falls on us? Questions of this kind (What will happen if…) stimulate intellectuals to find answers. Studies show that this curiosity behaviour is not only limited to human beings, animals too show the same kind of behaviour. We are driven to explore the environment by our curiosity and our need for sensory stimulation.
The need for varied types of sensory stimulations is closely related to curiosity. It is the basic motive, and exploration and curiosity are the expressions of it. Our ignorance about a number of things around us becomes a powerful motivator to explore the world. We get easily bored with repetitive experiences.
So we look for something new. In the case of infants and small children, this motive is very dominant. They get satisfaction from being allowed to explore, which is reflected in their smiling and babbling. Children become easily distressed, when the motive to explore is discouraged, as you have read in Chapter .
M ASLOW ’ S H IERARCHY OF N EEDS There are various views on human motivation, the most popular among these is given by Abraham H. Maslow ( ; ). He attempted to portray a picture of human behaviour by arranging the various needs in a hierarchy. His viewpoint about motivation is very popular because of its theoretical and applied value which is popularly known as the “Theory of Self-actualisation” (see Fig.
: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Self- actualisation needs Esteem needs Belongingness needs Safety needs Physiological needs Maslow’s model can be conceptualised as a pyramid in which the bottom of this hierarchy represents basic physiological or biological needs which are basic to survival such as hunger, thirst, etc. Only when these needs are met, the need to be free from threatened danger arises. This refers to the safety needs of physical and psychological nature. Next comes the need to seek out other people, to love and to be loved.
After these needs are fulfilled, the individual strives for esteem, i.e. the need to develop a sense of self- worth. The next higher need in the hierarchy reflects an individual’s motive towards the