The journal article titled, Children and Their Basic Needs, reveals some of the difficulties facing children raised in impoverishment and particularly long-term poverty. Authors, Debra Prince, and Esther Howard reflect on the personalities of impoverished children, while presenting—to the reader—a look at how these children’s behaviors identify with psychologist Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the obstructions preventing these children from obtaining those basic needs. This article will demonstrate how Maslow’s theory serves as the axis for each layer of the developmental process while “[highlighting] the obstacles presented by poverty in the attainment of basic needs” (28). In this paper I will recapitulate each of Maslow’s five basic needs and then examine the correlation that Prince and Howard are trying to communicate to their audience. Lastly, I will make my determination as to whether each individual category should or should not be considered as part of society’s basic needs as it relates to the issue of poverty.
At the base of Maslow’s hierarchy is: physiological needs. These needs serve as the building blocks of which all other needs rest upon and must be satisfied before a person can move on to consider other higher-level needs. Aside from life’s essential needs such as food, shelter, and clothing, these physiological needs include the need to sleep, rest, and avoiding pain, to name a few (Boeree 2). Prince and Howard reflect on this theory of physiological as it relates to children of poverty why they say, “There is no doubt that unless these needs are met, the child will perish.” They go on to emphasize just how important proper nutrition is in the life of a child. According to one of their sources (UNICEF.com...
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...ee. This quote serves as a good example of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and seems relevant to the issue of children and poverty.
“If you have significant problems along your development—a period of extreme
Insecurity or hunger as a child, or the loss of a family member through death or
divorce, or significant neglect or abuse—you may “fixate” on that set of needs for
the rest of your life” (Boeree 8),
Works Cited
Boeree, Dr. George C. “Personality Theories: Abraham Maslow”. Web 17 Feb. 2001.
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html.
Prince, Debra L., and Esther M. Howard. Children and Their Basic Needs. Rpt. in Early
Childhood Education Journal. 1st ed. Vol. 30. City: Kluwer Academic. 27-31. Ser. 2002.
Academic Premier. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.
UNICEF (1998). The State of the World’s Children [on-line].Available: www.unicef.org.sowc98
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is shaped like a pyramid. The first level or “base” of the pyramid consists of Physiological needs, such as: breathing, food, water, and sleep. The second level is labeled as Safety, involving security of body, resources, morality, family, and property. The third level includes Love for self, friends, and family, and the fourth level is titled Esteem such as: self-esteem, confidence, achievement, and respect of and by others. The fifth and final level is called Self-Actualization, and consists of creativity, morality, lack of prejudice and spontaneity. Maslow states that to fulfill these needs, you must start from the very bottom and work your way up, and that if your most basic
Maslow suggested that there are five levels of need. Level one needs are basic needs such as food and shelter which need to be meet before moving to the next level of need. Each level should be meet in turn up to level five, self-actualisation. An example of this in current practice is providing children with snack and water during the school day fulfilling basic needs and providing opportunities to develop friendships and feel safe at school to express their feelings can fulfil needs in levels 2 and 3 of Maslowâ€TMs hierarchy of
Simons, Janet A., Donald B. Irwin, and Beverly A. Drinnin. "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." Psychology: the Search for Understanding. St. Paul: West Pub., 1987. Print.
Maslow’s psychological theory is evident in the novel to prove that it is not only the community that influences the development of the child, but to a large extent, it is
In 1954 an American psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that all people are motivated to fulfill a hierarchical pyramid of needs. At the bottom of Maslow's pyramid are needs essential to survival, such as the needs for food, water, and sleep. The need for safety follows these physiological needs. According to Maslow, higher-level needs become important to us only after our more basic needs are satisfied. These higher needs include the need for love and 'belongingness', the need for esteem, and the need for self-actualization (In Maslow's theory, a state in which people realize their greatest potential) (All information by means of Encarta Online Encyclopedia).
Simple Psychology (2014) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Available at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html (Accessed on: 08th April 2014)
Maslow believed that there was a hierarchy of five innate needs that influence people’s behaviors (Schultz & Schultz, 2013, p.246-247). In a pyramid fashion, at the base are physiological needs, followed by safety needs, then belonginess and love needs, succeeded by esteem needs, and finally the need for self-actualization. Maslow claimed that lower order needs must be at least partially satisfied before higher level needs are addressed. Furthermore, behavior is dominated by solely one need
Phillips, D., & Adams, G. (2001). Child Care and Our Youngest Children. Caring for Infants and Toddlers, Vol. 11, No. 1, 35-51.
Unlike many of his colleagues at the time who were focusing on psychopathology, or what is wrong with individuals, he focused on how individuals are motivated to fulfill their potential and what needs govern their respective behaviors (McLeod)). Maslow developed the hierarchy over time, adjusting from a rigid structure where needs must be met before being able to achieve a higher level, to where the individuals can experience and behave in ways across the hierarchy multiple times daily depending on their needs. The hierarchy is comprised of 5 levels; Physiological, Safety and Security, Love and Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. The bottom two levels are considered basic needs, or deficiency needs because once the needs are met they cease to be a driving factor, unlike psychological needs. Loving and Belonging and Esteem needs are considered psychological needs, and are different from basic needs because they don’t stem from a lack of something, but rather the desire to grow. Maslow theorizes that individual’s decisions and behavior are determined based on their current level of needs, and the ideal level to achieve full potential culminates in self-actualization; however, operating on this level cannot be achieved until the preceding levels of needs have been
In this essay I aim to identify the needs of humans and how they have been met from the early days of humanity, right through to the present day. I will be placing a lot of emphasis on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as this is the most widely accepted model and it makes sense that humans will have progressed up this hierarchy over time, this is something I will be exploring in the essay.
The strength of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is that it has influenced practice in childcare settings as it aids in the understanding of the child more clearly and children and young people can be helped in ensuring that their basic needs are met in order or them to learn and make the correct choices about their health, safety and well-being. However a weakness of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is that it cannot be tested or measured precisely if one need has been fulfilled before the next need has to be achieved.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which is generally depicted as a pyramid, is broken down into deficiency needs and growth needs. The first four levels (deficiency needs) are physiological, safety, belongingness and love, and esteem (Huitt, 2007). These cover the essential basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, security, acceptance, and recognition. Maslow also identified four growth needs: cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization, and self-transcendence (Huitt, 2007). It is only after the basic needs are met that humans devote time and effort into knowledge (cognitive) and beauty (aesthetics). It is critical that teachers are aware of how these needs impact the classroom
Abraham Maslow wrote the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. This theory was based on fulfilling five basic needs: physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization. Maslow believed that these needs could create internal pressures that could influence the behavior of a person. (Robbins, p.204)
Abraham Maslow did studies of the basic needs of human beings. He put these needs into a hierarchical order. This means that until the need before it has been satisfied, the following need can not be met (Encyclopedia, 2000). For example, if someone is hungry they are not thinking too much about socializing. In the order from lowest to highest the needs are psychological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. The first three are classified as lower order needs and the last two are higher order (Hierarchy, 2000). Without meeting these needs workers are not going to be as productive as they could otherwise. The first three are considered to be essential to all humans at all times. The last two have been argued but are mostly considered to be very important as well.
In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a theory of basic human needs: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. His theory suggests that embedded in the very nature of each human being are certain needs that must be attained in order for a person to be whole physically, psychologically, and emotionally. First, there are phys...