There have been a number of studies of motivation, particularly in an academic environment, in recent years. Motivation has also been studied in work environments. Many also consider motivation to be an important aspect of both learning and teaching within the psychological disciplines. Applying the main theories of motivation to learning and teaching reinforces this, allowing motivation to be considered from both the learners' and the teachers' perspectives.
The word motivation is based on the Latin word that means movement(Steers, Mowday and Shapiro 2004, 379). Motivation is the process thatmakes a person choose a particular action over inaction or some otheraction. Pintrich and Schunk (1996) found a direct relationship betweenhow motivated a person is and how much he or she achieves. In alearning or teaching situation, an individual who is motivated will tryto complete a task and work hard to achieve success. A person who isnot motivated will not try, will not work hard, or will bringin some other behaviour that sabotages the outcome of the situation(Eggen and Kauchak 1999, 400).
Psychology generally recognises three main theories ofmotivation in learning and teaching. Behaviourism supports the ideathat man responds to external stimuli. This is built on a notion ofmotivation that has been around for hundreds of years, namely that aperson will seek out pleasure but avoid pain (Steers, Mowday andShapiro 2004, 380). Behaviourism expanded and developed this idea toexplain actions based on reinforcement. A person is motivated by pastexperiences where he or she was rewarded by certain behaviour (Skinner1985, 292). Many experiments have been done on animals and people todemonstrate behaviourism as a learning theory. In a typicalexperiment, an animal will learn that pushing a button brings food. The action of pushing the button is positively reinforced with food, sothe animal repeats the behaviour. When a person repeats such an actionover and over again with the same results, he or she develops an ideathat links the button and food (Skinner 1985, 293). Behaviours arereinforced by positive results, whilst negative results cause theperson to stop a behaviour.
In a psychological learning environment, the counsellor must oftenhelp the client discover the “button” that links an action and resultin his or her mind. Until such a motivator is discovered, the clientwill continue to repeat actions based on prior success or failure, evenif the situation has changed. For example, if a client had anundiagnosed learning disability that caused him to fail in school, hemay associate any type of formal learning environment with his schoolfailures and refuse to even try to learn. He is not motivated. Chouet al (2004) supports this example, contending that learningdifficulties and learning style trigger both motivation and increasedlearning capacity (300). To be motivated to try new learningexperiences, the client must be assisted in discovering that he is not“stupid” or unable to learn, but simply needs to learn in a differentway. The counsellor and client can then work together to devise somelearning experiences where the client can succeed. According tobehaviourist theory, as the number of positive reinforcements from anaction (in this case learning something new) increases in relation tothe number of negative experiences, the person's motivation will changeto a more positive outlook (Eggen and Kauchak 1999, 399).
From a teaching environment, the teacher or counsellor is likely torepeat behaviours that have worked with other clients in the past. There is a danger in this as sometimes one can jump to assumptionsabout the client because he or she is like someone you worked withbefore. For example, a counsellor could assume that a client feels acertain way about a situation and direct the client based on thatassumption, rather than letting the client explore and come toself-understanding. The current client may actually be quitedifferent, so the counsellor must work at understanding the client'sambivalence or motivational issues rather than simply measuring orrecording them (Sparks, Harris and Lockwood 2004, 380). It isimportant to consider each person as an individual. Behaviourism alsosupports the idea that some counsellors will be less willing to trywhat may be a successful strategy with a client if they tried it onceand it did not work. This can cause one to reject what would work wellwith a particular client.
Cognitive Theory, in contrast, is based on the need to understand, andthe development of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy describes a person'sbelief in his or her own capability to successfully perform a giventask (Chuiang, Liao and Tai 2005, 161). Bandura (1977) contends thatthrough social learning theory it can be shown that high self-efficacyresults in increased motivation. “Those who are high in self-efficacymay achieve favorable outcomes of persistence, intensity, anddirection, which are the psychological processing factors of motivationand thus they may be more motivated”(Chuiang, Liao and Tai 2005,161-162). Gist (1987) similarly contended that people who feelefficacious are more likely to set high goals and persist in overcomingbarriers. If a client knows he or she can successfully completesomething, he or she will be more likely to undertake it.
There are several sub-theories of Cognitive Theory that also related tomotivation, including expectancy and goal-setting theory. Expectancytheory sees behaviour as “purposeful, goal directed, and largely basedon conscious intentions” (Steers, Mowday and Shapiro 2004, 382). People evaluate the different actions available to them in a givensituation, then choose the one they believe will lead to the bestoutcome or reward. From this standpoint, how attractive a task is orthe reward attached to it will greatly influence a client's motivation(Eggen and Kauchak 1999, 402). For example, if the man with thelearning disability used as an example earlier was promised a very highpaying job for completing a learning experience, expectancy says he ismore likely to undertake the experience than if there were no reward. This differs from Behaviourism because the reward or outcome is simplyanticipated and not based on previous experience (Steers, Mowday andShapiro 2004, 382).
With a learner situation, this theory of motivation leads the person incharge of the situation to often use rewards (or bribes, depending onyour perspective) to motivate the learner. In primary school a childmight receive a sticker or piece of candy if he or she successfullycompletes an assignment, for example. In a counselling situation, thecounsellor may negotiate a reward that the client provides to him orherself if significant progress is made. Of more benefit to the clientwould be to attach success to an intrinsic reward (Eggen and Kauchak1999, 403). For example, that the client records feeling more positiveabout his or her self-image is presented as a self-reward. A personwho has regularly allowed others to violate boundaries in relationshipsmay “reward” himself or herself with something they really want to do,rather than doing what others prefer.As a teacher or counsellor, it is very important to follow through inany expectancy situation negotiated with the client. If the client ispromised that he or she will be allowed to progress to the next stageof a process, for example, as a reward for work in the current stage,it is very important that the promise be kept. It is also importantthat the counsellor maintain an expectancy of resolution or some othersuch attainment with clients. Our goal should be the point where theclient no longer needs us, not to make the client dependent oncounselling. Presenting appropriate rewards or establishing likely anddesirable outcomes is one way to assist clients in becoming motivatedto learn.
Goal-setting theory is based on the idea that setting specifictargets for behaviour, behavioural goals, will increase taskperformance and completion (Steers, Mowday and Shapiro 2004, 382). Themore difficult the goal or the bigger it was, the less likely theperson would be to begin or continue working on it. In contrast, ifgoals were broken down into specific, easy, and attainable steps,people were more likely to work toward their goals (Linnenbrink 2005,198). From a learning perspective, it is therefore important to planout goals with clients, and break such goals down into achievablesteps. For example, if a client is afraid of social situations yetwants to be able to go out and meet new people, the counsellor andclient may work together to establish a series of progressively moresocial experiences. Each step would be documented with a correspondingtime goal for completion. The client would work through the plan onestep at a time. The theory contends that because the client canunderstand the high chance success for each step, he or she will behaveself-efficaciously and be motivated to work towards the goal.
From a teaching standpoint, it is important to both help the clientto establish realistic goals and break them down into specific,workable steps. The counsellor also provides a valuable role as aperson of accountability, ensuring the client follows through. Forexample, the counsellor would ask in regular sessions how the client isprogressing towards the goal. If the client continues to come backwithout having done anything, and just wants to give excuses orcomplain, the counsellor could agree to meet again with the client onlyafter he or she has completed a step towards a goal. This bothmotivates the client and prevents the counsellor from having the samesession over and over, with the client not achieving any progress.
The last theory of motivation is the Humanistic theory. Accordingto Humanistic psychologists, humans all seek fulfilling experienceswhere we can fulfil our full potential (Eggen and Kauchak 1999, 4043). People are motivated by internal desires, whether conscious orunconscious. As a learner, humanistic theory contends the client ismotivated based on the desire to achieve some state rather than basedon the behaviour itself (Muller and Louw 2004, 170). Instead ofreacting to a specific behaviour reinforcement or taking action basedon expected success, the learner here takes action because he or shewants to be someone different or maintain a positive self, and takingsuch action will allow the client to achieve this. “The activitiespeople pursue out of interest when they are free from the press ofdemands, constraints, and instrumentalities,” those behaviours“associated with curiosity, exploration, spontaneity and interest,” arethose undertaken under humanistic motivation (Muller and Louw 2004,170). For example, a client may take up painting simply because she isinterested in learning the subject, not from any other reasoning.
From a teaching standpoint, the practitioner of Humanistic theory isa caring, empathetic instructor who “considers the teaching-learningexperience from the students' points of view” (Eggen and Kauchak 1999,405). The counsellor in this model also considers the entire client,observing and addressing the physical, emotional, intellectual,interpersonal, and spiritual needs of the client. This is by far Ifeel the most effective method for motivating a client. If the clientcan own his or her own desires and be motivated by them, this is farstronger than any outside reward or outcome in causing people to takeaction. As a counsellor, it is equally important that the personcounselling is doing so from a genuine and healthy desire to assistothers, not from some personal issues that are somehow fulfilledthrough their counselling role. The counsellor must themselves beemotionally and mentally healthy in order to properly assist clients.In conclusion, while all of the three major psychological theories ofmotivation produce results, the Humanistic theory is the most helpfulin a psychological discipline. It emphasises the client achieving motivation from within, and forhealthy self-oriented reasons. While it is arguably a more difficultway to encourage motivation in a client, it is yet more likely to be lasting and in their best interests.
