Applications for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

People have applied Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to many fields of study, industries, and societal
issues. Below are some examples:

Education

Education experts sometimes use the hierarchy of needs to help children reach their learning
potential. For example, in 2020, the Institutes of Education Science applied the theory to children
receiving an education at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Children in this situation experience unique challenges and may feel unsafe due to the changes
happening around them. The authors explain how caregivers can meet their physical, safety,
social, esteem, and personal growth needs, even in a difficult situation.

Healthcare

In an older 2014 studyTrusted Source, researchers argue that applying Maslow’s theory to the
care of people in an intensive care unit (ICU) may have benefits.

People in ICUs tend to be oversedated and immobilized. The authors contend that although these
measures are necessary for a minority of patients, they are not essential for the majority. In fact,
they may have a negative effect on mental health and cognitive function.To prevent this, the
authors propose changing ICU care so that it considers overall quality of life and not just
physical recovery. They advocate using less sedation and promoting mobility wherever possible.

Unmet needs in each category can have specific effects, such as:

Need Effect if unmet

• physical illness
Physiological
• hoarding behavior

• anxiety
Safety
• psychological trauma
 • loneliness
Love and belonging
• antisocial behavior

• feeling worthless
• feeling invisible or unappreciated
Esteem
• low self-confidence
• depression

• boredom
Self-actualization • cynicism
• lack of meaning in life

Maslow’s theory suggests that people’s needs at one level have to be mostly, but not completely,
met before they can move on to the next level. He believed that unmet needs occupy the mind,
preventing the pursuit of needs higher in the pyramid.

Thus, according to the theory, if a person is endeavoring to address their basic physiological and
safety needs, they will not be able to seek higher needs for love, esteem, and self-actualization.

Criticisms of Maslow’s hierarchy

Below are some criticisms of Maslow’s theory:

The order of needs within the hierarchy is arbitrary

Some critics say that while it is logical to put physiological needs first and self-actualization last,
people do not necessarily pursue or obtain the needs in this order.

For example, some argue that a healthy relationship with oneself is an important requirement for
having healthy relationships with others. Maslow himself met people who valued self-esteem
more than love. However, Maslow did not consider the exact order of needs to be rigid.
Self-actualization is not linear

In his early work, Maslow argued that a person could only self-actualize once they had met their
basic needs. However, an older 2015 paperTrusted Source notes that, sometimes, not being able
to meet one’s basic needs helps people identify their self-actualization goals.

For example, a person may have a stable career for many years, fulfilling their safety needs.
However, if they lose their job, they may realize that their old career was not satisfying. Needing
another source of income might spur them to pursue the job they truly want. Maslow also
acknowledged that unmet needs could be motivation for self-actualization in his later work.

The self-actualization teaching is not generalizable

Another criticism of the concept of self-actualization is that Maslow largely based his ideas on
the biographies of notable historical figures, most of whom were educated white men. As such,
the traits he observed in these successful individuals may not apply to all people.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory about what motivates and fulfills humans. The theory
includes five needs, each of which forms one section on a pyramid. At the foundation of the
pyramid are physiological and safety needs. In the middle, there are social needs, such as love
and belonging. At the top are esteem and self-actualization.

People have applied the hierarchy in a range of ways, including in education, child development,
and healthcare. Psychologists can use it to understand things that may be contributing to mental
health conditions, too. However, there are some misconceptions and criticisms about Maslow’s
theory. It is important to remember that the progression from one stage of the pyramid to the next
is not necessarily linear.