Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs or Maslow's Theory of Self-Actualization

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Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

or

Maslow's Theory of Self-Actualization

The theory of self-actualization was developed by Abraham Maslow (1954). Maslow has presented his ideas in Maslow Theory, also known as Maslow need theory, through a journal A theory of human motivation in 1943 and after this magazine in his famous book Motivation and Personality of Humans. written in relation to the sequential requirements of. It is known as the most important theory of motivation in psychology and this theory of Maslow is also known as Need Hierarchy Model. His approach to understand human personality and motivation is different from other psychologists. He put forth the theory that man's basic needs are arranged in a "hierarchy". The appearance of one need generally depends on the satisfaction of the others. They are closely related to each other and may be arranged from the lowest to the highest development of the personality. The five sets of basic needs is given in hierarchy as follows:

Maslow's Hierarchical Structure of Needs

1. Physiological Needs

While the physiological needs, i.e., the need for the food or hunger, thirst, sex, etc., are necessary for survival are at the bottom of the structure the psychological needs, i.e., self actualization are at the top. Starting from the satisfaction of the physiological needs, every individual strives for the satisfaction of the other needs of a higher order and this striving provides motivation for his/her behaviour. In this way the motivational behaviour of a person is always dominated not by his/her satisfied needs but by his/her unsatisfied wants, desires and needs.

2. Safety Needs

When the basic needs are gratified or successfully fulfilled then safety needs become a dominant force in the personality of the individual. It means maintaining order and security and concern about their future safety. Hoarding money. purchase buildings, land and invest in LIC, etc., belongs to safety need and feeling psychologically secure.

3. Belongingness and Love Needs

When these needs are gratified the third need like belongingness and love need becomes operational. The individual is interested in making intimate relationship with other members of the society, being an accepted member of an organized group and interested to identify with the group life. But in big cities, people living in the same building do not know the next door neighbour and have no social life.

4. Self - Esteem Needs or Independence

The fourth order of needs are esteem need. It means reputation, self respect, prestige, self-regard, status and social success and fame. One feels hurt when his/her self respect is injured. There are many status symbols in the society which give the feelings of self-esteem as possessing a house, land or bank balance, titles of honour and automobile, etc. Another type of esteem need is the need to feel superior to others. This need is gratified by purchasing of items as good and costly clothes. Maslow believed that suffient gratification of the esteem needs lessens their dominating force in a person's life and enabling him/her to move in the direction of self-actualization.

5. Self - Actualization 

The highest need is self-actualization. An individual can actualize his/her potentialities as a human being only after fulfilling the higher level needs life love and esteem. Maslow writes that "A musician must make music, an artist must paint. a poet must write poetry, if he/she is to be ultimately at peace with himself/herself. What a man can be, he must be. He/She must be true to his/her own nature. This need we may call self-actualization."

When an individual is creative, non-conformists have sense of humour, keep means and ends distinguishable, democratic outlook, appreciate basic goods of life, high degree of spontaneity and simplicity, detachment, autonomous and accept themselves with others are the characteristics of self actualizers.

Thus the fulfilment of self-actualization is a must for an individual otherwise he/she will feel discontented and restless unless he/she strives for what he/she is fitted for.