Maslow's pyramid and brand development. Maslow's pyramid of needs and its application in life. What does Maslow have to do with the pyramid?

Maslow first introduced his concept of the hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” and in his subsequent book “Motivation and Personality.” This hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs.

While some of the existing schools of human personality (psychoanalysis and behaviorism) tended to focus on problem behavior, Maslow was much more interested in studying what makes people happy and what they do to achieve this goal.

As a humanist, Maslow believed that people have an innate desire to be self-actualized, that is, to be all that they can be. However, to achieve these ultimate goals, a number of more basic needs must be satisfied, such as the need for food, security, love and self-esteem.

There are five different levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Let's take a closer look at Maslow's needs, starting from the lowest level, which are known as physiological needs.

From basic to more complex needs

Maslow's hierarchy is most often depicted as a pyramid. The lowest levels of the pyramid consist of the most basic needs, while the most complex needs are at the top of the pyramid.


Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid

The needs at the bottom of the pyramid are the basic physical requirements, including the need for food, water, sleep and warmth. Once these lower level needs are satisfied, people can move on to the next level of safety and security needs.

As people move up the pyramid, needs become more psychological and social. Soon the need for love, friendship and intimacy becomes important. Further up the pyramid, the need for personal dignity and a sense of accomplishment take priority.

Like Carl Rogers, Maslow emphasized the importance of self-actualization, which is the process of growing and developing as an individual to achieve individual potential.

Deficiency needs and growth needs

Maslow believed that these needs are similar to instincts and play a major role in motivating behavior. Physiological, safety, social security and esteem needs are deficit needs that arise due to deprivation Deprivation (Latin deprivatio - loss, deprivation) - reduction or complete deprivation of the ability to satisfy basic needs - psychophysiological or social.. Satisfying these lower-level needs is important in order to avoid unpleasant feelings or consequences.

Maslow called the highest level of the pyramid growth needs. These needs do not stem from a lack of something, but rather from a desire to grow as a person.

Although the theory is usually portrayed as a fairly rigid hierarchy, Maslow noted that the order in which these needs are fulfilled does not always follow this standard progression. For example, he noted that for some people the need for self-esteem is more important than the need for love. For others, the need for creative fulfillment can crowd out even the most basic needs.

Physiological needs

Basic physiological needs are probably pretty obvious - these are things that are vital to our survival. Some examples of physiological needs include:

  • Breath
  • Homeostasis

In addition to the basic requirements of food, air and temperature regulation, physiological needs also include things such as shelter and clothing. Maslow also included sexual reproduction at this level of the hierarchy of needs because it is essential for the survival and spread of the species.

Safety and security needs

As you move into the second level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the requirements begin to become a little more complex. At this level, safety and security needs become a priority. People want control and order in their lives, so this need for safety and security greatly contributes to behavior at this level.

Some of the basic security needs include:

  • Financial support
  • Health and wellness
  • Safety from accidents and injuries

Finding a job, obtaining health insurance and medical assistance, depositing money into a Savings Account, and moving to a safer area are all examples of actions motivated by safety and security needs.

Together, the safety and physiological levels of the hierarchy constitute what is often called basic needs.

Social needs

Social needs in Maslow's hierarchy include things like love, acceptance and belonging. At this level, the need for emotional relationships determines human behavior. Some of the things that satisfy this need include:

  • Friendly contacts
  • Romantic attachments
  • Family
  • Social groups
  • Community Groups
  • Churches and religious organizations

To avoid problems such as loneliness, depression and anxiety, it is important that people feel loved and accepted by others. Personal relationships with friends, family, and lovers play an important role, as does participation in other groups, which may include religious groups, sports teams, book clubs, and other group activities.

Need for respect

The fourth level in Maslow's hierarchy is the need for appreciation and respect. When the needs at the lower three levels are satisfied, respect begins to play a more prominent role in motivating behavior.

At this stage, it becomes increasingly important to earn the respect and appreciation of others. People have a need to achieve something and then have their efforts recognized.

In addition to the need for a sense of accomplishment and prestige, esteem needs include such things as self-esteem and personal worth. People need to feel valued by others and feel like they are making a contribution to the world. Involvement in professional activities, academic achievements, sports or team participation, and personal hobbies may play a role in satisfying esteem needs.

People who are able to satisfy their esteem needs by achieving good self-esteem and recognition from others tend to feel confident in their abilities. Those who lack self-esteem and respect for others may develop feelings of inferiority.

Together, respect and social levels constitute what is known as psychological needs of hierarchy.

Needs for self-realization

At the very top of Maslow's hierarchy are the needs for self-actualization. “What a person can be, he must be,” Maslow explained, referring to the need for people to achieve their full potential as human beings.

According to Maslow's definition of self-actualization:

“This can be roughly described as the full use of talents, abilities, opportunities, etc. Such people seem to realize themselves and do the best that they are capable of doing... These are people who have developed or are developing to the level of which they are capable "

Self-actualizing people are self-aware, care about personal growth, care less about the opinions of others, and are interested in realizing their potential.

Critique of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's theory has become wildly popular both within and outside of psychology. The theory has been particularly affected by the fields of education and business. Despite its popularity, Maslow's concept was not without criticism.

The main ones:

Needs do not necessarily follow a hierarchy

Although some studies have shown some support for Maslow's theories, most studies have failed to substantiate the idea of ​​a hierarchy of needs. Wahba and Bridgewell reported that there was little evidence of Maslow's ranking of needs and even less evidence that these needs were in a hierarchical order.

The theory is difficult to test

Other critics of Maslow's theory have noted that his definition of self-actualization is difficult to test scientifically. His research on self-actualization was also based on a very limited sample of people, including people he knew, as well as biographies of famous people whom Maslow considered self-actualized.

So why was Maslow's hierarchy of needs so influential?

Regardless of these criticisms, Maslow's hierarchy of needs represents part of an important shift in psychology. Rather than focusing on abnormal behavior and development, Maslow's humanistic psychology focused on the development of healthy individuals.

Although there has been relatively little research to support the theory, the hierarchy of needs is well known and popular both within and outside of psychology. In a study published in 2011, researchers at the University of Illinois set out to test the hierarchy.

They found that although need satisfaction was closely related to happiness, people from various cultures around the world reported that self-actualization and social needs were important even when many of the most basic needs were not met.

Such results indicate that although these needs can be powerful motivators of human behavior, they do not necessarily take the hierarchical form described by Maslow.

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In addition to unique architectural structures, there are also pyramids of a different kind, which, nevertheless, cause far from weak excitement around them. They can be called intelligent structures. And one of them is the pyramid of needs of Abraham Maslow, a famous American psychologist, the founder of humanistic psychology.

Maslow's pyramid

Maslow's pyramid is a special diagram in which all human needs are presented in a hierarchical order. However, none of the scientist’s publications contains any schematic images, because he was of the opinion that this order is dynamic in nature and can change depending on the personality characteristics of each individual person.

The first mentions of the pyramid of needs can be found in German-language literature of the 70s of the 20th century. They can still be found in many educational materials on psychology and marketing today. The needs model itself is actively used in economics and is of great importance for the theory of motivation and consumer behavior.

It is also interesting that there is a widespread opinion that Maslow himself did not create the pyramid, but only identified general features in the formation of the needs of people who are successful in life and creative activity. And the pyramid was invented by his followers, who sought to clearly present the scientist’s ideas. We will talk about this hypothesis in the second half of the article. For now, let’s look at what Maslow’s pyramid is in detail.

According to the scientist's research, a person has five basic needs:

1. Physiological needs (first step of the pyramid)

Physiological needs are characteristic of absolutely all living organisms existing on our planet, and, accordingly, of every person. And if a person does not satisfy them, then he simply will not be able to exist, and also will not be able to fully develop. For example, if a person really wants to go to the toilet, he will probably not enthusiastically read a book or calmly walk through a beautiful area, enjoying the amazing scenery. Naturally, without satisfying physiological needs, a person will not be able to work normally, engage in business or any other activity. Such needs are breathing, nutrition, sleep, etc.

2. Security (second stage of the pyramid)

This group includes the needs for security and stability. To understand the essence, you can consider the example of babies - while still unconscious, they strive on a subconscious level, after satisfying their thirst and hunger, to be protected. And only a loving mother can give them this feeling. The situation is similar with adults, but in a different, milder form: for security reasons, they strive, for example, to insure their lives, install strong doors, put locks, etc.

3. Love and belonging (third step of the pyramid)

We are talking about social needs here. They are reflected in such aspirations as making new acquaintances, finding friends and a life partner, and being involved in any group of people. A person needs to show and receive love towards himself. In a social environment, a person can feel useful and important. And this is what motivates people to satisfy social needs.

4. Recognition (fourth step of the pyramid)

After a person satisfies the need for love and belonging to society, the direct influence of others on him decreases, and the focus is on the desire to be respected, the desire for prestige and recognition of various manifestations of his individuality (talents, characteristics, skills, etc.) . And only in case of successful realization of his potential and after achieving recognition of people important to a person, he comes to self-confidence and his abilities.

5. Self-realization (fifth stage of the pyramid)

This stage is the last and it contains spiritual needs, expressed in the desire to develop as a person or a spiritual person, as well as to continue to realize one’s potential. As a result, creative activity, visiting cultural events, and the desire to develop one’s talents and abilities. In addition, a person who has managed to satisfy the needs of the previous stages and, having “climbed” to the fifth, begins to actively seek the meaning of life, study the world around him, and try to make his own contribution to it; he may begin to develop new views and beliefs.

This is a description of basic human needs. You can evaluate for yourself how true these descriptions are by simply trying to look at yourself and your life from the outside. Surely, you can find a lot of evidence of their relevance. But it should be said, among other things, that there are several controversial points in Maslow’s pyramid.

Authorship

Despite the fact that the authorship of the pyramid is officially attributed to Abraham Maslow, he has nothing to do with the version we have today. The fact is that in the form of a graph, the “Hierarchy of Needs” appeared in 1975 in the textbook of a certain W. Stopp, about whose personality there is practically no information, and Maslow died in 1970, and in his works, as already mentioned, there was not a single graphic arts.

A satisfied need ceases to motivate

The main question here is the relevance of needs for a person. For example, a self-sufficient person who is indifferent to communication does not need it and will not strive for it. Anyone who feels protected will not strive even more to protect themselves. Simply put, a satisfied need loses its relevance and moves to another level. And in order to determine current needs, it is enough just to identify unsatisfied ones.

Theory and practice

According to many modern psychologists, despite the fact that Maslow’s pyramid is a clearly structured model, it is quite difficult to apply it in practice, and the scheme itself can lead to completely incorrect generalizations. If we put all the statistics aside, a number of questions immediately arise. For example, how dark is the existence of a person who is not recognized in society? Or, should a person who is systematically malnourished be considered absolutely hopeless? After all, in history you can find hundreds of examples of how people achieved enormous results in life precisely because their needs remained unsatisfied. Take, for example, poverty or unrequited love.

According to some reports, Abraham Maslow subsequently abandoned the theory he put forward, and in his subsequent works (“Towards the Psychology of Being” (1962), “The Far Limits of Human Nature” (1971)), the concept of personal motivation was significantly refined. And the pyramid, which many specialists in the field of psychology and marketing are trying to find application for today, has generally lost all meaning.

Criticism

The main reason for criticizing Maslow's pyramid is its hierarchy, as well as the fact that needs cannot be completely satisfied. Some researchers interpret Maslow's theory in a generally unflattering way. According to their interpretation, the pyramid suggests that man is an animal that constantly needs something. And others say that Maslow's theory cannot be applied in practice when it comes to business, marketing and advertising.

However, the author did not adapt his theory to business or advertising, but only tried to answer questions in which, for example, behaviorism or Freudianism came to a dead end. Maslow simply sought to provide insight into human motivation, and his work is more philosophical than methodological.

Advantages and disadvantages

As is easy to see, the pyramid of needs is not just a classification of them, but reflects a certain hierarchy: instinctive needs, basic, sublime. Every person experiences all these desires, but the following pattern comes into force here: basic needs are considered dominant, and higher-order needs are activated only when the basic ones are satisfied. But it should be understood that needs can be expressed completely differently for each person. And this happens at any level of the pyramid. For this reason, a person must correctly understand his desires, learn to interpret them and adequately satisfy them, otherwise he will constantly be in a state of dissatisfaction and disappointment. By the way, Abraham Maslow took the position that only 2% of all people reach the fifth stage.

Maslow's pyramid of needs is a hierarchy of human needs, a well-known theory of motivation, based on the works of an American psychologist who became the founder of humanistic verse.

Maslow's pyramid of needs is successfully used in modern economics, and is considered as a model of needs in the theory of motivation, a consumer behavioral factor.

For the first time, Maslow’s pyramid of needs appeared in the form of a graphic image “Hierarchy of Needs” in a textbook on marketing and psychology by W. Stopp in 1975, after Maslow’s death five years later. In the early 80s of the 20th century, the needs chart was replaced with a pyramid-shaped drawing, which was invented by his students to better understand Maslow’s theory in a visual form.

Maslow's pyramid of needs

1st need: physiological: removal of hunger, thirst, intimacy, sleep, oxygen, availability of clothing.

Sometimes this need is called instinctive, basic, basic. Therefore, a person gives it priority attention, otherwise he will feel uncomfortable.
According to Maslow, lower physiological needs lay the foundation for all other needs, and without their satisfaction, a person does not move or develop further. Even all living organisms have these needs.

Examples:

  • Waking up in the morning before work, you want to have breakfast: drink hot coffee and eat a sandwich, and not finish reading the pages of an interesting work.
  • The need to visit the restroom will be a priority, instead of finding your seat in the theater hall.

The needs of the first stage are very important, but they do not constantly prevail over the individual. Partial satisfaction is enough to move to the second stage of Maslow's pyramid.

2nd need for security: stability, defense, dependence, freedom from anxiety, fear and chaos.

Examples:

  • A small child is scared, he is afraid of something, so he cries for a long time and persistently until he sees his mother or father. The absence of parents from his field of vision, the child becomes irritated, he does not care what others think about him. He needs protection.
  • A believer also needs protection. Arriving at church, he feels the protection of higher powers. He calms down and believes only in a good future.

Stability in work and salary also relates to this need.

3rd need for love and belonging: friendship, family, circle.

It is natural for a person to become a part of society, he strives for this. In adolescence, it is necessary to join an environment where there is a leader or an idol in order to take an example of behavior from him.

With increasing age, a person sorts out the circle of his acquaintances, and it narrows. There remain several friends, acquaintances with the same views on life, work, and interests. In any case, people live and become a formed part of society, where they feel important and useful.

Certain individuals have a need to meet a new friend. Some limit themselves to their family and children.

After satisfying the 3rd need - social, a person strives for the 4th level of needs: success.

4th need for recognition and respect: respect in a team, proud of oneself, status, excellent reputation, fame, manifestation of talent.

A person cannot be content with only family, home, children. He wants more. Having received the status of a specialist, the team began to respect him. And if he became a businessman, he is proud of himself. And if his company becomes famous, his reputation increases.

Work becomes more than just work. A person awakens to spiritual motivation and a great desire to create, to create much more, better and of higher quality. A person automatically moves to the next stage of Maslow's needs.

5th (later 7th) need for self-realization: a person does his job, does it well. His inclinations and abilities help in his work.

When everything is perfect, life is good. It seems to a person that he has not yet achieved everything; he begins to engage in self-development, self-realization, spiritual needs appear, and the realization of his potential. A person is ready to move forward, to fight. Life experience gained: democratic temperament, creativity helps to resist social habits, a person is ready to learn himself and teach others, form new views and convince.

Abraham Maslow's research showed that only 1-3% of humanity reach the fifth (seventh) stage of the pyramid, which has an excess of ideas and internal energy.

Scientist Maslow, his research

A little about Abraham Harold Maslow (from the former surname Maslov), was born into a poor family of emigrants (from Tsarist Russia) in 1908 in Brooklyn. He studied well, worked hard and often visited libraries. Became president of the Association of Social Psychology and the Department of Aesthetics. The ten-year period from 1960 to 1970 was a fruitful period in his life, where most of his works were written.

The scientist believed that the behavior of humanity is motivated only to satisfy their personal life goals, moving gradually from one achieved need to the next and so on.

Abraham Maslow argued that for a large number of people, all needs are similar to the instincts of animals, which can be innate or acquired.

Research by scientist Maslow has proven that any person experiences five (seven) obligatory needs: from simpler, lower needs to higher needs. Human existence will cease if these needs are not satisfied, and human development will not fully develop.

Additional work on Maslow's pyramid

People heard about the “Theory of Human Motivation” in 1943, which contained Maslow’s main ideas about the peculiarities in the formation of the human needs of successful and creative people. More detailed research was reflected in the book “Motivation and Personality” in 1954.

Scientist A. Maslow worked on the biography of healthy and active people. These included: Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, who became his ideals when developing the theory of motivation and pyramids.

Maslow's 5-step pyramid was and remains an achievement of that time. The scientist constantly improved the pyramid of needs. Works published in the 20th century “Psychology of Being” - 62g, and 71g “Far Limits of Nature”.

In his writings, Maslow's pyramid retained all the needs: the first four remained in their places, and the fifth moved to seventh place. Two stages of the pyramid have been added:

5 need, cognitive: know-be-able-research.
A person constantly strives to learn a lot of information from smart cognitive programs. He devotes a lot of time to reading. Skillfully applies his knowledge in practice.

6 need, aesthetic: harmony-order-beauty.
Visiting art exhibitions and museums develops in a person the harmony of beauty and inspiration about beauty.

Final thoughts. Examples

Maslow's pyramid has seven main steps. And according to scientist A. Maslow, the hierarchy of needs is not stable, as it seems at first. But the majority of humanity obeys the order of the pyramid of needs, depending on their abilities and motivation, as well as age.

People are divided into different categories, some will be able to neglect satisfying basic needs for the sake of their goal.

Examples:

  • First he wants to become a rich businessman, and then arrange his personal life in old age.
  • For others, the priority is power and its triumph.
  • Third category - enough respect and love in the family.
  • Fourth – glad to have a piece of bread and a bowl of soup.

Subjects learned to satisfy their desires in accordance with the necessary needs.

Maslow's pyramid is a seven-level ladder that presents a simplified version of the idea of ​​satisfying a human need and its successive steps.

Do you want to know what stage you are at? Find yourself on the steps of the pyramid; if you have not achieved your goal, rise higher by accepting the recommendations of the scientist.

Maslow’s pyramid of needs can be found in textbooks and read on websites. The pyramid reflects human needs. It brings benefits and teaches you to correctly accept desires and needs. The main thing depends on each person, on the purpose in life and the ability to think.

American psychologist of the 20th century, still have a huge weight in psychology, pedagogy, management, economics and its branches.

He is best known as the creator of the famous pyramid of needs, each step of which represents a specific group of human needs.

In the extended version of Maslow's pyramid - 7 levels, and in the basic one - 5 levels. There are also developments by other specialists based on Maslow’s ideas, for example the Henderson model, which includes 14 needs. A breakdown of the levels will be presented below.

Maslow's theory - in brief

What is a pyramid in Maslow's theorem?

Psychologists and psychotherapists of the early and mid-20th century focused primarily on study of abnormalities, and areas related to the study of mentally healthy people, their needs, difficulties, and developmental characteristics have not been studied so actively.

Abraham Maslow (pictured) was one of those researchers who worked in the field of studying mental norms and everything connected with it.

Abraham was born into a family of Jewish immigrants in 1908, and his childhood was difficult: He was an outcast among his peers because of his pronounced Jewish features in his appearance and spent most of his free time reading books.

The thirst for knowledge helped Abraham in many ways: he became one of the most outstanding students at school, and then entered law college. But he was not destined to become a lawyer: realizing his love for psychology, he changed educational institutions.

Abraham was initially attracted to ideas, but later became interested in other approaches and founded humanistic psychology.

The first concept of human needs was outlined by Abraham Maslow in the early 40s of the 20th century, but later he returned to it and improved it.

Initially, when describing human needs, the American sociologist Maslow identified a number of the most essential and sorted them into levels (see picture), depending on the degree of importance for a comfortable existence.

If a person does not properly satisfy the “lower” needs, he will not be able to fully satisfy the “higher” ones and, in principle, may not feel that this needs to be done. It's hard to have the need to enjoy beautiful pictures if you're constantly hungry.

Later, as it was refined, the concept became more advanced and received two additional levels of higher needs.

Classification of needs

Table with classification of needs according to Maslow (7 levels):

Levels Description Examples of needs related to each level
First Physiological (vital) needs: those that must be satisfied for the continuation of life.
  • Breath: need for clean air.
  • Food, and one that will fully satisfy a person’s need for calories, nutrients and allow him to engage in his usual activities.
  • Selection: urination, defecation are necessary to remove unnecessary and toxic substances from the body.
  • Dream: Every adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep per day. Rest is also necessary.
  • Realization of sexual desire, which is closely related to natural hormonal activity.
Second Need for security, material needs.
  • Hygiene: the opportunity to be clean, tidy.
  • Need for clothes: Wearing seasonal clothing helps maintain normal body temperature and protect health.
  • Maintaining Health: the ability to see a doctor, take sick leave, buy medicine, and so on.
  • Ability to avoid stressful situations and various dangers, ranging from global to moderate. Most people strive to live a calm and safe life.
  • The need to have a roof over your head.
  • The need to be confident in one's own future: for example, the need to receive a sufficient pension in old age.
Third Social needs, the desire to feel community.
  • Family, love, friendship. The ability to have loved ones and communicate freely with them, receive their support, and feel loved is very important.
  • The need to be accepted. People who are not accepted by their microsociety feel unhappy.
Fourth Need for respect, in recognition of one's own achievements, the desire for prestige.
  • Own importance. It is important for a person to feel like a full-fledged member of society, one who has been able to achieve success.
Fifth The need for self-development, for knowledge. First stage spiritual needs.
  • The ability to understand the meaning of life, find new meanings in times of crisis.
  • Cognition and self-development(physical development, moral, intellectual).
Sixth Aesthetic needs. Second stage spiritual needs.
  • The need to find harmony, beauty in the world, have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature and works of art.
  • The opportunity to create something beautiful on one's own.
Seventh The need for self-actualization. The highest need also applies to spiritual.
  • Achieve your life goals and realize your full potential. Maslow believed that no more than 2% of people reach this level of needs.

These levels are precisely the ladder or needs diagram with which most people associate Abraham Maslow. Originally it only had the first five levels, but after modification there were seven of them.

At the same time, the five-level pyramid is still actively used, since not a very large number of people reach the sixth and seventh levels.

Drawing of Maslow's hierarchical scale of needs - 7 levels:

In medicine and nursing, the following model is common, created by Virginia Henderson based on Maslow's needs and has 14 needs that must be satisfied in everyday life:

  1. The ability to breathe fully.
  2. Eat and drink enough.
  3. Defecate.
  4. The need to move, change position.
  5. Get enough sleep and rest regularly.
  6. Putting on and taking off clothes, being able to pick them up.
  7. Maintain body temperature.
  8. Keep your body clean.
  9. Maintain your own safety and not be a threat to others.
  10. Comfortable communication.
  11. Concerns religious people: observe the canons of religion, perform the necessary rituals.
  12. Have something you love and devote time to it regularly.
  13. Have fun.
  14. Satisfy cognitive needs.

This model is taken into account when working with patients, especially those who require care and support.

Primary and secondary

Primary Needs- a group of innate needs, the need to satisfy which in one form or another is present from the moment of birth.

The main support, a kind of foundation for all other needs, is physiological needs: those thanks to which a person has the opportunity to continue living. If you stop satisfying them, a person will die.

And their insufficient satisfaction leads to the emergence of somatic and mental disorders that can significantly reduce life expectancy and worsen its quality.

Also primary are the needs that are on the second stage of Maslow’s pyramid: the need for security, the desire to be sure that nothing bad will happen in the future. This group of needs is also called existential.

At the core secondary needs These are the needs that arise in a person under the influence of external factors. They are not innate.

The formation of secondary needs is influenced by:

Secondary needs include:

  1. : the desire to be accepted by society, to have close social ties, to love and be loved, to feel community, involvement in a common cause.
  2. Prestigious: the desire to succeed, to feel respect from others, to earn more, and so on.
  3. : the desire to know yourself and the world around you, to develop intellectually, physically, morally, to enjoy and create beauty, to achieve all your goals and to fully reveal your inner potential.

As a person develops, new secondary needs may arise.

Disturbed

- needs that a person is unable to satisfy for some reason.

Prolonged unmet needs can lead to serious mental health problems.

And if vital needs are not satisfied, then neither are the physical, up to death.

The topic of violated needs is most closely examined in the context of helping people with serious somatic illnesses who, for health reasons, cannot provide care for themselves.

This topic is included in the programs of medical and some pedagogical educational institutions and courses. for caregiver training.

The task of the person caring for the patient is to identify what needs he is unable to satisfy and help him: for example, ensure the cleanliness of the body, talk, read books out loud, help change position, feed, give medicine.

If the patient cannot properly explain what he needs to the person who will care for him, it is important to ask his relatives, read the recommendations of the attending physicians and the medical record, assess the situation in the house and the general condition of the patient.

Even relatively mobile older people cannot always fully satisfy their needs due to health problems.

Therefore, it is important that relatives are interested in their condition and helped as much as possible: installed handrails and non-slip coatings in the bathroom, brought shopping, talked, and went for a walk with them.

In some cases, a violation of needs is observed in people who do not have serious physical illnesses.

This often indicates that a person has mental illness, for example, in which there may be no strength to perform basic actions.

In such cases, it is important to contact a psychotherapist as soon as possible.

Timely satisfaction of needs will enable a person feel comfortable and enjoy life, therefore, it is important to take care of yourself and the people around you more often who find it difficult to meet their own needs on their own.

About Abraham Maslow's pyramid of needs in this video:


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Mankind knows many pyramids: the pyramids of Giza, the pyramids of Machu Picchu, the pyramids of Kukulkan and others. They are all phenomenal in their own way and all arouse great interest. But in addition to these unique architectural structures, there are also pyramids of a different kind, which, nevertheless, cause far from weak excitement around them. They can be called intelligent structures. And one of them is the pyramid of needs of Abraham Maslow, a famous American psychologist, the founder of humanistic psychology.

Maslow's pyramid

Maslow's pyramid is a special diagram in which all human needs are presented in a hierarchical order. However, none of the scientist’s publications contains any schematic images, because he was of the opinion that this order is dynamic in nature and can change depending on the personality characteristics of each individual person.

The first mentions of the pyramid of needs can be found in German-language literature of the 70s of the 20th century. They can still be found in many educational materials on psychology and marketing today. The needs model itself is actively used in economics and is of great importance for the theory and behavior of consumers.

It is also interesting that there is a widespread opinion that Maslow himself did not create the pyramid, but only identified general features in the formation of the needs of people who are successful in life and creative activity. And the pyramid was invented by his followers, who sought to clearly present the scientist’s ideas. We will talk about this hypothesis in the second half of the article. For now, let’s look at what Maslow’s pyramid is in detail.

According to the scientist's research, a person has five basic needs:

Physiological needs (first step of the pyramid)

Physiological needs are characteristic of absolutely all living organisms existing on our planet, and, accordingly, of every person. And if a person does not satisfy them, then he simply will not be able to exist, and also will not be able to fully develop. For example, if a person really wants to go to the toilet, he will probably not enthusiastically read a book or calmly walk through a beautiful area, enjoying the amazing scenery. Naturally, without satisfying physiological needs, a person will not be able to work normally, engage in business or any other activity. Such needs are breathing, nutrition, sleep, etc.

Security (second stage of the pyramid)

This group includes the needs for security and stability. To understand the essence, you can consider the example of babies - while still unconscious, they strive on a subconscious level, after satisfying their thirst and hunger, to be protected. And only a loving mother can give them this feeling. The situation is similar with adults, but in a different, milder form: for security reasons, they strive, for example, to insure their lives, install strong doors, put locks, etc.

Love and Belonging (Third Stage of the Pyramid)

We are talking about social needs here. They are reflected in such aspirations as making new acquaintances, finding friends and a life partner, and being involved in any group of people. A person needs to show and receive love towards himself. In a social environment, a person can feel useful and important. And this is what motivates people to satisfy social needs.

Recognition (fourth step of the pyramid)

After a person satisfies the need for love and belonging to society, the direct influence of others on him decreases, and the focus is on the desire to be respected, the desire for prestige and recognition of various manifestations of his individuality (talents, characteristics, skills, etc.) . And only in case of successful realization of his potential and after achieving recognition of people important to a person, he comes to self-confidence and his abilities.

Self-realization (fifth stage of the pyramid)

This stage is the last and it contains spiritual needs, expressed in the desire to develop as a person or a spiritual person, as well as to continue to realize one’s potential. As a result, creative activity, visiting cultural events, and the desire to develop one’s talents and abilities. In addition, a person who has managed to satisfy the needs of the previous stages and, having “climbed” to the fifth, begins to actively seek the meaning of life, study the world around him, and try to make his own contribution to it; he may begin to develop new views and beliefs.

This is a description of basic human needs. You can evaluate for yourself how true these descriptions are by simply trying to look at yourself and your life from the outside. Surely, you can find a lot of evidence of their relevance. But it should be said, among other things, that there are several controversial points in Maslow’s pyramid.

Authorship

Despite the fact that the authorship of the pyramid is officially attributed to Abraham Maslow, he has nothing to do with the version we have today. The fact is that in the form of a graph, the “Hierarchy of Needs” appeared in 1975 in the textbook of a certain W. Stopp, about whose personality there is practically no information, and Maslow died in 1970, and in his works, as already mentioned, there was not a single graphic arts.

A satisfied need ceases to motivate

The main question here is the relevance of needs for a person. For example, a self-sufficient person who is indifferent to communication does not need it and will not strive for it. Anyone who feels protected will not strive even more to protect themselves. Simply put, a satisfied need loses its relevance and moves to another level. And in order to determine current needs, it is enough just to identify unsatisfied ones.

Theory and practice

According to many modern psychologists, despite the fact that Maslow’s pyramid is a clearly structured model, it is quite difficult to apply it in practice, and the scheme itself can lead to completely incorrect generalizations. If we put all the statistics aside, a number of questions immediately arise. For example, how dark is the existence of a person who is not recognized in society? Or, should a person who is systematically malnourished be considered absolutely hopeless? After all, in history you can find hundreds of examples of how people achieved enormous results in life precisely because their needs remained unsatisfied. Take, for example, poverty or unrequited love.

According to some reports, Abraham Maslow subsequently abandoned the theory he put forward, and in his subsequent works (“Towards the Psychology of Being” (1962), “The Far Limits of Human Nature” (1971)), the concept of personal motivation was significantly refined. And the pyramid, which many specialists in the field of psychology and marketing are trying to find application for today, has generally lost all meaning.

Criticism

The main reason for criticizing Maslow's pyramid is its hierarchy, as well as the fact that needs cannot be completely satisfied. Some researchers interpret Maslow's theory in a generally unflattering way. According to their interpretation, the pyramid suggests that man is an animal that constantly needs something. And others say that Maslow's theory cannot be applied in practice when it comes to business, marketing and advertising.

However, the author did not adapt his theory to business or advertising, but only tried to answer questions in which, for example, behaviorism or Freudianism came to a dead end. Maslow simply sought to provide insight into human motivation, and his work is more philosophical than methodological.

Advantages and disadvantages

As is easy to see, the pyramid of needs is not just a classification of them, but reflects a certain hierarchy: instinctive needs, basic, sublime. Every person experiences all these desires, but the following pattern comes into force here: basic needs are considered dominant, and higher-order needs are activated only when the basic ones are satisfied. But it should be understood that needs can be expressed completely differently for each person. And this happens at any level of the pyramid. For this reason, a person must correctly understand his desires, learn to interpret them and adequately satisfy them, otherwise he will constantly be in a state of dissatisfaction and disappointment. By the way, Abraham Maslow took the position that only 2% of all people reach the fifth stage.

What are your true needs and motives? Find out on the course.