Characteristics/features/assumptions

• Maslow's hierarchy of needs


  A motivational theory in psychology comprising of a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid
• The five levels of the hierarchy

  • Psychological
  • Safety
  • Love/belonging
  • Esteem
  • Self-actualisation
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs


  • Lower-level basic needs like food, water, and safety must be met first before higher needs can be fulfilled
  • Few people are believed to reach the level of self-actualisation, but we can all have moments of peak experiences
  • The order of the levels are not completely fixed. For some, esteem outweighs love, while others may self-actualise despite poverty. Our behaviours are usually motivated by multiple needs simultaneously
• Applications of Maslow's hierarchy of needs


  • Workplace motivation
  • Education
  • Counseling
  • Nursing
• Survival needs


  Must be satisfied before the individual can satisfy the higher needs
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs

  • The higher up the hierarchy, the more difficult it is to satisfy the needs associated with that stage, because of the interpersonal and environmental barriers that inevitably frustrate us
  • Higher needs become increasingly psychological and long-term rather than physiological and short term, as in the lower survival related needs
• 1. Physiological needs

  Biological requirements for human survival, E.g. air, food, drink shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, and sleep.

  Once an individuals physiological needs are satisfied, the need for security and safety becomes important.
• 2. Safety needs

  • People want to experience order, predictability, and control in their lives
  • After physiological and safety needs have been fulfilled, the third level of human needs is social and involves feelings of belongingness.
• 3. Love and belongingness needs

  • Love and belongingness needs refer to a human emotional needs for interpersonal relationships, connectedness, and being part of a group
• 4. Esteem needs

  • the fourth level in Maslow’s Hierarchy and include self-worth, accomplishment and respect.
  • Classified in 2 categories: esteem for oneself (i.) dignity, achievement, mastery, and independence and (ii.) the desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g. status, prestige)
• 5. Self-Actualisation needs

  • The highest level in Maslow’s Hierarchy, and refer to the realisation of a persons potential, self-fulfilment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.
  • The level of need refers to what a personal full potential is and the realisation of that potential.
• Limitations:

  • Limitation is he used a qualitative method called biographical analysis. He looked at the biographies of 18 people, incredibly subjective as it is based entirely on the researcher's opinion, therefore reducing the validity. Sample is too small to generalise to greater population.
  • We cannot deduce that the study is valid
  • Maslow had a biases sample consisting of highly educated white males, small biased sample size therefore not representative and cannot be generalised to the wider population
  • There were a small proportion of females in his sample such as Mother Teresa
• Strengths

  • Maslow’s theory has a positive and optimistic focus on human potential and growth emphasising and transcendence- the theory suggests that individuals have the capacity for personal growth and fulfilment.
  • It has practical applications- the hierarchy of needs has been used in a wide variety of various practical applications. e.g. business, education, healthcare, and counselling
  • It has had a significant influence on psychology shaping human motivation and personal development
  • It also explains why individuals may prioritise certain needs over others