Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Model, Scales, and Thesis Application

What is Maslow's hierarchy of needs model

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theoretical framework used to describe the groups of needs that drive human behavior. The model is usually presented as five levels, moving from physiological needs to safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. In business research, you can use this framework to explain why customers choose a product, employees maintain work motivation, or users continue using a service.

The key point when bringing Maslow's hierarchy of needs into a thesis is to define its role correctly. It is usually a theoretical framework for forming groups of variables and building the logic of a model, rather than a complete scale that can be used automatically. Each level of need must be converted into a construct that can be measured with a Likert questionnaire and then tested with quantitative data.

You should review Research model topic to place Maslow's hierarchy of needs alongside other frameworks, such as behavioral models, service quality models, or technology acceptance models. Your choice of model should come from the research question and the survey population, not simply from how often a model is searched.

Components of the model

The five levels in Maslow's hierarchy of needs are used as five groups of needs. However, the boundaries between levels can change depending on the context. When studying customers, you need to rewrite each definition for the specific product, industry, and target group before creating indicators.

The table above is a conceptual map to help you get started. For example, when studying a food delivery application, physiological needs may relate to having a fast meal available, while safety needs may relate to hygiene and payment security. These two groups must be expressed as separate indicators rather than combined into one general question.

You also need to distinguish independent, dependent, and mediating variables. The five levels of need may be independent variables that predict purchase intention. In another topic, social needs may act as a mediator between community influence and usage behavior. The research model determines this role, not the position of a level in the pyramid diagram.

The original model and common extensions

The original model is commonly associated with the work of Abraham Maslow. The sources permitted for citation in this article do not include the original work, so you need to check the correct original source or the review source required by your supervisor before adding the author and publication year to Chapter 2. Do not fill in a publication year simply because it appears on summary websites.

Presenting the five levels from lower to higher makes the model easy to understand, but real data do not necessarily operate in a fixed sequence. A person may care about brand recognition while also considering price and safety. Therefore, in a quantitative model, you can test the separate effect of each group of needs instead of forcing the data to follow a hierarchy.

Common extensions add cognitive needs, aesthetic needs, or the desire to move beyond personal benefit. When you add a component, you need a theoretical reason and an appropriate scale source. A new construct should not be created simply because the questionnaire is missing an item.

If your topic focuses on technology, you can compare Maslow's hierarchy of needs with the AIDA model, where AIDA describes the stages of attention, interest, desire, and action in communication. If your topic focuses on industry competition, the SWOT model or Porter's Five Forces is more suitable for analyzing the business context. These models do not replace one another because they answer different questions.

When writing about the original model and its extensions, answer three questions. Which concepts are retained. Which concepts are adjusted for the research context. What hypothesis does each adjustment produce. This structure helps the committee see the path from theory to questionnaire.

Scales commonly used for each construct

Maslow's hierarchy of needs does not come with one set of indicators that can be copied word for word for every topic. You need to find a scale used for each specific construct and then adjust the wording to fit your context. Do not write “standard Maslow scale” unless you have clearly identified the author, number of items, and study population behind that source.

The examples below are illustrative output for how to develop indicators, not validated translations.

The sentences in the table are illustrative output for planning indicators, not translations that have already been validated. You need to check the source, translate forward and backward if your research procedure requires it, and pilot the questionnaire before the formal survey. An indicator should express one idea, have a clear subject, and fit the respondent's actual experience.

You can use a five-point or seven-point Likert scale as long as the coding remains consistent throughout the questionnaire. Likert is a technique for measuring attitudes introduced in the work of Likert (1932). Your choice of the number of response levels should be connected to how you present the method and to the answering ability of your sample.

After collecting the data, the usual sequence is to check the data, run Cronbach's Alpha if required by the research design, run EFA or assess the measurement model in SmartPLS, and then test the relationships between variables. Cronbach's Alpha should be reported together with Corrected Item-Total Correlation, rather than presenting only one overall Alpha value.

Applying the model to your topic

Suppose you are studying “the effects of need groups on students' purchase intention for personal care products.” The model has five independent variables: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. The dependent variable is purchase intention. Each independent variable has at least three indicators after you check the scale sources and adjust the wording.

A conceptual model can be written as follows:

• Physiological needs affect purchase intention.
• Safety needs affect purchase intention.
• Social needs affect purchase intention.
• Esteem needs affect purchase intention.
• Self-actualization needs affect purchase intention.

You can then write hypotheses H1 to H4 as follows and add H5 for the remaining level if the model retains all five groups:

• H1: Physiological needs have a positive effect on students' purchase intention for personal care products.
• H2: Safety needs have a positive effect on students' purchase intention for personal care products.
• H3: Social needs have a positive effect on students' purchase intention for personal care products.
• H4: Esteem needs have a positive effect on students' purchase intention for personal care products.
• H5: Self-actualization needs have a positive effect on students' purchase intention for personal care products.

This is an illustrative example, not the result of an actual study. The expected “positive effect” must be supported by theoretical reasoning and tested with data. If the result is not statistically significant, you must not revise the hypothesis after viewing the output simply to make the model look better.

How to write this in your thesis

You can use the following template: “Based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs and the context of [research population], this study proposes [number] need groups, including [names of variables], to explain [dependent variable]. Hypotheses H1 to H[number] are developed to test the effect of each need group on [dependent variable].” Replace the bracketed parts with the actual information from your topic and add the theoretical sources you have checked.

How to test the model with SPSS or SmartPLS

SPSS is suitable when you need to clean data, produce descriptive statistics, check reliability, run EFA, and conduct linear regression. SmartPLS is suitable when the model contains latent variables, many indicators, mediating relationships, or a PLS-SEM model. You can use both tools, but you need to state clearly which step was run in which program.

In SPSS, check missing data and recode reverse-coded variables if necessary, then run Analyze > Scale > Reliability Analysis. Put the indicators for the same construct into one run and select Scale if item deleted in the statistics options to see the effect of each item. Then, if the research design uses EFA, go to Analyze > Dimension Reduction > Factor and select KMO and Bartlett's test, factor loadings, and an appropriate rotated matrix.

In SmartPLS 4, create a project, import the .csv file, draw the latent variables, and drag the indicators to the correct construct. Run PLS-SEM Algorithm to view Outer Loadings, Cronbach's Alpha, rho_A, Composite Reliability, AVE, and VIF. Then run Bootstrapping, usually with 5,000 bootstrap subsamples following the guidance of Hair et al. (2022), to test the path coefficient, t-value, and p-value.

For PLS-SEM, an outer loading of 0.7 or above is commonly used as a reference point (Chin, 1998). CR of 0.7 or above and AVE of 0.5 or above are commonly reported benchmarks for reliability and convergent validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). HTMT should be below 0.85, or below 0.90 for closely related constructs (Henseler et al., 2015). VIF below 5 is used to assess collinearity (Hair et al., 2019).

When reading the structural model, examine the path coefficient, bootstrap confidence interval, and p-value. R² shows how much of the dependent variable is explained, with 0.75, 0.50, and 0.25 commonly interpreted as substantial, moderate, and weak levels in PLS-SEM (Hair et al., 2011). Q² above 0 indicates predictive relevance according to the cross-validation logic (Stone, 1974).

If you use AMOS or a CB-SEM program, CFI, TLI, RMSEA, and SRMR are among the model-fit indices assessed according to (Hu and Bentler, 1999). These indices should not be placed in a SmartPLS article as though the two methodological families use the same criteria.

Common mistakes when using this model

The first mistake is taking a pyramid image from the Internet and treating the five levels as five variables that are ready to measure. An illustration does not tell you which indicators are appropriate, which survey sample has been tested, or how the scale was translated. You need to create a source table for each construct before writing the questionnaire.

The second mistake is treating the levels as a compulsory hierarchy. Survey data may show that safety needs predict purchase intention more strongly than physiological needs, even if safety is drawn at a higher or lower level in the diagram. Test the proposed relationships instead of rearranging the results to match the pyramid.

The third mistake is combining several ideas in one indicator, such as asking about low price, quality, safety, and convenience in one sentence. When respondents agree with only part of the statement, the measurement result becomes difficult to interpret. Separate the ideas into different indicators when they belong to different constructs.

The fourth mistake is deleting an item only because it increases Alpha, without considering its content and theoretical role. If you delete an item, record the reason, the index before and after deletion, and the effect on content validity. Supervisors often ask specifically about this item-deletion round.

The final mistake is citing Maslow without checking the original source or using a source that cannot be retrieved. In Chapter 2, state the source you actually read, the correct publication year, and how that source relates to the research context. If you have not verified it, leave the reference marked for completion instead of guessing.

Frequently asked questions

Is Maslow's hierarchy of needs a complete quantitative research model?

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is usually a theoretical framework for forming groups of concepts and building the logic of a model. To become a quantitative model, you still need to define the dependent variable, indicators, scale sources, hypotheses, and testing method.

Can I use all five Maslow levels in one thesis?

Yes, if all five groups relate to the research question and have suitable scales. You can also select only some levels if the research context does not cover all needs. Explain your selection criteria and scope limitations in the methods chapter.

Where can I find scales for Maslow's needs?

You need to find a scale source for each construct, such as safety, belonging, status, or self-actualization, rather than looking for one questionnaire and copying it word for word. Then adjust the wording, pilot the questionnaire, and test the scale's reliability and validity on the research sample.

Should I use SPSS or SmartPLS to test Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

SPSS is suitable for Cronbach's Alpha, EFA, and regression. SmartPLS is suitable when you model latent variables and multiple relationships between constructs. Choose the tool based on the model, sample size, scale type, and supervisor's requirements, rather than only on the software you already have.

If one need level is statistically insignificant, do I have to discard the model?

An unsupported hypothesis does not mean that the entire model is wrong. You need to report the coefficient, p-value, or confidence interval, compare the result with the theoretical reasoning, and discuss possible explanations related to the context, sample, or measurement. Do not delete a result simply because it differs from your original expectation.

Open your data file, make a list of constructs and indicators, and mark the source of each scale before running SPSS or SmartPLS. If you need help running real data and interpreting the output in module M4, see DoThesis M4.