Psychology

People differ from animals when it comes to their relationship with food. Both need food for survival. Animals, depending on their size, can consume more than or less than a persons consumption. Animals also differ in their manner of devouring food. But more important for this paper is their difference in their outlook on food. Both people and animals have a concept of what their food really is. Food to animals is just a necessity of life they eat to gain energy so they may be able to power other instinctive behaviour such as defending themselves from other animals, or caring for their offspring. Unlike animals, people have more reasons why they see food as a necessity other than to gain energy to power their other behaviours. For people, the fulfilment of food satisfies one need so they may work on a need that is beyond their need for survival.

There are several theories on why man behaves the way he does. Psychology being a broad science in itself studies why and how he behaves. Where some, if not most all, would find their answers in past experiences, the theory of Maslow is not like any of them. Maslows theory of Hierarchy of Needs is more humanistic than behavioural or cognitive in its aspect. His theory covered one aspect of psychology wherein he focused on the question of WHY but, his answers were not based on experiences but more on the concept of a NEED. To Maslow, most behaviours were based on aggregation of needs and urges. This could spark a lot of criticism since the mind and how it works can be caused by many factors. However, it was Maslow who viewed human behaviour in a positive way. His theory portrays human beings holistically with numerous opportunities for growth. He believed that there were abundant ways to grow in this world unlike that of animals who have only one goal to survive.

For people, there are different aspects of growth. Maslow was able to describe most of them in his theory of needs. Other than survival, people need social, emotional and actualization growth. They feel the need to feel fulfilled more than satisfying their physiological needs.

Before going any further, the concept of need should be defined to set an operational definition of the term. Need in a general view is a necessity that arises from a certain situation or experience. It can vary from each situation which results to a whole range of definition for Need it could be psychological or physiological among any others. For Maslow, a need comes in a hierarchical pattern. People have needs that are often unsatisfied which are needed to satisfy other needs. His theory consequently studied the motivational factor in the fulfilment of other needs. The term hierarchical in his theory is important as it explains the need for other needs to be fulfilled before others can be satisfied (Maslow, 1954).

From his book Theory of Human Motivation (Maslow, 1954), Maslows theory presents itself in a diagram of a pyramid. Each need is arranged according to pre-potency. The manifestation of one need presents itself more pre-potent than the other (Maslow, 1943). The first presents the lowest or the most basic necessity which is the survival needs and was referred to by Maslow as physiological needs. Upon fulfilment of need, a person is capable of fulfilling his needs to feel secured. This need allows him to feel protected from threats and physical harm. Other than the need for sustenance, one wants to feel free from threat to be able to focus on other needs. Satisfaction of safety needs include the necessity to live in a secure area, to have medical assurance of living a healthy life and also the need to be financially stable and which consequently leads to the need for job security. The need for love and belongingness follows after as people are social beings by nature. It is from mans social needs that he can satisfy his need for esteem, knowledge and aesthetics. Before eventually satisfying the need of self-actualization, man should be able to have fulfilled his need for recognition and self-respect among many others. Otherwise, he will feel tension and uneasiness which will blind him from focusing on other needs. Needless to say, one drive cannot be isolated from the other. The dissatisfaction of need leads to the dissatisfaction of the other needs as a result.

Motivation, a concept that Maslow has developed in this theory, is the driving force of any human behaviour (Maslow, 1954). A mans need to satisfy a need one after the other is a motivational factor alone. Yet, this only explains one aspect of behaviour. Why is it that even when man has satisfied one need there is a need to fulfil another How is growth needs different from deficiency needs First and foremost, both are driven by motivation. While the motivation stops when the deficiency need has been satisfied, motivation for growth will not. Going back to what was earlier said man has numerous opportunities for growth. After satisfying the most basic need, man can go on to satisfy his need for others. He is presented with numerous needs to satisfy security from being anxious. Furthermore, because man is a wanting animal growth can be considered as a need. The last step in the hierarchy of needs is the self-actualization and its attainment looks harder than it sounds. Most people live their life in attaining this need and only a few are said to have attained this and mostly these are the renowned figures of the world such as Albert Einstein. This is why people are constantly struggling for growth. We need growth. The term growth can be seen as the journey towards the fulfilment of each need which likewise, due to the complexity of self-actualization, is a life-long one.

The problem that usually arises when in mans struggle to satisfy ones need is that since all needs are interconnected with one another, most often than not, when one need is felt as unfulfilled, the others but not all are dissatisfied as well.

For example, a man who has a high paying job and has become, eventually, financially stable will spend more time in fulfilling his other needs such as love for others or his self-esteem. If in any case, unfortunately, that he loses his job, his need for financially stability will become unsatisfied once more and his motivation will be redirected to satisfying that need other than his need for esteem.

The need for something is really a need. It has been highly acceptable and still being used by people across the world in explaining an aspect of human behaviour. There have been no refutations on the concept of need since it is very apparent in everyones daily lives. It can explain how each human being have the same set of goals but differ in their manner of attaining them. Likewise, it explains why a mere sensation of hunger motivates us to satisfy our need for food. It is normally easy to know what a need is simply because it is normally felt on a daily basis but it is hard to explain since it shows a very broad definition.

We need need as if we were programmed that way. All living things, be it a plant or an animal have needs to survive. However, for people, other needs can be classified on top of the basic necessities. We feel the need to grow because we are indulged with the capacity to think. Any action of man is supported by the motivation to satisfy one or more needs although, motivation does not necessarily cover all aspects of a human behaviour. For example, there could be several reasons why a prisoner might have a killed another man. It could have been because of self- defense which in this case satisfy the need to be secured from threats. It also could have been his need for love. His mindset could have been killing someone else so that the attention of the person he loves would be reverted back to him. This satisfies the need for belongingness. There is always a need that motivates every action. If there is no need for need then what can motivate someone to behave or act on anything If there had not been any need for the man to protect himself or to feel loved, what could be the reason behind his action

Similarly, if every action has a need as its motivational framework, there was a reason to go the university. There could be several reasons but is supported by a different need as well. My reasons for coming to the university are on the basis of growth. I have come to know that having an education, which a university can provide me, is a need to eventually satisfy my need for job security. With a good education, it will increase my chances of landing on a good paying job and if Im lucky, I would get one that would satisfy my esteem needs as well.

My coming to study at a university after high school was motivated by a growth need which is a step closer to self actualization, but is supported by many deficiency needs as well. It is has been proven that I can satisfy my need for a secured job even when I do not go into college. However, my motivation to increase my chances for growth and to be recognized with respect is the driving force for entering a university. Beyond that, my motivation to learn and to satisfy other needs is also an aspect to be considered why my action could be considered a growth need. I entered a university to learn with unwavering motivation.

For others, entering a university could only be a deficiency need. It could be for the reason of fulfilling the need to satisfy to recognize the wishes of their parents. In this case, it can be considered as a deficiency need for esteem. After this fulfilment of need by entering college, he continues to satisfy his other needs such as finding belongingness in others.

Every action is supported by a fulfilment of a need. Every need is driven by motivation. Furthermore, all human beings are driven to grow towards their conception of self-actualization which as a result is growth.