Maslow's need hierarchy theory: a motivational theory of needs that is arranged in a hierarchy pyramid that asserts that people are motivated to fulfil a higher need as a lower one becomes satified or met the pyramid in inverted order: (so from the lowest to the highest)
- Physiological: the need for food, air, water, shelter etc
- Safety: the need for a secure and stable environment where there aren't any pain, threat or illness
- Belongingness/love: the need for love, affection and interaction with other people
- Esteem: the need for self esteem through personal achievement as well as social esteem through recognition and respect from others
- Self actualization: the need for self fulfilment, realization of one's potential
Maslow also includes the desire to know (knowledge) and desire for aesthetic beauty as two innate drives that do not fit within the hierarchy
Other things you should know:
- you can be motivated by several needs but the strongest one woudl be the lowest level that has not been satisfied yet
- you have to satisfy the lower needs to go up the hierarchy
- isn't the ideal model because people do not necessarily follow the same order as the hierarchy (doesn't take into account the specific situation so this model cant be used in every case)
I learnt this in psyc class, this is part of my notes from a lecture