Hannah Brookshire
Everest College
Abraham Maslow expanded on William Shutz theory in 1968; he proposed that we communicate to meet many different human needs. Maslow stated that basic human needs must be met before you can focus about the more abstract needs. Abraham Maslow’s five Hierarchies of needs from basic to abstract are: Physical needs for survival; such as breathing, eating and engaging in sexual activity. The second need is safety and protection, which is having shelter, a safe place to be. The third need is the belonging need; this is the feeling of being wanted, being included in things. The fourth need is having self-esteem, which is feeling good about yourself. The fifth and last need is the self-actualization need. Maslow wanted to understand what motivates people. He believed that individuals possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires. Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one is fulfilled a person seeks to fulfill the next one, and so on (McLeod, p.1). Every person has the ability and desire to move up the hierarchy toward the good or bad can speed up the time it takes to get to the top or even slow it down. Some life experiences that could cause a person to fluctuate between levels of the hierarchy are getting divorced, losing a job, or a death in your family. The most basic need is Physical needs. These needs are what keep you alive. If you didn’t have air you wouldn’t be able to breath, which would lead to death. Food and water are also considered to be physical needs, you have to eat and stay hydrated in order to survive. Children need adult interaction in order to survive a normal life. A child without normal, loving adult interaction will suffer a lasting trauma if they had any trauma as a child. Your health is also considered to be a physical need. Communication plays a big part of staying