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| Abraham
Maslow |
Most
early psychologists studied people who had psychological problems,
but Abraham Maslow studied successful people. Maslow decided that
people want to be happy and loving, but they have particular needs
that they must meet before they can act unselfishly.
Maslow said that most people want more than they have. Once a person
met their most basic needs, they would develop higher needs. Maslow
said, “As one desire is satisfied, another pops up in its place.”
Maslow created a hierachy of needs with five levels.
Physiological needs
Biological necessities such as food, water, and oxygen. These needs
are the strongest because a person would die if they were not met.
Safety needs
People feel unsafe during emergencies, or times of disorder like rioting.
Children more commonly do not have this need met when they feel afraid.
Love and belonging needs
The need to escape loneliness and alienation, to give and receive
love, and a sense of belonging.
Esteem needs
The need to feel valuable. to have self-respect and the respect of
others. If a person does not fulfil their esteem needs, they feel
inferior, weak, helpless, and worthless.
Self-actualization needs
Maslow taught that a very small group of people reach a level called
self-actualization, where all of their needs are met. Maslow described
self-actualization as a person’s finding their “calling.”
He said, “a musician must make music, an artist must paint,
and a poet must write.”
Many people confuse self-actualization with fame or fortune, but often
this is not the case. While wealthy or celebrated people might reach
self-actualization, many psychologists believe that most people who
have reached the highest level of happiness are unknown beyond their
circle of family and friends.
Societies develop when people reach a particular level in Maslow’s
hierarchy. Once people meet their physiological needs and they feel
safe, they begin to develop a culture and an advanced civilization.
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