maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation, later extended. He formulated a hierarchy of human needs, and his theory contends that as the basic needs are met humans desire higher needs.

Pyramid of needs

's hierarchy of needs is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels: the four lower levels are grouped together as deficency needs, the top level is referred to as being needs. While deficency needs can be met, being needs are a continuing driving force. The basic idea of this hierarchy is that higher needs come into focus only after all needs lower in the pyramid are generally/mostly met. Growth forces result in upward movement on the hierarchy, whereas regressive forces push prepotent needs down in the hierarchy.

Deficency needs

The deficency needs (also termed D-needs by Maslow) are:

Physiological needs

The body aims to achieve homeostasis, an equilibrium of different factors (water content of the blood, salt content, sugar content, protein content, fat content, calcium content, oxygen content, constant hydrogen-ion level/acid-base level, constant blood temperature). This is obtained with food, drinks, sleep, fresh air, a proper temperature, etc. If all of a human's needs are unmet then the physiological need takes the highest priority: Given desire for love and hunger for food, a human is more likely to pursue and find a solution for the latter first. As a result of the prepotency of physiological needs, all of the other desires and capacities are pushed onto the back burner.

Safety needs

When the physiological needs are met then the human turns towards safety needs. Safety attains the highest priority over all other desires. A functioning society tends to provide this to its members. Recent examples of failure include Somalia and Afghanistan. Sometimes the desire for safety outweighs the desire to easily satisfy physiological needs; for example, during Kosovo War many residents of Kosovo chose to inhabit a secure area instead of an insecure area, even though the latter had more definite access to food. Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks fear of insecurity has been a powerful factor in popular opinion, and therefore government policy.

Love/Belonging needs

Once safety and physiological needs are generally met, a third layer of human needs starts to show up. You feel the need for friends, a sweetheart, children; affectionate relationships in general, even a sense of community. Humans have a desire to belong to groups: clubs, work groups, religious groups, family, gangs, etc. We need to feel loved (sexual/nonsexual) by others, to be accepted by others. We also need to be needed. Looked at negatively, you become increasingly susceptible to loneliness and social anxieties.

Esteem needs

This includes both self esteem and the esteem of others.

Being needs

Self-actualization

Self-actualization (a term originated by Kurt Goldstein) is the instinctoid need of a human to make the most of their unique abilities. Maslow described it as:

A musician must make music, the artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualisation. (Motivation and Personality, 1954)

Maslow writes of self-actualizing people that:

They embrace the facts and realities of the world (including themselves) rather than denying or avoiding them.
They are spontaneous with ideas and actions.
They are creative.
They are interested in solving problems; often the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus of life.
They feel a closeness to (at least some) other people and appreciate life in general.
They have a self-created system of morality.
They judge others objectively rather than with prejudice.

While other needs can be met fully, self-actualization is seen as "growing", i.e. as a continuing driving force. However, it is seen that not everyone ultimately seeks self-actualization, as a strict reading of Maslow's hierarchy of needs seems to imply:

Viktor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning describes his psychotherapeutic method (logotherapy) of finding a reason to live.
Albert Einstein actually was drawn toward the sense of mystery in life. See Abraham Pais' Subtle is the Lord.
Others seek good works, like Mother Teresa.
Others are drawn toward the dark side of the human condition.

These individuals would not be noted in the history books, however, if they hadn't used their native writing, therapeutic or altruistic gifts in a way different from most.

Critique

While Maslow's theory was seen as an improvement of previous theories of personality and motivation, concepts such as self-actualization are somewhat vague. This makes it problematic to operationalize and test Maslow's theory. There is no proof that every person has the ability to become self-actualized. Further, in an extensive review of research using Maslow's theory, Wabha and Bridwell (1976) found little evidence for the ordering of needs that Maslow selected or whether in fact a strict hierarchy exists at all. Some people feel that the theory and its concepts have been overused. For instance, a reference to the theory occurs in many undegraduate organizational behavior textbooks without any acknowledgement of the flaws in the theory. The word self-actualization is therefore sometimes perceived as psycho-babble.

References

Maslow, Abraham H, Motivation and Personality, 2nd. ed., New York, Harper & Row, 1970 ISBN 0060419873

A. H. Maslow. A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370-396. (1943)

A. H. Maslow. Eupsychian Management. (1965). Note that the Andy Kay featured in this book is the Andy Kay of Kaypro. Hardcover ISBN 0870940562, Paperback ISBN 025600353X

M. A. Wahba & L. G. Bridwell. Maslow reconsidered: A review of research on the need hierarchy theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 15, 212-240. (1976).