Self-Actualization and Personal Autonomy

Abstract

Self-actualizing individuals, according to Maslow (1954), are hypothesized to operate autonomously of external expectations due to their undistorted perceptions of their own realistic abilities. Scores on the Personal Orientation Inventory, a measure of self-actualization, were used to divide subjects into high, medium, or low self-actualizing categories. Subjects were given a Logical Reasoning Ability Test over three treatment conditions: high, low, and no expectations with regard to performance. Analyses indicated greater personal autonomy for high and moderate self-actualizing subjects than in nonself-actualizing subjects, who showed the greatest variance in their reasoning test scores.