Maslow's hierarchy of needs

A theory proposed by Abraham Maslow in 1943 describing human motivation as a progression of needs.

Basic needs have two parts:

1. Physiological needs: air, food, water, sleep, sex, health, shelter
2. Safety needs: personal safety, emotional safety, financial safety

Psychological needs:

1. Belonging, intimate relationships: family, friends, intimacy (separate from physical need for sex)
2. Esteem: prestige and feeling of accomplishment

fulfillment:

1. Self-actualization: achieving one's full potential, acquiring a partner and parenting, pursuing goals, utilizing talents/abilities

Later, Maslow speculated on a sixth need for "transcendence", which a spiritual or religious need to be part of something beyond the individual.

Maslow argued that as a person progresses in their individual development, the needs higher up in the hierarchy become more important and dominant in that person's thinking. A highly developed person has their basic needs fully met, and spends most of their time pursuing esteem and self-actualization, or possibly transcendence. This is not at the exclusion of other needs (that person still needs to maintain their basic needs, eg. eat and sleep), but those drop out of focus.

link