Five Levels in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and How They Influence Us Abraham Maslow, who was an American psychologist created a hierarchy of needs. There are five levels, with the basic needs at the bottom. He explains that if the basic needs are not satisfied we cannot move up the pyramid, despite a few instances (Lilienfeld et al., 2016). The first level is physiological needs which is satisfying hunger, thirst, and fatigue. Physiological needs influence us because if we are not satisfying our hunger, we can lose weight, or be malnourished. If we are not satisfying out thirst, we can be dehydrated. If we are not satisfying our fatigue, it could lead to further problems. This level is greatly dependent on your financial situation and if you have access to food and money. The second …show more content…
Safety needs influence us because if we do not feel safe we may be constantly scared. Safety needs include being safe in our work environment and at home. The third level is belonging needs, which is being with others, being accepted, and belonging. Belonging needs influence us in relationships, are we being accepted and or loved by the other individual? The forth level is esteem needs, which is achieving, being competent, gaining approval and recognition. Esteem needs influence us because we might not be able to achieve what we want, might not have the necessary skill or might not be able to recognize. We also might have too low or too high self-esteem. The fifth level is self-actualization needs, which is finding self-fulfillment and realizing your potential. Self-actualization needs influence us because we might underestimate ourselves and not realize our full