Maslow and Motivation

Exactly what is this "motivation" thing? According to "Dictionary.com," the word motivation, as a noun, is defined as, "...the state or condition of being motivated." Upon further investigation, the word "motivated" is defined as a verb, "...to provide with a motive or motives; to incite; to impel." So, to motivate would be to incite someone into doing something; the motivation behind an action is the underlying reason something is done.

In 1943, psychology professor Abraham Maslow, the founder of humanistic psychology, published a paper called "A Theory of Human Motivation," which extolled the virtues of a new theory of the hierarchical needs of humans. Maslow basically said the there were five hierarchical levels of human needs that served as motivation for human actions and interactions. these levels, from the basic to the sophisticated, include: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization:


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Basically, what Maslow said was that the base levels of the hierarchy (pictured above as the bottom layer (orange) of the pyramid) were the "primary" levels of need that must be met before any of the layers above on the table could be achieved.

It's pretty obvious to draw several conclusions here, and while this is not a sociological essay, one cannot help but to come to several sociological conclusions. Primarily, people who have basic needs met can focus on higher level needs; generally, this means that the poor once again get the short end of the straw, as they are in an almost incessant scramble to meet the level one needs such as food, shelter, freedom from pain, etc.

In addition, Maslow can be used quite effectively as a diagnostic tool. For example, if Johnny is having problems getting along with others at school (level three), one generally need look no further than level two, where one might identify (i.e.) the fact that the father is out of work, which in turn makes resources at Johnny's house scarce, which in turn reflects to the first layer, where Johnny might not be sleeping or eating well. You must have stability on the lower levels to be able to even pursue the upper levels.

From a language arts perspective, Maslow is critical in understanding character motivation. Just like people (no coincidence), characters must be consistent with regard to following Maslow's hierarchy. Which is why, for example, we don't see too many stories about a homeless person pursuing morality or creativity very often; too busy seeking shelter and food. They're usually alone, too, and they tend not to exhibit excessive self-esteem, either.

Maslow works on many levels, no pun intended. For the counselor trying to understand why Johnny gets into trouble every day at school, for the English student trying to comprehend literature, for the creative writer trying to accurately pen a three dimensional character, and for the everyday person just trying to understand life.

© Ray Cattie