Topic summary
Basic Human Needs
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Blackfoot influence
Maslow's early (1938) anthropological research included a field trip to the Blackfoot people (Siksika Nation) in southern Alberta, Canada. Based on his observations of their peaceful and cooperative way of life (in contrast to American society), Maslow concluded that human destructiveness and aggression is largely culturally determined and "most probably a secondary, reactive consequence of thwarting of or threat to the basic human needs". However, claims have been made that Maslow had failed to acknowledge the influence of the Blackfoot philosophy in developing the hierarchy of needs.