MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

1. Physiological Needs
These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, including the need for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.
2. Security Needs
These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include shelter from the environment, a desire for steady employment, health insurance, and safe neighborhoods.
3. Social Needs
These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. Maslow considered these needs to be less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments, and families help fulfill this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community, or religious groups.
4. Esteem Needs
After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.
5. Self-actualizing Needs
This is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential.
Types of Needs
Maslow believed that these needs are similar to instincts and play a major role in motivating behavior. Physiological, security, social, and esteem needs are deficiency needs (also known as D-needs), meaning that these needs arise do to deprivation. Satisfying these lower-level needs is important in order to avoid unpleasant feelings or consequences.

Maslow term the highest-level of the pyramid a growth need (also known as being needs or B-needs). Growth needs do not stem from a lack of something, but rather from a desire to grow as a person.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is most often displayed as a pyramid, with lowest levels of the pyramid made up of the most basic needs and more complex needs are at the top of the pyramid. Maslow believed that a persons needs on the basic levels needed to be met before they could “move up” and focus on the more complex levels. For example, a person whose basic needs for food, water, and shelter (physiological and safety needs) are not being met cannot think about cultivating friendships or romantic relationships (social and esteem needs).

I have always found Maslow's theory fascinating, and I think this last paragraph is especially relevant. Recently I have been thinking a lot about how applicable it really is when trying to understand human nature and people's behavior. I know that mine and my hubby's behavior has been influenced lately by our physiological needs for water and sleep as well as by our security need for shelter. Your perspective definitely changes when you are deficient in some of these lower level needs.

If you think about it, Malow's theory explains a lot about miscommunication and misunderstandings between people. It's hard enough for people to put themselves in another persons' shoes, but when one of the people involved is focused on a different level of the pyramid than the other person, it becomes almost impossible.

That is why, after my experiences of the last few months, I am vowing to be more empathetic, understanding, and to make sure I am really there and step-up for the people I love when they need me, for as long as they need me.

Peace