STERNBERG'S SUCCESSFUL INTELLIGENCE THEORY

The theory of successful intelligence comprises four key elements. A first key
element is that “success is attained through a balance of analytical, creative, and
practical abilities” [10, pp. 297-298].
The three key aspects of intelligence are analytical, creative, and practical
intelligence. Analytical abilities are the abilities primarily measured by traditional
tests of abilities. Success in life, however, doesn’t require just this ability. The
theory of successful intelligence includes three aspects of intelligence which
in combination, are important for success in life.
Analytical intelligence is required to solve problems and to judge the quality
of ideas. However, just this skill is not enough. Often we need to use our
analytical skills to determine what the problem is, creative skills to generate
novel solutions to the problem, and practical skills to determine which solutions
are realistic.
Creative intelligence is required to formulate good problems and solutions.
This type of intelligence is important when considering novel solutions to problems that
would ostensibly seem impossible. For instance, some individuals
give up on their daydreams and ideal goals because they assume their current
life circumstances prohibit them from accomplishing them. As the research of Strauman and
Higgins suggests [16, 17], one’s view of the discrepancies between
actual self and one’s ideal self can lead to depression. Sometimes, however,
creativity can be used to imagine ways a change in a person’s life could bring that
person closer to reaching his or her dream. Creative intelligence alone is not
enough to be successful. The person who seems to live in a dream world without
any sense of rationality of practicality may end up staying in that dream world.

Practical intelligence is needed to use the ideas and analysis in an effective

way in one’s everyday life. Often success won’t be attained until that person
produces new innovative ideas (creative ability) and then works out the
ramifications of these ideas in the real world and persuade others of the usefulness
of the ideas (practical ability). As studies of creative groups suggest, creative urges
must also be extended through practical resourcefulness and abstract thinking
skills.
A second key element is that “intelligence is defined in terms of the ability
to achieve success in life in terms of one’s personal standards, within one’s
sociocultural context” [10, pp. 296-297].
Intelligence testing has primarily focused on the prediction of success in an
academic setting. The theory of successful intelligence emphasizes the importance
of going beyond just the academic sphere to account for success in whatever
goals individuals (or societies) set for themselves. After all, David Wechsler,
developer of one of the most widely used adult intelligence tests defined
intelligence as “. . . the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act
purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment” .
The implication for psychotherapy is that success is defined by whatever
criteria patients set. All patients must be treated in respect to their own personal
goals and reasons for undergoing treatment.
A third key element is that “one’s ability to achieve success depends on
one’s capitalizing on one’s strengths and correcting or compensating for one’s
weaknesses” [10, pp. 297-298].
In reality, no one is good at everything. It often is how well people can overcome
obstacles in their lives by using strengths that are the best test of their intelligence.
At the same time, though, attempts should be made to correct for weaknesses,
because weaknesses are also a natural part of life.
There has recently been an increase in research on positive psychology stimulated by
Martin Seligman and colleagues [20, 21]. Proponents of positive psychology suggest that
psychotherapy should focus more on the strengths of individuals and less on their limitations.
The theory of successful intelligence includes a focus on the positive, but is balanced in that
it also attempts to compensate or correct for weaknesses.
A fourth key element is that “balancing of abilities is achieved to adapt to,
shape, and select environments” [10, p. 298].
Traditional theories of intelligence have emphasized the importance an
individual’s adaptation to his or her environment, a setting over which he or she
often has little or no control. For instance, performance on IQ tests requires
adjustment to the specific questions, but no matter how one performs, these
questions (the environment of the test) do not change. To the extent that you want
to obtain a high score, you also do not have a choice as to which questions
you want to answer.

In the real world, however, the story is often much more complex. We often
can choose our environments. Intelligence does not involve simply modifying
oneself to suit the milieu (adaptation), it also involves the ability to modify the
environment to suit oneself (shaping) and, sometimes, to find a new setting that
is a better match to one’s skills, values, or desires (selection).
This conceptualization of practical intelligence has important implications
for psychotherapy. Many individuals feel depressed because they feel as though
there is no way out. An understanding that we are not just passive participants
in our environment could be crucial to recovery. Clinical lore has it that Henry
Stack Sullivan believed that when people are confronted with difficult situations,
they should not deny them but instead get out of them, or, if necessary, get on
with them, work to modify them, or get help with them.
THE WICS MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP
THE NATURE OF WICS

WICS is an acronym that stands for wisdom, intelligence and creativity, synthesized. The model
attempts to show how successful leadership involves the synthesis of the three qualities.

In the centre of the model is intelligence, traditionally defined as the ability to adapt to
the environment (Cianciolo & Sternberg, 2004). According to the model used here, successful
intelligence is one’s ability to attain one’s goals in life, given one’s sociocultural context, by
adapting to, shaping, and selecting environments, through a balance of analytical, creative, and
practical skills (Sternberg, 1997). Underlying this ability are fundamental executive processes, or
“metacomponents” (Sternberg, 1985): recognizing the existence of a problem, defining and
redefining the problem, allocating resources to the solution of the problem, representing the
problem mentally, formulating a strategy for solving the problem, monitoring the solution of the
problem while problem solving is ongoing, and evaluating the solution to the problem after it has
been solved. Analytical intelligence is involved when one applies these processes to fairly
abstract problems that nevertheless take a relatively familiar form (e.g., intelligence-test items).
Creative intelligence is involved when one applies the processes to relatively novel tasks and
situations. Practical intelligence is involved when one applies the processes to everyday
problems for purposes of adaptation to, shaping, and selection of environments.

The theory of successful intelligence actually involves three subtheories (Sternberg,

1985). The first, componential subtheory, specifies kinds of components—metacomponents
(mentioned above), which are used to plan, monitor, and evaluate problem solutions;
performance components, used to execute problem solutions; and knowledge-acquisition
components, used to learn how to solve the problems in the first place. The components of
intelligence, such as the metacomponents described above, are asserted to be universal. They
apply anywhere. For example, leaders anywhere have to recognize the existence of problems,
define what the problems are, allocate resources to the solution of the problems, and so forth.
Analytical intelligence, as noted above, is the application of these components to familiar kinds
of abstract problems.
The second subtheory, the experiential subtheory, applies to the levels of experience at
which the components are executed. Creative intelligence is involved when one applies the
components to relatively novel tasks and situations.
The third, contextual subtheory, specifies that intelligence can only be fully understood
in terms of the contexts in which it is applied. These contexts differ across cultures and
subcultures, and hence are not universal, but rather, specific to environments of various kinds.
Practical intelligence involves applying the components to experience in diverse contexts.
Evidence supports such specificity. We have found, for example, that what is considered
intelligent in one culture may not be considered to be intelligent in another (Sternberg, 2004a).
Evidence supporting the theory can be found in Sternberg (1985, 1997) and Sternberg, et al.
(2000).

Creativity is the ability to formulate and solve problems so as to produce solutions that
are relatively novel and high in quality (Sternberg & Lubart, 1995). Creativity involves creative
intelligence in the generation of ideas, but it also involves more, in particular, knowledge; a
desire to think in novel ways; personality attributes such as tolerance of ambiguity, propensity to
sensible risk taking, and willingness to surmount obstacles; intrinsic, task-focused motivation;
and an environment that supports creativity (Sternberg & Lubart, 1995). At the base of creativity,
again, are the metacomponents. Crucial to creativity are one’s creative-intellectual skills in
recognizing and finding good problems to solve, and then defining and redefining the problems
until they are understood in a way that allows a novel solution. Creative individuals are good
problem finders who devote their resources to solving problems that are worth solving in the first
place. Intelligent individuals are good problem solvers, but they do not necessarily devote their
resources to solving problems that are important to solve. Analytical and practical intelligence,
and not just creative intelligence, are important to creativity. Analytical intelligence is used to
determine whether one’s creative solutions to a problem are good solutions, and practical
intelligence is used to implement the solutions and to convince others that one’s solutions are,
indeed, good ones that they should heed.
Wisdom is the ability to use one’s successful intelligence, creativity, and knowledge
toward a common good by balancing one’s own (intrapersonal) interests, other people’s
(interpersonal) interests, and larger (extrapersonal) interests, over the short and long terms,
through the infusion of values, in order to adapt to, shape, and select environments (Sternberg,
1998b). Thus, wisdom involves both intelligence and creativity, but as they are applied not just
to serve one’s own ends, but also, the ends of other people and of larger interests as well. At the
base of wisdom, as of intelligence and creativity, are the metacomponents. One needs to
recognize when problems, such as injustice exist, and to define them in a way that
is respectful of multiple points of view (dialogical thinking). One then needs to solve them in
ways that take into account the needs of all stakeholders as well as the resources at hand.
Intelligence, wisdom, and creativity build on each other. One can be intelligent without
being creative or wise. To be creative, one must be intelligent at some level, using one’s creative
intelligence to formulate good problems, one’s analytical intelligence to ensure that the solutions
to the problems are good, and one’s practical intelligence to persuade other people of the value
of one’s creative ideas; but one need not be wise. To be wise, one must be both intelligent and
creative, because wisdom draws upon intelligence and creativity in the formulation of solutions
to problems that take into account all stakeholder interests over the short and long terms.

WICS holds that the best leaders exhibit all three qualities of intelligence, creativity, and
wisdom. It also holds that these skills can be developed. Now consider each of creativity,
successful intelligence, and wisdom in more detail. They are presented in this order because
usually, generation of ideas comes first, then analysis of whether they are good ideas, and then,
ideally, application of the ideas in a way to achieve a common good.

WICS: WISDOM, INTELLIGENCE AND CREATIVITY, SYNTHESIZED

The theory proposed here views leadership as in large part a matter of how one
formulates, makes, and acts upon decisions (Sternberg, 2003, 2004b; Sternberg & Vroom, 2002).
According to this model, the three key components of leadership are wisdom, intelligence and
creativity, synthesized (WICS). The basic idea is that one needs these three components working
together (synthesized) in order to be a highly effective leader.
 One is not born a leader. In the framework of WICS, one can speak of traits of leadership
(Zaccaro, Kemp & Bader, 2004), but properly, they should be viewed as flexible and dynamic
rather than as rigid and static. Wisdom, intelligence and creativity are, to some extent, modifiable
forms of developing expertise (Sternberg, 1998a, 1999a) that one can decide to use or not in
leadership decisions. The environment strongly influences the extent to which we are able to use
and develop whatever genetic potentials we have (Grigorenko & Sternberg, 2001; Sternberg &
Grigorenko, 1997, 2001). But poor leadership depends less on failed genetic potentials than on
poor decisions. People with substantial innate potential may fail to take much advantage of this
potential. Others with lesser potential may decide to take advantage of it.
Leadership involves both skills and dispositions (i.e., attitudes). The skills are developing
expertise based on how well you can execute certain functions of leadership. The dispositions are
developing expertise based on how you think about these functions. The dispositions are at
least as important as the skills. One needs creative skills and dispositions to generate fresh and
good ideas for leadership, intellectual skills and dispositions to decide whether they are good
ideas, as well as to implement the ideas and convince others of the value of the ideas, and
wisdom-related skills and dispositions to assess the long- as well as short-term impacts of these
ideas on other individuals and institutions as well as oneself. The discussion will consider the
elements of creativity, intelligence, and wisdom, in that order.

TORRANCE'S CREATIVITY FRAMEWORK

A common framework for creative thinking processes is describe by Torrance (1979). According
to him, there are four aspects that describe creative thinking.

1.) Fluency- refers to the production of a great number of ideas or alternate solutions to a
problem. Fluency implies understanding, not just remembering information that is learned.

2.) Flexibility- refers to the production of ideas that show a variety of possibilities or realms of
thought. It involves the ability to use things from different points of view, to use many different
approaches or strategies.

3.) Elaboration- is the process of enhancing ideas by providing more details. Additional detail
and clarity improves interest in, and understanding of the topic.

4.) Originality- involves the production of ideas that are unique or unusual. It involves synthesis
or putting information about a topic back together in a new way.

6 STAGES OF CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING

In Creative Problem Solving: The Basic Course (1985), authors Isaksen and Treffinger
describe critical and creative thinking as a six-stage problem-solving process:
 

1. Mess Finding: identify and acknowledge what’s the mess that needs cleaning up, the situation
that demands attention.

This has something to do with knowing where to start if ever there is really a need to. In other
words, a person is moved to do something because a break in equilibrium occurs that needs to be
properly addressed.

2. Data Finding: “taking stock”–unearthing and collecting information, knowledge, facts,

feelings, opinions, and thoughts.  What do you know about the situation?  What do you still need
to know?

In order to proceed with the process, examine first those things you are already aware of that
may play significant impact in the present problem being handled. Then, advance further by
gathering essential information and data relevant to the problem at hand.

3. Problem Finding: “problem statement” that expresses the “heart” of the situation.  State the
problem in such a manner as to invite novel perspectives on it.

This is said to be the heart of the situation as this is the center to which future actions are based.
As we all know, those interventions must be in keeping with what the problem poses to the
individual that warrants actions.

4. Idea Finding: brainstorm as many ideas or alternatives as possible. Don’t evaluate. Generate
an idea pool of a variety of solutions to your problem.

At this point, it is important to generate much ideas and alternatives as possible relevant to the
problem identified  so that judgment at the next step will be applied to each in an effort to
generate the best course of action to do. Asking for others’ help will be a good idea.

5. Solution Finding: evaluate ideas systematically; identify and evaluate the relative strengths
and weaknesses of possible solutions. Generate a variety of criteria and select the most important
for your problem. Is it cost? expediency? pleasure? time involvement? etc.

In this step, every generated alternative must be evaluated against the set criteria or standards so
that the most likely “best” among all identified options will be considered. Be sure to be
objective and fair in judging the said choices. It is important to become open with all the options
being considered. 

6. Acceptance Finding: formulate a plan of action. Determine your need, obstacles or

difficulties, and specific short- and long-term steps.

After all the choices have been evaluated carefully and tactfully, then next and last for this model
is to accept that course of action and have it carried  out to solve the identified problem.
2 TYPES OF MOTIVATION
There are two types of motivation, Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation. It's important to
understand that we are not all the same; thus effectively motivating your employees requires that
you gain an understanding of the different types of motivation. Such an understanding will
enable you to better categorize your team members and apply the appropriate type of motivation.
You will find each member different and each member's motivational needs will be varied as
well. Some people respond best to intrinsic which means "from within" and will meet any
obligation of an area of their passion. Quite the reverse, others will respond better to extrinsic
motivation which, in their world, provides that difficult tasks can be dealt with provided there is
a reward upon completion of that task. Become an expert in determining which type will work
best with which team members.

Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation means that the individual's motivational stimuli are coming from within. The
individual has the desire to perform a specific task, because its results are in accordance with his
belief system or fulfills a desire and therefore importance is attached to it.

Our deep-rooted desires have the highest motivational power. Below are some examples:

 Acceptance: We all need to feel that we, as well as our decisions, are accepted by our co-
workers.
 Curiosity: We all have the desire to be in the know.
 Honor: We all need to respect the rules and to be ethical.
 Independence: We all need to feel we are unique.
 Order: We all need to be organized.
 Power: We all have the desire to be able to have influence.
 Social contact: We all need to have some social interactions.
 Social Status: We all have the desire to feel important.

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation means that the individual's motivational stimuli are coming from outside. In
other words, our desires to perform a task are controlled by an outside source. Note that even
though the stimuli are coming from outside, the result of performing the task will still be
rewarding for the individual performing the task.

Extrinsic motivation is external in nature. The most well-known and the most debated
motivation is money. Below are some other examples:

 Employee of the month award

 Benefit package
 Bonuses
 Organized activities
ATTRIBUTION THEORY
Attribution Theory (B. Weiner)

Attribution theory is concerned with how individuals interpret events and how this relates
to their thinking and behavior. Heider (1958) was the first to propose a psychological theory of
attribution, but Weiner and colleagues (e.g., Jones et al, 1972; Weiner, 1974, 1986) developed a
theoretical framework that has become a major research paradigm of social psychology.
Attribution theory assumes that people try to determine why people do what they do, i.e.,
attribute causes to behavior. A person seeking to understand why another person did something
may attribute one or more causes to that behavior. A three-stage process underlies an attribution:
(1) the person must perceive or observe the behavior, (2) then the person must believe that the
behavior was intentionally performed, and (3) then the person must determine if they believe the
other person was forced to perform the behavior (in which case the cause is attributed to the
situation) or not (in which case the cause is attributed to the other person).

Weiner focused his attribution theory on achievement (Weiner, 1974). He identified

ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck as the most important factors affecting attributions for
achievement. Attributions are classified along three causal dimensions: locus of control, stability,
and controllability. The locus of control dimension has two poles: internal versus external locus
of control. The stability dimension captures whether causes change over time or not. For
instance, ability can be classified as a stable, internal cause, and effort classified as unstable and
internal. Controllability contrasts causes one can control, such as skill/efficacy, from causes one
cannot control, such as aptitude, mood, others’ actions, and luck.

Attribution theory is closely associated with the concept of motivation. It also relates the work
done on script theory and inferencing done by Schank.

Application

Weiner’s theory has been widely applied in education, law, clinical psychology, and the
mental health domain. There is a strong relationship between self-concept and achievement.
Weiner (1980) states: “Causal attributions determine affective reactions to success and failure.
For example, one is not likely to experience pride in success, or feelings of competence, when
receiving an ‘A’ from a teacher who gives only that grade, or when defeating a tennis player who
always loses…On the other hand, an ‘A’ from a teacher who gives few high grades or a victory
over a highly rated tennis player following a great deal of practice generates great positive
affect.” (p.362). Students with higher ratings of self-esteem and with higher school achievement
tend to attribute success to internal, stable, uncontrollable factors such as ability, while they
contribute failure to either internal, unstable, controllable factors such as effort, or external,
uncontrollable factors such as task difficulty. For example, students who experience repeated
failures in reading are likely to see themselves as being less competent in reading.  This self-
perception of reading ability reflects itself in children’s expectations of success on reading tasks
and reasoning of success or failure of reading.  Similarly, students with learning disabilities seem
less likely than non-disabled peers to attribute failure to effort, an unstable, controllable factor,
and more likely to attribute failure to ability, a stable, uncontrollable factor.
Lewis & Daltroy (1990) discuss applications of attribution theory to health care. An interesting
example of attribution theory applied to career development is provided by Daly (1996)
who examined the attributions that employees held as to why they failed to receive promotions.

Example

Attribution theory has been used to explain the difference in motivation between high and
low achievers. According to attribution theory, high achievers will approach rather than avoid
tasks related to succeeding because they believe success is due to high ability and effort which
they are confident of. Failure is thought to be caused by bad luck or a poor exam, i.e. not their
fault. Thus, failure doesn’t affect their self-esteem but success builds pride and confidence. On
the other hand, low achievers avoid success-related chores because they tend to (a) doubt their
ability and/or (b) assume success is related to luck or to “who you know” or to other factors
beyond their control. Thus, even when successful, it isn’t as rewarding to the low achiever
because he/she doesn’t feel responsible, i.e., it doesn’t increase his/her pride and confidence.

Principles

1. Attribution is a three stage process: (1) behavior is observed, (2) behavior is determined
to be deliberate, and (3) behavior is attributed to internal or external causes.
2. Achievement can be attributed to (1) effort, (2) ability, (3) level of task difficulty, or (4)
luck.
3. Causal dimensions of behavior are (1) locus of control, (2) stability, and (3)
controllability.

SELF-EFFICACY THEORY
Self-efficacy, a concept originally proposed by the psychologist Albert Bandura, refers to
an individual's belief in their capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific
performance attainments.
Self-efficacy affects every area of human endeavor. By determining the beliefs a person
holds regarding their power to affect situations, self-efficacy strongly influences both the power
a person actually has to face challenges competently and the choices a person is most likely to
make. These effects are particularly apparent, and compelling, with regard to investment
behaviors such as in health, education, and agriculture.
A strong sense of self-efficacy promotes human accomplishment and personal well-
being. A person with high self-efficacy views challenges as things that are supposed to be
mastered rather than threats to avoid. These people are able to recover from failure faster and are
more likely to attribute failure to a lack of effort. They approach threatening situations with the
belief that they can control them. These things have been linked to lower levels of stress and a
lower vulnerability to depression.
 In contrast, people with a low sense of self-efficacy view difficult tasks as personal
threats and shy away from them. Difficult tasks lead them to look at the skills they lack rather
than the ones they have. It is easy for them to lose faith in their own abilities after a failure. Low
self-efficacy can be linked to higher levels of stress and depression.
The self-efficacy theory holds is that people are likely to engage in activities to the extent
that they perceive themselves to be competent. 4 sources of self-efficacy are Performance
Accomplishments, Vicarious Experience, Social Persuasion, and Physiological and Emotional
States.

Self-Efficacy Theory of Bandura follows the principle that people are likely to engage in
activities to the extent that they perceive themselves to be competent at those activities.

Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s effectiveness in performing specific tasks. Albert

Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy has important implications for motivation.

According to staples et al. (1998), the self-efficacy theory suggests that there are four
major sources of information used by individuals when forming self-efficacy judgments.

In order of strength; people who regard themselves as a highly efficacious act, think, and
feel differently from those who perceive themselves as inefficacious. They produce their future,
rather than simply foretell It. – Albert Bandura

Sources of Self-Efficacy Beliefs

4 sources of self-efficacy are;

1. Performance Accomplishments.
2. Vicarious Experience.
3. Social Persuasion.
4. Physiological and Emotional States.
Performance Accomplishments
Personal assessment information that is based on an individual’s accomplishments. Previous
successes raise mastery expectations, while repeated failures lower them.
Vicarious Experience
Gained by observing others perform activities successfully. This is often referred to as modeling,
and it can generate expectations in observers that they can improve their performance by learning
from what they have observed.
Social Persuasion
Activities where people are led, through suggestion, into believing that they can cope
successfully with specific tasks. Coaching and giving evaluative feedback on performance are
common types of social persuasion.
Physiological and Emotional States
The individual’s physiological or emotional states influence self-efficacy judgments concerning
specific tasks. Emotional reactions to such tasks (e.g., anxiety) can lead to negative judgments of
one’s ability to complete the tasks.

CHOICE THEORY
Choice theory was created by Dr. William Glasser. Choice theory emphasizes the individual’s
control over his or her feelings and actions.  Conflict arises because we can only control our own
behavior.  The William Glasser theory teaches the concept that all behavior is chosen.  Glasser
Choice Theory states that all human behavior is driven by the desire to satisfy five basic human
needs:

 the need to be loved and accepted

 the need to be powerful
 the need to be free
 the need to have fun
 the need to survive

The William Glasser theory argues that everything we do is to fulfill one (or more) of these five
basic needs.  As we increase our self-control, we can make better and more responsible choices. 
Choice Theory recommends adopting seven Connecting Relationship Habits to use in all
relationships.  These include:

 Supporting
 Encouraging
 Listening
 Accepting
 Trusting
  Respecting
 Negotiating Differences

On the flip side, Choice Theory brings to light seven Disconnecting Habits that break down
relationships.  These significant choice theory habits are used to control people and ultimately
lead to misunderstandings and resentment.  They include:

 Criticizing
 Blaming
 Complaining
 Nagging
 Threatening
 Punishing
 Bribing, Rewarding to Control

We all choose whether to use Connecting or Disconnecting Habits in our relationships.  Happy,
positive relationships come from choosing Connecting Habits.

The Ten Axioms

Choice Theory also emphasizes Ten Axioms.  We have already seen the first axiom: humans can
only control their own behavior. The second is that all we give or get from others is information.
Number three is that all long-lasting psychological problems are relationship problems. Axiom
four is that we must have at least one satisfying relationship. The others are:

• The past has a lot to do with who we are, but it does not hold us prisoner.

• We are driven by five genetic needs.

• We satisfy these needs by building “quality worlds.”

• All behavior consists of four components: acting, feeling, thinking and physiology.

• Recognizing that we all control our own behavior brings us freedom.

• We only have “direct control” overacting and thinking, but we can gain indirect control over
feeling and physiology through these.

The Quality World

William Glasser theories emphasize the concept of the Quality World.  The Quality World is a
place in the mind where people store mental pictures of what they find important.  They might
store images of places, things, beliefs, and people who matter to them.
Glasser believed that images in a person’s Quality World make them feel good and meet at least
one basic need.  These pictures don’t need to align with society’s standards and are unique to
each person.  Our idea of a perfect life resides in the Quality World.

The Perceived World

Obviously, reality doesn’t reside in the Quality World.  Choice Theory states that we experience
the real world through our perceptions.  We gather information from our five senses and then
pass it through our Total Knowledge Filter.

The Total Knowledge Filter is comprised of everything we have experienced over the course of
our life.  When we encounter new information, we must make a decision.  We can:

 Disregard the information

 Believe the information might be meaningful but need to further investigate
 Decide the information is meaningful and pass it along to the Valuing Filter

Information passed through the Valuing Filter is assigned a value.

 Pleasurable information is assigned a positive value

 Unpleasant information is assigned a negative value
 Information that falls in between is considered neutral

This process is extremely personal.  Our views can differ wildly from the views of our peers. 
Glasser believed our Perceived World is what we deem reality.  It is:

 Subjective based on a variety of variables including gender, age, education and

experience
 Unique to each individual
 Constantly changing as we gather new information
 Likely inaccurate (but feels accurate at the time)

MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory of motivation which states that five categories of human
needs dictate an individual’s behavior. Those needs are physiological needs, safety needs, love
and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs.

Maslow's theory presents his hierarchy of needs in a pyramid shape, with basic needs at the
bottom of the pyramid and more high-level, intangible needs at the top. A person can only move
on to addressing the higher-level needs when their basic needs are adequately fulfilled.

1. 1. Physiological needs: The first of the id-driven lower needs on Maslow's hierarchy are
physiological needs. These most basic human survival needs include food and water,
sufficient rest, clothing and shelter, overall health, and reproduction. Maslow states that
 these basic physiological needs must be addressed before humans move on to the next
level of fulfillment.
2. 2. Safety needs: Next among the lower-level needs is safety. Safety needs include
protection from violence and theft, emotional stability and well-being, health security,
and financial security.
3. 3. Love and belonging needs: The social needs on the third level of Maslow’s hierarchy
relate to human interaction and are the last of the so-called lower needs. Among these
needs are friendships and family bonds—both with biological family (parents, siblings,
and children) and chosen family (spouses and partners). Physical and emotional intimacy
ranging from sexual relationships to intimate emotional bonds are important to achieving
a feeling of elevated kinship. Additionally, membership in social groups contributes to
meeting this need, from belonging to a team of co-workers to forging an identity in a
union, club, or group of hobbyists.
4. 4. Esteem needs: The higher needs, beginning with esteem, are ego-driven needs. The
primary elements of esteem are self-respect (the belief that you are valuable and
deserving of dignity) and self-esteem (confidence in your potential for personal growth
and accomplishments). Maslow specifically notes that self-esteem can be broken into two
types: esteem which is based on respect and acknowledgment from others, and esteem
which is based on your own self-assessment. Self-confidence and independence stem
from this latter type of self-esteem.
5. 5. Self-actualization needs: Self-actualization describes the fulfillment of your full
potential as a person. Sometimes called self-fulfillment needs, self-actualization needs
occupy the highest spot on Maslow's pyramid. Self-actualization needs include education,
skill development—the refining of talents in areas such as music, athletics, design,
cooking, and gardening—caring for others, and broader goals like learning a new
language, traveling to new places, and winning awards.

GOAL THEORY
Goal theory is almost a self-explanatory term. Essentially, goal theory states that people are
motivated when they have goals. This seems obvious, yet many people do not have goals and
thus often lack motivation. As such, goal theory can be useful for people who lack motivation or
who perhaps need help in clarifying the goals they have but cannot achieve.

Principles of Goal Theory

There are several principles related to goal theory. First, as has already been stated, is that people
perform better when they have goals. Second, and this one needs explanation, the goals must be
personal goals that the person wants to achieve. It is hard to be motivated by someone else’s
goals. Goals must come from the individual. Many students struggle in school because all the
goals come from the curriculum or teacher and rarely from the student. When all actions are
coming from the top down, and it could lead to a loss of motivation.

A third principle similar and related to the second is that people have to commit to the goal(s). In
other words, it cannot only be in the person’s head but must be followed with action.
Procrastination is a sign of a lack of commitment. Such behavior is seen by everyone when they
make a goal, maybe a reasonable goal, but never actually do anything to make it happen.

The fourth principle of goal theory is that challenging goals encourage better performance than
easy goals. A struggling helps people to perform better, whether adult or child. In the classroom,
goals need to elicit moderate to hard struggle because this motivates a student to push
themselves. Of course, it is possible to have too much of a good thing, and this means that goals
should be challenging but attainable; otherwise, people will give up and be even less motivated.

Fifth, goals need to specific rather than broad. This is a good point. However, different people
have different views on broad and specific. Determining whether a goal is broad or specific can
be done by assessing a person’s ability to achieve the goal if it is not apparent to the person what
they need to succeed. This means that the goal may require refinement in the form of breaking a
goal into several subgoals, defining what it means to complete the goal, or setting boundaries
such as a timeframe in which the goal is pursued.

Consequences

The consequences of setting goals are not necessarily negative. When adults or students achieve
goals, there is a sense of satisfaction in achieving them. Achieving goals brings a sense of
autonomy and even self-actualization as a person sees that they can do something and have an
impact, no matter how small, on their environment.

There can also be rewards when involving goals. Students can be given various privileges fr
achieving goals. This is a more extrinsic matter, but providing external rewards can be beneficial
for students on occasion.

There are also problems with goal setting. When goals are set in one area, other areas may be
ignored. For example, a student set a goal of doing their math homework at the exclusion of
other homework. To achieve this one goal meant to create problems in another area.

Another problem is when goal setting is abuse. An example of this is when a child sets goals that
are easy to achieve their real goal of being lazy. It takes experience on the part of a teacher to
know when the students’ goals are reasonable and not too hard or too easy.