Page 314 - Essentials of Human Communication

Supporting Materials 293

Self-
Actualization
Needs
Doing what one
is fitted for doing
Self-fulfillment
Actualizing one’s potential
Self-Esteem Needs
High self-evaluation, self-respect,
self-esteem, esteem of others,
strength, achievement, competency,
reputation, prestige, status, fame, glory
Belonging and Love Needs
Friendship, affection, relationships,
interpersonal acceptance

Safety Needs
Security, stability, protection, freedom from fear,
freedom from anxiety, freedom from chaos, structure, order, law

Physiological Needs
Food, water, air

Figure 14.2
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
From which of these motives would your class members be convinced that campus violence is a real
problem? Which might move them to donate their used books to students who can’t afford them?
Source: From Abraham Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 3rd ed., edited by Robert D. Frager and James Fadiman. Copyright © 1987.
Printed and Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

● Safety needs: People who do not have their basic safety and freedom-from-fear Communication
needs met will be motivated by appeals to security, protection, and freedom Choice Point
from physical and psychological harm. You see this need addressed in advertise- Fear Appeals
ments for burglar protection devices for home and car and in political speeches
You’re a parent of two young
promising greater police protection in schools. teenagers, and you want to dissuade them
● Belonging and love needs: For most people, friendship and love relationships oc- from engaging in sex. Would it be ethical for
cupy a considerable amount of time and energy, especially, perhaps, among col- you to use fear appeals to get them to avoid
lege students. If you can teach your audience how to be loved, how to find a sexual relationships? Similarly, would it be
partner, or how to be more popular they’ll be not only attentive but also grateful. ethical to use fear appeals in a public cam-
● Self-esteem needs: We all want to see ourselves as self-confident, worthy, and con- paign to help prevent sexually transmitted
diseases? Would it be ethical to use fear ap-
tributing human beings. Speeches of the “you’re the greatest” type, never seem to lack peals if your motive was to sell SUVs? What
receptive and suggestible audiences. Self-esteem is raised by success (for example, a are your choices for dealing with these situa-
good grade or a promotion at work) and if your speech can tell people how to suc- tions persuasively and ethically?
ceed in what they set out to do, you’ll probably have an active and receptive audience.
● Self-Actualization Needs: Each of us has a desire to self-actualize, to become what we feel
we’re fit for. If you see yourself as a poet, you must write poetry. If you see yourself as a
teacher, you must teach. Appeals to self-actualization needs—to people’s yearning “to be
the best they can be”—encourage listeners to strive for their highest ideals and are wel-
comed by many audiences.