Self-Actualization

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

As noted, other needs must be met before self-actualization becomes a dominant motivator of behavior. Self-actualization is at the pinnacle of what Maslow defined as a hierarchy of human needs. In this hierarchy, lower needs (described as “pre-potent” needs) typically must be met before higher needs emerge. Physiological needs are the most primary in this hierarchy. Although Maslow himself declined to make a list of physiological needs, citing the nearly endless contributors to physical homeostasis, “food” is his prime example of this type of need. Maslow suggests that if an individual is starving or near starving, he or she is essentially defined by that hunger. In most cases, an individual with extreme hunger will eschew higher needs, such as love and belonging, to fulfill the body's need for nourishment.

Once physiological needs are met, the next level of need—safety—immediately rises to consciousness and begins to drive behavior. Interestingly, Maslow suggests that these new needs arise and that physiological needs, once fulfilled, are nearly forgotten. Thus, the need for food may suddenly seem trivial compared with the need for physical protection—provided the individual continues to have a steady food supply. This cycle of need, fulfillment, and forgetting occurs at every stage of the hierarchy.

Maslow asserts that average adults in affluent, organized societies have few safety needs under typical conditions. Most have little need to worry about physical attacks, fires, and so forth. Thus, safety needs in these individuals are expressed in subtle ways, such as the desire for savings accounts and steady jobs. However, Maslow notes that safety needs drive individuals in less stable conditions, such as those living in low-socioeconomic conditions, or under wartime conditions. He also suggests that certain mental health conditions reflect, in part, safety needs. He argues that individuals with neurotic or compulsive tendencies are psychologically similar to children in their sense of danger. However, although children truly are dependent on others for safety, the neurotic individual only feels as if this is the case. Likewise, just as children seek to avoid unpredictable events because of the danger they might present, people with compulsive behaviors try to make the world orderly and predictable to avoid perceived danger.

...