Mankind knows many pyramids: the pyramids of Giza, the pyramids of Machu Picchu, the pyramids of Kukulkan and others. They are all phenomenal, each in their own way, and all arouse great interest. But in addition to these unique architectural structures, there are also pyramids of a different kind, which, nevertheless, cause far from weak excitement around them. They can be called intelligent structures. And one of them is the pyramid of needs of Abraham Maslow, a famous American psychologist, the founder of humanistic psychology.
In the online program “Self-Knowledge”, with the help of psychological tests and exercises, you will find out what you really want in life and understand your strengths and weaknesses.
Maslow's pyramid
Maslow's pyramid is a special diagram in which all human needs are presented in a hierarchical order. However, none of the scientist’s publications contains any schematic images, because he was of the opinion that this order is dynamic in nature and can change depending on the personality characteristics of each individual person.
The first mentions of the pyramid of needs can be found in German-language literature of the 70s of the 20th century. They can still be found in many educational materials on psychology and marketing today. The needs model itself is actively used in economics and is of great importance for the theory of motivation and consumer behavior.
It is also interesting that there is a widespread opinion that Maslow himself did not create the pyramid, but only identified general features in the formation of the needs of people who are successful in life and creative activity. And the pyramid was invented by his followers, who sought to clearly present the scientist’s ideas. We will talk about this hypothesis in the second half of the article. For now, let’s look at what Maslow’s pyramid is in detail.
According to the scientist's research, a person has five basic needs:
1
Physiological needs (first step of the pyramid)
Physiological needs are characteristic of absolutely all living organisms existing on our planet, and, accordingly, of every person. And if a person does not satisfy them, then he simply will not be able to exist, and also will not be able to fully develop. For example, if a person really wants to go to the toilet, he will probably not enthusiastically read a book or calmly walk through a beautiful area, enjoying the amazing scenery. Naturally, without satisfying physiological needs, a person will not be able to work normally, engage in business or any other activity. Such needs are breathing, nutrition, sleep, etc.
2
Security (second stage of the pyramid)
This group includes the needs for security and stability. To understand the essence, you can consider the example of babies - while still unconscious, they strive on a subconscious level, after satisfying their thirst and hunger, to be protected. And only a loving mother can give them this feeling. The situation is similar with adults, but in a different, milder form: for security reasons, they strive, for example, to insure their lives, install strong doors, put locks, etc.
3
Love and Belonging (Third Stage of the Pyramid)
We are talking about social needs here. They are reflected in such aspirations as making new acquaintances, finding friends and a life partner, and being involved in any group of people. A person needs to show and receive love towards himself. In a social environment, a person can feel useful and important. And this is what motivates people to satisfy social needs.
4
Recognition (fourth step of the pyramid)
After a person satisfies the need for love and belonging to society, the direct influence of others on him decreases, and the focus is on the desire to be respected, the desire for prestige and recognition of various manifestations of his individuality (talents, characteristics, skills, etc.) . And only in case of successful realization of his potential and after achieving recognition of people important to a person, he comes to self-confidence and his abilities.
5
Self-realization (fifth stage of the pyramid)
This stage is the last and it contains spiritual needs, expressed in the desire to develop as a person or a spiritual person, as well as to continue to realize one’s potential. As a result, creative activity, visiting cultural events, and the desire to develop one’s talents and abilities. In addition, a person who has managed to satisfy the needs of the previous stages and, having “climbed” to the fifth, begins to actively seek the meaning of life, study the world around him, and try to make his own contribution to it; he may begin to develop new views and beliefs.
This is a description of basic human needs. You can evaluate for yourself how true these descriptions are by simply trying to look at yourself and your life from the outside. Surely, you can find a lot of evidence of their relevance. But it should be said, among other things, that there are several controversial points in Maslow’s pyramid.
↑ Human needs. Basic types of needs.
One of the motives of human activity is need. A need
is a need or lack of something necessary to maintain the life of an organism, a human person, a social group, or society as a whole. Needs are the internal stimulator of human activity.
Needs have different classifications. The main types of human needs are: biological, social, spiritual
.
Biological needs (organic)
are associated with the physical body and their satisfaction is necessary to maintain life and development. These needs include: the need to breathe, consume food and water, move, rest and sleep. These also include a number of other more complex, but vitally important needs such as: thermal comfort, balanced nutrition, procreation, protection from disease.
A person can live: without food for 40-45 days, without water for 7-10 days, without sleep for 4 days, without air for 3 to 5 minutes.
This type of need is characteristic of all living beings. They are also called natural, physiological, natural, biogenic, organic
or
vital
(“vita” - “life”).
Social needs
- this is a person’s need for communication with other people, mutual understanding, social activities, public recognition, etc.
Spiritual (ideal) needs
- these are the needs for self-realization, creating beauty, acquiring new knowledge and experience, and self-improvement. Spiritual needs act as a desire to create spiritual values, creativity, and spiritual communication. There is no limit to the realization of this type of needs, and there are no boundaries in the choice of means and ways to satisfy them.
Biological, social and spiritual needs are interconnected. In humans, biological needs in their essence, unlike animals, become social. For most people, social needs dominate over ideal ones: the need for knowledge often acts as a means of acquiring a profession and taking a worthy position in society.
Theory and practice
According to many modern psychologists, despite the fact that Maslow’s pyramid is a clearly structured model, it is quite difficult to apply it in practice, and the scheme itself can lead to completely incorrect generalizations. If we put all the statistics aside, a number of questions immediately arise. For example, how dark is the existence of a person who is not recognized in society? Or, should a person who is systematically malnourished be considered absolutely hopeless? After all, in history you can find hundreds of examples of how people achieved enormous results in life precisely because their needs remained unsatisfied. Take, for example, poverty or unrequited love.
According to some reports, Abraham Maslow subsequently abandoned the theory he put forward, and in his subsequent works (“Towards the Psychology of Being” (1962), “The Far Limits of Human Nature” (1971)), the concept of personal motivation was significantly refined. And the pyramid, which many specialists in the field of psychology and marketing are trying to find application for today, has generally lost all meaning.
Examples from life
To make the essence of Maslow’s pyramid clearer, you need to consider examples from life:
Example No. 1.
A certain woman loves to shop and goes shopping almost every day. If she had become acquainted with Maslow’s pyramid, she would have understood why she so loves to acquire things she needs and doesn’t need.
It would become clear to her that buying branded shoes is just a need to satisfy such a need as recognition. By engaging in self-analysis, it would become easier for her to understand her desires and learn to manage them, while saving a significant amount of money.
Example No. 2.
The couple has long dreamed of vacationing in Thailand, and now the wife’s friend reports that she has two last-minute trips. The woman asks her friend to hold the tickets for a few hours so she can talk to her husband. The husband comes home from work very tired and hungry, and when his wife tells him about travel packages, he gets angry that instead of dinner he is faced with a question that requires financial investment.
Having not listened to his wife, he immediately refuses her. If a woman had an idea of Maslow's pyramid, she would first satisfy her husband's physiological needs (food and rest), and only then ask an important question.
Example No. 3.
A guy who graduated with honors from the University of Economics and is well acquainted with Maslow's pyramid fell in love with a girl. On the first date, he asked about what his crush likes to do in her free time. The girl replies that she likes to go shopping, chat with friends and watch TV series. The guy is going to enroll in advanced training courses, likes to go to artist exhibitions and plans to move up the career ladder.
Having applied the principle of Maslow’s pyramid in practice, he understands that he and the girl sitting opposite him have different needs and their relationship is futile. He decides not to ask this girl out on dates anymore. After some time, he meets a purposeful girl and their needs turn out to be identical. The relationship ends very quickly in a happy marriage.
Criticism
The main reason for criticizing Maslow's pyramid is its hierarchy, as well as the fact that needs cannot be completely satisfied. Some researchers interpret Maslow's theory in a generally unflattering way. According to their interpretation, the pyramid suggests that man is an animal that constantly needs something. And others say that Maslow's theory cannot be applied in practice when it comes to business, marketing and advertising.
However, the author did not adapt his theory to business or advertising, but only tried to answer questions in which, for example, behaviorism or Freudianism came to a dead end. Maslow simply sought to provide insight into human motivation, and his work is more philosophical than methodological.
Forward to the shelter
In our “difficult and joyless reality,” sometimes we really want to look for refuge. Find a place where no one will ever get you. The entire information space is pushing us towards this, but let’s turn to reality. What threatens our lives, our health? In reality, these threatening forces represent many objects and people. A brick will fall “just like that,” or a maniac will jump out on a dark street, or your car will skid and spin on a snowy road. All this is a real threat to the body, which strives not to be killed or maimed.
So, friends, go ahead - to the shelter, let's isolate ourselves in the most wise cave under the shore and save ourselves! It wasn't like that. The media will bring threatening reality straight to your fortress. And they will make you think about national security... At the level of mass consciousness, the “security” brand has been promoted to the size of a national (and even global) idea. Well, is this good or bad, what do we get from this - let's think together.
Advantages and disadvantages
As is easy to see, the pyramid of needs is not just a classification of them, but reflects a certain hierarchy: instinctive needs, basic, sublime. Every person experiences all these desires, but the following pattern comes into force here: basic needs are considered dominant, and higher-order needs are activated only when the basic ones are satisfied. But it should be understood that needs can be expressed completely differently for each person. And this happens at any level of the pyramid. For this reason, a person must correctly understand his desires, learn to interpret them and adequately satisfy them, otherwise he will constantly be in a state of dissatisfaction and disappointment. By the way, Abraham Maslow took the position that only 2% of all people reach the fifth stage.
What are your true needs and motives? Find out in the Self-Knowledge course.
We also recommend reading:
- Storytelling
- Spiral dynamics model
- Self-actualization
- Actions of a true leader
- Abraham Maslow "Motivation and Personality" - summary
- Using Maslow's pyramid for self-actualization
- Humanistic theories of personality: what to take from history to modern times
- 6 Skills to Develop Emotional Intelligence
- Self-transcendence
- 3 Eco-Friendly Ways to Get What You Need from Someone
- Kano model for analyzing a product or service
Key words:1Self-knowledge
Company's secret
Information security is usually associated with some secret information that can make a competitor richer. I think that in our reality there cannot be a single secret that would truly represent an information treasure. In most cases, sacred information is simply compromising evidence. That is, there are no more secrets. Especially in Russia.
Another approach, considering security-from-your-own-employees, is the main way to develop today in the commercial version of the provision of services. The only decent and adequate one: if I’m not happy, I don’t buy.
And, finally, security from government agencies. The history of the relationship between the taker and the giver goes back centuries. And such relationships have never been transparent or equal for everyone, legal down to the last penny. In our economy, the security of business, I’m talking about the real business of producing goods and services, is not guaranteed by anything: the country is full of oil and gas, while it is full, there will be no development of the real production process without a strong-willed decision, just as there will be no place for the use of the creative mind of many ("brain drain").
Advertising-at-risk
The Advertising Law prohibits “selling under threat”, and therefore threat messages and advertising messages in the media are separated in time. We have only seen an advertising video selling a threat from the Ministry of Taxation. Apparently, the law has no power here.
Well, the content of news and event programs that sell security (read - reminding of the threat) breaks all conceivable barriers and destroys the feeling of security. After this, an advertising block begins, which is introduced into the already unprotected consciousness. It’s a no-brainer that the content of a news block in the genre of soviet reports from fields and factories, cosmodromes and schools has a much weaker impact, and advertising placed after such a “safe” block would give a much weaker result.
GosSTRAKH
No one excels at security like insurance agencies. Be sure, they definitely seem to be a shield. But in fact, their services are quite often imposed on the real market (car insurance, compulsory insurance of rented premises, compulsory medical insurance). This causes protest, and even the creation of the Pokhmelkin Party, which protects us from a clearly premature and ineffective system that narrows the field of personal responsibility for the sake of the demonstrative paternal care of insurance companies.
I crashed - it's my fault - I'm crying! And I don’t want to support insurers!
Compulsory Medical Insurance has become an absolute brake on the development of medicine: there are already so few funds for hospitals and clinics, and we are also forced to feed insurers. It is impossible to fully comply with foreign templates if there are no objective relationships that develop over time.
