Hierarchy of Needs (PDF) - A First Look at Communication Theory

More documents

Recommendations

Info

126 ZNTRAPERSONAL COMMUNlCATlONesteem. Note the softening of terminology used to describe the move up theladder. We’re driven to satisfy the lower needs, but we’re drawn to meet thehigher ones.Maslow referred to the four lower needs as “deficiency needs” becausetheir lack creates a tension within us. He saw nothing wrong with the humandesire to scratch where we itch. As long as we can work to satisfy thecravings, we’re moving toward growth. It’s when a repressive society or awarped individual curtails our freedom to satisfy our needs that we becomeill. Satisfying needs is healthy. Blocking gratification makes us sick.The urge to fulfill needs is potent but not overpowering. Maslow thoughtthat the Freudian label instinct overstated the case. Maslow used the terminstinctoid to designate a less insistent motivational force. People can resist thepull of physiological, safety, love, and esteem needs, but it’s not easy.The instinctoid label also means that these needs are universal urges andnot created by culture, as the behaviorist would claim. Although everyonehas the same set of the needs, our ways of fulfilling those needs can bedifferent. You could meet your need to belong (love and be loved) by going toa party, whereas your roommate might go for a quiet walk with a friend.Despite these different means of gratification, our common desire for lovemakes us brothers or sisters under the skin.LOWER NEEDS TAKE PRIORITY UNTIL METThere is nothing unique about Maslow’s focus on physical, safety, love, andesteem needs. Other theorists include these four in their lists of basic needs.The genius of the hierarchy is its concept of prepotency. A prepotent need is theone that has the greatest power or influence over our actions. Maslow claimedthat everyone has a prepotent need, but the need will differ among individuals.You might be motivated by a craving for love, while I may be motivatedby a desire for esteem. Which need is prepotent for a given individual?According to Maslow, a person’s prepotent need is the lowest unmet need inthe pyramid.Not surprisingly physical drives take priority in Maslow’s system. Almostall motivational theorists regard the needs for food and other physical necessitiesas powerful and primary urges. Fortunately for many people, thesebasic wants are usually well satisfied. What happens when there is plenty ofbread and the belly is full day after day? Maslow described the shift inmotivation that occurs when survival needs are met:At once other (and higher) needs emerge, and these, rather than physiologicalhungers, dominate the organism. And when these in turn are satisfied, againnew (and still higher) needs emerge, and so on. As one desire is satisfied, anotherpops up to take its place.3What follows is a brief description of the deficiency needs in the orderMaslow predicted they occur.
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS 127PhysiologicalNeedsPhysiological needs are basic: The body craves food, liquid, sleep, oxygen,sex, freedom of movement, and a moderate temperature. When any of theseare in short supply, we feel the distressing tension of hunger, thirst, fatigue,shortness of breath, sexual frustration, confinement, or the discomfort ofbeing too hot or cold. These irritants compel us to seek the missing commodityso that our body can return to homeostasis-a system in balance or at rest.As long as the body feels substantially deprived, it marshals all its energiesin the service of satisfying these demands. Responding like a heatseekingmissile, a dog or cat invariably finds the one patch of sunlight thatprovides a warm place to doze. On the physiological level, Maslow seespeople as no different. But once these physical needs are met regularly, theyno longer exert pressure. A need fulfilled no longer motivates.Weight Watchers advises that the time to go to the grocery store is after acomplete meal. When we’ve had enough to eat, food becomes relativelyunimportant. As hunger and the other physiological needs are met, the needfor security kicks in.Safety NeedsThe safety needs operate mainly on a psychological level. Naturally we try toavoid a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. But once we’ve managed a certainlevel of physical comfort, we’ll seek to establish stability and consistency in achaotic world. When he talked about security, Maslow pictured the child whostrives for predictability and certainty. For instance, most kids enjoy a setbedtime routine and grow visibly distressed if a parent tries to short-circuitthe ritual. Their safety needs require a consistent and secure world that offersfew surprises.Unfortunately, life doesn’t always cooperate. Some of you who comefrom a broken or dysfunctional home know the cringing fear of waiting forthe next fight or the other shoe to fall. Many adults go through life stuck onthis level and act as if catastrophe will happen any moment. Political appealsfor law and order are aimed at people whose insecurities have never beenquieted. Maslow also placed religious inclination on the safety rung becausehe saw that tendency as an attempt to bring about an ordered universe withno nasty shocks.Love and BelongingnessNeedsThe love or belongingness needs come into play after the physiological andsecurity drives are satisfied. Gratification is a matter of degree rather than aneither-or accomplishment. But once a need has been significantly satisfiedover a long period of time, it becomes functionally absent. The actionswitches to the next highest level, in this case, love.
Page 6 and 7: 128 INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONThe
Page 8 and 9: 130 LNTRAPERSONAL COMMUNlCATlONmigh
Page 10 and 11: 132 1NTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONCRIT

Hierarchy of Needs (PDF) - A First Look at Communication Theory

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?