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Super models

By Dr Mike Clayton (June 2008 Issue)
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Most of us have to work for a living, but there must be more to life. Abraham Maslow developed one of the best-known models to examine what it is.

Maslow built upon Henry Murray’s Theory of Needs to develop an enormously influential model. In a seminal 1943 paper, he divided human needs into broad groups and arranged them in an ascending sequence. When we fulfil our needs at the lowest level, the next level will dominate our attention. When these are satisfied, the next needs emerge.

The first needs are Physiological – often referred to as ‘survival’ needs. These are our biological drivers: from food and water to warmth, sleep, and stimulation.

Once a caveman survived, he sought security. This is provided by the second level – our Safety needs. These are about creating a long-term basis for survival and are met by an ordered society and a feeling that we have a secure place within it.

Next, our caveman needs friends; our Love needs come next. Now referred to as ‘social’ or ‘belonging’ needs, we all want the company and affection of others.

Once our caveman has a tribe, he seeks prominence – we next crave to meet our need for Esteem. This is our desire for the regard of others and then to believe in ourselves.

When we have met all these needs, we finally seek to be the best, most fulfilled person we can be. This is our need for Self Actualisation – a term introduced by Kurt Goldstein in the late 1930s. It refers to our desire to achieve our potential and manifests as self-expression, learning and development, and contribution to society.

As one of the most widely used models in organisations, Maslow’s work has received a lot of attention, both developmental and critical. Development has focused on the levels – mostly dividing Maslow’s by, for example, splitting Esteem into ‘recognition’ and ‘self-esteem’ or separating ‘cognitive’ and ‘aesthetic’ levels from Self Actualisation. Indeed, Maslow himself added ‘transcendence’ as a final level – supporting others in achieving Self-Actualisation.

More profoundly, Clare Graves’ initial development of Spiral Dynamics drew on the Hierarchy of Needs, although Murray and Maslow subsequently fell out. Maslow also created his own corollary to McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y. His Theory Z differed from William Ouchi’s and posited that after achieving the lower-level needs, we want a values-led workplace where we can be creative and fulfilled.

The principal critique of Maslow’s work is the weakness of his research base – a criticism he fully accepted. He also agreed that his levels are not a one-way street, giving examples in his original paper.

However, this criticism stuck and is the basis of Clayton Alderfer’s ERG Theory, with Existence, Relatedness and Growth as the three basic needs.

Maslow was a giant figure in organisational psychology and his central place in motivation theory is secure, with links to the work of Herzberg, McClelland and others named above. Other models are more insightful, but thinkers like Peter Drucker and Chris Argyris continue to refer to Maslow, whose model therefore remains a vital one for us to know.

References:

1. Maslow, Abraham. (1943). A theory of human motivation, Psychological Review, vol. 50, 1943.
2. Maslow, Abraham. Motivation and Personality 3rd Ed. Harper & Row, 1987.

Dr Mike Clayton founded Thoughtscape to offer coaching, training and facilitation, with a focus on managing and leading in the context of change. He can be contacted at mike@thoughtscape.net.

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