Theory Review: Emotions Affect on Motivation

Emotions Affect on Motivation Theory Review 

Jennifer McDonald 

Ball State University

 EDAC 635 

Dr. Bo Chang 

 Main Theoretical Points 

Motivation and Emotions 

     Ahmed et al (2013) defined academic emotions as emotions that are tied directly to learning, instruction, and achievement in academic settings. These emotions are the result of an experience or situation. They can be classified in four groups; positive acting emotions (e.g. enjoyment, pride), positive deactivating emotions (e.g., relief), negative activating emotions (e.g., anger, anxiety), and negative deactivating emotions (e.g., boredom, hopelessness) (Ahmed et al, 2013). These emotions determine the learner’s academic engagement and motivation. Adesola et al (2019) defines academic motivation as an aspiration to perform well in learning and other related activities. There are two types of motivation, intrinsic motivation,  and extrinsic motivation. Di Domenico and Ryan (2017) define intrinsic motivation as a person’s spontaneous tendencies to be curious and interested, to seek out challenges, and to exercise and develop their skills and knowledge and extrinsic motivation as a person engaging in an activity to obtain some instrumentally separable consequence, such as the attainment of a reward, the avoidance of punishment, or the achievement of some valued outcome. Mega et al (2014) explain that research has found that a person’s emotions play an essential role in their motivation.

Satisfaction and Success 

     Research has shown that emotions connected to how a person feels about their ability to successfully accomplish a goal directly affects their motivation and ultimately determines their success (Ainley, 2006, p.397). When an adult learner experiences positive emotions about themselves, the environment, and/or the facilitator they are more likely to be motivated to learn and accomplish their goals/ objectives (Mackerarcher, 2004, p. 134).. It is important that facilitators recognize academic emotions as more than a mood and support learners as they learn to identify these emotions and the behavior that stems from them so they can begin the process of developing positive academic acting emotions. This process will enable learners to experience academic success. Feedback from the facilitator is crucial in supporting the adult learner. Mackerarcher (2004) explains that facilitators are most effective when they assist the learner in identifying their prime motives and learning styles, establishing clear objectives that can be tied to specific feedback, and providing opportunities to experience feelings of success and satisfaction to support subsequent learning. When students understand their role in the learning process and the expected objective(s) they are less anxious about the outcome. Mega and Dibini (2014) found that when learners are anxious they are less able to self-regulate and are not motivated. Regular and meaningful feedback from the facilitator cultivates a satisfying learning experience where students can experience some measure of success. These experiences foster healthy emotions towards future learning.

 

Resolving Competing Drives

    Mackarcher (2004) explains that a learner will struggle to maintain a level of motivation. This is largely due to the competing drives in their lives. Oftentimes the learner will experience demands on their time and energy from other sources, like their family, work, and/or other responsibilities. When a learner struggles to find satisfaction in a learning experience because they are worried about another responsibility their motivation is significantly affected. This can have a serious negative impact on how the learner views their role as a student and ability to achieve academic success. It is imperative that learners develop strategies to resolve competing drives and that facilitators both acknowledge these conflicts and work to support learners when they experience a conflict.

 

Supporting Motivation

    Motivation comes from within the learner. Mega et al (2014) found motivation to be the result of a learners behavior and academic emotions. Although a facilitator can support or hinder the learner’s motivation level, they can not instill motivation in the learner. This is work that must come from the learner themself (Mackarcher, 2004, p. 134). There are strategies that a facilitator can implement to support learners as they develop positive emotions and motivation.

 

Applications 

    Mackarcher (2004) explains that In order for adult learners to remain invested and engaged in a learning experience they need to feel they are progressing toward their anticipated or desired outcome. It is important for educators to provide feedback that explains how specific behavior impacts the progression towards their goal(s). This feedback should include clear suggestions that target specific changes in behavior, opportunities for the learner to reflect on their behavior and how it impacts their success and satisfaction. Learners who are able to reflect on their academic emotions and behaviors are better able to identify areas where they can grow. Reflections that follow learning activities and student led conferences are tools that will facilitate this growth. These tools provide an opportunity for learners to connect what was happening within them and their behavior during the learning activity. The facilitator can then suggest strategies for the learner as well as make adjustments to the learning activity to cultivate a more effective experience.

 

    How a learner feels about themself, their personal, academic, and/or professional life directly impacts their motivation levels. Educators should recognize stressors and consider providing flexibility in the pace of learning, greater access to resources, and increased opportunities for self advocacy and group support. Ainley (2006) also suggests that a facilitator can provide learning opportunities that are of particular interest to the learners to increase satisfaction with the experience.The less anxious a learner is during a learning experience the better able they are to self-regulate and engage in the learning.

 

Reflection 

Highlights

    I was able to take information from the reading, consider applications that would enable educators to better support their learners, and then reflect on this process. Although this course and research is specific to adult learners, I also found the information valuable to me as a high school educator. Too often I find myself identifying when a student lacks motivation but fail to look for the underlying reasons or identify strategies that do more than offer a temporary fix. I was grateful for the opportunity to reflect on ways that I could use this research to improve the way I support students who struggle with how they see themselves and then as a result, lack motivation in school. This research provided me with a different perspective on why a student lacks motivation or even when a student is overly motivated, never satisfied with their accomplishments.The internal struggle between feeling satisfied and motivated or feeling unsatisfied and not motivated is complicated and can not be cured by simply dangling a carrot in front of them in hopes that they modify their behavior. I feel confident after this research that I will be better equipped to recognize when emotions affect motivation in learners and implement strategies that effectively support these students.

Process

    I wanted to be certain that I fully understood the objectives of this assignment so I started by carefully reading the description in Canvas, watching Dr. Chang's tutorial on how to write a theory review, and then looking over completed theory reviews from current and past EDAC 635 courses.Once I felt confident that I knew how to move forward, I began my research. I started with Mackerarcher’s Making Sense of Adult Learning to get ideas and gain direction for additional resources. Next I went to BSU’s online library and searched for relevant articles. I read the abstracts to determine if an article would be useful for this review. It was not difficult to find research on motivation but ensuring that it was related to emotions and learning often required additional reading. Once I had sufficient research to develop the review, I used the table in the next section to organize the main ideas and applications. This process made it much easier for me when it came time to write the first two sections of the review. I appreciated the organization the template provided. 

Table

 

 

References