. ↑ Maslow (1959).
  8. ↑ Lowry (1973), pp. 51–52.
  9. ↑ Maslow (1959), pp. 44–45.
  10. ↑ Maslow (1954), pp. 216.
  11. ↑ Maslow (1970), pp. 164.
  12. ↑ Lowry (1973), p. 38.
  13. ↑ Maslow (1970a), pp. 19–20.
  14. ↑ Boniface (2007).
  15. 1 2 Privette (1983).
  16. ↑ Maslow (1970a), p. 65.
  17. ↑ Maslow (1970a), pp. 92–94.
  18. ↑ Larsen & Buss (2009), p. 352.
  19. ↑ Maslow (1959), p. 62.
  20. ↑ Csikszentmihalyi (1975), pp. xii–xiii.
  21. ↑ Larsen & Buss (2009), pp. 353–354.
  22. ↑ Csikszentmihalyi (1975).
  23. ↑ Charlton (1998).
  24. ↑ Whaley, Sloboda & Gabrielsson (2008).
  25. ↑ Celestine (2017).
  26. ↑ Krippner (1972).
  27. ↑ Gruel (2015).
  28. ↑ Maslow (1970a), pp. xiv–xv.
  29. ↑ Gruel (2015), p. 44.
  30. ↑ Messerly (2017).

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.