Needs as the basis for the manifestation of individual interests

Needs determine the selectivity of perception of the world, fixing a person’s attention primarily on those objects that have the ability to satisfy needs. At the physiological level, needs are expressed as stable foci of excitation of the corresponding nerve centers, defined by Academician A. A. Ukhtomsky as dominants. Under appropriate conditions, strong dominants can suppress the functioning of other nerve centers. For example, the phenomenon of dominance itself was discovered during a study of a dog’s motor reflexes to certain stimuli. At some point in time, the animal stopped responding to stimuli and after a few seconds she had an act of defecation. After this, the reflexes were restored. Dominants are lower, corresponding to the lower levels of the hierarchy of needs, and higher. Higher dominants are characterized by a long-term process of their formation.

The number of needs increases in the process of phylogenesis and ontogenesis. Thus, the number of needs increases in the evolutionary series: plants - primitive animals - highly developed animals - humans, as well as in the ontogenetic series: newborn - infant - preschooler - schoolchild - adult.

Various scientists have explained the essence of human needs in different ways:

Classification of needs

There are many classifications of needs. There are different needs:

• by area of ​​activity: labor needs
• knowledge
• communication
• recreation

By area

Needs are divided according to the nature of the activity (defensive, nutritional, sexual, cognitive, communicative, gaming).

Separation in connection with those goals that are achieved as the need is satisfied

• biological,
• labor,
• knowledge,
• communication,
• recreation;

American psychologist W. Mac Dougall believed that the basis of certain human needs are certain instincts, which manifest themselves through corresponding sensations and motivate a person to certain activities.

The psychological concept of laziness is a manifestation of the need (instinct) to save energy.

Guildford's list of motivational factors:

1. factors corresponding to organic needs: hunger,
2. general activity;

According to B.I. Dodonov’s approach to the classification of emotions, we can talk about the following types of needs:

1. active (need for accumulation, acquisition),
2. altruistic (the need to perform selfless actions),
3. hedonic (need for comfort, serenity),
4. gloric (the need to recognize one’s own importance),
5. Gnostic (need for knowledge),
6. communicative (need for communication),
7. practical (need for effectiveness of effort),
8. fearful (need for competition),
9. romantic (need for the unusual, unknown),
10. aesthetic (need for beauty).

According to H. Murray, needs are divided primarily into primary needs and secondary needs.

There are also differences between explicit and latent needs; These forms of existence of needs are determined by the ways of satisfying them. In terms of functions and forms of manifestation, introverted needs and extroverted needs differ. Needs can be expressed at the action or verbal level; they can be egocentric or sociocentric, and the general list of needs is:

1. dominance - the desire to control, influence, direct, convince, hinder, limit;
2. aggression - the desire to shame, condemn, mock, humiliate in word or deed;
3. search for friendships - desire for friendship, love; good will, sympathy for others; suffering in the absence of friendly relations; the desire to bring people together and remove obstacles;
4. rejection of others - the desire to reject attempts at rapprochement;
5. autonomy - the desire to free yourself from all restrictions: from guardianship, regime, order, etc.;
6. passive obedience - submission to force, acceptance of fate, intrapunitivity, recognition of one's own inferiority;
7. need for respect and support;
8. the need for achievement is the desire to overcome something, surpass others, do something better, reach the highest level in some activity, be consistent and purposeful;
9. the need to be the center of attention;
10. the need for play - preference for play over any serious activity, desire for entertainment, love of witticisms; sometimes combined with carelessness, irresponsibility;
11. egoism (narcissism) - the desire to put one’s own interests above all else, self-satisfaction, auto-eroticism, painful sensitivity to humiliation, shyness; a tendency towards subjectivity when perceiving the outside world; often merges with the need for aggression or rejection;
12. sociality (sociophilia) - oblivion of one's own interests in the name of the group, altruistic orientation, nobility, compliance, concern for others;
13. the need to search for a patron - expectation of advice, help; helplessness, seeking consolation, gentle treatment;
14. need for assistance;
15. the need to avoid punishment - restraining one’s own impulses in order to avoid punishment or condemnation; the need to take into account public opinion;
16. the need for self-defense - difficulties in admitting one’s own mistakes, the desire to justify oneself by citing circumstances, to defend one’s rights; refusal to analyze your mistakes;
17. the need to overcome defeat, failure - differs from the need to achieve with an emphasis on independence in actions;
18. need to avoid danger;
19. the need for order - the desire for neatness, orderliness, accuracy, beauty;
20. the need for judgment - the desire to pose general questions or answer them; penchant for abstract formulas, generalizations, passion for “eternal questions”, etc.

By object

Separation in connection with the object to which the need is directed.

• biological (food, water, air, climatic conditions, etc.),
• material (housing, clothing, vehicles, tools of production, etc.),
• social (communication, social activities, public recognition, etc.),
• spiritual (knowledge, creative activity, creation of beauty, scientific discoveries, etc.),
• ethical,
• aesthetic,
• other;

By functional role

• dominant/minor,
• central/peripheral,
• stable/situational;

By origin

There is a division into two large groups - natural and cultural. The first of them are programmed at the genetic level, and the second are formed in the process of social life.

By analogy with conditioned and unconditioned reflexes, needs are also divided into:

• congenital;
• simple purchased;
• complex acquired.

Simple acquired needs are understood to be needs formed on the basis of an individual’s own empirical experience (for example, the need of a workaholic for a favorite job), while complex needs are understood to be based on one’s own conclusions and ideas of non-empirical origin (for example, a religious person’s need for confession, based on an externally instilled idea of positive consequences of the ritual, but not on the empirical feeling of guilt and humiliation when performing it).

By subject of needs

• individual,
• group,
• collective,
• public.

The essence of the concept of “needs”

Definition 1
Need is a person’s need for something that is a necessary condition for his existence. In its most general form, a need can be considered an objectively necessary condition for the existence or development of a need bearer. Need is an objective condition, a prerequisite for the existence of a subject.

A conscious need is a subject’s idea of ​​what he needs to have in order to exist and develop. An unsatisfied physiological need is manifested by sensations that are a stimulus to certain actions. Conscious needs often do not coincide with objective ones, or even opposite them.

Definition 2

The needs of an individual are objectively necessary conditions of human existence. Man, as a natural-social being, has two groups of needs: some are generated by his physiology and psychology, while others are constructed by society.

Status needs are objectively necessary conditions for maintaining and developing a status position. A person's work is often a powerful factor in the formation of status needs. Another source of these needs is the subculture of the environment to which the individual belongs. In such a situation, the status need is intertwined with the psychological needs to belong to one group or another.

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Interest is a need or motivational state that encourages action.

Interest is the most important incentive to carry out various types of activities. People's interests are different and can be determined by age (children will most likely be interested in toys, men - cars), position in a particular social group and society as a whole, material wealth (people will show the greatest interest in those things/skills that they can acquire ), level of education, and so on. A person’s interest characterizes his personality and determines the direction of his life path. Many people try to choose a future profession or find a hobby based on their interests

The bearer of interest can be not only an individual, but also a group of people (for example, people who share a common interest in a particular business or person gather in hobby groups or fan clubs) and the whole society as a whole (calls for environmental protection are becoming more and more frequent and louder , and public interest is directed towards this problem).

Interests can be directed to different spheres of life: social, spiritual, political.

It is important to understand that interest and needs are interconnected. Interest in something can trigger the need to possess the subject/knowledge/skill (interest in literature prompts the desire to purchase a book). The need for something, in turn, can become a cause of interest (for example, the need to buy household appliances generates interest in it, the need to study the characteristics of different models in order to make an informed choice).

Objective interest is the best way to satisfy a need, as well as the availability of means and opportunities to satisfy it.

Conscious interest is the subject’s idea of ​​the best way to satisfy a need. May differ from objective interest. It is this type of interest that is the main reason for human activity. Interest in an expensive home without specific knowledge of how to get it will remain an interest and will not turn into a real need. And interest in the same book, knowledge of where and at what price it can be bought (or from which library to get it) can stimulate specific actions.

Interest should be distinguished from inclination - a person’s selective need for any type of activity, the desire to develop certain types of skills associated with this activity. An inclination is often a prerequisite for the emergence of abilities for a particular activity. Thus, interest in drawing contributes to the development of artistic abilities.

Need is... - a person’s need for something necessary for his existence.

- a prerequisite for the existence or development of an individual.

An objective need is a physiological need for something, which manifests itself in sensations, which, in turn, stimulate the individual to action (thirst, hunger).

A conscious need is a person’s idea of ​​what he needs for life and development. Often, conscious needs do not coincide with objective ones (a person’s perceived need to purchase a new phone or item of clothing is not always objective).

Man is a natural-social being; in this regard, his needs can be divided into two groups:

1. Needs determined by physiology and psychology.
2. Needs created by society and conditioned by a person’s presence in it.

Needs can be classified in different ways. Theorists of Marxism developed the law of increasing needs : according to this law, the lowest needs are physiological (related to the human body and the material world: the need for food, water, air, procreation), the middle link in the hierarchy is occupied by social ones (related to a person’s presence in society , the need for communication) and spiritual (the need for spiritual development, improvement, acquisition of new knowledge).

Abraham Maslow analyzed the needs in more detail. His pyramid of needs includes five elements:

• Primary needs:

Physiological (hunger, thirst, reproduction). Satisfaction of these needs is mandatory at least at a minimum level; neglect of these needs can lead to devastating consequences for the body and death of the individual. Existential (lat. exsistential - existence) (protection and safety, comfort, job security). Satisfaction of these needs is necessary for the individual in the long term; by satisfying them, a person receives a feeling of security, stability, and confidence in the future.

• Secondary needs:

Social (communication, affection, caring for someone, joint activities). This need is associated with the individual’s group affiliation. The separation of the individual from society gives rise to a feeling of loneliness and feelings of rejection.

Prestigious (self-esteem, power, career advancement, high grades). Satisfying this need presupposes the presence of skills and knowledge, confidence, independence, and a sense of freedom. Failure to satisfy prestigious needs entails a feeling of inferiority, weakness, dependence, and decreased self-esteem. This type of need is not inherent in all individuals.

Spiritual (self-development, self-expression, realization of one’s own potential). This need is not inherent in all individuals. This need is satisfied by using all human capabilities, reaching the peaks of his potential.

Pyramid of needs created by A. Maslow.

Not all needs are worth satisfying. It is important to know about reasonable limitation of needs. In order to successfully implement restrictions, needs can be divided into two groups:

1. Reasonable needs are those that help a person develop his human qualities (the desire for knowledge, beauty, the desire to do good).
2. Imaginary needs are those whose satisfaction harms society and nature and leads to degradation or self-destruction of the individual.

Classification of needs

There are several types of classification of needs.

Marxism, based on the law of the rise of needs, identifies the following hierarchy:

• biological – material and organic;
• social – the need to communicate with other people, social activities, public recognition, etc.;
• spiritual – ideal and cognitive.

Biological, social and spiritual needs are closely interrelated. Biological needs basically turn into social needs in humans. For most people, social needs are dominant compared to ideal ones, so the need for knowledge is often a means of acquiring a profession, a way to occupy a worthy social level.

Maslow's hierarchy:

1. Primary or innate needs:
   • physiological - satisfying hunger, thirst, procreation, etc. These needs require satisfaction so that humanity can continue its existence. If they are dissatisfied, there may be devastating consequences for the human body. Physiological are individual needs constructed by culture and human life within a particular environment, as well as repeated patterns of behavior: the need for food can develop into gluttony, gourmetism or pickiness.

   existential needs - the need for protection and safety, comfort, job security, accident insurance, confidence in the near future, etc.

2. Secondary or acquired needs:
   • social - the need for social connections, communication, affection, care for another person and attention to oneself, participation in joint activities, etc. Group affiliation comes to the fore, if it is not satisfied, the person feels lonely and has a hard time experiencing rejection.

   prestigious - self-esteem, respect from others, recognition, achievement of success and high praise, career growth. The need for self-esteem, which involves the need for a certain competence, confidence, independence and freedom. Failure to satisfy the need for self-esteem leads to a feeling of inferiority, makes a person weak, passive and dependent.

3. spiritual – self-actualization, self-expression, self-realization. The need for self-actualization, or realization of potential, is a person’s desire to become what he can become, that is, to reach the peak of his potential.

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Note 1

We must not forget about the reasonable limitation of needs, since not all human needs can be fully satisfied, and also the needs should not go against moral standards.