Lecture 22.doc

November 30, 2009 Adolescent Development Announcements Chapter 10 and 11 Study Guides on Sakai Chapter 11 and 12 Study Guides to come Reminder: Final Exam Monday, 12/21; 12-3:00; Here Chapters 10-13 Cumulative Section: lecture notes only Review questions/study guide to come TODAY: Achievement Clicker question n on School Drop-Outs up next Which is FALSE? Adolescents who drop out of school tend to come from schools where the students have too much input in how the school is run. ( Achievement Is measured in many different ways ( Is an important topic in adolescent development ( Can be thought of as a motivation for behavior ( Talia knows that if she gets all A?s on her report card her mom will buy her an XBOX for the holidays. For Talia, the XBOX represents her ____ to do well academically Extrinsic motivation ( Marcus did poorly on his Algebra exam. According to Weiner, Marcus will likely conclude that the exam was poorly written ( Emily has set a personal goal of having the highest GPA in her class and therefore becoming the class valedictorian. What else is likely to be true of Emily? She will view her teachers as having the power to potentially ruin her plans ( Psychology of Achievement The development of motives, capabilities, interests, and behavior related to performance in evaluative situations (ex. School. Work) Most research has focused on adolescent achievement in educational settings Achievement School performance: grades Academic achievement: performance on standardized tests Educational attainment: number of years of schooling completed An Adolescent Issue A time to prepare for adult roles What you do, how well you do it are important to your future Sorting of individuals Capable of understanding consequences of achievement differences for their futures Achievement Motivation Variety of psychological processes that move people to act in achievement settings Why people think and do what they do in achievement settings (Part of larger field of study concerned with motivation) Classic Theories Behavior is motivated by basic physical needs (food, oxygen, warmth, sleep?) Behaviorists: needs drive behavior; satisfaction of physical needs as reward, failure to satisfy as punishment But why do we engage in goal-directed behavior when our physical needs are satisfied? Classic Theories Curiosity as innate motive (Harlow, 1950) Innate drive seek :stimulating? entertainment ?Effectance motive? White (1959) Goal of effectance motivation is to acquire competence and master the environment Differ from Behaviorists Internal interests, individual characteristics control behavior rather than external stimuli (cold, food. . .) ?intrinsic motivation? Classic Theories Atkinson (1960) Two achievement motives Motive to achieve success (Mas) Need for achievement Motive to avoid failure (Maf) often measured as Test Anxiety Balance between Mas and Maf determines responses to achievement situations Two Classic Concepts Intrinsic motivation: driven by internal needs Happiness, excitement, personal satisfaction gained from learning and mastering material Extrinsic motivation: driven by external factors Rewards received for performing well or punishment received for performing poorly Weiner?s Attribution Theory People make casual attributions or judgments about the causes of their behavior (and others? behavior) Attributions have consequences for thoughts, feelings, and future behavior In achievement situations, people attribute causes to Ability (or lack of) Effort (or lack of) Task difficulty (or lack of) Good luck (or bad) Weiner?s Attribution Theory 3 dimensions Locus of control internal to external ability, effort are internal Stability stable to unstable ability, task difficulty are stable Controllability controllable to uncontrollable effort is most controllable We interpret situations in such a way as to maintain a positive self image Attribute success to own efforts/abilities Attribute failure to poor luck, poor exam ex. Things we don?t have much control over Attributions will determine the amount of effort we will expend on that activity in the future Contemporary Theories Individuals differ in how we approach achievement situations Achievement goals: framework for how individuals view achievement situations and how they interpret, evaluate and act on achievement information 2 ways of categorizing achievement/ approaching Learning goals Performance goals Learning Goals Concerned with personal improvement and mastery of material Achievement situations viewed as Performance Goals Concerned with documenting abilities in achievement situations Motivated to win positive evaluations and avoid negative evaluations Learning Goal Entering question: How can I do it? What will I learn? Focus is on: Process Errors viewed as: Natural, useful Performance Goal Entering Question: Can I do it? Will I look smart? Focus is on: Outcome Errors viewed as: Failure Learning Goal Uncertainty is: Challenging Optimal Task: Maximizes Learning Seek to: Gain accurate info about their ability Performance Goal Uncertainty is: Threatening Optimal Task: Maximizes looking smart Seek to: Gain only flattering info Learning Goals Standards are: Personal, long-term, flexible Teacher is viewed as: A resource, guide Performance goal Standards are: Normative, immediate, rigid Teacher is viewed as: A judge, rewarder/punisher