psychology journal article

8/14/2019 psychology journal article

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ORGA.NIZATIO~NAL BEI tAV IOR A1N'D ttU~IA~2~ PERFORMANCE 4, 142-175 (1969)

A n E m p ir ic a l T e s t o f a N e w T h e o r y o f H u m a n N e e d sCLAYTON P. ALDE~FER1

Department o] Adminis trat ive Sciences , Yale Univers i ty

This s tudy was concerned wi th deve loping and tes t ing an a l te rna t ive toM aslow' s theory and to a s imple f rus t ra t ion hyp othes is for the prob lem ofre la t ing need-sa t i s fac t ion to s t rength of des i res . The a l te rna t ive theory i sbased on a th ree-fold conceptualizat ion of hu m an needs: existence, re la ted-ness, and growth (E.R.G.) , I t does not assume lower- level sat isfaction asa prerequisite for the emergence of higher-order needs. It does includeproposit ions re la t ing the impact of higher-order f rustra t ion to the strengthof lower-order needs. Empirical tests of differential predictions amongMaslow's theory, the simple f rustra t ion hypothesis , and E.R.G. theorywere conducted by a questionnaire stud y with 110 em ploye es a t s evera ljob leve ls f rom a bank. The resul ts tended to suppor t E .R.G. theory morethan Maslow's theory or the simple f rustra t ion hypothesis .

M a s l o w ' s ( 19 4 3, 1 95 4) h i e r a r c h i c a l t h e o r y o f m o t i v a t i o n h a s h a d am a j o r i n f lu e n c e o n t h e t h i n k i n g a n d r e s e a r c h o f m a n y w r i t e rs i n t h e f ie ldo f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l b e h a v i o r . I n A r g y r i s ' (1 9'6 4) w o r k o n t h e c o n f li c t b e -t w e e n t h e i n d i v i d u a l a n d t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n , th e c o n c e p t o f s e l f - a c t u a l i -z a t i o n p l a y e d a c e n t r a l ro le . M c G r e g o r ' s ( 19 6 0) f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e n o wf a m o u s m a n a g e r i a l s t y l es , t h e o r y X a n d t h e o r y Y , r e l ie d h e a v i l y o n t h ei d ea t h a t h u m a n m o t i v e s w e r e a r r a n g e d i n a h i e r a r c h y o f p r e p o t e n c y .P o r t e r ( 19 6 2, 1 96 3) b a s e d h i s n a t i o n a l s u r v e y o f m a n a g e r i a l j o b a t t i -t u d e s o n M a s l o w ' s c o n c e p t u a l i z at i o n s . B e e r ( 19 6 6) a ls o u t i l i z e d M a s -l o w ' s c o n c e p t s f o r h i s e m p i r i c a l w o r k o n t h e r e la t i o n s h i p a m o n g e m -p l o y e e n ee d s , l e a d e r s h i p , a n d m o t i v a t i o n .

I n a d d i t i o n , s e v e r a l w r i t e r s h a v e p r o p o s e d m o d i f i c a ti o n s o f M a s l o w ' s( 19 4 3, 1 9 5 4) o r i g i n a l f r a m e w o r k . O n e s u c h m o d i f i c a t io n w a s s u g g e s t e d( t h o u g h n o t e x p l ic i t ly s t a t e d a s s u c h ) b y M a s l o w ( 19 6 2) h i m s e l f w h e nh e w r o t e a b o u t d e fi c ie n c y a n d g r o w t h m o t i v a t i o n s . B a r n e s ( 19 6 0) p r o -

1The wr i t e r wou ld l ike to tha nk Thom a s M . Lodha l , M a r t in G . Eva ns , B e n ja m inSchneider, J. l~ichard l=[ackman, D oug las T. H all, and Ch ris Argyrls fo r theirthoughtfu l and he lpful comments on an ear l ie r vers ion of th is paper and theGraduate School of Business and Public Administra t ion at Cornell for f inancialsupport for the study. Appreciat ion is a lso expressed to the management, s taff ,and em ploy ees f rom the organization where the stu dy was conducted for theirvery high degree of cooperation.142


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A NEW THEORY OF HUMA N NEEDS 143posed a two-step hierarchy consisting of physiological needs at the baseand a higher level made up of self-esteem, esteem of others, and belong-ingness. Harrison (1966) also offered a modification consisting of twolevels, similar to that of Barnes. In his model, physiological-economicneeds were at the base. Upon satisfaction of these needs, then a higherlevel of social or ego needs would be sought.

Clark (1960) produced a review of the literature organized aroundMaslow's original hierarchy. In that paper he pointed out the need fora direct empirical test of Maslow's theory. However, until the recentwork by Hall and Nougaim (1968), that theory has not been testedempirically in literature known to this writer.

Hall and Nougaim (1968) designed a longitudinal study to test keypropositions in the Maslow theory. Using five annual interviews fromeach of 49 managers in A.T. & T., they developed operational definitionsto test Maslow's predictions by both static and change analyses. Theyreport some difficulty developing operational definitions for the Maslowsystem (1968, pp. 19, 30). Their results provide almost no support for theMaslow theory. Indeed, one aspect of their data which they do not dis-cuss at length was the ~endency for the satisfaction of a need to corre-late with the intensity of the need itself. This finding not only does notsupport Maslow's (1943, p. 393) dictum, % satisfied need is not a moti-vator," it seeems to contradict it. However, the finding might also bereviewed with questions about the adequacy of operational definitionswhen there were recognized difficulties with that part of the study. An-other interpretation would be that the finding is consistent with a two-step hierarchy, since there does appear to be somewhat more of, a tend-ency for higher order need satisfaction to correlate with need intensitythan for lower order need satisfaction to correlate with need intensity.2

The basic problem to which Maslow's theory addresses itself mightbe stated as, "How does need satisfaction affect the strength of desires?"A very simple solution to this problem might be to say that. for anyneed, frustration results in increased desire, while satisfaction resultsin decreased desire2 ,~

The writer is indebted to M. G. Evans for calling attention to this point.3For the purposes of the discussion in this paper frustration and satisfactionare used to refer to opposite ends of the same continuum. For other purposes,one might wish to distinguishbetween the two concepts more fully.Rosenzweig (1944, p. 380) has approached the same conceptual problem fromthe point of view of frustration theory. He made a distinction between primaryand secondary frustration. In his view "primary frustration involves the sheerexistence of an active need...Secondary frustration more strictly embraces thedefinition given above, emphasis being placed upon supervenient obstacles orobstructions in the path of the active need." In the present field study, where the


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1 4 4 CLA Y TO N P . A LD ERF ER

Th e s im p le f r u s t r a t i o n h y p o th e s i s r e q u i r e s n o s e t o f r e l a t i o n s h ip sa m o n g d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f n e e d s , a s d o e s M a s l o w ' s h i e r a r c h y . N e i t h e rd o e s i t r e q u i r e a t h e o r y w h i c h t a k e s a s t a n d b y s p e c i f y i n g c a t e g o r i e s o fn e e d s , a s M a s lo w d o e s wh e n h e s u g g e s t s t h e f i v e n e e d c a t e g o r i e s o fp h y s io lo g i c a l , s a f e ty , l o v e , e s t e e m , a n d s e l f - a c tu a l i z a t i o n . W h i l e M a s lo wd i d n o t s a y s o e x p l i c i t l y , h i s t h e o r y m i g h t b e v i e w e d a s a n a l t e r n a t i v et o t h e s i m p l e r n o t i o n t h a t n e e d - s a t i s f a c t i o n r e d u c e s d e s i r e . B y s p e c i f y i n gt h e c o r e p r o b l e m w h i c h M a s l o w ' s t h e o r y a d d r e s s e s , o n e i s a b l e t o s e et h a t t h e r e a r e m a n y p o s s i b l e f r a m e w o r k s t o d e a l w i t h t h e s a m e q u e s t i o n .

E . R . G . t h e o r y w a s d e v e l o p e d b y t h e w r i t e r b e c a u s e o f h i s i m p r e s s i o nt h a t a m o r e a d e q u a t e u n d e r s t a n d i n g c o u ld b e a c h i e v e d f o r t h e k i n d so f p h e n o m e n a t o w h i c h M a s l o w ' s t h e o r y w a s a d d r e s s e d . A n e a r l y t e s to f t h e t h e o r y s u g g e s t e d t h a t , wh i l e a l l o f i t s p r e d i c t i o n s we r e n o tc o n f i r m e d , i t d i d p r e s e n t a v i a b l e a l t e r n a t i v e t o M a s l o w ' s p o i n t o fv ie w (Al.der fe r, 1966) . A t the t ime o f th i s in i t i a l t e s t o f E .R .G.t h e o r y , t h e r e w e r e n o d i r e c t e m p i r i c a l t e st s o f M a s l o w ' s w o r k k n o w nt o t h e w r i t e r. H o w e v e r , i n t h e m e a n t i m e , H a l l a n d N o u g a i m ( 19 6 8)h a v e r e p o r t e d t h e i r r e s u l t s w h i c h t e n d e d n o t t o s u p p o r t M a s l o w ' s v i e w s .

C o n a n t (1 94 7, p . 3 6 ) h a s c o m m e n te d , d u r in g hi s r e v i e w o f t h e h i s to r yo f p h y s i c a l s c i e n c e , t h a t c o n t r a d i c to r y f a c t s a r e g e n e r a l l y n o t a s u f f i -c i e n t r e a s o n f o r t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f a p a r t i c u l a r t h e o r y . A n e w t h e o r yn e e d s t o b e p r e s e n t i n a d d i t i o n t o f a c t s c o n t r a r y t o t h e o l d o n e . I t i sp r o b a b l y a ls o a f a i r s t a t e m e n t t o s a y t h a t n o t h e o r y is e v e r fi na l o rf u l l y c o m p r e h e n s i v e . C e r t a i n l y t h a t i s t r u e o f E . R . G . t h e o r y , b a s e d u p o nth e i n i t i a l r e s u l t s o f e m p i r i c a l wo r k t e s t i n g i t . Co n s e q u e n t ly , o n e o f t h em a j o r t a s k s o f s c ie n c e b e c o m e s t h a t o f c o m p a r in g t h e o ri e s to f in d w h i c ho n e d o es a b e t t e r ( o r b e s t, i f t h e r e a r e m o r e t h a n two ) j o b o f a c c o u n t in gf o r t h e e m p i r i c a l d a t a i n i t s d o m a in a t a n y g iv e n p o in t in t im e .

T h e o b j e c t i v e s o f t h i s p a p e r a r e t o p r e s e n t E . R . G . t h e o r y , t o s h o wi t s s im i l a r i t ie s a n d d i f fe r e n c e s w i th M a s lo w ' s t h e o r y a n d th e s im p lef r u s t r a t i o n h y p o t h e s i s , a n d t o t e s t p r e d i c t i o n s m a d e b y a l l t h r e e f r a m e -w o r k s . I n c o n t r a s t in g E . R . G . t h e o r y w i t h M a s l o w ' s t h e o r y , t h e r e a r eb o th d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e n e e d c a t e g o r i e s a n d d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e wa y s t h a tn e e d s a t i s f a c t i o n i s s e e n r e l a t i n g t o d e s i r e s . D i f f e r e n c e s i n n e e d c a t e -m e a s u r e o f f r u s tr a t i o n w a s s u b je c t iv e , n o a t t e m p t w a s m a d e t o d i s t i ng u i s h b e t w e e nt h e t w o o p e r a t io n a l l y . H o w e v e r , w e re a n e x p e r i m e n t a l m a n i p u l a t i o n u n d e r t a k e n ,t h e n d i f f e r e n t p r o c e d u r e s m i g h t b e u s e d t o i n d u c e f r u s t r a t i o n a n d s a t i s f a c t i o n .~ E . R . G . t h e o r y i s p h r a s e d i n t e r m s o f r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n s a t i s f a c t i o n a n dd e s ir e . D e s i r e s h o u l d b e r e a d a s s y n o n y m o u s w i t h o t h e r t e r m s s u c h a s w a a t ,p r e fe r e nc e , i n t e n si t y , n e e d s t re n g t h , a n d m o t i v e s t r e n g t h . T h e t e r m " d e s i re " w a sc h o s e n b e c a u s e i t s t a y s m o s t c l o s e l y t o t h e o p e r a t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n s . ( S e e METHO DSs e c t i o n . ) S a t i s f a c t i o n m a y a l s o b e r e a d a s s y n o n y m o u s w i t h t h e t e r m f u l f i l l m e n t .


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A N E W T H E O R Y O F H U M A N N E E D S 145

g o r i e s w i l l b e d e a l t w i th f i r s t , a n d d i f f e r e n c e s i n ma jo r p ro p o s i t i o n sn e x t . T h e n th e s p e c i f i c h y p o th e s e s t e s t e d in t h i s s tu d y w i l l b e p r e s e n te d ,f o l lo w e d b y t h e e m p i r i c al r e s u lN .

DIF F E RE NCE S IN NE E D CAT E GORIE SM a s lo w ' s t h e o ry d e a l s w i th f i v e s e t s o f n e e d s : p h y s io lo g ic a l , s a f e ty ,

l o v e , e s t e e m, a n d s e l f - a c tu a l i z a t io n . A t a p u re ly c o n c e p tu a l l e v e l i t i sn o t c l e a r w h e r e s a f e t y n e e d s d e p a r t f r o m p h y s i o l o g i c a l n e e d s , o n t h eo n e h a n d , a n d lo v e n e e d s o n th e o th e r . I n h i s d i s c u s s io n o f t h e s a f e tyc o n c e p t , M a s lo w me n t io n s i s s u e s s u c h a s p h y s i c a l i l l n e s s , p a in , a n da s s a u l t a s o n e s e t o f i s s u e s a n d p a re n ta l o u tb u r s t s o f r a g e , n a me c a l l i n g ,a n d s p e a k i n g h a r s h l y a s an o t h e r. I t s e em s t h a t p h y s i c a l t h r e a t s m i g h tb e u s e f u l l y p u t t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e o t h e r n e e d s w h i c h M a s l o w t e r m sp h y s io lo g ic a l , a n d th e s a f e ty i s s u e s i n v o lv in g in t e r a c t io n w i th o th e rp e o p le i n c lu d e d w i th l o v e n e e d s.

A s imi l a r p o in t m ig h t b e ma d e r e g a rd in g e s t e e m n e e d s . I n t h i s e a s eth e o v e r l a p s e e ms to b e b e twe e n lo v e n e e d s a n d s e l f - a c tu a l i z a t io n n e e d s .M a s lo w in d ic a t e s t h a t h i s c o n c e p t o f e s t e e m in c lu d e s t h e r e g a rd a p e r s o nre c e iv e s f ro m o th e rs . I n t h i s s e n s e , i t is v e ry s imi l a r t o l o v e n e e d s . H o w -e v e r , h e g o e s o n to r e f e r t o t h a t a s p e c t o f e s t e e m wh ic h d e p e n d s o n th ein t e rn a l c u e s wh ic h a p e r s o n p ro v id e s h ims e l f f r o m r e a l c a p a c i ty ,a c h ie v e me n t , a n d in d e p e n d e n c e . T h i s e l e me n t i n e s t e e m n e e d s s e e msto b e mo re l i k e s e l f - a c tu a l i z a t io n in wh ic h a p e r s o n i s a b l e t o b e wh a th e i s a n d d o wh a t h e i s c a p a b le o f d o in g .

E . R . G . t h e o r y a s s u m e s t h a t a h u m a n b e in g h a s t h r e e c o r e n e e d s t h a th e s t r i v e s t o m e e t . T h e y i n c l u d e o b t a i n i n g h i s m a t e r i a l existence needs ,m a i n t a i n i n g h i s i n t e r p e r s o n a l relatedness wi th s ig n i f i c a n t o th e r p e o p le ,a n d s e e k i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r h i s u n i q u e p e r s o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t a n dgrowth , T h e s e n e e d s p r o v i d e t h e b a s i c e l e m e n t s i n m o t i v a t i o n . O f t e np e o p le e x p re s s t h e i r wa n t s i n t h e fo rm o f c o mp le x g o a l s wh ic h ma yi n c lu d e m i x tu r e s o f t h e b a s i c n e e ds . O n e s u c h " c o m p o u n d " n e e d w o u l db e f o r a p r o m o t i o n , w h e r e a s a r e s u l t o f t h e p r o m o t i o n t h e p e r s o n w o u l do b t a i n m o r e m a t e r i a l r e w a r d s i n t h e f o r m o f p a y , a d i f fe r e n t c o n s te l -l a t i o n o f i n t e rp e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h ip s , a n d n e w o p p o r tu n i t i e s t o d e v e lo pa n d u s e h is t a l e n t s .

Exis tence n e e d s in c lu d e a l l t h e v a r io u s fo rms o f m a te r i a l a n d p h y s io -lo g ic a l d e s i r e s . Hu n g e r a n d th i r s t r e p re s e n t d e f i c i e n c i e s i n e x i s t e n c en e e d s . P a y , f r i n g e b e n e f i t s , a n d p h y s i e M wo rk in g c o n d i t i o n s a r e o th e rty p e s o f e x i s t e n c e n e e d s . On e o f t h e b a s i c c h a ra c t e r i s t i c s o f e x i s t e n c en e e d s is t h a t t h e y c a n b e d i v i d e d a m o n g p e o p l e in su c h a w a y t h a t o n ep e r s o n ' s g a in i s a n o th e r ' s l o s s wh e n r e s o u rc e s a r e l im i t e d . I f two p e o p lea r e h u n g ry , f o r e x a mp le , t h e fo o d e a t e n b y o n e i s n o t a v a i l a b l e t o t h e


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146 CLAYTON P. ALDERFERo th e r . W h e n a s a l a r y d e c i s io n i s m a d e th a t p r o v id e s o n e p e r s o n o rg r o u p o f p e o p l e w i t h m o r e p a y , i t e l i m i n a t e s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f s o m eo t h e r p e r s o n o r g r o u p g e t t i n g e x t r a m o n e y . T h i s p r o p e r t y o f e x i s t e n c en e e d s f r e q u e n t ly m e a n s t h a t a p e r s o n ' s ( o r g r o u p ' s ) s a t i s f a c t i o n , b e y o n da b a r e m i n i m u m d e p e n d s u p o n t h e c o m p a r i so n o f w h a t h e g e ts w i t hw h a t o t h e r s g e t i n th e s a m e s i tu a t i o n .

H o w e v e r , t h is c o m p a r i s o n is n o t " i n t e r p e r s o n a l " i n t h e s e n se o f n e c e s -s i t a t i n g c o m p a r i s o n w i th k n o wn s ig n i f i c a n t o th e r s . Th e i n t e r p e r s o n a la s p e c t o f e q u i ty i s n o t a n i s s u e f o r e x i s t e n c e n e e d s . Th e c o m p a r i s o np r o c e s s f o r m a te r i a l g o o d s i s s im p ly a m o n g p i l e s o f g o o d s , w i th o u tn e c e s s a r il y a t t a c h i n g t h e a d d e d d i m e n s i o n o f k n o w i n g w h o t h e o t h e r sa r e w h o w o u l d o b t a i n s m a l l e r o r l a r g e r s h a r e s . I t t u r n s o u t i n o u r s o c i e t yt h a t p e o p l e h a v e l e a rn e d t o s t a t e s u c h c o m p a r i s o n s in i n t e r p e rs o n a l t e r m s .Co n s e q u e n t ly i n d e v e lo p in g o p e r a t i o n a l d e f in i ti o n s , s o m e e x i s t e n c e n e e dc o m p a r i s o n s w e r e s t a t e d a s i n t er p e r s o n a l c o m p a r is o n s . H o w e v e r , t h i sr e fl e c ts a r e a l i s t i c l im i t a t i o n o f t h e m e a s u r e s , r e f le c t in g c e r t a in a s p e c t so f o u r c u l tu r e f o r wh ic h t h e t h e o r y , n o t b e in g a l e a r n in g t h e o r y , d o e sn o t a c c o u n t .

Relatedness n e e d s i n c lu d e a l l t h e n e e d s wh ic h i n v o lv e r e l a t i o n s h ip sw i t h s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r p e o p l e . F a m i l y m e m b e r s a r e u s u a l l y s i g n i f i c a n to th e r s , a s a r e s u p e r io r s , c o wo r k e r s , s u b o r d in a t e s , f r i e n d s , a n d e n e m ie s .On e o f t h e b a s i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s i s t h a t t h e i r s a t i s -f a c t io n d e p e n d s o n a p r o c e s s o f s h a r in g o r m u t u a l i t y . P e o p l e a r e a s s u m e dt o s a t i s f y r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s b y m u t u a l l y s h a r i n g t h e i r t h o u g h t s a n df e e l i n g s . Th i s p r o c e s s m a r k e d ly d i s t i n g u i s h e s r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s f r o me x i s t e n c e n e e d s b e c a u s e t h e p r o c e s s o f s a t i s f a c t i o n f o r e x i s t e n c e n e e d sp r o h i b i t s m u t u a l i t y . T h e e x c h a n g e o f a c c e p t a n c e , c o n f i r m a t i o n , u n d e r -s t a n d in g , a n d in flu e n c e a r e e l e m e n t s o f t h e r e l a t e d n e s s p r o c e s s .

I t i s n o t n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e f o r m a l p o w e r b e t w e e n t w o p e o p l e t o b ee q u a l , o r n e a r ly s o , f o r r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s a t i s f a c t i o n t o b e p o s s ib l e . Th ee s s e n t i a l c o n d i t i o n s i n v o lv e t h e w i ll in g n e s s o f b o th ( o r al l) p e r s o n s t os h a r e t h e i r t h o u g h t s a n d f e e li n g s as f u l l y a s p o s s ib l e wh i l e t r y in g t oe n a b le t h e o th e r ( s ) t o d o t h e s a m e th in g. Ar g y r i s ( 1 96 2 ) h a s t e r m e dth i s q u a l i t y o f a r e l a t i o n s h ip a u th e n t i c .

F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e o u t c o m e i n s a t i s f y i n g r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s n e e d n o ta l w a y s b e a p o s i t i v e a f f e c t u a l s t a t e f o r b o t h o r e i t h e r p e r s o n . T h e e x -c h a n g e o r e x p r e s s io n o f a n g e r a n d h o s t i l i t y i s a v e r y im p o r t a n t p a r ~ o fm e a n in g f u l i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h ip s , l u s t a s i s t h e e x p r e s s io n o fwa r m th a n d c lo s e n e s s . Th u s , t h e o p p o s i t e o f r e l a t e d n e s s s a t i s f a c t i o n i sn o t n e c e s s a r i l y a n g e r , b u t i t i s a s e n s e o f d i s t a n c e o r l a c k o f c o n n e c t e d -ness .

Growth n e e d s i n c lu d e a l l t h e n e e d s wh ic h i n v o lv e a p e r s o n m a k in gc r e a t i v e o r p r o d u c t i v e e f fe c ts o n h i m s e l f a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . S a t i s f a c -


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A NEW THEORY OF HUM AN NEEDS 14 7

t i o n o f g r o w th n e e d s c o m e s f r o m a p e r s o n e n g a g in g p r o b l e m s w h ic h c a l lu p o n h im to u t i l i z e h i s c a p a c i t i e s f u l l y a n d m a y i n c lu d e r e q u i r i n g h imto d e v e lo p a d d i t i o n a l c a p a c i t i e s . A p e r s o n e x p e r i e n c e s a g r e a t e r s e n s eo f w h o le n e s s a n d f u l l n e s s a s a h u m a n b e in g b y s a t i s f y in g g r o w th n e e d s .T h u s s a t i s f a c t i o n o f g r o w t h n e e d s d e p e n d s o n a p e r s o n f i n d i n g t h e o p p o r -t u n i t ie s t o b e w h a t h e is m o s t f u l l y a n d t o b e c o m e w h a t h e c an .

Th e b u s in e s s o f c a t e g o r i z in g o r d e v e lo p in g l i s t s o f h u m a n n e e d s a n dm o t i v e s is n o t a n e w a c t iv i t y . H e n r y M u r r a y ' s ( 19 3 8) l is t i s r e a s o n a b l yw e l l k n o w n , a n d i t is l o n g e r t h a n M a s lo w ' s s e t. La n g e r ( 1 93 7 ) a n dSe h e in ( 1 96 5 ) h a v e a l s o s u g g e s t e d t h r e e c a t e g o r y s e ts w h ic h b e a rc o n s i d e r a b l e s i m i l a r i t y t o t h e o n e p r o p o s e d i n E . R . G . t h e o r y . I n a d -d i t i o n t o d e f in i ti o n a l d i f fe r e n c e s o f v a r y in g d e g r e e s, t h e s e c o n c e p t s d i f fe ri n p u r p o s e f r o m th o s e u t i l i z e d i n ~ l a s lo w ' s o r E . R . G . t h e o r y . C l a s s i f i -c a t i o n i s n o t t h e s a m e a s e x p l a n a t i o n a n d p r e d i c t i o n , b u t s o m e c a t e -g o r i z a t i o n ( o r v a r i a b l e d e f in i ti o n ) i s n e c e s s a r y i n o r d e r t o f o r m u la t ea t h e o r y .

T h i s t h r e e f o l d c a t e g o r iz a t i o n o f h u m a n n e e d s r e p r e s e n ts t h e f i r s tw a y E . R . G . t h e o r y d e p a r ts f ro m M a s l o w ' s sc h em e . I t i s o n e w a y t o d e a lw i t h t h e p r o b l e m s p o s e d b y t h e o v e r l a p p i n g n a t u r e o f h i s s a f e t y a n de s t e e m c a t e g o r i e s . I n t h i s n e w f r a m e w o r k , t h o s e a s p e c t s o f s a f e t y n e e d sw h ic h d e a l w i th p h y s i c a l o r m a te r i a l d e s i re s b e lo n g t o t h e e x i s t e n c ec a t e g o r y w h i le t h o s e a s p e c t s w h i c h h a v e t o d o w i t h i n t e rp e r s o n a l p r o -c e s se s f i t t h e r e l a t e d n e s s c a e go r y . Th e s a m e k in d o f p o in t a p p l i e s t oe s t ee m n e e ds . T h o s e a s p e c t s o f e s te e m w h i c h d e p e n d u p o n r e a c ti o n s f r o mo th e r s f i t t h e r e l a t e d n e s s c a t e g o r y , w h i l e t h o s e w h ic h r e p r e s e n t a u to n o -m o u s s e l f - f u l f i l l i n g a c t i v i t y b e lo n g t o g r o w th n e e d s . Th e d i f f e r e n t c a t e -g o r i z a t i o n a l l o w s o n e t o r e f e r t o t h e n e w f r a m e w o r k a s E . R . G . t h e o r y .B y i t s e l f t h e c h a n g e i n t h e w a y n e e d s a r e c h a r a c t e r i z e d i m p l i e s d i f -f e r e n t p r e d i c t i o n s a b o u t h o w s a t i s f a c t i o n i s r e l a t e d t o s t r e n g t h o f d e s i r e .I n t h e c a s e o f r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s , t h e c h a n g e i n c a t e g o r i z a io n s p e a k sto a p r o b l e m w i th M a s lo w ' s t h e o r y t h a t h e h im s e l f n o t e d ( 19 4 3 , p . 3 0 8) :" T h e r e a r e s o m e p e o p l e i n w h o m , f o r i n s t a n c e , s e l f - e s t e e m s e e m s t o b em o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n l o v e . T h i s m o s t c o m m o n r e v e r s a l i n t h e h i e r a r c h yis u s u a l l y d u e to t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e n o t i o n t h a t t h e p e r s o n w h o ism o s t l i k e l y t o b e l o v e d i s a s t r o n g o r p o w e r f u l p e r s o n . . . " B y r e c o g n i z i n gt h a t p a r t o f s e l f -e s t e e m w h i c h d e p e n d s o n r e g a r d f r o m o t h e r s a s p a r to f r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s , t h e i s s u e o f w h e th e r l o v e d e s i r e s p r e c e d e o r f o l l o wd e s i r e s f o r t h e e s t e e m o f o th e r s v a n i s h e s .

MAJOR PROPOSITIONS AND EXPLANATORY CONCEPTSI N E . R .G . TH EO R Y

S e v e n m a j o r p r o p o s i t i o n s i n E . R . G . t h e o r y p r o v i d e a b a s i s f r o m w h i c he m p i r i c a l l y t e s t a b l e h y p o t h e s e s c a n b e l o g i c a l l y d e r i v e d . T h e f o r m o f


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148 CLAYTON P. ALDERFERthis derivation is as follows. If A is an operational indicator of an E.,R., or G. satisfaction and B is an operational indicator of an E., R., orG desire, then A should show an empirically verifiable relationship toB in such a way as predicted by one of the E.R.G. propositions. Ifempirical results provide support for the A to B relationship, then onecan have more confidence in the theory. If the empirical results do notprovide support for the A to B relationship, one would have less con-fidence in the theory. The structure of this theory is such that the resultscan provide support for some propositions while not for others.

The major propositions in E. R. G. theory are as follows:P1. The less existence needs are satisfied, the more they

will be desired.P2. The less relatedness needs are satisfied, the more exist-

ence needs will be desired.P3. The more existence needs are satisfied, the more re-

latedness needs will be desired.P4. The less relatedness needs are satisfied, the more they

will be desired.P5. The less growth needs are satisfied, the more related-

ness needs will be desired.P6. The more relatedness needs are satisfied, the more

growth needs will be desired.PT. The more growth needs are satisfied, the more they

will be desired.These propositions indicate that any desire can have several types ofsatisfaction (including some outside its particular category) affecting

its strength. Any satisfaction also affects more than one type of desire(including some outside its particular category). This multiple de-termination property is shown in Fig. 1, which gives a summary of thepropositions in diagrammatic form.

An additional aspect of the theory, however, concerns providing ex-planatory concepts or mechanisms which lie behind the various propo-sitions. These explanatory concepts are intended to help answer the"why" questions for the various propositions. As such, they add richnessto the theoretical framework. In a loose sense they may be seen asanalogous to axioms which provide a basis from which the mainpropositions can be derived.In proposition 1, which deals with the impact of the lack of existence


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A N EW TH EO R Y O F H U M A N N EED S 149FI~. 1. Major propositions in E.R.G. theory?

N e e dFr us t r a t ion ~(lack of satisfaction) N e e dStr en gth o] De s ires ,gat is ]ac tion ~

E( p l ) 3

e

~ R(P 4) ~ rs

G ~ ( P 7 ) gsNu mb ers in the diagram refer to the proposi tion numbers in the text .bSee footnote 3 of the text .c Each of the arrows i~ this diagram has i ts "dua l" which could also be drawn.Thu s, i t would not be necessary to have b oth a sat isfaction and a f rus trat ion column.

However , for purposes of c lar i ty in presentat ion and to emphasize the theoret icalreasoning behind the propisitions, this particular format was employed.n e e d s a t i s f a c t i o n o n e x i s t e n c e d e si re s , t h e r e i s a n a s s u m p t i o n o f t h ei n t e r c h a n g e c & i l i t y o f v a r i o u s e x i s t e n c e n e e d s . P a y a n d f r in g e b e n e f i tsa r e o b v i o u s e x a m p l e s w h e r e a n o r g a n i z a t i o n a c t u a l l y m a k e s c h o i c e sa b o u t h o w t o c o m p e n s a t e i ts e m p l o y e e s . T h e i n v e s t i g a ti o n s o f N e a l e y(19 63 .) a n d o t h e r s h a v e b e e n b a s e d o n t h i s a s s u m p t i o n . W h e r e t h ei n t e r e h a n g e a b i l i t y a s s u m p t i o n m a y n o t b e a s o b v i o u s i s w i t h s u c h t h i n g sa s p h y s i c a l w o r k i n g c o n d i t i o n s o r p h y s i c a l d e m a n d s o f t h e j o b . H o w -e v e r , m o s t j o b e v a l u a t i o n s y s t e m s c o n t a i n p r o v is i o n s w h e r e a n e m -p l o y e e is p a i d m o r e b e c a u s e h e h a s d i r t y , h a z a r d o u s , o r p h y s i c a l l yt a x i n g d u t i e s i n h i s i o b ( S t r a u s s a n d S a y l e s , 1 9 6 7 ). M o r e o v e r , J a c q u e s(19'61) h a s f o r m u l a t e d a v ie w o f p a y m e n t b a s e d u p o n t h e t i m e s p a no f d i s c re t io n . A c c o r d i n g t o h i s v i ew , t h e r e i s a c o r r e s p o n d e n c e b e t w e e ne q u i t a b l e p a y m e n t a n d d i s c r e t i o n . H e r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e r e i s e v i d e n c et o c o n f i r m t h e v i e w t h a t t h e l e n g th o f d i s c r e t i o n a r y t i m e s p a n c o r r e -s p o n d s w i t h t h e f i n a n c i a l l o s s w h i c h w o u l d b e c a u s e d b y s u b s t a n d a r dd i s c r e t i o n ( 1 9 6 1 , p . 8 4 ) .

T h e r e is a p o i n t o f v i e w v o ic e d b y D u n n e t t e (19'67) a n d b y L a w l e ra n d P o r t e r ( 19 6 3) t h a t p a y c a n s t i m u l a t e a n d s a t i s f y n e ed s o t h e r t h a nf o r m a t e r i a l g o o ds . L a w l e r a n d P o r t e r p o i n t e d t o c o r r e la t i o n s b e t w e e n


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15 0 CLAYTON P. ALDERFER

managers' pay and esteem and autonomy-need satisfactions. Reasoningfrom expectancy theory, Dunnette suggested that pay can be used as areward for those who seek power, status, and achievement.

Neither the concepts nor the propositions of E.R.G. theory woulddispute this view. Using pay as an example of an existence need doesnot contradict this view. What E.R.G. theory attempts to do thatneither expectancy theory nor Lawler and Porter's (19'63) empiricalresults do is explain why pay (and other existence needs) are soughtto satisfy other than material needs. The discussion of proposition 2below deals directly with this issue.

The structure of proposition 4 is similar to that of proposition 1 whenit states that lack of satisfaction of relatedness needs leads to higherrelatedness desires. The explanatory mechanism in this proposition ist r ansy e rab i I i t y of significant others. Persons who lack a basic sense ofconnectedness and sharing in their emotional lives with significant otherswill seek to obtain that need satisfaction. If they are unable to obtainthe satisfaction with the original person where the satisfaction is missing,then they will tend to transfer the desire to others. Some of the earliestclues about the operation of this process are found in Freud's (1963,p. 106) work on transference.

"Expectant libidinal impulses will inevitably be roused, in anyonewhose need for love is not being satisfactorily gratified in reality, byeach new person coming upon the scene, and it is more than probablethat both parts of the libido, the conscious and the unconscious, willparticipate in this attitude."Aspects of both propositions 1 and 4 subsume what has been termed

the simple frustration hypothesis. In this respect the two propositionsare similar. A specific need in either category that is not being satisfiedwill result in that specific desire being heightened. Thus, the propositionsare also consistent with the conclusion reached from a literature reviewby Lawson and Marx (19:58) th at frustration often increases motivation.Propositions 2 and 5 follow from a concept which played an importantpart in Lewinian field theory. From that framework, investigators at-tempted to create regression by frustration (Barker, Dembo, and Lewin,1943). By regression they meant a more primitive, less mature way ofbehaving, not necessarily behavior that had been produced earlier in life(Lewin, 19'51).

The concepts of existence, relatedness, and growth needs were pre-sented as separate and distinct categories. There was nothing about thedefinitions of the needs that implied an ordering among them. One of theways in which the needs can be viewed as being on a continuum is interms of their concreteness (Harvey, Hunt, and Schroder, 1961). Exist-


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A NEW THEOR Y OF HUM AN NEEDS 151

ence needs are the most concrete. Their presence or absence is the easiestfor the person to verify due to the fact that their objectives can be re-duced to material substances or states. Relatedness needs are less con-crete than existence needs. Their presence or absence depends on the stateof relationships between two or more people. To verify the state of re-latedness needs depends on the consensual validation of the people in-volved in the relationship. Finally, growth needs are the least concrete.Ultimately their specific objectives depend on the uniqueness of ea.ehperson..At the most precise level, the actual state of growth of a personcan be known only to the person, and it can be known to him only whenhe is not deluding himself. The continuum from more to less concretenessis also a. continuum from more to less verifiability and from less to morepotential uncer tainty for the person.

The sense in which frus tration regress ion is employed in E.R.G. theoryconcerns the tendency of persons to desire more concrete ends as a conse-quence of being unable to obtain more differentiated, less concrete ends.Thus a person is thought to desire existence needs when relatedness needsare not satisfied because he is using them as an easier, more concrete wayof establishing his connectedness with other people. He seeks relatednessneeds when he is unsatisfied with his growth because he is searching foropportunities for more clarity and support in the quest to stretch, develop,and expand himself. Thus propositions 2 and 5 are based on the idea thatwhen a person is not satisfied in attaining less concrete, more uncertainends, he "regresses" to needs which are somewhat more concrete and lessuncertain as to their attainment.

It is in this sense that a person may use the size of his pay check as anindicator of the esteem in which he is held by his boss, colleagues, ororganization. According to E.R.G. theory one would expect him to do thisless, the more open, trusting, and mutually respectful his relationship waswith those significant others. Given the increasing amount of data show-ing the lack of relatedness-need satisfaction in organizational life, it is notat all surprising to find that persons rely on pay to assess the esteem bywhich they are held.

If propositions 2 and 5 follow from a frustration-regression mechanism,the explanation behind propositions 3 and 6 might be termed satisfactionprogress ion. These propositions are intended to be in the same spirit as.1VIaslow's original hierarchy, except that the impact of relatedness satis-faction on growth desires does not presume satisfaction of existenceneeds. Satisfaction-progression reasoning is based on the premise that asa person fulfills the more concrete aspects of his desires, more of hisenergy becomes available to deal with the less concrete, more personal,and more uncertain aspects of living. As he is able to fulfill existence


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152 CLAYTON P. ALDERFER

needs he needs to spend less of his energy in search of material things.Consequently he is more able to a ttend to interpersonal issues. Realistic-ally, he no longer needs to fear other human beings as competitors forscarce material resources. As he is able to find fulfillment of his related-ness needs, he no longer lacks authentic social support. He has foundrelationships where it is possible for him to share the complex and sub-jective parts of his emotional life. Again he is more free to have hisenergy be turned to the most personal and unique parts of living, beingand becoming what he can most fully. Satisfaction of relatedness needshas relieved him of the anxiety of social uncertainty. More of his energy,therefore, is available for expanding and utilizing the fullness of hisperson.Proposition 7 states that the more growth needs are satisfied the morethey will be desired. This proposition follows from an expansion of theconcept of setting aspiration levels (Lewin, Dembo, Festinger, and Sears,1944). By their very nature, growth needs are intrinsically satisfying.The more a person grows, the more he wants to grow; the less he growsthe less he desires to grow. These statements translate readily into theclassical aspiration mechanism if one is willing to talk about success andfailure a part of the growth process. Classical aspiration level theorystates that persons tend to raise their aspiration level when they reachself-determined goals and lower aspiration levels when they fail toattain their goals. Certainly success and failure are part of the growthprocess as it is conceived by E.R.G. theory. But growth as here conceivedincludes more than success and failure in attaining predetermined goals.As Zaleznik (1968) has shown quite persuasively, failures and disap-pointments may often provide very rich opportunities for growth pro-v id ing the person is able to face and cope with the failure. Thus growthsatisfaction, in this theory, occurs when a person does and experiencesthings that tend to enhance, enrich, and enlarge the functioning of hispersonhood. This process can occur as a result of success or failure inattaining predetermined goals. The crucial criterion is when a personsees himself as learning from any experience and emerging as a fuller,more differentiated, more competent human being. It may seem para-doxical that a person should fee] more competent following failure. How-ever, if one assumes that some failure is part of living, then coping withit in a way that enlarges one's personhood can enhance a person's senseof competence. One expanded aspiration mechanism states that the morea person experiences himself as a full and differentiated human being,the more he will aspire to be a whole and rich person. Both success andfailure can be growth satisfying experiences. The more a person findsadded wholeness in his living, the more he will seek additional opportuni-


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A NEW THEORY OF HUMAN NEEDS 153t i e s t o g r o w b o t h o n t h e s a m e d i m e n s i o n s w h e r e h e h a s a l r e a d y g r o w nand in new a renas in h i s l i f e .

DEFICIENCY AND GROWTH MOTIVATION: A "DERIVATION"I n o n e o f hi s l a t e r p a p e r s , M a s l o w ( 1 9'6 2 ) i n t ro d u c e d t w o n e w e r c o n -c e p t s o f m o t i v a t io n , d e f ic i e n cy m o t i v a t i o n a n d g r o w t h m o t i v a t i o n . O n ew a y to v i e w th e s e c o n c e p t s i s a s a w a y ~ o c o l l a p s e t h e n e e d c a t e g o r i e sin to tw o , r a th e r t h a n t h r e e o r fi v e c a t e g o ri e s . H a l l a n d N o u g a im ( 1 9 6 8 ) ,f o r e x a m p le , t o o k t h i s t a c t . H o w e v e r , a n o th e r v i e w i s a l s o p o s s ib l e .

E . R . G . t h e o r y i s i n t e n d e d t o b e a d y n a m i c t h e o r y e v e n t h o u g h t h em a jo r p r o p o s i t i o n s a s p r e s e n t e d h e r e a r e s t a t e d i n m o r e o r l e s s s t a t i ct e r m s . W i t h a d y n a m i c t h e o r y , o n e c a n s e e k t o i n v e s t i g a t e e q u i l i b r i u mp o i n ts . T h e m a t h e m a t i c a l d e r i v a t i o n o f s u c h e q u il i b ri u m p o i n t s i s b e y o n dth i s p a p e r ' s s c o p e a n d t h e w r i t e r ' s c o m p e te n c e . H o w e v e r , i t is p o s s ib l e t op r e s e n t a v e r b a l a r g u m e n t l e a d in g t o a n h y p o t h e s i s o f t w o e q u i l i b ri u mp o in t s , o n e f o r d e f i c i e n c y m o t iv a t i o n a n d o n e f o r g r o w th m o t iv a t i o n .

F o r d e f i c i e n c y m o t iv a t i o n , t h e m a jo r c y c l i n g o f de s i re s is b e tw e e ne x i s te n c e a n d r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s . A p e r s o n w h o s e m o t iv e s o p e r a t e m a in lyin t h i s c y c l e s e e k s e x i s t e n c e n e e d s a n d a t t a i n s s u f t i e i e n t s a t i s f a c t i o n t h a th i s e x i s t e n c e n e e d s d e c r e a s e i n d e s i r e a n d h e t u r n s t o r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d sa s hi s p r im e d e s ir e s. H o w e v e r , h a is u n a b l e t o a t t a i n s a t i s f a c t i o n o f t h e s en e e d s . W h i l e t h e s e n e e d s r e m a in a c t i v e , b u t u n s a t i s f ie d h e t e n d s t o t u r nb a c k t o e x i s t e n c e n e e d s , s e e k in g m a te r i a l g r a t i f i c a t i o n . A s b e f o r e , h e i sa b l e t o a t t a i n m a t e r i a l s a t i sf a c t i o n a n d t u r n s o n c e a g a in t o r e l a t e d n e ssn e e d s , w h ic h r e m a in u n s a t i s f i e d a n d b e c o m e in c r e a s in g ly d i f f i c u l t t o s a t -i s f y b e c a u s e o f t h e i n t e n s i t y o f d e m a n d . T h u s h e i s f o r c e d b a c k t o m a -t e r i a l d e m a n d s , a n d o n t h e c y c l e g o es .

F o r g r o w t h m o t i v a t io n , t h e m a j o r c y c l in g o f d e si re s is b e t w e e n r e l a te d -n e s s a n d g r o w th n e e d s. A p e rs o n , w h o s e m o t iv e s o p e r a t e m a in ly i n t h i sc y c l e , s e e k s g r o w th n e e d s b u t f i n d s h e i s n o t a lw a y s a b l e t o s a t i s f y t h e s en e e d s . A s a c o n s e q u e n c e h e a l s o s e e k s r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s w h ic h h e i s a b l eto a t t a i n . A s a r e s u l t o f t h e s o c i a l s u p p o r t , h e is p r o v id e d w i th m o r ee n e r g y f o r g r o u c h , w h ic h h e t h e n s e e k s . H e i s n o t a lw a y s a b l e t o a t t a i ng r o w th s a t i s f a c t i o n a n d " r e g r e s s e s " p e r io d i c a l l y t o r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s ,w h ic h h e i s a b l e t o a t t a i n , h e t u r n s a g a in t o g r o w th , a n d s o t h e c y c l econ t inues .

T h e r e a s o n i n g b e h i n d t h e k e y c o n c e p t s a n d p r o p o s i t i o n s i n E . R . G .t h e o r y is r e l e v a n t f o r t h e e m p i r i c al t e s t o f th e t h e o r y p r e s e n t e d i n t h el a t t e r s e c t i o n o f t h i s p a p e r . F o r a n i n v e s t i g a t o r w h o m a y w i s h t o c o n d u c th is o w n e m p i r i ca l t e s t s o f t h e t h e o r y , t h e a d d i t i o n a l r e a s o n in g m a y b eim p o r t a n t f o r d e v e lo p in g o p e r a t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n s . I t a l s o s h o w s t h a tE . R . G . t h e o r y c o n s i st s o f m o r e t h a n s o m e c o n c e p tu a l d e f in i t io n s a n d


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154 CLAYTON r . ALDERFER

s e v e r a l s t a t e m e n t s , w h i c h m a y a p p e a r t o b e n o m o r e t h a n a s e r i e s o ft e s t a b l e e m p i r i c a l g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s . T h e r e a r e e x p l a n a t o r y m e c h a n i s m sb e h i n d t h e p r o p o s i t io n s , e v e n th o u g h t h i s p a r t o f t h e t h e o r y h a s m o r es u r p lu s m e a n in g a n d i s g e n e r a l l y l o o s e r l o g i c a l l y t h a n t h e p r o p o s i t i o n sa n d m e a s u r e s a lo n e .

COMPARISON OF E.R.G. AND M ASLO W PROPOSITIONSE . R . G . t h e o r y r e t a i n s t h e n o t i o n o f a n e e d h i e r a r c h y w i t h o u t r e q u i r i n g

i t t o b e s t r i c t l y o r d e r e d . M a s l o w s a y s t h a t f o r a c h r o n i c a l l y h u n g r y m a n" l i f e t e n d s t o b e d e f in e d i n t e r m s o f e a t i n g . A n y th in g e l s e w i l l b e d e f in e da s u n i m p o r t a n t " (1 94 3, p . 3 7 4 ) . E . R . G . t h e o r y w o u l d s a y t h a t a c h r o n -i c a l l y h u n g r y m a n c a n r e c o g n i z e w h e t h e r h e f e e l s c o n n e c t e d t o p r i m a r yg r o u p s a n d t o s o c i e t y a n d w h e t h e r h e i s a b l e t o e n g a g e i n a c t i v it i e s w h i c he n a b l e h im to u s e h i s s k i l l s a n d t a l e n t s . E . R . G . p r o p o s i t i o n s 3 a n d 6 h a v ea n e m p h a s i s s i m i l a r t o M a s l o w ' s h i e r a r c h y , b u t t h e y d o n o t r e q u i r el o w e r - l e v e l g r a t i f i c a t i o n a s a n a d d i t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n a s M a s l o w ' s t h e o r yw o u l d . F u r t h e r m o r e , p r o p o s i t io n 7 a ls o b e a r s o n a c r it ic i s m o f M a s l o w ' sth e o r y t h a t h e h im s e l f r a i s e d ( 1 9 4 3 , p . 3 8 6 ) : " Th e r e a r e o th e r , a p p a r e n t l yi n n a t e l y c r e a t i v e p e o p l e in w h o m t h e d r i v e t o c r e a t iv e n e s s se e m s t o b em o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n a n y o t h e r c o u n t e r - d e t e r m i n a n t . T h e i r c r ea t i v e n e s sm i g h t a p p e a r n o t a s s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n r e l e a s e d b y b a s i c s a t i s f a c t i o n ,b u t i n s p i t e o f l a c k o f b a s i c s a t i s f a c t i o n . " W i t h o u t a s t r i c t l y o r d e r e dh i e r a rc h y , t h e c a s e w h i c h M a s l o w r a i se s a s a l i m i t a t io n t o h i s t h e o r y n e e dn o t e x i s t . Wh e n a h i e r a r c h y i s n o l o n g e r v i e w e d a s s t r i c t l y o r d e r e d , i td o e s r e p r e s e n t a c h a n g e o f a b a s i c a s s u m p t io n .

M a s l o w m a d e t h e p o i n t t h a t " n e e ds c e a s e t o p l a y a n a c t i v e d e te r m i ni n go r o r g a n iz in g r o l e a s s o o n a s t h e y a r e g r a t i f i e d " ( 19 4 3 , p . 3 9 3 ) . E . R . G .h a s a d i f f e r e n t p o in t o f v i e w . O n e w a y i n w h ic h a s a t is f i e d n e e d c a n r e -m a i n a m o t i v a t o r i s i f i t i s a c t i v a t e d t h r o u g h s e r v i n g a s a s u b s t i t u t e f o rs o m e o th e r n e e d w h ic h i t s e l f i s n o t b e in g s a t i s f i e d . I n p a r t i c u l a r , E . R . G .t h e o r y c o n t a i n s t w o p r o p o s i t io n s t o t h i s e f fe c t. T h e y i n v o l v e t h e n e e dh i e r a r c h y p r in c ip l e w o r k in g i n r e v e r s e ; i f a h ig h e r - o r d e r n e e d i s f r u s -t r a t e d , t h e n e x t - l o w e r - o r d e r n e e d i s a c t i v a t e d . F o r E . R . G . t h e o r y , t h i sl e a d s t o p r o p o s i t i o n s 2 a n d 5 :

Th e l e s s r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s a r e s a t i s f i e d , t h e m o r e e x i s t e n c en e e d s w i ll b e d e s i re d .

Th e l e s s g r o w th n e e d s a r e s a t i s f i e d , t h e m o r e r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d swi l l be des i red .T h e s e t w o p r o p o s i t i o n s a r e n o t f o u n d i n M a s l o w ' s w o r k , a n d t h e r e f o r er e p r e s e n t a n o t h e r p o i n t o f d e p a r t u r e f r o m h i s t h e o r y .I n r e v i e w i n g t h e H a l l - N o u g a i m ( 19 6 8) w o r k , it w a s e m p h a s i z e d t h a t


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A NEW THEORY OF HUMA N NEEDS t 5 5

t h e i r d a t a s e e m e d t o r u n c o n t r a r y t o t h e p o i n t o f v i e w t h a t a sa t is f ie dn e e d i s n o t a m o t i v a t o r . E . R . G . t h e o r y a l s o d e p a r t s f r o m t h a t v i e w f o rt h e r ea s o ns im p l i ed b y t h e H a l l - N o u g a i m ( 19 68 ) s t u d y . T h e d e p a r t u r ei s s h o w n i n p r o p o s i t i o n 7 w h i c h s t a t e s t h a t g r o w t h n e e d s a r e d e s i r e d t h em o r e t h e y a r e s a ti s fi e d . I n M a s lo w ' s ( 1 94 3 ) o r ig in a l s t a t e m e n t h e d idn o t d i s c u s s t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f s a t i s f a c t i o n o f s e l f - a c tu a l i z a t i o n n e e d s .H o w e v e r , i n a la t e r s t a t e m e n t ( 19 62 , p . 3 1 ) h e d id s a y : " G r o w t h i si n s t e a d a c o n t i n u e d , m o r e o r l e s s s t e a d y u p w a r d o r f o r w a r d d e v e l o p m e n t .T h e m o r e o n e g e t s , t h e m o r e o n e w a n t s , s o t h a t t h i s k i n d o f w a n t i n g i se n d le s s a n d c a n n e v e r b e a t t a i n e d o r s a t is f i e d ." T h u s E . R . G . t h e o r yd e p a r t s f r o m M a s l o w ' s e a r l i e r s t a t e m e n t b u t i s i n e s s e a t i a l a g r e e m e n twi th h i s l a t e r p o s i t i o n .M a s l o w ' s b a s i c h y p o t h e s i s i s t h a~ a c e r t ai n d e g re e o f s a t i s f a c t io n o fl o w e r - le v e l n ee d s i s a p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f h i g h e r -o r d e rn e ed s . O p e r a t i n g w i t h in t h e c o n t e x t o f t h a t h y p o t h e s i s , th r e e f o l d c a t e -g o r i z a t i o n im p l i e s s o m e d i f f e r e n t p r e d i c t i o n s t h a t t h e f i v e f o ld s y s t e m .S in c e i n E . R . G . t h e o r y , s a f e ty n e e d s i n p a r t b e lo n g w i th e x i s t e n c e n e e d sa n d i n p a r ~ w i t h r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s , i t w a s n e c e s s a r y t o m a k e t e m p o r a r yu s e o f t w o n e w c o n c e p t s t o s t a t e t h e d i f fe r e n t p r e d ic t io n s . L e t t h e s e b et e r m e d s a f e t y - e x i s t e n c e n e e d s a n d s a f e t y - r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s. T h e n , a c -c o r di n g t o E . R . G . t h e o r y :

T h e m o r e s a f e t y - e x i s t e n c e n e e d s a r e s a t i s f i e d , t h e m o r e re -la tedness needs wi l l be des i red .

T h e m o r e s a f e t y - r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s a r e s a t i s f i e d , t h e l e s s re -la tedness needs wi l l be des i red .

A c c o r d i n g t o M a s l o w ' s th e o r y , t h e p r e d i c t i o n w o u l d b e :I f p h y s i o l o g ic a l n e ed s a r e s a ti sf ie d , t h e n t h e m o r e s a f e t y n e e d sa r e s a t is f i ed , t h e m o r e l o v e ( r e l a t e d n e s s ) n e e d s w i l l b e d e si re d .

Th u s , i n t h e c a s e o f s a f e ty n e e d s , t h e c h a n g e i n c a t e g o r i z a t i o n b y i t s e l fimpl ies a d i f fe ren t p red ic t ion .

A n a l o g o u s l y , i n th e c a s e o f e s t e e m n e ed s , on e c a n s e e t h a t i n p a r t t h e yb e lo n g w i th r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s a n d in p a r t w i th g r o wth n e e d s . Ag a in , i t i sn e c e s s a r y t o m a k e t e m p o r a r y u s e o f t w o n e w c o n c e p ts t o e x p lo r e d if f e re n tp r e d ic t io n s . L e t t h e s e b e t e r m e d e s t e e m - r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s a n d e s t e e m -g r o w t h n e e d s . T h e n , a c c o r d i n g t o E . R . G . t h e o r y :T h e m o r e e s t e e m - r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s a r e s a t i s f i e d , t h e m o r e

g r o wth n e e d s w i l l b e d e s i r e d .T h e m o r e e s t e e m - g r o w t h n e e d s a r e s a t i s f i e d , t h e m o r e g r o w t hneeds w i l l be des i red .


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156 CLAYTON P. ALDERFERA c c o r d i n g t o M a s l o w ' s t h e o r y t h e p r e d i c t io n w o u l d b e :

I f p h y s io lo g ic a l , s a f e ty , a n d b e lon g in g n es s n e e d s a r e s a t i s fi e d ,t h e n t h e m o r e e s t e e m n e e d s a r e s a ti sf ie d , th e m o r e s e l f -a c t u a l iz a -t ion (g row th) n eeds wi l l be des i red .

I n t h e c a s e o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n e s t e e m a n d g r o w t h n e e d s t h ec a t e g o r i z a t i o n c h a n g e b y i t s e l f d o e s n o t im p ly s u b s t a n t i a l l y d i f f e r e n tp r e d i c t i o n s . B u t , i n t h e c a s e o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h ip b e tw e e n e s t e e m a n d l o v en e e d s t h e c o n c e p tu a l c h a n g e do e s im p ly d i f f e r e n t p r e d i c ti o n s . A c c o r d in gt o E . R . G . t h e o r y :

T h e m o r e l o v e ( r e l a t e d n e s s ) n e e d s a r e s a t i s f i e d , t h e lesse s t e e m - r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s w i l l b e d e s i r e d .

B u t a c c o rd i n g t o M a s lo w ' s t h e o r y :I f p h y s i o l o g i c a l a n d s a f e t y n e e d s a r e s a t i s f i e d , t h e n t h e m o r e

lo v e n e e d s a r e s a t i s f i e d , t h e m o r e e s t e e m n e e d s w i l l b e d e s i r e d .I n s u m m a r y , E .R ,G . p r o p o s i t io n s d i f f er f r o m M a s lo w ' s p r o p o s i ti o n s i n

t h r e e m a j o r w a y s . F i r s t , t h e y i n c lu d e t h e h i e r a r c h ic a l id e a , b u t t h eh i e r a r c h y i s n o t s t r ic t l y o r d e r e d . S ec o n d, t h e y i n c lu d e t a k i n g a c c o u n to f h ig h e r n e e d f r u s t r a t i o n o n l o w e r - l e v e l d e s i r e s . T h i r d , t h e d i f f e r e n tc a t e g o r y s y s t e m r e s u l t s i n d i f f e r e n t p r e d i c t i o n s b y i ts e l f.

DIFF ERENT IAL PREDICTIONS TE ST ED IN THIS STUDYT h e r e w e r e t w o m a j o r a r e a s w h e r e t h i s s t u d y w a s d e s i g n e d t o t e s t

d i f f e r e n t i a l p r e d i c t i o n s f r o m M a s l o w ' s t h e o r y . F i r s t , t h e r e w e r e t h ep r o p o s i t i o n s t h a t f o l l o w e d f r o m E .R .G . t h e o r y h a v in g a s i n g l e c a t e g o r yf o r i n t e r p e r s o n a l i s s u e s r a t h e r t h a n t h e o v e r l a p a m o n g s a f e t y , l o v e , a n de s t e e m n e e d s . S e c o nd , th e r e w e r e t h e p r o p o si ti o n s c o n c e r n i n g m o v e m e n td o w n t h e h i e r a r c h y w h i c h w e r e m a d e b y E . R . G . t h e o r y b u t n o t b yM a s l o w ' s t h e o r y . R e s p e c t f r o m c o - w o r k e r s a n d r e s p e c t f r o m s u p e r i o r sw e r e t h e r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d s b a s e d o n E .R .G . t h e o r y , w h i l e b e lo n g in g n e s sa n d s t a t u s n e e d s w e r e t h e n e e d s b a s e d o n M a s l o w ' s t h e o r y .

I n o r d e r t o t e s t h y p o t h e s e s a b o u t b e l o n g i n g n e s s n e e d s b y M a s l o w ' sth e o r y , o n e s h o u ld s h o w th a t p h y s io lo g i c a l a n d s a f e ty n e e d s a r e r e l a -t i v e ly s a t i s f i e d . T o t e s t h y p o th e s e s a b o u t s t a t u s n e e d s b y Ma s lo w ' sth e o r y , o n e s h o u ld s h o w th a t p h y s io lo g i c a l , s a f e ty , a n d b e lo n g in g n e s sn e e d s a r e r e a s o n a b ly w e l l s a t i s f i e d . D a t a b e a r in g o u t h e s e a s s u m p t io n sw i l l b e p r e s e n t e d b e lo w . G iv e n t h e s e i n i t i a l a s s u m p t io n s , t h e n Ma s lo w ' st h e o r y w o u l d l e a d t o t h e f o ll o w in g h y p o t h e s e s a b o u t i n t e r p e r s o n a l n e e d s 2

In the phrasing of these hypotheses, "belongingness" needs refer to the operationsdeveloped for Maslow's concept of love needs and "status" for Maslow's concept


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A N E W T H E O RY O F H U M A N N E E D S 157

H 1 . T h e m o r e be l ong i ngne s s ne e ds a r e s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r es t a t us ne e d s w i l l be de s ir e d .

H 2 . T h e l e s s be l ong i ngne s s ne e ds a r e s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r et he y w i l l be de s i r e d .

H 3 . T h e l es s s t a t us ne e ds a r e s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e t h e y w i l lbe des i red .

P r o p o s i t io n 4 i n E . R . G . t h e o r y l e a d to a n a n a l o g o u s s e t o f h y p o t h e s e s :H 4 . T h e l e s s r e s p e c t f r o m c o - w o r k e r s i s s a ti sf ie d , t h e m o r e

r e s pe c t f r om s upe r i o r s w i ll be de s i r e d .H 5 . T h e l e s s r e s pe c t f r om s upe r i o r s i s s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r er e s p e c t f r o m c o - w o r k e r s w i ll b e d e s ir ed .H 6 . T h e l e s s r e s pe c t f r om c o- wor ke r s i s s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e

i t w i ll be des i red .H T . T h e l e s s r e s pe c t f r om s upe r i o r s i s s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e

i t wi l l be des i red .H y p o t h e s e s 1 - 3 f r o m M a s lo w ' s th e o r y a n d 4 - 7 f r o m E . R . G . t h e o r y

r e s u l t f r o m e a c h t h e o r y ' s w a y o f d e a l i n g w i t h i n t e r p e r s o n a l n e e d s . I fE . R . G . t h e o r y d o e s a b e t t e r jo b o f p r e d i c t i n g t h a n M a s l o w ' s th e o r y , t h e nt h e r e s h o u l d b e so m e e v i d e n c e ( t h o u g h p e r h a p s n o t s tr o n g e v i d e n c e ) th a ~p r o p o s i t i o n 4 f r o m E . R . G . t h e o r y o p e r a t i n g o n M a s l o w t y p e n e e d s r e -c e iv e s e m p i r ic a l s u p p o r t .

O n e d i ff e re n c e b e t w e e n t h e t h e o ri e s w i t h r e g a r d t o i n t e r p e r s o n a l n e e d sis t h a t E . R . G . t h e o r y h a s o n e c a t e g o r y f o r i n t e r p e r s o n a l n e e d s r a t h e rt h a n s e v e r a l a s M a s l o w ' s t h e o r y d o e s . I n a d d i t i o n , M a s l o w ' s i n t e r p e r -s o n a l n e e d s d e p e n d o n a d i f f e r e n t c o n c e p t u a l i z a ti o n t h a n E . R . G . n e e d s ;t h e y d o n o t s p e c i f y n e e d s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h r e g a r d t o s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r s .As a r e s u l t , i f E .R .G . t h e o r y d i d a be t t e r j ob be c a u s e o f ha v i ng a s ing l ec a t e go r y , one w ou l d e xpe c t suppo~% f o r "c r os s t he o r y" p r e d i c t ions . B u to n e w o u l d n o t e x p e c t t h i s s u p p o r t t o b e s t ro n g b e c a u s e n o n e o f th e M a s -l ow i n t e r pe r s ona l ne e ds s pe c i f y s i gn i f i c a n t o t he r s , wh i l e t he E .R .G .r e l a t e d n e s s c o n c e p t d o e s . H y p o t h e s e s 8 - 1 5 f o l l o w f r o m u s i n g c o m b i n a -t io n s o f E . R . G . a n d M a s l o w i n t e r p e r s o n a l n e e d s i n E . R . G . p r o p o s i t io n 4 .

H 8 . T h e l e s s be l ong i ngne s s ne e ds a r e s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r er e s pe c t f r om pe e r s w i ll be de s i r e d .

o f e s t e e m n e e d s . T h e s e t e r m s f o ll o w f r o m t h e P o r t e r ( 19 62 ) a n d B e e r ( 19 6 6)o p e r a t i o n a l d e f i n i ti o n s o f M a s l o w n e e d s u s e d i n th i s s t u d y . R e s p e c t f r o m c o -w o r k e r s a n d r e s p e c t f r o m s u p e r i o r s a r e o p e r a t i o n a l i n d i c a t o r s o f r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d si n E . R . G . t h e o r y .


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:158 CLAYTON P. ALDERFERH 9 . T h e l e s s be l ong i ngne s s ne e ds a r e s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e

r e s pe c t f r o m s u pe r i o r s w i ll be de s i re d .H 1 0 . T h e l e s s s t a t us ne e ds a r e s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e r e s p e c t

f r om c o- w or ke r s w il l be de s i r e d .H l l . T h e l e s s s t a t u s n e e d s a r e s a t i s f i e d , t h e m o r e r e s p e c t

f r om s upe r i o r s w i l l be de s ir e d .t t 1 2 . T h e l e s s r e s pe c t f r om c o- wor ke r s i s s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e

be l ong i ngne s s ne e ds w i ll be de s i re d .H 1 3 . T h e l e s s r e s pe c t f r om c o- wor ke r s i s s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e

s t a t us ne e d s w i l l be de s i r e d .H 1 4 . T h e l e s s r e s pe c t f r om s upe r i o r s i s s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r ebe l ong i ngne s s ne e ds w i ll be de s i re d .

H 1 5 . T h e l e s s r e s pe c t f r om s upe r i o r s i s s a t is f ie d , t he m o r es t a t us ne e ds w i l l be de s i r e d .

E . R . G . p r o p o s it io n s 2 a n d 5 d e a l w i t h t h e i m p a c t o f h i g h e r - o r d e r n e e df r u s t r a t i o n o n l o w e r - o r d e r d es ir es . T h e s e p r o p o s i ti o n s a r e n o t f o u n d a ta l l i n M a s l o w ' s t h e o r y . T h e y l e a d t o h y p o t h e s e s 1 6 -2 1 .H 1 6 . T h e l e s s gr owt h ne e ds a r e s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e r e s p e c t

f r om c o- w or ke r s w i ll be de s ir e d .H 1 7 . T h e l e s s gr owt h ne e ds a r e s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e r e s p e c t

f r om s upe r i o r s w i l l be de s i re d .H 1 8 . T h e l e s s r e s pe c t f r om c o- wor ke r s i s s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e

pa y wi l l be de s i re d .t t l 9 . T h e l e s s r e s pe c t f r om c o- wor ke r s i s s a t i s f i e d , t he mor ef r inge ben ef i t s wi l l be des i red .I t 2 0 . T h e l e s s r e s pe c t f r om s upe r i o r s i s s a t i s f i e d , t he m o r e

p a y w i ll be de s i re d .H 2 1 . T h e l e s s r e spec t f rom super ior s i s sa t i s f i ed , the m o r e

f r inge ben ef i ts wi l l be des i red .

METHODSUBJECTS

A p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 10 p e rs o n s e m p l o y e d in ~ b a n k l o c a t e d i n a c i t y i nu p s t a t e N e w Y o r k s e r v e d a s s u b j e c t s f o r t h i s s t u d y . T h e y r e p r e s e n t e d


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A NEW THEORY OF HUMAN NEEDS 159

a l l j ob l eve ls i n t he o r ga n i z a t i on be l ow v i c e p r e s i de n t . W i t h t h e e xc e p t i ono f t h o s e p eo p l e w h o w e r e a b s e n t d u r i n g t h e s t u d y , t h e y r e p r e s e n t e d a llt h e e m p l o y e e s i n t h e o r g a n i z a ti o n .PROCEDURE

T h e e m p l o y e e s m e t d u r i n g w o r k i n g h o u r s t o c o m p l e t e q u e s t io n n a i r e sf o r t h e s t u d y , T h e y w e r e in fo T m e d o f t h e s t u d y t h r o u g h a m e m o s ig n e db y t h e p r e s id e n t o f th e b a n k , a n d t h e y w e r e c o n t a c te d f o r th e i r p a r t ic i p a -t i on by t he pe r s onne l o f f i c e r . The que s t i onna i r e i t s e l f wa s a dmi n i s t e r e db y t h e w r i t e r m e e t i n g w i t h g r o u p s o f 1 2- 15 e m p l o y e e s a t a t im e . E a c hq u e s t i o n n a i r e t o o k a b o u t 3 0 m i n u t e s t o c o m p l e t e.

T h e d a t a w e r e g a t h e r e d a s p a r t o f a m o r a l e s u r v e y c o n d u c t e d fo r t h eo r g a n i z a t i o n . T h e e m p l o y e e s w e r e t o l d t h a t a r e p o r t o f t h e i r r e s p o n s e sb y g ro u p s w o u l d b e m a d e t o t h e t o p m a n a g e m e n t in t h e o r g a n iz a ti o n . T h ea t t i t u d e s u r v e y w a s c o n d u c t e d a s p a r t o f a p r o j e c t i n i t i a t e d b y t h e b a n kt o r e v i s e t h e i r w a g e a n d s a l a r y s c h e d u l e . P r i o r t o t h e t i m e w h e n t h es t u d y w a s c o n d u c t e d f r in g e b e n e fi ts i n th e o r g a n i z a t i o n h a d b e e n re v i e w e da n d i n c r e a s e d . R e c e n t l y t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n h a d s u c c e s s f u l l y b e g u n u s i n ge l e c t r on i c da t a p r oc e s s i ng e qu i pme n t .OPERATIONAL D EFINITIONS

M a s lo w ' s w o r k h a s b e e n p r e d o m i n a n t l y a c o n t r i b u t i o n t o th e th e o -r e t i c a l l i t e r a t u r e . As a r e s u l t t he r e i s no e s t a b l i s he d pa r a d i gm or s e t o fo p e r a t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n s f o r t e s t i n g t h e t h e o r y . T o t h i s w r i t e r ' s k n o w l e d g et h e r e a r e t h r e e i n s t a n c e s in t h e p u b l i sh e d l i t e r a t u r e w h e r e w r i t e r s h a v ea t t e m p t e d t o d e v e l o p o p e r a t io n a l d e f in i ti o n s fo r M a s l o w ' s c o n c ep t s. P o r t e r(1962 , 1963) a nd Be e r (1966) de ve l op e d que s t i onna i r e me a s u r e s o f ne e dsf r o m t h e f i v e - c a t e g o r y s y s t e m , a n d H a l l a n d N o u g a i m (1 96 8) u s e d a ni n t er v i ew c o d i n g m e t h o d . N e i t h e r P o r t e r n o r B e e r h a s a c t u a l l y r e p o r te dt e s t s o f M a s l o w ' s t h e o r y ; t h e y h a v e u s e d t h e i r m e a s u r e s f o r d i f f e r e n tp u r p o s e s . H a l l a n d N o u g a i m , h o w e v e r , d i d a t t e m p t t e s t s o f M a s l o w ' st h e o r y . I n t h e i r lo n g i tu d i n a l s t u d y t h e y e m p l o y e d b o th s ta t ic a n d d y -n a m i c a n a l y s e s . T h e y c o r r e l a t e d n e e d - s a t i s f a c t i o n i n o n e y e a r w i t h n e e di n t e n s i t y o f t h a t y e a r , a n d t h e y c o r r e l a t e d c h a n g e i n n e e d s a t i s f a c t i o nb e t w e e n t w o y e a r s w i t h c h a n g e i n n e e d i n t e n s i t y b e t w e e n t h e s a m e t w oy e a r s .

T h e p r e s e n t w r i t e r h a s u s e d b o t h i n t e r v i e w a n d q u e s t i o n n a i r e m e t h -o d s t o t e s t E . R . G . t h e o r y ( A l d e r f e r , 1 9 6 6 ) . C o n v e r g e n t a n d d i s c r i m i n a n tva l i da t i on o f t he s e me a s ur e s ha s be e n r e por t e d ( A l de r f e r , 1967) . To da t e ,t h e m e t h o d o l o g i c a l a p p r o a c h h a s b e e n e o r r e / a t i o n s b e t w e e n m e a s u r e s o fne e d s a t i s f a c t i on a nd de s i r e a t a g i ve n po i n t i n t i me . Th i s a ppr oa c h doe s


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160 CLAYTON P. ALDERFERn o t a l lo w f o r f i r m l y e s t a b l i s h i n g c a u s a l d i r ec t io n . B o t h l o n g i t u d i n a l a n de x p e r i m e n t a l m e t h o d s c o u ld b e p r o f i t a b l y e m p l o y e d i n f u t u r e s t ud i es .

T h e p r e s e n t s t u d y u t i l iz e d s t a t ic c o r r e l a t io n s f r o m q u e s t i o n n a i r e s t ot e s t b e t w e e n t h e t h e o r i e s . S a t i s f a c t i o n m e a s u r e s w e r e b a s e d o n s i x - p o i n tL i k e r b s c a l e i t e m s , w h i l e t h e n e e d i n t e n s i t y m e a s u r e s w e r e r a t i n g s o f" d e s i r e . " T h e P o r t e r ( 19 6 2, 1 96 3) a n d B e e r ( 19 6 6) s t u d i es m e a s u r e dn e e d i n t e n s i t y b y " i m p o r t a n c e " r a t in g s o r r a n k i n g s . I n t h e i n t e r v i ew -q u e s t i o n n a i r e v a l i d i t y s t u d y i t w a s f o u n d t h a t w h i l e i m p o r t a n c e a n dd e s i re r a t i n g s w e r e h i g h l y c o r r e l a t e d f o r e x is t en c e a n d g r o w t h n e e d s, t h e yw e r e n o t f o r r e l a te d n e s s n e e d s ( A l d e r f er , 1 9 6 7) . T h e d e s i r e i t e m s u s e d i nt h is s t u d y w e r e b a s e d o n d e s i r e r a t in g s a n d a r e s h o w n in T a b l e 1. T h es a t i s fa c t i o n i t e m s a r e s h o w n i n T a b l e 2 .I t e m c o n t e n t f o r t h e o p e r a t i o n a l i n d i c a to r s o f M a s l o w b e lo n g i ng n e s s

T A B L E 1D~smE I~EMSInst ruc t ion:Te l l how mu ch m ore of the fol lowing fac tors you would l ike to have in you r job .1 means N o M o re2 m e a ns S l igh t ly M or e

3 means Somewhat More4 means M u c h M o r e5 m e a ns V e r y M u c h M o r eEx i s t ence Needs

Pay:I. G o o d p a y f or m y w o r k2. Frequent ra ises in payFringe Benefits:1. A complete fringe benefit program2. Freq uen t imp rovem ents in fr inge benefi ts

Relatedness NeedsResp ect f rom co-workers:1. C oop erative re la t ions with m y co-workers2 . Respec t f rom m y co-workers3. Openness and ho nesty with m y co-workersRe spect f ro m superiors:1 . R espec t f rom m y boss2 . Openness and h ones ty be tween m y boss and m e3. M utua l t ru s t be tween m y boss and meBelongingness (love) Ne eds1. The opportunity to be helpful to my co-workers2. Th e op po rtun ity to develop close f riendships a t w orkStatus (esteem) Needs1. Th e s ta tus m y job g ives me2. Th e fee ling tha t m y job is regarded as imp or tant .


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A NEW THEORY OF HUMAN NEEDS 161a n d s t a t u s n e e d s w e r e ta k e n d i r e c t l y f r o m sc a le s d e v e l o p e d b y P o r t e r(1 96 2, 1 96 3) a n d B e e r ( 1 9 6 6 ) . Th i s w a s d o n e in o r d e r t o r e d u c e t h e p o s -s i b i li t y o f b i a s b e c a u s e t h i s w r i t e r h e l d a n a l t e r n a t i v e p o i n t o f v i e w . T h ei t e m s w e r e p r e s e n t e d i n t h e s a m e f o r m a t a s t h e E . R . G . i t e m s , h o w e v e r ,w h i c h m e a n t t h a t t h e i r f o r m a t w a s d i ff e r en t f r o m t h a t e m p l o y e d b y e i t h e rP o r t e r o r B e e r .

RESULTS

SATZSFACTION OF LOWER-LEvEL NEEDST h e d a t a i n T a b l e 2 in d i c a t e t h a t f o r t h e g r o u p a s a w h o l e p a y s a t i s f a c -

t io n i s m o d e r a t e a t b e s t. A n i t e m o f i n t e r e s t is # # 5, w h i c h s t a t e s t h a t p a yi s a d e q u a t e t o p r o v id e f o r t h e b a s i c t h in g s i n l i f e . Th e m e a n r e s p o n s e t oth i s i t e m i s 3 .1 9, o r a p p r o x im a te ly m i ld ly a g r e e o n t h e a t t i t u d e s c a le .S i x t y - f i v e p e r c e n t o f th e r e s p o n d e n t s i n d i c a t e d t h a t m u c h o r m o r e a g r e e -m e n t w i t h t h e i te m . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e r e a r e t h e r e s p o n s e s t o i t e m 3 ,w h i c h s t a t e s t h a t t h e p e r s o n d o e s n o t m a k e e n o u g h m o n e y t o l i v e c o m -f o r t a b ly . Th e m e a n r e s p o n s e t o t h i s i t e m i s 3 . 3 7 , o r a p p r o x im a te ly m i ld lya g r e e o n th e a t t i t u d e s ca le . F o r t y - n i n e p e r c e n t o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s i n d i-c a t e d t h a t m u c h o r m o r e a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h e i t e m . T h e s e r e s p o n s e s a r ec o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e f a c t t h a t t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n w a s i n t h e p r o c e s s o fe x a m in in g i t s w a g e a n d s a l a r y s c h e d u l e .

Th e d a t a o n f r i n g e b e n e f i t s , h o w e v e r , s h o w s a d i f f e r e n t p i c tu r e . I t e m 2 ,w h i c h s t a t e s t h a t t h e f r i n g e b e n e f i t s p r o v i d e n e a r l y a l l t h e s e c u r i t y t h ep e r s o n w a n t s , h a s a m e a n r e s p o n s e o f 2 .4 0, o r a p p r o x im a te ly a g r e e o n t h ea t t i t u d e s c al e. E i g h t y - s i x p e r c e n t o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s s h o w e d m i ld a g r e e -m e n t o r m o r e w i t h t h i s i t e m . T h e s e a n s w e r s a r e c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e f a c tt h a t t h e o r g a n i z a ti o n h a d r e c e n t l y r e v i s e d i t s b e n e fi t p r o g r a m .

A l s o f r o m th e d a t a i n Ta b l e 2 o n e c a n s e e t h a t , o v e r a l l , b e lo n g in g n e s sn e e d s s e e m t o b e r e a s o n a b l y w e l l s a t i s f i e d . N i n e t y p e r c e n t o f t h e r e -s p o n d e n t s s h o w e d s o m e a g r e e m e n t t h a t t h e y h a d d e v e l o p e d c lo s e f r ie n d -s h ip s a t w o r k . E i g h t y - e i g h t p e r c e n t s h o w e d s o m e a g r e e m e n t t h a t t h e yh a d o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o h e l p t h e i r c o - w o r k e r s . T h e m e a n r e s p o n s e f o r b o t ho f t h e b e lo n g in g n e s s i t e m s w a s n e a r e s t t o a g r e e o n t h e s c a l e s .

T h e l e v e l o f s a t i s f a c t i o n o f l o w e r l e v e l n e e d s b e a r s o n l y o n t h e t e s t so f M a s l o w h y p o t h e s e s . I n t h i s s t u d y , t h e s e t e s t s r e f e r o n l y t o t h e o u t -c o m e s o f h y p o t h e s e s 1 - 3 . F r o m t h e d a t a g i v e n a b o v e o n e c o u ld r e a s o n -a b l y c o n c l ud e t h a t t h e n e e d s f o r s e c u r i t y ( in t h e f o r m o f fr i ng e b e n e f it s )a n d f o r b e lo n g in g n e s s w e r e r e a s o n a b ly w e l l s a t i s f i e d i n t h i s o r g a n i z a t i o n .Th e n e e d f o r p a y w a s l e s s w e l l s a t i s f i e d . I t i s n o t a l t o g e th e r c l e a r t h a ~e i th e r p a y o r f r in g e b e n e f it s a re a d e q u a t e o p e r a t i o n a l c o n c e p t s f o r p h y s i o -lo g i c a l a n d s a f e ty n e e d s . I t m ig h t b e a r g u e d t h a t f r i n g e b e n e f i t s a r e a


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162 CLAYTON P. ALDERFER, TABLE 2

MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OF NE ED SATISFACTION ITEMSa ( n = 110)

ExiStence N eedsPay:1. Compared to the rates for similar work here

my pay is good.2. Compared to similar work in other places mypay is poor.

3. I do not make enough money from my job tolive comfortably.4. Compared to the rates for less demandingjobs my pay is poor,

5. My pay is adequate to provide for the basicthings in life.6. Considering the work required, the pay iswhat it should be.

Fringe Benefits:1. Our fringe benefits do not Cover many of theareas they should . . . . .2. The fringe benefit program here gives nearlyall the Security I want.

3. The fringe benefit program here needsimprovement.4. Compared to other places, our fringe benefitsare excellent.

Relatedness NeedsRespect from Superiors:1. My boss will p lay one p erson b against another.

2. My boss t a ke s a c c o u n t o f m y w i s h e s anddesires.3. My boss discourages people from makingsuggestions.4. It's easy to ta lk with my boss about my job.5. My boss does not let me know when I could

i mp r o v e my p e r f o r ma n c e .6. My boss gives me credit when I do good work.7. My boss expects people to do th ings h i s way .8. My boss k ee ps m e i n f o r m e d about what ishappening in the company.Respect from Peers:1. My co-workers are uncooperative unless it'sto their advantage.2. I can count on my co-workers to g ive me ah a n d when I need it.3 . I c a n n o t s p e a k my mi n d to my co-workers.4. My c o - w o r k e r s w e l c o me o p i n i o n s : differentfrom their own. '

Mean Standard Deviation3.69 1.533.13 1.623.37 1.593.15 1.673.19 1.504.21 1.35

4.61 1.332.40 1.004.40 1.132.36 1.07

4.76 1.592.46 1.284.72 1.382.42 1.364.18 1.362.47 1.283.30 1.393.06 1.43

4.82 1.201.96 1.104.31 1.352.98 1.22


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A NEW THEORY OF HUMA N ~ 'EEDST A B L E 2 (Contin~,ed)

1 6 3

5. My co-workers wi l l no t s t i ck ou t the i r n e c k s 4 .2 2for me .Maslow In te rpe rsona l Needs

Belongingness (Love) :1 . I have developed c lose f r i en dsh ips i n m y j o b . 2 .0 82 . I have an opp or tun i ty in my job to h e lp m y 2 . 3 2co-workers quite a lot .S t a tus (Es teem) :1 . I have the fee l ing tha t my job is regarded as 2 .52i m p o r t a n t by o the r peop le .2 . My job gives m e s ta tus . 2 .9 4

G r o w t h1. "I seldom ge t th e feeling of l e a r n in g n e w t h i n g s 4 . 2 7f r o m m y w o r k.2 . I have an opp or tun i ty to use man; o f m y 2 .58skil ls at work.3 . I n m y jo b I h a v e t h e same th ings to do over 2 .7 8and ove r .4 . M y job requires th a t a person use a wide 2 .68~ange of ab i l i t ies .5. M y job requires m a k i n g o n e o r m o r e 2 .7 3i m p o r t a n t decis ions e v e r y d a y .6 . I d o n o t h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o d o 3 .7 9challenging things a t work .

1 .32

1 .021 .0 5

1 .201 .201 .501 . 3 0

1 .5 01 .341 .451 .42

a Fo r a ll sa t i sfac t ion i tem s: 1 - - St ron gly Ag ree; 2 -- A gree; 3 = M ildly Ag ree;4 = M i ld ly Di sagree ; 5 - - Di sagree ; 6 = S t rong ly Di sagree .W ords in i ta lics represent abbre via t ion for items used in la ter tables .m o r e r e a s o n a b l e i n d i c a t o r o f s e c u r i t y n e e d s t h a n p a y i s o f p h y s i o l o g i c a ln e e d s. B o t h a r e e x i s t en c e n e e d s a s d e f in e d b y E . R . G . t h e o r y .

I f o n e g r a n t s t h a t a n a c c e p t a b l e l e v e l o f l o w e r n e e d - s a t i s f a c t i o n e x is ts ,t h e n i t i s p o s s i b le t o c o n s i d e r t h e r e su l t s f o r H y p o t h e s e s 1 - 3 , c o n c e r n i n gM a s l o w t h e o r y p r e d i c t io n s a b o u t h i g h e r o r d e r n e ed s .M h sL o w T HE OR Y B E L ONGINGNE SS AND ST AT U S HYPOT HESE S

T h e r e s u l t s o f t h e t e st s o f H y p o t h e s e s 1 - 3 a r e g i v en in T a b l e 3 . H y -p o t h e s is 1 , p r e d i c t i n g a r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h b e l o n g i n g -n e ss n e e d s a n d d e s i r e f o r s t a tu s , r e c e i v e d n o s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t s u p -p o r t . M o r e o v e r , t h e d i r e c t io n o f t h e o b s e r v e d r e l a t io n s h i p w a s a s w o u l dh a v e b e e n p r e d ic t e d b y E . R . G . t h e o r y f o r t h e s u m m e d s c a l es . H y p o t h e s i s2 , p r e d i c t i n g a r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n l a c k o f s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h b e l o n g i n g -h e s s n e e d s a n d d e s i re f o r b e l o n g i n g n e ss , a l so r e c e iv e d n o s t a t i s t i c a l l ys i g n i f ic a n t s u p p o r t . O n e o f t h e i t em s s h o w e d s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t s u p -p o r t f o r H y p o t h e s i s 3 . P e r s o n s w h o d i d n o t s ee t h e ir j o b r e g a r d e d a s


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164 CLAYTON P. ALDERFERT A B L E 3

CORRELATIONS TESTING HYPOTHESES1-3(n = 110)

B e l o n g i n g n e s s s a t i s f a c t i o nD e s i r e f o r :

B e l o n g i n g n e s s S t a t u sC l o s e f r i e n d s h i pH e l p m y c o - w o r k e r sS u m o f b el o n g in g n e s s i t e m s

S t a t u s s a t i s f a c t i o nJ o b r e g a r d e d i m p o r t a n tJ o b g i v e s st a t u sS u m o f s t a t u s i t e m s

. 0 5 5 - - . 0 7 8

. 0 2 9 - . 0 7 9

.0 74 - . 1 5 6 ~. 1 5 8 ", I I i

- - . 0 9 4N o t s i g n if i ca n t a c c o r d in g t o M a s l o w p r e d i c t i o n s ; d i r e c t i o n i s w r o n g . A c c o r d i n g to

E . R . G . p r e d i c t i o n s , w o u l d b e s ig n i f i c a n t a t p < .0 5, 1 - t a i l t e s t .* p < .05 , 1 - ta i l t e s t .

i m p o r t a n t t e n d e d t o e x p r e s s m o r e d e s i r e f o r s t a t u s t h a n p e r s o n s w h o s a wt h e i r j o b a s b e in g r e g a r d e d i m p o r t a n t . T h e o t h e r s ta t u s i t e m s h o w e d ac o r r e l a t i o n i n t h e p r e d i c t e d d i r e c t i o n , b u t i t d id n o t a t t a i n a n a c c e p t a b l el e v e l o f s t a t i s t i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e . N o n e o f t h e n e e d s a t i s f a c t i o n s c a l e s ,f o r m e d b y s u m m in g t h e i n d iv id u a l i t e m s , s h o w e d s ig n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a t i o n sw i t h t h e d e s i r e m e a s u r e s i n t h e d i r e c t i o n p r e d i c t e d b y M a s l o w ' s t h e o r y .

O n e m i g h t w o n d e r w h e t h e r f a i l u re t o f in d m u c h s u p p o r t f o r t h e M a s l o wi n t e r p e r s o n a l h y p o t h e s e s w a s b e c a u s e l o w e r - l e v e l n e e d - s a t i s f a c t i o n w a sn o t a d e q u a t e . T h i s q u e s t i o n c a n n o t b e a n s w e r e d d e f i n i t i v e l y . H o w e v e r ,H y p o t h e s i s 3 re c e i v e d t h e s t r o n g e s t s u p p o r t o f a n y o f th e M a s l o w h y -p o t h e se s , a n d t h is h y p o t h e s i s - - c o n c e r n i n g t h e i m p a c t o f s t a t u s s a t i s f a c -t i o n o n s t a t u s d e s i r e s - - d e p e n d e d m o s t o n l o w e r - le v e l n e e d - s a t i sf a c t io n .I t s p r i o r c o n d i t i o n s r e q u i r e d r e a s o n a b l e s a t i s f a c t i o n o f p h y s io lo g i c a l ,s a f e t y , a n d e s t ee m n e e d s.

Mo r e o v e r , t h e l a c k o f l o w e r - l e v e l n e e d - s a t i s f a c t i o n a s a p o s s ib l e e x -p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e l i tt l e s u p p o r t s h o w n f o r t h e f i r st t h r e e h y p o t h e s e s m a yb e k e p t i n m i n d w h e n o b s e r v i n g t h e r e s u l t s f o r H y p o t h e s e s 4 - 1 5 .E . R . G . T H E O R Y R E L A T E D N E S S H Y P O T H E S E S

T h e c o r r el a ti o n s s h o w n i n T a b l e 4 p r o v i d e s t r o n g s u p p o r t f o r a ll o ft h e E . R . G . r e l a t e d n e s s n e e d p r e d i c t i o n s . B o t h i n d i v i d u a l i t e m s a n d t h es c a l e s s u m m in g t h e s a t i s f a c t i o n i t e m s s h o w s ig n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a t i o n s b e -t w e e n l a c k o f n e e d s a t i s f a c t i o n a n d s t r e n g t h o f d e s i r e s . H y p o t h e s i s 4i s s u p p o r t e d b y t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s r e l a t i n g l a c k o f s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h r e s p e c tf r o m c o - w o r k e r s t o h ig h e r d e s i r e s f o r r e s p e c t f r o m s u p e r io r s . H y p o th e s i s5 i s s u p p o r t e d b y t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s r e l a t i n g l a c k o f s a t i s f a c t i o n w i thr e s p e c t f r o m s u p e r io r s t o h ig h e r d e s i r e s f o r r e s p e c t f r o m c o - w o r k e r s .


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A NEW THEORY OF HUMAN NEEDS

TABLE 4CORRELATIONS TESTING HYPOTHESES 4--7

165

Satisfaction with respec t from co-workers

Desire for:Respect from Respect from

co-workers superiorsUncooperativeGive a handCannot speak my mindWelcome opinionsWill not stick out necksSum of respect from co-workers

Satisfaction with respect from superiors

--.360** --.204*.235* .077

- - . 3 3 6 * * -- .175".205* .090

- - . 2 4 7 * -- .060- - . 3 7 6 * * -- .163"

Play one person -. 207* - . 464**Takes accoun t of wishes .143 .421"*Discourages suggestions - . 091 - . 302**Eas y to talk to .169" .368**Does not improve performance - . 022 --. 095Gives me credit - . 247* - . 060Do things his way - . 159" - . 302**Keep s me informed .266** .252**Sum of respec t from superiors - . 222** - . 491"** p < .05, 1-tail test.** p < .005, 1-tail test .

H y p o t h e s e s 6 a n d 7 a re s u p p o r t e d b y c o r r e l a ti o n s s h o w i n g t h a t l a c ko f s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t f r o m c o - w o r k e r s a n d l a c k o f s a t i s f a c t i o nw i th r e s p e c t f r o m s u p e r io r s a r e r e l a t e d t o h ig h e r d e s i r e s f o r t h o s e r e -s p e c t i v e n e e d s .

T h e s t r o n g s u p p o r t f o r t h e s e h y p o t h e s e s t e n d s t o r u l e o u t l a c k o flo w e r - l e v e l n e e d - s a t i s f a c t i o n a s a n e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e l

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