5 levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - An Overview

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological theory that explains human motivation via the pursuit of several degrees of wants. Humans are driven to meet their wants in a hierarchical sequence, according to the idea. This list starts with the most basic necessities and progresses to more sophisticated requirements. 

 

According to this idea, the ultimate objective is to achieve the fifth level of the hierarchy: self-actualization. One of the most renowned pictures in the history of management studies is Abraham Maslow's classic pyramid of needs. Physiological requirements are at the bottom of the pyramid, while self-actualization, or realizing one's full potential, is at the summit.

 

 

What is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

 

In his 1943 work "A Theory of Human Motivation" and later book Motivation and Personality, Maslow originally presented the notion of a hierarchy of needs. People are driven to meet fundamental wants before moving on to more sophisticated demands, according to this hierarchy.

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Abraham Maslow (source)

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Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological motivational theory that consists of a five-tier model of human wants, which is sometimes portrayed as hierarchical tiers within a pyramid. 

 

While other existing schools of thought at the time (such as psychoanalysis and behaviorism) tended to focus on undesirable behaviors, Maslow was far more interested in discovering what makes individuals cheerful and what they do to attain that goal.

 

Maslow, as a humanist, felt that humans had an inborn drive to be self-actualized, or to be the best version of themselves. However, in order to reach these ultimate goals, a number of more fundamental requirements, such as food, security, love, and self-esteem, must be satisfied.

 

Physiological (food and clothes), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization are the needs from the bottom of the hierarchy up.

 

Dive Deeper into this topic, Read this doc from Canada College on Maslow’s Hierarchy.

 

“Individuals must satisfy lower level deficit needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs.”

- Maslow (1943) 

 

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is divided into five levels. Let's start at the bottom and look at Maslow's requirements. Our most fundamental need is for physical survival, and this will be the first thing that drives our conduct. The next level up is what inspires us once that level is completed, and so on.

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs Pyramid

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5 Levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

 

The most common representation of Maslow's hierarchy is a pyramid. The most fundamental requirements are found at the bottom of the pyramid, while the most complicated demands are found at the top.

 

Basic bodily necessities, such as the need for food, drink, sleep, and warmth, lie at the bottom of the pyramid. People can go on to the next level of wants, which are for safety and security if these lower-level demands have been fulfilled.

 

Personal esteem and emotions of success become more important as you progress up the pyramid. Maslow, like Carl Rogers, stressed the significance of self-actualization, which is the process of a person's growth and development in order to reach their full potential.

 

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1. Psychological Needs

 

These are biological necessities for human life, such as air, food, drink, shelter, clothes, warmth, sex, and sleep, among others.

 

The human body cannot operate efficiently if these demands are not met. Physiological needs are the most essential, according to Maslow, because all other wants are secondary until these are fulfilled.

 

Physiological demands include shelter and clothes, in addition to the fundamental requirements of nourishment, air, and temperature regulation. Maslow put sexual reproduction at this level of the hierarchy of wants because it is necessary for the species' survival and reproduction.
 

 

2. Needs for Security and Safety

 

The requirements get increasingly complicated as we progress up Maslow's hierarchy of needs to the second level. The necessity for security and safety becomes paramount at this level.

 

Once an individual's physiological demands are met, security and safety become more important. In their daily lives, people seek order, predictability, and control. These requirements can be met by the family and society (e.g. police, schools, business, and medical care).

 

Emotional security, financial security (e.g., job, social welfare), law and order, fearlessness, social stability, property, and health and wellness are only a few examples (e.g. safety against accidents and injury).

 

 

3. Social Needs (Love and Belongingness needs)

 

Following the physiological and safety requirements, the third level of human wants is social, which includes feelings of belonging. A human emotional need for interpersonal connections, affiliating, connectivity, and being a member of a group is referred to as belongingness.

 

Friendship, closeness, trust, and acceptance, as well as receiving and giving affection and love, are all examples of belongingness requirements. Human conduct is driven at this level by a need for emotional connections.

 

People must feel liked and accepted by others in order to prevent issues such as loneliness, sadness, and anxiety. Involvement in other organizations, such as religious groups, sports teams, book clubs, and other group activities, as well as personal connections with friends, family, and lovers, play an essential influence.

 

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4. Esteem Needs

 

The desire for admiration and respect is found at the fourth level of Maslow's hierarchy. When the requirements at the lowest three levels have been met, the esteem needs take over as the primary motivator of conduct.

 

Gaining people’s esteem and appreciation becomes extremely vital at this time. People have a strong desire to complete tasks and subsequently be rewarded for their efforts. Emotional requirements include things like self-esteem and personal worth, in addition to emotions of success and prestige.

 

Professional activities, academic achievements, sports or team involvement, and personal interests can all contribute to meeting esteem requirements. People who are able to meet their esteem requirements through excellent self-confidence and other people's acknowledgment are more confident in their skills.

 

Feelings of inferiority can arise in those who lack self-esteem and others' respect. The psychological needs of the hierarchy are made up of the esteem and social levels together.

 

 

5. Self Actualization Needs

 

Self-actualization needs are at the very top of Maslow's hierarchy. "What a man can be, he must be," Maslow said, alluding to people's desire to reach their full human potential. Maslow's definition of self-actualization is as follows: "It may be informally defined as the complete use and exploitation of one's talents, abilities, and potentialities, among other things.

 

Such individuals appear to be content with themselves and achieving the best that they are capable of. They are persons who have reached or are on their way to reaching their full potential."

 

Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal development, less concerned with others' opinions, and engaged in realizing their full potential.

 

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People's Progress Through the Needs Hierarchy

 

Maslow proposed that fulfilling these requirements necessitated a number of conditions. Possessing freedom of speech and expression, or living in a just and fair society, for example, aren't explicitly listed in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but Maslow felt that having these things made it simpler for individuals to meet their needs. 

 

Maslow also thought that humans had a desire to learn new knowledge and have a greater understanding of the world around us, in addition to these basic requirements. 

 

This is partly due to the fact that knowing more about our surroundings helps us satisfy other needs; for example, learning more about the world may make us feel safer, and having a deeper grasp of a topic that one is passionate about can help one achieve self-actualization. 

 

Maslow, on the other hand, thought that the need to comprehend the world around us is an intrinsic need. Despite the fact that Maslow organized his requirements in a hierarchy, he recognized that fulfilling each need is not an all-or-nothing proposition. As a result, people do not need to entirely satisfy one need before moving on to the next in the hierarchy. 

 

According to Maslow, most people have each of their wants partially satisfied at any one moment, and the requirements lowest on the hierarchy are generally the ones toward which people have made the greatest progress. Maslow also pointed out that one activity might satisfy two or more wants. Sharing a meal with someone, for example, satisfies the physiological need for nourishment while also satisfying the desire to belong. 

 

Working as a paid caregiver may also bring a sense of social connection and purpose, in addition to providing cash (which allows them to pay for food and shelter).
 

Read this study published in the International Journal of Development and Economic Sustainability about “Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs and Assessment of needs in Community Development”.

 

 

Criticism of Maslow’s theory

 

Maslow's hypothesis has gained a lot of traction both inside and outside of psychology. The idea has had a significant impact in the sectors of education and business. Maslow's theory that humans move through five phases hasn't always been validated by research in the years after he released his initial study.

 

While some study has shown some support for Maslow's beliefs, the majority of research has been unable to establish the notion of a needs hierarchy. There was minimal support for Maslow's ranking of these requirements, according to Wahba and Bridwell, and much less evidence that they exist in a hierarchical sequence.

 

It's tough to put the hypothesis to the test: Other critiques of Maslow's thesis include the difficulty of empirically testing his notion of self-actualization. Maslow's self-actualization study was also based on a small sample of people, including people he knew as well as biographies of renowned persons he thought to be self-actualized.

 

Watch this video to know more about Why Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need Matters:

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Summing Up

 

Despite these objections, Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a significant step forward in psychology. Maslow's humanistic psychology focused on the development of healthy persons rather than aberrant behavior and growth. 

 

The hierarchy of needs is well-known and popular both in and out of psychology, despite the fact that there is little evidence to back it up. Researchers from the University of Illinois set out to put the hierarchy to the test in a study released in 2011.

 

They observed that, while the fulfillment of requirements was significantly linked to pleasure, persons from all walks of life indicated that self-actualization and social needs were essential even when many of the most basic wants were not met.

 

These findings indicate that, while these requirements can be significant motivators of human action, they do not always assume the hierarchical shape indicated by Maslow.