Basic Needs

In psychology, the basic needs refer to the fundamental requirements for human well-being and optimal functioning. These needs typically include the need for safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization, as outlined in Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Additionally, contemporary research in positive psychology has also identified autonomy, competence, and relatedness as key psychological needs for human motivation and fulfillment. Meeting these basic needs is essential for individual psychological health and overall well-being.

Basic Needs traditionally refer to food (including water), shelter and clothing. When basic needs are unmet, they motivate survival driven action. We must satisfy basic needs before we can attend to growth oriented behaviors. Basic needs (physiological needs) are the foundation in Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of human actualization.

The Five Layers of Maslow’s Basic Needs Pyramid

Maslow presents the basic needs in a hierarchy. Certain needs he posits have higher priority than the others. We attend to the more basic first, and when those are fulfilled seek to satisfy needs on a higher order. He presents this is his basic needs pyramid.

1. Physiological needs: These are the basic requirements for human survival, such as food, water, shelter, and sleep.
2. Safety needs: This level encompasses the need for security, stability, and protection from physical and emotional harm.
3. Belongingness and love needs: This stage involves the desire for meaningful relationships, love, and a sense of belonging within social groups.
4. Esteem needs: Self-esteem needs include the need for recognition, respect, and a sense of accomplishment.
5. Self-actualization: At the pinnacle of the hierarchy, self-actualization represents the fulfillment of one’s potential and the pursuit of personal growth and fulfillment.

Fundamental Physiological Needs

The body needs calories to function. The body constantly is performing survival functions that require energy. We provide energy by consuming a variety of nutrients including protein, fat, and carbohydrates. For example, without food, the body begins to atrophy and eventually dies. Ample hydration allows is necessary for critical survival processes to occur. Without water the body cannot process food or remove wastes, we cannot survive without water. In general, our bodies cannot survive harsh elements for extended time. We need shelter from the natural elements and protection from other organisms fighting for survival. Our organs and muscles need oxygen. Even short periods without oxygen can irreparably damage critical organs necessary for survival.

Maladaptive Behaviors that Interfere with Basic Needs

While oxygen has little flexibility, the other basic needs can be neglected for varying periods. Sometimes maladaptive addictions take priority over sleep, food, and shelter. We still need the basic but healthy and sufficient supply of those needs are often restricted in favor of the louder demands of addiction.

For example, we may forego sleep during a week long methamphetamine binge but eventually before the body crashes; or a heroine addiction may be fed, postponing consumption of needed calories. Consequently, the body deteriorates from malnourishment.

Basic Needs and Motivations

Fulfilling needs are part of the survive and thrive equation with thriving equivalent to Maslow’s self actualization. However, the motivating force doesn’t always push us to thrive. Basically, needs are more than a tidy ingrained motivating force. Needs emerge from a complex interplay between emotion, conscious thought, and action. Leslie S. Greenberg Ph.D., a Research Professor Emeritus of Psychology at York University in Toronto, wrote that, “needs, thus, do not derive from drives, but from affect” (2015, location 943).

Basic Needs for Survival

Needs for survival stir strong emotional reaction. The more immediate the impact the more violent the emotional reaction to deprivation of the need. Heightened emotional reactions leave traces in memory that create positive and negative relationships with behaviors associated to the need. Filling our lungs with air feels good, or drinking a glass of cool water in the heat delights. The behaviors that satisfy the physiological or psychological need are embraced.

Physiological needs such as consumption of calories or sleep have a more distal consequences and, therefore, a much reduced emotional reaction to deprivation. Staying up late watching a show, missing important rest, may be enjoyable and the tiredness next morning can be combated with a strong cup of coffee. Overall, we fill these needs in bits and pieces, often without an extreme memorable emotional reaction.

Greenberg elaborates that needs are “the seeking of those states that lead to adaptive reduction in negative affect or increase of more positive adaptive affect that are associated with the reduction of negative states through learning” (location 960). Antonio Damasio, Professor of Neuroscience and Director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California wrote that “selective strengthening and weakening of populations of synapses as a result of experience carve out circuits that become needs (Damasio, 1999).

Our responses to needs are learned. Neglect of key ingredients of survival stir an emotional response and our reactions to that response creates relationships between external events and behavioral reactions.

Behavioral Efficiency in Fulfilling Basic Needs

Thriving is obtained through efficiently satisfying basic needs, avoiding distress of depravation and providing peacefully assured that those needs will be satisfied in the future. When our behaviors and structure leads to these secure states, we thrive. Certainly, efficiently fulfilling basic needs eases the mind, allowing for pursuing the other psychological needs of self actualization.

We can’t ignore the larger role that governments, families, and cultures play in this process. Outside forces intervene on personal paths to security, disrupting and destroying personal freedoms necessary for thriving. 

Fulfilling Greater Needs

The process of fulfilling our basic needs, such as food, shelter, and safety, plays a crucial role in shaping our behavior and aspirations. As these fundamental requirements are met, our motivation to secure them diminishes, freeing up mental and physical resources to pursue activities that cater to higher-level needs as described in Maslow’s hierarchy.

Once we satisfy the basic needs, our motivation typically changes to reach for higher levels of development. In psychology we refer to this as growth motivation or a growth mindset.

This phenomenon of shifting motivations underscores the intricate interplay between our physiological and psychological well-being, highlighting the significance of addressing basic needs as a foundation for personal growth and development. As we progress beyond subsistence, we unlock the potential to explore and cultivate our full range of capabilities, contributing to a more holistic and fulfilling life experience.

References:

Damasio, A. (1999). The feeling of what happens. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace.

​Greenberg, L.S. (2015). ​Emotion-Focused Therapy: Coaching Clients to Work Through Their Feelings. American Psychological Association; 2nd edition.

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PSYCHOLOGY – EMOTIONS – RELATIONSHIPS – WELLNESS – PSYCHOLOGY TOPICS