Designing Interactive Media for Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Layer by Layer
By Rebecca Jalowicz
Abraham Maslow was a jewish American psychologist born on April 1st, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York.
His parents were first generation immigrants who had to flee from the czarist persecution of Jewish people.
Maslow was a product of the public school system. After high school in Brooklyn, he attended the City College of New York City. From there he began studying psychology at the University of Wisconsin for his master’s degree. While at the University of Wisconsin he became an experimental behaviorist and developed the positivist mindset he is now known for.
After receiving his master’s degree started conducting research at Columbia University and taught at Brooklyn College. Living through the horrors of WWII led him to study the idea of self actualization and Maslow developed a new discipline in psychology, known as humanistic psychology. From there on he developed the theory of the hierarchy of needs and his research focused on both mental health and human potential. Abraham Maslow died on June 8th, in 1970 after having a heart attack.
Maslow’s Theories
Humanistic Psychology
Maslow believed that people can grow and heal themselves. The point of therapy is to remove the obstacles to this growth.
Basic Principles of Humanistic Psychology
- Someone’s Present Functioning is most important
- Individuals must take personal responsibility for their actions
- Every individual person is inherently worthy, simply by existing
- The ultimate goal of living is to attain personal growth and understanding
Maslow considered his work to be the other half or the complement of Sigmund Freud’s work. Freud contributed to the sick half of psychology whereas Maslow contributed to the healthy half.
Positive Psychology
Research looking into the positive side of things and how things can go right as opposed to the pessimistic side.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” — Abraham Maslow
Definition— a hierarchy of human needs, all the needs of one level must be met before addressing another level.
When all the needs are met, that individual achieves self actualization.
Self actualization — achieving the fullest use of one’s talents and interests
Qualities of self actualized people — truth, goodness, beauty, wholeness, dichotomy, aliveness, uniqueness, perfection, necessity, completion, justice, order, simplicity, richness, effortlessness, playfulness and self-sufficiency.
“A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be” — Abraham Maslow
Examples for Digital Designers… Layer by Layer
Now lets apply these theories to some apps or games you might use. First some definitions.
Key
✨ — Magic, a fantastic example of the ingredient being demonstrated
💨 — Dust, an example that does not work/suit the ingredient being demonstrated
Level 1/Bottom Level
Physiological needs, these are the basic needs that a human needs to live such as food, water, sleep, homeostasis. Designers of interactive media might not be able to provide these things but can create media to supplement them.
✨ One Touch — App to track sugar and A1C levels in people with diabetes. The ingredient is being used because the app is aiding in maintaining homeostasis.
Level 2
Safety needs, like level 1 this level is needed for survival, deals more with health, security, employment, resources, etc.
✨ Lyft Safety tools — Lyft includes resources for the rider’s safety, all of the drivers have background checks and the rider has the ability to share their location and call 911 from any point in their rides. The ingredient being used is safety, not only does this prevent anything dangerous from occurring, it reassures the rider as well.
Level 3
Love and belonging, once people have taken care of physical needs, they are able to share themselves with others
✨ A good example of this across multiple platforms is the ability to have group chats. People are able to connect with others in a virtual format, and the ability to have separate conversations takes off some of the pressures that social media may bring. They are focused on connection which is a great use of this ingredient. Shown above are screenshots of group chats I share with my family on snapchat, instagram and iMessage.
Level 4
Esteem, this level focuses on the need to feel recognized, this can be done through status or accomplishment.
***Social Media can be classified as either dust or magic depending on how you look at it.
✨ Social media influencers are able to achieve both wealth and recognition that they otherwise would not have been able to had the platform not existed in the first place. How many “likes” someone gets on a post can turn into real recognition and accomplishment. Pictured below is the instagram of Emma Chamberlain, both instagram and youtube gave her a platform where she was able to take her personality and create both a clothing line and a coffee company.
💨 While some people find great success on social media the constant display of others peoples success leads to lack of self esteem in others. The same platforms that can build people up can tear people down, especially their mental health.
“Studies have shown that higher levels of online social comparison are associated with depressive symptoms in youth, and that appearance-specific comparisons on social media may heighten risk for disordered eating and body image concerns.” — Jacqueline Nesi, North Carolina Medical Journal
Level 5
Self actualization, when people have reached their full potential, at a state of harmony and understanding. People who are self actualized feel confident and accomplished.
✨ Animal Crossing: New Horizons — this game provides an escape from reality where all of a person’s needs are met. It puts the player in a safe environment where they won’t meet any physical harm or danger (levels 1 & 2 in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs), players can talk and form routines with characters within the game (level 3 in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs), a sense of achievement can be found through collecting resources to make things (level 4 in the Hierarchy of Needs). With all of the player’s needs met, the player can achieve a sense of self actualization. Part of the reason why Animal Crossing: New Horizons is so successful is because it allows people to find purpose and fulfills their needs, despite living through the Covid-19 pandemic.
