What is an activity motive? Motives for student learning

The needs of people are relative and live in motion. Among all the needs of a person , the one that is more motivated is gaining the upper hand. Motives and motives of activity are considered in detail in the article.

Motive and need

The path from need to practice is the path to the need for the external environment. Activity is based on the motive by which it is formed. But the motive may not be satisfied with all activities. Such a path consists of:

• selection and motivation of the subject of need;

• on the way from need to activity, transformation of need into interest and goal, or rather, a conscious need.

It follows that motivation and need are continuously connected. Need leads a person to activity, which is based on motive.

Motive of activity

The motive of activity is that which pushes the individual to activity, leading him to satisfy specific needs. The motive of activity is a reflection of need.

For example, the motive of activity is both active enthusiastic work, and refusing it to disagree.

Thoughts, needs, feelings and mental formations of a different order can act as a motive for activity. In order for the activity to be carried out, there are few internal shocks. It is important to observe the object of activity and to compare the motives and goals that must be fulfilled.

The motivational-need sphere of the personality is the whole sum of motives that have formed during the course of human existence. This sphere has development, but several basic stable motives that form the individual's orientation are highlighted.

Motivation

Motivation is a combination of external and internal guiding forces that push a person to certain actions. This is the way to motivate people to practice to achieve goals.

Motivation covers more than motive. The motive of activity is a stable personal quality that belongs to the individual. Motivation is a set of factors that determine the line of an individual’s behavior, his motives, goals, needs, intentions, etc. It is also a process that supports and drives activity.

Motivational sphere consists of:

• the motivational system of the personality, including the stimulating forces of activity, that is, the motives themselves, interests, needs, goals, beliefs, attitudes, norms, stereotypes, and more;

• achievement motivation - the needs of winning a high level of behavior and satisfying other needs;

• the motivation for self-actualization is at the highest level of the hierarchy of motives, lies in the need of the individual to realize their own capabilities.

Correct plans, goals, and high organization will not lead to anything if there is no motivation. It compensates for damage in other areas, such as planning. It is impossible to compensate for anything motives of activity, abilities are important, but they are often not enough.

Motivation also determines success in practical execution, which cannot be achieved only with the presence of knowledge and abilities. It is necessary to strive for work, to achieve a result. The amount of effort depends on the level of activity and motivation. People with a high level of motivation do more work and more often do more.

It is wrong to observe the sphere of an individual’s motives as a mirror of the sum of his individual needs. The needs of the individual are connected with social needs, their appearance and development is determined by society. The motivational sphere includes both individual and social needs.

Motivation

Motivation is a conscious influence on an individual, which is carried out by referring to specific motives to incline him to something.

Motivation has two types:

1. The formation of the motivational structure of man in the educational and educational spirit. This requires knowledge, effort and ability, but it is possible to achieve a long-term result.

2. External influence on an individual to carry out certain actions. A type of motivation that resembles a deal in structure.

There are various motives: self-affirmation, obligations to society, interest in the educational process, and so on. For example, consider the scientist’s motives for doing science: self-affirmation, self-realization, material incentives, cognitive interest, social motives.

Motives and motivation of human activity are some attributes of personality, they are stable. When we say that an individual shows a cognitive motive, we mean that the motivation to acquire knowledge is inherent in him in many situations.

The motive of activity, the definition of which has no explanation separately from the general system of mental life and the factors that comprise it - actions, images, relationships, among other things, is aimed at giving activity an impetus.

Motives for student learning

Lidia Bozhovich, a Soviet psychologist, when observing the structure of the motivational sphere of the personality, in general, carefully examined the motives of the students' educational activities. She offers two broad groups:

1. Children's interests in cognition, the need for intellectual activity and the acquisition of new skills, abilities and knowledge, that is, cognitive motives.

2. A child’s need to reach a specific place in a social hierarchy familiar to him is social motives.

The two groups in the union support effective learning activities. The motives caused by the activity itself make a direct impact on the individual, and social motives serve as an impetus for his activity with the help of conscious goals and decisions.

The structure of motives for educational activities

MV Matyukhina, taking as a basis the classification of Bozovic, offers such a structure. The motive for the educational activities of students consists of:

1. Motives on which the educational activity is based, directly related to its product. The category is divided into two subgroups:

• Essential doctrines. The student seeks to acquire new knowledge, possession of new information, methods of practical implementation, awareness of the structure of things around him. This is content motivation.

• Related to the learning process. The student wants to become active intellectually, express his thoughts in the lesson, set and solve problems in the learning process. This is the motivation of the process.

2. Motives that are associated with the result of learning, with what is beyond the boundaries of the learning process. This category includes the following subgroups:

• Wide social motives: self-determination (thirst to be ready for future work, awareness of the importance of skills and abilities, etc.), self-improvement (the need to develop in the process of learning), responsibility and duty to the teacher, class, society, etc.

• Narrow-personal motives - the urge to obtain approval from parents, teachers, peers, to positive marks. This is a motivation for well-being. Prestigious motivation is the expressed desire to be in first place in terms of academic performance, to be the best. The motivation for avoiding troubles includes all negative motives, the need to circumvent the disadvantages and dangers that may arise from higher ones, if the student does not make proper efforts.

Types of Activities

Psychologists distinguish different forms of organization of activity types, each of which entails its own motivation for activity. The motive of the game is to have fun. For learning and labor, the motive is a sense of responsibility and duty. These are no less strong feelings than ordinary interest. But when studying and working, it is necessary to arouse the individual's interest in the course of practical implementation or its outcome. The habit of working is also important, as are the motives of creative activity that should be developed in the child.

The study of the motives of educational activities showed that the various types of activities are interrelated, they complement each other and flow from species to species. During their stay in kindergarten, in addition to games, a child learns to draw and count. The student after school spends time in games.

Game activity

Moments of games perfectly complement the structure of the lesson, elements of game situations captivate children. A game is an invented journey on a world map, for example. These are the playing roles of a teacher, seller, guide for mastering a foreign language in a dialogue.

Types of activity cannot exist separately, although at a certain period of their life one of them may prevail. In one period of life, the main activity is a game, in another - a doctrine, in the third - labor. Before children come to school, the leading type of activity is the game; teaching prevails in the school. For adults, the main activity is labor.

Motives for teacher activity

A.K. Baymetov, examining in detail the motives of the teacher, divided them into three categories:

• motives of interest in communicating with children;

• motives for passion for teaching;

• motives of duty.

As it turned out, teachers without a dominant motive with balanced three indicators have developed qualifications and high authority. The category of motivation affects the nature of the teacher’s requirements for students. The balanced motivation of the teacher leads to a small number and harmony of these requirements.

It is also worth considering that the prevalence of a particular type of motivation is interconnected with the teacher's leadership style. The motive of duty prevails among teachers with an authoritarian style of management, the motive of communication is among liberals, and teachers without a predominance of a specific motive belong to the democratic style of leadership.

Lyudmila Nikolaevna Zakharova, working on the professional motivation of the teacher, identified the following from a wide range of factors:

• professional motives;

• self-affirmation;

• personal self-realization;

• material incentives.

All this together forms a motivational field of activity for all participants in the educational process.