Welcome to your first reading blog.
Read Ch1 in your textbook. Don't worry so much about your answers being long or beautifully written (yet!); focus on reading and understanding the material and then communicating that understanding to us when answering these questions.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
Which topics are most interesting to you?
One of the topics that I am most interested in is the effect of external events on motivation. More specifically, which types of external events can cause someone to ignore such internal motives as needs, cognitions and emotions?
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Motivation is the idea that there are processes that give a person’s behavior both energy and direction. It is important to understand that motivation is not a unitary concept and there are different types of motivation as well as different intensity levels of motivation. Motivation can be internal such as; needs, cognitions, and emotions or external such as; environmental, social, and cultural offerings that cause a person to behave in a certain manner.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
One of the most memorable parts of this reading was the idea that motivation is always changing, rising and falling like a river of needs, cognitions, and emotions. While there are multiple motivations at one time the strongest motive will most likely direct our behavior. I liked the example of someone sitting at a desk with multiple motives but certain ones, such as a headache or familiar voices, will direct our behavior. This is a very relatable example that I have experienced before but this reading brought it into a whole new context.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
I had two topics that I was most interested in. The first topic was approach and avoidance tendencies in motivation. I assumed before reading this that you would want to have only approach tendencies in motivation, and I found it interesting that it is necessary to have just as many avoidance tendencies. The second topic that interested me was how our motives impact our priorities and can easily get us off task. Though I may be planning to do an assignment and feel motivated to do so, my motivation to eat food if I haven’t eaten all day may be stronger. I will then be distracted from my assignment until I satisfy my hunger. This makes sense, but I never looked at my motivations as distracting me from another goal until I viewed it this way.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Motivation is the reason behind our actions and behaviors. It is the reason we go to class and the reason we eat lunch. There are two questions that must be looked at to understand motivation. They are what causes behavior and why does behavior vary in intensity. There are three specific types of motives: needs, cognitions, and emotions. Motivation is complex, and we do not have one reason for all our actions.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
The topic that was most memorable to me was the idea that humans are motivationally complex. I never thought about the motive to succeed being different than the motivation to avoid failure, but after reading this it makes a lot of sense. There is not just one type of motivation that controls all of our actions, and these different types can provide an explanation for human behaviors. It was also pointed out that some motivation types are more likely to lead to success than others, and this may explain the cause of different results of people who are aiming for the same goal. For the example above, a person who has a motive to succeed tends to do better than a person who has a motivation to avoid failure. Both people want the same end result, but their different motivations lead to different results.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
The most interesting thing that got my attention was how motivation is always changing. An example would be the chart about studying, hunger, and affiliating. Over time your motivation changes to studying to the need of food; therefore, eating is a high priority then studying. Same goes with hunger to affiliation. This chart goes to show that over time one need grows stronger than others which changes our motivation from one thing to the next.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Motivation is what gets us up every day. It’s a goal that we wish to achieve. This goal can be exercising every day to lose weight or to become a better athlete. It’s the reason for why we do the things we do from day to day. Motivation is made up of one’s needs, cognitions, and emotions. Motivation is what drives us to make sure that we are getting all our needs to live, it’s our thoughts and beliefs, and it’s how we feel about things.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
What I remember reading that sticks out the most is how motivated someone can be. Motivation is like a hunger, if you’re really hungry for it the more you’re motivated you are to doing it. The less hungry you are the less you want to do it, so the motivation level is down. Losing weight is a good example. Say you really want to lose weight, you’re driven to lose “X” amount of weight in this time, your motivation level/hunger is high. If you want to lose some weight but aren’t too thrilled about going to the gym everyday then your motivation level is lower than someone who is devoted. I agree with this, the more motivation one has the greater chance they will achieve the goal.
What topics are most interesting to you?
I was also interested in how motivation changes over time. At one point something in life (like homework) can seem very important and you will be motivated to put off hanging out with friends to finish it. However, if you haven’t eaten anything all day because you are trying to finish assignments, your motivation may change and hunger suddenly becomes more important. Once I read about this, I started noticing it in the way/order that I do things—like homework for instance. The behavior of doing your homework is the same, but based on which class I’m struggling with the most is probably the class I’m going to be more motivated to work harder at.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them?
Motivation is the reason why we do the things we do every single day. This can be from eating, to going to class, to exercising. Everything you do is done because you were motivated in some way. You can either be Motivated internally or externally. Internal Motivation is based on your needs, cognitions, or emotions. External Motivation is based on your environmental, social, and cultural sources. They all have something which motivates you to do the things you do. Also, your motivation is always changing and making some things a priority over others.
What was the most surprising/memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
I think the thing that stuck out to me the most was the fact that we have more than one motivation at a time, but the top motivation is always changing based on our needs, cognitions, emotions, or any external sources. For example, our top motivation may be hunger because we haven’t eaten all day or to work out because Spring Break is coming. It’s always changing. And the more you are motivated to do something (look good in a swimsuit), the more likely you are going to achieve this goal (go to the gym everyday).
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
The most interesting topic to me from chapter one is 'External Events' because of the many ways that they can motivate people. I also find it very interesting because for me personally I am motivated by various external events. One example of this is that I was raised by hard-working parents, and within the past couple years of my life I have begun to work harder and have come to see the benefits of doing so. Another example is that I have come to see the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. I eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. I have learned to do this from my parents and friends, or from the people in my environment that I have been around the most.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
I would describe motivation as the process that energizes people and directs their behavior. There are three specific types of motives: needs, cognitions, and emotions. Motivation can come in different forms and can apply to both short-term and long-term situations. A few examples would be: attending class, eating healthy, to or to not recycle, and working out. Motivation is an internal process, but it can be affected by external events such as: money, positive/negative reinforcement, and the culture someone lives in. Finally I would describe motivation as what drives us to fulfill our needs, it's our thoughts and beliefs, and it's how we feel about various situations.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
One reminder the chapter gave me, that I do not always think about, is that people constantly have multiple motivators. Needs always take priority, but cognitions and emotions can play a huge role in determining motivators as well. I like what Nikki wrote in her blog about the analogy of motivation as a hunger. I think that’s a great comparison. Watching sporting events, I think there are times when it is clear when one team is much more motivated than their opponent. The more motivated teams are, the more they are willing to fight, to work harder, and to outwork their competition. The same type of process can take place when job hunting, and even while working out closely to another person.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
The most interesting topic to me from chapter one is 'External Events' because of the many ways that they can motivate people. I also find it very interesting because for me personally I am motivated by various external events. One example of this is that I was raised by hard-working parents, and within the past couple years of my life I have begun to work harder and have come to see the benefits of doing so. Another example is that I have come to see the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. I eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. I have learned to do this from my parents and friends, or from the people in my environment that I have been around the most.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
I would describe motivation as the process that energizes people and directs their behavior. There are three specific types of motives: needs, cognitions, and emotions. Motivation can come in different forms and can apply to both short-term and long-term situations. A few examples would be: attending class, eating healthy, to or to not recycle, and working out. Motivation is an internal process, but it can be affected by external events such as: money, positive/negative reinforcement, and the culture someone lives in. Finally I would describe motivation as what drives us to fulfill our needs, it's our thoughts and beliefs, and it's how we feel about various situations.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
One reminder the chapter gave me, that I do not always think about, is that people constantly have multiple motivators. Needs always take priority, but cognitions and emotions can play a huge role in determining motivators as well. I like what Nikki wrote in her blog about the analogy of motivation as a hunger. I think that’s a great comparison. Watching sporting events, I think there are times when it is clear when one team is much more motivated than their opponent. The more motivated teams are, the more they are willing to fight, to work harder, and to outwork their competition. The same type of process can take place when job hunting, and even while working out closely to another person.
After reading this introductory chapter on Motivation and Emotion, I now realize the complexity of the school. While I found much of the material from this chapter to be intriguing, I was most interested in in the motivational sources section. I took Behavior Modification last semester and one subject that was repeatedly touched on was the importance of the antecedent. In other words, why do people emit certain behavior in certain contexts? The science of motivation and emotion deals with this greatly as it asks a similar question: What causes behavior? It seems as though there is plenty to look into when approaching this subject.
Prior to reading this chapter, I would've been very satisfied with a simple definition of motivation as “why people do what they do”. As a science however, the subject deserves a more thorough explanation. Motivation is much more complex than that, yet still revolves around two basic questions:
What causes behavior ?
and
Why does behavior vary in its intensity?
Those studying motivation (Motivationalists?) are interested specifically in how motivational concepts direct behavior in its initiation, persistence, change, and termination? This is a broad question that requires specific answers. Along with looking at why the behavior is occurring, motivation studies are interested in why behavior looks different from person to person. Motivation can be affected by many variables, some internally and some externally.
The most surprising thing about this chapter was how thorough the study of motivation actually is. We’ve all asked ourselves the question, “Why did they do that?” and attempted to dissect the behavior of those around us. I was very surprised at how much is actually analyzed when studying motivation. Behaviorists are not only interested in environmental factors that affect behavior but also physiological changes that occur. Though this was only the introductory chapter, it appears to me as though there is plenty to dig into this semester.
Reading response chapter 1
Which topics are most interesting to me?
The first thing that jumped out at me in chapter one is the small section on physiology. I’m entranced with how the human body and human brain work, so I got excited. But then I noticed it is merely one paragraph, most of which is citation of facts. Regardless, the physiology of motivation is quite interesting. I have great interest that borders on obsession with catecholamines and neurotransmitters, so to see examples of the behaviors and bodily processes that happen when something triggers brain chemicals is delightful.
The different ways one can observe the psychophysiological expressions are quite numerous as well as relatively simple. For instance, the cardiovascular system works harder as one pursues achievement of a difficult task. I, personally, would require some sort of reward in my future for extensive cardiovascular use, such as a finally finishing a piece of choreography or being satisfied with how well rehearsal went that day.
I want to somehow connect the chapter to the fact that my cat chose now, while I’m typing a response and using my book as reference, to climb into my lap, sit on my textbook, put his paw on my trackpad (which has now twice caused me to type in random places on the page), and start licking my hand. None of these behaviors he is exhibiting are helping me in any way, and so I will disappoint him by picking him up and setting him on the ground. My behavior here is physical cat removal from my workspace. The stimuli prompting this behavior are my inability to read my text when there is an animal laying upon it, my desire to finish this assignment, and my need to type real words effectively.
Back to the vein of expressions of motivation (which is, for me, the most interesting section of the chapter), the behavioral manifestations of motivation—effort, latency, persistence, choice, probability of response, facial expressions, and bodily gestures—are aspects I wouldn’t have thought of when thinking about how a motivated person appears but now seem like no-brainers.
In chapter 1, I found the concept of intensity to be very interesting. Motivation is a part of everybody’s everyday life but you don’t really think about it broken down. I feel like the intensity of a motive is a strong indicator of whether or not someone will complete their goal or do anything, for that matter.
Based solely off my understanding of one chapter, motivation is a complex, underlying thing inside every single person that will determine how their lives turn out. There are several different types of motivation and also different ways to express it.
I think everything in this chapter is very memorable. Because it’s only chapter 1, it lays out the foundation for what the rest of the class will be like and I find all the topics to be very interesting and intriguing.
Which topics are most interesting to you?
I thought it was interesting to read the section, “What Causes Behavior?” Sometimes I have a hard time understanding why people do certain things. After reading this section, I understand that you can’t just ask why, you also have to ask a series of other question as well. Such as, Why does a behavior start? Once begun, why is behavior sustained over time? Why is behavior directed toward some goals, yet away from others? Why does behavior change its direction? Why does behavior stop? I also thought it was interesting to think about the idea that motivation is always changing.
Describe what motivation is all about as if you’re telling someone who isn’t in this class.
Motivation is the energy and direction behind behavior. So, it’s the reasons why we do what we do, and proves that our behaviors have strength and purpose.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned?
The section, “To Flourish, Motivation Needs Supportive Conditions,” was very interesting and memorable for me. I have studied a fair amount of psychology, and one of my favorite topics is nature/nurture. Because this particular section in chapter 1 makes a lot of points similar to those made in the nurture aspect of psychology, I agree that motivation is affected by so many of life’s experiences, such as family/parents, social contexts, school, work, culture, beliefs/values, etcetera. Therefore, you cannot ask someone why they do or think something, and expect there to be only one direct answer or reason.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
I really enjoy the study of behavior and how motivation impacts behavior. The chapter discusses how there are significant individual differences both between and within people. While one person might be more motivated in general than someone else, that person is also likely to fluctuate in their level of motivation. In I/O Psychology we focus a lot on how to increase motivation in the workplace in order to improve behavior/performance. Reading about the behavioral attributes of motivation in the chapter made me wonder what kinds of techniques or tools we could use to increase motivation at work. This is especially difficult when people naturally fluctuate in their levels of motivation, and different people are motivated by different tools. From an organizational standpoint, this seems to be a difficult construct to measure and change.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Based on the chapter I would define motivation as the driving and energizing factor to behavior. It is the “why” to the behaviors that people exhibit. Motivation is a mental concept that describes reasons behind behavior. There are three parts to motivation that are thought to drive us; these are needs, cognitions, and emotions. Motivation intensity is also something that can be altered with tactics like goal-setting and rewards and punishments; results of this alteration are seen through changing behaviors.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
The discussion about engagement was not something I expected to see. In my major field we talk a lot about employee job engagement but typically as a single factor. While there are subconstructs to engagement we typically do not consider that there are different types of engagement. The chapter talks about mental, social, and emotional engagement. I think that by combining this motivation text with the research that is done with motivation in the workplace, both fields would benefit significantly. I would like to see some measures that address all of these separate states of engagement in the workplace.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
I thought reading about the four interrelated aspects that emotions organize and orchestrate was interesting. When I thought of motivation before reading this chapter, I used to think about people who were driven to be successful in academics or in a career. I never really considered how emotions play such a significant role in influencing physiological preparedness. There is so much more that goes into a “motivated person” than the basic desire to want to do well.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
If I had to describe motivation, I would say it is the combination of processes that occur within the mind and body that drives individuals to make each of the decisions they do at any given time.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
The most memorable thing I learned in this reading was that high self esteem isn't proven to necessarily make someone more motivated. I would have thought that if someone had high self esteem, they would want to do well in all aspects so they continue getting positive reinforcement that would keep their level of self esteem up. I learned, however, that having high self esteem hasn't been proven to cause motivation.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
I found the sections on human nature and motivation needing supportive conditions most interesting. I liked the sentence, “a person’s motivation cannot be separated from the social context in which it is embedded.” Our society molds our decisions. For the most part, our motivation and behavior is shaped by what is deemed acceptable and most important by our society. Our ultimate concerns, whether we are talking basic needs, survival, compassion, or beliefs are shaped by our external environment. All of this steers our motivation toward certain behaviors, and that phenomenon is interesting to me.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Motivation is what causes behavior. “The study of motivation concerns those processes that give behavior its energy and direction.” The chapter’s explanation of motivation reminded me of the term velocity. Velocity involves both speed and direction. Imagine a person shooting an arrow toward a target. You can shoot the arrow with a lot of speed, but if you shoot it in the opposite direction of the target, you will never hit the mark. Also, you could aim directly at the target, but not have enough speed and you will not hit your mark. You have to have the correct amount of speed (energy) and the correct aim (direction) in order to hit your target (or have the right motivation to perform a certain behavior). In addition a wind could come by and move your arrow away from the target in a similar way that multiple motives compete with each other in order to determine our behavior.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading? I always approached motivation with a “more is better” attitude. I had never thought about aversive motivation- such as pain, hunger, fear, anxiety- before reading this chapter. I liked the quote from Kimble, “The greater the irritation, the greater the change.”
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
What I found most interesting from this chapter were all the different sources of motivation. They really help to explain why different people have different reasons for doing the same thing. For example, table 1.1 provided motivational reasons to exercise. I found it interesting that one person can have multiple reasons such as goal, possible self, and introjection. Those sources of motivation can also change over time within the same person. For example, in high school my source of motivation to excersice would have been extrinsic because a coach was telling me to; however, today that is not the case.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Motivation provides information about the different processes certain behaviors derive from and what gives them their direction and energy. These processes come from both within the individual and the external invironment. Motivation is expressed through behavior, engagement, brain and physiology activations, and self report. There are four processes that give behavior strength and purpose: 1. Needs 2. Cognition 3. Emotions 4. External Events.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
It surprised me (and was also the most memorable thing I learned through the reading) that measuring behavior helps to motivate behavior. I would have thought that if I wore a pedometer measuring how many steps I took in a day, I would automatically feel a sense of accomplishment, like I "worked out" already and no longer need to. Instead I learned that once I have an average in my head of how many steps I have taken, if I do not meet that number I would be motivated to take more steps, or work out.
To answer the question about the topic most interesting to me, I would have to say the how and why aspects within the types of motivation. When I think about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and then I think about the vast differences in the levels of engagement behavior I am just about overwhelmed. This is facinating!
I can now identify an intrinsic or extrinsic type of motivation in young children that I have known. I realize that it is human nature to be curious and sensation seeking because that's easier to identify in children. The real difference is in the extent of the engagement and the complexity of motivation as adults.
It use to be easy for me to dismiss rude behavior, I did not ask myself "why did he say that?" I just judged the behavior as being "a jerk!" Now I realize that there are many reasons for behavior that are intrinsic as well as extrinsic.
To describe what motivation according to Reeve's chapter one I would have to say that motivation is about taking behavior and applying "why" questions. By asking why, we can better understand: what causes behavior, why behavior starts or stops, what goals and directions do specific behaviors lead us, sustain us or change in the levels of engagement/intensity.
The most surprising aspect of motivation is the level of complexity in behavior to start with. Then adding the question of why; makes me realize how important it is to consider the four processes of needs, cognitions, emotions and external events. By raising my awareness to the processes that strengthen behavior and give behavior purpose, I can better determine the energy and direction of the motivation within the behavior.
To answer the first question about the topic I find most interesting, I would have to say the extrinsic and intrinsic types of motivation. Along with the intrinsic and extrinsic types I have to add the varying levels of engagement behavior that is individually specific. I can think about children I know and I can now identify extrinsic motivational factors used as parents or caregivers to produce the behavior we want to shape or encourage. I can also see that some of these children have apparent intrinsic motivation that seems excessively curious and sensationally seeking as individuals compared to other children. The real difference is the extent of their engagement or the intensity of the engagement behavior. It kind of blows my mind to realize how complex and various behavior really is in children (or is it?) when it comes to redirecting or correcting behavior we wish to eliminate.
To describe what motivation is all about based on chapter one I would have to say that motivation is about using behavior and applying various “why” questions to the behavior. The goal is to better understand what causes behavior, why behavior starts or stops, what are the goals or what gives behavior direction or a change in direction. Further understanding about motivation shows us why specific behaviors lead us, sustain us or why intensity or engagement in behaviors change within situations.
I realize that this is so complex that I have a hard time not using the text to answer this question! To apply this personally I feel as though I just have to pretend to be a preschooler again and just keep asking, “why?” In doing this you will discover what motivation is about.
The most surprising aspect about motivation for me has to be the level of complexity in behavior when I apply the why questions to specific behavior. Having stated that I realize that by keeping the four processes that Reeves states as being: needs, cognitions, emotions and external events. I can better determine the energy level and the direction of (motivational) behavior by being more aware of this aspect in my own behavioral choices.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
The expression of motivations is the topic that interests me the most. It is unseen, but motivation can be inferred from behavior, engagement, physiology, and self-report. I found it interesting because I never thought of how our motivations can be seen by other people. It is easy to say that someone is hungry because their eating, but it’s not so easy to find out their hungry from other expressions. To sum up what I am trying to say, I find it interesting that we can observe motivation through other methods besides direct visual observation.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Personally, I would start out by giving them the textbook definition by saying that the study of motivation concerns those processes that give behavior its energy and direction. I would most likely have to go into further detail so that they understand. I would say that motivation is largely affected by our internal self and the external environment. Motives are created internally from three things. The first is our physiological needs to stay alive and properly function as a living organism. The second is our cognitions which consist of our thoughts and beliefs. The third is our emotions which our subjective expressions that help us adapt in our current situation. The external world also affects our motivations. The external world consists of culture, social, and environmental aspects. All of these can impact our lives and change our motivations.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
I thought that the most memorable thing in this reading was the exercise graph at the beginning of the chapter. It perfectly showed the different motivations associated with the question- why exercise? The fact that a question that I normally would not give much thought about was answered so thoroughly astonished me. This text book can be dry in areas, and the graph spiced things up enough to keep me interested.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
The expression of motivations is the topic that interests me the most. It is unseen, but motivation can be inferred from behavior, engagement, physiology, and self-report. I found it interesting because I never thought of how our motivations can be seen by other people. It is easy to say that someone is hungry because their eating, but it’s not so easy to find out their hungry from other expressions. To sum up what I am trying to say, I find it interesting that we can observe motivation through other methods besides direct visual observation.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Personally, I would start out by giving them the textbook definition by saying that the study of motivation concerns those processes that give behavior its energy and direction. I would most likely have to go into further detail so that they understand. I would say that motivation is largely affected by our internal self and the external environment. Motives are created internally from three things. The first is our physiological needs to stay alive and properly function as a living organism. The second is our cognitions which consist of our thoughts and beliefs. The third is our emotions which our subjective expressions that help us adapt in our current situation. The external world also affects our motivations. The external world consists of culture, social, and environmental aspects. All of these can impact our lives and change our motivations.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
I thought that the most memorable thing in this reading was the exercise graph at the beginning of the chapter. It perfectly showed the different motivations associated with the question- why exercise? The fact that a question that I normally would not give much thought about was answered so thoroughly astonished me. This text book can be dry in areas, and the graph spiced things up enough to keep me interested.
It amazing to think about how much motivation is part of our daily lives. Motivation is literally working right now as I type this post because what is causing me to do this assignment? Is it because I have to, because I know it will help me get better grade, because I pay for it?
The first chapter laid a good foundation for what the subject motivation will be about. It asked the main quesions, told about the main causes for behaviors, and looked at different aspects and theories. From reading these and also browsing the table of contents some interesting topics seem to be: Personality characteristics of motivation, social needs of motivation, and also goal setting. Personality seems to be interesting because personality makes us who we are so this seems just to complicate the question: what causes behavior? The social aspect of psychology simply interests me so I'm excited to see how social aspect influence our motivation. Then finally, goal setting is what can lead to success so I want to find out possibly why people do this while other's don't.
If I was to explain what this class was about I would ask the two questions the subject of motivation asks: what causes behavior and why does behavior vary in intensiy? I would then say well these question are what this class tries to answer.
What stood out the most for me what the fact that motivation can be both negative and positive. When I think of motivation I think of something that makes me WANT to do something, but I don't think of the reverse. That is, I didn't think something can NOT motivate to do something.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
I am most interested in the area of how to motivate someone else using the information learned from this class. For example, if I understand how different people are motivated by different types of reasoning (e.g. achievement, relatedness, etc.) then I can be helpful when I want to encourage someone to do something (e.g. like exercise, do the dishes). Implementing this type of information in counseling (which I am in a program for) will allow me to provide services for a greater number of people and be helpful in the process.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
I would tell them that motivation is energy that moves us in the direction to help us do what we want to do and not do what we do not want to do. In addition, motivation has a strong research past that is always attempting to figure out why people do what they do. Several aspects connected to motivation include: purpose behind behaviors, how to measure motivation, ways we show motivation, and which actions together encourage or discourage motivation (behaviors, thoughts, feelings, etc.).
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
After reading this chapter I was interested in how the book attributed basic needs to motivation. In the past I would have said that the reason I get up in the morning, brush my teeth, etc. was due to stress; however I am now beginning to understand how motivation plays an integral role with stress to ensure the desired outcome. Also, I was surprised and somewhat overwhelmed by the numerous aspects of motivation. Before this class I simply assumed that motivation was an abstract power that moved people into action; looking more closely it is far more concrete.
Which topic is most interesting to you?
I am most interested in understanding the different types of motivations in order to motivate others. It will be interesting to see, in the context of a diverse organization, the strategies used to motivate many different types of people at the same time. Specifically, I see students in a healthcare setting and many of them seem unaware that their decisions could affect the life of another. What strategies could I use to motivate them to work harder in their studies?
Describe to someone not in this class what motivation is all about.
Motivation is the desire and drive inside every person that affects every behavioral decision they make. It is based on certain questions we ask ourselves about those decisions. What causes us to perform this behavior? When and why do we stop? What makes us continue? All of these questions refer to our motivation, the reason behind a behavior. It has many different components and it is different for each person.
What is the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
The one aspect I found most surprising is that there are twenty-four theories in the study of motivation. At first, I was surprised that there were so few motivations; however, when I started thinking about my own motivations, let’s say for coming to class, my list was shorter than expected. Then I realized that most things can be categorized together and there are many different possibilities within each category.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
I am most interested in how emotions motivate people. I am a very emotional person so I really want to learn about how my emotions affect the decisions I make. I also didn't know there were various aspects of emotions. I know feelings and expressions dealt with emotions but physiological preparedness and function are new to me. It also makes me wonder if there are situations that affect emotions that alter your motivations. By learning how emotions affect motivation, I will be able to use this to my advantage when I teach in the future.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Motivation gives behavior its energy and direction, which means how persistent you are towards a certain goal. Motivation is an internal process; however, there are external scenarios that have influence such as money or reinforcement. Motives deal with your needs, cognitions or thoughts, and emotions. Finally, I would say that there are many types of motivation and you have more than one motivation at a time. It is all a matter of what is more important at that point in time (i.e. pain will dominate being thirsty; you will want to take care of the pain first).
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
The most surprising thing I found was that there are so many ways of expressing motivation. Yes, there are four main ways: behavior, engagement, brain activity/physiology, and self-report. However, there are so many sub-categories! Whenever I make a decision now, I tend to think about why did I decide to do that instead of this other thing (i.e. hang out with friends instead of doing homework). I also consider if anyone else can see why I am motivated to do a certain task without telling them. It was also memorable that there doesn't have to be just one way of expressing motivation. There can be many going on at once.
The article about What causes behavior is the most interesting to me. Numerous times I have found myself wondering why someone chooses to do what they do. But I often do not spend much more time than that wondering. This chapter is a good starting point to show me just how much more there is to WHY someone does what they do.
I would describe this class as the reasons for certain behaviors. An in-depth look into different situations and different reasons for the way people act.
I think a general surprising fact after reading this article is how much I am already analyzing my friends and why they do what they do. It opens my eyes to a new side of people's personalities and motives.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
I thought it was intersting how social context is tied into motivation because I have never really sat down and thought about that. I thought that motivation was much more basic like one or two things that influence an action but it is obviously way more than that. That motivation is not only doing something but also avoiding doing something.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
I would say that motivation is much more than just one single goal or thought that drives or stops an action, it is influenced by both external and internal factors and varies in intesity.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
The most suprising/memorable thing I learned about is that it is much more scientific in nature then I assumed it would be the fact that they have easily classifiable reasons like the table on 1.1 that there are usually not just one reason but combinations
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
-One of the things that interested me was the figure about the hierarchy of the four sources of motivation. This shows that internal motives (e.g., needs, cognitions, emotions) and external motives (e.g., environment, social/cultural source) can all help to explain why people do what they do. The eight different aspects of behavior and how they relate to motivation are also relatively interesting to think about in different contexts.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
-Motivation refers to all the different processes individuals have and experience that propels them to act in a certain way. Motivation is what we have that gets us out of bed for school when the only thing we want to do is stay under the covers. Motivation is part of the reason or explanation of how we can achieve our goals. Motivation is a powerful tool.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
After reading this chapter, one of the things that really stood out to me was the list of behavioral expressions of motivation. I didn’t really think about how many expressions we could potentially express at one point in time that would indicate the presence and intensity of our motivation.
-The topics that I found to be the most interesting are the themes within the study of motivation. Two of these themes I found to be particularly intriguing are how motivation benefits adaptation and how motivation is continuous with constant fluctuation. Previously to reading this chapter I’ve always thought of motivation as being influenced extrinsically, mostly by money, power, and prestige. The relationship between motivation and adaptation seems so obvious while reading the chapter, however I have never thought of motivation as a facilitator of adaptation. As the book states we are forced to adapt as our environments are constantly changing. It makes sense that motivation and emotion contribute largely in allowing us to adapt. With that said it is imperative that motivation is constantly fluctuating and allowing us to adapt to new circumstances.
-Motivation is a process which directs an individual’s behavior. This is the process that puts the individual into action, determines how long the individual participates in that action/behavior, and finally determines when this behavior changes or stops. Motivation is influenced by numerous factors including but not limited to external events/environments, emotions, cognitions, and needs.
-Although self-esteem and motivation are correlational, self-esteem is not causal. Because there are so many factors that influence motivation I would have thought self-esteem would be highly influential however this is not true. It is true that often times I begin studying for a test with a high level of self-esteem only to receive a disappointing grade. Low test scores usually then lower my self-esteem. Just as the book stated it appears that self-esteem is simply a reflection of how that individual would rate the quality of their life at that present time.
-The topics that I found to be the most interesting are the themes within the study of motivation. Two of these themes I found to be particularly intriguing are how motivation benefits adaptation and how motivation is continuous with constant fluctuation. Previously to reading this chapter I’ve always thought of motivation as being influenced extrinsically, mostly by money, power, and prestige. The relationship between motivation and adaptation seems so obvious while reading the chapter, however I have never thought of motivation as a facilitator of adaptation. As the book states we are forced to adapt as our environments are constantly changing. It makes sense that motivation and emotion contribute largely in allowing us to adapt. With that said it is imperative that motivation is constantly fluctuating and allowing us to adapt to new circumstances.
-Motivation is a process which directs an individual’s behavior. This is the process that puts the individual into action, determines how long the individual participates in that action/behavior, and finally determines when this behavior changes or stops. Motivation is influenced by numerous factors including but not limited to external events/environments, emotions, cognitions, and needs.
-Although self-esteem and motivation are correlational, self-esteem is not causal. Because there are so many factors that influence motivation I would have thought self-esteem would be highly influential however this is not true. It is true that often times I begin studying for a test with a high level of self-esteem only to receive a disappointing grade. Low test scores usually then lower my self-esteem. Just as the book stated it appears that self-esteem is simply a reflection of how that individual would rate the quality of their life at that present time.
The most interesting part of this chapter to me was the explanation of motives. One sub-heading is “Motives Direct Attention and Prepare Action.” This is interesting because I have never thought about it in this way before. This section says that different motives direct attention to different degrees because the different motives vary in strength. The example of thirst was used as a low intensity motive. If I’m sitting in class thirsty I probably won’t be so thirsty I just run out of class to get water. Headache pain on the other hand was labeled a high intensity motive because if I’m sitting in class with a bad headache I am likely to take aspirin even if I have to leave the room to do so.
The other section involving motives explains how motives vary over time and influence behavior. For example, if I’m studying my main motive is retaining that information but other motives may increase and take over as the strongest motive. If I’m studying for a long time I may get so tired that I can no longer keep my eyes open and then sleep becomes my main motive. Hunger could also become a main motive and then I would put studying on hold and get food. This is interesting because I have made decisions before like choosing sleeping over going out or choosing staying in bed instead of going to class. This text just shows a different way of looking at those decisions and answering why.
Motivation is about behavior and what gives behavior its energy and direction. It’s explaining the strength of behavior and the purpose of behavior. Motivation explains what causes behavior. Motivation can be internal or external and vary in strength. A person always has multiple motives but one usually is the main motive while others are less prominent. Motivation can change. Motivation is an important aspect of understanding why people do what they do.
I think the most memorable thing about this chapter is just the basic introduction to motivation. It prepares you to dive into the different topics. I looked through the Contents and I think I want to learn more about unconscious motivation which is Chapter 14. I like questions like “Why did I do that?” I’m looking forward to moving on with the text.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
In reading Chapter 1, the topic that immediately drew my interest was when the author was discussing brain activations and physiology. This is just one way motivation is expressed but being able to measure hormonal changes and neural changes in order to better understand the physiological processes that take place in our bodies when we undergoing an intense urge to act (i.e., when we are motivated) is fascinating to me.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
I would describe motivation as the driving need that urges us to do something. Studying motivation allows us to detect the presence of that need and the intensity of that need and then we can figure out why or what was driving us to take that action.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
The most memorable thing I learned about in this reading was probably the initial list in Table 1.1. It used the example of someone trying to understand why people exercise. It gave 14 examples of why people might exercise and then listed the source of motivation used for that reason and then gave an illustrated example of how that source led to that reason of why to exercise. For example, some people exercise for fun and enjoyment. The source of that motivation is intrinsic motivation. Essentially, this means that children my exercise by running and jumping just because if feels good to them and they have fun doing it. We also discussed this list in class and I really feel like this is an important thing to remember because I will probably refer back to this list many times during the course to remind myself of different sources and possible examples of those sources and reasons for motivation.
The topics that interest me the most are when motivation varies, behavior varies. The fact that depending on the environment and the forces we posses at that time, we can have two different reactions to a simple challenge that can determine our personality at the time. In the long run our personality is the same and so are our beliefs. It just depends on how motivated, or how much energy we have to disperse on one given challenge. Also, how motives vary over time and influence the ongoing stream of behavior. No matter what, our behavior can change at any given moment depending on what our motives are, and never stop... That's cool.
If I had to describe motivation to someone not in the class, I would explain that motivation is different with everyone. Motivation is dependant on energy and direction. Some of the more popular researched reasons that we have motivation are, self-esteem, incentives, rewards, and praises.
Motivation depend on either internal motives, or external motives. Internal motives are things like needs, cognitions, and emotions. External motives are things like the environment, socializing, and culture. It all ties into one, motives are what energize and direct behavior.
We have an energy to approach behavior, say if we are offered incentive to do something. We also have an energy to avoid behavior, say if there is a strong odor, we want to avoid that situation at all cost, therefore we use our energy to direct our motivation to leave that area as soon as possible.
There are some aspects that help express the intensity or quality of motivation, examples are, behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagements as well as using our voice to participate in self expressions.
Brain activations and physiology play a big role in our motivational experiences. These are activated when motivational and emotional states arise like when we get embarrassed, or being nervous.
Motivation also benefits adaptation. In other words, your environment can and will play a big role on your motivational status to a certain situation.
Motivation is also determined by the social life one has. A persons motivation cannot be separated from their social context in which they belong. In other words, this ties in with our needs, cognition, and culture aspects of internal motives.
Basically, everyone has motives. Everyone strives for the same things like, hunger, thirst, sex, etc. and everyone wants pleasure, enjoyment, well-being, etc. The only difference is, how motivated one is at the time to strive for these things. Again, it all depends on the cognition, mental events, thoughts, and beliefs one has to influence their motives at any given time.
The most surprising or memorable thing I learned from the readings would have to be the part on 'To Flourish, Motivation Needs Supportive Cognitions'. The fact that we cannot separate from social contexts because they are embedded. So no matter how negative or positive our social contexts are, we cannot escape them. That in itself is fun to think about when dealing with people who strive to change their life, when all along they've been destined for it ever since they started their social context.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
The topic, well actually question that interests me most is “Why does behavior vary in its intensity?” Why is it that people have high motivation at one point and low motivation at another? Why am I motivated to get up at 8:00 a.m. and my boyfriend isn’t motivated to get up until 10:00 a.m.? Why does my sister love to argue and fight and I could do without? Everything that happens, happens because of motivation. Anyone who changed the world was motivated to do so. It just amazes me how much people really could accomplish if they just had the motivation to do so, and how much some people have accomplished through motivation. If we could just figure out where motivation comes from and how to activate it in the mind of people it could change how we do things juristically.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
If I had to describe motivation to someone not in the class what would I tell them.
Motivation is what makes everyone do what they do. Its why you go to class on time or late, why you do homework early or just before its do, why you get a job or not, its basically why you do anything. Its both internal factors and external factors that affect what you do. You make the choices but other things can also get in your way.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
One of the things that I found surprising was all the reasons people are motivated to exercise. No one does it for the same reason or has the same motion to do so. Some people are motivated by several reasons to exercise and some people only have one source of motivation to do so but they still partake in the same activity only its due to different sources of motivation.
Which topics are most interesting to you?
One of the topics that interested me the most was motivational reasons to exercise: source of motivation. What I found so interesting about this was the wide variety of reasons people exercise and the many different motivating factors in which drive people to do certain things. In previous classes I have never wondered to why I chose to procrastinate or not to procrastinate, but this class has really put an emphases on the why in my life.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Motivation is the process that gives energy and direction to our many different behaviors. In essence, motivation is connected with the why people do what they do. Motivation can vary from high intensity and focus to low intensity and focus, but everyone has motivation in one way or another. People can also have multiple motives for doing a certain activity. So in other words motivation is not exclusive or forever connected to certain activities.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
What I found most memorable about the reading was how motives are always evolving. One motive for doing something may start out as one thing but by the end can, and often times does have a completely different look and feel at the end of the activity. A personal example for me would be eating. Sometimes I will eat out of pure boredom, but on other occasions I eat because I have a physiological need to eat. Eating is the exact same activity in both cases, but the motives for why I was eating are polar opposites, yet they both still caused me to participate in the same activity.
I find it interesting that there are external events that motivate our behavior. Most people would think that motivation comes from what we may want or need to do or get done. I know that before reading about this that is what I thought of when someone mentioned or talked about motivation. After reading about external events that drive our motivation, it makes sense. The book talks about how money is a common external event that motivates behavior. In class we briefly talked about how professional athletes have money as a motivator. They may like playing the sport that they play, but often times it is the money that motivates them to stay in the sport as long as they often do.
If I had to explain motivation to someone I would tell them that it is what drives people’s behaviors. People act differently in different situations depending on how motivated they are, whether it be to engage in a behavior or not to engage in a behavior. Motivation can depend on what someone may get out of the behavior, how others may react to the behavior, or how they will be affected by the behavior.
The most surprising thing I got out of the chapter was that there are different types of motivations. Motivation isn’t just one single concept. There are many different dimensions to motivation. Another thing that was surprising to me is that motivation not only includes approach tendencies, but it also includes avoidance tendencies.
The topic most interesting to me is what this class is based on: Motivation. In Table 1.1 it shows fourteen different reasons why people exercise. Motivation can be expressed in numerous ways depending on the type of person you are for just one simple act such as exercising. This subject more focuses on motivational science to find the answers to why people exercise by taking peer reviewed, data-based findings. They use scientific studies to research the data instead of just taking an informed guess.
Motivation is any action or behavior that we do which is aimed towards a purpose or goal. This could be something simple as getting up two hours before class so you can review your materials, make coffee, and be prepared before attending class. All these things motivate the behavior to get up early for the purpose of being attentive during class. What influences all of our actions are four processes: needs, cognition, emotion (all intrinsic), and external events. The first three aspects imply needs for survival such as hunger and thirst, self-concept, or any types of feelings. Some external events that influence us could be anything from money to simply being praised for doing something.
The most memorable thing I learned from reading the chapter is that there are unlimited number of motivations that drive our behavior and that every behavior is driven by an internal or external event toward a purpose or goal that we need.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
I think so much of motivation is extremely interesting. Specifically interesting to understand why each of us do the things we do. I believe understanding theoretically and practically about motivation is interesting as well for application in our own lives. As well as understanding the motivational reasons such as the ones given in table 1.1.
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Motivation includes the idea that there is direction and energy from our behavior. It is the reason behind actions and behaviors. There are different types and different levels of intensity of motivation. There are three specific types of motives: needs, cognitions, and emotions.
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
I found box 1 pretty memorable. I thought individuals with higher self esteem seemed to be more motivated and achieve more. But I supose at the same time it would be difficult to determine whether having high self esteem came first or achievement and then getting raised self esteem. But i was still suprised that there was no empirical evidence for individuals with high self esteem.
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
Why do people go on a diet? why your mom says you're fat, or because you read an article linking obesity to premature death? A fact, over 50% of gymnasts has suffered an eating disorder in er hlife. Why? I don’t know, and maybe they do not. Since we wake up in the morning until we go to bed, we live in a society that bombards us to internalize the rules that should lead us to success, it is to say, make money , go to college, have girlfriend and children, are thin, be nice with others, be social and have friends ...... At the end of the day I ask myself who am I? "I am what I want to be or what others expect me to be? In my opinion it is a certainty that external pressures drive our behavior, well beyond what we are willing to admit.If you are reading this you must ask, "I read this because I want, or is it expected of me?
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
What causes us to do the things we do. I find it very interesting and this is the reason that I chose to be in this class. What causes us to want what we want and try or not to try at the things we do. Graduating in May, we have so many options ahead of us and almost everyone will start their life in a different direction. Why is that?
If you had to describe to someone not in this class what Motivation is all about, what would you tell them based on your understanding of this chapter?
Motivation is about describing why we do the things we do. It can be broken down into two questions: What causes behavior and activity? Why does behavior vary in its intensity. At the root of these questions are the true causes of our actions: Needs, cognition, and emotions
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
"Emotions are just similar coherent patterns that organize our preparedness, function and expression in ways that allow us to cope with our situations"
I had never thought about emotions that way.
Motivation and emotion have both always been interesting topics to me. I like the variety in the types of motives the text speaks of. This was clearly displayed in the broadness of the discussion about reasons to exercise. Also interesting to note was the fact that these motives lead people both towards and away from behaviors. So often motivation is thought of as the thing that is there or lacking, either enabling a person to pursue something difficult or not strong enough to do the trick. After reading the text, it is clear that motivation always exists. It’s just that sometimes the strongest motivating factor leads people towards doing other things, like taking a break or eating. The strongest motivating factor may also lead people directly away from certain behaviors.
I tend not to be as personally motivated by external motives as I am by my internal motives. However, my state of mind also leads to interest in learning what exactly these external motives are that lead so many people to action. It’s fascinating to learn about just what makes people tick. Furthermore, I admit that external motives are not all bad, and that, if external motives are carefully considered, understood, and well balanced with positive internal motives, a healthy balance and direction in life can be achieved.
The study of motivation is largely concerned with one of my favorite questions: Why? It helps explain why people behave in the crazy ways they do. Motivation is the stuff that lies beneath the visible behavior. It is what leads you to the behavior. Motivation can come from external sources, such as monetary incentives to make certain choices, or from internal sources, such as needs for food or water, personal beliefs or expectations (cognitions), and emotions. While motivation itself is more of a feeling or energy, it produces some very tangible and measurable results. This is because motivation is what gives behavior its energy and direction, and this energy and direction manifests in many ways. Motivation can be better understood by watching its manifestation in people’s physiology (things like changes in blood pressure, the skin’s electrical charge, and brain activity) and behavior (length of time spent on a task, facial expressions, and amount of effort exerted).
It was initially surprising to me that the study of motivation found such a variance between people’s objectively measured expression of motivation (through physiology and behavior) and their simultaneous self-report of motivation. In the end this made sense, though. People are so often motivated by things they don’t admit even to themselves. Also, there are so many different motivators involved in every behavior, it is sometimes difficult to truly know which ones are taking precedence over the others. Sometimes the most important factor is somewhat hidden. Motivation also varies greatly both within and between individuals and over time.