Different Views On Motivation Education Essay

Different Views On Motivation Education Essay Motivation, a psychological feature can be defined as the direction and intensity of ones effort (Sage, 1977). In short, the direction of ones effort alludes to an individual is attracted to a certain situation, for example the student may be motivated to go out for a soccer team. Whereas, the intensity of ones effort refers to how much effort a person put forward in a particular situation, for example a student may attend physical education class but do not put effort during class. The relationship of direction and intensity of efforts are directly related, typically a student who seldom miss training lesson will usually put in more effort during participation. Different views on motivation There are generally 3 different types of views on how motivation works, typically the trait-centered, the situation centered, and the interactional. The trait centered view refers to a motivated behavior actually comes from individual character. The personality, needs, interests and goals are some of the component that determines a motivated behavior. The situation centered views sees motivation as an influence of a certain situation. A student may be unmotivated in attending soccer training but motivated to play for the school soccer team. The last view of motivation which is widely endorsed by sport psychologists is the interactional view, this view actually combines the trait centered views and situation centered views to form a new view. An interactional view of motivation study was conducted by Sorrentino and Sheppard (1978) on 44 male and 33 female swimmers in universities, testing them on a 200 yard individual event and then a part of a relay team. The study has shown that kno wing the swimmers personal characteristics (trait centered view) was not the best way to predict the behavior (individual best split time), because the performance also depended on the situation like whether it is relay or individual race (situation centered view) (Brewer B, ,2009)3. Achievement motivation and Competitiveness In sport, achievement motivation and competitiveness are known to be able to influence performance and participation. Achievement motivation is defined as a persons efforts to master a task, achieve excellence, overcome obstacles, perform better than others, taking pride in exercising talent (Murray, 1938). It allows athletes, exercisers, students to achieve excellence, to gain high levels of fitness and to maximize learning respectively. Achievement motivation is also an inclusive of trait view, situation view and interactional view of a motivation of a person. Competitiveness, on the other hand is defined as disposition to strive for satisfaction when making comparisons with some standard of excellence in the presence of evaluative others (Martens, 1976). Both deal not just with the final outcome but also the journey of getting to the final outcomes. Own motivation experience I am interested in the concept of motivation because due to my own personal account. I am currently a contract Physical education (PE) teacher with Ministry of Education. In 2 months time (June 2010), I will be going to National Institute of Education (NIE) in Nanyang Technological University to train as a PE teacher. However to be admitted into NIE, I need to pass a physical proficiency test (PPT) conducted by NIE Physical Education and Sports Science. The PPT comprises of 5 different stations, namely the agility run, badminton, possession game, gymnastic and swimming. To pass the PPT, a candidate must achieve the following: a. A score a total of 9 points or more in the test. b. Does not fail any station. To date, I have taken the PPT twice, but failed to pass the agility run station both time, the minimum passing time for the station for male runner is less than 17.7 sec. Even though, I am very disappointed, but I am very determined and motivated to take and pass the test again. Hence, the achievement motivation (Wikipedia, Jan 2010)2. for this PPT has influence a wide variety of my current behaviors, thoughts and feeling for example. Choice of activity (seeking out runners of greater ability to learn with them the correct techniques). Effort to purse goals (I have been practicing for every alternate days) Intensity of effort in the pursuit of goals. (To do 25 mins sprinting, mobility, warms up before the run.) Persistence in the face of failure and adversity (When I still not able to run within the 17.7 secs, I will work harder, to try new ways to run the test.) In short, with the understanding of the 4 theories of achievement motivation, I (considering myself as low achievers) have summaries the major predication from each theory and hoped to use them to guide my own practice to pass my PPT in march 2010. Low achiever Motivation orientation High motivation to avoid failure (Need to pass PPT) Attributions Ascribes failure to stable and internal factors within my control. (Dry testing field, well prepared) Goal adopted Outcome goals (Pass PPT) Perceived competence and control Low perceived competence and believes achievement is outside own control. (To date, still cannot clear 17.7 sec) Task choice Seeks out difficult challenges (Pass PPT, to become PE teacher) Performance conditions Performs poorly in evaluative conditions Four theories of achievement motivation Over the years, four main theories were evolved to explain motivation in people, they are the need achievement theory, attribution theory, achievement goal theory and competence motivation theory. Need achievement theory Need achievement theory (Atkinson 1974; MClelland, 1961) has 5 components which include personality factors, situational factors, resultant tendencies, emotional reactions, and achievement related behaviors. These components serve as the framework to predict task preferences and performance outcomes. Achievement related behavior results from the interaction of the other four components (high achievers tend to perform better when evaluated and select challenging tasks with intermediate risks; low achievers tend to avoid risky and challenging tasks, and perform less well when evaluated). Attribution theory This theory focus on the explanations that people tend to make to explain success or failure (Heider, 1958, Weiner 1985, 1986). The theory has 3 main categories, they are stability, locus of causality and locus of control. Stability refers the cause of the success or failure may be either stable or unstable. If the we believe the cause is stable, then the outcome is likely to be the same if we perform the same behavior on another occasion. If it is unstable, the outcome is likely to be different on another occasion.. Locus of causality refers to the cause of the success or failure may be internal or external. That is, we may succeed or fail because of factors that we believe have their origin within us or because of factors that originate in our environment. Locus of control refers to the cause of the success or failure may be either controllable or uncontrollable. A controllable factor is one which we believe we ourselves can alter if we wish to do so. An uncontrollable factor is on e that we do not believe we can easily alter. The most important contribution of the theory is it explains the attributions affect expectations of future success or failure and emotional reactions (Biddle, Hanrahan Sellars, 2001; McAuley, 1993b). Achievement goal theory According to this theory three factors interact to determine a persons motivation: Achievement goals, Perceived ability, Achievement behavior. This theory also indicates that individuals in achievement settings are typically oriented to one of two goals either task goal or outcome goal. When determining whether or not they have been successful in these contexts. Someone may have an task goal orientation where they only focuses on comparing performance with personal standards and personal improvement Others may have an outcome orientation that focuses on comparing performance with and defeating others, Competence motivation theory A theory of achievement motivation based on a persons feelings of personal competence. According to the theory, competence motivation increases when a person successfully masters a task. This encourages the person to master more tasks (Weiss Chaumeton, 1992). For example, a young high self-esteem soccer player believes that he has control over the learning and performance of skills, then the efforts to learn the game will increase his pride and happiness, this will in turn lead to increased motivation. An analysis of the relationships between the four theories Based on the book (Weinberg, R.S., Gould, D. (Eds), 2007)1, the 4 theories of achievement motivation are able to work together and give a clear predication of the motivational behavior for high and low achievers. The table below establishs how high and low achievers vary in terms of their motivationals orientation, attributions, the goals, their task choices, their perceived competence and control, and their performance. High achiever Low achiever Motivation orientation High motivation to achieve success Low motivation to aviod future Focus on the pride of sucess Low motivation to achieve success High motivation to aviod future Focus on shame and worry that may result from failure Attributions Ascribes success to stable and internal factors within ones control Ascribes failure to unstable and external factors outside ones control Ascribes success to unstable and external factors outside ones control Ascribes failure to stable and internal factors within ones control Goal adopted Adopts task goals Adopts outcome goals Perceived competence and control High perceived competence and believes achievement is within ones control Low perceived competence and believes achievement is outside own control. Task choice Seeks out challenges and able comptitors and tasks Aviod challenges; seeks out very diffcult or very easy tasks and competitors Performance conditions Performs well in evaluative conditions Performs poorly in evaluative conditions In contast, high achievers normally embrace task goals and are fully aware of their own ability and control. They believe success is due to stable and internal factors like high skill and they see failure is due to unstable and control factors like low efforts, they always have a positive and optimistic attitude. For example, someone who has a positive attitude always focuses on opportunities rather than on potential drawbacks. They focus on solutions rather than on problems. Low achievers usually have low ability and control, believing on more outcome goals and credit success to luck and ease of the task, they blame failure due to low ability. They always have negative attitudes most of the time. For example, they focus on the possible drawbacks rather than on opportunities. The low achievers tend to dive in and find problems when others find solutions. In summary, with the results tabled above, parents, teachers and coaches are able indentify the personal and situation factors in influencing achievement behavior for different individuals (for high and low achievers). They are able to emphasize task or master goals instead of outocme goals for different individuals. They are also need to assess and correct inappropriate individuals attributions and enhance perceptions of competence and control. And finally, helping different individuals to decide when to compete and when to focus on individual improvement.

The Armana Period

The art of Ancient Egypt was highly symbolic and fascinating that intended to keep the history alive. Their religion and beliefs were shown in their art and great works depict god, goddesses and Pharaohs. Each period had a distinctive and astonishing style. In the middle of the New Kingdom, the Egyptians had a new Pharaoh that made some dramatic changes not only in political but also in art styles and this is called the Amarna Period. This research paper aims to discuss the historical, religious and especially the art of Ancient Egypt during the Amarna Period.This enabled us to know the events and revolutionary works of Akhenaton to replace monotheism from polytheism of Egyptians religion and to acknowledge the essence of Amarna art in our present times. II. Egyptian Kingship About 3000 B. C. , kingship in Ancient Egypt begun when prestige and growth of wealth were at its peak indicated by the discoveries of metal tools and personal ornaments. By that time, poor tribes started revolu tion and so military protection was needed. The â€Å"cities were fortified and kings became prominent† (Chodorow 13).Kings manipulated wars and often tried to bring cities under their control, they served as war leaders and practiced religious functions viewed as guarantor of the welfare of the city which thought they had special relationship with the gods and prepared inscriptions that immortalized their royal deeds to maintain their authority. Concept/Established Priesthood. Even from the earliest times, religious ceremonies were often held by the royal family. King was considered as â€Å"the highest priest, who had sovereign right to perform rituals at any and all temples† (http://www. philae.nu/akhet/Religion3. html). â€Å"Priests had limited and specialized role of activities† and they had â€Å"to ensure the cults of god and goddesses along with the various external manifestations in the temples to maintain the integrity of divine presence on earth in the sanctuaries of the temples† (Sauneron 34). Unlike priests nowadays, they were not concern or persuading the people or trying to convert others to their religion, â€Å"they were bureaucrat of a sort delegated by the king to perform in his place certain physical rituals necessary for the general welfare† (Sauneron 35).All of their hieratic appointments were done by the kings and economically supported by receiving offerings and vast landowners. Relationship with the Gods. Egyptian monarchs already had the authority which was to impress the ancient world and depicted that they inherited from prehistoric kings who had special sanctity because of their power to assure prosperity through successful agriculture, thus they performed rituals involving irrigation, soil fertility and land reclamation.The Pharaoh were believed to manipulate the annual emergence and downfall of life itself (Roberts 84). Under the Old Kingdom, it appears that the â€Å"king is the absolute lord of the land† (Roberts 84) and venerated as descendant of the gods. Based on the theory, when the king died, he passed over to the Kingdom Wesir (Osiris) and left the kingship in the hands of his son. He becomes the Living Heru and transformed into a divine status.Until the Middle Kingdom, only king had an after-life to look forward to Egypt and â€Å"always stressed the incarnation of the god in the king even that idea was increasingly exposed by the realities of life in the New Kingdom† (Roberts 85). Influence/Control of Art. The framework for Egyptian arts and architecture was religious and magical. (Najovits 215). The glorification of gods and pharaoh-gods was the main theme of Egyptian art, primarily aim to manipulate the gods and equip for the afterlife (Najovits 218).They illustrated afterlife and mythology in a coherent manner. Creation of the images of the gods, including the pharaoh gods, illustration of religious beliefs, serving of religious concepts through the building of temples for the appeasement and worship of the gods, practice of funerary cults and the use of amulets were intended for their arts and architecture. III. Amarna Period In the late part of the 18th Dynasty, the most famous periods of Ancient Egypt was ruled by King Amenhotep IV, son of King Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye.He founded the city Amarna where his revolutionary reforms take place in a very short period. King Amenhotep IV. Succeeded his father Amenhotep III and he attempted a religious revolution called monotheism, worship of one god named Aton (Divine Sundisk). These religious ideas probably originated from the fact that â€Å"the sun could be seen rising each day and traveling across the sky, before disappearing each night only to re-appear next morning† thus â€Å"seen both incredibly strong and powerful† (Thomas 22).King Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaton/Akhenaten meaning â€Å"It is well with Aton† because he wished to erase the reminiscence of the past and abandoned the old god of his fathers, Amon, whose cult had been the wealthiest and most powerful of Egypt and perhaps tried to recover power taken by the priest of Amon. He devoted his reign in religious revolution and activities and neglected his monarchy duties. Changes to Establishment. Akhenaton â€Å"tried to give a new direction to Egyptian religious thought† (Perry 48) and â€Å"established cults have been diverted to the cult of the Aten† (Shaw 277).He closed all temples in Thebes and built a new city in Amarna and â€Å"devised a new theology to support his religion† (Chodorow 21). All building activities at Thebes were ceased, traditional gods were banned completely; traditional temples were closed down and the cults of their gods came to a standstill and religious festivals with their processions and public holidays were no longer celebrated. All the income from estates and farms of the Amen temples was diverted to fu nd the construction of the new city (Thomas 52). Aten/Akhetaton. Egyptians believed that king becomes god when they die, they used to describe them as god Aten.â€Å"Akhenaton said that the god Aten had chosen a site for the new capital for him† (Thomas 48) and he established the new city called Akhetaton/Akhetaten, (Horizon of the Aten). It was â€Å"the place where the Aten manifests himself and where he acts through his son, the king, who is the â€Å"perfect child of the living Aten† (Shaw 277). Temples to Aten were built at Akhetaten and unlike â€Å"traditional temples which contain dark and mysterious inner chambers and cult statues, the Aten temples were open to the sky allowing the sun-disk to display itself in person† (Ryan 161). B. ArtUsing art as emphasis. The Egyptian artists in Amarna art wanted to enduringly fix the absolute, the symbolic, the ideal, the real meaning of what things should be where gods and divine pharaohs being portrayed in the i deal situations of stiff solemnity, power and youth. Historians noted that â€Å"the idealizing representation of kings is based on the desire to lift the ‘good gods’ (the kings), sons and likenesses of the gods† (Najovits 218). Amarna art represented detail idealization of the world and people in a system that encompassed everything from the beginning – creation to the afterlife.Akhenaton put much emphasis on the fact that he was the â€Å"mother who gives birth to everything who had created his subjects with the ka (creator-god)† (Shaw 281). New style. Akhenaton changed the traditional artistry of Egypt where architecture, sculpture and paintings focused on canonical pharaonic portraits. â€Å"The artistic style made a sudden transition from the traditional Egyptian style of portraying people with ideal, perfect physiques to a new and rather jarring style† (Lorenz).The effeminate body with curving contours, long face with full lips, heavy e yelids, misshapen body with weak arms, narrow waist, protruding belly, wide hips and fatty thighs created arguments among historians. They think that he â€Å"suffered from some kind of illness or syndrome which caused his odd appearance† (Lorenz) and that his â€Å"portrait is a deliberate artistic reaction against the established style, paralleling the suppression of traditional religion† (Kleiner 78).Akhenaton showed â€Å"himself in a warm family scenes with his wife and children, portraying himself and the rest of the royal family in a much more human and naturalistic manner† (Lorenz). The scene of the royal family, Akhenaton, Nefertiti and their three children Merytaten (being kissed by his father), Meketaten (sitting on her mother's lap) and Aknkhesenpaaten (baby on Nefertiti's shoulder). Both Nefertiti (Akhenaton's wife) and Tiye (mother of Akhenaton) figured prominently in the art and life of Amarna age. Queen Tiye regularly appeared in art beside Amenh otep III during his reign as well as during the reign of Akhenaton.Queen Nefertiti frequently appears in the decoration of the Aton temple at Karnak who looked like clones of Akhenaton and sometimes wears pharaonic headgear. Pictures showing husband and wife embracing or offering each other flowers continued until the reign of Tutankhamen. Amarna period most probably associated with the images of Aten worship scenes. The Sundisk where the Pharoah and Queen offer flowers to Aten and their two eldest daughters bask shaking sistrums, is one of the most common distinction of Amarna period.Analysis. The reign of Pharaoh Akhenaton depicted a relaxed, affectionate pharaoh and purely human emotional themes and everyday, secular subjects became usual and that was a revolution in its own right. According to historians, â€Å"the Fifth Dynasty and Amarna period must be the two finest periods in Egyptian art, it was then that the artist best managed to combine theological obligation to depict idealized essence with natural inclination to depict reality† (Najovits 233).Despite the criticism obtained, the art had never been so dramatic and meaningful that showed formalistic conventions and attempted the truth of the system they represented. Another feature of Amarna style is the â€Å"extraordinary sense of movement and speed, a general looseness and freedom of expression that was to have a lasting influence on Egyptian art for centuries after the Amarna Period had come to an end† (Shaw 282). C. Compare/Contrast With previous establishment. Egyptians artists regularly ignored the endless variations in body types of real human beings.Painters and sculptors did not sketch their subjects from life but applied a strict canon or systems of proportions that lasted for thousand of years (Kleiner 69). Before the Amarna period, pharaohs concentrated on building temples and great pyramid tombs made of mud-brick, stones and woods. They have huge statues and reliefs paint ed in minute polychrome, paintings of sensual women, hunting scenes and peoples in their everyday tasks were widespread which were intended to provide company to the deceased in the other world. Evolution of Art during Amarna.Inscriptions revealed that it was Akhenaton who instructed his artist in his own new style. â€Å"Akhenaton's new movement had given rise to a new and very realistic style of art which emphasized even the king's physical deformities† (Boadt 159) unlike the normal image of showing the kings and important people as ideal persons in good health and great looks. In the early years, human figures were depicted with specific proportions contrary to normal figures and there was a time when images were the same like clones but soon outmoded.Later, it becomes less extreme with some artwork returning almost to normal. The depiction of the king becomes more graceful evolving into a softer, more naturalistic style. IV. Opinions/Observations Observations of Art of Am arna Period. King Akhenaton's reign was too short to bring his reform to success both in political and religious through expression in Egyptian arts. It centered on the sun-disc and its life-giving rays but it practiced focused on the cult of the pharaoh himself.Yet it failed soon after Akhenaton's death, it was to have everlasting effects, the attempt to destruct the old cult, and to eliminate gods from any monuments, shows the monotheistic direction of the new faith as well as transition of Egyptian art in a well distinguished manner. Personal Opinions. I believed that King Akhenaton's unique and amazing style in expressing himself through deformed and sexless images greatly influenced the evolution of modern art. He formulated his own style of abstract images that made him popular not during his times but in our contemporary times.I think if he had worshiped his god without persecuting the cult of his fathers, may be the new religion will still be practiced and supported by the E gyptians. The fact that he was the King who can manipulate things and can even deceive the minds of his people, he ignored the voice of his people of freedom in religion that led to the end of his legacy that can be learned when his successor Tutankhamen, returned to worshiping the old gods. V. Conclusion Amarna Period was the time of King Akhenaton revolution against political and religious tradition of Ancient Egypt.He remarkably changed the conventional style of Egyptian art from building of mysterious temples and tombs to an intimate and expressionistic statues and paintings of himself and his family that demonstrate sophistication and creative freedom which was indeed revolutionary at that time. Works Cited Boadt, Lawrence (1984). Reading the Old Testament : An Introduction. New Jersey : Paulist Press. Brewer, Douglas J. and Emily Teeter (2007). Egypt and the Egyptians. United Kingdom : Cambrigde University Press. Chodorow, Stanley, et. al.(1994). The Mainstream of civilization . 6th ed. Fort Worth, Texas : The Harcourt Press. Kleiner, Fred S. , Christin J. Mamiya and Helen Gardner (2005). Gardner's Art Through the Ages. 12th ed. Belmont, California : Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Lorenz, Megaera. January 15, 2000. The Art of the Amarna Period. http://www. heptune. com/art. html Najovitz, Simson (2004). Egypt, trunk of tree : a modern survey of an ancient land. New York : Algora Publishing. Perry, Marvin (1989). A History of the World. Boston, Massachusetts : Houghton MifflinCompany. Roberts, J. M. (1987). The Penguin History of the World. New York : Penguin Books. Ryan, Donald P. (2002). The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Ancient Egypt. New York : Alpha Books. Sauneron, Serge (2000). The Priests in Ancient Egypt. New York : Cornell University Press. Shaw, Ian (Ed. ) (2003). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. United Kingdom : Oxford University Press. Thomas, Susanna (2003). Akhenaten and Tutankhamen : The Religious Revolution. New York : Rosen Publishing . (http://www. philae. nu/akhet/Religion3. html

St. Thomas on the Nature of Human Action - 5620 Words

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Life Is A Tragic Loss Of A Classmate - 1038 Words

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Then, the mood is ecstatic since things start going the way Willow wants them to, and she becomes a part of the Nguyen family. Tone: The tone is detached when Willow is depressed because of the tragic loss in her family. Also, Willow has no place to live because she has no relatives. Towards the end of Counting by 7s, the tone is lighthearted after Willow finds a new home and realizes that the worst things in life are in the past. Protagonist:Read MoreThe Recent State Legislation And The Rulings In Courts,1297 Words   |  6 Pagespostsecondary campuses, with Texas being one. The question exists, am I for or against campus carry? Due to the experiences of my previous military career, as a former marine, I understand some may think my views are myopic because of that part of my life. However, I will also focus on past and recent active shooter incidents that initiated the argument on methods for future prevention. In addition to exploring the counter argument against campus carry, I will also present my rebuttal of those argumentsRead MoreSilent Hill, Directed By Christophe Gans1023 Words   |  5 Pagesdemands it’s own exercise to maintain proper muscle tone...But anticivilization emotions don’t go away, and they demand periodic exercise.† In the film Silent Hill, directed by Christophe Gans, a nine year old girl named Alessa is forced to live a life of torment. Alessa’s fear a nd pain never left but instead grew. Alessa as a result allowed her darkest emotions to split from her physical body creating a doppelgà ¤nger of herself; Dark Alessa. The darkest side of her own soul promised to make everyoneRead MoreWilly Loman: Truly Tragic or Plainly Pathetic? 1581 Words   |  7 PagesSalesman† gave up his life courageously. Arthur Millers character, Willy Loman, thought the only way he could help his family was to die. After much defeat Willy reflected on his life and said that he was of more value dead than alive (Miller 2173). Many arguments have been made about Willys character; is Willy truly tragic or plainly pathetic? Considering all the factors of Willys life that weighed upon him, the reader should determine that this low man was, indeed, tragic. Aristotle analyzedRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front1069 Words   |  5 PagesAll Quiet on the Western Front tells the story of the young Paul Bà ¤umer, a man of 19 years who enlisted with his classmates: Kropp, Mà ¼ller, and Leer. Together with a few others, these men formed the Second Company of the German Army. The story of these young men is a tragic one, full of few laughs and many sorrows. Throughout the story, the author demonstrates the undying loyalty that grows between the protagonist and his friends, specifically Kat, another member of the Second Company. Also, theRead MoreTypes of Depression: Major, Chronic, Manic, and More Types1112 Words   |  5 PagesEven though sadness and grief are mandatory aspects of life, when sadness takes over the quality of someone’s daily life, they become depressed. Depression can be a debilitating disorder and can effect anyone at any time. Because of the broad spectrum of events that can cause depression, there are several different forms such as persistent depressive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, major depressive disorder, manic depressionRead MoreLiterary Critics Of Edgar Allan Poe1693 Words   |  7 Pagesstories about mystery and the macabre are just some examples of his classic writings. At first, Edgar Allan Poe was referred to as the inventor of the modern detective story and a specialist in the science fiction genre. It was not until later in his life that people began to acknowledge him as one of America s first admirable literary critics. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston Massachusetts, on January 19th, 1809. His parents, David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe, were professional touringRead MoreCountry Lovers: a Readers Response819 Words   |  4 Pagesall, an easy transition to adult forms of address, beginning to call their old playmates missus and baasie little master†. (Gordimer, 1975) This short story powerfully demonstrates the ever present desire for that which is taboo and the often very tragic end for all concerned in an overtly subjugated society, race notwithstanding. She sets the story in South Africa on the farm owned by the white Eysendeck Family, early in the childhood of their son Paalus and the young black girl, Thebedi. The vivid