Maslow's pyramid: features of the theory of human needs, its meaning, criticism and application

What alternatives to Maslow's pyramid exist today?

Before we begin a detailed study of the hierarchy of needs according to Maslow’s pyramid, it is worth saying that there are other approaches to assessing human behavior and the incentives that force him to be active. Here are just a few of them:

• Alderfer's theory. It is based on Maslow’s pyramid, but tries to make the system more generalized and simpler, reducing all human needs to the following: the need to exist, the need for connections with others, the need for constant growth;
• McClelland's theory. This researcher believed that in the hierarchy of human needs, only the highest motives are the most important: the desire for power, success, involvement in great deeds and achievements;
• Herzberg's theory. A more applied theory, which is aimed at analyzing people working in a business. Shows that the higher the motivation of employees, the more non-standard tasks they solve, the more responsibility they have for their work, and the more they receive decent remuneration. Otherwise, motivation deteriorates sharply.

There are other theories, but we will look at the 5 steps of Maslow’s pyramid of needs and try to figure out whether all this works today or not.

Alderfer's ERG theory

American psychologist Clayton Alderfer, another author of the theory of human needs, believed that all urgent human needs can be combined into three groups:

Group 1 includes factors included by Abraham Maslow in the first two steps of his pyramid and designated by him as the most important. K. Alderfer believed that the ability to fight for one’s existence: to be able to hide from the enemy, find food and shelter from bad weather - makes human life possible in principle, which means its value is inseparable from the ability to cope with natural needs.

The need to establish communication connections is inherent in a person’s desire to be part of a group and belong to society. Being a loner, a person is not only deprived of the opportunity to continue his family, he becomes practically defenseless against a stronger enemy and, forced to constantly fight for his life, he stops developing.

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The desire for internal progress and learning ability, according to Alderfer, is the crown and essence of the theory of needs. Unlike Maslow, who argued that a person’s needs always go from primitive to complex, the Austrian scientist was sure that, depending on the circumstances, the dynamics of movement can be either upward or downward. What does this depend on?

In his hierarchy of needs theory, Alderfer used concepts such as:

The scientist called the individual’s desire to rise above primitive needs towards personal growth and social development “need satisfaction.” The inability to overcome the next level of the hierarchical ladder and a return to the previous level already spoke of the frustration of the body.

Authorship

Abraham Maslow developed his theory on his own, spending a lot of time reading other authors on related topics. As a child, he was one of the best students in his school, later he entered law school in New York, but after his first year he left this institution. Later he moved to Cornell University, where he began studying psychology under the guidance of Edward Titchener.

Maslow's classification of needs was the fruit of many years of work that he conducted independently. But it is worth noting that the psychologist’s work was influenced by many famous personalities whom he knew personally: John, Watson, Alfred Adler, Margaret Mead, Erich Fromm and others.

Need levels table

In general, human needs according to Maslow can be expressed in the following table:

Typically, this data is depicted in the form of a pyramid, so it is more visual and understandable.

Formation and formation of modern needs

From the beginning of the period of the primitive communal system, the importance of socialization among cavemen was on a par with a person’s own needs. The concept of “I” did not exist as such, since alone a person could neither feed nor protect himself. All the needs of an individual were reduced to the needs of a primary (urgent) and secondary nature:

In an effort to make it easier for themselves to obtain food and increase the overall comfort of existence, primitive people over time expanded the range of their needs to the framework of the modern understanding of this structure. Conquering nature and positioning one’s personality above its laws became the starting point for the formation of a full-fledged work activity with its needs for recognition, success and growth.

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Since obtaining knowledge about the world around us became the only way to develop labor, a person developed a thirst for knowledge and a tendency to organize the information received. During the same period, one of the very first law-making mechanisms began to work in primitive society - morality. However, at the very beginning, the only principle protected by the new concept was the priority of interests. In all cases, a person was instructed to first satisfy the needs of the collective and only then his own.

The ability of the first people to transmit visual models of the social system in the form of rock paintings, clay figurines and oral transmission allowed humanity to take a big step in its development and opened up new horizons for it. If we apply Dr. Maslow’s theory of personality needs to the structure of the way of life of that time, it becomes clear that with the achievement of such a high stage of development as the need for spiritual food, a person completed his path of formation of a rational personality.

Structure of Maslow's pyramid of human needs

As shown above, Maslow’s pyramid of human needs consists of 5 parts. Its lowest parts are responsible for basic, biological phenomena that simply ensure our existence. As the lower levels are satisfied, higher needs and spiritual impulses come into play.

Physiological needs

The very first step of the pyramid is dedicated to physiology. This group of needs includes all things that are determined by biology in a person. This includes the need to eat, be able to drink clean water, and maintain one’s physical existence in comfortable conditions. Physiology also includes sexual relations and impulses, normal sleep, etc. Until a person is satisfied with these things, he constantly thinks about them and needs exactly this.

Only when a person is not bothered by unsatisfied passion, hunger, desire for sleep, physical pain in the body, etc., can he move to a higher level of needs and discover in himself a desire for more.

Safety

Maslow included security issues as a separate category of needs. Security is meant in a broad sense: a full range of phenomena that ensure the stable existence of a person. What is meant by the need for security:

• No visible likelihood of injury or health problems;
• Avoiding dangerous conflicts with other people, which can lead to injury, imprisonment, etc.;
• Separately, the scientist attributed to security the need for a person to belong to a family, group, social stratum of the population, since all this helps to stabilize life.

Eliminating any danger that could cause serious trouble is the need for safety.

Social level - love and belonging to something

Man is a social being and can only exist surrounded by his own kind. A person’s needs for communication, work and leisure with like-minded people, the desire to have his own family, a couple for sexual and social life, an adequate moral and psychological environment around - all this is also important for each of us. It is enough to have serious troubles in at least some of this and the comprehension of other, higher needs may turn out to be closed to the individual.

At this stage we are not talking about socialization of the highest type - the desire to create, change the world, etc. The conditions of basic socialization are considered: the presence of a social circle, like-minded people, close people. If a person, say, is not part of a team or group, and is isolated from society, then he may experience great discomfort about this, suffer and become isolated on these problems. Even people with serious problems, disabilities, and blind people try to form their own groups, support each other, and communicate.

Prestige and reputation – respect and recognition

The next thing that Maslow’s pyramid reveals to us is a person’s needs in terms of developing a reputation and occupying a prestigious place in society. At this level the following stands out:

• The need for self-respect. A person is not hungry, dressed, shod, in a warm home, he has a social circle and work, but then the need for respect and self-esteem appears. We cannot agree to work all our lives in one capacity in one place - we want career growth, we do not want to constantly receive the same amount of salary - we want bonuses and promotions, we will not agree to work in an economically advantageous place, but where they do not respect us, they try to humiliate us – we need the respect of others;
• Recognition, achievements, positive opinions of others about us. Almost every person wants to be respected, to be praised for his work, to be spoken of well as a specialist, etc. if this is not the case, then even financially profitable work or actual achievements in some way are not perceived so joyfully and brightly;
• At the top of the pyramid is the highest level - needs of the spiritual type. Here the author of the theory highlights such important things as spiritual search, knowledge of the world around us, self-expression and self-realization of existing talents, natural abilities, and positive inclinations.

Separately, at the highest level, Maslow's theory mentions the concept of self-actualization. This term refers to the most complete development of one’s talent and abilities, which is only available to a person. The discovery of all talents and abilities in oneself, their development to the maximum point, is available, according to Maslow himself, to only about 2% of all people. Self-actualization in the supplemented pyramid of 7 steps is placed separately from the needs of the spiritual type.

Creation

If a person has successfully satisfied all his previous needs in the specified hierarchy, then he has a need to create - create something new, engage in music, aesthetic development, write, enjoy nature, etc. Creativity stands out separately in the list of the highest human needs, since it reveals a unique personality ability to create something new, to be able to empathize with works of art.

Aesthetic level of needs

Almost all of the higher needs that are addressed at the top of the pyramid relate to creativity and aesthetic feelings. Only after a person covers the lower needs, is no longer distracted even by achieving success, a career, the approval of others, since he deserves them in full, only then the heights of comprehension of the aesthetic level of perception of the world are revealed to him. At this stage, a person sees beauty around him, harmony, learns to enjoy music, images and create independently in any area.

Spiritual level of self-actualization

Self-actualization has already been discussed below - this is a person’s desire to reveal all his strengths in maximum manifestation. Maslow himself and other later researchers believed that only an insignificant 2-5% of people could achieve self-actualization in a more or less complete form. All the efforts of the majority of the planet's population are aimed at survival, material wealth, pleasure, satisfying the need for respect, fame, but very, very few reach self-actualization.

Maslow's 8-step pyramid model

There is also Maslow’s 8-step pyramid, the 7 levels remain the same as in the 7-step pyramid, but another higher level is added - transcendental needs. Researchers point out that when a person has already achieved the discovery of all his talents and skills, earned money and fame, he has a new task - to comprehend the highest meanings of life, existence, and God. Unity with nature, mystical practices at a deep level of consciousness, deep religiosity belong to this 8th stage of transcendence. In practice, this level is available to a few, and sometimes to people who were not too worried about the task of covering previous levels of needs.

Background to the emergence of the new theory of needs

Psychologist, specialist in the field of social education, mathematician, student of Bandura - this is William Talley - one of those who, in addition to science, also intertwined with business - since 1969, vice president of the reputable advertising agency "Target Art Group", subsequently, namely a year later, he becomes the chief scientific director of this advertising agency.

Talley, like Maslow’s previous specialist, discovered this theory (the theory of needs) not naturally, but by accident; in 1986, a new theory was created, working away from this problem, and also engaged in highly specific study.7 In 1981, a couple of large American companies that were engaged in the production of highly reliable mechanical security devices, as well as door locks against burglary of premises, studied the latest approaches and opportunities in the field of sales psychology in this market. 8After Reagan approved the start of the Star Wars program, their advertising and marketing policies were no longer the best; new ideas were needed.

William Talley and his staff conducted a sociological study, the sample of which included 4,790 Americans. They revealed significant differences in the marketing policies of protective and security products among some groups, referred to as “groups of a special social position.” Next we can consider how all these groups are both described and classified. In 1982, specialist Talley showed that the development of these groups has exactly the same principle of hierarchical development as in the theory of specialist Maslow. 9This principle is the only criterion by which the similarity of theories can be determined.

Theory and practice

In theory, everything looks quite interesting. Maslow's coherent theory of needs is very logical; it really describes reality and nature well for most people around. But over time, there were many critics of this theory, since in practice it began to increasingly diverge from reality.

The theoretical calculations of A. Maslow began to be actively applied in practice. Here are just a few areas of activity where they were adopted:

• Psychology and sociology. Researchers began to look at society and typical human needs with greater understanding and began to see patterns in all this;
• Maslow's theory is applied in human resource management systems to increase employee motivation and increase their ability to work and efficiency;
• There are many tips on how you can use Maslow’s pyramid in marketing, where it allows you to attract attention and encourage people to make purchases and orders.

Also, the theory continues to interest theoretical researchers who are trying to clarify and supplement it to this day.

Economic theory

Human economic needs are satisfied by a complex commodity-money system, which includes document flow, production manipulation, exchange and a range of services at different levels. It is on these factors that the economic theory of needs is based. At this stage of human development in all civilized countries, the totality of an individual’s economic needs is limited by the funds available to him.

If you collect and summarize all the realized needs of a particular society, you can obtain data on the effective demand of its population. This means that the motivating key for the population to purchase goods and services is its needs.

The economic needs of society influence the production process in a stimulating way:

• based on the theory of needs motivation, it is clear that specific human needs serve as a goal for creating conditions and factors that satisfy them to the extent necessary;
• it is human nature to change requests, increasing or decreasing the quantity of the required product, strengthening or weakening claims to its quality, which also affects production processes;
• Human economic needs are satisfied according to the scheme “from primary to secondary,” that is, goods and services that meet lower-order needs will always be in high demand among the population.

So, the population motivates production with demand, reflecting the real needs of society, but not all human needs are formed into the requested unit. This happens for several reasons:

• the low solvency of the population does not allow it to purchase all the goods and services that it needs;
• there is a moral factor or features of legal restrictions.

It turns out that a person has a need to satisfy a specific request, but there is no demand motivating the production of this product or service. It follows from this that production does not respond to the direct needs of the population, but to the demand for designated products and services, which may be significantly lower than necessary to fully satisfy the needs.

Controversial sides of the pyramid and criticism

Psychologists of many directions actively criticize Maslow’s system, finding in it many discrepancies with real life and specific people. Here are the main statements of critics on this issue:

• History knows a lot of cases when the dissatisfaction of basic needs did not make a person more down-to-earth, but, on the contrary, stimulated him to act and create, write songs, develop, comprehend nature and God;
• Each person has their own level of satisfaction with things. One has enough of the meager lunch, another suffers from the inability to eat in the most expensive restaurant in the city;
• The inability to recognize Maslow’s theory as 100% working is also associated with the fact that many people show insatiable aspirations and cannot satisfy the most basic needs, wanting more and more.

Often brilliant people were poor, physically weak, unhappy and despised by society, but this did not prevent them from remaining in history.

Need for achievement in McClelland's theory

The theory of acquired needs from the American psychologist David McClelland almost does not consider the primitive needs of a person. The scientist devoted his work to the study of motivational levers that force objects to engage in a given activity, and to the study of the desire of some people to prevail over others.

In the course of his work, the scientist concluded that only an individual who makes efforts to satisfy his higher-order needs and moves steadily in this direction is able to develop with increasing efficiency. Each successive achievement of an object is based on the experience gained during the period of overcoming the previous stage.

Gradually, a person who has chosen the right tactics for his dynamic growth develops the so-called step length. This means that all the goals that he sets for himself do not exceed his real capabilities and do not require him to strain his strength, and after achieving them, a person can calmly and without pause move on. People of this order are capable of responsible decisions, and the individual tasks that they undertake are always carried out with high precision.

Further research by the psychologist showed that the described need for achievement is characteristic not only of individuals, but also of certain societies. Groups united by high aspirations and having a clear goal developed successfully in the economic and educational spheres, while societies with a low need for results had a very weak internal structure.

Primary and secondary needs

Many researchers agree with Maslow that all human needs can be divided into primary and secondary:

• Primary: food, sleep, physical health, freedom of movement, etc. Primary needs according to Maslow are necessary for everyone as a basic condition for further development;
• Secondary needs open up in some people who have solved problems of the primary level. This is creativity, doing the arts, enjoying nature, music, etc. The highest level of secondary needs is self-actualization.

Also, for a small number of people with realized self-actualization, the need for transcendental development opens up - unity with nature, the Creator, a higher understanding of the meaning of life and other things that are far from mere mortals.

Complicity and dominion according to McClelland

The next point in the theory of acquired needs McKelland calls complicity as the need to establish friendly contacts with those who appeal to the object. The higher a person’s need for the approval of others, as well as for the good attitude of everyone around him, the more developed his communication abilities are and the easier it is for him to make new acquaintances. Intolerance of loneliness can be an acquired or original quality of a person, but the ability to form a friendly environment around oneself comes to a person with experience.

The need to rule is expressed among people in both positive and negative meanings. In the first case, the individual seeks to manipulate other people, suppress their resistance and control all processes and reactions that arise in the environment. In the second case, the subject feels the need to renounce any responsibility and tries, if possible, to avoid situations in which he will have to answer for his actions or the actions of other people.

Based on McClelland's theory of human needs, we can conclude that all three acquired components of a developed personality not only do not need to be arranged in a hierarchy, but each is capable of taking a predominant role. Thus, with an increased need for power and well-developed leadership or dictatorial abilities, the need for complicity may manifest itself minimally.

Violated needs

If some needs are not satisfied to a sufficient extent for a given person, they are considered violated and can cause big problems. The examples are as follows: the lack of normal sleep prevents a person from working, learning to think, he only wants to sleep, hunger provokes him to look for food and not think about anything else, physical injuries force him to suffer and seek salvation from his problem, everything else does not bother a person. Sometimes, even if a person does not have banal respect in the team, but has money, a position, and lower needs are satisfied, he can suffer even because of this one violated need.

When does Maslow's pyramid not work?

In general, these 5 Maslow levels may not always work. The theory is valid if you look at humanity in a generalized, theoretical way, without taking into account the many special cases when it does not work. The pyramid usually does not work in the following cases:

• We are dealing with an extraordinary person. If we meet an unusual person who has some kind of spiritual filling above the usual, then such a person may neglect many things for the sake of the higher, say, earn less in order to have more time to engage in art;
• The opposite case is that some people cannot rise above the basic levels, although they are fully satisfied. Instead of simple food, they look for gourmet food, instead of a resort in their own country, they work and collect money for a trip to Thailand, instead of self-realization in the family, they endlessly change lovers for the sake of imaginary respect and envy of others, etc.

We can say that deviations in Maslow’s theory work most clearly on people outside the average type: geniuses and various deviants.

Basic human needs

Basic needs are those needs without which a person cannot exist. They are main and mainly of a physiological nature, although depending on temperament and personality type, they may be of a different type.

First of all, scientists consider the basic needs to be innate: to breathe, drink, eat, sleep, wear clothes and shoes. For some people, the basic need to be alone with themselves and restore strength, for others - to plunge into communication. For some, it is vital to exercise daily.

Thus, each individual may have his own sets of basic needs, which include conventional and other needs.

Psychologists say that the list of needs that people can classify as basic is replenished and grows with enviable consistency. ​​​​​​​

Physiological needs are the main ones in Maslow's theory

Physiological needs occupy the first place in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy. This is what helps a person live and survive. A person has the same physiological needs as animals - to breathe, eat, drink, sleep, procreate.

It is known that the recommended rate of water consumption is at least 1.5 liters per day, food - 2300 kcal. A person needs fresh air, at least 8 hours of sleep and physical activity of 10 thousand steps.

When a person is provided with food, water, oxygen, and sleeps enough, he develops a need for sex. Of course, lack of sex life has never put anyone at risk of death. But in itself it can cause a neurotic disorder and change the psyche. A sexually dissatisfied person is at risk of developing frustration, which manifests itself in increased anxiety, irritability and depression.

Social needs

Social needs are determined by the fact that in life a person constantly interacts with other members of society. Society influences the formation of personality, habits, and methods of communication. Psychologists have proven that only through interaction with people can a harmonious and developed personality be formed. These needs are acquired, not innate.

Although social needs do not affect the nature of life and death (a person is unlikely to die if he does not talk to anyone for a week), these needs play an important role in life. Among the social needs are friendship, love, communication, approval, care, and spending time together.

A distinctive feature of social needs is that their satisfaction is possible only through interaction with other representatives of society. By experiencing friendly and loving feelings, respect, and pleasure from joint activities with someone, a person is able to increase self-esteem, become more self-confident, and learn to achieve goals.

Social need is expressed in the desire to work, to work, to be active and indifferent to social problems and the problems of individual people. People join communities and clubs of interest in order to follow a common goal and, thus, satisfy their own needs, as well as the needs of society.

On the contrary, if the social need is not satisfied, a person experiences irritation, apathy, becomes lonely and unsociable, experiences stress and often gets sick.

Social needs are divided into 3 categories:

1. For myself. When a person needs to understand himself, realize his place in society, achieve a certain status and position.
2. For others. When a person plays the roles of a friend, spouse, son/daughter, parent. Here, helping others, caring for them, and devotion come first.
3. Collective needs. These include the need for freedom, peace, security of society as a whole, justice

What is the meaning of Maslow's pyramid

If Maslow’s pyramid is considered, the human needs in it are stated rather conditionally, vaguely, the theory is sometimes far from practice. But it has a meaning and it is quite simple - looking at the picture of the pyramid, we must understand that a person is a complex being and there are things that concern him first, and there are things that can be put off until later.

By understanding what motivates people, you can effectively build communication and work process with them, find the right incentives for collaboration and increase the efficiency of employees.

Difficulty in motivation based on needs

It is important to note that not all employees have a high need for achievement and independence. A manager must always be mindful of the element of chance. There is no one best way to motivate. What works for motivating some people may not work for others. Moreover, organizations by their nature make it difficult to apply theories of motivation that focus on individuals. Interdependence of work, lack of information about individual performance, and frequent changes in work tasks due to improvements in technology make motivation difficult.

When talking about motivation, the word reward has a broader meaning than just money or pleasure, with which the word is most often associated. Reward is anything that a person considers valuable to himself. But people's perceptions of value are specific, and so the valuation of rewards and their relative value vary.

A manager deals with two main types of rewards: intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic rewards arise from the work itself. For example, this is a sense of achievement, meaningfulness and significance of the work done, as well as a sense of self-worth. The friendships and interactions that arise from work are also considered intrinsic rewards. The easiest way to achieve intrinsic reward is to create the right working conditions and clearly define the task. Volvo, for example, eliminated several assembly lines at one of its pilot plants and replaced them with assembly teams to improve internal worker compensation.

Extrinsic rewards are the types of rewards that most often come to mind when you hear the word “reward.” Extrinsic rewards do not come from the job itself, but are provided by the organization. Examples of extrinsic rewards include salary, promotions, symbols of status and prestige, praise and recognition, and fringe benefits (extra time off, company cars, expenses, and insurance).

In order to determine how and in what proportion to use intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for motivational purposes, management must determine what the needs of its employees are. This is the goal of substantive theories of motivation.

A satisfied need ceases to motivate

Another interesting phenomenon is that if a need has already been satisfied, it often ceases to motivate a person. Almost all of us know this, but for some reason Maslow did not take this phenomenon into account in his theory. After all, the system of needs is also conditional in the sense that if a person has achieved what he wants, he does not rejoice at it for long, again falls into boredom, despondency, and looks for new supports for further growth.

We know from our own lives that it is enough to buy, study, build something - interest in it immediately disappears, the faster the more lively, active and ambitious the person is. But this is not reflected in Maslow’s pyramid.

Scope of practical application of William Talley's meta-model of needs

In 1986, Talley theoretically substantiated the possibility of using the needs model for therapeutic purposes and, especially, in psychodiagnostics. He announced the possibility of creating a questionnaire exploring the respondent’s need situation. It was assumed that the questionnaire would consist of approximately 60-80 questions, based on the results of which the diagnostician would receive a reliable and sufficient picture of his personality. 20TNI was patented a year later as a trademark, but has never been created to this day.

Talley's personality cartogram. Announcing the very possibility of creating a questionnaire, Talley assumed that it would reveal the current situation of the respondent in each specific social position. 21For each factor, approximately 15-20 questions were expected that would reveal the current value of the factor, which would determine the area of ​​further therapeutic or social work with the respondent. The test is expected to be promising in individual client counseling, in logotherapy, as well as a tool that helps more effectively recruit and test candidates. In the latter case, Talley suggested that the very concept of personnel order should be modified taking into account the characteristics of the results obtained. On the other hand, a similar one, when used in pairs of already tested methods, can not only answer the question of what, for example, the intellectual potential of the respondent is, but also what its dynamics and future prospects are. For example, when using a standard IQ, a stable IQ in the range of 105-130 with FC1 is unsuitable for work that requires increased attention and perseverance; with FC2, on the contrary, there is a good propensity for methodology and routine intellectual work; with FC3, it implies high learning ability and a tendency to use in those types of activities that require constant learning of new material and new skills, and with FC4 - the respondent is of little use for a team style of work and can be maximally adequate in individual work.

Figure 2 shows a conditional example of the result of a respondent’s questionnaire according to Talley. The test results are clearly displayed on the profile (TNI map). To analyze the result, as Talley suggested, it is enough to know only the results of the values ​​​​for each factor.22 In this case:

Rice. 2. Conditional example of the result of a respondent’s questionnaire according to Talley

Talley abandoned the concept of metapathology in the sense proposed by Maslow, “who pointed out that metaneeds are on a continuum with fundamental needs, so that the frustration of these needs gives rise to metapathologies,” manifested in a lack of values, meaninglessness, or purposelessness in life. According to Talley, any manifestations of metapathology are nothing more than crises of transition from lower needs to higher ones in cases where these transitions remain incomplete. An individual who was unable to overcome difficulties and obstacles on the path to satisfying his needs “gets stuck” at the “index” stage like “Buridan’s donkey”, unable to both come to terms with dissatisfaction and retreat to contentment with what has already been acquired, and to achieve the conquest of a new milestone . At the index stage, which becomes protracted and chronic, a person can behave one way or another, but one of the most common forms of behavior is “devaluing a need”23, the desire to explode its meaning, to call it into question. Talley cites in this regard not only the well-known “grapes are green” principles, but also those when a chronically dissatisfied person begins to oppose and resist the desired social status, quality or property. 24 Thus, according to Talley, factor 2-FP+3, if it becomes chronic, can indicate such qualities of an individual as rudeness, cynicism, invectivization of vocabulary, tendency to alcoholism and drug addiction, irritability, indiscriminate change of sexual partners, dislike for children, an artificially bachelor lifestyle, intolerance towards people, hatred of animals and even sadistic personality traits. This, as Talley points out, is a very general picture. TNI can provide more accurate results, especially in combination with other psychodiagnostic tools.

Advantages and disadvantages

Maslow's pyramid is valuable for studying large masses of people when there is no need to look closely at individuality. If we talk about its pros and cons, we can highlight the following:

• Pros. The ability to understand large masses of people, the applicability of theory to work in large teams, the ability to explain the behavior of individual people quite accurately, and have leverage over them. Also, thanks to theory, you can better understand yourself;
• Of the minuses: A. Maslow could not thoroughly describe each individual with his theory, take into account the variability of character, inconstancy, the presence of geniuses, dependencies on certain things. Many people behave differently and do not have the priorities that they should have, if assessed from the point of view of Maslow's theory.

Many psychologists believe that the pyramid is already outdated and today, when most people do not worry about low needs, it does not reflect reality.

Practical significance of Talley's theory

As already mentioned, the TNI (Tally Needs Inventory) questionnaire, announced by Tally, was never created, which, however, does not reduce the prospects for its use. A psychodiagnostic method for identifying personality characteristics and its development based on the non-satisfaction or satisfaction of his deficit and meta-needs can be a very valuable tool for the therapist as an opportunity to give a quick and objective assessment of his current state of self-actualization and self-development. 25The method can be very useful when working in existential groups, in cognitive and behavioral therapy, and in logotherapy. The TNI method can be of exceptional value in the selection of personnel by recruiting agencies, and the factor structure of needs - in more accurately identifying target groups when positioning the object of advertising and Public Relations.26

Application of Maslow's pyramid

Maslow's pyramid can be most successfully applied in certain areas, such as:

• marketing
• life
• work and business
• when building a career
• running a company

Let's expand on each topic a little for a broader understanding.

Application in marketing

Maslow shows human needs in the form of a hierarchy, so marketing companies and marketers can rely on this theory in order to understand exactly how to attract this or that category of people. If it is necessary to motivate, say, employees, then lower incentives such as increasing salaries or reducing working hours work here; management employees are already concerned about other issues: comfort, conditions for career growth, respect from management.

Application in life

The application of this theoretical concept in life is quite limited, but it can be useful for every person. We must not only look at what is at the top of Maslow's pyramid, but also cover basic needs if there are problems there. This will help relieve stress and tension, cope with professional burnout, and open up mental strength for new and greater achievements.

Maslow's pyramid in work and business

In these areas, the use of the theory under consideration comes down to competently stimulating your employees, understanding how to properly influence their performance, attitude towards work and work responsibilities. By managing to some extent the basic needs of people and clients, we can make ourselves more attractive in their eyes and offer solutions to specific pressing problems. After all, a business is more successful the more effectively it solves a client’s problem.

In building a career

In career matters, we should always remember what is at the top of Maslow's pyramid, but not try to jump straight there, since such a “maneuver” is available to very few geniuses. In a career, the pyramid will always help you remember that there are basic things that we cannot turn a blind eye to, so that they do not drag us down and close off the possibility of further growth. For example, if we work in conditions of low wages and cannot provide for our family, we work without respect from colleagues and superiors - this will greatly hinder or even slow down our growth.

In the practice of enterprise management

You can use Maslow's theory in business management. Here, too, everything is simple: each subordinate at his level and the ability to satisfy his needs must be selected with optimal incentives, satisfy these basic needs, or be given a real hope of satisfying them. If you add some qualities to your work that cover higher levels, you can also reduce stress from problems at lower levels. For example, a job where the boss respects and treats his subordinates well will be more interesting to many people than a high salary, but a bad attitude, which can lead to causes of professional burnout.

Some interesting facts about Maslow's theory

Here are examples of interesting facts about the issue under consideration that will be of interest to readers:

• Maslow himself was only interested in very strong personalities like Abraham Lincoln and believed that, despite all the efforts of an individual, only 2% of people can achieve maximum personality development, or self-actualization;
• In Abraham Maslow's basic article on the hierarchy of human needs there is no image of a pyramid - it was completed later by other researchers of the issue;
• The unspoken truth of the scientist’s theory is that a person can develop and move higher and higher in life only under one condition - he is driven by higher values ​​and there is a need to achieve a dream, a higher goal of existence.

In general, Maslow’s theory of needs is very interesting, well-known, and will probably cause controversy for decades to come, both among psychologists, marketers and scientists, and among ordinary people interested in this issue.

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The significance of Talley's theory

There are several reasons why Talley's theoretical model is considered attractive. So, let's look at them:

1. the idea that a person, even at the level of needs such as physiological needs, does not completely depend on them; in quite a large number of cases under various circumstances of temporary or, as it is also called, non-chronic deficiency, one is able to cope without their satisfaction, in some cases it is impossible, by switching one’s own activity to another area of ​​life;17
2. Talley’s position, where a person has the opportunity, be it a conscious or spontaneous choice of its direction and area, there is no categorical one direction of its own realization, as Maslow assumed. If we compare the statements of Maslow and Talley, then the second three-dimensional world is very complex, it has more opportunities, as well as obstacles that must be taken into account in the practice of helping an individual with his difficulties in self-realization. Such replaceability, as deficient, can provide a person with new opportunities, as well as remove some barriers on his way, however, it can also be a pathogenic factor if the ability to satisfy human needs appears even when there is no longer any need for this ;
3. if we compare the points of view of Talley and Maslow, then the first one focuses much more on volitional acts, as well as an active life position in the desire to achieve complete self-realization; “Indexation of needs” is introduced by Talley and defines this meaning as a complex mental situation of formation, which a person must cope with and find and apply absolutely all the necessary resources so that any new peak of some need no longer seems unattainable. 18The specialist says that a fairly large number of human needs are sociogenic needs, they do not have roots that are biological, and they also do not guarantee the “initial moral” of human nature. It is impossible to take away from a person the “good beginning” that he does not have, in no case can he be spoiled: he can only reach a specific level of formation in some direction, this is always the creation - of his personality and his individuality - by the world around him and themselves.19