GI $
UNDERSTANDING MOTIVATION 83- Self-efficacy and attributions have important influence on self-
directed behavior. - Anxiety has two dimensions: worry and emotionality. Each dimen-
sion can have different effects on students. Worry has the
strongest negative relation with achievement because it interferes
with storage and retrieval of information. - Test anxiety can affect behavior in three stages: appraisal, prepa-
ration, and test taking - Anxiety can influence behavior by disrupting mental processes,
producing psychological distress, misdirecting attention, and
causing inappropriate behaviors such as procrastination. - Many students are motivated for the wrong reason—to avoid
failure rather than to attain success. - There are four reasons why students have difficulty changing their
academic behavior: they can’t; they don’t want to change; they
don’t know what to change; or they don’t know how to change.
Follow-up Activities- Use the Self-Managment Process to Manage Your Motivation
The Follow-Up Activities section in each of the remaining chapters in
this book identify a topic for self-study. The process for your self-
study was identified in chapter 1 and is explained in depth in Appen-
dix A, with examples provided in Appendix B. This study focuses on
motivation. Complete the following self-study during a period of 2 to
3 weeks. Your report should include each of the processes below and
should be approximately five to eight typed pages in length.Self-observation and evaluation. Am I satisfied with my aca-
demic motivation? Do I need to change my motivation? If
yes, what problem(s) do I encounter? What are the symp-
toms of my problem (i.e., when, where, and how often does
my problem occur)? How much of an impact does this
problem have on my academic performance? What factors
(e.g., beliefs, perceptions, feelings, physiological responses,
or behaviors) contribute to this problem? What do I need
to change to reduce or eliminate my problem?Goal setting and strategic planning. What are my goals?
What strategies will I implement to improve my academic
motivation? When will I use these strategies? How will I
record my progress?