Maslow's hierarchy of needs

                             Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Anyone who has ever followed a psychology probably has at least a basic understanding of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Maslow suggested that the needs at the base of the pyramid, which include things such as food, water and sleep, must be met before people can move up the hierarchy.
After meeting these basic needs, people are increasingly interested in the need for security, belonging, love and esteem. Finally, once all these lower level needs are met, Maslow suggested that people meet the needs at the top of the pyramid, which is known as self-realization.
A 1976 paper by Wahba and Bridwell suggests that further research is needed to address the unqualified acceptance of Maslow's hierarchy. Their examination of the research available at the time hardly supports the accuracy of the hierarchy.

Some more recent research has provided some support for Maslow's original hierarchy, but many suggest that the theory may need to be updated to better reflect the needs of modern life.
Does Maslow's hierarchy resist?
Maslow's hierarchy of needs continues to be widespread and generally accepted, but the available data do not necessarily support Maslow's theory.

"Maslow's theory of need hierarchy presents the student with motivation at work with an interesting paradox," wrote Wahba and Bridwell. "The theory is widely accepted, but there is little evidence to support it."
• In their review of available research, Wahba and Bridwell found that there was little empirical support for suggesting a hierarchy of needs.
• Other critics also suggested that the original hierarchy does not take into account that needs tend to change according to the situation.
• Maslow's theory also does not take into account the differences between individualist and collectivist cultures.
Should Maslow's hierarchy be updated?
In 2010, a team of psychologists attempted to modernize Maslow's hierarchy. Their updated version of the classic pyramid of needs was published in an issue of Perspectives on Psychological Sciences. While the original hierarchy contained five levels, this revised version included seven.
The last four levels of this new version are quite similar to those of Maslow, but big changes can be observed at the higher levels of the proposed new version. Perhaps most surprising is the elimination of the highest levels of the original version, self-realization.
Why eliminate self-realization? The authors of the article suggested that while self-actualization is still meaningful and interesting, it is not a fundamental need of evolution.

Instead, the authors suggested that many of the activities and activities that Maslow initially identified as actualizing themselves were fundamental biological drives, such as attracting a partner and having children.

So what is replacing self-actualization at the top of this revised hierarchy?
• Parenthood takes first place, followed by
• retention of mate,
• partner acquisition, and
• Status / esteem.
• Meeting these needs is affiliation and self-protection.
• Immediate physiological needs are the very foundation of the pyramid.
"Among the most basic biological human aspirations, there are those that ultimately facilitate the reproduction of our genes in the children of our children," said lead author Douglas Kenrick of the Arizona State University, in a press release. "For this reason, parenting is paramount."
The proposed revisions of Maslow's original hierarchy did not proceed, however, without controversy.
The journal issue containing the revised hierarchy also included four different comments offering insights on the original and revised versions of the hierarchy. While many agreed with the basic premise of the revised version, especially the evolutionary base of revisions, many disputed the suppression of self-actualization as a need for key motivation.
People from different cultures may have similar needs
Despite the popularity of the theory, there is surprisingly little research on the accuracy of the hierarchy. That's why psychologist Ed Diener of the University of Illinois led a study testing the famous hierarchy of needs in different countries of the world.
Researchers conducted surveys of food, shelter, security, money, social support, respect and emotions in 155 different countries between 2005 and 2010. Although some aspects of their findings are consistent with the theory from Maslow, some discrepancies are also worth noting. The needs described in the theory seem to be universal. However, the order in which these needs are met has had little impact on people's satisfaction with life.

"Our results suggest that Maslow's theory is largely correct, and in cultures around the world, satisfying one's needs is correlated with happiness," Diener said in a press release. "However, a significant difference from Maslow's theory is that we have found that a person can claim to have good social relationships and achieve self-fulfillment, even if their basic needs and security needs are not completely satisfied. . "
Although recent research seems to support the idea of ​​universal human needs, support for Maslow's hierarchical hierarchy remains elusive.