Maslow’s pyramid: An elitist management symbol?

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is probably the world’s most famous framework to [explain human motivation](. As a refresher: It would suggest that you were driven to open this newsletter by a “higher level” need to achieve and build esteem, in this case, by picking up a bit of knowledge. This indicates that, at the moment, your “lower level” needs for food and safety are sated, as are your desires for love and belonging, leaving you free to gaze higher, toward “self-actualization.” [Maslow graphic] Since the 1950s, when Maslow’s hierarchy blew up, the framework has been associated with a rainbow-hued pyramid. Textbooks carried this graphic for years, and some still do, even though most researchers who tested Maslow’s theory have found it unscientific. Though [recent evidence]( from a large study was mixed, most studies have found the needs Maslow identified are not universal, and our requirements are not pursued in an ascending, linear fashion. One doesn’t need to live in a safe environment to seek meaning and creativity. Hunger doesn’t render love and belonging unnecessary. Then why do we still refer to Maslow’s pioneering hierarchy of needs, named for the late Brooklyn-born psychologist Abraham Maslow, as if it’s a given truth? The visual punch of that easy-to-remember pyramid, in fact, seems to have a lot to do with its longevity, but [some scholars now say]( that Maslow probably didn’t even create it, and many feel it fails to capture the nuances of Maslow’s more complex theories. Let’s examine all the angles. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Obsession] Maslow’s pyramid of needs April 19, 2019 Pyramid scheme --------------------------------------------------------------- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is probably the world’s most famous framework to [explain human motivation](. As a refresher: It would suggest that you were driven to open this newsletter by a “higher level” need to achieve and build esteem, in this case, by picking up a bit of knowledge. This indicates that, at the moment, your “lower level” needs for food and safety are sated, as are your desires for love and belonging, leaving you free to gaze higher, toward “self-actualization.” [Maslow graphic] Since the 1950s, when Maslow’s hierarchy blew up, the framework has been associated with a rainbow-hued pyramid. Textbooks carried this graphic for years, and some still do, even though most researchers who tested Maslow’s theory have found it unscientific. Though [recent evidence]( from a large study was mixed, most studies have found the needs Maslow identified are not universal, and our requirements are not pursued in an ascending, linear fashion. One doesn’t need to live in a safe environment to seek meaning and creativity. Hunger doesn’t render love and belonging unnecessary. Then why do we still refer to Maslow’s pioneering hierarchy of needs, named for the late Brooklyn-born psychologist Abraham Maslow, as if it’s a given truth? The visual punch of that easy-to-remember pyramid, in fact, seems to have a lot to do with its longevity, but [some scholars now say]( that Maslow probably didn’t even create it, and many feel it fails to capture the nuances of Maslow’s more complex theories. Let’s examine all the angles. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( By the digits [<1%:]( Share of adults who reach self-actualization, according to Maslow [1,685:]( Number of tweets that mentioned Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in a 9-day, 20-hour, 46-minute period from October 12–22, 2017, according to a sample map by the Social Media Research Foundation [1960:]( Year a pyramid is used to depict Maslow’s hierarchy for the first time, or so scholars believe [27:]( UNESCO World Heritage Cultural sites that include pyramids or the ruins of pyramidal masses, globally Giphy Explain it like I'm 5! So who created Maslow’s pyramid? --------------------------------------------------------------- Until Maslow’s paradigm-shifting theory emerged, psychology was largely focused on Freudian cravings and behaviorism. The field itself was obsessed with what was wrong with a person, and [Maslow wanted to talk about what was right]( even beautiful, about the human spirit and our innate need to connect, create works of art, or make [the perfect bowl of soup](. Thus, Maslow is known as a [founder of humanistic psychology]( which some consider the precursor to today’s positive psychology. Maslow also changed management theory, albeit indirectly at first. In fact, according to [research by a trio of scholars]( in New Zealand and the US, it was a management consultant who created the pyramid, inspired by a management theorist’s misinterpretation of Maslow’s philosophies. That was [Douglas McGregor]( who also created the Theory X and Theory Y framework. He had been deeply influenced by Maslow and essentially made the hierarchy of needs a foundational idea in the then-tiny field of organizational behavior. McGregor’s translation of Maslow was overly simplified; Maslow actually felt people “are partially satisfied in all their basic needs and partially unsatisfied in all their basic needs at the same time.” Nevertheless, McGregor’s view spurred a scholar named Keith Davis to create an infographic to illustrate the theory in [a 1957 book](. He depicted a businessman climbing a set of stairs, with each step representing a need. (The corporate soldier plants an American flag at the top.) The researchers believe a third person, Wisconsin consulting firm psychologist Charles McDermid, saw that illustration and put his own spin on it, turning the stairs into layers on a pyramid. In 1960, his graphic was printed in an article called [“How Money Motivates Men.”]( Voilà , a meme is born. The researchers—management professors Todd Bridgman, Stephen Cummings, and John Ballard—argue that what we know as Maslow’s pyramid has tainted our view of work and our expectation that people are concerned with “higher” or “lower” level needs depending on their income or professional status. (A pyramid mirrors the organizational structure, after all.) It has both shaped and reflected the impression that some employees need to have their hearts and souls attended to and their creativity tapped and fostered, while others only need to be paid enough to cover basics like food and shelter. Pop quiz Before the pyramid became standard, which object was used to illustrate Maslow’s theory in management textbooks? A ladderA treeA riverA star Correct. Because you can move up and down a ladder, and occupy several rungs at the same time, some management theorists say it more accurately represents Maslow’s philosophy. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Brief history [1908:]( Abraham Maslow is born to working class parents in Brooklyn, New York. [1941:]( As a professor of psychology at Brooklyn College, Maslow begins constructing his hierarchy of needs theory as he watches American men prepare to enter World War II. [1943:]( A convert from the behavioral school of psychology, Maslow writes his groundbreaking paper “A Theory of Human Motivation,” introducing his hierarchy of needs. [1960:]( Maslow’s theory appears in pyramid form for the first time in an article called “How Money Motivates Men” and quickly becomes a staple of management textbooks, just as the study of business at a college level is gaining newfound popularity. [1970:]( Maslow dies on the spot of a heart attack while jogging. That same year, The Psychology of Self-Esteem, by Nathaniel Branden, is published. Some [would later link]( the development of a self-obsessed culture the bestseller represented to Maslow, though he expressed disdain for hippie culture. [2010:]( Evolutionary psychologists propose a makeover of Maslow’s pyramid, putting parenting at the top of the hierarchy. Debate ensues. [2011:]( A study considering World Gallup Poll evidence from 123 countries finds that some needs beyond the physiological are universal across the majority of cultures, but that priorities vary. Namely, concerns for the group and social needs often outrank a need to self-actualize. [2013:]( The Maslow Hotel opens in Johannesburg, South Africa. It resembles a pyramid, and its mission is to provide the cuisine, technology, and “inspirational spaces” you need to [“be the best person you can be.”]( [2018:]( A psychologist publishes a study that suggests higher scores of self-actualization traits really do predict greater wellbeing, and that self-actualization is more common than Maslow had estimated. Reuters/Danish Siddiqui 1,000 words Construction of the Ryugyong Hotel, a pyramidal skyscraper in North Korea, began in 1987. Nicknamed the Hotel of Doom, [it remains dark and empty](. Quotable “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization.” —Abraham Maslow,[Motivation and Personality]( (1970) Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with Maslow’s pyramid of needs? [ [Forward link to a friend](mailto:?subject=Thought you'd enjoy.&body=Read this Quartz Obsession email – to the email – love triangles A short guide to the pyramid diaspora --------------------------------------------------------------- Our fascination with pyramids as visual guides is probably rooted in the shape’s ancient symbolism—striving to rise above the earthbound masses and reach the deities. Naturally, they’ve been used to create a pseudoscientific ranking of: - [man and other species]( - [the types of food we eat]( - [corporate roles]( They’ve also provided a dose of the mysterious and spiritual on: - [the US dollar bill]( - [a famous album cover]( And not surprisingly, Maslow’s pyramid has also spawned homages: - [the hierarchy of needs in the internet age]( - [the Silicon Valley hierarchy of needs]( - [the hierarchy of zombie needs]( - [the hierarchy of mothers’ needs]( - [The (Ron) Swanson hierarchy of needs, aka pyramid of greatness]( ▲Check out this amazing interactive infographic to get a sense of how the [pyramids of the world stack up](. Fun fact! Maslow often described his mother as cruel and vindictive. In one emblematic story from his childhood, she kills two kittens the young Abraham had found as he looked on in horror, according to[the sole biography of the psychologist](. Watch this! A complicated man --------------------------------------------------------------- “Maslow is the hero of my book,” says Jessica Grogan, psychologist and author of[Encountering America]( in this book trailer that features some of the psychologist’s transcendent writing, and his cynicism. Million-dollar question What's self-actualization anyway? --------------------------------------------------------------- Maslow decided that public figures like Eleanor Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, and Abraham Lincoln were “self-actualized” and considered that political activist Harriet Tubman and Jane Addams, called the founder of social work, may have been too. But scholars have been frustrated by Maslow’s subjective, Western-centric description of this more evolved state of being. What exactly does it mean? According to these passages curated by [Huffington Post]( from his 1954 book Motivation and Personality, Maslow said self-actualized people… - are concerned…with the good of mankind in general - make up their own minds, come to their own decisions, are self-starters, are responsible for themselves and their own destinies - are all quite well aware of how little they know in comparison with what could be known and what is known by others - can accept their own human nature in the stoic style, with all its shortcomings - are somewhat more likely to appreciate for its own sake, and in an absolute way, the doing itself - work within a framework of values that are broad and not petty, universal and not local, and in terms of a century rather than the moment - have the wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naïvely, the basic goods of life - have deeper and more profound interpersonal relations than any other adults Giphy Poll Who's the most self-actualized? [Click here to vote]( Oprah WinfreyElon MuskBill GatesWarren BuffettBeyoncéI am 💬let's talk! In yesterday’s poll about [redactions]( 56% of you said blocked out text means they must be hiding something. 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20Maslow%27s%20pyramid&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) [🎲 Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by[Lila MacLellan]( edited by[Jessanne Collins,]( and produced by[Luiz Romero.]( The correct answer to the quiz is A ladder. Enjoying the Quartz Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! If you click a link to an e-commerce site and make a purchase, we may receive a small cut of the revenue, which helps support our ambitious journalism. See [here]( for more information. Not enjoying it? No worries. [Click here]( to unsubscribe. 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