What are the fundamental forces that drive human behavior? A group of evolutionary thinkers offer an answer by revising one of psychology’s most familiar images.
Abraham Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs is one of the iconic images of
psychology. The simple diagram, first introduced in the 1940s, spells
out the underlying motivations that drive our day-to-day behavior and
points the way to a more meaningful life. It is elegant, approachable
and uplifting.But is it also out of date?
That’s the argument of a team of evolutionary psychologists led by Douglas Kenrick of Arizona State University. In the
latest issue of the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science,
they propose a revised pyramid, one informed by recent research
defining our deep biological drives.Their new formulation is intellectually stimulating, but emotionally
deflating. “Self-actualization,” the noble-sounding top layer of
Maslow’s hierarchy, in their model has not only been dethroned, it has
been relegated to footnote status. It has been replaced at the top with a
more mundane motivation Maslow didn’t even mention: “Parenting.”