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List of 84 Life Needs John Spacey, updated on
Life needs are the things that an individual is motivated to obtain in life. This begins with air whereby if you don't have air, this will be a top priority. A well known theory known as Maslow's hierarchy of needs places needs into a hierarchy of priorities like this whereby it is difficult to achieve needs at the next level when your needs at a lower level haven't been satisfied. The following are the levels of Maslow's hierarchy with examples of each.
Physiological NeedsYour basic physical needs related to the body. These are required to survive and thrive as a physical being. Generally speaking, if these needs aren't met it is difficult to move on to higher level needs.Safety NeedsThe need to be protected from harm. This focuses on physical harm but can also include social or emotional harm.Social NeedsThe need to bond with others and to belong to social groups.Esteem NeedsThe need for respect and admiration from others and from yourself.Cognitive NeedsThe need to be mentally stimulated and to use your mind in productive ways. This includes elements such as lifelong learning, curiosity, research, experimentation and problem solving.Aesthetic NeedsThe pursuit of culture and nature that is inexpressibly beautiful including non-visual things such as music and literature. This is essentially a combination of cultural needs and nature needs.Self-ActualizationThe need for your life to be deeply meaningful.Maslow's Hierarchy of NeedsMaslow's hierarchy of needs originated with American psychologist Abraham Maslow's 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation." This is often depicted as a strict hierarchy of needs with physiological needs forming a base for a pyramid of higher level needs. It can be noted here that Maslow himself never published such a pyramid diagram but it is based on his work.The central idea behind this pyramid of needs is that you must satisfy one level before progressing to the next. For example, it is difficult to focus on how many friends you have if your basic safety needs haven't been met. This is true to Maslow's model as he did certainly point out that people have stronger motivation to achieve higher level needs when their more basic needs have been met.Criticism of Maslow's Hierarchy of NeedsMaslow's hierarchy of needs is often presented as a strict hierarchy whereby all your needs at one level must be fulfilled before you can move on. This is arbitrarily easy to disprove. For example, people experiencing poverty who are struggling to meet basic physiological needs may devote significant motivation and resources to religion that represents a transcendence need at the top of the pyramid. As such, Maslow's hierarchy of needs should not be viewed as a theory that is accurate in predicting real world behavior. Nevertheless, it is a useful concept that often rings true whereby if you are struggling with dire needs it is difficult or impossible to devote resources to higher level needs. In practice, there are cultural and individual differences in how needs are actually prioritized.NeedsThis is the complete list of articles we have written about needs.If you enjoyed this page, please consider bookmarking Simplicable.
NeedsAn overview of needs with examples.Safety Needs
An overview of safety needs with examples.
Economic LifeAn overview of personal economic life with examples.Functional Needs
Lists of different types of functional needs.
Simple Things
An overview of the simple things in life.
PlayThe definition of play with examples.Why Family Is Important
A list of reasons that families are important.
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