What Is Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs? A Deep Dive Into The Research & Criticisms

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, popularly depicted as a pyramid, explains how certain needs must be met before others. In the 70-plus years since the well-known psychologist unveiled his theory, the presented needs and the merits of the system have changed quite a bit. It's worth reexamining, decades later, what Maslow's hierarchy of needs really is about and whether it's still important.

Maslow originally presented the hierarchy of needs broken down into five categories, based on what he believed to be most to least pressing. Later his theory became popularly depicted in a pyramid format. These are categories, organized from the "lowest tier" of needs to the "highest."

Physiological needs, which include shelter, food, water, and health, are what Maslow considered as human beings' most basic needs. He theorized that without these needs fulfilled, no further ones could be.

Once you have the basics of survival, safety-based needs introduce the concepts of stability, security, and a lack of fear. This means you're eating your food without worry that someone will come steal it, for example, and sleeping without fear of something eating you in your sleep.

Maslow believed that once a person had their physiological and safety needs met, the absence of love and affection would become glaringly clear. This applies to romantic relationships but also the need to belong and be accepted by friends, co-workers, and one's community.

Once you've been accepted by others, you begin to also seek to hold yourself in high regard. Self-esteem needs include having clear achievements, the ability to be independent, and having status.

At the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is self-actualization. As for this final and "highest" pillar, Maslow famously describes it best: "A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is to be ultimately happy. What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization." 

In Maslow's books Motivation and Personality and Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences, he expanded on the tiers of human needs. He first introduced the ideas of cognitive needs and aesthetic needs as essential to the hierarchy of needs, and then finally he brought the concept of transcendence needs into the picture. 

This addition expressed the human need to fully comprehend and explore facts and problems. Instead of just seeing something, humans desire to dig in and understand it. 

Maslow explained these as "impulses to beauty, symmetry, and possibly to simplicity, completion, and order." The idea being that humans don't want to just live, but to do so with beauty around them. This is why we love a clean, well-organized home, for example. 

Arguably the most selfless of Maslow's proposed needs, transcendence refers to helping others find fulfillment in their lives, even if that may mean transcending your own needs to do so. 

The theory also assumes people will act completely based on their needs. "Today we know that we humans don't just act on our needs," elaborates Sander. "We do many things that go entirely against our needs. How do you use Maslow's theory of needs to explain a monk or nun burning themselves to death in protest?" This is just the beginning of the criticism Maslow's hierarchy has faced. 

Daramus implores us to think about it even from a job perspective. The act of taking a job you love over one that's higher-paying but less enticing defies this hierarchical nature as well. When you take emotion out of the equation, of course the lower needs would be met first, but as humans are far from emotionless, this is not how it works in actuality.

For example, Maslow's hierarchy implies that people who don't have stable access to food and housing (i.e., poor people) don't care as much about belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. It implies that creative expression, personal achievement, and self-betterment are things only desired and dreamed of by the rich. This is, of course, not true. 

Some researchers have traced the origin of the pyramid to consulting psychologist Charles McDermid. He used the pyramid in a 1960 article to describe the theory, and it took off from there. 

When looked at as a guide to our varied needs instead of a designated order in which they must be met, Maslow's hierarchy of needs can still hold relevance in today's society. Each person has different priorities and reasons to go after certain needs, possibly at the expense of their others. This flexibility is part of our individuality and determines how each of us moves forward through life, figuring out our needs and all.