A Hierarchy of Needs

I think I've learned exactly how the fall of man occurred in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, and Adam said one day, "Wow, Eve, here we are, at one with nature, at one with God, we'll never age, we'll never die, and all our dreams come true the instant that we have them." And Eve said, "Yeah... it's just not enough is it?"

Bill Hicks, comedian (1961 – 1994)

When I was working towards my Bachelors in Psychology…and later towards a MBA…I studied Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in classes related to organizational behavior and the psychology of personality.

As an intellectual exercise, Maslow’s Hierarchy Motivational of Needs seemed to make a certain amount of sense on how individuals are motivated…and to a certain extent how the needs and wants of communities/groups of people are established. But I never gave much thought to Maslow’s theory beyond class work. The below graphic outlines Maslow’s five basic levels of motivational needs in the traditional pyramid form: Physiological, Safety, Needs for Love Affection and Belongingness, Needs for Esteem, & Needs for Self-Actualization.

The gist of the hierarchy of needs is as follows…individuals/groups of people work their way up the pyramid from the most basic (deficiency) needs to the higher…more evolved (growth) needs…as each level of need(s) becomes satisfied.

I started to think about Maslow’s theory a lot recently, as I began to try to understand a variety of observations from my youth…and this theory seems to go a long way to explain many of them.

One example that comes to mind is within family groups. I grew up very middle class in a wealthy Southern California beach town and had the opportunity to watch rich & successful families up close & personal. Many of the wealthy parents in my town grew up poor and worked really hard to become rich and successful. If these folks had children AFTER they attained success, the children had a high sense of entitlement and demanded a lot of their parents. If however, these folks had their children while they were still struggling to make ends meet...the children seemed to be very grateful for whatever perks they received from (a successful) mom & dad.

Another thing I noticed is that parents (like mine) who grew up during the Depression seemed to function (as parents) on the lower levels of Maslow’s pyramid of needs: physiological & safety. Regardless of their levels of personal success, they felt they were doing a very good job as parents by providing their children with basic physiological and safety needs…probably because those needs were lacking in their own childhood(s). What was really interesting is that these parents felt completely confused and perplexed when their own children demanded so much more from them than they expected from their parents. Things like love, affection, a sense of belonging and self-esteem were perceived as trivial or frivolous rather than a legitimate need.

I guess at the end of the day, there really is something to Maslow's theory. Humans by their very nature are a needy bunch. As soon as one set of needs is fulfilled...they need something else...and can never seem to find contentment.

***

The late comedian Bill Hicks’ observation on human nature was right on target: “Yeah...it’s just not enough now...is it?”

References

Anonymous. (2007). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved May 27, 2008,
http://talkingtails.wordpress.com/2007/07/23/maslow-greek-philosophy-indian-mysticism/

Simons, J.A., Irwin, D.B., and Drinnien, B.A. (1987). Psychology: The Search for Understanding. Retrieved May 27, 2008, http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/maslow.htm