Chapter 15 Motivation and Affect
Motivation – an internal state that arouses us to action, pushes us in a particular direction and keeps us
engaged in certain activities. It determines whether and to what extent we actually learn something.
Situated Motivation – motivation is partly a function of the learning environment. (instructional
materials the teacher uses, evaluation methods, competition between students)
General Effects of Motivation:
 Increases an individual’s energy and activity level
 Directs an individual toward certain goals
 Promotes initiation of certain activities and persistence in those activities. (personal investment)
 Time on task – the more students spend engaged in a particular learning activity, the more
academically successful they will be
 Affects the learning strategies and other cognitive processes an individual brings to bear on a
task. (cognitive engagement)
Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation: pg 454
Extrinsic – when the source of motivation lies outside the individual and the task being performed.
(ex. Tax return – mot. Refund, also punished if don’t file)
Intrinsic – source of motivation lies within the individual and task
(ex. TV game show – mot. I like playing along as a viewer)
Intrinsic mot. Has numerous advantages over extrinsic (see pg 454, bottom)
Basic Human Needs
1. Drive reduction – internal state of need within an organism: Something necessary for optimal
functioning (e.g., food, water, warmth, or rest)
a. Clark Hull – drive is based on physiological needs such as hunger or thirst
b. Acquired drives- develop when previously neutral stimuli are associated with drive
reducing stimuli such as food. (approval – associated with candy or treats
c. Incentive motivation – serves as a mediator between a stimuli and responses
Humans apparently work harder when incentives are more attractive
Theorists have abandoned the drive theory in their discussion of motivation
 Learning sometimes occurs in the absence of any apparent drive reduction
 Human behavior seems to be aimed at accomplishing long-term goals rather than satisfying
short-term needs
 Organisms sometimes behave in ways that actually increase their drive states. (by going to
scary movies, reading suspense novels, and riding roller coasters) Sensation seekers
Arousal
 Refers to the level of internal energy an organism is currently experiencing.
 Humans strive for a certain optimal level of arousal (too little is unpleasant and so is too much)
 Different people have different optimal levels: some are sensation seekers, some prefer a
quieter existence. (can explain why some students create their own excitement by passing
notes or playing jokes)
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – 5 different sets of needs (pg 458-460)
1. Physiological Needs – needs for food, water, oxygen, warmth, exercise, rest, etc
2. Safety Needs – feel safe and secure in their environment
3. Love and Belongingness – people seek affectionate relationships with others and feel like
they belong and are accepted as part of a group
4. Esteem needs- people need to feel good about themselves (positive self-esteem)
5. Need for Self-actualization – to develop and become all they are capable of becoming
Not all needs are going to be met at a single time, they are acquired over a long period of time.
Competence and Self Worth (pg 461)
Robert White – proposed that human beings have a basic need for competence – a need to believe that
they can deal effectively with our environment
Martin Covington – protecting one’s self worth is one of people’s highest priorities. (people often avoid
failure by refusing to engage in an activity, downplay its importance, set very low expectations)
They make excuses that justify their poor performance or by self handicapping (see pg 462)
Self-Determination (pg 463)
People not only want to feel competent but also want to have some sense of autonomy regarding the
things they do and the directions their lives take.
(I want to do this, I would find it valuable to do that – high self determ.)
(I have to, I should – we are telling ourselves that someone or something else is making decisions for us)
Several variables influence people’s sense of self-determination (464-467)
1. Choices – people feel greater self-determination and are more intrinsically motivated when
they are able to make choices about the things they do and the outcomes for which they
will work
2. Threats and Deadlines – “Do this or else” “this is due by Oct 17th, no exceptions”
3. Controlling Statements – a message that others control our fate and so undermined our
self-determination
4. Extrinsic Rewards – rewards for desirable behavior
5. Surveillance and evaluation – people who know they are going to be evaluated based on
their performance have a lower sense of self-determination and results are less intrinsically
motivated.
(no amount of self-determination is going to make us feel intrinsically motivated to do
something if we also don’t have a sense of self-confidence)
Putting a Positive Spin on Controlling Circumstances - Pg 467
 Secondary Control – adults change themselves to better adapt to an environment they cannot
change
 Relatedness- people of all ages have a fundamental need to feel socially connected and to
secure the love and respect of others. (Students: looking, acting cool, interacting with friends;
young adults seem to be overly concerned with what others think, susceptible to peer influence)
Individual Differences in Motivation (pg 469)
Need for Affiliation – a degree to which a person wants and needs friendly relationships with others
Low affiliation students:
o may prefer to work alone
o Chose a classmate who they believe will be competent at an assigned task
o Choose a class schedule that meets their own interests and ambitions
High Affiliation students:
o Choose their friends even when their friends are relatively incompetent
o Prefer to work in small groups
o Tend to choose a schedule that enables them to be with their friends
Need for Approval – a desire to gain the acceptance and positive judgments of other people.
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Elementary students have a strong desire to attain approval from teachers, Middle school/high
school seek approval from peers. Culture does influence this.
Need for high approval = low self esteem results in an emotional roller coaster, feeling elated
one day and devastated the next based on how friends and classmates have treated them.
Need for Achievement – the need for excellence for its own sake, without regard to external rewards
that one’s accomplishments might bring.
 Realistic about tasks they can accomplish and they persist at tasks that are challenging yet
achievable
 High standards of excellence
 Put of small rewards (friends/family) to achieve a larger reward (graduate degree)
 Check out figure 15.1 about motives for success based on high/low motivation (PG 471)
Dispositions – relatively stable inclination to approach learning and problem-solving situations in a
particular way. (see pg 472 ) Still in it’s infancy as far as research and effects
Can be an important factor affecting learning, motivation, and achievement.
Students who at age 3 are eager to seek out physical and social stimulation are at age 11, better readers
and higher achievers at school. (Example on pg 473)
Affect and its Effects (pg 474)
Affect – the feelings, emotions, and general moods that a learner brings to bear on a task
Related to Motivation – when setting goals, people are more likely to be optimistic about accomplishing
goals if they are feeling cheerful rather than depressed. Also how good a success will feel when they are
done (i.e. finishing our masters!!!!)
When they’re in a good mood in an instructional setting they’re more likely to cognitively engage with
new material and work hard to make sense of it.
Related to Learning and Cognition Problem solving is easier when we enjoy what we are doing, brings on feelings of excitement,
pleasure, and pride
 Failed attempts bring feelings of frustration, or anxiety
 Hot cognition – thoughts and memories have an emotion attached to them as we learn
 Emotional nature of what we stored in long-term memory may influence our ability to retrieve it
 Mood-dependent memory – we can sometimes retrieve info from our long-term memory more
successfully when our mood at the time of retrieval is the same as our mood when we initially
stored the info
Anxiety (pg 476-477) negative effects on cognitive process of long term memory retrieval and problem
solving. A feeling of uneasiness and apprehension. Two components – worry and emotionality.
Effects of Anxiety – Yerkes-Dodson low – easy tasks are best accomplished with a relatively high level of
arousal but more difficult tasks are better accomplished with a lower or moderate level. (mice
experiment on page 478)
Students are likely to have debilitating anxiety (i.e. speaking before a large audience) when they
perceive a situation to be threatening.
For students most tasks are challenging – lower levels of anxiety perform more effectively in the
classroom
Students with low trait anxiety achieve greater academic success (GPA) than their peers of equal ability
who have high trait anxiety.
Effects on Cognition (pg 480)
Anxiety interferes with an individual’s attention to a task (see examples on pg 480 at top)
When performing a difficult task, highly anxious people are more likely to think irrelevant thoughts and
exhibit irrelevant responses.
Common Sources of Anxiety –
 Appearance
 How they perform in comparison to others
 Feel uncomfortable when they encounter ideas that conflict what they currently believe
 Entering new, unknown and uncomfortable situations
 In general people feel anxious when their sense of self-worth or self-efficacy is threatened
2 Forms of anxiety – Mathematics and test
Creating a Motivating Classroom Environment –(pg 482)
 Students learn more effectively and engage in more productive classroom behaviors when they
are intrinsically motivated to learn and achieve. Example say things like “It’s nice to get good
grades, but it’s more important that you understand what you are studying and enjoy what you
are doing” or relate classroom topics to students’ own lives, experiences, needs and feelings
 Students are more likely to be intrinsically motivated when they feel confident that they can
succeed at classroom tasks – success in a challenging situation increases their intrinsic
motivation. Too much of a challenging task can be discouraging
 Students intrinsic motivation also increases when they have some degree of autonomy in
classroom activities –
o Solicit student’s input about how lessons might be improved and what rules
may be appropriate for classroom behavior
o Provide opportunities for students to learn independently, in small groups, or
computer assisted instruction
o Provide rationales regarding how certain boring, tedious activities are apt to
benefit students over the long run
o Student based evaluation
 Extrinsic motivation can also promote learning – good grades, public recognition, access to good
colleges and careers
 Feedback and other forms of extrinsic reinforcement should maintain or enhance students’
sense of competence and self-determination
 Students are more likely to focus on their schoolwork when their nonacademic needs have been
met (pg 486) (i.e. hunger, thirst, sleep)
o Teachers can help low income students apply for free lunch programs
o If illness direct them to the school based nurse
o Include restroom break or trips to the water fountain (really?)
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o Teachers should create a safe and orderly environment
o Clearly describe expectations
o Deal with misbehavior in a fair and consistent fashion
Disposition that involves actively and thoughtfully engaging with school subject matter should
promote more effective cognitive processing and learning over the long run. By presenting
thought-provoking questions, insisting students defend their opinions etc. (pg 487)
Learning is and should be affective as well cognitive enterprise – model enthusiasm and energy
toward subject material
Classroom assessments are more effective motivators when students perceive them as means
of enhancing future achievement rather than judgments of ability and worth
Strategies for keeping students’ anxiety about classroom assessment (Pg 488)