Running head: PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS

Psychological Needs Lisa Seeley PSY/211 April, 14,2013 Kurtis Armstrong

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Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory of motivation and personality developed by psychologist Abraham H. Maslow (1908-1970). The hierarchy explains human behavior as a basic requirement needed for survival, basic needs, and growth. These requirements, or needs, are arranged in ascending order that forms a hierarchy that defines which level must be satisfied first, before moving on to the next level. Furthermore, these levels are set-up, according to their importance for survival and their influence to motivate individuals. The basic physical requirements, such as food, water, shelter, or oxygen, are considered the lowest level of the need hierarchy. These needs must be fulfilled before other, needs even become important to individuals. Needs at the higher levels of the hierarchy are less concerned with physical survival and more toward psychological well-being and growth. These needs have less power to motivate people, and more influenced by basic education and their own lives. The first level of the hierarchy is biological needs, which consists of the physiological requirements for basic human survival, such as oxygen/air, food, water, shelter, and any other factor toward homeostasis. These are the most apparent, basic, and strongest needs in the hierarchy because they are necessary and vital to survival. Safety needs constitute the second level of the hierarchy. Once the physiological needs are satisfied, a person starts thinking about the need to be safe and secure. This would include needs for a sense of security and certainty in the world, such as acquiring a stable job, financial security, feeling safe from danger, health, and wellness. When an individuals biological and safety needs are met, needs for love and belongingness develop. These needs include love, family, romantic relationships, church, religious groups, friendships, acceptance, and belonging. Once the first three levels of needs are satisfied, a person would start seeking self-esteem, the fourth level of the hierarchy. Not everyone who feels loved feels that he or she is respected by others. People need to feel

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appreciated by others to feel self-respect. In addition, people want to feel valued and feel a sense of accomplishment, this will influence the confidence that people need to reach out for higher goals. These four levels are considered the deprivation needs together, esteem, and the social levels make up the psychological needs of the hierarchy. Self-actualization, the fifth, and highest level in Maslow's hierarchy of needs and could be the most difficult to achieve. According to Maslow (1970) self-actualization is defined as follows: It may be loosely described as the full use and exploitation of talents, capabilities, potentialities, etc. Such people seem to be fulfilling themselves and to be doing the best that they are capable of doingThey are people who have developed or are developing to the full stature of which they capable. (p. 341). Although, some experiences or life changes can easily satisfy the needs in the first four levels of the hierarchy and can be easy to identified, self-actualization needs a deep introspection before he or she would know how to satisfy it. Self-actualization is being able to do something that makes ones life complete and is essential for realizing ones full potential. As these needs are developed, a person will focus on doing what he or she is meant to do and ensure that his or her talents and abilities are reached to ones fullest extent. The hierarchy of needs relates to motivation in many ways, such as knowing what a person is looking for and giving them the opportunity to achieve it is imperative in keeping people motivated. For instance, retaining an employee's loyalty does not always require an increase or some sort of compensation. Sometimes, all it takes is making the person feel accepted by the company or by Management, or boosting his or her self-esteem, depending on where the person is as far as the hierarchy of needs is concerned as everyone is different and has

PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS different needs. Understanding each persons individual needs will help with the motivational process within the workplace. Marlows hierarchy of needs makes complete sense to me because he explained how

other needs did not fit into this hierarchy and where they would fit. The structure of the hierarchy is easy to comprehend with the base of the pyramid corresponding to the most general organismal needs, and the peak of the pyramid corresponding to specific human needs/purpose. So, one can describe the evolutionary development of "humanity" by working their way up from the bottom to the top of the pyramid. If I follow this order I will live a longer, happier life. The need that I find the most challenging at the moment is physiological because of my lack of sleep. I know that I am a different person because I am not getting the right amount of sleep and because of it I am unable to satisfy my other needs. Lack of sleep can alter my mood, the way I react, and is affecting my nervous system.

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References Cherry, K. (2013, March). Hierarchy Of Needs. Psychology, (1). Hockenbury, D. H., & Hockenbury, S. E. (2014). Discovering Psychology (6th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix.