What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

About this episode

What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Thanks for asking! During the Covid-19 pandemic, governments around the world have taken it on themselves to judge what’s essential or not for their citizens. Think of non-essential shops, businesses, products and leisure activities, for example. Restrictions based on these judgements have evolved constantly during various stages of lockdown or closures. At an individual level, the Covid era has forced us all to think more deeply about what is truly essential to get by day to day; things we may have taken for granted before. Small comforts or luxuries have had to be sacrificed in many cases. Back in the 1940s, American psychologist Abraham Maslow came up with a paper entitled “A Theory of Human Motivation”, in which he suggested a hierarchy for human needs.  It’s commonly represented as a five-level pyramid, with physiological needs at the base, being the biological component for survival. Working up from there, you’ve got safety needs, love and belonging needs and then esteem needs. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualisation, which means a person reaching their full potential. How does the theory relate to human behaviour? What do those critics argue? And in what ways has Covid been an equaliser? ⁠In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!⁠ To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: ⁠What is the Covid vaccine pill?⁠ ⁠What is the black fungus epidemic?⁠ ⁠What is geophony? ⁠ A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First Broadcast: 14/8/2021 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices