Maslow’s Pyramid falls within humanistic psychology, a psychological orientation (or psychological model) that focuses on the uniqueness of the human being and on self- realization. It is a psychology that emphasizes human potential, and its movement was officially founded in 1961, with the constitution of the American Association of Humanistic Psychology (AAHP) and the publication of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology.
The Maslow Pyramid was developed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow, in 1943, when he first introduced the concept of “hierarchy of needs” in his article “A Theory of Human Motivation”, in his book “Motivation and Personality”.
In this article we tell you what human needs are according to Maslow’s Pyramid, each level up to self-realization, and how to satisfy them.
Abraham Maslow: his conception of human nature
Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-1970) was a humanistic American psychologist who became especially famous for his contribution to humanistic psychology, through his Pyramid of Needs. This author attaches special importance to the subjective and unique perception of reality by the person. He has an optimistic and positive conception of human nature, directed towards self-realization (the top of his pyramid).
In this sense, it is important, before delving into his pyramid, to understand what a need is and how it differs from a desire. A need is defined as “the state of a being in which he is in lack of an element.” Its achievement is essential to live in a state of physical and/or spiritual well-being. Desire is not the same as need; In the first case, we are talking about something that we yearn for, but that we do not need to live or develop.
Human needs according to Maslow’s Pyramid
Maslow creates the Pyramid that bears his name, the Maslow Pyramid, where there are 5 levels of needs (which we will know below), needs that people satisfy throughout life.
Maslow focuses the source of people’s problems on unsatisfied needs. These needs are organized in a hierarchical way, through its Pyramid. In order from smallest to largest (from the base of the pyramid to the top), that is, starting from the first ones needed to be covered to move on to the following ones, they would be:
- Physiological needs: breathing, feeding, rest, intimate relationships, homeostasis.
- Security needs: physical security, employment, resources, moral, family, health, private property.
- Affiliation needs: friendship, affection, intimate relationships.
- Recognition needs: self-recognition, confidence, respect, success.
- Self -actualization (at the top of the pyramid): morality, creativity, spontaneity, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts, problem solving.
The behavior of most people focuses on the satisfaction of needs below the highest level. On the other hand, reaching self-actualization is not easy. Let’s see in a little more detail what each of the human needs according to Maslow’s Pyramid consists of:
Physiological needs
They are the first needs that “we must” cover (being the other secondary). They are vital for survival and are of a biological order. Here we find the needs related to vital functions and others, such as: the need to sleep, drink water, eat, breathe, have intimate relationships, shelter, etc.
These needs make possible the most fundamental biological processes, which allow our bodies to live and breathe. They cover our physiological functions and allow us to maintain the balance between tissues, cells, organs… They also allow our nervous system to function properly.
Security needs
- The next level of human needs according to Maslow’s Pyramid is formed by security needs. These allow us to live, but at a different level than the previous ones. Let’s remember that the physiological ones must be covered before these.
- Thus, security needs are aimed at personal security, protection, stability and order in our lives. They are related to expectations and the way in which living conditions allow us to develop our projects and challenges, in the medium and long term.
- They are based, in turn, on our assets, rights and social capital. They include physical safety, health, income, resources, family security, employment, etc.
Membership Needs
- The affiliation needs have to do with our most social part, that is, with the links; affection, intimacy, friendship… Following the structure and logic of the pyramid, these needs make sense when the previous ones are already covered or satisfied.
- These are needs that are expressed when we seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and establish affective and meaningful bonds with people. Through his “search”, we transcend our individuality and establish links with others, with the environment.
- They are needs that we experience daily in our lives: when we want to get married, start a family, acquire the feeling of belonging to “something”… The fact of feeling that we belong anchors us to life and allows us, in a way, to acquire a deeper meaning of life.
- This does not mean that we cannot enjoy solitude (so beneficial for our mental health!), but it does recognize the importance of bonding, as social beings that we are.
Recognition needs
These needs have to do with trust, respect, success, and self-recognition. Also known as esteem needs, they are related to how we value ourselves (self-esteem) and how others value us (social recognition).
Once the previous needs are covered, they “must” be covered (or, in other words, the need to cover these arises). When recognition needs are met, we strengthen our self-esteem and promote respect for ourselves and others. On the other hand, when they are not satisfied, we can feel inferior, worthless.
Self realisation
Finally, the top of Maslow’s pyramid is self-actualization: the “ultimate” need. Self-actualization needs include the development of deeper, inner needs; they imply the development of our morality and spirituality, the search for the meaning of life, etc.
These are not easy needs to define, since their objectives are abstract and are not always achieved through concrete actions. Rather, it is chains of actions that allow us to reach them. Each person will have their own unique and non-transferable self-realization needs.
Maslow’s existential psychological therapy
- Maslow, as a good psychologist, went beyond theory and also dedicated himself to therapy. The current that Abraham Maslow followed through his pyramid, and from a therapeutic approach, is existential psychotherapy. Broadly speaking, this type of psychotherapy entails the application of philosophical ideas to the problems of living; they enable the person to better understand the potential of their existence, as well as stimulate them to find a new perspective on their life and how they live it.
- Maslow’s therapeutic activity, through his pyramid, focuses on helping the person overcome the obstacles that hinder their natural growth towards fulfillment and happiness. To do this, Maslow used two types of therapeutic groups:
- The encounter groups, in which, through painful discussions, it was tried to destroy the defenses and false scruples of the participants.
- Sensitivity groups, where the objective was for people to increase sensitivity towards themselves and others, through physical contact and non-verbal communication.
- And you, do you think you have your basic needs covered? Have you gone up the levels in the pyramid? Do not forget that life is a constant fluid, and that there are needs that one day we have covered and others, not; we constantly move from one level to another.
- The important thing is to try to find that happiness that Maslow talks about at his peak and, above all, to enjoy while we satisfy lower level needs.
- “No matter where you are on your path, that’s where you need to be; the end is always ahead.
- -Oprah Winfrey-