Child Development
Hierarchy of Needs: Developed by Abraham Maslow, this theory describes human development as a progression through a series of needs that begins with the primitive and ends with more advanced, intellectually-based needs. This structure is usually depicted as a pyramid built of several layers, with each representing a subset of human needs.
The first four layers are referred to as Deficiency Needs. In other words, the absence of any one of them produces feelings of anxiety and stress which motivate subsequent behavior. Maslow believed that once these needs were consistently met, they stopped being motivational:
- Physiological needs. These form the primitive base of the structure and include all the survival needs of human beings, including food, water, sex, sleep, warmth, excretion, etc. These basic needs must be filled before any others.
- Safety needs. Once survival needs are met, humans seek to find safety through predictable structures, such as a good job and financial security, good health and well-being, insurance for accidents and illness, etc…
- Social needs. Once safety needs have been met, humans seek belonging and intimacy with others in relationships that are based upon emotional connection. They need to love and be loved, both sexually and platonically.
- Esteem needs. If social needs are met, humans seek to be respected and to respect others. They need opportunities to contribute and to be recognized for these contributions. Imbalances in this category lead to problems with low self esteem.
