Humanism And Maslow

Basic Postulates ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Humans are inherently good. Humans are active as well as reactive. Human are more than the sum of their parts. Human existence takes place in a uniquely human context (separate from animals). Human are always aware of being aware (conscious, awareness of self and others). Human behavior is determined by an individual’s perceptions of self (self-concept). For behavior to change, self perceptions must change. Humans have free will and responsibility. Humans are intentional and aim for goals.

What is Humanism? ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Dignity Rational Truth Seeking Goodness More than sum of parts SelfActualization Hopeful

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Motivating Affirmative Celebratory Holistic Human Potential Growth Openness Enlightenment

HUMANISM Develop the innate potential of every person. Let each become all s/he is capable of becoming. Help each individual to self-actualize.

Within every person is an active will towards health, growth, and the actualization of human potential. Carol Tribe

ABRAHAM MASLOW

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Maslow’s Philosophy ■

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To understand humans, you must understand their highest aspirations. Human study must be humanistic & holistic Human values are intrinsically good & desirable. Personality problems are loud protests against the ‘crushing of psychological bones’. Self-actualizing people can live more freely in the realm of being. A democratic environment is essential to reach potential

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS B E I N G

Aesthetic

• Self Actualizing Needs

intellectual

• Esteem Needs D E P R I V A T I O N

• Love and Belonging Needs • Safety Needs • consistency and predictability • physical safety • Physiological Needs

NEEDS DEPRIVATION The LESS a need is deprived when it first emerges, the BETTER a person is able to tolerate a subsequent deprivation of that need.

THEREFORE • If you want people to be able to tolerate food deprivation, be certain that they never are hungry • If you want people to be able to tolerate danger, be certain they always feel safe.

Following this logic, we can conclude: ■

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If you want people to be able to tolerate frustration, don’t frustrate them. If you want people to be able to tolerate failure, be certain they succeed often. If you want people to be able to tolerate humiliation, be certain you are constantly supportive of and caring toward them.

EMOTIONAL HEALTH ■

Maslow's theory deals with emotions, not cognition. But he does strongly maintain that proper emotional development is crucial to curiosity and to creative thinking.

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Emotional well being is the key to thinking and to proper learning.

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One knows nothing from behavior. We have to understand the underlying need that motivated the behavior. A given stage can give rise to many different behaviors. Likewise, a given behavior can be indicative of many different stages.

What Shoul d Edu cat ors Be Tryi ng to Achi eve? Em otio nal health is th e g oal of humanis tic e ducatio n. Ed ucation should b e n urtu rin g. The r ole of t he teacher i s to be a fa cili tator— to help the c hil d p ursue h er/h is own inte re sts. Ea ch c hil d i s u niq ue, a nd educational g oals fo r e ach child must b e u niq ue. •

The Goals of Humanistic Education • Giving students Choice, not Controlling them • Providing an Open not a Closed classroom • Students are viewed as being Active, not Passive • Self evaluation not teacher provided grades • Facilitating vs. Teaching Facts •. Principles vs. Facts • Discovery vs. Acquisition • Cooperation vs. Competition • Creativity vs. Conventionality • Personal Integrity vs. Beating the System

HIERARCHY and SEQUENCE What Is a Hierarchy? You must successfully complete (resolve, equilibrate) one stage before you go to the next. How Is Hierarchy Related To Sequence? All hierarchical theories are sequential, but not all sequential theories are hierarchical.

POTENCY of NEEDS The needs are INNATE, but they are not of equal potency (strength). They are arranged in a hierarchy of potency. AN INDIVIDUAL IS MOTIVATED BY HER/HIS MOST POTENT

UNSATISFIED NEED

THE NEEDS ARE UNIVERSAL

BUT CULTURE OFTEN DETERMINES HOW THE NEEDS ARE SATISFIED