What is Motivation?

Motivation can be defined as an inspiration that propels someone into an action. It

is an internal state or condition that activates and gives direction to our thoughts,
feelings, and actions (Lahey, 1995). In the opinion of Oladele (1998), motivation is
a process by which the learner’s internal energies are directed toward various goal
objects in his/her environment. These energies or arousals push an individual in
achieving his goals.

It is the reason why an individual would want to do something. An individual may

be highly motivated to perform well in a task and completely unmotivated in
another.

Types of Motivation

There are two types of motivation namely, intrinsic motivation (arising from
internal factors) and extrinsic motivation (arising from external factors).

The desire for food or water arises from within us (intrinsic), while the yearning to
obtain recognition or approval is influenced by conditions in our environment
(extrinsic).

1. Intrinsic Motivation: Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that arises from

within the individual. We are motivated intrinsically when we do something
because we experience internal compelling force to do it or because of the sense of
personal satisfaction that it brings. It is an internal force or motive within the
individual which propels him/her into emitting certain behaviour. Intrinsic
motivation is something within the person that energises behavior e.g., interest,
curiosity, personal challenge, and improvement. An example of an intrinsically
motivated student is one who reads simply because he sees value in reading.

In another way, a dog that sees a bone and runs for it did that because of the
satisfaction it derives from eating bone. This type of behaviour does not require
any prior learning. Sighting the bone charges the behaviour of the dog and propels
it to act.
2. Extrinsic Motivation: Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that arises from
sources outside the individual. It is the incentive/reinforcer that drives an
individual’s behaviour towards a goal. Extrinsic motivation is something outside
the person that energises behavior e.g., money, fame, power. A student that is
extrinsically motivated will execute an action in order to obtain some reward or
avoid some sanctions. For example, a student who reads hard for the examination
did so because of the desire to obtain better grade. The case also goes for a runner
who wants to win a prize, he/she will need constant practice than a person who
wants to run for the fun of it.

The lecturers can promote intrinsic motivation in students using the following
strategies:

• By arousing a sense of curiosity in students and presenting their learning

materials in a more meaningful way in order to facilitate students’ active
engagement and motivation.

• By creating a positive learning environment in the classroom and developing

meaningful and respectful relationships with their students.

• Students are more likely to experience intrinsic motivation to learn when they
feel a sense of belonging and respect in the classroom.

Theory of Motivation

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory

1. Physiological Needs

These are the biological or survival needs of man. They are the most basic needs,
that is, the needs for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow considered physiological
needs the most important of all the needs. Until these needs are fulfilled or
satisfied, you will not be able to go to the next level. When you are very hungry,
for example, all your behavior may be motivated by the need to find food. Once
you eat, the search for food ceases, and the need for food no longer motivates you.
They become less important and one moves to the next on the hierarchy which is
the desire for security and safety.

Educational implication

The lecturer must realise that effective learning is possible only when the
physiological needs of pupils have been met; for example, a tired and hungry
student will find it difficult to focus on learning.

2. Safety and Security Needs

Once physiological needs are satisfied, people tend to become concerned about
safety and security needs. It includes the need to have safe, secure and conducive
life. At this stage the individual will be motivated to direct their behavior toward
obtaining shelter and protection in order to satisfy this need. Today in Nigeria, both
child and adult safety needs are often threatened by societal violence, communal
violence, and armed robbery incidence.

Educational implication

Students need to feel emotionally and physically safe and accepted within the
classroom to progress and reach their full potential.

3. Love and Belongingness Needs (Social Needs)

This involves the aspiration of man to establish a cordial relationship with others.
Once the safety needs have been met, social needs for love and belongingness
become important. This can include the need to bond with other human beings, the
need to love and be loved and to have a sense of belonging. At this level of need,
people will like to extend their hands of fellowship or comradeship to their friends,
mates, co-workers or neighbours. They equally will expect that such gestures be
reciprocated by others. If these needs are not met, the person will start feeling
isolated, lonely and depressed.

Educational implication

A typical classroom consists of learners from different cultural, religious and

socioeconomic backgrounds. Lecturers can aid students in the satisfaction of this
need by ensuring acceptance for all students in the classroom and by building a
classroom environment where positive interactions are the norm and that no one
experiences social rejection.

4. Self-Esteem Needs

These are the things we desire in order that our ego will be boosted. Once love and
belonging needs have been satisfied, esteem needs become more important. Self-
esteem needs refer to the desire to be respected by one’s peers, to feel important,
and to be appreciated. People will often look for ways to enjoy considerable
influence from others and gain recognition, and they may seek validation and
praise from others in order to fulfill these needs. The ability of someone to fulfill
this need makes them feel superior and self-confident. Inability to fulfill these
needs make a person feel dejected or inferior.

Educational implication

Students must be shown that they are valued and respected in the classroom and
the lecturer should create a supportive environment. Students with a low self-
esteem will not progress academically at an optimum rate until their self- esteem is
strengthened.

5. Self-Actualisation Needs

This is the highest level of the hierarchy and refer to the realisation of a person’s
potential, the desire to accomplish everything that one can. If the previous needs
are sufficiently met, a person now has the opportunity to become self-actualised.

Reinforcement

Skinner in this theory identified the two types of reinforcers, they are positive and
negative reinforcers. He believed that you can control human behaviour by the use
of reinforcers. The stimulus that occurs after a response is called a reinforcer.

•Example: A lecturer gives a pleasant or complimentary remark to a student for

scoring a good mark in an assignment. The pleasant remark the student receives is
a positive reinforcer to reinforce the behaviour of scoring a good mark. By this
action, it is likely that such a student will want to continue doing his/her
assignment promptly.

There are two types of reinforcement:

Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement involves adding something pleasant to the person after the
desired behavior is exhibited, making the behavior more likely to happen in the
future. Simply put, positive reinforcement involves adding something positive in
order to increase a behavior. Positive reinforcement includes a wide variety of
methods such as praise, thumps up, nods of approval, smiles, hugs, handshakes,
and social recognition.

Positive reinforcement can be:

• verbal for example saying “good” “well-done” “fantastic” to a child,

commending students for completing their work.

• non-verbal for example smiling or nodding at a student after a correct response;

applauding the child, thumps up, or patting a child on the back.

• material rewards for example giving a child a book, pencil, crayon, etc.

In negative reinforcement, an undesirable stimulus is avoided or removed to

increase the desired behaviour.

• Example: A company has a policy that if an employee completes their assigned

work by Friday, they can have Saturday off.

Working Saturday is the negative reinforcer, the employee's productivity will be

increased as they avoid experiencing the negative reinforcer.

• Example: A parent removed restrictions from a child when she follows the rules.

Something unpleasant (a set of restrictions) is removed to encourage the child’s

good behavior (following the rules).

• Example: A lecturer tells students that if they have perfect attendance all
semester, then they do not have to take the final comprehensive exam.
By removing an unpleasant stimulus (the final test), students will try to attend class
regularly.

• Example: removing furniture in a room so a baby can have space to learn how to
crawl.

Both positive and negative reinforcements serve to increase a desired behaviour.

Punishment

Like reinforcement, punishment also comes in two forms: positive punishment and
negative punishment. Positive and negative punishment serves to decrease a
behavior.

In positive punishment, you add an undesirable stimulus to decrease or stop a

behavior. That is, positive punishment gives something learners do not want. One
common example of positive punishment is spanking/beating.

• Example: Spanking a student to get the student to stop texting in class.

In this case, an unpleasant stimulus (spanking) is added in order to decrease the

undesirable behavior (texting in class).

However, this notion has been revised on the assumption that positive punishment
(or the more familiar term of corporal punishment) does not decrease a behaviour.
You will get to know why? Keep reading!!

In negative punishment, you remove a pleasant stimulus to decrease/stop the

undesirable behavior. That is, negative punishment takes away something learners
want. Negative punishment might include taking away recess, taking away time to
play, taking away a favourite activity, or removing the lecturer’s positive attention.
Here, you identify what the child likes and deprive him or her of that ‘thing’.

• Example: Taking away a child's electronics privileges for one week if she
misbehaves. • Example: If your student loves a particular activity (such as playing
football in recess/break time), taking it away in response to poor grades or bad
behaviour may encourage such student to do better.
Positive

Something (pleasant) is added to increase the likelihood of a desired behaviour.

Something (unpleasant) is added to decrease the likelihood of an undesired
behaviour

Negative

Something (unpleasant) is removed to increase the likelihood of a desired

behaviour Something (pleasant) is removed to decrease the likelihood of an
undesired behaviour.

Corporal punishment

Corporal punishment of children is a common practice in many Nigerian

classrooms. It is also widely used in most homes. Some researchers have identified
various forms of corporal punishment used in Nigerian schools which include:

Beating

Slapping

Knocking child’s head with the knuckle

Asking students to kneel down on hard surfaces

Threatening to beat but did not

Verbal abuse

Ridicule

The following are some of the negative effects of corporal punishment:

Corporal punishment may cause children to become more aggressive and prone to
antisocial behavior and delinquency. They learn to use physical violence to bully
and control people.

Corporal punishment may lead to lying, children learn to tell lies instead of
admitting their mistakes in order to avoid punishment.
Corporal punishment creates hostility and damages the relationship between the
punisher and the child.

Corporal punishment reinforces the punisher, not the punished.

Corporal punishment hardens the child instead of correcting them. May increase
the behaviour it seeks to eliminate. Punishment suppresses the bad behaviour only
for it to find expression in other problem behaviours.

Corporal punishment does not guide the child towards the desired behaviour.

Corporal punishment causes fear, anxiety, withdrawal and timidity. Children who
are punished by lecturers may come to fear the lecturer and try to avoid school.

Corporal punishment has a negative impact on children’s cognitive development, it

interferes with learning. Punishing a child because he or she performed poorly in a
test or exam is totally wrong; you are destroying the child’s cognitive
development.

Corporal punishment causes physical injury

Corporal punishment can cause emotional as well as mental health problems.

Because of these problems, corporal punishment should be avoided, while positive

reinforcement should be emphasised.