Abstract
There are many theories of human motivation. At the same time, despite the existence of numerous descriptive concepts, only one model of human needs has become widespread – the ??Pyramid of Human Needs??, sometimes also referred to as Maslow??s pyramid. The pyramid model is characterised by several shortcomings as it fails to adequately illustrate the dominance, development, as well as interaction between needs. We propose a new Ring Model of human needs that resolves for limitations of the conventional approach. The model introduces flexibility in the representation of human needs, thus making it possible to eliminate rigidness in ranking of needs, allowing for ethnic variations, avoiding misconception in allocation of particular needs into specific categories, and providing an algorithm for individual adjustments in the hierarchy of needs. The dynamic nature of the proposed model enables it to also demonstrate the mechanisms behind instigation of human actions.
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