It is difficult to state the exact number of human needs, probably impossible. It depends on how granular you want to distinguish the needs. The number 77 has proven to be the best approximation during the development of the Human Needs System. We assume that we are within an error range of about +/- 10%.

Theories of needs with so few basic needs are mostly created as condensations of the real existing variety of needs. Mostly, mathematical methods like factor analysis are used for this purpose. If you want to explain the world in a simple way, this will do. But if you want to design offers for real people in real contexts, you will soon realize, that you need a more precise differentiation of needs. Behind the super-need "Belonging" there can be e.g. love, friendship, family or a work team - with different experiences and emotions.

77 needs are indeed too many to consider at the same time. Therefore, the first step in a project is to identify the needs that drive the to be designed Experience. This is best clarified in a (short) research phase. Sometimes, 2-3 days are enough. For higher complex topics however, such as smart home or work, more time is required. Usually, you will then be able to focus on a number of 3 to 12 needs.

For about 100 years, researchers have been studying the topic of needs, from psychoanalysts such as Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung, to humanistic psychologists like Abraham Maslow and Henry Murray, to researchers of motivation and values such as Schalom Schwartz and Wolfgang Bilsky. The 77 Human Needs system is a synthesis of earlier research findings, enriched by our own decades of experience in psychological experience research, including more than 3,000 in-depth interviews.

In empirical studies on Customer- and Employee Experience involving over 20,000 participants to date, we have been able to demonstrate the explanatory power of the 77 Human Needs very effectively.