Maslow's Personality Theory Applied to Bill Clinton

This research discusses Maslow's core tendencies of personality as they might be related to the achievement, behavior, attitude, and functioning of President Bill Clinton. When compared with Maslow's core characteristics of personality, President Clinton's behavior demonstrates that he basically fits the model of the self-actualized personality. Clinton, however, varies from the classic Maslow model in that his spirituality is very strict in its religious nature and in that he is not always able to distinguish the difference between means and ends.

Although Clinton had an alcoholic, abusive stepfather, his survival needs were met by a loving network of grandparents, family members, and friends. Therefore, he was able to concentrate, at an early age, on vigorous self-actualization--in school, the community, and in church. It is possible that because his stepfather's behavior was a potential source of shame, Clinton became a model citizen--as a way to keep up the family name. It was in college, however, that what would become his most valuable personality trait: his eagerness to please and his easy, congenial way of behaving toward associates and friends. This ability made him successful with women and eventually helped him become a powerful politician. It is also his most admired, as well as his most disliked trait.

This research will discuss Maslow's core tendencies of personality as they might be related to the achievement, behavior, attitude, and fun

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hat his grandfather and his uncle were the main male influences in his childhood (Wills, 1992a, p. 55). Thus, with the help of this loving network, Clinton could concentrate on vigorous self-actualization--which he did early in his life. He also remains close to family members--demonstrating the Maslow trait of having feelings of intimacy with a few loved ones. Clinton's stepfather was arrested for firing a gun during a marital quarrel. This happened before Bill Clinton was six years old (Wills, 1992b, p. 62). In 1959, Clinton, as a 15-year-old, gave a sworn deposition against his stepfather for physically abusing his mother. Until recently, however, Clinton remembered only sketchy incidents from his troubled childhood--both he and his mother had blocked much of the details of these, and other such events, from their minds. During his childhood, Clinton was torn by contending emotions toward his stepfather. He had urged his mother not to reconcile with this man (his mother divorced Roger Clinton but remarried him a short time later in 1962). Bill Clinton did not believe his stepfather would ever straighten up, even though he loved him. Although some people may find it odd that Bill Clinton changed his last name (from Bly

Category: Psychology - M