What is Abraham Maslow's pyramid of needs? We plan the family budget according to Maslow's pyramid of needs

25.09.2019 alternative energy

Drawing up and maintaining a family or personal budget is not as easy as it seems. On the one hand, everything seems to be simple - I calculated how much you need approximately for food, for payment utilities, for clothes, for household needs and so on. But then you suddenly remember that you wanted to buy yourself new pants, and the equipment had to be updated. And after all, you also need to look at the dentist - and away we go! So many things are needed family budget not rubber, and money does not grow on a tree. But I also want to postpone, so that there is a reserve just in case.

How to find perfect option budget planning, so that it works out for both ours and yours? That is, and take into account everything you need, and leave yourself for small and medium pleasures (especially large ones should always be planned in advance)? One option is to budget based on Maslow's pyramid of human needs. By the way, quite interesting and practical option!

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Pyramid of needs is a commonly used name for a hierarchical model of human needs, which is a simplified presentation of ideas. American psychologist A. Maslow. The pyramid of needs reflects one of the most popular and well-known theories of motivation - the theory of the hierarchy of needs. This theory is also known as needs theory or hierarchy theory.

The idea is to distribute your income so that all needs are met according to their priority: physiological needs, security needs, social needs, prestige needs, and spiritual needs.

On the one hand, everything seems to be simple and clear. But on the other hand, sometimes there are doubts about what type of needs to attribute one or another item of waste. For example, buying a new smartphone or laptop can be interpreted in two ways: at first glance, this is clearly not a physiological need and not a need for security, but if we consider this purchase as a necessary working tool for new work, its position in the list immediately changes.

Budgeting according to Maslow's pyramid of needs

Physiological Needs

  • Rent or loan payments
  • Basic livelihoods: groceries, grocery items (no frills), and water.
  • Clothing: not designer, but exactly what is needed (a warm jacket if winter has begun, etc.).

Security Needs

  • Electricity and gas
  • Phone fee
  • Medicine (money for medicines, doctor calls, procedures, and hospital) or insurance
  • Car (gasoline) or public transport costs
  • Maintenance of a house or apartment (suddenly the pipes break through - there should always be a supply).
  • Operating costs associated with your business.

Social needs

  • Present
  • Charitable contributions
  • Entertainment
  • Spending time with family and friends

prestige needs

  • Appropriate work attire (expensive suits, ties, cufflinks, shoes)
  • Additional training and development in professionally(various trainings, seminars and courses)
  • Money for lunch at restaurants
  • Sports activities that are not related to basic biological needs (visiting a sports club, individual sessions with a coach, buying expensive sportswear or equipment, and so on).

Spiritual needs or self-realization

  • Hobby
  • Internet costs, if it is not necessary for work.
  • Vacation and travel for no reason, not out of necessity.
  • The cost of luxury goods (here they each have their own).

To be honest, drawing up and maintaining a household budget has always been not very easy for my family. But over time, we were able to draw up our own system, and it more or less coincides with the one I gave in this article: the most necessary things always come first - home, food, work, medicine and study, and only then do the rest of the items come, which can really be combined into the "Desires" group.

And you know what? It really works!

How do you manage your budget? Do you have your own system and how well does it work?

Maslow's pyramid of needs is a hierarchy of human needs, a well-known theory of motivation, based on the works of a psychologist from America, who became the founder of humanistic versification.

Used successfully in modern economy Maslow's pyramid of needs, and is considered as a model of the needs theory of motivation, the behavioral factor of the consumer.

For the first time, Maslow's pyramid of needs appeared in the form of a graphic image "Hierarchy of needs" in the textbook on marketing and psychology by W. Stopp in 1975, after Maslow's death five years later. In the early 80s of the 20th century, the schedule of needs was replaced by a pyramid pattern, which his students came up with to better understand Maslow's theory in a visual form.

Maslow's pyramid of needs

1st need: physiological: removal of hunger, thirst, intimacy, sleep, oxygen, clothing.

Sometimes this need is called instinctive, basic, basic. Therefore, a person gives it priority attention, otherwise he will feel uncomfortable.
According to Maslow, the lower physiological needs lay the foundation for all other needs, and without their satisfaction, a person does not move and does not develop further. Even all living organisms have these needs.

Examples:

  • Waking up in the morning before work, you want to have breakfast: drink hot coffee and eat a sandwich, and not finish reading the pages of an interesting work.
  • The need for a visit toilet room will be a priority, instead of finding your place in the theater hall.

The needs of the first stage are very important, but they do not always prevail over the personality. Partial satisfaction is enough to step over to the second step of Maslow's pyramid.

2nd security need: stability, defense, dependency, freedom from anxiety, fear and chaos.

Examples:

  • A small child is scared, he is afraid of something, so he cries long and hard until he sees his mom or dad. The absence of parents from his field of vision, the child becomes irritable, he does not care what others think of him. He needs protection.
  • A believer also needs protection. Coming to church, he feels patronage higher powers. He calms down and believes only in a good future..

Stability in work, salaries are also related to this need.

3rd need for love and belonging: friendship, family, community.

It is natural for a person to become a part of society, he strives for this. AT adolescence it is necessary to join the environment where there is a leader or an idol in order to take an example of behavior from him.

With increasing age, a person sorts out the circle of his acquaintances, and it narrows. There are a few friends, buddies with the same views on life, work, interests. In any case, people live and become a formed part of society, where they feel their importance and usefulness.

For certain individuals, there is a need to meet a new friend. Some are limited to their family and children.

After satisfying the 3rd need - social, a person strives for the 4th stage of needs: to success.

4th need for recognition and respect: respect in the team, pride in oneself, status, excellent reputation, fame, manifestation of talent.

A person cannot be content with only family, home, children. He wants more. Having received the status of a specialist, they began to respect him in the team. And if he became a businessman, he is proud of himself. And if there is fame about his company, then his reputation rises.

Work becomes more than just work. A person awakens spiritual motivation and a great desire to create, to create much more, better and better. A person automatically moves to the next stage of Maslow's needs.

5th (later 7th) need for self-realization: a person does his job, he does well. His inclinations, abilities help in work.

When everything is fine, life is good. It seems to a person that he has not yet achieved everything, he begins to engage in self-development, self-realization, spiritual needs appear, the realization of his potential. The person is ready to move forward, to fight. Received life experience: democratic temperament, creativity helps to resist with social habits, a person is ready to educate himself and teach others, form new views and convince.

Abraham Maslow's research showed that only 1-3% of humanity reach the fifth (seventh) step of the pyramid, which have an excess of ideas and internal energy.

Scientist Maslow, his research

A little about Abraham Harold Maslow (from the former surname Maslov), was born into a poor family of emigrants (from Tsarist Russia) in 1908 in Brooklyn. He studied well, worked hard and often visited libraries. Became President of the Association social psychology and Department of Aesthetics. The ten-year period from 1960 to 1970 was a fruitful stage in his life, where most of his works were written.

The scientist believed that the behavior of mankind is motivated only to meet their personal life goals, moving gradually from one achieved need to the next and so on.

Abraham Maslow argued that in a large number of people all needs are like animal instincts, which are either innate or acquired.

Maslow's research proved that any person has five (seven) mandatory needs: from simpler, lower needs to higher needs. Human existence will cease if these needs are not met, and human development will not fully develop.

Additional work on Maslow's pyramid

People heard about the "Theory of Human Motivation" in 1943, which contained Maslow's main ideas about the features in the formation of human needs of successful and creative people. More detailed research was reflected in the book Motivation and Personality in 1954.

Scientist A. Maslow worked on a biography of healthy and active people. These included: Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, who became his ideals when developing the theory of motivation and pyramids.

Maslow's pyramid of 5 steps was and remains the achievement of that time. The scientist constantly improved the pyramid of needs. The works published in the 20th century were "The Psychology of Being" - 62g, and 71g "Far Limits of Nature".

In his writings, Maslow pyramids preserved all the needs: the first four remained in their places, and the fifth moved to the seventh place. Added two steps of the pyramid:

5 need, cognitive: know-be able-to explore.
A person constantly strives to learn a lot of information from smart cognitive programs. Spends a lot of time reading. Skillfully applies his knowledge in practice.

6 need, aesthetic: harmony-order-beauty.
Visiting art exhibitions and museums develops a person's harmony of beauty and inspiration about beauty.

Final thoughts. Examples

Maslow's pyramid has seven main steps. And according to the scientist A. Maslow, the hierarchy of needs is not stable, as it seems at first. But the majority of mankind obey the order of the sequence of the pyramid of needs, depending on their abilities and motivation, as well as on age.

People are divided into different categories, some will be able to neglect the satisfaction of basic needs for the sake of their goal.

Examples:

  • First he wants to become a rich businessman, and then arrange a personal life in old age.
  • For others, the priority is power and its triumph.
  • The third category - enough respect and love in the family.
  • The fourth is happy with a piece of bread and a bowl of soup.

Subjects have learned to satisfy their desires in accordance with the necessary needs.

Maslow's pyramid is a seven-level ladder, which presents a simplified version of the idea to satisfy a human need and its successive steps.

Do you want to know what level you are on? Find yourself on the step of the pyramid, if you have not reached your goal, rise higher, accepting the recommendations of the scientist.

The pyramid of needs according to Maslow can be found in textbooks, read on websites. The pyramid reflects human needs. It benefits and teaches how to correctly accept desires and needs. The main thing depends on each person, on the goal in life and the ability to think.

Maslow's pyramid of needs- is one of the most famous and often used theories about human needs. The theory of needs was first formulated by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow and is most detailed in the book Motivation and Personality.

The essence of Maslow's theory of needs

main essence Maslow's theory of needs is a hierarchy of human needs depending on the importance and necessity in life. Typically, this hierarchy is visualized as a pyramid. At the base of the pyramid are the basic human needs, at the top are the higher needs. If the basic needs are not satisfied, the higher ones will not be satisfied. Basic Needs:

  • Physiological needs - hunger, thirst, etc.
  • The need for security - housing, a sense of security, getting rid of fear.
  • The need for communication - to be in society, to communicate with people, to love.

Higher Needs:

  • The need for respect
  • cognitive needs
  • aesthetic needs
  • The need to realize their goals, abilities, development of their own personality.

As basic needs are met, higher needs become relevant. However, it is worth noting that the satisfaction of higher needs does not necessarily follow each other, and the previous need does not have to be 100% satisfied.

Application of Maslow's pyramid of needs

Maslow's pyramid of needs has been widely used in personnel management and is sometimes mentioned in the study. It is primarily studied to understand that material motivation is not as important as many people think, since it does not require significant Money. Maslow's pyramid of needs shows how great importance It has, . Based on Maslow's theory of needs, non-material needs are almost never 100% satisfied. And their satisfaction takes much longer than the satisfaction of material needs. Material needs can be attributed to hygiene factors based on.

Criticism of Maslow's theory

Despite such great popularity Maslow's theory of needs enough a large number of criticism. It should be noted that it is very difficult to assess the degree of satisfaction of a person and understand how satisfied the need is. In addition, Maslow himself noticed that the need for self-actualization is satisfied no earlier than by the age of 50, that is, it is necessary to make allowances for age. That is, there is almost no way to quantify and prove the consistency of Maslow's theory of needs.

Another problem is related to the fact that Maslow himself noted that often the order of the hierarchy can change, and there are people who are not at all interested in satisfying certain needs. At the same time, Maslow's theory does not explain why some needs continue to be motivators after they have been satisfied.

It is worth noting that Maslow, in conducting his research, took as an example very successful and active people. Which, of course, influenced the overall picture, and in order to draw up a pyramid of needs for most people, other larger studies are required.

Maslow's pyramid of needs is a visual representation of human needs in the form of a hierarchical pyramid. Based on the writings of Abraham Harold Maslow, American psychologist, founder of humanistic versification.

The main idea of ​​Maslow's pyramid theory:

  • Each step is a level of need.
  • A more increased need to be is lower, and a less pronounced one is higher.
  • It is impossible to satisfy a higher need without satisfying, at least partially, a lower one.
  • As needs are met, desires are shifted - human needs to a level, step, higher.

Description of Maslow's pyramid:

  1. Physiology- base needs of the body, aimed at its vital activity (hunger, sleep, sexual desire, etc.)
  2. Safety- the need to be sure that nothing threatens life.
  3. sociality- the need for contact with others and their role in society (friendship, love, belonging to a certain nationality, experiencing mutual feelings ...)
  4. Confession- respect, recognition by the society of his success, the usefulness of his role in the life of such a society.
  5. Cognition– satisfaction of the natural curiosity of a person (to know, prove, be able and study ...)
  6. Aesthetics- internal need and motivation to follow the truth (a subjective concept of how everything should be).
  7. I- the need for self-realization, self-actualization, the highest mission of one's existence, spiritual need, the highest role of a person in humanity, understanding one's meaning of existence ... (the list is very long - Maslow's pyramid of needs - often used by many people and "spiritual" organizations, with different systems worldview and the top put their highest concept of the meaning of human existence).

Important note. It is very easy to characterize the most basic need, just as easy to satisfy it. After all, anyone will answer what to do so that a person is full. But as the height of the position grows, it becomes more and more difficult to answer what is needed to satisfy this particular need. For example, on step 4: recognition- someone needs to win the respect only of their parents, and someone craves public glory. There won't be a universal answer for everyone.

Controversial, disadvantages of the pyramid of needs

First, myself did not invent the pyramid Mr. Abraham Maslow, and marketing companies that train their employees to increase sales. Maslow himself devoted half his life to the study of human needs. It turns out that this is primitive scheme of his works.

She is can't stand constructive criticism. For example, a person fasting (religious fasting) contradicts her concept.

It's a theory, not an axiom - theories must be proven, proving the pyramid of needs is quite difficult. How to prove - if there is no certain universal tool for each person - "consumer"(how to measure the strength of need?).

Benefits of Maslow's Pyramid

She is very popular– are studied everywhere in universities. It is used both in production - for personnel (even for organizing the workplace of an employee), in trade (search for supply and demand), in trainings ....

She is simple and concise- it is used for lack of a more convenient theory of needs.

She is universal- suitable for different social organizations.

She's like a prototype- its revised "improved" versions are often found in various psychological concepts.

History of Maslow's pyramid of needs. conjectural thought

In general, I look at the pyramid - there was a feeling that somewhere this has already been seen.

A. Maslow himself mentioned that the transition from one need to another is a person's life (by the age of 50 to the 7th step), but, in my opinion, it is still simpler:

Stages 1 and 2 (physiology and safety): these are the first years of the baby - all his needs are limited to food and the presence of his mother.

Stages 3 and 4 (social needs and recognition): the child has already grown up - all attention is drawn to himself; wants to be considered.

Stage 5 (knowledge): the period of "why-why".

Stage 6 (aesthetics): adolescence - understanding what is good and what is bad.

Stage 7 (I am self-actualization): adolescence - maximalism, searches - why I live.

P.S. I wanted to experimentally confirm this theory on the example of search queries from Yandex and Google. The idea itself: the higher the step (and the corresponding request) - the less it is searched for. The idea was partially successful (for example, the word [God] is searched 1,000 times less than - [ piii ...], cut out by censorship), but the problem arose in the objectivity of the proof.

Democritus called needs the main driving force, thanks to which humanity received the mind, language and thinking. Abraham Maslow packed all needs into a pyramid over half a century ago. Today, his theory is used in work, business and criticized at the same time. To learn how to use it to your advantage, you need to figure out how Maslow's pyramid works, what parts it consists of and why the steps are built in that sequence.

What is Maslow's pyramid

Maslow's pyramid is a schematic depiction of all human needs, from the simplest and most urgent to the most sublime. Back in 1943, the psychologist Abraham Maslow described the pyramid of values ​​with one goal in mind: to understand what motivates people to do certain things. Maslow himself only formulated this concept, and his students came up with a visual diagram.

Pyramid of Needs

American psychologist with Ukrainian roots Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was one of the first to study people's behavior from a positive point of view. Prior to this, all psychotherapy was reduced to the study of mental abnormalities or behavior outside the norm. Together with the founders of Gestalt therapy, Maslow formulated the main methods of psychoanalysis that psychotherapists use in their sessions.

What does Maslow's pyramid look like?

Usually the pyramid is depicted as a triangle:

  • The lowest and widest part are the physiological needs of the body. Our body is historically programmed to satisfy the need for food, thirst, sleep, sex. If it wants to eat or go to the toilet, then the brain is not capable of thinking about anything else.
  • Second step- the need for security. Like physiology, safety has been hardwired into our DNA since the time of the apes. The vital tasks of our ancestors were simple and uncomplicated: 1. Eat. 2. Reproduce. 3. Avoid the danger of being eaten. They helped humanity survive, which is why the need for security is also called the physiological fight-or-flight response.
  • Third step- the need for love and belonging to a group was also laid down in the days of cave dwellers, when it was simply impossible to survive alone. But it was precisely for life in a group that a person needed a new skill. This is willpower. If you don’t connect it in time, you can easily be fined and be expelled from the cave or into modern conditions, be blocked in the social network.
  • Fourth and fifth- the need for respect and knowledge. They are so interconnected that they come together. Indeed, among scientists and inventors, for example, the need for knowledge is much stronger than for recognition. For example, Grigory Perelman spent his whole life proving and proving Poincaré's theory, and then refused the prize and all titles.
  • Sixth step- aesthetic needs. These are museums, exhibitions, music, dances, hobbies, everything that brings pleasure to the soul and forms the intellect.
  • seventh step- the need for self-actualization or the desire to reveal one's spiritual potential. Here, too, not everything is clear. According to the logic of the pyramid structure, this need must be realized last. But after all, monks achieve the realization of their spiritual potential precisely by subduing their other needs.

Controversy over Maslow's pyramid

Maslow's pyramid of needs is often mentioned today not in connection with psychology, but with trade. It is used by marketers and sales representatives all ranks. On profile ones, they argue: if you “hit” the most basic needs of a person, you will surely be able to motivate him to purchase a product or service. But not everything is as simple as it seems.

The controversy over Maslow's pyramid of needs continues unabated. The first thing that makes this theory doubtful is the story of how Maslow himself selected people for research. At first he was looking for ideal people. But I didn't find it. After that, the harsh selection conditions were gradually softened, and a sufficient number of volunteers for testing were selected. But they were all close to the concept of "ideal man". In practice, there are few such people. Practice, as you know, is the criterion of truth.

The second thing that worries modern psychologists is “ inverted pyramid”, when self-improvement and self-actualization are at the forefront. When a person puts a certain ideal in front of him, strives for it and does not even understand why he needs all this. And the “medical reference book effect” also works: you read the reference book and immediately find all the diseases in yourself. Only today they read not reference books, but incredible stories of reincarnation, achievement, takeoff. And they seem to themselves imperfect, unworthy of something good. And only endless self-improvement will help correct the “non-ideality”.

Australian diplomat and scholar John Burton (1915-2010) developed and promoted Another Vision of Maslow's Pyramid. He considered a person as a whole person, for whom all needs are equally important. That is, none of the needs is considered lower or higher, needs cannot be excluded, ignored, be the subject of a deal or agreement.

But any theory is just a theory. The pyramid will remain beautiful picture, if it is not clear how you can apply it in real life.

How to "apply" the pyramid of human needs in everyday life

Example 1. Advertising agent

Not only advertising agents can use the pyramid of needs. We ourselves can understand ourselves and understand why we make certain purchases. After all, we often buy not an iPhone, but the opportunity to join the “club of the elite” (belonging to a group), we dream not about a fur coat, but about the opportunity to be cooler than a rival (need for recognition). Such introspection will help not only to understand yourself, but also to learn to resist persistent advertising and unreasonable spending.

Example 2. Hungry husband

In fact, this scheme was described in fairy tales: “feed the good fellow, give him a drink, steam in the bath, and then ask questions.” To paraphrase: satisfy the basic needs according to Maslow's pyramid and then already load your husband with smart conversations. But this rule applies not only during dinner. Often we work, forget about lunch and rest, with a headache we start to decide global problems, and then we are surprised "something the head does not cook." Sometimes it’s enough just to have a snack or sleep for half an hour and the brain will reboot on its own.

Example 3: Career changes

Many stories are published on the net today about how important it is to fulfill oneself in the profession “at the call of the heart”. One gets the impression that it is worth abandoning the hated work and the soul will turn around, ideas will start to beat with a fountain. And here it is not. The network publishes only success stories, and most of the failure stories remain behind the scenes. People leave with the desire to change their lives. And a month later they face a problem: their favorite business does not bring the expected income and one day there is simply nothing to buy food. And then the panic begins. And in a panic to create somehow does not work. Therefore, career strategy consultants advise finding a job that will bring a stable income and leave time for what you love. To paraphrase: when there is nothing to eat (physiology) and nothing to pay for an apartment (security), then your favorite business is not happy.

Example 4. Difficult teenager

It is especially important for a teenager to feel belonging to a group. Therefore, all these teenage movements, online groups, correspondence, secret societies. Some parents act radically - forbid. But forbidding a child to communicate means depriving him of a basic need. Therefore, psychologists advise not to ban, but to replace groups. For example, instead of playing online, get a teenager interested in sports. Then one group will be replaced by another, and nothing will need to be banned.

Example 5. Ideal partner

On request in a search engine "How to choose a partner" the system offers hundreds of links for testing. Who makes these tests is not clear. But in the pyramid of needs, everything is simple and clear. At first, you can just look at it on your own and understand what you want from life. Then you can talk about the needs with the chosen one. Someone constantly wants to go to exhibitions and refresher courses, and someone wants to eat and sit in social networks. Maybe it's better to discuss the difference in tastes on early stages than subsequently be disappointed in relationships and family life?

Conclusion: the Maslow pyramid is another way to understand the jungle of our desires and real needs.