Human life is often dictated by our needs. In psychological terms, a need can be defined as a condition in which something or someone is required or wanted. According to most psychologists, need is a psychological concept that inspires a person to act toward a goal, to give purpose and direction to behavior.
For an organism to live, basic needs such as air, water, food and protection from environmental dangers are necessary. In addition to basic needs, people also have needs of a social or societal nature, such as the need to socialize or belong to a family unit or group. Needs may be objective and physical, such as the need for food, or psychic and subjective, such as the need for self-esteem.
Needs are separate from wants. A deficiency produces a specific adverse effect in the case of a need: malfunction or death. In other words, for a clean, secure and balanced life (e.g. air, water, food, property, shelter), a need is important, whereas a want is a desire, a desire or an expectation. They have the ability to become economic demands when needs or preferences are backed by buying power.
UNDERSTANDING MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEED THEORY
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is one of the most commonly used theories of motivation. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, pioneered by Abraham Maslow in 1943, categorizes and rates individual and personal needs from the lowest to the highest.
The model implies that lower needs are met before higher needs are met, and, most notably, before fulfilling needs in the next category, one has to fulfil needs in a single category. Human beings, according to Maslow, derive their inspiration from these needs. However, they cease to be motivators when needs in a category have been met.
The five forms of needs in Maslow’s theory of Hierarchy Of Needs are:
- Physiological Needs: Some of the apparent physiological requirements are actual human survival needs. If these conditions are not established (with the exception of clothes, shelter and sexual activity), the human body cannot continue to have physiological needs, including breathing, food, homeostasis and sex. Air, water and food are metabolic necessities for life of all species, including humans Clothing and shelter for the required defense against the elements.
- Safety And Security Needs: Satisfaction with each person’s physical protection needs is critical and dominant. All these conditions have to do with people yearning for global regulation predicting the understanding is inaccurate and inconsistent under the influence of familiar and sometimes unknown Unfamiliar In the world of work, security involves manifesting itself in items like love does not fulfil job security in order to prevent one person from the power of a savings account, insurance policy, and more. Safety and security needs include Personal protection, financial security, health and well-being and safety net against accidents and ill-health and their adverse effects
- Love And Belongingness Needs: Once physiological and safety needs have been satisfied, the third layers of human needs are psychological and include feelings of belonging. This component of Maslow’s hierarchy includes emotionally-based relationships in general, such as friendship, intimacy and family. The human need to feel a sense of ownership and acceptance, whether of a social group size, such as clubs, workplace culture, religious groups, professional organizations, sports teams, gangs, or limited social relations (family members, intimate partners, mentors, close colleagues, confidants). They must love and be loved by others. Without these elements, many are vulnerable to isolation, social anxiety, and psychiatric depression frequently override physiological and safety needs, depending on the intensity of peer pressure; an anorexic, for example, may neglect the need for food and health for a sense of control and belonging.
- Esteem Needs: All humans need to be valued and to have self-esteem and self-respect. It is also understood that the needs of humans are acknowledged and respected by others in that respect. The needs of esteem include trust, power, self-confidence, personal and social acceptance, and respect for others. Such desires are portrayed as one of the main steps in achieving happiness or self-actualization. While esteem is an internal attribute, external influences, such as recognition and acceptance from our peers, influence us. There are several different examples of designers now tapping into our desires for recognition, many of which can be found on social media platforms.
- Self-Actualization Needs: According to the hierarchy of needs, self-actualization is the greatest inspiration that pushes us to understand our true potential and to reach our ‘ideal self.’ Self-actualization needs are often referred to as our ‘being’ needs; these include personal and imaginative self-growth, which is accomplished by the fulfilment of our full potential. Maslow researched ‘exemplary’ people, or individuals deemed to have realized their full or near full potential in their specific field of expertise or concentration.
When the needs in the lower stage have been addressed, they will no longer be prioritized as they are fulfilled. We do, however, have the versatility to switch between levels. If a lower-level need is no longer fulfilled, it will be re-prioritized at the cost of higher-level needs.
HOW TO GET YOUR PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS MET
- Understand what your needs are. The first step in satisfying your needs is knowing what is important to you.
- Define what it means to you for that need. Various individuals may have a different interpretation of what a basic need means. The need for intimacy, for instance, can imply sexual touch, for one person, where if can mean being physically near and cuddling in bed, as for another person.
- Describe how the need can be met. Using detailed behavioral explanations of how the need can be satisfied. “For instance, if you want privacy through physical contact, use a definition such as, “Ask my spouse to hug me every time they get home” instead of just stating “Hugs”.
In the end one must realize how needs play an important role in our lives. Our needs decide what we eat, how we feel, our choices and even our actions. However, that doesn’t mean our needs are static, they constantly change with time. Sometimes some needs are the complete opposite of our other needs and may get in the way. But regardless, need fulfillment is a never-ending cycle.
Loved the Article! The explanation was so good!