Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

About Maslow

Abraham Harold Maslow is one of the best known American psychologists and developer of the Hierarchy of Needs Theory. He was born in Brooklyn, NY on April 1, 1908 and died on June 8, 1970. He developed a new discipline within behavioral psychology which he called humanistic psychology.[1] The main aspect of humanistic psychology is the belief “that every person has a strong desire to realize his or her full potential, to reach a level of ´self actualization´.” [2]

Motives and Needs

Daily, millions of people make decisions about which products to buy. One central aspect of consumer behavior is to learn about the motives that drive consumers to make consumption decisions and satisfy a specific need. Motives are “those factors that compel a consumer to take a particular action.”[3] Motives are directed toward satisfying a certain need.

A distinction must be made between biogenic needs like food, water and shelter, and psychogenic needs which result from our cultural context. These factors are central to explaining what drives people to buy food, clothing, or a brand new car.[4]

Physiological Needs

Physiological Needs (also referred to as Belongingness Needs) form the foundation of the need pyramid. Physiological needs compromisethe needs

for water, food, clothing and shelter. According to Maslow people try strive to satisfy these basic survival needs before moving on to higher level needs.

Safety Needs   The needs of the second level encompass safety and security aspects. For example, adequate housing provides protection and security. The housing shown in the picture would not satisfy the safety needs. However, safety needs do not only refer to housing issues. In fact, safety needs may also be relevant when parents choose a car for their child.

Social Needs (Belongingness Needs)

Major Social Needs are the desire to have satisfying relationships with others. Love, affection, friendship and acceptance are often referredto as

Belongingness Needs. This level is based on the human need for social interaction.

Self-Actualization Needs   The most difficult to define is the need for self-actualization. It describes the need for “self-fulfillment and the desire to realize one’s own potential.”[5] For example, climbing the Mount Everest would be an enriching experience for many passionate hikers. However, different people have different self-actualization needs. All in all, at this hierarchy level the individual strives to realize his or her full potential as a human being.

Central points of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs all people strive to satisfy five basic needs: Physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualizations needs. These needs constitute a hierarchy of needs, with the most basic needs at the bottom. Motivation derives from the lowest unsatisfied need level. Once the lower-level need is satisfied, the individual tries to satisfy higher level needs. For example, a homeless person will focuses on basic level needs and does not try to satisfy higher level needs (e.g. Esteem Needs).

Marketer’s Application

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provides a framework for marketers to determine which products to provide. In most Western countries basic level needs, such as physiological and safety needs are fulfilled. Therefore, the focus of most people lies on satisfying social and esteem needs. Recognizing this Maslow’s hierarchy provides marketers with a framework they can use to determine which products and services to provide. “Advertising campaigns can then be designed to show how a brand can fulfill these needs.”[6]

Critics

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provides a common framework for marketers to determine what needs people try to satisfy. However, cultural issues question the universal validity of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. “People in other cultures… may question the order of the levels it specifies.”[7] For example, “many Asian cultures value the welfare of the group (belongingness needs) more highly than needs of the individual (esteem) needs.” [8] This means that the order of the hierarchy levels may be different in other cultures.

Moreover, the model applies to Western industrialized countries rather than to developing countries. An individual in Kenia or Uganda would probably be more focused on physiological and safety needs. Esteem and Self-actualization needs would not have a great impact on most people in third world countries.

Furthermore, other theories like Alderfer’s ERG theory or McClellands Theory of Needs for Achievement, Affiliation and Power, suggest that people may try to satisfy more than one level at a time.

Related Theories

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is not the only behavioral theory that provides a framework for identifying consumer needs and related behavior.

Alderfer provides in his ERG Theory three universal categories of needs that motivate people: Existence, Relatedness and Growth. McClelland developed his theory which is based on the Needs for Achievement, Affiliation and Power.

Alderfer’s ERG Theory

Clayton Alderfer developed his ERG theory based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. He merged the seven need levels in three universal categories: Existence, Relatedness and Growth.[9]

Existence needs encompass the basic needs for food, water and a safe environment. This level represents Maslow’s level of Physiological and Safety Needs. The second category, Relatedness, refers to good interpersonal relations and communication. A comparison can be seen in Maslow’s levels of Social and Esteem Needs. Last, Alderfer developed the category of Growth Needs which refer to self-development in terms of creative and productive work.

According to the theory, a person is motivated to satisfy higher-level needs if all lower-level needs are satisfied. However in contrast to Maslow, Alderfer states that if a person is unable to satisfy higher-level needs, the motivation to satisfy lower-level needs increases. Moreover, a person can be motivated by needs at more than one level at the same time.

McClelland’s Needs for Achievement, Affiliation and Power

David McClelland distinguishes between three Needs: The Need for Achievement, for Affiliation and for Power.

According to McClelland, these Needs are motivate people’s actions. The Need for Achievement means to perform challenging tasks well and meet personal standards for excellence. Second, the Need for Affiliation is the concern of good interpersonal relationships, being liked and getting along well. Third, the Need for Power refers to the degree to which a person wants to control or influence others.

People are motivated by all three needs at the same time. Which need is the most influential depends upon the person’s personality and cultural background. This is a contrast to Maslow who states that people are only motivated by one need level. Moreover, McClelland’s theory takes into account cultural differences in need importance.

 References

Belch, George E. & Belch, Michael A. (2011). Advertising and Promotion 9^th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Solomon, Michael R. (2009). Consumer Behavior – Buying, Having, Being 9^th Edition. New Jersey: Pearson

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow 09/22/11German

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need_theory 09/22/11English

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_McClelland 09/22/11German

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Alderfer09/22/11English

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow

[3] Belch&Belch p. 113

[4] Solomon p.132

[5] Belch&Belch p. 113

[6] Bench&Bench p. 114

[7] Solomon p. 136

[8] Solomon p. 136

[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Alderfer 09/22/11