What motivates a student most to succeed in education?

Susan Foster Department of Information Systems and Computing UNITEC Institute of Technology, New Zealand
Individuals who stay at school longer, achieve higher tertiary qualifications and have a positive attitude towards their ability to succeed, will rise to the challenge that extrinsic rewards provide and reap economic as well as personal benefits throughout their lifetimes; however, there are many factors that cause individuals to feel disempowered. In this paper a number of important issues relating to individual achievement are examined with the aim of identifying some of the causes that interfere with an individuals ability to succeed or fail, based on their motivational orientation and cognitive triggers. The theories of motivation that are discussed are learned helplessness theory, self esteem protection theory, achievement motivation and intrinsic and extrinsic motivational sets. Findings indicate that regardless of the individual`s motivational orientation when faced with failure or success, their cognitive trigger is set in motion and the power of this trigger is based on past failures and successes: The outcome is to withhold or expend effort depending on the consequence. The implications and challenge for educators is to provide a positive learning environment where individuals can face failures and achieve successes, allowing them to realise their full potential.

Introduction New Zealand needs to develop a highly skilled, flexible and productive workforce if it is to achieve levels of economic growth which will improve its competitive advantage as a player in a global economy. Skill New Zealand developed by the National Government in 1996 (NZ Official Year Book, 1998) promotes the concept of lifelong learning, with both employers and employees having an ongoing commitment to training and learning. Access to high quality education and training assists individuals to develop skills for the workplace. In the secondary school and tertiary systems this is achieved through the integration of school, tertiary and workplace education, based in part around the National Qualifications Framework. Hansen (1994, as cited in Sternberg, 1997) divides training into four major types: qualifying training, skills-improvement training, retraining and second-chance training. Qualifying training involves initial preparation of individuals to enter the workforce and includes various programmes provided by community colleges and Universities. Skillsimprovement trains workers for the purpose of upgrading their skills, to further their education and increase their job mobility. Retraining involves preparing individuals for new careers. Finally, second-chance training involves providing a combination of basic education and job skills training and other social services, with the goal of helping individuals achieve economic self-sufficiency. This paper examines a number of important issues relating to individual achievement and aims to identify some of the causes that interfere with an individuals ability to succeed or fail based on their motivational orientation and cognitive triggers.

HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne, 12-15 July 1999

Foster

School attainment is associated positively with economic outcomes The unemployment rate in NZ (New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1997) is highest among those people with no educational qualifications, and who are aged 29 or younger. The rate of unemployment for 15-19 year olds is more than twice as high as the overall rate of unemployment; however, unemployment is lowest for those people with both school and post-school qualifications. There seems to be no statistical difference between gender based unemployment rates in NZ. Ceci and Williams (1997) claim that school attendance is associated with lower rates of teen pregnancy, welfare dependency, and criminality proneness. Also high school graduates in USA will earn $212,000 more than nongraduates over their lifetimes with each additional year of school attainment being associated with increasing income. Business enterprises and other organisations are more likely to hire individuals with qualifications and the better the qualifications the higher will be the rates of pay. For each additional year of schooling, a worker will reap substantial economic benefits throughout his lifetime. Other benefits may derive from exposure to school-taught skills, such as becoming comfortable dealing with hypotheticals and having the ability to learn specific job related knowledge on the spot with minimum supervision: skills highly prized by employers. (Sternberg, 1997). Can individuals control their own environment Coleman (1986 cited in Havighurst 1989) in a National Survey of Educational Opportunity in the USA, asked students to agree or disagree with three statements such as: Good luck is more important than hard work for success. Black American students had a greater belief in luck as the disposer. Coleman found that children from advantaged groups assume the environment will respond if they are able to affect it; children from disadvantaged groups do not make this assumption, but assume that nothing they will do can affect their environment - it will give benefits or withhold them but not as a consequence of their own actions (p285). A further study was conducted by Hall (1988, cited in Havighurst 1989) on a group of young Caucasian and Black American men aged 18-20 all from working class families in large cities in the USA. He divided these men into three categories according to their work adjustment: Group 1 had a record of stable employment or went back to school and succeeded; Group 2 were termed rolling stones and had a recent history of frequent job changes or of going back to school and dropping out; and Group 3, whom he called lookers, loafed around, neither working nor going to school. Hall used a questionnaire aimed to measure their sense of control over the environment through their efforts. There was a clear difference in scores between the three groups. Group 1, the stable performers, had the most belief in their ability to control their environment. From these studies it can be inferred that the individual who can predict the consequences of his/her behaviour can maximize his/her rewards.

HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne, 12-15 July 1999

What motivates a student most to succeed in education?

Theories of motivation As has been demonstrated in the studies conducted in the USA, many individuals have a predisposition which leaves them feeling they are unable to affect a change in their environment. There are many contributing factors behind this predisposition and include but are not limited to: poverty, low self-esteem, environmental impacts, individual levels of motivation, the form of motivation, and individual needs versus group needs. The following in-depth discussion considers the cognitive interplay between the different theories of motivation and the powerful impact they have on an individuals ability to succeed or fail. These will include: learned helplessness theory, (LHT), selfesteem protection theory (SEPT), achievement motivation, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Learned helplessness theory Learned helplessness research has amply documented that failure can lead to performance deficits on subsequent tasks (Hiroto and Seligman, 1990; Mikulincer, 1986; Stiensmeier-Pelster and Schurmann, 1990). According to learned helplessness theory (Abramson, Seligman and Teasdale, 1978; Seligman, 1975), the reason for this effect is motivational. Failure causes an expectation of uncontrollability, that is, the belief that success and failure are independent of ones actions; this expectation is generalized to subsequent tasks, where it undermines the participants motivation; that is, their willingness to expend effort. This withdrawal of effort results in poor performance. In the attributional reformulation of learned helplessness theory (Abramson et al, 1978), it was further postulated that the generalization of expectations of uncontrollability across time and situations (tasks) depends on the attributions which persons make for their failure. In line with attributional analyses of achievement motivation (Abramson et al, 1978) it was proposed that expectations of uncontrollability generalize across time and situations, respectively, only if the failure is attributed to relatively stable and global causes. Although this reformulation constitutes an important modification of the original theory of learned helplessness, it leaves unaffected the basic assumption of that theory, that poor performance following repeated failure is due to an expectancymediated, motivational deficit. Self esteem protection theory Of particular interest in the present context, Frankel and Snyder (1978) suggested that the performance deficits demonstrated in learned helplessness studies may be due to peoples desire to protect or to enhance their self-esteem, by engaging in attributional egotism, that is, the tendency to take credit for good outcomes and deny blame for bad ones (Snyder, Stephan and Rosenfield, 1978). Of importance to the explanation of learned helplessness deficits is the additional assumption that apart from actual outcomes attributional egotism may also be stimulated by anticipated ones, provided that they affect self-esteem. According to Frankel and Snyder, failure threatens selfesteem, if, first, it is attributable to the person and, second, if the attribution made is relevant to the persons self esteem (Frankel and Snyder, 1978 p 1415). If these conditions are met, the anticipation of failure is assumed to evoke mechanisms to protect self-esteem.

HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne, 12-15 July 1999

Foster

There are several tactics that can be used for this purpose. For example, participants can withdraw effort from the test, as a result of which later failure need not be attributed to lack of ability - an attribution that undermines their self-esteem - since it can be attributed to lack of effort, a self-esteem protection cause (Frankel & Snyder, 1978). Another more active and prospective strategy that can be used to weaken the responsibility link connecting people to their poor results is self handicapping, that is, creating a physical or psychological impediment, to which poor performance can be attributed (Jones and Berglas, 1978; Smith, Snyder and Handelsmann, 1982). Yet another strategy to deal with failure consists of the attempt to diminish its relevance for ones self-esteem by attributing failure to specific instead of global causes. As Mikulincer and Nizan (1988) and Stiensmeier-Pelster & Schurmann (1990) have shown, participants are concerned about their failure and its implications for their self-esteem most when they attribute their failure to global or to internal, stable and global causes; that is, when they are not able to reduce the relevance of failure for their self-esteem. Hence, by changing these attributions, self-esteem can be protected. This tactic is also referred to as excuse-making by Snyder and Higgins (1988). According to these authors, excuse-making is the motivated process of shifting causal attributions for negative personal outcomes from sources that are relatively less central (Snyder and Higgins, 1988, p23). Specifically, effort as the cause of failure is less damaging to ones self esteem than lack of ability; and lack of a specific ability is relatively less damaging than the lack of global ability (ie intelligence). These reattributions can be achieved, for example, by raising the consensus of failure or its distinctiveness, or by lowering its consistency. The belief that others fail in the same task and that ones failure will not generalize to other situations or circumstances makes it possible to shift the blame for failure from stable and global dispositions to unstable and specific circumstances (Snyder, Higgins and Stucky, 1983). However, people who make excuses must attach some minimal sense of importance to the outcome, because there is no reason to resort to excuse-making in the face of failure for unimportant problems. Two laboratory experiments were performed by Witkowski and Stiensmeier-Pelster (1998) in which they compared two competing explanations of performance deficits following failure: one based on Seligmans learned helplessness theory (LHT) and the other on self-esteem protection theory (SEPT). In both studies, participants (Study 1: N=40 pupils from secondary schools in Walbrzych, Poland; Study 2: N=45 students from the University of Bielefeld, Germany) were confronted with either success or failure in the first phase of the experiment. Then, in the second phase of the experiment the participants had to work on a set of mathematical problems (study 1) either privately or in public. In both studies failure in the first phase caused performance deficits in the second phase, but only if the participants had to solve the test tasks in public. These results were interpreted in line with SEPT but incompatible with LHT. In line with the attributional point of view, one may argue that failure would be attributed to different causes, depending on the number of failures people have to suffer. These different attributions, and thus the amount of failure, determine whether people behave in line with self-esteem protection or the learned helplessness theory. It may be that the self-esteem protection mechanism will work only at the beginning of learned helplessness training. People may be uncertain about whether they have failed because of low ability or because of a factor unrelated to self-esteem (eg bad luck, lack of effort etc) when confronted with only a small number of failures. As in this case, and given a
HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne, 12-15 July 1999 4

What motivates a student most to succeed in education?

situation in which self-esteem is threatened, eg if tasks have to be solved publicly, it makes sense to employ a self-esteem protection mechanism. However, one may consider some alternative explanations for the results obtained in the study by Witkowski et al (1998). One possible explanation arises from cognitive theories of test anxiety (Sarason, Sarason, Keefe, Hayes and Shearin, 1986). Low expectancies of success combined with evaluative stress instigate high levels of test anxiety, in particular worry cognitions; that is, negative thoughts about ones lack of ability, and about consequences of bad performance etc, which in turn cause bad performance depending on the level of anxiety and the quality of the cognitions. In line with this proposition one may argue that failure (because it lowers expectancies of success) combined with the condition of public testing (because it produces evaluative stress) causes high test anxiety, which instigates worry cognition and consequently may lead to a low level of performance. Achievement motivation Furthermore, other alternative explanations of their results may be in line with Nicholls (1984) and Dwecks (1986) theories of achievement motivation. These claim two distinct motivational orientations (the dominant goal here being to document high ability or to mask low ability). While task orientation promotes learning, ego orientation causes low performance, particularly when one is confronted with difficulties or failures. Following this theory, one may argue that public problem-solving produces ego orientation and when combined with failure also produces performance decrements. The mechanism regarded by Dweck (1986) as well as Nicholls (1984) as responsible for the performance decrements is very similar to that outlined by Frankel et al (1978). According to Dweck and Nicholls, as a consequence of failure, people with high ego orientation will change their goals from documenting high ability to masking low ability and the way to mask low ability is to withdraw effort. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation But other studies relating to performance deficits have provided a link to the motivational orientation of individuals; such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and by virtue directly implicate how people differ in their locus of control. Rotter (1969) cited in Gleitman (1992) proposed that people differ in their locus of control depending on whether they believe that outcomes generally occur independently of how they behave (external control) or are contingent on their behaviours (internal control). Researchers such as Boggiano, Barrett, Silvern and Gallo (1991) have emphasized students reasons for undertaking activities and the manner in which they evaluate their performance as important predictors of achievement patterns. For students with an extrinsic orientation; (defined as individuals who perform activities to please others), the reasons for initiating an activity is based in their external locus of causality, eg desire for approval, concern over evaluation, or to obtain tangible reward. The outcome is often not contingent on effort but is often explained in terms of a teachers mood state or the quality of the performance of peers. In contrast, individuals with an intrinsic motivation have an internal locus of causality for initiating and undertaking activities because of the inherent pleasure derived from overcoming challenges, and the interest in learning for its own sake. Moreover, intrinsics use self-evaluative as opposed to other evaluative means more so than do extrinsics; for example extrinsics seek the approval of a significant other to assess performance quality.
HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne, 12-15 July 1999 5

Foster

These divergent reasons for initiating and evaluating academic tasks lead to different perceptions of effort-outcome independence. More specifically extrinsics see powerful others or uncontrollable factors rather than effort as the primary reasons for performance outcome. Several studies from the United States support the proposition that extrinsics relative to intrinsics attribute outcome less to effort - the cognitive deficit of helplessness - as well as manifesting the behavioural deficits of helplessness; namely, performance decrement following failure feedback (Boggiano et al, 1992; Flink, Boggiano and Barrett, 1990; Boggiano et al, 1993). In one such study, students were provided with either failure feedback or no evaluative feedback on their performance of a spatial ability task. Following failure feedback, only subjects with an extrinsic motivational orientation showed performance and motivational impairment on a generalisation task. In contrast the performance of students varying in motivational orientation did not differ under conditions in which external feedback was not provided. In addition the researchers found that extrinsics but not intrinsics demonstrated helplessness deficits, ie lowered quality of sophistication of hypothesis-testing strategies following failure feedback. As predicted, the attributions individuals made for their performance also differed as a function of motivational orientation: Intrinsics focused on effort whereas extrinsics gave external or dont know responses. Moreover, examining the verbalisations children made while working on the failure problems, intrinsics made statements reflecting expectations of future success and concerns about improving strategies, whereas extrinsics made statements displaying negative affect or defensive verbalisations eg at least Im missing math class (Boggiano et al, 1993). In intrinsic motivational terms, the locus of causality must be internal for behaviour to be maintained in the absence of extrinsic pressure that may be provided in the form of rewards such as bonuses, awards, promotions higher grades etc that are provided by others to increase motivation. Motivation and labour market success This concept is supported by a study conducted by Dunifon and Duncan (1998) who examined the relationship between motivation and labour market success using a sample from one of the national data collections in the United States; such as the Panel Study of Income group, which was first measured in the 1970s. Social psychological traits and other characteristics observed in men aged 21-29 to labour market attainments were measured 15-25 years later. Findings indicated that earnings are affected positively, both by an orientation toward challenge, and by a sense of personal control; that is the belief that their own actions are effective. This finding is also supported by Boggiano, Flink, Shields, Seelbach and Barrett (1993). Further, Dunifon et al (1998) found the effects of both measures of motivation persisted after they controlled for differences in completed schooling, parental background and cognitive skills. They also found that an individuals orientation toward challenge also predicts future on the job training. That high level tertiary qualifications and employment outcomes are positively linked is clearly highlighted in this highly successful Australasian organisation that follows this work ethic. Westpac Banking Corporation, only recruit university graduates into their four level Management Development programme; each level is only reached by high performance. Managers nominate high performers who are then trained for the next level in the Programme (Gilbert, Jones, Vitalis and Walker, 1992).
HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne, 12-15 July 1999 6

What motivates a student most to succeed in education?

Given this level of external motivation individuals rise to the challenge that this reward provides. This illustrates that individuals may exhibit both a propensity to be motivated by an external force and by an internal force that of meeting the challenge (Dunifon, 1998). Boggiano et al (1993 ) confirms that different levels of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can exist within individuals at a given time; although other mitigating circumstances play a role in motivation such as attitudes. Motivation and attitude formation That motivation and attitudinal behaviour are interlinked with each other is not a new phenomenon. If an individuals striving in any arena has produced achievement and not failure in the past, it is reasonable to suppose they will continue to be motivated to strive for excellence and this will be coupled with a positive attitude about their own ability; additionally Ajzen (1989) cited in Vaughan and Hogg (1998) extended his Theory of reasoned action to provide for the role of volition - the extent to which the person believes in their ease or difficulty in performing an act which is based on past experiences and present obstacles. Should a person believe they are capable of achieving, and their past experiences have supported this belief, then their motivational orientation is likely to be intrinsic by nature. Conclusion It has been demonstrated from the literature that individuals who stay at school longer and who achieve higher tertiary qualifications, have positive attitudes towards their ability, will have lower rates of welfare dependency, teen pregnancy and criminality. These individuals will be viewed by employers as highly desirable employees, and these factors together will lead to increased income and better promotional prospects. However there are certain predisposing factors that cause individuals to feel disempowered; these are varied but the area that has generated the most interest for educators is motivational theories. Discussion has focused on: learned helplessness theory, self esteem protection theory, achievement motivation as well as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Individuals who exhibit an intrinsic set have an internal locus of control. They are more likely to stay and succeed at school, not be put off by minor failures and be positively affected by rewards and challenges. They are therefore more likely to be hired and subsequently trained by organisations; on the other hand extrinsics exhibit helplessness behaviours, have an external locus of control and therefore consider uncontrollable factors rather than effort as their primary reason for performance outcome; as well, extrinsics are less likely to stay at school or succeed onto higher qualifications and are more likely to be unemployed because they are deemed employment risks by prospective employers. Essentially, it has been demonstrated from the literature that all theories of motivation have as their underlying core, cognitive triggers that become activated when failures occur in ones life; these may exhibit as low self esteem, self blame, test anxiety etc The underlying premise is that failure, past or present, undermines an individuals willingness to expend effort; and the more failures a person has experienced in their life, the less effort will be expended.

HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne, 12-15 July 1999

Foster

As educators we obviously cannot change an individuals background or their environment, past and present, but we do have the ability to provide a positive and healthy learning climate where individuals have the opportunity to confront failure and achieve success. References Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. and Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49-74. Boggiano, A. K., Barrett, M., Silvern, L., and Gallo, S. (1991). Predicting emotional concomitants of learned helplessness: The role of motivational orientation. Sex Roles, 25, 11/12, pp 577-591 Boggiano, A. K., Shields, A., Barrett, M., Kellan, T., Thompson, E., Simons, J., and Katz, P. (1992). Helplessness deficits in students: The role of motivational orientation. Motivation and Emotion, 16, 3, pp271-293. Boggiano, A. K., Flink, C., Shields, A., Seelbach, A., and Barrett, M. (1993). Use of techniques promoting students self-determination: Effects on students analytic problem-solving skills. Motivation and emotion, 17, 4, pp319-334. Ceci, S. J., and Williams, W. M. (1997). Schooling, intelligence and income. American Psychologist, 52, 1051-1058. Dweck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. Special issue: Psychological science and education. American Psychologist, 414, pp 1040-1048. Dunifon, R., and Duncan, G. J. (1998). Long-run effects of motivation on labour-market success. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61, 1, pp 22-48. Flink, C., Boggiano, A. K. and Barrett, M. (1990). Controlling teaching strategies: Undermining childrens self-determination and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 5, pp 916-924. Frankel, A. and Snyder, M. L. (1978). Poor performance following unsolvable problems: Learned helplessness or egotism? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, pp 1415-1423. Gilbert J., Jones, G., Vitalis, T. and Walker, R. (1992). Introduction to Management in New Zealand. Sydney: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers. Gleitman, H. (1992). Psychology (3rd Edn). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Havighurst, R. J., (1989). Psychology and the Problems of Society. Washington: American Psychological Association, Inc. Hiroto, D. S. and Seligman, M. E. (1975). Generality of learned helplessness in man. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, pp 311-327.

HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne, 12-15 July 1999

What motivates a student most to succeed in education?

Jones, E. E. and Berglas, S. (1978). Control of attributions about the self through selfhandicapping strategies: The appeal of alcohol and the role of underachievement. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 4, pp 200-206. Mikulincer, M. (1986). Attributional processes in the learned helplessness paradigm: Behavioral effects of global attributions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, pp 1248-1256. Mikulincer, M. and Nizan, B. (1988). Causal attribution, cognitive interference, and the generalization of learned helplessness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, pp 470-478. Nichols, J. G. (1984). Achievement motivation: Conceptions of ability, subjective experience, task choice and performance. Psychological Review, 91, pp 328-346. New Zealand Official Year Book (1997). Wellington: Government Printers. Sarason, I. G., Sarason, S. B., Keefe, D. E., Hayes, B. E and Shearin, E. N. (1986). Cognitive interference: Situational determinants and traitlike characteristics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, pp 215-226. Seligman, M.E.P. (1975). Helplessness. San Francisco: Freeman Publishers. Smith, T. W., Snyder, C. R. and Handelsmann, M. M. (1982). On the self-serving function of an academic wooden leg: The anxiety as a self-handicapping strategy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, pp 314-321. Snyder, C. R. and Higgins, R. L. (1988). Excuses: Their effective role in the negotiation of reality. Psychological Bulletin, 104, pp 23-25. Snyder, C. R., Higgins, R. L. and Stucky, R. J. (1983). Excuses. Masquerades in Search of Grace. New York: Wiley & Sons. Snyder, M. L., Stephan, W. G. and Rosenfield, D. (1978). Attributional egotism. In J. H. Harvey, W. J. Ickes and R. F. Kidd (eds), New Directions in Attribution Research, 2, pp 91-117. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum Publishers. Sternberg, R. J. (1997). The concept of intelligence and its role in lifelong learning and success. American Psychologist, 52 10, pp 1030-1037. Stiensmeier-Pelster, J. and Schurmann, M. (1990). Performance deficits following failure: Integrating motivational and functional aspects of learned helplessness. Anxiety Research, 2, pp 211-222. Vaughan, G.M., and Hogg, M.A. (1998). Introduction to Social Psychology, (2nd Edn). Australia: Prentice Hall Australia Pty Ltd Witkowski, T., and Stiensmeier-Pelster, J. (1998). Performance deficits following failure: Learned helplessness or self-esteem protection? British Journal of Social Psychology, 37, pp 59-71.

HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne, 12-15 July 1999