A hierarchy of needs – man shall not live on bread alone….

In one of our first meetings we had a good discussion about wants and needs. When we started stating needs I was very much convinced that people basically didn’t need much but wanted a lot. I felt as though most of what people consider to be needs are actually wants.

In order for me to better order my thoughts in this case study I’ve felt a need to go back to the beginning discussion. A need to go back to the start so to speak. In this post I attempt to try an better understand what it is that people might actually need and what different types of needs there are.

I’ve stumbled upon what I think is an interesting way of looking at people’s needs and I’d like to share this here 😊 It is called Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

"It is quite true that man lives by bread alone — when there is no bread. But what happens to man’s desires when there is plenty of bread and when his belly is chronically filled?” (Maslow, 1943)

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper “A theory of Human Motivation” and his book Motivation and Personality. Maslow stated that people are motivated to have certain needs met and some needs are more important than others.

Maslow created a five-stage model for the different types of needs. Maslow’s model has been expanded even more, but the basic five-stage model is still clear and valid. Our most basic need is for physical survival. This need will be the first thing that motivates our behavior. Once that level is fulfilled the next level is what motivates us, and so on and so forth.

So after a person’s basic needs are fulfilled, psychological needs could be fulfilled and after psychological needs are fulfilled a person could be able to fulfill their self-fulfillment needs. The first four levels are often referred to as deficiency needs and the top level is known as the growth needs.

A deficiency is a lack or a shortage so a deficiency needs arise due to a lack and motivates people when they are unmet. The motivation to fulfill such a need will become stronger the longer the need is unmet. For example, the longer a person goes without food, the more hungry they will become. A deficiency need does not need to be satisfied 100 percent before the next deficiency need emerges.

Growth needs are a different case. Growth needs do not stem from a lack of something, but rather from a desire to grow as a person. Once growth needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization. Every person is capable of moving up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization. Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by a failure to meet lower level needs. Unpleasant life experiences can cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of hierarchy. Therefore, people may move back and forth between the different types of needs.

In conclusion: a person is able to be “self-actualized” once basic and psychological needs are consistently and properly met. A “self-actualized” person is focused on being the best person that one can possibly be for him- or herself and also for others. Much of what “self-actualized” individuals accomplish may benefit others or “the greater good”.

Ideally our community would have to be a community of people that is set on reaching self-actualization together. Or rather a “self-actualized community”.

Sources: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs,

https://www.verywell.com/what-is-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4136760

#needs