Maslow's pyramid of needs- is one of the most famous and frequently used theories about human needs. The theory of needs was first formulated by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow and most fully outlined in the book “Motivation and Personality.”

The essence of Maslow's theory of needs

The main point Maslow's theory of needs is a hierarchy of human needs depending on the importance and necessity in life. Typically, this hierarchy is visualized as a pyramid. At the base of the pyramid are the basic needs of a person, at the top are the highest needs. Without satisfying basic needs, higher ones will not be satisfied. Basic needs:

• Physiological needs - hunger, thirst, etc.
• The need for security - shelter, a sense of security, freedom from fear.
• The need for communication is to be in society, communicate with people, love.

Higher needs:

• Need for respect
• Cognitive needs
• Aesthetic needs
• The need to realize one’s goals, abilities, and develop one’s own personality.

As basic needs are satisfied, satisfaction of higher needs becomes relevant. However, it is worth noting that the satisfaction of higher needs does not necessarily follow each other, and the previous need does not necessarily have to be satisfied 100%

Application of Maslow's pyramid of needs

Maslow's pyramid of needs is widely used in personnel management and is sometimes mentioned in studies. It is primarily studied to understand that material motivation is not as important as many people believe, since significant financial resources are not required to satisfy basic needs. Maslow's pyramid of needs shows how much great importance It has, . Based on Maslow's theory of needs, intangible needs are almost never 100% satisfied. And their satisfaction takes much longer than the satisfaction of material needs. Material needs can be classified as hygiene factors based on.

Criticism of Maslow's theory

Despite such great popularity Maslow's theory of needs, a fairly large amount of criticism falls on her. It should be noted that it is very difficult to assess a person’s degree of satisfaction and understand to what extent the need is satisfied. In addition, Maslow himself noted that the need for self-actualization is satisfied no earlier than by the age of 50, that is, it is necessary to make allowances for age. That is, there is almost no way to quantify and prove the validity of Maslow’s theory of needs.

Another problem is related to the fact that Maslow himself noted that often the order of the hierarchy can change, and there are people who are not at all interested in satisfying some needs. However, Maslow's theory does not explain why some needs continue to be motivators after they have been satisfied.

It is worth noting that Maslow, when conducting his research, took as an example very successful and active people. Which, of course, influenced the overall picture and other larger studies are required to draw up a pyramid of needs for most people.

Theory of human needs - Maslow's Pyramid of Human Needs

There are 5 basic human needs (according to A. Maslow’s theory):

• Physiological needs (food, water, warmth, shelter, sex, sleep, health, cleanliness).
• The need for safety and protection (including stability).
• The need to belong to social group, involvement and support. In this case we're talking about about partner, family, friends, intimacy and affection.
• The need for respect and recognition (self-esteem, self-esteem, confidence, prestige, fame, recognition of merit).
• The need for self-expression (realization of one’s abilities and talents).

The pyramid of needs reflects one of the most popular and well-known theories of motivation - the theory of the hierarchy of needs.

Maslow distributed needs as they increase, explaining this construction by the fact that a person cannot experience needs high level, for now it needs more primitive things. The basis is physiology (quenching hunger, thirst, sexual need, etc.). A step higher is the need for security, above it is the need for affection and love, as well as to belong to a social group. The next stage is the need for respect and approval, above which Maslow placed cognitive needs (thirst for knowledge, desire to perceive as much information as possible). Next comes the need for aesthetics (the desire to harmonize life, fill it with beauty and art). And finally, the last step of the pyramid, the highest, is the desire to reveal inner potential (this is self-actualization). It is important to note that each of the needs does not have to be satisfied completely - partial saturation is enough to move to the next stage.

As lower-lying needs are satisfied, higher-level needs become more and more relevant, but this does not mean that the place of the previous need is taken by a new one only when the previous one is fully satisfied.

At the base of this pyramid are the so-called basic needs. These are physiological needs and the need for safety.

Physiological: need for food, water, sexual satisfaction, etc. If for some reason it is impossible to satisfy them, a person can no longer think about anything and cannot move on to satisfying other, higher needs in the hierarchy. Probably everyone has experienced the feeling of extreme hunger, which prevents you from doing or even thinking about anything else. V. Frankl described this very eloquently in his book “Saying Yes to Life.” Psychologist in a concentration camp." About how people living in constant fear, anxiety for themselves and their loved ones, they could not talk about anything else except food. They talked about food at any time during their vacation, but the work was very hard, they described the dishes that they had once prepared, and talked about the restaurants that they visited. One of the most important needs that guarantees life, the need for food, was not satisfied for them, and therefore declared itself constantly.

When physiological needs are satisfied, a person stops thinking about them, forgets for a while, until the body gives another sign. Then you can switch your attention to satisfying other needs. Of course, we learned to abstain and endure for a while. But only for a while, until the discomfort becomes very strong.

The next level of needs is the need for security.. It is very difficult to realize any of your plans, dreams, work, develop, without feeling safe. If this need is not satisfied, a person organizes all his activities (sometimes neglecting even physiological needs for some time) to make his life safer. A threat to security can be global cataclysms, war, disease, loss of property, housing, as well as the threat of dismissal from work. You can track how, during a period of social instability in the country, the level of general anxiety increases.

To maintain a sense of security, we are looking for any guarantees: insurance, work with a guaranteed social package, a car with modern technologies that provide passenger protection, we study the legislation, hoping to receive protection from the state, etc.

The third and fourth stages belong to the zone of psychological needs. If we are not bothered by unsatisfied basic needs, or simply put, if we are not hungry, thirsty, sick, not in a war zone, and have a roof over our heads, we strive to satisfy psychological needs. These include: a sense of significance, belonging to a particular social system(family, community, team, social connections, communication, affection, etc.), the need for respect, for love. We create systems for this, communities, without which we cannot survive. We strive for love, respect, friendship, we strive to be members of a group, a team.

When these needs are not met, we acutely experience the absence of friends, family, partner, and children. What we most want is to be accepted, heard, understood. We are looking for how to fulfill such a need, sometimes neglecting basic needs, so great is the torment of experiencing loneliness.

Sects often speculate on this need, criminal groups. Teenagers have a particularly strong desire to be in a group. And therefore, a teenager, often without thinking, obeys the rules and laws of the group he strives to join only in order not to be rejected by it.

The next step is the need for recognition, selfexpression, respect for others, recognition of one’s own worth, stable high self-esteem. It is important for us to occupy something meaningful social status. We want our strengths to be recognized, our competence to be appreciated, our skill to be noticed. This may include the desire to have a good reputation, status, fame and glory, superiority, etc.

And sometimes we ourselves should think about how much these needs are satisfied in our lives, for example, in percentage terms. And, if these numbers are less than the statistical averages cited by A. Maslow (85% physiological, 70% in safety, 50% in love, 40% in respect and 10% in self-actualization), then it’s probably worth thinking about what we can change in our lives.

It is more convenient for us, as sales specialists, to use a different classification, with the help of which we find out what needs potential clients have.

There are several basic needs that every person strives to satisfy throughout life. If one of the desires is satisfied, the person strives to satisfy the next need.

The need for survival. The survival instinct is the most powerful instinct of a human being. Every person wants to save his life, protect his family, friends, and compatriots from danger. Only after receiving a guarantee of survival does a person begin to think about satisfying other desires.

Need for security. Once a person receives guarantees of survival, he begins to think about the safety of every aspect of his life.

Financial security– every person is afraid of poverty and material losses and strives to overcome them. It is expressed in the desire to save and increase wealth.

Emotional safety necessary for a person to feel comfortable.

Physical Security– every person, to a certain level, needs food, warmth, shelter and clothing.

The need for security does not mean that a person needs an armored door. He may well want to purchase high-quality wallpaper that will serve him for a long time.

Need for comfort. As soon as a person reaches a minimum level of security and safety, he begins to strive for comfort. He invests a huge amount of time and money to create a cozy home environment and strives to create comfortable conditions at work. A person strives for comfort in any situation and chooses products that are convenient and easy to use.

Need for image. The client focuses on the attractiveness and prestige of the product.

Need for free time. People want to relax as much as possible and look for any opportunity to stop work and relax. The focus of most people is evenings, weekends and vacations. Activities in free time plays a central role in human behavior and decision making.

Need for love. People have an urgent need to build and maintain love relationship. Everything a person does is aimed either at achieving love or at compensating for a lack of love. An adult personality is formed in the conditions of love received or not received in childhood. The desire to create reliable conditions for love is the main reason for human behavior.

The need for respect. A person strives to earn the respect of other people. The bulk of human activity is aimed at this. Loss of respect can be a significant cause of dissatisfaction, and obtaining a high-ranking position can be a greater incentive than money.

The need for self-realization. The highest desire of a person is the realization of the creative potential of the individual, his talents and abilities. A person's motivation is aimed at achieving whatever they are capable of achieving. Throughout his life, he strives to use the most talents and abilities. The need for self-realization can be stronger than all other motivations.

Democritus called the basic needs driving force, thanks to which humanity received intelligence, language and thinking. Abraham Maslow packaged all needs into a pyramid more than half a century ago. Today his theory is used in work, business and criticized at the same time. To learn how to use it to your advantage, you need to understand how Maslow’s pyramid is structured, what parts it consists of, and why the steps are arranged in this particular sequence.

What is Maslow's pyramid

Maslow's pyramid is a schematic representation of all human needs, from the simplest and most basic to the most sublime. Back in 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow described a pyramid of values ​​with one goal: to understand what motivates people to do certain things. Maslow himself only formulated this concept, and his students came up with a visual diagram.

Pyramid of needs

American psychologist with Ukrainian roots Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was one of the first to study human behavior from a positive point of view. Until then, all psychotherapy was limited to studying mental disorders or behavior outside the norm. Together with the founders of Gestalt therapy, Maslow formulated the basic techniques of psychoanalysis that psychotherapists use in their sessions.

What Maslow's pyramid looks like

Usually the pyramid is depicted as a triangle:

• The lowest and widest part These are the physiological needs of the body. Our body is historically programmed to satisfy the need for food, quenching thirst, sleep, sex. If it wants to eat or go to the toilet, then the brain is unable to think about anything else.
• Second stage- need for security. Like physiology, safety has been hardwired into our DNA since the time of the apes. The life tasks of our ancestors were simple and uncomplicated: 1. Eat. 2. Reproduce. 3. Avoid the danger of being eaten. They have helped humanity survive, which is why the need for safety is also called the physiological “fight or flight” response.
• Third stage– the need for love and belonging to a group was also laid down in the times of cave dwellers, when it was simply impossible to survive alone. But it was precisely for living in a group that a person needed a new skill. This is willpower. If you don’t connect it in time, you can easily get fined and be expelled from the cave or into modern conditions, being blocked on a social network.
• Fourth and fifth– needs for respect and knowledge. They are so interconnected that they come together. After all, scientists and inventors, for example, have a much stronger need for knowledge than for recognition. For example, Grigory Perelman spent his whole life arguing and proving Poincaré’s theory, and then refused the award and all titles.
• Sixth stage– aesthetic needs. These are museums, exhibitions, music, dancing, hobbies, everything that brings pleasure to the soul and shapes the intellect.
• Seventh stage– the need for self-actualization or the desire to reveal one’s spiritual potential. Not everything is clear here either. According to the logic of the pyramid structure, this need should be realized last. But the monks strive for realization spiritual potential precisely by pacifying the rest of his needs.

Controversy over Maslow's pyramid

Maslow's pyramid of needs is mentioned more often today not in connection with psychology, but with trade. It is used by marketers and sales representatives of all ranks. In the specialized ones, they argue: if you “hit” a person’s most basic needs, you will certainly be able to motivate him to purchase a product or service. But not everything was as simple as it seems.

The controversy over Maslow's pyramid of needs continues. The first thing that casts doubt on this theory is the story of how Maslow himself selected people for the study. At first he looked for ideal people. But I didn’t find it. After this, the strict selection conditions were gradually relaxed, and it was possible to select a sufficient number of volunteers for testing. But they were all close to the concept of the “ideal person.” In practice there are few such people. And practice, as we know, is the criterion of truth.

The second thing that worries modern psychologists is “ inverted pyramid", when self-improvement and self-actualization are at the forefront. When a person sets himself a certain ideal, strives for it and does not even understand why he needs all this. And the “medical reference book effect” also works: you read the reference book and immediately find all the diseases in yourself. Only today they read not reference books, but incredible stories transformation, achievement, takeoff. And they seem imperfect, unworthy of something good. And only endless self-improvement will help correct “imperfections.”

Australian diplomat and scientist John Burton (1915-2010) developed and promoted another vision of Maslow's pyramid. He viewed a person as a whole person, for whom all needs are equally important. That is, none of the needs is considered lower or higher; needs cannot be excluded, ignored, or be the subject of a transaction or agreement.

But any theory is just a theory. The pyramid will remain a beautiful picture if it is not clear how it can be applied in real life.

How to “apply” the pyramid of human needs in everyday life

Example 1. Advertising agent

Not only advertising agents can use the pyramid of needs. We can understand ourselves and understand why we make certain purchases. After all, we often buy not an iPhone, but the opportunity to join the “club of the elite” (belonging to a group); we dream not of a fur coat, but of the opportunity to be cooler than a rival (the need for recognition). Such self-analysis will help not only understand yourself, but also learn to resist persistent advertising and unreasonable spending.

Example 2. Hungry husband

In fact, this scheme was described in fairy tales: “Feed the good fellow, give him something to drink, take a steam bath, and then ask questions.” To paraphrase: satisfy the basic needs according to Maslow’s pyramid and then load your husband with smart conversations. But this rule applies not only during dinner. We often work, forget about lunch and rest, and start to decide with a headache global problems, and then we are surprised “something is wrong.” Sometimes it’s enough just to have a snack or sleep for half an hour and the brain will reboot on its own.

Example 3: Career changes

Today, many stories are published online about how important it is to realize oneself in a profession “following the call of one’s heart.” It seems that as soon as you give up your hated job, your soul will open up and ideas will begin to flow like a fountain. But no. Only success stories are published online, while failure stories mostly remain behind the scenes. People quit with the desire to change their lives. And a month later they are faced with a problem: their favorite business does not bring the expected income and one day there is simply nothing to buy food with. And then panic begins. But in a panic, it’s somehow impossible to create. That's why career strategy consultants advise finding a job that will bring you stable income and will leave time for what you love. To paraphrase: when there is nothing to eat (physiology) and nothing to pay rent with (security), then your favorite activity is not happy.

Example 4. Difficult teenager

It is especially important for a teenager to feel a sense of belonging to a group. That’s why all these teenage movements, online groups, correspondence, and secret societies arise. Some parents act radically - they forbid it. But forbidding a child to communicate means depriving him of a basic need. Therefore, psychologists advise not to ban, but to replace groups. For example, instead of playing online, get a teenager interested in sports. Then one group will be replaced by another, and there will be no need to ban anything.

Example 5. Ideal partner

To a request in a search engine "How to choose a partner" the system offers hundreds of links to testing. It is unclear who compiles these tests. But in the pyramid of needs everything is simple and clear. At first, you can just look at it on your own and understand what you want from life. Then you can talk about your needs with your chosen one. Some people constantly want to go to exhibitions and advanced training courses, while others want to eat and sit on social networks. Maybe it’s better to discuss the difference in tastes in the early stages than to be disappointed in relationships and family life later?

Conclusion: Maslow’s pyramid is another way to understand the jungle of our desires and real needs.

Maslow's pyramid of needs is a hierarchy of human needs, a well-known theory of motivation, based on the works of an American psychologist who became the founder of humanistic verse.

Maslow's pyramid of needs is successfully used in modern economics, and is considered as a model of needs in the theory of motivation, a consumer behavioral factor.

For the first time, Maslow’s pyramid of needs appeared in the form of a graphic image “Hierarchy of Needs” in a textbook on marketing and psychology by W. Stopp in 1975, after Maslow’s death five years later. In the early 80s of the 20th century, the needs chart was replaced with a pyramid-shaped drawing, which was invented by his students to better understand Maslow’s theory in a visual form.

Maslow's pyramid of needs

1st need: physiological: removal of hunger, thirst, intimacy, sleep, oxygen, availability of clothing.

Sometimes this need is called instinctive, basic, basic. Therefore, a person gives it priority attention, otherwise he will feel uncomfortable.
According to Maslow, lower physiological needs lay the foundation for all other needs, and without their satisfaction, a person does not move or develop further. Even all living organisms have these needs.

Examples:

• Waking up in the morning before work, you want to have breakfast: drink hot coffee and eat a sandwich, and not finish reading the pages of an interesting work.
• The need to visit the restroom will be a priority, instead of finding your seat in the theater hall.

The needs of the first stage are very important, but they do not constantly prevail over the individual. Partial satisfaction is enough to move to the second stage of Maslow's pyramid.

2nd need for security: stability, defense, dependence, freedom from anxiety, fear and chaos.

Examples:

• A small child is scared, he is afraid of something, so he cries for a long time and persistently until he sees his mother or father. The absence of parents from his field of vision, the child becomes irritated, he does not care what others think about him. He needs protection.
• A believer also needs protection. Arriving at church, he feels the protection of higher powers. He calms down and believes only in a good future.

Stability in work and salary also relates to this need.

3rd need for love and belonging: friendship, family, circle.

It is natural for a person to become a part of society, he strives for this. IN adolescence it is necessary to join the environment where a leader or idol is present in order to take an example of behavior from him.

With increasing age, a person sorts out the circle of his acquaintances, and it narrows. There remain several friends, acquaintances with the same views on life, work, and interests. In any case, people live and become a formed part of society, where they feel important and useful.

Certain individuals have a need to meet a new friend. Some limit themselves to their family and children.

After satisfying the 3rd need - social, a person strives for the 4th level of needs: success.

4th need for recognition and respect: respect in a team, proud of oneself, status, excellent reputation, fame, manifestation of talent.

A person cannot be content with only family, home, children. He wants more. Having received the status of a specialist, the team began to respect him. And if he became a businessman, he is proud of himself. And if his company becomes famous, his reputation increases.

Work becomes more than just work. A person awakens to spiritual motivation and a great desire to create, to create much more, better and of higher quality. A person automatically moves to the next stage of Maslow's needs.

5th (later 7th) need for self-realization: a person does his job, does it well. His inclinations and abilities help in his work.

When everything is perfect, life is good. It seems to a person that he has not yet achieved everything; he begins to engage in self-development, self-realization, spiritual needs appear, and the realization of his potential. A person is ready to move forward, to fight. Life experience gained: democratic temperament, creativity helps to resist social habits, a person is ready to learn himself and teach others, form new views and convince.

Abraham Maslow's research showed that only 1-3% of humanity reach the fifth (seventh) stage of the pyramid, which has an excess of ideas and internal energy.

Scientist Maslow, his research

A little about Abraham Harold Maslow (from the former surname Maslov), was born into a poor family of emigrants (from Tsarist Russia) in 1908 in Brooklyn. He studied well, worked hard and often visited libraries. Became President of the Association social psychology and the Department of Aesthetics. The ten-year period from 1960 to 1970 was a fruitful period in his life, where most of his works were written.

The scientist believed that the behavior of humanity is motivated only to satisfy their personal life goals, moving gradually from one achieved need to the next and so on.

Abraham Maslow argued that large quantity All human needs are similar to the instincts of animals, which can be innate or acquired.

Research by scientist Maslow has proven that any person experiences five (seven) obligatory needs: from simpler, lower needs to higher needs. Human existence will cease if these needs are not satisfied, and human development will not fully develop.

Additional work on Maslow's pyramid

People heard about the “Theory of Human Motivation” in 1943, which contained Maslow’s main ideas about the peculiarities in the formation of human needs of successful and creative people. More detailed research was reflected in the book “Motivation and Personality” in 1954.

Scientist A. Maslow worked on the biography of healthy and active people. These included: Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, who became his ideals when developing the theory of motivation and pyramids.

Maslow's 5-step pyramid was and remains an achievement of that time. The scientist constantly improved the pyramid of needs. Works published in the 20th century “Psychology of Being” - 62g, and 71g “Far Limits of Nature”.

In his writings, Maslow's pyramid retained all the needs: the first four remained in their places, and the fifth moved to seventh place. Two stages of the pyramid have been added:

5 need, cognitive: know-be-able-research.
A person constantly strives to learn a lot of information from smart cognitive programs. He devotes a lot of time to reading. Skillfully applies his knowledge in practice.

6 need, aesthetic: harmony-order-beauty.
Visiting art exhibitions and museums develops in a person the harmony of beauty and inspiration about beauty.

Final thoughts. Examples

Maslow's pyramid has seven main steps. And according to scientist A. Maslow, the hierarchy of needs is not stable, as it seems at first. But the majority of humanity obeys the order of the pyramid of needs, depending on their abilities and motivation, as well as age.

People are divided into different categories, some will be able to neglect satisfying basic needs for the sake of their goal.

Examples:

• First he wants to become a rich businessman, and then arrange his personal life in old age.
• For others, the priority is power and its triumph.
• Third category - enough respect and love in the family.
• Fourth – glad to have a piece of bread and a bowl of soup.

Subjects learned to satisfy their desires in accordance with the necessary needs.

Maslow's pyramid is a seven-level ladder that presents a simplified version of the idea of ​​satisfying a human need and its successive steps.

Do you want to know what stage you are at? Find yourself on the steps of the pyramid; if you have not achieved your goal, rise higher by accepting the recommendations of the scientist.

Maslow’s pyramid of needs can be found in textbooks and read on websites. The pyramid reflects human needs. It brings benefits and teaches you to correctly accept desires and needs. The main thing depends on each person, on the purpose in life and the ability to think.

Renowned humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow developed the concept of human needs. In 1954, he introduced it in his study “Motivation and Personality.” According to Maslow, all needs are arranged in the form of a pyramid - from simple at the base to complex at the top. The scientist hypothesized that each of them is innate and prevails at one time or another in life.

So, the pyramid includes 5 steps:

• The need to satisfy physical, natural needs: water, food, sleep, etc.
• Security: ensuring order, safety of life, stability, exclusion stressful situations, fear avoidance
• The desire to be loved and to love - creating a family, strong friendships, your close circle of friends
• Respect and recognition: self-acceptance, respect from others, approval of merit. Certain status, outside attention, reputation
• Self-actualization is the need to succeed in what you are good at, what you have abilities and talents for.

Later, Maslow also identified needs at separate levels: for cognition and aesthetic pleasure.

Let's move on to consider each stage in more detail.

Five steps

First level: physiological needs

Every person, like any other living organism, is inherent in nature to experience the need for food, water and other natural needs. Without their satisfaction, the individual will die, he will have no chance to develop. Let's say that if he is tormented by thirst, then he will not be able to continue reading even the most exciting book, or indulge in pleasure beautiful views. Without proper sleep and stable breathing, a person will never cope with any serious activity or work.

Second level: security needs

Occurs when the first level is completed. For example, a newborn, not yet aware of himself, nevertheless, after receiving the necessary nutrition, strives to feel protected. Only a mother can satisfy this need and give the child a sense of security.

As an adult, an individual avoids situations related to his fears, goes to the doctor when he feels a threat to his health, uses life insurance services, puts strong locks on entrance doors their houses, alarm systems. With all his might he protects himself from dangers - real and possible.

Third level: need for love

This group can be called social. A person wants to be understood and share his experience, feelings with others, take care of someone, belong to a company. In other words, everyone wants to love and be loved. In society, this manifests itself in the fact that a person feels needed, involved in something important. Which stimulates her to communicate, make new acquaintances or maintain and strengthen old relationships.

Level four: need for recognition

When an individual feels useful in society, joins a social group or creates a family, or makes friends, he strives to receive recognition and respect from them. A person wants to achieve a certain status. Receive approval from others for your merits, talents or actions. To be deservedly appreciated in your social circle and beyond. Satisfying this need directly affects self-esteem and individual confidence.

For example, a newcomer to an established team rarely shows activity, but if (and only in this case) he is accepted complacently, he feels like “he belongs,” then he strives to be harder and more diligent in his work in order to earn the approval of his colleagues and keep up.

Fifth level: self-actualization

It is considered the last and pinnacle of human development. It is where the spiritual aspirations of the individual are realized. A person not only does his job, but finds creative elements in it; he no longer performs, but creates something of his own. In addition, he actively attends cultural events, feels the need for them and, accordingly, is necessary. Supports the development of your talent. Such a person seeks answers to questions about the meaning of existence, explores the world around him in order to improve it, and forms his own special worldview. There are many things going on, comprehensive development personality.

Maslow believed that it is impossible to jump from one level to another until some need at the lower level is satisfied. Then the next one will appear on its own. The scientist noted that when realizing simpler desires, an individual will always strive for higher ones. But he himself added a remark, according to which a person can experience much more desires for self-realization than for love. And most of the inhabitants are completely satisfied with only the first levels. The psychologist assumed that these deviations from the pyramid of needs are caused by a neurotic state, or occur due to constant unfavorable conditions surrounding the person.

A little criticism of the theory

The concept of needs certainly has a logical basis. But there were many psychologists who were critical of Maslow’s pyramid. They emphasized that the need is relevant depending on the specific circumstances, and not the level of development of the subject.

Indeed, for example, a well-fed individual will not take a piece of bread. But an introverted person or just a tired person does not want to communicate and seek someone’s favor. Not everyone wants to achieve high status, change their habits or adjust their behavior if they do not feel the need for recognition. But at the same time, a person can be occupied with questions of existence and the universe.

How to use the concept in life?

Maslow's pyramid is clearly structured, but most researchers agree that it is not always practical or easy to apply it in life. Things can go to extremes. The question will arise: is a person so hopeless in conditions of malnutrition? Or an insomniac? Are such people really not capable of creating or thinking about something lofty? Statistics may confirm Maslow's conclusions, but isolated cases may refute them. For example, a person unrequitedly in love is capable of doing unthinkable things in order to achieve reciprocity. And a prisoner, despite all his deprivations, will suddenly begin to read books or do creative work in order to preserve his sanity.

There are known cases when brilliant masterpieces were created by writers and artists who lived in absolute poverty, oblivion, and loneliness. Or massive examples from the war period, when, exhausted by hunger, climatic conditions soldiers or partisans carried out their activities for the sake of a common victory, fought, following high ideals.

Application in marketing

The activities of a marketer are aimed at satisfying the needs of their customers. It is not surprising that they tried to adapt Maslow's theory to their needs, although it clearly did not imply that. Marketing researchers have failed to apply the psychological concept to sales relationships and have been quick to declare it invalid, outdated, and absurd.

In fact, the theory of needs is sometimes used by teachers and psychologists in their activities. They say that Maslow's concept is aimed primarily at:

1. People's awareness that in addition to satisfying physical needs, as well as entertainment purposes, they have the opportunity to develop their interests in other areas of life. Expand your horizons and the like.
2. In a pedagogical sense, learning simple principle how any training is structured: until you explain the material, life rule Using examples available to a child, you will not get stable results and will not awaken interest in something more sublime.
3. Recognition that self-actualization is the highest value for a person, but it is not at all leading for the development of his personality.

Advantages and disadvantages

So, it's time to sum up.

Maslow not only issued a classification of needs, but depicted them in a clearly subordinate hierarchy, which is not entirely legitimate. Although he correctly determined that they are basic, based on instincts, and spiritual, higher. A person experiences all the levels presented in his pyramid, but the satisfaction of some does not always lead to the appearance of others, as in the opposite case. A person can focus on needs that are higher basic level. This is typical for any level.

A person strives to know himself and his desires, to choose his priorities correctly, otherwise he will remain in a situation of dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction with himself.

Maslow believed that self-actualization is characteristic of only two percent of people. Which, in our opinion, is too small an indicator.

Our behavior is usually based on aspirations. In order to develop harmoniously, a person must take into account the needs related to the different stages of Maslow's pyramid.