Human Needs

Human Needs
Kevin Stromsoe
PSY/202
January 18, 2012
REBBECA MAREK

Human Needs
The Maslow hierarchy of needs is a hierarchy that suggests that before more sophisticated higher needs can be met that primary needs need to be satisfied. That means that the needs on the bottom of the pyramid need to be fulfilled before you can address the needs on the higher-level end of the pyramid. The basic needs consist of primary drives such as needs for water, food, sleep and sex. To be able to move up the hierarchy one must first meet these basic psychological needs. The thing that comes next in the pyramid would be safety which Maslow suggests that people need a safe and secure environment to function effectively. The psychological and safety needs are what make up the lower-end needs. Once someone has met the basic lower-end needs they can start to fulfill the higher-end needs on the hierarchy. These needs are things such as the need for love and a sense of belonging. These are the needs where you need to obtain and give affection. Also they consist of esteem and self-actualization. Esteem is the need to develop a sense of self-worth. Once you have gotten through these four stages you can then strive for the highest-level need which is self-actualization. This stage refers to the state of self-fulfillment in which people can realize their highest potential.
This hierarchy makes sense in every way possible. It makes sense from the point that you first have to address the lower-end needs before you can think about addressing the higher-end needs on the hierarchy. It pretty much means that you have to learn how to love and take care of yourself before you can ever love someone else. If there is not a sense of belonging then there is no way that someone can give someone else affection. That is why you need to work from the bottom of the pyramid up addressing your own needs before you worry about the needs of others. It all goes back to the old saying that you can’t... [continues]

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