
Maslow’s Hierarchy – Pyramid of Human Template for PowerPoint
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology proposed initially by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” often referred to simply as Maslow’s Hierarchy. It later became one of the most prominent and widely discussed theories of human motivation in the 20th century.
According to Maslow, human needs and motivations comprise 5 levels. It postulates that there are specific needs that humans must satisfy in a certain sequence — the lowest-level needs must be satisfied before the next level up can be addressed. The “hierarchy” refers to the fact there is a sequence to these needs, and not all of them can be satisfied at once.
The first level is the physiological needs, which are needs for life and basic physical survival. This includes such things as food, water, sleep, and so on.
The second level is safety and security needs, which include the need for stability, the need for being part of a community, and the need for health and protection.
The third level is the need to belong, which includes the need for friendship and intimacy.
The fourth level is esteem needs, which includes the need for achievement and recognition.
The fifth level is self-actualization needs, which include the need for self-fulfillment, transcendence, or reaching full potential.
Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans’ innate curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories of human development, some of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans rather than motivation.