The Need to Know and Understand The fi fth level of Maslow’s pyramid represents an

individual’s need to know and understand. According to Maslow’s hierarchy, this

motivation cannot occur until the defi ciency needs have been met to the
individual’s satisfaction. As you can
FIGURE 8.11 (continued)
Source: Text material adapted from D. Martin and K. Joomis, Building Teachers: A
Constructivist Approach to Introducing Education, (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2007),
pp. 72–75.
imagine, the need to know and understand is a primary area of focus for education
and is a topic on which we will concentrate. One of our primary jobs as educators
is to motivate students so they will want to know and understand.
Aesthetic Needs Aesthetics refers to the quality of being creatively, beautifully,
or artistically pleasing; aesthetic needs are the needs to express oneself in
pleasing ways. Decorating your living room, wrapping birthday presents
attractively, washing and waxing your car, and keeping up with the latest styles in
clothing are all ways of expressing your aesthetic sense. People are motivated to
meet this need only after the previous fi ve needs have been met. In what
(desirable) ways might your students express themselves aesthetically in your
classroom? In what ways might you express yourself aesthetically in your classroom?

The Need for Self-Actualization At the top of the pyramid is the need for self-
actualization, which is a person’s desire to become everything he or she is capable
of becoming—to realize and use his or her full potential, capacities, and talents.
This need can be addressed only when the previous six have been satisfi ed. It is
rarely met completely; Maslow (1968) estimated that less than 1% of adults achieve
total self-actualization.
The Growth Needs The upper three levels of the pyramid constitute a person’s growth
needs. Growth needs can never be satisfi ed completely. Contrary to the defi ciency
needs, for which motivation diminishes when a need is satisfi ed, as growth needs
are met, people’s motivation to meet them increases. The more these needs are
satisfi ed, the more people want to pursue them. For example, the more one comes to
understand, the more one’s motivation to learn more increases. Have you experienced
this yourself? In what situation? We hope you are experiencing this increased
motivation to learn in your introduction to education course