Conquering 42

My Musings on Motivation March 27, 2011

Motivation, as a general topic, has always been one that has interested me on a casual and intellectual level. Having now worked in Higher Education for over a decade, and worked directly with college students, I have see just about every imaginable decision, both positive and negative, and I have had the opportunity to discuss these decisions with students directly. In addition, I have spent considerable time in the classroom, and after teaching both required and elective courses, as well as graded and pass/fail courses, have seen a wide range of motivational levels. These experiences have thus far led me to the conclusion that the topic of motivation is a complicated psychological and sociological process, and it cannot be summed up by a single theory or framework.

Wide arrays of theories have been presented to describe and attempt to explain the nature of motivation in human beings. The need for achievement (achievement motivation theory), a need to preserve the perception of themselves by others (self-worth theory), various types of attributions (attribution theory), goals and expectations (social cognitive theory), goal-setting (goal theory), and various others have all been seen as the basis for motivation and activity. However, I would argue that to a certain extent, no one singular aspect or direction can describe how and why people experience motivation. At various times, and through individual decisions, all of these facets of cognition come into play as individuals decide whether they should or shouldn’t do something, say something, or act on something. Additionally, more often than not, they either lack the ability to logically decode these messages in order to make the seemingly better decision, or they purposely disregard the information they have received and make a bad decision anyway. Do most students purposely fail an exam? Do most students intentionally get so intoxicated that they need medical attention? Do most students logically decide to commit a crime for which the consequences far outweigh the benefits? Although there are exceptions, I would argue that the answer to all of these questions is overwhelmingly no in most instances. Yet, these things do happen (hence, I still have a job helping to manage these bad decisions).

Although I do not adhere to one particular theory of motivation, I do value what they contribute to my understanding of my own teaching and work with students. The shear volume of factors that play into any given decision is staggering, as the wealth of theories demonstrate, and the role of a teacher then becomes that of considering each and every one of them at any given point when working with a student. Research may support and contradict most of these theories, but that is the nature of all research. Ultimately, it is still the role of the teacher to consider them all as possible factors until proven otherwise. Additionally, I am now much more aware that these factors change based on intrinsic and extrinsic properties throughout the decision-making process. A student may begin a project, motivated by a goal he/she set for himself, and after discussing the project with others, may become more motivated by a need to be seen as intelligent and capable by his/her peers, regardless of the actual outcome of the project.

Lastly, this exploration into the nature of motivation has given me pause to consider the pursuit of knowledge. I have become increasingly aware over the years at just how extrinsically motivated most individuals are on a daily basis. Rarely do I encounter other individuals with an outward passion to learn for the shear love of it. I talk to more and more students that no longer read for “fun” or hate reading all-together, have no understanding of what is going on in the world, and are so consumed by their own social circle that they lack the ability to see any sort of a bigger picture. In a capitalist society such as our own, the enlightenment pursuit of knowledge has been replaced by the capitalist pursuit of wealth as it equates to happiness. All that remains to be seen is what the next big golden carrot will be dangling in front of us!