Maslow's pyramid - human motivation and needs. The essence of Maslow's theory of motivation (pyramid)

November 15, 2013

Abraham Harold Maslow (1907-1970) was a representative of behaviorists, one of the most prominent founders of humanistic psychology. The main book of Maslow's theory is Motivation and Personality, published in 1954. It was subsequently revised and supplemented by the author in 1970.

All human Maslow's needs divided into five groups and called them basic needs. That is, according to Maslow's theory, people have large number a variety of needs, but also believed that they could be divided into five main categories.

In Maslow's theory, the famous pyramid of needs shows that all of them are satisfied by the individual in a hierarchical order: from lowest to highest, that is, from the base of the pyramid to its top.

Maslow's theory states that at any given moment in time a person will satisfy the need that is most important and strong for him. But when a person develops as a person, his potential capabilities expand. Therefore, the highest need, the need for self-expression, can never be fully satisfied. And if so, then the process of motivating a person through his needs is an endless process.

The first level needs according to Maslow's theory are physiological needs

These are the needs for food, sleep, shelter, etc. According to Maslow's theory, until a person satisfies these needs, he will not develop new ones. From the point of view of labor motivation, these needs are material. These include the need for a stable salary, as well as other monetary rewards. Satisfying the needs of this group is possible through methods of material incentives.

The second level according to Maslow's theory is safety needs.

That is, it is not just the need for food and shelter, but also the confidence that he can satisfy this need every day. From the point of view of social and labor relations, this is pension and social security, which can be obtained subject to good reliable work, social package, various types social insurance.

The third stage according to Maslow's theory is social needs, the need for communication.

How less people communicates with his own kind, the more he degrades. And vice versa. And when a person communicates, he wants others to accept him, a feeling arises social interaction, support.

These needs are expressed in the presence of a permanent place of work, attachment to one’s team, and warm relationships with work colleagues. People get used to one place of work, and even if they have the opportunity to get a higher-paying job, they still don’t quit.

It makes sense for an employer to take measures to meet the social needs of employees. For example, to meet the social needs of workers in the process collective work the following activities should be carried out:

• give employees work that would provide them with the opportunity to communicate during the work process;
• hold business meetings with employees from time to time;
• try not to destroy informal groups that have arisen if they do not cause real damage to the enterprise;
• create conditions for social activity employees of the organization outside its framework;
• create a team spirit locally.

The fourth stage according to Maslow's theory is the need for respect and recognition.

This is, first of all, the need for self-respect, recognition from others, and pride in one’s achievements. To meet the recognition needs of his employees, a manager can apply the following measures:

• offer employees jobs that highlight their value;
• provide positive feedback on the results achieved (praise, certificates, prize competitions);
• highly evaluate and encourage the work results achieved by subordinates;
• involve employees in making important decisions;
• delegate additional rights and powers to subordinates;
• provide training and retraining that improves competence.

And the fifth, highest level according to Maslow’s theory is the need for self-realization and personal growth.

According to Maslow's theory, only after satisfying lower needs does a person begin personal growth, his formation as an individual. To meet the self-expression needs of employees, you should:

• provide employees with training and development opportunities that enable them to fully utilize their potential;
• delegate to employees complex and important work that requires their full commitment and increases their importance;
• stimulate and create conditions for the development of creative abilities among employees.

It should be noted that in the process of creating his theory, Maslow came to many more conclusions. For example, Maslow concluded that business performance and personal development are not incompatible. In fact, the process of self-actualization leads to increased productivity of each individual.

Application of Maslow's theory

Maslow's theory is widely used in management, but is also the subject of criticism.

First, Maslow's theory has been criticized for not taking into account individual differences in people and the preferences they develop based on past experiences.

Secondly, in fact, there are enough historical examples, when a person turned away from physiological needs in favor of some high ones. For example, many Christians in ancient times were martyred for their religious values. Even animal studies have proven that physiological needs do not dominate their decision making.

I tried to give an answer to the inconsistency of Maslow's theory.

Theories of motivation analyze the factors influencing. Much of their subject matter centers on the analysis of needs and their impact on motivation. These theories describe the structure of needs, their content and how these needs are related to a person’s motivation for activity. These theories attempt to understand what motivates a person to act. The most famous theories of motivation of this group are: the theory of the hierarchy of needs by A. Maslow, the theory of ERG (needs for the existence of growth and connections), developed by K. Alderfer, the theory of acquired needs by D. McClelland, the theory of two factors by F. Herzberg, the theory of expectations by V. Vroom, Porter-Lowler model.

Maslow's theory of motivation

Includes the following basic ideas and premises of motivation:

• a person constantly feels some needs;
• a person experiences a certain set of strongly expressed needs that can be combined into certain groups;
• groups of needs are hierarchically located in relation to each other;
• needs, if they are not satisfied, motivate a person to action; satisfied needs do not motivate people;
• if one need is satisfied, then another unsatisfied need takes its place;
• usually a person simultaneously feels several different needs that interact with each other in a complex manner;
• needs located closer to the base of the “pyramid” require priority satisfaction; needs of a higher level begin to actively affect a person after the needs of a lower level are largely satisfied;
• higher level needs can be satisfied a large number ways than the needs of the lower level.

In his book Towards a Psychology of Being, Maslow later added a list of higher needs, which he designated as growth needs (being values). However, Maslow notes that they are difficult to describe, since they are all interconnected and cannot be completely separated from each other, therefore, when defining one of them, it is necessary to refer to the other. The list of existential values, according to Maslow, includes: integrity, perfection, completeness, justice, vitality, richness of manifestations, simplicity, beauty, goodness, individual originality, truth, ease, a penchant for play, honesty, self-sufficiency. According to Maslow, existential values ​​are often a powerful motive for human activity and are part of the structure personal growth.

Alderfer's ERG theory

Just like Maslow, Clayton Alderfer in his theory proceeds from the fact that human needs can be combined into separate groups. But he believes that there are three groups of needs: 1) existence needs, 2) communication needs, 3) growth needs.

The groups of needs in this theory are quite clearly correlated with the groups of needs in Maslow's theory.

Existence needs seem to include two groups of needs in Maslow’s pyramid - safety needs, with the exception of group safety, and physiological needs. The group of communication needs clearly corresponds to the group of belonging and involvement needs.

The need for connection, according to Alderfer, reflects the social nature of a person, his desire to be a member of a family, to have colleagues, friends, enemies, superiors and subordinates. Therefore, this group can also include part of the needs for recognition and self-affirmation from Maslow’s pyramid, which are associated with a person’s desire to occupy a certain position in the world around him, as well as that part of the security needs of Maslow’s pyramid, which are associated with group security. Growth needs are similar to the self-expression needs of Maslow’s pyramid and also include those needs of the recognition and self-affirmation group that are associated with the desire to develop confidence, self-improvement, etc. These three groups of needs, as well as in Maslow's concept, are hierarchical. However, there is one fundamental difference between the theories of Maslow and Alderfer: if Maslow believes that the movement from need to need occurs mainly from the bottom up - from lower needs to higher ones, then, according to Alderfer, the movement occurs in both directions - upward, if the need is not satisfied lower level, and down if the need of a higher level is unsatisfied; Moreover, in case of unsatisfaction of a need at a higher level, the degree of action of a need at a lower level increases, which switches a person’s attention to this level.

According to Alderfer's theory, the hierarchy of needs reflects an ascension from more specific needs to less specific ones and each time a need is not satisfied, a switch occurs to a simpler need. Alderfer calls the process of moving up the levels of needs the process of need satisfaction, and the process of moving down the process of frustration. The presence of two directions of movement in satisfying needs opens up additional features in motivating a person. Alderfer's theory of needs is relatively “young” and does not have sufficient empirical support for its correctness. However, knowledge of this theory is useful for management practice, since it opens up search prospects for managers effective forms motivations related to a lower level of needs, if it is not possible to create conditions to satisfy the needs of a higher level.

McClelland's theory of acquired needs

Determines a person’s motivation for activity and is associated with the study and description of the influence of complicity and the need for power. According to McClelland, the needs of the lower levels (vital) modern world, as a rule, are already satisfied, so attention should be paid to satisfying the highest human needs. These needs, if they are clearly manifested in a person, have a noticeable impact on his behavior, forcing him to make efforts and carry out actions that should lead to the satisfaction of these needs. At the same time, McClelland considers these needs as acquired under the influence of life circumstances, experience and training.

Need for achievement manifests itself in a person’s desire to achieve his goals more effectively than he did before. A person with a high level of need for achievement prefers to set goals for himself and usually chooses moderately difficult goals and tasks based on what he can achieve and what he can do. Such people like to make decisions and be responsible for them, they are obsessed with the tasks they solve, and take personal responsibility.

Based on his research, McClelland came to the conclusion that this need can characterize not only individuals, but also individual societies. Those societies where the need for achievement is high usually have developed economies. On the contrary, in societies characterized by a weak need for achievement, the economy develops at a low rate or does not develop at all.

Need for participation manifests itself in the form of a desire for friendly relations with others. People with a high need for participation try to establish and maintain good relationship, gain approval and support from others, are concerned about what others think of them. The fact that someone needs them is very important to them.

The need to dominate just like the previous two, it is acquired, develops on the basis of learning, life experience and consists in the fact that a person seeks to control the resources and processes occurring in his environment. The main focus of this need is the desire to control the actions of others, influence their behavior, and take responsibility for their actions and behavior. The need to rule has two poles: firstly, the desire to have as much power as possible, to control everything and everyone; secondly, the desire to completely renounce any claims to power, the desire to avoid such situations and actions that are associated with the need to carry out power functions.

The needs of achievement, participation and mastery in McClelland's theory are not mutually exclusive and are not arranged hierarchically, like Maslow's concepts and Alderfer's theories. Moreover, the manifestation of the influence of these needs on human behavior depends on their mutual influence. For example, if an individual is in a leadership position and has a high need for power, then for successful implementation management activities in accordance with the desire to satisfy this need, it is desirable that the need for complicity be expressed relatively weakly. A combination of a strong need for achievement and a strong need for power can also lead to a negative influence, from the point of view of the manager’s performance of his work, since the first need will always orient power towards achieving the personal interests of the manager. Apparently, it is impossible to draw unambiguous conclusions about the direction in which the three named needs influence each other. However, it is absolutely obvious that it is necessary to take into account their mutual influence when analyzing human motivation and behavior and developing methods for managing the process of formation and satisfaction of needs.

Herzberg's two factor theory

The idea is that all needs are divided into hygiene factors and motivations. The presence of hygiene factors only prevents the development of dissatisfaction with living conditions (work, place of residence, etc.). Motivations that roughly correspond to the higher level needs described by Maslow and McClelland actively influence human behavior.

Vroom's expectancy theory

Based on the proposition that the presence of an active need is not the only a necessary condition motivating a person to achieve a certain goal. A person must also hope that the type of behavior he has chosen will actually lead to satisfaction or the acquisition of what he wants, “... workers will be able to achieve the level of performance required to receive a valuable reward (the value for each person is only his, i.e. individual, value - praise, work that they like, position in society, satisfaction of the need for self-expression), if the level of authority delegated to them, their professional skills are sufficient to complete the task,” notes V. Vroom.

Porter-Lowler model

Layman Porter and Edward Lauler developed a comprehensive procedural theory of motivation, which includes elements of expectancy theory and . Their model includes five variables: effort, perception, results obtained, reward, and satisfaction.

According to the Porter-Lowler model, results achieved activities depend on the efforts, abilities and characteristic features the individual, as well as from his awareness of his role. The level of effort exerted is determined by the value of the reward and the degree of confidence that a given level of effort will actually entail a very specific level of reward. Moreover, this theory establishes a correspondence between reward and results, i.e. a person satisfies his needs through rewards for achieved results. Thus, productive work gives satisfaction. Porter and Lauler believe that a sense of accomplishment leads to satisfaction and improves performance, which means that high performance is a cause of overall satisfaction, not a consequence of it.

Hedonic motivation theory

Hedonic motivational theory believes that a person strives to maximize pleasure, enjoyment and minimize displeasure, discomfort, pain, suffering. One of the developers of this theory is the American psychologist P. Jung. He believes that pleasure is the main factor that determines the activity, direction and organization of employee behavior. In Jung's theory, behavior is determined by the emotion that follows the behavior. If this emotion is positive, the action is repeated; if it is negative, it stops. Proponents of hedonic theory believe that emotional sensations are perceived as pleasure only up to a certain level. Then satiety sets in and the same feeling is perceived as displeasure.

IN lately hedonic theory is called “two-dimensional” due to the identification of two significant factors: the level of stimulation; hedonic tone, which relates to subjective pleasure.

Psychoanalytic motivational theory

Psychoanalytic motivational theory was created and developed by the Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. It is an example of a psychodynamic approach to the study of human behavior. Freud's theory is based on the recognition of the existence of certain psychological forces that shape human behavior and are not always realized by him. This can be interpreted as a response to various stimuli. Freud argued that driving forces human behavior are instincts:

• Eros - the instinct of life;
• Thanatos - the instinct of aggression, destruction, death.

Instinct, according to Freud, has four main parameters - source, goal, object and stimulus.

Psychoanalytic theory views a person as a unity of three structural components:

• “Ego” (I) - consciousness of oneself, personal certainty;
• “Id” (It) is a reservoir of instincts and impulses;
• “Superego” - the moral aspects of human behavior surrounding the personality - the unconscious.

Drive theory

Drive theory is considered a type of behaviorist model S- R, Where S - stimulus, R— reaction. The creator of the motivational drive theory is American psychologist Carl Hull. According to this theory, a person tends to independently maintain his internal state, any change in inner world personality leads to a certain reaction. First of all, a person tries to nullify any changes. The elements of neutralization are drives (attractions). New attempts occurring after a reaction and reinforcing the forces of this reaction are called reinforcement. Behavior that is reinforced by something becomes quite firmly entrenched in the employee’s psyche. In organizations in developed countries market economy this system is used in the process of stimulating employees to labor activity through monetary rewards and various types of incentives. However, at the same time, a mood is created in the employee’s psyche to expect reward: if you do not reinforce it several times productive work worker, he gets used to it and no longer imagines work without additional remuneration.

Conditioned reflex theory

The theory of conditioned reflexes was developed by the great Russian scientist I. P. Pavlov. The basis of his theory is the body’s reaction to external stimuli - conditioned and unconditioned reflexes, recognized as the foundation of motivation. Pavlov paid special attention conditioned reflexes. The stereotype of thinking and behavior serves as the psychophysiological basis of the attitude, which is the central component of the individual’s motivational system.

McGregor's Theories X and Y

Scientist, famous for his works in the field of leadership, called the preconditions of an authoritarian leader in relation to employees Theory X.

The ideas of a democratic leader about employees differ from the ideas of an authoritarian leader. McGregor called them Theory Y.

These theories create very different guidelines for the implementation of the motivation function. They appeal to different categories human needs and motives.

As you can see, when different approaches On the issue of motivation, all authors agree on one thing: motive is the reason, the stimulator of human activity. Due to the fact that the motives of each person are individual, determined by the characteristics of his personality, the existing system of value orientations, the social environment, emerging situations, etc., the ways to satisfy needs are different. The motivational sphere is dynamic and depends on many circumstances. But some motives are relatively stable and, subordinating other motives, become, as it were, the core of the entire sphere.

Differences in Action different people under the same conditions when achieving the same goals are explained by the fact that people differ in the degree of energy and perseverance, some respond to various situations with a variety of actions, while others act in the same situations in the same way.

At the heart of any activity is a motive that encourages a person to do it, but the activity cannot always fully satisfy the motive. In this case, a person, having completed one activity, turns to another. If the activity is long-lasting, then the motive may change during its process. So, good pencils, paints inspire the desire to paint with them. However, after a while the drawer may get bored with this activity. Sometimes, on the contrary, while maintaining the motive, the activity performed may change. For example, having first become interested in drawing watercolor paints, the person then begins to work with oil. Between the development of a motive and the development of an activity, “discrepancies” often arise: the development of motives may advance the formation of an activity, or may lag behind it, which affects the result of the activity.

Motivation determines the choice between various possible actions, regulating, directing the action to achieve target states specific to a given motive and supporting this direction. In short, motivation explains the purposefulness of action.

Motivation is not a single process that permeates behavior evenly from beginning to end. It consists of heterogeneous processes that regulate behavior, primarily before and after an action. So, first there is a weighing process possible outcomes actions, assessing their consequences. Despite the fact that the activity is motivated, i.e. aimed at achieving the goal of the motive, it should not be confused with motivation. Activities consist of components such as skills, abilities, and knowledge. How and in what direction various functional abilities will be used depends on motivation. Motivation explains the choice between different possible actions, various options perception and possible ways thinking, as well as intensity and perseverance in carrying out the chosen action and achieving its results.

The history of science knows many attempts to substantiate certain motives of human activity; it seems that this question should generally be considered in the context of “eternal” questions, and put on a par with such as “who am I,” “what am I for,” “what I can" and so on. Among modern concepts that aim to answer the question of the motives of human activity, one can cite Alderfer’s theory of growth, the doctrine of acquired needs, developed by McClelland, the concept of Herzberg’s two factors and a number of others.

In the mid-fifties of the last century, Maslow’s theory of motivation, which the scientist developed, initially focusing on the need to form modern systems management of socio-economic behavior in

As the starting points of his doctrine, A. Maslow proceeded from the adoption of such provisions, which then became the prerequisites for the formulation of the main ideas of the theory of motivation.

So, Maslow argued that human needs are an objective fact, while various stages of his existence he can experience first one of them, then another. Moreover, some of them may be present throughout life, while others may occur episodically. On this basis, the scientist concludes about the existence of a certain hierarchy in and, consequently, about the motives that are formed by them. As Maslow's theory of motivation states, in the course of life, needs that are not satisfied encourage activities aimed at satisfying them.

Further, if some of them are already satisfied, then they, in turn, form the motives for “taking” a higher level. Based on this ranking, A. Maslow’s classification took the form of a pyramid, at the base of which he put needs, the satisfaction of which is the primary task. These are physiological: in food, rest, sleep and other factors of the elementary physical life support of the individual. According to Maslow, needs that have already been satisfied do not motivate a person to be active, and, in addition, their structure is dynamic - some that are already satisfied are replaced by others that are unsatisfied.

According to A. Maslow, it contains five levels (or steps).

At the first stage are those that provide a person with basic survival in the natural environment as a biological being. These are the needs for a clean atmosphere, water, shelter, food, rest, and so on.

The second stage is occupied by needs, on the basis of which motives for ensuring one’s own safety are formed, and here Maslow’s motivation includes not only aspects of a physical nature, but also social ones - these are motives that encourage good work in order to have higher earnings, live more comfortably, receive medical care, etc.

The most ordinary person-in recognition, communication, maintaining partnerships and friendly relations, in the organization and maintenance of collective forms of life are located in the middle of A. Maslow’s pyramid.

At the fourth stage, Maslow’s theory of motivation provides for the location of needs that mediate and determine motives of a high social level - inducing activities that provide social recognition, achievement of power status, claims for public recognition of a person’s services to society.

The fifth stage is occupied by needs that initiate motives of personal social significance. Here a person is motivated to achieve high creative indicators and their recognition by society.

Since Maslow’s theory of motivation assumes that the connections in the pyramid are dynamic, that is, the achievement of one need forms a new one, and then the motive to satisfy it, it is important to imagine and be able to answer the question of what happens when a person reaches the fifth, the last, top step?

A. Maslow answers this question in such a way that achieving such a level does not mean at all that there is a disappearance or some weakening of the effect of needs on the formation of motives for activity.

Introduction

1. Theory of A. Maslow

2. Hierarchy of needs

3. Characteristics of self-actualization

Conclusion

Bibliography

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), the founder and leader of the humanistic movement in post-war Western (primarily American) psychology, is rightfully considered not only one of the largest, but also one of the most interesting figures in psychology of the 20th century.

Maslow is one of the founders of humanistic psychology. He made significant theoretical and practical contributions to the creation of an alternative to behaviorism and psychoanalysis, which sought to “explain to the point of destruction” creativity, love, altruism and other great cultural, social and individual achievements of mankind. All my psychological work Maslow associated with the problems of personal growth and development, considering psychology as one of the means contributing to social and psychological well-being. He insists that an adequate and viable theory of personality must address not only the depths, but also the heights that each individual is capable of achieving.

WITH light hand Abraham Maslow's concepts of motive and need, self-actualization and personal growth are among the key, even iconic, in modern psychology.

The purpose of this work is to study A. Maslow’s theory of motivation.

The objective of the work is to study the concepts: “motive”, “need”, as well as consider the hierarchy of needs, the theory of self-actualization; the essence of A. Maslow’s theory and its significance for the further development of psychology and related sciences.

Abraham Maslow developed theory of motivation, at the base of which he placed a pyramid needs. This theory explains how certain things arise or are caused. motives how and in what ways motives are put into action, as is carried out motivation .

A person's life is determined by his needs. Needs, both physiological, base, and spiritual, sublime. And in order to understand what goals an individual sets for himself and what he strives for, it is necessary to understand what needs and when the individual has or may have. This paradigm implements the systemic principle of development, i.e. movement from bottom to top from simple to complex.

The starting point of Maslow's theory is a revision of the concept of instinct. Maslow replaces the concept of instinct with the concept basic needs (basicneeds) that have instinctoid nature in the sense that they express the nature and species specificity of man. Unlike instincts, they can remain undeveloped, since their innate instinctive component is weak and is easily outweighed by other factors associated with external environmental (cultural) influences. Maslow identifies five groups of needs:

1) physiological (hunger, thirst, sexual desire, sleep, etc.);

2) security needs (confidence, security, order, etc.);

3) needs for contact and love;

4) needs for recognition, evaluation, respect (including self-esteem) and

5) need for self-actualization.

According to Maslow, “Human needs are arranged in a hierarchy. In other words, the emergence of one need is usually preceded by the satisfaction of another, more pressing one. Man is an animal that constantly experiences certain desires.”. Maslow identifies five sets of goals, which he calls basic needs. The hierarchical nature of these needs or goals means that “The dominant goal monopolizes consciousness and in a certain way stimulates and organizes the various abilities of the organism required to achieve it. Less pressing needs are minimized, or even forgotten or denied.”

Lower needs - starting with physiological ones - are at the same time more pressing. If they are not satisfied, all activity is directed towards their satisfaction, while the remaining needs simply do not exist for the individual. at the moment. When physiological level needs are satisfied, they cease to determine behavior; comes the turn of security needs, etc. In general, higher-level needs can motivate behavior only if the needs of lower levels are satisfied.

Basic They name only needs from physiological to respect and self-esteem inclusive. The highest need, together with new cognitive (cognition) and aesthetic needs in Maslow’s system is called metaneeds (psychological needs - cognitive and aesthetic and self-realization needs).

According to Maslow, some characteristic can be considered basic need , if it satisfies the following conditions:

"1. Its absence leads to illness.

2. Its presence prevents disease.

3. Its restoration cures the disease.

4. In certain, very complex, situations of free choice, the subject prefers to satisfy this particular need.

5. In a healthy person, it may be passive, function at a low level or be functionally absent.”

People may or may not be aware of their basic needs. "The average person- writes Maslow, - they are much more often not realized than realized... although suitable techniques and sophisticated people can help to realize them." Behavior, as noted above, is the result of many forces. It may be the result not only of several basic needs combining in some way, but also of personal habits, past experiences, individual talents and abilities, and the external environment.

2. Hierarchy of needs

Now let's look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs in more detail:

· Physiological needs

The most basic, the most powerful, the most imperative of all human needs are those associated with physical survival: the needs for food, water, shelter, sexual gratification, sleep and oxygen. A subject who lacks food, self-esteem and love will first demand food and, until this need is satisfied, will ignore or push into the background all other needs. Maslow writes:

« Physiological needs are directly related to human biological survival and must be satisfied at some minimum level before any higher level needs become relevant, i.e. a person who fails to satisfy these basic needs will not be interested in the needs occupying the highest levels of the hierarchy for long enough, since it very quickly becomes so dominant that all other needs disappear or fade into the background.

For a person who is extremely and dangerously hungry, there are no other interests other than food. He dreams of her, he remembers her, thinks about her, his feelings are dedicated to her: he perceives only her and only wants her... One can really say about such a person, but he lives by bread alone ».

· Security and Protection Needs

These include the following needs: the need for organization, stability, law and order, predictability of events and freedom from threatening forces such as disease, fear and chaos. Thus, these needs reflect an interest in long-term survival. Preferring a secure job with a stable, high income, creating savings accounts, and purchasing insurance can be seen as actions motivated in part by the search for security.

Another manifestation of the need for safety and protection can be seen when people are faced with real emergencies - such as war, flood, earthquake, uprising, civil unrest, etc.

Thus, under the need safe we must understand the need to preserve and prolong the sustainable satisfaction of lower needs. In other words, if a person is fed and warm in current moment, but has no one nearby and, not a ruble in his pocket, not a friend in the city, or is on a desert island with a piece of bread and a bucket of water, then he, first of all, will think about how he will be provided with tomorrow. He will begin to look for water, food, shelter for the night, etc. And his anxiety will not disappear until all problems, including protection from wild animals or dangerous people, will not be resolved for the foreseeable future.

Child psychologists and teachers have discovered that children need a predictable world: the child prefers consistency, correctness, and a certain routine. When these elements are missing, he begins to experience anxiety and uncertainty. Therefore, freedom within certain limits is preferable to complete permissiveness: according to Maslow, it is precisely such freedom that is necessary for children to develop good adaptation to the world around them.

Insecure or neurotic adults behave much like insecure children. " Such a person- says Maslow, - behaves as if he is almost always threatened by a major disaster. He reacts to ordinary situations as if extraordinary events were happening... The neurotic adult seems to be constantly afraid that he will be spanked."An insecure subject needs order and stability and strives in every possible way to avoid the strange and unexpected. A psychologically healthy subject also seeks order and stability, but for him, unlike a neurotic, this is not a matter of life and death. A mature individual at the same time shows interest in new things and mysterious.

· Needs for belonging and love

When physiological and safety needs are satisfied, the needs for love, affection and dependence take center stage. As Maslow notes, the subject is now "..will need emotional relationships with people, to take a worthy place in his group, and he will intensely strive to achieve this goal. He will want this more than anything in the world and may even forget that when he was hungry, he laughed at love as something unreal, unnecessary or unimportant ".

But the actual fulfillment of needs primarily depends on our motivation. Today there are many different motivational theories. In this article I would like to tell you about probably the most popular of them - Maslow's theories of motivation.

In 1943, Psychological Review published an article by Abraham Maslow entitled “A Theory of Individual Motivation.” Within the framework of these reflections, Abraham Maslow tried to develop a formulation of the individual’s motivation, which would be based on his needs. The difference between Abraham Maslow's theory of motivation and the work of famous psychological specialists of that period, such as Skinner and Freud, whose conclusions were mostly speculative or based on the habits of animals, was that it was based on experiments with individuals in hospital settings .

The basis of motivation according to Maslow is five basic needs. Maslow's pyramid:

1. sexy and carnal- in movement, breathing, a roof over your head, reproduction, clothing, rest, etc.
2. security needs- confidence in the future, security and stability in life, in people around, the desire to prevent mistreatment, in guaranteed employment;
3. social needs- in interaction with society, in love, in being in a social group, in attention to oneself, making a contribution to common activities, caring for one’s neighbor;
4. self-esteem needs- need for respect from “important others”, in social status, V career advancement, prestige and recognition;
5. moral needs(needs for expression through creativity), embodiment of one’s skills and abilities.

The first pair of needs according to Maslow’s motivation model are classified as primary (innate), the remaining three are secondary, socially acquired. Maslow was of the opinion that needs are realized in stages - from lower to higher needs. Behavior will be motivated by higher-level needs only if lower-level needs are satisfied. In his own model, Maslow gave rise to the principle of dominance or subordination, which significantly distinguishes his model from other similar ones. The intensity of a specific need depends on the place it occupies in the hierarchical structure.

Physiological needs are paramount and form a behavioral dominant. The actions and thoughts of an individual whose physiological needs are not satisfied will be entirely focused on their fulfillment. It turns out that the purpose of the existence of such an individual will be precisely this need. But when a need is fulfilled, there will be a shift in the goals of this individual to the fulfillment of a need of a “higher” order...

Then there are security needs. As usual, they include: the very need for the safety of the individual (protection from difficulties that depend on life activity), in the desire for a stable existence, the need for organization, structure, legality and others (based partly like the first group of needs - on the instincts of self-preservation ). These needs will prevail over all others only in extreme situations, when the individual realizes high degree danger, under pain of death.

If physiological and security needs are satisfied at the required level, the need for love and affection becomes urgent, and the next round of the motivational spiral begins. The individual begins to feel the absence of friends, a girlfriend, a loved one or offspring in a way that he has not felt before. He wants to get friendly, close relationships, he needs social group, which could give him such a relationship, a family in which he could feel like he belonged. It is precisely this goal that turns into the most important one for a person. Perhaps he had already forgotten that not so long ago, when he was in need and hungry, the word “love” only made him smile disapprovingly. And from then on, he suffers from loneliness, he experiences his rejection with particular pain, searches for information about his ancestors, looks for a friend, a person with the same interests.

Recognition needs are divided into two types. The first includes aspirations that are related to the concept of “achievement”. An individual needs to feel his omnipotence, competence, adequacy; he needs a feeling of self-sufficiency and confidence. Another type of needs includes the need for reputation, the need to gain attention, status, recognition.

Against the background of the embodiment of the needs for respect and prestige, the individual develops a feeling of self-confidence, a feeling self-importance, his compliance with the world around him, the feeling that he is useful and necessary for this world. An unembodied need, on the contrary, causes a person to feel humiliation and worthlessness, which in turn are a reason for despondency; against their background, neurotic and compensatory processes arise.

Even if all the indicated needs of an individual are satisfied, one can expect that after some time he will again encounter dissatisfaction because his occupation is not at all what his purpose is. It is clear that a musician needs to be interested in music, a painter needs to paint portraits, and a poet needs to write poems if they want to live in unity with themselves. This need can be called the need for self-actualization. A person begins to search for that area and that activity in which he will be able to show all his abilities, which differ from the skills of other individuals.

This can happen differently for each person. Some want to reach extreme heights, while others have small ambitions and are content with little. A certain connection is visible with the intellectual abilities of the individual himself. The higher the intelligence of a person, the more demanding her desires are, the more individual her needs for self-actualization.

Maslow concluded that lower-level needs operate equally in all people, while higher-level needs operate to varying degrees. For this reason, it is precisely the highest needs that differentiate individuals to a large extent. At the same time, the more high level needs, the more important is the role of the individual himself in their conscious education. The individual, driven by needs, in turn creates their content. All needs act cyclically, thus repeating themselves once again, but at a higher level.

Activate your motivation:

• You need to determine (only honestly) your own motivation for each area of ​​your life (work, love, etc.). What level are you at now? Is there anything to strive for?
• If your needs are still at a lower level, think about it, maybe this is due to the background of insufficient satisfaction within this level; or have you actually stagnated, and this level no longer meets the requirements of your current status?
• Constantly tell yourself about your next task, for example: “In my career I want to achieve success and prestige.”
• Don't lie to yourself. You cannot indulge yourself and objectively assess your own abilities.
• Hang the definition of the desired level of claims somewhere visible.
• Periodically repeat to yourself: “I am doing this in order to ………………….”.
• Perhaps understanding the need for promotion will not arise immediately. But try to prove this to yourself every day for a long time.

Meanwhile, we are convinced that huge amount individuals stop moving forward when they achieve success, prestige, and recognition. Having achieved a specific status in a certain field, people often prove to themselves that they already have everything they need (after all, this was a cherished dream some time ago). Only after a while do they begin to realize that they stopped moving in vain, and the current situation no longer meets their requirements. However, the lost time is gone forever.

You should not stop moving at the initial stages of realizing your needs - the fullness of existence lies in constantly improving yourself and environment. Otherwise, your life will pass inconspicuously, boringly and gloomily, and will be taken for granted.