Hierarchy of needs
Hierarchy of needs is a model for understanding the motivations for human behavior. These include physiological needs, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. The humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow introduced the hierarchy of needs model in 1943, which has since become one of the most influential concepts in personality science and motivation psychology.
What is Maslow's hierarchy of needs?
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological theory that explores the driving forces behind human behavior and the factors contributing to human fulfillment. It categorizes five fundamental human needs that individuals must satisfy to attain overall well-being.
These needs include:
- physiological needs
These include physical needs that humans must meet in order to survive, such as:
- food
- water
- sex
- warmth
- shelter
- sleep
- safety needs
These encompass factors that contribute to humans feeling secure, such as order, predictability, and a sense of control. Safety can be influenced by personal actions, as well as by the support of one's family or community. Depending on the individual, it may involve:
- Living or working in a secure environment
- Having a stable and adequate source of income
- Feeling protected from crime or abuse
- Maintaining good physical health without serious illnesses
- love and belonging needs
Love and belonging needs encompass the feeling of connection with others, belonging to a group, and fostering secure relationships. Individuals satisfy these needs through:
- Making friends
- Giving and receiving affection
- Emotional intimacy
- Feeling accepted by loved ones
- esteem needs
"Esteem" refers to admiration and respect. Maslow categorized this aspect of the pyramid into two subcategories: self-esteem, which pertains to how individuals regard themselves positively, and the esteem they desire from others.
Self-esteem entails a healthy and positive self-regard. Essential components for fostering good self-esteem include:
- Self-worth, which refers to a sense of personal value
- Competency, involving feelings of skill and knowledge
- Dignity, which encompasses feeling deserving of respect
- Independence, where individuals feel capable of self-sufficiency
Esteem from others may include:
- Respect from peers
- Acknowledgment for one's achievements
- Status or prestige
- Fame or reputation
However, Maslow emphasized that the most genuine form of esteem from others must be earned. Celebrity status and fleeting recognition cannot sustain a person’s esteem needs in the long term.
5. self-actualization needs
At the peak of Maslow's pyramid is self-actualization, where individuals achieve a deep understanding of themselves, recognize their full potential, and strive to fulfill it.
This differs from the esteem needs discussed earlier. Maslow posited that self-actualized individuals are driven by personal growth and the pursuit of possibilities, rather than a desire to fulfill deficiencies. They identify potential achievements for themselves or their community and pursue them regardless of external rewards.
Other characteristics that Maslow believed self-actualized individuals possess include:
- A realistic perception of reality
- Acceptance of imperfections
- Flexibility and spontaneity in pursuing goals
- Autonomy and responsibility
- Consistent and strong morals
- Appreciation for life
- Creativity
Being self-actualized does not imply a life without challenges or perpetual happiness. Maslow characterized self-actualization as a continuous journey rather than a final destination.
Basic view
- Maslow depicted these needs in a pyramid diagram, assigning each need to a different level of the hierarchy. The lower and broader levels signify the foundational and most crucial needs necessary for survival.
- Human needs follow a hierarchy, indicating that certain needs take precedence over others.
- Individuals cannot fulfill the needs higher up in the pyramid until they have satisfied the ones below them. Maslow contended that true thriving occurs only after all five needs have been adequately met.
Theoretical evaluation
The most significant limitation of Maslow's theory concerns his methodology. Maslow formulated the characteristics of self-actualized individuals from undertaking a qualitative method called biographical analysis. He looked at the biographies and writings of 18 people he identified as being self-actualized. From these sources, he developed a list of qualities that seemed characteristic of this specific group of people, as opposed to humanity in general. From a scientific perspective, there are numerous problems with this particular approach.
First, it could be argued that biographical analysis as a method is extremely subjective as it is based entirely on the opinion of the researcher. Personal opinion is always prone to bias, which reduces the validity of any data obtained. Therefore Maslow's operational definition of self-actualization must not be blindly accepted as scientific fact.
Furthermore, Maslow's biographical analysis focused on a biased sample of self-actualized individuals, prominently limited to highly educated white males (such as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, William James, Aldous Huxley, Beethoven). Although Maslow (1970) did study self-actualized females, such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Mother Teresa, they comprised a small proportion of his sample. This makes it difficult to generalize his theory to females and individuals from lower social classes or different ethnicity. Thus, questioning the population validity of Maslow's findings.
In addtiong, it is extremely difficult to empirically test Maslow's concept of self-actualization in a way that causal relationships can be established. Another criticism concerns Maslow's assumption that the lower needs must be satisfied before a person can achieve their potential and self-actualize. This is not always the case, and therefore Maslow's hierarchy of needs in some aspects has been falsified. Through examining cultures in which large numbers of people live in poverty (such as India), it is clear that people are still capable of higher order needs such as love and belongingness. However, this should not occur, as according to Maslow, people who have difficulty achieving very basic physiological needs (such as food, shelter, etc.) are not capable of meeting higher growth needs. Also, many creative people, such as authors and artists (e.g., Rembrandt and Van Gogh) lived in poverty throughout their lifetime, yet it could be argued that they achieved self-actualization. Psychologists now conceptualize motivation as a pluralistic behavior, whereby needs can operate on many levels simultaneously. A person may be motivated by higher growth needs at the same time as lower level deficiency needs.Contemporary research by Tay and Diener (2011) has tested Maslow's theory by analyzing the data of 60,865 participants from 123 countries, representing every major region of the world. The survey was conducted from 2005 to 2010.
Applications
Maslow's hierarchy of needs has been applied to various fields of study, industries, and societal issues.
Education
Education experts often utilize the hierarchy of needs to support children in reaching their full learning potential.
Healthcare
In a study from 2014, researchers suggest that applying Maslow's theory to the care of individuals in intensive care units (ICUs) could offer benefits.
Patients in ICUs often experience oversedation and immobilization. While these measures are crucial for some patients, the authors argue they may not be necessary for the majority and could potentially harm mental health and cognitive function.
To address this, the authors recommend a shift in ICU care towards considering overall quality of life alongside physical recovery. They propose minimizing sedation and encouraging mobility whenever feasible to enhance patient outcomes.
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