Holly is a 47-year-old woman who has been divorced for 6 years so she is now a single parent with the sole care of her two daughters who are aged 8 and 10. Her marriage was good in the early days, but became troubled when her ex-husband started drinking and became violent. Because of the violence she became estranged from her family so she moved to rural Lincolnshire for a fresh start and to provide a secure and new beginning for her two daughters. The school her daughters attend is a local village school with only 100 pupils and her girls enjoy going there. She enjoys time with her children and is very close to them, and they are happy not having contact with their father.
The house she rents is a basic two bedroomed terraced home with a small garden it is very old but in fairly good condition. Because of its age and rural location she has no central heating but has storage heaters that are expensive to run, the landlord has recently installed UPVC double-glazing but the home remains cold in winter. The rent is fair for the area and she gets housing benefit to contribute to the costs. She works full time at a local farm as a fruit a vegetable packer this is also a cold and damp environment and she suffers from stiff joints by the end of her working day. There are 20 other members of staff some who are from Poland and Croatia but she enjoys the interaction with her co-workers and has picked up some of the language and enjoys learning about their varied culture.
She has a full car licence but cannot afford a car. Weak transport links make it difficult for her to shop so she relies on the corner shop which is expensive; this also leads too poor diet choices. Holly’s health is a problem she currently smokes 40 cigarettes a day this has lead to numerous chest infections this is not helped by the cold and damp at home. She is now over weight this also contributes to her lack of good mobility. She has no hobbies as all the transport links to the local town finish at 7pm this is also affects her desire to want to go to evening courses to study foreign languages as she would like to learn to become a translator.
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs is a theory in psychology put forward by Abraham Maslow in 1943. The hierarchy is usually shown as a pyramid of layers, the bottom most layer being the most primitive of needs, food, water and shelter. The upper most layers being the more psychological needs like self-esteem, creativity, and achievement. It is thought by Maslow, that moving up a level is only possible once your needs have been met and changes in life may make you move down too. So throughout your life you will move up and down the pyramid, even those who achieve self-actualisation will indeed normally set themselves new projects or challenges to achieve, and therefore move down the pyramid again.
Physiological Needs: these are the basic needs for life examples of these are, food, water, shelter, warmth, health, exercise and sleep. Safety Needs. Physical safety living in a safe area, or a secure home for example. Economic safety. Having the need for an income, a job or state benefits, having enough money to manage. Freedom from threats, being free from bulling not just at school but also in the workplace or from neighbours peers etc. Having comfort, from people and from basic material items somewhere to live to call home.
Peace, not being at war with others being at peace with oneself, Belonging and Love. Acceptance, in a job or as a person. Group membership, not in work, but social interaction with others and feeling being Love and Affection, to feel loved to want a relationship or to be in a relationship and to feel sexual intimacy. Self Esteem To have important projects, to want to succeed, to have recognition of strengths to show intelligence, to have prestige or status, a nice car to have good clothes to feel good about yourself.
Cognitive Needs. The need to learn and to learn more, the want to explore and find out new things, the need to discover and to create and to get a better understanding of the world about them. Aesthetic Needs. We need to find the beauty of imagery and art, to appreciate a good book or poetry, to enjoy and appreciate the looks and feels of a garden, the beauty nature, the need to explore and enjoy music. To absorb and observe all that is around you. Self-Actualisation. The highest point that everyone wants to achieve although it is very had to get there! The need to make the most of that around you and what you have got, to be the best in all that you do to be continually challenging your self to do better.
I am now going to apply my case study Holly to Maslows theory. I believe that Holly is in the Belonging and Love level, as she lives in a house providing warmth and shelter, her job brings in enough money to provide food and pay the bills, she lives in a safe rural area with low crime. Her daughters provide her with love and affection, she is not yet ready for the Self Esteem level as although she wants to improve on her status by going to college, her weight problems give her a low self image and she feels she has a low intelligence.