Educational Psychology

Dileesha Edirisinghe
M.Ed. (OUSL), Bachelor of Education Honors (OUSL) Diploma in
Early Childhood and Primary Education( OUSL), Diploma in
English for Teachers of English( UOC) Research Methods (OUSL)
 Educational Psychology

• Maslow’s needs theory

• Arnold Gesell's maturational theory
• George’s Meads Theory of Self — Being
Mindful in Social Interactions
Maslow’s needs theory

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in

psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs,
often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.

The five levels of the hierarchy are physiological, safety,

love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

Lower-level basic needs like food, water, and safety must

be met first before higher needs can be fulfilled.

Few people are believed to reach the level of self-

actualization, but we can all have moments of peak
experiences.
 What Is Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs?

According to Maslow (1943, 1954), human needs were

arranged in a hierarchy, with physiological (survival) needs at
the bottom, and the more creative and intellectually oriented
‘self-actualization’ needs at the top.

Maslow argued that survival needs must be satisfied before

the individual can satisfy the higher needs.

The higher up the hierarchy, the more difficult it is to satisfy

the needs associated with that stage, because of the
interpersonal and environmental barriers that inevitably
frustrate us.
Higher needs become increasingly psychological and long-term rather
than physiological and short-term, as in the lower survival-related needs.

1. Physiological needs are biological requirements for human survival,

e.g., air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, and sleep.
Our most basic need is for physical survival, and this will be the first thing
that motivates our behavior. Once that level is fulfilled, the next level up
is what motivates us, and so on.

The human body cannot function optimally if physiological needs are not
satisfied. Maslow considered physiological needs the most important as
all the other needs become secondary until these needs are met. Once an
individual’s physiological needs are satisfied, the need for security and
safety becomes salient (important).
2. Safety needs – people want to experience order, predictability, and control in
their lives. Safety needs can be fulfilled by the family and society (e.g., police,
schools, business, and medical care).

For example, emotional security, financial security (e.g., employment, social

welfare), law and order, freedom from fear, social stability, property, health, and
wellbeing (e.g., safety against accidents and injury).

After physiological and safety needs have been fulfilled, the third level of human
needs is social and involves feelings of belongingness.

3. Love and belongingness needs refers to a human emotional need for

interpersonal relationships, affiliating (collaborating), connectedness, and being part
of a group.
Examples of belongingness needs include friendship, intimacy (rapport), trust,
acceptance, receiving and giving affection, and love.

This need is especially strong in childhood and can override the need for safety, as
witnessed in children who cling to abusive parents.
4. Esteem needs are the fourth level in Maslow’s hierarchy and include self-worth,
accomplishment, and respect.
Maslow classified esteem needs into two categories:
(i) Esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and
(ii) The desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status, prestige).

Esteem presents the typical human desire to be accepted and valued by others.
People often engage in a profession or hobby to gain recognition. These activities
give the person a sense of contribution or value.

Low self-esteem or an inferiority complex may result from imbalances during this
level in the hierarchy.

Maslow indicated that the need for respect or reputation is most important for
children and adolescents and precedes real self-esteem or dignity.
5. Self-actualization needs are the highest level in Maslow’s hierarchy, and refer to the realization of a
person’s potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth, and peak experiences.
This level of need refers to what a person’s full potential is and the realization of that potential.

Maslow (1943, 1987, p. 64) describes this level as the desire to accomplish everything that one can, and
“to become everything one is capable of becoming”.

Individuals may perceive or focus on this need very specifically. For example, one individual may have a
strong desire to become an ideal parent.

In another, the desire may be expressed athletically. For others, it may be expressed in paintings,
pictures, or inventions.

Although Maslow did not believe that many of us could achieve true self-actualization, he did believe
that all of us experience transitory moments (known as ‘peak experiences’) of self-actualization.

Such moments, associated with personally significant events such as childbirth, sporting achievement
and examination success), are difficult to achieve and maintain consistently.
Maslow (1971, p. 195) argued that a
humanistic educational approach
would develop people who are
“stronger, healthier, and would take
their own lives into their hands to a
greater extent.

With increased personal

responsibility for one’s personal life,
and with a rational set of values to
guide one’s choosing, people would
begin to actively change the society
in which they lived”.
Application in Education

Maslow’s (1962) hierarchy of needs theory has made a major contribution to teaching and classroom
management in schools. Rather than reducing behavior to a response in the environment, Maslow
(1970a) adopts a holistic approach to education and learning.

Maslow looks at the complete physical, emotional, social, and intellectual qualities of an individual
and how they impact learning.

Applications of Maslow’s hierarchy theory to the work of the classroom teacher are obvious. Before a
student’s cognitive needs can be met, they must first fulfill their basic physiological needs.

For example, a tired and hungry student will find it difficult to focus on learning. Students need to feel
emotionally and physically safe and accepted within the classroom to progress and reach their full
potential.
Maslow suggests students must be shown that they are valued and respected in the classroom, and
the teacher should create a supportive environment. Students with a low self-esteem will not progress
academically at an optimum rate until their self-esteem is strengthened.
Maslow’s hierarchy provides a humanistic lens for teaching the whole child.
 Here are some ways a teacher can apply Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in the
classroom
Physiological – Ensure students have access to water, food, restroom breaks,
and movement. Allow snacks, flexible seating, and adequate breaks.
Safety – Maintain an orderly classroom with clear expectations. Prevent
bullying. Build trust through consistency and fairness. Allow students to make
mistakes safely.
Belongingness – Facilitate community and collaboration. Foster teamwork
through group projects. Learn student names and backgrounds. Appreciate
diversity.
Esteem – Recognize student strengths and progress. Display student work.
Empower leadership roles like line leader or tech helper. Praise efforts, not just
achievement.
Self-Actualization – Help students pursue interests creatively. Assign passion
projects. Encourage goal-setting. Provide enrichment opportunities. Support
challenging oneself.
 Arnold Gesell's maturational theory

First introduced in 1925, Dr. Arnold Gesell offered a maturation theory of

child development which focuses on the course, pattern, and rate of growth
that is expected in both normal and exceptional children.

Gesell believed that the growth and development of children was influenced
by their genetics and their environment, but with the child’s psychological
development being the primary driver.

Gesell disagreed with the notion that children developed primarily through
external factors. His maturation theory focuses on internal factors, such as
the growth of the child’s central nervous system, as their primary influence.

When the spinal cord, brain, and nerves are able to communicate in their
complex network it allows for a child’s mind to grow. As it grows,
development occurs. When development happens, the behaviors of that
child will also change.
How Gesell Came to See Maturation as a Concept
As Gesell developed his maturation theory, he felt that the
psychological processes could develop in fixed sequences just as the
physical body of a child develops in a fixed sequence.

The heart of an embryo, for example, is the first organ to develop

every time. Then the central nervous system begins to develop.
Peripheral organs then develop afterward.

Gesell also noted that infants gain control over their bodies after
birth in a series of fixed sequences.

Their lips and tongues gain control first, then eye movement, then
gradual control over the shoulders, neck, and limbs. There is a
consistent head-to-toe trend in human development.
As part of this development process, Gesell goes beyond the physical
factors. He asserts that cultural environments, social environments,
and other factors also play a role in maturation.

He contends that these forces can be positive and effective when

they are applied at the same time as the natural inner “timetables”
that are already present.

For that reason, Gesell suggests that teaching children to perform

certain tasks should happen only when they are physically and
mentally ready for those tasks. Teaching a 3-month-old child to walk,
for example, would be ahead of the child’s developmental schedule
and could do more harm than good.
How Should Growth Be Measured?
What Gesell noticed in the development of his maturation theory is that
behavior develops in patterns. Instead of measuring that growth through a
quantitative process, he suggests that the patterns be identified and
encouraged.

When a pattern can be identified, then the individuals around that child
know he or she is ready to begin the next maturation stage.

As part of this identification process, Gesell also realized that there is a

certain “balancing act” which occurs during each developmental stage.
Children may develop a preference for being right-handed or left-handed
over time, but that comes through a process of balancing. Children use
both hands and then develop a pattern of preferred use.
 Next lesson
This process can be applied to the concept of personality
development according to the maturation theory.
Personality is like a motor-based behavior. Children may
experiment with being introverted or extroverted and
then balance those traits out to come up with their
personal preference.

Through these processes, it becomes possible to create

an individual perspective. It also creates the possibility
that young children will tend to behave and see the world
in exactly the same way whenever they reach a specific
maturity milestone.

Gesell believed that by identifying moments where a

child may be over-developed or under-developed, their
environment could be changed so that their personal
processes could be balanced. The maturation theory was
intended to be a guideline, not a catch-all solution that
described every child.
Problems with the Arnold Gesell Maturation Theory
Although Gesell intended his maturation theory to be a generalized concept for
humanity, his research centered upon households that had a middle-class
socioeconomic status.

There is no concept of variation that has been built into the theory and there may be
an over-emphasis on maturation and an under-emphasis on the environmental factors
that could influence the individualized processes for a child.

Gesell was one of the first to conclude that infants have a natural intelligence which
allows them to establish their own schedules and awareness of the world. Recent
research suggests that Gesell may have under-estimated that natural intelligence.

Yet many specialists, when evaluating the progression a child is making, base their
evaluations on a set of norms that Gesell developed through his maturation theory.
Should children be held back if they are more advanced? Encouraged to work hard if
they “fall behind” their peers? There are still many questions that need to be answered,
but this theory offers a good start.
George’s Meads Theory of Self — Being
Mindful in Social Interactions

George Herbert Mead, a significant sociologist from the late 1800’s, is well
known for his theory of the social self, which includes the concepts of
‘self’, ‘me’, and ‘I’.

Mead was interested in the way the self-awareness was developed and
how the self was mainly developed through our social experiences and
activities. He theorized that there are three stages of self-development
that we as individuals go through: Preparatory Stage, Play Stage and the
Game Stage.

Mead based his theory on the perspective that the self emerges from
social interactions, such as observing and interacting with others,
responding to others, and interacting with oneself.

Mead theorized that the self was shaped by the overall view of
socialization as a life-long process.
According to Mead, three stages develop the self: preparatory, play, and games.
In the Preparatory Stage, ages two or less, children copy, or imitate, the behaviors
of others around them without an understanding of what they are imitating.

The Play Stage occurs from ages two through six, where children start role-
playing and taking on the role of significant people in their lives. Children only
take on one role at a time. Play develops self by allowing individuals to take on
different roles, pretend, and express expectations of others.

This develops one’s self-consciousness through role-playing. During role-playing,

a person can internalize the perspective of others and develop an understanding
of how others feel about themselves and others in a variety of social situations.

For example, during the preparatory stage, children are only capable of
imitation: they have no ability to imagine how others see things. They copy the
actions of people with whom they regularly interact, such as their mothers and
fathers.
The Game Stage occurs between the ages of seven and up, in this stage
individuals learn their role in relation to others and how to take on the role
of everyone else in a game.

Through this stage individuals develop self by understanding and adhering

to the rules of the activity. Self is developed by understanding that there are
rules in which one must abide by in order to win the game or be successful
at an activity.

During the game stage, children learn to consider several roles at the same
time and how those roles interact with each other. They learn to understand
interactions involving different people with a variety of purposes.

For example, a child at this stage is likely to be aware of the different

responsibilities of people
Mead also finds that language is a part of developing the self, in
which individuals respond to each other through symbols,
gestures, words, and sounds.

According to George Mead, language has a role in forming the

Self and the formation of Self requires the existence of other
selves. Language conveys others’ attitudes and opinions toward a
subject or the person.

Emotions, such as anger, happiness, and confusion, are conveyed

through language. For Mead, the development of the self is
intimately tied to the development of language.
Mead also describes the self as two sides or phases: ‘Me’ and ‘I’.
Where ‘Me’ is considered the social aspect of the individual and
represents learned behaviors, attitudes, and expectations of others
and society.
This is sometimes referred to as the generalized other. The ‘Me’ is
considered a phase of the self that is in the past and is developed by
the knowledge of society and social interactions and the individual has
gained. ‘I’ is considered the present and future phase of the self.

The ‘I’ represents the individual’s identity based on response to the

‘me’. The ‘I’ says, ‘Okay. Society says should behave and socially
interact one way, and I think I should act the same (or perhaps
different),’ and that notion becomes self. The ‘Me’ and ‘I’ have a
system of checks and balances.
Mead made significant contribution to the development of concept of social self and in
many ways show us how ‘I’ can be seen as our self-awareness and ‘Me’ as our self-image.

These stages allow your ‘self’ and your notion of who you are, what you like, what your
personality is, etc., become constructed through your experience of being in the world,
through interaction, and through reflection on those interactions. The self is developed as
you age and grow — it is not something biological.

Through our experiences and interactions, our personalities are developed, and reflecting
on that interaction, and then thinking about how others are perceiving us, allow us to
generate an image of ourselves.

In order for us to understand the ‘self’, we must be able to view ourselves through the
eyes of others. Through socialization we learn to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes
and look at the world through their perspective. This allows us to become self-aware, as
we look at ourselves from the perspective of the “other.”
Mead argued that the Self, which is the part of a person’s
personality consisting of self-awareness and self-image, is a
product of social experience.

The basic principles we come to learn through George

Herbert Mead are that we have the capacity of thinking and
these thoughts are formed by social interaction through
interactions, symbols and different meanings which build
thinking within.

People can change their actions according to the situations

they are involved in. People can form their own meanings of
different things