Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs: A Case Study

Personal experiences of Caroline Duncan as based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 1 .Introduction
‘Humans are inherently social beings and we need to communicate not only to satisfy our physical needs but also to satisfy our social nature’ (Steinberg & Angelopulo 2015). Communication is a tool that we use to express our individual and social needs. Steinberg and Angelopulo have mentioned how ‘structures can be used to categorise the needs we want to satisfy during communication’. (2015). Herewith we look into the structure of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and use examples of personal experiences to explain how, through communication, I have how come to satisfy most of these needs.

2. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
In 1943, Maslow created a basic

These are the basis needs that one has to survive or exist. They include the need for sleep, air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex and sleep. (McLeod, 2007)
3.1. Survival through Infancy
Although all babies are very dependant, the basis of all communication starts on an intrapersonal level, where, as babies, we learn to identify feelings of being tired, hungry or in pain. Babies fundamentally communicate by crying, grunting and gestures. My mother told me that as an infant I would cry when I was hungry or tired and smile when I was satisfied.
3.2. Survival in Adulthood
As we get older our communication also progresses. We learn to simply say when we are tired or hungry. Yet as a young adult, communication for basic survival will again start on an intrapersonal level, where you will sit alone and think about how to meet your basic needs. When I first moved into my own flat, I have very little money. I was working as an au pair and could only just cover my basics. My necessity list would begin with rent, food and electricity. Only once those had been paid for would I consider things like medical, transport and clothing. My education, social standing, popularity and self-esteem did not even cross my

After examining how Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has affected my decision making this far, perhaps next we could look into the effects of those that have everything and what they seek for next. Not every person’s needs are as vast as others, and in keeping one’s needs simple, perhaps we can reach self-actualization faster.

9. References

Westley, B & MacLean, M 2012, ‘A Conceptual Model for Communications Research’, pp 31-38, viewed 22 March 2015, http://www.aejmc.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Journalism=Quarterly-1957-Westley-31-8.pdf

Green, C 2000, ‘Classis in the History of Psychology’, viewed 23 March 2015, http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.html.

McLeod, S. A 2007, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Steinberg, S & Angelopulo, G 2015, Introduction to Communication Studies for Southern African students, Cape Town: Juta

Lindberg-Repo, K 2001, Customer Relationship Communication – Analysing Communication from a value generating perpective, Helsinki, Finland, Swedish School of