MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
There are five levels set up in a hierarchy of basic needs. Higher levels of needs exist beyond these needs . The needs for understanding, aesthetic appreciation and purely spiritual needs. The person does not feel the second need until the demands of the first have been satisfied in the levels of the five basic needs, nor the third until the second has been satisfied, and so on. Maslow’s basic needs are as follows:
Physiological Needs:These are biological needs. They consist of needs for oxygen, food,
water, and a relatively constant body temperature. They are the strongest needs
because if a person were deprived of all needs, the physiological ones would
come first in the person’s search for satisfaction.
Safety Needs:When
all physiological needs are satisfied and are no longer controlling thoughts
and behaviour, the needs for security can become active. Adults have little
awareness of their security needs except in times of emergency or periods of
disorganisation in the social structure (such as widespread rioting). Children
often display the signs of insecurity and the need to be safe.
Needs of Love, Affection and Belongingness:When the needs for safety and for
physiological well-being are satisfied, the next class of needs for love,
affection and belongingness can emerge. Maslow states that people seek to
overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation. This involves both giving and
receiving love, affection and the sense of belonging.
Needs for Esteem:When the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the needs
for esteem can become dominant. These involve needs for both self-esteem and
for the esteem a person gets from others. Humans have a need for a stable,
firmly based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these
needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident and valuable as a person
in the world. When these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak,
helpless and worthless.
Needs for Self-Actualisation
