Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

In short: Abraham Maslow arranged human needs in a pyramid: basic physical needs, safety, social belonging, esteem and self-actualisation. According to Maslow, higher needs become important when lower ones are met.

In more detail: The model is influential but simplified. People often pursue several needs at once, and the order is not rigid.

In detail

• Physiological needs: Food, water, sleep, warmth.
• Safety: Home, work, health, financial stability (hausratversicherung).
• Social needs: Love, friendship, belonging.
• Esteem: Respect, success, status, self-respect.
• Self-actualisation: Developing one’s own potential, being creative, pursuing meaningful goals.
• Criticism: Cultural differences and an empirically unclear sequence of levels.
• Application: In education, marketing and people management as a thinking aid (motivation-intrinsisch-und-extrinsisch).