Theories of Love

Maslow's Hiearchy of Love

Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who lived from April 1, 1908 to June 8, 1970. Maslow is known for his theory of needs, it is his conceptualization of a "hierachy of human needs." Maslow believed that we all strive for Self-actualization, which includes things such as morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, and acceptance of facts. Self-actualization is the fifth and highest level that we could hope to achieve based on his theory. Maslow's theory is that in order to get to this highest of levels, we must meet the most basic of needs beginning with the most basic of needs, our Psychological needs.

Our Psychological needs consist of breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, and excretion. Once our Psychological needs have been met, we can then advance to the second level of his hierachy, which is Safety. Our Safety needs include security of body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of family, of health, and of property. Once our need for Safety has been met, we can advance upward to the third level, which is the need for Love/Belonging. The need for Love/Belonging includes friendship, family, and sexual intimacy. Once our need for Love/Belonging has been met we can then progress to the fourth level of his hierarchy of needs, Esteem. The need for Esteem includes self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, and respect by others. Maslow's theory is that after these lower levels have been met and only after, may we progress to the final level of his hiearchy of need...Self-actualization.