ABRAHAM MASLOWS THEORY OF HIERARCHY OF

NEED WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON NEED FOR SELF

ACTUALISATION
According to Maslows theory, there are five types of needs that
must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly.The needs
are arranged in a hierarchical order. The upward climb is made
by satisfying one set of needs at a time. The most basic drives
are physiological. After that comes the need for safety, then the
desire for love and the belongings, and then the quest for
esteem.And then comes the need for self actualisation.
All five need are explained in brief below:
1. PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS- These needs are basic physical
need of necessities of life and therefore is the very first need
out of others which arises in ones mind.these needs are
meant to satisfy the need of body.As body craves for food,
liquid, sleep, shelter, oxygen, sex, freedom, temperature, etc.
2. SAFETY NEEDS- This need is mainly dependent on
psychological needs.As once we have managed certain level
of physical comfort then well seek to establish stability and
consistency for those comforts.In this need, the great
emphasis is on avoiding shocks from life.But an adult
human being will always want consistency in the world of
surprises.
3. LOVE & BELONGING NEED- The love or belongingness
needs come into play after the physiological and security
drives are satisfied.Maslow says that this love is seeking to
fill a void by understanding accepting and selecting

others.The man who attains this level will feel keenly as

never before, the absence of friends, or a girlfriend, or a
wife, or children.Even though its higher in the hierarchy than
physical or safety needs, the desire for love and belonging is
similar in that it motivates only when a person feels a deficit.
4. ESTEEM NEED- This need is basically attention and
recognition that come from others.Human is more conscious
about self respect in this need to attain and therefore
struggles to achieve it and also to maintain the position in
society.
5. SELF ACTUALIZATION NEED- Maslow described the need
for self-actualization as the desire to become more and
more what one is, to become everything that one is capable
of becoming.People feel this gentle but persistent tug to
maximise their potential only after they have satisfied their
basic deficiency needs.Self-actualization can take many
forms, depending on the individual.These variations may
include the quest for knowledge, understanding, peace, selffulfillment, meaning in life, or beauty.Maslows vision of selfactualization as the highest human attainment
Maslow certainly is a father figure to those who are part of
the if-it- feels-good-do-it tradition.Here person wants to be
independent, will have intimate personal relationships, selfacceptance and others, democratic values,etc self
actualisation is therefore occurs at last in which person
wants to protect what he has and achieve what he is
incapable to achieve.