Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory introduced


  1954
• Expanded hierarchy of needs model introduced


  1970
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

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

  • Psychological
  • Safety
  • Love/Belonging
  • Esteem
  • Self-Actualisation
• Lower-level basic needs 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 is not completely fixed
• Our behaviours are usually motivated by multiple needs simultaneously
• Survival needs


  Must be satisfied before higher needs
• Physiological needs


  Biological requirements for human survival, e.g., air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, and sleep
• Safety needs


  People want to experience order, predictability, and control in their lives
• Love and belongingness needs

  Human emotional needs for interpersonal relationships, connectedness, and being part of a group
• Esteem needs


  Include self-worth, accomplishment, and respect
• Categories of esteem needs

  • Esteem for oneself
  • Desire for reputation or respect from others
• Self-Actualisation needs


  Realisation of a person's potential, self-fulfilment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences
• The higher up the hierarchy, the more difficult it is to satisfy the needs associated with that stage
• Deficiency needs are concerned with basic survival
• Deficiency needs


  • Physiological needs
  • Safety needs
  • Love and belongingness needs
  • Esteem needs
• Deficiency needs arise due to deprivation and motivate people when they are unmet
• The motivation to fulfil deficiency needs will become stronger the longer they are denied
• Growth needs


  More psychological and associated with realising an individual's full potential and needing to self-actualise
• Growth needs do not stem from a lack of something but rather from a desire to grow as a person
• Not everyone will move through the hierarchy in a uni-directional manner
• Expanded Hierarchy of Needs

  Maslow's five-stage model expanded to an 8-stage model including cognitive, aesthetic, and transcendence needs
• Cognitive needs


  Knowledge and understanding, curiosity, exploration, need for meaning and predictability
• Aesthetic needs


  Appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.
• Transcendence needs


  Motivated by values that transcend beyond the personal self
• Characteristics of self-actualised people

  • Perceive reality effectively
  • Accept themselves and others
  • Spontaneous
  • Problem-centred
  • Unusual sense of humour
  • Look at life objectively
  • Highly creative
  • Concerned for the welfare of humanity
  • Capable of deep appreciation of life
  • Establish deep interpersonal relationships
  • Need for privacy
  • Democratic attitudes
  • Strong moral/ethical standards
• Workplace organisations


  Enhance performance by addressing and fulfilling the needs of employees
• Nursing


  Hierarchy provides a framework for understanding patients as multifaceted human beings
• Education


  Maslow's hierarchy has made a major contribution to teaching and classroom management
• Limitation of Maslow's methodology is the small sample size and subjectivity
• Maslow had a biased sample consisting of highly educated white males
• Maslow’s theory has a positive and optimistic focus on human potential and growth
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has practical applications in various fields
• Maslow’s theory has significantly influenced psychology
• Maslow's theory explains why individuals may prioritise certain needs over others