Evaluating Human Motivation with the Likert Scale - Research Paper Example

Running Head: ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION Achievement Motivation Achievement Motivation Introduction Achievement motivation is defined as a desire for significant accomplishment, for mastering skills or ideas, for control, and for rapidly attaining a high standard (Myers, 2004). As a result, achievement motivation would lead one to initiate and conduct a process until it is deemed satisfactory. Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are two realms in which students motivation to achieve academically are incorporated. Educators want to know how motivation can be increased for students who arrive to school with a predetermined attitude about success and failure (Wilson & Corpus, 2005). Many researchers are driven to conceptualize a procedure to take account of and record data related to human motivation in order to develop a theory on why a human is motivated to conduct in a specific activity. McClelland and colleagues (McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, & Lowell, 1953) designed a preliminary experiment to measure motivation in human participants, which was guided by the early works of Henry Murray, who was active in the development of a theory in motivation during the 1930s through the 1960s. Murray (1938) divided human needs into a primary and secondary group. Primary needs were explained as deriving from a biological origin, such as the need for food, water, air, and sex, and the reluctance to experience pain. Murray believed that secondary needs derive from either a biological base or the psychological realm. Examples of secondary needs are achievement, recognition, acquisition, dominance, affiliation, autonomy, and aggression. Murray was led to believe that intense needs are presented with greater frequency over time. This leads to a greater frequency in the intensity of the behavior. Through his work, Murray learned that secondary needs are the driving force behind the personality of an individual. The degree to which primary and secondary needs impact the individual depends on the combination of personality and behavior. During his tenure at the Harvard Psychological Clinic in the 1930s, Murray, with the help of peer Christiana & Morgan, created the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). The TAT is a projective test that is used to assess and encourage personal accounts or descriptions about familial or social interactions. The TAT can help recognize prevailing emotions, responses and disagreements through the 31 provided pictures (Murray, 1938). Each picture can elicit a range of responses from the individual, as the examiner asks for a story about the events taking place in the picture. McClelland (1953) stated that through the use of the TAT, individuals who express a need to achieve can be recognized through the accounts they provide in the presented picture cards. Specifically, the picture cards depict stories that deal with excellence, defeating problems, or completing a challenging task. Social psychologist Kurt Lewin described a need as an essential motivational notion. A need might develop from a physiological state or may result from personal aspirations. Students are motivated by developing an expectancy that a benefit will occur as a result of their participation in an instructional experience (Lepper & Hodell, 1989). Motivation is described as a condition that elicits a feeling to conduct oneself in a particular way. McClelland (1961) proposed various factors of socialization that can alter an individuals need to achieve; he proposed that the relative significance of each need differs within each individual and within each cultural background. Two components that explain extrinsic motivation are social class and family environment. Students who are extrinsically motivated because of those conditions may have a more difficult time adapting to college. Their engagement in college activities are perceived as a means to an end and not for their own sake. Intrinsically motivated people include those who are more intuitive, procrastinate to a lesser degree, and are not inclined to be socially motivated. Intrinsic motivation includes the accomplishment of an activity for itself and the pleasure and satisfaction derived from the participation (Vallerand et al., 1992). An example of intrinsic motivation includes a student who attends lecture sessions due to an interest in the learning material and a sense of satisfaction because he or she is interested in expanding his or her knowledge about specific disciplines (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Amotivation is the third style of motivation. Persons who are amotivated believe they are not in control of their own behaviors.. Rationale There are various reasons why people decide to attend college. The first reason being internal dreams and desires to become a better person; second, to pursue a degree, disregarding intrinsic desires; third, to satisfy parents expectations; and fourth, because due to the possibility of access to college, students are confused about their roles and expectations. Each college student has a different approach to education that will affect his or her level of achievement motivation. Some students may fulfill parents expectations to be in college, and others may have difficulties determining why they are in college and what they will receive in return for acquiring a degree. This survey would be helpful in identifying underlying motivation of seeking college degree. Population The study will include Latino male and female college and university students. Latinos are becoming one of the fastest growing segments of the population in the United States. An area that has been greatly impacted as a result of this growth is higher education. An increasing number of Latinos are enrolling in colleges and universities. As Latino and Latina students demand access to higher education, their unique and distinctive characteristics challenge traditional perspectives concerning teaching and learning in those settings. This study will target 450-500 college students. Criteria for participants would be full-time enrolment in college or university and the ability to read English. Participants would be recruited from different colleges and universities with the permission of the instructors. Expectations Given that little research has been conducted on the Latino experience in higher education, the intent of this study is to identify achievement-motivational styles of Latino students. Latinos and Latinas appear to have distinctive cultural and social attributes and characteristics that demand diverse and alternative approaches to the way in which these students are being served by this specific segment of the educational system. Results of this survey would encompass numerous implications toward the understanding of students within the college and university setting. The aim of this survey is to determine whether student’s scores on ‘academic motivation survey scale’ reflect an extrinsically motivated style or an intrinsically motivated style, or whether they are amotivated. It is expected that, college students who are highly motivated would display higher levels of extrinsic achievement motivation, whereas students who are more goal oriented would display greater levels of an intrinsic style of achievement motivation. This information will be beneficial in the implementation of programs designed to promote increased graduation rates. College instructors and administrators will be able to tailor their programs to suit the primary needs of students who wish to continue their studies within graduate programs, as opposed to students who are prepared to enter the work world following completion of their bachelor or associate degrees. Survey Questions included within extrinsic motivation are items such as "Because I think that with only a high school education, it would be difficult to obtain a good job”, "Because college education will enable me to get into the job market in a field that I like". The responses to the 4 overall items incorporated within extrinsic motivation are employed to establish a students inclusive level of extrinsic motivation. Questions included within intrinsic motivation are items such as "For the satisfaction that I feel while I am exceeding myself in one of my personal achievements", "For the enjoyment that I feel in expanding my knowledge and understanding about subjects", and "I do not know why I go to college and honestly, I could not care less." Responses to the 4 overall items incorporated within intrinsic motivation are employed to establish a students inclusive level of intrinsic motivation. Amotivation, characterized by the thought that actions have no control over outcomes (Deci & Ryan, 1985), proposes a deficiency in both extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. The amotivation variable consisted of two items. Questions within amotivation included, "Frankly, I really think that I am wasting my time in school", and "Once I had sound reasons for attending college; but now I am not sure whether I should continue." Responses to the two overall items within amotivation are employed to establish a students inclusive level of amotivation. Survey Instrument Because I think that with only a high school education, it would be difficult to obtain a good job. 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly Agree Because college education will enable me to get into the job market in a field that I like 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly Agree Because a college degree will assist me better prepare for the profession I have selected. 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly Agree Because when I do well in college I feel important 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly Agree For the satisfaction that I feel while I am exceeding myself in one of my personal successes. 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly Agree For the enjoyment that I feel in expanding my knowledge and understanding about subjects 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly Agree To prove myself that I am sharp student 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly Agree 1 do not know why I go to college and honestly, I could not care less 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly Agree Frankly, I really think that I am wasting my time in school 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly Agree Once I had sound reasons for attending college; but now I am not sure whether I should continue 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly Agree References Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press. Lepper, M. R., & Hodell, M. (1989). Intrinsic motivation in the classroom. Research on Motivation in Education: Goals and Cognitions, 3, 129-157. McClelland, D. C. (1961). The achieving society. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand. McClelland, D. C., Atkinson, J. W., Clark, R. A., & Lowell, E. L. (1953). The achievement motive. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in personality. New York: Oxford University Press. Myers, D. G. (2004). Accompanying psychology. New York: Worth. Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., Blais, M. R., Briere, N. M., Senecal, C., & Valieres, E. F. (1992). The academic motivation scale: A measure of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation in education. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52, 1003-1017. Wilson, L. M., & Corpus, D. A. (2005). The effects of reward systems on academic performance. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association. Read More