Maslow, a humanist psychologist, and one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century, has explained ‘human nature’ in one simple model. He suggested that there are universal, instinct-like needs, which every human being strives to satisfy. Almost all human activity can be seen in terms of these needs. Maslow gives the needs a hierarchical order. Those needs at the bottom of the diagram overleaf are of greatest importance. A need towards the top would only be of importance to someone if the needs lower down were already largely satisfied. For example, a researcher observing a gang noticed that one.
