Abraham Maslow

Abraham Harold Maslow was born as the eldest of seven children in Broklyn in 1908.
He is an American phsychologist and philosopher , best known for his self-actualization theory of psychology which argued that the primary goal of psychotherapy should be the integration of the self.

One of the many interesting things Maslow noticed while he worked with monkeys early in his career, was that some needs take precedence over others. For example, if you are hungry and thirsty, you need to satisy your thirst first. After all, you can do without food for weeks, but you can only do without water for a couple of days.Thirst is a “stronger” need than hunger. Likewise, if if we compare thirsty and breath ,the need of breath comes first. On the other hand, sex is less powerful than any of these.
He developed Hierarchy of needs model. He seperated the needs other than air, water, food and sex such as the physiological needs, the needs for safety and security, the needs for love and belonging, the needs for esteem, and the need to actualize the self respectively.

1. The physiological needs:Contains basic needs such as air, water, food,sleep,sex.

2. The safety and security needs:People become increasingly interested in finding safe circumstances, stability, protection.and they might develop a need for structure, for order, some limits.

3. The love and belonging needs: After that people begin to feel the need for friends, a sweetheart, children even a sense of community.Looked at negatively, you become increasing susceptible to loneliness and social anxieties

4. The esteem needs: The need for self-esteem and need of having a healthy self-respect.

All of the preceding four levels he calls deficit needs, or D-needs. If you don’t have enough of something -- you have a deficit -- you feel the need. But if you get all you need, you feel nothing at all. In other words, they cease to be motivating.

5.Self-actualization:People who have everything can maximize their potential.They can seek knowledge,peace,esthetic experiences,self-fulfillment ,oneness with God...

Limitations of This Model
1-People do not work according to these steps.They have more complicated ways to satisfy their needs.
2-Difference of anything can effect the implementation of this hierarchy.
3-Some other needs are also significant such as need for achievement...

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9051264/Abraham-H-Maslow
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576342/Maslow.html
http://www.12manage.com/methods_maslow_hierarchy_needs.html
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html