A Brief Summary The theory of human motivation, developed by Abraham Maslow (1943), emphasizes how human behavior is motivated by various needs and goals. According to Maslow (1973), human needs are arranged in a hierarchical manner in which "rests on the prior satisfaction of another," a concept known as the Hierarchy of Needs. The five hierarchical categories of human needs include: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. Why does reaching the top matter? Accomplishing a category from Maslow's hierarchy is essential for the ability to reach the next step up the ladder. Having accomplished all categories allows for the ability to reach self-actualization and discover your own unique potentials. Self-actualization plays an important role in obtaining happiness, realizing our talents and potentials gets us a step closer to knowing our true selves and being able to express who we are makes us happy (Baumgardner & Crothers, 2009). ☺
Physiological needs are placed at the bottom of the hierarchical structure and are seen as the primary motivation due to their crucial role in survival or maintaining homeostasis. For example, food, water, sex, etc. are factors that are essential to survival. Physiological needs are potentially seen as the foundation for the entire structure because if this category is not satisfied, all other categories “become simply non-existent" (Maslow, 1973). Safety needs, the second category placed on the hierarchical structure, are generally needs that allow an individual to feel protected from a threatening stimulus (e.g. shelter, security). Emotional needsconceptualizesthe human need to feel a sense of affection and belongingness, thus humans are motivated to give and receive love. Esteem needs exemplify that humans are motivated to satisfy “the desire for strength and achievement” (Maslow, 1973), additionally to having respect for oneself and from others. Self-actualization is placed at the top of the structure because it is potentially seen as the target motivation. The theory of human motivation implicates that humans strive to reach this in order to understand their full potential and to become what they ought to become.