Is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs a ValidIs Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs a Valid Model of Motivation?Model of Motivation?

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary.....................................................................................................2

1. Introduction.............................................................................................................3

2. Maslow and Maslow's theory....................................................................................3

2.1 Biographical Sketch............................................................................................3

2.2 Basic structure of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory......................................4

2.3 Inspiration for Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory............................................4

3. Application of Maslow's theory.................................................................................6

3.1 Maslow's theory in business................................................................................6

3.1.1 Workplace management...............................................................................6

3.1.2 Marketing.....................................................................................................7

3.2 Maslow's theory in Psychotherapy......................................................................7

3.4 Maslow's theory in healthcare industry...............................................................8

3.5 Maslow's theory in social science........................................................................8

4. Theories derived from Maslow...............................................................................10

4.1 Motivation-Hygiene Theory...............................................................................10

4.2 Wilber...............................................................................................................10

5. Empirical Studies on Maslow's theory....................................................................11

5.1 Studies that show some support for Maslow’s Hierarchy..................................11

5.1.1 Porter..........................................................................................................11

5.1.2 Alderfer.......................................................................................................11

5.1.3 Reiss and Havercamp.................................................................................12

5.1.4 Ghiselli and Johnson....................................................................................14

5.1.5 Guttman Scale Test....................................................................................15

5.2 Studies that did not support Maslow’s Theory..................................................15

6. Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory across cultures..............................................16

7. Summary and Conclusion......................................................................................17

References.................................................................................................................18

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Executive Summary

This is paper attempts to answer the question “Is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs a Valid model of

Motivation?”. We begin by reviewing Maslow’s life and the basic structure of his Hierarchy of

Needs Theory. Then continue by explaining what inspired his theory. The use of this theory is

examined as applied in business, Psychotherapy, the healthcare industry, and social science.

Similar theories are reviewed including Frederick Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory and

Ken Wilbur’s theory as interpreted by Rowan. Then we take a look at Empirical testing of

Maslow’s work to try to determine if his model is valid.

A study by Hall and Nougian did not support Maslow’s theory. However, there are some studies

that show support or partial support. A literature review includes reviews of studies done by

Porter, Alderfer, Reiss and Havercamp, and Ghiselli and Johnson as well as the Guttman scale

test.

Although some argue that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is restricted by national and

cultural boundaries, we look at its use across cultures.

Finally we reach our conclusion that Maslow’s hierarchy is a valid model of motivation, though

some modification might be warranted. It is a simple but powerful concept that can help us

understand, develop and utilize human potential.

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1. Introduction

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory is more than half a century old since its first publication of

Personality and Motivation in 1954. Many theoretical and practical applications were developed

on the basis of Maslow's theory (Brenner, Carmack, & Weinstein, 1971. Rowan, 1999. Sirgy,

1986. Shermer, 2004. Seeley, 1992). The scope and scale of the use of Maslow's hierarchy of

needs theory transcends a wide range of areas. However, despite of its popularity, the validity

and utility of this theory have raised many controversies over the years.

On one hand, Maslow's theory is very intuitive (Heylighen, 1992), easy to understand and apply.

Being one of the most enduring theories of behavioral science, Maslow's “Hierarchy of Needs”

holds high face validity. On the other hand, many questioned the validity and applicability of the

theory (Wahba & Bridwell, 1976. McCarth & Perreault, 1984).

Some claimed that Maslow's theory has been used without adequate scientific evidence (Soper,

Milford & Rosenthal, 1995). There are studies that show support or partial support of the theory

(Lawler & Porter, 1967. Ghiselli & Johnson, 1970. Manning & Curtis, 1988. Benson & Dundis,

2003. Barling 1976. Hall & Nougaim, 1968. Porat, 1977. Reiss & Havercamp 2005), while

some found no evidence to support the theory (Hall & Nougaim, 1968. Lawler & Suttle, 1972).

The purpose of our paper is to revisit Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, review its critiques

and evaluate its applications. Our paper is to examine whether Maslow's hierarchy of needs

theory is a valid theory of motivation.

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2. Maslow and Maslow's theory

2.1 Biographical Sketch

Abraham Maslow is generally recognized as the foremost founder of humanistic psychology. He

was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1908. His parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants.

Growing up in a non-Jewish neighborhood and not being close to his parents, Maslow spent his

childhood in loneliness and misery (Hergenhahn, 2005). He grew up in libraries among books

and without friends (Hall, 1968). Maslow's relationship with his mother was bitter (Hoffman,

1988). So, it is interesting that he got the motivation for his work in humanistic psychology from

his hatred of his mother (Lowry, 1979).

Maslow attended City College of New York and did research at Columbia University afterwards.

From 1937 to 1951, Maslow was on the faculty of Brooklyn College. He taught at Bradeis

University from 1951 to 1969 and then became a resident fellow at Laughlin Institute, Berkley,

CA. In 1970, he died of a heart attack. Maslow's primary contribution to psychology is his

“hierarchy of needs” theory.

2.2 Basic structure of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a content theory of motivation. Content theories study the factors

within the person or things that motivate people (Gibson, 1994). His hierarchy of needs model

identified five basic human needs and then five need categories were constructed in an ascending

hierarchical order according to their importance for survival and their power to motivate people.

They are physiological needs, safety needs, love needs, esteem needs, and the need for self-

actualization. The essential idea of Maslow's theory is that people are motivated to behave by

unsatisfied needs; once a certain need is relatively satisfied, it no longer motivates. Instead, it

activates the next higher level need (Maslow, 1954).

A person is deficiency motivated before he or she reaches the level of self-actualization. Once a

person's basic needs are satisfied, he or she becomes motivated by the higher level or abundance

needs. In 1943, Maslow published his first conceptualization work. His major work, Motivation

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and Personality, was published in 1954. In 1970, he published a revision to his original need

theory.

2.3 Inspiration for Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory is a simple and intuitive theory. His model is based on

observations of self-actualizers and analysis of biographies of well-known figures (Hjelle &

Ziegler, 1976). Maslow theorized human beings have the innate tendency to seek self-

actualization (Maslow, 1971). He views human beings are benign in nature.

Eckerman (1968) generalizes that self-actualization for a person involves doing one's best in

addition to inventiveness, creativeness, and ingenuity. Self-actualization is the capstone of

Maslow's hierarchy of needs. To self-actualize is to reach the peak of one's potential. Maslow's

studies shift from traditional psychologists' work of studying dysfunctional people, mental

diseases and the negative side of human behaviors to studies on the positive side of human

behaviors. His focus is to understand people who are working toward self-actualization, attempt

to learn how they think and learn what motivates them. His model is to exhibit how a mature,

happy, and healthy person behaves. Maslow's (1954:14) states, “... health is not simply the

absence of disease or even the opposite of it. Any theory of motivation that is worthy of

attention must deal with the highest capacities of the healthy and strong person as well as with

the defensive maneuvers of crippled spirits”. When Maslow lived in New York during the 1930s

and 1940s, he came to know many prominent European scholars including Alfred Adler, Erich

Fromm, Karen Horney, Margaret Mead and Max Wertheimer, founder of Gestalt psychology.

Maslow also befriended with the famous anthropologist Ruth Benedict around the same time.

Maslow was very much inspired by Ruth Benedict and Max Wertheimer, whom he admired both

professionally and personally.

He began his informal study of healthy people by observing them, taking notes and trying to

analyze what made them such outstanding human beings (Hergenhahn, 2005). Besides studying

his personal friends and acquaintances, Maslow's selected people groups also included public

figures living and dead such as Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Benjamin

Franklin, Thomas Eakins and Walt Whitman, among others. However, Maslow's subjects shared 5

a common characteristic that they all showed considerable evidence of self-actualization (Hjelle

& Ziegler, 1976). They were all psychologically healthy individuals by Maslow's definition.

His study of these people serves as the foundation for Maslow's lifetime research of optimal

psychological health and human potential.

3. Application of Maslow's theory

3.1 Maslow's theory in business

Maslow's theory (1954) was originally applied as a general theory of psychological motivation.

However, the usefulness of its theoretical model was adopted by organizational theorist,

McGregor (1960), who applied Maslow's theory in the work place (Blackler & Williams, 1971).

And later on, the “hierarchy of needs” theory has been adapted and incorporated into

applications in many areas in business (Shoura & Singh, 1998.).

3.1.1 Workplace management

In the management field, it is an effective approach to understand motivation. A very difficult

task in an organization is motivating employees in a way that produces mutual benefits for both

employees and the organization. An effective motivational model can lead to an employee's job

satisfaction and achievement of organizational goals (Lyon, Ivancevish and Donnelly, 1970).

Maslow (1971:185) stated: “If you are unhappy with your work, you have lost one of the most

important means of self-fulfillment.” Employees are not likely to seek higher-level gratifications

till their lower level needs are relatively met. Thus, his model has been extensively accepted in

management science (Roberts, 1982). Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory helps managers make

workplaces more responsive to workers' specific needs. Maslow refers to this approach as

Eupsychian management on the basis of his hierarchy of needs theory (Maslow, 1965). Dye,

Mills and Weatherbee (2005) pointed out that management theorists and practitioners should

keep in mind that self-actualization is the desired state of psychological well-being. Merely

focusing on meeting employees' lower level needs for greater performance does not

automatically push employees upward to reach their full potential. Therefore, management 6

should be cautious not to rely on only meeting lower level needs because doing so may restrict

employee's growth into higher levels. For example, Maslow's theory can be used in human

resource management in medical workplaces. Medical professionals usually are well paid,

however, not all nurses and doctors go into and stay in the healthcare industry with the same

commonly assumed motivator -- monetary incentive. It will be more productive for managers

and administrators to understand the need that care providers bring to their professions and

motivate them from Maslow's perspective (Carpenito-Moyet, 2003. Benson & Dundis, 2003). A

good retention strategy for departments of nursing is to offer different incentives depending on

where the nurse is on Maslow's hierarchy. Monetary incentive is effective to motivate nurses

working to meet their lower level needs; paid vacation, flexible schedules or future opportunities

for further education may be more satisfying incentives for those who are at higher levels of

Maslow's hierarchy.

3.1.2 Marketing

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory has made influential impact on marketing. Maslow's theory

has been written into many marketing textbooks as a principle of understanding human needs

(Husted, Varble & Lowry, 1989; Stanton & Futrell, 1987; Kotler, 1991). Seeley (1992)

constructed an economic model of consumer behavior by using Maslow's hierarchy of needs

theory. This model is designed to track consumers' expenditure patterns as the satisfaction of

their needs progresses.

Maslow's theory has shaped marketing research and consumer research theory and practice

associated with consumer motivation (Pincus, 2004). One of the key insights of Maslow's theory

is that satisfied needs do not motivate. Therefore, by focusing on the similarity of unmet needs,

the need-based segmentation approach opens up more opportunities in marketing and brand

management.

3.2 Maslow's theory in Psychotherapy

Maslow's theory has tremendous impact in the field of psychotherapy. Before Maslow,

psychology was mainly dominated by Freud's psychoanalysis and Skinner's behaviorism.

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Psychology used to be concerned with abnormalities of mental health. It can be generalized that

counseling clients used to be treated like animals by psychoanalysts, and like machines by

behaviorists, but Maslow wanted to treat people like people. He was more concerned with the

positive constitution of mental health and human potentials. Maslow (1954:180) commented

that: “it becomes more and more clear that the study of crippled, stunted, immature, and

unhealthy specimens can yield only a crippled psychology and a crippled philosophy.” With

Maslow's theory being the foundation, counselors take the approach of assessing an individual's

needs from a positive viewpoint, helping the client to remove obstacles and eventually regain the

path toward self-actualization. Thus, it enables the client to move toward a healthier

psychological state.

What is more interesting is that Maslow even advocated the use of psychotherapy to achieve

self-actualization (Lowry, 1979:459). Self-reflection counseling creates opportunities for

organizational learning. It benefits an organization in a way that leads people in organization to

share their experiences, beliefs about work and gain their valuable insights to the organization

(Chiaramonte & Mills, 1993). There has been great interest in applying psychotherapy to

organizations since Maslow (Kets de Vries, 1978).

3.4 Maslow's theory in healthcare industry

In medical settings, Maslow's theory provides a set of theoretical guidelines for understanding

the concerns of people suffering from physical illness, disabilities, or other life problems. This

useful framework has been incorporated into the healthcare industry. One important approach to

nursing theory is the “need” approach, which is developed based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs

theory (Meleis, 1991). Maslow's theory is helpful for care providers to see the “big picture” of a

given patient's situation. By being able to identify what the patient's needs are, caregivers can

better assist the patient meet his or her physiological and psychological needs.

Maslow's theory has also been adopted to support health care strategy (Bardwell, 2004). One of

the strategies involves the changes of healthcare facilities. It is stated that the bottom levels of

hierarchy of needs are associated with creating a comfortable and secure environment for patient

care and the upper levels of the hierarchy of needs is related to achieving maximum potential for 8

facilitating staff performance and job satisfaction through design or adaptation of the physical

environment.

3.5 Maslow's theory in social science

In social science, research has been done to extend Maslow's theory which addresses the

motivations of the individual to that of groups of people (Laas, 2006). Laas (2006) pointed out

that people in a community, culture or a nation experiencing similar environmental and cultural

conditions might collectively experience need fulfillment or frustration. Thus, a collective action

may be taken by this group of people to respond to their collective need situation. The

researcher gave examples of democratic uprising in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and

China. In the above countries where the democratic uprising took place, people have

experienced basic need fulfillment. Their love and belongingness needs are also relatively

fulfilled in the company of each other. The younger generation demonstrates healthier levels of

self-esteem. The researcher noted that participants of the democratic uprisings placed a greater

value on a higher need (self-actualization), at least temporarily, because the need was continually

being frustrated”. Therefore, this study concludes that pursuit and gratification of higher needs

can have desirable civic and social consequences (Laas, 2006).

Shermer (2004) developed a “bio-cultural evolutionary pyramid” to explain the origins and

evolution of morality, in which Maslow's hierarchy of needs has been used as a theoretical base

of human needs.

Quality-of-life theory, developed on the basis of Maslow's theory, postulates that the greater the

hierarchical level of need satisfaction is, the greater the quality-of-life that society will have. It

addresses the measure of quality of life and the optimality of institutional structures (Sirgy,

1986).

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4. Theories derived from Maslow

4.1 Motivation-Hygiene Theory

The Motivation-Hygiene Theory developed by Frederick Herzberg has been used as an

alternative to Maslow’s Theory for studying job satisfaction. He concluded that job satisfaction

and dissatisfaction must be separated into two different continua and are determined by two

different sets of factors. Factors found to affect job satisfaction (recognition, achievement, work

itself, advancement, and responsibility) are called “motivation factors.” Factors found to affect

job dissatisfaction (salary, company policies, technical competence, interpersonal relations and

working conditions) called “hygiene factors” are related to the environment of the job (Brenner,

Carmack, & Weinstein, 1971).

4.2 Wilber

Ken Wilber’s theory is very similar to Maslow’s. Instead of a one-way linear trend of ascent

from lower to higher levels, his theory acknowledges an ascent as well as a descent. Ascent is

about rising to what we are capable of which Maslow termed self-actualization and descent is

about using the insight gained as a new way of life. If this theory is applied to Maslow’s levels,

we find an interesting new slant on deficiency and abundance motivation (Rowan, 1999).

One of Maslow’s ideas was that our motivation was deficiency oriented, being about the

satisfaction of needs, but that some of our motivation was abundance oriented, going beyond

needs altogether. Rowan states that values are of two kinds – deficiency or abundance, which

leads to two kinds of motivation.

If we apply Wilber’s theory we see that self-actualization is not the end of the experience. A

person may develop beyond the level of needing to get esteem from other people, but then enter

a new organization and may have to go back to that level for a while, until we have learned the

ropes again. Rowan suggests that when we go back to an earlier level, though, we do not enter it

in the same way in which we entered it before. We come in from the top instead of the bottom

and instead of ascent we now experience descent (Rowan, 1999).

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5. Empirical Studies on Maslow's theory

5.1 Studies that show some support for Maslow’s Hierarchy

Maslow’s theory has proven appealing and has been widely adopted. This may be due to its

simplicity, rationality, and applicability to behavior (Porat, 1977). One of the criticisms of his

theory is that most applications of the needs hierarchy have been normative rather than empirical

(Chung, 1969). This has led to several empirical studies that attempted to scientifically test the

validity of the theory.

5.1.1 Porter

Porter attempted to operationalize Maslow’s model by setting out “autonomy” as a separate need

as opposed to Maslow who subsumed this need under self-actualization, and to test the concept

by comparing individuals at various levels in the organizational hierarchy (Gibson & Teasley,

1973). Porter used a questionnaire to measure the need categories (Lyon, Ivancevich, &

Donnelly, 1971). He suggested that the needs can be classified as security, social, esteem,

autonomy, and self-actualization. Porter’s security and social categories are similar to the safety

and affection classifications of Maslow. His findings were mixed, with the only substantial

evidence suggesting that concern for Maslow’s higher needs was inversely related to the

manger’s position in the organization. Lower-ranking mangers exhibited greater concern over

these needs than did top-level managers (Gibson & Teasley, 1973).

Porter and Mitchell later expanded the research and included military personnel. The results

showed personnel were generally less satisfied at each rank than were their counterparts in

business. However, their research found that the relationship between hierarchial position and

need satisfaction in Porter’s earlier study existed as well in the military sample (Gibson &

Teasley, 1973).

5.1.2 Alderfer

Alderfer developed a comparable hierarchy with his ERG (existence, relatedness, growth)

theory. His theory modified Maslow’s by suggesting a revision consisting of three hierarchial

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needs instead of the original five (Porat, 1977). ERG theory also does not arrange needs in a

strictly ordered hierarchy and includes satisfying higher needs with lower-level desires or

behavior (Gibson & Teasley, 1973).

Alderfer tested Maslow’s hierarchy of needs against ERG theory. He found the ERG model to be

more accurate than the hierarchy of needs model. The data did not support Maslow’s frustration

hypothesis, i.e., a satisfied need is not a motivator, nor his ordered hierarchy (Gibson & Teasley,

1973). However, it must be noted that Alderfer was testing against his own theory so there is

definitely bias.

Based on this limited amount of research, there seems to be little empirical justification for

adopting it to explain organizational behavior (Gibson & Teasley, 1973). However, the various

measures previously used to test Maslow’s theory, such as the Need Satisfaction Questionnaire

and the Existence, Relatedness, and Growth (ERG) hierarchy, have limitations such as a lack of

comprehensiveness or absence of adequate validation (Reiss & Havercamp, 2005). An

instrument that is well suited for testing Maslow’s theory was developed by Reiss and

Havercamp (2005).

5.1.3 Reiss and Havercamp

The Reiss Profile of Fundamental Goals and Motivational Sensitivities is a comprehensive

standardized measure of motivation. It is a 120-item self-report instrument that is scored into the

15 empirically derived motives listed in the table below. Reiss and Havercamp combined data

from previous studies with the Reiss Profile to take a look at the question of how motivation

varies, if at all, during the adult years. They expected to show that lower motives are stronger in

younger than older adults, whereas the reverse would hold true for higher motives (Reiss &

Havercamp, 2005).

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Table 1: Definitions of 15 Motives Assessed by the Reiss Profile

Motive Definition

Independence

Power

Honor

Family

Vengeance

Order

Romance

Idealism

Status

Acceptance

Social Contact

Tranquility

Eating

Curiosity

Exercise

The desire for self-reliance/individuation (joy of freedom).

The desire for influence (joy of efficacy).

The desire for moral character (joy of loyalty).

The desire to spend time with one’s family (joy of love).

The desire to get even (joy of vindication).

The desire to organize (joy of stability).

The desire for sex (joy of lust).

The desire to improve society (joy of compassion).

The desire for respect based on high birth, wealth, or fame (joy of

self-importance/superior social standing).

The desire for approval (joy of self-confidence).

The desire to socialize (joy of having fun).

The desire to be safe (joy of relaxation).

The desire for food (joy of satiation).

The desire for knowledge (joy of wonder).

The desire for physical strength (joy of fitness).

Reiss and Havercamp recruited 1,749 people to participate in the study. They were from 29

different places throughout the United States and Ontario. The participants rated how important a

particular motive was to their life (Reiss & Havercamp, 2005).

The results showed that higher motives were stronger in older versus younger adults. These

results are consistent with Maslow’s prediction that maturity is associated with declining interest

in lower motives (Reiss & Havercamp, 2005).

The Reiss Profile can potentially be used to explore Maslow’s most basic ideas with the same

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degree of rigor of scientific analysis as exists in many other areas of psychological research

(Reiss & Havercamp, 2005).

5.1.4 Ghiselli and Johnson

Ghiselli and Johnson (1970) at the University of California, Berkeley, developed a questionnaire

designed to measure need satisfaction based upon Maslow’s 5 need dimensions. They reasoned

that the structure of an organization might affect the degree of relationship between the extent to

which mangers’ needs are satisfied by their jobs and the extent to which they achieve success in

them. They were interested in the structure that Worthy termed flat versus tall. A flat

organization is one with few levels of management, whereas a tall organization is one with many

levels (Ghiselli & Johnson, 1970).

Ghiselli hypothesized that in flat organizations superior managers are more likely to rise in

higher positions than they are in tall organizations. This suggests that there might be a better

differentiation of superior and inferior mangers in flat organizations (Ghiselli & Johnson, 1970).

They carried out an investigation to examine this hypothesis.

The questionnaire Ghiselli and Johnson used to measure need satisfaction was a slightly

shortened version of that developed by Porter, following the notions of Maslow. It provided

indices of the degree of satisfaction for the need for security, social needs, the need for esteem,

the need for autonomy, and the need for self-actualization (Ghiselli & Johnson, 1970).

It was administered to 413 managers in a wide variety of business and industrial establishments.

Results indicated that for managers in tall organizations there was little relationship between the

degree of need satisfaction and success for all five needs, while in flat organizations, a positive

relationship existed for the higher order needs. In flat organizations, the relationship between

satisfaction and success is negligible for lower order needs, but the relationship grew stronger

with higher order needs (Ghiselli & Johnson, 1970).

The findings of this study support the hypothesis Ghiselli advanced earlier and provide some

confirmation that Worthy’s position that flat organizations are superior to tall ones in

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encouraging individuality. The satisfaction of those needs which are of an individualistic sort,

the need for autonomy and self-actualization, are more highly related to managerial success in

flat than in tall organizations, whereas those needs which pertain to protection and reassurance,

such as the need for security, are no more related to the success of mangers in the one or the

other type of organization (Ghiselli & Johnson, 1970).

5.1.5 Guttman Scale Test

Another test developed for Maslow’s theory is the Guttman Scale Test. It tests the order of needs

suggested by Maslow. The scale was developed in Israel by testing managers and professionals

employed in an industrial organization who responded to a Porter type questionnaire. The job

context was defined as the universe; then 10 items of this universe were categorized into five

needs. Next, responses were recoded and dichotomized. The Guttman scale tested Maslow’s

theory and provided that the needs are scalable, regarding the universe of the job context. The

scale does offer evidence that some kind of hierarchy exists. However, it is concerned with only

one aspect of the theory, the order (Porat, 1977).

5.2 Studies that did not support Maslow’s Theory

Hall and Nougian tested Maslow’s theory in a five-year longitudinal study of management

trainees at AT&T. They tested Maslow’s hypothesis that the strength of any particular need

would be correlated with the satisfaction of a lower-level need, since a satisfied need would no

longer be a motivator. This was tested both statically and longitudinally over the five-year

period. The results were contrary to Maslow’s hypothesis. They showed that the strength of a

particular need had its highest correlation with the satisfaction of the very same need (with the

exception of affiliation). “Thus, while individuals might differ with regard to the strength of a

particular need, a relatively high level of satisfaction of that need did not exclude it as a

motivator as had been hypothesized (Gibson & Teasley, 1973)”.

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6. Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory across cultures

Besides the seeming lack of empirical support, Maslow's theory has also been criticized for

ignoring the sociological context. As a matter of fact, Maslow did not ignore the fact that human

beings are influenced and shaped to a great extent by their particular cultures. He, himself

acknowledged (1968, P.4), “... inner nature is not strong and overpowering and unmistakable like

the instincts of animals. It is weak and delicate and subtle and easily overcome by habit, cultural

pressure, and wrong attitudes toward it.” Research results on the utility and applicability of

Maslow's theory in cross cultural settings are not conclusive.

Some argue that Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory is restricted by national and cultural

boundaries, since the theory was developed in U.S., an individualist culture, and was reflective

of a mainly male-oriented view of human behavior (Hofstede, 1983. Nevis, 1983. Cullen, 1997).

Raymond (2003) speculated that the application of Maslow's theory is problematic outside of the

setting of the United States. Sanford (1970) compared need importance and satisfaction in the

Untied States and Latin American countries. He found Latin American workers appear to regard

their dignity and worth, or assumed esteem needs, as the highest level of need. Several other

empirical studies also show cultural influence on ranking the order of need satisfaction and

importance among managerial personnel across different cultures and nations (Topichak &

Kuhn, 1971. Al-Meer, 1996. Blunt & Jones, 1986).

Nevis (1983) developed a Chinese version of hierarchy of needs. The pattern shows

belongingness being the lowest order need and eliminated the self-esteem need. However, this

pattern is developed based on the Chinese cultural background during Mao's age. He reasoned

that “in Mao's China, it was paramount to accept basic social goals imposed as a result of the

Cultural Revolution. Only upon accepting basic social goals and behaving as a good citizen

could one then share in welfare provided in Chinese society to satisfy physiological needs”

(Nevis, 1983. p 85). Apparently, this conclusion has totally ignored tremendous social and

cultural changes in China since the country opened up in the early 80s. With more foreign

companies entering the Chinese market, the transcending of western culture and the different

stages of economic development in China, the perception of needs among Chinese people is

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surely not the same as it was decades ago. Therefore, Nevis' version of “Chinese hierarchy of

needs” is not logically convincing enough to disprove Maslow's theory.

Raymond's study (2003) of Korean culture shows Korean “blue collar” workers ' needs pattern as

belongingness, esteem, basic (physiological), safety, and self-actualization in an ascending order.

Nevertheless, the study also postulates other infra-cultural factors may also attribute to possible

variations of the above hierarchical orders.

Another cross cultural study found some support of the existence of Maslow's hierarchical

relationship in needs. From a study of 69 South African mine workers, Barling (1976) identified

the existence of Maslow's hierarchical relationship in the lower order needs.

In general, cross-cultural studies demonstrate similar human needs. Different rank ordering and

definitions of needs do not completely invalidate Maslow's motivation model in more

collectively oriented cultures. Maslow's theory can be modified to better reflect people's

attitudes and values from different cultures.

7. Summary and Conclusion

Our findings are that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a valid model, but some modification might

be warranted. It is a simple but powerful concept concerned with understanding, developing and

utilizing human potential. Even though it is not a one- size-fits-all model, it still can be very

effectively used, with appropriate interpretation and thought, for stimulating learning, growth

and development in individuals, working teams, organizations and society. It should not be

generalized across fields or cultures. Over-simplified or rigid application of Maslow's theory is

not recommended.

Maslow’s theory focuses on motivation and values as driving forces in human behavior and can

be used to influence motivation, keeping in mind, that some people are exceptions to his

hierarchy.

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