Hierarchy of Needs and FIT theory - Essay Example

Hierarchy of Needs and FIT theory Self-actualizing creativeness is “emitted,” like radioactivity, and hits all of life, regardless of problems, just as a cheerful person emits cheerfulness without purpose or design or even consciousness (Maslow 1970). Discuss In 1943, Abraham Maslow propounded the theory of ‘hierarchy of needs’ in his paper “A Theory of Motivation”. It remains valid today for understanding human motivation, management training and personal development.  His theory contends that as humans meet basic needs, they seek to satisfy successively higher needs that occupy a set hierarchy. (Adair, 1990). The needs that Maslow specified are as below – Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. Maslow’s theory is invariable depicted as a pyramid – the most basic being the lower level needs. [Fig taken from : http://www.pateo.com/article6.html] What the theory intends to explain :- Each of us is motivated by needs. Our most basic needs are inborn, having evolved over tens of thousands of years. Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs helps to explain how these needs motivate us all. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself. Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied are we concerned with the higher order needs of influence and personal development. Conversely, if the things that satisfy our lower order needs are swept away, we are no longer concerned about the maintenance of our higher order needs. In the 1990’s, Maslow added 3 more needs to his theory. They are as below – Cognitive needs - knowledge, meaning, etc. Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.  Transcendence needs - helping others to achieve self actualization. The former two were placed in between ‘Esteem’ and ‘Self Actualization’. The last one was placed after Self Actualization. This results in totally 8 needs. The first 4 are known as ‘deficiency needs’. The last 4 are known as ‘growth needs’. Most needs are easily understood Self Actualization, however, has been a matter of debate.( Peet, 1999) Abraham Maslow defined Self Actualization as “the intrinsic growth of what is already in the organism, or more accurately, of what the organism is". It is the fulfillment of the self through our efforts in developing our potential – the essence we are born with; and the acceptance of our limitations. It is our life purpose unfolded, integrated into the self and lived. Now, in keeping with his theory up to this point, if you want to be truly self-actualizing, you need to have your lower needs taken care of, at least to a considerable extent. This makes sense: If you are hungry, you are scrambling to get food; If you are unsafe, you have to be continuously on guard; If you are isolated and unloved, you have to satisfy that need; If you have a low sense of self-esteem, you have to be defensive or compensate.  When lower needs are unmet, you can’t fully devote yourself to fulfilling your potentials. Once a person does not feel the needs of self esteem, he or she can weather the storms of daily life. Else they can feel lost. It isn’t surprising, then, the world being as difficult as it is, that only a small percentage of the world’s population is truly, predominantly, self-actualizing. Maslow at one point suggested only about two percent! The question becomes, of course, what exactly Maslow meant by self-actualization. The characteristics listed here are the results of 20 years of study, by Maslow, of people who had the "full use and exploitation of talents, capacities, potentialities, etc". Realistic – Realistically oriented, SA persons have a more efficient perception of reality, they have comfortable relations with it. This is extended to all areas of life. SA persons are unthreatened, unfrightened by the unknown. They have a superior ability to reason, to see the truth. They are logical and efficient. Acceptance – Accept themselves, others and the natural world the way they are. Sees human nature as is, have a lack of crippling guilt or shame, enjoy themselves without regret or apology, they have no unnecessary inhibitions. Spontaneity, Simplicity, Naturalness – Spontaneous in their inner life, thoughts and impulses, they are unhampered by convention. Their ethics is autonomous, they are individuals, and are motivated to continual growth. Problem Centering – They treat life’s difficulties as problems demanding solutions, not as personal troubles to be railed at or surrendered to. They have a mission in life requiring much energy; their mission is their reason for existence. They are serene, characterized by a lack of worry, and are devoted to duty. Detachment: The Need for Privacy – They enjoy solitude, are unflappable; retain dignity amid confusion and personal misfortunes, objective. They are self starters, responsible for themselves, own their behavior. Autonomy: Independent of Culture and Environment– SAs rely on inner self for satisfaction. Stable in the face of hard knocks, they are self contained, independent from love and respect. Continued Freshness of Appreciation – Have a fresh rather than stereotyped appreciation of people and things. Appreciation of the basic good in life, moment to moment living is thrilling, transcending and spiritual. They live the present moment to the fullest. Democratic values and attitudes – Able to learn from anyone, humble. Friendly with anyone regardless of class, education, political belief, race or color. Discrimination: means and ends, Good and Evil – Do not confuse between means and ends. They do no do wrong. Enjoy the here and now, getting to goal – not just the result. They make the most tedious task an enjoyable game. They have their own inner moral standards (sometimes appearing amoral to others). Philosophical, unhostile sense of humor – Jokes are teaching metaphors, intrinsic to the situation, spontaneous, can laugh at themselves; they never make jokes that hurt others. Creativity – Inborn uniqueness that carries over into everything they do, seeing the real and true more easily, original, inventive and less inhibited. Resistance to enculturation: Transcendence of any particular culture – Inner detachment from culture, folkways are used but of no consequence, calm long term culture improvement, indignation with injustice, inner autonomy and outer acceptance. They transcend the environment rather than just cope. Imperfections – Painfully aware of own imperfections, joyfully aware of own growth process. Impatient with self when stuck, real life pain, not imagined. Values – Philosophical acceptance of the nature of his self, human nature, social life, nature, physical reality, remains realistically human. Resolution of dichotomies – Polar opposites merge into a third, higher phenomenon, as though the two have united, work becomes play, most childlike person is most wise, opposite forces no longer felt as a conflict. Desires are in perfect accord with reason. Human kinship – Identification, sympathy, and affection for mankind, kinship with the good, the bad and the ugly, older-brother attitude. Truth is clear to him, can see things others cannot see. Maslow says there are two processes necessary for self- actualization: self exploration and action. The deeper the self exploration, the closer one comes to self-actualization. It is felt that Self Actualization is a level that is assumed to be the summit of personal growth – by most cultures.( Peet, 1999). Positive Psychology in the words of Bob Stead ( FIT Theory) As we understand from the word FIT theory which is the acronym for Framework for Internal Transformation deals with personality development. A detailed insight into the FIT theory reveals a large number of facts of life. As such, it mentions that our behavior changes according to our experiences with people and events in our life. If we have a positive experience with a person, our attitude toward him becomes positive and vice versa. Knowledge strategically applied translates into wisdom. It makes the role of the educator vital. Further this theory also lays emphasis on personal development of individuals by inculcating good virtues. Our minds need good thoughts every day. Cultivate your strength, desire to learn and be a good listener. The key words in the preceding sentence are good food and good thoughts. If we feed our body with junk food and our mind with bad thoughts, we will have both a sick body and mind. We need to feed our mind with the pure and the positive to stay on track. What is a pleasant personality with character? It is a class by itself, It is composure, It is poise, It is surefootedness and confidence without arrogance, It is being considerate, it is shows gratitude, it is never making excuses and owning up for your mistakes, it is knowing that courtesy and good manners take many small sacrifices, it is learning from past mistakes and promising yourself to never make them again, it has nothing to do with money or blue blood, it never builds itself by destroying others, it is substance - not just form, it can walk with the elite and yet maintain the common touch, it is a gentle word - a kind look and a good-natured smile, it is the secret pride that stands against tyranny, it is comfortable with itself and others, it is the classic touch that gives the winning edge, it is accepting responsibility, it is humility, it is graciousness in victory and defeat It is not fame and fortune, it is not a plaque but permanent, it is intangible, it is being courteous and polite without being subservient, it is being classy without being corky, it is self-discipline and knowledge and self-contained. This is how Bob Stead defines self – actualization in his FIT theory. To a large degree, FIT accords with Maslow theory and positive psychology. Maslow speaks about self-actualisers having an ability to in a sense be one more than person. For example he says that self-actualisers can be the most mature yet the most childlike, the most spiritual yet the most pagan and the most selfish yet the most unselfish. If someone possesses this level of behavioral flexibility it would be sensible to suppose that they are also cognitively flexible. This cognitive flexibility is particularly important when looking at ambiguities in our perceptual world and the consideration of different possibilities in thought and action. FIT Integrity also accepts the importance of many of the characteristics noted above. CONCLUSION : The Path to Self – Actualization : By painting self – actualization in such attractive colors Maslow and Stead stimulated the desire for it. But how could this enviable state of being be attained? Maslow was aware that there was some relationship between the meeting of the lower needs and the emergence of the higher ones, but he knew that there was no necessary cause – and – effect relation between needs towards the upper end of the scale. Thus Maslow did not underwrite unlimited gratification of individual needs as the pathway to self-actualization. On the contrary, he argued that such a course would prove to be counter productive, for one of the key characteristics of the self-actualizers was their capacity to tolerate frustration of the lower needs when the occasion demanded. Maslow praised self restraint and self – discipline. But a reasonable gratification of the lower needs must be taken as a necessary condition for full self-actualization although it cannot guarantee it. REFERENCES : John Adair, 1990: Understanding Motivation. Richard Peet, 1999 : Theories of Development www.pateo.com/article6.html BIBLIOGRAPHY : Dennis Coon ,2004 : Psychology – A Journey Fletcher, B. & Stead, R., 2005: Inner FITness the FIT Corporation. Harlow. Thomson Learning. Kiger, P. J., 2006: Power of the individual. Workforce Management Vol 85, Issue 4, pp 1-2 Leclerc, G., Lefrancois, R, Dube, M., Herbert, R., & Gaulin, P. 1998 : ‘The self- actualization concept: A contest validation’. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, vol. 13, pp. 69 -84 Lubinski, D., Benbow, C., Webb, R., & Bleske-Rechek , 2006 : Tracking exceptional human capital over two decades. Psychological Science, Vol. 17, No, 3 Michael W Eysneck, 2002 : Simply Psychology Neil J Salkind, 2004: An Introduction to theories of Human Development. Sparking Creativity at Ferrari, Harvard Business Review, 00178012, April 2006, Vol. 84, Issue 4. Shane J Lopez 2006 : Handbook of Positive Psychology www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/ www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Psychology/Social Read More