An Introduction to the Theory

According to human psychologist Abraham Maslow, our actions

are motivated in order to achieve certain needs. His hierarchy
suggests that people are motivated to fulfil basic needs before
moving on to other, more advanced needs. People need to
satisfy their most important needs first, then when they
achieved this, they can move onto the next important need.
Maslow first introduced his
theory of hierarchy in his 1943
paper “A Theory of Human
Motivation” and his subsequent
book “Motivation and Personality”.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
 The First Stage of the Hierarchy –
The Physiological Stage
The first stage of the hierarchy is the physiological stage
– the stage required to sustain life. It includes breathing,
food, water, sex, sleep and homeostasis. These are
considered to be the ‘basic’ needs of human life.
Maslow’s theory suggests that if these fundamental
needs are not satisfied the one must surely be
motivated to satisfy them.
Higher needs are not recognised until
these ‘basic’ needs have
been satisfied.
 The Second Stage of the Hierarchy – The
Safety Stage
Once physiological needs have been met, attention and desire turns to safety and
security, in order to be free from the threat of psychological and physical harm. Such
needs may be fulfilled by:
• Living in a safe area
• Financial reserves
• Job security
• Good health

According to Maslow’s
theory, you can not move
up the pyramid to the next
stages if you feel
threatened. Once the threat
has been addressed, one can then
move up the pyramid.
 The Third Stage of the Hierarchy – The
Love/Belonging Stage
Once a person has met the lower
physiological and safety needs, the higher
needs can be addressed. This begins with the
love/belonging stage, which can also be
referred to as the ‘social needs stage’. These
are the needs related with interaction and can
include family, friendship and
sexual intimacy.
 The Fourth Stage of Hierarchy –
The Esteem Stage
Once a person feels like they belong, the need
to be important can arise. Esteem needs can
be classified as external or internal. Internal
esteem needs are related to self-esteem, such
as the need to respect yourself and achieve.
External esteem needs are those such
as social status, reputation and
recognition.
 The Fifth Stage of Hierarchy –
The Self-Actualisation Stage
Self-actualisation is the summit of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
It can be defined as the quest of reaching your full potential.
Unlike some of the lower needs, this need is never fully satisfied
due to the fact that people can ‘grow’ and change and continue
to challenge themselves.
Maslow describes this level as the desire to accomplish everything
that one can, and “to become everything one is capable of
becoming”.
People in this stage tend to have needs such as: morality,
creativity, problem solving, truth,
justice, wisdom and
meaning.