Critically examine the need hierarchy theory of motivation.
Answers
The Theory of Motivation Based on Maslow’s Need Hierarchy!
Psychologist Abraham H. Maslow has developed the theory of hierarchy of needs.
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The hierarchy is based on the following four assumptions:
1. A satisfied need cannot serve as a primary motivator of behaviour, only an unsatisfied need can influence behaviour and motivate people.
2. Human needs may be arranged in the hierarchy of their importance progressing from a lower to a higher order of needs.
3. As soon as the person’s needs are met on level, he moves up to the next level of needs. He will focus on the first level need until it is satisfied at least minimally before moving to the next.
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4. If satisfaction is not (cannot be) maintained for a once satisfied need, it will become a priority need again.
The Maslow’s need hierarchy consists of five types of needs. These needs in the order of priority are:
1. Physiological needs
2. Safety needs
3. Social needs
4. Ego needs
5. Self-actualisation needs.
The first three needs (Physiological, Safety and Social) are the lower-level needs while the next two needs (Ego and Sell-actualisation) are the higher order needs.
1. Physiological needs:
These are the most basic needs that an individual aims to satisfy. Those are the needs for food, clothing, shelter and other basic necessities of life. The strongest motivator, which can satisfy these needs, is money along-with a healthy work environment.
2. Safety needs:
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When an individual’s physiological needs are satisfied, safety needs get the most important priority as motivator.
Security or safety needs could be subdivided into three types:
(а) Economic security:
A man wants economic security, i.e., an assurance about the fulfillment of basic needs, on a continuous or permanent basis.
(b) Physical security:
These needs include protection against fire, accidents (including industrial accidents), terrorism and other types of physical dangers.
(c) Social security:
These include a need for security in old age, state of illness or permanent incapacity caused by some disablement.
3. Social needs:
As soon as the minimum safety needs are satisfied, the love needs (affiliation or social needs) become dominant. At this stage people desire friendship, companionship and a place in a group. Such needs are fulfilled by frequent interaction with fellow workers and acceptance by others.
4. Ego needs:
Ego or esteem needs may be self-esteem and esteem of others. The self- esteem needs include self confidence, independence, while the latter include power over others, prestige or reputation enjoyed in the work-group, respect or recognition from others etc.
5. Self-actualisation needs:
Maslow’s highest need level, self-actualisation or self- realisation refers to the desire for fulfillment, i.e., the need to maximise the use of one’s skills, abilities and potential. This is necessary for continued self development and for being creative in the broadest sense of the term,
The above listed needs have a definite sequence of domination as shown in Fig. 15.2. Second need does not dominate until first need is reasonably satisfied and third need does not dominate until first two need have been reasonably satisfied and so on. Another point to note is that once a need or a certain order of need is satisfied, it ceases to be a motivating factor.
Maslow's Need Hierachy
Critical analysis:
- Abraham Maslow's scale of requirements is one of the best- known propositions of provocation.
- Maslow's proposition states that our conduct are motivated by certain physiological and cerebral requirements that progress from introductory to complex.
- Abraham Maslow first introduced the conception of a scale of requirements in his 1943 paper, named".
- A proposition of mortal provocation," and again in his posterior book," provocation and Personality."
- This scale suggests that people are motivated to fulfill introductory requirements before moving on to other, more advanced requirements.
- While some of the being seminaries of study at the time similar as psychoanalysis and behaviorism — tended to concentrate on problematic actions, Maslow was more interested in learning about what makes people happy and what they do to achieve that end.
- As a humanist, Maslow believed that people have an inborn desire to be tone- formed, that is, to be each they can be.
- To achieve this ultimate thing, still, a number of further introductory requirements must be met. This includes the need for food, safety, love, and tone- regard.
1. Maslow believed that these requirements are analogous to instincts and play a major part in motivating geste
.2 There are five different situations of Maslow’s scale of requirements, starting at the smallest position known as physiological requirements.
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