Final Project Post

Overview:

"Motivation is a desire or want that energizes and directs goal-oriented behavior". In this class, we learned a lot about motivation- its meaning, its sources, and the studies of its nature in human beings. The studies of motivation date back to the ancient Greek philosophers Aristotle and Socrates, to the psychologists of the 1900s such as Freud and Thorndike, and continue to be studied today. Energy, emotion, and internal and external sources help make up the drive of motivation. The behaviors of motivation studied can be anywhere from the positives of exercise and mating, to the negatives of drug addictions. All of the motivation developed can be psychological, physical, or even biological, and can be of human nature ( characteristics not created by surroundings and culture) or universal motives (due to evolution).


Favorite Part:

My favorite part of the class was when we talked about Chapter 9: Personality and Self in Motivation. I was interested in reading this section and hearing the lecture because in psychology, my favorite studies to learn about were that of those connected to personality. I had taken a classes before called Personality, so it was interesting to see in this class with Dr. Berg, the connection between personality and motivation. I learned that people differ in their temperament (result from inherited characteristics through genes) and personality (result from temperament and experience). The differences between the two is what determines the motivating factors in each human being.

Personality traits have a part in self motivation as well. Depending on which traits a person possesses can determine if they will act positively or negatively in their reactions and choices in their live. An interesting tool we got to look at in class was the 5 Factor Model concerning the 5 major personality traits. Personality tests can be taken online to determine personality traits and what type of personality may result from the combinations that link to behaviors. An example of a personality trait we learned about in class would be sensation seeking, which is a trait possessed by a person that seeks experience and sensations on different levels of seeking (can involve also low to high risks).

Environment can affect personality in motivation too. A few terms we learned about in class were trait-environment interaction and trait-environment correlation. A person's reaction to a situation due to a personality' trait's high or low appearance is connected with trait-environment interaction. However, the activity a person does due to the showing up of certain traits are connected with trait-environment correlation. I found this chapter and lecture to be informative and very insightful on the relationship between personality and motivation.

Extension:

When thinking about concepts outside of this course that relate to the topic of motivation, I can see these course concepts relating to real-world situations or issues. Using my favorite part discussion portion, I thought of using personality trait tests or studies to see which type of people are best in each type of working environment. Employers would get a better look at the people they would be hiring and the traits they possess looking at the test results. It would also give a good insight on how to motivate certain types of people already employed in their jobs (* See VIDEO above this paragraph for ways to motivate the traits in the workplace), so that people can be motivated and the work need to be done can be fulfilled.
The chapter learned in class about drug addictions would also be good information to be used to better understand drug addicts and help them along their healing process. This would be suited for those who help people in rehab or in counseling.
The topics learned about motivation in this class has multiple connections and relations to our world and the people we are and continue to become.