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3

Understanding Motivation

As you consider the various com-

ponents of academic self-manage-

ment, you may find that you have

no difficulty managing your moti-

vation. You may exhibit a great

deal of effort on tasks, persist even

under difficult situations, and

maintain positive beliefs about

your academic abilities. If this is

the case, this chapter will simply

help you understand why you are

motivated to succeed. However, if

you have some difficulty managing

your motivation, this chapter pro-

vides important background infor-

mation to help you change.

MOTIVATIONAL PROBLEMS

Many of my students frequently

state in class or in written assign-

ments: “I have no motivation” or

“I need to get motivated.” Unfor-

tunately, I find that many students

do not understand the meaning of

these statements. Actually, every-

one is motivated. Educational

researchers have found that many

different patterns of beliefs and

behaviors can limit academic suc-

cess. Therefore, many different

types of motivational problems can

be identified in any group of stu-

dents. Let’s look at five students

who have diverse motivational

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