{"id":7405,"date":"2020-05-27T10:01:07","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T09:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/?page_id=7405"},"modified":"2022-03-01T11:36:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T10:36:31","slug":"self-esteem-and-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/more-self-esteem\/building-self-esteem\/how-to-deal-with-low-self-esteem\/how-low-self-esteem-affects-your-life\/self-esteem-and-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Self esteem needs feature in the hierarchy developed by Abraham Maslow<\/a> in 1943. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand the importance of self esteem it is necessary to understand Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Abraham Maslow<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With all my years of experience writing about self-esteem and my work with clients suffering from a lack of self-worth, I feel that this theory is one of the most important and helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this page, I will explain why esteem needs are placed at the top of the hierarchy and ask the question of whether Maslow got this right or not. This information should enable you to better understand your esteem needs so that you can begin building your self esteem and confidence to a level that will help you to live a more rewarding and successful life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is divided into 5 ascending levels. Esteem needs are placed on the second highest level, just below self-actualization at the top of the pyramid. Esteem needs are satisfied by others or the self, and include the need for confidence, image, recognition and respect.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you are interested in checking out the best way to satisfy your self esteem needs and confidence you can find it by clicking here: Self Hypnosis Audios to Build Self Esteem<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How and Why did Maslow Develop His Theory?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the core of what we know now about our self esteem needs is Abraham Maslow. He is an important psychologist in the area of humanistic psychology. This form of psychology comes from the 1950s, when some were seeking to make the subject less technical and more related to the humanistic nature of man. On this page we will discuss the nature of self esteem and try to explain Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To start with, Maslow became interested in explaining something very important to us all and very human, motivation. It seems logical that a humanistic psychologist would think about reasons for why we act in the way we do. Motivation is what drives us to act in a certain way. Therefore, it is impossible to successfully achieve any goal without motivation. Indeed, without motivation we wouldn’t push ourselves to learn or to try to improve ourselves or our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what did Maslow believe about motivation? He believed that the cause of motivation is a lack of something that we need (Shiraev 2011<\/a>). For instance, if we have no food, we get hungry and are motivated by hunger to find food. In today’s world, we don’t have to hunt, but we do have to go out and shop, and cook, (or maybe order) food. We need to eat. It’s simple cause and effect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maslow believed that when we lack important needs we will be motivated to get them. Seems easy to understand, doesn’t it? Well, Maslow went further and created his Hierarchy of Needs to put these needs in order of importance to try to explain behaviour. We will discuss, in particular, our self esteem needs and how they fit into Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I will also suggest that Maslow may have got things wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“Man is a perpetually wanting animal.”<\/p>Maslow, A. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50<\/em>(4), 370\u2013396<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was discussed in his article in the Psychological Review<\/em> in 1943. It is an ordered list of needs which motivate a human being. The most basic needs are at the bottom and must be fulfilled first. Once the basic needs are satisfied we move onto the next level of needs and so on to the top. The most basic are physical needs, such as food and sleep, the highest needs are self-actualisation (self development).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, I will take a look at what Maslow said about self esteem and how it fits into our general needs. Abraham Maslow is famous for his “Hierarchy of Needs”, and this shows how important he believed self esteem<\/a> to be. In my opinion, though, it is even more important than he thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most basic needs, according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, are the physical needs which we all have to satisfy in order to live. Using the case of someone who is hungry and cannot find enough food to eat, it is easy to see that this need will dominate his thinking and his goal will be to satisfy his hunger. Maslow further added that this man will not be able to think about any other higher needs until he solves his problem of sufficient food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the basic physical needs are satisfied, we start to focus on the next level which is safety and security. Perhaps a person will look for a safer place to live or wish to get a job which offers some security. As each set of needs is satisfied, we look to the next level of yet higher needs and we set new goals. In this way, we constantly seek to go higher up the pyramid or Hierarchy of needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maslow makes a very good point that we are therefore never happy because we keep looking forward to the next set of needs until we achieve them. When we do, we move on again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sense of gratification becomes important because in a modern society we structure our lives according to meeting these needs and achieving our goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abraham Maslow and Self Esteem Needs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Self<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As we move up the Hierarchy, the needs become more social. Your needs may now revolve around your sense of love and belonging. In the Maslow Hierachy of Needs<\/a>, your self esteem needs only feature when all more basic needs have been achieved. It is therefore a higher need. Maslow claims that virtually everyone has the need for self esteem and respect from others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esteem needs include your sense of achievement and worth, and how confident you feel<\/a>. Healthy self esteem is related to your self identity and how much you and others respect you. Maslow described these needs as something you seek when you were lucky enough to have satisfied the more basic needs including belonging and love needs (number 3 on the infographic above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your self esteem needs also include things like your status and dignity which is also related to your self respect and confidence. Anything that helps build a more positive self image will help to raise your self esteem and satisfy the psychological needs that Maslow placed in the second highest level of his Hierarchy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once these esteem needs are met, self actualisation needs become the most important focus. These represent the actual realisation of your true potential and your goals and aspirations in life. Here, Maslow lists needs such as acceptance of who you are<\/a> and facts, creativity and morality amongst others. The idea is that once you build a healthy level of self esteem you can move on to achieving real self improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two types of esteem needs according to Maslow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n