Introduction to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Our most basic needs are inborn, having evolved over tens of thousands of years. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs helps to explain how these needs motivate us all. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself. Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied are we concerned with the higher order needs of influence and personal development.

Conversely, if the things that satisfy our lower order needs are swept away, we are no longer concerned about the maintenance of our higher order needs. Maslow’s original Hierarchy of Needs model was developed between 1943-1954, and first widely published in Motivation and Personality in 1954. At this time the Hierarchy of Needs model comprised five needs. This original version remains for most people the definitive Hierarchy of Needs.  Biological and Physiological needs – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc. Safety needs – protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc. Belongingness and Love needs – work group, family, affection, relationships, etc. Esteem needs – self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc. Self-Actualization needs – realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. This is the definitive and original Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

While Maslow referred to various additional aspects of motivation, he expressed the Hierarchy of Needs in these five clear stages. 1. Biological and Physiological needs – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc. 2. Safety needs – protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.Belongingness and Love needs – work group, family, affection, relationships, etc. steem needs – self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc. Cognitive needs – knowledge, meaning, etc.

Aesthetic needs – appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc. Self-Actualization needs – realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. N. B. Although Maslow referred to additional aspects of motivation, ‘Cognitive’ and ‘Aesthetic’, he did not include them as levels or stages within his own expression of the Hierarchy of Needs. Biological and Physiological needs – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc. Safety needs – protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etcBelongingness and Love needs – work group, family, affection, relationships, etc. Esteem needs – self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc. Cognitive needs – knowledge, meaning, etc.  Aesthetic needs – appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc. Self-Actualization needs – realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. Transcendence needs – helping others to achieve self actualization. N. B.

Although Maslow referred to additional aspects of motivation, ‘Cognitive’, ‘Aesthetic’, and ‘Transcendence’, he did not include any of these as additional stages in the Hierarchy of Needs. Here is a quick self-test based on the extended 8-level Hierarchy of Needs. Like the 5-level Hierarchy of Needs self-test it is not a scientific or validated instrument – merely a quick indicator for helping self-awareness, discussion, etc. what hierarchy of needs model is most valid? Abraham Maslow created the original five level Hierarchy of Needs model, and for many this remains entirely adequate for its purpose.

The seven and eight level ‘hierarchy of needs’ models are later adaptations by others, based on Maslow’s work. Arguably, the original five-level model includes the later additional sixth, seventh and eighth (‘Cognitive’, ‘Aesthetic’, and ‘Transcendence’) levels within the original ‘Self-Actualization’ level 5, since each one of the ‘new’ motivators concerns an area of self-development and self-fulfilment that is rooted in self-actualization ‘growth’, and is distinctly different to any of the previous 1-4 level ‘deficiency’ motivators.

For many people, self-actualizing commonly involves each and every one of the newly added drivers. As such, the original five-level Hierarchy of Needs model remains a definitive classical representation of human motivation; and the later adaptations perhaps serve best to illustrate aspects of self-actualization. Maslow said that needs must be satisfied in the given order. Aims and drive always shift to next higher order needs.

Levels 1 to 4 are deficiency motivators; level 5, and by implication 6 to 8, are growth motivators and relatively rarely found. The thwarting of needs is usually a cause of stress, and is particularly so at level 4. Examples in use: You can’t motivate someone to achieve their sales target (level 4) when they’re having problems with their marriage (level 3). You can’t expect someone to work as a team member (level 3) when they’re having their house re-possessed (level 2). maslow’s self-actualizing characteristics keen sense of reality – aware of real situations – objective judgement, rather than subjective  see problems in terms of challenges and situations requiring solutions, rather than see problems as personal complaints or excuses

•  need for privacy and comfortable being alone
• reliant on own experiences and judgement – independent – not reliant on culture and environment to form opinions and views
• not susceptible to social pressures – non-conformist
• democratic, fair and non-discriminating – embracing and enjoying all cultures, races and individual styles
• socially compassionate – possessing humanity accepting others as they are and not trying to change people
• comfortable with oneself – despite any unconventional tendencies
• a few close intimate friends rather than many surface relationships
• sense of humour directed at oneself or the human condition, rather than at the expense of others
• spontaneous and natural – true to oneself, rather than being how others want
• excited and interested in everything, even ordinary things
• creative, inventive and original
• seek peak experiences that leave a lasting impression maslow’s hierarchy of needs in advertising

To help with training of Maslow’s theory look for Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs motivators in advertising. This is a great basis for Maslow and motivation training exercises: Biological and Physiological needs – wife/child-abuse help-lines, social security benefits, Samaritans, roadside recovery. Safety needs – home security products (alarms, etc), house an contents insurance, life assurance, schools. Belongingness and Love needs – dating and match-making services, chat-lines, clubs and membership societies, Macdonalds, ‘family’ themes like the old style Oxo stock cube ads.

Esteem needs – cosmetics, fast cars, home improvements, furniture, fashion clothes, drinks, lifestyle products and services.  Self-Actualization needs – Open University, and that’s about it; little else in mainstream media because only 2% of population are self-actualizers, so they don’t constitute a very big part of the mainstream market. You can view and download free Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs diagrams, and two free Hierarchy of Needs self-tests, based on the original Maslow’s five-stage model and later adapted eight-stage model, ideal for training, presentations and project work, at thebusinessballs free online resources section.

Like any simple model, Maslow’s theory not a fully responsive system – it’s a guide which requires some interpretation and thought, given which, it remains extremely useful and applicable for understanding, explaining and handling many human behaviour situations. maslow’s hierarchy of needs and helping others There are certainly some behaviours that are quite tricky to relate to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. For example: Normally, we would consider that selflessly helping others, as a form of personal growth motivation, would be found as part of self-actualisation, or perhaps even ‘transcendence’ (if you subscribe to the extended hierarchy).

So how can we explain the examples of people who seem to be far short of self-actualising, and yet are still able to help others in a meaningful and unselfish sense? Interestingly this concept seems to be used increasingly as an effective way to help people deal with depression, low self-esteem, poor life circumstances, etc. , and it almost turns the essential Maslow model on its head: that is, by helping others, a person helps themselves to improve and develop too.

The principle has also been applied quite recently to developing disaffected school-children, whom, as part of their own development, have been encouraged and enabled to ‘teach’ other younger children (which can arguably be interpreted as their acting at a self-actualising level – selflessly helping others). The disaffected children, theoretically striving to belong and be accepted (level 3 – belongingness) were actually remarkably good at helping other children, despite their own negative feelings and issues.

Under certain circumstances, a person striving to satisfy their needs at level 3 – belongingness, seems able to self-actualise – level 5 (and perhaps beyond, into ‘transcendence’) by selflessly helping others, and at the same time begins to satisfy their own needs for belongingness and self-esteem. Such examples demonstrate the need for careful interpretation and application of the Maslow model. The Hierarchy of Needs is not a catch-all, but it does remain a wonderfully useful framework for analysing and trying to understand the subtleties – as well as the broader aspects – of human behaviour and growth.