Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Over the past 3 classes we have been talking about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Consumer behavior can be explained using the hierarchy to frame purchasing decisions. Answer the two questions below to illustrate your understanding of the hierarchy;


  1. What level of Maslow's Hierarchy do you understand the best or makes the most sense to you? Explain your answer. 
  2. Discuss 2 purchases you recently made and how they can be explained using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.  Select two that satisfy different levels of the Hierarchy.

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    20 comments:

    1. daniela koturSeptember 15, 2011 at 6:54 AM

      The self-esteem needs makes the most sense because I understand that everybody is trying to figure out who they really are so I think that's really important.

      I made a purchase at PINK and that belongs in the social needs category because I see people wearing brand name clothes so I think it's pretty cool :)

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    2. AhnasSeptember 15, 2011 at 6:56 AM

      1- I understand the social part of the Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs because it refers mostly to teenagers, and how they purchase their items based on their social groups. It makes the most sense because all my life I've been buying clothes and playing on group teams.

      2- I bought a smoothie from Tim Horton's which is part of the physical needs of the Hierarchy. I also bought back to school clothes which satisfies the social and esteem part of the Hierarchy.

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    3. dak_harmsSeptember 15, 2011 at 6:57 AM

      1. The level of Maslow's Hierarchy i understand the best is Physical because it is what we need to survive and we learn these things as a young kid.
      2. I bought food from Tim Horton's and hockey skates. I bought food from Tim Horton's as a physical need because we need it to survive and i bought hockey skates as social and esteem, this way i can play on a hockey team and show off a new pair of skates

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    4. klhommeSeptember 15, 2011 at 6:57 AM

      1. The level I understand best and makes the most sense to me is Social Needs because we all socialize everyday.

      2. Two purchases I have recently made are shoes and clothes. They can both be explained using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs because they are both under esteem needs and its what we want, not need.

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    5. Equestrian Fashion Anonymous September 15, 2011 at 6:58 AM

      1.The level of Maslow's Hierarchy I understand the most is Social. I understand the social level the best because that is the level that is the second most bought or concerned about. The social level involves most of what I do, from going to school to buying fancy riding clothes for the barn. It all fits into that level and besides the physical level is what most of the stuff I buy fits into. My experience in buying products relating to the social level helps me understand it the best.

      2. Two purchases recently made by me/ or my parents are Harvey's witch fits into the physical needs and a new pair of riding breeches, witch fits into Social and Esteem, as they are brand name breeches and very popular in riding,so I feel confident wearing them, even to the grocery store and I can talk to my barn friends about them and how they like their similar pair. Resulting in confidence in what I am wearing and a social aspect from sharing experience,dislikes and likes concerning the breeches.

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    6. Samantha DrywoodSeptember 15, 2011 at 6:58 AM

      The easiest level for me to understand is probably physical needs because it's very basic. Everyone knows what satisfies physical needs and it's easy to give examples.

      Recently I purchased a pair of boots. They fall into the social and esteem catagory because they were high heels, and they wouldn't keep me warm in the winter. I bought them because they were cute, not because I needed them for winter. I also bought a pack of kleenex because I was sick. This would fall under the physical or safety needs. :)

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    7. ~brooke connolly~September 15, 2011 at 6:59 AM

      1. I understand social needs the best because i buy brand name clothes and I've joined many teams in both elementary and secondary school.
      2. i recently bought a bench sweater for school. many people in high school wear bench, i love bench sweaters so i bought it for myself. i also bought a a bagel from Tim Hortons to satisfy my physical needs.

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    8. mackenzie hahnSeptember 15, 2011 at 6:59 AM

      The level that i understand the best and makes the most sense is social needs. This is because i tend to follow and use all the social needs like buying TNA and lulu lemon clothes and i have my own cellphone and i have on a lot of sports teams.

      2. I recently bought a couple of items from TNA that would relate to the social need level on Maslow's Hierarchy. I also recently bought an icecap from Tim Horton to satisfy my physical need.

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    9. Alex_ColemanSeptember 15, 2011 at 6:59 AM

      1. Physical needs makes the most sense to me because without these needs you won't be able to survive.
      2. Two things I bought recently were a pair of headphones and a video game. These two items satisfy different levels of the hierarchy. The headphones satisfy esteem and the video game satisfy social needs because you can play online on Xbox Live.

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    10. Angad96September 15, 2011 at 6:59 AM

      1. In my opinion I think Physical needs makes the most sense to me because these are the needs that you need to stay alive and function in everyday life. Without these need you would not be alive for very long.

      2. Some things I got recently was a phone and headphones. These two things satisfy two diffrent levels on the heirarchy. The two they satisfy are social needs and esteem needs. A cellphone satisfies social needs because I can connect with friends and family. Headphones satisfy esteem needs because they make you feel good about yourself.

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    11. nickriley1031September 15, 2011 at 7:00 AM

      1.Physical needs because they are the most important thing in our lives to survive. I understand this the most because you learn these things as a kid so you can survive.
      2. Soccer ball because it satisfies both safety as well as social needs because it allows you to both be fit as well as you to be social with your friends.
      FOOD because it satisfies both physical as well as safety because you need physical needs because you need food to survive as well as safety needs because they make you strong.

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    12. noor sharkawiSeptember 15, 2011 at 7:01 AM

      1. I understand all the needs on the Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs but I understand the physical needs the most because in order to be successful the very first thing you have to achieve is being able to breathe, drink water and eat food without a problem.
      2. I bought a few crafts from the dollar store to finish my project and i guess that would fall under social needs because you need this material for school in order to be successful. Another thing i purchased recently would be jeans and a new shirt and that would be social needs because buying new clothes defines who are.

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    13. Jeff ElliotSeptember 15, 2011 at 7:01 AM

      1. I understand the physical needs level the most because it involves the most basic needs such as food, water, and shelter.
      2.Recently, I have purchased a telus virtual pin number and a smoothie from "Freshed Squeezed". The telus virtual pin number is a social need because it allows me to communicate with my friend. The smoothie is a physical need because it is a food.

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    14. Dimitar JordanovSeptember 15, 2011 at 7:02 AM

      1. The level of Maslow's Hierarchy that makes the most sense to me would be Physical Needs. This is because these are the simplest needs that a human needs to survive. I understand this the most because you can live without social or esteem, sure life will be tough but without Physical you won't stay alive.

      2. Two purchases I made recently:

      I. Food from Subway. This can be said as Physical needs because food is something we need to survive.

      II. Clothes for back to school. This can be under Social needs because clothes for school are for social.

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    15. irinaxoSeptember 15, 2011 at 7:02 AM

      1. The levels of the hierarchy i understand the most is physical, esteem, and social. I can understand those levels the best because i can connect to them the most because most of the things taht i buy with my own money go under those 2 catagories.

      2. Two purchases I recently made are a TNA winter jacket and an abercrombie sweater. The TNA jacket i bought goes under two catagories safety and social, safety because i need a jacket to keep me warm in the winter and teh TNA symbol makes it social because TNA is a name brand. the abercrombie sweater geos under the social catagory because abercrombie is a name brand.

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    16. rachelle lemaitreSeptember 15, 2011 at 7:05 AM

      1. Physical needs are the level i understand the most because they are the most important things you need in order to survive.
      2. Food; this is on the physical needs level because it is the most important thing in order to survive.
      clothes; this is on the social and esteem needs levels because they make me feel good about myself, and it helps me fit in with groups at school

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    17. Julia RaeSeptember 15, 2011 at 7:05 AM

      1. I understand the physical level best. It makes the most sense to me because the products that must be bought for it are very obvious. We need food and shelter to survive, so they would be in this level.

      2. I recently bought a music album. This would be in the social level because I could listen to the music with other people who also enjoy the same kind of music. A second purchase I made was a pair of jeans. This would fall under the esteem level because when I wear jeans that make me look good it makes me feel good about myself.

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    18. jordan dondersSeptember 15, 2011 at 7:06 AM

      1. I think I understand all of the level's well, but the level that makes the most sense to me is the first level, or physical needs. This is because it makes sense to me that the physical needs are required to be fulfiled before you can focus on safety, social, esteem and self actualization. Every single person needs food, water, shelter, and the abiltiy to perform bodily functions to live. That's obvious to everyone. So the fact that those needs must be met first means I easily understand the pyhsical level of Maslow's hierarchy.

      2. I recently purchased jeans, which can fall under the social level of the hierarchy. Yes, I technically do need clothes, liike pants, to be able to go to school and so on. However, this purchase would fall under the social level because I bought brand name jeans instead of cheap, simple jeans. I decided to purchase more expensive jeans partially to fit in, or to create a certain image. Society generally accpets others more willingly if they wear the type of clothes that are consider 'cool'. During high school, all teenagers want to be accepted by their peers. By buying the brand new jeans, I can fit into a network of girls who almost make similar clothing chocies as I, and I can feel more support/ fit in better. Thus making jeans apart of the social level.
      The second purchase I made was makeup. This would fall under the fourth level, or esteem. I buy makeup to attempt to enhance my looks. The esteem level of the hierarchy shows that people need to feel good about themseleves and their achievements. By buying makeup, I feel better about how I look, thus feeling better about myself.

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    19. grayson pottruffSeptember 15, 2011 at 7:08 AM

      1. To me Physical needs makes the most sense because without the basic physical needs you cant survive. the basic needs are food, water, shelter.
      2. 2 purchases i recently made were shoes, which is social needs, i got my ears peirced which is esteem needs.

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    20. SchroederSeptember 26, 2011 at 10:13 AM

      Great discussion of the hierarchy and how it explains your purchases of clothes, food and other goods and services.

      ReplyDelete

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