Maslow's hierarchy of needs
[6] The hierarchy of needs remains a popular framework and tool in higher education,[7][8] business and management training,[9] sociology research, healthcare,[10][11] counselling[12] and social work.
[13] However, although widely used and researched, the hierarchy of needs has been criticized for its lack of conclusive supporting evidence and its validity remains contested.
[14][15][16][17] Maslow proposed his hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" in the journal Psychological Review.
[1] The theory is a classification system intended to reflect the universal needs of society as its base, then proceeding to more acquired emotions.
According to Maslow’s original formulation, there are five sets of basic needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization.
Maslow also coined the term "metamotivation" to describe the motivation of people who go beyond the scope of basic needs and strive for constant betterment.
One such updated hierarchy proposes that self-actualization is removed from its privileged place atop the pyramid because it is largely subsumed within status (esteem) and mating-related motives in the new framework.
According to Maslow's theory, humans are compelled to satisfy physiological needs first to pursue higher levels of intrinsic satisfaction.
This means that if a person is struggling to meet their physiological needs, they are unwilling to seek safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization on their own.
Physiological needs include: Air, Water, Food, Heat, Clothes, Reproduction, Shelter[22] and Sleep.
and/or in the absence of economic safety – (due to an economic crisis and lack of work opportunities) these safety needs manifest themselves in ways such as a preference for job security, grievance procedures for protecting the individual from unilateral authority, savings accounts, insurance policies, disability accommodations, etc.
Some examples of small social connections include family members, intimate partners, mentors, colleagues, and confidants.
[1] Many people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety, and clinical depression in the absence of this love or belonging element.
It can also be found that "Maslow indicated that the need for respect or reputation is most important for children ... and precedes real self-esteem or dignity",[22] which reflects the two aspects of esteem: for oneself and others.
Cognitive needs crave meaning, information, comprehension and curiosity – this creates a will to learn and attain knowledge.
[22] According to Maslow's theories, to progress toward Self-Actualization, humans require beautiful imagery or novel and aesthetically pleasing experiences.
Humans must immerse themselves in nature's splendor while paying close attention to their surroundings and observing them in order to extract the world's beauty.
[22] This is done by making and finding ways one wants to dress and express oneself through personal beauty and grooming standards and ideas.
[30] People may have a strong, particular desire to become an ideal parent, succeed athletically, or create paintings, pictures, or inventions.
[18] Individuals who are motivated to pursue this goal seek and understand how their needs, relationships, and sense of self are expressed through their behavior.
"[37] Maslow's early (1938) anthropological research included a fieldtrip to the Blackfoot people (Siksika Nation) in southern Alberta, Canada.
[2] However, claims have been made that Maslow had failed to acknowledge the influence of the Blackfoot philosophy in developing the hierarchy of needs.
[38][39][40] According to Kaufman, while acknowledging that Maslow learned much from the Blackfoot people, “there is nothing in these writings to suggest he borrowed or stole ideas for his hierarchy of needs”.
"It is not that Maslow got the hierarchy wrong or upside down, it is rather that he did not understand the circular nature in which all beings in Siksika society are interconnected and integrated.
Instead of that, a common observation is that humans are driven by a unique set of motivations, and their behavior cannot be reliably predicted based on the Maslowian principles.
The classification of the higher-order (self-esteem and self-actualization) and lower-order (physiological, safety, and love) needs is not universal and may vary across cultures due to individual differences and availability of resources in the region or geopolitical entity/country.
In a 1997 study,[49] exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of a thirteen-item scale showed there were two particularly important levels of needs in the US during the peacetime of 1993 to 1994: survival (physiological and safety) and psychological (love, self-esteem, and self-actualization).
In 1991, a retrospective peacetime measure was established and collected during the Persian Gulf War, and US citizens were asked to recall the importance of needs from the previous year.
For citizens in the Middle East (Egypt and Saudi Arabia), three levels of needs regarding importance and satisfaction surfaced during the 1990 retrospective peacetime.
Changes regarding the importance and satisfaction of needs from the retrospective peacetime to wartime due to stress varied significantly across cultures (the US vs. the Middle East).
