Maslow was a Humanistic psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization.
According to Maslow, an individual is ready to act upon the growth needs if and only if the deficiency needs are met.
DEFICIENCY NEEDS
1) Physiological: hunger, thirst, bodily comforts, etc.;
2) Safety/security: out of danger;
3) Belonginess and Love: affiliate with others, be accepted; and
4) Esteem: to achieve, be competent, gain approval and recognition.
Self-actualized people are characterized by characteristics such as incorporating an ongoing freshness of appreciation of life, a concern about personal growth and the ability to have peak experiences.
GROWTH NEEDS
5) Cognitive: to know, to understand, and explore;
6) Aesthetic: symmetry, order, and beauty;
7) Self-actualization: to find self-fulfillment and realize one’s potential; and
8) Self-transcendence: to connect to something beyond the self or to help others find self-fulfillment and realize their potential.
An interpretation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, represented as a pyramid with the more basic needs at the bottom (Image from wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow)