Maslow's Hierarchy of Wants and Needs

Perhaps no other psychological theory has affected the public mind as much as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Wants and Needs.

Abraham Maslow came up with this theory in the 1940s as a way to organize ideas about how humans are motivated. His hierarchy has been used in psychology, sociology, and management, providing a framework for what makes people tick. And tock. Usually, it's shown in a pyramid-shaped image with basic needs at the bottom, and higher-level motivating factors at the top.

The pyramid shape isn’t like our food pyramid, reflecting the amounts of things we need. Instead, think of Maslow’s hierarchy as a pyramid that’s meant to be climbed. Maslow’s original theory was that a person must be satisfied with the factors at one level within themselves before they could be motivated by factors at the next level.

More modern interpretations show the five levels as overlapping, implying that lower levels might be prioritized again down the road, even if someone is higher up on the pyramid in general.

We’re going to talk about Bob’s journey through Maslow’s theory. Bob could be you, your mom, your friend, or that stranger you just passed on the street. Deep inside, everyone is Bob.

At the base of the pyramid, we’ve got “physiological needs,” which include things like food, water, rest, HBO, and the ability to live in the environment in general. Here, the idea is that it’s hard to motivate Bob with something like "prestige" when he’s too busy trying to meet basic physiological needs so that he can stay alive. Bob’s got bigger things to worry about right now if he’s homeless, foodless, and pantless.

Once Bob’s got the basics of staying alive down, he can move up to the “safety” motivation level, which says Bob can then be motivated by things that give him security (think: physical safety, financial security, health). It makes sense that once Bob’s got his food, water, and things he needs to live, he’ll seek out security so that he can keep those things under lock, and keep living. Basic mortality avoidance.

At this point, Bob’s fed, rested, and not stressing out too much, because his survival instincts took a chill pill thanks to his safety measures: a good job, place to live, and maybe wearing a bike helmet occasionally. And pants...don’t forget the pants.

Finally, Bob can start looking outward into the world. The third level of the hierarchy is “love and belonging”: the human need for closeness with others.

In other words: nothing will motivate Bob more at this point than making friends and taking the single’s bar by storm. Bob makes friends at work and manages to snag a girlfriend. Nice work, Bob.

Bob’s now capable of being motivated by things at level four: his “self-esteem.” Bob will be motivated by things that give him confidence and a sense of accomplishment. For Bob, maybe a nice car makes him feel confident. Or maybe Bob doesn’t care for a nice car, but he’s really into his career, working his way up the corporate ladder. Whatever Bob’s values are, he can be motivated by things that fulfill them.

Now that Bob’s taken care of his basic needs and his psychological needs, he has time to focus on himself again...but in a “higher” way. At the top of the pyramid (the “big boss” of the video game that is Bob’s life) we’ve got “self-actualization.” Self-actualization is when Bob fulfills his utmost potential. If Bob is motivated at this level, it means Bob wants to be the best Bob he can be. For Bob, this might have to do with fulfilling creative passions, using his talents, finding a life partner, and raising tiny-Bobs.

After publishing his theory, Maslow later criticized his own initial description of “self-actualization,” and changed it to be more like becoming “enlightened.” This would mean Bob thinks about the meaning of life, spirituality, morality, the universe, and sees prejudice for what it is: a fear-based, ego-boosting, mean-thing. Bob becomes a true wise guy.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Wants and Needs does have its fair share of critics. For instance, some believe that people can be motivated by needs and wants higher up on the pyramid even if they haven’t satisfied all the ones on the bottom first.

Others have pointed out that Maslow only studied “healthy specimens,” and not the population at large, so there could be some bias there. Some have argued that Maslow’s hierarchy only works for people in individualistic societies, and not so much for people in collectivist societies, where priorities and values are different. Plus, these needs might also be different depending on Bob’s age.

The final kicker? Maybe Maslow’s pyramid doesn't cover only “human” needs, and can be applied to most animals in general. While Maslow insisted that his motivation theory needed to be people-centric and not animal-centric, he was a man of his time. Today, we know more than ever before about how other species live and communicate. The more we learn, the more Maslow’s hierarchy seems to apply to them just as much as it does to us, especially for the first four of the five levels.

So...could Maslow have come up with a better theory? Well, yeah, maybe he could have...if he’d been more motivated. Ah, the sweet, sweet irony.