Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

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Keywords: Abraham Maslow, hierarchy of needs, motivation, needs

Why do we go to work? Why do we go to school? Why does every person who wakes up in the morning and starts the daily commute, do so? The obvious answer is pay, but as we examine the theories and research of Abraham Maslow, we can begin to see that there is more to going to work than the paycheck at the end of the week.

Biography

Abraham Maslow was born in 1908 and grew up in New York, primarily Brooklyn, ((Goble, p. 10). After college and marriage in Wisconsin, he settled back in New York at Brooklyn College, (Goble, p. 11). In 1954, he published his second book entitled Motivation and Personality. At that time, the world knew two main branches of psychology, Freudianism, based on the teachings of Sigmund Freud, and Behaviorism, based on the works of B. F. Skinner and John Watson, (Goble, pp. 4-6). With the introduction of Maslow’s work, a third alternative rose up in the field, that of humanistic psychology. Maslow himself used the word "Eupsychian" to describe his brand of psychology, (Goble, p.13).

Maslow, and what would become known as the Third Force, (humanistic psychology), built on, rather than rejected Freudianism and Behaviorism, but recognized the problems with each. Freud had focused on neurotic and psychotic individuals in his studies, and his theories reflected that. While the works of Skinner and Watson were based on average people, Maslow believed they reflected only what was present, and not the potential to be realized in individuals, (Goble, pp. 14-15). This soon became the premise behind the school of humanistic psychology as we know it today, and included the views that a person’s psyche must be viewed through a holistic approach, in order to fully understand how to affect it, )Goble, p. 21).

Abraham Maslow’s third book, Towards a Psychology of Being, was found to be his most popular, and catapulted him into the national spotlight, (Maslow, Stephens, and Heil, p. xix). It is in this work that he outlined the hierarchy of needs which would be the defining element of his career. The five tiered pyramid consisted of physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs, (Maslow, Stephens, and Heil, p. xx). Maslow arrived at this pinnacle in his career by using unique research methods in defining the hierarchy. By studying the characteristics of human beings who were self-actualized, ("growing tips" he called them), he was able to define a set of characteristics which he felt each of them possessed, and then classify those characteristics to outline the needs met, (Goble, pp. 23-25). Among his subjects were Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and numerous others. His hierarchy would increase in popularity with the publications of McGregor, a fellow psychologist of the time, (Drenth, Thierry, Willems, and de Wolff, p. 137). His studies and resulting theories would attribute to him the title of Father of Humanistic Psychology, and provide a tool for the basic foundations of the study of human motivation and needs, (Maslow, Heil, and Stephens, p.3). He died in 1970 of a heart attack in Menlo Park, California, (Maslow, Heil, and Stephens, p. xx).

To correctly establish Maslow as the profound pioneer he was, we shall examine his most well known work, one need at a time.

Need One: Physiological

The first tier of the hierarchy concerns physiological needs, those basic for survival. They include such things as hunger, thirst, fresh air, and sex, (Drenth, Thierry, Willems, and de Wolff, p. 137). To take a closer look, the biological functions needed to sustain our bodies are included in this category. These may include the need for oxygen, water, protein, salt, sugar, and other vitamins and minerals, (Boree, p. 2). Functions to be cited are the need to be physically active, to sleep, to get rid of waste, and to maintain the correct temperature and ph balance in the body, (Boree, p. 2). This need, when not satisfied, will take the priority of the employee, (Hackman, p. 141). Maslow himself, in his Theory of Human Motivation calls these needs the most "prepotent" and says they will be the most dominating ones when not satisfied, (Leavitt and Pondy, pp. 5-6). Obviously, this most basic of needs manifests itself in the job environment as the pay required to satisfy it.

Need Two: Security

When Maslow posed the question of "what happens to man’s desires when there is plenty of bread and when his belly is chronically filled?", (Lowry, p. 25), he answered it with his second level of need, that of security. This need can be satisfied by leading an orderly life, and having the stability of your source of physiological needs, (Drenth, Thierry, Willems, and de Wolff, p. 137). According to the psychologist himself, this need only becomes a mobilizer of human actions when emergencies as war or natural catastrophes take place, (Lowry, p. 26). They have also been identified as the desire for stability, protection, and a sense of structure, (Boree, p. 2). Maslow spoke of the importance of fufilling this need in early childhood, and also postulated as to the extent that religion and philosophy have, over time, filled this void for many people, (Leavitt and Pondy, pp. 10-11). He also called them the "organizers of behavior". An employer might find it helpful to offer benefits, and some type of long range planning and preparation offered, such as a retirement or savings plan, to help fufill this need in his or her employers, (Boree, p. 2).

Need Three: Belonging

Next on the pyramid is the need for belonging, basically described as the social needs of a person, (Drenth, Thierry, Willems and de Wolff, p. 137). Maslow warned of the importance of these needs being met in that, when they are not, the person may suffer from more serious mental diseases, (Leavitt and Pondy, p. 14). To be specific, this need may consist of the search for and desire for friends, a romantic partner, children, and ultimately, a sense of community, (Boree, p. 2-3). Some of these needs may be met through the workplace, in such relationship building activities as picnics and socials, (Boree, p. 3).

Need Four: Esteem

This category of needs can be divided into to two subcategories. The individual, Maslow noted, will seek first to gain the respect and admiration of others through achievements, before seeking that respect within himself, (Boree, p. 3). The satisfaction that comes with respecting one's self and feelings of worth and confidence can afford one a sense of personal freedom, said Maslow, while the second type, consisting of the gaining of a successful reputation and appreciation for one's efforts, has been relatively neglected by the Freudians and Behaviorists, (Leavitt and Pondy, p. 15). Adler, a contemporary psychologist of Maslow's, postulated that the inferiority feelings resulting from not having these needs met was at the root of most of society's problems, and Maslow tended to agree with him, (Boree, p. 3). An employer can offer much in the way of public praise to suffice some of this need, while fellow co-workers must shoulder some of the load as well.

Maslow said much in the way of explaining how these first four needs work. He called them D-needs, or deficit needs, because they motivate the individual to do something through a deficit of some kind, (Boree, p. 3). He cited homeostasis as the mechanism by which this works. Much like a thermostat, the desire to fufill these needs only surfaces in the individual when there is a deficit. So much like the heat won't come on unless the temperature falls below a certain degree, neither will the need for love, for instance take precedence unless it is falling too low, (Boree, p. 3).

Need Five: Self-actualization

The last and final level of self-actualization differs from the previous four in that Maslow identified it as a B-need, or a being need, (Boree, p. 4). As such, this need can never be satisfied. In fact, the more it receives in terms of satisfaction, the stronger it becomes to fufill it, (Drenth, Thierry, Willems, and de Wolff, p. 138). The term itself was used first by Kurt Goldstein, in a much more limited fashion, (Leavitt and Pondy, p. 16). Maslow broadened the term a little, and it now can be defined as someone who has realized their full potential, and by doing so has taken on a system of characteristics, (Boree, p. 5). They include being reality-centered, or being sincere; being problem-centered, which means they focus on finding solutions to obstacles in their lives; they have a different perception of means and ends, or they feel the journey is more important than the destination, (Boree, p. 5). They would also have a need for privacy, or enjoy their solitude; are independent of culture or environment, relying on their own experiences to guide them; they resist encultration, or can be identified as non-conformists; and hold democratic values concerning ethnic variety. They will often be seen as having more close, intimate personal relationships, and have an acceptance of self and others which allows for an unhostile sense of humor, (Boree, p. 5). In other words, they can poke fun at themselves. Self-actualized people will also enjoy more spontaneity and simplicity in their daily lives, have freshness of appreciation, (or curiousity), and hold creative sides. As a result of all these characteristics, self-actualized persons will have more of what Maslow called peak experiences than the normal person. Peak experiences are defined as those which leave a person feeling small, a part of something bigger, more infinite, better, (Boree, p. 6). They can often be likened to mystical experiences in many religions. Certainly the self-actualized person is indeed rare, and Maslow once estimated that only two percent of the population can be characterized as having reached this level on the hierarchy of needs, (Boree, p. 4). Because of this, a company may have very little self-actualized employees. Much of the determination of the person heading towards self-actualization will be up to that person themselves, a company would be well advised to focus on the four previous needs in satisfying them, and thus the company’s employees can focus their efforts on satisfying the need that can consistently drive them towards bigger and better accomplishments.

Crticisms

There are exceptions to every rule, so it is inevitable that there will be many to a theory. One main criticism concerning Maslow’s hierarchy is that there is little empirical evidence to support Maslow’s assumptions, (Drenth, Theirry, Willems, and de Wolff, p. 138). A second, and more logical point, is that though Maslow predicts that human beings will move up the hierarchy, satisfying one need before moving on, there are many examples in which this is not the case, (Drenth, Thierry, Willems, and de Wolff, p. 138). Many artists and scientists, (Van Gogh and Galileo, for instance), suffered from mental illness, and yet were able to produce works that changed the world around them permanently, and intellectual giants such as Trachtenburg and Frankl, who developed new ways of doing arithmetic and psychology therapy respectively, perfected their achievements while suffering in concentration camps, (Boree, pp.7-8). Maslow addressed some of these criticisms in his paper, Theory of Human Motivation. He explained that some people will put a need above others, such as self-actualization above physiological needs, when the lower need has been so neglected for a length of time that it becomes undervalued in the eyes of the person, (Leavitt and Pondy, p. 20). He also ponders the possibility that a creative need, such as self-actualization, may in fact become a driving force because of the lacking felt in other needs, (Leavitt and Pondy, p. 19). In either case, it can be assumed that there will be flaws to any theory.

Applications to the Management Field

Some studies performed across the world have shed insight into the intricacies and questions concerning Maslow’s hierarchy. One such study took place in Bangkok, Thailand and examined the cultural universality of the hierarchy. It was found that allow the needs brought about conflict only in interactive situations between American trainers and Thai trainees, the model may need to be adopted in its applications among differing cultures, (Swierczek, http://proquest.umi.com...2002). A study in Norway took a look at the question of what companies can do when the self-actualization needs of their employees have been met?, (Dahl, http://proquest.umi.com...2002). It was found that a refocus on the needs of others, after one’s own needs have been met, was both profitable and successful for all. And finally, in an article for the Journal of Organizational Change Management, Len Tischler studied why the recent interest in spiritual matters had surfaced and commanded attention by employees across the world. Using Maslow’s hierarchy, Tischler found that through the prosperity of people and their increasing stability in satisfying their lower needs, the focus had turned toward the higher levels, such as esteem, and self-actualization, resulting in a resurgence of interest in peak experiences found in spiritual studies, (Tischler, http://proquest.umi.com...2002). Tischler went on to say that companies can help their employees along this development road by providing opportunities to become more empowered in the decision-making process, and more participation at all levels.

Conclusion

It is obvious to anyone the validity of Maslow’s findings and the common sense they make, even with exceptions taken into account. The applicability of the pyramid to our day to day lives in the workplace, and specifically to bureaucracies, will be a continuing study over the years. Meanwhile, companies and leaders can offer the sustainable salaries, benefits, attention and praise, social opportunities, and empowerment plans to do their part in satisfying and motivating their employees to do a better job at their tasks than ever before. By doing so, not only do the employees benefit, but the customers and the company as well. And that can be called a win-win situation.

References

Boree, C. G. (1998). Abraham Maslow: 1908-1970. Available: http://www.ship.edu/~cgboree/maslow.html

Dahl, Tor. (1989). The Corporation and Its Employees: A Case Story. Journal of Business Ethics. Retrieved October 28^th, 2002. Available: http://proquest.com

Drenth, P.J., Thierry, H., Willems, P.J., and de Wolff, C. J. (1984) Handbook of Work and Organizational Psychology. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Goble, Frank. (1970) The Third Force: The Psychology of Abraham Maslow. New York: Grossman Publishers

Hackman, Ray C. (1969). The Motivated Working Adult. American Management Association, Inc.

Heil, Gary, Maslow, Abraham, and Stephens, Deborah. (1998). Maslow on Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Leavitt, Harold J. and Pondy, Louis R. (1964). Readings in Managerial Psychology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Lowry, Richard. (1973). A. H. Maslow: An Intellectual Portrait. Monterey: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company

Swierczek, Frederic. (1988). Culture and Training: How Do They Play Away from Home?. Training and Development Journal. Retrieved October 28^th, 2002. Available: http://proquest.com

Tischler, Len. (1999). The Growing Interest in Spirituality in Business: A Long-term Socio-economic Explanation. Journal of Organizational Change Management. Retrieved October 28^th, 2002. Available: http://proquest.com

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