Blogtrek

Social Level

Abraham Maslov gave five levels of needs that we humans need to fulfill. They are

1. Survival - food, shelter, sleep, bathroom functions, sex
2. Security - freedom from threats
3. Social - Interaction with people, especially favorable interaction
4. Self-esteem - Feeling good about yourself, being recognized for achieving something
5. Self-actualization - Feeling at one with nature, doing what you want to do

As the levels get higher, they get harder to describe. What I have found is that I feel the people that I most like are those that I interact with on the social level - level 3. This is because with level 1, they say, do this or that or you don't get fed (or paid), and with level 2, it is not enough for a person not to present a threat. So I don't get a good impression of these people. At level 3 people interact with others to get to know and like each other, and I find that I get along the most with people that I interact with on this level. With the higher levels, being recognized for a good achievement is good, but not enough; I find something lacking with people whom I interact with on this level. Finally with level 5, it seems that people go off and do their own thing and live up to their own potential. This makes them aloof.

So I prefer to associate with people I associate with at the social level (level 3). Now the people I would like to associate with the most are those whom I can relate to at the self-esteem and self-actualization levels, but these are really rare.