Hierarchies refer to the levels of power and authority that exist in society and in all organizations and human structures. These can be visualized as a sort of pyramid with the most powerful individual at the top with power and authority becoming more diffuse as you travel down the pyramid to its base.
For example, in a royal hierarchy the king and queen are at the very top followed by princes/princesses, then dukes/duchesses. In psychology, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, visualizes human needs as a pyramidal structure in which the fulfillment of higher level needs build on the lower level needs, much like a pyramid builds smaller levels from the ground up.