Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs According to Maslow, we have five categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, self-actualization, and self-esteem. In this theory, higher needs begin to emerge when people feel they have sufficiently satisfied the previous need.
What Is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?
In order to better understand what motivates human beings, Maslow proposed that human needs can be organized into a hierarchy.
- According to Maslow, when a lower need is met, the next need on the hierarchy becomes our focus of attention.
How People Progress Through the Hierarchy of Needs
There are several prerequisites to meeting these needs
- Freedom of speech and freedom of expression
- Living in a just and fair society
- A need to learn new information and to better understand the world around us
- Meeting each need is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon
- Most people tend to have each of their needs partly met
Maslow’s Impact on Other Researchers
His theory has had a strong influence on other researchers, who have sought to build on his theory
- For example, psychologists Carol Ryff and Burton Singer drew on Maslow’s theories when developing their theory of eudaimonic well-being
- Eudaimonia: feeling purpose and meaning, similar to self-actualization
Sources
Baumeister, Roy F., and Mark R. Leary
- “The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachmentments as a Fundamental Human Motivation.” Psychological Bulletin 117.3 (1995): 97-529
- Kremer, William, and Claudia Hammond
- “Abraham Maslow and the Pyramid That Beguiled Business.” BBC (2013, Sep. 1). https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23902918
- Maslow, Abraham Harold, and Richard Ryff
- Know Thyself and Become What You Are
- A Eudaimonic Approach to Psychological Well-Being
- Journal of Happiness Studies 9.1 (2008): 13-39
Esteem
Our esteem needs involve the desire to feel good about ourselves
- When people’s esteem needs are met, they feel confident and see their contributions and achievements as valuable and important, but not enough, they may experience feelings of inferiority
- Self-confidence: feeling self-confidence and feeling good about oneself
- Valor: feeling valued by others: achievements and contributions have been recognized by other people
Physiological
These refer to basic physical needs, such as drinking when thirsty or eating when hungry.
- If someone is lacking in more than one need, they are likely to try to meet these physiological needs first
- For example, if someone is extremely hungry, it’s hard to focus on anything else besides food.
Self-Actualization
Self-actualization refers to feeling fulfilled, or feeling that we are living up to our potential
Testing Maslow’s Theory
In a 2011 study, researchers Louis Tay and Ed Diener looked at data from over 60,000 participants in over 120 different countries.
- They assessed six needs similar to Maslow’s: basic needs, safety, love, pride and respect, mastery, and autonomy
- Meeting these needs was indeed linked to well-being
- Having basic needs met was linked to people’s overall assessment of their lives
- Feeling positive emotions were linked to meeting the needs of feeling loved and respected
- The order that people go through these steps seems to be more a rough guide than a strict rule
Safety
Our safety needs are apparent even early in childhood
Love and Belonging
According to Maslow, the next need in the hierarchy involves feeling loved and accepted
