Motivation self worth theory - Essay Example

complishment of the motivational action itself, while extrinsic motivation is supported by goals that are based outside of an internal locus of control. In some cases there is interplay between these two varieties of motivation, thereby resulting in a process that requires much investigation to elucidate the roles of each motivating factor. Related research is usually based on or contributes to one or more theories of motivation. Many theories from several schools of thought have been proposed and used to study motivation.

These approaches usually focus on one or more of several characteristics that are believed to be related to the motivation to perform a particular behavior. Some of these attributes include expectancy, values, initiation reasoning, and cognitive influences. Expectancy refers to the anticipation of the results of the behavior (success vs. failure, for example), values are personal beliefs, initiation reasoning is the purpose for participating at all, and cognitive influences refer to thought processes in the brain that are associated with the behavior.

Each of the available theories on motivation offers an alternative perspective of the process. Self-worth theory is an approach to studying observation that focuses on the expectancies related to a motivational behavior, as well as the personal and/or social values that are involved in the process. Covington (1984) introduced the self-worth theory of achievement motivation as a tool to examine the impact of self-worth and the self-protective process, as well as anticipations about the outcome, on a student’s motivational behaviors.

The author demonstrated that children, when faced with a challenge in which failure is a possibility, would avoid the task rather than risk being viewed as incompetent. The results of this study were key in revealing the role of mental health (in the form of self-worth) in achievement motivation, as well as in identifying academic assessments as a major source of