Motivation

What is motivation?

Motivation is what gives purpose or direction to our behavior (APA, n.d.-d). In other words, motivation concerns what moves people to act, both consciously and unconsciously. 

However, when many educators think about motivation, it’s perhaps often in terms of amotivation, or a state in which a student finds no value, reward, or meaning in learning, and demonstrates a lack of intention to engage in typical learning behaviors. In fact, this is the most common description of student motivation we hear from educators.

Consider these familiar examples:

• A student who spends most of a class period doodling instead of writing an essay. 

• A student who rarely completes homework.

• A student who always seems to be talking or goofing off during instruction. 

Amotivation can have many sources. A student may believe they lack the necessary competence to effectively perform a task, or even when a student has the competence to act, they may, in fact, lack an interest, or simply fail to see the relevance or value, in acting. 

For example, think of a student who exhibits low or unstable self-esteem and frequently makes self-downing statements, such as calling themself “stupid.” This student may not even attempt a writing assignment or a moderately challenging math problem that they could successfully complete with scaffolding and persistence because they already anticipate failure. Or, think of a student who understands how to complete a task, such as division by a decimal number or writing about a desired future occupation, but who doesn’t understand how that task relates to their present-moment needs and interests. 

In some instances, amotivation can actually be motivated non-action, reflecting resistance to demands that are experienced as hindering one’s basic psychological need for autonomy or belonging (Ryan & Deci, 2018, p. 16). 

For example, imagine a student expresses a desire to work with a friend during an in-class partner activity, but the teacher, believing the two friends will have difficulty focusing on the task, refuses the request with no explanation and instead assigns the student to a different partner. Perhaps frustrated by a perceived lack of choice in the activity or unable to meaningfully connect with the assigned partner, the student appears disengaged for the remainder of the lesson. 

Motivation is not just a binary phenomenon, meaning it’s not that you either have it or you don’t. Almost everyone is motivated by something. And motivation is not just a unitary phenomenon, meaning it doesn’t just exist on a continuum from low to high. Further, motivation is not typically considered a consistent, invariable trait, meaning most people aren’t equally motivated in all contexts or domains of life. Some types of environments and relationships can be motivating for students (and educators), while others may appear amotivating.