Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs
Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) was a Humanist Psychologist. During his research into the psychology of high achievers, he noticed that some needs took precedence over others and that some needs were stronger than others. As a result of this research he developed a ‘Hierarchy of Needs’. The hierarchy is represented by a triangle and starting at the base of the triangle Maslow described five stages.
Physiological Needs: This stage describes the essential needs of the physical self such as water, protein, salt, oxygen and expelling wastes.
Safety Needs: When an individuals physiological needs have been met they no longer focus on this area and move on to the next stage. This stage reflects the need for a safe and secure environment that offers some form of protection.
Belonging Needs: When safety needs have been met an individual turns their attention to the needs of love and belonging. During this stage the focus is on family, finding a mate and having children. A strong sense of community can also develop. An individual may become lonely and socially anxious if these needs are not met.
Esteem Needs: There are two stages of esteem needs. The first stage represents the need for respect from others through status, recognition, appreciation and power. The second stage reflects the need for self confidence, freedom, independence and self respect. Low self esteem and inferiority may develop if these needs are not met.
Self Actualisation: Maslow described the first four needs as ‘deficit needs’. If an individual didn’t satisfy these needs they would have a strong desire to do so. In other words they produce motivation. On achieving these four stages a person would have the opportunity to achieve their full potential which Maslow called self actualisation.
Good stuff here, as always.