"Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time."
The factors that influence behavior, including intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Theories of Motivation: This topic discusses different theories of motivation, including Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory, and Vroom's expectancy theory, among others.
Self-Determination Theory: This is a theory of motivation that emphasizes intrinsic motivation and a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness as key factors in motivating students to learn.
Goal Theory: This topic discusses how setting goals can enhance motivation and learning, and how different types of goals (e.g., mastery goals vs. performance goals) can have different effects on motivation and achievement.
Growth Mindset: This refers to the belief that one's abilities and intelligence can be developed over time, and the importance of fostering this belief in students to enhance their motivation and learning.
Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation: This topic explores the difference between external rewards (e.g., grades, praise, money) and internal factors (e.g., interest, enjoyment, personal values) as motivators for learning.
Social-Cognitive Theory: This theory of motivation emphasizes the role of social factors, such as modeling and feedback, in shaping students' beliefs and attitudes towards learning.
Attribution Theory: This topic discusses how students' perceptions of the causes of their success or failure can influence their motivation and learning, and how teachers can help students develop more adaptive attributions.
Self-Efficacy Theory: This is a theory of motivation that emphasizes the importance of perceived competence and confidence in one's ability to succeed, and the role of feedback and mastery experiences in enhancing self-efficacy.
Mindset Interventions: This topic explores interventions aimed at fostering a growth mindset and enhancing students' motivation and learning, such as teaching about the brain and neuroplasticity, and providing feedback focused on effort and improvement rather than fixed ability.
Motivation and the Learning Environment: This topic discusses how the classroom environment, including the physical space, social norms, and teacher-student interactions, can affect students' motivation and engagement in learning.
Intrinsic motivation: When a person does something because they genuinely enjoy it and find it interesting or rewarding in itself, without any external pressure or reward.
Extrinsic motivation: This is when a person's actions are driven by external factors such as rewards or punishments. In an educational context, examples include the promise of good grades or the threat of detention.
Achievement motivation: When a person is motivated by a desire to achieve a certain level of success or recognition in their academic career. This can include things like grades, awards, or recognition from peers and teachers.
Self-determination motivation: This type of motivation centers on the belief that people are more likely to engage in motivated behavior when they feel they have choice or control over what they are doing.
Social motivation: Social motivation is the idea that people are motivated by a desire to connect with others and be part of a larger community. This can include things like collaborative learning, group projects, or even social media interactions.
Mastery motivation: This type of motivation is focused on the process of learning and acquiring new skills, rather than solely on the outcome. It includes a desire to learn and improve, as well as a willingness to take risks and make mistakes.
Goal orientation motivation: Goal-oriented students are motivated by specific goals or objectives, which they can use as benchmarks for their progress and achievement. This type of motivation can be especially helpful in keeping students motivated over the long term.
Task motivation: This is the motivation to complete a task or assignment based on the belief that doing so will lead to personal satisfaction or a sense of accomplishment. Students who are task-motivated tend to enjoy academic challenges and be more self-directed in their learning.
"Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-directed behavior."
"This means that we can be motivated to do something without actually doing it."
"The paradigmatic mental state providing motivation is desire."
"But various other states, such as beliefs about what one ought to do or intentions, may also provide motivation."
"Motivation is derived from the word 'motive', which denotes a person's needs, desires, wants, or urges."
"It is the process of motivating individuals to take action to achieve a goal."
"The psychological elements fueling people's behavior in the context of job goals might include a desire for money."
"Content theories... aim to describe what goals usually or always motivate people."
"Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs... posit that humans have certain needs, which are responsible for motivation."
"Behaviorist theories try to explain behavior solely in terms of the relation between the situation and external, observable behavior without explicit reference to conscious mental states."
"Motivation may be either intrinsic if the activity is desired because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable."
"Motivation may be... extrinsic if the agent's goal is an external reward distinct from the activity itself."
"It has been argued that intrinsic motivation has more beneficial outcomes than extrinsic motivation."
"Motivational states can also be categorized according to whether the agent is fully aware of why he acts the way he does or not, referred to as conscious and unconscious motivation."
"Motivation is closely related to practical rationality."
"Failing to fulfill this requirement results in cases of irrationality, known as akrasia or weakness of the will, in which there is a discrepancy between our beliefs about what we should do and our actions."
"In the field of business, a central question concerns work motivation, for example, what measures an employer can use to ensure that his employees are motivated."
"Motivation is also of particular interest to educational psychologists because of its crucial role in student learning."
"Specific interest has been given to the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in this field."