By Dennis Sale
As identified in the overall framework outlined in the first column of this series (Can you recall MUD?), Motivation is one of the major areas of focus in terms of developing the ability to master the learning process and become an expert in learning how to learn. Quite simply, low motivation does not sufficiently engage our psychological functioning (e.g., thinking and memory processes), resulting in poor thinking, low memory retention, and very limited learning outcomes.
In this column, I outline the key features of this important area of human psychology. To be able to create, maintain, and enhance motivational capability, it is necessary to understand how it works, what barriers can severely limit it, and then use strategies and tools to make it work for you. Sadly, like most aspects of human behaviour, it does not follow an uncomplicated algorithmic process like turning on and off your heating system – of course, assuming a good heating system.
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What is human motivation and how does it work?
While motivation is recognised as fundamental to learning, there is much debate about how it works and, more significantly, how we can harness its capability to learn better. Peter Drucker, a world-famous management guru, went as far as saying:
We know nothing about motivation. All we can do is write books about it.
However, we are increasing our knowledge on how the human brain works, and its relationship to our mind and other body features, which is now providing a more evidence-based understanding of the various factors that impact motivation. Firstly, we can be sure that motivation is activated and maintained when we perceive an experience or activity as pleasurable; equally we seek to avoid painful experiences – aptly captured by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s framing of human motivation in terms of:
Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters: pain and pleasure.
Invariably, what is a pleasure to one person may be a pain for another, but little in my life has seriously questioned these underlying premises. Indeed, such a perspective, with the additional component of “novelty” has been supported from research in the field of cognitive neuroscience (e.g., Cloninger, 1997). Pleasurable experiences have a direct impact on the brain, as they result in the release of chemical neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin) that create feelings of pleasure, albeit in different ways. What is significant, is that these pleasurable chemicals are typically generated whenever we experience a reward, and therefore rewards may be the most essential driving force in motivation and learning. Hence, we can enhance motivation by building rewards into the learning process. For example, breaking a learning goal into discrete steps, and having a reward at the end of successfully achieving each step is a good learning strategy.
Similarly, we know that sub/unconscious processes (eg. made famous by Sigmund Freud) have a powerful impact on our behaviour, and invariably impact motivation. Hence, while we like to assume that we are being rational and have a high level of ‘free-will’ in how we are responding to external conditions, a wide range of research in cognitive science suggests that this is not the case. The mind is a complex dynamic system and one that is far from integrated in terms of the various components working in unison. For example, Apter (2001) describes the mind in these terms:
…everyday life, as it is experienced, is a tangled web of changing desires, perceptions, feelings, and emotions that filter in and out of awareness in a perceptual swirl.
Similarly, Bandler & Grinder (1999) make a summative point:
It’s really important to understand that most people are very chaotically organised on the inside.
Also, in this context, another factor affecting motivation is personality configuration. People who are high on the “openness” and “conscientious” dimensions may have an innate advantage in the motivation stakes.
However, while innate factors play a significant part in shaping human behaviour, much is also impacted by our life experiences. Experiences shape our beliefs about intelligence and capabilities, and beliefs act as major neurological filters that determine how we perceive and respond to external reality (the world around us and the people in it). Hence, as Henry Ford famously wrote:
If you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.
Furthermore, as Schunk & Zimmerman (2012) point out:
…unless people believe that their actions can produce the outcomes they desire, they have little incentive to act or to persevere in the face of difficulties.
The extensive research of Dweck (2006) on students’ beliefs (mindsets) relating to intelligence has profound implications in terms of motivation, and how they approach their learning. In summary, she contrasted two fundamentally different mindsets, relating to how students approach learning: a fixed-mindset and a growth-mindset. Students who possessed a fixed mindset tended to see intelligence as a stable genetic quotient and, consequently, you are either smart or you are not. In contrast, students who possessed a growth mindset saw intelligence as a more fluid entity, reflecting the effort and hard work put in, and a capability that can be developed and enhanced. There is increasing evidence that students with a growth mindset tend to outperform those with a fixed mindset in learning and achievement, as it enables then to embrace challenges, persist through difficulties, and motivate themselves to find purpose and interest in the learning process itself.
Furthermore, humans are unified in terms of seeking fundamental psychological needs. For example, Pink 2009, posits three main elements that fuel intrinsic motivation:
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Purpose: The feeling that our work contributes to something larger than ourselves
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Autonomy: The desire for control and freedom in what we do and how we do it
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Mastery: The drive to improve and get better at something that matters
What this means is that motivation can be enhanced when learners have a clear purpose and meaningful goals, feel a sense of autonomy in their activities, and experience mastery in the learning process. This has consequences both for teachers in educational institutions and for individual learners. Teachers need to consider how their curriculum and teaching styles can best facilitate such need satisfaction. Equally, learners must take responsibility to proactively create their own meaningful goals, as well as the management of their learning environment and the resources within it.
In summary, as we acquire a better evidence-based understanding on how human motivation works, the more we can develop effective strategies to better manage it in positive ways. These will be addressed in detail in further columns. The next column deep dives into Understanding, and how thinking at the level of mind does the hard work to build memory in the brain – where is needs to stay.
