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Paper Assignment #2: How is greatness achieved?


Oprah Winfrey is a world-renowned journalist and philanthropist, who is known for having overcome countless obstacles in her rise to success.

The following link directs you to a student-led interview of Oprah Winfrey at Stanford University in 2014. In this interview, Oprah reflects upon her career and what she believes it takes to achieve greatness. You are asked to consider what Oprah’s perspective on greatness says about her own personality – namely, is Oprah self-actualized by Maslow’s standards? How can we tell? [Note: You are not asked to state whether or not you agree with what Oprah says, but rather to determine the way in which what she says reflects her personality structure through the lens of Maslow’s theory.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DlrqeWrczs


For this assignment, you are asked to consider Oprah’s personality using the theory of Maslow.

1.) For the first part of this assignment, you are asked to consider whether you think Oprah meets Maslow’s criteria for self-actualization.
2.) For the second part of this assignment, you are asked to use the information you just reported to argue your opinion on the following: Do individuals achieve greatness because of internal motivation? Or can they learn/be conditioned to reach their greatest potential? Does greatness require some amount of both?

In your analysis you should 1) use specific concepts from Maslow’s theory and 2) describe specific scenes from the interview to demonstrate that you understand the theory and can apply the theory to real-life situations.

When discussing Maslow’s approach, your paper should mention whether or not Oprah meets Maslow’s criteria for self actualization: Does she demonstrate any pathology? Does she demonstrate any unmet needs from Maslow’s hierarchy? Does she embrace the B-values? Finally, you should briefly describe two qualities of self-actualizers that you think Oprah demonstrates. Be specific! You will be graded on your demonstration of knowledge of the concepts.

Finally, I’d like to know what you think: Do you think greatness is achieved through internal motivation, or through conditioning by our environments? I’d like you to formulate your argument by addressing the following: What parts of Maslow’s theory that do you think explained well the achievement of greatness? AND what are the limitations, if any, of Maslow’s theory in explaining the achievement of greatness? (Note: If you feel stuck, consider what would have been helpful to know, but was not included, in this interview of Oprah.)

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Important notes on this assignment:
You should be able to complete this assignment by looking only at class notes and your textbook.
I’m not looking for one specific answer, but rather I am looking to see that you can apply the concepts and make a solid argument for the conclusions you draw.