Friday, November 9, 2012

Maslow's Hierarchy of Fears

Reversing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to generate anxiety

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a theorized hierarchical order that humans put all of their needs into. If I say I need to go shopping, while that may be true on some minor level, it is not even close to how much I need to drink water, and I would certainly not go to the mall if I was completely dehydrated.

  1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.
  2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.
  3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.
  4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.
  5. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

It follows that humans' fears are directly related to their needs. Fear of pain is the fear of not being able to fulfill our Physiological needs. Fear of public speaking is a mixture of our fear of losing our current Self-Esteem, not being loved, or losing out feeling of belonging.

With every monster and scary situation, look at it in terms of what needs it threatens. A possessed house? Considering we need shelter, and on a lesser level need safety and stability, this can be a scary prospect. Possessed daughter? That threatens our need for family and affection.

How can I use this?

If you're writing a horror story for a game, film, or book, consider what immaterial things your audience treasure most. If the crazed killer in your story keeps the protagonist from a source of water and food, the audience has a real empathic understanding of the desperation the protagonist is in. When your characters call the police to warn them of the imminent danger, as anyone in the audience would do, have the police brush them off, tell them it is probably nothing to worry about. This will get your audience's anxiety levels climbing as the characters run out of choices (the same choices your audience would want to rely on in a similar situation).

For examples on how to use Self-Esteem needs against the audience, watch the movies Se7en, and Carrie.


Source

McLeod, S. (2007). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

5 comments:

  1. I found it interesting that sex was listed as a primary need. Do you feel we consider sex as a basic need in storytelling? I feel it is often thrown in as a bonus for the hero's successful accomplishments as opposed to a need. Should this change?

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    1. Short answer, watch the movie "Teeth".

      Long answer: I think prolonged separation from human contact can be devastating for people, and procreation is similarly important. But just as unnecessary it is to explicitly mention when a character eats or drinks, it is also only worth mentioning the character's sex life if it is important. Nothing should be "thrown in" to a story.

      I also think that denying a person their sexual needs can be tormenting. Imagine a virgin during his first sexual experience. This can be very stressful and full of tension. If he fails to satisfy, or is ridiculed for his sexuality, he would be devastated, horrified, and might have a lasting fear of sexual expression. This would be one way to have the audience empathise with the character, because it's a fear that many share.

      I'm not an expert on this, but it seems to be basic psychology and I'm sure Freud has said a lot on the subject.

      To answer your question: though I think it's important to recognize sex as a biological need, I think involving it in story telling is about as important as involving sleeping or eating (Something that we don't see much of in story telling).

      While most genres, and people, take our most basic needs for granted, the horror genre seeks to exploit that feeling of safety.

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  2. I feel like I could relate to the fear of public speaking experience. Although in my case it's more about just speaking about something in general within a large group of people. I sometimes have all those fears of losing self esteem, feeling of belonging, or not being liked/loved.

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    1. I know what you mean. That moment when you speak up, and everyone goes quiet, and looks at you, and all of a sudden, you can't, speak, words... it's awful. In that moment your heart races and you think of all the ways you could embarrass yourself. That's exactly the kind of situation that thriller writers include to ratchet up the tension of the audience, long before we ever see a monster or killer.

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