A brief but in-depth evaluation and explanation on Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, detailing each stage of development and why it is imperative we have each need.

1. By Liz. A

2. Synopsis.
 Maslow was a media theorist that believed that humans go
through 5 crucial stages of development in life. In this
power point you will come across them all. It is important to
remember that there are many subsectors to the needs that
a human must have to develop fully as an individual.

3. Physiological Needs These are the first sets of needs in development that everyone has; These
are the things we don’t need to be taught as humans because it comes
naturally to us:
 Food: If we didn’t eat we’d die, its as simple as that so the desire to eat is natural and therefore it is one of the
very first physiological needs.
 Water: All life needs water to sustain itself and it is crucial that we intake liquids to be able produce energy.
The quality of water is not accounted for here.
 Sex: In life it is evident that we will eventually will engage in sexual intercourse at it naturally programmed
into our genes that we have a sex drive when we reach ultimate stage of self awareness. Intimacy is later on in
the hierarchy of needs as intimacy is developed through time spent together and therefore is not
instantaneous
 Sleep: Sleep is natural, without enough sleep we die of exhaustion and the process of falling asleep happens
almost instantaneously so therefore cannot be taught.
 Excretion: “Everybody poops” is what the book says and its true, we all excrete waste naturally on our own
however the location of where we excrete will be taught (even though studies prove that apes with similar
brain capacities as small children will naturally poop in the corner when in captivity).
 Homeostasis: This is the act of finding shelter/safety, this is something all creatures do as we naturally linger
towards a state of safeguarding.
 Breathing: We all naturally learn to take our first breath on our own at birth, this is key to our survival and is
the first thing we do as humans.

4. Safety The second set of needs in Maslow's hierarchy of needs are Safety orientated, they are not inherited and
are not instinctive instantaneously, they are learned and are the following:
 Security of Body: Learned through often pain we are at that stage when we are around 5 years old when we
become more self aware so we learn to become more careful of ourselves.
 Security of Employment: We eventually need to feel self worth and constructive and this is around a young age
and decide to help both ourselves and others though it is strictly not true that we will know how to at that early
stage.
 Security of Morality: Young children when they become self aware have a moral compass and social ideas that
they retain, already showing understanding of societal expectations from learning. They learn to protect their
ideas and keep their moral guard up.
 Security of The family: Animals and humans both display acts of protection over their family, elephants and
dolphins much like humans will mourn over their loss because they are taught through attachment that they are
social creatures.
 Security of the resources: Much like security of property it is natural and learned to be protective of our
environment and the things held within it and this is learned through attachment and time spent in the
environment.
 Security of Property: We learn to grow attached to certain objects when exposed to them for a long time and
therefore we try to secure our property as we become more fond of them.
 Security of Health: This is learned and not instinctive as many humans and animals could tell the difference
between when they are feeling sick and well. For example if dropped on an island at 3 years old throughout time
the child would begin to learn the difference between the good water from the free flowing stream and the bad
water in the lake as they would taste very different and they would prefer the cleaner tasting water.

5. Love/Belonging
 The third group of needs is love/belonging which is a
rather small group but is just as important for the
social aspect of development. This group is as follows:
 Friendship: Being accepted by peers is one need for
development but so is having peers so that the developing
mind is open and subjected to more than one idea.
 Sexual Intimacy: Developed at later stage in life, humans
often copulate for pleasure, reproduction and self worth.
This is known as Sexual Intimacy. It is key that an
individual should engage in acts of a sexual nature to keep
a level balance, achieving gratification in their self but
learning to engage with others.
 Family: Family is key within development as humans are
social creatures, requiring contact and closeness, affection
and reliability. This is often searched through in family.

6. Self Worth
 The fourth group in the developing stage is mainly psychological but holds physical
traits to itself as well i.e. mental health and well being can affect how an individual will
treat their body.
 Self esteem: For an individual to develop healthily one must consider their self esteem as if it is
low then this could effect their social stigmas, their physical and mental well being as well as the
wellbeing of others. So it is highly important for a individual to develop they must maintain a
high self esteem level to socialise, reflect and rationalise.
 Confidence: as many say, confidence is key and it is in the later development of the human
psyche. For a human to develop as an individual one must exert confidence to engage others and
appeal themselves.
 Achievement: If a human doesn’t feel a sense of achievement then what's the point? Well if
they don’t feel that sense then it can be hard for them to grasp a sense of self worth and then lose
a respect they have for themselves. This can result in aggression and disenchantment from
others.
 Respect of others: The respect we feel for one another is often described as admiration or
maybe its often more mutual than that. However the definition of respect isn't too important.
What is important is that we as people must retain respect for others and it must be
reciprocated. If it does not develop then the sociality of ones personal life can deteriorate
making it impossible to aspire and develop like other humans.
 Respect by others: To be respected increases confidence, self esteem and gives us a sense of
achievement. So to be well adjusted socially and reflectively we must be respected.

7. Self Actualisation
 Maslow states that the final stage in development on the hierarchy of needs is Self
actualisation. The stage where most moral compasses and decision making is
questioned and made.
 Morality: Humans must define what we deem to be moral and immoral to justify actions,
thoughts and feelings.
 Creativity: Creativity is essential in the development of the human psyche as it helps with
problem solving or can be used as a form of escapism. Though some individuals do not
consider themselves as “creative” what they simply do not understand is that as humans we
have a capacity to create scenarios and use this creation to help out understanding of
ourselves so that we become self actualised humans.
 Spontaneity: Spontaneity is incredibly important in the evolution of the mind. It is
believed that humans need spontaneity to allow for pathways to form in our understanding,
if humans weren't spontaneous then many of life's questions would go unsolved.
 Lack of prejudice: People have grown up and been raised with some prejudice ideologies,
whether this be influential from parents, peers or events it doesn’t matter, ‘Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs’ states that humans need a lack of prejudice to form bonds with not only
themselves but to self actualise what they believe is wrong and right.
 Acceptance of facts: Facts follow us around everyday, facts state the inevitable and define
between fiction and reality. A person must develop this acceptance of facts to be well
adjusted as they must be able define reality and have a balance between the creative escape
and the facts.
 Problem solving: Problem solving is a big part of self actualisation. People need to have
this stage developed so that they are able to fix disequilibrium in their lives. This boosts
logical thinking.