Unit 2 - Lesson #3 (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs)

Question 1

1. Physiological Need

Answer 1

The need for food, water, shelter and clothing

• Man has the need before anything else for water and food in order to survive

But what happens when there is plenty of food, for example?
- Instantly a new and higher need arises and that need will now be dominant
- When this need is gratified, a new one will emerge and so on

Question 2

2. Safety and Security Needs

Answer 2

The basic need for security in a family and a society that protects against hunger and violence

• After the physiological needs, the need for security, stability, protection, freedom from fear, anxiety and chaos emerge and according to them, the need for structure, order, law, borders etc
• Children have a need for order, structure, rituals and borders because it gives them an ability to find security in a big world
• Injustice and unpredictable behaviour from parents creates insecure children because the world gets unpredictable
• That’s why chaos, aggression and disturbance in the home environment are a major block for establishing security in the child
• For adults, the security needs express themselves as the need for a regular income, savings and insurance
• Religion, science and philosophy can also serve as an important security measure, which explains the world and gives a feeling of safety in the face of death

Question 3

3. Love and Belonging Needs

Answer 3

The need for belonging, to receive and give love, appreciation and friendship

• When security is properly gratified, the need for love, tenderness and belonging emerge
• In this state we become painfully aware about the lack of friends, lovers, spouse and children
• It can be harmful for children and adults to live without a family or in exile according to Maslow
• The love needs imply giving and receiving love, and when these needs are gratified sufficiently the need for individuality arises

Question 4

4. Esteem Needs

Answer 4

The need to be a unique individual with self-respect, and to enjoy general esteem from others

• Most people have a need for a stable self-respect and self-esteem
• Maslow noted two versions of esteem needs, a lower one and a higher one
• The lower one is the need for the respect of others, the need for status, recognition, fame, prestige, and attention
• The higher one is the need for self-esteem, strength, competence, mastery, self-confidence, independence and freedom
• The last one is higher because it rests more on inner competence won through experience
• Deprivation of these needs can lead to an inferiority complex, weakness and helplessness