Understanding Motivation Through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
In 1943, the American psychologist Abraham Maslow published an article entitled A theory of human motivation. In this article, Maslow argued that human beings are motivated to meet basic needs, and once those needs are met, they successfully seek to meet higher needs in a set of progressive hierarchies. It was previously believed that humans were only motivated to seek physiological needs such as warmth, shelter, food, water and sex, or in other words, the “animal needs” of the person. Maslow, however, argued that mere physiological needs were not sufficient to fully motivate a person as a conscious individual. Maslow argued that an individual’s biological and safety needs represented only the basic underlying level of needs and that there were additional needs that the individual was motivated to pursue over the course of their lives. Maslow described this as the hierarchy of needs, also known as Maslow’s hierarchy.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
The theory behind Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is that there are five motivating layers of progressive needs that drive human behavior. Biological needs, like the need for food and water, are at the bottom, because as we know, if we don’t drink water, we will die. But once we satisfy all those biological needs, then it no longer becomes a driving force in our lives and we rise to a new layer of needs that we are motivated towards. Imagine a pyramid with five different layers. For the sake of this article, let’s refer to the bottom layer as layer n. 1 and to the top of the pyramid as layer n. 5.
Layer # 1 – Physiological Needs
Physiological needs consist of the basic nutrients necessary to sustain the biological existence of that individual as an organism. These include the need for oxygen, food and water, elimination of body waste, sleep, and body temperature. Arguably, the need for sex is also a physiological need in this category. Physiological needs represent the base of the hierarchy from which all other layers are built. Anytime one of these physiological needs is threatened, all other needs will be inconsequential and the physiological needs will take precedence.
Layer # 2 – Security Needs
The second layer of the hierarchy is the need for safety and security. For this need to be met, a person needs to experience a sense of security in his life and live without fear. In caveman times, this generally meant having a nice, safe cave that would protect him and his clan from the harsh environment, as well as other predatory animals and human enemies. Safety and security needs may include physical security from violence, job security, financial security, security of good health, and family security.
Layer # 3 – Needs for love and belonging
Membership needs require that the person feel that they belong to a particular group, association, club or team and that the people of their choice love and show affection. People have a need to be accepted and to belong to the groups with which they associate. These can be work groups, family groups, clubs, religious groups, and even gangs. All people have a need to feel loved both sexually and non-sexually by other people and to be genuinely accepted by them. When these social needs are not met, people are susceptible to loneliness and depression as a result.
Layer # 4 – (Status) Esteem Needs
Esteem or status needs is having the need to be respected by others and have respect for themselves. To earn self-recognition and be respected by other people, including ourselves, we pursue activities, hobbies, and careers that give us a sense of self-worth and also become an avenue to compare ourselves to others. Confidence, competence, and achievement fall under esteem needs. The lowest-level esteem needs are fame, respect, and glory, but these depend on other people to achieve this and are therefore considered inferior to self-esteem, which depends only on the individual.
Layer # 5 – Self-actualization
Self-actualization is realizing the potential to be the best you can be in life. Self-actualized people have a more efficient perception of reality. They have a superior ability to reason efficiently and logically. The self-realized person accepts himself and the world in which he lives as it is. They are capable of having fun without regrets, embarrassment, or apologies, and they have no unnecessary inhibitions. They are also spontaneous and motivated towards continuous growth. They are promoted to a greater sense of duty. They can also be alone without feeling lonely. They are responsible for themselves and they own their own behavior. The self-actualized person has a new perspective and appreciates all people as basically good in life. Culture or stereotype associations with people do not taint them. They can also experience powerful sensations of limitless horizons. They are able to see that they are helpless and small in the world and also more powerful than anything physical in this world. The self-actualized person develops an affection for the good, the bad, and the ugly. The truth is clear to the self-actualized person where others cannot see it.
© Copyright 2006 by Tristan Loo.