User:S.emp/Week 1, lecture 1

= Week 1, Lecture 1: Introduction =

It is week one and I am determined to be organised this semester, I even bought my textbooks and my writing materials a few weeks before class started. However, while I am be organised now, the real question is will I still be motivated in a few weeks from now? I know this may make me sound like a geek but I am really looking forward to this class. I have always been fascinated with what motivates someone to do certain things or behave a certain way. For example, what motivates someone to cheat? Or what motivates people to play computer games for hours? My boyfriend currently has this fascination with Starcraft 2 and he will play this game for hours and hours each day, while I am can not imagine doing the same, as I would become bored quickly! However, there are other things, which I am motivated to do for hours that I find relaxing and interesting, that he does not. So what motivates one person to be interested in one thing, while another person finds it uninteresting? Therefore, my goal throughout this course is to learn more about what makes people tick in regards to a person’s motivations and emotions.

During the lecture James discussed with us the assessment takes for the semester. The assessment task that I am really looking forward to is the textbook chapter. I love the idea that for once we have a choice in what topic we will look in-depth into. I think that this is a really clever idea to motivate people, as we have been given the power to choose something that will hopefully interest us. In regards to wikiversity I am a little nervous and overwhelmed. I have never used this website before, however, why not learn something new and interactive. The assessment task that I am least looking forward to the multimedia assessment task. As of yet I can not put my finger on why, I think it may be because I have never done anything like it before (with wiki I have at least used similar websites before, for example facebook). However, as I said earlier it is a new challenge and hopefully fun to learn!

One area of our readings for this week that interested me was in regards to motivation and how it is caused by external and internal events. According to Reeve (2009) external events are environmental, social and cultural aspects that attract or deter an individual from engaging in a particular activity. While internal events consist of needs, cognitions and emotions that energise an individual. I find this fascinating because external and internal events shape a person and these events can change on a daily basis. For example, an external event such as friends not going to a lecture may deter that person from going as well, as part of their motivation was to see their friends. Different aspects in a person’s lives, whether external or internal motivate different people in different ways and that is what is intriguing.



One of the main objectives of this week is to learn how the study of motivation has evolved over the years, from the grand theories to the rise of the mini theories. Currently psychologists are exploring mini theories. According to Reeve (2009) unlike the grand theories that explain the full range of motivations, mini theories limit their attention to a specific motivation. I quite like the idea of the mini theories, as people are complex and I believe that a range of motivations can not be explained completely by one theory. However, at the same time I feel that it is essential that a person attempting to understand motivation first understands past theories. As they have helped to shape motivational psychology today and still play an important part. For example, I quick like the instinct theory, while it does not explain all behaviours, I feel that this theory is still relevant today for example, a bird building a nest can be explained by the instinct theory.