Topic: Hierarchy of human needs according to A. Maslow

Kadyrova R.K.

Questions:

The concept of needs.

Various theories and classifications of needs.

Hierarchy of needs according to A. Maslow.

Description of basic human needs.

Basic needs for daily human activities.

Conditions and factors influencing the way and efficiency of satisfaction of needs.

Possible reasons for the need for care (illness, injury, age).

The role of the nurse in restoring and maintaining the independence of the patient in meeting his basic needs

The role of the nurse in improving the lifestyle of the patient and his family.

The concept of needs

The normal life of a person, as a social being, representing a holistic, dynamic, self-regulating biological system is provided by a combination of biological, psychosocial and spiritual needs. Satisfaction of these needs determines the growth, development, harmony of man with the environment.

Human life depends on many factors that are ordered in time and space and are supported by the life support systems of the human body in the environment.

Need- this is a conscious psychological or physiological deficiency of something, reflected in the perception of a person, which he experiences in the attraction of his whole life. (MANGO Glossary, edited by G.I. Perfilieva).

Basic theories and classifications of needs

The authors of the need-information theory, which explains the causes and driving forces of human behavior, are Russian scientists Simonov and Ershov. The essence of the theory is that needs are motivated by the conditions of the organism's existence in a constantly changing environment.

The transition of a need into deeds and actions is accompanied by emotions.

Emotions are indicators of needs. They can be positive and negative to the satisfaction of needs. Simonov and Ershov divided all needs into three groups:

Group - vital (The need to live and provide for one's life).

group - social (the need to take a certain place in society)

group - cognitive (the need to know the external and internal world).

The American psychophysiologist A. Maslow, of Russian origin, identified 14 basic human needs in 1943 and arranged them according to five steps (see diagram)

Physiological needs are the lower needs controlled by the organs of the body, such as breathing, food, sexual, the need for self-defense.

Security needs - the desire for material security, health, provision for old age, etc.

Social needs - the satisfaction of this need is biased and difficult to describe. One person is satisfied with very few contacts with other people, in another person this need for communication is expressed very strongly.

The need for respect, awareness of one's own dignity - here we are talking about respect, prestige, social success. It is unlikely that these needs are met by an individual, this requires groups.

V. The need for personal development, for the realization of oneself, self-realization, self-actualization, in understanding one's purpose in the world.

Hierarchy of needs (development stages) according to a. Maslow. Essence of needs theory a. Maslow. Characteristics of basic human needs

Life, health, happiness, of a person depends on the satisfaction of needs for food, air, sleep, etc. These needs are self-satisfied throughout life. They are provided by the function of various organs and systems of the body. A disease that causes a dysfunction of one or another organ, one or another system, interferes with the satisfaction of needs, leads to discomfort.

In 1943, the American psychologist A. Maslow developed one of the theories of the hierarchy of needs that determine human behavior. According to his theory, some human needs are more essential than others. This allowed them to be classified according to a hierarchical system; from physiological to self-expression needs.

Currently, in countries with a high level of socio-economic development, where the priorities in meeting basic needs have changed significantly, it is not so popular. For our conditions today, this theory remains popular.

In order to live, a person needs to satisfy the physiological needs for air, food, water, sleep, excretion of waste products, the ability to move, communicate, with others, feel touch and satisfy their sexual interests.

Oxygen requirement- normal breathing, one of the basic physiological needs of a person. Breath and life are inseparable concepts.

With a lack of oxygen, breathing becomes frequent and superficial, shortness of breath appears cough. A prolonged decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the tissues leads to cyanosis, the skin and visible mucous membranes become bluish. Maintaining this need should be a priority for the healthcare worker. A person, satisfying this need, maintains the gas composition of the blood necessary for life.

Needin food is also essential for maintaining health and well-being. Rational and adequate nutrition helps eliminate risk factors for many diseases. For example, coronary heart disease is caused by regular consumption of foods rich in saturated animal fats and cholesterol. A diet high in grains and fiber may reduce the risk of colon cancer. The high protein content of food promotes wound healing.

The health worker must educate the patient and give advice on rational and adequate nutrition to meet the person's need for food.

Restrict: the use of egg yolks, sugar, sugary foods, salt, alcoholic beverages.

Food is better to cook, bake, but not fry.

It must be remembered that an unmet need for food leads to a violation of health.

Fluid requirement- this is drinking liquids, 1.5-2 liters daily - water, coffee, tea, milk, soup, fruits, vegetables. This amount makes up for losses in the form of excretions of urine, feces, sweat, fumes during breathing. In order to maintain the water balance, a person must consume more liquid than he excretes, otherwise there are signs of dehydration, but not more than 2 liters, so as not to cause dysfunction of many organs and systems. The patient's ability to avoid many complications depends on the ability of the nurse to anticipate the danger of dehydration or the formation of edema.

The need to excrete waste products. The undigested part of the food is excreted from the body in the form of urine, feces. Selection modes are individual for each person. Satisfaction of other needs may be delayed, but excretion of waste products cannot be delayed for a long time. Many patients find the process of excretion of waste products intimate and prefer not to discuss these issues. When satisfying a violated need, the nurse must provide him with the opportunity for privacy, respect the patient's right to confidentiality,

Need for sleep and rest- with lack of sleep, the level of glucose in the blood decreases, the nutrition of the brain deteriorates and thought processes slow down; attention is scattered, short-term memory worsens. Studies conducted by American experts show that in a person who did not sleep half the night, the number of blood cells responsible for phagocytosis is halved. Sleep is more necessary for a free person, because it helps to improve his well-being. Despite the fact that a person's susceptibility to external stimuli during sleep is reduced, this is a fairly active state. As a result of research, several stages of sleep have been identified.

Stage 1- slow sleep. Light sleep and last only a few minutes. At this stage, there is a decline in the physiological activity of organisms, a gradual decrease in the activity of vital organs, metabolism. A person can be easily awakened, but if the dream is not interrupted, then the second stage occurs after 15 minutes.

Stage 2– slow sleep. Light sleep, lasts 10-20 minutes. Vital functions continue to weaken, complete relaxation sets in. It's hard to wake someone up.

Stage 3– slow sleep. The deepest stage of sleep, lasting 15-30 minutes, is difficult to wake the sleeper. Continued weakening of vital functions,

Stage 4– slow sleep. Deep sleep, lasting 15-30 minutes, is very difficult to wake the sleeper. During this phase, the restoration of physical strength occurs. Vital functions are much less pronounced than during wakefulness. Stage 4 is followed by stages 3 and 2, after which the sleeper enters stage 5 sleep.

Stage 5- fast sleep. Bright, colorful dreams are possible 50-90 minutes after the first stage. There are rapid eye movements, changes in heart rate and breathing, and increases or fluctuations in blood pressure. Decreased skeletal muscle tone. During this phase, the mental functions of a person are restored, it is very difficult to wake the sleeping person. The duration of this stage is about 20 minutes.

After stage 5 sleep for a short time comes 4, 3, 2nd, then again the 3rd, 4th and 5th stages, i.e. the next sleep cycle.

Several factors can influence a person's sleep; physical ailment, drugs and drugs, lifestyle, emotional stress, environment and exercise. Any disease that is accompanied by pain, physical discomfort, anxiety and depression leads to sleep disturbance. The nurse should acquaint the patient with the effect of prescribed drugs and their effect on sleep.

Rest- a state of reduced physical and mental activity. You can relax not only lying on the couch, but also during a long walk, reading books or when performing special relaxing exercises. Loud noises, bright lights, and the presence of other people in a health care facility can make it difficult to relax.

The need for rest and sleep for human life, knowledge of its stages and possible causes that cause a violation of the usual functions of the human body, will enable the nurse to help the patient and satisfy his need for sleep with the means available to her.

Need in movement. Limited mobility or immobility creates many problems for a person. This condition can be long or short, temporary or permanent. It can be caused by trauma followed by splinting, limb traction with the use of special devices. Pain in the presence of chronic diseases, residual effects of cerebrovascular accident.

Immobility is one of the risk factors for the development of bedsores, impaired function of the musculoskeletal system, the functioning of the heart and lungs. With prolonged immobility, there are changes in the digestive system, dyspepsia, flatulence, anorexia, diarrhea or constipation. Intensive straining during the act of defecation, to which the patient must resort, can lead to hemorrhoids, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest. Immobility, especially when lying down, interferes with urination and can lead to bladder infections, bladder stones, and kidney stones.

And the main problem of the patient is that he cannot communicate with the environment, which has a significant impact on the formation of a person's personality. Depending on the degree and duration of the state of immobility, the patient may develop certain problems in the psychosocial sphere, the ability to learn, motivation, feelings and emotions change.

Nursing care aimed at the maximum possible restoration of mobility, independence when moving using crutches, sticks, prostheses, is of great importance for improving the patient's quality of life.

Sexual need. It does not stop even with illness or old age.

The sexual health of a person can be directly or indirectly affected by his disease, developmental defects. Nevertheless, many people are reluctant to talk about this topic even in the presence of serious sexual problems.

Solving actual or potential sexual problems can help the patient achieve harmony in all aspects of health.

It is necessary when talking with a patient:

develop a solid scientific basis for understanding healthy sexuality and its most common disorders and dysfunctions;

understand how a person's sexual orientation, culture, and religious beliefs affect sexuality;

learn to identify problems that are beyond the competence of nursing, and recommend to the patient the help of an appropriate specialist.

The need for security. For most people, safety means reliability and convenience. Each of us needs shelter, clothing and someone who can help. The patient feels safe if the bed, wheelchair, wheelchair are fixed, the floor covering in the ward and in the corridor is dry and there are no foreign objects on it, the room is sufficiently lit at night; with poor eyesight, there are glasses. The person is dressed according to the weather, and the dwelling is warm enough, and if necessary, assistance will be provided to him. The patient must be sure that he is able not only to ensure his own safety, but also not to harm others. Avoid stressful situations.

Social needs- these are the needs for family, friends, their communication, approval, affection, love, etc.

People want to be loved and understood. Nobody wants to be abandoned, unloved and lonely. If this happened, it means that the social needs of a person are not satisfied.

With severe illness, incapacity for work or in old age often arises vacuum, social contacts are broken. Unfortunately, in such cases, the need for communication is not satisfied, especially in the elderly, and lonely people. One should always keep in mind the social needs of a person, even in cases where he prefers not to talk about it.

Helping a patient to solve a social problem can significantly improve his quality of life.

The need for self-respect and respect. Communicating with people, we cannot be indifferent to the assessment of our success by others.

A person has a need for respect and self-respect. But for this it is necessary that work bring satisfaction to him, and rest be rich and interesting, the higher the level of socio-economic development of society, the more fully the needs for self-esteem are satisfied. Disabled and elderly patients lose this feeling, since they are no longer of interest to anyone, there is no one to rejoice in their success, and therefore they have no opportunity to satisfy their need for respect.

The need for self-expression is the highest level of human need. Satisfying their need for self-expression, each believes that he is doing better than others. For one, self-expression is writing a book, for another it is growing a garden, for a third it is raising children, and so on.

So, at each level of the hierarchy, the patient may have one or more unmet needs, the nurse, when drawing up a plan for caring for the patient, must help him realize at least some of them.

Man, like any living being, is programmed by nature to survive, and for this he needs certain conditions and means. If at some point in time these conditions and means are absent, then a state of need arises, which causes the appearance of a selective response of the human body. This selectivity ensures the occurrence of a response to stimuli (or factors) that are currently the most important for normal life, life preservation and further development. The experience by the subject of such a state of need in psychology is called a need.

So, the manifestation of a person's activity, and, accordingly, his life activity and purposeful activity, directly depends on the presence of a certain need (or need), which requires satisfaction. But only a certain system of human needs will determine the purposefulness of his activities, as well as contribute to the development of his personality. The very needs of a person are the basis for the formation of a motive, which in psychology is considered as a kind of “engine” of a personality. and human activity directly depends on organic and cultural needs, and they, in turn, give rise to, which directs the attention of the individual and its activity to various objects and objects of the world with the aim of their knowledge and subsequent mastery.

Human needs: definition and features

Needs, which are the main source of personality activity, are understood as a special internal (subjective) feeling of a person's need, which determines his dependence on certain conditions and means of existence. The activity itself, aimed at satisfying human needs and regulated by a conscious goal, is called activity. The sources of personality activity as an internal motivating force aimed at satisfying various needs are:

• organic and material needs (food, clothing, protection, etc.);
• spiritual and cultural(cognitive, aesthetic, social).

Human needs are reflected in the most persistent and vital dependencies of the organism and the environment, and the system of human needs is formed under the influence of the following factors: the social conditions of people's lives, the level of development of production and scientific and technological progress. In psychology, needs are studied in three aspects: as an object, as a state, and as a property (a more detailed description of these values ​​is presented in the table).

The Importance of Needs in Psychology

In psychology, the problem of needs has been considered by many scientists, so today there are quite a lot of different theories that understand needs as needs, as well as the state, and the process of satisfaction. For example, K. K. Platonov I saw in needs, first of all, a need (more precisely, a mental phenomenon of reflecting the needs of an organism or personality), and D. A. Leontiev considered needs through the prism of activity in which it finds its realization (satisfaction). Famous psychologist of the last century Kurt Lewin understood by needs, first of all, a dynamic state that occurs in a person at the moment of the implementation of some action or intention by him.

An analysis of various approaches and theories in the study of this problem allows us to say that in psychology, the need was considered in the following aspects:

• as a need (L.I. Bozhovich, V.I. Kovalev, S.L. Rubinshtein);
• as an object of satisfaction of need (A.N. Leontiev);
• as a necessity (B.I. Dodonov, V.A. Vasilenko);
• as the absence of good (V.S. Magun);
• as an attitude (D.A. Leontiev, M.S. Kagan);
• as a violation of stability (D.A. McClelland, V.L. Ossovsky);
• as a state (K. Levin);
• as a systemic reaction of the personality (E.P. Ilyin).

Human needs in psychology are understood as dynamically active states of the personality, which form the basis of its motivational sphere. And since in the process of human activity, not only the development of the individual takes place, but also changes in the environment, needs play the role of the driving force of its development, and here their subject content is of particular importance, namely the volume of the material and spiritual culture of mankind that affects the formation of needs. people and their satisfaction.

In order to understand the essence of needs as a driving force, it is necessary to take into account a number of important points highlighted E.P. Ilyin. They are as follows:

• the needs of the human body must be separated from the needs of the individual (at the same time, the need, that is, the need of the body, may be unconscious or conscious, but the need of the individual is always conscious);
• a need is always associated with a need, by which it is necessary to understand not a deficit in something, but a desire or a need;
• from personal needs it is impossible to exclude the state of need, which is a signal for choosing a means of satisfying needs;
• the emergence of a need is a mechanism that includes human activity aimed at finding a goal and achieving it as a need to satisfy the need that has arisen.

Needs are passive-active in nature, that is, on the one hand, they are due to the biological nature of a person and the lack of certain conditions, as well as his means of subsistence, and on the other hand, they determine the activity of the subject to overcome the deficit that has arisen. An essential aspect of human needs is their social and personal nature, which finds its manifestation in motives, motivation and, accordingly, in the entire orientation of the individual. Regardless of the type of need and its focus, they all have the following features:

• have their object and are the awareness of need;
• the content of needs depends primarily on the conditions and methods of their satisfaction;
• they are able to reproduce.

In the needs that form human behavior and activity, as well as in production motives, interests, aspirations, desires, inclinations and value orientations, the basis of the individual's behavior lies.

Types of human needs

Any human need initially represents an organic interweaving of biological, physiological and psychological processes, which determines the presence of many types of needs, which are characterized by strength, frequency of occurrence and ways to satisfy them.

Most often in psychology, the following types of human needs are distinguished:

• isolated according to origin natural(or organic) and cultural needs;
• distinguished by direction material needs and spiritual;
• depending on which area they belong to (fields of activity), they distinguish the needs for communication, work, rest and knowledge (or educational needs);
• according to the object, needs can be biological, material and spiritual (they also distinguish human social needs;
• by their origin, needs can be endogenous(there are waters due to internal factors) and exogenous (caused by external stimuli).

Basic, fundamental (or primary) and secondary needs are also found in the psychological literature.

The greatest attention in psychology is paid to three main types of needs - material, spiritual and social (or public needs), which are described in the table below.

Basic types of human needs

material needs of a person are primary, since they are the basis of his life. Indeed, in order for a person to live, he needs food, clothing and housing, and these needs were formed in the process of phylogenesis. spiritual needs(or ideal) are purely human, as they primarily reflect the level of development of the individual. These include aesthetic, ethical and learning needs.

It should be noted that both organic and spiritual needs are characterized by dynamism and interact with each other, therefore, for the formation and development of spiritual needs, it is necessary to satisfy the material ones (for example, if a person does not satisfy the need for food, then he will experience fatigue, lethargy, apathy and drowsiness, that cannot contribute to the emergence of a cognitive need).

Separately, one should consider public needs(or social), which are formed and developed under the influence of society and are a reflection of the social nature of man. Satisfaction of this need is necessary for absolutely every person as a social being and, accordingly, as a person.

Classification of needs

Since psychology became a separate branch of knowledge, many scientists have made a large number of attempts to classify needs. All these classifications are very diverse and basically reflect only one side of the problem. That is why, to date, a unified system of human needs that would meet all the requirements and interests of researchers from various psychological schools and trends has not yet been presented to the scientific community.

• natural desires of a person and necessary (it is impossible to live without them);
• natural desires, but not necessary (if there is no way to satisfy them, then this will not lead to the inevitable death of a person);
• desires that are neither necessary nor natural (for example, the desire for fame).

Informational author P.V. Simonov needs were divided into biological, social and ideal, which in turn can be the needs of need (or preservation) and growth (or development). According to P. Simonov, social needs of a person and ideal ones are divided into needs “for oneself” and “for others”.

Quite interesting is the classification of needs proposed by Erich Fromm. A well-known psychoanalyst identified the following specific social needs of a person:

• a person's need for connections (belonging to a group);
• need for self-affirmation (sense of importance);
• the need for affection (the need for warm and reciprocal feelings);
• the need for self-awareness (one's own individuality);
• the need for a system of orientation and objects of worship (belonging to a culture, nation, class, religion, etc.).

But the most popular among all existing classifications was the unique system of human needs of the American psychologist Abraham Maslow (better known as the hierarchy of needs or the pyramid of needs). The representative of the humanistic direction in psychology based his classification on the principle of grouping needs by similarity in a hierarchical sequence - from lower needs to higher ones. A. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is presented in the form of a table for ease of perception.

Hierarchy of needs according to A. Maslow

Main groups	Needs	Description
Additional psychological needs	in self-actualization (self-realization)	maximum realization of all the potentials of a person, his abilities and personality development
	aesthetic	the need for harmony and beauty
	cognitive	the desire to learn and know the surrounding reality
Basic psychological needs	in respect, self respect and appreciation	the need for success, approval, recognition of authority, competence, etc.
	in love and belonging	the need to be in a community, society, to be accepted and recognized
	in safety	the need for protection, stability and security
Physiological Needs	physiological or organic	needs for food, oxygen, drink, sleep, sex drive, etc.

Having proposed their classification of needs, A. Maslow clarified that a person cannot have higher needs (cognitive, aesthetic and the need for self-development), if he has not satisfied the basic (organic) needs.

Formation of human needs

The development of human needs can be analyzed in the context of the socio-historical development of mankind and from the standpoint of ontogenesis. But it should be noted that both in the first and in the second case, material needs will be the initial ones. This is due to the fact that they are the main source of activity of any individual, pushing him to maximum interaction with the environment (both natural and social)

On the basis of material needs, the spiritual needs of a person developed and transformed, for example, the need for knowledge was based on satisfying the needs for food, clothing and housing. As for aesthetic needs, they were also formed due to the development and improvement of the production process and various means of life, which were necessary to provide more comfortable conditions for human life. Thus, the formation of human needs was determined by socio-historical development, during which all human needs developed and differentiated.

As for the development of needs during a person's life path (that is, in ontogenesis), here everything also begins with the satisfaction of natural (organic) needs, which ensure the establishment of relationships between a child and adults. In the process of satisfying basic needs, children develop needs for communication and cognition, on the basis of which other social needs also appear. An important influence on the development and formation of needs in childhood is provided by the process of education, through which the correction and replacement of destructive needs is carried out.

Development and formation of human needs according to A.G. Kovalev must obey the following rules:

• needs arise and are strengthened through the practice and systematic consumption (that is, habit formation);
• the development of needs is possible in conditions of expanded reproduction in the presence of various means and ways of satisfying it (the emergence of needs in the process of activity);
• the formation of needs occurs more comfortably if the activity necessary for this does not exhaust the child (lightness, simplicity and a positive emotional mood);
• the development of needs is significantly influenced by the transition from reproductive to creative activity;
• the need will be strengthened if the child sees its significance, both personally and socially (assessment and encouragement).

In addressing the question of the formation of human needs, it is necessary to return to the hierarchy of needs of A. Maslow, who argued that all human needs are given to him in a hierarchical organization at certain levels. Thus, from the moment of his birth, in the process of his growing up and personality development, each person will consistently manifest seven classes (of course, this is ideal) of needs, ranging from the most primitive (physiological) needs and ending with the need for self-actualization (the desire for maximum realization the personality of all its potentialities, the most complete life), and some aspects of this need begin to manifest themselves not earlier than adolescence.

According to A. Maslow, a person's life at a higher level of needs provides him with the greatest biological efficiency and, accordingly, a longer life, better health, better sleep and appetite. Thus, purpose of satisfying needs basic - the desire for the emergence of higher needs in a person (in knowledge, in self-development and self-actualization).

The main ways and means of meeting needs

Satisfaction of human needs is an important condition not only for its comfortable existence, but also for its survival, because if organic needs are not met, a person will die in a biological sense, and if spiritual needs are not satisfied, then the individual as a social entity dies. People, satisfying different needs, learn in different ways and learn different means to achieve this goal. Therefore, depending on the environment, conditions and the individual himself, the goal of satisfying needs and the ways to achieve it will differ.

In psychology, the most popular ways and means of satisfying needs are:

• in the mechanism of formation of individual ways for a person to meet their needs(in the process of learning, the formation of various connections between stimuli and subsequent analogy);
• in the process of individualization of ways and means of satisfying basic needs, which act as mechanisms for the development and formation of new needs (the very ways to satisfy needs can turn into themselves, that is, new needs appear);
• in concretizing the ways and means of meeting the needs(there is a consolidation of one method or several, with the help of which the satisfaction of human needs occurs);
• in the process of mentalization of needs(awareness of the content or some aspects of the need);
• in the socialization of ways and means of satisfying needs(they are subordinated to the values ​​of culture and the norms of society).

So, at the heart of any activity and activity of a person there is always some kind of need, which finds its manifestation in motives, and it is the needs that are the motivating force that pushes a person to movement and development.

Needs. Everyone knows in general what it is - what each of us wants to have and receive. Basically, right. But let's state the essence of this topic in a scientific language: what are needs and what they are.

What are needs?

Needs- this is a perceived need of a person in something, in what he needs to maintain the vital activity of the organism and develop his personality. In my opinion, a fairly simple and easy to remember definition.

However, not all needs benefit a person. Therefore, from the point of view of necessity and usefulness, needs are:

• authentic (reasonable, true)- these are needs without which a person either simply cannot live (food, housing, society, because it is among people that he becomes a person), or are necessary for his improvement, development (spiritual).
• False (irrational, imaginary)- these are needs, without which it is not only possible, but also necessary to live, they lead to the destruction of the personality, and the person degrades both physically and mentally (alcoholism, drug addiction, parasitism)

Types of needs

There are several classifications of needs. The most common are the following types of needs:

The American psychologist A. Maslow built needs in the form of a kind of pyramid: the closer the need is to the base of the pyramid, the more necessary it is. All subsequent ones are needed when the previous ones are satisfied.

Maslow's Needs Pyramid A.Kh.

• Primary Needs:
• Physiological(satisfaction of natural instincts, these are: thirst, hunger, rest, reproduction, breathing, clothing, housing, physical activity)
• existential( from lat. existence, this is the need for security, security, this is confidence in the future, insurance, comfort, job security)
• Secondary Needs:

• Social(the need to live in a society, to belong to a certain social group: communication, affection, attention to oneself, caring for others, participation in joint activities)
• Prestigious(the need for respect, recognition, career growth. It is not by chance that A. Maslow singled out prestigious, since the opinion of society and others is very important to a person. Any praise is pleasant to people, there is a desire to do something even better.
• Spiritual(self-expression, self-realization through creativity, knowledge, teaching, self-affirmation, etc.)

Human needs have a number of features:

• all needs are interconnected
• impossible to meet all needs
• infinity of needs
• needs should not contradict the moral foundations of society.

A person changes - some of his needs become different. Even in a single society, at a certain stage of development, there may be needs. Needs are determined by both the natural and social essence of a person.

Yes, human activity and actions are driven by the desire to satisfy their needs. It is important to set priorities for yourself, to clearly know what a person wants and why he needs it. And we should not forget that a person's needs are limitless, it will not be enough to satisfy everything 100% throughout life. So the choice of envy is from everyone, from the level of his upbringing, development, from the environment in which he lives, from those values ​​that are important for his environment. It is important that the needs are genuine, do not let the imaginary needs take over your soul and mind, guys. Live, enjoying life, giving joy to loved ones and loved ones.

Material prepared: Melnikova Vera Aleksandrovna

In the global economy, there is the concept of need, which is very important for understanding the market and conquering it. It would seem that everything is quite simple, and you just need to know what a person wants. But in fact, everything is not as simple as it might seem at first glance.

The fact is that needs can be very diverse, they can even be subconscious, so you need to look for your own approach to each of them. It is for this that economists have spent a lot of time throughout the history of modernity studying what the concept of need is, how such a need is expressed and what exactly it can be.

What is a need?

The concept of need at first glance may seem quite simple, because it means, in principle, what a particular person needs at a certain point in time. But in fact, everything is much deeper, especially if you look at this concept from an economic point of view.

In economics, needs are internal motives on which the entire system of modern production is based. It is through needs that a connection is provided between the buyer who needs a certain product, a specific service, and the manufacturer who must provide it.

Strictly speaking, the concept of need is indispensable in the system of socio-economic relations in any market. A need is not just something that a person needs, it is a certain product or service that he needs depending on his living conditions, social relations, and so on.

Simply put, this is a person’s attitude to his living conditions, which can be characterized by a desire to get some object, some service, in order to experience a sense of satisfaction from this and improve some aspect of his life.

Classification of needs

A person in economics has been described for quite a long time, however, the definition is only a general text that affects only the tip of the iceberg. If you delve into the study of human needs, it is worth highlighting their various types. It is simply impossible to do this spontaneously - the fact is that there can be a lot. And depending on the angle from which you look at them, their number can increase, and they can intersect and overlap.

That is why the system of classification of needs was introduced. A lot of different groups have been singled out throughout economic history, but there are some of them that are considered the main ones and are generally accepted. It is about them that will be discussed further.

Subjects

The concepts of activity are tightly intertwined with each other, because it is through activity that needs are satisfied. Some of them you can satisfy yourself, others satisfy other people who produce the product you need or provide the service you need.

However, this view can be called rather one-sided, since in most cases people, when asked about needs, try everything on themselves and talk about what one person needs. But if you look at the classification by subject, you will quickly realize that everything is not as simple as it might seem.

Yes, there are individual needs, that is, those that one person experiences, which concern only him. However, there are still, for example, collective needs - what a group of people needs. For example, the work team needs good leadership, a favorable working atmosphere, and so on. There is also an even more global level - social needs, that is, what society as a whole needs. This may be an increase in the standard of living, a reduction in prices, the absence of military conflicts, and so on.

However, the classification by subjects has another large group, which includes enterprises, farms, and even entire states. They also experience which can be very diverse. The company is looking for recognition in the global market, wants to increase profits, reduce staff turnover. The government wants to increase budget revenues.

This is how versatile the concept of need can be. Satisfying all this does not happen instantly - you always need to find those who want to satisfy your needs, regardless of whether you are an individual person or an entire state apparatus.

By objects

The concept of "need" is extremely versatile, therefore, it has the most diverse classifications. If we talk about classification by objects, then it is immediately worth noting that in this case needs are divided into pairs. So the first pair are physiological/social needs. The first are those that a person needs in order to continue his existence, that is, food, water, clothing, a roof over his head, and so on. As for the social ones, they are not so important, but at the same time they are also incredibly necessary and become much more relevant when the physiological needs are satisfied. These include the thirst for communication, socialization, the need to receive new information, stay up to date, and so on.

The second pair is material/spiritual. The first part is material wealth, a variety of goods and services, while the second is creativity, personal growth, self-improvement.

It is also worth highlighting a couple of primary and non-primary needs. If you purchase essential items or services that you need in the first place and without which it will be impossible, difficult or extremely uncomfortable for you to continue to exist, then they belong to the first group. If these are not so important goods and services that are acquired on a whim, then they belong to the second group.

Maslow's pyramid

Even if you did not know the definition of "need" in economic terms, then most likely you have at least heard what Maslow's pyramid is. This is the world-famous pyramid of needs, compiled by the famous American psychologist Abraham Maslow. Strictly speaking, this is a visual representation of the hierarchy of human needs.

Physiological needs are at the bottom of the pyramid, followed by security and protection, followed by social needs, then the need for respect. Well, the top of the pyramid is self-realization.

The principle of the pyramid is as follows: a person tends to feel the need for something from each level in ascending order. This means that first a person satisfies physiological needs, then he provides himself with security and protection, and so on.

Thus, if a person's physiological needs are not satisfied, he will not want to satisfy social ones, and when he does not have reliable protection, he will not think about self-realization. Maslow's Pyramid most clearly indicates the basic needs. The concept of them in this classification is recognized throughout the world.

By degree of implementation

Another type of classification is according to the degree of implementation. Here, the needs are divided according to the principle of how and when a person can fulfill them. For example, there are real needs that can be realized at the current level of development of society, and there are absolute needs - they arise due to the further development of society, motivating it to progress.

It is also worth noting the solvent needs, which can only be satisfied with a certain level of income and the availability of funds.

Law of Increasing Needs

It is impossible to talk about needs and not remember about this law. Its essence lies in the fact that the needs of man and society are constantly changing, increasing, new ones appear, which are determined by further progress and development. This law is closely related to Maslow's pyramid - a person has higher-order needs when he satisfies lower-order needs.

Development of Needs in the Twentieth Century

The law of increasing needs can be described by the example of the development of society in the twentieth century. In the first half of the century, material needs were dominant. Starting in the fifties, social needs such as education, medicine, sports, entertainment, and so on began to dominate. And since the eighties, people have reached a new level, since the needs of the previous two orders could be satisfied without problems. Therefore, there was a desire to develop and grow as a person.

a state of need for something without which the organism cannot be in a stable ("self-identical" and preserved) state. Needs are a consequence of the demorphologization of a part of the functional structure of the organism.

Great Definition

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NEED

a state of deficiency in h.-l., a state that stimulates activity aimed at filling this deficiency, one of the distinguishing features of any life activity. P. can experience organisms, individuals, social. groups, organizations, enterprises, institutions, about-in as a whole. Human P. are unconscious (they are called drives) and conscious. Items underlie the formation of values. P.'s awareness serves to form interest, motive, orientation, attitude, goal, decision, action. P. make up a single system and are classified according to different. criteria: material and spiritual (or cultural), individual and group, production and non-production, rational and non-rational, current and expected, real and ideal, vital and secondary, traditional and new, permanent and temporary, self-sufficient and prestigious, elementary and complex , elevated and low, etc. According to the criterion of origin, P. are divided into natural or biogenic, primary (in self-preservation - food, water, rest, sleep, warmth, health, reproduction, sexual, etc.) and sociogenic, secondary (in self-affirmation, communication, various achievements, in friendship, love, etc.; in knowledge, self-development; in creativity, self-expression). Not only secondary, but also primary P. of people, unlike animals, are social, and not just biological. character. They are mediated by societies. production, about-vom, a cut determines the specific forms of their manifestation of satisfaction. Sociology studies social P. people: P. in a beating in self-preservation, self-affirmation, self-development, self-expression; sociogenesis of secondary P.; characteristics of societies. the formation of specific manifestations and ways to satisfy the primary P. Psychology P. explored as a source of activity, the root cause of the behavior of the individual or social. groups and are considered as a special psychological. phenomenon. P. of a person are generated in the process of social-historical. development. The starting point in understanding P. redeems the idea of ​​them as the original driving force, source and cause of human activity. It is impossible to imagine activity without P., and vice versa, the more diverse a person’s activity, the richer his P. In psychology, there are a number of definitions of P. An analysis of them allows us to distinguish three categories of P., which are understood as needs, as requirements of the body and as relationships. The first definition is traditional and most common. It is quite sufficient for an external description of P., but not for expressing their essence. In the second definition, the reason for the deployment of activity is hidden in the organism itself, and not in the objects of the environment. According to the third definition, P. is not just a need and not just the requirements, motives of the organism, but a certain relationship of a person to objective reality. This definition makes it possible to take into account the role of both the subject and the object in the development of P.. The initial and deepest meaning of this definition is the contradiction between the subject and the object. Behind P. as ideal phenomena is a certain objective reality, in which a person is looking not for truth, but for the measure of using this or that class of things in his life. It is put in this case in the valuable relation to things, a cut is reflected in mentality of the person in the form of P. Experiencing P., the person feels dependence on the subject capable to satisfy it. In this respect, he appears to be a suffering, dependent being. But he seeks to get out of this dependence. In his experiences, a kind of inner anxiety arises and he is looking for ways and objects to satisfy this P. The experience of P. is expressed in the desire to remove the internal conflict, defuse tension, obtain satisfaction and relative calm. Therefore, P. can be considered as a way of deploying human activity. That is why P. turn out to be a source of human activity. Lit .: Leontiev A.N. Needs, motives, emotions. M., 1971; Mikhailov N.N. Needs as a sociological category. Chelyabinsk, 1974; Problems of formation of sociogenic needs. T. 1, 2. Tbilisi, 1974-1981; Magun B.C. Needs and psychology of social activity of the individual. L., 1983; Aseev V.G. Structure of behavior motivation//Motivational regulation of personality activity and behavior. M., 1988. I.V. Bestuzhev-Lada, N.V. Kuchevskaya.

Great Definition

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