Educational Psychology and Its Application in Educating Students:A Discussion Based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Model

DIAO Huan-peng（刁煥鵬）

Abstract：At present， the mental health of students is getting more and more attention in various fields of life. Educational psychology is used to study the effects that human learning can achieve under educational intervention. Modern educators and psychologists define this subject as social psychology organized by schools in the educational context. Educational psychology focuses on applying theoretical knowledge in the teaching process to achieve the purpose of designing and improving teaching effects. And develop students comprehensive talents， help students to correctly deal with various problems in learning and life， so as to achieve concrete results. This article uses Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Model to analyze the current use of educational psychology in the field of education， and to demonstrate the importance of educational psychology accordingly. An analysis of the educational psychology currently used in the field of education can improve the current situation even more.

Key Words：Educational Psychology ;School Education; Hierarchy of Needs Model

Introduction

This article incorporates Maslows hierarchy of needs because it is of high importance in the practical guidance of educational psychology. Using mature theoretical knowledge is an important means to improve the quality of education， but in the current situation， this method also has many problems （Harring & Hodis， 2016）. Although many teachers have a certain level of theoretical research on educational psychology， they do not have enough experience in the combination of teaching experience and educational psychology. However， using science， comprehensive training methods and educational methods are very important. This article mainly combines this theory with educational practice， in order to achieve the purpose of improving the application of educational psychology.

Conceptual Framework： Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs Model

Maslow （1954） believes that human needs can be roughly divided into five levels： physiological needs， safety needs， love and belonging needs， respect and self-realization needs.

Apart from physiological requirements， safety requirements are the most basic requirements （Maslow， 1954）. Only when there is a sense of psychological security， students can learn in a relaxed state， and it is possible to achieve the best results. The most basic step is that teachers should establish a correct educational concept， improve thinking skills， and take correct and reasonable measures to educate students. Maslow （1954） believes that on the basis of meeting physiological and safety needs， everyone will be needed and accepted by others. They are happy to find a place in their collective. In response to this situation， teachers should change the once rigid form of education， and meet the students love and sense of belonging through a humanized education model. Since then， the need for respect began to dominate in peoples lives （Maslow， 1954）. Students need the attention and respect of others. However， many teachers only measure the students skill level based on the students performance， and use educational performance as the only student evaluation standard. In this way， teachers only focus on excellent students， and ignore the self-esteem of students with poor grades. Maslow （1954） believes that the need for self-realization refers to the trend of realizing ones ideals and ambitions， making full use of ones potential and becoming an ideal person. Therefore， teachers should establish a personalized educational concept， not only focusing on the development of students intelligence， but also on the cultivation of personality.

Relevance of Educational Psychology

Better management of students academic performance

The main role of educational psychology used in practice is to improve students comprehensive abilities and cultivate their learning initiative and independence. Learning initiative is an external manifestation of learning motivation， an internal motivation to promote student learning， and a basic condition for learning. Educational psychology has the following effects in stimulating students learning initiative. The first is to instill in students the importance of learning. By combining good grades with their important role in society and life， in order to stimulate students learning motivation. The second is to use psychological theory to build students curiosity， organize discussions， open experiments and stimulate students interest in research.

Better treatment to undesirable behaviours at school

Many teachers use traditional teaching methods in lecture form. Teachers have absolute initiative and control， and occupy most of the time in the classroom for teaching， rather than communicating with students. Therefore， students can only passively and mechanically accept the implantation of knowledge （Alder， 2010）. This situation not only severely limits their enthusiasm and initiative， but is also not conducive to promoting the long-term comprehensive development of education. Therefore， it is necessary to choose effective and scientific educational methods based on theoretical knowledge in the field of educational psychology （Alder， 2010）. Teachers should adopt heuristic teaching methods to encourage and guide students to conduct conscious learning， stimulate students enthusiasm and initiative， and transform students from passive learning to active learning.

Better enhancement of students mental health

At the learning stage， students may be in a state of psychological conflict， anxiety， and anxiety that cannot adapt to the physical and mental development of students and life （Stanley & Manthorpe， 2002）. These psychological problems appear in the process of students efforts to evolve their personality and mature their psychology. Due to various factors， they may have psychological problems. If their subjective ability cannot correct them or cannot get help from others， it will cause mental problems and affect their healthy development （Stanley & Manthorpe， 2002. Educational psychology can help teachers master students mentality， find teaching methods suitable for student development， and use scientific and inclusive attitudes to stimulate students enthusiasm for learning.

Conclusion

Learning to use knowledge to analyze and solve problems is the ultimate goal of students learning. In teaching， teachers should provide more opportunities for students to use the knowledge they have learned to explain certain phenomena in life and practice and create conditions for solving practical problems. As a communicator of human culture， teachers are the bonds and bridges of knowledge necessary for people to master and inherit and develop human culture. From theory to implementation， Maslows （1954） theory plays a leading role in educational psychology. Therefore， if a large number of educational psychology theories are applied to educational activities， the quality of teaching can be greatly improved.

Reference

[1]Harring， J. R.， & Hodis， F. A. （2016）. Mixture modeling： Applications in educational psychology. Educational Psychologist， 51（3-4）， 354-367.

[2]Maslow， A （1954）. Motivation and personality. New York， NY： Harper.

[3]Alder， A. （2010）. Pattern making， pattern breaking ： Using past experience and new behaviour in training， education and change management.Farnham： Taylor & Francis Group.

[4]Stanley， N.， & Manthorpe， J. （2002）. Students' mental health needs ： Problems and responses. London： Jessica Kingsley Publishers.