What are the soundest criticisms of Maslow's Pyramid?

Yet, I love it. And I find it makes sense all the time.

This explains Some Criticism.

My criticism of Maslow’s pyramid and the rest of psychology is to question what practical difference it makes. What contribution has psychology made toward our well being? What discoveries have been made that go beyond common sense? To take one example where one would think psychology could tell us something, what impact has psychology made on education? From the look of things it would not seem to have made the slightest bit of difference.

Do you have a problem with it you’d like to share with the class? Or do you just not care for how it’s being talked about?

What, specifically, do you take issue with?

Well…I’m only just starting out in my studies of psychology and I haven’t a clue what Maslow’s pyramid is (will be looking it up promptly though!) but I know for a fact that there is a huge wealth of information about how the developmental psychology of Paiget, Marcia, James, Erikson, Ainsworth to name but a few, have done various quantitative and qualitative experiments which have resulted in some of the finest contributions to education of children. One only needs to look at the EYFS, Early Years Foundation Study to get an insight into the the importance of psychology just in this one area.

runs off to research Maslow’s Pyramid :-)

@augustlan Its unwarranted popularity.

If the popularity really is unwarranted, perhaps you have some sound criticisms that you would like to share, @Nullo. Or are you looking for evidence to debunk something you feel is undeservedly popular?

I’m actually quite fond of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. One thing I take issue with is the “belonging needs” because I think this is so part of the human condition that it doesn’t neatly fit as the third layer, (I think it is the third?). We are social animals and lack of interaction with others seems to greatly affect our psyche, and our overall feeling of welness. Some people are exceptions to this rule, but I think it is rare, and I think people who live in seclusion still seek interaction with animals many times.

Maslow typically pops into my head when people with money talk about how, “money does not make you happy,” and you “have to do things for yourself, take moments to pamper yourself, and expand your mind.” Well, if you have all of your basic needs met you can do these high class self actualization exercises, but if you can barely put food on the table and you are exhausted from stress and working 12 hours a day on your feet, it’s doubtful you can get around to pampering yourself, you’re just desperate for a full nights sleep.

One of the major issues that I have with it, is that there is no serious emperical evidence that supports its notion that these types of needs are hierarchal, while there is a lot of indication that they aren’t.

In real life, people often display and pursue needs that, according to Maslow’s theory, they shouldn’t. People that loose their job, for instance, often display increased social needs, rather than those on a security level. They’ll be in a bar. Another example: to many, respect is more important than security and in many (sub)cultures, respect is considered well worth dying for.

The theory is seductively simple and that’s why it keeps coming back, but most complex questions have many simple, attractive solutions that are all wrong and only a few correct, yet complex ones.

Maslow’s theory is interesting and helpful, since it helps us think about what may be the base for people’s motivation. His notion that lower level needs need to be addressed before higher level needs is unfounded, though.

There are other alternatives that are interesting and may offer better explanations on behavior, such as McClelland’s theory of needs and Van Hofstede’s research into cultural differences, but as far as I know there is no single ultimate theory that covers it all, especially no simple one.

“People that loose their job, for instance, often display increased social needs, rather than those on a security level. They’ll be in a bar.” This does not invalidate the theory, it just adds another dimension to a complex psychological issue. For this category of persons, chances are that the lower issues had been taken care of and now one of the pillars of support has been pulled out from under, making the structure unsteady. Trying to cope or escape coping with a sbstance does not mean that Maslow was in error, ony that a new equation should erhaps be looked at when one must needs take steps back due to outside factors. Unless one were to poll each one in the bar who had lost their jobs, one could not properly say that they were necessarily feeling an increased need for socialization.
” Another example: to many, respect is more important than security and in many (sub)cultures, respect is considered well worth dying for.” I’d be interested to learn about this in specific detail. Could you please provide a link? Are you perhaps referring to gang members?

Why is it unwarranted? So far we know that U B Hatin’, but we don’t know Y U B Hatin’.

@papayalily I B Hatin’ because my last semester in college was spammed with the stupid thing. Business administration, marketing, the works. The Powers That Were blithely ignored even the possibility of faults.

@Nullo – Well, that’s bad practice, not the fault of the theory itself.

@Nullo My take on that would be not that there’s fault within the pyramid, but that people are trying to boil something down to a slogan that will help them make money. In my experience, everyone wants a rudimentary understand of psychology because they believe that boiling complex issues down to a post-it sized memo will help them get an edge in their attempt to beat the competition. Or, you know, help everyone around them realize what a dumbass they are even faster….
Don’t B Hatin’ the pyramid, B Hatin’ the spammers and their 7 collective brain cells.

Maslow’s Heirarchy towards self-actualization while useful as a general guide to understand the requisites for learning and how that is affected by physiological and safety deficiencies is criticized for being too vague. He never spells out exactly what a deficieny is and he doesn’t take into account cultural norms or even class norms. What may be perceived as a deficiency in an urban neighborhood in NYS isn’t the same as a deficiency for someone in Uganda for example. Similar examples could be given for the criteria of safety.

But there appears to be a second arguement here; the validity of pyschology. On that score I would simply remind you that everytime you turn on the tv, listen to the radio, read a magazine or use any form of mass media you are being exposed to the roots of Psychology and the theories of John B. Watson. He is responsible for the kinds of marketing that drives both our political engines and our consummeristic way of living. He is the father of “spin”. And there is not one person here untouched or uninfluenced by that.
On another note, being a cognitive behavioral therapist myself I can tell you that it doesn’t matter whether you are shaping the behavior of rats, dogs or humans…psychology is being utilized. There is not one aspect of your life that psychology has not influenced in some form or fashion….from the laws and policies made in our country, to what products we purchase, to how you may now decide to approach women or men.

Are you saying that marketers pore through psychology journals to see what is relevant? I am a bit skeptical. I would agree that marketing is applied psychology, but I find it hard to believe that academics plays any significant role.

@LostInParadise Not in the least. But you’ll be going along through your textbook and bam, there it is, telling you that you can use the hierarchy of needs to complement a marketing plan. It may work, it may not; obviously the guy who wrote the textbook likes the idea.

I guess that I’m mostly annoyed by the degree of repetition. Got a problem? Maslow it!

Boy, @Nullo, you sure must have food security and a roof over your head and enough social companionship if this is at the top of your current list of worries. ;)

@laureth Actually, this is about ¾ths of the way down the list. It is a trouble that I entertain in order to distract me from other, graver concerns. :D

It makes a lot of sense to me.