Needs at the bottom of the pyramid are basic physical requirements including the need for food, water, sleep and warmth. Once these lower-level needs have been met, people can move on to the next level of needs, which are for safety and security. As people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social. Soon, the need for love, friendship and intimacy become important. Further up the pyramid, the need for personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment take priority.
Description Maslow's hierarchy specifies the following levels: Physiological needs: These are the basic requirements for human physical survival. They include such essentials as food, water, shelter, oxygen, and sleep. When these needs are unmet, human beings will focus on satisfying them and will ignore higher needs. Safety needs: Once the individual's basic physical needs are met, his or her needs for safety emerge. These include needs for a sense of security and predictability in the world.
Abraham Maslow and His Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow can be said to have created a psychology that is the basis of Western philosophical thought. Its core is that of human equality which crosses geographic, racial, gender, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds. This Humanistic approach is the backbone of his theory of motivation which is given to us as the Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow expresses through this theory that unfulfilled lower needs, such as our basic biological needs of food, shelter, sleep, and sex, dominate one's thinking, actions, and being until they are satisfied (Zalenski, Raspa 2006). When these basic physiological needs are met people move onto the next level which is Safety.
Physical Needs include the needs we have for oxygen, water, protein, salt, sugar, calcium, and other minerals and vitamins. They also include the need to maintain a pH balance and temperature. In addition, there are the needs to be active, to rest, to sleep, to get rid of wastes, to avoid pain, and to have sex. The second level is Safety Needs. When the physical needs are taken care of, these second layers of needs comes into play.
Humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow once wrote: “any theory of motivation that is worthy of attention must deal with the highest capacities of the healthy and strong person as well as with the defensive maneuvers of crippled spirits” (qtd. in Myers 565). Maslow definitely took both of these things into account when he created the hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy of needs, normally drawn out in the shape of a pyramid, starts with primitive needs, such as hunger and safety, and then continues on until we finally focus on trying to achieve ‘self-actualization’ and ‘self-transcendence’ needs. Maslow proposed that after one’s basic physical, psychological and self-esteem needs are met, a person strives for self-actualization, fulfilling our potential, and self-transcendence, where we need to find identity beyond our self (Myers 565).
Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc. 2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc. 3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.
Safety Needs These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment. 5. Physiological Needs These include the most basic needs vital to survival, such as the need for water, air, food, and sleep.
We satisfy these needs to avoid unpleasant feelings or consequences. Once we satisfy our basic needs, we can move on to our next level of needs, which are for safety and security. When our basic needs have been met, our needs become more psychological and social. The need for love, friendship, and intimacy will soon become very important to us. The need for personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment start to have a higher priority.
Security needs are important for survival, but they do not take precedence over the physiological needs. The third level of the hierarchy is belongingness and love needs. Simply put, this is the social needs level, which includes friendship, family, and sexual intimacy. This level concerns our sense of belonging, feeling accepted, and the need to be loved, feeling human contact and connection in the social sense as well as relationship wise. If we do not belong to someone (relationship) or something (group setting), for
The next level is known as security. This is the need of being secure, of being safe. “These needs can be satisfied by living in a safe area, medical insurance, job security, financial services.” (NetMBA, 2007) The two levels mentioned above are often classified as lower-order needs, while the remaining three are classified as higher-order needs. The third level is known as the belongingness level. People need to overcome feelings of loneliness.