Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Human Needs
Abraham Harold Maslow
“According to Maslow's theory, all
needs have a certain priority. Needs
of one level must at least partially
fulfilled before a person can realize
higher needs.” (Ryder/Decker, 391)
What are Maslow’s Human
Needs?
Can you guess
what Maslow’s
levels of needs
are?
Self-actualization
Esteem Needs
Love and Acceptance Needs
Safety and Security Needs
Physical Needs
Physical needs
What did Maslow mean by
physical needs?
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Food
Water
Air
Shelter
Clothing
What physical needs do every
person have?
These items are essential for good health and wellbeing, and for continuation of life.
Physical needs
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In your learning log, consider these
questions? Write your answers in
complete sentences.
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Are you meeting these needs for your well
being and good health?
Who provides these needs for you?
Could you provide these needs for a baby?
Safety and Security Needs
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Staying well, avoiding being ill
How do these
Avoiding danger
safety and security
needs relate to you?
Safe circumstances
Stability
Protection
Structure, for order, some limits
Safety and Security Needs
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In the ordinary American adult, this set
of needs manifests itself in the form of
our urges to have a home in a safe
neighborhood, a little job security and a
nest egg, a good retirement plan and a
bit of insurance, and so on.
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Which of these are met for you?
Which of these needs could you provide for
a baby?
Love and Acceptance Needs
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Friends, sweetheart, children,
affectionate relationships in general,
even a sense of community
What are some examples of love
and acceptance you see in your
life?
The Esteem needs
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Self-esteem
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The need for the respect of others, the
need for status, fame, glory, recognition,
attention, reputation, appreciation, dignity,
even dominance.
Self-respect
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Confidence, competence, achievement,
mastery, independence, and freedom
Self-actualization
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According to Maslow, only a small
percentage of the world’s population is
truly, predominantly, self-actualizing.
Can you think of people who fit into
the self-actualization category?
Self-actualization
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Knowledge and appreciation of beauty, goodness,
freedom and a realistic view and acceptance of self
and others.
Reality-centered, differentiate what is fake and
dishonest from what is real and genuine.
Problem-centered, treating life’s difficulties as
problems demanding solutions, not as personal
troubles to be railed at or surrendered to.
Different perception of means and ends, felt
that the ends don’t necessarily justify the means,
that the means could be ends themselves, and that
the means -- the journey -- was often more
important than the ends.