The Different Common Levels In The Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs (Essay Sample)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Introduction The needs of different individuals vary depending on their level within the society. These needs vary in complexity with some seeking the most basic of these needs such as food and security while others need a higher level of needs such as the need for affection and intimacy. Whichever the case, it is clear that each human being strives to satisfy their needs. When a particular person is not able to satisfy their need, then they feel deprived and sad. So as to understand the way that people classify their needs, it is crucial to understand how people classify needs. One of the methods of classifying these needs is through the hierarchy of needs by Abraham Maslow. In this hierarchy, individuals seek to satisfy the primary needs first before satisfying the rest of the needs. Maslow’s hierarchy presents a unique way of defining individuals’ move to satisfy their needs and wants. This classification pyramid consists of needs divided into three main sections: the basic needs, the psychological needs, and the self-fulfillment needs. It is critical to evaluate Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to outline how different individuals in their lives have different needs within the hierarchy. Abraham Maslow is one of the American psychologists that continue to have an influence in the world today through his theory of human motivation. This concept was first introduced in 1943 in the paper ‘A Theory for Human Motivation’ followed by the book ‘Motivation and Personality’ (Hoffman, 2008). Maslow tried to explain how different people have urges to satisfy different needs. This is what led to the development of the needs hierarchy. Human motivation defines the internal process that drives individuals to achieve the various goals that they have (Kaur, 2013). Different theories have been used to explain human motivation including Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The needs begin with the basic needs classification that defines the physiological needs and the safety needs (Taormina & Gao, 2013). The next category is the psychological needs that define the needs brought about by the sense of belonging and the esteem needs. The last classification is the self-fulfillment needs that defines one achieving their fullest potential. Abraham Maslow in his theory believes that all individuals strive to reach self-actualization which is the fullest potential that an individual can reach. The needs at the bottom of the pyramid should be fulfilled for an individual to fulfill those up the pyramid. Deficiency versus growth Needs A broader classification for Maslow’s pyramid is the deficiency needs and the growth needs. The first four levels from the bottom of the pyramid are known as deficiency needs while the last tier is known as the growing need. Deficiency needs come about as a result of the lack, or deprivation. These needs motivate individuals to get in the case that they are not met. For deficiency needs, the motivation of people to fulfill them becomes stronger when such needs continue to be denied. Take an example of an individual who does not have any food. In such a case, the individual becomes hungrier the longer the period that they go without having food. The same case applies to individuals who do not have clothes to provide them with warmth. The more that they go without clothes, the more they feel cold. Maslow first stated that people must strive to satisfy the bottom level deficiency needs before striving to achieve the top tier higher level needs. However, he made clarifications that the fulfillment for the low-level needs did not have to be done 100% for such individuals to seek to fulfill the rest of the levels. What this means is that one does not need to completely fulfill each of the tiers before moving to fulfill the next one. When one of the deficiencies has been fulfilled to some extent, one’s activities becomes tuned towards achieving the other tier need. Growth continues being felt as the needs continue being fulfilled and the need to fulfill them becomes stronger once the initial stage of satisfaction begins. The satisfaction of the growth needs is different from that of the deficiency needs. When it comes to the deficiency needs, the motivation to fulfill the needs decreases once one begins satisfying the needs. On the other hand, when it comes to the growing needs, the motivation to satisfy the needs increases as one begins satisfying the needs. This is what defines the growth needs as they stem from a desire to grow as an individual, as opposed to not having something. The moment that the growth needs have been satisfied to a reasonable extent, then an individual can be said to have reached self-actualization. All people have the desire to reach self-actualization. However not all people get to reach this stage due to disruptions felt in fulfilling the deficiency needs. Experiences and hurdles in life may ensure that individuals do not reach the growth stage. As such, some individuals move between the tiers in the deficiency needs stage. Five-stage Hierarchy of Needs The hierarchy of needs can be used to understand the hierarchy of needs in different individuals. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provides a five-stage model that can be observed in a pyramid. At the bottom of the hierarchy are the primary needs that a person requires to survive (Bouzenita & Boulanouar, 2016). Each need must be satisfied starting with the basic ones. The needs that are at a higher level in the should be satisfied after the primary needs are satisfied. The physiological needs sit at the bottom of Abraham’s hierarchy of needs. Abraham Maslow describes these needs as those that serve as the rest of the needs. These needs are crucial for the survival of individuals (Jerome, 2013). Such needs are those related to food, breathing, sleep, clothing, water, and shelter. If these needs are not fulfilled, then it becomes difficult or close to impossible for individuals lacking them to survive. This is due to the failure of the body to function properly thus eventually leading to the failure of the functioning of the body. Meeting the physiological needs ensures that the rest of the needs of the pyramid are met. Maslow also included sex as a physiological need since sex is essential for the propagation of the species. Understanding the need-drive-behavior sequence helps to get how the satisfaction of the needs is done. First, physiological deprivation starts to develop. It is during this step that an individual begins feeling the slightest urge to satisfy the need. The next step involves having prolonged deprivation that leads to the body willingness to satisfy the need. This willingness is what leads to the goal-directed behavior aimed at fulfilling the physiological need. It is here that individuals begin their consumption and the drive is reduced. All said individuals have been observed to fail in self-regulating when it comes to physiological needs for several reasons. One of these reasons is the fact that individuals underestimate the motivational force brought about by the biological urges when they are not experiencing these urges. Moreover, people can lack the standards for self-regulation. Lastly, people do not monitor what they are doing as a result of distractions or being overwhelmed. From the above description, physiological needs can be observed to be critical for the survival of individuals thus should be fulfilled satisfactorily to ensure that a foundation for the fulfillment of the other needs is laid. Next in line are the safety needs. Abraham Maslow describes safety needs as the needs that an individual requires feeling safe within a society. These needs include the security of an individual in whichever way including physical security, financial security among others. Once an individual satisfies the physiological needs, then their welfare is what dominates how they behave. In the case that individuals are not safe as a result of issues such as crime, war, natural disasters, domestic violence, among others leads to various forms of stress and trauma. A person’s wellbeing is not only restricted to their physical security but to their economic security. Economic security can be defined as the stability enjoyed by an individual as a result of the working opportunities they have thus have the monetary means to satisfy their needs. People need economic security in form of job security, job opportunities, insurance policies, among others. Children have been observed to predominate at this level as they have the greatest need to feel safe. In any case that an individual does not feel safe in their current locality, then they move to another environment in an attempt to make them feel safer. Paradoxically, people can only achieve safety through actions that put them in danger. This is done in small increments. Take an example of a child who only feels safe when close to the mother. This does not prevent the child from venturing away from the mother into unsafe environments. It is through the venturing away from their mothers that the children satisfy their curiosity. In the case that the children do not experience something terrible, then they begin feeling safe even without their mothers. Fear makes individuals feel unsafe and by overcoming the fear that an individual feel, then people can satisfy their need for security and safety. The next level in Abraham’s hierarchy of needs is the love and belonging. In this level, people seek to get affection from their friends and family. Belongingness is defined as a human need of acceptance within a group (Kendrick et al., 2010). People often have a desire to belong within a group whether in the workplace, at home, or even in school. They desire to feel love and be loved. Maslow argues that people need to feel like they ...