Maslow has classified the human needs in five categories and arranges these categories of needs in a hierarchical order. When lower needs are satisfied, the individual attempts to satisfy the higher needs.
An organism remains in tension if needs are not satisfied. The organism makes efforts to release his tension. Thus, ‘need’ is a factor of motivation- Every behaviour of an organism is rooted by his need. The psychological force which encourages individual to emit a specific behaviour is known as need.
There are two types of needs:
1. Physiological needs, and
2. Mental or psychological needs.
The nature of motivation is psycho-physical. When physiological needs are satisfied, the behaviour change is satisfaction, but psychological needs play an important role in determining the behaviour, because such needs are never satisfied. Most of the human behaviour is controlled and determined by the psychological needs.
Murry’s Need Theory and Maslow’s Hierarchical Theory of Motivation have explained the nature and functions of psychological needs, but Maslow’s theory is most useful and meaningful in this regard.
It has been discussed as follows:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs Theory:
Maslow has classified the human needs in five categories and arranges these categories of needs in a hierarchical order. When lower needs are satisfied, the individual attempts to satisfy the higher needs.
In that way human being tries to satisfy his need in a hierarchical order as shown in the following diagram:
Maslow’s Theory of Motivation:
The diagram indicates the hierarchical order of human needs, if lower needs are satisfied of a person, he tries to satisfy more higher needs.
It is the basic assumption regarding this theory:
1. Physiological Needs:
This is an initial stage of human needs, e.g., hunger, thirst and sex. When these needs are not satisfied, total behaviour is governed by these needs. Until and unless physiological needs are not satisfied, the higher needs are not created. It is the lowest level of human needs but they should be satisfied then higher needs can be generated.
2. Safety Needs:
After satisfying physiological needs, the safety needs are created in an individual. The children have more safety needs than the adults, for example- need of life safety, all organism want to have live long safety. It is also lower level of need.
3. Needs of Belongingness:
When the first two needs are satisfied, the needs of belongingness are generated. Every person wants to make his friends and requires identification in the group. He shows affection and love to others and wants that other should also love him.
The needs this type are satisfied in this family and society-e.g., make friends, give recognition and love any one, etc.
4. Esteem Needs:
It is higher level need, because it involves the self-respect. An individual wants power and commend respect. He provides leadership and wants to live freely. Such needs are created when all earlier needs have been satisfied. The examples of esteem needs are—success, self-respect, self-confidences, etc. The needs develop the feeling of inferiority, if they are not satisfied.
5. Need of Self-Actualization:
This is the highest level of need according to Maslow’s theory. It is created in an individual when his earlier four needs are fully satisfied.
According to Maslow Self-Actualization Means:
“A musician must make music, an artist must paint and a poet must write poem, if he is ultimately to be at peace with himself. What can a man be, or must be?”
Maslow has classified the human needs in a hierarchical order. This hierarchical order of need is useful and meaningful for teaching-learning situation. The first three types of needs are known as lower level needs and last two types are considered as self-actualization needs. Teacher’s job is to identify the level of needs so that he may select appropriate technique of motivation. The need is an important source for human motivation. The classification of motives and their description has been given here.
The motives are of various types and they can be classified into the following categories:
1. Innate Motives:
An individual brings this type of motives from his birth. He cannot live without these motives. They are biological as well as physical, i.e., hunger, thirst, step and rest, etc.
2. Psychological Motives:
These motives are concerned with emotions of an individual, e.g., fear, anger, love, pain and comfort, etc.
3. Acquired Motives:
This type of motives is acquired from the environment according to his maturation, growth and development, e.g., interest, habit, groupism, etc.
4. Social Motives:
These motives are attained from social values, social ideas, norms and situations, e.g., self-security, exhibition, curiosity, etc.
5. Nature Motives:
These motives depend upon human nature, e.g., play, imitation, suggestion, respect, etc.
6. Artificial Motives:
These motives are supplementary of natural motives, e.g., punishment, reward, praise, cooperation and criticism, etc.
There are various techniques of motivation.
They can be broadly classified under three main heads- (i) External motivation, (ii) Internal motivation, (iii) External and Internal motivation.
The following are major techniques of motivation:
1. Reward and Punishment,
2. Praise and Reproof,
3. Success and Failure,
4. Competition and Cooperation,
5. Knowledge and Result of progress,
6. Novelty and
7. Level of aspiration.
In additional of these techniques attitudes, questions, examples and audio-visual aids also provide motivation to the learner.
1. Reward and Punishment:
It is an important technique of motivation for classroom teaching-learning situation. The reward is given for good and correct work of the students. It is an external type of motivation. The students get encouragement for their work.
The punishment is an opposite technique of reward. The students are punished for their undesirable behaviour so that the behaviour is restricted.
2. Praise and Reproof:
This is also an external motivation. The excellent work and correct behaviour are praised by teacher, so that probability of desirable behaviour is increased. They get encouragements for their good performance.
The reproof or criticism of wrong work is also a technique of motivation. The proper use of this technique has the positive effect and undesirable behaviour probability may be reduced. This technique is most effective and useful for bright students and this should not be used poor studies. It should be used in a statement form.
3. Success and Failure:
Bernard says that success develops the self-confidence among learners. The success is most effective for average student, but it provides motivation to everyone.
The failure is an opposite to the success technique. Sometime failure functions as a motive whenever a learner accepts it as a challenge and gets force and reinforcement for his work. Its nature is external as well as internal.
4. Competition and Cooperation:
It is a social motivation; hence it is more useful in classroom teaching. We observe the feeling of competition and cooperation among the students in schools. One student intends to perform better than others. The teacher encourages the students by this technique.
The group competition among students develops the feelings of cooperation and they get encouragement for group work. Psychologically, this technique is most significant for classroom teaching and learning. It also helps in developing the social skills and democratic feelings among students.
5. Knowledge of Result or Progress:
The knowledge of progress satisfies the ego a learner and accelerates the speed of the learning. There are various devices to employ the technique of motivation. The technique is mainly used in programmed instruction material. The learner has to confirm his own response when he finds that response is correct, the feels pleasure or happiness. In this way, his behaviours reinforced for the next task. Generally in schools, the progress report is prepared for every student, to provide the awareness about their knowledge of progress.
6. Novelty:
The learner has to adjust his own environment and novelty satisfies his need. The students get motivation by novelty and take more interest in new work. It is an essential in using this techniques that new thing should be related to the old one or familiar things. The change and variation which is related to life situation is called the novelty. The proper use of this device encourages the student’s behaviour.
7. Level of Aspiration:
A person aspires to achieve a thing which is related to the goal of his life which is known as level of aspiration. The level of aspiration of an individual depends upon his past achievements and abilities. A person gets successes in his life, if he fixes his level of aspiration considering the reality of his life. The level of aspiration depends upon the previous achievement of a person. It is a form of motivation. The main task of a teacher is to raise the level of aspiration of the students.