MASLOW’S THEORY OF HIERARCHICAL NEEDS AND MCCLELLAND’S ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION



             MASLOW’S THEORY OF HIERARCHICAL NEEDS AND
                  MCCLELLAND’S ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION

SYNOPSES:
v  Introduction
v  What is motivation
v  Definition
v  Motivation cycle
v  Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
v  Implications of Maslow’s Theory On Education
v  What can Teachers do?
v  McClelland’s Achievement Motivation
v  Develop achievement motivation among students
v  Achievement Motivation and the teacher
v  Measuring Achievement motivation

             
                                                        Abraham Maslow
          1908-1970
·         Abraham Harold Maslow was born on April 1, 1908 in Brooklyn, Newyork.
·         He received his B.A in 1930, his M.A in 1931 and his Ph.D in 1934 all in psychology, all from the university of Wisconsin.
·         He began teaching full time at Brooklyn college. Maslow served as the chair of psychology department at brandies from 1951 to 1969.
·         In 1970, he died of a heart attack.

 What is Motivation?
        Historically the word motivation comes from the Latin word ‘movers’ which means
‘To move’ in literal meaning, we can say that motivation is the process of arousing movement in the organism.

Definition
   The term motivation refers to the arousal of tendency to act to produce one or more effects'.         -T.W.AKKINSON
  Motivation is constant, never ending, fluctuating, and complex and that is an almost universal characteristics particularly every organism state of affairs’   -A.H.MASLOW
Motivation in school learning involves arousing, persisting, sustaining and directing desirable behavior” -C.F.SKINNER

Motivational cycle:
§  Need  creates tension in the organization
§  It set up the goal and activates its efforts to reach the goal.
§  When it reaches the goal, it is satisfied.
§  Motivation may be from within or from some external source.

Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs;
§  Dr. Abraham Maslow synthesized a large body of research resulting in his master creation, the Hierarchy of needs.
§  This hierarchy, beautiful in its simplicity, describes the stages of human development through which each of us passes on the way to becoming fully functioning, responsible adults ultimately moving towards the pinnacle of achievement attained by humans.
§  There are five stages in the hierarchy, which Maslow conceptualized as a pyramid.
§  He saw everyone beginning life at the bottom level, with only a few reaching the top.
§  Each step up the scale represents a major triumph over the challenges of development, and advancement to the next step is entirely dependent on mastery of the step before it.

Here the steps on Maslow’s scale:
1.  PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS:
§  At the physiological level is the need for air, water, nourishment, activity, good, health, rest and avoidance of pain.
§  A boy, who is deprived of food, will be motivated to do something to get food. We in order to motive our children to complete their school assignment, sometimes deprive them of their privileges like pocket money and freedom to play etc. Need gratification is better means to motivate children for further work.
2. SATETY NEEDS:
§  At the safety and security level the physiological needs have been largely take care of and the child is confident that they still continue to be taken care of.
§  He becomes increasingly interested in finding safe circumstances, stability and protection.
§  As an example increasingly interested in finding safe circumstances, stability and protection.
§  As an example, he may run to his parent when he sees a dog he doesn’t know. It is at this level where he develops a need for structure, order, and limits. It is also here that he develops fears and anxiety.
§  He may worry about someone breaking into his home.
3. LOVE AND BELONGINGNESS NEEDS
§  At the love and belonging level the child needs other to love and provide him with a sense of belonging.
§  At this level, some sort of family stability is order for the child to invest love in someone else.
§  If his care giving parent dies or is incarcerated and he is placed in a series of foster homes, he may not attain the feeling of stability required for emotional investment.
§  If it appears that no one wants to make a lasting commitment to him, he may unable to love himself.
§  This sense of belonging is threatened, when parents divorce. And at this level, loneliness and social anxiety may become manifest.
4. SELF-ESTEEM NEEDS:
§  At the esteem level the child searches for feelings of self-worth. Maslow noted two versions of the esteem need.
§  One he saw as of a lower order and the others as of a higher order.
§  The lower needs for the respect of others. This involves the need for status, fame, recognition, attention, reputation, appreciation, respect and dominance.
§  The higher form involves the need to respect one’s self. This includes feelings of confidence, competence, achievement, mastery, independence and freedom.
§  Clearly Maslow saw the achievement of self –respect as being more important than achieving the respect of others.
§  At this level that low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority may manifest.
§  Maslow, like many other psychologist, believed that low-esteem was at the root of most psychological problems.
§  These above four levels were considered by Maslow to be deficit or instinctual needs. If the child is deficient at any of the four levels, he becomes highly compelled to fulfill that need. But if he has all his needs fulfilled at each level, he feels nothing and at all compelled by them.
§  The remaining need is growth need able to be acted upon only if the deficiency needs are fully met.
5. SELF-ACTUALIZATION NEEDS:
§  At the self actualization level, the child is a child no longer and has become a self-fulfilled, fully functioning individual able to accept responsibility for his own life.
§  At this level, the individual has come near to achieving his full potential, to be the person he was born to be. This is the stated goal of the education system.
§  Only a small percentage of the world’s population is truly, predominantly self-actualizing.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SELF-ACTUALIZERS:
§  They demonstrate an efficient perception of reality and acceptance.
§  They accept themselves and others.
§  They show high degree of spontaneity and simplicity.
§  Problem centered orientation
§  They appreciated ’basic goods of life’ with continued freshness and pleasure.
§  They at times show mysticism.
§  Identify with mankind
§  They develop deep interpersonal relations with others
§  Democratic in outlook.
§  Sense of humour.
§  Creative.
§  Unity.
§  Lawfulness.
§  Self regulation and full functioning.
§  Desirability.
§  Individuality, non-comparability.
§  Ease, lack of strain and joy.
§  Richness.

IMPLICATIONS OF MASLOW’S THEORY ON EDUCATION
v  Obviously, students who are very hungry or in physical danger will have little psychological energy to put into learning.
v  Schools and government agencies recognize that if students ‘basic needs are not met, learning will suffer. They have responded by providing free breakfast and lunch programs.
v  The most important deficiency needs, however, are love and self-esteem.
v  Students who do not feel that they are loved and they are capable are unlikely to have a strong motivation to achieve the higher-level growth objectives, such as the search for knowledge and understanding for their own sake or the creativity openness to new ideas that are characteristics of the self-actualizing person.
v  A teacher who can put students at ease and make them feel accepted and respected as individuals is more likely (in Maslow’s view) to help them become eager to learn for the sake of learning and willing to risk being creative and open to new ideas.

WHAT CAN TEACHERS DO?
§  Understand that each student brings his/her own unique background to the classroom.
§  A student’s readiness to learn is not solely dependent upon existing knowledge and skills.
§  We must develop a relationship with the student in order to determine their current readiness level.
§  Once determined, we must develop a strategy to address current needs as well as the needs in the next level.
§  Create a safe classroom environment.
§  Develop rules and procedures which provide a structured environment rich in routine and shared expectations.
§  Develop and enforce rules prohibiting sarcastic, degrading. And berating remarks and comments by students directed at other students.
§  Additionally, learn to use positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement to correct students behaviors
§  Take time out to let each student know how well they are doing.
§  Let students know that you care about them.
§  Although many of us assume our students know this, it’s not necessarily the case.
§  Let the students know that you want them to succeed, whether it is to pass your latest test, or class or graduate from college and get a good job.
§  Let them know that you appreciated the work they do on class work or a test, or homework.
§  Take the time out to explain issues and concerns with them.
§  When feasible, provide student participation in the decision making process.
§  Opportunities include scheduling tests, methods for teaching material, and scheduling blocks of instruction.
§  Although many issues pertaining to students progress in Maslow’s hierarchy emanate from outside the school environment, as teacher we are in a position to strongly influence student outcomes
§  Only when we address both of the issues will student learning be enhanced and maximized.

McClelland’s achievement motivation:
According to David McClelland, Achievement motivation refers to “The desire to achieve and to avoid failure”. Achievement is a desire for attaining some specific standard of excellence.
These achievement motivates depend upon the social, the cultural and economic condition of society. The individual accepts only this kind of condition or situation for his desired achievement. McClelland’s achievement motivation is related to the Maslow’s the need for self actualization and to Murray called the need for achievement.
          The achievement motivation is developed by the motives of exploration, competence, and self actualization which are themselves social motives. As far as competence is concerned, it is determined and activated by internal and external conditions where as in self actualization such element as respect, self respect, success, love, social relations, recognition, security, permanence, hunger, thirst and sex desire play important roles. Achievement motivations include need for success as well as need to avoid failure.

DEVELOP ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION AMONG STUDENTS:
          McClelland and his associates (1965) studied the conditions under which achievement motivation best develops. 
1.Give reasons for developing the motive.
2.      Links the motive to deeds and to daily events in his life.
3.      Commits himself to concrete goals.
4.      Has honest and warm support.
5.      Engages in self-study.
6.      -to take moderate risks.
7.      -to face the challenges of moderately difficult tasks.
8.      -to set realistic goals.
9.      –to have confidence in their ability to handle specific problems.
10.  –to seek feedback on performances.
11.  –to defer gratification.

ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION AND THE TEACHER:
A.    The teacher should encourage at first whenever the students achieves something, though it is small. Later, the teacher should reserve reinforcement for the success completion of more complex tasks.
B.     The teacher can help the students to become independently self-reinforcing. In other words, the teacher should help the leaner to self-evaluate and self praise.
C.     The teacher must help the learner realize the importance of achievement.
D.    The teacher must help the learner realize the link achieving motive to daily events in his life.
E.     The teacher must help the learner commit himself to realistic and concrete goals.
F.      The teacher must promptly inform the learner of his progress.
G.    The teacher must recommend moderate levels of motivation for both the disturbed child and slow learners. Too much pressure of achievement causes them to overact and they get disturbed in both achievement and social relations.
MEASURING ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION:
           Achievement motivation is measured by projective techniques.
In measuring achievement motivation; test similar to Thematic Apperception Test [T.A.T] is used. McClelland used the Thematic Apperception Test [T.A.T] devices to measure the achieving motive. Given a T.A.T picture [let us say, a boy seated at desk with a book in front of him], the subject [or] individual is given four minutes for writing a brief story answering the following question.
1.      What is happening?
2.      What has led up to his situation?
3.      What is being thought of?

0 comments:

Post a Comment