ternal entities 9organizations or individuals) could apply stimuli to persuade an individual that an inner need could be satisfied by a specific behavior. Thus, motivating individuals to behave in a desired manner (when considered within the context of the Hierarch of Needs) requires the manipulation of that individual's environment. Stated in other words, the application of Maslow's (1968) hierarchy relies on stimuli to address an individual's inner need, and then, on the relationship between that inner need and the perceived behavior required to satisfy that need.
In the application of motivational theories, both Skinner and Maslow relied on the manipulation of an individual's environment. Maslow, however, always relied on positive reinforcement actions while Skinner recognized value in both positive and negative reinforcers. Skinner, in the manipulation of stimuli, relied on the direct relationship between the stimulus and the response behavior.
Maslow's (1954) Hierarchy of Needs model of human behavior and motivation continues to be validated in the twenty-first century. The validation of the hierarchy has occurred in relation to a wide variety of environments. Among these environments are the following:
Motivating geriatric patients to behave in ways that are beneficial to themselves (Majerscik, 2005)
Lowering recidivism among individuals released from incarceration (Jones, 2004)
Effective management of human resources in organizational environments (Butler, 2003)
The effective marketing of services, a consumption-related behavior (Sevier, 2002)
The effective management of diversity in organizational environments (Cullen and Gotell, 2002)
The evidence supports a determination that Maslow's (1954) Hierarchy of Needs model of human behavior and motivation remains valid in the twenty-first century. Maslow's (1954) model is being applied with good effect in a wide variety of environments. The issue stil...