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Two generations ago, psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that human behavior is shaped by the instinctive drive to fill basic needs (reduce current discomforts) in a predictable order or "hierarchy:"
1) Immediate survival
and comfort: satisfy current
needs for food, water, air, rest, warmth, balance, quiet, elimination,
and
pain-relief
Then...
2) Gain security
- i.e.
acquire trust that these primary needs will
be filled well enough in the near-term future; then...
3) Fill the need to
belong to a group of other people (avoid
loneliness and aloneness); then...
4) Fill the need to be special - to be recognized, respected, and valued in the group.
And when these
four need-levels are (temporarily) satisfied well enough, then...
5) Become and stay "self actualized" - i.e. develop and use your unique personal talents to live at your highest potential. Helping all family members discern their primary needs and attain "level 5" is the ultimate goal of Lesson 1 here. Developing awareness and other communication skills to help fill current needs is Lesson 2. |
How Human
