Lepper Ch. Flashcards
Self-Perception Theory (Daryl Bem)
- People develop their attitudes by observing their own behavior and concluding what attitudes must have caused it
- Thus, if someone is being paid to do an activity, they may assume that’s why they’re doing it
Overjustification Effect
- Occurs when an expected external incentive decreases a person’s intrinsic motivation
- People think they are only engaging in the activity because of the reward
Preschool Study (Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973)
- Randomly assigned 3-5 year-olds to one of three conditions: Expect-award (8.59%), unexpected-award (18.09%), no-award (16.73%)
- Engaged in drawing activity in lab that they previously enjoyed
Findings from “Space Quest” study (Cordova & Lepper, 1996)
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Competence
- The development of feelings of competence and accomplishment
- We find pleasure in seeking and accomplishing goals
People need to identify certain attributes and competencies as central to their self-definitions as successful and capable individuals - Dynamic and bidirectional
- But fixed mindset detrimental; Incremental steps in competence
Use credible praise and emphasize effort and strategies
Challenge
- People enjoy activities that provide a reasonable, intermediate level of challenge, relative to their skills
Central tenet of “flow” - Simply repeating easy activities over and over again will become boring
New goals cannot be perceived as impossibly difficult
Select progressively more difficult problems
Control
- People enjoy activities that provide them with a sense of control over their environment
- When we feel that our outcomes are completely independent of our actions, we experience motivational deficits
- Learned helplessness (Seligman, 1975)
Critical for students to attribute performance to their own control
E.g., their own effort, strategy, or motivation, rather than external factors or fixed traits
Providing students with personal choice helps motivation
Even if instructionally-irrelevant
Curiosity
- People find activities interesting and motivating when those activities allow them to satisfy their curiosity
- People have a cognitive drive to understand the world around them
Thus, we are really interested in incongruencies or surprises
Curiosity often has no relevance to self-esteem or identity
Asking “Why” questions or asking people to compare and contrast can spark curiosity
Context
- People often enjoy a vicarious involvement with characters and activities within imaginary, fictional or fantasy contexts
- Possibly a stage on which the other motivational factors can play out
Provides us with a “safe” venue in which to vicariously experience emotions and experiences
In the same vein, you can emphasize the real-world utility of abstract problems
Community
- People find activities intrinsically motivating when they affirm their affiliation with desirable others
- Group members can provide encouragement
Link activities to admired people, problems, situations
Competition and Collaboration
- Competition in games surrounding course materials can be fun and educational if playful
Having students work together to learn new concepts can also be motivating
Each student may learn their own part and share with other students
Peer-tutoring
Caveats
- Don’t forsake learning for enhancing motivation
Both have to go together
Not all learning can be made fun
Especially when it’s really hard
How can we teach students self-regulation?
7 Cs
- Competence
- Challenge
- Control
- Curiosity
- Context
- Community
- Competition and collaboration
