Maslow's Study of Self-Actualization

The focal point of this article is Abraham Maslow's famous study of self-actualizing people. Maslow was profoundly correct in perceiving that there was something special and admirable about the individuals whom he selected for study. In calling his subjects self-actualizing, however, Maslow failed to capture just what was special about them. I propose that the individuals whom Maslow studied were not distinguished from others by the fact that they were self-actualizing, but rather by the fact that they were very open. I will explain both what I mean by openness and why we should speak of openness rather than self-actualization. I will also use the idea of openness, along with Maslow's description of his "self-actualizing" people, to delineate an ideal of human character.