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MASLOW'S HIERARCHY
Self-Actualization
(highest level need—your need to be totally satisfied with your life, oftentimes associated with philanthropy)
Esteem
(your need to excel—not just be a member of a group, but to be the president. Higher education is oftentimes placed in this category)
Social
(your need to belong and affiliate with other people and groups)
Safety/Security
(your need to feel secure in your environment)
Physiological
(your need to eat, sleep, and breathe)
Maslow stated that in order to move up the hierarchical ladder, you have to basically meet the needs of the previous step. This has nothing to do with "growing up." You could be 65 years old and be fixated at the Safety/Security stage. So, we may buy insurance to satisfy a safety/security need, we may join a club to satisfy a social need, and we might go to college to satisfy an esteem need. One common theme holds—our needs are what motivate us to act (or not to act).