Question 1

People's attributions for themselves and for others depend on a variety of factors. Describe how one's self-attributions may be partly a function of six of the following:
-Age
-Situational cues
-History of success and failure
-Messages from others
-Culture
-Gender
-Self-protective bias
-Image management

Accepted Answer

One's self-attributions may be partly a function of age, situational cues, history of success and failure, messages from others, culture, and gender.

Age can influence self-attributions as individuals may attribute their behavior and outcomes differently at different stages of life. Situational cues, such as the environment and context in which a person finds themselves, can also impact how they attribute their own actions and the actions of others.

A person's history of success and failure can shape their self-attributions, as past experiences can influence how they perceive their abilities and the likelihood of success in future endeavors. Messages from others, including feedback and social comparisons, can also play a role in shaping self-attributions.

Culture and gender can significantly impact self-attributions, as different cultural norms and gender expectations can influence how individuals perceive themselves and others. Additionally, self-protective bias and image management strategies can also impact self-attributions, as individuals may be motivated to protect their self-esteem and present themselves in a favorable light.

Question 2

Which one of the following teacher statements is most consistent with an entity view of intelligence?

Accepted Answer

A)   "You're one of the brightest students I've ever taught."
B)   "If you keep practicing something, you'll get better at it."
C)   "The more you know about a topic, the more quickly and easily you can learn new things about it."
D)   "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." A

Question 3

Perspectives such as behaviorism and social cognitive theory show us how the consequence reinforcement or punishment) of a particular behavior affects the extent to which the behavior is likely to appear again. Attribution theory has cast a new light on this notion, maintaining that the consequences of behavior will affect each person's learning and future behavior differently depending on how the individual interprets those consequences. Within the context of attribution theory:
a. Explain what motivation theorists mean when they talk about attributions.
b. Explain how learners' responses to failure are likely to be different when they attribute that failure to a controllable cause or to an uncontrollable one. Give a concrete example to illustrate your explanation.
c. Describe three specific strategies you might use to foster more productive attributions in others. In each case, use attribution theory to explain why you think the strategy should be effective.

Accepted Answer

a. When motivation theorists talk about attributions, they are referring to the explanations or interpretations that individuals give to the causes of their own behavior or the outcomes of their actions. These attributions can be either internal (related to the individual's own abilities or efforts) or external (related to factors outside of the individual's control).

b. Learners' responses to failure are likely to be different depending on whether they attribute that failure to a controllable cause or an uncontrollable one. For example, if a student fails a test and attributes it to a lack of effort or preparation (a controllable cause), they may be more motivated to study harder and improve their performance in the future. On the other hand, if the student attributes the failure to an uncontrollable cause, such as the difficulty of the test or the teacher's unfair grading, they may feel helpless and less motivated to try again.

c. To foster more productive attributions in others, three specific strategies that could be used are:

- Providing specific and constructive feedback: By giving individuals specific information about their performance and offering constructive suggestions for improvement, they are more likely to attribute their success or failure to their own efforts and abilities, rather than external factors.

- Encouraging a growth mindset: Emphasizing the idea that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort and perseverance can help individuals attribute their success or failure to their own efforts, leading to a more positive and productive mindset.

- Promoting a supportive and inclusive environment: Creating an environment where individuals feel valued and supported can help them attribute their success or failure to their own abilities and efforts, rather than feeling undermined by external factors such as discrimination or bias.

In each of these strategies, attribution theory suggests that by influencing individuals' interpretations of the causes of their behavior and outcomes, we can help them develop more productive attributions that lead to greater motivation and resilience.

Question 4

If we consider factors that promote interest, three of the following teaching strategies should be beneficial. Which one will not be beneficial?

Accepted Answer

A)   Intersperse boring material with entertaining jokes about your personal life.
B)   Assign works of fiction that feature a character with whom students can identify.
C)   Make some classroom tasks challenging but accomplishable.
D)   Choose a textbook that presents information in a clear, coherent fashion.

Question 5

Mr. James gives weekly quizzes in his social studies classes. Which one of the following boys is most likely to develop learned helplessness about his performance on those quizzes?

Accepted Answer

A)   Alan usually gets As on the quizzes, but he once wrote down the wrong reading assignment and so failed a quiz over material he hadn't read.
B)   Benjamin studies very hard, but due to a reading disability he has trouble understanding what he reads and usually fails the quizzes in spite of his efforts.
C)   Corin never studies for the quizzes because he thinks social studies is a boring subject.
D)   Darren usually gets at least a C on the quizzes, but he rarely does as well as his friend Eddie.

Question 6

Which one of the following students most clearly has a doing-just enough goal?

Accepted Answer

A)   Dave wants to pass his chemistry class with a C. To do so he reads only the necessary chapters to get a C on the exam.
B)   Mae wants to pass her chemistry class with an A. She does all of the assigned reading and any extra reading she can find so she can do very well on the exam.
C)   Naomi does not like chemistry and does not study for her exam. However, she received an A on the exam.
D)   Prudence really enjoys chemistry, but is a very anxious test taker. No matter how much she studies, she always gets C's on her exams.

Question 7

Frank is a good student. He attributes his success partly to studying long hours and partly to his intelligence "High achievement runs in the family," he says). From the perspective of attributions, three of the following statements are likely to be accurate descriptions of Frank. Which one is probably not an accurate description?

Accepted Answer

A)   He feels proud of his academic accomplishments.
B)   He has high self-efficacy regarding school tasks.
C)   He expects to continue doing well in school over the next few years.
D)   Because he learns quickly, he relies primarily on rote learning strategies.

Question 8

Three of the following statements accurately describe how a child can acquire learned helplessness in a particular domain. Which statement is not a likely explanation of learned helplessness?

Accepted Answer

A)   A child has consistently focused on mastery goals, without regard for important performance goals.
B)   A child has consistently encountered failure despite hard work and persistence.
C)   A parent has consistently encouraged a child to give up when success doesn't come quickly and easily.
D)   A child sees most or all peers consistently encountering failure in the domain.

Question 9

Which one of the following is the best example of a core goal?

Accepted Answer

A)   Wanting to do well in school
B)   Wanting to find a date for the senior prom
C)   Looking desperately for something to drink after a day working in the hot sun
D)   Trying to find misplaced car keys when one is late for an appointment

Question 10

In which one of the following situations does a teacher's behavior reflect low expectations for a student's classroom performance?

Accepted Answer

A)   Ms. Littlefield assigns Owen a difficult math problem.
B)   Mr. Oya frequently engages René in conversation before class.
C)   Ms. Ingalls rarely gives Joseph any feedback about his performance.
D)   Mr. Montoya gives Mei-Yau many opportunities to answer questions in class.

Question 11

The textbook describes a number of cognitive factors affecting motivation. Briefly describe each of the following factors, giving a concrete example and explaining how you might promote it in a classroom or other applied setting.
a. Personal interest
b. Situational interest
c. Expectancy
d. Value
e. Mastery goal

Accepted Answer

The answer of The textbook describes a number of cognitive...

Question 12

In its discussion of motivation, the textbook describes mastery goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals.
a. In a short paragraph, explain how these three types of goals are different.
b. Describe four ways in which students with mastery goals and those with performance goals especially those with performance-avoidance goals) are likely to think and/or act differently.
c. List three strategies you might use to promote mastery goals. Illustrate each one with a concrete example of something you might do.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In its discussion of motivation, the textbook...

Question 13

A learner's expectancy about success in the classroom is influenced by three of the following factors. Which one will probably be least influential?

Accepted Answer

A)   How successful the learner has been in the past
B)   How helpful the learner thinks the teacher's instruction will be
C)   Whether the learner has set short-term or long-term goals
D)   How much effort the learner thinks will be necessary to succeed

Question 14

Three of the following strategies are consistent with the textbook's recommendations for forming expectations and attributions for student performance. Which one is not consistent with the textbook's recommendations?

Accepted Answer

A)   Assume that every student has one or more areas of strength.
B)   Communicate the belief that learning more effective strategies may help students perform more successfully.
C)   Depend primarily on informal, subjective impressions to assess students' achievement.
D)   Keep in mind that teachers can make a significant difference in students' lives.

Question 15

Three of the following statements describe advantages of challenging tasks for motivation. Which statement does not accurately describe the motivational effects of a challenge?

Accepted Answer

A)   Although challenges promote little or no intrinsic motivation, they promote considerable extrinsic motivation.
B)   Challenging tasks are more interesting.
C)   Success on challenging tasks enhances self-efficacy.
D)   Success on challenging tasks cannot easily be attributed to luck or other outside factors.

Question 16

Three of the following students are exhibiting emotional regulation as it relates to their self-regulation of motivation. Which is not?

Accepted Answer

A)   Jennifer is studying for an important final exam. She is anxious about the exam, but puts her anxious thoughts out of her head to focus on studying.
B)   When Logan received a low score on a quiz, he thought to himself, "I really need to study harder for the next quiz".
C)   When Max received a low score on a written assignment he was only upset for a few hours and then thought to himself, "the next assignment is on my favorite book, so I will do well".
D)   Paula does not like math and never gets upset when she gets a bad grade on a math test.

Question 17

Choose either an educational or a therapeutic setting. Identify three implications of each of these perspectives-behaviorism, social cognitive theory, and cognitive psychology-for the setting you have selected.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Choose either an educational or a therapeutic...

Question 18

Which one of the following teaching strategies best illustrates the concept press for understanding?

Accepted Answer

A)   Mr. Andersen asks students to explain and justify their approach to solving complex problems.
B)   Ms. Blumenfeld uses a concrete model of the solar system to explain why we have summer and winter.
C)   Mr. Carowsky has students take true-false quizzes on a certain topic until they earn a score of 90% or higher.
D)   Ms. dePalma gives an abstract lecture on the concepts of momentum and inertia and then follows it up with several examples of how these concepts can be seen in students' everyday lives.

Question 19

Three of the following statements are accurate descriptions of the effect interest has on learning and performance. Which one is not accurate?

Accepted Answer

A)   Interest promotes meaningful learning of information.
B)   Interest promotes performance goals rather than mastery goals.
C)   Interest increases the likelihood of conceptual change.
D)   Interest increases the likelihood that students will apply what they learn.

Question 20

Many principles of motivation can be summed up with the mnemonic "TARGETS": task, autonomy, recognition, grouping, evaluation, time, and social support. In seven paragraphs, describe seven strategies-one each related to each of the seven TARGETS variables-you might use to motivate students in a classroom. Illustrate each strategy with a specific, concrete example of what you might do.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Many principles of motivation can be summed...

Exam 16: Cognitive Factors in Motivation