Dependency need
Dependency need is "the vital, originally infantile needs for mothering, love, affection, shelter, protection, security, food, and warmth."
A dependency need is thought to be characterized by two components: It is a real need of an organism, something that must be present in order for the organism to be able to thrive, It is something that an individual cannot provide for him or herself. It is well known that infants have many dependency needs; some of these needs are obvious, others have only come to the attention of researchers as the result of epidemiological studies. The more obvious needs of infants include: adequate feeding, adequate watering, adequate cleaning, adequate shelter, and more specifically, keeping the infant's body temperature within the narrow range of normalcy.
On the other hand, it was not well known until the middle of the 20th century that infants also required the presence of warmth and affection, known as "maternal warmth". The greatest number of dependency needs seem to be encompassed in infancy, but dependency needs begin to change and decrease with age and maturity. This marked decrease in dependency needs as an individual gets older can be largely attributed to the notion that, as an individual gets older, he or she becomes capable of providing these things for him or herself. To some extent, these needs remain present even into adulthood. Even as adults, people have certain universal dependency needs that remain constant throughout the lifespan that they are not able to provide for themselves; these include: the need to belong, need for affection, as well as the need for emotional support. These needs can usually be met by partnership, in which both partners get used to depending on one another. If adults lack partnership, their needs can usually be met by family and/or friend relationships.
Importance
Dependency need is an important psychological concept, encompassing the fields of psychological, evolutionary, and ethological theory. Need, in general, is a concept greatly studied in varying psychological fields, by psychologists with varying specialties. Need is particularly important to the area of personality psychology. The concept of need can be defined as a "state of tension within a person", and as the need is satisfied, the state of tension is reduced. It is thought that all individuals have needs, and that needs organize perceptions, guiding individuals to see what they want to see. A physical or psychological need is capable of organizing action by compelling an individual to do what is necessary in order to fulfill such a need. After action has been taken to fulfill the need, the need subsides until it is again desired and recurs.History
It can be hypothesized that the concept of dependency need originated from the well-known psychologists Henry Murray and Abraham Maslow's ideas about needs. According to Murray, a need can be defined as a "potentiality or readiness to respond in a certain way under certain circumstances." Murray purposed a list of fundamental human needs. Each need was thought to be associated with " a specific desire or intention, a particular set of emotions, and specific action tendencies." Murray believed that human beings had their own hierarchy of needs, unique to each individual. It is thought that each individual's various needs exist at different levels of strength.According to Maslow, the concept of need can be defined primarily by an individual's goals. Maslow was a firm believer of self-actualization, the process of becoming "more and more what one idiosyncratically is, becoming everything that one is capable of becoming." Maslow believed that needs were hierarchically organized, with more basic needs found toward the bottom of the hierarchy and the self-actualization need at the top. The needs defined by Murray and Maslow seem to correspond with the vital needs encompassed in the concept of dependency need.
Attachment theory's relevance
Dependency needs can sometimes be associated with Attachment Theory. Attachment can be defined as a "deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space." Attachment is thought to first occur between an infant and his or her primary caregiver. Harry Harlow and his research in developmental psychology showed that attachment between infant and caregiver is vitally important to the psychological development of the infant and requires physical contact with a warm and responsive mother. These early experiences and reactions of the infants to the primary caregivers become working models for later adult relationships. Therefore, conclusions can be visibly drawn linking attachment and dependency need; vital, infantile needs for mothering, love, affection, shelter, protection, security, food, and warmth can stem from the type of interaction between that of an infant and his or her primary caregiver. Three types of attachment styles, securely attached, avoidantly attached, and ambivalently attached, can result from varying levels and styles of care a primary caregiver provides an infant.Further breakdown
Dependency needs can be categorized into biological needs and social needs.Biological needs
Biological needs are basic survival needs, such as protection from harm, consumption of food, and regulation of body temperature; they are mechanisms used to promote and maintain proper body functioning.Social needs
Social needs are "acquired psychological processes that activate emotional responses to particular need-relevant incentives." Need for eye contact, expression of positive emotions by caretakers or loved ones, and cuddling—anything that fosters a sense of emotional security—can be defined as a social need. There are four basic social needs: power, achievement, intimacy, and affiliation. People who have power needs look to gain dominance, achieve high statuses, and/or achieve high positions in their occupations, households, or social groups or organizations. These people look for leadership roles, and are usually happy and content when they are in control. People who have achievement needs are willing to seek out and accomplish tasks. The strive for achievement can develop strongly in children when influenced by their parents. Intimacy needs are linked to affiliation needs. Intimacy needs can be sought out and met when in close, personal relationships with others. Fulfillment of intimacy needs can help decrease an individual's chance of developing onset of depression, as well as help reduce an individual's fears of being rejected. Affiliation needs are people's needs to feel a sense of involvement and "belonging" within a social group; affiliation needs have to do more with the acceptance of behavior. It is human nature for people to want to be liked by others and get approval from them. It is also innate for people to want to maintain healthy and positive relationships with others around them.Key contributors
There have been numerous theorists who have done research in relation to dependency need.Robert Bornstein, a professor of psychology, researched certain levels of dependency needs, as well as personality disorders related to dependency needs, including dependent personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. Henry Murray's publication, Explorations in Personality describes differences and similarities between types of dependency needs.
As mentioned previously, Abraham Maslow was a key contributor to the establishment of a dependency need theory. His need theory, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, is thought to help a person achieve the unsatisfied needs of one's self. In his hierarchy, he outlined five needs crucial to human development and happiness across the lifespan; they are thought to occur in stages. The five stages include, physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem needs, and self-actualization. Physiological needs are needs that everyone has to have in order to survive, such as air, food, water, and sleep. After a person has attained these physiological needs, he or she then focuses his or her attention to safety needs. Safety needs help an individual feel secure in order to make him or her feel safe, physically and emotionally. An example of this can be seen in people's choices of where they choose to live and work, and attaining medical insurance. After safety needs are met, social needs are the focus of attention. Social needs have to do with interactions with others and receiving love. After these needs have been met, one's self-esteem needs begin to arise. Esteem needs can be both internal and external. Having and achieving self-respect, receiving attention, and accomplishing achievements are examples of self-esteem needs. After one succeeds in the area of self-esteem, self-actualization needs are to be met. One's full potential as a person, his or her self-actualization, helps him or her keep developing as a person throughout the lifespan.
Another key contributor to the establishment of dependency need theory was Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development.
Freud's theory of psychosexual development
Sigmund Freud came up with a five-stage theory that stated human beings are born with sexual energy; this energy was thought to develop in five stages. The first stage, the oral stage, occurs from birth to two years of age. The key component of the oral stage is the child's fascination with his or her mouth, more specifically, putting items into his or her mouth, breast feeding, etc. The child is thought to get great pleasure from such objects being placed in his or her mouth. The second stage, the anal stage, occurs from 18 months of age to three years. In this stage, the child's main focus is on his or her anus, and the experience of toilet training is thought to be quite pleasurable. The third phase, the phallic stage, occurs from three to six years of age. In this stage, the main focus of the child is on discovering his or her genital region. Children become more aware of their own bodies, the bodies of other children, as well as their parents' bodies. Children also become aware of anatomical sex differences between male and female genitalia. Freud believed during this stage, that boys had the idea that they needed to compete with their fathers in order to possess their mothers. He also believed that girls felt penis envy towards males, and therefore blamed their mothers for not having a penis; the girls then competed for psychosexual possession of their fathers. The fourth stage, the latency stage, occurs from six years of age until the child reaches puberty. In this stage, children are thought to be "latent" of sexual energies, however sexual urges still remain. During this time, children play with the same sex friends. The final stage in psychosexual development is the genital stage, occurring from puberty through the rest of adulthood. In this stage, individuals focus on detaching from their parents, doing their own thing and not relying as much on their parents. In this stage, genitalia is the main focus and sexual energy and urges are normal. The person's concern is now focused on mature, adult friendships and family relationships, as well as intimate relationships, and adult responsibilities.
There are differences and similarities worth noting when it comes to biological needs and social needs. Biological needs are required for survival in everyday life, whereas social needs are acquired and learned. Similarities between the two include the relevance that an individual requires both types of needs in one's life in order to live happy, healthy lives in which he or she is able to thrive and succeed; if an individual's needs are not met, he or she may become sad and/or depressed.