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Is
Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs theory applicable in today
’
s
social work? And why?
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a motivational theory in psychology
that argues that while people aim to meet basic needs, they seek to meet
successively higher needs in the form of a hierarchy. It is often portrayed
in the shape of a pyramid. The lowest levels of the pyramid are made up
of the most basic needs, while the more complex needs are located at the
top
of
the
pyramid.
Maslow's
theory
suggests
that
the
need
for
self-actualization, that is, the need that human beings have to realize their
full
potential,
can
only
be
fulfilled
once
other
needs
have
been
met.
Self-actualization describes an inborn tendency for human beings to grow
and to maximize innate talents and potentialities.
According
to
Maslow,
the
first
level
includes
basic
physiological
needs for food, shelter, clothing, and so on. Once these needs have been
met, the actualization process creates a momentum for the next level of
needs to be realized, namely, for security and safety and to feel free from
danger. Again, once these have been met, there is an innate motivation to
move on to the next stage, and so forth.
Although Maslow’s concept is meaningful to our social work, there
are
still
some
criticisms.
Some
have
noted
vagueness
in
what
is
a
“deficiency”; what is a deficiency for o
ne is not necessarily a deficiency
for another. Secondly, there seem to be various exceptions that frequently
occur.
For
example,
some
people
often
risk
their
own
safety
to
rescue
others
from
danger.
In
their
extensive
review
of
research
based
on
Maslow's
theory,
Wahba
and
Brudwell
found
little
evidence
for
the
ranking of needs Maslow described or even for the existence of a definite
hierarchy at all. Chilean economist and philosopher Manfred Max-Neef
has
also
argued
fundamental
human
needs
are
non-hierarchical
and
invariant
in
nature
—
part
of
the
condition
of
being
human;
poverty,
he
argues, may result from any one of these needs being frustrated, denied or
unfulfilled
The order in which the hierarchy is arranged has been criticized as
being
ethnocentric
by
Geert
Hofstede.
Hofstede's
criticism
of
Maslow's
pyramid as ethnocentric may stem from the fact that Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs neglects to illustrate and expand upon the difference between the
social
and
intellectual
needs
of
those
raised
in
individualistic
societies
and those raised in collectivist societies. Maslow created his hierarchy of
needs
from
an
individualistic
perspective,
being
that
he
was
from
the
United
States,
a
highly
individualistic
nation.
The
needs
and
drives
of
those in individualistic societies tend to be more self- centered than those
in
collectivist
societies,
focusing
on
improvement
of
the
self,
with
self
actualization being the apex of self improvement. Since the hierarchy was
written from the perspective of an individualist, the order of needs in the
hierarchy
with
self
actualization
at
the
top
is
not
representative
of
the
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