Maslow's pyramid

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Also known as «Pyramid of the hierarchy of human needs» o Maslow's Pyramid.

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), using the representation of a pyramid, explained a viable hierarchy of human needs.

He was a psychologist with extraordinary influence in the 20th century, particularly in its second half.

He is known for having been one of the most transcendent representatives of the humanistic psychology movement. Some value that he was the founder or main promoter of this current.

For this scientist, the discovery and study of issues related to the personal development of individuals and the self-realization of the human being was a concern.

Maslow creía que todas las persons disponen un deseo natural de autorrealización, una definición que puede ser definido como el logro de aspiraciones personales por sus propios medios.

He proposed that the human being will move to achieve this self-realization to become who he wants to be.

Maslow's theory is an interesting work related to the field of psychology where human needs are located or organized in a hierarchical way, proposing an order in which the needs will be satisfied.

As antecedents of this theory, it can be observed at the end of the 50s the behavioral psychology. In this, the human being was considered rather as a passive being, constantly responding to stimuli.

For his part psychoanalysis he saw the human being as a very defenseless being, conditioned by a series of unconscious confrontations.

It is exactly in this context that the current of humanistic psychology emerges.. Which tried to make an integration of these two commented paradigms, psychoanalysis and behaviorism, thus developing a systematic psychology with empirical basis.

In his theory, Maslow knew how to associate behaviorism, psychoanalysis and humanistic psychology.

In the lowest part of the pyramid those most basic human needs will be located, followed by other types of desires and greater or higher needs, all in ascending order looking for the top of the pyramid.

In the first order, they must be satisfying physiological needs, followed by security, affiliation, accreditation and self-fulfillment needs, all in a consecutive order.

The pyramid shape to represent or clarify this theory is a great way to precisely delineate the hierarchy of human needs, according to Maslow.

It's easy to understand, so you can only be paying attention to those higher or higher needs if those at the lower levels are met.

The forces of growth will generate an upward movement in the pyramid, with regressive forces that will oppose and push it down.

To visualize the theory quickly and concisely, we could summarize it as follows.

Those needs that are already satisfied in a person will not be able to generate any behavior, only those that are not satisfied will be able to decisively influence the behavior. Physiological needs will be born with the person, in other words, at the moment of coming into the world; the other needs will arise on the path of life.

In the order in which an individual manages to control those needs of the most basic type, higher ones will appear. The need for self-realization will not be evident in all people, this will be an individual conquest.

A more or less short motivational cycle will be required to satisfy basic needs. On the contrary, the satisfaction of higher needs will require a longer cycle.

Types of needs

Necessary

They are those needs that will allow the human being to survive, basic needs.

These include eating, breathing, drinking water, proper body temperature, sleeping time, rest, and eliminating body waste.

Security

Physical security That can be affected by war, family or other violence, natural disasters, lack of protective shelter from the climate. All of this causing stress and traumatic experiences for the individual.

Economic security that is affected by crisis at the national or global level, lack of employment.

Resource security, such as having adequate education, transportation and health.

Social

This is a level related to feelings, interpersonal relationships, the social and the need to belong.

They are very strong needs in childhood, which could be greater than the security needs in that phase.

Deficiencies at this level can have an impact on the individual's ability to maintain social relationships and create appropriate emotional ties. These needs would be the Social acceptance, darling, love; Family; He participatedn, in other words, group inclusion and companionship more Friendship.

Esteem

There will be two types of esteem needs, one high and one low.. If these needs are not adequately satisfied, they will be affecting the person's self-esteem, being capable of generating a significant inferiority complex. If they are satisfied in another way, it will be possible to achieve the next phase, self-realization.

Balance is essential for self-esteem, it is essential for people.

Maslow focused on two types of needs in this regard, high and low, which will depend on the personality of each one.

The esteemed type of highIt will correspond to the need for self-respect, in other words, self-respect. Here will be implicit feelings such as freedom, confidence, achievements, independence among others.

Low esteem It will be related to respect for other people. Needs of care, accreditation, dignity, status, fame, recognition, status, glory, etc.

Self-realization

This will be the highest level of the pyramid, self realisation.

This level will refer to what the maximum potential of a person is, and self-realization can be achieved by reaching that potential.

Será el deseo de alcanzar todo lo que uno be capaz de alcanzar. Puedes enfocar o percibir esta necesidad de una manera muy específica. Alguien, a modo de ejemplo, podría tener un fuerte deseo de convertirse en el padre ideal. Otra persona puede tener el target de ser un atleta de alto rendimiento o de alcanzar un éxito profesional significativo en un campo específico.

Once all other needs are met, one could consider and truly achieve self-realization, finding a strong meaning in life and developing the potential of which one is capable.

Maslow's theory has been criticized. Is it still valid?

In a book released in 1976 by Mahmoud A. Wahba and Lawrence G. Bridwell, Maslow's theory was extensively reviewed.

These authors claim to have found deficient evidence that a pyramidal order such as the one described by the theory actually exists. They argue that happiness has a lot of subjectivity and is independent of needs.

Además en 1984, se describió a sí mismo como etnocéntrico, en el post «La relatividad cultural del concepto de calidad de vida», en el orden que Maslow le dio a las necesidades, no siendo consistente en todos los tipos de cultura y sociedad existentes, según los autores. Este post. Las hipótesis y afirmaciones presentadas se consideraron muy ambiguas, por lo que la teoría carecía de base científica y dificultaba su estudio.

Another type of criticism that the theory received was related to the issue that the sample originally used for the study was very smallAdded to this, Maslow was choosing very specific subjects to carry out the research, causing the study to lack objectivity.

More recently, some research has offered some support for the classification that Maslow proposed at the time.Even when it is contemplated that there is a need to update said theorization in order to reflect in a more coherent and objective way the needs of current or modern life.

In 2010 an attempt was made to modernize the theory, publishing a new version of it., including seven levels compared to the original which contains only five levels.

For this case, the four basic levels are the same as those proposed by Maslow, even though considerable changes are observed in the upper levels. The highest level of the first version, relative to the self-realization, has been eliminated.

Some agree in principle with the revised version, but others observe difficulties with the elimination of self-realization, considering it a fundamental motivating need.

Other applications of the theory

A pesar de que la teoría de la pirámide de Maslow ha sido criticada y se pueden hallar ciertas contradicciones en ella, es un hecho que fue de gran relevance para el campo de la psicología, más todavía tuvo relevancia en otros ámbitos como el marketing, el deporte o educación.

In this last field, the educational one, the theory can be used when studying the child with his emotional, physical and social qualities; functioning as a whole. By presenting a student with multiple learning problems, it is feasible to analyze and address the issue from the problem of basic needs that may even come from home.

In matters associated with marketing and already in the business field, the theory can be used to check the needs that certain products could be providing, facilitate the study of their prices, etc.

In human resources there is also an application, evaluating the needs of groups of employees.

If it is properly understood how to satisfy these needs, it is believed that it is feasible to draw up strategies to increase productivity and, in general, achieve improvement and excellence in the existing work environment in a given environment.