Maslow’s Pyramid – the hierarchy of human needs. What’s inside Maslow’s pyramid?

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Abraham Maslow is an American psychologist who in 1943 announced the so-called hierarchy of needs, the implementation of which motivates a person to act and develop. He presented them in the form of a pyramid (similar to a food pyramid), hence his theory is called the Maslow pyramid. What does she look like?

Maslow’s Pyramid – what is it?

The Maslow’s pyramid of needs (otherwise known as the hierarchy of needs, the pyramid of needs) is a classification of human needs developed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow, which is an inspiration for many researchers and is the best known theory regarding the issue of needs and motivations driving human behavior.

Abraham Maslow concluded that there are five kinds of needs (physiological, security, belonging and love, recognition and self-actualization), each with its own hierarchy. Interestingly, it should be noted that in the basic books of Abraham Maslow this hierarchy is not presented graphically.

The fulfillment of the needs from each subsequent level of the hierarchy (levels of the pyramid) is possible, but only after satisfying the needs from the lower level. Additionally, if one of the stronger needs is threatened, a person will try hard to fight for its satisfaction.

If, on the other hand, we lose any of the lower needs, then we will not be so anxious to satisfy the higher needs, e.g. when we starve, the recognition of others is not important to us. Then, when the satisfied need no longer motivates us, so when we satisfy one need, we become aware of the existence of new ones that start to motivate us.

Human functioning and its development are the realization of the next levels of the “pyramid” of needs. The researcher further divided the needs into two groups: the needs of shortage and growth. Growth needs do not arise in sick individuals because one or more scarcity needs are unmet.

Maslow’s Pyramid – the concept of a need

According to Maslow, a need is a biological or mental state of a person that directly influences the motivational processes that direct their behavior towards a specific goal, which is satisfying this need. Motivational processes result from tension most often associated with the lack of something (e.g. food, drink, etc.). Man evaluates this state of tension negatively, which causes him to strive to reduce it (reduce the lack, satisfy the need).

We can then divide the needs into lower and higher-order needs. Lower-order needs should be met first, as they are important for human biological survival. Higher needs are of less importance for biological survival. Their satisfaction may be delayed or even not occur at all. Moreover, they may be difficult to recognize. Satisfying higher needs leads to greater biological efficiency, longevity, fewer diseases and greater appetite.

Maslow’s Pyramid – the question of motivation

Human needs, as the basic factor motivating to action, are an important factor in influencing employees by people managing organizations. According to Maslow, the hierarchy of needs is closely related to managing people and motivating them. The employer should enable employees to meet their basic needs. Satisfied lower needs allow employees to set larger and more ambitious goals for themselves. The worker will not be able to work efficiently without properly satisfying his physiological needs.

The need for security can be satisfied through employment stability or pension programs. The need to belong is related to the involvement in the life of the organization, being a team member or contacts with colleagues. An employer can fulfill the need for recognition by giving bonuses to his employees. Self-fulfillment motivates employees to achieve more and more ambitious goals.

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Basic level – physiological needs

Physiological needs, such as hunger, thirst and sleep, are among the basic needs to be met in order to survive. Must be met first. Only then does man fulfill the needs of a higher order.

Maslow listed sex as essential to the preservation of the species as one of the basic needs (some people classify this as a higher, third-order need for love).

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Level two – security needs

The second level in the hierarchy of needs is the need for security. It is about factors such as:

1. physical security (no wars, cataclysms, domestic violence, etc.),
2. economic security (work, regular income for subsistence, insurance, etc.),
3. health and well-being (access to health care and medicines),
4. protection against accidents and diseases and their consequences (safety at home, on the street, at work, insurance).

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Level three – the need for love and belonging

This need must be realized from the earliest childhood. It also satisfies the need for security. Man needs positive contacts with other people, creates family and friendly relationships, has a need for acceptance in the environments in which he functions.

Love (taking and giving) makes him happy, loneliness is the inability to fulfill this need. A person functions well in a group (family, friends, colleagues, sports clubs, organizations, etc.).

Level four – the need for respect

The need for respect is realized in two ways:

1. self-respect, what is associated with self-esteem and its consequences: self-control, independence, freedom,
2. the need for recognition, attention from others, prestige, reward, promotion.

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The highest level – the need for self-realization

It is a desire to achieve everything that is possible for a given person. It is about making your dreams come true, implementing your plans, improving yourself in the chosen field and achieving your goals. For example, for some people it is fulfillment in parenthood, for others – success in sports, in artistic or professional work.

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What is the Maslow pyramid for?

According to the researchers, Maslow’s pyramid of needs is relative. It depends on the circumstances (e.g. a situation of war or peace) and age. For children, the most important are physiological needs, for adolescents – the need for respect, for adults in their prime – the need for self-fulfillment, for the elderly – the need for safety.

The Maslow pyramid explains the mechanism of human motivation: his activity is directed at satisfying subsequent needs. It is used in the education of children and adolescents, in motivating employees to achieve the goals intended by the employer, even in healthcare.

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Maslow’s pyramid — disputes about the theory

There has been a lot of controversy around Maslow’s theory of needs – as with many other theories. They even concern the issue of presenting Maslow’s assumptions – it turns out that the scientist himself described only his models, and the graphic form of presenting a set of human needs (the one in the form of a pyramid) was developed and proposed by completely different people.

There are also different opinions as to how many levels should really be specified in the hierarchy of needs. The most popular version of Maslow’s pyramid (this version is described in the text) distinguishes 5 floors of the pyramid. However, as some researchers point out, this is not the only functioning version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. You can come across its 7- or even 8-stage version.

Modifications to the pyramid were to be made in the 60s and 70s, but there are also some controversies with them. Even today it is not known who the author was these modifications. Was it Maslow himself, or were it different people after all. Doubts arise, for example, from the fact that one can come across information that was supposed to come from Abraham Maslow and which dates back to the 80s. The problem is Maslow died in 1970.

Returning to the multi-stage versions of the pyramid, the additional floors would be:

1. cognitive needs: sixth floor, understood as the need to gain knowledge and understand the world more deeply, seek new solutions or satisfy one’s curiosity;
2. aesthetic needs: the seventh floor, the needs related to the search for beauty and perfection in the world around us;
3. the need for transcendence: the eighth, top floor of the pyramid, understood as the need to experience immaterial experiences, such as contact with God, or experiencing deep sensations related to nature or sexual activity.

To sum up this whole story, there are at least a few versions of Maslow’s pyramid, and it is impossible to clearly indicate the only one that would be certainly true.

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Maslow’s Pyramid – criticism

In principle, the validity of the theories put forward by Abraham Maslow can be easily ascertained by looking at how we function ourselves – after all, when we are sleepy or hungry, we typically think about sleep or a meal, and we do not think about respect or some more sophisticated pastimes. It is hardly surprising, however, that there have been (or in fact still do) voices of criticism towards the hierarchy of human needs presented by the American psychologist.

Criticism of Maslow’s pyramid centered primarily on the fact that it really was The classification of needs for all societies functioning on our planet should not be standardized. Maslow based his observations on the research of a fairly narrow group of patients, and in fact, the values ​​and needs that were the most important for the studied group of people, could turn out to be completely different if the analyzes were performed in a different group.