Chapter 3:  Motivation

 

A.   What is motivation?

 

Direction and intensity of effort

 

B.   How do average people view “motivation?’

 

C.   Psychologists’ approaches to motivation

 

1.     Motivation as a function of the person and their characteristics

 

2.     Motivation as a function of motivating situations

 

              3.  Motivation as a function of the person and environment

 

     D.   Using the approaches to impact on motivation

 

      1.  Easier to change situations than people

 

      2.  Realize that people may have many and competing motives for engaging in a behavior

 

3.     Need to individualize how people are treated to enhance motivation

 

4.     Importance of motivated leader as role model

 

     E.  What is achievement motivation?

 

              1.  Desire to master or excel at a task; to persist in face of failure; to set high but realistic goals; to experience pride in accomplishment; it often involves “competitiveness” (to achieve a desired outcome or standard of excellence, may or may not involve social evaluation)

 

             2.  Achievement motivation influences

 

                   a.  the activities we choose

                   b.  our effort

                   c.  our persistence

 

 

            3.  Important elements of need achievement theory (Atkinson, McClelland)

 

 

a.      people can be classified as “high” and “low” achievers

b.     behavior is influenced by strivings to achieve success and pride versus strivings to avoid failure and shame

c.      situational factors are important:  the probability of success and the incentive value of success

d.     personal and situational factors determine the tendency of the person to approach or avoid the situation, and corresponding emotional factors (pride and shame)

e.     High achievers seek out challenge, tasks of intermediate difficulty and risk, and focus on the pride of success

 

F.   What is attribution theory?

 

1.  How do people assign causality for behavior, for success and failure?

 

2.  Basic attribution categories: stability, locus of causality, and locus of control

 

3.  Attributions influence future expectations, behaviors, and emotional reactions

 

 

Question:  Take a sport or competitive behavior.  To what do you attribute successful performance, to what unsuccessful performance?

 

 

G.  Outcome and task orientations

 

H.  Competence motivation theory

 

1.  People are motivated to feel worthy and competent and this influences motivation

 

E.  Overview, see Table 3.2.

 

Question:  Do you know any high and low achiever, and do these predictions match your experience?