The Relationship Between Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Persistence in College

Indianapolis, IN

In this study we are examining the relationship between how well undergraduate needs are being met (according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) and their planned persistence at their university. The degree to which students’ needs are being met is going to be measured using the Need Satisfaction Inventory (Lester, 1990). The persistence at their current institution is going to be measured by using items from the College Persistence Questionnaire (Lindheimer III, 2011). Our goal is to compare students at a small private religious institution with those at a large publicly funded university. The surveys will be administered online. Past research has shown that fulfilling needs according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is associated with a sense of psychological happiness.