Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs….or

Just How Do I Climb This Mountain?

In 1943, Abraham Maslow developed a description of the needs that motivate human behaviour.  He considered it a hierarchy, because in order to fulfill our own higher needs, the lower, or more basic ones, need to be taken care of first.

Of course, this is a tremendously simplified version of Maslow’s research.  Obviously, if you are suffocating, that is going to be the only need you care about at that moment. Luckily, most of us aren’t often in that kind of situation.  Instead, we have complicated lives, and have different degrees of fulfillment of most of the levels at the same time. For example, people living in a war zone might not have enough to eat (level 1, the bottom of the pyramid), and are likely not feeling very safe (level 2, second from the bottom).  But they can still form friendships and find love (level 3, right in the middle), as well as have self esteem and self-actualization (levels 4 and 5 at the top).

Mouse over the different levels to see examples of Maslow’s Hierarchy.

What do you think of his hierarchy? Do you agree with his idea or do you have another idea?

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