Needs classification

Generally accepted, that scientific classifications play a significant role in cognition. Classification is one of the main forms of presentation. The history of human personality development is closely linked with the history of hu¬man needs. There are many various viewpoints on the essence of needs. Though it's difficult to distinguish stable groups of needs researchers are looking for the most capacious and full classification of needs. The purpose of the research is to explore the concept and classifications of needs.

A need is something that is necessary for normal existence and development of an organism. According to a level of psychological and personal development of humans and series of other factors needs can vary.

The problem of human needs has been attended since ancient times. Aristotle share needs for corporeal and spiritual. Ancient thinkers tried to understand reasons of human actions, internal inconsistency motivators of human activity.

Polish psychologist K. Obukhovskij counted 120 classifications of needs. Petr Erchov considered that the most successful classifications of needs are the classification made by F. Dostoyevsky and the classification created by Hegel. Dostoevsky shared plenty of interests and needs of people into three groups:
• needs of material goods, which are necessary for life-sustaining;
• needs of cognition;
• needs of the world association of people.
Hegel shared needs into four groups:
• material needs;
• needs of law;
• religious needs;
• needs of cognition.

The first group in both classifications can be named the group of vital needs, the third group by Dostoevsky and the second by Hegel can be named the group of social needs, the second group by Dostoevsky and the fourth group by Hegel can be named the group of perfect needs.

Well, the most popular classification of needs is Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The first are physiological needs; the second are safety needs. The third are needs of love and belonging. The fourth are needs of esteem. The fifth are self-actualization needs.

K. Alderfer proposed another classification of needs:
• needs of existence;
• needs of interpersonal relationships;
• needs of development of personal potential.

The classification of needs by Simonov is very popular among Russian psychologists. Simonov shared needs into three groups (material, social and spiritual) like many other scientists. В, he shared social and mental groups of needs into two other groups, such as:
• needs «for yourself» (egocentric);
• needs «for others» (altruistic).

To sum up, the understanding of needs classifications won't be effective, if we consider them separately. None of human needs exist in pure form, all of them are connected. Due to unlimited amount of needs, the only possible classification is difficult to represent. That is why, it is impractical to offer only one correct classification.

А. Д. Краснова