Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Model

Psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs model illustrates the desire for people to want to reach self-actualization. They include addressing our basic human needs, psychological and self-fulfillment needs.

Basic Needs (Deficiency) = Safety, Love, Esteem and Physiological needs

Growth Needs = Self-actualization and Cognitive needs

This theory is often displayed in pyramid form. At the base you find the basic needs we all need to survive. If we did not have access to these things, we would eventual die.

Physiological Needs

Food

Water

Warmth

Rest

As we move up the Maslow’s pyramid we focus on other more physiological that are important to our well-being, but do not necessarily need in order to survive, like food and water. They include:

Safety Needs = Security, Protection and Feeling Safe

 

Belonging & Love Needs = Family, Friends, Being Appreciated and Loved

 

As we move towards the top of the pyramid, the focus shifts to growth needs, as well as, the need to live happy, fulfilling lives.

Esteem Needs: Personal Worth, Needing to Accomplish Things and Recognition

At the top of Maslow’s pyramid, is Self-actualizing needs. Here the focus is on reaching our full-potential and finding our purpose in life.

Self-Actuation: Reaching Full Potential, Creativity and Using Inner Talent

The five layers incorporate the basic needs for survival and end with one seeking a purpose or achievement in our lives. One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs.  Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization (McLeod, 2007).

Reaching Self-Actualization

As we learned, Maslow illustrates that people must meet the basic needs and work up the pyramid in order to reach self-fulfillment. People have the ability to move up the hierarchy pyramid towards the ultimate goal of self-actualization. However, sometimes people cannot fulfill the lower levels of the pyramid. Some examples include loss of employment, divorce and loss of supporting family. These life situations can disrupt the process of reaching the top of the pyramid, and reaching their full potential.

The growth of self-actualization refers to the need for personal growth that is present throughout a person’s life.  For Maslow, a person is always “becoming” and never remains static in these terms.  In self-actualization a person comes to find a meaning to life that is important to them. (McLeod, 2007).

Maslow stressed that unsatisfied needs motivate behavior. As physiological needs are satisfied, humans become motivated in more socially oriented ways. Many workers seek self-respect and high evaluation of others (Ogilvie, 2006). Maslow’s motivation theory of Hierarchy of Needs focuses on the progression of meeting out basic needs and physiological needs in order to obtain self-actualization. It refers to the desire for self-fulfillment.  This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.

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References:

Cherry, K. (n.d.). What is self-actualization? The role it plays in the Hierarchy of Needs. About.com. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/careersinpsychology/ss/become-a-psychologist.htm

McLeod, S. A. (2007). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Ogilvie, John, R. (2006). CLEP Principles of Management. Piscataway, New Jersey: Research & Education Association, Inc.