_016 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

What motivates human beings – is it survival, pleasure or power? Abraham Maslow was a 20^th Century American psychologist, most famous for his attempt to describe the hierarchy of human needs and the motivational force of man.

For Maslow, motivation is a desire driven by unfulfilled needs. There are certain needs which we must fulfil first before we pursue others. The first category of needs is the “deficiency” needs:

On the bottom of the pyramid are physiological needs, the need for survival. Examples of these are: food, water & sleep. We will always prioritise these in order to stay alive.

Following those are safety needs such as health, protection from danger and financial security. If we don’t satisfy these it can cause stress and anxiety, which further motivates us to satisfy them.

Next we have “belonging” (social) needs, which involve interaction with other people, such as friendship, love and family. If we have a deficiency in these needs we may experience loneliness and isolation.

At the top of the basic needs are esteem needs, those which maintain our self confidence and image. These include achievement, independence and status. Without these, we may experience an inferiority complex.

Only once our basic needs have been satisfied can we progress to our “Being” needs, often referred to as higher order needs.

The first of these are the knowledge/cognitive needs. We have a desire to understand more about the world and ourselves and so we naturally seek truth and meaning in our lives. Many philosophers indirectly categorise a deficiency in this need as an existential crisis, the feeling of being unable to find any meaning in life.

After that comes aesthetic needs. We need an appreciation for beauty and form so as to distract us from boredom.

Self-actualisation needs involve the desire for personal growth and self-fulfilment. This only arises at the point at which we realise our full potential as a human being, driving us to achieve this potential. Once we realise that we could become a great musician or sportsman etc., we have a need to write songs or break world records.

It is a continual process which is sometimes realised through peak experiences, the temporary achievement of this potential, resulting in a state of euphoria.

Characteristics of a person who has self-actualised are creativity, morality, empathy and spontaneity.

This is where philosophical implications begin to arise. Maslow states that we must fulfil desires in the lower levels of the pyramid before moving on to the higher tiers. Since morality is at the top of the pyramid, Maslow suggests that immoral behaviour stems from a deficiency in other needs. Therefore, you cannot blame someone for immoral behaviour because they had no choice but to prioritise their more basic needs.

The final stage is the level of transcendent needs which is the need to help others achieve self-actualisation, once we recognise the potential of all human beings. This is closely linked to spirituality, the acceptance of the ultimate truth of universal unity.

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Maslow, A. H. 1943. "A Theory of Human Motivation," Retrieved December 9, 2011. Originally published in Psychological Review 50: 370-396.