What best describes Maslow's view of motivation?

• A. Motivation arises from fulfilling a hierarchy of needs from bottom to top
• B. Motivation is driven by reflexive actions with no hierarchy
• C. Motivation is solely based on external rewards
• D. Motivation is fixed after early childhood

Answer: (A)

Maslow's view of motivation centers on a structured progression of needs that people strive to meet, starting with basic physical requirements and moving up toward self-fulfillment. Motivation arises as each level of need is satisfied, and attention shifts to the next higher level. If someone lacks food or safety, those needs dominate behavior, making higher-level motives like belonging, esteem, or self-actualization less relevant until the basics are met. This bottom-to-top sequencing explains why people are driven first by fundamental needs and only later by growth and self-actualization desires.

This contrasts with ideas that motivation is purely reflexive, driven by external rewards alone, or fixed after early childhood. Those views overlook the way Maslow describes how unmet needs at lower levels energize behavior and how advancing up the hierarchy changes what motivates a person.