Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success : A Self-management Approach

 GI      $

MANAGEMENT OF EMOTION AND EFFORT 115

unwilling to give up. They maintain a belief in their academic ability

and use motivation and learning strategies to make changes in their

study behavior. Finally, they use positive thoughts to keep them on

track. When something goes wrong, they remind themselves that they

can do it. Most important, when they don’t do well on an exam, they

commit themselves to changing their learning and study behavior for

the next exam. In fact, they even increase the number of study strate-

gies they use. Here is what one student reported after a poor exam:

I did more things. I studied harder... [like] trying to keep

up with the reading and trying to just be a better student—

going through the notes afterward, trying to do the right

things, making flash cards, testing my knowledge, writing

things down. (Turner, Husman, & Schallert, 2002, p. 85)

In contrast to the shame-resilient students, the students who are

affected by shame (i.e., shame-nonresilient students) often are not able

to sustain increased energy following their shame experiences. They

are characterized by ambivalence, confusion, and conflict as seen by

the statement by the student taking science courses. They are not sure

of their future goals and can’t seem to use learning or study strate-

gies other than what they used for the first exam. This state of mind

is best represented by the following remark (Turner et al., 2002): “I

took really good notes.... [I] did all my readings, went over my read-

ings very thoroughly. I just don’t know what else I can do” (p. 86).

In summary, in dealing with negative emotional states like shame,

disappointment, or both, it is important to have immediate and long-

term goals to help maintain a focus for why it is worth overcoming

obstacles. Without such goals, it is easier to quit or reduce effort,

because there doesn’t appear to be a purpose for trying harder. How-

ever, having goals is not sufficient to maintain one’s learning activi-

ties. In addition to having the motivation to study, students also must

acquire the necessary learning strategies and self-directed behaviors

that will allow them to cope with academic difficulties (Turner et al.,

2002). Remember the statement in chapter 1: “You must have both

the will and the skill to achieve.”

Boredom

Many students complain that they are bored in school or in vari-

ous courses they must take. Boredom is a problem because it can

diminish attention and interfere with academic performance. It can be

related to both individual (i.e., personality) and situational factors

(e.g., classes and instructors). Some individuals are more prone to

boredom than others. In fact, one study found that students who

report a high frequency of boredom in school also experience high