How Maslow’s Theory of Human Motivation Stands up to the Test of Time
Times have changed; haven’t people?
In 1943 Abraham Maslow introduce the world to his hierarchy of needs concept. At the time, the world was at war, rationing existing in every country and for many carrying a gas mask and knowing where the nearest safe place was, was a normal part of life.
Here we are in 2020 amid a pandemic. How does Maslow’s hierarchy of needs relate to our world now? Is it still a viable theory or one that worked back then? Maslow believed his work summed up motivation and personality in the human race. His underlying theory is based on the belief that all people are born with an innate desire to be all they can, and they work to get to that point. Is this still a sound concept?
Like tides, people are always changing. While every generation produces humans who want to achieve, what they considered to be the accomplishment of that goal has changed. In the 1980s, the in-groups were the YUPPIES (young urban professionals), the DINKS (dual income no kids). Yuppie status was achieved by having a great job and were climbing the ladder in the corporate world. Rolexes, Volvos, and BMWs showed the world you made it. You had gotten everything you wanted. Dinks announced their arrival in the same ways but with a two-car garage added to the status list. You achieved your dream, became all you could be, now others could envy you. Today it’s starting a company (tech most likely), reducing your carbon footprint (driving a Tesla instead of a beamer), giving back (volunteering in your community, usually with co-workers), and having as many experiences as possible in a lifetime.
Two generations with different boxes to check, but the desire to be all they can be inborn in both. Maybe Maslow was on to something.
Maslow’s presented his theory in a triangle. Lines divided it into sections, and each was labeled. The needs listed started with the basic ones necessary to live with the top area designated as what can be called the “Hey Look, Mom, I made it” or self-actualization stage.
In the triangle’s first level, our physiological needs reside food, water, shelter, rest. In every era of history, this has been the same. We need to eat, sleep, drink, and a place to call ours. During the time this was published, blitzes were happening in Europe, Africa, and Asia. In the US, sirens sounded, U-boats patrolled near the East coast, and fear of a Japanese invasion ruled the West coast. Tensions were high then and are again now with locked downs happening worldwide. The ration cards during the war years and the bare shelves today illustrate how sometimes basic needs can move to the top of Maslow’s triangle. Back then is getting nylons and car tires, today it’s toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
Safety needs came next on his ladder. Back then, the fear of falling bombs kept people tense. Today its a fear of catching COVID-19.
The next two areas on his triangle are what’s known as psychological needs: belonging and love needs, followed by esteem needs.
Barbara Streisand sang a song about people needing people. Maslow wrote about it in his theory. Everyone, he says, wants to belong to and with someone. People, according to him, have an innate desire to be in love, have a soulmate, a best friend, be part of a group.
When this theory came out, people went to movies, had dinner dates, went dancing, volunteered at the local red cross. Now some of us converse by Facetiming, meet via ZOOM, do group workouts on a Pelton bike, or with a YouTube instructor. If we’re not in lockdown with our significant other, then we spend time dating using a webcam.
Esteem needs today are met by keeping to the practice of social distancing, making face masks, providing a meal for another, being happy if we are still reporting to a job, whether at home or in the workplace.
Back in 1943, rolling bandages, writing letters to soldiers, growing a victory garden, gave the needed sense of doing good that feeds self-esteem.
At the top of Maslow’s hierarchy was the sense of accomplishment one gets when they have lived life to the fullest for themselves. Has this changed over time?
No. Everyone wants to in old age look back and say, I had a good life.
Using a stagnant model made people back then believe this goal was a ladder to be climbed, that you could only move to the next level when you had accomplished the target for the rung you were standing on. We understand now, all of what he called needs then are still needs now. However, depending upon the circumstance of the day needs change. You may live in your dream house, but if it burns down, you need shelter for the night. You may feel high and so proud because you have met the person you want to spend your life with, and they love you, just not in the same way.
Maslow understood utterly what all humans need. His “The Hierarchy of Needs” has stood the test of time. Human needs then, are the same ones we have today. His theory proved tides, times, and people’s values may change, but our needs never do. We know now the order in which we need the changes and sometimes change can be a much-needed thing.
