Abraham Maslow: Hierarchy of Needs

Born on 1st April 1908, Maslow was an American psychologist who proposed the Hierarchy of Needs. The theory shows how members of the public can further develop themselves in order to progress and achieve success in life. Also, the theory is represented as a pyramid which is divided into 5 sections. Essentially, Maslow believed that by creating the system people could gain an understanding, and acceptance for where they stand in the hierarchy. Furthermore, it enables people to strive for advancement in both their professional and private lives.

So, a subject may find themselves fitting into the love/belonging section; whilst acknowledging this they can further push themselves to fulfill certain goals. Eventually, the subject should reach as high as they possibly can on the graph to become a well rounded and developed member of society.

Although, the subject should begin at the bottom and build their way up, it is most likely that they would be unconscious to the fact that there is such a system. Even though it may be a more credible way of going about the hierarchy, I suppose it may not always be practical. In spite of this one must satisfy the lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs.

After this, one may go on to to reach the highest level, being self-actualisation. With this in mind everybody is capable and should have the desire to move up the pyramid. On the other hand, it may be a failed attempt to build one's self as there may be events halting their progression. Such events may include:

- Divorce.

- The loss of a job.

- The loss of a loved one.

As unfortunate as these predicaments may be they would cause the individual to fluctuate between the levels of the hierarchy. Maslow personally noted that only one in a hundred people go on to establish themselves as fully self-actualised. To conclude, the psychologist also stated that human motivation is based on people seeking fulfillment and change through personal growth (1943, 1954). Self-actualised people are those who were fulfilled and doing all they were capable of.

Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs