Hierarchy of needs

The book I'm reading at the moment is written in blood by beverley macdonald (its a nice easy read about history with cartoons too lol) and I have to say I read a certain section today which has really made me think. = In the middle of the 20th century a pschologist named abraham maslow proposed that a 'hierchy of needs' also motivates an indiviuals behaviour. The 1st is food an water, a hungry or thirsty person will think of nothing more. They're not particulary intrested in the stock market, or maybe even being nice to other people. But having satisfied the first need people start thinking about the second need - shelter, a cave or a roof over their heads. People search for security. Having achieved a food supply and somewhere to live, their minds turn to the third need- love and a sense of belonging. Humans are social animals; they need to be with other people. Solitary confindment has always been (dunno mind - a nice bit of peace lol) regarded as a particularly cruel and drastic form of punishment. People need each other. We need to feel loved, we need a family and a community. The 4th need is esteem - not only do we want to belong to a family or a community, but also we need to be liked and respected. Maslow also suggesteda 5th need, self- actualisation - the need to understand the world , to create or to solve problems just for the fun of it. Maslows hierarchy of needs helps explain both altruistic behaviour and barbaric behaviour in some situations. :-) I thought this was most impressive :-)