Definition of Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

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DEFINITION OF MASLOW HIERARCHY OF NEEDS Definition of Maslow hierarchy of needs Christopher Clark Everest online Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communications 233 Russell Luce October 19, 2012 Maslow hierarchy of needs Abraham Maslow proposed in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation”, and published it in 1954 in Motivation and Personality (New York: Harper and Row), a hierarchy of needs which he subsequently extended, to describe how people seek to satisfy their needs. According to Maslow, people have five levels of needs with the most basic need emerging first and the most sophisticated need last. People move up the hierarchy one level at a time. Gratified needs lose their strength and the next level of needs is activated. As basic or lower-level needs are satisfied, higher-level needs become operative. A satisfied need is not a motivator. The most powerful need is the one that has not been satisfied. Levels of needs Level I - Physiological needs are the most basic human needs. They include food, water, and comfort. Food satisfies hunger. Level II - Safety needs are the desires for security and stability, to feel safe from harm. Food that has been properly sealed and dated for freshness can satisfy safety needs. Level III - Social needs are the desires for affiliation. They include friendship and belonging. Eating with others can satisfy social needs. Level IV - Esteem needs are the desires for self-respect and respect or recognition from others. Eating “low fat” and “heart healthy” foods can satisfy esteem needs. Level V - Self-actualization needs are the desires for self-fulfillment and the realization of the individual's full potential. Preparing and cooking a gourmet meal can satisfy self-actualization needs. Looking at this list of needs gives you a better understanding of how the human mind works and its desire to be “Human”. I

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