Survey Evaluation – Maslow’s Model

See previous blog post below for specific data.

For both the initial question and the revised question, the basic physical needs were either indicated by the data or accounted for in the details of the question. This would tell us that Maslow’s model is correct at the lowest level. However after that, there seems to be a departure.

Family and friends (Maslow’s third level) is the second highest response with shelter and job (Maslow’s second level) having fewer responses. If we are to follow Maslow’s model, one would expect shelter and economic security/job to be the second highest response. So what does this tell us?

After the basics of sustaining life, people need people. They need to feel they are a part of some social structure/community. It isn’t just being a member of some group. It is at a level of close association where they have a biological kinship or common relationship/interest to each other. It is based in a sense of value and worth to someone else. This directly represents level four, Esteem, in the model.

It would appear that people are simultaneously functioning on multiple levels. They may not have all they need regarding economic security or even food and shelter, but they need to belong to some social structure. At any given time, it is a function of what are their immediate priorities; and on the other hand through fellowship with others, where to obtain strength to deal with the situation or get a break from the challenges that surround them.

If we look back on natural disasters or war, many people lose their homes, belongings and jobs (economic security). For those people who survive the initial impact, their first priority becomes one of sustaining life and the basics. If there is no one else around, they will seek shelter while simultaneously trying to find other survivors with whom to connect. Even the homeless seek shelter whether it is a tent, bridge underpass or something as simple as a lean to. They will also seek out other people in order to be part of some social community.

One consideration to this general concept of belonging, is that most people will seek out like kinds of people. The old saying, “misery loves company” basically demonstrates if someone is feeling bad, he/she wants someone to share in the same level of bad feeling. To extend this idea both directions, people want to share their experience with someone else – good or bad.

It is about having a support structure of people who can empathize with the situation. There is a level of security knowing a person doesn’t have to “go it alone,” when things are tough and a desire to share in an experience when things are going well.

For those who need to compartmentalize things, Maslow’s hierarchy provides a functional model. However based on the responses and with some inference, human beings function simultaneously on multiple levels. Each of the levels is intertwined with a dominant level coming to the forefront at any given time depending on immediate priorities. It is not a case of completely achieving one level before moving to the next higher level.