Maslow hierarchy of needs diagram

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is one of the best-known theories of motivation. Maslow's theory states that our actions are motivated by certain physiological and psychological needs that progress from basic to complex.

Take the pop quiz at the end of the article to see how much you know about Maslow's hierarchy.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Abraham Maslow first introduced the concept of a hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper, titled "A Theory of Human Motivation," and again in his subsequent book, "Motivation and Personality." This hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs.

While some of the existing schools of thought at the time—such as psychoanalysis and behaviorism—tended to focus on problematic behaviors, Maslow was more interested in learning about what makes people happy and what they do to achieve that aim.

As a humanist, Maslow believed that people have an inborn desire to be self-a

Abraham Maslow

American psychologist (1908–1970)

Abraham Harold Maslow (MAZ-loh; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization.[1] Maslow was a psychology professor at Brandeis University, Brooklyn College, New School for Social Research, and Columbia University. He stressed the importance of focusing on the positive qualities in people, as opposed to treating them as a "bag of symptoms".[2] A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Maslow as the tenth most cited psychologist of the 20th century.[3]

Biography

Youth

Born in 1908 and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Maslow was the oldest of seven children. His parents were first-generation Jewish immigrants from Kiev, then part of the Russian Empire (now Kyiv, Ukraine), who fled from Czaristpersecution in the early 20th century.[4][5] They had decided to live i

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Explained

Maslow's hierarchy of needs, proposed by Abraham Maslow, presents a framework suggesting that human motivation stems from a hierarchy of five fundamental categories: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. The theory posits that as individuals progress through these needs, they experience a greater sense of fulfillment and motivation.

Maslow's framework offers insights into individual motivation and also provides a lens through which we can better understand human behavior and well-being. From the foundational physiological needs, which address basic requirements for survival, to self-actualization, which represents the realization of one's fullest potential, learn more about each category within Maslow's hierarchy.

Key Takeaways

  • According to Maslow, we have five categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization.
  • In this theory, higher needs in the hierarchy emerge when people feel they have sufficiently satisfied the previous need.
  • Although later research doe

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