Analysis of the human basic psychological needs’ theories: A meta-theory approach

Abstract

Background: Theories of human basic psychological needs have been always one of the researchers' answers to human behaviors.Nowadays, application of existing theories of human basic needs in other domains is being more trended rather than emergence of a new theory; However, lack of comprehensiveness in reviewing and analyzing of these theories has always been a fundamental gap in past research.Aims: The present study attempts to collect theories of basic psychological needs in first step and then to analyze them with a metatheoretical approach.Methods: In this study, a systematic review method has been used to collect theories.The statistical population of the study is all related Persian and English researches that have been published in valid scientific databases without time limit.Out of 1152 reviewed studies, 29 valid theories were finally extracted.Then, based on previous studies, the three variables "theory structure", "level of theory analysis" and "provided categories" were used as the basis of meta-theory analysis.Results: Most of human basic needs theories follow the structure of independent set of needs, so far, the three needs of "hedonism", "survival" and "belonging" have been considered as root needs in three different theories and the hierarchical model has not been repeated in any other theory but Maslow's.Four theories believe that there are connections between the mentioned components.The level of "psychological needs " analysis is a common feature of all theories, and finally, less than onethird of theories have provided categorization.Conclusion: Each theory of psychological needs has its own unique structure.Applying these theories to solve various problems inside and outside the field of psychology requires understanding the structural similarities and differences of these theories and the presented needs in them.

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