Abraham maslow was born in Brooklyn, new york. 1926 was admitted to Cornell University and transferred to the University of Wisconsin to study psychology three years later. Under the guidance of Harold, a famous psychologist, 1934 received his doctorate and stayed in school to teach. 65438-0935, research assistant of Thorndike's learning psychology at Columbia University. 1937 Associate Professor, Brooklyn College, new york. After World War II, he transferred to brandeis University as a professor and head of psychology department, and began to study the psychological characteristics of healthy personality or self-realization. 195 1 was employed as professor and head of the psychology department of brandeis university. 1969, he left his job and became the first resident assessor of Lawgreen Charity Foundation in California. [3]
Maslow has written many books, such as Motivation and Personality, Exploration of Existentialist Psychology, Religion, Values and Peak Experience, Psychology of Science, the Realm of Human Nature and the Theory of Human Motivation. Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory comes from the theory of human motivation, which has far-reaching influence since it came out. Up to now, it has been applied to human resources industry, education industry, floating population management, youth and other fields.
Theoretical content
Maslow's theory divides needs into five categories: physiological needs, security needs, love and belonging, respect and self-realization, which are arranged from low level to high level. After the self-realization demand, there is also self-transcendence demand, but it is usually not a necessary level in Maslow's demand hierarchy, and most of them will integrate self-transcendence into self-realization demand.
Popular understanding: If a person lacks food, safety, love and respect at the same time, then the demand for food is usually the strongest, and other needs are not so important. At this time, people's consciousness is almost completely occupied by hunger, and all their energy is used to get food. In this extreme situation, the whole meaning of life is to eat, and nothing else is important. Only by liberating people from the control of physiological needs can we have more advanced and socialized needs, such as security needs.
Foreign name
Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory
The first level: physiological needs
breathe
Water, food, sleep, physiological balance, secretion
If any of these needs (except sex) are not met, people's physiological functions will not function normally. In other words, people's lives will be threatened. In this sense, physiological needs are the primary driving force to promote human action. Maslow believes that only when these basic needs are satisfied to the extent necessary for survival can other needs become new incentive factors, and at this time these relatively satisfied needs no longer become incentive factors.
The second level: security requirements.
Personal safety, health protection resources, all sexual property, all sexual moral protection, job and family safety protection.
Maslow believes that the whole body is a mechanism to pursue security, and human sensory organs, effective organs, intelligence and other energy are mainly tools to seek security, and even science and outlook on life can be regarded as part of meeting security needs. Of course, once this demand is relatively satisfied, it is no longer an incentive factor.
The third level: the need for emotion and belonging.
Friendship, love and intimacy
Everyone wants to get mutual relationship and care. Emotional needs are more detailed than physiological needs, which are related to a person's physiological characteristics, experience, education and religious beliefs.
The fourth level: the need for respect
Self-esteem, self-confidence and respect for others.
Be respected by others
Everyone wants to have a stable social status, and requires personal abilities and achievements to be recognized by society. The need for respect can be divided into internal respect and external respect. Inner respect means that a person wants to be strong, competent, confident and independent in various situations. In short, internal respect is people's self-esteem. External respect means that a person wants to have status, prestige, respect, trust and high praise from others. Maslow believes that meeting the needs of respect can make people full of confidence in themselves, full of enthusiasm for society and experience the beneficial value of living.
The fifth level: the need for self-realization
Moral creativity, consciousness, ability to solve problems, fairness, and ability to accept reality.
The need for self-realization is the highest-level need, which refers to realizing one's ideals and ambitions, giving full play to one's own abilities, reaching the realm of self-realization, accepting oneself and others, enhancing the ability to solve problems, improving self-awareness, being good at doing things independently, demanding to be alone without being disturbed, and completing everything commensurate with one's abilities. In other words, people must do competent work in order to feel the greatest happiness. Maslow pointed out that the ways to meet the needs of self-realization vary from person to person. The need for self-realization is to strive to realize one's potential and make oneself more and more the person one expects.
Higher demand
The demand for self-transcendence is a vague argument in Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. Usually included in the requirements of self-realization. In 1954, Maslow discussed two other needs mentioned in his early works: the need for knowledge and the need for aesthetics. These two needs are not included in his level of needs, and he thinks they should be between the needs of respect and the needs of self-realization.
Theoretical analysis
1. Five kinds need to be promoted step by step from low to high like a ladder, but the order is not completely fixed and can be changed, and there are various exceptions.
2. The hierarchy of needs theory has two basic starting points. First, everyone has needs, and after a certain level of needs is met, another level of needs appears; Second, before a variety of needs are met, meet the urgent needs first; After this demand is met, the latter demand shows their incentive effect.
Generally speaking, when a certain level of demand is relatively satisfied, it will develop to a higher level, and the pursuit of higher-level demand will become the driving force of behavior. Accordingly, the demand for basic satisfaction is no longer an incentive force.
4. Five needs can be divided into two levels, among which physiological needs, safety needs and emotional needs belong to the lower level and can be met by external conditions; The need for respect and self-realization is an advanced need, which can be met by internal factors. A person's need for respect and self-realization is endless. At the same time, a person may have several needs, but there is always one demand that plays a leading and decisive role in behavior in each period. Any kind of demand will not disappear because of the development of higher-level demand. The needs at all levels are interdependent and overlapping. After the development of high-level demand, low-level demand still exists, but its influence on behavior is greatly reduced.
Maslow and other behavioral psychologists believe that the demand level of most people in a country is directly related to the level of economic development, scientific and technological development, culture and people's education. In developing countries, the proportion of people with physiological needs and safety needs is large, and the proportion of people with advanced needs is small; In developed countries, the situation is just the opposite.
First, the application of physiological needs
Physiological needs, also known as the lowest and most favorable needs, such as food, water, air, sexual desire, health and so on.
The characteristics of unsatisfied physiological needs: thinking nothing, just wanting to live, and obviously weak thinking ability and moral values. For example, when a person desperately needs food, he will grab it by hook or by crook. People don't line up to buy bread during the war. Suppose that people work for pay and motivate their subordinates with physiological needs.
Incentive measures: increase wages, improve working conditions, give more spare time and rest time, and improve welfare benefits. [6]
Second, the application of safety requirements
Security needs are also low-level needs, including personal safety, life stability and freedom from pain, threat or disease.
Insecurity: feeling threatened by things around you, feeling that the world is unfair or dangerous. I think everything is dangerous, but I become nervous, hesitant and uneasy. I think everything is "evil". For example, a child is bullied by his classmates at school, treated unfairly by his teachers, and begins to distrust society, becoming afraid to express himself and have a social life (because he thinks it is dangerous to socialize) to protect his safety. An adult, whose work is not smooth, his salary is meager, and he can't afford to support his family, instead, he becomes self-destructive and drinks and smokes every day to find short-term comfort.
Incentive measures: emphasize rules and regulations, occupational security and welfare benefits, ensure employees' unemployment, provide medical insurance, unemployment insurance and retirement benefits, and avoid employees being confused by dual instructions. [6]
Third, the application of social needs.
The needs of love and belonging belong to higher level needs, such as friendship, love and belonging.
Lack of social needs: I feel that I am worthless in this world because I can't feel the concern of people around me. For example, a teenager who can't get the care of his parents thinks that he has no value in the family, so he makes friends at school, ignores moral values and actively seeks friends or the same kind rationally. For example, in order to integrate into the social circle, teenagers help others make cows and horses, and even smoke pranks.
Incentive measures: provide opportunities for colleagues to socialize, support and praise employees to discover and establish harmonious and warm interpersonal relationships, and carry out organized sports competitions and group gatherings. [4]
Fourth, respect demand application.
Respect for needs belongs to higher-level needs, such as achievement, reputation, status, promotion opportunities and so on. The need for respect includes not only personal feelings about achievements or self-worth, but also others' recognition and respect for themselves.
Traits that can't meet the needs of respect: love face very much, or take the initiative to let others agree with themselves, and are easily attracted by vanity. For example, use violence to prove their tenacity, study hard to become doctors and lawyers to prove their existence and value in this society, and rich people make money or donate money for fame and fortune.
Incentive measures: publicly reward and praise, emphasize the arduousness of the task and the superb skills needed for success, award honorary medals, publish articles in the company's publications for praise, and honor the outstanding employees. [6]
The Application of verb (the abbreviation of verb) in Self-realization
The demand for self-realization is the highest level demand, including the demand for the truth, goodness and beauty of the highest realm of life. Therefore, if the first four kinds of needs are met, the highest level of needs can be generated one after another, which is the derivative demand, such as self-realization and exerting potential.
Lack of self-realization needs: I feel that my life is driven by a sense of emptiness. To do what a "person" should do in this world, it is extremely necessary to have something that can enrich him, especially something that can make a person deeply experience that he has not lived in this world in vain. I also began to think that values and morality are better than money, love, respect and social prejudice. For example, a person who sincerely donates money to help others. A martial artist and athlete practices his physical fitness to the extreme, making himself a world-class or simply surpassing himself. An entrepreneur really believes that his enterprise can bring value to this society and strive for better than yesterday.
Incentive measures: use adaptive strategies in complex situations when designing work, assign special tasks to people with special skills, and leave room for subordinates when designing work and implementing plans. [4]
Six, super self-realization application
Excessive is a theory put forward by Maslow in his later period. This is a brief "peak experience" when a person's psychological state fully meets the needs of self-realization, usually when performing a thing or completing a thing. This feeling usually appears in artists or musicians. For example, when a musician is playing music, he feels an experience of "forgetting me". An artist can't feel the passage of time when painting. Every minute of his painting is as fast as a second to him, but every second is more substantial than a week. [6]
In Maslow's life, there is no mention of the level of super-self-realization, only the need of self-transcendence, and it is often merged into the level of self-realization needs. Super-self-realization may be a mistake in communication and translation.
Theoretical evaluation
Positive aspects
1. Maslow put forward that human needs have a process of development from low level to high level, which accords with the general law of human needs development to some extent. [4]
2. Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory points out that in each period, one demand is dominant and other needs are subordinate. This is instructive for management. [ 1]
3. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is based on his humanistic psychology. The inner strength of human beings is different from the instinct of animals. Human nature requires the realization of intrinsic value and intrinsic potential. Human behavior is dominated by consciousness, and human behavior is purposeful and creative. [6]
Negative aspects
1. The hierarchy of needs theory has the limitations of humanism.
2. Human motivation is the cause of behavior, and the hierarchy of needs theory emphasizes that human motivation is determined by human needs. [ 1]
3. Demand classifications tend to overlap.
4. The hierarchy of needs theory tends to be self-centered.
5. The standard and degree to be achieved are vague. [6]
Theoretical controversy
Douglas T Hall and Khalil Nougaim have done relevant research for five years, but there is not enough experimental evidence to prove that Maslow's hierarchy of needs really exists. Even if the hierarchy of needs exists, the relationship between them is not obvious. With the promotion of supervisors, the importance of their physiological needs and safety needs tends to decrease gradually, while the needs of belonging, respect and self-realization tend to increase. The improvement of demand level is the result of rising status, not the result of meeting low-level demand. In other words, there is no hierarchy in demand. [6]
Wahba, M.A. and Bridwell, in 1976, L. G, published an article entitled "Maslow's Reconsideration: A Survey of Needs Hierarchy in Organizational Behavior and Human Performance". Need hierarchy theory. ) indicates the demand ranking of Maslow's theory, or the evidence of the existence of some specific needs is not sufficient. [7]
Geert Hofstede criticized Maslow's hierarchy of needs as ethnocentrism. [8]
reference data
Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. EdpsyInteractive[ reference date 20 14- 10-27]
[2] Maslow-hierarchy of needs theory. China Geo University [citation date 2013-11-23]
[3] Approach Maslow. Sina [reference date 2013-11-23]