Maslov's Heirarchy of Needs

M

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Darnell A. Johnson

Ed Calvin

PSY 211

August 20, 2012

Dr. Walker

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow's model of human motivational needs suggests that before more complex needs are able to be met; basic needs like breathing, food, and water must be satisfied first. The model then moves on to other needs such as, safety needs, and the feelings of love and belongingness, and ending with higher orders of motivational needs. Maslow’s model makes sense, except the suggestion that in order to reach a certain level of motivation, one must satisfy the more basic needs first. For example, people can go without particular basic needs for a period of time and not have it hinder the ability to meet other needs, such as self- actualization. A person may actually fast from a basic need, like food, in order to reach some level of morality which is a self- actualizing need. Although, Maslow’s model is useful, it may not be the ideal path to take for every human being or every situation of life.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs makes sense, in the sense that the group understands Maslow’s purpose or perspectives concerning this subject matter. This was Maslow’s attempt to make sense of how human beings categorically rank or deem important things as basic as food and shelter, to the more complex psychological needs such as how humans esteem themselves, and the importance of moral character. If examples from real life situations are considered, one example that can be looked at is an Olympian. Consider that there is a gold medaling Olympian. This Olympian is at the highest level he/she can go, and on the way to compete, there is a plane crash. The group the Olympian is with is stranded for a week. At this point the Olympian goes back to the lowest level of the pyramid, physiological needs. The concern is now survival, not Olympic aspirations. The person must now be...