Ch. 7 Student Motivation and the learning environment: Terms to Know

Question 1

Attribution

Answer 1

When one constructs a casual explanation for failure or success.

Question 2

classical conditioning

Answer 2

a process of behavior modification by which a person comes to respond in the desired manner to what was once a neutral stimulus.

Question 3

Cognitive dissonance

Answer 3

a feeling of mental discomfort in which new information conflicts with beliefs or previously learned information.

Question 4

extrinsic motivation

Answer 4

motivation that comes from external sources or from outside a person. Stickers, behavior charts, and incentives for learning are all examples.

Question 5

Facilitating Anxiety vs. Debilitating Anxiety

Answer 5

Facilitating anxiety -a low level of anxiety. It can actually enhance student learning and performance on classroom assessments.

Debilitating anxiety -a high level of anxiety that detracts from a student’s ability to concentrate on the task at hand.

Question 6

intrinsic motivation

Answer 6

motivation that comes from within, or from inside a person. Providing students time to reflect on goals and achievements or helping students see what they learned and how it is important are examples.

Question 7

learned helplessness

Answer 7

a tendency for a person to be a passive learner who is dependent on others for guidance and decision making.

Question 8

operant conditioning

Answer 8

is a form of psychological learning in which the learner modifies his or her own behavior based on the association of the behavior with a stimulus. For example, it is at work when a teacher sets up a system of punishments and reinforcements for classroom behaviors.

Question 9

punishment

Answer 9

the goal is to weaken or extinguish an undesired behavior. According to Skinner’s operant conditioning theory, presentation punishment involves adding a new stimulus to decrease an undesired behavior; removal punishment involves taking away a desired stimulus to decrease an undesired behavior.

Question 10

Reinforcement

Answer 10

the process or action of strengthening or reinforcing a behavior. Positive reinforcement involves a stimulus to increase a desired response; negative reinforcement involves removing a negative stimulus to increase a desired response.

Question 11

Self-determination

Answer 11

is a paradigm that suggests that humans have a basic need for autonomy when it comes to the courses their lives take.