It is possible to analyze Lola’s case study from a motives perspective because the girl experiences an identity crisis and strives to find her place in society. She does not have physical needs and desires problems, and she does not need to fight for survival. Therefore, she focuses mainly on how other people perceive her, intimate relationships, and finding her career path. It is possible to assume that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory describes Lola’s current presentation better than Murray’s theory of needs because it is more detailed.
Murray’s theory of needs supposes that people do not usually articulate their needs consciously, but still they influence their behavior on the psychological level. The primary function of the need is to ensure that people survive and achieve psychological well-being. There are primary and secondary needs, according to this theory. Primary needs are focused on satisfying physical demands, including the need for shelter, water, and food. Secondary needs, in their turn, do not focus on the survival of the individual directly. Instead of it, they emphasize the person’s needs in terms of social status, achievements, autonomy, and love (Billstedt et al., 2022). These details are critical for the person’s emotional well-being when the primary needs are satisfied.
When Murray states that the motive concept is dynamic by its essence, he means that one person can combine several motives that reflect their needs. Murray writes that every individual develops their hierarchy of needs depending on age, gender, traits of character, and other characteristics (Billstedt et al., 2022). For instance, one person might have more ambitious needs than materialistic needs, which determines the desire of this individual to show their achievements to others and gain recognition.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs describes five levels of human desires that follow each other. Psychological needs at the bottom of the pyramid describe the human need for shelter, food, clothing, rest, etc. Without satisfying these survival needs, people cannot move to the next step, which is to meet emotional, physical, and financial security needs. The third level of needs is connected with belonging and love suppose intimacy, friendship, and family. The fourth level consists of the needs in estimation, including self-esteem and self-confidence. The last stage is the need for self-actualization, which represents the individual fulfillment and the development of own potential (Bowen, 2021). Therefore, it is impossible to develop complex needs without satisfying the basic needs at the beginning of this hierarchy.
According to Murray’s theory, Lola’s needs are secondary because all her biological needs are satisfied. She has affection and ambition needs, and the inability to determine her goals makes her feel frustrated and depressed. The girl has an identity crisis, and she needs recognition from other people in society. At the same time, she thinks that other people’s opinion is subjective and biased. It does not help her solve the identity crisis and satisfy her secondary needs according to Murray’s theory.
According to Maslow’s theory, Lola is on the third level of needs, and she needs to develop the feeling of belonging to the social group. The girl has the vital need for love, intimacy, and friendship because she does not feel that she belongs to a particular social group. It makes her feel frustrated, and she does not know what to do in her life. Maslow’s theory describes Lola’s current presentation in more detail than Murray’s theory because he expands the notion of secondary needs. The problems that Lola experiences correspond to the description of the third stage in Maslow’s pyramid, while Murray’s definition is more general and less accurate.
References
Bowen, B. (2021). The matrix of needs: Reframing Maslow’s hierarchy. Health, 13, 538-563. Web.
Billstedt, E., Waern, M., Falk, H., & Duberstein, P. (2022). Time trends in Murray’s psychogenic needs over three decades in Swedish 75-year-olds. Gerontology 63(1). Web.