Creating sustainable futures/CSF101/Defining sustainability/Maslow

File:Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.svg

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow developed a hierarchy of human needs as a theory of psychology in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation". The hierarchy is particularly useful for understanding human development and psychology.

Learning journal activity

This activity is required for students seeking formal credit. Other students may complete a learning journal but it will not be assessed.

1. Read the summary of Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs on Wikipedia.
2. Read this blogpost by Evan Hadkins.
3. Note down your thoughts about how the two approaches of Max-Neef and Maslow compare.
4. Which do you think is the most useful for enabling communities and organisations to design systems and processes that remove and eliminate barriers that might prevent people from being able to meet their needs?