Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: A Level-by-Level Analysis

Introduction: Origins of Maslow's Humanistic Psychology

During the 20th century, the dominant psychology theories were Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis and Watson and Skinner's behaviorism. In both of these theories, human beings were portrayed as faulty machines. Freud's view held that human beings are driven entirely by primitive urges such as aggression and sex. Living together in a civilized society therefore required managing these ever-present impulses, leaving many people hopelessly conflicted at an unconscious level. The behaviorist view, by contrast, saw humans as oversized lab rats — programmed to behave as they do by factors beyond their control. Because people were likened to programmed machines, the implication was that they could be manipulated into doing almost anything.

From this context, Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) grew dismayed by attempts to reduce human psychology to simple mechanisms. He wanted to understand what constituted positive mental health and happiness, not only mental misery and illness. It was through these concerns that Maslow was inspired to launch an entirely new movement in psychology, which he called the "third wave" — humanistic psychology.

Maslow's theory acknowledged the human and existential urge to grow, seek fulfillment and happiness, and live up to one's potential. Maslow concluded that various factors drive human beings at different times and that these forces are hierarchical: we start at the bottom layer and work upward to the top of the pyramid. The resulting model is called the Hierarchy of Needs. It captures different levels of human motivation propelled into action by biological drives, psychological needs, and higher goals. Maslow's research reveals that achieving full potential requires people to be interdisciplinary thinkers. Self-actualization requires personal growth and discovery throughout a person's life, and its measurement is linked to the concept of peak experiences — moments when a person experiences the world entirely. Self-actualization is therefore a continuous process of becoming. In some instances, Maslow's assumption that lower needs must be satisfied before a person can self-actualize does not always hold true, and in these respects his hierarchy has been subject to revision and critique.

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