Friday, March 1, 2013
Sims Version of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
This post is more for those students who missed Tuesday's lecture on Maslow's hierarchy of needs due to the in-school performance of the musical. I have attached the notes for Motivational Theories and a quick video that gives an overview using the sims. Hope you enjoy!
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I can totally connect with this reference to The Sims because I am a sort of connoisseur, you could say, when it comes to that game. I recently created a Sim family, named the household head Kevin Spacey, and moved Kevin's family into a nice, suburban home. Kevin has everyday needs, like you and I, and regularly eats, drinks, and sleeps. He has safety in his home, good health, and a job as a magazine writer. There isn't much of a sense of family, however, and that is where his hierarchy of needs begins to fall apart. Him and his wife despise each other and their teenage daughter with low self-esteem despises everyone. The family lacks a sense of love and belonging, which in turn lowers Kevin's self-esteem and respect from others. He feels he's achieved nothing at his mundane desk job, which prevents him from having self-actualization. He ends up having a mid-life crisis (from the combination of these events, not because of his age as we've learned in class), and decides to quit his job, splurge on a new car, and not care about anything at all. Strangely, it is at this point in time that he is most happiest and eventually reaches self-actualization...
ReplyDeleteKudos to anyone that knows which movie I'm referencing here.
I think its interesting that some of the "needs" are things that we would not think of when it comes to things that are needed for survival, but they really are very important. For example the need to belong really does effect how you see your self and how you interact socially. This can have a huge impact on your future employment, relationships, and more.
ReplyDeleteMaslow's Hierarchy of needs is a great way to look at the order of human needs. As I watched this video, I started thinking of the videos we watched about anorexia and bullimia. Because people with these disorders obviously don't put their physiological needs first, does this mean that their whole order of needs is different?
ReplyDeleteI think Maslow was right in saying that all needs are not created equal and that they differ from one person to another. This interesting video potrays his idea well, and the conclusion sums it all up. I beleive a person does go through all these stages on the pyramid to fulfill his or her fundamental and psychological needs.
ReplyDeleteI thought some of the ways the character met his needs were interesting- I never thought of having a good hospital and police station nearby to fulfill some of the needs lower on the pyramid. I thought that there could have been more things listed for each level to show how he fulfills those needs, but at the same time, it could have been done on purpose to show that we don't have to meet all of our needs on one level to move up to the next.
ReplyDeleteAddie, if you agree that the needs of Maslow’s hierarchy have to be achieved in the specific order that Maslow outlined, one could argue that people suffering from these disorders have achieved their physiological needs. Because they have abstained from food for a long period of time, their bodies might have become accustomed to using less food to maintain homeostasis. Thus, they don’t feel they need as much food as others to fulfill that need; and therefore, can move on to the next need in the hierarchy.
ReplyDeleteThis video and the overall lesson on Maslow's Hierarchy of needs got me thinking that I take so much for granted. My physiological needs are always fufilled, I'm just trying to reach the top of the pyramid. Some people don't even have the bottom needs fufilled, so they can't even start to think about the top. ie: esteem and self actualization.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maslow with his hierarchy of needs to an extent. I believe that we do have certain needs that need to be fulfilled in order to lead and live a healthy life like shelter, safety, and a sense of belonging But, I don't believe his ways should be represented by a pyramid. Everyone is different and, therefore, their pyramid is going to look different from others. Like with teenagers, they probably look for more sense of belonging than worrying about their safety in the community. The big thing I do agree with Maslow about though is that we must fulfill all of our needs in order to be self actualized. Overall I think this video did a great portrayal of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs but I don't necessarily agree with pyramid's order and proportion because everyone is different and has different needs to satisfy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with laeta2 because I had never thought about a good hospital and police station fulfilling lower fundamental needs either. I think it is important to learn about Maslow's hierarchy of needs because many people solely focus on self-actualization and not realize that other needs need to be met in order to reach that goal. The need pyramid creates a balance between each need. It prevents people from focusing all their energy on one need knowing that others need attention as well.
ReplyDeleteThis video is a great representation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I could never think of specific ways that you could achieve self-esteem. I never though about how you could increase your self-esteem by winning a chess match or helping your kid with their homework. I'm not sure it's true though, that we always fulfill our needs in order from the bottom of the pyramid to the top. Obviously, breathing comes first, but sometimes, for example, we try to increase our self-esteem before we feel complete security or belongingness.
ReplyDeleteI found this interesting because the sims is a great example of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I remember playing it and getting so frustrated because if the sim was hungry (or hadn't met their lower level needs first) they wouldn't do anything I wanted them to do (which would be the higher level needs). It works the same way with real people, too. If a man is starving he isn't going to go look for friends or find something fun to do- he'll first find something to eat.
ReplyDeleteI find this example rather elementary. It provides basic examples and fails to provide any significant details. Throughout the entire video, I felt that the speaker was talking down to me like I know nothing and since he didn't elaborate upon any of the needs beyond saying little things about them, I felt like nothing was accomplished through it. It also failed to show any barriers that may prevent the needs from being fulfilled such as lower needs not being met.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how rich you are, how many friends you have, how many places you travel, there will always be something else you want to have fulfilled. There is always something on the next level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Maslow's hierarchy explains how difficult it is to be completely satisfied. Unless you are one of the few people completely self-actualized, there is always another level to be reached. This is pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about it until now, but the Sims really do follows Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. They never accomplish bigger goals until the basic needs are fulfilled. For us, we follow the Hierarchy of Needs as well. If a person isn't able to find food or a place to sleep then they could care less about having friends or being successful. I think the Sims was a great representation of the Hierarchy of Needs and was interesting to realize it was in a game that a lot of people love to play.
ReplyDeleteI found this video a very good representation of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs because it shows how the lower needs need to be met before high needs can be met. Sims always need to be fed or sleep before they are willing to socialize or perform other tasks which is very true in real life. Only when our basic needs are met are we able to move on to higher needs, and these basic needs are often the ones which need to be met several times a day like hunger and thirst.
ReplyDeleteThis Sims video is a great way of portraying different examples of how one can fulfill their hierarchy of needs. When we had to complete that worksheet for class and list examples of how we complete each stage of the self-actualization pyramid, it was hard for me to come up with my own personal experiences to list. I wish I had seen this video before trying to do the worksheet because it does a great job of showing everyday activities that involve reaching complete self-actualization.
ReplyDeleteSims live an ideal, perfect life where anything is possible. Growing up in a fortunate community, I feel like it's easy to forget about our basic needs and take them for granted. I never had to worry about food on the table or a bed to sleep in. Wondering about other, less fortunate, communities makes me realize how necessary it is too meet our basic needs. Without our basic needs we will never start to better themselves or the people around us.
ReplyDeleteFirst i would like to say, that i used to love this game!! but i really liked the video, it make me realized that as i child i basically fulfilled all the needs that the sim had to survive without realizing it. i would always used cheats to get more money so i can have my sims have more wants than needs. i really liked how each need made the sims a better person. i know that each sims needs food, sleep, shelter ect.. but i realy liked how it showed that it needs to be social and have friends. Not many people realized that having friends and socializing with people is very important in survivial!
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting when we first learned about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, that what were in the first three categories never crossed my mind. I feel in Lakota West most of the student are cover with these three levels. After our discussion I found myself wondering if I am self actualized. I came to the realization that I am not. I believe self actualization comes with wisdom and maturity, two things of which I am still figuring out. I find myself referring back to the top section of the Hierarchy of Needs to see if I have changed at all.
ReplyDeleteI find that the sims is a great example of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The sims gives you the feeling that it is like your life because you need to satisfy your basic needs first. I remember playing this game as a little kid, and when you did not allow your sim to eat or go to the bathroom, they would do it by themselves in order to satisfy their need, but I do not remember when they went out of the house to talk to friends by themselves. The sims is a great example for most people because they remember playing it as a little kid and they remember having to take care of their sim's needs, just like one of those little keychain things that everybody had in elementary school.
ReplyDeleteI think that this video effectively showed Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It makes sense that the physiological needs need to be met first, but i think as one gets higher in the pyramid, it's hard to tell what needs need to be met and when. I think Esteem and Belonging can be achieved at the same time, because relationships can boost one's esteem, but also a good self-esteem can lead to healthy and strong relationships.
ReplyDeleteI think that some people think you have to meet all the needs in a certain group in order to move up to the next level in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This video did a great job of portraying, in my opinion, that you can meet the needs of certain higher needs without necessarily meeting all of the lower needs like safety. Although the Sims character clearly had his lower needs met, the video was presented in a way that made it look like we can achieve certain needs and goals higher up on the pyramid before achieving all of the basic needs.
ReplyDeleteEven though the video was very informational in discussing someone who has satified all their needs all the way to the top of the hierarchy of needs. I feel that the video would be more informative if it showed someone who's needs are not satified. For example, if the person has their basic needs all the way up the hierarchy to safety, how does it affect their lives that they don't have the higher needs?
ReplyDeleteI thought this video was very informative and exemplified what Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is. I liked how the video showed how each level affected his life, and because his needs were satified, he was content with his life. I thought maybe the video was be more informative if it showed someone who's needs were not satified. It shows how if one need is not met, then the person cannot achieve self-actualization and be content with their life. How exactly is their lives impacted?
ReplyDeleteI think the right thing to do would be to not steal the drug as that is wrong even though it would be hard to see a loved one die. Stealing it just because he doesn't have the money is kind of unfair. What if everyone decided to steal things just because they didn't have the money? It's unfortunate that she would have to die because of lack of finances, but if it were me I would feel horrible for the rest of my life if someone went to jail just to save me.
ReplyDeleteI believe this is a great video to explain the hierarchy of needs. I learned that people are most likely to live in a safe environment where they feel more comfortable. Also a place where they can get along with their neighbors and feel like belong there. I think the most important need is a psychological need which is eating and drinking because without that you wouldn't be able to satisfy your other needs. Also you would be able to get through the day and accomplish what you need to get done.
ReplyDelete-shishiswag77
I really enjoyed this video! i love the whole "the Sims" take on it. This really helped me understand Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I like ,cody3, remembered playing sims and also feeling frustration that my sims wouldn't do what i said! It all makes sense now...if only i knew about it when i was younger.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this presentation of Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs because it was kept simple and straight to the point. It clearly defined each level on the heirarchy and gave simple examples that gave the viewer the just of the knowledge being shared. I also enjoyed that it incorporated video games as a way to present the information and think that it was a brilliant form of presentation.
ReplyDeleteThe mention of the need for social relationships is an interesting topic. I wonder if people that live in seclusion, often for religious or mental health purposes, are happy with their lives. Often time the religious ones are seeking self-actualization through seclusion while practicing their religion. Can they really reach it that way?
ReplyDeleteI think that this is an awesome way of demonstrating Maslow's heirarchy because Sims pretty much function just like real people do. You have to fulfill their basic needs first, really, until you can move on up the pyramid to self-actualization. All Sims have aspirations which you can fulfill and get them on their way to being self-actualized.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great video to show Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. Those who have played this game know that the essential needs become low first (hunger, thirst, water, etc). The more of these needs that are low, the harder it is to satisfy any other need (or moving up in the hierarchy chain). Until the needs are satisfied the sim character will refuse to do anything else before fulfilling his first needs.
ReplyDeleteI've never made the connection before between the sims and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. In order to make good relationships or get a promotion in the game, the sim needs to be happy and have all of its need met first. It reminds me of the difference between developed and undeveloped countries, and how a society needs to fulfill their basic needs before focusing on development.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the little sims video, let's just hope they don't get stuck in a ladderless pool, otherwise the entire hierarchy is for naught. But in all seriousness, I can think of how difficult it could be to achieve these things in a past era. Self-actualization is more a modern concept just due to the fact that the lowest scale of the hierarchy would have been amazingly difficult to reach up until some form of protective centralized gov't could be made.
ReplyDelete-- Jordan Shepherd
I feel as though this is a great representation of the Hiearchy of Needs. It has all of the needs in order, and it explains each one of them, in an easy to remember way!
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video, the conclusion says that, because scott follows Maslow's hierarchy of needs, he is happy. I don't think that everyone 'knows' Maslow's hierarchy, or even needs to know it, because most of the things that one does to fulfill his/her needs is innate. We don't go around thinking about all of our needs and how to fill them. Unless, for example, our body tells us to do something, like eat because we are hungry!
ReplyDeleteI think happiness and what you get from each action you take to address these needs depends on the person. For example, Scott said it made him feel needed when he would help his son. Others may want to help their children because they simply enjoy the feeling of caring for someone else, they feel obligated to be with their kid, or it could fit into another category such as interacting with people and loved ones instead of being seen as a self- fulfilling action.
ReplyDeleteThis video reminded me of the "poorer" parts of the country and world where many people cannot fulfill their higher psychological needs. This is, of course, because they cannot fulfill their bottom physiological needs. A number of Americans do not have a steady food supply and may life in dangerous neighborhoods. Since the biological and safety needs cannot be fully addressed, social needs, esteem needs, and self actualization must be postponed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with cody3. I used to play Sims and the sim character could not function if it didn't get enough sleep or hadn't eaten. After a while, the sim would pass out if it had not slept yet or pee on the floor if it had not gone to the bathroom. The ability of the characters to do that is amazing-it's just like a real human. I completely agree with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I believe cultures that don't follow that aren't as strong as they could be and don't operate efficiently.
ReplyDeleteI think Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is completely right. The only arguable part of his theory is that order may not matter. Some things, like food and water, obviously do come before behavioral needs, like acceptance. On the other hand, self actualization could come before safety. It depends on the person. Maybe to be the best person you can be you have to work on one stage at a time. If you reach acceptance before safety or try and work on every aspect of your life at the same time, you will go nowhere fast. The result is a frustrated person who still wants to change his life.
ReplyDeleteI believe that these needs are all very prevalent. Food, water, and shelter are clearly important for survival. The emotional needs are important too, but you need to be alive to have these needs. I think that Maslow was perfectly correct with his heiarchy, it makes complete sense to me and I have felt these needs before. -candiceswanepoel6
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