Human needs may be classified as:
1) Basic physiological or primary needs, and
2) Social-psychological or secondary needs.
3) General needs
1) Basic physiological or primary needs: these needs arise out of the basic physiology of life and are important for the survival of a man. They are virtually universal among people, but they exist in different intensity. Needs are also influenced by the social environment. One man may require wheat to satisfy his hunger, other may require rice for the same purpose. Some of the physiological needs are food, wafer, sleep, air to breathe, sex, clothing and shelter.
2) Socio-psychological or secondary needs: secondary needs are related to mind and spirit rather than to the physiology of life. Many of these needs develop as one matures. Instances are belongingness, recognition, self-esteem, sense of duty, self-assertion and so on. Actually, these are the needs which complicate the efforts of managers because the secondary needs vary among people much more the primary physiological or basic needs.
3) General needs: this is an intermediate category of motives between the physiological and the socio-psychological. The motives in this category are unlearned but not physiologically based. In this category may fall all other motives which cannot be classified as physiological or socio-psychological, like competence, manipulation, curiosity and love or affection.