Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs" as pertain to the state of being a graduate student at UC Berkeley

While Abe Maslow may not be the most cited researcher in psychology, some of his work I find reallyinforms not really so much how to prioritize as a student here in Berkeley (since that in many ways takes care of itself) or in general,but how to be effective in the long run.

Basically, Maslow noticed that some needs are greater than others and made a hierarchy of the basics—physiologicals,the intakes and outputs of one’s physical person are at the bottom of the hierarchy because if those needs aren’t met it is biologically dangerous.

Depending on what you are used to,graduate school may be an increase in workload which will have a concomitant increase in stress which can interrupt sleeping and eating patterns. My colleague and I used to joke that there is sleep,academics,and social interaction and you can only really have 2 out of the 3. The fact of the matter is that with some time management and a willingness to get up earlyand work efficiently one can have 3 of the 3. Looking a professors with families can be inspiring in as much as you can see that these things are possible but it does require a readiness to socialize with the right people who will also have your best interests in their priorities. But the take home message is that taking care of your body is key if you’re expecting your higher order functions to work.

Next up is the safety and security needs. I think dealing with these is almost like adaptive testing: your first couple decisions are key and after that you can only shift your results within a pre-established region. I actuallyhaven’t moved around since initially moving into Berkeley and I lucked into a living situation with housemates who I trusted and a nice landlord who was friendly enough with the neighborhood that I felt vaguely safe when he was around. I know better than to walk alone in a non-vigilant manner at night and I certainly will shamelessly hound my current housemates about locking the doors though,because,as one of my old labmates used to say,“those bars aren’t in the windows for decoration.” I can’t realistically change my neighborhood within the time frame that I would love to feel safe in,but what I can do is establish patterns. If I am on campus after 9PM during the school year I take the door to door lines,and after 3AM I will call the owl line,also provided free by UC Parking and Transit. The Campus Safety Officers have been great in all my interactions with them. My one complaint would be about the gap between the limits in which one can apply for a campus parking pass and
the outer limit of safety shuttle coverage,but I live 4 blocks from what would be a perfect situation,if I wanted to pay that little bit more in rent. Basically I’m trading the establishment of savings for future financial safety for current feelings of occasional safety. I’m okay with that but you might not be.These are the trade-offs. But research your housing situation.

The third tier is the more social stuff that one feels a longing for after one feels safe and biologically sated. Feeling lonely or socially anxious is something that the local community can help with. There are plethora of graduate student organizations and one shouldn’t feel like organizations that are mostly undergraduates are necessarily exclusive. If you have an interest in the Brazilian art of dance fighting there’s a community for that. If you want to play video-games with peers there are groups that do that too. A non-negligible number of students showup to the bay area without prior friends or relations locally. Meeting people will happen through your department,certainly, but if you want to avoid talking about work all the time,making some non-departmental connections is key too. If you’re having problems meeting folks…there’s the gym, there’s public transit,you could even show up to GA meetings. My parents,who were both
international students used to go to grocery stores to meet people (and learn English). There’s opportunity everywhere.

The final level of basic or deficit needs involves respect,both from others and for yourself. The respect of others you can deal with by publishing.I think gaining respect as a graduate student is not necessarily something that ought to be conceptually new or different than what you know about gaining respect as a person in the rest of your life.

Dealing with self-esteem is probably the same. If you work hard to be achieve mastery of your area of study and become competent,confidence should follow. Low self-esteem can lead to some problems that can be dealt with over at the Tang Center (getting that monkey off your back sometimes is a chemical problem),however for more middling situations,there are options for confidence development through workshops in the teaching or career centers on campus.

If you don’t notice that you’re lacking in any of the previous areas,well, you’re doing well enough to survive,either based on your own preliminary work on maintaining yourself as a healthy individual,or on your instincts. These are what you have to take care of first so you can focus on the top of the pyramid, where self-actualization and self-transcendence are where thriving is. See, Maslow studied more than monkeys,he studied the histories of the best and the brightest. And,as you’re a graduate student,these probably apply to you more than most. This area is where…drive to be the best is. Not just drive, really. This is where the need and capacity to solve problems and resist pressures. Once you’ve dealt with the basics you can change your negative qualities and reallyflourish with…well with Gemeinschaftsgefühl. Those Germans have words for everything!

I don’t know how much of dealing with the need to live up to potential is something you can actively do as opposed to something you will naturally be inclined to do,(I’m not in the philosophy department,I imagine they have more answers on this,) but I think this is where your work as a scholar lies. I don’t know. If you want advice with certainty backing it…ask a professor. They’re usually past this phase of doubt. Or they can fake it. That might be something you need to learn too. Good luck!