Spiral Dynamics mapped to Maslow's Heirarchy

[katykat]

Forgive me if this has been previously discussed. Has anyone merged or mapped Spiral Dynamics stages with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs stages?

[Arthur]

That's an interesting question.

I think it's hard to pinpoint each layer of the pyramid onto the SD model. There is a lot of similarities, but fundamentally the models are different. Spiral Dynamics is a trend of social psychological development. Whereas Maslow's Hierarchy of need encapsulates an individual drive. With that being said, I can still trace common patterns.

Here is my personal interpretation (from the bottom up):

Layer 1 - Physiological needs:  food, sleep, shelter, and sex. 
Sounds like stage Beige and Purple on the Spiral.

Layer 2 -Safety needs: personal, emotional, financial and health security. 
I would map this to stage Red. This stage is all about exerting physical force in order to achieve status and material means. There is a big disregard for other's emotions and well being. Life is seen as a zero-sum game where one can win only by force.

Layer 3 -Social belonging: friendships, intimacy, family
This one is a bit tricky. It might be a fit for stage Green, but considering that we are moving up the Spiral and can't skip stages, I will map this one to Blue. Actually, It's not so far-fetched. Stage Blue people value their families highly, relationship with parents appears very sacred. There is also a big need for social groups in Blue - Republican party, religious groups, sports teams, ethnic communities etc.

Layer 4 -Esteem: Individuality,  recognition, status, importance
To me, this one looks clearly as stage Orange. It's about working on yourself to get praises for your individuality. All about standing out - how hot your body is, how much money you have, how scientific you are, or in any other way. I think this tendency can manifest to some extent in stage Green as well.

Layer 5 -Self-Actualization: utilizing abilities and talents, seeking happiness, connecting with the higher self, life purpose.
I can see this one starting at stage Green but fully blossom at stage Yellow.
Yellow is not motivated by social appraisal, material wealth or shallow success. Thus, only Yellow can truly pursue meaningful life purpose. Yellow knows himself very well and is able to tap into his strengths.

Layer 6 - Transcendence: self transcendence.
I see this layer fitting stage Turquoise. It is the desire to reach the infinite. At this layer, there is a deeper drive for self-realization. Taking self-actualization to its ultimate degree and discovering the emptiness of the Self.

[Wyze]

@Arthur I find stage blue with social belonging interesting. I've always thought that was Green as well. Do you think it just manifests differently; Blue belonging is about changing to fit in; where as Green belonging is about fitting in as exactly as who you are?

[Himanshu]

https://scottjeffrey.com/spiral-dynamics/#The_Relationship_between_Grave_and_Maslows_Model

 

Here's an interesting comparison. 

[Arthur]

@Wyze I can definitely see Social Belongings fit both Green and Blue. The only reason I choose Blue is that the next stage was a clear fir for Orange, and I wanted to keep the progression upwards. 

I see Blue belonging comes from motivations like "my family", "my country", "my people", "my religion", "my kind". Green belonging from "my community", "like-minded individuals", "care for the world", "artistic expression". 

The more I think about it, the more multiple instances for one section of the Pyramid I can find. For example, in a large religious community, there could be individuals who are well-off financially and those who are struggling to put meat on the table. Collectively, their stage would be Blue, but individually, their values/drives might differ.

 

 

 

@Himanshu Interesting Article, thanks for sharing.

 

[Wyze]

@Arthur Did you mean that Blue belonging is based on an external value set; like same DNA, same nationality etc and Green is based on internal value set; like same ideology etc?

[Arthur]

3 minutes ago, Wyze said:

Did you mean that Blue belonging is based on an external value set; like same DNA, same nationality etc and Green is based on internal value set; like same ideology etc?

2

Yes, that would be a better way to put it. 

[Wyze]

@Arthur thanks for the clarification. yeah I was thinking about what might be the difference.

[katykat]

@Arthur Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful response.

I was thinking social belonging would be a fit with orange, but blue makes sense as well with your explanation.

Initially I thought Spiral Dynamics was much more detailed in the higher levels than the hierarchy, but it seems to map quite well. Perhaps the SD colors above turquoise would all be lumped in the transcendence level.

[katykat]

@Himanshu Thanks so much for sharing, what a great link!

[Genghis Khan]

@Arthur  Agreed.

Blue values conformity. Green values community.

Blue believes that strength is found in a moral, cohesive group. They want a group of people who all share the same history, values, and identity.

Green believes that diversity, tolerance, and acceptance is a strength. Green wants many different kinds of people to all be loved and accepted into the group.

[Wyze]

@Genghis Khan

5 hours ago, Genghis Khan said:

Blue values conformity. Green values community.

Blue believes that strength is found in a moral, cohesive group. They want a group of people who all share the same history, values, and identity.

Green believes that diversity, tolerance, and acceptance is a strength. Green wants many different kinds of people to all be loved and accepted into the group.

Yeah I can see that too. To belong to a Blue group feels like giving up part of yourself that does not "fit"; where as Green is asking for acceptance and belonging along with the variation of who you are.

[Joseph Maynor]

It doesn't really map to it directly.  You can think of Maslow's stages as giving you information for Small Picture Life Purpose Work.  Small Picture Life Purpose Work is where you identify your Actual Problem Situations and find sustainable solutions to them.  The Self-Actualization and Self-Transcendence stages map more to Spiral Dynamics than the lower Maslow stages.

Edited January 2, 2019 by Joseph Maynor