Crystal Pullman and Lindsay Bairos

Needs Theory
Abraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow was born in 1908 in New York to

a Jewish couple from Russia.
He had six brothers and sisters, and had two
daughters of his own with his wife, and first
cousin, Bertha Goodman.
He began his postsecondary education at the City
College of New York, he studied Law.
After he got married, they moved to Wisconsin for
his BA (1930), MA (1931), and PhD (1934) in
psychology from the University of Wisconsin.
He died June 28, 1970 of a heart attack.

Career and Theory Background

Maslow first began working with monkeys early in his career,

conducting research on their behaviour with Harry Harlow (known
for his work on attachment behaviour with rhesus monkeys).

He noticed that some needs take precedence, for example one will
quench their thirst before satisfying their hunger. This discovery
started him on the theory which we now call the Needs Theory.

He taught full time at Brooklyn College from 1937 until 1951,

when he began serving as the chair of the psychology
department at Brandeis, where he remained for 18
years.

Needs Theory

Need #1: Physiological

These

include many different needs, such

as the needs for oxygen and water,
vitamins and minerals, as well as
maintaining body temperature and pH
balance. They also include the needs to be
active, get rid of waste, and to avoid pain.
Maslow believed that a lack of one of these
needs would lead an individual to want
things that in the past has provided it,
such as milk provides calcium.

Need #2: Safety and Security

These

needs are secondary to the

physiological needs.

After

those needs are satisfied, individuals feel

the need to find themselves in safe and stable
conditions, to seek protection, structure.

For

example, people prefer safe

neighbourhoods, and good retirement plans.

Need #3: Love and Belonging

This

is the third layer of needs, which

include the need for friends, spouse, and
children.
Within our society, we show these needs
by wanting to marry and have a family, or
joining groups such as a baseball team or
a church.

Need #4: Esteem

The

first includes the need for the respect of

others, for status and attention, appreciation,
dominance and dignity.
The second includes the need for self-respect,
confidence, competence, and freedom.
Supposedly, this higher version of esteem is
harder to lose once an individual has satisfied
these needs.

Top of Pyramid: Self

Actualization

2% of the population is working on this level

Autonomy, deeper personal relations, reality and
problem-centered, feel that the end doesnt always
justify the means.
Sense of humility and respect, human kinship,
spontaneity and simplicity, and have strong ethics.
They often suffer from guilt and anxiety.
Needs: truth, goodness, beauty, unity, aliveness,
uniqueness, perfection, completion, justice and order,
simplicity, effortlessness, self-sufficiency, and
meaningfulness.
These needs only become important to fulfill once the
basic needs are met.

Salient Needs

These are referred to as deficit of

needs.

These operate on the idea of

homeostasis, according to Maslow.
(When you have a need (salient), i.e.
hunger, you want to eat (fulfilled).

These needs are instinctive he

called them instinctoid needs.

He believed we move through these

needs like stages, but that it is
possible to regressfor example a
divorce can leave you longing for
love.

Neuroses

This last pyramid is Maslows

understanding of neurosis.
He believes that your
experiences when you are
younger affect your current
behaviour.
For example, if your parents
were divorced when you were
young, and now have a
wonderful spouse, you expect
that youre not good enough.

Application in the Classroom

Maslows Needs Theory has several points for teachers

A student will not be able to fulfill their need for
knowledge if another, more immediate need, is present.

For example, the students that arrive without a lunch will likely
be hungry, which will inhibit their ability to learn.
Students who face other problems at school, such as bullies, or
ostracism, will be unable to focus on schoolwork.
The student who has done poorly in the past, and has been told
(perhaps by teachers, parents, siblings or classmates) that
they are unable to do well, will begin to
believe it inherently. It is necessary that the teacher
be gentle and help them overcome the fear of failure.

Application in
Special Education
Behaviour

and Learning Disabled students

Needs for self-esteem, confidence,
encouragement, belonging, and safety.
Gifted students Need for esteem and
perhaps self-actualization.
Physically disabled students Need for
physiological and safety.
From parents and teachers, making friends,
doing well in school and praises

Application in
Sara Porters case
Discussion
How

does Maslows Theory applied to

Sara Porters case?

From a journal article by

Anne Wescott Dodd
From a journal by Anne Wescott Dodd, Are Higher Standards and Students Needs Compatible?

Abraham Maslow's work on motivation is a successful first

step for principals to use as they work with teachers to make
schools better for students.

Maslow's hierarchy needs proposes that people must fulfill

their "deficiency" needs, such as physiological and safety
needs, before they can move toward development and
success in education.

Lower-level needs must be met before students can be

motivated to learn.

Students cannot learn if they feel threatened in their

school environment, they must have their safety
needs met.

From a journal article by

Anne Wescott Dodd

If steps are taken to make school safer, such as installing metal

detectors or hiring security guards, this may make students feel
like criminals. Therefore, the students wont be inspired to work
hard in class.

There is a difference between feeling secure and feeling safe.

Metal detectors and officers will make the school secure but the
students may not feel safe.

Principals must work hard to make their school more secure.

They need to ensure that students feel safe, valued, and capable.

Schools should be a comfortable and welcoming place where

students can achieve their goals. They are more likely to learn
because they want to learn.

Maslows Ideas on How to

Improve Education

Basic needs must be satisfied for each student.

Embrace each students uniqueness.
Be happy and cheerful in all kinds of situations.
Be genuine to all students.
Assist student to find their vocation.
Understand that life is precious.
Revitalize the students consciousness; be grateful for
the good things in life.
Transcend cultural conditioning and help students
become world citizens Global Education, Citizenship
Education, and Transformation.

References

Lefrancois, Guy (2000). Psychology for Teaching, 10th Edition.

Toronto: Thomson and Nelson.
Woscott, Anne. Are Higher Standards and Students Needs
Compatible? Principal Leadership (Middle School Ed.) 1 no1 28-32 S
2000.
Boeree, Dr. C. George. Personality Theories: Abraham Maslow. 1998
2004. [Online] http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/ maslow.html.
December 9, 2005
Norwood, G. (1999). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The Truth Vectors
(Part I). Retrieved January 2006, from
http://www.deepermind.com/20maslow.htm
PBS. A Science Odyssey. People and Discoveries: Abraham Maslow.
1998. [Online] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/
databank/entries/bhmasl.html. January 2, 2005.
Video
http://faculty.weber.edu/tlday/HUMAN.DEVELOPMENT/humanism.html

Questions for Comprehension

1.

2.

3.

As a future teacher, we will be faced with many

different situations in our classrooms. If a
student forgot their lunch and was hungry
throughout the day, how might this affect their
learning?
If a student of yours was a victim of bullying,
how would you deal with this situation? *Keep in
mind that their safety needs may not be met for
this situation.
How do you feel about making schools safer?
(Give examples of how it could be accomplished)