Maslow's Hierarchy of NeedsMaslow's Hierarchy of Needs is an important psychological theory orginated by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow. Ref: A Theory of Human Motivation (1943) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs 1 Self Actualization Needs 2 Esteem Needs 3 Love and Belongingness Needs 4 Safety Needs 5 Physiological Needs B Values In general, values reflect one's judgment and helps sort out what is important in life. Maslow described what he considered important values that defined one's Being. These important values were termed "B Values." Those who were self actualized tended to incorporate more B Values than those at lower levels. The B Values include:
History Maslow helped to move psychology from spinal reflex theory of Sechenov (1863) and Pavlov (1927) and also from the non-introspective thinking of behaviorism originated by Watson (1913) and amplified by Skinner (1948). Maslow changed psychology forever by elevating psychology to a new and far deeper understanding of what is means to be human. Instead of trying to make sense of the insanity of broken minds, he explored the sanity that made people exemplary. For example, he explored what Albert Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt had in common. Instead of visiting the auto junk yard, he visited the auto show room! One of the results from Maslow studies was that there were layers of needs. If basic needs are not met, then there is a tendency to ignore higher needs. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is often portrayed as a pyramid.
My Own Ideas -Adding Spiritual Needs Spiritual Needs - They Need to be Included Too I am sure that Maslow would not like it, but I had to make one more layer. I feel that there is something profoundly missing from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Many of us feel a strong spiritual need deep in our hearts. For me, it is the most important need, so I put it on top of all the others. Yet putting it at the top, it seems to imply that a person has to move through all the other needs to get to it. But this is not my point. I know when the chips are down, and one is worried about safety or illness, the spiritual needs are often the most intense. So I could have placed the Spirtital Needs layer behind all the needs, or perhaps as a circle surrounding the whole pyramid. But I put it on top to signify that it is a reference for all the other needs. Let me explain. In science, to take a measurement you must start with a reference point. You must measure with a calibrated instrument. You must be careful and double check and then have others replicate. Science has to be very honest for it to work. Our brains, our minds, our souls must have a reference also. The brain could be visualized as huge hierarchy of computers. As in any computer system, a group of computers needs its own operating system. They need a core or a reference point. The application programs cannot change this core. In this analogy, we are the application programs, and we cannot change the reference (goodness) beyond us. Goodness So what is goodness? Maslow created a list of Being Values (B-Values) that help define goodness. These values are the values that Maslow found that the best people had more or less in common. Some of the B-values include: love, direction, wholeness, integration, the need to finish and to have a true destiny point. Without goodness, we don't have a clue, we are just dust in the wind, making choices without priority. Without reference, different parts of the mind will fight for their limited desires, and this leads to a divided mind and potentially to internal wars within the mind. Maslow's Levels Detailed Self Actualization -Fulfillment Needs This is the rare level where people have need of purpose, personal growth and realization of their potentials. This is the point where people start to become fully functional, acting purely on their own volition and having a healthy personality. Ego -Self Esteem Needs We need to believe in ourselves and have healthy pride. At th is level we need self-respect, and respect from others. Social - Love and Belongingness Needs At this level the needs of love from family and friends are important. Security - Safety Needs Here we might include living in a safe area away from threats. This level is more likely to be found in children as they have a greater need to feel safe. Body -Physiological Needs On this level are the very basic needs for air, warmth, food, sleep, stimulation and activity. People can die due to lack of biological needs and equilibrium (homeostasis). Self Actualization Self-Actualization is described by Maslow as an ongoing process involved in a cause outside their own skin. People on this need level, work at something very precious. This is a vocation or a calling in the old priestly sense. These people are very fine, healthy, strong, sagacious (that is, very smart) and creative. Self Actualization was actually created by Kurt Goldstein in 1940 and later widely used by Carl Rogers. Self actualization is defined as a basic force which drives the person forward and onwards. B and D Needs Maslow also called self actualization need growth motivation or being needs (B-Needs) in contrast to deficit motivation (D-Needs). Maslow suggested that only two percent of the people in the world achieve self actualization. Maslow gave examples of people who met this criteria using biographical analysis. People who met this standard of self actualization included: Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Adams, William James, Albert Schweitzer, Benedict Spinoza, and Alduous Huxley Self actualized people were reality and problem centered, and could distinguished what was fake and dishonest from what genuine. They realized that the means and ends are different, and thus the end did not always justify the means. They enjoyed being by themselves, and having deeper relationships with a few people instead of more shallow relations with many people. These people tended to be autonomous, relatively free from physical and social needs. They had a sense of what was true beyond their culture, and were highly resistant to enculturalization and thus enjoyed being themselves and did not worried about fitting in. Their humor was never a threat, and they often were the brunt of their own jokes. They tended to be spontaneous and simple in their nonconformity while also having a certain humility and respect for others. They had freshness, a creative spirit and were original in the thinking. These people had experiences of being moved by forces larger than themselves to enjoin peak experiences. In reality, these people were not perfect. Indeed they suffered from what ordinary people do. Their anxiety and guilt was about real things, and their moments of coldness were brief and often somewhat justified. Others saw them as natural, and flowing with life. They appeared to rise above distinctions such as the spiritual and physical and were indifferent to what others perceived as masculine or feminine. Teaching Methods Maslow had comments on teaching children which included:
On June 8, 1970, A.H. Maslow suffered a heart attack and passed away. Copyright © 2006 - 2008 by George Norwood Acknowledgments Maslow, A. H. The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. New York: Esalen Books. Viking Press (1971) Maslow, Abraham H. Toward a Psychology of Being, New York: D. Van Nostrand Company (1968) |
