Social needs

Needs related to certain aspects of social behavior - for example, the need for friendship, the need for the approval of others, or the desire for power.

Psychology. AND I. Dictionary-reference book / Per. from English. K. S. Tkachenko. - M.: FAIR-PRESS. Mike Cordwell. 2000 .

See what "Social Needs" is in other dictionaries:

NEEDS- the need for something that is objectively necessary to maintain the life and development of an organism, a human personality, a social group, society as a whole; internal motivator. Needs are divided into biological, inherent ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

NEEDS Modern Encyclopedia

Needs- NEEDS, the need for something necessary to maintain the life and development of the organism, human personality, social group, society as a whole; internal motivator. Distinguish between biological needs, inherent ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Social payments- additional payments for treatment, rest, travel and other social needs ... Source: DECISION of the Council of Deputies of the Zvenigorod City District of the Moscow Region of 04/03/2007 N 57/8 ON THE REGULATIONS ON THE PAYMENT SYSTEM FOR PERSONS HOLDING MUNICIPAL POSITIONS AND REPLACING POSITIONS ... Official terminology

needs- the need for something necessary to maintain the life and development of the organism, the human personality, social group, society as a whole; internal motivator. In psychology, a special state of the individual's psyche, felt or ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

economic needs- part of the needs in society (See Needs), for the satisfaction of which social reproduction is necessary. Property relations, the entire socio-economic system to a decisive extent determine social forms ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Needs- Need is the source of activity of living beings. The most ancient needs in evolutionary terms are genetic programs aimed at preserving life, reproduction and development of the environment. The more useful needs ... ... Wikipedia

The needs of the individual under socialism- Needs - the objective state of the subject, expressing the contradiction between the existing and the necessary (or the subject that seems necessary) and prompting him to work to eliminate this contradiction. The formation of the needs of the individual ... ... Scientific Communism: Dictionary

NEEDS- NEEDS, the need for something necessary to maintain the life and development of the organism, human personality, social group, society as a whole; internal activity stimulus. P. society, and above all economy. P. as the basis of everything ... ... Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary

NEEDS- one of the fundamental categories of theoretical and applied economics. These are types of products, goods; services, things that people need, that they desire, strive to have and consume, use. Needs include more than just... Economic dictionary

Books

• Social styles, Marina Kaldina. In this lesson you will get acquainted with the so-called C. Horney groups or with the social style of each type. Social style shows us how each type tries to satisfy his ... Buy for 1499 rubles audiobook
• A History of the Courtesans, Elizabeth Abbott. The author begins his book with an important remark: the position of mistresses was not always as shameful as it is now. This is due to the fact that romantic marriage is a relatively new phenomenon. Historically…

Man is part of society. Existing in society, he constantly experiences certain social needs.

Human social needs are integral part of his personality.

Kinds

What are social needs? There are a large number of social needs of a person, which can be conditionally divided into three main groups:

Basic sociogenic needs

List of basic social needs experienced by a person living in society:

Satisfaction Examples

Consider the examples of human satisfaction of emerging social needs:

Significance

Satisfaction of social needs from the group "for oneself" is a necessary condition for the formation of a full-fledged personality.

The correspondence of a person's life to his social expectations guarantees the positive socialization of such a person in society, excludes the manifestation of any forms of deviant behavior in him.

A person who is satisfied with the level of his development, education, career, friends and is useful member of society.

Each of his satisfied needs leads to the emergence of some social significant result: a strong family with children is a full-fledged cell of society, career achievements are the successful performance of labor functions, etc.

Satisfaction of needs "for others" and "together with others" is the key to the positive functioning of society.

Only the positive interaction of people among themselves, their ability to act together in the public interest, and not just one by one for personal purposes, will help to create mature society.

The problem of modern society lies precisely in the unwillingness of people to satisfy common needs. Each person approaches the issue from an egoistic point of view - he does only what is beneficial for him.

At the same time, the lack of initiative in carrying out important public actions leads to disorder, violations of the law, anarchy.

As a result, the integrity and well-being of the society in which a person lives is violated, and this immediately affects the quality of his own life.

That is, his selfish interests in any case are affected.

Result

Human activity is caused by social needs? Needs - source of personality activity, motivation of its activity.

A person performs any action solely out of the desire to achieve a certain result. This result is the satisfaction of a need.

Human actions can help wish fulfillment directly. For example: if there is a need for communication, a teenager goes out of the house to the street to friends sitting in the yard and enters into a dialogue with them.

Otherwise, activity is manifested in the performance of certain actions that will subsequently lead to the satisfaction of social needs. For example, the desire for power can be achieved through purposeful activity in the professional field.

However, people don't always take action. to meet their needs.

Unlike biological needs, which cannot be ignored (thirst, hunger, etc.), a person can leave social needs unfulfilled.

Causes: laziness, lack of initiative, lack of motivation, lack of purpose, etc.

For example, a person may experience a strong need for communication and at the same time constantly sit at home alone, have no friends. The reason for this behavior can be a strong , .

As a result, a person will not take actions that he could take to achieve the desired result.

The lack of the necessary activity will lead to the unfulfillment of existing desires, to a low quality of life, but at the same time there will be no threat to life.

Do animals have?

On the one hand, social needs can only be characteristic of people because they can only be experienced by members of society. On the other hand, animals in their groups have certain hierarchy of behavior, rules and rituals.

From this point of view, it is customary to distinguish zoosocial needs of animals: parental behavior, play behavior, migration, the desire for self-preservation, adaptation to living conditions, hierarchy in the flock, etc.

These needs cannot be called fully social, but they are the primary source for the development of further social needs in people.

So social needs exist in every person in large numbers. Satisfying them, a person must act not only in his own interests, but also in the interests of those around him.

The need to be needed and communication are the social needs of a person:

The states and needs of people that arise when they need something underlie their motives. That is, it is the needs that are the source of activity of each individual. Man is a desiring being, therefore, in reality, it is unlikely that his needs will be fully satisfied. The nature of human needs is such that as soon as one need is satisfied, the next one comes first.

Maslow's pyramid of needs

Abraham Maslow's concept of needs is perhaps the most famous of all. The psychologist not only classified the needs of people, but also made an interesting assumption. Maslow noticed that each person has an individual hierarchy of needs. That is, there are basic human needs - they are also called basic, and additional.

According to the concept of a psychologist, absolutely all people on earth experience needs at all levels. Moreover, there is the following law: basic human needs are dominant. However, high-level needs can also remind of themselves and become motivators of behavior, but this happens only when the basic ones are satisfied.

The basic needs of people are those aimed at survival. At the base of Maslow's pyramid are the basic needs. Human biological needs are the most important. Next comes the need for security. Satisfying human needs for security ensures survival, as well as a sense of the constancy of living conditions.

A person feels the needs of a higher level only when he has done everything to ensure his physical well-being. The social needs of a person lie in the fact that he feels the need to unite with other people, in love and recognition. Once this need has been met, the following come to the fore. The spiritual needs of a person are self-respect, protection from loneliness, and feeling worthy of respect.

Further, at the very top of the pyramid of needs is the need to reveal one's potential, to fulfill oneself. Maslow explained such a human need for activity as a desire to become what he originally is.

Maslow assumed that this need is innate and, most importantly, common to each individual. However, at the same time, it is obvious that people are strikingly different from each other in terms of their motivation. For various reasons, not everyone manages to reach the pinnacle of necessity. Throughout life, people's needs can vary between physical and social, so they are not always aware of the needs, for example, in self-realization, because they are extremely busy satisfying lower desires.

The needs of man and society are divided into natural and unnatural. In addition, they are constantly expanding. The development of human needs occurs due to the development of society.

Thus, we can conclude that the higher the needs a person satisfies, the brighter his individuality is manifested.

Are hierarchy violations possible?

Examples of violation of the hierarchy in the satisfaction of needs are known to everyone. Probably, if the spiritual needs of a person were experienced only by those who are full and healthy, then the very concept of such needs would have long since sunk into oblivion. Therefore, the organization of needs is replete with exceptions.

Needs Satisfaction

An extremely important fact is that the satisfaction of need can never occur on the principle of "all or nothing." After all, if this were so, then the physiological needs would be saturated once and for life, and then the transition to the social needs of a person would follow without the possibility of a return. There is no need to prove otherwise.

Biological human needs

The bottom level of Maslow's pyramid is those needs that ensure human survival. Of course, they are the most urgent and have the most powerful motivating force. In order for an individual to feel the needs of higher levels, biological needs must be satisfied at least minimally.

Needs for security and protection

This level of vital or vital needs is the need for security and protection. We can safely say that if physiological needs are closely related to the survival of the organism, then the need for security ensures its long life.

Needs for love and belonging

This is the next level of Maslow's pyramid. The need for love is closely related to the desire of the individual to avoid loneliness and be accepted into human society. When the needs at the previous two levels are satisfied, motives of this kind take a dominant position.

Almost everything in our behavior is determined by the need for love. It is important for any person to be included in a relationship, whether it be a family, a work team or something else. The baby needs love, and nothing less than the satisfaction of physical needs and the need for security.

The need for love is especially evident in the adolescent period of human development. At this time, it is the motives that grow out of this need that become leading.

Psychologists often say that typical behavioral traits appear during adolescence. For example, the main activity of a teenager is communication with peers. Also characteristic is the search for an authoritative adult - a teacher and mentor. All teenagers subconsciously strive to be different from everyone else - to stand out from the general crowd. From here comes the desire to follow fashion trends or belong to any subculture.

Need for love and acceptance in adulthood

As a person ages, love needs begin to focus on more selective and deeper relationships. Now needs push people to create families. In addition, it is not the quantity of friendships that becomes more important, but their quality and depth. It is easy to see that adults have far fewer friends than adolescents, but these friendships are necessary for the mental well-being of the individual.

Despite the large number of diverse means of communication, people in modern society are very fragmented. To date, a person does not feel part of the community, perhaps - part of a family that has three generations, but many do not even have this. In addition, children who have experienced a lack of intimacy experience fear of it later in life. On the one hand, they neurotically avoid close relationships, as they are afraid of losing themselves as a person, and on the other hand, they really need them.

Maslow identified two main types of relationships. They are not necessarily marital, but may well be friendly, between children and parents, and so on. What are the two types of love identified by Maslow?

Scarce love

This kind of love is aimed at the desire to make up for the lack of something vital. Scarce love has a definite source - it is unmet needs. The person may lack self-respect, protection, or acceptance. This kind of love is a feeling born of selfishness. It is motivated by the desire of the individual to fill his inner world. A person is not able to give anything, he only takes.

Alas, in most cases, the basis of long-term relationships, including marital ones, is precisely scarce love. The parties to such a union can live together all their lives, but much in their relationship is determined by the inner hunger of one of the participants in the couple.

Scarce love is a source of dependence, fear of losing, jealousy and constant attempts to pull the blanket over yourself, suppressing and subjugating a partner in order to tie him closer to himself.

existential love

This feeling is based on the recognition of the unconditional value of a loved one, but not for any qualities or special merits, but simply for what he is. Of course, existential love is also designed to satisfy human needs for acceptance, but its striking difference is that it does not have an element of possessiveness. The desire to take away from your neighbor what you need yourself is also not observed.

The person who is able to experience existential love does not seek to remake a partner or somehow change him, but encourages all the best qualities in him and supports the desire to grow and develop spiritually.

Maslow himself described this kind of love as a healthy relationship between people based on mutual trust, respect and admiration.

Self Esteem Needs

Despite the fact that this level of needs is designated as the need for self-esteem, Maslow divided it into two types: self-esteem and respect from other people. Although they are closely related to each other, it is often extremely difficult to separate them.

A person's need for self-respect is that he must know that he is capable of much. For example, that he will successfully cope with the tasks and requirements assigned to him, and that he feels like a full-fledged person.

If this type of need is not satisfied, then there is a feeling of weakness, dependence and inferiority. Moreover, the stronger such experiences, the less effective human activity becomes.

It should be noted that self-respect is healthy only when it is based on respect from other people, and not on status in society, flattery, and so on. Only in this case, the satisfaction of such a need will contribute to psychological stability.

It is interesting that the need for self-esteem manifests itself in different ways in different periods of life. Psychologists have noticed that young people who are just starting to start a family and look for their professional niche need respect from the outside more than others.

Needs of self-actualization

The highest level in the pyramid of needs is the need for self-actualization. Abraham Maslow defined this need as the desire of a person to become what he can become. For example, musicians write music, poets compose poetry, artists draw. Why? Because they want to be themselves in this world. They need to follow their nature.

For whom is self-actualization important?

It should be noted that not only those who have some kind of talent need self-actualization. Everyone, without exception, has his own personal or creative potential. Each person has his own calling. The need for self-actualization is to find your life's work. The forms and possible ways of self-actualization are very diverse, and it is at this spiritual level of needs that the motives and behavior of people are most unique and individual.

Psychologists say that the desire to maximize self-realization is inherent in every person. However, the people Maslow called self-actualizing are very few. No more than 1% of the population. Why do those incentives that should encourage a person to activity not always work?

Maslow in his works indicated the following three reasons for such unfavorable behavior.

Firstly, a person's ignorance of his capabilities, as well as a misunderstanding of the benefits of self-improvement. In addition, there are ordinary self-doubts or fear of failure.

Secondly, the pressure of prejudice - cultural or social. That is, a person's abilities can go against the stereotypes that society imposes. For example, stereotypes of femininity and masculinity can prevent a young man from becoming a talented makeup artist or dancer, and a girl from achieving success, for example, in military affairs.

Third, the need for self-actualization can run counter to the need for security. For example, if self-realization requires a person to take risky or dangerous actions or actions that do not guarantee success.

The existence of social needs is due to the life of a person with other individuals and with constant interaction with them. Society influences the formation of the personality structure, its needs and desires. Harmonious development of the individual outside of society is impossible. The need for communication, friendship, love can be satisfied only in the process of interaction between a person and society.

What is a "need"?

It's a need for something. It can be both physiological and psychological in nature, serves as a motive for action and "forces" the individual to take steps aimed at satisfying his need. Needs appear in the form of emotionally colored desires and, as a result, its satisfaction is manifested in the form of evaluative emotions. When an individual needs something, he feels negative emotions, and as his needs and desires are satisfied, positive emotions appear.

Dissatisfaction of physiological needs can lead to the death of a living organism, and psychological needs can cause internal discomfort and tension, depression.

The satisfaction of one need leads to the emergence of another. Their infinity is one of the features of the development of the individual as a personality.

Needs force us to perceive the surrounding reality selectively, through the prism of our needs. They focus the attention of the individual on objects that contribute to the satisfaction of the current need.

Hierarchy

The diversity of human nature is the reason for the existence of various classifications of needs: by object and subject, areas of activity, temporal stability, significance, functional role, etc. The most widely known hierarchy of needs proposed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow.

• The first step is physiological needs (thirst, hunger, sleep, sexual desire, etc.).
• The second stage is security (lack of fear for one's existence, confidence).
• The third stage is social needs (communication, friendship, love, caring for others, belonging to a social group, joint activities).
• The fourth stage is the need for respect from others and oneself (success, recognition).
• The fifth stage is spiritual needs (self-expression, disclosure of inner potential, achievement of harmony, personal development).

Maslow argues that the satisfaction of needs located at the lower levels of the hierarchy leads to the strengthening of the higher ones. A thirsty person concentrates his attention on finding a source of water, and the need for communication fades into the background. It is important to remember that needs can exist simultaneously, the question is only a priority.

social needs

The social needs of a person are not as acute as the physiological ones, but they play a crucial role in the interaction of the individual and society. Realization of social needs is impossible outside of society. Social needs include:

• the need for friendship;
• approval;
• love;
• communication;
• joint activities;
• caring for others;
• belonging to a social group, etc.

At the dawn of human development, it was social needs that contributed to the development of civilization. People united for protection and hunting, fighting against the elements. Their satisfaction in joint activities contributed to the development of agriculture. The realization of the need for communication spurred the development of culture.

Man is a social being and he tends to communicate with his own kind, therefore the satisfaction of social needs is no less important than physiological ones.

Types of social needs

Distinguish social needs according to the following criteria:

1. “For oneself” (the desire for self-affirmation, recognition from others, power).
2. "For others" (the need for communication, protection of others, selfless help, giving up one's desires in favor of others).
3. “Together with others” (expressed as a desire to be part of a large social group to implement large-scale ideas that will benefit the entire group: uniting for the sake of resisting the aggressor, for the sake of changing the political regime, for the sake of peace, freedom, security).

The first kind can be realized only through the need "for others".

Classification according to E. Fromm

The German sociologist Erich Fromm proposed a different need:

• connections (the desire of an individual to be part of any social community, group);
• attachments (friendship, love, desire to share warm feelings and receive them in return);
• self-affirmation (desire to feel significant for others);
• self-awareness (the desire to stand out from the background of others, to feel one's own individuality);
• a reference point (an individual needs a certain standard for comparing and evaluating his actions, which can be religion, culture, national traditions).

Classification according to D. McClelland

American psychologist David McClellad proposed his classification of social needs based on the typology of personality and motivation:

• Power. People gravitate towards influencing others and being able to control their actions. There are two subtypes of such personalities: those who desire power for the sake of power itself, and those who seek power for the sake of solving other people's problems.
• Success. This need can only be satisfied if the work begun is successfully completed. It forces the individual to take initiative and take risks. However, in case of failure, the person will avoid repeating the negative experience.
• Involvement. Such people strive to establish friendly relations with everyone and try to avoid conflicts.

Satisfaction of social needs

The main feature of social needs is that they can be satisfied only through interaction with society. The very emergence of such needs is connected with society at the current stage of cultural and historical development. Activity is the main source of satisfaction of the social needs of the individual. Changing the content of social activities contributes to the development of social needs. The more diverse and complex, the more perfect the system of needs of the individual becomes.

Significance

The influence of social needs should be considered from two sides: from the point of view of the individual and from the point of view of society as a whole.

Satisfying social needs helps a person feel complete, needed, increases self-esteem and self-confidence. The most important social needs are communication, love, friendship. They play a primary role in the development of the individual as a person.

From the point of view of society, they are the engine of development of all spheres of life. The scientist, desiring recognition (satisfaction of the need "for himself"), invents a method of treating a serious illness that saves many lives and contributes to the development of science. An artist who dreams of becoming famous, in the process of satisfying his social need, contributes to culture. There are many such examples, and all of them will confirm that the satisfaction of the needs of an individual is as important for society as for the person himself.

Man is a social being and cannot harmoniously develop outside of him. The main social needs of the individual include: the need for communication, friendship, love, self-realization, recognition, power. Diversity contributes to the development of the system of needs of the individual. Dissatisfaction of social needs causes apathy and aggression. Social needs contribute not only to the improvement of the individual as a person, but also are the engine of the development of society as a whole.

The ideas about human needs were detailed in his book Motivation and Personality by Abraham Harold Maslow, an American psychologist of Russian origin. Maslow put forward the theory of the multiplicity of different needs of the individual, while arguing that they can be classified into five main categories:

Spiritual Needs - it is cognition, self-actualization, self-expression, self-identification.

Esteem Needs from others, in self-respect. In public recognition and appreciation of human achievements.

Social needs - the need for communication, the presence of social ties, affection, caring for others and attention to oneself, joint activities.

existential - ensuring the safety and comfort of human existence, constancy of conditions and quality of life.

Physiological (they are also biological and organic), satisfaction of the need for food, clothing, sleep, hunger, thirst, sexual desire, etc.

According to this classification, social needs occupy a key place in the hierarchy of human needs. As primary needs are met, higher-level needs become important.

There are many forms of human social needs. Let’s take a look at three main examples:

1. Need "FOR OTHERS". Most clearly, the need “FOR OTHERS” is expressed in altruism, in the readiness to wholeheartedly serve other people, to sacrifice oneself for the sake of another. Most often, this need to protect the weak, the need for disinterested communication.

« I do not know what your fate will be, but one thing I know for sure: only those of you will be truly happy who have searched and found a way to serve people.- Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize winner, humanist, theologian, philosopher, musician and physician. The son of a pastor from the small town of Kaiserberg in Upper Alsace, he created a picture of his own world. Such in which he could live in accordance with his own ideas. Calling on others to use every opportunity to do good, he himself was a vivid example of the realization of the need "FOR OTHERS". Analyzing the state of modern culture in Europe, the philosopher wondered why the worldview, based on a life-affirming principle, turned from an originally moral into an immoral one.

The concept of "reverence for life" became Schweitzer's idea, embracing both life-affirmation and ethics. Its embodiment is a hospital built by the philosopher's own hands.

« There is no person who does not have the opportunity to give himself to people and thereby show his human essence. Anyone who uses every opportunity to be human can save his life by doing something for those who need help - no matter how modest his activity may be.". Schweitzer sincerely felt sorry for people who cannot devote their lives to others.

2. Need for YOURSELF. The need, aimed at self-affirmation in society, at the self-realization of the individual. This is the need for self-identification of a person. The need to take their rightful place in society, in the team. Last but not least, this need is directed to the desire to have a certain power. “FOR YOURSELF” is a social human need because it can be realized only through the need “FOR OTHERS”.

Benvenuto Cellini. The talented Italian sculptor was born in Florence. During his rather long life for those times, 1500 - 1571, Cellini became famous as a jeweler, writer, medalist and not only. The desire to satisfy the "NEED FOR YOURSELF" prompted him not only to creativity, but also to adventures. Cellini participated in the war with Spain, and later, due to the absurd nature of Benvenuto, he was often the instigator of quarrels that ended in death for his opponents. Despite the patronage of the Pope, the impudent young man was arrested more than once, and later, hiding, left Rome.

Cellini spent his last years at home, in Florence. His autobiography has been translated into almost all European languages. In which the author, desiring even greater glory, attributed to himself deeds that he did not actually commit.

3. The need to “TOGETHER WITH OTHERS”. This is a whole group of needs that determines the reasons for the combined actions of many people, society as a whole. Namely: the need for security, freedom, peace, the need to curb the aggressor, the need to change the political regime. The peculiarity of the need "TOGETHER WITH OTHERS" is that people unite to solve pressing problems of a social nature.

Example: the invasion of fascist troops into the territory of the USSR became the decisive stimulus for the realization of the need “TOGETHER WITH OTHERS”. The common goal - rebuffing the invaders, became the reason for the unification of the peoples living on the territory of the union republics.

Do the needs of the social essence of a person require satisfaction? What if you don't pay attention to it?

Without satisfying their own biological needs, a person will not be able to live like a healthy individual. Illustrative examples illustrate this in the best possible way: the lack of enough money to eat well, buy appropriate clothes, the required medicines, keep your own home in proper order, leads to illness or death of a person.

The lack of opportunities to meet social needs makes a person doubt his own usefulness. Without satisfaction of this kind of needs, a person feels weak, helpless, humiliated. What often pushes a person to the manifestation of aggression, anti-social acts. Everyone in our society needs a stable, constant, usually high self-esteem. The social needs of a person also include self-respect, the presence of self-esteem, reinforced by the attitude of other people. Satisfaction of the need for self-esteem leads to a feeling of self-confidence. A sense of self-worth, strength of personality, capacity, usefulness and necessity in this world leads a person to the same results. The impossibility of satisfying such needs leads a person to completely different results.

Which path are you choosing?