2Wheeltips

By Dino Dogan

For those of us prone to introspection, I'll bet the answers will go beyond the usual…

“Oh, I love the sense of freedom” or
“It’s the wind in the hair” or
“I like the fact that I can’t be reached on the phone” (my personal favorite), or
“It’s the rebel in me” and on and on…

I decided to dig a little deeper and this is what I found. Tell me if you agree.

A famous psychologist (as far as psychologists go, anyway), Abraham Maslow, proposed that we (humans) have various levels of needs.
This is also known as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as published in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation.

The story goes like this.

Every physically and mentally “healthy” (healthy in the broadest sense of the word) human falls somewhere on Maslow’s Five Level scale.

First

The lowest level pertains to a person’s Physiological Needs, i.e. functional needs necessary for human survival as well as the survival of the species. We are talking about food, water, clothing, shelter, air, sexual interaction, and such. If these needs are not being met, the last thing on our mind is biking and the first thing on our mind is simple survival.

Also, I find it interesting that sexual activities are on this lowest level.
Could this mean that bikers radiate the fact that they are well past this first level and therefore their sexual “dance card” is full?  This then triggers a pre-selection switch in a female brain which makes her more attracted to the unavailable male.

Sidebar:
The pre-selection switch is an attraction switch defined by the psychologists which states that a female is infinitely more attracted to a man that has already been selected by another female, a pre-approval of sorts. This is why married/unavailable men notice a spike in their “popularity”.

Second Level

The next level up is the Safety Needs.

At this level, humans yearn for protection against anything that would affect them adversely.  Loss of finances, declining health and/or well-being, personal security, and such. Your insurance policy, savings account, corporate job, orderly conflict resolution (court systems) all are reflections of this need.

I think it’s safe to say that bikers (“bikers” is a generic term in my book and does not denote an outlaw) do not exactly fit into this category.
Biking is expensive; therefore your finances will diminish.
It can contribute to your declining health in a hurry if you were to get into an accident; therefore the need to manage the risk is paramount.

For the most part, I think it’s safe to say, bikers are not motivated by safety.
 
Third Level

The third level is Social Needs.

Ahh...I think we are now approaching the core of our true motivations.

After the first two levels have been met to a reasonable degree, we will look to satisfy our need for social interaction.  We could observe that our society as a whole is at this level.  To prove this point I need only say two words:  Facebook and myspace.

Traditionally, however, this need was met by religious denominations, tribes, family (both immediate and extended), hunting parties which later evolved into sports teams, etc.

To know exactly what I mean just think back to large bike gangs riding Harleys around town. Or if your memory is not what it use to be, check out pictures posted about a month ago by my friend -russeljames-.

Therefore I am of the opinion that most of us take up biking in order to start or join a tribe. It is a safety in numbers kind of thing, I suppose. Of course, there is always a loner out there who will not fit into this category but he may be the exception that proves the rule.

Fourth level

For the curious, the next level-up is esteem.

Humans at this level are motivated by their need to be respected and acknowledged by others. It’s expressed in two forms: low and high.

At the lower esteem level, humans are driven by their need for status, recognition, fame, prestige, attention, etc.  Think Hollywood actors and humans garnering attention with their cars, houses, wrist-watches, trophy wives, general bling-bling, etc.

It should be noted that humans at this level are ultimately unable to see themselves in a positive light since their value doesn’t belong to them; instead, it’s coming from shiny objects mentioned above.

At the higher esteem level, humans are driven by their need to master themselves or some other inherently internal skill.  Say someone who has spent their life learning and teaching a martial arts form, or someone who is at the top of their profession, or someone who is self-reliantetc.  This is the healthy kind of esteem which comes from mastery and confidence in one’s abilities.

Could some bikers fit on this level? You bet. 
The ones who are able to honestly evaluate their skills, work on improving even after years of riding, always willing to correct some aspect of their game, etc; clearly belong in this elite group.


Fifth level

Self actualization is the 5th and final(?) level. 

This level is all about realizing one’s own maximum potential. Details are outside of the scope of this article but if you want to know more, leave a comment or a question.

Note:
Being a biker doesn’t mean that you are at level 3 for the rest of your life. Perhaps you are at level 4 (high esteem) and are a master of your trade or profession. Perhaps sometime in your life you will, temporarily, revert to levels 1 and 2 if you lose your job or encounter financial hardships. These things can change on a dime, nothing is forever.


Dino Out.