motivational contructs

Choose three motivation constructs mentioned in the Santrock chapter and give specific examples from your own learning that illustrate their meaning.

In my blog it is to be understood that the motivational constructs discussed by Santrock are, 1. behavioral motivation 2. humanistic motivation 3. cognitive motivation 4. social motivation. I will discuss how three of these motivational constructs shaped my learning experience.
I’ll begin with a story from my childhood and how behavioral motivation played an early roll. “Incentives that classroom teachers use include... check-marks, or stars for completed work.” (Santrock, pg415) When I was in the second grade in the top left corner of our desks, was taped a piece of graph paper. Every time we completed an assignment we got to color in a square. After we had completed all of the assignments and therefor colored in every square, we got to have lunch with the teacher.
Next I’ll try and show how cognitive motivation played a role in my education. It is believed by the cognitive perspective “that students should be given more opportunities and responsibilities for controlling their own achievement outcomes.” (Santrock, pg416) I was given this opportunity to be more responsible and have control of my own outcomes my senior year of high school. I was allowed to take some of my credits through Lansing Community College and be duel enrolled. This allowed me the opportunity to see college life and prepare for it before I was totally submerged with a full class load. This also allowed for me to practice my scheduling and planning skills when I had to add a night class with additional homework.
Last I would like to relate how social motivation effected my ability to learn. When I was in high school taking geometry I had a teacher who was very competitive and believed the students could be motivated through competition. In his effort to motivate us he decided to post everyone's test grades on the cork board at the head of the class next to the chalkboard. By doing this he created a performance based atmosphere where students who were not confident got public conformation of their failings. “This dilemma leads some students to engage in behavior that protects them from the image of incompetence in the short run but interferes with their learning and achievement in the long run.” (Covington,1992; Urdan, 2004)