Topic 5 slides, attribution and control beliefs

Foundational Theories and Concepts of Motivation

• Motivation focuses on decisions regarding attractive and feasible goals (goal-setting).

• Volition involves actions and thoughts aimed at achieving those goals (goal-striving).

Approach and Avoidance Motivation

Definitions

• Approach Motivation

  • Motivated by the desire to achieve positive outcomes.

  • Examples include studying for good grades or pursuing interests.

• Avoidance Motivation

  • Motivated by the desire to avoid negative outcomes.

  • Examples include studying to avoid failing an exam.

Expectancy-Value Theories

• Provide a basis for modern motivation theories.

• Individuals pursue goals that are valuable/desirable while considering the likelihood of achieving them.

  • Incentives can refer to both intrinsic enjoyment and external rewards.

Designing for Motivation

• Motivation is an interaction between personal factors and situational context.

  • Make tasks relevant to individuals' needs and goals.

  • Improve the situation and provide incentives to facilitate motivation.

• Strategies to enhance motivation include:

  • Making tasks enjoyable.

  • Lowering barriers (personalization, education).

  • Enhancing perceptions of achievability to improve control beliefs.

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation

• Intrinsic; in the activity

• Extrinsic; equated with activities that are carries out to receive external rewards

Flow Theory

• Flow is often described as a pleasant and motivating state that is likely to occur when there is an optimal balance between challenge and skill

Self-Determination Theory

• Individuals tend to experience more flow, intrinsic motivation, and well-being in situations in which they experience three universal human needs (that all individuals share): relatedness, autonomy, and competence. The theory suggests that individuals will seek out situations that allow for the satisfaction of these three needs repeatedly.

Control Beliefs

• Control beliefs involve expectations about outcomes.

• High self-efficacy and positive expectations increase the likelihood of engagement, while negative expectations may lead to avoidance or helplessness.

Self-Efficacy and Positive Psychology

• Self-Efficacy

  • Belief in one’s capability to manage challenges and function effectively.

  • Associated with motivation and action; high self-efficacy leads to persistence in tasks.

• Positive Psychology

  • Enhances positive emotions, thinking, and goal striving through improved self-efficacy.

The Problem with Positive Psychology

• Toxic positivity minimizes emotional experiences.

• Adverse effects occur when real challenges are dismissed in favor of enforced positivity.

Attribution and Appraisal

• Attribution

  • Understanding of the world and its operation, impacting personal well-being.

• Appraisal

  • Assessing motivational relevance of situations (primary appraisal) and evaluating potential responses (secondary appraisal).

Attribution Theory

• Attribution theories describe styles of how individuals explain their successes and failures in specific situations.

The Achievement Motive

• Approach Achievement

  • Hope for success influences individual motivation.

• Avoidance Achievement

  • Fear of failure can demotivate individuals.

• Previous outcomes affect future motivation and expectations.

Four Causal Sources (Weiner, 1974)

• Causal sources include:

  • Ability

  • Effort

  • Task Difficulty

  • Luck

• Future expectations are derived from perceived abilities and task difficulty along with anticipated effort and luck.

Dimensions of Interpretation for successes and failures

Locus of Control

• Whether the cause of the outcome is assumed to be within the individual (e.g., the person did well) or is attributed to the situation or another person (e.g., someone else was there to help).

• Internal (ability, effort) versus external (task difficulty, luck) attribution.

Stability

• Judgement of whether this outcome would likely be the same in similar future situations (e.g., the person is smart) or was specific to this situation (e.g., the person put a lot of effort into studying for a specific test).

• Ability and task difficulty are stable; effort and luck are more variable.

Controllability

• Whether a situation could have been controlled by the person (e.g., by putting in more effort) or not (e.g., the person got sick on the day of the test).

• Ability, luck, and task difficulty are typically uncontrollable; effort is controllable.

Affective Outcomes

• Pride (after success) and shame (after failure) are most likely when the reasons for the outcome are attributed to be internal.

• Effort is a predictor of affective outcomes since it is perceived as controllable.

Attributional Styles and Achievement Motivation

• Achievement-motivated individuals attribute success to internal factors and failures to lack of effort, aiming for success.

• Conversely, avoidance-motivated individuals attribute success to luck or low difficulty and failures to low ability, fearing failure.

Fundamental Attribution Error

• Cognitive bias where behavior is overly attributed to personal traits rather than situational factors.

Goal Imagery

• Positive visualization of goal attainment aids in reducing the gap between aspirations and happiness, fostering necessary emotional states for action.

The Potential Problem with Positive Thinking

• Positive expectations

  • Assuming that a desired future is likely

  • Predict higher effort

• Positive fantasies

  • Positive mental images about the future

  • Predict lower effort

Self-Determination Theory

• Emphasizes competence, autonomy, and relatedness as essential for motivation across life domains.

Design Recommendations

1. Use GSAQ feedback mechanisms to enhance internal attribution, facilitating feelings of pride and success.

2. Evaluate design stability in educational games to distinguish between confidence and anxiety.

3. Assess whether players perceive in-game skills as transferable to real-world applications for improved learning outcomes.