Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often represented as a pyramid, with the more basic needs at the bottom.[1][2]

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is an idea in psychology proposed by American psychologist Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" in the journal Psychological Review.[1] Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories of human developmental psychology, some of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans. The theory is a classification system intended to reflect the universal needs of society as its base, then proceeding to more acquired emotions.[3] The hierarchy of needs is split between deficiency needs and growth needs, with two key themes involved within the theory being individualism and the prioritization of needs. While the theory is usually shown as a pyramid in illustrations, Maslow himself never created a pyramid to represent the hierarchy of needs.[4][5] The hierarchy of needs is a psychological idea and an assessment tool, particularly in education, healthcare and social work.[6] The hierarchy remains a popular framework, including sociology research, management training,[7] and higher education.[8]

Moreover, the hierarchy of needs is used to study how humans intrinsically partake in behavioral motivation. Maslow used the terms "physiological", "safety", "belonging and love", "social needs" or "esteem", "self-actualization" and "transcendence" to describe the pattern through which human needs and motivations generally move. According to the theory, this means that for motivation to arise at the next stage, each prior stage must be satisfied by an individual. The hierarchy has been used to explain how effort and motivation are correlated in the context of human behavior. Each of these individual levels contains a certain amount of internal sensation that must be met in order for an individual to complete their hierarchy.[3] The goal in Maslow's hierarchy is to attain the level or stage of self-actualization.[9]

Although widely used and researched, Maslow's hierarchy of needs lacks conclusive supporting evidence and the validity of the theory remains contested in academia.[10][11][12][13] One criticism of the original theory which has been revised into newer versions of the theory, was that the original hierarchy states that a lower level must be completely satisfied and fulfilled before moving onto a higher pursuit; there is evidence to suggest that levels continuously overlap each other.[3]

  1. ^ a b Maslow 1943.
  2. ^ McLeod, Saul (December 29, 2021) [2007]. "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs". SimplyPsychology. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Deckers, Lambert (2018). Motivation: Biological, Psychological, and Environmental. Routledge Press. ISBN 9781138036338.
  4. ^ Kaufman, Scott Barry; Bridgman, Todd; Cummings, Stephen; Ballard, John (April 19, 2019). "Who Created Maslow's Iconic Pyramid?". Beautiful Minds. Scientific American Blog Network. New York City: Springer Nature America. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. The claim that Maslow stole the idea for his pyramid from the Blackfoot has gained attention on social media, but if Maslow did not create the pyramid, he could not have taken it from the Blackfoot. There is no doubt that Maslow's fieldwork with the Blackfoot was insightful for him. He discussed his observations with the Blackfoot briefly in his 1954 book. Maslow's biographer, Ed Hoffman, devoted an entire chapter to Maslow's fieldwork. While Maslow learned much about these proud people, there is nothing in these writings to suggest he borrowed or stole ideas for his hierarchy of needs.
  5. ^ Bridgman, Todd; Cummings, Stephen; Ballard, John (March 2019). "Who Built Maslow's Pyramid? A History of the Creation of Management Studies' Most Famous Symbol and Its Implications for Management Education". Academy of Management Learning & Education. 18 (1): 81–98. doi:10.5465/amle.2017.0351. S2CID 150163519.
  6. ^ Poston, Bob (August 2009). "An Exercise in Personal Exploration: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs" (PDF). The Surgical Technologist. 308. Association of Surgical Technologists: 348.
  7. ^ Kremer, William; Hammond, Claudia (August 31, 2013). "Abraham Maslow and the pyramid that beguiled business". World Service. BBC News Magazine. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2013. Abraham Maslow and the Hierarchy of Needs was broadcast on Mind Changers on Radio 4 and Health Check on the BBC World Service
  8. ^ Freitas, Frances Anne; Leonard, Lora J. (January 2011). "Maslow's hierarchy of needs and student academic success". Teaching and Learning in Nursing. 6 (1): 9–13. doi:10.1016/j.teln.2010.07.004.
  9. ^ Wills, Evelyn; McEwen, Melanie (2014). Theoretical basis for nursing. Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 9781451190311. OCLC 857664345.
  10. ^ Lester, David (August 2013). "Measuring Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs". Psychological Reports. 113 (1): 15–17. doi:10.2466/02.20.pr0.113x16z1. PMID 24340796. S2CID 35870176.
  11. ^ Fallatah, Rodwan Hashim Mohammed; Syed, Jawad (November 30, 2017), "A Critical Review of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs", Employee Motivation in Saudi Arabia, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 19–59, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-67741-5_2, ISBN 978-3-319-67740-8, retrieved April 30, 2022
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).