Socio-psychological concept of needs. Maslow's pyramid of human need for self-realization Form of expression of the need for security

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Mankind knows many pyramids: the pyramids in Giza, the pyramids of Machu Picchu, the pyramids of Kukulkan and others. All of them are phenomenal in their own way and all of them are of great interest. But in addition to these unique architectural structures, there are pyramids of a different kind, which, nevertheless, cause far from weak excitement around them. They can be called intellectual structures. And one of them is the pyramid of needs of Abraham Maslow, the famous American psychologist, the founder of the humanistic.

Maslow's pyramid

Maslow's pyramid is a special diagram in which all human needs are presented in a hierarchical order. However, none of the publications of the scientist contains any schematic images, because. he was of the opinion that this order is dynamic in nature and can change depending on the characteristics of the personality of each individual person.

The first mention of the pyramid of needs can be found in the German-language literature of the 70s of the XX century. In many educational materials on psychology and marketing, they can be found today. The very same model of needs is actively used in the economy and is of great importance for the theory and behavior of consumers.

Also interesting is the widespread opinion that Maslow himself did not create a pyramid, but only brought out common features in shaping the needs of successful people in life and creative activity. And the pyramid was invented by his followers, who sought to visualize the ideas of the scientist. We will talk about this hypothesis in the second half of the article. In the meantime, let's figure out what Maslow's pyramid is in detail.

According to the research of the scientist, a person has five basic needs:

Physiological needs (the first step of the pyramid)

Physiological needs are characteristic of absolutely all living organisms existing on our planet, respectively, and every person. And if a person does not satisfy them, then he simply will not be able to exist, and also will not be able to fully develop. For example, if a person has a strong desire to go to the toilet, he will certainly not enthusiastically read a book or calmly walk through a beautiful area, enjoying the amazing scenery. Naturally, without satisfying the physiological needs, a person will not be able to work normally, do business and any other activity. These needs are breathing, food, sleep, etc.

Security (the second step of the pyramid)

This group includes the needs for security and stability. To understand the essence, you can consider the example of babies - while still unconscious, they subconsciously strive, after they have satisfied their thirst and hunger, to be protected. And only a loving mother can give them this feeling. Similarly, but in a different, milder form, the situation is with adults: for security reasons, they seek, for example, to insure their lives, install strong doors, put locks, etc.

Love and belonging (the third step of the pyramid)

This is about social needs. They are reflected in such aspirations as making new acquaintances, finding friends and a life partner, being involved in any group of people. A person needs to show love and receive it in relation to himself. In a social environment, a person can feel his usefulness and significance. And this is what motivates people to satisfy social needs.

Recognition (fourth step of the pyramid)

After a person satisfies the need for love and belonging to society, the direct impact on him of those around him decreases, and the focus is on the desire to be respected, the desire for prestige and recognition of various manifestations of one's individuality (talents, features, skills, etc.) . And only in the case of successful realization of his potential and after achieving the recognition of important people for a person, he comes to confidence in himself and his abilities.

Self-realization (fifth step of the pyramid)

This stage is the last and it contains spiritual needs, expressed in the desire to develop as a person or a spiritual person, as well as to continue to realize one's potential. As a result - creative activity, attending cultural events, the desire to develop their talents and abilities. In addition, a person who has managed to satisfy the needs of the previous levels and “climbed” to the fifth one begins to actively seek the meaning of being, to study the world around him, to try to contribute to it; he may begin to form new attitudes and beliefs.

This is the description of basic human needs. To what extent these descriptions have a place to be, you can evaluate yourself, just by trying to look at yourself and your life from the outside. Surely, you can find a lot of evidence of their relevance. But it should be said, among other things, that there are several controversial points in Maslow's pyramid.

Authorship

Despite the fact that the authorship of the pyramid is officially attributed to Abraham Maslow, it has nothing to do with the version we have today. The fact is that in the form of a graph, the “Hierarchy of Needs” appeared in 1975 in the textbook of a certain W. Stopp, about whose personality there is practically no information, and Maslow died in 1970, and in his works, as already mentioned, there was not a single graphic arts.

Satisfied need ceases to motivate

The main issue here is the relevance of human needs. For example, a self-sufficient person who is indifferent to communication does not need it and will not strive for it. The one who feels protected will not become even more eager to protect himself. Simply put, a satisfied need loses its relevance and moves to another stage. And in order to determine the actual needs, it is enough just to identify the unmet ones.

Theory and practice

According to many modern psychologists, despite the fact that Maslow's pyramid is a clearly structured model, it is rather difficult to apply it in practice, and the scheme itself can lead to absolutely incorrect generalizations. If we put aside all the statistics, then a number of questions immediately arise. For example, how clouded is the existence of a person not recognized in society? Or, should a person who is systematically undernourished be considered completely hopeless? Indeed, in history you can find hundreds of examples of how people achieved great results in life precisely because their needs remained unsatisfied. Take, for example, poverty or unrequited love.

According to some reports, Abraham Maslow subsequently abandoned the theory he put forward, and in his subsequent works (“On the Psychology of Being” (1962), “The Far Limits of Human Nature” (1971)), the concept of personality motivation was significantly improved. And the pyramid, which today many specialists in the field of psychology and marketing seek to find application, has generally lost all meaning.

Criticism

The main reason for criticism of Maslow's pyramid is its hierarchy, as well as the fact that needs cannot be completely satisfied. Some researchers interpret Maslow's theory in a generally not very personal way. According to their interpretation, the pyramid says that a person is an animal that constantly needs something. And others say that Maslow's theory cannot be applied in practice when it comes to business, marketing and advertising.

However, the author did not adjust his theory to business or advertising, but only tried to answer questions in which, for example, behaviorism or Freudianism came to a standstill. Maslow simply sought to give an idea of ​​the motives of human actions, and his work is more philosophical than methodological in nature.

Advantages and disadvantages

As you can easily see, the pyramid of needs is not just their classification, but displays a certain hierarchy: instinctive needs, basic, sublime. Each person experiences all these desires, but the following pattern comes into force here: basic needs are considered dominant, and higher-order needs are activated only when the basic ones are satisfied. But it should be understood that needs can be expressed in completely different ways for each person. And this happens at any level of the pyramid. For this reason, a person must correctly understand his desires, learn to interpret them and adequately satisfy them, otherwise he will constantly be in a state of dissatisfaction and disappointment. By the way, Abraham Maslow adhered to the position that only 2% of all people reach the fifth step.

What are your true needs and motives? Find out on the course.

Motivation is the process of motivating oneself and others to act in order to achieve personal goals and the goals of the organization. The effectiveness of motivation is related to a specific situation.

Motivation has been around for a long time. The carrot and stick method (one of the first methods of motivation) has been used since the dawn of civilization. However, during the F. Taylor period, managers realized that wages were on the verge of starvation - stupid and dangerous. As the well-being of the population improves, the carrot does not always make a person work better.

A major role in this area was played by the works of Z. Freud, who introduced the concept of the unconscious. The scientists put forward the thesis that people do not always act rationally. E. Mayo's experiments revealed a decrease in staff turnover due to an increase in the prestige of the profession, social, group relations.

Of interest from the point of view of highlighting motivating factors is the theory of human needs, proposed in
40s CC in. A. Maslow (Fig. 9.1).

Need is a physiological and psychological deficiency of something. Needs serve as a motive for action. Maslow said that the next need in the hierarchy is satisfied after the need of the previous level is completely satisfied. Although this is not necessary in life, and a person may seek, for example, satisfaction of the need for status before his need for housing is fully satisfied.

F. Herzberg proposed two groups of factors in the 50s. CC in.

• hygienic (external in relation to work), which remove dissatisfaction with work;
• motivation factors (internal, inherent in work).

The first group includes normal working conditions, sufficient wages, respect for superiors. These factors do not automatically determine motivation. The second group of factors suggests that each person can be motivated to work when he sees a goal and considers it possible to achieve it.

The law of result (P. Lawrence and J. Lorsch) states that people tend to repeat the behavior that they associate with the result, the satisfaction of needs (on the example of the past).

D. McClelland singled out three needs: power, success, involvement. Success is not just a result, but a process of bringing to success. Involvement is a sense of belonging to something, the possibility of social communication, a sense of social interaction. He believed that at the present time, when all primary needs have already been satisfied, the enumerated needs of a higher order begin to play a decisive role.

Process theories of motivation

W. Vroom's Expectation Theory. Expectation is the probability of the occurrence of an event according to the assessment of a given person. A reward is anything that a person considers valuable to himself. Internal reward is given by the work itself, external reward is given by the boss.

Vroom identified three relationships. Labor costs are the result. The result is a reward. Valence, i.e. value, satisfaction with the reward, since the preferences of different people are different.

M \u003d Z - R * R - B * Valence

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow believed that human needs have a hierarchical structure:

• Physiological needs;
• The need for safety and security;
• Social needs;
• The need for respect
• The need for self-realization;

Needs form five levels, each of which can serve as a motivation only after satisfaction of the need located at a lower level. That is, first of all, a person seeks to satisfy the most important need. Only after the satisfaction of the first need, a person begins to think about another. Thus, a hungry person will not think about security or respect or recognition in society until he has satisfied his need for food.

Each person has different needs, some of them are similar, for example, the need for food, air and water, and some are different. Abraham Maslow spoke in the most detailed and accessible way about the needs. An American psychologist proposed a theory according to which all human needs can be divided into separate groups that are in a certain hierarchy. To move to the next level, a person must satisfy the needs of the lower level. By the way, there is a version that Maslow's hierarchical theory of needs appeared due to the study by a psychologist of the biographies of successful people and the found patterns of existing desires.

Maslow's hierarchy of human needs

Levels of human needs are presented in the form of a pyramid. Needs are constantly replacing each other, given the importance, so if a person has not satisfied primitive needs, then he will not be able to move to other stages.

Types of needs according to Maslow:

1. Level #1- physiological needs. The base of the pyramid, which includes the needs that all people have. It is necessary to satisfy them in order to live, but it is impossible to do this once and for all life. This category includes the need for food, water, housing, etc. To satisfy these needs, a person moves to active actions and begins to work.
2. Level #2- the need for security. People strive for stability and security. Satisfying this need according to Maslow's hierarchy, a person wants to create comfortable conditions for himself and for loved ones, where he can hide from adversity and problems.
3. Level #3- the need for love. People need to feel their importance to others, which manifests itself both on a social and spiritual level. That is why a person seeks to create a family, find friends, become part of a team at work and enter into other groups of people.
4. Level #4- the need for respect. People who have reached this period have the desire to become successful, achieve certain things and gain status and prestige. To do this, a person learns, develops, works on himself, makes important acquaintances, etc. The need for self-respect implies the formation of personality.
5. Level #5- cognitive abilities. People tend to absorb information, learn, and then apply the knowledge gained in practice. For this purpose, a person also reads, watches educational programs, in general, receives information in all existing ways. This is one of the basic human needs according to Maslow, because it allows you to quickly cope with different situations and adapt to life circumstances.
6. Level #6- aesthetic needs. This includes human aspirations for beauty and harmony. People use their imagination, artistic taste and desire to make the world more beautiful. There are people whose aesthetic needs are more important than physiological ones, so for the sake of ideals they can endure a lot and even die.
7. Level #7- the need for self-actualization. The highest level, to which not all people reach. This need is based on the desire to achieve your goals, develop spiritually, and also on the use of your abilities and. A person lives with the motto - "only forward."

Maslow's human needs theory has its drawbacks. Many modern scientists argue that such a hierarchy cannot be taken as true, since there are many shortcomings. For example, a person who decides to fast is contrary to the concept. In addition, there is no tool that would allow you to measure the strength of the needs of each person.

The question of motivation is perhaps the most important in all of personology. Maslow (Maslow, 1968, 1987) believed that people are motivated to seek personal goals, and this makes their life significant and meaningful. Really, motivational processes are the core of the humanistic theory of personality. Maslow described man as a "desiring being" who rarely achieves a state of complete, complete satisfaction. The complete absence of desires and needs, when (and if) it exists, is short-lived at best. If one need is satisfied, another one rises to the surface and directs the person's attention and efforts. When a person satisfies her, another noisily demands satisfaction. Human life is characterized by the fact that people almost always want something.

Maslow suggested that all human needs congenital, or instinctoid, and that they are organized in a hierarchical system of priority or dominance. On fig. Figure 10-1 is a schematic representation of this concept of a hierarchy of human motivational needs. Needs in order of priority:

Physiological needs;

Security and protection needs;

Needs of belonging and love;

self-esteem needs;

Needs of self-actualization, or needs of personal improvement.

Rice. 10-1. Schematic representation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

This scheme is based on the assumption that the dominant lower needs must be more or less satisfied before a person can become aware of and be motivated by the higher needs. Therefore, the needs of one type must be fully satisfied before another, located above, the need manifests itself and becomes active. Satisfying the needs located at the bottom of the hierarchy makes it possible to recognize the needs located higher in the hierarchy and their participation in motivation. Thus, physiological needs must be sufficiently satisfied before safety needs arise; physiological needs and the needs for security and protection must be satisfied to some extent before the needs of belonging and love can arise and require satisfaction. According to Maslow, this sequential arrangement of basic needs in a hierarchy is the main principle underlying the organization of human motivation. He proceeded from the fact that the hierarchy of needs applies to all people and that the higher a person can rise in this hierarchy, the more individuality, human qualities and mental health he will demonstrate.

Maslow allowed that there might be exceptions to this hierarchical arrangement of motives. He recognized that some creative people can develop and express their talent, despite serious difficulties and social problems. There are also people whose values ​​and ideals are so strong that they would rather endure hunger and thirst or even die than give them up. For example, social and political activists in South Africa, the Baltic States and Eastern European countries continue their struggle despite fatigue, imprisonment, physical deprivation and the threat of death. The hunger strike organized by hundreds of Chinese students in Tiananmen Square is another example. Finally, Maslow suggested that some people can create their own hierarchy of needs due to the characteristics of their biography. For example, people may prioritize the needs of respect over the needs of love and belonging. Such people are more interested in prestige and promotion than in intimate relationships or family. In general, however, the lower the need for hierarchy is, the stronger and more prioritized it is.

The key point in Maslow's hierarchy of needs concept is that needs are never met on an all-or-nothing basis. Needs partially coincide, and a person can be motivated at two or more levels of needs at the same time. Maslow suggested that the average person satisfies his needs approximately as follows: 85% physiological, 70% security and protection, 50% love and belonging, 40% self-respect, and 10% self-actualization (Maslow, 1970). In addition, the needs that appear in the hierarchy arise gradually. People do not just satisfy one need after another, but at the same time partially satisfy and partially dissatisfied. It should also be noted that no matter how far a person has advanced in the hierarchy of needs: if the needs of a lower level are no longer satisfied, the person will return to this level and remain there until these needs are sufficiently satisfied.

Now let's look at Maslow's categories of needs and find out what each of them includes.

2. SAFETY AS A CREATIVE NEED

The concept of security is associated with the primary sources (basic needs) of human life.

Scientists emphasize that the needs of a higher level arise after the needs of the lower ones are satisfied.

According to Maslow, “Human needs are arranged in a hierarchy. In other words, the appearance of one need is usually preceded by the satisfaction of another, more urgent one. Man is an animal that constantly experiences certain desires.

Higher needs contribute to a more complete satisfaction of the need for security.

The need for security ranks first among those that distinguish a person from the rest of the living world:

1. Physiological needs (hunger, thirst, procreation ...), 2. The need for security,

3. The need for love and social connections, 4. The need for respect, approval and recognition of society,

5. The need for self-actualization, personal development, incl. spiritual.

Consequently, all other needs that distinguish a person arise only after the satisfaction of the need for security.

A very important remark was made by the “master of psychology” A. Maslow: “Just as a well-fed person does not feel hungry, one who is safe does not feel threatened ... The need for security is considered as an active and main factor mobilizing the body’s resources only in really extraordinary circumstances such as war, disease, natural disasters, increased crime, social disorganization…”.

By the need for security, we must understand the need to maintain and prolong the steady satisfaction of lower needs.

This circumstance creates a most dangerous situation today: modern global problems, not brought to the consciousness of every inhabitant of the Earth, are a terrible threat in terms of possible consequences - like invisible radiation.

When only private tasks of ensuring security are constantly in the spotlight, the population of the planet does not realize the full urgency of the onset era of the global crisis. Higher needs not only arise after the satisfaction of the need for security, but also serve to more fully satisfy it.

Let's explain. Personality, i.e. a human individual with personal characteristics, satisfies his need for security by actions to protect himself from the threats he detects, both instinctive and intelligent. But not only. To increase the level of their security, people unite in communities. It does not require special evidence that together is safer.

So: the desire for unification is laid down by the next human need - the need for social ties.

As people unite in a community, a new concern arises - ensuring the safety of this community. The task of simultaneously ensuring the safety of both the community and each of its participants carries the grain of contradiction. In a number of critical cases, it is impossible to ensure the safety of both at the same time. Then a dramatic situation arises - you need to sacrifice either one or the other.

The community is viable only if the decisive majority of its members are ready to put the interests of the community above the individual. Otherwise, the community will disintegrate or even die at the first critical situation. selfish interests.

And so: the conflict of individual and public interests is resolved by the following natural need of each person - the need for respect. With its help, a special mechanism arises in the community for transforming public interests into personal ones.

Such a mechanism is the opinion of others, customs and traditions, according to which a member of the community who has risked himself and succeeded in actions for the good of the community achieves respect and receives certain privileges - which serves his individual, selfish interests.

Developed society, to the customs and traditions of respect and privileges for "selfless" citizens, added laws according to which privileges are approved by the state. But, as it turns out, the respect of the surrounding people and state structures is not enough for the reliability of the operation of the named mechanism. The opinion of others and formal laws must be supported by a certain ideology with the introduction into the minds of people of Faith in certain ideals.

History has shown that the most effective ideology was religion. Not a single "civil" society, built on the codes of the best laws, is able to fully control the implementation of these laws by its citizens.

The invincible principle “one's own shirt is closer to the body” leads the mind of every member of society to use all sorts of loopholes to satisfy their selfish interests, including contrary to the interests of society. This situation renders any pyramid of public (state) overseers for the execution of laws ineffective, since each of these overseers is “a human being too”, guided primarily by their own selfish interests.

Religion, faith in the Almighty, and the morality created by the religious canons have planted a “supervisor” in the form of conscience in the head of every believer.

He is responsible for his actions, for their compliance with moral public standards directly before the Almighty, who cannot be deceived. It can be said that a believer needs respect not only for people who can be deceived (“not caught is not a thief”). It turns out that the need for respect following the need for social connections, serving to strengthen the unification of people, also “works” for security. Finally, the highest human need - the need for development - also contributes to the most complete satisfaction of the need for security.

Human development allows him to adapt to the natural development of the environment, as part of a constantly changing nature. And the spiritual development inherent only in man has the ultimate goal of forming “higher”, “spiritual” values ​​in the mind of a person - and these always turn out to be social values. Thus, it turns out that the need for security serves as a “root” from which “grow” and to which the rest of the basic needs “serve”. Therefore, the need for security deserves to be called not only the first among the basic needs of a person, distinguishing him from the rest of the world, but also a fundamental one. Consequently, security is the primary source of human activity and is the ultimate goal in all spheres of his life. The foregoing also allows us to assert that security is the primary source of human activity and is the ultimate goal in all spheres of his life.

Need for longevity.

The initial, laid down by nature, human life expectancy is shortened by the realization of threats and dangers from the environment.

Therefore, the actual life expectancy, being dependent on the natural species (biological) value, but different from it, characterizes the level of safety. At the same time, for a person whose life is always inextricably linked with the life of his community, there are three indicators:

· Biological lifespan of a person in general, · Individual lifespan related to a specific person, · Average lifespan in a given community.

Biological life expectancy serves as a starting point. For nature, which created man and provided for this duration, the performance of certain functions and the reproduction of the human race are important, so that there is someone to perform these functions.

A person must grow to adulthood and produce offspring, and then fulfill his function and raise offspring to adulthood.

After that, nature does not need this individual, since both the functions and the reproduction of the genus will be carried out by his descendants. Taking 25 years as the age of an adult person, we get 25 + 25 = 50. If we put a margin on the scatter of the accepted data, then we will approximately get a biological life expectancy of 75-100 years.

“Additional” years can also be considered as the time allotted by nature (and nature?) for the free creative activity of the individual for the benefit of society

A significant part of people do not live to the biological limit.

Their individual life expectancy is shortened by insecurity, which depends primarily on their own behavior in everyday life and in emerging dangerous situations.

A person who neglects the principles of a healthy lifestyle, who cannot foresee, avoid dangers, and, if necessary, act rationally, cannot hope for a long life.

However, the level of security of an individual, measured by individual life expectancy, depends not only on his behavior, but also on the level of security in a given community.

In general, if we take into account the average life expectancy of a person on the planet, the level of human security has been constantly increasing until now.

Security as a result of life activity

Security is ensured by: a) protection from immediate threats; b) preventing potential hazards by transforming the environment;

c) the effectiveness of prevention determines the level of security of society, the effectiveness of protection allows you to realize (or not to realize) the level of security achieved by society. The actions of a person, thanks to his mind, are distinguished by predicting the development of events, assessing the consequences of his actions, analyzing the causes of dangers, and choosing the most effective course of action to ensure his safety.

Safety activities are potentially dangerous; Life hazards are traditionally brought to an acceptable level through trial and error.

Axiom:"The ultimate goal of human life is to ensure its fundamental need for security, however, by eliminating or reducing the initial danger (threat), it contributes to the emergence of a new danger."