It is necessary to determine how relevant this or that need is at the moment for a certain person. For example, if the subject is a deep introvert, prone to solitude and loneliness and does not need communication, then he will not need it. A person who is safe and knows it perfectly well will not strive to protect himself even more. In other words, if the need is satisfied, then it is no longer relevant, and the subject moves to the next level of the hierarchy. Urgent needs are those that are not satisfied.
The idea of the hierarchy of human needs in the form of Maslow's pyramid is a clearly structured scheme, as psychologists of our time believe. Despite this, difficulties arise in its practical application; moreover, the model itself sometimes erroneously leads to incorrect generalizations.
Despite the statistics, questions vk database arise about this theory. Many people do not receive recognition for their achievements, does this fact really darken their existence? Can we place hope in those who systematically go hungry? There is much historical evidence that great achievements of people took place because their needs were not met. "An artist must be hungry" - the muse comes to those who are underfed or in poverty. And unrequited love? How many masterpieces of poetry and music were created because of it?!
Some data say that A. Maslow himself rejected this theory after some time. His subsequent works "Towards a Psychology of Being" of 1962 and "The Far Reaches of Human Nature" of 1972 contain a significantly revised concept of human motivation. Thus, the pyramid lost its significance. However, professionals in the field of marketing and psychology are still looking for ways to apply it in their field of activity.
Criticism of Maslow's Theory
Maslow's pyramid is criticized primarily for its hierarchy. And also for the fact that human needs cannot be fully satisfied. Some experts interpret the concept of the American psychologist in a very unflattering way. They believe that the pyramid characterizes the subject as an animal that constantly demands something. Other researchers say that the hierarchy of basic human needs cannot be used in practice in the field of marketing, entrepreneurship and advertising.
But Abraham Maslow did not try to adapt his concept to business or marketing. He tried to answer questions that had led such schools as orthodox psychoanalysis according to Freud or reflex theory to a dead end. The scientist’s goal was to determine the motives of human actions; his work is not so much methodical as philosophical.
Maslow's pyramid not only classifies needs, but also reflects a certain hierarchy of them: first the basic ones - physiological, then intellectual, creative. Any person has the whole spectrum of these needs, but there is a pattern: the basic ones come first, and the higher ones appear only when the main ones are satisfied. All people express their needs differently, regardless of the level of the hierarchy. Therefore, a person needs to correctly interpret their desires and satisfy them correctly. Otherwise, the situation can lead to a state of constant disappointment and anxiety. By the way, the author of the theory believed that only 2% of people reach the highest level.
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