The needs

This unit will teach the meaning of basic needs and also what responsible consumption involves.

• Exercise 1

Read the following text carefully.

As human beings, we all need to satisfy a series of needs in order to live: we need to breathe, eat, protect ourselves, have friends, go to the doctor, etc. A psychologist from the United States called Abraham Maslow arranged them into the following pyramid.
Look at the picture and then click on play to start.

At the foot of the pyramid he put primary needs, which are those we have to satisfy to continue growing and climb all the other steps.

First step: these are our physiological needs, things our bodies must do to live, such as, for example, eating, breathing and sleeping.

Second step: these are needs that involve care and safety. We need to feel safe and secure, we need our family to look after us, our parents need to earn a living, we need to be healthy, and so on.

Third step: the need to belong: we need friends, our family and to be part of a class or group, etc.

Fourth step: the need to be valued and appreciated. We need to have self-esteem, to be respected and to be told we are doing things right.

Fifth and last step: the need for self-development. This involves creativity, overcoming prejudices, accepting the nature of things, resolving problems in a positive manner and without resorting to violence, etc.