Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

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Maslow’s Hierarchy is an expansion on William Shultz work on the needs of psychological human needs. According to Maslow, the requirements can be looked at as a pyramid of needs that must be met before a person can focus on more abstract needs. Maslow proposed that humans communicate to meet this range of needs. Communication serves to help a person move up the pyramid that human motivations generally proceed through, and it is highly unlikely to do so without the use of communication. He used the labels Physiological, Safety, Belongingness and Love, Esteem, and Self-Actualization requirements to define the pattern that human motivations and needs attempt to proceed though in the course of their lifetimes. Physical needs are the first needs to be met in Maslow’s theory. We use communication from infancy to acquire these needs. Babies cry when they are hungry or thirsty. That is their means of communication. Adults communicate their needs through conversation and other form of communication to obtain what they need to survive, such as food, water, sleep, and bodily functions. Studies have shown that communication not only helps obtain the physical things that we need, but it also keeps us physically healthier. These needs get met through communication as do most others (Wood, 2013). Once these basic human physical needs are met a person uses their commutation skills to meet the human need to be safety. When these physical needs are fulfilled, the individual's safety needs take over priority and dominate behavior. We use communication to meet the needs of shelter, personal security, and financial security. . This level is likely to be found in children due to the fact that they normally have a greater need to feel safe. Through communication we are able to meet these needs as well. When there is a major threat to safety then warnings are sent out through media and
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