Maslow's Hierachy Of Needs

Abraham Maslow created a theory of motivation known as the hierarchy of needs theory. It took into account various factors which people aspire to in order to reach their desired goals.

Maslow believed that there are four stages you have to go through before realising the fifth stage, self actualisation. In his theory of motivation, Maslow stated that you must meet the first stage, before you can move onto the next. The theory suggests that it is very rare for a person to reach self actualisation simply by the way it presents itself.

Maslow's 5 stages know as the hierarchy of needs:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Physiological Needs

The first stage in Maslow's Hierarchy is physiological needs, meaning the basic needs the average person needs to live. This can include basic needs such as food and water, sleep, warmth and shelter, Maslow suggested that without these basic needs, the body can not continue to function.

Safety Needs

When basic needs are satisfied, the motivation for more out of life is evident. Safety needs are stage 2 of Maslow's Hierachy, they include things such as personal safety, security in a job and at home, financial security and health.

Love & Belonging

Love & Belonging is the next stage of the motivation theory, this take into account friends and family, along with relationships and intimacy between others. Maslow believed that humans have a need to feel loved, whether it be within their family, at work, or within a group of people. Without this need people may feel sad, lonely and a possible sense of emptiness, therefore simply cannot continue to the next stage, esteem needs.

Esteem Needs

Stage 4 of Maslow's Theory of Motivation involves confidence in oneself, complete self esteem and total respect from others. Esteem needs come from within and like every stage in the theory, can only be realised once the others have been achieved.

Self Actualisation

Only when the other stages have been fulfiled, then one can realise self actualisation. Self actualisation consists of total respect for yourself and others, confidence in your own ability as a person and complete integrity for law, prejudice issues and family life. Once the other 4 stages are met, only then can a person realise their full potential.

Criticisms of Maslow's theory of motivation have stated that it does not take into account external factors out of a persons control, for example, bereavement, or redundancy. In addition, there is also the argument that you can have one need without the other, for example, you could have a healthy family life with loving relationships and lack a certain element of safety such as job or financial security.

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