What Is Self-Actualization In Second Life?

ArminasX Saiman has a trenchant and clever post that spins off from Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. (Above, I took the liberty of ganking them together-- Maslow's at left, from Wikipedia, Saiman's at right, from his Second Effects blog.) As a newbie, you go from struggling just to survive in Second Life without your computer crashing, and in subsequent months (or years) up the pinnacle of avatar enlightenment, where you're totally able to shape your avatar and environment to your desire. "The pyramid might also explain why people get frantically upset when the grid or PC crashes," says Saiman. "The lower levels of needs are more fundamental to avatar existence." (Nightclub impresario Jenna Fairplay had a similar insight a few years ago, but the Maslovian pyrmaid she crafted to manage her empire was a bit more booty oriented.)

Saiman's variation looks quite accurate to the Second Life experience, except perhaps for the final point. I'm not sure simply being able to control your environment counts as self-actualization in the way Maslow meant. (Though it's certainly a facet of it.) Being able to rise above SL community drama might be another criterion. I put it to my community of readers: what qualifies as SL self-actualization? And bonus round: which Second Life Residents strike you as self-actualized the most?

Comments

[Loki]

SL self-actualization is the same as the Maslows version because we are all striving towards the same place.

[Grace McDunnough]

We had an interesting round table discussion about this in 2006 as part of the Kuurian Expedition; Gwyn hosted this one with me.

Unfortunately Signpost's archive is empty, but here's the cached copy of the chat log.
http://bit.ly/1RYSSX

[Arcadia Codesmith]

I'd put the second level down with the first under Physical Needs and reserve Safety for being free from harassment and griefing (and player-killing, in environments that allow such).

The first thing I wanted to do in Second Life (after the bother of learning to move and getting my First Land) was to make stuff. It was much later until I started to socialize much at all.

But that may be because my lower-order needs were met in RL, and SL was simply augmenting my Self-Actualization (which I think DOES include creativity as a major component).

And I think that's key... SL isn't really a second life; it's just one aspect of our total existance. As such, what we find compelling about virtual life is often those needs that we can't completely fulfill in RL.

For me, it's that need to create. For others, it's the need to discover or to connect.

I think Maslow's hierarchy is a useful model... but I also think everybody's personal pyramid is a custom build.

[Crap Mariner]

I, for one, would like to see a Madcow Heirarchy done by Madcow Cosmos, representing every stage in actualization.

-ls/cm

[soror nishi]

Self-actualisation also entails the ability to integrate different facets of the personality.
In SL terms this would mean an acceptance and enjoyment of the sides that become obvious thro avatar development and a sort of harmony with the SL/RL demands we place upon ourselves.

All the SL/RL 'angst' that the drama queens like to emphasise merely shows how far they have to go.

This dual environment is the one that needs customising.

[Dusan Writer]

If you'll indulge me, Hamlet, I added my own spin on this at my blog, in my case though looking at it as a hierarchy of business models...

http://tinyurl.com/kmkcsb

Or, image here:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2498/3719026266_33919912fe_o.jpg