What is Secondary Needs? Definition of Secondary Needs, Secondary Needs Meaning and Concept

Secondary needs aim to increase the satisfaction and well-being of the human being.


If the primary needs sought to maintain survival and meet the vital needs of the human being: sleep, eat, breathe... the secondary needs are intended to make you feel more fulfilled in your life.


Once the first ones have been fulfilled, people need to have vital security, take hold of the world in which they live, and feel part of it. It is therefore when a series of secondary needs arise that are not basic, but do make life more comfortable and safe. Abraham Maslow already talked about it in his pyramid where he divided three types of needs.


Types of Secondary Needs


According to Maslow's pyramid, which divided the needs into primary, secondary and tertiary. The secondary needs would be the following:

  • Being able to access medical services.
  • The security of having a job that guarantees an economic contribution.
  • Being able to live and secure a home.
  • Protect yourself from cold and heat.
  • Being connected in case of emergency or need through a mobile device, for example.
  • Have rights that guarantee private property.

According to Maslow, the primary needs are the fundamental ones to be able to live such as eating food, the secondary ones are those aimed at improving the quality of life, and the tertiary ones are those that arise when the first two are already satisfied.


In this case, they would be the affective and social ones, such as receiving affection from friends and family, having friends to carry out a series of common practices such as a certain sport, for example, or having a partner.


In the case of secondary needs, they can vary over the years, and in the time in which you live. 100 years ago it was not essential to have the internet or a telephone, nowadays it has become something widely used and that could be included within those secondary needs we are talking about.