Maslow's hierarchy of needs

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The well-known pyramid is an interpretation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

The Maslow's hierarchy of needs , known as pyramid of needs is a social-psychological model of the American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970). It describes in a simplistic way human needs and motivations (in a hierarchical structure) and tries to explain them.

General meaning

Maslow is considered to be the most important founding father of humanistic psychology , in which a psychology of mental health is strived for and human self-realization is examined within the framework of a holistic concept, whereby he turned against the absolutization of quantifying models and methods in psychology. He achieved widespread awareness through his simplistic representation of a hierarchy of needs.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs found its way into other sciences. The topic of “human needs” can be dealt with in an interdisciplinary manner in the social sciences , in theology or in philosophy . In particular, the model became popular in economics and at the interface between economics and psychology (see also business psychology ). Here examine u. a. the sales psychology or marketing the buying behavior of people.

History and theoretical background

Maslow published the first idea for his model in 1943 under the title A Theory of Human Motivation in the Psychological Review . He later developed , supplemented, and expanded his model in his books Motivation and Personality (1954) and Farther Reaches of Human Nature (posthumously 1971).

Image of man and psychological schools

The first modern psychological schools to develop were psychoanalysis (late 19th century; Sigmund Freud ) and behaviorism (early 20th century; John B. Watson ). Both assumed a rather pessimistic, negative or disturbed or deficient image of man. The same applies to the ethology (comparative behavioral science) of that time. Humans were reduced to drives ( drive theory ) and reflexes ( conditioning , black box model ) in an animalistic way .

Maslow rejected these schools, their conception of man and their approaches to research. Rather, he was of the opinion that people can be viewed as fundamentally good (cf. philosophical anthropology on this fundamental question ). The human being as a whole is not controlled by lower instincts, but is "driven by an innate growth potential" in order to achieve his highest goal - self-realization (optimistic view). His work as well as that of Carl Rogers and Charlotte Bühler formed the basis for a new school of humanistic psychology ("third force"). A similar approach can be found later in the Positive Psychotherapy of nossrat peseschkian and positive psychology (late 20th century).

Although the behavior of animals or that of neurotic people should not be used as a central point of departure for explaining human behavior, Maslow recognized the manifestations of extreme behavior and included them in his considerations:

"Destructiveness, sadism, cruelty are not inherent (that is, they are not inherent human needs like Freud's), but essential responses to frustrations of our inherent needs."

- Abraham Maslow : Psychology of Being - A Draft , 1973, p. 21

In his first paper in 1943, he began trying to develop a positive theory of motivation. It should meet all the requirements of a theory and be able to explain all known facts (clinically observable as well as experimental). However, he mainly drew his own knowledge from clinical experience. Maslow himself describes his theory as holistic-dynamic , since it combines the approaches of American functionalism ( James and Dewey ), holism ( Wertheimer , Goldstein ), Gestalt psychology and psychoanalysis (Freud, Adler ) into a synthesis.

Investigation method

In accordance with his view of man, Maslow studied “only selected personalities” (e.g. Albert Einstein , Jane Addams , Eleanor Roosevelt or Frederick Douglass ) with well-known and attested, stable profiles. So he consciously did not include any mentally disturbed or even unstable or immature people in his investigation.

Maslow was aware of the lack of empirical verification of his studies, but described their findings as so enlightening and enriching for him personally that he published them despite the methodological shortcomings.

"This type of research is so difficult in itself [...] that if we had to wait for conventional, reliable data, we would wait forever."

- Abraham Maslow : Motivation and Personality (3rd edition: 1987), p. 150

In collaboration with E. Raskin and D. Freedman, a 2-year study was started, but it had to be discontinued. The healthiest percent of the student population was chosen as the participant.

In order to clarify the vague concept of self-actualization , Maslow put together a collective of 60 people who he thought had achieved them. Most of these were historical personalities and people from contemporary history. However, since these could hardly be used for test purposes, and only external and personal testimonials were available, occasional discussions, interviews and occasionally tests had to be used. A uniform evaluation could therefore of course not be carried out under these methodological conditions.

The “pyramid of needs” and alternative representation

Dynamic representation of the hierarchy of needs - overlaps are possible and often several needs (from different categories) are active at a time.

The representation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs in the form of a rigid pyramid is wrongly ascribed to Maslow ; it was known in 1970, the year Maslow died, but it is an interpretation of his work by others. The representation of the pyramid goes back to a publication by Charles McDermid in 1960. Even Werner Correll attributed this representation.

“So far, our theoretical discussion may have given the impression that these five sets of needs are somehow in a step-wise, all-or-none relationship to each other. We have spoken in such terms as the following: 'If one need is satisfied, then another emerges.' This statement might give the false impression that a need must be satisfied 100 per cent before the next need emerges. "

“So far, our theoretical discussion may have given the impression that these five sets of needs are somehow in a successive all-or-none relationship. We put it this way: 'When one need is met, another arises.' This statement could create the wrong impression that one need has to be 100 percent fulfilled before the next arises. "

- Abraham Maslow : A Theory of Human Motivation, 1943, pp. 388-389

The pyramid representation leads above all to an “overly static view” of Maslow's dynamic model. This has led to a lot of misunderstandings and unfounded criticism. A glaring example of such a misinterpretation is the assumption that the categories of needs are arranged strictly discreetly , and that one category of needs must first be 100% satisfied before the next category of needs can have a motivating effect. Often, however, a degree of satisfaction of 70% or less is sufficient to allow the next higher need to come to the fore. The perceived degree of satiety also varies greatly with individual expectations. Some textbooks therefore use dynamic representations based on Krech, Crutchfield & Ballachey (1962, p. 72/77).

Description of the hierarchy of needs

principle

The hierarchy of needs is a content model of motivation (not a process model); it deals with the content, type and effect of motifs. Furthermore, a taxonomy of motives is offered and determined, which indicates according to which regularities which motives determine behavior.

Maslow found that some needs take priority over others. For example, we need air and water more urgently than a new car. However, Maslow does not consider the attempt to draw up a concrete (ranking) list of needs to be expedient. Therefore, he initially classified needs according to 5 larger categories, starting with the most basic physiological up to the cognitively and emotionally highly developed human needs ( physiological needs , safety needs , love needs , esteem needs , needs for self-actualization ).

He then subdivides the first four categories further into deficit needs (or deficiency needs ) and the last into growth needs (or insatiable needs ), on the grounds that the failure to satisfy certain needs - deficit needs - could result in physical or psychological disorders (e.g. B. Security - fear, social contact - emotional disturbances). Growth needs, on the other hand, could never really be satisfied, but they could also trigger psychological disorders or inferiority complexes.

Only as long as a need is unsatisfied does it activate and influence action. Action is less driven from within ("pushed") than it is attracted ("pulled") by the satisfaction results. As a need is increasingly satisfied, its motivating power decreases (for example, if one is no longer thirsty, one no longer tries to drink).

The idea of ​​the hierarchy of needs as such was known even before Maslow; B. in the work of Lujo Brentano , who differentiated six levels of need satisfaction.

The "classic" five levels

1. Physiological needs

Maslow hierarchy of needs.svg

Maslow (1943) includes all basic needs that are necessary for the maintenance of human life, such as breathing, water, food, sleep, reproduction, homeostasis (e.g. hut, weather protection). He differentiates between a group of elementary needs (minerals, hormones, vitamins, etc.) that the body regulates itself (compare the homeostasis concept by Walter Cannon (1932)).

At this level in particular, it makes no sense to list individual needs, because the number only depends on the specificity of the description. For example, we cannot determine with certainty whether the unspecific need for “mineral water” is due to a certain element of its individual components, e.g. B. sodium, calcium or nitrate, is due. In addition, not all physiological needs can be traced back to self-regulation. Sleep, sexual behavior or motherly love cannot be explained exclusively in a homeostatic way, just as sensory enjoyment (taste, smell, tickling, caressing), especially since these are often highly complex, non-monocausal behavioral structures.

2. Security needs

If physiological needs are satisfied relatively well, a new set of needs emerges: Security needs (such as: physical and mental security, basic material security, work, home, family, health).

Maslow describes that when it comes to examining security needs, it is better to examine children. Their reactions to rough treatment (sudden dropping) or unusual sensory stimulation (flashing lights, sudden noise) are unadulterated - unlike adults who have often learned through socialization not to show fear or lack of security outwardly.

In the society of his time, Maslow saw the security needs as largely met. He therefore considered further investigation and direct observation of this category of needs to be sensible or even possible only in the case of neurotic persons or economic and social outsiders.

In a broader sense, the search for security and stability is also present in the human preference for the known over the unknown. In addition, the striving for security causes at least some of the development of religions and scientific worldviews: Humans strive for security in the sense that they want to explain every phenomenon and uncover connections. Maslow only mentions in a subordinate clause that people for whom the security needs currently have motivating power are often specifically characterized by the fact that the search for a protector, a stronger person on whom one depends, is of great importance.

He sees people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorders ( compulsive cleanliness, compulsory counting, compulsory order, etc.) as prototypical representatives of the category of security needs. They try desperately to order and stabilize the world through rituals and rules in such a way that everything unknown, unexpected and unmanageable disappears.

3. Social needs

If the first two categories are largely satisfied, the person experiences a strong urge for social relationships ( connection motive ). These include u. a. Family, friendship, group membership or a sense of belonging, communication, social exchange, community, mutual support, relationship, affection, love and sexual intimacy. The absence of friends, a loved one, life partner, or children will be a powerful motivator to overcome this void or restore a non-frustrating situation. At the same time he will try to fulfill a certain social role or to secure a place in a social group .

Maslow uses the word "love" here and emphasizes the difference (not synonymous) with the word "sex". Sexual intercourse can also be examined as a purely physiological need. Ordinary sexual behavior (not deviating from the norm) is, in his opinion, multidimensional, i.e. This means that it also contains components that are not erotically defined such as affection and security . In addition, it should not be forgotten that the need for attention includes both receiving and giving love.

4. Individual needs

Maslow et al. Counts among the individual needs. a .: Trust, appreciation, self-affirmation, success, freedom and independence. Maslow tries again to differentiate between two sub-categories:

  • the desire for (mental / physical) strength, success, independence and freedom,
  • the desire for respect, prestige, appreciation, respect and importance, i.e. a passive component of our self-respect that can only be fulfilled for us by other people.

5. Self-actualization

If all needs are satisfied up to this level, according to Maslow, a new unrest and dissatisfaction will awaken in people: He wants to develop his talents, potential and creativity, develop his personality and his abilities and shape his life and give it meaning.

He tries to define the term self-realization , which Maslow attributes to Kurt Goldstein , as a specific and limited concept. It is about the desire or the tendency to exhaust one's own potential, i.e. to become what is possible at all due to one's nature ( entelechy ). The form in which this need is ultimately expressed is therefore highly dependent on the individual himself (being a good mother, an athlete, an inventor, etc.).

Maslow saw the extensive satisfaction of the first four categories of needs in the society of his time as an exception and considered the subject of investigation "self-actualization" as a challenge for research. He once estimated the proportion of the world's population who reach this level to be around 2%.

Extension 1970

The hierarchy of needs extended to transcendence (1970).

Maslow expanded his model in 1970, shortly before his death (published posthumously in: Farther Reaches of Human Nature , New York 1971):

The top level of the new pyramid is “ transcendence ”, ie a dimension that transcends the individual self or something that lies outside the observable system. This expansion reflects Maslow's path from humanistic to transpersonal psychology. Although the date 1970 is often given, the pyramid is usually still presented in the older version in the literature, i.e. with self-realization and not with transcendence at the top.

Furthermore, he extends the pyramid to include the two levels of aesthetic and cognitive needs, which he classifies above individual needs.

This leads to the following eight-step pyramid

Reception and criticism

The hierarchy of needs is the best-known classification of needs and a highly regarded model of motivation. Despite - or perhaps because of - the strongly reductionist view, Maslow's scheme can put you in a position to bring a certain order into various aspects of motivational experience. The model is mostly chosen as an introductory example in the canon of motivational theories.

General criticism

  • Theoretical foundation as well as empirical evidence for the classification of needs and the hypothesis of hierarchical motive activation are insufficient in contrast to their degree of awareness .
  • Once satisfied, deficit needs are not satisfied in the long term. The pyramid does not represent anything that could be permanently satisfied, but rather an infrastructure or logistics for the satisfaction of needs that always requires work . This does not take into account that there are long-term satisfactory decision-making options based on morality and ethics. The pure appropriation of material goods can be described as a desirable / satisfying basic need to the extent that the physical and spatial circumstances then function as an optimal foundation, not as part of self-realization or individuality.
  • Another source of misunderstanding is that Maslow's hierarchy of needs does not represent the real behavior of those in need, but a recommendation for those who care for them. Higher needs can certainly be aimed at without constantly satisfying deficit needs. But those responsible for supplying a town or a troop cannot weight creativity more than security or religion more than bread, even if those affected by such donations would act that way themselves.
  • Another point of criticism can be seen that Maslow's hierarchy of needs presupposes a western-industrial socialized status thinking and an individualism , which are not self-evident in other cultures. The hierarchy of needs shows a hierarchy that would not exist without these culture-specific requirements. In societies for which the lower needs are particularly important, people in no way strive to primarily satisfy their basic physical needs before striving for security and social relationships. Rather, the social relationships in the form of being accepted and remaining in a group, family or tribal community are the prerequisites for security and the satisfaction of basic physical needs. Accordingly, the well-being of the group takes precedence over one's own. You are ready to die for the group, because without it you are not viable anyway. The three lower levels of need must therefore not be viewed as hierarchically structured, but rather together form a preliminary stage of material status assurance for the subsequent area of ​​social recognition.

This can be countered by the following: Maslow makes a very clear distinction between need on the one hand and the behavior shown on the other, which is determined not only by needs but also by framework conditions such as the respective culture or the individual learning history (Motivation and Personality, 1968). For him, the need for social relationships for their own sake is not identical to maintaining social relationships in order to satisfy another need (such as that for food or security). In the second case, the behavior is instrumental (i.e. just a means to an end) without necessarily being motivated by the need for community. Or the behavior is motivated by multiple factors : one behavior is based on several needs at the same time.

  • Even in the Western European context, people in poverty question the hierarchy of needs. As part of a Franco-Belgian action research based on the approach of "combining knowledge and practices" (croisement des savoirs et des pratiques), the poverty-experienced fellow researchers argued that the material in the broadest sense is not enough to drive life . For example, someone could neglect their health because they lack a meaning or purpose in life. They developed a new model in the shape of a circle in which the needs are equally important .

Special review

  • Criticism of optimism : It is true that Maslow dealt with important elements of experience that had been neglected by traditional approaches (love, joy, happiness, ecstasy, etc.). This is exactly what other authors see critically, because they accuse him that his approach is basically just as one-sided as that of psychoanalysis, but that it comes from the opposite direction. Moreover, an overall optimistic view of people cannot be maintained, because people also express needs for power, dominance and aggression.
  • Culture dependence: Self-realization, as Maslow describes it, can only be found in Western (individualistic) cultures. On the other hand, most cultures in Asia, Africa and South America are predominantly collectivist-oriented and put individual needs behind the needs of the group, which is seen there as a vehicle for true self-realization.
  • Universality is also not given within a culture: the hierarchy is sometimes determined arbitrarily and the ranking of needs is not universal . People have already starved themselves to death or sacrificed their lives in some other way in order to express their political point of view particularly intensely ( hunger strike , self-immolation , etc.). Other extremes such as the motivation for terrorism or martyrdom also required fundamentally different analytical approaches.

Newer rating

  • The multi-dimensional motivation models deal with the different relationships in a more differentiated manner, so that Maslow's model today is more of a general theory of understanding and uses more complex models for practical work with mentally ill people or in personnel development , but also for family systems .
  • In experimental psychology (for example PSI theory (Dörner) ) results are sometimes produced that come very close to the hierarchy of needs, although the system knows only a few “needs” (for example water / food and curiosity / boredom). The question, however, is whether the results are really independent of Maslow's theory or whether they are not implicit after all.
  • It should also be noted here that many of the “higher levels” in the hierarchy “simply require more time (for example to think)” than the lower ones. The hierarchy then only indicates how much time is available to the average of the population for the individual levels.
  • Maslow's concept of self-actualization could be deductively derived from Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development in 1993 .

Fields of application

Economics

The model is used in many disciplines in economics. Knowing as precisely as possible the needs, the possibilities for their satisfaction and the motivation behind them is elementary. This applies both outside the company (stakeholder approach, e.g. customers) and inside the company (employees). Two practical areas are particularly affected:

  • World of work: From Chris Argyris (1957) Maslow's approach was first applied to the world of work. Clues should be found in order to be able to influence work behavior and work performance. It has had a significant influence on the practice of work design.
  • Management and decision-making theory: "For a goal-oriented behavior control of the employees, the knowledge about individual goals is of central importance." For internal staff management it is important to know at which level of needs people act. If, for example, new ideas are to be generated in a marketing department, this is relatively difficult if, for example, a large number of employees are currently afraid of their jobs. Creative solutions arise primarily in a relaxed state, i.e. unencumbered by external factors (Easterbrook hypothesis). “Nor will we deal more intensively with the influence of higher goals. Because if a person is on these levels, decision support lies more in a discussion and analysis of values ​​and world views than in a rational and systematic process of decision analysis, which is especially important for economic situations. ”It also becomes clear that The company usually places less emphasis on people developing their individual skills to the full; rather, each should function primarily as part of the whole. In some cases, however, attempts are now being made to make higher levels of need accessible to employees by increasingly experiencing recognition and appreciation (generating commitment).

Further development

The ERG theory ( Existence, Relatedness, Growth - existence, connectedness, growth) is a further development of the hierarchy of needs. It was published by Clayton Alderfer in a 1969 article in the Psychological Review entitled An Empirical Test of a New Theory of Human Need .

Contrary to Maslow's idea that access to the higher levels of his pyramid requires satisfaction of needs at the lower levels, Alderfer's ERG areas are simultaneous needs.

If a higher-level need is persistently unsatisfied, frustration arises ; you fall back on lower motive classes and consolidate them (frustration-regression principle). Alderfer tries to make the model more flexible and to adapt it to the wide range of observable behavior. An example was the “starving artist” who subordinated his basic existential needs to his creative growth needs.

See also

literature

Original texts

  • A Theory of Human Motivation. In Psychological Review. 1943, Vol. 50 # 4, pp. 370-396; A Theory of Human Motivation - online edition from York University.
  • Abraham H. Maslow: Motivation and Personality. (Original title: Motivation and Personality first edition 1954, translated by Paul Kruntorad) 12th edition, Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1981, ISBN 978-3-499-17395-0 (= rororo sachbuch 17395).
  • Abraham H. Maslow, Henry Geiger, Bretha G. Maslow: The Farther Reaches of Human Nature (Compass). Arkana, New York, NY 1993 (originally Viking Press, New York, NY 1971), ISBN 0-14-019470-3 .
  • Abraham H. Maslow: Maslow on Management. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY 1998, ISBN 0-471-24780-4 .

Secondary works

Web links

Commons : Maslow's hierarchy of needs  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

Individual references from the 1943 publication

  1. Abraham Maslow: A Theory of Human Motivation. In Psychological Review. 1943, Vol. 50 # 4, pp. 370-396.
  2. Abraham Maslow: A Theory of Human Motivation. In Psychological Review. 1943, Vol. 50 # 4, page 370.
  3. Abraham Maslow: A Theory of Human Motivation. In Psychological Review , 1943, Vol. 50 # 4, p. 370: 8. Lists of drives will get us nowhere for various theoretical and practical reasons. and Thus it seems impossible as well as useless to make any list of fundamental physiological needs for they can come to almost any number one might wish, depending on the degree of specificity of description.
  4. Abraham Maslow: A Theory of Human Motivation. In Psychological Review. 1943, Vol. 50 # 4, page 377.
  5. Abraham Maslow: A Theory of Human Motivation. In Psychological Review. 1943, Vol. 50 # 4, page 380.
  6. Abraham Maslow: A Theory of Human Motivation. In Psychological Review. 1943, Vol. 50 # 4, page 381.
  7. Abraham Maslow: A Theory of Human Motivation. In Psychological Review. 1943, Vol. 50 # 4, page 381/2.
  8. Abraham Maslow: A Theory of Human Motivation . In Psychological Review , 1943, Vol. 50 # 4, p. 383

Other items of evidence

  1. Note, quotation: the study of crippled, stunted, immature, and unhealthy specimens can yield only a cripple psychology and a cripple philosophy. Maslow, Abraham (1954): Motivation and Personality. Harper, New York, pp. 236. ISBN 0-06-041987-3 .
  2. Maslow's Study of Self-Actualization - A Reinterpretation ( Memento of the original from June 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - by Willard Mittelman (abstract) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / jhp.sagepub.com
  3. Abraham Maslow: Motivation and Personality. 3. Edition. 1987, p. 150.
  4. ↑ Structure of needs and self-realization: a. maslow ( Memento of the original from October 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Article on the structure of needs @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.artikel32.com
  5. F. Divesta: Educational Psychology: Instruction and Behavioral Change. Irvington Pub; Later Printing edition (April 1970). ISBN 0-89197-133-5 , page 151.
  6. Bridgman, T./Cummings, S./Ballard, J. (2019): Who Built Maslow's Pyramid? A History of the Creation of Management Studies' Most Famous Symbol and Its Implications for Management Education; in: Academy of Management Learning & EducationVol. 18, No. 1, pp. 81-98.
  7. McDermid, CD (1960): How money motivates men; in Business Horizons, 3 (4): pp. 93-100.
  8. Thomas Breyer-Mayländer: Introduction to media management: basics, strategy, leadership, personnel. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag (January 28, 2004). ISBN 3-486-27594-1 , page 149.
  9. a b Georg Schreyögg, Jochen Koch: Fundamentals of Management: Basic knowledge for study and practice. Gabler Verlag, 2nd, revised. u. exp. 2010 edition (June 11, 2010). ISBN 3-8349-1589-0 , page 197/198.
  10. Example: Personnel management theory: Basics, functions and models of leadership (UTB) or motivation and action (Springer).
  11. a b Jutta Heckhausen, Heinz Heckhausen: motivation and action. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 4th, revised. u. updated edition (August 16, 2010). ISBN 3-642-12692-8 , page 59.
  12. Lujo Brentano: Attempt a theory of needs. Munich 1908, reprint in: ders .: Concrete conditions of the national economy. Metropolis, Marburg, pp. 86–158, ISBN 3-89518-401-2 .
  13. Maslow 1954, p. 239 - indirectly quoted from: Patrick Metz: Modernes Markenmanagement für Luxusgüter from the perspective of neuromarketing . Grin Publishing House; Edition: 1st (June 25, 2008). ISBN 3-638-95140-5 , page 11
  14. See Mark E. Koltko-Rivera: Rediscovering the Later Version of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Self-Transcendence and Opportunities for Theory, Research, and Unification. In: Review of General Psychology 10 (2006) 4, pp. 302–317 ( PDF )
  15. ^ Albert Garcia-Romeu: Self-transcendence as a measurable transpersonal construct. In: Journal of Transpersonal Psychology , 42 (2010) 1, p. 26–47 ( PDF )
  16. Philip G. Zimbardo : Psychologie , Springer, Berlin 1999, 7th new trans. and edit Ed.
  17. ^ Maslow's hierarchy of needs
  18. ^ Groupe de recherche action-formation Quart Monde Partenaire: Le croisement des pratiques. Quand le Quart Monde et les professionnels se forment ensemble , Paris 2002. ISBN 2-913-046-17-7 , pp. 60f; 144-149.
  19. ^ Marie-Rose Blunschi Ackermann: Joseph Wresinski. Spokesman for the poorest in theological discourse , Freiburg / Switzerland 2005. ISBN 3-7278-1535-3 , page 55f ( PDF; 2.1 MB ).
  20. Philip G. Zimbardo, Richard J. Gerrig: Psychology. PEARSON STUDIUM, 18th, updated edition (March 20, 2008). ISBN 3-8273-7275-5 , page 421.
  21. ^ David G. Myers, S. Hoppe-Graff, B. Keller: Psychology. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 2nd extended a. updated edition (July 14, 2008). ISBN 3-540-79032-2 , page 515.
  22. Kress, Oliver (1993): A new approach to cognitive development: ontogenesis and the process of initiation. Evolution and Cognition 2 (4): 319-332.
  23. Günter Wöhe, Ulrich Döring: Introduction to General Business Administration. Vahlen; 24th, revised and updated edition. (2010), ISBN 3-8006-3795-2 , page 1.
  24. Joachim Hentze, Andreas Kammel, Klaus Lindert, Andrea Graf: Personalführunglehre: Fundamentals, functions and models of leadership (Uni-Taschenbücher S). UTB, Stuttgart, 4th, revised. Edition (June 1, 2005). ISBN 3-8252-1374-9 , page 114.
  25. ^ Hierarchy of needs - definition in Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon.
  26. Christoph Braunschweig, Dieter F. Kindermann, Ulrich Wehrlin: Fundamentals of management theory. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag (February 7, 2001). ISBN 3-486-25643-2 , page 215.
  27. ^ Rüdiger von Nitzsch: Decision making. How people decide and how they should decide. Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag (September 2002). ISBN 3-7910-2074-9 , page 38.
  28. ^ Clayton P. Alderfer: An empirical test of a new theory of human needs. In: Psychological Review. Volume 4, Issue 2, May 1969, Pages 142-175.