Motivation and Cognition

Paper Summary:

This paper examines K. Barker, D. McIerney and M. Dowson's 2002 article about the effects of several types of motivational approaches on the recall of verbal information, entitled "Performance A, Performance Avoidance and Depth of Information Processing: a Fresh Look at Relations between Students' Academic Motivation and Cognition". The paper explains that the purpose of the article was to identify how effective these three motivational approaches are on the cognitive process. The results of the study presented in the article are then discussed in the paper.

From the Paper:

"In the paper by Barker, McInerney, and Dowson (2002), the effects of several types of motivational approaches on the recall of verbal information were studied. Motivation is the driving force for one to act; it involves one's behavior, needs, desires, and ambitions. Achievement motivation deals with achieving one's goal. It has been hypothesized that students are motivated to learn better through the achievement goal approach. This is defined as the purpose of task engagement. Moreover, this approach is thought to have three different orientations to attain knowledge. First, mastery goal focus emphasizes on developing competence and expertise of skills. Second, performance approach aims to motivate students to do better than their peers. Third, performance avoidance aims to motivate students by making them aware of the negative consequences of failing. In this study, the purpose was to identify how effective these three motivational approaches are the cognitive process. The process of cognitive mastery was also considered. Shallow and deep level of processing was determined in this population of 200 infant and primary students."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barker, K. L., McIerney, D. M., & Dowson, M. (2002). "Performance approach, performance avoidance and depth of information processing: a fresh look at relations between students' academic motivation and cognition." Educational Psychology, 22(5): 572-592.

More papers on Motivation and Cognition:

• Research Paper # 109829 : "Theories of Motivation and Addiction"
• Article Review # 123805 : "Motivation and Beliefs"
• Analytical Essay # 124671 : "Motivation Factors"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: