Hi Everyone :)
This site will contain an ongoing record of my reflections and learning experiences whilst studying the unit Motivation and Emotion at the University of Canberra. As a class we have been asked to continually update our blogs throughout the semester as well as comment on other student’s reflections on the unit. I am looking forward to this aspect of the assessment task as it will be fun to share ideas and comment on other’s experiences, especially those of close friends.
The text book we have been asked to read for this unit is Understanding Motivation and Emotion written by John Marshall Reeve. Whilst reading the first chapter, I continually related everything to myself. What struck me most were the ‘Why’ questions. Why do some people do this? Why do some people do that? It made me think, why have I chosen to read my text book right now? Why does my brother have the motivation to do hours of exercise everyday and I don’t? Why after weeks of holidays do I still have little motivation to complete my work? My answers to all of these questions at this point were ‘I don’t know!’ However after attending the lecture and completing further reading, I have gained a greater grasp on what motivation is as well as the theoretical history behind it.
I have learnt that motivation is a combination of energy, a behaviour which is constant and strong as well as direction, a behaviour geared towards completing a particular goal (Reeve, 2009).
Behaviour is able to start, continue, change and stop (Neill, 2010).
In answer to my previous questions, there are internal motives and external motives that provide this direction and energy. These are made up of an individual’s needs, cognitions, emotions and external events (Reeve, 2009). Below is a list of examples:
Needs
The physiological need to go to the toilet
Cognitions
An individual’s religious beliefs may influence their decisions
Emotions
If someone is angry, anger would be the driving force behind their chosen actions
External Events
Cultural influences may influence a person’s behaviour
I did not find the historic overview of motivation as interesting but it was helpful to know how the study of motivation has developed over the years. There were originally three grand theories consisting of will, instinct and drive. In the later years we then saw the rise of the mini theories where attention was given to more specific behaviours rather than trying to explain motivation as a whole. Today, it has been broken down into even greater detail. Motivation is now studied from a range of perspectives, all of which contribute to answering two main questions:
What causes behaviour?
&
Why does behaviour vary in its intensity? (Neill, 2010).
As part of further assessment for this class I will also be creating a free, online textbook chapter on Wikiversity, I am hoping to do something in the realm of motivation and positive thinking. What sparked my interest in this area is a book I have recently finished called ‘The Secret’ written by Rhonda Byrne. Byrne (2006) suggests that our thoughts determine what we attract into our lives and places a significant focus on why and how to think positively. I would like to pursue this idea of changing how a person thinks in further detail, focusing on why people are motivated to think in a more positive light. If you are interested about what ‘The Secret’ actually is, here is a link to a short video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MulLAfffQoQ (Bob Proctor On The Secret, 2007).
Hopefully I will continue to have high levels of motivation when it comes to completing all of my assessment tasks throughout the semester...and not end up like this man below! Thanks for reading.
References
Bob Proctor on The Secret [Video podcast]. (2007, January 18). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MulLAfffQoQ
Byrne, R. (2006). The secret. New York, NY: Beyond Words Publishing.
Neill, J. (2010, August 18). [Introduction to Motivation and Emotion Lecture]. Lecture presented at the University of Canberra, ACT. [Lecture notes]. Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=4208
Reeve, J. (2009). Understanding motivation and emotion. United States of America, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
