The Maslow Hierarchy of Needs: What Motivates Us?

Theory Outline 

The hierarchy of needs is an approach in psychology that Abraham Maslow conceived to infer the benefits that human beings acquire at each distinct level of necessities. The theory debuted in 1943 as “A Theory of Human Motivation” but was later modified in 1954 under the title “Motivation and Personality.” The theorist outlined five levels of needs defined by the surrounding conditions or the uniqueness of distinct human beings. According to the model, humans are empowered to satisfy the needs in one level following the fulfillment of the previous level (Healy, 2017) . The hierarchy is set to have the basic needs at the bottom and progresses to the needs that could be considered most advanced. Five needs are outlined in the hierarchy: physiological, safety, sense of love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. Every human desire to reach the fifth level of the hierarchy of needs; thus, self-realization is every individual’s zenith objective. 

Analyzing the Theory 

The model represents the five human needs in a pyramid, and they progress from the baseline of the pyramid progressing upwards. Beginning from the bottom, physiological needs that include food and clothing are followed by safety needs, including security at the workplace. The third level of the hierarchy is love and a sense of belonging, which allows individuals to exist comfortably in social contexts. The self-esteem needs are at the fourth level, while self-actualization needs are at the pyramid’s pinnacle. All humans are inclined to help each other attain the basic needs, but achieving the top-most needs such as self-actualization, depends on the individual’s effort (Deptola, 2021) . Therefore, many individuals may end up not reaching the self-actualization level in their lifetime. The theory can be represented and summarized diagrammatically as follows; 

Physiological, safety, love and belongingness, and esteem needs are usually termed as deficiency needs, while self-actualization needs are referred to as growth or being need. Deficiency needs are brought about by the absence of enrichment and are attributed to the empowerment people are imposed to when the needs are not fulfilled. The perpetual deprivation of the needs makes individuals resilient, like in the case of continued starvation in an individual who endures lack of food for a longer time. 

Seemingly, the proponent of the theory pointed out that even when there are deficiencies in needs, those at the bottom should be met first before contemplating pursuing the higher needs in the pyramid. Nevertheless, he demystified that the needs may not be fully achieved to allow the person to proceed to the next level. In some instances, one may opt to pursue the next level of needs upon satisfying what is indispensable in the previous level (Thornton et al., 2021) . Therefore, the satisfaction of the needs at the initial level does not mean that the individual would stagnate in that particular level but would be eager to seek the means of accomplishing the higher-level needs. 

The top-most needs, otherwise referred to as growth or being needs, are not motivated by the absence of anything. They are instead motivated by the individuals’ ambitions in developing into a person they have desired. The satisfactory attainment of the being needs unlocks the level that would allow the individual to access the peak of the needs, which is self-actualization (Thornton et al., 2021) . All humans are endowed with the relevant capacities that would qualify them to attain the top-most needs. However, many might fail to realize the needs at the top level of the hierarchy due to their inefficiency in accomplishing the needs at the lower levels. Their endeavors to attain self-actualization could be derailed by miseries of life brought by misfortunes such as divorce, getting fired at their workplaces, and other unlucky experiences (Thornton et al., 2021) . Hence, most people linger between the first and the third levels, or by chance the fourth level, and hardly reach the fifth. 

Application of the Theory to Practice Proper Classroom Management 

Studies conducted on education have established that teachers responsible for controlling their classrooms have a significant influence in determining the learners’ success (Bennett & Shangreaux, 2020) . The most significant determinant for this success is defined by the teachers’ ability to manage the classroom effectively. Overall, teachers continually observe inconsistencies in a student’s behavior, and in most cases, they register the learners who exhibit unbecoming behaviors and constant distractions in the classroom. For this reason, teachers should have plans that can help them understand the psychological needs of the students and help them shape the characters of the students who could be exposed to behavior corruption (Bennett & Shangreaux, 2020) . Hence, applying Maslow’s motivation approach could help them understand each student’s level of needs and how the needs could influence the behaviors they portray during classroom sessions. They could afterward attend to this kind of needs where possible, thus mitigating distractions that affect the learning process. 

Adopting Maslow’s model would help the Jamaican teachers in managing the classroom a great deal. First, the model would enable the teachers to internalize the lesson plans and frame the objectives for learners’ every level’s needs. Also, the teachers should interact with the courses and the programs that are set for the effective running of the institution and ensure that these programs are learner-centered to allow them to acquire the necessary knowledge in an encouraging environment (Thornton et al., 2021) . The instructors should begin by determining whether the five needs outlined in the hierarchy are respected in the institution or classroom and examine the alignment of their teaching practices to Maslow’s approach. Throughout the classroom sessions, teachers should be evaluating how the needs are met for every learner involved. 

In line with the order of the hierarchy of needs, teachers should start by assessing the students’ physiological needs. Teachers should ensure that students have clothes that keep them warm during winter and eat sufficient food to sustain them. Additionally, teachers should be aware that students spend their nights not in the streets but have a comfortable shelter. If possible, the school can ensure the accomplishment of the requirements of this level by inculcating common breakfast or lunch for all students. Afterward, the school environment should be well managed to ensure the security of the learners. Classes should be well roofed and the broken infrastructure and furniture repaired to enhance the learners’ security. Learners often concentrate and understand the relevant concepts in an environment where they feel secure (Thornton et al., 2021) . The institution should, therefore, guarantee them protection against internal and external intrusion. Thirdly, the educators should foster prolific interactions among the learners to boost their sense of love and belongingness. Teachers should interact equally with all students to make each individual feel worthy and welcome in the room. The interaction could be initiated in-game activities, collective assignments, and other performances that could be carried out in groups. 

Furthermore, classroom management could be enhanced by fostering the esteem of all the learners. This step can be achieved by acknowledging each learner’s contribution and encouraging them to participate in classroom activities by reinforcing their correct answers and declining the wrong ones politely (Deptola, 2021) . The teacher should never make negative comments to learners even when their answers sound like a joke. Giving students nicknames after making errors kills their esteem, and therefore, a teacher should never kill the learners’ esteem or encourage learners to despise each other. Lastly, the education system should empower the learners towards self-actualization. After school, learners should be able to utilize the knowledge and skills acquired in schools to advance the wider society (Bennett & Shangreaux, 2020) . Self-actualization can be fostered by encouraging students who are best in specific subjects to coach those who are poor and continue helping each other interchangeably. 

Applying Maslow’s Approach to Solve Poor Classroom Management Scenarios in Jamaica 

Poor classroom management in Jamaican schools has contributed to the prevalence of indiscipline cases that are often reported. The Peace and Love Society (PALS) manager, during her presentation in the Jamaica Teacher’s Association, reported that teachers are becoming incapable of controlling the behaviors of the learners, leading to the existence of inappropriate behaviors among the learners (Deptola, 2021) . According to her, the implementation geared towards the empowerment of classroom management should lean more on fostering the teachers’ competencies in controlling the classroom effectively. 

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy motivation can be applied to enhance the implementation of the guidelines to define the appropriate behavior in the classroom situation. There are several undesirable behaviors, such as conflicts, that characterize adolescents. These characteristics distract both the individuals engaged in them and fellow learners around them. The plans to hamper these distractive behaviors should be designed to the necessities of the instructors to have an overall organized classroom instead of directing all the efforts to a single learner (Healy, 2017) . The teacher should ensure that the learners are enjoying the lesson because this is related to how best they can acquire knowledge. 

Lack of basic needs such as food and water could render students indisciplined. The system should ensure that the learners can often access water and are served sufficient food. Also, every teacher should make sure that all learners are free from any form of distress in the classroom setting and can all get whatever the teacher is communicating effectively. Additionally, the teacher should be keen to note when lethargy overwhelms the learner to determine the appropriateness of adjourning the lesson. Moreover, whenever the learner’s security is threatened in the school, the educators should communicate to the learners the best alternative they ought to take. The timetable should be well adhered to by the entire school members to allow the learners to predict the expectations. Besides, the teacher should arrange the classroom sitting order so that each learner is next to the person they are familiar with and ones they are comfortable with (Healy, 2017) . Teachers should create room to allow learners to feel appreciated by the rest and freely express their opinions. 

Conclusion 

Although teachers in most Jamaican schools are often blamed for the prevalence of indiscipline cases among the learners, psychological research shows that the deprivation of needs could be the major contributor to indiscipline. Therefore, teachers can apply Maslow’s hierarchy of motivation to understand the needs that could influence the students’ behaviors. They should embrace the model and respect the order of the fulfillment of the needs that each learner has attained to curb indiscipline in schools and classrooms. 

References 

Bennett, M., & Shangreaux, C. (2020). Applying Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory. First Peoples Child & Family Review , 2 (1), 89-116. https://doi.org/10.7202/1069540ar 

Deptola, A. (2021). Motivation: An Integral Component of Resident Well-Being. Journal Of Graduate Medical Education , 13 (1), 11-14. https://doi.org/10.4300/jgme-d-20-00309.1 

Healy, K. (2017). A Theory of Human Motivation by Abraham H. Maslow (1942). British Journal of Psychiatry , 208 (4), 313-313. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.115.179622 

Thornton, K., Easterly, T., & Osborne, E. (2021). Foundations of Effective Classroom Management. EDIS , 2021 (1). https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-wc381-2021