Click graphic to see larger model of Maslow's Hierarchy.

For many years, psychologists have studied people to better determine what makes each of us tick. People act and behave differently, but there are some common characteristics identified by Abraham Maslow over 60 years ago that cause people to pursue various activities or goals. You may be familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy, which focuses upon five primary categories of physiological needs from very basic to very complex. This same hierarchy has successfully been used to design and implement effective educational programs. The narrated PowerPoint explains how Maslow's Hierarchy has been used.

Narrated PowerPoint: Maslow's Hierarchy (4:55)

Click here for a script of this presentation.

It is recommended that you open the narrated PowerPoint files with RealPlayer. You can download free players here: RealPlayer - Download the RealPlayer; RealPlayer for Mac users - Download the RealPlayer for Mac OS X

In summary, here are the key principles of Maslow’s Hierarchy:

• Lower needs must be met first.  Once a lower need is met, then a person has a desire to fulfill his or her need on the next level.
• The strength of any need is determined by its position in the hierarchy and the degree to which it and all lower needs have been satisfied.
• The satisfaction of a need, however, triggers dissatisfaction at theß next higher level. This sequence continues until the highest level of the hierarchy is reached.
• A person can go down the hierarchy, as well as up.
• For example, a person may be at the top of the hierarchy with lots of things going her way. A situation, tragedy, or incident may occur that completely changes everything. Examples may be a natural disaster (such as a hurricane or tornado), divorce, or death of loved one.  Because of this unfortunate circumstance, the person will have to focus on much lower needs (water supply, housing, personal safety, or affiliation), and as a result, her educational needs may also change.

• Differences Between Distance and Traditional Education (1:58)

Learning Styles

Destination 2: 5 of 11