Motivational ability: what factors are involved in it?

Motivational ability is especially important in childhood and in educational processes.

It can be observed with increasing frequency how the current fast pace of life is causing interference both in personal development and in the academic pursuit that some schoolchildren (and also applicable to some adults) are capable of nowadays.

This functioning that has been acquired in the last two decades based on immediacy seems to be influencing two very relevant aspects that condition the emotional maturation process of the youngest: the ability to tolerate frustration and the level of motivation to achieve the proposed goals. goals.

Both phenomena have a mutual influence, i.e., the low ability to accept that sometimes certain events take place in a way different from previous expectations, causes negative effects on the ability to get excited and interested in trying to reach such a goal again or to propose a new one, and vice versa. In this article we will focus on the factors involved in motivational ability. the factors involved in the motivational capacity..

The misuse of new technologies and their effect on motivation

As we have seen, a high level of demotivation implies a perception of low ability to achieve a goal or overcome a difficulty, which increases the level of frustration felt by the person.

On the other hand, it should be noted that both aspects intrinsically entail the personal competence of strive to achieve something and maintain that effort over the long term..

Therefore, an accelerated functioning, where by system one must attend to so many simultaneous stimuli (doing homework while having a snack and consulting the cell phone to ask what exercises should be done for math class, while listening to the TV in the background, for example) is not facilitating the ability to dedicate more extensive and exclusive time to a specific goal or task to be carried out effectively.

Studies corroborate that mismatches in both skills can lead to a low level of self-esteem, the emergence of an insecure personal style or even lead to school failure..

Therefore, as educators, it seems necessary to clarify a series of keys and measures that could be efficient to reverse or at least limit the detrimental effect that this era of digital and technological revolution is generating in the motivation and frustration tolerance of the infant-juvenile population today.

Motivation

The phenomenon of motivation can be defined as the set of factors that drive a person to set of factors that drive a person to act in a certain way and with a specific effort..

It is the main engine that allows acquiring new learning and is characterized by its clear internal nature, being the result of the combination of cognitive (thoughts) and affective (emotions and feelings) aspects, although it is the result of the interaction between the individual and the experiences he/she receives from the environment.

According to Maslow's approaches in his Theory of Need (1943) motivation is understood as a need that behaviorally impels the individual to act. This author proposed a hierarchy of needs, starting from the basic or survival needs (physiological) to those of personal growth (self-actualization). Based on these postulates, the author asserted that the lower needs must be satisfied first and then move on to the higher ones.

Some might advocate the conclusion that motivation for academic learning and knowledge in general, for example, would occupy an advanced place in the pyramid, since it could not be conceptualized as a physiological, security, social or esteem need. Perhaps this idea explains why the motivational capacity for knowledge does not occupy a priority position in some young people, especially when such learning is perceived as abstract, of little functional logic or lacking in practical application by students. or lacking in practical application by the students.

Variables involved in motivational capacity

As mentioned above, motivation is mediated by different factors that can influence how it develops in each individual. First of all, it is important to differentiate between two key concepts:

Intrinsic motivation (IM) is defined by the set of goals that the person sets due to a self-perception of positive competence and internal self-determination (e.g., "I am going to work hard in training because I am passionate about basketball and I feel great watching my progress").

Extrinsic motivation (ME) is more closely linked to the achievement of external rewards (e.g., "if I pass the school year, my parents will reward me with the latest model of cell phone") or punishment avoidance.

Deci was one of the first authors to make this distinction, arguing that the first type of motivation is the one with the greatest power or weight in the achievement of personal goals, since it is characterized by a deeper approach to the concept of motivation.

Thus, it has been possible to demonstrate the existence of a high correlation in people who present an IM with respect to the fact that they they focus their attention on the process rather than on the outcomeThe motivational dimensions of motivation are: the fact that they understand mistakes as natural phenomena and not as failures, and that they show preferences for challenging tasks rather than for those that are more accessible and require less effort.

Motivational dimensions

On the other hand, according to Weimer's Attributional Theory (1971) and later reformulated by Seligman (1984), there are three motivational dimensions that will determine how the person will configure the perception of his or her individual goals.

Locus of control is the first, and is understood as the type of cause to which the individual attributes a given action or situation. This can be internal ("I passed because I studied hard") or external ("I passed because the exam was easy"). The influence that the realistic internal locus of control has on the degree of individual intrinsic motivation seems clear.

In second place we have stabilitydefined as the ability of the cause of the event to be modified. This can be stable (or unmodifiable, "it is impossible to pass mathematics") or unstable (or modifiable, "although it is difficult for me, I know it is possible to pass mathematics"). In this second aspect, a fact perceived as modifiable seems to correlate more with the level of MI.

Finally, the degree of control of the factwhich can be classified as uncontrollable ("no matter how much I study, I will not pass the exam") or controllable ("if I study more, I will be able to pass the exam"). If the person has a high degree of control over the event, it is more likely that the level of internal motivation is also increased.

From this, the relevance of transmitting values and educational styles that are oriented to foster greater intrinsic motivation, as well as the habit of making an attribution of one's own behavior, both successful and erroneous, that tends to a balanced locus of control between the internal and external dimensions, a certain unstable nature of the facts and a degree of realistic control over such behavior, can be extracted.

On the other hand, when the person tends to make an extreme assessment of his or her failuresThis phenomenon is defined as a perception of the person's own failure as a result of his or her own failure, which he or she attributes to totally internal, stable and permanent causes, precipitates the appearance of a state of learned helplessness. This phenomenon is defined as a perception of low competence, demotivation and hopelessness that distances the individual from the achievement of the proposed goals, since he/she internalizes that situations and results occur independently of his/her behavior.

Practical guidelines for fostering motivational skills.

From what has been exposed so far, a series of practices can be determined that can be useful for educators, both in the academic and family context. practices that may be useful for educators, both in the academic and family contextIn order to promote the acquisition of a set of personal resources that favor the internalization of a satisfactory individual motivational capacity within the group of children and adolescents.

A democratic, dialogic and empathic educational style

Allows to understand the difficulties and particularities of the childIt is capable of valuing the effort invested in each established objective, no matter how small it may be.

On the contrary, authoritarian profiles, demanding and focused only on results, will generate a state of pressure, insecurity and low self-esteem and perception of self-competence.

The established goals must be short term, achievable and realistic.

To this end, it is important to carefully consider the point of departure of the subjectIn order not to present excessively ambitious objectives that favor the appearance of frustrated previous expectations.

Active participation of the subject himself/herself in assessing progress

It is a fundamental type of positive reinforcement which will provide the person with a continuous dose of reward and individual satisfaction. Thus, it is very beneficial to keep a record of the progress achieved on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly).

The content that represents the objective set

As indicated above, must be perceived as useful, practical and even attractive to the individual..

It seems that the level of motivation decreases when faced with abstract or very theoretical methodologies that do not sufficiently involve the receiver in the learning process. This element is key, since it also favors a higher rate of attention and concentration on the proposed task.

The establishment of limits in the use of technological devices.

Their withdrawal during the work sessions in order to avoid constant interruptions is important, since it will significantly facilitate the learning process. will significantly facilitate the level of attention to the task at hand..

The close link between attentional ability, personal performance and the motivational aspect has already been indicated above. Therefore, the higher the level of concentration, the higher the perception of positive performance and, ultimately, the higher the IM indexes.

By way of conclusion

As has been observed in the text, the lifestyle currently maintained is having an important impact on the perception that an individual develops about his or her ability to achieve personal goals. the perception that an individual develops of his or her ability to achieve personal goals (academic or professional), especially in the case of children and adolescents (academic or professional), especially in the case of children and adolescents, who are in a stage of maturation and individual growth.

It seems essential, from the perspective of educational agents, to guide young people to combat the numerous inertias that this digital and technological era of the immediate is causing in the development of certain psychological competencies, such as motivation and frustration tolerance. Such social inertias hinder focusing on non-quantitative, non-competitive aspects or on goals that involve a more long-term effort.

Thus, being more oriented towards being aware and valuing more actively and carefully the involvement made during the process instead of the result, promoting a more sequential lifestyle instead of a simultaneous and accelerated one, cooperating and having a more collective and generous vision instead of focusing exclusively on individualistic interests, and accepting that obtaining a result different from the expectations generated does not imply a failure but a learning opportunity, can ultimately promote the level of personal motivation in the approach of one's own goals.

Bibliographical references:

• Alonso Tapia, J. (1991): Motivación y aprendizaje en el aula. Cómo enseñar a pensar. Santillana. Madrid.
• Marchesi, A., Coll, J. and Palacios, J. (2002): Desarrollo Psicológico y Educación. Alianza Editorial, Madrid.