Maslow's framework comprises two categories: deficiency needs and growth needs. Which option lists these two categories?

• A. Deficiency needs and Growth needs
• B. Physiological and Safety
• C. Social/Love and Esteem
• D. Self-Actualization and Cognition

Answer: (A)

Maslow organizes motivation into two broad categories: deficiency needs and growth needs. Deficiency needs, sometimes called D-needs, are the basic drives that arise from a lack of these needs—physiological, safety, love/belonging, and esteem. When these needs are unmet, they create tension and motivate behaviors aimed at restoring balance. Growth needs, or B-needs, represent the drive for personal development and peak experiences; they become prominent once a satisfactory level of deficiency needs is achieved and include aims like cognitive exploration and self-actualization (and, in later refinements, aesthetic and transcendence needs). The correct option names these two overarching categories, which is why it’s the best answer. The other options list specific needs within one category or pair growth-related needs, but they don’t identify the two broad groups Maslow uses to categorize motivation.