Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs And Ethics Analysis

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Every individual has certain values and ethics that he/she stands by. Values give us a sense of what is important while ethics gives us a sense of what is right and wrong. Together, these qualities help guide us through our everyday life: what actions to take and what decision to make. Sticking to ethical standards allows you to stay clear of trouble; therefore, strengthening people’s trust in you. In return, this leads to gaining people’s respect and cooperation, which may result in leadership responsibilities. Therefore, we believe that personal values and ethics will affect a person’s career success. However, there are times where individuals will make unethical choices--some situations might question your resolve. This can be caused by …show more content…

Unlike many of his colleagues at the time who were focusing on psychopathology, or what is wrong with individuals, he focused on how individuals are motivated to fulfill their potential and what needs govern their respective behaviors (McLeod)). Maslow developed the hierarchy over time, adjusting from a rigid structure where needs must be met before being able to achieve a higher level, to where the individuals can experience and behave in ways across the hierarchy multiple times daily depending on their needs. The hierarchy is comprised of 5 levels; Physiological, Safety and Security, Love and Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. The bottom two levels are considered basic needs, or deficiency needs because once the needs are met they cease to be a driving factor, unlike psychological needs. Loving and Belonging and Esteem needs are considered psychological needs, and are different from basic needs because they don’t stem from a lack of something, but rather the desire to grow. Maslow theorizes that individual’s decisions and behavior are determined based on their current level of needs, and the ideal level to achieve full potential culminates in self-actualization; however, operating on this level cannot be achieved until the preceding levels of needs have been …show more content…

Physiological needs are requirements necessary to sustain life such as water, air, shelter, warmth, and food (McLeod). Maslow argued that these needs take priority before individuals can act based on further needs. If an individual is having trouble breathing, or having an asthma attack, this individual's behavior will be driven by this and the motivation to improve their breathing will take precedence over any other concerns. Of course, people can go limited amounts of time without food or water and still operate among the higher levels, but at the extreme levels, can severely alter and drive a person's behavior. Assuming the physiological needs are met, the next level is Safety and Security Needs. This level encompasses not only bodily safety, but things such as financial safety and emotional safety and security (McLeod). When the economy goes into a recession and people's financial safety and security needs are severely affected, people tend to behave differently due to the lack of security. Social needs, which is a level above Safety and Security, will become reprioritized as individuals can stop going out with friends and start working additional hours or two jobs in order to conserve funds. The need for love and belonging, comprises the middle level of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid. It is a need to feel belonging to a particular group of people such as friends, family, coworkers,

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