TOPIC 6 COGNITIVE THEORIES, MOTIVATION AND HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT

1. TOPIC 6COGNITIVE THEORIES, MOTIVATION AND HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT FEM 4101-zarinah

2. COGNITIVE THEORIES • Suggest that motivation is a function of cognition and thought; that is, what we think about is happening influences motivation • Achievement Theory • Attribution Theory FEM 4101-zarinah

3. ACHIEVEMENT THEORY • Suggests that motivation is a function of the interaction between one’s need for achievement/fear of failure and the difficulty level of the task FEM 4101-zarinah

4. ACHIEVEMENT THEORY • The need for achievement can be defined as a tendency to approach new/novel tasks • The fear of failure can be defined as a tendency to avoid new/novel tasks FEM 4101-zarinah

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6. ATTRIBUTION THEORY • Suggests motivation will decrease when we attribute our failures to stable factors like ability and task difficulty. • Suggests motivation will decrease when we attribute our failures to unstable factors like effort. FEM 4101-zarinah

7. Atkinson’s Expectancy-Value Theory • John Atkinson (e.g., 1964) went a different direction with achievement motivation research. • First, he put the theory into the framework of expectancy-value theory. • Second, he emphasized the role of conflict, especially between need for achievement and fear of failure. FEM 4101-zarinah

8. Expectancy-value in classic economic theory • Expectancy-value theory is theory of rational economic choice. • The basic idea is that people act in such a way as to "make the best deal" they can on the basis of what they consider valuable and how likely they are to get that valuable commodity. FEM 4101-zarinah

9. Expectancy-value in classic economic theory • Often we must make a choice between a very valuable commodity with little chance of success and a less valuable commodity with a greater change of success. • The Expected Value (EV) of an Outcome = Outcome Probability x Outcome Value EV = P x V FEM 4101-zarinah

10. Expectancy-value in classic economic theory • Example: • Manufacturing a product that has demonstrated rate of 0.1 percent failure to pass inspection coming off the assembly line • It cost $.50 to inspect each item to find the failure and remove it • It cost $50 if a faulty item is returned • Suppose that we manufactured 10,000 item • Should we bother to inspect? • Cost of inspection = 10,000 x $.50 = $5,000 • Cost of not inspection = (.001x10,000) x $50 =$500 FEM 4101-zarinah

11. Expectancy-value in classic economic theory • Subjective probability: Our "feeling" that one is more likely to win than the other. • Subjective measure of value, called utility: Our choices are not as rational as the original theory had in mind. FEM 4101-zarinah

12. Atkinson's achievement theory • Atkinson's modification of achievement theory says that the tendency to engage in any particular achievement-oriented behavior depends on the probability of success and the incentive value of success, as well as need for achievement. FEM 4101-zarinah

13. Atkinson's achievement theory • The theory assumes that there is greater incentive value in achieving something difficult (where there is a low probability of success) than there is in achieving something easy (where there is a high probability of success). • Therefore, the incentive value of success (Is) is defined as 1 - probability of success (1-Ps). • Since probabilities range from zero to one. The lower the probability of success the greater the incentive value of success FEM 4101-zarinah

14. The tendency to success (Ts) • In Atkinson's theory the tendency to engage in achievement-oriented behaviors (tendency to success, or Ts) is a multiplicative function of • the motivation for success (Ms), • the probability of success (PS), • the incentive value of success (IS ) Ts =Ms x PS xIS -if any of the components is zero, then there will be no tendency to strive for success in a particular situation FEM 4101-zarinah

15. The tendency to avoid failure (Taf) • Besides the "satisfaction" or "pride" that comes from success, there is "shame" from failure (tendency to avoid failure, or Taf). • This negative affect presumably depends on one's previous experience with failure, for example, whether one was punished or ridiculed for failing. FEM 4101-zarinah

16. The tendency to avoid failure (Taf) • A multiplication formula is also used to determine the strength of the tendency to avoid failure. The components are: 1) the motive to avoid failure (Maf), the fear of failure, commonly measured by a test anxiety questionnaire 2)the probability of failure (Pf), which for any given task is 1 - PS 3) the negative incentive value of failure (I-f) is - (1 - Pf), which is the same as - PS Taf = Maf x Pf x I-f FEM 4101-zarinah

17. The combination of Ts and Taf • The values of IS, Pf and I-fare all determined once we know the value of PS. • What differentiates Ts and Taf then, are the relative strengths of Msand Maf. The resolution of the conflict between Tsand Tafisthen represented as follows: Ts + Taf = (Ms x PS x IS) + (Maf x Pf x I-f) FEM 4101-zarinah

18. Weiner's Attributional Theory of Achievement • Weiner (1985) has presented the most ambitious attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. • This theory deals with the perceived causes of success and failure, the characteristics of causal thinking, and subsequent emotional experiences in relation to achievement behaviors. FEM 4101-zarinah

19. Weiner's Attributional Theory of Achievement • There is a large number of possible causes for any specific success or failure. • A relatively small number of causes appear repeatedly in relation to many situations, however. FEM 4101-zarinah

20. Weiner's Attributional Theory of Achievement • This theory has three attributional dimensions: 1. Internal versus external attributions. 2. Stable versus unstable attributions. 3. Controllable versus uncontrollable attributions FEM 4101-zarinah

21. Internal versus external attributions • A person may attribute success tohimself, such as "I have a lot of ability and work hard." • There is a common bias to attribute success to oneself ("I am clever") but to attribute failure to outside factors ("The exam was too hard"). • There is a phenomenon called the fundamental attribution error, which is the tendency to explain other people's actions in terms of internal causes and to explain one's own actions in terms of external causes. • For example, "He fell down because he is clumsy" but “ I fell down because the grass is slippery." FEM 4101-zarinah

22. Stable Versus Unstable Attributions • A person might attribute success to ability (which is a relatively enduring characteristic) or to effort (which may be more fluctuating). • Commonly ascribed stable and unstable external causes are task difficulty (stable) and chance (unstable) • For example, "Thisis a very hard course" (task difficulty) or "I just didn't study the right things" (chance). FEM 4101-zarinah

23. Controllable Versus Uncontrollable Attributions • Both lack of trying and being ill are internal and unstable causes for failure, but there is an obvious difference between them. • The former is considered controllable, but the latter is not. • I might decide to try harder and overcome failure, but I cannot at easily decide to overcome the flu. Effort is more controllable than illness. FEM 4101-zarinah

24. Controllable Versus Uncontrollable Attributions • More specific attributions can be found for particular situations, but the preceding dimensions cut across considerable research. • Detailed statistical analyses of the causes given by people to account for their actions have indicated that these categories are those used by real people and are notjust figments of attribution theorists' imaginations. • Table 12-3 summarizes these attributions, with examples. FEM 4101-zarinah

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26. Controllable Versus Uncontrollable Attributions • Weiner assumed that each specific causal attribution for success or failure has particular emotional consequences, which inturn influence future achievement-oriented behaviors. FEM 4101-zarinah

27. COVINGTON’S SELF-WORTH THOERY OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION • Self-worth is the value one assigns to oneself or one's abilities in self assessment. • The concepts of self-esteem and self-worth are closely linked FEM 4101-zarinah

28. COVINGTON’S SELF-WORTH THOERY OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION • Self-worth theory focuses attention on the pervasive need implied in the drive-theory model to approach success and to avoid failure, which causes a sense of worthlessness and social disapproval • Personal worth depends largely on one's accomplishment FEM 4101-zarinah

29. COVINGTON’S SELF-WORTH THOERY OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION • Ability is seen as a critical component of success, and inability a prime cause of failure, self-perceptions of ability become a significant part of one's self-definition. • Thus, self-worth theory stresses ability perceptions as a primary activator of achievement behavior FEM 4101-zarinah

30. COVINGTON’S SELF-WORTH THOERY OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION • Individuals are driven to succeed not only to reap the personal and social benefits of success, but also because success aggrandizes a reputation for one's ability to achieve; and if success becomes unlikely, one's first priority is to act in ways that minimize the implications of failure-namely, that one lacks ability. FEM 4101-zarinah

31. COVINGTON’S SELF-WORTH THOERY OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION • Establishing and maintaining a positive self-image (i.e., a positive view of self-worth) is a primary human motive. FEM 4101-zarinah