The Maslow's pyramid Part of the psychological theory about human motivation proposed by Abraham Maslow.
It is a graphic representation that indicates that the actions that the people make are based on a last motivation, it is To try to meet a range of needs.
These human needs are in the form of a pyramid, they form a scale, so we start looking for the most basic or primary needs At the base of the pyramid).
As we reach them, our motivations are replaced by those immediately higher until we reach the need Last, that of the cusp of the pyramid.
Maslow's pyramid is important because it involves the introduction and change of vision within psychology and opening a gap between psychoanalysis and Behaviorism.
Who was Abraham Maslow?
Abraham Maslow Was one of the most influential American psychologists in the second half of the 20th century.
He is known for being one of the main representatives of the Humanistic psychology . In fact, it is considered by many as the founder of this current.
Maslow formulated a motivational theory in which he was interested in the psychological functioning of the individual and by the forces that impels the To carry out certain actions.
Maslow was a concerned author in discovering the personal development and the self-realization of the human being. It was important for him to find out what he was doing Human growth.
This author considered that all people have an innate desire to self-actualize. The RAE defines self-realization as the"achievement Satisfying personal aspirations by their own means."
Maslow considered that the human being moves to achieve this self-realization, in order to become who he wants to be.
However, he argued that to achieve this motivation, which is the last for the human being, the individual must meet other needs that are Find ahead as can be food, security or membership in a group.
If a person goes hungry, does not have a roof to sleep or a job that secures a salary, Maslow considers that he will take care of it first Rather than achieving personal fulfillment.
History of the Maslow Pyramid
In the late 1950s and early 1960s we found, on the one hand, Behavioral psychology .
This considered the human being as a passive subject, that is, the individual was like a machine responding to a stimulus.
On the other hand, we find psychoanalysis, which contemplated the human being as a defenseless being, determined by his unconscious conflicts.
It is then, in the context of these two predominant paradigms when what we call"the third force"or the current of psychology humanist.
Humanistic psychology aims to integrate the prevailing paradigms of the moment, psychoanalysis and behaviorism and thus, to be able to elaborate a psychology Systematic basis with empirical basis.
Maslow is considered by many as the founder of this current. It was precisely the positive aspects of humanity that awakened interest.
Humanistic psychology perceives the human being as an individual who is sensitive to the environment and although he is subject to certain conditions, he is an active subject In the construction of their knowledge and experience.
Maslow considers the person as an active being and involved a revolution in psychology not only because of the arrival of the third force, but also because Focuses on the psychopathological behaviors of the person as psychology had been doing so far.
The most important influences in Maslow's thinking are psychoanalysis, social anthropology , The Gestalt and the work of Goldstein.
He was concerned that the knowledge we had about human behavior and motivation came from psychopathology. However, for Maslow these patients did not reflect the motivations of the general population.
In this way, in his theory he succeeded in bringing together psychoanalysis, behaviorism and humanistic psychology. For him there is no approach superior to the rest, all Are relevant and necessary.
Maslow's Pyramid Theory
Within his motivational theory, Maslow proposed in 1943 the well-known"Maslow Hierarchy of Needs,"published in the article entitled "A Theory of Human Motivation".
Maslow postulates that human needs are organized hierarchically or pyramidal. So, the needs are satisfied progressively.
This means that the needs that are placed at the base of the pyramid would be priority with respect to those placed above.
When the needs of the base are covered, the human being would go on to search for satisfaction of the next pyramid estate.
That is, the satisfaction of the subordinate needs generates other higher needs in the human being, which does not arise to satisfy while Not covered immediately above.
Maslow's pyramid is divided into five levels or strata. These strata are hierarchically ordered according to the importance of the Needs to be covered.
This means that higher needs are subordinated to lower needs.
Thus, the different needs that Maslow proposes are: the physiological needs, security, love, recognition and self-realization.
Several studies have been carried out from the Maslow Pyramid. It has been applied to the world of organizations, for example.
Another study attempted to relate the different needs of Maslow to the happiness of human beings, concluding that there was a correlation Between the pyramid and happiness.
Characteristics of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
To understand the theory proposed by Maslow we must take into account a series of budgets that have to occur:
A) Only when a level has been adequately satisfied, the next higher level can take place.
If a motivation or need is not met, human behavior tends to satisfy it. As long as it does not, the human being will not go into motivation And therefore can not be developed.
B) Therefore, not all people will be in the same place of the pyramid. Depending on personal circumstances, each person will be placed At one point in the pyramid.
C) Not all people will reach the last link or cusp of the pyramid, to self-realization. Some people may worry about achieving Satisfy it while many other people will find their whole life at lower levels.
D) The pyramid is a hierarchy, as we have said. When some are satisfied, the following begin.
However, if at any given moment and being in a higher link one of the lower links is no longer satisfied, there is tension in the organism.
This unmet need is the one that will take control of the person, his motivation and will dominate to organize and mobilize the organization to Satisfy it.
E) The frustration to satisfy different needs carries a threat to the organism and these are the ones that produce a reaction of alarm In the organism and mobilize it.
Types of needs
1. Physiological needs
Those that are at the base of the pyramid. They are those that refer to satisfy the minimum conditions that allow the human being to be able to function.
It is everything that concerns food, thirst, breathing, rest, sex, shelter and homeostasis (body balance, the effort that the Body automatically to maintain a constancy and a normal state).
If a person does not perceive that these needs are covered, he would feel no impulse to achieve the immediately superior needs, since his Motivation would cover the physiological ones.
They are needs that are born with the person, while all the following are emerging throughout life.
We can locate them in some specific places of the human body and they press because they have a character of repetition. Most of them can Be satisfied with the money.
These needs are the most basic, the most powerful and the least meaningful for the person in search of self-realization.
2. The security needs
It is the needs that refer to the tendency to feel that we are safe, that we move in a stable environment, that we can organize and Structure our environment. The human does not like living in an uncertain environment.
They make reference to the necessities that allow to maintain an order and a vital security. Here security becomes the force that dominates the personality.
The human being has the need for safety, but only if he has previously met the physiological needs. We find the need for stability, Order, protection and dependence.
Many times the human being shows the need for security through fear of different things. The person is afraid of uncertainty, the Confusion, to what he does not know. And all this reflects the fear of lack of security.
Within these needs we could find the concern to save, to buy goods, to have a predictable future, that there is no risk for the Personal or family integrity.
Many people come only up to this level.
3. The needs of love, affiliation or social
The human being is a social animal. Therefore, once the needs mentioned above have been met, the need to belong to a group.
The human being needs to feel that he / she is part of a given organization, but these needs are"less basic"or"more complex"than Mentioned above.
This need is subordinated to the satisfaction of physiological and safety needs.
Within the need for affiliation we find affection, love, belonging to a group, rooted to a land and thus stop Feel alone
We could find examples in the fact that f Forming a family, having a group of friends, being part of social groups, group of neighbors, having children, etc.
It should also be noted that the individualism of this society and the competitiveness that characterizes it would go against this need.
4. The need for recognition or esteem
Every human being needs to have an appreciation of himself, a need for self esteem Or recognition.
These needs are associated with the psychological constitution of the human being himself.
This self-esteem is partly built on the esteem of others. The human being needs to recognize himself, to have self-esteem, to feel safe and valid within society.
If the person fails to meet this need often feelings of unhappiness arise, low self-esteem, people are considered inferior to others.
Within the need for esteem, Maslow distinguishes between:
to) Lower need for esteem : It is a lower need, which includes the respect of others to oneself, dignity, attention of others, Maintain reputation, have fame, status.
B) Higher need for esteem : Includes self-respect towards oneself, including one's own competence, achievement, being independent, having Self-confidence and being free.
5. The need for self-realization
This need is at the top of the pyramid proposed by Maslow. They are metanities. They are higher or more subjective needs.
In the process of human development there is a tendency to fulfill the desire to become more and more human.
They are difficult to describe but include the satisfaction of one's individuality in all aspects.
It means developing one's own internal and unique needs. This involves developing spiritually, achieving moral development, Find the meaning of one's life, to be altruistic .
Individuals seeking self-realization must be free to be themselves. It includes the need to satisfy our personal, Develop our potential, do what we show higher skills, expand metamotives (search for justice, produce order, beauty...).
This ultimate desire or aspiration will be different depending on each individual, since each person will feel self-realized from Situations or experiences that do not have to coincide with those of another person.
For example, one of the aspirations that an individual can have and make him feel self-realized may be to become a leader of his own Company, while for another person it may be to form a family.
Within the need for development or self-realization, it is a necessary condition that the human being has satisfied all of the above. Nevertheless, This does not guarantee in any way that the person can achieve self-realization.
As we have already said, the need for self-realization depends on each person. It is unique, personal and changing according to the person. They relate to the Growth potential of each person.
Within these needs we also find that of transcendence, which refer to the community and the contribution to humanity, going further than Own person. It would be altruism, a motivation that we might consider even superior to self-realization.
Self-realization is dynamic and involves the use of capabilities in a creative and full way. These people tend to be clearer, more objective and They are so emotional. They are dedicated to a vocation or cause and are usually committed to something beyond oneself.
As regards needs, Maslow classified them in two ways:
to) Deficit or basic needs
The basic needs are those that refer to the individual's physiology to safety and to the sense of belonging or affiliation.
They are also called primordial needs, are those located in the lower part of the pyramid.
B) Growth or secondary needs
Also called higher or development needs, those that are more complex and are located at the top of the pyramid.
They are different needs because those of the first group refer to a lack that the human being tries to compensate or to supplement, while those of the Second group, that of self-realization, refers to achieving personal development.
Failure to meet basic needs leads to the individual seeking to cover them because it generates unpleasant consequences. Without However, higher needs do not imply a deficit, they imply the search for growth and a desire for personal fulfillment.
In addition, Maslow states that the hierarchy of needs ordered in two blocks presents a growing and cumulative sequence that goes from the Objective, even the most subjective.
Criticisms of Maslow's theory
Maslow's Pyramid theory has also received criticism. Authors like Wahba and Bridwell (1976) reviewed in a publication the theory of the Hierarchy of needs.
The criticisms were directed precisely to the order of the hierarchy, since it is a central aspect in the theory that it is necessary to cover Needs to be able to develop the following.
However, these authors (and others who have questioned it as well) consider that a pyramid-shaped order is not necessary in order to satisfy Needs and that an individual could try to meet different needs at the same time.
Other authors consider that the pyramid is not invariable and that it depends on the culture to position some needs or others in the order of the hierarchy.
Characteristics of self-realized people
From the studies carried out with the theory of motivation and the hierarchy of needs in search of self-realization as a necessity Maslow established a series of characteristics presented by self-realized persons.
The central concept of his theory is self-realization. He defines it as"the realization of the potentialities of the person, to become fully Human, to become all that the person can be, contemplates the achievement of a full identity and individuality"(Maslow, 1968).
These are 16 traits that would show these people (few are able to reach it):
1. Being realistic about life and an effective perception of reality
2. Accept, accept others and the world around them, that is, show respect for them, others and nature
3. They are spontaneous, simple and natural
4. Problems arise that go beyond their immediate needs
5. Need for privacy but also for loneliness
6. They are independent, autonomous
7. Deep and non-stereotyped vision of the world
8. They can live spiritual experiences
9. Have deep and intimate relationships with others
10. They identify with humanity
11. They are creative people
12. Maintain democratic attitudes and values
13. Do not confuse means with ends
14. Sense of humor without cruelty
15. They are socially nonconformists
16. Need for transcendence, that is, to contribute to humanity
Maslow does not explain in his theory the depth of transcendence, since few people manage to reach it.
For Maslow to meet these needs and all the motivations that surround them is the impulse that leads people to develop in the different Areas of life and to develop their personality.
When a person fails to satisfy them, they are dissatisfied because they produce frustrating and selfish feelings. The person stagnates in the Stage that fails to satisfy.
The ideal is to achieve self-realization, the apex of the pyramid that allows the person to develop and deploy their full potential. However, very Few succeed.
What do you think of human needs? Do you think the pyramid of Maslow is real?
References
- Camacho, J.C. (2016). The neuromarketing and its relationship with the hierarchy of needs of Abraham Maslow. Academic journal: contributions to the economy.
- [Links] [Article in Spanish] Elizalde A., Martí, M., Martínez, F. (2006). A critical review of the debate on human needs from the Person-Centered Approach. Polis, 5, 15.
- Mayor, L., Tortosa, F. (2006). Third force: humanistic psychology. In Tortosa, F. Y Civera, C. History of psychology, 419-429. McGraw Hill.
- Vázquez Muñoz, M. P., Valbuena de la Fuente, F. Abraham Maslow's needs pyramid. Faculty of Information Sciences, Universidad Complutense de Madrid.