Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Later this year we're going to get into To Kill a Mocking Bird, which features probably one of the best characters in American literature -Atticus Finch. In the book, Atticus has an iconic line, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." (Lee)

Personally, that's been a quote that I've made a conscious effort to follow since I read it in Sophomore year of high school, and today we're going to try and understand it through Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

I'm not necessarily trying to brainwash you all into living by the same credence as I. More-so, it's important that we as readers are able to analyze motivations and infer as to why people, or characters, behave a particular way. There's also a much more light-hearted way of seeing the quote as:

So let's steal some shoes -which is a less creepy transitional phrase than "let's climb into some skins".

Abraham Maslow followed the humanistic movement of psychology in the 1940s, which essentially stood by the belief that all humans are inherently good to themselves -we all want to aspire towards a better life for ourselves. In treating mental patients, Maslow attempted to skew his perspective in a way that didn't just see them as a "bag of symptoms" -or what one thinks is wrong with that individual. Instead, looking at what that individual is seeking in their life to satisfy their needs. Thus, Maslow composed a hierarchy, or order, of what needs we all require in our lives:

Following this graphic, the hierarchy operates by working your way up from the bottom -like this guy.

As humans, the primary thing we are concerned with are bodily needs -Physiological- basically how we're going to keep ourselves physically alive. It is only after we are certain that we can keep ourselves running, that we concern ourselves with staying safe, seeking connections, feeling good about ourselves, and ultimately reaching what Maslow terms "Self-Actualization".

"What a man can be, he must be."

This quote forms the basis for the final stage of the hierarchy, referring to what one's full potential is and the realization of that potential in their lives. Basically, it's that tiny spark inside you that wants you to be what you've always dreamed of being. Everyone essentially craves going that far in life, but it's a feat that many never truly reach. It's why rich people or those that you would think would otherwise be happy with themselves are not, because they're missing out on reaching whatever they perceived their full potential to be.

These levels dictate where we are in our lives, what we need, and how those needs motivate our actions. Understanding motivation is so integral to getting to know a person. It's essentially how crimes are solved: "what's the motive?" -we, as thinking humans, have a need to rationalize basically everything we encounter.

In coming to understand these levels on a more approachable level, I offer the movie, Up.

I have embedded the first few minutes of the movie, when Carl meets Ellie as a child, and followed it up with a Vimeo link to the montage that follows. As you watch, try to identify where they are as individuals on the hierarchy of needs -notice how they will constantly fluctuate up and down that order as they deal with several crises. Also, try not to cry.





http://vimeo.com/51941588

It get's me everytime.

How does understanding these characters through this lens change the way you see the movie? or the characters themselves?

Just like we are able to apply this level of analysis to the characters of this movie, we can have the same approach to analyzing several other characters, as well as real people acting in our very real world. I like it because it allows me to feel someone's pain or needs. You might like it because it gets you out of less fights with people. Give it a shot.

Update:

Here's an example of how we can apply this lens of analysis to a non-fiction article and attempt to understand the motivations of actual people -not animated grumps.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/janay-rice-on-instagram--husband-s-suspension--release-a--horrible-nightmare-125557783.html

http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/ray-rice-story-shows-the-power-of-a-tape-090914

We will utilize these articles to address the vast array of controversial topics surrounding Ray Rice and his indefinite suspension from the Baltimore Ravens. In short, we will attempt to analyze the motivations behind the most recent actions of Rice, his wife, and the Ravens organization.

What do you think? Comment below and offer your OPINON on the matter. We'll be sure to have this discussion in class, so feel free to reference it any point below.

Sources:

Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York, NY: Harper. pp. 91.

Berger, Kathleen Stassen (1983). The Developing Person through the Life Span.