Week 6 - Control Beliefs and the Self

This week has focused on personal control beliefs and the self as well as its strivings.  As James mentioned, the topics covered this week brought together a holistic overview of all of the elements that may encroach on the psychological experience of motivation (Neill, 2010).  Reeve’s (2009) chapter nine and the first half of the lecture this week focused on personal control beliefs.  I found this topic more interesting than the self, more so because I have not touched on this area before, whereas the self I have covered in philosophy and in previous psychology units.

So what does the future have in store for me? I don’t know, no-one knows.  Despite the fact that we will never quite know what our future holds, people desire to control their personal environment.  Individuals want to create more positive outcomes for themselves rather than negative ones.  What we may expect to happen in the future however and how well we believe we can cope with what could occur can have motivational implications (Reeve, 2009).  These ‘expectancies’ (a predictor of the likelihood that an event will occur) can be broken down into two (Neill, 2010).  These are

1.      Efficacy Expectations – Can I do it? and

2.      Outcome Expectations – Will what I do work?

These expectations can be quite specific, fleeting or can come and go. However, over time there is a more cumulative, generic set of self beliefs that undermine our own set of beliefs and this is why people differ from one another from their perceived control. This notion of perceived control is developed further through the idea of self-efficacy. Self efficacy is referred to as ‘one’s judgment of how well they will cope with a situation, given the skills one possesses and the circumstances one faces (Neill, 2010).’ Albert Bandura states that we each have our own set of self efficacies, each of which is specific (Neill, 2010).  It should be stated that ability is not the same thing as self efficacy.  However, self efficacy does involve one’s abilities, as it is the skills that one possesses that help the person to perform effectively in complex situations (Reeve, 2009).

The opposite of self efficacy is self doubt.  The individual concerned may have many skills but can experience a moment of feeling unable to carry though, this comes before failure, and stops you trying or carrying through with something.  Many people, including my self, experience these feelings from time to time, in many differing situations.  This idea of remaining in control seems to relate to the individuals frame of mind.  This would be another area that I should consider looking into for my text book chapter on positive thinking.

Mastery beliefs are the ‘extent of perceived control one has over attaining desirable outcomes and preventing aversive ones (Reeve, 2010).’  When one’s personal beliefs are strong, then the individual sees a strong association between actions and outcomes.  On the other hand when they are weak, the person sees their actions as having a minimal effect on outcomes. These can be broken down into mastery motivational orientation and helpless motivational orientation. Mastery being outlined by the individual view that they are able to sustain a challenge and that failure is merely feedback of how they can improve and helplessness, the opposite, is intrinsic to the individual as they feel that they are inadequate and cannot affect the outcome of a situation.

This idea of helplessness again relates to positive thinking.  For example in one experiment, dogs were placed in three conditions.  In one, they were administered an inescapable electric shock, in the second they were administered a shock but were able to stop it by pressing a button with their nose and in the third no shock was administered.  In the second phase of the experiment these dogs were placed in an apparatus where a divider was placed in the box.  Before the shock would occur a light would turn on, signalling that the dog was about to receive a shock.  Each of the dogs could escape by jumping over this divider. Those dogs that were placed in the uncontrollable condition initially did not even bother trying to move, as they felt incapable of trying to escape.  The dogs in the second condition however, jumped over the divider and escaped from receiving an electric shock (Reeve, 2009).  This experiment has many parallels with the human world, as an individuals upbringing, environment and past experiences would all affect how an individual views themselves and acts in situations (Neill, 2010).   Again this type of experiment and behaviour could be included within my text book chapter, how one’s environment and childhood effects how they think in adulthood could be touched upon.

These were the aspects that I found most interesting in this week’s topics. As we continue to cover other topics throughout the semester, I am gaining more and more ideas as to what I will include in my text book chapter.  I feel that every week I am learning something which is relevant to my topic and am looking forward to finishing the assessment I have due before the chapter so I can get started.  I personally think I am feeling a bit of a lack of self efficacy at the moment in relation to using Wikiversity, but hopefully once I actually start fiddling around with it, I will figure it out and not be so scared of failure! I am now glad that I have found the motivation to complete another blog, bye for now J

References

Neill, J. (2010, September 22). [Control beliefs and The Self 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.

Week 5 - Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation and Goal Setting

Week five has focused on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and goal setting.  I found a lot of the information quite helpful as it can be applied in a practical way to my current assignment for my learning unit. The aim of the assignment is to change the binge drinking behaviours of university students through operant conditioning, where some sort of reinforcement is given to increase a desired behaviour.  It was interesting to note that by just giving external rewards (external motivation) this will not necessarily accomplish a long term fix, as it is an individual’s internal motivation that would inevitably stop binge drinking.

Intrinsic motivation is “The inherent desire to engage in one’s interests and to exercise and develop one’s capacities.” (Reeve 2009, pp. 111).  In other words, it is the inherent desire to do and achieve something that you are interested in.  An individual is intrinsically motivated when they engage in a behaviour because they find it rewarding on its own, not due to the prospect of an external reward.  Despite this fact, an individual can be engaged in a behaviour which may not be 100% intrinsic or extrinsic in motivation.  For instance, in this weeks lecture, students would have extrinsic motivation to achieve high grades, but the intrinsic motivation would come from those who actually chose to complete and be in this course in the first place.

Intrinsic motivation also has significant performance benefits over extrinsic motivation.  An individuals output is greater, their depth of engagement and learning processes are improved and they are likely to persist with something for a longer period of time (Reeve, 2009).  This can be applied to the learning environment.  Intrinsically motivated students retain higher class attendance, they focus more on activity at hand and are not easily distracted by external rewards.  As a result, deep quality learning is undertaken, leading to more creative responses and positive emotions, increasing individual well being (Neill, 2010).  As intrinsic motivation increases positive feelings in one's life decreasing stress and anxiety, this will be an important aspect to touch upon in my text book chapter positive thinking. More so because the questions I will attempt to answer are what motivates someone to want to think positively? And in turn how does thinking positively motivate the individual? Both of which would link to intrinsic motivation.

Extrinsic motivation is “An environmentally created reason to engage in an action or activity (Neill, 2010).” It is the motivation to engage in a behaviour because an environmental event will result.  This could come about from the prospect of money, praise, consequences or even to avoid a negative consequence.  An individual is extrinsically motivated to get something for themselves from the outside environment, not to reward themselves internally.  In my learning assignment, I am outlining a research proposal to regulate the behaviour of university students to stop binge drinking.  This will be completed by using external contingencies to change student’s behaviour using operant conditioning.  This is where a reward in the form of a punishment or reinforcement will be administered once the desired behaviour is achieved. Despite this, it should also be noted that not all rewards serve as a reinforcer to everyone.  This is because in order for a reward to be successful, an individual must see it as valuable, otherwise motivation to engage in the desired behaviour will not take place.

Again, extrinsic motivation is yet another aspect that I will be able to touch upon within my text book chapter.  Extrinsic rewards create positive emotion and assist in behaviour as there is the prospect of personal gain. The pleasurable feeling that one receives from getting a reward is a result of dopamine release, which motivates an individual to continue to pursue that behaviour. Despite this, it is also evident that by simply relying on extrinsic motivators to behave, this does not contribute to the psychological growth and development in an authoritative person, decreasing psychological well being (Neill, 2010).

The second half of the lecture focused on goal setting and striving.  In this chapter of the text book Reeve (2009) began to focus on the cognitive aspects of personal control and self related constructs.  “A goal is whatever an individual is trying to accomplish (Neill, 2010).” Reeve (2009) proposed a Plans: Discrepancy model, outlining how we get from our present state to our ideal state.  The present state represents the individuals current status, this is different to our ideal or desired state which is the goal the person wishes to reach.  The size of the discrepancy between the present state to the desired state is what motivates us to behave and act.  By continually analysing how far we are away from our ideal state, this provides feedback as to how far we have to go.  By acting until we resolve the incongruity between the ideal state and current state, we can become closer to achieving our ideal state (Neill, 2010).

The combination of the challenging goal (which increases effort and persistence) and the specific goal (which increases planning) are qualities that drive and enhance performance.  As mentioned above, goals and feedback go hand in hand, there is not much point setting a goal if feedback is not constantly given which tells someone how close they are to a goal and if they have achieved it.  If feedback is better than expected, people are pleasantly surprised.  If it is on target, then this motivates the individual to continue to do what they have been doing.  If it is below target however, this means that an increase in effort is needed.  When someone reaches a goal, they feel more competent and confident, leading to them being more inclined to set another, higher goal (Neill, 2010).

Tutorials this week covered content which was touched on in both Week 4 and Week 5.  Again, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was raised.  However, rather than just taking it at face value, James brought up the question as to whether you really have to have satisfied the lower level needs before you consider those above? (Neill, 2010). The class discussion focused on the hierarchy’s fuzzy boundaries, and one interesting point that was brought up was the fact that in other cultural and situational environments, other needs take priority whilst others are gone without.  For instance, in some cultures, the pathway to self actualisation may mean depriving oneself of lower level needs. 

What I found amusing in tutorials was all of us trying to label the parts of a brain.  Despite the fact that myself, along with others have learnt this numerous times, none of us could remember which parts were what (we must have been extrinsically motivated to pass physiology, as a deeper level of learning clearly did not take place)! Even James admitted to having the same problem, making us all feel a bit better about ourselves! I have included a link to a diagram of the brain if anyone wishes to try and memorise its parts.

This week we also got into our small groups to discuss our chapter drafts.  I discussed with the group my two key questions that I would like to answer within my chapter.

1.      What motivates someone to think positively? And

2.      How can positive thinking motivate the person?

Within my chapter I will discuss the biological aspects of thinking positively, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, goal setting and the self determination theory.  I found by exchanging ideas and asking the other group members for their opinion very helpful, it was also interesting to hear about their research and what they had found on their topics.  As a result, I was informed of a therapy that promotes positive thinking, this is referred to as solution focused therapy , this is another topic I could include within my text book chapter.  Overall I quite enjoyed the topics covered this week and had a very positive learning experience within the tutorial.

References

Looi, S. (2010). Brain Health and Puzzles. Retrieved from http://www.brainhealthandpuzzles.com/diagram_of_brain.html

Neill, J. (2010, September 15). [Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation and Goal Setting 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.

Wikipedia (2008). Solution focused brief therapy. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solution_focused_brief_therapy

Week 4 - Psychological and Social Needs

This was the final week of looking at the concept of ‘needs’ in the context of motivation.  This week’s chapters were six and seven and focused on the Self Determination Theory.  Chapter six focused on psychological needs.  The three psychological needs which were focused on in the chapter are also known as organismic psychological needs. James touched on the Self Determination Theory, a general framework used for thinking about these psychological needs.  This theory has two assumptions.

1. That people are inherently active and
2. Person-Environment dialectic

Unlike earlier theories that emphasised a static relationship between the person and the environment (the environment creates the stimulation) this theory suggests that the person shapes the environment in an interactive and dynamic relationship.  People do not just sit around and do nothing, rather, individuals are always involved and engaged in a goal directed activity, despite the fact that this goal may not always be obvious. 

The second assumption, the Person-environment dialectic, suggests that the relationship between the person and the environment is reciprocal (Reeve, 2009). It describes the individual as seeking out an environment which expresses their individuality, they have a desire to interact within it and the environment can assist in an individual’s development. On the other hand, the environment can also upset the inner resources, creating an un-nurturing and less productive environment for the individual.  The diagram below shows this in more detail.

(Reeve, 2009)

Deci and Ryan’s Self Determination Theory suggests that there are three fundamental psychological needs, autonomy, competence and relatedness.  If each of these needs are satisfied then an individual is gaining the nutrients needed for psychological growth.  However, it should be noted that being satisfied in only one of these needs will not result in psychological health.  Autonomy focuses on one having control over their choices and how the environment operates and rewards you.  A behaviour is autonomous when it is a person’s interests and wants that guide their decision to engage in a particular behaviour.  Competence focuses on being and feeling capable in a particular environment and Relatedness refers to the needs and wants to be engaged in reciprocal, respectful and warm relationships (Reeve, 2009)

Chapter seven and the second half of the lecture focused on Social needs.

‘An acquired psychological process that grows out of one’s socialisation history that activates emotional responses to a particular need relevant incentive.’ (Neill, 2010).

Reeve (2009) focused on McClelland’s four social needs which were the main focus of social needs within the lecture as well. These are stated below.

(Reeve,2009)

I would have to say that the content covered in the lecture relating to each of the three needs in the Self Determination Theory as well as the content covered on social needs was extremely interesting.  I think I especially enjoyed it as I am not only completing a bachelor in Psychology but a bachelor in Management as well and it was nice to see a cross over between the two subjects.  This was due to the fact that these needs and theories related to many workplace scenarios and ideas that I have touched on in my Management units. I really enjoyed the practical side of how the content can be related to the workplace in terms of managing individuals.  On another note, I can use what I have learnt as a further example the next time someone asks me ‘Psychology and Management? How do they relate?’ Rather than just stating the obvious!

Before the next tutorial session, I will need to have completed or be in the process of drafting a plan for my text book chapter on Motivation and Positive Thinking.  Currently I am finding it hard to accomplish what I think needs to be completed each week in order to finish the chapter.  Despite this, I am confident that once I start putting more time and effort into completing the task, the reservations I am experiencing about starting the chapter will hopefully disappear.  James has provided us with the link to a text book chapter that someone has written on Hunger.  Personally, I find having a finished product to compare my own work to very helpful in knowing what standard I need to meet.  This example in particular will guide me as to how my text book chapter should be set out, the tone it should be written in and how much effort will need to go in to complete it.  I am sure it will help in constructing my draft as well. 

References

Neill, J. (2010, September 8). [Psychological & Social Needs].  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.